Poll Question 023 – Would you pay for a Half-Life 2 Bonus Content Pack from Valve?

23rd March 2007

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3
Introduction

In 2003 a leaked beta version of HL2 was released onto the internet. It contained elements that were not seen in the final version. Also, the book Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar contained many idea, models, weapons etc. that were not seen in the final released version. Perhaps some of these ideas may make it into other episodes or storylines but only Valve know, unless…

Would you pay for a Half-Life 2 Bonus Content Pack from Valve?

How it would work

Valve would release the pack to all registered users of Half-Life 2 and the subsequent episodes. The contnet would not be usable on its own but have to be used in community made mods. This would have the effect of bolstering the mod scene at a time when things seems a little flat. In fact this could be a regular pack (Well, perhaps bi-yearly).

What about if you had to pay for it?

No doubt everybody would answer “YES!” if it was free but what about if you actually had to pay for it. How much would you pay? $10, $20 more? Don’t forget this would mean that you could not play mods that were developed using assets from the pack unless you also bought it. Would it limit the distribution of a mod or inspire many mod mods?

Final Results

Would you pay for a a Half-Life 2 Bonus Content Pack from Valve?

  • Yes: 77%
  • No: 23%
  • Total votes: 60

Quakis inspired this poll question

20 Comments

  1. HL or should I say steam is a real money maker so I doubt I pay for something except if it’s really from high quality

  2. Yeah. Unfinished content equals buggy and beta content. Unless they were finished and properly bug-tested (and if I was actually a mod maker), then I might shell out five dollars.

    I probably would pay for it to play another mod, though. No more then a fiver though.

  3. zeroth404

    Not a chance. I’m already paying 60 dollars straight to Valve for what is essentially Half-Life 2 in 3 seaparate episodes, which is 20 dollars more expensive than other on-store-shelf games. Collector’s edition software costs 50 to 60 bucks, but thats usually only because it includes other overstock in its package.

    half-life 2 episode 1 was a horrible 1/3 of a 60 dollar game, there’s no freakin way I’m paying for a mere “Bonus Pack”

    Valve, lower your prices. 60 dollars for a game without a box, manual, or hard-copy is outrageous. Especially since you don’t have to pay stores or distributors. Furthermore, release your games without 3 or 4 delays each and you’ll save yourself a lot of cash.

  4. zeroth404

    not to mention you’ve already made your customers your beta tester.

  5. I think that if they were to sell it as a “mini-game” (think Lost Coast), I think I would pay as much as $15, so that I could know that they think everything is polished enough to be in a game. I think that just as a “content package” it would not work as well, so people who both make and play mods would be reluctant to use and/or buy it.

    Also, you put two “a”s before “Half-Life 2” in the question.

  6. Also, you put two “a”s before “Half-Life 2³ in the question.

    Thanks, unfortunately I can’t edit the poll itself because all the votes would be lost. As I found out, much to my embarrassment on the second ever poll!

  7. Gypsy James

    On the basis that there are already some truly awesome replacement models for HL1, HL2 & Ep 1 made by the modding community, why aren’t Valve’s originals already out there and available? As for payinng for them, how would you know what you were paying for? If they showed any previews they’d be ripped off the second screenshots were released….(Not necessarily such a bad thing if your business model is making the source code freely available to the modders….)

    Having said that, I bet there are models that never left the prototype stage that the modders ought to have access to, I’m sure that the likes of the truly gifted modders, like Leon or “Gary” should just be given, but that’s Valve’s call I guess.

    I occasionally try new replacement models, I’ve just got the Hornet Combine for example which I really really like, and lately Vertthrasher’s weapons…. Some prove to be too demanding for my fairly average machine, and some are a bit lame or pointless, (Not these though) but on the whole I go along with the assertion that if these “lost” or “forgotten” models were actually any good then they’d be out there already…its an interesting thought though.

    I also am, as has been said above, very aware that I’m paying a fairly substantial sum for several instalments of HL2, each of which keeps getting delayed (and I suspect shorter, but we’ll see on that one)…”stuff that didn’t make the grade and is available to market at a later date” is very reminiscent of (or even analogous to) the way the old pop industry manages to dig out old demos & “Rarities” years after a lead singer dies or whatever….you (or I) might not like it, but it is simply business economics. Its also true though that the quality of these only really means anything to the real purists…..

  8. I voted NO just because Episode 1 or 2? was very short and no ideas were used.All it was was a few maps made harder than HL2 but every thing was the same.I wont pay for that.
    If they come up with new content I’ll think about it.As it stands I’d rather wait for a release from leon before I think Valve releases one

  9. On the basis that there are already some truly awesome replacement models for HL1, HL2 & Ep 1 made by the modding community, why aren’t Valve’s originals already out there and available? As for payinng for them, how would you know what you were paying for? If they showed any previews they’d be ripped off the second screenshots were released….(Not necessarily such a bad thing if your business model is making the source code freely available to the modders….)

    I don’t think this is exactly what Phillip means. I don’t know if you have ever mapped before, but having models does not simply make an enemy/npc/object. You often need some sort of code behind it as an entity, and much of Valve’s code is pretty bug-free for what is in the game. For example, the Zombines in Episode One was mostly just new code, no actual new models (as far as I know). Some of the things he is talking about would have new models, but code behind them as well.

    However, I am beginning to wonder how any of these enemies, weapons, etc. would fit into the Half-Life storyline or if they would not even need to.

  10. However, I am beginning to wonder how any of these enemies, weapons, etc. would fit into the Half-Life storyline or if they would not even need to.

    In many ways they wouldn’t have to. The idea would be to allow the modding community to develop separate time lines and concepts without having to stick to the games.

    It just seems a shame that there could be some interesting assests sitting on somebody’s hard drive that could be put to good use.

    On the basis that there are already some truly awesome replacement models for HL1, HL2 & Ep 1 made by the modding community, why aren’t Valve’s originals already out there and available?

    The bonus pack would be made up of simply replacement models (As firba1 pointed out) it would contain cool new stuff that Valve felt should or couldn’t be part of the game universe. That doesn’t mean the community couldn’t use it though!

  11. Manual_Monaro

    Not a chance. I’m already paying 60 dollars straight to Valve for what is essentially Half-Life 2 in 3 seaparate episodes, which is 20 dollars more expensive than other on-store-shelf games. Collector’s edition software costs 50 to 60 bucks, but thats usually only because it includes other overstock in its package.

    half-life 2 episode 1 was a horrible 1/3 of a 60 dollar game, there’s no freakin way I’m paying for a mere “Bonus Pack”

    Valve, lower your prices. 60 dollars for a game without a box, manual, or hard-copy is outrageous. Especially since you don’t have to pay stores or distributors. Furthermore, release your games without 3 or 4 delays each and you’ll save yourself a lot of cash.

    In my eyes, the episodes are a bargain for a new release title. In Australia, new release titles come up around 85-100 dollars. Console games are even more expensive, clocking in around the $120 mark. (And yes, I mostly do buy new releases while they’re still fresh, and so do other fellow Aussies. Even the console players put a few bucks in for “Gears Of War” as soon as it was released!)

    Where do you live, by the way? I thought Valve released Ep.1 for $20 retail and Steam? (Although on retail release here it was around about $35, give or take. I’m not sure about EU countries, Asia etc.)

    As for the Bonus Content pack, I’d say NO. I don’t mod, but I wouldn’t even pay for it even if MINERVA: Metastasis 3 (And onwards.) or the new hit from Koumei Satou required this pack.

    It’s a good idea, but if it actually were implemented, I think Vavle would make it free, since they really do encourage and endorse modding. (Think Counter-Strike and Garry’s Mod.)

    Then again, they could be hungry for a few bucks and charge it for a small amount. I’d say only 5-10 dollars.

  12. zeroth404

    Where do you live, by the way? I thought Valve released Ep.1 for $20 retail and Steam? (Although on retail release here it was around about $35, give or take. I’m not sure about EU countries, Asia etc.)

    Michigan, US.

    Episode 1 was worth about 10 bucks in my opinion. I payed 30 bucks for the original Half-Life when it came out. It gave me many many hours of gameplay; episode 1 doesn’t even compare.

    Episode 1 was a decent quality game (Save for I didn’t like alex’s rambling) but it lasted me about 2 hours. 2 hours of gameplay is a poor excuse for a 20 dollar price tag.

  13. “(Think Counter-Strike and Garry’s Mod.)

    Then again, they could be hungry for a few bucks and charge it for a small amount. I’d say only 5-10 dollars”

    Garry’s mod is now $10 via steam.Nothing will remain free if they get a following.

  14. Darth Marsden

    Given that I’m not a huge HL2 fan, the answer would be no. I have yet to try Episode 1 or any mods for HL2 itself, so for me the choice is simple.

    The idea that you have to pay for something in order to have other mods work is, quite fankly, akin to extortion (you mention this idea in the original pitch) and I highly doubt if it would be a popular move. if they released it for free, then they could very well get away with it, but charging us for it? No.

  15. Matt Glanville

    I’d probably pay a small amount, simply to see more HL2-related stuff (I can’t get enough of it). However I don’t think the mod community will ever really need “bolstering” with low-quality content when it’s perfectly capable of creating high-quality content on its own.

  16. Aw, crap. Gaming can be an expensive enough hobby as it is without paying for “Previously unreleased content” a la “American Pie’. Unlikely, I’ll wait for the next bumper complete anthology and expect it to be a bonus to entice me into finally buying Half Life 2. Or, for it to be available as a free download when HL3 arrives. Oh, that and my mate hasn’t a great deal of bits to build the required spec. PC. Not long now, Vista and DirectX 10 are here. And, prices are tumbling. Actually, I’ve just had a moment of inspiration. Why can’t you win stuff like this as an “unlockable’, just like ‘dirty” console games? ‘trackmania” has “unlockables” for example.

  17. No. Unless you have an INCREDIBLE mod that uses those assets, no one will want to buy the assets, unless there are enough people who have those assets needed to play, it won’t be worth investing the time and effort to create an incredible mod for the limited audience that uses those assets vicious cycle.

  18. gona quote

    “Our Lord and Savior Fluffy The Hamster

    23rd March 2007

    Yeah. Unfinished content equals buggy and beta content. Unless they were finished and properly bug-tested”

    If it’s debugged sure..why not.. Some one worked on this, if the mod is good they worked hard… they should be paid… Modders should be paid one way or another. Had the modding community not cropped up and evolved, HL would have died on the vine..

  19. jonathan

    I would pay for a mash-up editor.

    A mash-up editor would allow you to create a new story game based on what source games you have installed on your computer.

    The mashup editor would allow to to link maps from CSS, hl1, hl2, ep1 ep2 l4d and l4d2 configure the bots, configure the enemies, and store it a a simple text file. This text file would then be passed one another on a trading floor. You would load hl2 then load the script and off you go.

    You would be able to play the maps in any order you choose backwards fowards whatever. Some maps would have to be tweaked in order the play the maps backyards to forward, but I think it would a be a easier way to create mods based on the source platform.

    Think of entspy on steroids.

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