> The difference between FarCry and HL2 is that HL2 was fun. > FarCry was limited in scope. It doesn't really matter what > awesome-looking features you have if the game is not > fundamentally fun in the first place. All of the things you > mentioned except dynamic lighting aren't even engine > features, they can be designed and coded by mods. > > -- > Jorge "Vino" Rodriguez
I think that you're missing the point of my email, which wasn't to really pitch FarCry as the best engine to go coding your MODs for. I was just getting sick of seeing people claiming that HL2 is the greatest marvel to be released. There are many features in HL2 that are old now and have been implemented better in other games that have been releasing within the past 1-2 years and I'm sure a few more within the next 6 months. I agree that HL2's gameplay is fun, but was getting tired of reading people's comments that HL2 has awesome-looking and the best features. Valve missed the timeline on that by at least a year, but most likely 2 years. I'm not completely finished with HL2 yet, but so far it's pretty fun with a good story. But, I can't honestly claim that HL2, released this week on it's own merit without a released full SDK or enhancement MODs, that it's a technical marvel. It just isn't. Just look at CS:S, it has shadowing bugs, modeling bugs, lighting bugs, etc. and those aren't even the strong points of HL2. Even Steam is full of issues. I was playing HL2 last night and right in the middle the game closed because Steam updated the HL2 EXE file. Yeah, it didn't wait until after I was done playing or saved my game. Luckily, HL2 has a nice auto-save feature that is similar to most console games. The models, with the way they move and the detail in the faces look pretty good in HL2. Especially when compared to HL1. But, if you've played a few of the latest MMORPG releases, you'd notice that even EverQuest II has even more detailed models. I mean, to the point where the hair on the head move. As far as the story goes, I'm really hoping that HL2's story doesn't go south like most games. HL1's story got real lame and dull once you got into Xen. FarCry was fun until it was just you against only mutants. Return to Castle Wolfenstien got lame once you went down into the crypt and were fighting zombies and other mutants. So many games start out with a nice and fun storyline and then goes to shit for the ending. I've heard others claim that HL2 just gets better toward the end. Well, as long as it doesn't go psycho or extreme Gordon vs mutants, then I'm sure it will be. So far, the best things I've found in HL2, are not really the dated technical features, but rather the storyline, the gravity gun (which really saves the game, without it HL2 would be way too frustrating to play as it's quite easy to flip the buggy or get it stuck... a little too easy imo), and controlling some of the alien creatures (which look like a steal from Starship Troopers) with the pheremone pod. Even though you could use similar gameplay techniques in your MODs, it's not the base technical features that really impress me over the many other games I've played. Overall, HL2 would have really kicked ass 2 years ago. Now, it looks like it'll be up to the MOD coders to see if they can get the engine caught up and surpass other released games and those that will be releasing over the next few years. I am pleased with the physics for the most part, but a bit disappointed with the lighting. There are many aspects of the mapping side of things that will be interesting to test in order to see if Valve fixed many issues that limited mappers with the HL1 engine. Or, just how improved is the multi-player netcode with respect to their claims that it's been greatly improved. I still see a lot of lag and issues with CS:S and that's the only thing we have to go by right now. Time will definitely tell and I sure hope Valve releases the SDK before the holiday season. Many people have next week off and then another few weeks at the end of December. Both of which could be useful in MOD coding. So, yes, Valve did do a great job in implementing many new and upgraded features into HL2. Unfortunately, they're a couple years old now, which means that they have less time to work on HL3. IMO, Valve's biggest threat now is time and that another new gaming company will sweep the gamers just like they did. It's not hard to see that the technical talent exists out there, it's just waiting for them to come together and create the right element. In fact, most of the downfall of other engines, is that they don't fully support the MODding community. I think, that has been Valve's biggest success. Without that, we most likely would never have seen HL2. - HoundDawg _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlcoders
