/vr/ - Retro Games

>>9553606
>How does HL2 stack against 1?
Pretty much just much better atmosphere and gameplay thanks to way more interactivity and the gravity gun that is fun. The Source Engine looked amazing back then and had a realistic grittiness without looking dull that other engines couldn't really emulate, but not sure how well it really holds up. /vr/ likes to say games can't age, but obviously audiovisuals can become less impressive with time when getting used to more advanced stuff

HL2 is a snoozefest with boring weapons, tiny ammo counts, and constant exposition dumps while you sit in a locked room.

>>9553632
>better atmosphere
Fuck no dude.

HL2 is one of the few games to have aged poorly
Unskippable totally-not-cutscenes, physics puzzles and overlong vehicle sections. All meant as tech demos to impress people.
Sure these were really cool on release day when you didn't know games could do shit like this.
However dozens of games have done all that so much better since that it just gets annoying having to listen to NPCs jabber on about useless bullshit for minutes on end or hunting for barrels to do a physics puzzle.
The shooting is still fun though, just wish there was a little bit more of it.

>>9553606

The 'structured dungeon' thing I think you get with a lot of modern Naughty Dog games - the illusion of a massive open world which is actual fact quite linear and always pointing you towards a next step. It's good level design.

>>9553606
>How does HL2 stack against 1?
very badly
they are pretty much polar oposites where hl2 has a shit ton of downtime where you are forced to listen to exposition (the story is genuinely awful and gets retconned in every singular game anyway, they shouldnt have wasted time on it)
it also uses an absolutely bullshit ai director that spawns ammo/health depending on what you are carrying which is some of the very worst things in all of video games

the guns are mostly awful with the expception of the gravity gun and the fun stuff is hard limited by the ammo
the graphics/designs are extremely bad and have held up much worse than hl1 but that is my subjective opinion

hl2 is just a tech demo for the source engine

>>9553606
Try USS Darkstar, Sweet Half-Life, They Hunger, and Paranoia. I actually find a lot of HL1 mods to be very disappointing because they fuck up what I like about HL1's level design and emphasize "fuck you" ambush encounter design with enemies that will always take a chunk of your health away as soon as they see a sliver of you. I'm a big fan of how HL1 feels like a big, cohesively designed dungeon akin to the System Shock games but leaner.

>>9553606
>What are the best standalone/sp mods?

Do yourself a favor and don't install any graphic mods.


Also, play Black Mesa. You will appreciate it. Especially Xen.

>>9553862
That looks like an improvement tho.

>>9553679
>98% on PC Gamer (US)

>>9553729
>the guns are mostly awful
the shotgun, combine rifle, rod launcher, gravity gun and magnum are fucking great weapons. I've seen multiple people make this complaint, do people only say this because the pistol is a pea shooter?

>>9553606
Half-Life 2 is a completely different game tonally, it's almost unrecognizable to Half-Life besides the presence of headcrabs and some reoccurring characters. Instead it's some shitty "the Freeman will save humanity as the prophecy foretold!" capeshit plot with physics based puzzles and combat. Stick to Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Decay, and what ever fan mods that continue to expand on Black Mesa. Speaking of Black Mesa, you can try the Black Mesa remake mod, but keep in mind it's a fan mod and it's very, very clear that it's fan fic tier. It's only praise worthy for their decade worth of persistent work, nothing more.

>>9553674
Amen. Perhaps 2 had more of a cinematic atmosphere, but HL1 is god tier atmosphere and very comfy. HL2 is great and may be easier for newbies to transition to, but 1 was superior if you were around for both of them

>>9554393
Not him. But I agree the weapons are very underwhelming. Shotgun, magnum, and crossbow we had already seen in the first game. The only new weapon is the Combine rifle, which carries no weight. Theres nothing in HL2 like the Gauss Cannon, the Hive Gun, or the Gluon Gun.

This is exarcebated by how uninteresting the new enemies are.

HL2 opinions on this board are always so bad it's insane.

>>9554393
It's just dumb ADHD riddled zoomers who played it for 3 hours and dropped it because there isn't enough action for their tastes. Note how they always whine about the same things that only occur only in the beginning of the game.

This board is filled with frustrated retards who get a kick out of hating something that is overwhelmingly considered one of the greatest games of all time. They parrot the same three or four lines (its a tech demo, pistol bad, cut scenes unskippable etc) and then they go back to jerking off to their gacha bullshit or their menu clicking simulators. Same goes for Ocarina of Time, whenever a thread gets made you'll always get a few comments within the first hour how it's boring trash without elaborating. Their identities revolve around disliking stuff that is liked by The Other, so they can feel special like how their mommy always told them they were.

If you dislike Half-Life 2, you have absolutely no taste in what makes a video game good. Period.

>>9554542
I'll say that HL2 is a downgrade in certain places, even if I like the game. Movement feels slippery and less precise than HL1. Weapons are a downgrade since HL2 weapons are almost always a samey "point and shoot". HL1 had snarks, tripmines, satchels and the hivehand. The only thing in HL2 that is as fun are the antlions, and the unfortunately cut SLAM.
It also doesnt help that your basically only fight two main enemies in HL2(discounting expansions), Combine and antlions.

reddit life thread

>>9553606
play the opposing force
2 isn't that good

Just play the Gearbox expansions, Half-Life 2 is a failure.

>>9554542
>it because there isn't enough action for their tastes

Yes, anyone with taste will prefer more fast paced action in a game like HL, because that actually results in you thinking fast and creatively and engaging with your enemies instead of taking potshots at them as you walk down linear hallways.


>Same goes for Ocarina of Time
If OoT was made in such a way that absolutely everyone loved it, it wouldn't be close to being as good of a game. Zelda basically has to have open ended parts that confuse and frustrate people in order to achieve what it does, so if some people don't gel with that, that's fine by me. It would be horrible if Zelda had to be made in such a way that almost everyone thought was 'pretty good' and confused or bored nobody.

>>9555609
>Zelda basically has to have open ended parts that confuse and frustrate people
except OOT doesn't do that, it's a really simple game made for literal children

OoT is better than hl2 come on buddy

>>9553641
>constant exposition dumps
>constant
>boring weapons
cmon man. HL 1 is the superior game. no need to say false shit to prop it up

>>9553606
>The only thing I expected a bit more was in the story department, and just because I read people praising it.
Minimalist storytelling, it suits the FPS genre.
>secret underground science complex has been researching aliens in a border world
>an experiment goes too far, said aliens then invade the complex from border world, so you fight them
>miltary steps in to both stop the aliens and silence everyone, no exceptions, so you fight them as well
>you kill the alien babby
>overall, your efforts are so impressive that an intergalactic businessman makes you an offer you can't refuse and puts you on ice
A lot actually happens in a short space of time, there are only two "cutscenes" needed.

>>9553862
Black Mesa is awful. Almost everything is worse - the aesthetic, the weapons, the enemy AI. Major downgrade.

>>9555873
>overall, your efforts are so impressive that an intergalactic businessman makes you an offer you can't refuse and puts you on ice
It felt more like they were expecting you to play along since the beginning.

>>9555873
This.
HL1's story >>>>>>>>>>> HL2's story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iu4GXUHfU0

>>9553862
soulless/soul

>>9553606
>How does HL2 stack against 1?
It's been a while since I played either game, but I remember liking them both a lot. They do very different things, however.
HL2 is definitely much more... setpiecey? than the first game. That isn't to say that the level design is bad, it's just much more linear from how I remember Half-Life's being. I don't really remember the level design being very conducive to doing a lot of exploration.
I really liked all of the weapons in HL2 though, really dug the art design, and since I played it when it was still relatively new (when the Orange Box released) I was also really into the in-engine cutscenes. I liked Episode 1 and 2 a lot, too.
The story isn't going to knock you off your feet and some of the physics "puzzles" might make you roll your eyes, but I think the game is a must-play if you already played Half-Life.

>What are the best standalone/sp mods?
I wish I had an answer for this, but the only mods I ever played were multiplayer. Had shitloads of fun with Zombie Panic and Age of Chivalry back then.

>>9555864
I agree with him about the arsenal being pretty goddamn boring. The only real standout is the hot rebar crossbow that pins fuckers to the wall, genuinely great weapon. I personally prefer HL1's MP5 and .357 over HL2's MP7 and magnum. Though I prefer the aesthetics of the MP7, the way the MP5 jumps and rattles in Gordon's hand is fucking great, makes it feel better to use.
They also fucked up the crowbar in HL2, worse animations, and slower attack rate.

>>9553606
hl2 definitely makes some questionable changes to the original game's formula, the soldier AI being something of a downgrade and the sanded down enemy variety are probably its biggest issues, but the extreme negativity in this thread is going to lead you astray. If you liked 1's environmental progression and each section throwing a novel environmental/combat puzzle at you you'll enjoy 2.

>>9553606
HL2 isn't bad, the graphics still look pretty damn good, and it builds some great atmosphere, but the level design is less interesting, and the more limited and samey enemy roster together with your smaller and less varied arsenal of weapons makes the combat less exciting and varied overall.
It's a bit more heavy on the exposition at times as well.

It's a well put together game overall, it's enjoyable, but beyond the finer polish and more advanced tech, I think that the first game is more engaging and more fun.

>>9553632
The Gravity Gun is fun, especially in Ravenholm, but it's not enough to carry the overall less interesting arsenal. I think the handguns, machineguns and shotguns to a large degree feel better in just animation, sound, and overall feedback, than the first game counterparts, but the explosives aren't quite as fun (and there's far fewer options), and there's nothing like the more fun and exotic alien weapons or the experimental energy weapons.

>>9553674
Maybe not BETTER, but one which is still good in its own way. The use of lighting, ambient sound, and the way locations are put together and detailed, is pretty cool.

>>9556765
>the graphics still look pretty damn good
while that's true, I prefer the graphics of HL1 for some reason. I think the less detailed it is (while still recognizable, maybe not Doom level, but certainly Duke Nukem), the more your brain has to fill in the gaps and the better the "theater of the mind" works.
HL2 looks good, but at the same time looks "real enough" to the point I don't have to interpret the images anymore.

REDDIT LIFE THREAD

>>9553641
>tiny ammo counts
Lol, lmao even.
The game is far too gentle with ammo. Following the lambdas was only ever useful for batteries.

>>9553606
>What are the best standalone/sp mods?
For HL1? My personal picks would be:

Sweet Half-Life
Poke646 + It's sequel Vendetta
Azure Sheep
Point of View (AS and POV cross over with each other's main characters and are connected as mods)
They Hunger
Visitors
USS Darkstar
Afraid of Monsters Director's Cut
Cry of Fear
HL:Zombie Edition
Echoes
Residual Life + Residual Point
Absolute Redemption
INVASION (French, you can select English subtitles from an .exe that's inside the mod folder)
Someplace Else (From the creator of MINERVA, a HL2 Mod)
Paranoia (Find the standalone version that's working off of Xash3D, the HL1 Mod version requires a modified Opengl.dll which WILL trigger VAC if you connect to anything multiplayer, including non Half-Life games like CS 1.6, TFC, DOD:S, etc. Because they're in the 'Half-Life' folder rather than their own standalone folder)

>>9559592
>Half-Life Sneed

I found Half Life 1's combat dull, particularly dislike the bullet spongey-ness of the enemies, but liked a lot of the other aspects of the game. Still not among my top ten of shooters.

Half life 2 to me is among the top 5 with Quake, Doom, STALKER and Battlefield 2. But whether or not you like Half Life 2 depends on how immersed you will get in the setting. If it clicks with you its the most atmospheric shooter you can get your hands on (with STALKER) imo.

>>9558324
The game having infinite ammo boxes doesn't change the fact you can only carry two magazines for certain weapons.

>>9553606
play opposing force/blue shift next and then field intensity.

>>9559592
residual life comes SO close to being good. it looks just like a HL1 expansion but the author decided it would be a good idea to crank up the HP on every enemy.

>>9559853
That’s not hard to fix.

>>9555850
>baby tier difficulty
>exposition dump every 5 minutes
>downgraded exploration and combat
>graphics whoring
They're just as bad.

>>9559785
Autists can't get immersed in anything. Atmosphere or aesthetic doesn't matter to them. For them video games are just 'how many buttons do I need to click in such a way I get satisfaction out of it'. A long cut scene that fleshes out the story with subtle social cues of what's to come literally doesn't appeal to them. Same goes for people who just don't 'get' games like Mother 3.

>>9559785
>dislike bullet sponge
>like STALKER
Fucking hypocrite. That slav slop has the worst bullet sponge and damage inconsistencies in the FPS history.

>>9553632
I certainly agree on the atmosphere, but HL2 is a bit of a step down in the gameplay department. Still fun on a first playthough, but the weapons and enemies aren't as good as the ones in HL1.

>>9559785
Did you play on Hard? Everything is really spongy on hard.

>>9554542
I didn’t dislike Half-Life 2 but I liked the original much better

>>9560048
i dont think that on max difficulty stalker was very bullet-spongey. (you are aware of how stalker difficulties work, right?)
>>9560059
yes

>>9560143
>yes
Don't do that next time.

I think the idea was to get you to use something other than the MP5 and shotgun but it kinda sucks.

>>9553862
Today I will remind them.

>>9556765
hl2 still looks pretty good because it avoided the horrible doom 3 stencil shadow trend.

>>9553606
I love both iterations for different reasons.
HL1 has this unique GoldSrc aesthetics and general feeling that's comfy as fuck and the gameplay is fun.
HL2 has a great atmosphere too but it's different from HL1, gameplay is more experimental and can be fun but the enemy AI could be better. Story is much more developed but can get in the way of gameplay too many times.
Never played Alyx.

>>9553606
For HL2 there is MMOD, its the vanilla campaign with better graphics and gameplay improvements such as guns having more damage and accuracy. I recommend it as its well optimized and keeps a lot of settings optional

>>9560143
>i dont think that on max difficulty stalker was very bullet-spongey
It's just as spongey if not even more. Master difficulty being less spongey is literally /v/eddit meme.
>(you are aware of how stalker difficulties work, right?)
I was a STALKER modder, asshole. The damage system was a MESS. STALKER SoC was worked on by hundreds of different guys because they all kept quitting. The codes were a spaghetti horror. You'll barely have a clue how the variables interact with each other no matter how much you try to learn. According to the modifiable variables within the script files alone, the difficulty scaling only increases enemy resistance to damage while reducing yours. But you never know. There's also a shit ton of accuracy and damage randomization which you can never observe. It's a mess, and stalker soc has the worst gunplay in any fps game ever.

>>9560319
God, last year I tried modding SoC and it was as you describe it, horror spaghetti code show. Item and entity taxonomy were also quite bad, is was hard to understand the nature of the thing you were manipulating. Is not like everything must be an OOP object, but at the very least it would be useful to know what kind of monster or item are you testing. Lua’s shenanigans didn’t help.

>>9553641
they also removed bhopping which is one of the best movement mechanics in fps games i dont get why modern devs are so opposed to it i assume because its a skill you need to practice and learn and thats too much for current day gamers

>>9560192
>no womb/overies
cringe

>>9559785
>bullet spongey-ness of the enemies
how to defeat HECU on hard
run up, single blast, followed up with double blast
don't start with double blast, it pumps very slow

Funny thing, Marc seems to be a fan of Gadget. He even wrote a book:

>Simon: Do you think computer games will become widely accepted in the future as a valid artistic form?

>Marc: It’s already happening. “Wide acceptance” is a double sword, though, because a lot of things get watered down when they find “wide acceptance.” One of my favorite games was “Gadget,” which was not actually a game, but a point-and-click movie. It was art of a very pure sort. But it did not find a “wide” audience. It’s a cult favorite, not a blockbuster. The size of Gadget’s audience or the width of its acceptance are irrelevant to whether it’s a work of art or not.

>>9560232
ironic, doom 3 aged way better than hl2 and is a closer game to hl1

>>9561485
No

>>9560192
This was just a lazy modder using a reference model for Alyx and not removing the vagina

>>9561612
sure

Doom HL and HL2 are the holy trinity of overrated shooters

>>9563047
t.butthurt build, quake or unreal cuck

>>9560030
Maybe some of the more hardcore cases who genuinely cannot parse how normalfags will never touch Linux, but you can definitely find autistic fixations and interpretations on atmosphere and immersion, including but not limited to finding it where most wouldn't.

>>9561485
>>9561573
HL2 is largely guys with machineguns and then also some zombies and headcrabs, featuring a section with antlions, and the occasional aircraft battles, it works overall, but considering how much more variety there was in HL1, it feels like they underdeliver somewhat. The aircraft fights in HL2 are pretty good, and they're expanded on from the sequel, but the CPs and grunts having only those goofy APCs and none of the variety of tanks and artillery from HL1, nor a fraction of machinegun nests or traps, makes them a lot less menacing and interesting, and there's no equivalent to the assassins. There's the Striders, but they're not as tough as they ought to have been (and occasionally they pretend I don't exist and leave the map).

D3 has its own problems with enemies, like an over reliance on surprise closets and teleports, many of the enemies not looking as dissimilar as they should ('gnarly grey skinned humanoid' describes too many of them at a glance), and how you're very seldom fighting anywhere BUT dim gray steel rooms and corridors (shades of Wolf3D here), but they still have old champs like Revenants, Chaingunners, Fatsos, even the Archie, and these are still pretty versatile and varied. Then add stuff like the little spiders, how Imps now leap at you and can climb at places, Zombies with chainsaws, and the Bruisers in the expansion. There's also a variety of different bosses, some which I think are a lot better than most of HL2's boss encounters (Guardian is probably iD's best boss fight).

I like both a lot, but I think there's shortcomings, more could have been learned from their predecessors, and there's outright things which one does that I wish the other also did.

>>9563158
I've never seen a Quake fan talk shit about Doom

HL2 has this certain atmosphere I can't quite put my finger on. A few other games like Phantom crash have the same feeling. For that alone Ill always appreciate it.
I wish games hadn't tried aping its psuedo cutscenes, I suspect Quake 4 was a victim of that because it's absolutely crammed full of that walking simulator bullshit you have to keep doing if you die when a real fight starts after it.

>>9564503
>HL2 has this certain atmosphere I can't quite put my finger on.
>Look, it’s Gordon from Half Life 1!

>>9565393
Yeah, but that's only at times. The best parts of Half-Life 2 are when you don't have the characters talking to you.

>>9560192
why is her internal womb modeled exactly like a casting mold for a dog-cock dildo?

>>9567529
And who are you? The cock expert?