Yet one other Half-Life 3 hearsay is making waves amongst followers, however there stays no signal of any precise announcement.
You can sometimes count on rumours of Half-Life 3’s existence to crop up at the very least every year, particularly after the discharge of Half-Life: Alyx proved Valve hadn’t fully forgotten or deserted the sequence.
However, issues actually ratcheted up this previous August, due to a voice actor’s CV referencing a Project White Sands and datamined data from different Valve video games that pointed in the direction of actual motion on a brand new sport.
While the twentieth anniversary of Half-Life 2 got here and went final week with no massive bulletins (apart from some behind the scenes data on Valve’s plans for Half-Life 2: Episode Three), YouTuber Tyler McVicker has put out a brand new video with what he believes is additional proof of Half-Life 3’s existence.
McVicker has made frequent claims relating to Half-Life 3 prior to now, reminiscent of a cancelled construct of the sport from 2015, however he was among the many first to leak particulars on Valve’s upcoming multiplayer shooter Deadlock (or Citadel because it was initially recognized).
According to McVicker, current updates to Valve’s present titles – Deadlock, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2 – embody particulars and information he’s satisfied are associated to a brand new Half-Life sport.
These embody methods which have been lifted from Half-Life 2 however have been barely amended, reminiscent of forms of sounds that non-player characters (like enemies) can react to.
An totally new shotgun sound was additionally present in Valve’s Source 2 engine, which McVicker theorises means Valve is operating gun testing ‘at a really low degree.’
Perhaps the largest discovery is that, within the newest Dota 2 replace, datamining uncovered references to one thing referred to as Arty. McVicker explains Arty was a cancelled challenge that might have allowed for procedural destruction.
Given what number of Arty information had been discovered, McVicker calls it ‘as shut as you will get to supply code with out it being supply code.’ He additionally feels assured that it’s getting used for Half-Life 3 since there was some hypothesis that comparable information discovered beforehand within the Source 2 engine can be utilized in Deadlock, however that wound up not being the case.
Assuming McVicker is appropriate, Valve appears to be prioritising innovating Half-Life 3’s gameplay over its graphics. Half-Life 2 already featured extremely detailed physics, which had been praised on the time, so it’d make sense for Valve to give attention to constructing upon that facet for a sequel.
Plus, Valve president Gabe Newell himself has admitted Half-Life 2: Episode Three didn’t occur as a result of he didn’t assume it was price it except they may provide you with new gameplay options that might push issues ahead.
With the datamined information pointing to enhanced interactivity between non-player characters and procedural destruction, McVicker suggests Half-Life 3 may have *immersive sim* parts (we hate that time period however assume video games like Arkane’s Dishonored and Deathloop).
However, McVicker doesn’t assume this implies Half-Life 3 might be a full immersive sim. He additionally doesn’t assume will probably be open world, like some have speculated, and as an alternative claims it’ll be extra akin to Uncharted 4 (or certainly Half-Life 2), and have linear ranges with smaller open areas.
While there’s no telling if or when Valve will carry the lid on any new Half-Life initiatives, it feels just like the sequence is ready to proceed due to the success of Half-Life: Alyx.
After its launch, Valve designer Phil Co even expressed optimism for Half-Life’s future: ‘This ice has been damaged, now we’re hoping to smash by means of the ice fully. We’re not afraid of Half-Life no extra.’
The downside with Half-Life rumours just isn’t that they’re not true – McVicker is a dependable and conscientious supply – however that Valve always experiments with new concepts, begins a brand new challenge, after which abandons it after just a few months or years.
So whereas they might be making Half-Life 3 now, there’s no assure they nonetheless might be by subsequent 12 months… earlier than they then get a brand new concept and start a completely new experiment. Maybe in the future Valve will truly end and realise a brand new sport however it’s been 20 years thus far they usually nonetheless haven’t bought there but.
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