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I don't know why comments here are so negative. I respect the fact that they realized they were not on their A game and were not going to be able to deliver a g

I don't know why comments here are so negative. I respect the fact that they realized they were not on their A game and were not going to be able to deliver a great, innovative game to the fans. Having been disappointed many times in the last decade or so with many half-finished disasters of a sequel (and not just in gaming!) I'm incredibly happy Valve did not cynically crank out a garbage Episode 3 to cash in, when they easily could have. Of course, my #1 preference would be to have a mind-blowing, innovative, and narratively satisfying Episode 3, but my #2 preference is to not have a garbage sequel tacked on that would make me resent even HL2 and E1/E2

bigstrat2003 2y ago
It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to understand. Everyone shares your #1 preference (obviously), but for many people their #2 preference would've been to get any ending at all even if it wasn't perfect. I didn't play the Half-Life series but I tend to agree with those people. A story not having an ending taints the entire affair such that I would rather have never started it at all. A mediocre, or even bad, ending is far better than nothing.
- simoncion 2y ago
  > It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to understand. You've explained it, and I expect OP already knew what you explained. It's still pretty incomprehensible. It's very, very strange that folks would rather have a shitty, low-quality, godawful ending to a high-quality multi installment story, rather than having the storywriters just walk away from a proven-to-be-high-quality, multi-installment project they know they can't make a good final installment for.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    I don't think "I disagree with these values" is the same as something being incomprehensible. I personally think it's bizarre that people want to have nothing versus having something flawed. It is imo a great example of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. To me, that is tantamount to saying "I would rather that this series be retroactively ruined than have a flawed ending". But even with all that, I understand your position. I disagree with your values (strongly!), but that doesn't mean I can't comprehend them.
- orwin 2y ago
  I personally like when stories finish on a small cliffhanger, I like to imagine the end myself.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    I think it's fine to not have every detail spelled out. For example, the ending to the Wheel of Time books gives some hints at things that the characters will be doing in the future, as well as showing some tantalizing mysteries which Jordan was wise enough to not explain to us. But the main story of the series needs to be resolved. For example I can't recommend anyone read ASOIAF, despite the books we have being truly excellent, because we're never going to get that resolution and it just sours the experience.
- graynk 2y ago
  For me it‘s completely the other way around, and I’m glad they held off from releasing just anything. > A story not having an ending taints the entire affair such that I would rather have never started it at all. That has never stopped me from replaying both Half-Life’s 3 or 4 times and I never felt that I’d rather not have played it. > A mediocre, or even bad, ending is far better than nothing. On the opposite, I will never re-watch Game of Thrones just because I now know it was all leading up to an incredible disappointment.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    > On the opposite, I will never re-watch Game of Thrones just because I now know it was all leading up to an incredible disappointment. Sure. That ending (and the last 2-3 seasons for that matter) was truly awful. But at the same time, that's at least better than what we're getting with the books, which is a whole lot of nothing. I don't see myself rereading ASOIAF because of the same reason: it's leading up to an incredible disappointment. Between the two disappointments, I would rather have the GoT style than the ASOIAF style.

bigstrat2003 2y ago

It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to understand. Everyone shares your #1 preference (obviously), but for many people their #2 preference would've been to get any ending at all even if it wasn't perfect. I didn't play the Half-Life series but I tend to agree with those people. A story not having an ending taints the entire affair such that I would rather have never started it at all. A mediocre, or even bad, ending is far better than nothing.

simoncion 2y ago
> It doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to understand. You've explained it, and I expect OP already knew what you explained. It's still pretty incomprehensible. It's very, very strange that folks would rather have a shitty, low-quality, godawful ending to a high-quality multi installment story, rather than having the storywriters just walk away from a proven-to-be-high-quality, multi-installment project they know they can't make a good final installment for.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  I don't think "I disagree with these values" is the same as something being incomprehensible. I personally think it's bizarre that people want to have nothing versus having something flawed. It is imo a great example of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. To me, that is tantamount to saying "I would rather that this series be retroactively ruined than have a flawed ending". But even with all that, I understand your position. I disagree with your values (strongly!), but that doesn't mean I can't comprehend them.
orwin 2y ago
I personally like when stories finish on a small cliffhanger, I like to imagine the end myself.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  I think it's fine to not have every detail spelled out. For example, the ending to the Wheel of Time books gives some hints at things that the characters will be doing in the future, as well as showing some tantalizing mysteries which Jordan was wise enough to not explain to us. But the main story of the series needs to be resolved. For example I can't recommend anyone read ASOIAF, despite the books we have being truly excellent, because we're never going to get that resolution and it just sours the experience.
graynk 2y ago
For me it‘s completely the other way around, and I’m glad they held off from releasing just anything. > A story not having an ending taints the entire affair such that I would rather have never started it at all. That has never stopped me from replaying both Half-Life’s 3 or 4 times and I never felt that I’d rather not have played it. > A mediocre, or even bad, ending is far better than nothing. On the opposite, I will never re-watch Game of Thrones just because I now know it was all leading up to an incredible disappointment.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  > On the opposite, I will never re-watch Game of Thrones just because I now know it was all leading up to an incredible disappointment. Sure. That ending (and the last 2-3 seasons for that matter) was truly awful. But at the same time, that's at least better than what we're getting with the books, which is a whole lot of nothing. I don't see myself rereading ASOIAF because of the same reason: it's leading up to an incredible disappointment. Between the two disappointments, I would rather have the GoT style than the ASOIAF style.