Vossey.com Interview with Doug Lombardi (French)

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Vossey.com, a French gaming site, has a new interview up with Doug Lombardi. The interview is in French, so if you don't happen to speak this language, you can click here for Google's attempt at the translation.

Here's a translated snippet:
Vossey.com: Can you assure us that HL2's release date is September 30th?

DL: Yes. There is no change in the date. The date of September 30 is worldwide. Including in France and England.

Vossey.com: How will you go about releasing HL 2?

DL: There will be two possible ways to buy HL 2: the traditional method (your preferred retailer) or via Steam (Internet). For those which choose the traditional method, there will be several collectors packs. Steam will intervene constantly with HL 2: via Steam you will be able to update your game, acquire new mods (these mods could be paying or free).
Click to expand...
Difficult read, but it's worth it.

Update: Thorinos and Morbo have posted their translations in the comments. Thanks!
 
SpuD change your URL to Vossey.com. You wrote vossy.com : )
 
Using my "french skillz", I cleaned up the quote so it's totally readable.
 
My translation. I'm not a pro with translation french to english but I do my best for you. I'm speaking french so, I knew what I wrote.


Vossey.com: One month left for the HL2 release and right now we have no demo, no HL2 playable demo for press and its the same video from E3. Why Valve keep info for itself ?

DL: We want the player to discover the game, weapons and story by himself. Yo gonna have all the infomations when HL2 is release.

Vossey.com: We have seen a lot of HL2 in-game screenshot but no menu and no interface screenshots.

DL: Indeed, like I said as front, we leave the surprise to the player.

Vossey.com : Mods like CS, DoD, TFC are very supported by Valve. How will that occur for CS 2 and DoD 2 (which will be under the engine of HL 2) for example?

DL: Valve wants to intensify its support for the mods. For CS, DoD and TFC, members of the team work now on our premises. Moreover, we continue the MOD Expo to support the others mods. We wish to help people who want to make a MOD in their providing tools and services that they could not have. No date is advanced for CS 2, DoD 2 etc...
[ Note: Doug Lombardi did not want anything to say to us on the progress report ]

Vossey.com : Will Half-Life 2 be developed on other platforms?

DL: Yes, in particular on Xbox. The game should be available on Xbox but not before 2004. The partnership with Microsoft is not exclusive and we will also see on the future consoles of Sony and Nintendo.

Vossey.com : Will it be able to finally see a playable version of Half-Life 2 at the presentation in Alcatraz ?

DL: It will be necessary to be there to know...

Vossey.com : Thank you to have answered these questions.
 
Hum, I did a translation before seeing Thorinos'. I will post mine anyway cuz I don't want to feel like I wasted my time. Of course since english is my second language there is probably some mistakes, so feel free to correct it. The original text was badly written, probably translated too... anyway, here's my translation.

Vossey.com : Many people are interested by this question and to be sure I prefer to ask you this question directly : can you confirm the September 30th release date of HL2?

DL : Yes. There has been no changes to the initial date. The September 30th date concerns the whole world. In France and England as well. [Note from the translator: This last sentence is hard to translate. It just means it will be in every country.]

Vossey.com : How will you release HL 2?

DL : There will be two ways to buy HL 2 : the classical way (at your favorite store) or via Steam (Internet). For those who choose the classical way, there will be many collector packs.
Steam will constantly be used with HL2 : via Steam you will be able to upgrade your game, get new mods (these mods will be free or not).

Vossey.com : We are one month before the release of HL2. No official demo, no playable version of HL2 available : just the same video seen at the E3 (may 2003). Why don’t you give more information about HL2?

DL : We want the player to discover the game, the story, the weapons, etc… You will have all the details when the game will be released.

Vossey.com : We have seen many screenshots of Half-Life 2, but none of the menus, interface or anything else.

DL : Right, as previously said, we let the surprise to the player.

Vossey.com : Mods like CS, DoD, TFC are more than supported by Valve. How will it work for mods like CS 2 and DoD 2 (that will run on HL2 engine) for example?

DL : Valve wants to give more support for the mods. For CS, DoD et TFC, some team members are currently working with us. And we continue the Mod Expo to support the other mods. We wish to help people who want to make a mod by giving them tools and services that they couldn’t have otherwise. There is currently no release dates for CS 2, DoD 2 etc...
[Note : Doug Lombardi didn’t want to say anything about the development stage of these projects.]

Vossey.com : Will Half-Life 2 be released on other platforms?

DL : Yes, notably on Xbox. The game will be available on Xbox but not until 2004. The partnership with Microsoft isn’t exclusive and we will also see this game on the next consoles by Sony and Nintendo.

Vossey.com : During the Alcatraz presentation, will we finally see a playable version of Half-Life 2?

DL : Be there and you’ll see...

Vossey.com : Thanks for your answers.
Click to expand...
 
Okay, here's my translation. I've reworded a lot of it, to make more sense, but I believe it's the easiest to read...

Vossey.com: Many people would like to know the answer to this question, so I'd like to ask you directly: Can you confirm September 30th as the release date for Half-Life 2?

DL: Yes, the worldwide release date is still September 30th.

Vossey.com: How will we be able to get Half-Life 2?

DL: There will be two ways to get Half-Life 2. There is the normal way (At a retailer) or you can download Half-Life 2 via STEAM. There will be several Collectors' Editions for those who buy it at a retailer.
STEAM will be used constantly in Half-Life 2. Using STEAM, you can update Half-Life 2, or you can download MODs. (Which can be for free, or can cost money.)

Vossey.com: We're within a month of Half-Life 2's release, and there is no official demonstration, nor a playable demo. All we have is the E3 video from May. Why aren't you giving out any new information?

DL: We want the game to be a suprise. We want the players to discover the story, the gameplay, the weapons, etc... on their own. You'll see once the game has been released.

Vossey.com: We've seen many screenshots of Half-Life 2, but none of them contain the new menus.

DL: Indeed. We want to keep that a suprise, as well.

Vossey.com: MODs like Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic are heavily supported by VALVe. What will MOD support be like in Half-Life 2? (For example, CS2 and DoD2.)

DL: VALVe wants to support MODs better than before. The development teams for Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress Classic work on the VALVe premises, for example. We'll also continue hosting MOD Expos for other MODs. We'd like to help those interested in creating MODs as much as possible, such as providing tools and services that they, normally, could not have.

As for Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat 2, we have no information as of yet. (Note: He didn't seem to want to discuss the MODs' progress.)

Vossey.com: Can we expect to see Half-Life 2 available on other platforms?

DL: Yes. XBox in particular, which should be available before 2004. However, it will not be exclusive to the XBox. We're also looking in to getting it on to future Sony and Nintendo consoles.

Vossey.com: At the Alcatraz presentation, will we finally get a chance to see a playable version of Half-Life 2?

DL: You'll have to be there, to see.

Vossey.com: Thank you for answering our questions.
Click to expand...
 
There will be several Collectors' Editions for those who buy it at a retailer ...

i sure want to know what collectors edition :cheese: and what the difference is
 
Originally posted by Hish
There will be several Collectors' Editions for those who buy it at a retailer ...

i sure want to know what collectors edition :cheese: and what the difference is
Click to expand...

I think he meant several different boxes. Like the ones at E3.
 
Fragmaster on Sept. 30:

"There are no Half-Life 2 release today. Never!"
 
Originally posted by LoneDeranger
Fragmaster on Sept. 30:

"There are no Half-Life 2 release today. Never!"
Click to expand...

ROTFL!

Fragmaster Minister of Defense for Forum Planet:


"I triple guarantee you, there is no Sept 30 release."

"They're not even [within] 100 miles [of a release]. They are not in any place. This is an illusion, they are trying to sell to the others an illusion."

"I have detailed information about the situation, which completely proves that what they allege are illusions. They lie every day."

"You can go and visit those places (gaming stores). Nothing there, nothing at all. Everything is okay."

"Valve employees, they always depend on a method what I call, stupid, silly. All I ask is check yourself. Do not in fact repeat their lies."

"The Valve press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!"

"Lying is forbidden in Forum Planet. Fragmaster will tolerate nothing but truthfulness, I am a man of great honor and integrity. Everyone is encouraged to speak freely of the truths evidenced in their eyes and hearts."

"Let the Vavle infidels bask in their illusion"
 
Who cares about this guys opinion? We have 10 thousand other guys just like him. I think he just want to 'stand out' and be noticed.
 
I think the fragmaster fascination is not so much as him wanting to stand out as the online community are wanting to see if this guy will own up to being wrong if proven so.

I think Fragmaster had a good case in the begining. Computer games get delayed all the time, and Fragmaster was placing a "safe bet" by saying HL2 will not come out time, he knew he had the law of average on his side. The rewards for making such a claim would make him seem "in the know" to others online.

However, as Valve continues to say they are on schedule for Sept 30 release, FragMaster's pride is having to kick in. He is actually willing to say Valve, the company making Half Life 2, does not know what they are talking about and he alone is right.

Which brings us to the point where people keep talking about Fragmaster which is, people want to see him proved wrong. That is all.
 
Frag claimed to have some sort of solid insider information. That was the problem: plenty of other people speculated about there being a delay, but Frag claimed that he KNEW there was a delay... even though he refused to say why or how he knew. That was what made him a center of attention.
 
Yeah, I'd love to know "insider information" he has that even Valve themselves don't know!
 
But the fragmaster has a point there. I've checked it as well... No retailer has any information on a date for halflife2 to occur. And they do have dates for other games which are planned for october and even november. Also: where is the editor which would be released before the worlwide release of HL2? There's still no sign of that!

Sure, I'm also hoping -very much- that HL2 will be released on september 30th, but frankly I do not believe in it more than 30%...
 
Originally posted by DENNIS79
But the fragmaster has a point there. I've checked it as well... No retailer has any information on a date for halflife2 to occur. And they do have dates for other games which are planned for october and even november. Also: where is the editor which would be released before the worlwide release of HL2? There's still no sign of that!

Sure, I'm also hoping -very much- that HL2 will be released on september 30th, but frankly I do not believe in it more than 30%...
Click to expand...

Christ when will ppl like you stop whining..Its coming for gods sake...

The sdk was'nt meant to be public, only for selected mods, and that has already happened. So mod teams that do CS/DOD etc. already have the sdk.

30%...Hahaha omg you believe in something in percentages??11 HAHAHA thats rich dude...oh well then i only believe about 45% that there's a god and an afterlife. Jeeeez dude.

Retailers have ****ing squad to say, valve has kept telling us the 30th is the release date....you can either believe that or stay a naive and ignorant peon!1

As for fragsmaster, well that moron is as clueless as you are, if at anything he's totally lying now since 2 valve employees have reassured us about the 30th.[/rant]
 
Originally posted by scribblehead
Christ when will ppl like you stop whining..Its coming for gods sake...

The sdk was'nt meant to be public, only for selected mods, and that has already happened. So mod teams that do CS/DOD etc. already have the sdk.

30%...Hahaha omg you believe in something in percentages??11 HAHAHA thats rich dude...oh well then i only believe about 45% that there's a god and an afterlife. Jeeeez dude.

Retailers have ****ing squad to say, valve has kept telling us the 30th is the release date....you can either believe that or stay a naive and ignorant peon!1

As for fragsmaster, well that moron is as clueless as you are, if at anything he's totally lying now since 2 valve employees have reassured us about the 30th.[/rant]
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I do not understand why you have to take my post this personal and I also don't really understand why you have to act like such an ass over this...

First of all the sdk is meant to come out public for everyone and I didn't actually meant that it should've been here already, but at least they could have give us some info on when the sdk will be realeased. BTW the only mod teams (three mod teams: CS, DoD and TFC) which are working already with the sdk are working for and get payed by valve.

Second, the phrase about you laughing about the percentages... I mean LOL, damn why did you even bother? Are you really such a little kid...

Third... I'm not whining, I'm just little more realistic and not getting my hopes up too much. And if someone is naive, then it must be you who is... Why would a retailer lie about a release date? So he can make money only a month later? And if you really think that developers won't lie about release dates... then were have you been in the past 4-8 years? Please tell me now who is the naive and ignorant person?

What I'm trying to make clear is that it could be true that valve will be releasing HL2 on the 30th of september, but all signs point to another direction, the direction of delay...

P.S. There won't be any chance for a god for you, not even 45%, if you use the name of Christ in your posts... ;)
 
Originally posted by scribblehead
Lol yeah whatever dude, even a 10 year old could spot my sarcasm....
Click to expand...

missed the "talk to my hand" phrase...

Still don't know why you take all these posts about HL2 this personal. Just like you I'm also waiting a long time already for HL2 and sincerely hope it will hit the stores on september 30th, but I'm just not that positive about it like you. You base your opinion on two interviews and I base mine on the lack of other news on HL2.

Let's just hope you are right and I am wrong, and I won't come back when I'm right to tell you "told you so", because I'll be just as pissed as you, as I'm also a fan of the game!
 
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