HL2 Gameplay comments to improve HL3

[YangMan]

I've finished playing HL2 and thought it overall a very good game. However, like everything, there can be some improvements. I hear HL3 is already being made, and since Valve visit here occasionally, I wanted to gather some comments about how the gameplay could have been improved (no story suggestions please), so HL3 will be much better.

Here's my opinion:

I understand why Valve didn't want cutscenes, which reduces the feeling that you're part of it. However, not letting you speak at all also feels unrealistic. Oftentimes you'll want to object, or ask a question, or just have a conversation. This comic conveys the feeling well, http://www.hlfallout.net/image.php?id=31515.

As different people would want to say different things, perhaps assign some keys to different responses. If you press a key that for example means you disagree, Gordon argues (or not, if someone elses voice ruins the experience of bing Gordon) and it affects what the person says next as a result, likely to convince you, etc...

Also, although you might not want to see a stranger's face in a reflection, you should at least be able to see a shadow and you feet. This increases realism, and helps you know how close to the edge your feet are. Also, everyone's feet would look similar in the HEV suit.

Another major possibility for improvement is the squad commands. Sometimes you just want the to run like hell to the next cover, rather than run around in circles and slowly make their way to where you want them to go, which tends to get them killed. Also, they don't seem too good at dodging grenades, they run in circles and duck right next to the grenade (Shouldn't they also be able to pick them up and throw it if it looks like you're not going to?).

Their should also be options for stealth (no shooting unless in danger), hide/crouch, bunching together and spreading out, approach cautiously and run like hell, etc. These different modes could be toggled with the speech keys (as you're not likely going to use them in a firefight), and the current mode affects the way they react to the 'C' key being pressed. Their AI should also know basic tactics, like flanking, retreat, leapfrogging (I think that's the name) - where half shoot while the other half reload and then swap continuously to push the enemy back, ambushing, flushing with grenades (ie, you chuck a grenade and they all get ready to shoot anyone that runs), cornering, etc... This should also be implemented with the enemy AI to make things interesting...

Also, the squad shouldn't be limited in numbers, and they should be able to follow you into vents, up ladders, etc. Although some levels are more effective and scary alone (Ravenholm), they should still be able to follow you in the above situations (rather than being stuck in a hallway because an easily jumped over cabinet is blocking their path). If you need to do a level alone, have the story say that your followers need to go help someone else, and they'll meet up with you later or something rather than because they don't know how to duck.

Finally, some smaller things. When you cause a combine to fall because the ground beneath them has broken, it suddenly turns limp like it's dead before it's even hit the floor. It should be more stiff, because it's nervous, and possibly scream and flail its limbs a bit.

Also, why do rebels, combine, etc die as soon as they walk into a barnacle tongue? The barnacle hasn't bitten it yet, and Gordon doesn't take damage when he's being hauled up. Should they also be able to shoot the barnacle when they're stuck on its tongue to try save themselves?

Your friends should also be able to give/loan you weapon and ammo when you ask, so you're not tempted to lead them to death just for their weapon ammo... Which is really tempting when they aren't going to follow you anymore and you're low on ammo... Also, should your enemies and friends have limited ammo like you, so you're not tempted to go eco and let them do all the work (Like Barney and headcrabs in HL1)?

Finally, I don't understand why Valve had to be cheap with the snipers. They spent ages at making facial animations, high quality polys and textures, and then they just use a HL1 similar cardboard cutout thing for the snipers, which can only be hurt by explosives... They don't even have weapons, the laser comes from their feet... Would it really have been that much harder just to give a normal soldier a sniper rifle instead?

Alright, that's all I can think of now (sorry for rambling a bit). Please post your suggestions on gameplay, etc, and whether you agree/disagree with my suggestions and why. Hopefully Valve will read this, and if a lot of people want something changed, maybe they will, which will mean HL3 will be even better. Everyone benefits!

 

[ktimekiller]

Some points i wanna make on your comments.

1. this is not splintercell

2. that kind of ai would have taken a long time to develop

3. if gordon talked or anything like that, hl2 will be like any other fps, i hate when i see, or hear the main character, i feel, well, not them

4. those comments were really stupid

 

[DeusExMachina]

I whole heartedly agree with everything you said YangMan.

 

[Quek]

i agree actually with everything, without that talking. it's good that gordon doesn't talk.

 

[Person]

I agree that snipers could be improved.
I don't like stealth missions.. I always end up killing everyone. :sniper:

 

[Allantois]

Valve will prolly decide on their own what needs improving etc...

 

[ne0_shiny]

how do u know that the sniper laser was coming out of their feet?
maybe they were prone

 

[f|uke]

Gordon shouldn't talk. NPCs however should respond to me noding or shaking my head

Biggest thing HL2 needed IMO was realistic gore and NPC portrayal of horror/emotion.

 

[Sparta]

The biggest thing HL3 needs is to be longer and harder then HL2.

If someone could make the game so that the A.I didn't stand still, and could shoot straight, that alone would make the game much harder.

 

[HadouKen24]

As far as squads go, just making them react to nades as well as the combine, and making them stay put when you tell them to, would be excellent.

Having a menu pop up for different responses might work as far as the conversation aspect goes, but somehow that feels to me as if it would be betraying the series. Gordon's silence is part of the franchise now. Why should Gordon start talking now?

 

[Sid Burn]

Well, I think HL2's gameplay is good enough for me... its fast paced and cool!

 

[Eunoch]

biggest thing hl3 needs is better a.i.
improve combine behaviour in groups, make them similar to swat commandos that cover each other and run around and hide behind objects, instead of just standing there and shooting at you. the a.i. in metal gear solid is good, anything similar to that would be good.
i agree with the combines dieing before they should, if they get cought by a barnacle they should flail and scream, and the same if they fall.

 

[PoeticRocker]

What i like to see someday in games is - giving the enemy ai more character and emotions. For example ww2: *nazis gets shot *nazis buddy trys to run to his aid and save him *after realizing hes dead, he shoots blindly with anger at you. This will make you think wow i just killed a human being like me and that could of been my buddy. To randomly be presented each time you play it will evoke serious human emotions from the player.

 

[Sid Burn]

What i like to see someday in games is - giving the enemy ai more character and emotions. For example ww2: *nazis gets shot *nazis buddy trys to run to his aid and save him *after realizing hes dead, he shoots blindly with anger at you. This will make you think wow i just killed a human being like me and that could of been my buddy. To randomly be presented each time you play it will evoke serious human emotions from the player.

Hmm... yeah that's a very cool A.I. well, I just hope that in HL3... they can climb ladders, crawl through vents and of course... use things to their advantage. :smoking:

 

[Sparta]

biggest thing hl3 needs is better a.i.
improve combine behaviour in groups, make them similar to swat commandos that cover each other and run around and hide behind objects, instead of just standing there and shooting at you. the a.i. in metal gear solid is good, anything similar to that would be good.
i agree with the combines dieing before they should, if they get cought by a barnacle they should flail and scream, and the same if they fall.

The funny thing is, that group behaviour AI is there. But it isn't used very much at all in HL2. You can spawn NPC's into teams and they will co-ordinate as teams and outflank you.

 

[pr0nking]

I think talking, should be a No. Stealthy missions kinda splinter cell esque is gay and it would be jumping on a bandwagon instead of doing their own thing. I think basically, they could improve the A.I. but how long it takes is another question. I doubt we'll be seeing HL3 information atleast until Q4 2006.

 

[CombineHarvester]

Harder A.I, and more enemy variety. Driving along the highway was quite tedious for me. Oh look, more combine waiting....

All-in-all the combine weren't clever enough. They didn't run away and hide or ambush you like I'd hoped.

 

[Cukel]

No talking, absolutely. But just a thoght - how about in-game nodding? You wave your mouse up and down and they respond to that? That wouldnt ruin the feel of being the player, it would improve it. I think this is a great idea

More improved ally and enemy AI would ofcourse be nice, but I was satisfied with the current one too. But one thing that has bugged me in HL2 most, was probably the linearity mostly in Nova Prospekt and in the streets of City 17. It would be cool to have nice, broad, streets to roam around, be able to go into houses and rooftops, stuff like that. Those cramped up inner yards were a huge disappointment to me.

 

[Alieni²]

Well one thing that needs improving IMO: Lets say you throw a crate towards combine and it hits. Well in real life no one dies when he gets a crate against his stomach. Instead it should be like this: crate hits = combine turns into ragdoll, and slides back and so on. after some time = combine turns back to animations and stands up and starts fighting again.

This is still very little thing and I sound nitpicker now, but really its the same when u spawn combine on huge pile of crates. Then u shoot the crates so the combine would fall... but after the crate is being destroyed it just stands there on air, and after a sec it falls down stiff as a stick. It should turn ragdoll when theres nothing under it and back to animations when hitting the ground. And I know this is possible since in bloodrayne 2 demo u can kick ppl so they fall down and when falling they are turned to ragdoll and after some time back to animations.>

just my opinion... dont kill me ^^

 

[Tomarru]

The way ragdolls work wouldnt allow that, once an object is a ragdoll, it stays a ragdoll. Maybe when the technology matures a little (it already has with new havoc versions) it will allow more flexibility, but what hl2 is built on is fairly basic, thats why they cant have flailing and stuff when they fall down pits or death animations.

 

[czrsink]

I'd love to see the grunt squad AI of Half Life come back for the 3rd in the series. Nothing was cooler than them finding cover, trying to outflank you and lobbing the occasional grenade to try and flush you out.

The Combine AI was strangely lethargic, and at the best of times inconsistent. These things can only be improved upon in the next chapter of Half-Life - as we know the hard work is already done.

All that needs to be done as far as Source goes is tweaking it to make it even better. For Half Life 2, most of the time was spent sorting out the Source engine. Now that's done, Valve can focus on gameplay elements and those tweaks I was referring to above.

 

[Phat-t]

I want combine elite/heavy paratroopers! Not really an improvement on things in HL2 but it'd be a cool new thing. In place of parashoots, they could have some kind of energy machine thing on their back that makes them float down slowly, but also guide where they float.

Here's an example situation where they could be used. You're in a medium sized, broken down building acting like a sniper to help the rebels hold their position with a combine sniper rifle.A dropship passes slowly overhead with some new kind of troop carrier. A hatch slides open and combine elites jump out and float down, with their pulse rifle's tearing up rebels on the way down. You shoot the "parashoot" device of one of the combine elites with your rifle. It malfunctions and the elite goes crashing to the ground. You catch the elites' attention and ttwo of them shoot grappling hooks into the building and soar in with pulse rifles. You run into a different room and two more elites enter the room, one crashes through a window, the other comes in from a hole in the ceiling above.

It'd b some good stuff. And hell, who needs to wait for HL3, I'm 99 percent sure that Valve'll release a few expansions. Hopefully they'll put more of the underused things of HL2 into them, like the ichthyosaur or the crab and mortar synths

 

[$kelet0r]

Improve AI
nuff said

 

[HunterSeeker]

Make A.I. handle extremly aggresive players better.

 

[Pesmerga]

Hopefully Valve will read this, and if a lot of people want something changed, maybe they will, which will mean HL3 will be even better. Everyone benefits!

Ahah, hahaha, ooh hahaha, hhahahahahaha. Hahahhahahaaha.



Hahhahaha.Hoo hoo hahahahahah.

Your suggestions are...laughable, to say the least. All of your ideas evolve around some magical rainbow universe where everything is hunky dory. Seriously, how many people actually would even bother trying to pursuade AI controlled NPCs to drastically change the entire story and sequence of events of already a huge game?

Who even cares about the sniper models? That's at least 50mb of model+texture+animation that HL2 does -not- need. And snipers are supposed to NOT be seen, yah know, HIDDEN?

The AI Valve made was not entirely dedicated to single-player. First of all, squad mates aren't even remotely near Ravenholme when that level comes around. So I don't know why you're getting your panties in a knot over this. Second of all, mod/map developers can take full use of the AI more than any other game available. If you try and add in a "RUN LIKE HELL" comand, you're gonna get people complaining that they don't shoot while running, and then complaint after complaint, you'll be having to re-do entire AI functions. And the AI is extremely smart compared to any other game. While I have no doubt HL3 will triple AI effectiveness, HL2 still beats every game in the world on AI.

And yeah, this isn't friggen Splinter Cell. Besides, Valve knows exactly what's going into HL3 in terms of fundamental concepts.

 

[dogboy73]

The biggest improvement I'd like to see is in the challenge the game offers. HL2 is seriously easy even on the HARD setting. There were a couple of really good challenging moments like the turret battle towards the end of the Nova Proskept level. Also the part in Anticitizen1 where you have to defend Alyx while she attempted to open a Combine security barrier was good as well.

A lot of people are talking about improved A.I. & I would agree with this for the most part. But on the other hand how do you judge how good the A.I. actually is? It would make sense that the A.I. in HL2 would be at least as good as the A.I. from the first game ....... Wouldn't it? Unless Valve used A.I. routines that were less advanced than HL which is 6 years old now! I was wondering what made the A.I. from the first game appear more advanced than in HL2. I don't know anything about A.I. but at a guess I'd say the environments would play a big part. In HL these were often much more regular than they are in the follow up so maybe the A.I. appears less realistic in more random & awkward settings? I noticed that when there were obvious & large obstacles the Combine soldiers made good use of these as they advanced towards you. In less regular & obvious environments they often ended up just running into open spaces to be shot!

Another big difference to the first game is the way the soldiers don't react to being shot up ......... Until they're dead! Remember in the first game, when you shot a soldier up they would often run back for cover looking slightly worse for wear. I've not seen that happen in HL2. The combine just keep coming regardless.

I still think Halo has by far the best A.I. for comabt. The way the enemies react to your fire is astonishing. If your aggressive & acurate they stay pinned down waiting for an opportunity to get some shots back at you. If your more passive then they are all over you like a rash! The combat in Halo is rhe best of any FPS IMO. It even surpases the original HL.

 

[OD-Black_Fire]

I can only think of this:

Make shotgun less powerfull in MP
Make running speed slightly faster
Make walk speed alot slower.

 

[gcomeau]

As different people would want to say different things, perhaps assign some keys to different responses. If you press a key that for example means you disagree, Gordon argues (or not, if someone elses voice ruins the experience of bing Gordon) and it affects what the person says next as a result, likely to convince you, etc...

It would be horrible to have Gordon argue or do anything else which requires him to speak, my idea on this however is that you should be able to at least respond to simple yes or no questions by nodding or shaking your head (shake the mouse back and forth or up and down). That way you keep silent Gordon and the immersion factor that comes with it AND you get at least a minimal level of interactivity in the dialog which would actuall boost that immersion level just a little bit.

And of course once you have that functionality you can have small optional branchings in the storyline (limitted by the demands of the plot of course) that you either play or don't depending on your responses which would effect the replayability factor and loosen up that feeling of linearity a little.

 

[YangMan]

Hmm, nice to see some people agree and some people also have some contrasting opinions.

When I said allow stealth modes, and run-like-hell modes, I didn't say you had to use them. If you're the gung-ho type, you can all just rush in there guns blazing. If you're the tactical type, you should be able to coordinate attacks, you or someoen else opens a door, and if you/they duck behind the wall, it means you want them to burst in guns ready in case there are enemies (cop style - and yell CLEAR!). If you're the stealth type, you can creep up on enemies. And if you're the guerilla type (which is most effective when you're outnumbered and outweaponed), you should be able to lead combine into an explosive trap. The whole point is YOU choose what you want to do. Because YOU are part of the game, isn't that what Vavle wanted? That creates more immersion and realism, not detract from it.

Currently, you can be stealthy, gung-ho, whatever you want. But you can't make your squad do what you want. They start firing at striders with an smg, which only serves to alert them and shoot at all of you. Clearly if you only have 2 rockets and no supply crate in sight, then you ALL have to either run like hell or sneak around, unless you want to get your ass kicked.

If you want them to shoot at enemies, you would obviously turn off run like hell mode wouldn't you? And nothing's to stop them from shooting back once under the safety of cover. You would also be able to tell them to move cautiously, so they peek around corners to make sure they aren't looking blankly at a wall when a zombie hits them.

I wasn't sure on the talking thing either, and now I do agree he shouldn't talk. However, that's why I also said he could not talk, but the other characters would react differently depending on what button you press. This is already in use somewhat... When you USE them, you're obviously making some sort of face that says, "talk to me" or "follow me", even though you don't say anything. And when you tell your squad to go somewhere, you don't say anything either (supposedly, your suit lights up with a giant flashing arrow telling them where to go). Therefore, if you press the 'disagree' button, they'll react differently to if you don't say anything or 'agree', or 'insult them'. This way, you don't actually say something, but you have a bit of control of where the conversation is going. And I don't want you to be able to change the main story (only create slightly different conversations, etc), just disagreeing won't stop you from having to do something, etc, or it means you have to do something slightly different, but as gcomeau said, creating tiny branches would reduce the linearity.

That's also the point of creating multiple paths you can take (tiny branches off the main path). It also adds realism, so you can't always predict which is the right path. Just because you don't take damage in one doesn't mean it won't lead you in a big circle, or quickly turn nasty. And just because all the paths you can see a nasty doesn't mean there's always a better path... And just because a path looks good doesn't mean it's bad either. So you have to think all the time, not just when you're at a dead end, because you can't assum anything that way (which also means it makes the game feel longer and you'll want to play again).

Yes, being able to talk screws up the realism, but not being able to disagree/agree/interact with others is more disturbing and detracts from the realism more.

This AI would take a long time to make? 6 years isn't long to you? I believe Valve has already had some revolutinary ideas about AI and facial animations, so what's wrong with them discovering another brilliant way to do something?

And the thing is, they already have a lot of the stuff and they don't implement it. Dog has no AI, it is all scripted. But if you combine the zombie's throwing objects AI, the zombie's swiping (and make it look more like bashing) AI, the antlionguard's charging AI, then there you go, dog now can fight without a scripted scene. But they didn't do that. Instead, they spent time giving the vortigaunts the AI to electrocute and swipe at enemies... even though they're not meant to fight.

And also, Alyx already has the ladder climbing animation, when she climbs the drain pipe (even though she should shimmy up it). And they already can duck... So a lot of the AI and movements are already made, just not implemented.

The combine can already flank and retreat, and they can dodge grenades very well. But your followers just sit right on top of it. Is it because they don't have the AI? No, they just didn't implement it.

What I was saying about Ravenholm was that it was best played alone, and in similar circumstances, they should have the story take your followers away for a reason, and not just because they can't follow you into a vent or something. I was not saying I wanted to have followers in Ravenholm... some levels are still played best alone. It's also not realistic to limit your followers. If it were more like real life, wouldn't they want to follow a squad (safety in numbers), rather than be left alone in some dangerous place?

Pesmerga: I live in a rainbow universe? I am the biggest cynic of all. Of course, what they implement is totally up to Valve. But the better the game is, the more copies they sell, more famous it is, more satisfaction they get, the happier we are. See, everyone benefits, in THIS universe. However, game designers don't always know what their consumers want, and certainly you can see from this thread, that not all consumers agree. So, I am gathering the different opinions from the largest half life community. So that Valve might be introduced to new ideas, or if a lot of people feel strongly about something, they might change it, because they would benefit too. And as a result WE benefit too. This universe that we live in, too mutually beneficial to you? Also are you saying you can't snipe snipers in real life? If you spotted one, you could. And what's that about 50MB more worth of polygons? All they had to do was give a combine soldier (already made) a different gun. Rather than having another type of combine soldier (which also takes up memory, no).

There's also a smaller things I wanted to say that adds to the realism (and ultimately immersion) rather than the gameplay. But as it helps to make you feel apart of it more, I put them here.

I was playing Anticitizen One and Follow Freeman quite a while back, and I noticed that when they were on the stairs, there was something wrong with the shadows. It would create a shadow of the squad on the stairs, which is correct, but also on the wall beneath the stairs (as would be the case if the stairs were transparent). Also, there seems to be only one shadow when there are multiple light sources.

Finally, just a comment about the characters. This time, they created strong characters, with real facial emotions and eyes that realistically follow you, yet I don't think they fully utilised its potential. In HL1, although all Barneys were essentially the same, many grew quite attached to the character because you would see him and he would help you so often. But how long did we spend fighting side by side with Alyx and Barney? Not very long indeed, and I never got the impression that they were much better fighters than the other rebels. They just stood there and fought like everyone else (unless there was a scripted sequence).

Because of the realisitic facial animations and looks, realistic eye and body movements, this is a rare chance where scripted dialogue is actually not that boring (would be even more fun if you could display your opinion). Maybe just have a short scene where you catch up on old times with Barney, or some alone time with Alyx, where you're not racing after them and killing combine. That first scene with Dr Kleiner, Barney, Alyx and Lamarr together was quite interesting, even though most of it you weren't really doing anything. It would've been boring in quite a lot of games, but because of realistic characters, it wasn't. I don't think Valve fully utilised the characters' potential though. I didn't feel that attached to any of the characters as I did in HL1 with Barney, as you didn't spend enough time with any one of them. And now, they're probably all gone too.

 

[Narcolepsy]

I think that Half-Life 2 being so close to perfection causes people to start nit-picking at flaws that they would never even consider in other games.

A few notes of my own:

1.) There was no need at all to give Dog AI. If he was in more of the game than he already was, the game would just be incredibly easy whenever he showed his face. He exists solely for coolness and scripted sequences.

2.) I am very glad they did not give combine soliders sniper rifles. Just play Halo 2, and tell me you don't want to kill yourself after being killed for the 100th time by a sniper that you can't see.

3.) I may be alone in this opinion, but I could care less that Gordon can't talk. Whenever main characters talk in games, especially RPGs, the responses are canned and annoying. Better to just let me respond in my mind. The agree/disagree button would be pretty pointless - good in theory, but just think about how it'd turn out in gameplay. It would be corny, not that fun, and simply not worth all of the programming.

I don't think Valve fully utilised the characters' potential though. I didn't feel that attached to any of the characters as I did in HL1 with Barney, as you didn't spend enough time with any one of them. And now, they're probably all gone too.

I personally thought that Barney had no real personality in HL1 (a bunch of canned one-liners is not personality). Characters like Alyx surpassed Barney (version 1.0) in spades.

 

[CookieCuttah]

As far as squads go, just making them react to nades as well as the combine, and making them stay put when you tell them to, would be excellent.

Having a menu pop up for different responses might work as far as the conversation aspect goes, but somehow that feels to me as if it would be betraying the series. Gordon's silence is part of the franchise now. Why should Gordon start talking now?

Well I figure eventually he will want to talk... I mean he must be under emotional stress or something and hasn't come out of it.

 

[stinkeee]

Edit, nevermind didn't read the whole post >_>

 

[Pesmerga]

You always have to look at a peice of the game, a feature, and ask yourself "Does this really need to be in here? Sure, it may add realism, but how does this affect gameplay?".

Simply put, real life -sucks-. That's why we play video games.

 

[YangMan]

Yes, characters like alyx were much better than the original Barney, but what I meant was they spent so much time developing a great character, facial animations, voice actors, etc, but then you don't really spend much time with her, and much of the time you do spend tends to be 'watching her back' while she fiddles around with stuff.

Especially for characters as well developed like Alyx and Barney, it makes me feel like I want to spend more time with them, time that is not just spent fighting combine or watching their backs or following them through dangerous buildings. But time where you can find out more about them, about what's happened, in a more relaxed atmosphere. This allows you to connect with the character, and adds a dimension to the game that is more than just shooting at combine. Good examples were Red Letter Day and Black Mesa East, where you don't have to do much, but get filled in on what's happened and learn about the characters, which was fun. But these are really few and far between (how many times were you separated from Alyx, and how many times did she make you go ahead on your own?). And when they do fight with you, Alyx and Barney seemed pretty ordinary. Not bad fighters, but they didn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of the Combine.

My comment about Dog's AI was mainly an example of how they had already done some things, but not implemented them, in response to someone saying making good AI would take too long.

Interactive conversation in games is perhaps one of the most difficult things to make. I wasn't hoping for a perfect solution, as I don't think we can teach computers to understand fluent english, yet. But what I meant was that throughout the game, I often felt like saying something. It just felt really weird to not be able to express your feelings and opinions.

The speech thing wasn't my main concern, it just felt weird, which also cut down on immersion. I would however, like to see the level design improved a bit. In HL1, you soon saw a pattern in the levels, and I was always looking for a way out of a problem that didn't involve gettin hurt, because there was always a way to do that (except the one time where you have to go through the cold place). In Half Life 2, for many of the levels, I had no idea where I was, but there was usually only one way out, so I just blindly followed that path, and only thought when met up with the occasional see-saw jump type problems... Which isn't that real is it? Since when can we just blindly go into an air vent or side tunnel and know it will lead us where we want in the end? No, you have to use all your resources, climb to a tall building and look, etc, to make a calculated guess or find a good path. And why should there always be a perfect solution, like in HL1? Sometimes you can't avoid being hurt, and I'm not talking about firefights. So variety in level design and puzzles is the only way I can think of to make it less of a no-brainer. It would also make the game longer (as you need to think and sometimes probably make bad decisions), and less boring, especially the second time round as it is less linear.

The only other major thing is the AI, especially that of your squad. You should generally have more control over your squad, as that a) gives you more control and b) their AI doesn't have to always judge for itself what the best thing to do is. Which in essence, makes it easier for their AI. They should also be familiar with some basic military tactics and coordinated attacks, and when you do something that puts them in an effective situation to use that tactic, they just go ahead and do it, or you can manually 'tell' them to use a certain tactic, like ambush (which is impossible if you're on your own or if your squad just shoots on sight) or just brute force. But you should definitely be able to control them the way YOU want.

And shouldn't their tactics be different for different types of enemies? I find that they seem to attack them in a rather similar manner. For uncoordinated and weak but plentiful and hard to spot enemies like headcrabs, they should bunch up in an outwards facing circle, so you cover 360 degrees and are not constantly having to turn around to watch your own back. But they definitely shouldn't bunch up when combine are around, or you'll get surrounded and all blown up with 1 grenade. All this should be achievable with a few 'if <scenario>' type loops, or Valve is likely to have a much better way. But AI improvements in squad following/attacking should definitely be improved. Enemy AI is not too bad, although could still be improved by incorporating some more military tactics.

The rest are mainly all minor type things, which would add realism but aren't as important. Like barnacles not killing things instantly, and allowing them to fight back; why you but no one else can see the red and blue lasers; having squad able to follow you through trickier terrain, like jump over obstacles, climb ladders and duck into vents; having decals merge better when close together; having ragdolls that can be tense and flail limbs, and also turn back into non ragdolls; etc. All these would enhance realism if improved and also immersion, although they aren't as important.

On a final note: Narcolepsy, making the current snipers like other soldiers but with a different weapon is different from giving lots of combine sniper rifles and making it one hit KO. But the snipers should probably be a bit more mobile, rather than confined to one window, and you should be able to snipe a sniper.

Yes, Half Life 2 is a very good game indeed. But there can always be improvement, and I'm trying to encourage Valve into "Raising the Bar" for future Half Life games. I mean, Half Life 2 is a really good game, but wouldn't you want Half Life 3 to be even better still?

EDIT: Pesmerga, I don't know about you, but my life doesn't suck. And I play video games because they're fun, and you can do stuff without receiving real life consequenses, not because I'm trying to escape reality. Yes, as I've said, a lot of these things aren't that important, but add realism. And usually, realism helps to immerse you, make you feel part of it, like what Valve is trying to achieve. Something that looks right may go unnoticed, but something that looks wrong really distracts you and can ruin the immersion factor to some extent.

 

[Narcolepsy]

I appreciate the well thought out reply. I can respect your opinions.

On the point of level design, I do indeed agree on the air duct conundrum. Too many games rely on this pathetic cliche. And I do remember the original Half-Life having some more interesting air duct condundrums that made it feel like you were really investigating the underbelly of Black Mesa and not going from point a to b blindly.

 

[Dan]

Whatever happened to Alyx saying that she wouldn't leave us again. And then as soon as we get outa prison bam, she's gone. The thing about the characters in HL1 I think was that there was this claustraphobic panic of being trapped underground and being alone. Just knowing that there was someone else nearby, albeit a rather foolish and dim witted security guard was comforting. I'd say AI, and squad controls are big ones. I'd like to see a couple basic formations a la rts games. Like sweep where Gordon is in the middle and everyone else is abreast of him, or line where everyone follows Gordon, or scatter where they just spread out. And a couple of attitudes, like frontal assault or defensive.

The one other thing I would like to see is a bit less linearity. I think linearity between chapters is good, eg chapter 2 follows chapter 1. But have a more open ended way of getting from chapter 1 to chapter 2. It boggles my mind how often Gordon could have been thwarted by the lack of a vent or not having a ladder or crate in the right place at the right time.

 

[0mar]

I have a suggestion. For godssakes make the guns more accurate. There's nothing more I hate than single-shotting my SMG and that shot going everywhere but the middle of the crosshair. The Combine Pulse Rifle was a bit better but I really would like a real accurate gun.

Oh yea, make more shit blow up.

 

[sup2069]

Also, why do rebels, combine, etc die as soon as they walk into a barnacle tongue? The barnacle hasn't bitten it yet, and Gordon doesn't take damage when he's being hauled up. Should they also be able to shoot the barnacle when they're stuck on its tongue to try save themselves?

Hope no one has answer this already, dont feel like reading through the whole thread.

From my observations while playing with garrysmodv.5 it seems that when ever you rope a live NPC, the rope will stretch while the NPC runs. But if they are ragdolls, then you can string them up and watch em hang

When a NPC is grabbed by a barnacle, they are automaticly ragdolled. Then a death sound is played once the jaws crunch down on em. I guess valve took a shortcut method into try and fool you, but it didnt work to good.

 

[Pesmerga]

EDIT: Pesmerga, I don't know about you, but my life doesn't suck. And I play video games because they're fun, and you can do stuff without receiving real life consequenses, not because I'm trying to escape reality.

Umm, I didn't mean daily life. I meant the stuff that you hope doesn't happen, but happens anyway. For example, war. Anyone that wants to go to war is a fool. I'm not saying that people who volunteer are fools ; they are probably the bravest guys of the bunch.

But yeah, imagine if you could feel pain in a video game.

 

[twad]

Dont make Gordon talk!!!

make us fight tanks like in HL1!

Make the combines use their mp7 grenades AND use a lot more the normal grenades like the marines did in HL1!

Make the snipers mobile inteliigent units, not just a immobile black window blue laser.

Make that the combines WANT to live (intelligent), dont make them charge blindly at us, if we hide they should trow nades at us.

i want the assasiness back!

The combine almost never do anything other than stand here and waiting for a combat at every second.. they never "relax" and never point their guns down when nothing is happening (even in the citadel they are fully combat-ready) and when they walk this is always with thier guns ready to fire. Add for more life-like behavior, maybe add more stuff that the ennemies are doing when we see them : ex: we saw two combines soldiers having a discution about what they like about theirs weapons, who they knocked yesterday, we see them eating something, they are sitting on chairs and watching the security screens, they are repairing of maintaining their guns ect ect.