Half-Life's Black Mesa Test Chamber, In LEGO Form4/22/16 9:30am One of the most memorable scenes of Half-Life was right at the beginning, when Gordon Freeman woke up in a severely damaged test chamber, realizing that getting out of the facility will be a bit problematic. LEGO builder Dorian Glacet created a superb diorama, called Resonance Cascade, showing the events that led to this very important moment, using LDD and Mecabricks.The content of this article has been cut.The subject matter of this article was cut from the final version of an official / canonical source. Half-Life 2: Episode Four[1], with the working title Return to Ravenholm, is a cancelled Half-Life 2 Episode, developed outside of Valve by Arkane Studios, apparently from 2006 to 2007. Little to no information is known about it. In a PC Gamer article about the future of the Half-Life series published in May 2006, it was stated that an Episode Four following the end of the Half-Life 2 Episodes trilogy story arc was planned.
It was to be developed outside of Valve, with a stand-alone plot. In December 2007, Episode Three was said to be only the end of the current Half-Life 2 story arc, not the end of the overall Half-Life franchise, nor the episodic releases, with even more episodic games unconnected to the current story arc to be made.[3] This hints at the Episode Four mentioned in 2006. The same month, Gabe Newell stated in an interview that they wanted to expand many pieces of the original story only merely referenced in the previous games, and develop games about Alyx Vance or Dog. In March 2011, Electronic Arts concept artist and 3D modeler Randy Humphries posted in his Coroflot profile six pieces of concept art for what appears to be a canceled Half-Life project, with no further detail (one of a canal, one of railway tracks along a canal, one of a town named "Haven", one of a building interior, one of two presumably Combine units, very different from the current ones). Though it has not been confirmed, it may be the now apparently canceled Episode Four mentioned in 2006, since it was said to be developed outside of Valve.
Electronic Arts distribute Valve's games, so they may have developed this canceled Episode Four. Following the network intrusion of Eidos' servers in May 2011, and the subsequent data leak, community members reported that among the leaked CVs is one of an individual who had previously worked at Arkane Studios (makers of the Source game The Crossing). The CV states that at Arkane, he has worked on "Half-Life 2: Episode 4" (Episode Four) from 2006 to 2007, before "Valve decided to put their episodic efforts on hold," as the resume outlines. It was then discovered that on the public CVs of other Arkane employees (found for instance on LinkedIn[6]) can be found mentions of an "Unannounced Project (Valve Software)", built on the Source engine, some time between June 2007 and October 2007.[7] Thus Arkane Studios as well as Electronic Arts seem to have been connected to Episode Four from 2006 to 2007, though to what extent is unknown. On January 13 2012, Marc Laidlaw confirms the rumor that a fourth and canceled Half-Life 2 Episode, titled Return to Ravenholm at that time, was developed by Arkane Studios from 2006 to 2007.
As big fans of Arkane, Valve wanted to come up with a common project. Valve threw ideas around, Arkane built "some cool stuff", but Valve eventually decided that it didn't make sense to pursue it at the time. They felt like a lot of the staples of Ravenholm (Headcrabs and Zombies) were pretty much played out, and the fact that it would have to take place sometime before the end of Episode Two (so as not to advance beyond where Valve had pushed the story) was a creative constraint that would hamper the project as well as Arkane. Episode Four and Return to Ravenholm are also confirmed by Laidlaw to be the same thing. ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode 4 possibly planned by Valve. Spin-off episode to feature Alyx and Dog? at Video Games Blogger ↑ Randy Humphries's Coroflot profile ↑ Sébastien Gaillard's LinkedIn profile ↑ New HL2: Episode 4 info surfaces at the Steam Users' ForumsSince the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Two in October 2007, there has been very little news from Valve on the next Half-Life game.
Half-Life 2: Episode Three, the third and final installment of the Half-Life 2 episodes, was expected to follow soon after Episode Two, as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months.[1] However, as of February 2017, three pieces of concept art are all Valve have shown of the next game. Since then, Valve has released eight other games. Leaks suggest that Valve has abandoned the episodic model[2] and is now working on a full sequel entitled Half-Life 3,[3] but Valve employees have consistently refused to comment on the status or nature of the next Half-Life game, much to the displeasure of their fanbase.[5] Despite general satisfaction with the games Valve has made since Episode Two, the next Half-Life game continues to be their most anticipated title, and since the long-awaited release of Duke Nukem Forever in 2011, it has become gaming's most infamous case of continuing vaporware. What follows are the facts that have been revealed by Valve or found by gamers over the years about anything relating to the future of the Half-Life franchise.
, with Valve cited as the contact.[6] The URL used to redirect to The Orange Box website but now returns a blank page. ↑ 1.0 1.1 PC Gamer, May 2006 ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Valve manifesto at Develop ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode One gold, Two dated, Three announced on GameSpot ↑ RPS Interview: Episode Two’s David Speyrer on Rock, Paper, Shotgun ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 The first concept art from Half-Life 2: Episode Three on GamesRadar ↑ HL2: Episode Three Concept Art Leaked [UPDATED] on LambdaGeneration ↑ Tony Sergi answer on the Steam Users' Forums ↑ 2008 contest winners at Into the Pixel ↑ 18.0 18.1 Interview: Valve's Doug Lombardi on Video Games Daily ↑ FAKE Episode 3 Maps for Half-Life2: Ep2 on Mod DB ↑ Left 4 Dead 2 Game Add-on #1 at the Steam News ↑ 23.0 23.1 Message to Valve on the Steam Users' Forums ↑ Steamcast Episode #9: "Exclusive interview with Gabe Newell" ↑ [dead link, archived here] ↑ Portal Patch Adds Morse Code, Achievement - Portal 2 Speculation Begins on Shacknews
↑ Half Life 2: Episode 3 found in the Alien Swarm SDK! on the Steam Users' Forums ↑ 'When is Half-Life 2: Episode 3 coming out?' ↑ Newell: Valve to Replace Single-Player With "Single-Player Plus" at The Escapist ↑ When is Half-Life Episode 3 Coming? You Know the Answer at 1UP ↑ Fans picketing outside of Valve’s office for HL3 at Halflife2.net ↑ Day 2 of the Valve protest - Still holding strong. ↑ What Did Gabe Newell Say to the Half-Life 3 Protesters? ↑ Half Life 2: Episode 3 Same Old Story at Attack of the Fanboy ↑ Chet Faliszek's reaction to the rumors and the ARG on the Steam Users' Forums ↑ Half-Life 3 T-Shirt Confirmed, But That is All on Kotaku ↑ Valve voice actor working on "Half Life: Episode 3" at Xbox 360 - The Official Magazine ↑ STEAM HOLIDAY SALE - DAY FIVE at the Steam News ↑ Ellen gets nominated for a VGA award, Part 3: Into the belly of the beast. at John Patrick Lowrie's Blog ↑ Prediction: Half-Life 3 Will Be Unveiled in 2012 at IGN
↑ Aftermath: Invite Party -- 17,500 current members at "A Call for Communication (Half-Life)" on Steam ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 ↑ Let's Play Half-Life 2! - Event at "A Call for Communication (Half-Life)" on Steam ↑ Newell Updates Interviewer On The Status of (Wink, Wink) 'Ricochet 2' on Kotaku ↑ Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw goes back to Breen with fanfiction Twitter account on PCGamesN ↑ CLANG by Subutai Corporation on Kickstarter ↑ [mirrored clip link for restricted regions] ↑ Star Trek's JJ Abrams and Valve's Gabe Newell - Full Keynote Speech - D.I.C.E. SUMMIT 2013 on YouTube ↑ Valve's voice actor: HL3 not in dev for several reasons; insufficient Mo-Cap tech on NeoGAF ↑ Linked comment by John Patrick Lowrie on John Patrick Lowrie's Blog ↑ MyGuitarIsOnFire comments on I got a tour at VALVe! ↑ Valve files trademark for... on NeoGAF ↑ Gabe Newell on what makes Valve tick on The Washington Post ↑ Minh "Gooseman" Le Interview - The Creator of Counter-Strike by goRGNtv on Twitch