6 ms·

A criminally overlooked feature of this game is the release of the dev tools used to make maps and mods. Giving the tools away for such a powerful base game is

A criminally overlooked feature of this game is the release of the dev tools used to make maps and mods. Giving the tools away for such a powerful base game is what gave HL1 and HL2 it's incredible staying power.

kody 7y ago
I completely agree. This site is the first I've read of the new dev tools, and I'm excited to see what the community builds on Source 2.
taurath 7y ago
Absolutely - the engine is the real product here.
vorpalhex 7y ago
That is exactly what turns me from a maybe to absolutely buying this. Even if the base game is disappointing, the mods to come will be excellent.
squarefoot 7y ago
Agreed. That helped also to make gems such as Black Mesa, a 100% fan made recreation of the first HL using HL2 engine and graphics. I wonder what would become of this game if they added a proper story, characters interactions, NPCs, subplots etc. (think Mass Effect style). Here's a full walkthrough for those living under a rock when it came out:*) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFEN4x9Xao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFEN4x9Xao
- the_af 7y ago
  Thanks for posting! Impressive. By the way, back then I really liked the first stages of HL2 -- the dystopian intro absolutely rocks -- but eventually had to stop playing, partly because it was getting too long, and partly because of motion sickness. This really took me by suprise because I was a gamer, had enjoyed the original HL without problems... and suddenly there was a new breed of 3D games where I got motion sickness and had to quit. I distinctly remember two games that made me almost throw up when playing: HL2 and Jedi Outcast. I was wondering if it was simply a stage of my life, so I decided to watch your video and... instant motion sickness. I think it has something to do with the jerky point of view and the rapid motion, but also something about how the "lens" of the viewport deforms the image near the borders. Does it happen to anyone else? :(
  - squarefoot 7y ago
    "so I decided to watch your video and... instant motion sickness." That was the effect it gave to me too. I believe it's due to the the player moving the field of view rapidly: I played this game less than a year ago and experienced none of this. Being in control helps a lot as the brain knows we're moving and expects the view to change.
  - faitswulff 7y ago
    Could be just age related, as well. I didn't used to get motion sickness on swings as a kid, either. Now suddenly when I take my daughter to the park I can't stand 'em.
  - Baeocystin 7y ago
    I had much the same experience, and it bummed me out, because I really enjoyed the series. Two things basically eliminated the problem for me- first, like the other commenter said, increasing the FOV. The default is way too narrow, especially on modern widescreen displays. Adding another 10 or 20 degrees makes a noticeable improvement. The other change was to eliminate the head-bob while running. There's a console command that takes care of that. Between the two, I went from nausea within a couple of minutes to being able to play for half an hour+ with no issues. Hopefully this helps you, too!
    - the_af 7y ago
      Wow. Thanks. I'll definitely try this when I (inevitably) decide to revisit HL2 :)
  - Vomzor 7y ago
    It happened to me too and a lot of other players. [0] [0] https://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/11/24/half-life-2-motion-sickness-revisited https://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/11/24/half-life-2-motion-si... Changing the fov helps.
  - macjohnmcc 7y ago
    A game that gave me motion sickness but only when I watched someone else play was Turok on the Nintendo 64. Watching someone else play was sickening.
cmcd 7y ago
I remember everyone saying Blizzard would release map making tools for Overwatch like they did for Starcraft and Valve did for TF2/CSGO. Seems like a great way to add longevity to the game and the community content can even help fund the game.
- chungus_khan 7y ago
  I think a server browser and the ability to run community servers would be essential alongside that. Back when I was big into multiplayer PC games that whole scene was amazing fun, and is the reason even games like WolfET still survive in some form today.
- Nexxxeh 7y ago
  Workshop was huge, albeit late, addition for the community, even without a map editor. But even Blizz couldn't reliably make maps using their internal tools that kept Reaper where he was supposed to be.
  - cmcd 7y ago
    Was definitely a step in the right direction, they like to say their map making tools are too complex to release which is almost offensive. If employees can learn them then surely dedicated community members can figure out enough to get by. Community maps are never expected to be perfect and if one was ever picked up for the official rotation they could clean it up as needed.
    - blibble 7y ago
      they never said they were too complex (for people to understand) to release they said the tools are too tightly integrated into their authoring and content delivery systems if you watch a couple of videos where they reveal how it all works: this excuse seems plausible
    - pmichaud 7y ago
      I only do hobby gamedev, so I don't know what I'm talking about, but when I think of a tool that's "too complex" to release, I imagine not just a conceptually difficult thing, but a dangerous thing. For example, the editor lets you shoot yourself in the foot with a bunch of a esoteric considerations that don't really make sense, but the internal people know how to work around them more or less, like making sure that there's a dummy Bar for every Foo on the map, and that they are named in some crazy way, and that the name doesn't contain the "%" symbol, and you have to do that all manually and if you don't the host computer hard locks. Internally they solve this by hard-won intution about how to use the tool, plus a huge and thorough testing scheme. I think that's the key -- if the tool allows you to harm the user's computer in some way, then it's not a tool you can really release without polishing a lot more, to prevent the failure modes. And it's particularly bad if it's hard not to mess up.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
bluetidepro 7y ago
Overlooked? I'm confused... > "A set of Source 2 tools for building new environments will ship with the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy. Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game’s virtual reality gameplay tools and components." [0] They do have that feature coming with it? Or am I confused on what you are referring to? [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/ (appears in the description under the "Community-built environments" header) EDIT: I misread what you meant. Haha I thought you meant overlooked by their team, as if they didn't include it.
senectus1 7y ago
does this mean the potential for a "Garry's Mod VR?"
DEADBEEFC0FFEE 7y ago
It's not overlooked, it's mentioned in every related forum of discussion I have seen today.

kody 7y ago

I completely agree. This site is the first I've read of the new dev tools, and I'm excited to see what the community builds on Source 2.

taurath 7y ago

Absolutely - the engine is the real product here.

vorpalhex 7y ago

That is exactly what turns me from a maybe to absolutely buying this. Even if the base game is disappointing, the mods to come will be excellent.

squarefoot 7y ago

Agreed. That helped also to make gems such as Black Mesa, a 100% fan made recreation of the first HL using HL2 engine and graphics. I wonder what would become of this game if they added a proper story, characters interactions, NPCs, subplots etc. (think Mass Effect style). Here's a full walkthrough for those living under a rock when it came out:*) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFEN4x9Xao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brFEN4x9Xao

the_af 7y ago
Thanks for posting! Impressive. By the way, back then I really liked the first stages of HL2 -- the dystopian intro absolutely rocks -- but eventually had to stop playing, partly because it was getting too long, and partly because of motion sickness. This really took me by suprise because I was a gamer, had enjoyed the original HL without problems... and suddenly there was a new breed of 3D games where I got motion sickness and had to quit. I distinctly remember two games that made me almost throw up when playing: HL2 and Jedi Outcast. I was wondering if it was simply a stage of my life, so I decided to watch your video and... instant motion sickness. I think it has something to do with the jerky point of view and the rapid motion, but also something about how the "lens" of the viewport deforms the image near the borders. Does it happen to anyone else? :(
- squarefoot 7y ago
  "so I decided to watch your video and... instant motion sickness." That was the effect it gave to me too. I believe it's due to the the player moving the field of view rapidly: I played this game less than a year ago and experienced none of this. Being in control helps a lot as the brain knows we're moving and expects the view to change.
- faitswulff 7y ago
  Could be just age related, as well. I didn't used to get motion sickness on swings as a kid, either. Now suddenly when I take my daughter to the park I can't stand 'em.
- Baeocystin 7y ago
  I had much the same experience, and it bummed me out, because I really enjoyed the series. Two things basically eliminated the problem for me- first, like the other commenter said, increasing the FOV. The default is way too narrow, especially on modern widescreen displays. Adding another 10 or 20 degrees makes a noticeable improvement. The other change was to eliminate the head-bob while running. There's a console command that takes care of that. Between the two, I went from nausea within a couple of minutes to being able to play for half an hour+ with no issues. Hopefully this helps you, too!
  - the_af 7y ago
    Wow. Thanks. I'll definitely try this when I (inevitably) decide to revisit HL2 :)
- Vomzor 7y ago
  It happened to me too and a lot of other players. [0] [0] https://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/11/24/half-life-2-motion-sickness-revisited https://ca.ign.com/articles/2004/11/24/half-life-2-motion-si... Changing the fov helps.
- macjohnmcc 7y ago
  A game that gave me motion sickness but only when I watched someone else play was Turok on the Nintendo 64. Watching someone else play was sickening.

cmcd 7y ago

I remember everyone saying Blizzard would release map making tools for Overwatch like they did for Starcraft and Valve did for TF2/CSGO. Seems like a great way to add longevity to the game and the community content can even help fund the game.

chungus_khan 7y ago
I think a server browser and the ability to run community servers would be essential alongside that. Back when I was big into multiplayer PC games that whole scene was amazing fun, and is the reason even games like WolfET still survive in some form today.
Nexxxeh 7y ago
Workshop was huge, albeit late, addition for the community, even without a map editor. But even Blizz couldn't reliably make maps using their internal tools that kept Reaper where he was supposed to be.
- cmcd 7y ago
  Was definitely a step in the right direction, they like to say their map making tools are too complex to release which is almost offensive. If employees can learn them then surely dedicated community members can figure out enough to get by. Community maps are never expected to be perfect and if one was ever picked up for the official rotation they could clean it up as needed.
  - blibble 7y ago
    they never said they were too complex (for people to understand) to release they said the tools are too tightly integrated into their authoring and content delivery systems if you watch a couple of videos where they reveal how it all works: this excuse seems plausible
  - pmichaud 7y ago
    I only do hobby gamedev, so I don't know what I'm talking about, but when I think of a tool that's "too complex" to release, I imagine not just a conceptually difficult thing, but a dangerous thing. For example, the editor lets you shoot yourself in the foot with a bunch of a esoteric considerations that don't really make sense, but the internal people know how to work around them more or less, like making sure that there's a dummy Bar for every Foo on the map, and that they are named in some crazy way, and that the name doesn't contain the "%" symbol, and you have to do that all manually and if you don't the host computer hard locks. Internally they solve this by hard-won intution about how to use the tool, plus a huge and thorough testing scheme. I think that's the key -- if the tool allows you to harm the user's computer in some way, then it's not a tool you can really release without polishing a lot more, to prevent the failure modes. And it's particularly bad if it's hard not to mess up.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

bluetidepro 7y ago

Overlooked? I'm confused... > "A set of Source 2 tools for building new environments will ship with the game, enabling any player to build and contribute new environments for the community to enjoy. Hammer, Valve’s level authoring tool, has been updated with all of the game’s virtual reality gameplay tools and components." [0] They do have that feature coming with it? Or am I confused on what you are referring to? [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/546560/HalfLife_Alyx/ (appears in the description under the "Community-built environments" header) EDIT: I misread what you meant. Haha I thought you meant overlooked by their team, as if they didn't include it.

senectus1 7y ago

does this mean the potential for a "Garry's Mod VR?"

DEADBEEFC0FFEE 7y ago

It's not overlooked, it's mentioned in every related forum of discussion I have seen today.