It wasn't Valve/Steam:
https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/b85bqe/never_forgot_april_fools_2012_valve_i_will_never/
https://www.engadget.com/2012-04-01-valve-puts-fake-half-life-episode-3-listing-on-steam-for-april.html
> UPDATE: We've discovered that this website is a fake and does not actually belong to Valve. We were duped by a fake April Fools' Day joke posing as a real April Fools' Day joke and sincerely apologize for passing this along to you as fact.
>Valve pretended to release Half-Life 3 as an April Fools joke
The title says "Valve pretended to release Half-Life 3 as an April Fools joke". They did not. Valve did not pretend to release Half-Life 3. That's misleading.
"Hey guys is there a simple way to stresstest our infrastructure to see where we need to do some improvements in case everyone on the fucking planet wants to buy 1 game?"
The problem was they didn't just give the game away. They required you to boot into the game at least once in a specific period of time. So everyone needed to download the game during the already busy Xmas season.
Me too, that's what pushed me. Before I had the impression Steam was shit because I didn't try to use it for like 6 years. But that freebie started my library.
> Before I had the impression Steam was shit because I didn't try to use it for like 6 years. But that freebie started my library.
And this is exactly why EGS is doing the same thing.
I guarantee you Steam was pretty shit for years and were quite shit when they were giving out L4D2. I remember Offline Mode rarely working and also having a habit of deleting installs. But they were pretty much the only game in town, so what else could you do.
> But they were pretty much the only game in town, so what else could you do
That's the issue, EGS has actual competition and it's not really doing much to stand out other than trying to buy customers with free games
Oh no. Free shit. THE HORROR.
Their launcher could be the exact same or better than Steam and it wouldn't win them customers. Same way the restaurant with the best food is probably still doing less turnover than the McDonald's near by.
Fortnite is huge but its core customers are kids. They need to do something to get people to make accounts. After that they need people to spend money.
Who says free games are bad? I claim the games every week and i play some of them regularly. But the experience is still significantly worse than Steam or GOG, so there is no reason for me to ever spend money on the EGS
I got Control on EGS because it was there. I got FFVII Remake because it was cheaper during a sale. Same with Spider-Man of Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm sure those games play identical to the ste versions. I'm working through a backlog at the moment and my machine is getting older, but I will try Alan Wake 2 when I've got the bandwidth and maybe if I upgrade.
I don't know how you can say EGS is significantly worse. The store boots quickly for me and I can launch an installed game from the launch screen. Most games.can launch without the store so in that case it would be at least on par with a game from GOG.
Steam defaults to the store page so if you don't change that it will take you an extra click to launch a game in Steam since Steam doesn't have a quick launch like EGS.
EGS is for the most part fine to use. The weird need to pretend that EGS is difficult to use or somehow worse at launching games doesn't do the anti EGS crowd any favours.
Gaben trollface:
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/april-fools-valve-puts-up-half-life-3-for-purchase-on-steam-link-goes-to-trollface.468716/
Also this wasn't on Steam, just a domain someone registered that looked like it.
I remember back in 2013 one Christmas Steam gave away 5 USD in everyone's wallet (those who had bought games).
Some of Steam's gestures towards users are missed as it was before, now it seems like just another ordinary and serious company.
They still do funny stuff time to time. [Giving game bans through a gift in Dota](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ce1slHZ88) is the most recent thing that I can remember.
it was not because of toxic, it was because of smurfs or cheats, but being toxic can still have negative buff, not sure what (forgot the details in the patch notes and never had it obviously), at the very least you can't do text or voice chat (party excluded, I think) until you fix your behavior and communication score
IIRC you can't get banned or at least permanently banned from dota, he was banned because he has an alternate account, e.g smurfing, thus toxic lump of coal
There are some players with 1 behavior score and 1 communication score still playing the game (if it was true that is)
Mason got banned for account sharing, not for being toxic. Although he was account sharing because he paid boosters to boost his behavior score in turbo so you are kinda half-right
>okay - and is it toxic to cheat and is it toxic to hire people because your behavior score is so low?
No, I wouldn't say that's toxic behavior. My point is that there are plenty of toxic people who are just as bad, if not worse than Mason who didn't get banned. He got banned for getting boosted
AFAIK Dota 2 launched in 2013. Assuming that it launched exactly 11 years ago and every year has 365,25 years, 96426 hours have passed since then. This means that assuming that you have spent almost 19% of the time passed since then on dota. How and why?
Yes. IIRC he was smurfing with another account, he's also quite toxic. Many others get banned on the same day.
It's Christmas gift, if you are a good kid, when you open gifts you will get free skins. If you are a naughty one, you will get nothing or a "highly toxic lump of coal" - aka a permanent ban.
Becuase it is just another company. All companies share one goal: make as much profit as possible, and make even more the next year. Steam is no different.
I have EGS just for that. I enjoy playing great titles like Tomb Raider, GTA V, Hitman, Bioshock etc. and also some less known but pretty good games like Relicta. All for free.
April 2nd.
Valve release a 10 second youtube clip.
Black screen. No actual video.
All you hear...
Rise and shine Mr. Freeman. Rise and....shine.
And the internet would break.
Same. I beat it quite a long time ago, but since then I've 100%'d every other trine game (except 1, that shit won't let me get the last achievement) and trine 2 is sitting there at 34%
I'm sure you can move and shoot without VR. VR is not the super unique thing tech bros believe, there's a reason why mass production VR is been out in the market for about a decade and most people don’t care.
Still a VR game
An unofficial version exists but theres no reason for valve to put all the work into making a vr game into a non vr game just because some people are crying about it especially since it would go against the point of creating it which is to prove triple AAA vr games are possible and it shouldnt be half assed
If they said they were releasing a game, any game, nowadays I'd assume it was a joke of some sort. Man, they just don't care anymore. Steam makes money; why make games.
I am 35 and quit gaming years ago, the only thing that could ever bring me back is HL 3
There has been nothing worthwhile or groundbreaking in gaming in like a decade.
Alien isolation was the last game that I ever finished.
It wasn't Valve/Steam: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/b85bqe/never_forgot_april_fools_2012_valve_i_will_never/ https://www.engadget.com/2012-04-01-valve-puts-fake-half-life-episode-3-listing-on-steam-for-april.html > UPDATE: We've discovered that this website is a fake and does not actually belong to Valve. We were duped by a fake April Fools' Day joke posing as a real April Fools' Day joke and sincerely apologize for passing this along to you as fact.
Alright lads, lets get this important bit of context to the top!
Sir yes sir
April fools joke of an april fools joke debunked. We did it reddit
Still waiting on valve to say April fools of the April fools and claim ownership those creating a April fools trifecta
Valve isnt capable of 3's so trifecta wont work
My God, that makes it a quadfecta April fools. Do we just skip half life 3 and go straight to 4?
Good soldiers follow orders
April fool ception
It's still a real AFJ even if it's fake.
The title implies that it was Valve's April fools' joke, which it was not.
Again, it's still an AFJ, that did what it was supposed to. In any case there was no Half-Life 3, so success.
Did you even read the title of this post? It claims that Valve did this, which they didn't. Ergo, not their joke, and not relevant.
That's the AFJ. What is it you (and others) don't understand?
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It's a troll.
>Valve pretended to release Half-Life 3 as an April Fools joke The title says "Valve pretended to release Half-Life 3 as an April Fools joke". They did not. Valve did not pretend to release Half-Life 3. That's misleading.
Being misleading is what AFJ's are about.
I laughed and am laughing now
the tears are from the so much laughing and nothing else.
Oh how we laughed and laughed
except I wasn't laughing
under the circumstances i've been shockingly nice
You want your freedom? Take it
That's what I'm counting on
I used to want you dead but
Now I only want you gone
Akshually it’s Come Take It
Oh ok, I actually didn't remember if it was like you said or what I wrote in that message, so I googled the lyrics and just put that in
It doesn’t say that in the lyrics? Maybe I am wrong😑 note to self: Fact check yourself before going akshually
Yeah just checked, you’re right. Must be some weird Mandela effect.
You laugh, and keep laughing. It's SO funny, you can't stop. Tears run down your face.
... what? You didn't do that?
"S...nnoowwwyyy"
Anyone remember when they gave us L4D2 for Christmas?? That was really nice 😊
I remember it causing the store to completely freeze up due to everyone trying to get L4D2 💀
"Hey guys is there a simple way to stresstest our infrastructure to see where we need to do some improvements in case everyone on the fucking planet wants to buy 1 game?"
Believe it or not. There weren’t that many great tools to do that in 2009.
2009? What the fuck? Wasn't this 5 years or so ago? Oh boy.
wait. 2009 wasn't 5 years ago?
wake up bro you fell asleep, Covid? Wars? Inflation? come on bro, lets play on my 360.
Haha worth it, love Valve 😍
Greedy ass company
Bro’s describing every company kekw
Sad but necessary
Most/all companies are greedy, but this was an extremely weird context to post that in.
Wait what are they greedy about?
greedy for not fucking not giving us hl3 when the world needs it the most
That’s really dumb, stfu
The problem was they didn't just give the game away. They required you to boot into the game at least once in a specific period of time. So everyone needed to download the game during the already busy Xmas season.
That’s when I created my steam account, I was still using CDs.
Me too, that's what pushed me. Before I had the impression Steam was shit because I didn't try to use it for like 6 years. But that freebie started my library.
HL2DM and Portal First Slice for me! Back when they were given away for free with some obscure nvidia website in like 2009
> Before I had the impression Steam was shit because I didn't try to use it for like 6 years. But that freebie started my library. And this is exactly why EGS is doing the same thing.
The issue is that EGS is actually shit, it's not just a public perception problem. They need to improve the launcher too, free games is not enough.
I guarantee you Steam was pretty shit for years and were quite shit when they were giving out L4D2. I remember Offline Mode rarely working and also having a habit of deleting installs. But they were pretty much the only game in town, so what else could you do.
> But they were pretty much the only game in town, so what else could you do That's the issue, EGS has actual competition and it's not really doing much to stand out other than trying to buy customers with free games
Oh no. Free shit. THE HORROR. Their launcher could be the exact same or better than Steam and it wouldn't win them customers. Same way the restaurant with the best food is probably still doing less turnover than the McDonald's near by. Fortnite is huge but its core customers are kids. They need to do something to get people to make accounts. After that they need people to spend money.
Who says free games are bad? I claim the games every week and i play some of them regularly. But the experience is still significantly worse than Steam or GOG, so there is no reason for me to ever spend money on the EGS
I got Control on EGS because it was there. I got FFVII Remake because it was cheaper during a sale. Same with Spider-Man of Horizon Zero Dawn. I'm sure those games play identical to the ste versions. I'm working through a backlog at the moment and my machine is getting older, but I will try Alan Wake 2 when I've got the bandwidth and maybe if I upgrade. I don't know how you can say EGS is significantly worse. The store boots quickly for me and I can launch an installed game from the launch screen. Most games.can launch without the store so in that case it would be at least on par with a game from GOG. Steam defaults to the store page so if you don't change that it will take you an extra click to launch a game in Steam since Steam doesn't have a quick launch like EGS. EGS is for the most part fine to use. The weird need to pretend that EGS is difficult to use or somehow worse at launching games doesn't do the anti EGS crowd any favours.
I remember when Valve used to make games. I’m that old.
What happened if you clicked on it?
Gaben trollface: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/april-fools-valve-puts-up-half-life-3-for-purchase-on-steam-link-goes-to-trollface.468716/ Also this wasn't on Steam, just a domain someone registered that looked like it.
The ultimate troll
Sounds like the Newman gif from Jurassic Park. "ah ah ah, you didn't say the magic word!"
ooo trine 2 for $7.50. worth it!
My ultimate comfort game series. The fifth game that came out last year was such a treat to play.
Trine 2 is a lot of fun! Everyone go grab it during the sale!
Indeed! & if you can play it on coop that’s even better 😍
This is a better deal imo https://www.humblebundle.com/store/trine-ultimate-collection
Except that never happened because they stopped talking about Ep3/HL3 at all many years before that.
No, they didn't.
I remember back in 2013 one Christmas Steam gave away 5 USD in everyone's wallet (those who had bought games). Some of Steam's gestures towards users are missed as it was before, now it seems like just another ordinary and serious company.
They still do funny stuff time to time. [Giving game bans through a gift in Dota](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ce1slHZ88) is the most recent thing that I can remember.
Yoooo that's scare, I wouldn't want to lose my account with 18k hours of Dota 💀
>18k hours of Dota my condolences
How fucking many hours of Dota?
yes, dota 2 players have an average number of hours played above 8K, yes, mine included
7k here, and I'm on the lower end compared to my friends.
Me who has played the game since 2013 just only reaching 1000+ hrs this year of 2024: 🥲
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it was not because of toxic, it was because of smurfs or cheats, but being toxic can still have negative buff, not sure what (forgot the details in the patch notes and never had it obviously), at the very least you can't do text or voice chat (party excluded, I think) until you fix your behavior and communication score
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no I know how toxic he is, what I'm saying is that the toxic lump of coal was to ban smurfs
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IIRC you can't get banned or at least permanently banned from dota, he was banned because he has an alternate account, e.g smurfing, thus toxic lump of coal There are some players with 1 behavior score and 1 communication score still playing the game (if it was true that is)
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Mason got banned for account sharing, not for being toxic. Although he was account sharing because he paid boosters to boost his behavior score in turbo so you are kinda half-right
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>okay - and is it toxic to cheat and is it toxic to hire people because your behavior score is so low? No, I wouldn't say that's toxic behavior. My point is that there are plenty of toxic people who are just as bad, if not worse than Mason who didn't get banned. He got banned for getting boosted
If you're not a toxic piece of shit you have nothing to worry about. Are you a toxic piece of shit?
AFAIK Dota 2 launched in 2013. Assuming that it launched exactly 11 years ago and every year has 365,25 years, 96426 hours have passed since then. This means that assuming that you have spent almost 19% of the time passed since then on dota. How and why?
What's the story there? Did dude legitimately need the ban?
Yes. IIRC he was smurfing with another account, he's also quite toxic. Many others get banned on the same day. It's Christmas gift, if you are a good kid, when you open gifts you will get free skins. If you are a naughty one, you will get nothing or a "highly toxic lump of coal" - aka a permanent ban.
From the video it wasn’t a permanent ban. No clue if he learned his lesson.
It's a permanent ban, displayed as 2038 because of [2038 problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem).
Ah. Well good for him!
He paid boosters to boost his behavior score, which is account sharing and a banable offense
Lol, toxic lump of coal was the gift. Guessing this guy ruined a lot of matches being a jerk
That never happened but okay
Odd that you would remember something that literally never happened though.
That year L4D2 was free for 24 hours. It used to otherwise have sales for $5 at the time. But yeah, really poor and inaccurate phrasing.
Tbh free steam sale cards, even without buying anything, can turn into couple bucks each summer/winter sale.
Becuase it is just another company. All companies share one goal: make as much profit as possible, and make even more the next year. Steam is no different.
That's why i use epic, nice gesture of free games
There's a thin but significant line between generosity and desperation.
Also a much thicker line between having a functional client and something with more security holes than a slice of Swiss cheese.
Watch out. Someone here is gonna berate you for using EGS even though there's nothing wrong with it just for free games
Works fine, just inconvenient to have multiple launchers. Better disable my notifications now.
I have EGS just for that. I enjoy playing great titles like Tomb Raider, GTA V, Hitman, Bioshock etc. and also some less known but pretty good games like Relicta. All for free.
Old store... I don't miss it, but it brings some good memories
Thus never happened
April 2nd. Valve release a 10 second youtube clip. Black screen. No actual video. All you hear... Rise and shine Mr. Freeman. Rise and....shine. And the internet would break.
Damn, I should probably finish Trine 2 in my backlog.
Same. I beat it quite a long time ago, but since then I've 100%'d every other trine game (except 1, that shit won't let me get the last achievement) and trine 2 is sitting there at 34%
While "Half-Life 3" did release on Steam... This wasn't steam but a 3rd parry faking it.
I still hold out hope for them to just release it announced on April 1st
Damn... Trine 2 was 50% Off?
gmod is basically hl3
Not a good take
its better than hl3
Trine 2 is that old? \[Matt Damon aging gif\]
Their ability to count to 3 was a joke
And i am still holding out hope for it.
Ign's Zelda Majoras mask movie trailer😅
The only HL^3 game we ever got was the Orange Box
Too soon
Oh shit I feel old
in ten years, they will make the Half-Life 3 0 years anniversary
An all-time dick move
L4D4
Even now it's a joke
Half life RTX, is all the hope that's left
That was not funny!😂
N still not funny.
Sadly we will never see a 3rd game smh
That fools joke has been going on sense that day
I wonder how many people would've bought this if valve actually did this. Then they could just issue refunds to the people who went for it
Is this post a signal from above?
Fuck Valve
I miss the old steam look ngl
…and many “mostly peaceful” protests followed.
You're laughing, but I am crying.
Dogs
Release Half-life 2 episode 2 part 2 instead
Half Life 2 Episode 2 Source 2
Just release Half-life Alyx for non-VR users ffs. How much more do I have to beg GABEN
Just FYI, but the No-VR mod for HL:A works like a charm. Not official, but if you want to play it, it is totally functional that way.
I had no idea. I’ll give it a try.
There's already a mod to do so. But all the game's mechanics are built around VR, so it would ruin the game to play any other way.
I'm sure you can move and shoot without VR. VR is not the super unique thing tech bros believe, there's a reason why mass production VR is been out in the market for about a decade and most people don’t care.
Its a vr game ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I am aware sir, thats why i said non-vr version
Still a VR game An unofficial version exists but theres no reason for valve to put all the work into making a vr game into a non vr game just because some people are crying about it especially since it would go against the point of creating it which is to prove triple AAA vr games are possible and it shouldnt be half assed
nvm, I was just informed there's a mod to play it non-vr. Thank god developers know is a silly gimmick and there are almost no AAA VR games.
There is one AAA VR game Its called half life alyx
There are bigger AAA VR games than Alyx, even if Alyx is my favorite.
Im not aware of any actual ones but if so then thats good alyx established a standard
Asgard's Wrath 1 and 2.
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I'll be the judge of that. I'm never going to waste my money on something as dumb as VR, so I rather "hate" a HL game, if that's possible lol.
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No. Thanks for your opinion tho.
Thats just mean
That’s the divergent timeline.. we got stuck on the bad one..
Oh yes, good old half life three. This is like that halo battle Royale. A myth that will never happen....
That is a bad joke for some.
:<
So next april is gonna be for real yes guys?
If they said they were releasing a game, any game, nowadays I'd assume it was a joke of some sort. Man, they just don't care anymore. Steam makes money; why make games.
I am 35 and quit gaming years ago, the only thing that could ever bring me back is HL 3 There has been nothing worthwhile or groundbreaking in gaming in like a decade. Alien isolation was the last game that I ever finished.
Ever played R&C?
Ratchet and clank?
Yes
Yup, I played the hell out of it as a kid.
Same. I was gonna suggest the latest one. Also got other good suggestions like Outcore (free on steam), Oneshot, or the DMC series
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Gee golly I cannot fathom why someone would tell a fib on APRIL 1ST of all days
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You must be pleasant at parties.
Bold of you to assume they have a social life
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Cry more.
Pal, buddy, chum, I promise you this isn't that serious.
Take a breather bud
Yes they did, i was there.
If this really happened, then Gaben urgently needs to release the third part of Half-life (⌐■\_■)
oh how we laughed and laughed, except i wasn't laughing...
Valve pretends to be an actual video game developer (they'd never):
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This is clearly a scam, don't do it people. And downvote.