Will Half Life 3 debut along with a new engine?

[flamingdts]

The first Half Life game debuted along with the GoldSrc engine.
Half Life 2 debuted along with the Source engine.

The Source engine is getting old, and I doubt Half Life 3 will still be running on Source by the time it comes out. My question is, will Valve release HL3 along with a new engine, or will another game debut along with a new engine before the release of HL3?

If Valve is release a new engine together with Half Life 3, then for the next 4-6 years (after EP3) Valve will have to keep the current source engine as graphically appealing as possible (if they decide to release new games), but there is only so much you can improve upon before it's obviously dated.

 

[Dynasty]

There's only one reason they would keep the Source Engine now; compatability.

It runs on such a vast array of computer specs that it makes their games more appealing to the non-hardcore gamers. Which is a huge financial advantage.

However, if they WERE to release HL3 or even Episode 3 on the same, albeit slightly tweaked, Source Engine they used on EP2, then the critics would rip them to shreds.

They'd admit the game was amazing, like usual from Valve, but scores and awards would suffer pretty damn badly (in my opinion) due to the, like you say, out-dated-..ness (?) of the engine.

Now alot of gamers out there really dont care about critic reviews. They will buy a game the day it comes out if they have been waiting for it, and will already have a score in their heads before release. Especially a Valve game. Lets face it, no matter what Valve do, we WILL be buying EP3 and/or HL3 regardless of the wait.

Its a case of ''Well the world don't move to the beat of just one drum, what might be right for you, may not be right for some''.

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Honestly, I think that Source is Valve's staple, their flagship. They will use it for as long as they can, because they made it so modular and workable. Look how it started and how it is now, they can keep modifying it, plus, it's faster than making a new engine.

I don't see your basis on how the critics would rape them if they released on source, it's a perfectly good engine that does everything that they want it to, I think you're just looking for things to nitpick.

 

[Krynn72]

I really can't see it staying the way it is with EP2. Even if they updated it the same amount as they have already since hl2, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy people. I think we'll see a major overhaul to make it competitive with games of 2015 (no way we're seeing it until then at earliest), if not a full blown Source2.

Didn't vote in the poll because none of the options make sense in response to the question.

 

[flamingdts]

I really can't see it staying the way it is with EP2. Even if they updated it the same amount as they have already since hl2, it wouldn't be enough to satisfy people. I think we'll see a major overhaul to make it competitive with games of 2015 (no way we're seeing it until then at earliest), if not a full blown Source2.

Didn't vote in the poll because none of the options make sense in response to the question.

I phrased the title and the poll question differently, but they are both saying the same thing. I'll admit the "Yes" answer needed a little more clarification though. A new wave of mods as in a new wave of mods using the new engine.

The other two options should speak for itself. Either another Valve game will introduce a new engine before HL3 is released or HL3 will still be running on the current engine by the time of release.

 

[besTechBG]

I don't think they will make a completely new Source Engine, but they will surely tweak it to no end. But I'm sure they will keep their base on the Source engine.

 

[AtomicSpark]

Half-life 2: Episodes = Half-life 3

 

[besTechBG]

Half-life 2: Episodes = Half-life 3

VALVe has already stated that the episodes are NOT Half-Life 3 :dozey: and that they will end the current story with Episode 3. If they make Half-Life 3 it will still be in the Half-Life universe, but it will probably be withouth the current characters and story arc. Perhaps it will be about the 7 hours war or something like that :dork:.

 

[AtomicSpark]

I think that Aftermath was almost a temporary name. I always thought of it as Episodes One through Three because that's how we planned the products out. I think people thought we'd need a name for them, and Aftermath ended up being more confusing than helpful. Probably a better name for it would have been Half Life 3: Episode One, but these three are what we're doing as our way of taking the next step forward...

http://pc.ign.com/articles/711/711560p1.html

More sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2#Expansions_and_modifications
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_valve_060606

 

[Dynasty]

I don't see your basis on how the critics would rape them if they released on source, it's a perfectly good engine that does everything that they want it to, I think you're just looking for things to nitpick.

It's a critic's job to nitpick. Critics can make or break something in a single paragraph. Look at the food industry; restaurants get shut down every day due to poor reviews.

Games with poor reviews usually hang around for a while, do surprisingly well in some cases, but then just melt away into the pages of history if they're lucky. Most just get totally forgotten.

And it is completely our, as consumers, fault. We want more. We want something new, something that hasnt been done before.

Look at Bioshock 2 for example. Bioshock was an awesome game, Bioshock 2 comes along and doesnt actually change anything, so gets a lower score. People DONT buy it (and the figures apparently prove that when compared to the sales of the first game in the same time period) and the company suffers for it. Maybe not financially, but subconciously. Its a scar on their image that can never be removed.
The next time you see a game by 2K Marin and/or Irrational Games, you're GOING to think 'Hmm, Bioshock 2 wasnt all that great, wonder if theyve made a great game here or not'. Even if its just for a second and you shrug it off, you've still acknowledged the tarnished image. And thats enough to make you put the case back on the shelf and buy something else. All because of a single 'bad' review.

And thats the case Valve faces. We want something new every time, so if you keep producing stuff on the same engine, people WILL get bored.

They may still go ahead and buy it as we are all Valve fanboys (though why people still buy Halo for example is COMPLETELY beyond me - and yes I know Valve didnt do Halo!) and will love it, but I guarantee you at some point you will be running around thinking 'I've seen all this before', and realise its out-dated and slightly bland.

The engine used is arguably the, or atleast one of the, biggest, most influential part of the product. It can make or break a game regarding sales.

Look at STALKER. It had a fantastic concept, great ideas, great use of the time period, was pretty damn fun to play, but was completely let down by a shockingly crap engine. BUT it did something we had never seen before; survival in an fps game.

Then there's Crysis. Crysis had one of the worst stories in an FPS I had ever seen, and I thought it was incredibly generic, but I personally carried on playing because it looked too damn pretty and it was fun to blow trees apart.
I had to sell my grandma's cat to buy a card powerful enough to run it, for sure, but it was all down to the engine that influenced my purchase.
BUT it did something we had never seen before; a monumental leap forward in what technology can do in/to a game engine.

Valve are ontop in the atmosphere of a game, the story telling techniques, the perfect pacing and memorable characters and moments, theres no debating that; NOW they just need to make a big push to get with today's times and match the technology that is out there, keeping our consumer saliva in check.

We always want something new. If Valve don't give us change, the fire will burn that much dimmer until they fade away.

 

[flamingdts]

I had to sell my grandma's cat to buy a card powerful enough to run it

Please tell me you are joking.

 

[besTechBG]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/711/711560p1.html

More sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2#Expansions_and_modifications
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/i_valve_060606

How could this happen ?

I swear I've seen interviews with Gabe saying that there will be Half-Life 3 after the episodes. :hmph

Or maybe I'm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McAeQiLmEYU&feature=related :upstare:

 

[Dynasty]

Please tell me you are joking.

Dont worry young padawan, learning you are.

Understanding sarcasm on these forums in time, you will learn.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Teeeeeext

HL2's story, atmosphere and gameplay had little to do with the engine. If Valve had used UE3 to make HL2, it would still have been the same game, with a better renderer.

 

[flamingdts]

Dont worry young padawan, learning you are.

Understanding sarcasm on these forums in time, you will learn.

Indeed, internet sarcasm is hard to detect. I'm afraid such things can never be properly learnt.

HL2's story, atmosphere and gameplay had little to do with the engine. If Valve had used UE3 to make HL2, it would still have been the same game, with a better renderer.

The engine had a lot to do with a character's facial expression and game atmosphere though. Despite the age of the source engine, the facial details of the engine are still unmatchable.

 

[Shift]

I personally think there will be a new engine being made. But a mere update of the source engine, with a truely epic game won't really affect the reviews, because even though engine is outdated, its still miles better than others out there even now.

 

[Dynasty]

Its exactly because of that, the fact that it is outdated (2001 was it?), regardless of how good it is, that the single chink in the armour will be ripped open.

I for one would be extremely dissapointed with Valve if they released EP3 with EP2's engine.

I'd be playing EP3 thinking ''We've had to wait HOW long for THIS!?''

HL2's story, atmosphere and gameplay had little to do with the engine. If Valve had used UE3 to make HL2, it would still have been the same game, with a better renderer.

But wouldn't the story have been affected based on the limitations of the engine?

Like turning around and saying 'well we want to put in x, but the engine is only capable of doing y'.

 

[Krynn72]

The source engine is far more limiting than the unreal engine. And as far as the story goes, no it wouldnt affect it anyways. It would just affect the presentation of it.

 

[Sparta]

I wouldn't be surprised if they make a Source 2.0 for Half-life 3.

 

[TectonInd]

Trust me, they're going to update the source engine if they have any sense. Too bad it's going to leave lower end computers in the dust. ;(