Breakfast at McDonald's looks more disgusting to me than anything I've ever dropped on the floor. Screw any 2/3/5/10-second-rule. Just wipe off any dirt you see and eat it already.

As kids, we used to eat fistfuls of sand, kiss our slobbering pets and lick some of the most disgusting surfaces, yet a spec of dirt is supposed to stop me from eating my sandvich? And how are we ever going to survive the robot apocalpyse if not for our system of mighty organs?

>> ^Yogi:

I think it's more of a style. If it looks more realistic they lose a certain flair or ridiculousness which they like. Sort of like World of Warcraft which people whine about but I love how it looks.


It's not the lack of realism that bothers me, it just looks .... bad.
And it really jars with the environments.

TF2* doesn't look realistic but it still looks awesome.

yeah, I'm valves bitch. I'm comfortable with that

Yeah, whatever happened to trying to emulate Ultima Online instead of WoW? Seriously! WAKE THE FUCK UP!

If someone came out with an updated game that allowed me to go into town kill some fuck for his ships deed and then take my new ship full of stolen weapons and sail it down the coast to fuel a war on some island it would make shit loads of money!

Or just make a house and sit in baking bread and making furniture....

>> ^luxury_pie:

>> ^ChaosEngine:
>> ^spoco2:
Then I start hearing him talking about people getting paid by other players for their starship designs, and look at the pledge amounts and see they come with certain credits and start thinking 'Fucking hell, another fucking game that has in game purchases'.
You know, I heard that and I thought "finally, my childhood dream of making a living designing cool spaceships could be realised! "
I genuinely don't have a problem with that unless it becomes a "pay to win" scenario. In which case I'll stick to the single player campaign. Apparently, some people are making pretty good money designing stuff for TF2 and I think that's awesome.
aside from the minor problems of my complete and utter lack of artistic ability, design skills and 3d modelling know-how

TF2 is exactly the game to bring up on this topic. As long as Mr. Roberts sticks to this "no pay-to-win" rule. It's going to be fine. Let me shut my eyes and believe already
And I've been waiting for a dynamic MMO where players design/ have an impact on the environment in which they play.

>> ^ChaosEngine:

>> ^spoco2:
Then I start hearing him talking about people getting paid by other players for their starship designs, and look at the pledge amounts and see they come with certain credits and start thinking 'Fucking hell, another fucking game that has in game purchases'.
You know, I heard that and I thought "finally, my childhood dream of making a living designing cool spaceships could be realised! "
I genuinely don't have a problem with that unless it becomes a "pay to win" scenario. In which case I'll stick to the single player campaign. Apparently, some people are making pretty good money designing stuff for TF2 and I think that's awesome.
aside from the minor problems of my complete and utter lack of artistic ability, design skills and 3d modelling know-how


TF2 is exactly the game to bring up on this topic. As long as Mr. Roberts sticks to this "no pay-to-win" rule. It's going to be fine. Let me shut my eyes and believe already

And I've been waiting for a dynamic MMO where players design/ have an impact on the environment in which they play.

>> ^spoco2:

Then I start hearing him talking about people getting paid by other players for their starship designs, and look at the pledge amounts and see they come with certain credits and start thinking 'Fucking hell, another fucking game that has in game purchases'.

You know, I heard that and I thought "finally, my childhood dream of making a living designing cool spaceships could be realised!*"

I genuinely don't have a problem with that unless it becomes a "pay to win" scenario. In which case I'll stick to the single player campaign. Apparently, some people are making pretty good money designing stuff for TF2 and I think that's awesome.

* aside from the minor problems of my complete and utter lack of artistic ability, design skills and 3d modelling know-how

Gives me a Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project vibe. I'd play a TF2 Side Scroller like this.

You can enable 1000 fps in the client by using what they show here:
http://michaelkrukar.com/2012/blog/dota-2-1000-fps/
Apparently built into the Source engine and sometimes used with TF2 videos as well...

The music:
M83 - Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun... that link is to their songs that have been sifted so far...

http://youtu.be/avk5YDc1dsk

>> ^CaptainObvious:

What soundtrack is this? Really like this video - I wonder how they got 1000 fps, is that a playback feature?

i see what he did there... had to watch twice. its really easy to get different angles while doing replays in TF2 to export... that would have made video better. im picky!

Right now, they're at ~$342,00 of their $900,000 goal with 28 days to go.

Also, the toned back visuals (though not to a 'Minecraft' degree) kinda reminds me of TF2, just because they could've made it look really good, but that wasn't the point.

Damn Valve for making TF2. I wish I knew how to quit you!!!!!

Your video, Official TF2 Mann vs Machine, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Ahhh TF2, my love for you will never die.

You make some interesting points probie! Half-life is my top game of all time too and I'm a bigtime Valve fanboy of course.

I basically agree with everything you said, the games have become more broad, L4D2 and Portal 2, while both excellent, were a little underwhelming... but I guess comparing them to the greatest game of all time is bound to lead to disappointment too...

For the most part though, I think that Valve's overall approach; releasing software for free, bridging the gap between developers and gamers with Steam, and their system of game development in general, is a great approach and it's one that's given me a lot of joy and fulfilment as a consumer.

I'm using their Source Filmmaker software right now to create a short film and all along the way Valve employee's been answering questions on forums, blogging about their favorite videos so far, releasing new content every week etc...

Sure they're just a company and ultimately they want our money but when I look at Valve compared to most other developers/publishers, it's like night and day. Valve releases DLC all the time, for free. Every time I play TF2 (which is now free too) there's always new maps and new weapons. L4D1 and 2 both got new campaigns, in fact another one JUST came out for L4D2, for free! Compare that with almost every other game company and they're charging you for DLC before the game is even out. Or they split their game into 3 separate games! *cough* Blizzard *cough*

I just think there's something they 'get' about where gaming and software is going in general and I for one hope they continue on this ride!

Yes I know I'm a huge fanboy...

>> ^probie:

Still my #1 game of all time. I've always been a fan of the Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, etc., so the idea of an every man unleashing who-knows-what-upon-the-world was really appealing. Not to mention the variety of guns, the variety and originality of the monsters, the way each section felt like a real place. [spoiler]You race to the surface dependent on being rescued only to be driven back down underground, realizing as you wander through areas of the facility that no one normally goes that you're now entirely self-reliant. Top that off with other little psychological tricks they used: passage of time (when you first run into the military it's sunny, the next time you hit the surface it's night time), mortality (getting caught and thrown to your doom in the trash compactor, knowing you're about to become a footnote, only to escape again). I still get tingles when I remember dropping down off the roof into that pit of water, hoisting myself up into the pipe and starting to scurry down it when, at the other end, I see a soldier pop open the door and throw in a satchel charge. (Read: OH SHIT!!! backpedal backpedal ) Hell, I'm pretty sure I even held my breath in real life when I dropped back into the water; that's how engrossing the experience was. [/spoiler]

Unfortunately, I think Valve took the idea of spit and polish to absurd levels in every game they've made since, with it culminating in Portal 2. I'm not talking about the story; that was great. I'm talking about the "Here, let us spoon feed you each level by pointing out that this is the only wall that you can put a portal on, oh good, you did it, see? Aren't you having fun?"-type gameplay. The only way they could have been more direct is by putting a giant, flashing sign that says "DO THIS NEXT". [spoiler]To be fair, I felt a small tinge of it again in Half-Life 2, when you reach the bridge and have to make your way across the under-belly of it. I think this was do to the fact that there was nothing there (ie. a convenient arrow sign) to indicate that's what you needed to do. I remember looking around, seeing the path leading down behind the house, following it with my eye to the bridge and thinking "Are you serious??" Sure enough, 2 minutes later I'm grasping on the rusted metal and cursing under my breath at the developers. [/spoiler]
Regardless, something has gotten lost in the translation since Half-Life. Gone is the wonder and sense of freedom I felt; now I feel that I'm only playing the game the way they require me to, and not on my own. They may have been directing me where to go in Half-Life, but they did it with such slyness that it never felt forced, or blatant.
Sadly, I think their cabal process has become a double-edged sword, allowing them to create some of the most memorable video games, but tailoring it to the lowest common denominator. (A great read if you have a minute or two.)
And on that note, I'm off to hunt down some really, really good weed that will make me forget about everything I liked about Half-Life 1. Just so I can replay it again.

I laughed my ass off at the tf2 clip.