Featured Threads Archive

Update 2:
We've put together a list of the names of 791 "projects" that were found in this database. You can view it on Pastebin now.

Update 1:
We have recently been sent a copy of the original Jira archive data, which has provided unprecedented access to the entire project tracker. Other listings in the data files for known and unknown projects include "Stars of Blood", "Return to Ravenholm", "Episode 3"/"Episode 3 Movie", "Hardware" /...

Neogaf user "CBOAT" (crazy buttocks on a train) recently posted a thread highlighting a confidential PowerPoint presentation from Valve showing off the company's next-gen Source 2 engine using an updated Left 4 Dead 2 prototype. While we regularly don't post about idle speculation or rumours, CBOAT is well known for leaking confidential information to the public, and we believe it is very possible this presentation and the screenshots contained within it are official and are worth consideration.


The first slide, shown above, features an updated version of the the Plantation level from Left 4 Dead 2 and highlights the significant increase in detail possible on the Source 2 engine, with...

Update 1:
We can now confirm that the "Half-Life 3" trademark has been removed from the Trademarks and Design Registration Office of the European Union (OHIM) website. The entrant appears to have disappeared entirely after only being listed on the website database for little over a week, allowing us to identify that the trademark's listing was more than likely a hoax intended to generate fake buzz for a game which is unlikely to appear for several years. Returning readers may remember when we had discussed how the "Half-Life 3" listing was previously never officially checked or authenticated before its removal.

On October 2nd 2013, a brand new trademark filing appeared on the same site, this time for "Portal 3", which is listed under the trademark number of...

Half-life 2: Episode 4 or Return to Ravenholm was a title being developed by Arkane studios between 2006 and 2007 before eventually being cancelled. Little of the game beyond concept art and an animation reel demo has been seen before now. All images are verified as work from Episode 4.

Our investigators have uncovered a selection images which show some in-game shots of the title which show new textures and models Arkane had planned for the game. You may notice a HUD element saying 'Absorption' in the images, if you have any suggestions what that might be, we'd like to hear them!

You can also check out our video showing all the media from Episode 4 right here.


...

UPDATE: We've gone ahead and added the raw, non-watermarked images. Click on an embedded preview image to download its high quality counterpart. Enjoy!

Fancy a glimpse of what Half-Life 2: Episode 3 could look like?

Here you go then:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.375965635802364.86003.274276235971305&type=1

These fantastic images have been sent in by an anonymous visitor to the site from an unknown source. Despite that, we have no reason to believe they aren't real.

One could argue that perhaps they are just generic Half-Life 2 concept art of concepts that never made it into the final game. But there's plenty of evidence here to suggest they are post Episode 2.

For example:

• Alyx is wearing Eli's jacket
• Crashed helicopter in an Arctic location
• Art featuring Xen
• Combine Advisors in Xen

The images are from circa 2008 and therefore not necessarily representative of the current state of...

Updates 1 & 2: [check bottom of post]

Our resident investigator Barnz has done some more digging in the Source Filmmaker script files, and he's uncovered probably some of the biggest news we've ever reported on our site.


He's found many more references to a "Source 2", but not just one vague line like our previous entry. We're only one file deep, and already it's clear that the references to "Source 2" are indeed referring to a next-gen engine that Valve is currently developing. I'm only going to show one line in this post, but there are about 60+ references here, and this one line is probably the most telling.

Here's the code paste at Pastebin.com, and this is the file path on the harddrive:...

We are pleased to be able to provide exclusive media shots, in game, of Counter-Strike: Source.[br]
[br]
This news posting will be updated with all of our exclusve screens, but here are a few to whet your appetite.[br]

That's right, you can now use Steam chat at work! The chat can be accessed from your Steam Community home page or simply by clicking this link. The chat is a beta and you can't yet change your status, join a group chat or see nicknames you've tagged your friends with but hopefully these features will be added soon.

While we're on the subject of Steam chat, be sure to join the ValveTime Steam Community page and hop into the chat some time.

We've just recieved an email from Valve's Doug Lombardi about the System Requirements for Left 4 Dead. A recent update emerged quoting incorrect system requirements on the yougamers.com website, Doug confirmed that they are incorrect. And attached the real system requirements from the actual box:


There you have it folks, Get ready.

On September 1st 2013, Valve's Jira database was momentarily made accessible to the general public once again, much to the delight of users over at the Steam Powered User Forums and Neogaf. The project management and bug tracking software was previously left accessible back in late June 2013, which resulted in an extremely infamous incident which confirmed the development of several unannounced Valve projects including Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3, Source 2, and much more.

As with the last few designs, the most recent appearance of the Steam Controller has been unearthed from files contained within the latest Steam Client Beta update. The new design, shown below, appears largely similar to the previous iteration and features an analogue stick, four main buttons, and two touch pads.
The most striking change from previous designs is the appearance of a four-point directional guide on the left touch pad. It's not entirely clear just yet how the four-point guide will be used or what it's main purpose is, but we'd imagine the left pad may now be re-configurable to feature as a softer, more diverse alternative to the standard D-Pad by offering more directional input than just the standard four-points of motion.

While it has yet to be...

Following the reveal of the initial price point for the HTC Vive yesterday afternoon, this morning briefly saw Valve jump the gun by releasing the “SteamVR Performance Test” a little too early. The application is used to analyse a system’s CPU, GPU, and OS performance over the course of two minutes before providing the user with a report regarding how each component fared when compared to the recommended Vive technical specifications released yesterday.

The program was only publicly available for a short time on the Steam Store before being removed. As shown below, the test, running on Source 2, takes place in a cutdown and shortened version of the Aperture Robot Repair demo with lower visual fidelity, fixed camera angles, no interactivity, no sound effects, and very few of the “core” animated sequences, including the opening of the drawers and GLaDOS’ arrival.


While it certainly...

We recently discovered screenshots of unpublished Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map, Balkan. These images were published by former Hidden Path Entertainment artist Aubrey Pullman on his personal website.

Balkan was a remake of Marc Schröder's Vostok, which was originally created for Gearbox Software's incarnation of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. It was included in the final release of the game by Turtle Rock Studios. It also appears in the Xbox release of Counter-Strike, and in Ritual Entertainment's Deleted Scenes as Building Recon, a single player mission based on the map.

An intrepid Redditor going by jackaljayzer was lucky enough to get a Half-Life preview disc, intended for journalists at the time, by a friend in Bellevue, Washington (where Valve is based). The disc contains screenshots, trailers and a demo build of the Half-Life 1997 alpha.


Jackaljayzer has put the contents of the disc up on the web and is auctioning the disc on eBay. You can download the alpha right now from this link. To play the alpha delete or renamed the "...\Half-Life 0.52\Half-Life\Opengl32.dll" file and then run "...\Half-Life 0.52\Half-Life\enginegl.exe".

Credit goes to Marphy Black for the screenshots.

Enjoy!

Mirrors:...

After accidentally missing last week thanks to one of my own blunders, we're back to recap the past two weeks of Valve news! With Valve once again quiet, the biggest news we have to discuss revolves around the on-going Dota 2 / Warhammer cosmetic item contest, the re-tweaking of the 6.87 balance update, and a mind-blowing new speedrun of Half-Life 2!

We're hoping news should pick up again sometime soon, so be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on...

Now here's something we've been sat on for far too long!

After hitting a seemingly impenetrable barrier, we recently unearthed a number of never-before-seen screenshots showing strangely-detailed levels from Half-Life 2: Episode Four, aka “Return to Ravenholm”, a now long-dead project previously in development by Arkane Studios in collaboration with Valve.

As explained in the Spotlight video above, these new screenshots come to us via the personal portfolio of Robert Wilinski, a Senior Environment Artist at Arkane Studios between 2007 and 2008, who was likely an important component within the “Return to Ravenholm” and...

Earlier today, Valve added eight new private videos to the taunts playlist on Team Fortress 2's official YouTube channel. Shortly after this discovery, one of our contacts, who wishes to remain anonymous, managed to extract the thumbnails of these videos and sent them to us.


Spoilers






[SPOILER="Video...

In today's news post, we're going to talk about Left 4 Dead 3 characters. In July of 2015, Steam Database received an early version of Aperture Robot Repair, a virtual reality demo that was created by Valve. Our former site contributor Nick worked with them to document all the findings, which were published after the demo's release in February of 2016.

The demo features numerous references to Left 4 Dead 3 and other projects. In the files, there are textures for a character called "adult_01". This character is referenced in the map "vr_l4d_characters" but the model for it is missing. It should be noted that some of these files are not included in the final release of the demo.

• npc/adult_01/materials/akstrap
• npc/adult_01/materials/boots (missing)
•...

After nearly 20 years at the company, there's an unconfirmed piece of information that indicates Ted Backman left Valve this past May.

This is especially sad news because Ted was responsible for designing some of the most iconic lifeforms and environments in video game history. The Headcrabs, Zombies, Rebels, most of the Combine faction, and much more, were a staple in the Half-Life series, and now it looks like Ted's inspiration will be absent from future Valve titles.

Thanks, Ted, for crafting such incredible and memorable experiences.


Thank you to AYKO for the tip.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive began when Hidden Path Entertainment attempted to port Counter-Strike: Source to consoles until Valve decided to turn it into a full game. The game was internally known as Counter-Strike 1.5 (not to be confused with the beta release of the original mod for Half-Life with the same title) until it was renamed. These images, published by Hidden Path Entertainment artist Mark Forrer, show us the early user interface prototypes and Valve's original ideas for the game.

The game was to have a full character customization system which included selectable character gender, head type, skin tone, eye color, and camo face paint. In addition to that, there were cosmetic items that could be equipped including selectable helmet or hats, clothes for the upper and lower body, and an insignia. The final game features only weapon and glove skin customization. The images also show a...