I had a tour at the Valve HQ recently, this is what I found out. - Games

You can take a screenshot of Google maps location history if you have that.

Well you basically said they are doing nothing so I believe you.

Going by how the discussion above went I'll just say I'll believe that you got a tour at Valve but I won't take any other word you've given as legit until you'll give at the very least a tiny bit of proof. As far as I know Valve does do tours and going by what wauterboi said they don't give a lot of info. on a side-note, I'm sure you'll understand people are being skeptical about you because you've just joined as "valvefriend" with no previous history here and you have no proof to back up your claims. and personally the fact that you went ahead through the entire process of registering just to post this one single thread kinda switches on a red light to me. What little info you've given doesn't seem that exciting either.

I'm pretty sure HL3 is just a sandbox for Valve at this point. They're waiting for some revolutionary gameplay element(s) like the gravity gun in 2004 or the portal gun in 2007 to live up to the expectation. We'll see an announcement when they're ready for one but that could be anywhere from tomorrow to a few decades from now.

[QUOTE=RaptorRed;50549702]Going by how the discussion above went I'll just say I'll believe that you got a tour at Valve but I won't take any other word you've given as legit until you'll give at the very least a tiny bit of proof. As far as I know Valve does do tours and going by what wauterboi said they don't give a lot of info. on a side-note, I'm sure you'll understand people are being skeptical about you because you've just joined as "valvefriend" with no previous history here and you have no proof to back up your claims. and personally the fact that you went ahead through the entire process of registering just to post this one single thread kinda switches on a red light to me. What little info you've given doesn't seem that exciting either.[/QUOTE] They do give info, like talking about how the hierarchy works at Valve, showing the server room, showing how the musicians and sound designers approach sound, showing us where the motion actors do their thing with the green screens and motion capture, offering me drinks from their awesome cafeteria... it's just that they're not going to tell you anything they wouldn't tell anyone else or feel comfortable telling someone what they've already said in there very few interviews. If you understand Valve and their artistic workflow, you'll understand why privacy and silence is very important. If you take those to things away and make their operations transparent, it [I]will[/I] hurt the employees, cause stress, and water down their creativity. And that's why I don't think even being a friend at Valve entitles you to information - at least not without an absolute trust that you won't sign up on a random forum and start leaking info. And, for the sake of argument, let's say one employee does spill the beans to a friend: you're being a shitty friend and fan if you're leaking that info. There's a lot more important things in this life than telling gamers about what's going on behind closed doors, and it'll probably make Valve even more reluctant to say anything as a whole. I'd be more willing to believe that you're just an eager liar than a bad person. [editline]19th June 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Darkwater124;50550157]I'm pretty sure HL3 is just a sandbox for Valve at this point. They're waiting for some revolutionary gameplay element(s) like the gravity gun in 2004 or the portal gun in 2007 to live up to the expectation. We'll see an announcement when they're ready for one but that could be anywhere from tomorrow to a few decades from now.[/QUOTE] The Half-Life series has always started with the engine, then the gameplay, then the story. They're working on the engine to provide a sturdy frame for the gameplay, which will then influence the story later down the line. [editline]19th June 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Nidhogg;50548294]Who visits Valve HQ and not take a single photo?[/QUOTE] I was very worried about taking photos because I didn't want to impose or seem like someone eager to leak stuff. It's already very self-fulfilling to see the place, and I didn't want to be the nosy guy leaking stuff. I didn't want them to feel like they were under surveillance by fans. My mom's eagerness was responsible for many of the photos, and she always asked for permission. They totally suggested we take pictures of the lobby and the turret though. A quick note for people who want a tour: don't be a dick. I don't want to toot my own horn, but you really have to understand that this is a work environment and they will turn you away if you feel entitled to a tour, or entitled to know information. If you're understanding and kind, they'll definitely be more friendly to you. They're people, not spectacles, and when we were talking to the person at the front desk, she tried her hardest to get us in even though it was inconvenient because they are constantly treated as if they should serve visitors and we didn't do that. When she initially turned us away, it was our understanding and happiness to even see the Valve logo that gave the distinction from the other fans, and started a conversation that eventually got us in.

I was at Valve on the 13th and didn't hear anything similar to what OP said. That said most of it sounds so minor I wouldn't be surprised if it were true.

Did you get a cookie from the cafeteria?

And does said cookie contain more than 2,000 calories within itself?

[QUOTE=Darkwater124;50550157]I'm pretty sure HL3 is just a sandbox for Valve at this point. They're waiting for some revolutionary gameplay element(s) like the gravity gun in 2004 or the portal gun in 2007 to live up to the expectation. We'll see an announcement when they're ready for one but that could be anywhere from tomorrow to a few decades from now.[/QUOTE] It wasn't the gravity gun that made HL2 "revolutionary", but the physics engine and its incorporation into gameplay. You could've still had the gravgun with much more rudimentary physics.

[QUOTE=Morbo!!!;50551182]It wasn't the gravity gun that made HL2 "revolutionary", but the physics engine and its incorporation into gameplay. You could've still had the gravgun with much more rudimentary physics.[/QUOTE]Yes, I agree. And I think that the gravity gun shows just how awesome the physics in the Source engine are.

I love how OP said nothing specifically revealing and there's assholes screaming NO PROOF! FAKE!!! Also anyone expecting a new Half-Life game anytime soon is fooling themselves

[QUOTE=Kylel999;50551414]I love how OP said nothing specifically revealing and there's assholes screaming NO PROOF! FAKE!!![/QUOTE]It's not like we're trying to be rude or anything, but skepticism is the most reasonable course of action in this case, since the OP did not provide any proof regarding his/her visit.

[QUOTE=Kylel999;50551414]I love how OP said nothing specifically revealing and there's [B]assholes[/B] screaming NO PROOF! FAKE!!! Also anyone expecting a new Half-Life game anytime soon is fooling themselves[/QUOTE] You're over-exaggerating. It's not like we started flinging shit at him. The skepticism about whether he did or didn't physically set foot in valve is probably the result of him just joining specifically to tell us he got a tour at valve and stating he has no evidence to back that claim. That's all. I am sure OP understands this too as he was actually pretty cool about everyone calling him out on not having any evidence.

Well, true or not - that portal thing sounds interesting. The Portal 2 map creator (not hammer, I mean the built-in tools) is pretty fun to prototype and get something going very quickly, I feel like it's a very small community often overlooked and more love is always a good thing.

While I'm not taking Portal 2 map porting for fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they were trying to get any franchises they want to work on again ported to the new engine to have a base to work from.

[QUOTE=Morbo!!!;50551182]It wasn't the gravity gun that made HL2 "revolutionary", but the physics engine and its incorporation into gameplay. You could've still had the gravgun with much more rudimentary physics.[/QUOTE] Psi-Ops (released half a year before HL2) had telekinesis, you could do basic stuff like with gravgun and it wasn't considered in any way revolutionary [img]http://www.the-nextlevel.com/reviews/xbox/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy-b.jpg[/img] Though you were able to do THIS [img]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_super/0/3683/840082-ss_preview_psi_ops_04.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=shott;50554715]Psi-Ops (released half a year before HL2) had telekinesis, you could do basic stuff like with gravgun and it wasn't considered in any way revolutionary [img]http://www.the-nextlevel.com/reviews/xbox/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy-b.jpg[/img] Though you were able to do THIS [img]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_super/0/3683/840082-ss_preview_psi_ops_04.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Well yeah that's exactly my point. The gravgun with or even without source's physics is nothing amazing.

[QUOTE=shott;50554715]Psi-Ops (released half a year before HL2) had telekinesis, you could do basic stuff like with gravgun and it wasn't considered in any way revolutionary [img]http://www.the-nextlevel.com/reviews/xbox/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy/psi-ops-mindgate-conspiracy-b.jpg[/img] Though you were able to do THIS [img]http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/scale_super/0/3683/840082-ss_preview_psi_ops_04.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] I think it's how all of these ideas intersect in Half-Life 2 as opposed to being one specific thing that made Half-Life 2 special. Half-Life 2 is made up of a spectacular engine for it's time plus great storytelling plus fun weapons. It's the entire equation you want to look at and not one variable.

There's no reason for people to be skeptical here since he didn't reveal anything. Caution is good, but sometimes it's clearly unwarranted. Nothing worthwhile came out of what this guy said, so there's no logical reason not to believe him.