Actually, the Combine Depot does return in retail HL2. There's even an entire chapter dedicated to it. It's Entanglement. Most of the chapter takes place in the Combine Depot right next to Nova Prospekt.
Just the fact that the Source engine looked as good as it did back then on even the most basic computers is mind blowing. Valve had some really talented people back then pushing the envelope. It's just too bad that they seem to be focus on other things instead of game making. Although, with the change in management before Half Life: Alyx and what that did with public communications, this may be the start of a new Valve that's going back to what made it famous: making games.
Thank you. I try to give an quick and entertaining overview/summary of the topic that people will enjoy. Super detailed videos take very long to make and, often times, are not well received by viewers. Thanks for watching! :)
Mate this is honestly one of my favourite channel rn. Loving these HL2 beta videos ;p. Are you going to talk about unreleased enemies or characters from the beta in a future video?
Thank you! :) I honestly don't have a plan about what videos to make. I just do these as the ideas pop in my head. But after reading your comment, I think making a video about cut characters might be good idea too :o) Thanks again!!
I really wish someone at valve would honestly turn around, and look back at all this. I want to play a fully realized HL2:Beta and own it honestly. I'd love to see the employees come back and re-make it, re-code it, and re-work it into the game we never got to see, including anything missing. If not this, I'd at least like to see closure in a form of a letter, like we got for Epistle 3. The Beta is such a mystery since it has so many leaks to it, yet we can't honestly piece it together that easily even though a lot is there. I feel its this wonder and mystery that makes people drawn to it, like how people can get drawn to HL's beta for the same kind of reason. Though HL2's beta has a lot more mystery and oddities to it.
Yeah man. At this point, we can hope that mods like Dark Interval get finished. I think they are doing a great job at recreating the Beta. But I dunno if Valve will ever return to HL2 Beta and make it fully functional...
@@RadiationHazardYT Sadly, with how projects seem to die out pretty fast in valve is something goes wrong; Yeah, I don't think they will return to it. I hope along with others that these mods will be the best we'll ever get with what we've seen from leaks, test demos, or videos.
@@RadiationHazardYT I'm looking forward to checking out Dark Interval,I think for that mod I may go for a brutal Gordon Freeman after seeing so much of the world left behind 20 years ago. but he will have friends that he can talk to on the radio to keep him company through out his journey,besides Barney,Keliner,Eli Maxwell,Captain Vance and his daughter Alyx. though I'm curious as to who voiced her in the Beta vs Retail?
IIRC there weren't any "technical difficulties" behind the removal of the hydra, it was that the gameplay was unsatisfactory and/or frustrating to the players, so they removed it from the game in a relatively late stage of development.
A bit from column A, a bit from column B. Basically, while the hydra looked cool in scripted sequences, it was kinda incomprehensible in actual gameplay. They weren't able to change it enough to actually be fun, so the dev team, with a heavy heart, cut it.
This is all really interesting, I wonder how people would have reacted if the game released with all of this beta stuff kept in. Thank you for making these videos ^^
By the way, the deport was preserved to the release version. It's just that now Gordon enters this Combine structure not from the wasteland as before, but passes under it. After you pass the location with moving walls, where it tries to crush you, look at the broken ceiling. You will see that you are at the side of this structure. To clarify, this is Nova Prospect. Everything else is just the outer layer, to which the Combines do not pay much attention. Even in this video, the map uses the original model of the Combine building used in the release version of the game.
There was gonna be a part where Gordon and Alyx were in a plane, and the plane crashes into a skyscraper if I recall reading about it. She's then captured by Combine soldiers and you need to fight your way through the building. Not very realistic as irl that would destroy the whole building. That concept was later turned into a helicopter crash instead, but I forgot what year that was. It could've either been changed to be more realistic as a building would most likely survive a helicopter, or they changed it after 9/11. They eventually cut the whole crash part in general out either due to 9/11 or maybe they just didn't think it was a good idea.
I think Dark Interval is the best one there is. It keeps the original feel from 2001, and adds on top (what I consider) appropriate content (design wise).
@@RadiationHazardYT i don't like missing information or raising the bar redux. the first is now dead for i don't know how long and the second one is.... well it doesnt have that feeling you know that mix of half life 1 and half life 2 level design with the 2001 atmosphere.
@@Matthew-di4lv The last time I played it, Missing Info was literally the same maps I showed (2001/2002), just spruced up a bit and taped together. I didn't like it either. Raising The Bar Redux's map design is somewhat ok, but the overall design is just... meh. Most of the recreational mods often end up doing their own thing, which kinda misses the whole point of a "Recreation".
Dark Interval with out a doubt for me First time I played it, I was blown away. Raising the Bar though needs better Level Designers. The weapon animations and models have WAY More effort put into them than the maps.
Just wanna say I'm sorry to The Cutting Room Floor for adding this all to the wrong section of the HL2 beta articles and for using the restorations which aren't accurate to the wc mappack.
Oh, and there is a weird custom map called e3_gurluas that often gets passed off as being from Valve's 2003 presentation, which is not true. The map's real name is CMP_Gurluas_2000_Road, which was made by Gurluas who was a HL2World site member. Later it was found by Russian bootlegers, renamed into e3_Gurluas for some reason and included in one of their bootleg Half-Life 2 beta disc releases.
I didn't like Ravenholm ever since I played HL2 all those years ago. But after making these videos, I can kind of appreciate the chapter. I like it now :)
As far as I understand it, the cut levels that I've been showing up have "fixed textures" in them, thanks to the good folks at hl2-beta.ru. The original leak had the maps with some of their textures missing. I guess the maps might run in hl2 retail, but the textures will be messed up.
Yes, I was referring to the child labor element. Then again, video games have gotten away with much more, but I don't think even back then child labor would have flown with the News Media and Politicians.
Anti-Video Game Activists like Jack Thompson were at their peak at the time. People like him just needed any reason to sue a game developer and prove the point that "video games are violent and bad for the children".
@@RadiationHazardYT I see, thank you for clarifying the point. People like that are why we can’t have nice things, they were the Karens before Karens were a thing
I liked it too It was a really good touch I didn’t know if that was really it or a song off ncs but it fits a lot of the atmosphere of the beta love your vids man
I doubt you'll read this because of how old the video is, but if you do, how did you get the water on e3_town to look so nice? My version of e3_town has unreflective and opaque water.
I know this comments 2 years old but a lot of the Beta maps from the leak are buggy/broken right out of the box and need a lil bit of fixing/improvements in Hammer to get looking/running right
The way a lot of the maps in Beta HL2 look remind me a lot of Kingpin. If you like foreboding, depressing, gothich environments you should definitely give that game a try. It has a weird combination of urban-noir combined with art deco.
Y know they rely didn't know what the fuck they were doing. Some of the shit they did cant make sense, for example the combine drain the earth's water leaving only a small percentage left. So how does the borealis stay afloat+ If you can breath in the air how come barney, alyx, eli, and rebels dont wear masks?
had the beta maps not been leaked back then we would have gotten this version of Half life 2 (child labor included) because the combine don't give a fuck about humanity and would rather work them to the bone.
Actually, the Combine Depot does return in retail HL2. There's even an entire chapter dedicated to it. It's Entanglement. Most of the chapter takes place in the Combine Depot right next to Nova Prospekt.
It's always weird looking at Beta Content for Half-life. It's mind blowing to look at what could have been.
Yup! Really interesting to experience. Feels very weird too sometimes, as if I shouldn't be able to play it or see it.
@@RadiationHazardYT I mean technically you aren't supposed to play it lol
@@kiokkiok4590 Lol
Honestly retail looks like a downgrade
@@ЦветомирИванов-т8ь agreed. The change was a smooth brain decision
The cut maps of Half-Life 2 are so insanely detailed, a lot of them look like they could be actual city blocks, and then they just scrapped them.
Just the fact that the Source engine looked as good as it did back then on even the most basic computers is mind blowing. Valve had some really talented people back then pushing the envelope. It's just too bad that they seem to be focus on other things instead of game making. Although, with the change in management before Half Life: Alyx and what that did with public communications, this may be the start of a new Valve that's going back to what made it famous: making games.
You cover these topics pretty well!
Thank you. I try to give an quick and entertaining overview/summary of the topic that people will enjoy. Super detailed videos take very long to make and, often times, are not well received by viewers. Thanks for watching! :)
Mate this is honestly one of my favourite channel rn. Loving these HL2 beta videos ;p. Are you going to talk about unreleased enemies or characters from the beta in a future video?
Thank you! :) I honestly don't have a plan about what videos to make. I just do these as the ideas pop in my head. But after reading your comment, I think making a video about cut characters might be good idea too :o) Thanks again!!
@@RadiationHazardYT Sweet! Glad you liked the idea. Keep up the good work man :D
I really wish someone at valve would honestly turn around, and look back at all this.
I want to play a fully realized HL2:Beta and own it honestly. I'd love to see the employees come back and re-make it, re-code it, and re-work it into the game we never got to see, including anything missing. If not this, I'd at least like to see closure in a form of a letter, like we got for Epistle 3.
The Beta is such a mystery since it has so many leaks to it, yet we can't honestly piece it together that easily even though a lot is there. I feel its this wonder and mystery that makes people drawn to it, like how people can get drawn to HL's beta for the same kind of reason. Though HL2's beta has a lot more mystery and oddities to it.
Yeah man. At this point, we can hope that mods like Dark Interval get finished. I think they are doing a great job at recreating the Beta. But I dunno if Valve will ever return to HL2 Beta and make it fully functional...
@@RadiationHazardYT Sadly, with how projects seem to die out pretty fast in valve is something goes wrong; Yeah, I don't think they will return to it. I hope along with others that these mods will be the best we'll ever get with what we've seen from leaks, test demos, or videos.
@@RadiationHazardYT I'm looking forward to checking out Dark Interval,I think for that mod I may go for a brutal Gordon Freeman after seeing so much of the world left behind 20 years ago. but he will have friends that he can talk to on the radio to keep him company through out his journey,besides Barney,Keliner,Eli Maxwell,Captain Vance and his daughter Alyx. though I'm curious as to who voiced her in the Beta vs Retail?
7:44 the strider just fucking dies lmao
I love the videos you have been doing, I'm glad to know that there are even more people who care about the HL2 Beta. It is very interesting imo.
Thank you :) The Beta definitely is interesting to look into.
i just found your channel i am addicted to watching these hl2 beta videos
10:52 this is indeed so beautiful, it should be a wallpaper.
IIRC there weren't any "technical difficulties" behind the removal of the hydra, it was that the gameplay was unsatisfactory and/or frustrating to the players, so they removed it from the game in a relatively late stage of development.
A bit from column A, a bit from column B. Basically, while the hydra looked cool in scripted sequences, it was kinda incomprehensible in actual gameplay. They weren't able to change it enough to actually be fun, so the dev team, with a heavy heart, cut it.
its been so fun watching your half life 2 related content
This is all really interesting, I wonder how people would have reacted if the game released with all of this beta stuff kept in. Thank you for making these videos ^^
I wonder how the half life fandom would've reacted to half life 2 if it kept with the beta story
By the way, the deport was preserved to the release version. It's just that now Gordon enters this Combine structure not from the wasteland as before, but passes under it. After you pass the location with moving walls, where it tries to crush you, look at the broken ceiling. You will see that you are at the side of this structure. To clarify, this is Nova Prospect. Everything else is just the outer layer, to which the Combines do not pay much attention. Even in this video, the map uses the original model of the Combine building used in the release version of the game.
This is great content 😔👌. Specially since I'm a hard-core half life fan. Subscribed 100%.
There was gonna be a part where Gordon and Alyx were in a plane, and the plane crashes into a skyscraper if I recall reading about it. She's then captured by Combine soldiers and you need to fight your way through the building. Not very realistic as irl that would destroy the whole building. That concept was later turned into a helicopter crash instead, but I forgot what year that was. It could've either been changed to be more realistic as a building would most likely survive a helicopter, or they changed it after 9/11. They eventually cut the whole crash part in general out either due to 9/11 or maybe they just didn't think it was a good idea.
In your opinion whats the best half life 2 beta reaction mod (mine is dark interval)
I think Dark Interval is the best one there is. It keeps the original feel from 2001, and adds on top (what I consider) appropriate content (design wise).
@@RadiationHazardYT i don't like missing information or raising the bar redux. the first is now dead for i don't know how long and the second one is.... well it doesnt have that feeling you know that mix of half life 1 and half life 2 level design with the 2001 atmosphere.
@@Matthew-di4lv The last time I played it, Missing Info was literally the same maps I showed (2001/2002), just spruced up a bit and taped together. I didn't like it either. Raising The Bar Redux's map design is somewhat ok, but the overall design is just... meh. Most of the recreational mods often end up doing their own thing, which kinda misses the whole point of a "Recreation".
Dark Interval with out a doubt for me
First time I played it, I was blown away.
Raising the Bar though needs better Level Designers. The weapon animations and models have WAY More effort put into them than the maps.
Just wanna say I'm sorry to The Cutting Room Floor for adding this all to the wrong section of the HL2 beta articles and for using the restorations which aren't accurate to the wc mappack.
Oh, and there is a weird custom map called e3_gurluas that often gets passed off as being from Valve's 2003 presentation, which is not true.
The map's real name is CMP_Gurluas_2000_Road, which was made by Gurluas who was a HL2World site member. Later it was found by Russian bootlegers, renamed into e3_Gurluas for some reason and included in one of their bootleg Half-Life 2 beta disc releases.
Of mild note:
E3_terminal seems to be the map in the background of HL2's box art. Which is weird since it obviously isn't in the final game.
ravenholm is the best chapter what do you mean
I didn't like Ravenholm ever since I played HL2 all those years ago. But after making these videos, I can kind of appreciate the chapter. I like it now :)
TURN THE SHIP
WE'RE GOING TO BOREALIS
The depot was kept in the skybox of Nova Prospekt maps.
I wonder what would happen if you were to play the cut levels in retail hl2. Would the beta textures be there?
As far as I understand it, the cut levels that I've been showing up have "fixed textures" in them, thanks to the good folks at hl2-beta.ru. The original leak had the maps with some of their textures missing. I guess the maps might run in hl2 retail, but the textures will be messed up.
hey whats the song at the intro i kind of recognize it
That's the Pause menu music from GTA V.
I'm curious what you mean by the possibility of Valve getting sued with the plot point. Was it the child labor and the moral outrage it would cause?
Yes, I was referring to the child labor element. Then again, video games have gotten away with much more, but I don't think even back then child labor would have flown with the News Media and Politicians.
@@RadiationHazardYT yeah, games have gotten more lax, but they wouldve for sure came under fire a bit harder than if they did that back then
Most of these e3 maps are really good.
i love e3 2002/2003
I’m curious, why would valve get sued for child labor as a plot point in a game?
Anti-Video Game Activists like Jack Thompson were at their peak at the time. People like him just needed any reason to sue a game developer and prove the point that "video games are violent and bad for the children".
@@RadiationHazardYT I see, thank you for clarifying the point. People like that are why we can’t have nice things, they were the Karens before Karens were a thing
What’s up with the gta 5 pause menu music
Thought it'd sound cool in the video.
I liked it too It was a really good touch I didn’t know if that was really it or a song off ncs but it fits a lot of the atmosphere of the beta love your vids man
@@ange1playzgamez Thank you :)
3:55 I am slightly confused, why would Valve have been sued for using child labor as a plot point?
Anti video game activists.
1:18 Gta 5 main menu sound
I doubt you'll read this because of how old the video is, but if you do, how did you get the water on e3_town to look so nice? My version of e3_town has unreflective and opaque water.
I know this comments 2 years old but a lot of the Beta maps from the leak are buggy/broken right out of the box and need a lil bit of fixing/improvements in Hammer to get looking/running right
@@JayK20Thanks! I'll keep that in mind next time I grab the Project Beta files
The way a lot of the maps in Beta HL2 look remind me a lot of Kingpin.
If you like foreboding, depressing, gothich environments you should definitely give that game a try.
It has a weird combination of urban-noir combined with art deco.
you backround theme has the minecraft cavbe sound
what ur talikin about ? the song is from gta v pause menu
this guy is either the king of trolling or a 10 year old
I always liked e3 strider
If someone need it
Elvis 0:33
Someone's gotta make one big map in gmod and join together all hl2 beta maps
man e3_industrial looks like nexus city before the downfall
Thanks ;)
Ay thanks dude. I fixed the typo.
am i the only one hearing him say shit even though its actually ship?
are you ok
Y know they rely didn't know what the fuck they were doing. Some of the shit they did cant make sense, for example the combine drain the earth's water leaving only a small percentage left. So how does the borealis stay afloat+ If you can breath in the air how come barney, alyx, eli, and rebels dont wear masks?
Ravenholm is the worst chapter in HL2 to you?
How come?
sued for having kids in the game?
had the beta maps not been leaked back then we would have gotten this version of Half life 2 (child labor included) because the combine don't give a fuck about humanity and would rather work them to the bone.
False, by the time that the beta was leaked, Valve had already changed the story to the version we know and love
Good commentary, but the audio is pretty low.
Thank you :) yeah - I'm learning mixing and all that jazz so hopefully I'll figure out the perfect settings. Thanks again!
@@RadiationHazardYT No worries, it was more of an advice than anything else. ^.^
When i looked up the number on that building (0g0e b 4rn 0) i found some sec.gov archieves