My One (Small) Complaint...

Well there are no Antlions around the White Forest base because there are apparently no hives. At least, the terrain is devoid of the ventilation stacks. They could have stuck some in the area but then they then have to make ways to keep your guys safe from the Ant-Lions too. There are ways they could achieve that of course, but each step takes you further away from the original idea whithout adding anything new.
I can't see us having much need for bait in Ep3 either, if it's set somewhere cold then I'm imagining (just me) that precludes them.
I liked the bait but it did seem to make things a bit easy. I don't think we got anymore after the defeat of the gaurdian though as we'd just spent alot of time bug-bashing, aside from that the conclusion to the section was meant to be the Guardian battle. More bugs after that makes no sense if that's the case.
 
Grand Architect said:
You mean Like the hunters and the err umm, what else?
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You don't need to add new content to make 'new' gameplay. It's set piece based - scenarios. Defending the mine shaft against the Antlions; moving across the canyon sticking to thumpers; maneuvering across the industrial area whilst Alyx covers you; facing off the ambush at the inn; ducking through a junkyard to take out the auto-cannon and ultimately using the Magnusson Device's to take down the Striders attacking the Silo to name a few. That is new gameplay. If there's one thing that HL does right without a hitch it's constantly varied gameplay, and avoiding the mundane route of simply making the game a shooting gallery.
 
Samon said:
You don't need to add new content to make 'new' gameplay. It's set piece based - scenarios. Defending the mine shaft against the Antlions;
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True new objective. And this part was cool, but mostly for the two humans there.
Samon said:
moving across the canyon sticking to thumpers;
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HL2 coast been there done that, and that was like 2 mins of gameplay.
Samon said:
maneuvering across the industrial area whilst Alyx covers you;
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HL2EP1 much shorter but still been there done that. (I read that it's even an achievement to get Alyx a bunch of kills there)
Samon said:
facing off the ambush at the inn;
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HL2 coast 2 or three times minus the hunters and not as big. but I think the size of that fight was to make up for lack of combine everywhere else.
Samon said:
ducking through a junkyard to take out the auto-cannon
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HL2 Nova Prospekt not against auto gun but you did have to avoid turrets is a similar manner of ducking and using shields.
Samon said:
and ultimately using the Magnusson Device's to take down the Striders attacking the Silo to name a few.
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True new weapon, but I didn't like this part. Felt like they were rushing me IMHO, as I stated before.

Changing up the set pieces a little bit is not the same as creating new set pieces.
 
Grand Architect said:
HL2 coast been there done that, and that was like 2 mins of gameplay.
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HL2 Coast had optional Thumpers; it was never used in the same way it was there. It's a new set piece.

Grand Architect said:
HL2EP1 much shorter but still been there done that.
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Not in the same capacity. Yeah, that concept has been used before, but when you consider the entire area as one big set piece, i.e, Alyx, moving through the zombies, the inner-puzzles and eventually the bridge, that in itself is one very large and new set piece.

Grand Architect said:
HL2 coast 2 or three times minus the hunters and not as big.
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No, you ambushed the houses - they never once assaulted once you were inside. What's more, you have to factor in the small puzzle with the power too. New set pieces, new gameplay.

Grand Architect said:
HL2 Nova Prospekt not against auto gun but you did have to avoid turrets is a similar manner of ducking and using shields.
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Now you're just shedding skins down until you get to the basics. You duck in and out of turret fire throughout the game, and in the Nova Prospekt section you have antlions and it's a whole different beast. Here, you're making your way forward, and you have to include the small puzzle once you get inside the warehouse.

Grand Architect said:
True new weapon, but I didn't like this part. Felt like they were rushing me IMHO, as I stated before.
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I loved the Buster, and the section was fun. Despite being too easy and not as varied as I'd have liked, it was still ok.

Grand Architect said:
Changing up the set pieces a little bit is not the same as creating new set pieces.
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But very few have been changed up "a little bit." The only repeats were the toxis crossings, the seasaw bridge (despite scale) and some zombie gameplay. Most shooters don't even bother with set piece and varied gameplay, and simply have you going through a shooting gallery. It seems mundane to complain here.
 
Samon said:
HL2 Coast had optional Thumpers; it was never used in the same way it was there. It's a new set piece.
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And the ones in EP2 are optional as well. You can win that battle with out them.

Samon said:
No, you ambushed the houses - they never once assaulted once you were inside. What's more, you have to factor in the small puzzle with the power too. New set pieces, new gameplay.
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Well I'm sorry but thats wrong. In the Coast level after the 6 roller mines you enter a house and when you go to the attic you are attack from outside. Really now is an ambushed new?
 
I don't think I was quite saying being ambushed is new, but there's certainly more to the one in EP2 than the other. Despite the same basic concept they are different. I don't remember being ambushed in HL2 though...I haven't played in some time.
 
In Episode 2, I found myself using the shotgun and gravity gun in combat more than any other weapon. My request would be if Valve could somehow make it so we would have to actually use each weapon throughout the game in a balanced manner. I can't come up with an idea off the top, but I think it would be a good concept to create scenarios where the weapons are given unique roles.
 
Samon said:
I don't think I was quite saying being ambushed is new, but there's certainly more to the one in EP2 than the other. Despite the same basic concept they are different. I don't remember being ambushed in HL2 though...I haven't played in some time.
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Well I'll drop this as I'll agree that the game did add new game play (or expand greatly on existing ideas) and was great fun to play. But I still stand by the chopper battle as the best and coolest addition to the game play IMHO.

Also why didn't Magnusson add a remote detonator to the device? Short sightedness on his part if you ask me =P

ailevation said:
In Episode 2, I found myself using the shotgun and gravity gun in combat more than any other weapon. My request would be if Valve could somehow make it so we would have to actually use each weapon throughout the game in a balanced manner. I can't come up with an idea off the top, but I think it would be a good concept to create scenarios where the weapons are given unique roles.
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Well they could have slowed down the rate they gave back the weapons. But that would suck to do that again.
 
I think it comes down to map design mostly. Ranged combat doesn't play to the shotguns strengths and areas with structural clutter make the Grav Gun a pain. Of course, limiting shotty ammo would achieve similar results.
 
Actually, we need more ranged combat. People seem to keep using the shotgun all the time, and it's because all the other weapons suck balls at any range. It's easier to just close in and blow them away with both barrels. I noticed this when playing Minerva, which did the multi-layered gravity gun-less levels extraordinary well. The best way to finish Minerva levels on Hard is to take soldiers out with the AR2 at range, but it's astonishingly boring clicking your mouse and hoping it hits. It's a side-effect of the Gravity Gun focus, really. If you have soldiers with weapons which hurt at range, you prefer to stick to cover and come out occasionally to hit them back from range, which is against Valve's physics objects based combat.

I've given some thought to gun balancing with the soldier AI they've got. I figure if you made the AR2 have long range, at the expense of giving the same damage at short range, turn the shotgun into close range death, and make the SMG a mid-range between those, the shooting game would be much more fun. Your tactics would be different considering the distance the soldiers are at and what they are equipped with. They are armed with AR2s and 200 meters away? You can't reach them with the shotgun at a dash; the AR2s would shred you. So run from cover to cover, get close, shotgun them or grav gun them, or simply stay at distance and snipe them back with your own AR2. (The crossbow would be useful still because of its one hit kill at medium range properties.) You face them house to house? They are armed with AR2s? Shred them with your shotgun. It would add variety and replayability, especially with the new larger maps.
 
I am 101 percent sure that the portal gun will be used in ep3 for a short duration, similar to the style of the supergrav gun in the citadel..
 
But of what signifiance would that be against the Combine? Not to mention it only works in specificly designed envoiroments.
 
Dual wielding is incredibly lame.

Lower accuracy, bigger ammunition consumption, unwieldy (both hands occupied) etc.

This isn't John Woo's Stranglecock.

This

IS

HALF-LIFE!
 
Shift said:
But of what signifiance would that be against the Combine? Not to mention it only works in specificly designed envoiroments.
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I have a feeling that the Borealis will be the 'specifically designed environment' in which we use the Portal gun. It's perfect - an enclosed ship where Valve can set rules about where/how the Portal gun works.

It'll be great fun once they figure out how to let NPCs move through the portals. I can't wait to open a portal on a tall ceiling, then another under a Combine soldier's feet - and watch him fall to his death, arms flailing, with a staticky Combine scream :)

If I were Gordon Freeman, I'd duct tape my shotgun to the Gravity Gun, like Ripley did with the flamethrower and pulse rifle in Aliens :)
 
While I disagree with the sentiment of the OP, I do find it a little silly that we keep losing our supply of weapons only to quickly find most or all of a set of exactly identical weapons. I think it'd help the series to start finding slightly different weapon sets in the different episodes, even if it just amount to a reskin. It'd be refreshing to pick up a scratched-up revolver or one with peeling plating rather that one that's supposed to be a different physical weapon than the one we lost (which no way found its way into the antlion caves), but looks identical every time.
 
I think they should just give Gordon the whole lot right off the bat. There's no point just picking them all up again.
 
Samon said:
I think they should just give Gordon the whole lot right off the bat. There's no point just picking them all up again.
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I reckon at the start of ep3 we'll have all of them, because he didn't really get the chance to lose them. I would hazard a guess that we'll lose them all when we get on board the Borealis, if Valve are going to use the portal gun within its space, since its the only logical place for it. After leaving the Borealis, or just before, the portal gun will be lost or destroyed somehow.
 
Valve will strip us of our weapons whenever it suits the planned game play they are aiming for, which is all well and good.

Mikael Grizzly said:
Dual wielding is incredibly lame.

Lower accuracy, bigger ammunition consumption, unwieldy (both hands occupied) etc.

This isn't John Woo's Stranglecock.

This

IS

HALF-LIFE!
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I agree we don't need duel weapons, but I'd like it, It makes logical sense that if I find another pistol I should (if I like) be able to use two pistols at once.
 
Although HL has arcadey gameplay, Gordon has always striked me as a tactical and realistic person rather than the typical badass action hero, so I really can't imagine him dual-wielding.

Besides the fact that it became old years ago.
 
Narvi said:
Actually, we need more ranged combat. People seem to keep using the shotgun all the time, and it's because all the other weapons suck balls at any range. It's easier to just close in and blow them away with both barrels. I noticed this when playing Minerva, which did the multi-layered gravity gun-less levels extraordinary well. The best way to finish Minerva levels on Hard is to take soldiers out with the AR2 at range, but it's astonishingly boring clicking your mouse and hoping it hits. It's a side-effect of the Gravity Gun focus, really. If you have soldiers with weapons which hurt at range, you prefer to stick to cover and come out occasionally to hit them back from range, which is against Valve's physics objects based combat.

I've given some thought to gun balancing with the soldier AI they've got. I figure if you made the AR2 have long range, at the expense of giving the same damage at short range, turn the shotgun into close range death, and make the SMG a mid-range between those, the shooting game would be much more fun. Your tactics would be different considering the distance the soldiers are at and what they are equipped with. They are armed with AR2s and 200 meters away? You can't reach them with the shotgun at a dash; the AR2s would shred you. So run from cover to cover, get close, shotgun them or grav gun them, or simply stay at distance and snipe them back with your own AR2. (The crossbow would be useful still because of its one hit kill at medium range properties.) You face them house to house? They are armed with AR2s? Shred them with your shotgun. It would add variety and replayability, especially with the new larger maps.
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Agreed. The cone of fire was a pain.
 
Personally, I rarely used the SMG at all in Episode 2 - if anything I used the attached grenade launcher more. The same with the magnum, I didn't really bother with it for the most part. Another thing that I thought was a little silly is that you find the RPG in one of the hidden radar caches, and then the next one you come across has a large amount of extra rockets, but in between the two you only meet up with some zombies that you can plow over anyway. How could you have used that many rockets to make that cache useful? I generally fell back on the gravity gun, shotgun, and AR2 for most combat situations. Grenades and the crossbow helped in certain situations too, but most of the other weapons felt kinda useless unless you made an effort to work them in.

Also, while no new weapons were introduced in Episode 1, the black hole hopwire was accessible through console codes, it was even mentioned in this episode in the commentary as a type of precursor to the Magnusson Device. So they were entertaining ideas of adding something then and scrapped it. I don't think it would have been hard to justify the existence of experimental Combine weaponry that they had pushed into service because of the uprising, they just chose not to. With us entering unknown territory in Episode 3 I think we'll definitely see some new weapons and new enemies... the arsenal now is pretty good, but it will still be refreshing to get some new toys to play around with.
 
I only used the Magnum once. On a Strider with a Magnusson Device stuck to him. I was quite far away. It was the best shot ever.
 
DrAbysmal said:
Personally, I rarely used the SMG at all in Episode 2 - if anything I used the attached grenade launcher more. The same with the magnum, I didn't really bother with it for the most part. Another thing that I thought was a little silly is that you find the RPG in one of the hidden radar caches, and then the next one you come across has a large amount of extra rockets, but in between the two you only meet up with some zombies that you can plow over anyway. How could you have used that many rockets to make that cache useful? I generally fell back on the gravity gun, shotgun, and AR2 for most combat situations. Grenades and the crossbow helped in certain situations too, but most of the other weapons felt kinda useless unless you made an effort to work them in.

Also, while no new weapons were introduced in Episode 1, the black hole hopwire was accessible through console codes, it was even mentioned in this episode in the commentary as a type of precursor to the Magnusson Device. So they were entertaining ideas of adding something then and scrapped it. I don't think it would have been hard to justify the existence of experimental Combine weaponry that they had pushed into service because of the uprising, they just chose not to. With us entering unknown territory in Episode 3 I think we'll definitely see some new weapons and new enemies... the arsenal now is pretty good, but it will still be refreshing to get some new toys to play around with.
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I agree with all of this, never used the SMG unless I empty the AR2 and auto switched to it. The Magnum though is the next best sniper weapon when used with the suit zoom. I killed a few Hunters at the start of the Inn Battle with it and the crossbow. Honestly I tend to never use secondary attacks due to limited supply, I tend to save them for big battles only to forget to use them.
 
Well that latest article would suggest that Valve are aware of any weapons balance issues. I think Narvi pretty much nails it for me. It's not that I don't like the weapons. The smg isn't very powerful but then if it were maybe it wouldn't have been a 7 hour war. The AR2 clip is a little too small for me, considering the damage it does.
I like the idea of using the sniper rifle as much as anyone else but just about every game that has one actually fails to use it properly. The bow is useful enough at range to fill this slot
 
You know, there was a TON of Magnum ammo in Ep2! I counted something like 6 boxes or more.
 
Cheomesh said:
You know, there was a TON of Magnum ammo in Ep2! I counted something like 6 boxes or more.
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The magnum was useful for taking out hunters when i ran out of ammo and it auto-switched to it. Other than that i never really used it. I swapped between the Gravity Gun and the Shotgun and that's about all that i used.
 
I was always out of Magnum ammo because I always use it.
 
I love using the magnum against any type of high-HP target such as Hunters, Antlion Guards, etc. It's like the shotgun except you don't have to worry about all the buckshot hitting the target.
 
Yeah the 357 wasn't too shabby against the Hunters, I think the reason I don't use it more often is that long recoil time. At least, it always feels long to me.
 
I will be disappointed if Valve don't put something new in Episode Three. It's been fine up until now because the addition of anymore than a single weapon would have seemed a little odd given that all weapons basically came from the City 17 / Resistance Armories. But the Borealis is a totally different kettle of fish. Clearly, the area is going to have been untouched by Combine / Resistance forces, since no one has found the Borealis and made a big thing about it. Given this, finding resistance-designed crossbows, Rocket Launchers (?) and probably the Tau Cannon would be a stretch, possibly even a piece of indefensible laziness on the part of the developers.

Not only that, but the Borealis is an Aperture Science vessel that has technology or technologies aboard that frighten Eli and excite Kliener. There could easily be a new kind of weapon around there. The natural answer is the one weapon we know AS did develop: the Portal Gun, but i'd love to see something else.

Since Valve inexplicably strip Gordon of all his weapons every time he starts out on a new section of the game, it wouldn't be breaking anything to give him a few new guns. So long as Soldiers are about, I expect we'll see the MP7 again, but really, the pre-combine loss of the Borealis gives some scope for a different, non-Combine adopted rifle to be doing the rounds.

The AR2 is definitely at the Borealis, we see it in the Mossman video. Grenades will be there too no doubt, but aside from them and the Gravity Gun, why not give us some variety? I hardly think it'd put Valve out to replace guns they largely had coded and modeled Four years ago. Hell, they could easily whack in the Ice Pick as a 'new weapon' considering the setting and the ever decreasing symbolism of the Crowbar.

In the HL2.net community, saying 'no' to change among the inventory is somewhat of a badge of honour, a petty mark of maturity that lets you look down your nose at people who want more weapons simply 'because'. Well I want more weapons, so sue me. Whatever it is you're launching at the enemy, Half-Life is still a shooting game and I want some new toys. So give them to me before I throw the whole lot out of the pram.

edit: One striking thing about Episode Two is that no one weapon has allowed us to kill an Advisor. I suspect there'll be a Magnuson device-style answer to that problem.
 
Anew device to sort out the slug's does make sense. If we're heading to a new region then there could be new stuff there and still make sense. AK's instead of MP's that sort of thing. Other than that new weaponry just because, no thanks.
 
Uh considering dog's fist hurt one, and so did a small scale explosion, I'm sure that any of the weapons would hurt an advisor.

They wern't killable for gameplay reasons. It's not time yet.
 
It's not hurting them, it's about finding a way to take them apart either before or during them incapacitating you.
 
Yeah, but I think the key to success will be disabling their robotic "eyes" first.
 
Given that HL2 took place in a generic post Soviet type city, I'm actually rather puzzled by the choice of the MP-7 in lieu of the AK-47 as the machine gun of the series, which would better fit the setting. ::shrug::

In regards to the idea that Gordon will be stripped of his weapons at the beginning of Ep3 in some way: I GUARANTEE our little excursion to the Boralis in the Soviet chopper will result in some sort of Combine ship shooting us out of the sky. We will survive (we'll revive to see Alyx standing over us) but we'll find our weapons lost to the to the crash, save for the Gravity Gun, which Alyx helpfully notes is sitting on top of the wreckage.
 
I'd actually prefer finding the ep3 gravgun late in the game, for once.
 
SpectreBlofeld said:
Given that HL2 took place in a generic post Soviet type city, I'm actually rather puzzled by the choice of the MP-7 in lieu of the AK-47 as the machine gun of the series, which would better fit the setting.
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The Overwatch covers the entire Earth, and thus it requires standardized weaponry and ammo all throughout their jurisdiction. Since apparently the Combine liked the MP7 design the best, they adopted it as their official SMG while designing their own version of the AR.
 
SpectreBlofeld said:
Given that HL2 took place in a generic post Soviet type city, I'm actually rather puzzled by the choice of the MP-7 in lieu of the AK-47 as the machine gun of the series, which would better fit the setting. ::shrug::
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The issue isn't MP-7 versus AK-47 though, it's really AR2 versus AK-47. You wouldn't expect a rifle in place of a Submachine gun. Even then, the AK-47 doesn't fit the setting in the least. The only box it ticks is 'post Soviet'. What about 'Post Alien invasion', 'Science Fiction' and 'mass-produced tool of fascist oppression', far bigger themes in Half-Life terms? The AK-47 is the iconic weapon of terrorism and cost-efficient guerrilla warfare. Whilst it would be somewhat welcome to a resistance force, it doesn't really fit when the occupation is absolute and the occupiers mass produce their own vastly superior weaponary.

And then there's the fact that the AK-47 is a cliche of gritty, realistic tactical shooting computer games such as Counter Strike. The weapons in Half-Life 2 are hand-picked to fit a number of criteria that the AK-47 doesn't really meet. One brilliant thing to notice about the MP7, regardless of its bullet spraying capabilities: it has a angular, metallic look that completely complements the Combine design philosophy, despite being a contemporary weapon. The fact that the similar MP5-PDW was in Half-Life 2 shortly before E3 2003 (and was still wielded by citizens even then) makes me believe that Valve stumbled across the design and couldn't believe their luck.
 
If you want more weapons, they would have to add in encumberence.
People's suggestions for the game usually tend toward Halo standards, for some reason.
 
kupoartist: One brilliant thing to notice about the MP7, regardless of its bullet spraying capabilities: it has a angular, metallic look that completely complements the Combine design philosophy
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That's a good point.

Acepilotf14: If you want more weapons, they would have to add in encumberence.
People's suggestions for the game usually tend toward Halo standards, for some reason.
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Right, because carrying a rocket launcher, a gravity gun, a crossbow and an AR2 isn't cumbersome in the least.

That's when you take a page from Deus Ex and limit how much stuff you can carry at once.

I realize that sort of thing absolutely will not change (i.e. the way the inventory system works), but I don't see why we can't get just a little more variety in our arsenal.
 
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