REAL half life 2 screenshots, in here

http://www.sharkyforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=190043

yes these are ACTUAL screen shots not like the ones as of late where some were screens and others werent.

Those faces is probably something of the most impressive I have seen done in 3d gaming lately.

Half Life 2 is at least going to own Doom 3 at that point. The monsters are really the only dissapointing thing in those screens there.

Little Faith said:

Those faces is probably something of the most impressive I have seen done in 3d gaming lately.

Half Life 2 is at least going to own Doom 3 at that point. The monsters are really the only dissapointing thing in those screens there.

Half Life 2 is at least going to own Doom 3 at that point NOT. The face expression is so fake. The pipes seem too edgy. The texturing is horrible.

That tripod thing still looks retarded. But the game still looks pretty cool.

999cop said:

Half Life 2 is at least going to own Doom 3 at that point NOT. The face expression is so fake. The pipes seem too edgy. The texturing is horrible.

It's not finished ;) .. Looks good to me so far

Oh! War of the worlds!

I was worried that half-life 2 wasn't going to bring anything fresh to FPS, (since, after the first game, almost every fps after it borrowed things from it.) but I have high hopes for it now. :)

just another reason why i need a new computer really soon.

the shots kick ass btw. hell, i'm gonna go play the first half life now.

Ugly as sin.

The fact that the engine renders dust particles and water surfaces so excellently just serves to emphasize how shoddy the lighting and some of the texture work really are.

I don't get it (unless it's a case of rooting for the home team).


I mean, some horridly angular parts of the Doom 3 monster models goes unnoticed, while this one is being dismissed as totally ugly due to a few non-exceptional textures.

Also that lighting part is a somewhat weird criticism. All the Doom 3 shots we have seen potrays a rather gloomy setting allowing for a lot of play between light and shadow.

These Half-life 2 shots, however, seeks to convey the impression of a mildly overcast morning/day setting where light is much more diffuse and there is no room for impressive shadows, and I think they are very successful in conveying that impression of time of day.

Sure some of the textures could use a bit work (the copper pipes are completely patinized in the top and shifts drastically to almost painfully shiny below), but those city street shots are darn near perfect!



Still, I think we all agree that the monsters are rather unimpressive.

A mildly overcast morning/day setting where some shadows have mysteriously disappeared. Yeah, great work, either that's the engine's lighting code being utterly stupid, or all the shadows are static parts of the map and the mappers merely forgot the additional lighting detail. Which is worse?

The shadow effects on interior scenes is far more noticeable. Notice the light and shadow on those pipes you mentioned. Part of them are shadowed on one side (rather crude and unimaginative), but some of them aren't shadowed AT ALL. Those same pipes are textured with graphics that might have been clip art from cheap word processing packages.

As for the Doom 3 models, I have complained that their screenshots have been rather on the angular side. I don't have links to the threads handy, but just go do a search through the Doom 3 General forum and I'm sure you'll find some examples. However, I think we can all agree that the detailing on Doom 3 monsters is far more than what these models have.

I'd have to say that I'm far more impressed with the marine's face from the short Doom3 E3 intro than any screenshot from HL2 that I have seen so far. But that may be because I have not personally seen Valve's emotion and eye focus code in action.

I'm more interested in gameplay than in how realistic they can make the graphics. They could recreate New York, Tibet, or some other huge landscape or city down to its smallest detail, but it will be all for nothing if the gameplay is mediocre at best.

gratuitous pasting from IRC to follow:

[17:43] <@Cyb> yeah
[17:43] <@Cyb> the patches for hl made it worse
[17:43] <@Cyb> which is funny cuz aren't they sypposed to get rid of bugs heh
[17:44] <@Jon_R> http://www.quake3world.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/025526.html
[17:44] <@arioch> gives you tingling feelings about the new hl2 engine doesn't it
[17:44] <@Jon_R> that map owns
[17:45] <@arioch> you can look at it one of two ways
[17:45] <@arioch> their major talent has been working on hl2, leaving the shitty coders to patch hl1
[17:45] <@arioch> OR
[17:45] <@arioch> hl1 patches are representative of their talent
[17:46] <@arioch> in which case hl2 is going to be an absolute disaster
[17:46] <@Jon_R> OR
[17:46] <@Jon_R> their major talent has been patching hl1
[17:46] <@arioch> oh my god
[17:46] <@Jon_R> leaving their shitty coders to work on hl2
[17:46] <@arioch> I hadn't even considered that alternative
[17:46] <@Jon> heh
[17:46] <@arioch> it was too horrible to contemplate
[17:46] <@Jon> I doubt that one
[17:46] <@Cyb> rofl
[17:46] <@Cyb> I'm hoping it's the first one
[17:47] <@Jon> I think they were under a lot more pressure than most companies to make changes to the code
[17:47] <@Cyb> plus I'm not patching hl2 ever

[22:07] <@arioch> For example, a mod maker can take a rectangular object and apply a bricklike texture to it, and that object will then automatically function like a brick of that approximate size.
[22:07] <@Cyb> so I never have to call them again
[22:07] <@arioch> what if you texture it one side brick the other side styrofoam
[22:07] <@Linguica> the world explodes
[22:08] <@Cyb> arioch: the universe implodes

[22:16] <@fraggle> the ai for the helper npc's in hl2 is so advanced, they even complain about bugs in the game
[22:16] <@arioch> haha
[22:16] <@ryan> rofl
[22:16] <@Cyb> rofl
[22:16] <@arioch> "I can't get through this 6' wide door!"
[22:17] <@ryan> haha
[22:17] <@Cyb> "wtf I'm stuck in this elevator, goddamnit valve!"
[22:17] <@arioch> "Man if John Carmack wrote this engine I bet I could squeeze through!"
[22:17] <@ryan> "damnit my foot is stuck to the moulding again"
[22:17] <@fraggle> "why is this lift wobbling.. woah i just fell through the floor... wouldnt you like to get one of THESE blood samples under a microscope?"

Arioch said:

A mildly overcast morning/day setting where some shadows have mysteriously disappeared. Yeah, great work, either that's the engine's lighting code being utterly stupid, or all the shadows are static parts of the map and the mappers merely forgot the additional lighting detail. Which is worse?

The shadow effects on interior scenes is far more noticeable. Notice the light and shadow on those pipes you mentioned. Part of them are shadowed on one side (rather crude and unimaginative), but some of them aren't shadowed AT ALL. Those same pipes are textured with graphics that might have been clip art from cheap word processing packages.

As for the Doom 3 models, I have complained that their screenshots have been rather on the angular side. I don't have links to the threads handy, but just go do a search through the Doom 3 General forum and I'm sure you'll find some examples. However, I think we can all agree that the detailing on Doom 3 monsters is far more than what these models have.

I'd have to say that I'm far more impressed with the marine's face from the short Doom3 E3 intro than any screenshot from HL2 that I have seen so far. But that may be because I have not personally seen Valve's emotion and eye focus code in action.

OK, from a sheer engine point of view I think we agree, but I still think they're on to something with these shots, but I still have yet to see a bright open setting in a Doom 3 shot.

Looks really nice. Not much more to say, really - let's hope it presents a game world as coherent and immersive as Half-Life, and that it's actually fun to play.

The HL2 graphics are good but have no atmosphere. Doom III is going to own it in that respect, hands down. The environments are blah.

Oh no, it doesn't look as good as Doom 3, oh well, looks like it's a shit game...

...why do people have to critisize every little freaking detail out of a game when we've only seen a handful of screenshots from it? And not even played it?

mmnpsrsoskl said:

Oh no, it doesn't look as good as Doom 3, oh well, looks like it's a shit game...

...why do people have to critisize every little freaking detail out of a game when we've only seen a handful of screenshots from it? And not even played it?

I'm not even trying to start another "Doom III rulez OMGLOLOL!1!!" flame war...I am saying, though, that while the character models in HL2 seem to be of slightly higher quality, I feel, personally, that the environments just won't be as good. (i.e. Doom III's leave room for slightly more creativity)

*EDIT* Though I admit I'm not entirely objective. I've been angry with Half-Life ever since a certain magazine gave it what I believed to be a very unjustified 11/10.

The problem I have with both games is that they're going to have to dumb them down quite a bit so more than 1/3 of their consumers can actualy RUN the damn things.

The modeling is cool but the faces are not as detailed or real as the doom3 ones. Nor is there cool shading.

Both games have plenty of atmosphere. Atmosphere need not necessarily only be dark creepy stuff.

Doom 3's engine might be more powerful, which is a good point for modders.

My main gripe with what I have seen of Half Life 2 is that those bug enemies are boring and look weirdly "pasted in".

Job said:

The HL2 graphics are good but have no atmosphere. Doom III is going to own it in that respect, hands down. The environments are blah.

Not being able to see shit does not equal atmosphere. Those city scenes in HL2 breathe much more atmosphere than the 10,000th dark metal corridor in "Doom III: Space Rectum".

Well, I'm pleased to see that those screenies look considerably better than those sucky screens I saw last.

At least now I can better agree with people who say that they rock (last time it cringed inside me whenever someone fired off some bs about them being far better than the graphical quality of D3, simply because that was so much a lie as it could possibly be).

The fire definitely looks better than the fire I saw in the "Doom 3: The Legacy" vid, but who knows if the fire in D3 won't be improved in the final version of D3?

As for atmosphere, I still think D3 owns in that aspect - namely because you can't see anything in the shadows: you don't know if there's a big bad demon hiding there, exactly like the case would be in many situations in real life in such dark places (ok, replace the demon with an enemy trooper).

Overall: Nice, it does hold some qualities over Doom 3, but it is by no means an "0wnZ Doom 3 in every aspect" engine - I dunno how impressed I am with facial expressions...yet, but the fire looks sweet and better than the ball-sparkling fire in that D3 video imo.

Lord FlatHead said:

Not being able to see shit does not equal atmosphere. Those city scenes in HL2 breathe much more atmosphere than the 10,000th dark metal corridor in "Doom III: Space Rectum".

I agree.

I think they both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Doom 3 - Powerful Engine
HL2 - More realistic feeling/looking environments

etc

mmnpsrsoskl said:

I agree.

I think they both have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Doom 3 - Powerful Engine
HL2 - More realistic feeling/looking environments

etc

Perhaps it's another case, as in Doom/Doom II, that id doesn't realize the full potential of their engine? And it'll take the community to show what can be done with it...again?

what magazine gave HL an 11/10?

Scuba Steve said:

what magazine gave HL an 11/10?

Can't remember -- maybe Game Pro or something.

ugh Game pro sucks. There's a REASON you have 10 stars or whatever.. so you can show what the top is, you don't put a stupid 11 in front of it, that defeats the purpose, christ! Next game will get like a 37/10 or some crap. Look, I liked half life, and I thin kit was a great game. Worthy of 11/10, no not at all. There are far more worthy games that are just way better... Like Civilization 3 for example.

Scuba Steve said:

ugh Game pro sucks. There's a REASON you have 10 stars or whatever.. so you can show what the top is, you don't put a stupid 11 in front of it, that defeats the purpose, christ! Next game will get like a 37/10 or some crap. Look, I liked half life, and I thin kit was a great game. Worthy of 11/10, no not at all. There are far more worthy games that are just way better... Like Civilization 3 for example.

Which is exactly why I was PO'd with whoever it was that did it, Game Pro or not.

If this is Half Life 2, than I can't wait for Doom 3, since it is definitaly going to own everything else.

Release date is apparently 30th September.