Half-Life and Portal series, general discussion (v6) - Games

Has Valve ever actually stated if it's canon or not? All I can find is stuff saying Laidlaw said that Race X is purely a Gearbox creation but nothing really beyond that.

[QUOTE=Anderan;48710066]Has Valve ever actually stated if it's canon or not? All I can find is stuff saying Laidlaw said that Race X is purely a Gearbox creation but nothing really beyond that.[/QUOTE] From what I have heard, canonity of expansions is left ambiguous, so Valve may or may not bring stuff from them over to future games.

Pretty sure the nuke from OF is canon.

[QUOTE=TheRealRudy;48709943]I never got why Blue Shift is considered non canon, it doesn't mix up the lore that badly right? I can get around Opposing Force being non canon because of all the X race bullshit (wasn't a big fan of it), but Blue Shift uses largely base content and doesn't even touch the main story at all? I view Blue Shift myself canon though[/QUOTE] The expansions are canon. People seem to think they're non-canon because they weren't made by Valve directly and it hasn't been 'confirmed', despite being made with their permission and help. Games are canon unless it's said otherwise, not the other way around. Laidlaw saying that Race X aren't really something that he considers just means he's going to leave them alone and focus on what he knows and came up with himself. They're something limited to one game that were came up with for gameplay reasons and he thinks it's better if it stays that way rather than have to fit them into his view of things all the time, it has nothing to do with them being canon or not. [QUOTE=HL_Tentacle;48710133]From what I have heard, canonity of expansions is left ambiguous, so Valve may or may not bring stuff from them over to future games.[/QUOTE] They're canon, but what was included in them just might not be used again. That applies to everything in the HL games, though.

I thought the rule was canon until contradicted.

Isnt the general consensus that Barney fron BS and Barney from HL2 are the same person? Dont they even share the same page on Combine OverWiki?

[QUOTE=nightlord;48710288]The expansions are canon. People seem to think they're non-canon because they weren't made by Valve directly and it hasn't been 'confirmed', despite being made with their permission and help. Games are canon unless it's said otherwise, not the other way around. Laidlaw saying that Race X aren't really something that he considers just means he's going to leave them alone and focus on what he knows and came up with himself. They're something limited to one game that were came up with for gameplay reasons and he thinks it's better if it stays that way rather than have to fit them into his view of things all the time, it has nothing to do with them being canon or not. They're canon, but what was included in them just might not be used again. That applies to everything in the HL games, though.[/QUOTE] basically this laidlaw kind of has this disdain for the whole canon vs non-canon debate, and seems to like to look at the half life universe as the [I]video game[/I] universe it is. an entire alien species appearing only in one title isn't that odd in a video game series where all they served to do was introduce new, interesting enemy types.

Apparently even the Marc Laidlaw Vault thread turned into a debate about whether HL3 is canceled or not.

[QUOTE=WhyNott;48710510]Isnt the general consensus that Barney fron BS and Barney from HL2 are the same person? Dont they even share the same page on Combine OverWiki?[/QUOTE] It seems a bit complicated. I always thought that was the case, it makes sense. It might not be like that exactly, though. The Laidlaw Vault says this: [quote]Hi, Daniel, I won't be able to clear up much. It was a deliberate decision to have Gearbox never call him Barney in Blue Shift, only Calhoun. Raising the bar is not a game, so material is presented differently there; manifestations differ in every medium. Gearbox took our Barney and did their own best version, but I'm not sure that Barney is the same Barney I'm picturing when I picture Valve's Barney. In the time BS was created, there were many Barneys. Only gradually have the redundant creature and character types slowly settled into iconic individuals...it's an ongoing process. Gearbox did what was right for their games. Even though they had feedback and guidance from us, they didn't always listen to it, and they steered by their own lights, etc., etc. I wasn't very close to the creation of the expansion packs, and much more concerned with how to move the story forward and open up the universe; so I only take the games created by Valve into consideration when I am working on the story...there are more than enough potential contradictions in our own designs without me worrying about contradictions in the inventions of other developers who were not part of our initial creative meetings. I know this is confusing to fans; it's partly a byproduct of the way expansion packs were created, the way they were packaged and published, and also I was very new to this whole concept at the time. [/quote] Basically it looks like he's saying that the way Gearbox did him is not what Valve would have done with him, which is why he's only called B. Calhoun in blue shift. Not outright confirming it means they can easily change it if they want, but until that happens they seem to be the same person. Deciding to name the one in HL2 B. Calhoun as well would have been an odd choice if they didn't want to imply they were the same person.

[video=youtube;q4zr5Eq_F5g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4zr5Eq_F5g[/video]

That looks like the most fun VR demo ever.

The way Atlas falls apart is different each time, or so it seems. Is that really all physics driven? Neat.

[QUOTE=revan740;48712010]The way Atlas falls apart is different each time, or so it seems. Is that really all physics driven? Neat.[/QUOTE] nope. its an animation 1080p screens [t]http://i.imgur.com/2wTayGU.jpg[/t][t]http://i.imgur.com/IDtyVRk.jpg[/t][t]http://i.imgur.com/0h1mHDT.jpg[/t][t]http://i.imgur.com/JMOkKyR.jpg[/t]

[QUOTE=revan740;48712010]The way Atlas falls apart is different each time, or so it seems. Is that really all physics driven? Neat.[/QUOTE] I don't think it is, pay attention to a few of the big silver parts, they always get stuck in the same place. It's likely the Vulkan offline/baked physics.

[QUOTE=testinglol;48712121]nope. its an animation [/QUOTE] What do the QR codes in [url=http://i.imgur.com/IDtyVRk.jpg]this image[/url] say?

[QUOTE=testinglol;48712121]nope. its an animation 1080p screens [t]http://i.imgur.com/0h1mHDT.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] :wow:

I'm sure someone will claim those QR codes in the 2nd screenshot are part of a HL3 ARG and it'll end up being nothing as usual.

[QUOTE=nightlord;48712260]I'm sure someone will claim those QR codes in the 2nd screenshot are part of a HL3 ARG and it'll end up being nothing as usual.[/QUOTE] Probably just a funny robot eyesight related joke or something. :v:

[QUOTE=nightlord;48712260]I'm sure someone will claim those QR codes in the 2nd screenshot are part of a HL3 ARG and it'll end up being nothing as usual.[/QUOTE] probably another small easter egg. the demo is full of easter eggs

I think Gabe or someone said that they want to do something with Shephard Blue Shift can still be considered cannon because of the loophole that he's only referred to as "Calhoun" so it could be Barney's brother or something

[QUOTE=Sand Castle;48712433]Blue Shift can still be considered cannon because of the loophole that he's only referred to as "Calhoun" so it could be Barney's brother or something[/QUOTE]Valve (and Gearbox) has called him Barney Calhoun since the beginning: [url]http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/August26.2005/[/url] [url]http://store.steampowered.com/app/130/[/url]

here's an email i got from marc laidlaw about barney, and which one in black mesa he technically is email i sent: [img]http://i.imgur.com/ikjX101.png[/img] email i received: [img]http://i.imgur.com/60LSGjs.png[/img]

It's incredible to me that Marc is still willing and happy to answer lore questions after all this time.

I'm really upset that, with Valve's Vive thing, that HL3 will probably double-down on various VR 'gimmiks', if not being entirety built only for VR. On one hand VR is pretty freakin sweet and immersive, on the other hand it costs so much [B]MONEY[/B] and requires so much [B]EQUIPMENT[/B] to actually get to work smoothly. It's another level of overhead on top of having a Decent PC: Now you need the VIVE and a top-notch graphics card to be apart of the future of gaming. Maybe this is how it felt to have loads of cassettes in the 90's, everyone's moving over to CD's and you're getting nervous because you know that one day that there will no longer be a cassette option in the shop, and your old boom-box will be the next days special at the thrift shop.

[QUOTE=TheTrainRider;48714227]I'm really upset that, with Valve's Vive thing, that HL3 will probably double-down on various VR 'gimmiks', if not being entirety built only for VR. [/QUOTE] Do you [I]really[/I] think Valve is that stupid? Valve knows Half Life is not an experience you can deliver with VR, they've said time and time again that we still haven't figured out how to create good VR games, and we still don't have good VR input; they would not release their flagship title on VR.

[QUOTE=glitchvid;48714372]Do you [I]really[/I] think Valve is that stupid? Valve knows Half Life is not an experience you can deliver with VR, they've said time and time again that we still haven't figured out how to create good VR games, and we still don't have good VR input; they would not release their flagship title on VR.[/QUOTE] You say that, but HL2 was filled with physics gimmicks that aged terribly

[QUOTE=TheRealRudy;48709943]I never got why Blue Shift is considered non canon, it doesn't mix up the lore that badly right? I can get around Opposing Force being non canon because of all the X race bullshit (wasn't a big fan of it), but Blue Shift uses largely base content and doesn't even touch the main story at all? I view Blue Shift myself canon though[/QUOTE] I like to think that races like Race X were also dragged through portals to our dimensions, but the ones like the combine and the vortigaunts were the only ones that survived the trip.

[QUOTE=Sand Castle;48714943]You say that, but HL2 was filled with physics gimmicks that aged terribly[/QUOTE] So you're saying HL2 is [I]worse[/I] because it had physics? Adding physics to a game doesn't nearly have the same implications as making a VR game, nor is physics the only "gimmick" HL2 has.

[QUOTE=glitchvid;48715298]So you're saying HL2 is [I]worse[/I] because it had physics? Adding physics to a game doesn't nearly have the same implications as making a VR game, nor is physics the only "gimmick" HL2 has.[/QUOTE] not "physics", obtuse physics based puzzles that don't make sense anymore, which is a pretty sad thing for a series that a bunch of people still claim holds up well What I'm saying is it's not as if Valve has ever been opposed to "gimmicks", and Half Life has always kind of been a tech demo

[QUOTE=Sand Castle;48714943]You say that, but HL2 was filled with physics gimmicks that aged terribly[/QUOTE] The only gimmicky physics that I remember from HL2 is the cinderblock see-saw puzzle somewhere in the beginning.