Quick Gabe Newell Q&A

[Zerox]

A huge thanks to Stewart for sending a few answers he got from Valve's Gabe Newell about - you guessed it - Half-Life 2:

STEWART: In the e3 demonstration, you showed the manipulator weapon... now, I was wondering what the restrictions are for the weapon... i.e. Could I pull an enemies weapon from his hand, and is there a "weight" limit to the objects that can be picked up? How will you know which objects are manipulatable? (is that even a word?) I was just worried that it would be like all these other games where, for example, your character can climb walls... but wait... ONLY "special" walls that have the texture "w_rocks1" (just an example)... and then there are walls that have that texture but can't be climbed.
GABE: The manipulator "opens" when you can pick something up that you are pointing it at. There is a weight limit. Most everythng can be picked up. I hate special cases, too.

STEWART: Sort of indirectly related to the above question... what restrictions are there to the physics... I noticed in the vehicle driving scene that there is a wooden bridge that the player must drive up... was/is it possible for the bridge to be destroyed? And... if so... what then? Are there alternate routes?

GABE: If you can destroy something it may be useful but it can't be critical to completing the game.

STEWART: Finally, will there be a co-operative mode? (I'm probably pushing my luck here, since you said you want to keep the multiplayer side of HL2 a big secret... but hey... you can't blame me for trying...)

GABE: We aren't doing a cooperative mode, but a couple of MOD teams want to do one so we'll work with one of them.

Source: http://www.planethalflife.com/

 

[simmo]

thxs d00d

 

[Tull91]

Thanks mate! got more?:cheers:

 

[Zerox]

Nope, that's about it!

 

[NiteStalker]

I still wonder about my question: Can living enemies be picked up? Headcrabs at least?
Taking the gun out of someones hands is interesting too.=)

 

[Reiska]

Originally posted by NiteStalker
I still wonder about my question: Can living enemies be picked up? Headcrabs at least?
Taking the gun out of someones hands is interesting too.=)

I dont think youre able to pull gun out of enemys hand, but I am quite sure you can pick at least headcra[pb] up (maybe not soldiers due to weight limit?).

 

[NiteStalker]

The soldier can't be limited because of the weight. Do you remember when Gordon picks up a corps in the tech video? It has the same weight as a living guy...

 

[Reiska]

Originally posted by NiteStalker
The soldier can't be limited because of the weight. Do you remember when Gordon picks up a corps in the tech video? It has the same weight as a living guy...

It was tech demo, they might have tuned weight-limits to balance real gameplay. And it would propably need more energy to hold struggling-back soldier in the air compared to dead one.
I think it would be SO cool to pick enemy up and throw him at his buddies so they'd all tumble like cones with rag-doll physics :cheese: :cheese:

 

[Jagermeister]

Thanks for posting, Zerox :thumbs:

 

[EVIL]

the weapon used At the corpse in the demo wasnt the manipulator. anyway.. I think you CAN lipt a weapon from a dead corpse before a combine can grap it and trow it away so it can defend himself. and I think snarks can be picked up. that would be fun for multiplayer.. seeing snarks launched in the air.

 

[FireBall]

But the gun "opens" so slowly, i think it would be difficult to pick enemies up

 

[Skull]

Thanks Zerox, all news we can find is welcome =D

-Skull

 

[Zerox]

Np, i'll post anything i find in this forum.

 

[The Mullinator]

Well this ends the big question of whether there will be Co-op play.

 

[Idolon]

hmm...
About this:

GABE: If you can destroy something it may be useful but it can't be critical to completing the game.

Does that mean that some things of the same material are breakable while other things aren't or that they simply make all the critical things in unbreakable materials?

 

[djkanuk]

Does that mean that some things of the same material are breakable while other things aren't or that they simply make all the critical things in unbreakable materials?

There will still have to be "critical" gameplay elements that need to be protected from the realism of the game engine to ensure players enjoyment of the game. All games do this. There are always areas that you can't go, that 'open' up later in the game, for example. The key to good game design is to make these limitations seem natural and not artificially imposed. Locked metal doors are a staple in FPS games for such purposes.

I'm sure that Valve will do a really good job in ensuring a realistic, challenging, and rewarding gaming experience. We probably won't even notice most of these limitations. The metal walls of the citadel in City 17 are surely made out of some super indestructible alien alloy. And that's the way it should be, because it would be no fun if we could just go everywhere and do everything right from the beginning of the game by blasting a big enough hole in something. While at the same time, we don't want to be stuck, unable to complete the game, because we accidentally blew up some bridge with our grenade launcher.

 

[urseus]

Same in red faction.

Its just better that way in my opinion. You play the game for the fun the game makers want you to have. You can start up any game really and break shit and make explositons.

I dont know about you guys, but im starting to look forward to this game.

 

[Bad^Hat]

I think with the manipulator question he's answered it really nicely Still not revealing any details just 'see for yourself' i like it.

 

[ShadowJustice]

It needs a lot of balance work to balance a game were you can destroy things. It seems limitating if you can destroy a bridge to stop hostile miltary personel and then you will have to find a key to open a door.

I hope in the game there will be none situations that feels limitating.

From the vids, it's seems that city 17 is a more non-linear location to explore opposed to Black Mesa Research Facility... the more obvious thing is that you will not have a lot of big explosives at the beginning, and your grenades will be too weak to damage those metal walls (wich i hope are not made of super indestructable alien alloy.... i'm not saying that i want to destroy every possible wall, just that it would suck if the combine actually has super indestructable walls..).

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

thanks for the Q&A...but

GABE: If you can destroy something it may be useful but it can't be critical to completing the game.

notice how Gabe as typical Game designer(or politician) doesn't directly answer the question...we'll have to assume that the ramp isn't breakable although it's pillars are wooden.

if it looks like wood, it breaks like wood, it scrapes like wood, it floats like wood...

except for those pillars and other critical stuff.(now I can see why because you don't wanna be stuck in the game...but that's not the point)

I hate special cases, too.

hip hooray for hypocrisy! or well...not nescesarily...he can still hate "special cases" and still have them in HL2...it's just dumb to point it out then IMO.

 

[votka]

Maybe, but the wood they shot in the demo was only thin planks not wooden pillars - it would take some time for Gordon to hack through them

Like djkanuk said, there have to be some limitations on what we can do, and some linear elements to the game because overall we will still be playing through the story, just that in Half Life 2 our presence will have more of an impact than in Half Life.

 

[NiteStalker]

Mullinator, Gabe said there won't be any Co-op by Valve, but they may work with mod teams and together make it.

And about materials and Gabe's answer, I think there won't be any undestroyable materials (unless they are titanium or steel or something), but there will always be a way to get further acces, like if the bridge is destroyed, there will be another way up...

 

[Zerox]

Have you guys read these two interviews with Gabe Newell?

http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=14716

http://www.gamingnext.com/articles/index.asp?id=17

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

thx for the heads up!

 

[urseus]

Originally posted by PriNcE oF SpAcE
notice how Gabe as typical Game designer(or politician) doesn't directly answer the question...we'll have to assume that the ramp isn't breakable although it's pillars are wooden.

except for those pillars and other critical stuff.(now I can see why because you don't wanna be stuck in the game...but that's not the point)

Well you know there are wooden doors that wont shatter from a hand gun bullet. Extreamly thick oakwood pillars would stand up to a hand grenade, and even possibly a rocket launcher. They could use unbreakable looking wood on ramps, and just not supply you with anything capable of breaking it at that point in the game.

Also if they dont want you to break something (ie they dont want people saying ohh what a shitty game i broke this ramp now i cant contine this crappy game) they will make it out of steal. Quite simple.

Totally imersive and completly breakable environments would ruin a single player experience. The whole point of single player is to be an interactive movie, ie your participating in somone elses idea and story. This is why a red faction engine would not work on MP. Not to do with lag or anything, but because it would ruin the gameplay. The map at the end would just be a flat piece of land.

Im a big fan of HIGHLY breakable environments, but complete realism is something i hope never becomes the standard in or MP games.

 

[The Mullinator]

Originally posted by NiteStalker
Mullinator, Gabe said there won't be any Co-op by Valve, but they may work with mod teams and together make it.

I meant there probably won't be anymore questions about it other than something like WHO will be making it. There is going to be co-op just not something that is completely official from Valve.