Long Development Times!

[SlappyMcGee]

Hey, gang.

So, Valve announced semi-recently that they do not expect Half-Life 2: Episode 3 to come out this year. Which is irritating, because to me, the entire concept of the episodes was about getting the content of one whole game out as quickly as possible, in three delicious parts. Instead, we got two relatively quickly, and then nothing. It's been years. This is ridiculous.

Which would be fine if Valve were actively producing other games with the same level on innovation as HL2. Which is somewhat true about their output; their continued support of TF2, while perhaps hampering to their other development (and quite lengthy in its own way) is unprecedented, and Left 4 Dead was a fantastic, unexpected game. (L4D2 was a vast improvement, do not get me wrong, and I loved the quick turnaround there, but there was not too much innovation. The amount of time spent on this game, which is to say less than a year, is remarkable, though.)

All of that being said, Valve has only ever made First Person Shooters. The turnaround on an FPS is remarkable. They do not take years to make or even to perfect, especially with the perfectly viable Source Engine. It seems just a touch ridiculous to me that L4D2 is out one year later, but even more ridiculous that Half-Life 2: Episode 3 is not out three years later. They are only making first person shooters. Unless they are designing an entirely new engine for E3, I'm a little ticked off. Hey, even if they are designing a new engine, I'm ticked off. Why not just get us a third game and then support it later, like they did with Team Fortress 2?

And I realize the hypocrisy of this post, since I am gushing about Starcraft 2, a sequel to a game that will turn eleven soon enough, but when I see what Blizzard has come back with, I am thoroughly impressed. Since Starcraft, they've made Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, expansions for both of those, expansion for Starcraft, and the most popular MMORPG of all time, plus two expansion packs for that, AND Starcraft 2 looks fantastic! They are in beta and people are playing it like a regular RTS! They've not only produced a fantastic game, but they've also made tons of innovative games in the interim.

Discuss.

[T3chno]

I definitely agree, but Valve Time dictates that they're right on schedule.

[Tanner]

I know, right? How much would it suck to be invested in a game where development is continuously delayed and placed on hiatus?

... oh wait...

[Luminaflare]

And I realize the hypocrisy of this post, since I am gushing about Starcraft 2, a sequel to a game that will turn eleven soon enough, but when I see what Blizzard has come back with, I am thoroughly impressed. Since Starcraft, they've made Diablo 2, Warcraft 3, expansions for both of those, expansion for Starcraft, and the most popular MMORPG of all time, plus two expansion packs for that, AND Starcraft 2 looks fantastic! They are in beta and people are playing it like a regular RTS! They've not only produced a fantastic game, but they've also made tons of innovative games in the interim.

Not to mention they didn't announce it until recently. (comparatively speaking)

Either way even if Valve have a lot of episode 3 done I think they prefer to make announcements at expos so expect a new game announced at E3, also Valve are sneaky bastards so we may still see Ep 3 this year or it could come out January 2nd 2011 (Totally not out this year). Either way the current source engine is getting dated so personally I think they're getting ready to ramp it up with ep3 (Don't get me wrong L4D/2 do valiantly with it but they're not proper engine updates otherwise we'd be getting a proper SDK for them not just to make maps).

[smartalco]

Although I realize we already threw out the idea that Valve actually uses some sort of normal episode release ideal, but I think making an entire engine change between releases is a little excessive.

[Kablizzy]

I know, right? How much would it suck to be invested in a game where development is continuously delayed and placed on hiatus?

... oh wait...

HO HO! WHAT A ZINGER!

In all seriousness, we've waited about the same amount of time for Starcraft II and Diablo III, and honestly, for the caliber of game that companies like Blizzard and Valve put out, I'm more than happy to wait. I don't know if I could name a game that either company has released that I (or the general populace, for that matter) *hasn't* loved unconditionally. That speaks volumes to their R&D, and you guys know how much I loves me some R&D.

Edit: By the by, this is why you make an engine. You make it so that you can use that engine for more than one thing.

[SlappyMcGee]

Blizzard recently mentioned that they expect a release for SC2 in the first half of this year, expecting a three month beta. :D

do you guys honestly think tons of R&D went into Valve's recent games? Left 4 Dead 2 was some generic ideas from the community implemented well and about 1.5 solid maps.

[Rhekatou]

I know, right? How much would it suck to be invested in a game where development is continuously delayed and placed on hiatus?

... oh wait...

Only five years and we'll have matched that! *yeah* *w00t*

[smartalco]

I'll just drop this here so the likes of Valve can further drive you insane.
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3178172

[squibbles]

I know, right? How much would it suck to be invested in a game where development is continuously delayed and placed on hiatus?

... oh wait...

We should rename ourselves the Duke Nukem Forever Forums.