What do you think HL2 Ep3/HL3 will be like?
My thoughts:
1. Advisors will be fought (hopefully).
2. The ending might be similar to HL1, choosing what to do.
3. Familiar Aperture technology on the Borialis.
4. More G-man sightings.

My thoughts:

1.Advisors will be fought (definately)

2.The ending will wrap up the combine conflict completely, setting up HL3 for a completely new storyline and conflict, with some of the same characters like Alyx, Gordon, etc.

1. Innovative new gameplay with the new icegun and flamethrower weapons and use of fuel canisters as flamethrower ammo as well as for throwing with the grav. gun

2. Ties in with the Portal 2 storyline on the Borealis, some familiar aperture technology

3. Easter egg G-man sightings

4. At least 2 G-man cutscenes

5. Heading off to the arctic base to find Mossman with Alyx in the helicopter

6. Incorporating the improved source engine used in CS:GO and Portal 2

7. New enemies, perhaps snow zombies, aperture stuff?

8. Interesting puzzles and interactive environment opportunities

9. Hunters. Lots of hunters.

10. Updated textures and weapon/character models.

One thing I forgot to add to my first post, regarding to fighting advisors, the fact that they have psycho-kinetic powers means there would have to be some way of interrupting their concentration, or have a special armor that repels psycho-kinetic energy.

Also, I would expect an area where you would have to flee from an advisor(s). That would be scary as hell, but fun.

New enemies. Ones that none of us has dreamed up yet. Maybe enemies that portals from one location to the other, making it very tough to fight.

New weapons. I doubt there will be a portal device though.

For sure, an updated version of the Source engine, possibly featuring real-time dynamic lighting effects (like Crysis and Far Cry 2).

Consistent with the Half-Life series, there will never be any cut scenes. Listen to the commentary for Half-Life 2 and the Episodes. The absence of cut scenes is a conscious decision.

The Combines will be eliminated completely. Humans will regain control of our planet.

Gordon and Alyx will get married.

Some tie-in to Aperture Laboratories is inevitable.

Yes! We want our dynamic lighting and reflections. Honestly, the reason it takes maps in Source longer to load, but lets them run on more computers is because they store a LOT of precached lighting.

satchmo wrote:
New enemies. Ones that none of us has dreamed up yet. Maybe enemies that portals from one location to the other, making it very tough to fight...
...Some tie-in to Aperture Laboratories is inevitable.

An army of Mantis Men!

Pick up a rifle and follow the yellow line.

You'll know when the C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER starts.

Okay, well, now that I've sacrificed some brain cells, I'll be off.

Knowing Valve they might revisit some old ideas. What was the device that was going to be used for Portal 2? The G something?

MasterLagger wrote:
Knowing Valve they might revisit some old ideas. What was the device that was going to be used for Portal 2? The G something?

F-Stop

chickenmobile wrote:
MasterLagger wrote:

Knowing Valve they might revisit some old ideas. What was the device that was going to be used for Portal 2? The G something?

F-Stop

Right, maybe they use that as the technology that was shipped on the Borealis.

I think valve really needs dynamic lighting and reflections, as well as more detailed textures. oh oh oh also they need more complex world geometry and they should start integrating more models into the larger scale parts of their maps. I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two they release a new engine called Source 2.

Has it occurred to anyone else that VALVe probably isn't going to call the next engine "Source"? I may be wrong here, but if they make enough changes they may make a significant shift in naming just like Quake turned into GldSrc turned into Source.

That's not saying I'd like them to change it though. If anything I'd be happy with Source^2 (yes, I was too lazy to find the superscript 2 in the character map).

MasterLagger wrote:
chickenmobile wrote:

MasterLagger wrote:

Knowing Valve they might revisit some old ideas. What was the device that was going to be used for Portal 2? The G something?

F-Stop

Right, maybe they use that as the technology that was shipped on the Borealis.

I don't think so, in Portal 2: The Final Hours they said Valve were saving it for a game of its own, with an ETA of 15 years. (Huge, right?)

WinstonSmith wrote:
If anything I'd be happy with Source^2 (yes, I was too lazy to find the superscript 2 in the character map).

Copy and paste this if you need to say it again: Source?

Here is my baseless speculation

We start off in the helicopter seen at the end of ep2
Head towards location of Borealis(Arctic region)
Get hit by a sentinel just before reaching Borealis
Start walking the long way towards Borealis
Combine forces interferes midway.
Snow environments
Snow Vehicles
Weapons to do something with ice
Some sort of ice puzzle gameplay
Reach Borealis
Find portal gun
portal gun+gravity gun gameplay
Finally reach the main portal tech section.
g-man interferes....game ends

I am kind of expecting Source Engine 2 after all these years and do what Source did back in 2004.
It would be really amazing if it blows away CryEngine 3
The next Half life may have cloth simulation since i think it is in DOTA2

There is one more thing i like to add
In DOTA2 ,i think it is the first time the bald headed guy turns his head before the VALVE logo appears. Does that imply anything.

http://forums.thinking.withportals.com/general-discussion/dota2-is-leaked-along-with-some-hl2-ep3-code-t4641.html?hilit=dota2

It implies that the new VALVe logo is really creepy...

I think a portal gun in the Half-Life universe would create havoc in gameplay. The player would have too much control or freedom that the level designer can no longer predict all the gameplay possibilities.

Being a mapper for Half-Life 2 myself, I cannot imagine how to make a level that can accommodate a portal device without completely ruining the combat gameplay.

Quote:
Being a mapper for Half-Life 2 myself, I cannot imagine how to make a level that can accommodate a portal device without completely ruining the combat gameplay.

Get a load of this.
gKg3TUPQ8Sg

MasterLagger wrote:
satchmo wrote:

Being a mapper for Half-Life 2 myself, I cannot imagine how to make a level that can accommodate a portal device without completely ruining the combat gameplay.

Get a load of this.
(video)

Just because the video maker didn't, doesn't mean that he couldn't have used cheap tactics or simply portalled past everything. It would be extremely difficult to incorporate that level of freedom that a portal gun requires without either allowing the player to do everything or having it feel extremely guided. At least I think that's what satchmo is talking about.

It's not that it's an inherently bad idea that wouldn't be fun, it is just very likely to be abused.

Random wrote:
MasterLagger wrote:

satchmo wrote:

Being a mapper for Half-Life 2 myself, I cannot imagine how to make a level that can accommodate a portal device without completely ruining the combat gameplay.

Get a load of this.
(video)

Just because the video maker didn't, doesn't mean that he couldn't have used cheap tactics or simply portalled past everything. It would be extremely difficult to incorporate that level of freedom that a portal gun requires without either allowing the player to do everything or having it feel extremely guided. At least I think that's what satchmo is talking about.

It's not that it's an inherently bad idea that wouldn't be fun, it is just very likely to be abused.

I never said it was a bad or good idea, the video was just an example of what it would be like since satchmo couldn't imagine it. I wasn't trying to make a point in that last post.