Re: Half Life series vs. Halo series

by **Rotaretilbo** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:21 pm

Ya, there weren't too many physics puzzles in the first one. But I still appreciated the innovation of the physics anyway.

by Rasq'uire'laskar Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:26 pm

So... how would a Half-life RTS turn out?

by **Rotaretilbo** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:29 pm

Might be doable, but generally pretty poorly. The Resistance has like no vehicles, and the only reason they're beating the Combine, despite Gordon's presence, is because the Combine is temporarily unable to teleport in reinforcements.

by Rasq'uire'laskar Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:32 pm

But the micromanagement possibilities of a soldier armed with a portal gun and a gravity gun are... interesting, no?

by **Rotaretilbo** Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:33 pm

It might work as a tactical strategy game or a third person shooter, but it wouldn't really be workable as a competitive multiplayer RTS simply because there wouldn't be balance among factions.

by Rasq'uire'laskar Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:35 pm

Right... Just joking around.

Back to images of Banshees with Ghosts welded onto the side, to give Heretics increased firepower.

by Zaki90 Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:15 pm

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:Right... Just joking around.

Back to images of Banshees with Ghosts welded onto the side, to give Heretics increased firepower.

Someone made that on Halo Custom Edition.

by Felix Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:05 pm

Eh, I just couldn't get into Half life.

by MrX Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:32 pm

ok obviously halo will win

... on a forum full of geeks from a HALO forum

by **KrAzY** Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:54 pm

Rot

exlain in half life 2 any physics puzzle that isn't either a see saw, or a pully?

i've played through half life 2, episode 1, and episode 2. at least 4 times each.... and have never seen any puzzles besides those

by **Rotaretilbo** Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:07 pm

Let's see.

Off the top of my head, not counting the concrete brick fulcrum puzzle at the beginning and the pully ramp, there is a ramp that you have to lift with floating canisters, and there is a bridge that needs to be knocked over by a crane. And I personally consider the antlion chapter (while on foot) to be one giant physics puzzle, because you're basically trying to stay off the sand.

by **KrAzY** Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:21 pm

the crane knocking over is hardly a physics puzzle.... but ill give you that one....

I don't see how there is any physics involved in the staying off the sand.... I did that entire part with a wooden palate and a bicycle

the lifting up by canesters is a backwards see saw....

by Zaki90 Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:11 pm

KrAzY wrote:the crane knocking over is hardly a physics puzzle.... but ill give you that one....

I don't see how there is any physics involved in the staying off the sand.... I did that entire part with a wooden palate and a bicycle

the lifting up by canesters is a backwards see saw....

There weren't only physics puzzles. Episode one and episode 2 had different ones as well.

Ep 1 had the energy balls.

Ep 2 had the place with the eletric water and the barrels puzzle.

by **KrAzY** Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:36 pm

okay...

putting barrels in water to get across without electroctuing yourself IS NOT PHYSICS... thats the equivalent of playing a platformer where you can move the platforms...

pulling out an energy ball and shooting it into another spot is also NOT PHYSICS... you shoot the correct projectile at the correct target then an action happens..... metroid had a similar system involving doors and beams...

unless the term "physics puzzle" is being used VERY loosely here... in which case you could use the logical assumption that EVERY TIME YOU FIRE YOUR FUCKING GUN you are playing a physics puzzle... aka "get bullet to hit enemy"

a true physics game would be having to figure out a long chain reaction of events to try and achieve a goal.... placing X amount of object Y to make object Y raise Z feet isn't physics... and games have been able to do THAT for decades...

by Felix Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:42 pm

KrAzY wrote:okay...

putting barrels in water to get across without electroctuing yourself IS NOT PHYSICS... thats the equivalent of playing a platformer where you can move the platforms...

pulling out an energy ball and shooting it into another spot is also NOT PHYSICS... you shoot the correct projectile at the correct target then an action happens..... metroid had a similar system involving doors and beams...

unless the term "physics puzzle" is being used VERY loosely here... in which case you could use the logical assumption that EVERY TIME YOU FIRE YOUR FUCKING GUN you are playing a physics puzzle... aka "get bullet to hit enemy"

a true physics game would be having to figure out a long chain reaction of events to try and achieve a goal.... placing X amount of object Y to make object Y raise Z feet isn't physics... and games have been able to do THAT for decades...

I always knew Halo was a puzzle game...

by Toaster Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:27 am

Zaki wrote:There weren't only physics puzzles. Episode one and episode 2 had different ones as well.

Krazy wrote:putting barrels in water to get across without electroctuing yourself IS NOT PHYSICS... thats the equivalent of playing a platformer where you can move the platforms...

He wasn't calling them 'physics puzzles.' He was using them as examples of puzzles that do not involve physics.

by **BBJynne** Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:57 am

there's one where you fill a room with water by turning a valve

and then you go back and swim through a tunnel in the water and smash up some boards (in the water) so these giant wooden things float up to the surface, allowing you to proceed with the mission

I dunno what that's considered, but it was cool the first time I figured it out.
maybe it's just a normal puzzle

by czar Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:21 pm

Rotaretilbo wrote:Gameplay - It really goes back and forth. Halo: Combat Evolved had amazing gameplay. However, Halo 2 and Halo 3 didn't do anything to build on this. Conversely, while Half-Life's gameplay was similarly spectacular, Half-Life 2 built on that with the addition of the gravity gun, which dramatically affected gameplay. Half-Life wins this category.

Innovation - Again, Halo: Combat Evolved was somewhat innovative in the sense of turning the same old science fiction humans vs overpowered aliens into something different. maybe not something too different from StarCraft, but it was different, as far as FPS goes. However, Halo 2 and Halo 3 failed as far as innovation goes. Even Forge is just a crappy version of Garry's Mod. Conversely, Half-Life was highly innovative, and Half-Life 2's physics system blew people's minds when it first came out. Half-Life wins this category.

Graphics - Well, Half-Life and Halo: Combat Evolved look pretty much the same, and then Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 look similar as well. However, since Halo 3 is more recent, it likely looks better. I'll give this category grudgingly to Halo.

Storyline - Same as the first two categories. Halo: Combat Evolved had an amazing plot with beautiful character development, the element of surprise, all sorts of amazing stuff. But then Bungie forgot to give Halo 2 a proper ending, and Halo 3's plot wasn't much better. On the other hand, Half-Life and its host of small expansions like Blue Shift and Opposing Force tell an intricate, very dark story. Character development is shallow at first, especially for our friend Gordon, but then Half-Life 2 hits the scene, and we have all sorts of character development for all of the main supporting roles, like Alyx. Not to mention that Half-Life 2: Episode 2's ending is probably one of the best endings to a game I have ever seen. Let Bungie take note, that is how you do a cliff hanger. Half-Life wins this category easily.

Popularity - I think both are pretty popular. As far as campaign goes, I'm willing to bet Half-Life series are more played, since Halo's campaigns, aside from the first, weren't very well liked. As far as multiplayer goes, Halo probably wins, unless we're counting Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, and other games using the Source engine. However, for now, I'll give this category to Halo.

UGC - Half-Life takes this one by a landslide simply because Half-Life is and has always been PC, allowing for all sorts of user generated content. You guys might think Forge is bomb, but Forge is like Garry's Mod except with less control, less content, and more limitations. Not to mention that Half-Life spawned mods like Counter Strike, Day of Defeat, Team Fortress, and many other rather popular mods. This category goes to Half-Life.

Multiplayer - This one all depends on what you count as Half-Life. If we're talking Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, then Halo definitely wins. However, if we're including Counter Strike and Team Fortress, then Halo gets beat pretty hard. However, I'll give this category to Halo.

I agree with all of this except for the graphics part. Have you ever put hl:2's settings all the way up with like 8AA. Looks FANTASTIC

by Rasq'uire'laskar Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:24 pm

OH! I KNOW!

How about that one time where you lured the Hulk into the electrical transformer in the first game? Or when you blew another one up with an artillery strike?

by czar Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:27 pm

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:So... how would a Half-life RTS turn out?

HL2 Wars. http://www.hl2wars.com/
I've played the beta. Could be really cool

by **KrAzY** Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:16 pm

Rasq'uire'laskar wrote:OH! I KNOW!

How about that one time where you lured the Hulk into the electrical transformer in the first game? Or when you blew another one up with an artillery strike?

neither of those are physics puzzles

and I was mainly talking about the 2nd game for physics.

Half-Life 2 is a physics engine... meaning that things behave realistically.... but guess what? almost all next gen games are being built with physics engines that work as well if not better than Source does... when people called Half Life 2 a "physics game" when it was released, that was because physics engines hadn't become real big yet... not because you had to do physics puzzles ,aside from a pully and a bunch of see-saws...

by czar Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:19 pm

But who cares about physics when you have a fantastic story.

by MrX Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:46 pm

KrAzY wrote:Rot

exlain in half life 2 any physics puzzle that isn't either a see saw, or a pully?

i've played through half life 2, episode 1, and episode 2. at least 4 times each.... and have never seen any puzzles besides those

episode 2 with the wires just before the hunter attack

by czar Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:10 pm

sargentbilco wrote:
KrAzY wrote:Rot

exlain in half life 2 any physics puzzle that isn't either a see saw, or a pully?

i've played through half life 2, episode 1, and episode 2. at least 4 times each.... and have never seen any puzzles besides those

episode 2 with the wires just before the hunter attack

OMFG THE HUNTER ATTACK WAS MY FAVORITE PART. Besides the end. Even though it was D'x

When your in the basement and that one Hunter busts through the door, that was so intense.

by LH Justin Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:30 pm

Where's the "GIMME MOAR CAKE!" option?

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