"Entities" { "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "commentary_Welcome" "origin" "-616.021362 65.421120 831.397644" "angles" "0 0 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment001.wav" "printname" "Welcome to Episode 2" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Gabe Newell" "synopsis" "Welcome to Half-Life 2, Episode 2. We are at the mid-point in our trilogy of episodes which will conclude in Episode 3. To listen to a commentary node, put your crosshair over the floating commentary symbol and press your use key. To stop a commentary node, put your crosshair over the rotating node and press the use key again. Some commentary nodes may take control of the game in order to show something to you. In these cases, simply press your use key again to stop the commentary. Please let me know what you think after you have had a chance to play this, our latest installment in the ongoing adventures of Gordon Freeman. I can be reached at gaben@valvesoftware.com. I get about 10,000 emails each time we release a game, and while I can't respond to all of them, I do read all of them. Thanks, and have fun!" "parser_id" "1" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "external danger" "origin" "512.541565 64.467087 8" "angles" "0 60 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment008.wav" "printname" "External Danger" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Gautam Babbar" "synopsis" "Starting Episode 2 in the crashed train has several purposes. From a story point of view, it establishes continuity with the end of Episode 1. But from a gameplay perspective, it allows players to reacquaint themselves with the basic movement controls in a safe, contained environment. Our earliest design had the player scrambling out of the wreck high above the canyon, and forced them to make some precarious jumps to get to ground level. After seeing most playtesters fall to their deaths numerous times in the first five minutes of gameplay, we optimized for perceived rather than actual danger." "parser_id" "8" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Cinematic Physics" "origin" "176.491440 -650.963684 61.284393" "angles" "0 80 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment007.wav" "printname" "Cinematic Physics" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Gray Horsfield" "synopsis" "The destruction of this rail bridge was our first opportunity to showcase our new cinematic physics technology. We wanted to convey to the player the scale of the train wreck and the delicate balance the damaged bridge was left in as a result. The structural deformation of the twisted metal was modeled with the help of surface based spring networks, driven by particle systems. In this case we actually passed a rail car through the bridge, and solved the deformation dynamically. For the collapse, we used an offline large scale rigid body simulation, a technology typically reserved for the visual effects industry. In this simulation we have about 750 moving parts, calculated with coarse convex hulls. These in turn drove a skeleton network, to which the high resolution geometry was skinned. Particles were then emitted from the transforming geometry and calculated in-game." "parser_id" "7" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "vista anchor" "origin" " 330.661469 -1610.770996 18.726547" "angles" "0 -86 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment006.wav" "printname" "Vista Anchor" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Gautam Babbar" "synopsis" "Having established the superportal as a threat in the opening vista, we decided it would make a useful landmark as the player traveled toward White Forest. In Half-Life 2 and Episode 1, we could count on the Citadel being visible in many of the maps, casting its shadow over the whole world. The superportal plays the same role in Episode 2, anchoring the player in the world while providing them with visual updates on the developing threat. The addition of beam effects and portalstorm shockwaves help bring the portal to life and make it more than merely a static background element." "parser_id" "6" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Tech: Vista clouds effect" "origin" "438.295197 -1905.044189 13.929901" "angles" "0 -90 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment005.wav" "printname" "Vista Clouds Effect" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Jason Mitchell" "synopsis" "For the ominous mass of clouds which swirl above the destroyed citadel, we devised a shader effect to give the impression of depth and complex turbulence. The actual geometry rendered for this effect is a single flat polygon but, through a series of pixel shader effects which composite several texture layers, we are able to achieve the impression of realistic churning clouds. In the offline previsualization work that we did to initially define this effect, we developed a very realistic simulation with more than 30 layers of clouds. With real-time shader techniques, we were able to achieve an equivalent look while maintaining an interactive frame rate." "parser_id" "5" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Visual Design: First C17 Vista" "origin" "527.473267 -1974.445801 17.667122" "angles" "0 -90 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment004.wav" "printname" "City 17 Vista" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Jeremy Bennett" "synopsis" "The view of the ruined yet still dangerous City 17 is a good example of a classic Half-Life vista. Vistas are sweeping scenes where many elements of design come together. This one reminds the player of what he accomplished in Episode 1, while setting up the threat that will hang over the rest of Episode 2. It establishes the mood with a stunning skybox and shader effects; shows off believable character responses, and also literally sets the episode into motion. When the player looks at the scene, a device called a 'look trigger' sets off the portal storm, which causes the bridge to collapse, using Valve's new 'Cinematic Physics' which we will be showcasing throughout the episode." "parser_id" "4" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "1. Audition/First Time Seeing Alyx" "origin" "-3362.468018 -844.527710 280" "angles" "0 -90 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment241.wav" "printname" "Initial Impressions of Alyx" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Merle Dandridge" "synopsis" "So I really don't think I had any idea what I was getting into when I auditioned for the game, because I really had no clue what Half-Life was, what Steam was, or what Valve was about. But I did have the feeling that it was something that was really heavy since when I was in the waiting room. Everybody that was sitting across from me just seemed like they were stars or recognizable faces. And then the first time that I sat down with the Valve team, they showed me some rough animations of Alyx and immediately I just couldn't keep my eyes off her. She actually looked like someone I could be related to, and that has never happened to me." "parser_id" "241" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Puzzles with NPC" "origin" "-3637.725342 1818.158325 180.031250" "angles" "0 90 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment003.wav" "printname" "Puzzles with NPC" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Marc Laidlaw" "synopsis" "In this first part of the episode, we are restoring the player's connection to Alyx by recalling the sort of collaborative activities you shared with her in Episode 1, from combat to collaborative puzzle solving. Notice that as she works to restore power to the transmitter, she is careful not to steal the player's fun by doing it all herself. She doesn't actually solve the puzzle, although she sometimes thinks she has. This adds to her charm and helps her feel more human. Of course the reason we're doing this is so that you will care when bad things happen to her." "parser_id" "3" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Setting Goals" "origin" "-3779.968750 1855.935181 176.986221" "angles" "0 133 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment002.wav" "printname" "Setting Goals" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Erik Johnson" "synopsis" "This transmission scene was added fairly late in development, after hearing from playtesters that they weren't sure where they were going, or why. Setting up the White Forest base as your goal right away was important in an episode with so many open, freeform areas where players might forget what they're supposed to be doing." "parser_id" "2" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Alyx Incapacitated" "origin" "-5341.098633 4317.046875 -149.968750" "angles" "0 45 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment010.wav" "printname" "Alyx Incapacitated" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Joe Han" "synopsis" "From the beginning of Episode 2's design, we intended for Alyx to be gravely injured and fall into a coma. However, the timing and nature of her injury changed dramatically. In the earliest version, the player woke to find Alyx already unconscious. We wanted the player to be unsure of what to do, but instead this turned out to be merely confusing. In the next iteration, Alyx balanced precariously in the train car near the player, only to slip and fall as the train shifted. This was unsatisfying because we have painted Alyx as tough and agile; having her injured in a fall seemed arbitrary and impersonal. We kept trying to add a stronger emotional aspect to her injury--something that would give rise to anger and fear. Around this time, the Hunters were coming online, and we were having trouble giving them a really powerful introductory moment. Solving both problems at the same time, we introduced the Hunters as the cause of Alyx's injury." "parser_id" "10" } "entity" { "classname" "point_commentary_node" "targetname" "Vorts calling" "origin" "-5502.579590 4355.279785 -149.884888" "angles" "0 90 0" "precommands" "" "postcommands" "" "commentaryfile" "#commentary\ep2-comment240.wav" "printname" "Vorts Calling" "viewtarget" "" "viewposition" "" "prevent_movement" 0 "speakers" "Tim Larkin" "synopsis" "Creating the sound of the vort’s call was a refreshing break from scoring huge explosions or the bridge destruction. We wanted something subtle that would communicate the vort’s general nature as well as its specific cry for help. It can be hard to tweak the sounds so hard while still giving an organic quality to the voice. To design a sound that contained a sense of the alien personality, without just sounding like another animal call, we found a way to add and process overtones while subtly altering the phrasing of the pitch. The resulting sounds give the impression that the Vorts are in fact communicating among each other with a dynamic dialog of calls as opposed to speech." "parser_id" "240" } }