HalfLife2.net have setup an official forum, if you want to discuss anything go join the forum now and if you haven’t already done so join the Steam group as well.

The A Call for Communication Steam group is organising a community event to raise awareness of their campaign.

From the group:

“Why are we doing this? It will be a fun way to rally together, put Half-Life back in the spotlight and draw more people to our cause. We are not asking or demanding for anything; it will simply be a huge group of Half-Life fans playing one of the best games ever made. Who knows, maybe Half-Life 2 will even reach the top ten games played for that day.”

The event is scheduled for Satueday 4th February 7:00 – 7:30pm GMT (11:00-11:30AM PDT). You can play for as long as you like but if everyone plays the original Half Life 2 game (no Episodes or Deathmatch) for the half hour there is real change of it making it into the top 10 played games for the day.

Valve will definitely notice the increased activity on HL2, whether it encourages a reponse on Half Life 3 is another matter.

A version of Half Life was originally developed for the DreamCast in 2000, just as it was ready for commercial release Sega canned the Dreamcast so the game died with it. The game was eventually leaked online but very few ever had a chance to play it.

A dedicated team have now produced a “Half-Life:DreamCast” mod which is a faithful port of the DreamCast game onto the PC.

The game is nearly the same as the first Half Life game but it has double the polygon count, new character models, modified maps as well as a number of other changes. Full details from the Mod DB listing:

• Different Maps – The map alterations range from minor geometry fixes and lighting adjustments to entirely revamped areas. Several locations have been redesigned with performance and gameplay in mind while entirely new rooms have been added in some places to introduce another obstacle or puzzle to overcome. One entire level was even cut! Can you determine the missing map?
• Different Models – The Dreamcast version is host to a number of exclusive models not seen in any other version of Half-Life, including the High Definition pack and the PlayStation 2 port. Can you find the hidden VMU and Half-Life Dreamcast disc?
• Revamped Menu – Included is a new splash screen, menu background, menu color scheme, and menu sounds to closely emulate the Dreamcast’s fancy interface.
• High quality soundtrack – Emulates the CD quality music used in the console version, overriding the default 48kbps mp3s on Steam.
• Tweaked Difficulty – To accommodate the difficulty of playing with a controller, Gearbox suitably rebalanced the monster spawns as well as enemy health and damage values.
• Password Notifications – Although the password system itself cannot be ported, all password messages that appear in normal gameplay have been brought over.
• The Little Differences – Too small to be noted in a bullet point, but true Half-life fans should be able to spot these in a heartbeat when they see (or hear!) them.

Go and check it out on Mod DB.

It’ll give you something to while you wait for Half Life 3!

The group, started on 26/12/2011, is calling for comment from Valve on the next Half Life game.  So far there hasn’t been any response from Valve.

Unlike many of the recent rants, this group is well considered and simply aims to get a little information from Valve on whether the next Half Life release is in development. No-one is asking for firm release dates or spoilers just something to show Valve are listening to the legions of loyal Half-Life fans.

There is a tiny chance of a response but it’s worth a try, if you’re on Steam please join: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/messagetovalve

He followed it up with a tweet of “Of course I’m trolling!” and claiming only one has been produced for him by a friend.

He’s almost certainly trolling but it’s not going to stop the community going mad again at another vague hint of Half Life 3 being prepped for release.