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As we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 I wanted to show something that I loved and that existed in the past. VALVe launched a skin for Windows Media Player 9 (ninth generation of the Microsoft music player that appeared in Windows XP) that featured the look of Half-Life 2 plus some artwork from the game. You can use it for free without any problems through the Internet Archive website (A museum for preserving old Internet applications). I hope you like it, I loved it and put it on my PC and it shows how VALVe was and still is, perfectionist in its releases and advertising.

My Opinion: VALVe needs to bring HL2WMP back. Please Lord Gaben.

Observation: I wasn't the one who made these arts.

https://archive.org/details/half-life-2-windows-media-player-skin (This is the site where you can download the skin (if you prefer).

As we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Half-Life 2 I wanted to show something that I loved and that existed in the past. VALVe launched a skin for Windows Media Player 9 (ninth generation of the Microsoft music player that appeared in Windows XP) that featured the look of Half-Life 2 plus some artwork from the game. You can use it for free without any problems through the Internet Archive website (A museum for preserving old Internet applications). I hope you like it, I loved it and put i…

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What I hope for in 2025 (VALVe). 2025 has arrived and let's go:

- Half-Life 3: After Shapiro (G-Man/Barney's voice actor) posted a video on X, let's see if it will happen.

- Deadlock: Created by Icefrog (Creator of DotA 2), it will probably be released this year (if it is 2026 I at least tried to theorize), as Deadlock's stage in 2024 already seemed complete

- A new era for the Entropy Zero story: Breadmen (Creator of Entropy Zero) may launch betas of Progenitors and Axon Pariah (A Prequel and a Sequel).

- Half-Life Interlude: After PegaXing brought Interlude (I replayed it and beat it... finally), I hope for something good in Interlude.

- REMEMBERING GUYS: SOME OF THESE EVENTS MAY NOT HAPPEN, I LOOKED AT THE NEWS SCENARIO SURROUNDING THIS AND THIS IS MY CONCLUSION BUT I REPEAT, EVERYTHING I SAID ABOVE MAY NOT HAPPEN!

What I hope for in 2025 (VALVe). 2025 has arrived and let's go: - Half-Life 3: After Shapiro (G-Man/Barney's voice actor) posted a video on X, let's see if it will happen. - Deadlock: Created by Icefrog (Creator of DotA 2), it will probably be released this year (if it is 2026 I at least tried to theorize), as Deadlock's stage in 2024 already seemed complete - A new era for the Entropy Zero story: Breadmen (Creator of Entropy Zero) may launch betas of Progenitors and Axon Pariah (A Prequel an…

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This year marks 20 years of Half-Life 2 and the Source Engine! I believe that VALVe will do a 20th anniversary update of HL2 as well as the 25th anniversary update of HL1. If I were the Boss of VALVe (Like Lord Gaben), I wouldn't repeat the same thing as the 25th anniversary update of HL. Not that I would do it or think it's bad, I would do it better, like instead of focusing on HL1, for HL2 I would do:

-Fix UI Bugs and UI adapted to 16K (Because there is a 16K TV) for the menu and the option to use the Steam Deck interface (Recently, Doom 1+2 uses the option to use 1990s UI);

-Fix the LDR that doesn't exist in some stages of HL2 (Only the mods that fixed this);

-Correct/Update CSS, DODS, TF2, GMOD, Portal 1+2 and L4D 1+2 so that we will have the same treatment as HL2;

-Update SFM to Source 2 (So that SFM would be updated and free, while VALVe's own games would have their own version of SFM), while the old SFM would be ported to TF2 (I was inspired by the idea from Half-Life Alyx, where there is the option to use S2FM and Hammer 5), TF2 having SFM within it is really cool as it is the same quality as SFM from 2012, but updated and modernized, I would be inspired by Blender and Maya 3D (I would do the same thing with HL2, DODS, Portal 1+2, CSS etc);

-Hammer 4 would receive an update for map creation;

-And also a documentary about HL2 as it revolutionized gaming better than HL1;

It would be an update focused on Source Engine/Half-Life 2 Legacy (While last year it was HL1);

What did you think? Agree or Disagree? If you were Lord Gaben, would you update as I said above or do it your way?

This year marks 20 years of Half-Life 2 and the Source Engine! I believe that VALVe will do a 20th anniversary update of HL2 as well as the 25th anniversary update of HL1. If I were the Boss of VALVe (Like Lord Gaben), I wouldn't repeat the same thing as the 25th anniversary update of HL. Not that I would do it or think it's bad, I would do it better, like instead of focusing on HL1, for HL2 I would do: -Fix UI Bugs and UI adapted to 16K (Because there is a 16K TV) for the menu and the option t…

VALVe and VALVe Community 2024 Retrospective - Episode One. What happened.

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VALVe Retrospective and VALVe Community 2024 - Episode One. What happened. - Portal Revolution (VALVe Community): Stefan Heinz, created a good Portal 2 mod with new stages and using an improved version of the Source Engine. (I thought it was good);

- The death of Team Fortress - Source 2 (VALVe and VALVe Community): It's a shame I'll never forget, VALVe banning this fan-made port of TF2 in Source 2. This fan remaster will never beat the look of TF2 on Source Engine. But having the option for better graphics is cool and to this day I still don't understand this happening of a franchise that emerged from a Quake mod. (SHAME ON VALVE);

- Deadlock (VALVe): A new VALVe IP was leaked, a TPS/Hero-Shooter with Half-Life 2 visuals and the cartoonish aesthetic of TF2. Made by IceFrog (Creator of DotA 2), there is no release date, it launched a closed beta and one was a success (I'M NOT INTERESTED BUT LET'S WAIT AND SEE);

- A new era for the Entropy Zero story (VALVe Community): Breadman will continue the story of 3650 with new phases with the release of Entropy Zero - Axon Pariah and a prequel called Entropy Zero - Progenitors (Playing as a Combine Assassin, enemy cut from Half-Life 2) . (Let's wait and see).

VALVe and VALVe Community 2024 Retrospective - Episode One. What happened. - VALVe Retrospective and VALVe Community 2024 - Episode One. What happened. - Portal Revolution (VALVe Community): Stefan Heinz, created a good Portal 2 mod with new stages and using an improved version of the Source Engine. (I thought it was good); - The death of Team Fortress - Source 2 (VALVe and VALVe Community): It's a shame I'll never forget, VALVe banning this fan-made port of TF2 in Source 2. This fan remaster…

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VALVe and VALVe Community 2024 Retrospective - Episode Two. The continuation of what happened.

- S&box on Steam (VALVe + VALVe Community): In March 2020, Half-Life Alyx is released, it is prettier HL, the first HL in Source 2. Garry Newman (creator of Gmod), asked for the source code from Source 2 and started the creation of S&box, uses Source 2 to create games and levels, it is considered GMod 2. In 2024, S&box received a page on Steam, uses the fun from Roblox with Unreal & Unity level tools (I'm not interested but let's wait and see);

- Project Borealis - Prologue: In 2017, the script for Half-Life 2 - Episode Three (Half-Life 3) was leaked by Marc Laidlaw (writer of the HL franchise), making players create their versions based on HL3. One group received prominence called Project Borealis. Use Unreal 4 as it was flexible/updatable/universal compared to Source Engine. In 2020 they revealed their version of Ravenholm in the snow, in 2024 they ported it to Unreal 5 and released it. (My PC doesn't run Unreal 5, I don't research anything to avoid spoilers);

- Half-Life 2 - 20 Years: In 2023, VALVe updated HL1 to 25 years with a 4K Documentary made by Secret Tape (Former Members of Noclip). My and others' expectations were that VALVe would do this in HL2 and happened (I liked it, talked more about Episode Three), 4K Wallpapers, Episodes and Loast Coast are integrated into HL2 and HDR bug fixed (I thought it was great);

- Team Fortress 2 - The Day Have Worn Away: It's been 7 years waiting for the 7th story of TF2 and it finally happened. As things passed, more details about the past of the TF Universe and the conclusion of a final journey.

VALVe and VALVe Community 2024 Retrospective - Episode Two. The continuation of what happened. - S&box on Steam (VALVe + VALVe Community): In March 2020, Half-Life Alyx is released, it is prettier HL, the first HL in Source 2. Garry Newman (creator of Gmod), asked for the source code from Source 2 and started the creation of S&box, uses Source 2 to create games and levels, it is considered GMod 2. In 2024, S&box received a page on Steam, uses the fun from Roblox with Unreal & Unity level tools …

I heard about the HLX Rumor, could X refer to Xen? Because the leaks refer to gravity (Xen had a different gravity) and creatures. I think Half-Life should focus on other things than gravity, but I don't see a problem with wanting to focus on that to innovate, besides that, and if HLX (HL3) has Xen, which Xen did you want: Xen Half-Life 1 or Xen Black Mesa Source? One is empty and the other looks like a forest with fauna. Art 1 done by Anna Semykina; Art 2 done by Rutger Van Steeg.

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Spy Strider. A Team Fortress 2 spy as if he were a Strider from Half-Life 2 and Half-Life Alyx. Art 1: lolikplay7 Art 2: Ted Backman

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10 Years of Half-Life 2 (Update).

Filip Victor created this mod 10 years ago that improved draw distance and lighting without affecting the art direction of Half-Life 2 and using the updates that happened between 2005-2007 of the Source Engine. Something cool to see and even one of the members of Lambda Generation, Mitch, the same Mitch from YouTube Lambda Generation, spoke well of Half-Life 2 - Update and in the 20th anniversary update of Half-Life 2, he said that the shadows are better in the Update than in the 20th anniversary version.

10 Years of Half-Life 2 (Update). Filip Victor created this mod 10 years ago that improved draw distance and lighting without affecting the art direction of Half-Life 2 and using the updates that happened between 2005-2007 of the Source Engine. Something cool to see and even one of the members of Lambda Generation, Mitch, the same Mitch from YouTube Lambda Generation, spoke well of Half-Life 2 - Update and in the 20th anniversary update of Half-Life 2, he said that the shadows are better in the…

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This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction. This is Motorsport Images, a photo agency and look at the symbol they use... Speechless, we've seen this symbol before.

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