Recent Valve VR update contains hidden Half-Life demo code
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It's been so long with that cliff hanger I think I am actually beyond caring about a future Half-Life game.
Then again I lost my shit when Blackbird announced Homeworld 3 a few days ago.
Then again I lost my shit when Blackbird announced Homeworld 3 a few days ago.
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Is the code complete enough to be reconstructed and run?
Some games with cut contents sometime left tons of orphan codes, broken functions, etc that actually are complete enough to be reconstructed. Be it by adding/modifying codes manually or by transplanting codes from other parts of the game that do work.
Its been years since last time I dabble in reconstructing cut contents in games... I think I already forgot everything
Some games with cut contents sometime left tons of orphan codes, broken functions, etc that actually are complete enough to be reconstructed. Be it by adding/modifying codes manually or by transplanting codes from other parts of the game that do work.
Its been years since last time I dabble in reconstructing cut contents in games... I think I already forgot everything
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Never in a million years would I have predicted that Halo 3 would release on PC before Half-Life 3. That more Halo games would release on PC in a single year than all Half-Life games and expansions combined.
I'm not angry at Valve. Just... disappointed. There is something magical about Half-Life.
Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel.
The time is 08:47 AM. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees, with an estimated high of one hundred and five. The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times.
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Now arriving at Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities.
I'm not angry at Valve. Just... disappointed. There is something magical about Half-Life.
Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel.
The time is 08:47 AM. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees, with an estimated high of one hundred and five. The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times.
---
---
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Now arriving at Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities.
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Having recently re-played HL2, Ep1 and Ep2, plus both Portal games, it really makes me sad that they're not continuing to work on that universe.
Oh well, I guess I can always play Black Mesa, now with Xen, and hopefully Project Borealis sometime in the next 5 years.
Oh well, I guess I can always play Black Mesa, now with Xen, and hopefully Project Borealis sometime in the next 5 years.
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Releasing a VR Half-Life game before Half-Life 3 is just trolling at this point.
It would've been nice if Valve used their piles of money to release a sequel to such a critically acclaimed game series that ended on a cliffhanger. However, it's been 12 years since episode 2, so now you have an entire generation of gamers who grew up without the release of a single Half-Life game. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people simply don't care anymore.
It would've been nice if Valve used their piles of money to release a sequel to such a critically acclaimed game series that ended on a cliffhanger. However, it's been 12 years since episode 2, so now you have an entire generation of gamers who grew up without the release of a single Half-Life game. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people simply don't care anymore.
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15 years since HL2 came out, with Episode 3 still unreleased. Looks like HL3 aims to break the running joke that Duke Nukem Forever had about software in permanent development hell, and is a cautionary tale about episodic games failing to be finished.
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I know this has been discussed before, but Valve really just needs to embrace their own workaround for this problem:
Half Life 2: Episode 2: Episode 1
Half Life 2: Episode 2: Episode 1
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I mean, I will certainly check out HL3 if it ever actually exists. But I don't think it ever will, and any passion/excitement I had for that world has long since atrophied.
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Half Life 2 was used to launch Steam.
Half Life 3 will come out when Valve has something else they want to sell paired with it.
Up until VR, there hasn't been anything? So this is possibly the first credible HL3 rumor I've seen.
Half Life 3 will come out when Valve has something else they want to sell paired with it.
Up until VR, there hasn't been anything? So this is possibly the first credible HL3 rumor I've seen.
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If they ever actually release HL3, I'll buy it, play it, and probably love it. Until then, I'm choosing to believe that Valve has abandoned the series. They've toyed with my hopes too many times over the years.
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This isn't a general method, but I used DnSpy for the Unity DLL in question. https://github.com/0xd4d/dnSpy
The results it gives in this case are incredibly clean and not at all obfuscated.
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Except that Valve has said they're not working on HL3 and DNF was always in production.
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After this long it's probably best to just move on. Anything made BY VALVE (do they even make anything now? Everything from them is initially outsourced it seems) involving that series is not going to live up to expectations.
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"Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System...."
Man, I still remember that voice as clearly as if I heard it yesterday! And that train ride set the tone so well.
I'd consider giving one of my nuts to get to play Half Life 3 before I croak.
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in no way a full real HL3 would written in C#.
It could be a demo or an upcoming version of the original HL in VR , may be for the anniversary in November ?
It could be a demo or an upcoming version of the original HL in VR , may be for the anniversary in November ?
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If HL3 finally comes out and it's only for VR I'll threaten to kill myself.....then slink off and buy a stupid VR headset because I'm a total chump.
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Wait, I thought everyone already knew that you can play HL3 by copying Daikatana & Duke Nukem Forever onto the display of the new Fear Inoculum limited edition.
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By the time HL3 comes out, you'll probably be able to get a wireless 4K per-eye VR headset for about $100.
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Not really an issue if you setup your room right. There's a chaperone grid that appears when you're getting out of your safe zone. Beat Saber is a pretty popular game and has all those same movements you'd perform
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Not to mention that it is also important to not actually be *holding* a crowbar while playing.
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Given Valve's interest in VR the past few years, I suspect they were writing Half-Life 3 as a VR game. And when the uptake of VR proved slower than they'd hoped, they started modifying it to be a traditional 2D game with 3D option. I suspect it will be coming out in the next year or two, on the heels of L3D3. Or maybe it's done and they intend to sit on it for a year or two until VR penetration reaches an acceptable level.
Other than "Alan Wake 2", there is no more "shut up and take my money!" game for me than Half-Life 3. And given the combined intellect at Valve, I doubt that has escaped their attention, especially given the potential threat that the Epic Game Store poses to their Steam revenues.
Be patient...
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They made The Lab, a collection of VR demos. It was by far the most impressive VR demo for years and with this week’s update remains solid. Has several great ideas (I love the 3D spaceship shooter so much) and a lot of polish. They still clearly have talent and can utilize it well in VR.
That said, I don’t expect a HL3 VR game still. It would be doable but why bother? They have mountains of money as-is. Instead, google Boneworks VR and check out the closest thing to HL in VR.
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No mention of Boneworks in the article?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/823500/BONEWORKS/
If you've been following development, aside from working closely with Valve, a number of the themes in the Boneworks dev show-off videos are *direct* analogies to Half-Life.
For example: the robot spiders are head-crabs in all behavior.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/823500/BONEWORKS/
If you've been following development, aside from working closely with Valve, a number of the themes in the Boneworks dev show-off videos are *direct* analogies to Half-Life.
For example: the robot spiders are head-crabs in all behavior.
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Something that may be of interest to some:
The reason this code is in C# is because it is using the Unity engine, which uses C# over C++ like Source and Source 2 (I'm assuming).
Unity was used for *most* of The Lab but interestingly enough the robot assembly mini-game is actually a separate executable and that uses Source 2 I believe.
Valve has actually been quite active with the Unity engine, releasing a lot of VR related assets - including the entire rendering system for The Lab - so that any other developer can use them as well.
(Or at least this was all the case before the big update - I haven't checked it out lately so this may have changed)
The reason this code is in C# is because it is using the Unity engine, which uses C# over C++ like Source and Source 2 (I'm assuming).
Unity was used for *most* of The Lab but interestingly enough the robot assembly mini-game is actually a separate executable and that uses Source 2 I believe.
Valve has actually been quite active with the Unity engine, releasing a lot of VR related assets - including the entire rendering system for The Lab - so that any other developer can use them as well.
(Or at least this was all the case before the big update - I haven't checked it out lately so this may have changed)
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C'mon Kyle, we could do without the sensational optimism. We all know Valve doesn't make games that aren't slot machinealikes anymore. Marc Laidlaw and many others that worked on HL2 left years ago. This was probably just test demo code that made use of existing Source resources.
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People expecting Boneworks to secretly be Half-Life VR are going to be disappointed. It may be heavily inspired by Half-Life - that's all pretty obvious just from looking at it - maybe even as far as to be a "spiritual successor". But the company has been completely mum about it and just kind of let the rumors happen. Which is what you want to do if you're a small indie team trying to build hype around your product. The only "evidence" that it is secretly Half-Life is "hey those robot spiders remind me of headcrabs", "there is a crowbar", and "it was on Steam listed as a Valve game" (which could have also been done if they were giving Valve demos of what they were working on). If it were really Half-Life 3, they probably would have just bought the studio (as they have done many, many times in the past).
I hope that game is solid, but people expecting it to suddenly be re-branded as Half-Life 3 are going to be disappointed.
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Totally agree. I'm definitely not expecting Boneworks to be Half-Life ##.
But this article spins the tired old tale of "a dev at Valve used a Half-Life related word in a code or asset name so Half-Life 3 is totally being worked on for realz you guise!" whereas Boneworks being its own game with some similar elements would be better fuel for that rumor fire. ;-)
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Who’s expecting it to be an actual Half-Life game? It’s a Half-Life game in the sense that Pavlov is CS:Go: it’s the game in everything but name and characters/plot. It’s an FPS with physics-based puzzles and headcrabs. Like HL2. It’ll provide basically the same game that HL3 would, except without actually continuing or concluding the story.
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