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...

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...

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:...

We recently discovered that we have screenshots of unpublished Counter-Strike: Global Offensive map, Balkan, in our archives. We previously posted images of a car model from the map on our social media profiles. These images were published by former Hidden Path Entertainment artist Aubrey Pullman in 2014. He recently updated his portfolio with two new screenshots of the map.

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.

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.

Update: Doug Lombardi has responded to Joystiq, and he said that this is more of a case of Valve hiring two programmers, not necessarily to do with Valve opening a whole new studio.


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"We are opening a new Valve office on the San Francisco peninsula," says a former PopCap programmer. Valve has acquired Star Filled Studios, a...

HL2Fallout member, target_practice, recently e-mailed Valve's Gabe Newell for information on Half-Life: Source requesting a comparison shot between Half-Life and Half-Life Source. Doug Lombardi replied with these images:[br][br]As you can see, despite the game not getting a complete overhaul like Counter-Strike: Source has, the game still looks considerably better in the Source engine. The noticable differences will be the addition of world and ragdoll physics, the shader system, dynamic lights and shadows.[br]
[br]
You can find the original forum thread here.

In a recent blog post to the Dota 2 website, Valve have laid out their future plans for Dota 2, including revealing the game will be fully updated to the Source 2 engine in early 2015.

While it isn't specifically mentioned by name, the "new" version of Dota 2 is listed as a "major improvement" which will help users quickly create custom game modes, as is currently possible within the work-in-progress version of the Source 2 engine released earlier this year in the form of the "Dota 2 Workshop Tools Alpha". Other than the list of improvements we already know about, such as 64bit support, the blog post is deliberately tight-lipped regarding what other benefits the...