No, Chet Faliszek did NOT just confirm Half Life 3…

...But he did have some good things to say about VR.

Try holding your hands out like this for ten minutes. That's when you realise why a mouse and keyboard works so well.

 

Valve writer Chet Faliszek did indeed run a Developer Session at this year’s EGX but no, he did not confirm that Half Life 3 was in development, and that it would not support Virtual Reality. OK, so it was admittedly open to a little interpretation, but there were whiteboard doodles during Half Life 2’s development that yielded more useful information.

So what was actually said? You can actually find the full video over at Eurogamer’s website and it’s definitely worth watching the whole thing, but the exchange that’s being reported elsewhere comes at the end when the floor was opened up for questions.

“Is Half Life 3 gonna be in VR?” was the first of one guy’s questions. Chet responded with a polite smile and, “We were kinda betting that that was gonna get asked, no.”

You could interpret this as confirmation of Half Life 3, or you could see it as someone who constantly gets asked such questions and now will only respond with a flat and succinct, “no.”

The guest followed it up with a question on wireless technology, but even he didn’t think he’d gotten any confirmation on the matter. Before surrendering the microphone he added, “You didn’t answer my first question.” The response he got?

“I said no.”

Do you want this? Yes. You want this.

Now that that’s out of the way, go and watch the video anyway. Chet Faliszek had some very interesting things to say about the development of Steam’s VR platform and the HTC Vive.

One of the most important points he wanted to make was about space requirements. Although we’ve had confirmation in the past that the Vive would work sitting down, there has been speculation that the difference between Vive and Oculus Rift would be that one would suit a seated experience and one would require a dedicated room. This naturally lead to some concerns over whether people without the floor space would be able to enjoy Valve’s offering or be forced into going with another solution.

The HTC Vive would work in a space up to five by five metres, but that is a maximum limit, not a required minimum. The experience scales down to a stationary and, yes, seated experience. The point was pressed so hard that it’s clear Valve have been listening to people’s concerns on the subject. Unfortunately, having finally experienced the Vive demo, while I may not need a five by five space for VR, you really really want it.

Sony @ E3

Going into the Sony Conference this year, I didn't know what to expect.  Bethesda had already brought the house down last night with the release date of one of the biggest games this year just last night, and Microsoft had surprised everyone with the announcement of backwards compatibility with the Xbox One.  So, Sony had an uphill battle.  However, with what I saw, Sony might've easily won E3 this year.

Right out of the starting gate, they bring out the big guns.  For the first announcement of their ninety minutes, they chose The Last Guardian.  A game that's been in development limbo for close to a decade, and the projected release date is...sometime in 2016!  This was simply a massive bombshell.  Everyone was hoping for information on this game from the makers of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, two critically acclaimed games from Team Ico, but I think many people expect it to be one of the final announcements, given how long it's been since the last bit of information was gleaned about it.  The trailer didn't show much, but it showcases the interaction between the main character and his companion.  All in all, it  looked stunning, and I simply cannot wait until this game is released.

Following on the heels of that is a huge endeavour, but Sony chose Guerrilla Games to appear next.  Best known for their work with the Killzone series, Guerrilla Games announces a brand-new IP called Horizon Zero Dawn.  Not much was said about this game, but what little information we have seems to suggest that it takes place centuries after present-day civilizations have died out.  Again, the trailer doesn't explain much, but it does show off some amazing combat against..mechanical dinosaurs.  Yes, there is little explanation, but from what they've shown, the game looks spectacular and it's certainly on my list of games to watch out for.  It looked very polished, so I expect to hear much more about this one at Gamescom.

With the huge games out of the way, Sony announces a new entry in the Hitman saga.  In yet another showcase, Sony shows nothing of the story - probably for good reason, since Hitman doesn't really need story - and instead opts for showing a myriad of locales and characters, some of which will probably be targets within the game.  I'm curious to see where they go after the ending of the previous game - which appears to be chronologically before this new entry, since a character says "Good to have you back" while focused on 47's face.  For PS4 users only, a preorder nets beta access, which suggests there will be a multiplayer component, which I'm unsure about.

Sony then went on to show some Street Fighter 5 footage. After a quick set of sequences showcasing Birdie and Cammy, they mentioned that the public beta for the game will be come to the PS4 exclusively on July 23rd..

After that brief calm, they called Sean Murray to the stage, who proceeded to blow our socks off - after we had just managed to put the back on after Last Guardian! - with some new No Man's Sky footage.  After starting in a real space battle, followed by a small glimpse at the sheer size of the game universe, he jumped to a random planet closer to the galaxy center and landed.  He then announced that every planet was fully destructible.  Still, with no release date in sight, this game continues to astound.  However, he did mention that the planet he jumped to will be able to be found by players once they get the game, suggesting that he was actually playing a final build of the game, which further suggests the release date could be sooner than we all think.

Media Molecule, best known for their work on Tearaway and Little Big Planet, then announced Dreams, a pretty ambitious evolution of their previous works, in which players will be able to construct seamless 'Dreams' that can be explored endlessly.  Unfortunately, I sorta glossed out at this, since it seems directed at highly creative individuals, which I am unfortunately not.  Afterward, they announced Firewatch would be making its console debut on PS4.  It feels very survival horror, without that overt horror feel that typically comes with that territory.  I'm very curious for this one, and will probably add it to my list to buy when it comes out.

Next up, Sony trotted out their seeming partnership with Bungie with footage of the new Destiny expansion coming Septmber 15, The Taken King.  As well as adding new subclasses for the existing classes - a Void Bow Hunter, Arc Lightning Warlock, and Solar Hammer Titan - it will also pit guardians against Oryx, father of Crota, who has come inward from the outer solar system to get revenge for his son's murder.  It looks spectacular, and seems to suggest many new areas - Saturn was among what I saw, as well as possibly more Mercury.  Further, Playstation users will get more exclusive content, including a day one strike and multiplayer maps.  Given the time I've spent with this game as it is, I'll definitely be playing this one, though it has some huge expectations to fill if it intends to hold players after Fallout 4 is released.

Switching gears somewhat, we get some new footage for Assassin's Creed Syndicate, the yearly release for the franchise with so many mixed feelings about it.  We are introduced to Evie Frye, sister to Jacob Frye and the second female protagonist available in an Assassin's Creed game - the first being Aveline de Grandpré from Liberation - and the first since Ubisoft's ill-choice of words last year about it being hard to have a female protagonist.  We are shown the Cane Sword, which seems quite intuitive in use, as well as throwing knives which appear to be somewhat useful.  PS4 is also going to be getting a set of exclusive missions titled the Dreadful Crimes.  I expected this to be connected to Jack the Ripper, but apparently they're focused on Victorian-era mystery novelists.  With what is already expected this year, I'll probably hold out on this one, since I was burned very badly with Unity's gamebreaking bugs last year.

World of Final Fantasy came next.  Exclusive on PS4 and Vita (the first time all show they've even mentioned their ailing handheld system) the World of Final Fantasy almost feels like a pokemon-esque game.  You can shrink your character to a chibi and ride monsters, or return your chibi to normal size and have those monsters ride you for some reason.  While not much was really shown about this, it looks intriguing enough that I'll definitely pick it up for my Vita, since my PS4 will be getting a major workout this holiday season.

And then, Sony brought the house down.  I thought it couldn't get any bigger after the announcement of The Last Guardian, but oh was I wrong.  Because they announced the Final Fantasy 7 remake that's been teased for years.  The character models appear to use modified Advent Children models, and I also think the in-game engine is modified from Final Fantasy 15's, which combine to make this look spectacular.  No release date was given, but I will predict it will have a 2017 release date to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy 7.

After that, I blanked out just slightly.  they showed off a quartet of new games from Devolver Digital: Ronin, Eitr, Mother Russia Bleeds and Crossing Souls.  They looked fascinating, but what little I noticed caused me to ignore most of this segment, since none of those games seemed to interest me - instead, spots sickened me, which is not what I want my games to do.

Sony then started talking about Kickstarter.  I was confused at first, and then the trailer came on.  Shenmue 3 appears to be happening.  A game originally based on the Dreamcast, Shenmue 3 launched a kickstarter literally during the Sony conference.  As of writing, the kickstarter sits at 1.2 million dollars, 60% of the asking price of two million.  A direct sequel to the previous games, this kickstarts still has a month remaining.  I fully expect this game to get far more than than the asking funding, and with Sony behind them, we can be sure that funding this game will get this game released.

Next, Batman: Arkham Knight was showcased.  With the release date of June 23rd, we are shown one of the exclusive Scarecrow Nightmare missions.  With you controlling a cop, you suddenly get dosed with Fear Toxin and you start shooting everything.  It looks very fast paced, but I don't know what the final reward for these missions will be, so we'll have to see if the exclusivity is worth it.

The next bits step away from games for a bit, first talking about Project Morpheus and dropping a few names of games coming for the system (which we'll probably hear more about in the coming days after people get some hands-on with it on the show floor), and then about Playstation Vue, a tv programming system currently availabe in LA, San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Philedelphia.  They will be allowing subscribers to choose channels they want to pay for, which is huge - coming at a time when Verzion is pushing this exact thing with their Custom TV packages.  Further, Playstation Plus members will get an undisclosed discounted rate on subscriptions, which would just add to the already massive value of the service.

Returning to the games, which is far more interesting than Vue or Morpheus (though both are big for Sony, I'm sure) we are treated to a reveal of Call of Duty Black Ops 3.  The segment starts with a four player co-op mission, fighting a wave of mechanized shock troops, as well as hackable artillery walkers.  After that, they surprised by showing multiplayer footage, which felt very like titanfall without mechs - there was a lot of wall running to be had and seemed very fast-paced.  It looked very polished, though since I'm not a fan of the CoD installments, much of the excitement was lost on me.  They also announced that from here on, PS4 users will be the first to play all map packs for Call of Duty, and a beta for Black Ops 3 will appear on PS4 first in August.

Shifting gears to the Star Wars side of things, we have an announcement for Disney Infinity 3.0.  Coming this fall, Disney Infinity will add Star Wars characters to their already robust lineup with two new playsets set in the world.  Even better, Playstation will get an exclusive starter pack which includes the base, five figurines (Including the exclusive Boba Fett figurine!!!) and the playsets Twilight of the Republic and Rise Against the Empire playsets, all a month before any other platform.  It's all exciting stuff, but I've stayed away from games like this solely because the figurine collection aspect seems like an unnecessary money sink for me.

More Star Wars news, we are treated to some Battlefront co-op missions.  We see the Survival mission type for the first time, pitting two rebel soldiers against waves of Imperial forces, starting with stormtroopers but including AT-STs and possibly Sith warriors.  It looked very exciting and I suddenly began wondering if I wanted to get this one.  Playable Offline, split-screen or online, the lack of a campaign still makes me leery.  Star Wars Battlefront is slated for a November 17th release.

Finally, Sony treated us to some Uncharted 4 gameplay.  After a small hiccup with their systems - and what appeared to be a demo restart - we see Nate and Sully working their way through an unnamed city toward the tower of someone named Sam.  While I'm unsure if Sam is friend or foe, the duo moved through the crowd for a bit before a combat wave appeared.  It looks very fluid, and makes me highly excited for this game - as if I weren't already.  Many of the environments looked and felt completely destructible, which is huge for a game like this.  I'm curious to see how much of the world can be destroyed.  Unfortunately, after this demo, the conference ended abruptly, without so much as a word from anyone regarding it.

All in all, Sony brought their A game this year.  I was a bit disappointed about the lack of Vita coverage, but that's par for the course these days - and maybe there will be some gems hidden on the show floor for the system.  As for the games, what they showed was highly surprising, and everything seemed designed to bury the competition in the dust.  Hopefully, the games without release dates will come out soon, because those are quite possibly the best looking of the bunch.

Bethesda @ E3

As some of you may know, Bethesda Softworks announced in February that they will be hosting their first ever conference at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in LA this year.  Given Bethesda's blockbuster lineup, this has led to a lot of hype surrounding the conference.

First, I'll write some thoughts before the conference about what I think they'll cover.  There was the announcement of Fallout 4 just last week, so we know they'll go more in-depth with that during their hour conference.  Secondly, someone was 'accidentally' live streaming a conversation at Bethesda just last night talking about Dishonored 2..  This was one that many had hoped for, but was never really expected, so they'll most likely officially announce the game.  We know id Software has been working on a new Doom for a while now, and that's also expected.

After that, it's pretty much up in the air.  Elder Scrolls Online has been out a while now, so I expect an announcement for an expansion.  It recently came to the console generation, so I would almost expect any expansion to be much cheaper for them - or staggered to allow the consoles the same amount of time with the base game as PC users had.  Unfortunately, I haven't delved too deeply into ESO so I don't know where I stand on the matter.  However, what I *do* expect is an announcement for the next numbered sequence in the long-heralded game.  They'll have to do a lot to top Skyrim, but I can't imagine they'll announce their own conference and exclude any of their franchises.  Personally, I want to either see the Summerset Isles or Hammerfell.  

Further, Bethesda could even surprise everyone and announce a sequel to Rage.  I consider this to be a long shot, simply because id has been confirmed to be working on Doom, but perhaps Doom is practically done and they've had time to prep some Rage footage.

Anyway, the above was written at 9:30pm, half an hour before the conference.  I will finish this with the real announcements after I nerd out on it.

Alright, after a very inspiring opening video, Bethesda has decided to change it up somewhat and decided not to show a trailer for Doom, but instead to show true gameplay.  It looks just as spectacular as I expected it to be, as they showcase a few of the amazing weapons and many different finishing moves on the myriad of enemies.  They also showed off a bit of multiplayer before returning to the singleplayer and showcasing a level in Hell.  They also announced a custom map too for the game, titled Doom Snapmap.  Every copy of the game will get this, and will allow modders to shine wherever they may play.  It looks very in-depth, and could aim to shake up the idea that PC gamers get all the mods, that's for sure.  The game is currently slated for a Spring 2016 release.

They also spoke a bit about Battlecry, a team-based shooter reminiscent of Team Fortress.  It looked very cel-shaded and not entirely up my alley, but it looked good.  They're now accepting beta applications at the Battlecry website, and if you apply before the 18th, you'll receive priority beta access and special in-game items.  I'll probably skip this one, myself, but it does look like it could be fun.  This one should be getting a 2015 release.

As mentioned in the second paragraph, Bethesda officially announced Dishonored 2.  After a very polished trailer, it introduces a new character, Emily Kaldwin, and shows her moving fluidly through a much brighter city than the previous game - though this city is also in the throes of a plague.  The Outsider makes a return appearance, and takes place in Karnaca, and you can choose to play as Emily or Corvo, who also makes a return (It's possible that he's the one who trained Emily?  They didn't explain any of the story, but probably for good reason. There isn't a release date as of yet, but they did announce a remastered definitive edition of the previous game, which is coming this fall.

Moving to their MMO, ESO appears to be getting an update which allows players to enter the fallen Imperial City - possibly as a raid instance, since it appears to be quite intricate. Further, they mention Orsinium, so maybe we'll get some backstory on the orcish homeland.  After those small tidbits, they show a screen that I wanted to see from the beginning: the Dark Brotherhood note.  That was enough to get me to possibly consider getting back into this game, since I've always loved the Dark Brotherhood.

More on the Elder Scrolls front, they announced Elder Scrolls Legends, a strategy card game that sounds a lot like Hearthstone.  They mention mobile devices, but the game appears to mimic Hearthstone and will release on PC and iPad.  Slated for a 2015 release, they didn't show any gameplay or anything about the game, so I'm very curious to see how it plays.

Finally, they get to the showstopper: Fallout 4.  As suggested by the trailer, we finally see the beginning of the war.  It starts out with some gameplay of real face sculpting.  You can not only select pieces of a face and make changes - no sliders! - but you can also choose a male or female character.  That in itself, is huge, especially after the deadly...fallout (bad joke, am I right?) from Ubisoft last year saying how hard it was to animate a female character.  Further, your in-game child is generated based on the couple that you create during that opening sequence.  I don't know what purpose that will have, but it's fascinating that you can modify the character you don't choose and still have those choices make a difference in your game.  Further, they appear to have made it fully voiced, even with the ability to choose a name; they have pre-recorded over a thousand of the most popular names in use, so that you can use your name and still be able to have full dialog.  Obviously for people like me and others, you won't have your name in-game, but it's a huge step forward for RPG immersion.

As for the story, they didn't reveal much aside from saying the bulk of the game takes place two hundred years after the war begins, and that you are the sole survivor of Vault 111.  You can choose between First or Third Person Perspective, as well as being able to do basically anything; you are never locked into dialog - you can turn and leave after starting a conversation, or you can shotgun people in the face.  It's a very dynamic approach to conversations, one that I've not seen used in that form before.  They also showcase the dog seen in the trailer, and apparently he counts as a true companion; you can issue orders to him, he can fight alongside you, and you can treat him like a real friend.  It's very interesting.  They've also mentioned a layered armor system.  While they didn't quite explain this very well, I believe it means that you'll be allowed to fully customize your loadout.

As for the Pip-boy, they've spent a lot of time crafting it, giving it real heft; your protagonist finds it outside the vault when he leaves, and it can be given upgrades - they mentioned games that can be played on your Pip-boy, which means I'll probably waste so much time on that it will be utterly ridiculous.  Finally, they announced Fallout 4 Pip-boy Edition, which has a real Pip-boy, which you can add your phone into and use the second-screen app for Fallout 4 - you won't need the Pip-boy to use the app, but it certainly adds a measure of flair to the whole thing.

They segued into a new game they announced as well called Fallout Shelter.  On iOS devices, you can make your own vault, where you're the overseer.  It takes clear inspiration from such games as FTL and XCOM, where you can build a vault and try not to kill everyone.  It's free to play and does not have a paywall; there is no pay to win.  Even better, it is out now.  I plan to play it for a while to see how lost I get into it.

Luckily, they weren't done with Fallout 4.  You have the option to salvage pieces from the world to rebuild your home.  The limitations are currently unknown, but it shows them tearing down a burned down house for resources, which are then used to build a home.  Through this, you can build your own town, and NPCs can show up and populate the town that you built.  Further, it will be attacked by raiders (Todd Howard all but confirmed that you will have to defend it) so it has a form of Tower Defence built into it.  It seems super ambitious, but everything about this game seems to be that.  Case in point, you can not only build multiple towns - and even set up trade routes between them - but every item has a purpose; it can all be salvaged and used to craft weapons and armor.  There are 50 base weapons and over 700 modifications for those weapons.  Even better, you can also have your own power armor.  It's all very exciting stuff, but they saved the best for last: Fallout 4 will grace the world with its presence on November 10, 2015.

So, as for my predictions, I was about half.  They announced stuff for ESO, but no numbered entry - though that was a tad hopeful, since they were already working on Fallout 4.  They didn't announce anything for Rage, but again, id's already super busy.  All I know for sure is that I'm going to preorder this almost as soon as I get the chance, since it looks so amazing.  All in all, this was a huge start to what I hope will be a spectacular E3.  I plan to do similar reviews for a couple other conferences that I plan to watch, so stay tuned for those

Gamer Geek Weekly - Week of May 11th, 2015

Welcome this is Raul for Geek I/O’s Gamer Geeks with the top stories for the week of May 11th 2015.

10 years ago this week the World of Warcraft Guild Pals for Life posted a video of a raid gone wrong, immortalized the battle cry of Leeeeeeroy Jenkins.  The battle cry has been turned in a achievement for World of Warcraft and a card for Blizzard’s other game Hearthstone.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/11/8584549/happy-10-year-anniversary-leeeeeeeeeeeeroy-jenkins

Twitch the online video game streaming site, stated in a blog post that they are rolling out with a opt in beta feature that will be available to all streamers that would reduce lag by 33% on average.

http://blog.twitch.tv/2015/05/new-reduced-stream-delay-beta/

Nintendo has announce their programming for E3 for June 14th to the 20th.  Starting with The Nintendo World Championships for the first time in 25 years. Also planned for that week is a Nintendo Digital Event, Treehouse Live, as well as a demo for Mario Maker for Wii U being available at select Best Buy locations.

http://e3.nintendo.com/

Staying the the Nintendo theme.  The Silver Edition Mario amiibo will be in stores on May 29 at the msrp $12.99

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/J5qdBlZvsdmVY7vfvnIfRhtBfGLoQzf8

Steam is have a publisher sales weekend with up to 80% off capcom titles. Like Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Dead Rising and many others.  Head to steampowered.com the see the full list.  

http://store.steampowered.com/sale/capcom2015/

Thanks for listening Geek I/O’s Gamer Geeks and check out Geek-io.net where you put geek in and geek out.

Gamer Geek Weekly - week of May the 4th, 2015

Welcome to the Geek I/O’s Gamer Geeks news for the Week May the 4th 2015 I am Raul and lets get started.  

Paying a visit to scottgames.com will treat you a image of a Five Nights at Freddy’s animatronic holding a top hat with the words “The Final Chapter” and a date of October 31, 2015.

http://www.scottgames.com/

In a blog post on the Oculus site stating, that the consumer version of the Oculus Rift will be  shipping in first quarter of 2016 with pre-­orders later this year.

https://www.oculus.com/blog/first­look­at­the­rift­shipping­q1­2016/

And so it begins Disney Infinity 3.0 edition will have figures from the Star Wars Universe.  In a  Announcement Trailer posted on youtube.  There will be Three Sets for Star Wars, one for episodes 1-­3, 4-­6, and the new Star Wars The force Awakens set to be released alongside the new movie.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWnA­yXUmJI

GoG.com has release a BETA version of its GOG Galaxy a DRM­free online gamin platform.  

The platform will provide One­click installs, backup copy download, Offline support, the ability to turn off auto­updates for games,  and rollbacks of game update coming soon.

http://www.gog.com/galaxy

With the news of Konami cancelling a new Silent Hills game the Playable Trailer known as P.T.  is now longer available to download from the Playstation Network Store even if you had it in 

your game library but the local content is still playable.

http://www.destructoid.com/p­t­is­no­longer­available­for­download­even­if­it­s­already­in­your-
library­291652.phtml    Nintendo released a Splatoon Direct this week.  Highlighting many of the features including game mode, weapons, matchmaking and gear. With three new Amiibos.  as well as post launch updates of new weapons and stages.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsZPYB0vMw

Thanks listening and check out Geek­io.net where you put geek in and geek out.