Comments on: Episode Two Conjecture

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 19:11:08 +0000

OK, but SURELY Episode Three will be ALL ABOUT that classic character Cubbage.

By: Anna Harren

Anna Harren — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 02:35:25 +0000

I HAVE COME FROM THE FUTURE TO TELL YOU that wildly-off-predictions are really cute

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 09:11:07 +0000

Link – I have 365 comments awaiting moderation. I don’t know why I can’t whitelist certain posters.

By: Graham

Graham — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 07:36:22 +0000

Was my message deleted because it had a link in it, or because it was totally rubbish?

Or did I forget to post it again, because that keeps happening too…

By: Graham

Graham — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 19:32:55 +0000

To expand on what Dabs said a little, the game was originally meant to start with you on a boat. That was the arctic research vessel, but they opted instead for getting you into City 17 quicker. The boat ended up buried in the sand along the coast.

Early pre-release screenshots show it: http://www.hlfallout.net/media/albums/screenshots/boat.jpg

By: Dabs

Dabs — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:16:32 +0000

There’s just a bit in there that mantions how “aircract carriers, shipbuilding yards and arctic research vessels” were originally planned for HL2 and that “some of this material ended up scattered along the coast during the second day of Gordon Freeman’s journey, but much more remains ready to be exploited in further adventures.” Implying strongly that some of the ideas that were “cut” from Half-Life 2, probably including this arctic research vessel, are merely being kept on ice for episodes. Exciting stuff.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:05:50 +0000

I don’t remember that bit of Raising The Bar. What was the gist?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 16:01:42 +0000

only interesting plot point I managed to pick up on…in one of the commentary pieces, they reference the map where Judith is specifically as an Arctic map. And of course, there’s that story of the arctic level in Raising The bar, but that might have been rendered defunct by now, I can’t honestly remember…

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:31:05 +0000

The release date’s back to end of the year now – Doug Lombardi responded to the Spring date by reaffirming the original one.

By: Bobsy

Bobsy — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 09:28:50 +0000

Yeah, Black Mesa is a smoking ruin post-Opposing Force. But considering how much of the facility was underground, it's not far-fetched to say that some of it survived. But it does kinda rule out seeing some of the more iconic locations again, sadly.

And speaking of which: while I'm not a fan of OF, it'd be nice to see a return for Corporal Shepherd. He'd be great as a rebel, leading the army into a big final battle against the combine or something.

But the big bug I have with Episodes is the release date for Ep2. Do we know how long it's going to take? Because the only way I can see episodic content working is by cutting down the production time by a long way. Like, a two or three months between releases max.

By: Alex Hopkinson

Alex Hopkinson — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 07:28:10 +0000

Yeah, I originally typed some stuff about some of the wonderful sections outside in the open in HL2, before deleting them for incoherence. One of my favourite sections of the game is that first fight with the rocket launcher, which ends with everyone collapsing in exhaustion, mirroring how *you* feel (assuming you’re not playing it on easy or anything!). I hope for some equally excellent outside experiences in Ep 2.

By: Defragged

Defragged — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 13:13:38 +0000

Richard Hamer: I’m not sure a return to Black Mesa’s possible. Didn’t the G-Man nuke Black Mesa at the end of Opposing Force? Then again, it’s possible that some of it’s left, what with it being underground and all.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 23:59:48 +0000

Also: sorry B, your second post didn’t get through because it contained a link. I get a lot of comment spam, so my filters are pretty vicious.

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:36:58 +0000

Sorry Grill - I assumed my Episode One post would have pre-spoiled everyone. If you're referring to the Alyx thing, that's not an Ep1 spoiler per se - it's a reference to something shown in the Ep2 trailer. Nothing untoward befalls Alyx in Ep1, unless you screw up that lift section.

PCG US has come out with a load of new info on Ep2, some of which confirms a few of my theories. The new vehicle is a new car, a two-seater.

B - agreed about the G-Man, I should add that. This trilogy is supposed to be about the G-Man being angry with you, and so far he's done nothing. G-Man versus Vortigaunts is going to get very interesting - two giant unknowns.

Alex - Gabe says it's all about the outdoors this time. People seem to forget that they've done the outdoors with finesse already: Highway 17 was a vast stretch of open coast. I'm ezpecting something similar in size, but very different in feel. I love the atmosphere of the sections shown in the trailer. One of the reasons I think HL2&E is so much better than HL1 is that the sense of place is incredibly powerful.

By: Alex Hopkinson

Alex Hopkinson — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 21:58:25 +0000

I hope they open out the action again (as it’s at least partly in a woody area), resisting the urge to pen us back up in caves or bunkers as much as possible. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether they maintain the high quality without the crutch of City 17, which they’re clearly total masters of. I’ve enjoyed the hours spent shooting in those streets but I look forward to the outside again.

By: The_B

The_B — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 18:59:35 +0000

And I buggered up the line breaks in the list…

By: The_B

The_B — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 18:58:40 +0000

OK, some information now from this SteamPowered forum post which in turn in alledgedly from PCGUS. Both that link and the following are hugley spoilerific, so there’s your warning, Gril.

***SPOILERS FOLLOW***

– *NEW* Release estimate: Spring 2007
– Gravity Gun will get new functionality
– Alyx is alive
– Vortigaunts backstory will be more fleshed out
– More details about GMan will be revealed
– New vehicle will be introduced made by some guys in the woods.
– You will cover the same amount of locales as in HL2 and the new locales will have a much more realistic feel to them since they are based off real locations (missile silo, mine shaft, etc.)
– Eli and Kleiner have set up base in the missile silo and you have to get the packet to them
– We’ll see the most difficult physics puzzle to date in Episode 2
– New weapon known as “Strider Buster”
– Strider and Hunter now has a weak spot (could change)
– Big battlefield-esque combat engagements with lots of enemies and allies fighting. Woods provide plenty of cover
– And new yet-to-be-announced multiplayer game will ship with episode two…might it be TF2 set during the 7 Hour War?

So looks like you got some right there…

By: The_B

The_B — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 12:46:51 +0000

Personally, I’d love for the veichle to be some sort of motorbike. And, although they didn’t know where you were going to crash, what’s to say the resistance didn’t manage to smuggle a veichle on board the train you’re riding?

Also, I’m thinking G-Man is going to make a subtle return in Ep2, he was way too quiet (realtively) about letting Gordon “go” in Episode 1, I stil expected him to make some sort of appearance, maybe as a quick flash on a TV screen, but then quickly pulled away by Vortigaunts…

By: Richard Hamer

Richard Hamer — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:52:17 +0000

Probably *way* wrong… but maybe some sort of return trip to a ruined Black Mesa by Episode 3? Maybe there’s something left there which can be used to fight the Combine?

By: Grill

Grill — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 09:26:37 +0000

Gah! SPPPPPOILER WARNING!

… guess I better finish it quickly, before you reveal that Eli and Lamarr are lovers…

By: Pentadact

Pentadact — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 19:30:51 +0000

I tell you what: the first Vortigaunt I meet in Episode Two is going to be ‘Use’d until I get some freaking answers.