This latest Orange box is quite nice, a fair few new things have been added into the engine like a much better partical system and selfshadowing normal maps.
What new features would you like to see in the next itterationof the source engine when the next Orange box(Half life 2 ep 3) is released. I don't just mean what do you want in ep 3 but the engine as a whole, for any games that may come out alongside it.
I'd like to see:
- Proper reflections instead of cubemaps (that will mean the player HAS to have a model!)
- Improved dynamic lighting (More of the flashlight from ep2 but with more lights)
- Models properly lit, shadows in the right places highlights in the right places.
- When two dynamic shadows cross over each other, not for them to double up but for them to become one shadow, like they would in real life
- Cloth effects so that characters can take off a jumper or put on a jacket when they go outside, how cool would that be!

Basically all I'm after is a better lighting system, which I'm sure they will provide us with (they hinted at it in some of the dev commentary)

What do you want to see added?

More Portal.

Oh, my actual answer? Dynamic shadows for moving objects based on all light sources. When something goes flying across a light, I want the entire room to dim.

Some kind of vegetation/wind system, so trees/plants/etc would react realistically to a slight breeze or a complete hurricane. Some improved fire physics would be nice, too.

Keeping it more portal-specific:

• Portals possible on phys objects. (I have 2-3 really neat puzzles I cant do because of this).

• Portals maintained when an brush rotates.

Cloth engine? That would take a fair bit of power wouldnt it?

I'd like to see the entire lighting system revamped...

I'd love to see dynamic fluid movement introduced, that way you could have puzzles that involve moving a certain ammount of water from container A to container B, or something along those lines.

It would add a whole new dimention to valve's physics engine.

Lorithad wrote:
I'd love to see dynamic fluid movement introduced, that way you could have puzzles that involve moving a certain ammount of water from container A to container B, or something along those lines.

It would add a whole new dimention to valve's physics engine.

If they did that, we'd have to solve a bunch of retarded 3rd grade "You have a 3 gallon and a five gallon container, give me exactly four gallon" puzzles.

DelphiAegis wrote:
If they did that, we'd have to solve a bunch of retarded 3rd grade "You have a 3 gallon and a five gallon container, give me exactly four gallon" puzzles.

I suppose so. But There are lots of other things that you could do. I mean, just think about how water going through a portal could change the game.

DelphiAegis wrote:
If they did that, we'd have to solve a bunch of retarded 3rd grade "You have a 3 gallon and a five gallon container, give me exactly four gallon" puzzles.

Fuck you, Die Hard 3 was awesome.

Lorithad wrote:
I'd love to see dynamic fluid movement introduced, that way you could have puzzles that involve moving a certain ammount of water from container A to container B, or something along those lines.

It would add a whole new dimention to valve's physics engine.

For a realistic simulation, fluid would be even more resource demanding than cloth

I'm fully aware of that, so I don't think it would be in HL2 EP3 Or even HL3.
However, by the time that HL4 comes around, it's entirely possible that the average computer could handle it.

msleeper wrote:
Fuck you, Die Hard 3 was awesome.

All I'm saying is Bruce Willis figured it out before Saumel L. Jackson.

Of course he did, he's John Fucking McClane!

Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.

Lorithad wrote:
I'm fully aware of that, so I don't think it would be in HL2 EP3 Or even HL3.
However, by the time that HL4 comes around, it's entirely possible that the average computer could handle it.

Episodes 1 2 and 3 ARE HL3.
If valve decide to continue the sage after ep 3 it won't be HL3, it will be HL4

They probably will call it HL3, since the episodes aren't labeled as HL3 and it would be confusing to the average consumer if the next game was called HL4.

youme wrote:
Episodes 1 2 and 3 ARE HL3.
If valve decide to continue the sage after ep 3 it won't be HL3, it will be HL4

Well, on the OrangeBox, Epsiode 2 is labelled:
Half-Life 2: Episode 2

So the "next version" of Half-Life would be HL3, IMO.

I know its Half life 2: Episode 2, I'm just saying what was said either in the dev commentary or an interview I saw with Gabe.

Anyway, fluid liquids would be nice, but they really wouldn't add much to gameplay.
Wind would be good although again, not many gameplay elements there.
Oh yeah I remember, more dynamically destructable environments(think worms), but that not going to happen for ages and ages.

msleeper wrote:
They probably will call it HL3, since the episodes aren't labeled as HL3 and it would be confusing to the average consumer if the next game was called HL4.

The average consumer is a retard.

DelphiAegis wrote:
The average consumer is a retard.

Most companies seem to be calling their products based on what version their engine is. UT3 is actually the fourth installment, but UT2k4 was counted as UT2.5. Battlefield 2 is the third installment of the Battlefield series, but Battlefield Vietnam is considered Battlefield 1.5. Heck, they've announced Battlefield 3 now even though it's the fifth installment.

I think the Episodes would be considered as HL2.5. I also think HL3 will be completely different timeline and/or story. HL1 was about Black Mesa, HL2+EP was about the resistance of the Combine, HL3 may be the destruction or maybe the retaliation of the Combine. HL3 may even be about a completely different story all together.

I want them to have a proper lighting system, not just a system where you create an invisible entity that projects light, but a model that actually projects light through the glass of a lights bulb; so the lgiht is projectign from the models bulb,. not from an invisible entity,

As well as a better physics engine where you stand on a box and can actually mover around instead of it causing you to fly half way across the map... also a better vegetation system like someone said.