Half-Life

Template:Infobox Half-Life (series)

General information

Unofficial Half-Life Wiki

Steam Users' Forums

Steam Community Discussions

Issues and Fixes

Patches (non-Steam)

• 1.1.1.0

Latest official patch. Adds bug-fixes, new game-options as well as new game-modes.

Severe System Crippling and Data Destroying Uninstall Bug

The CD version of Half Life includes "Sierra Utilities" as part of the installation process. DO NOT USE THE UNINSTALLER TO REMOVE IT. Sierra Utilities uninstaller is poorly written and will delete everything in the parent directory. For example, if the game is installed to "C:\games\half life", all data in the "c:\games" folder will be deleted. Reports on various forums indicate users have had their entire system critical Program Files subfolders deleted (do a search for "uninstall sierra utilities"). This happens even with the latest 1.1 patch (tested on Windows 7 64-bit). Leave Sierra Utilities alone or consider deleting it manually instead of using the uninstaller.

Graphical Tweaks

You have multiple options to gain access to higher definition models. One is using the official version of them. For other options follow this guide.

Higher resolutions (non-Steam)

• Thread on widescreengamingforums

To run the non-Steam version of Half Life in higher resolutions the hl.exe must be modified. Open it with a hex-editor such as XVI32. Search for this string: 20 03 00 00 58 02 00 00 which represents a 800x600 resolution.

Now modify it like this:

1024x 600 - Replace 20 03 with 00 04 and replace 58 02 with 58 02
1280x 720 - Replace 20 03 with 00 05 and replace 58 02 with D0 02
1280x 800 - Replace 20 03 with 00 05 and replace 58 02 with 20 03
1366x 768 - Replace 20 03 with 56 05 and replace 58 02 with 00 03
1440x 900 - Replace 20 03 with A0 05 and replace 58 02 with 84 03
1600x 900 - Replace 20 03 with 40 06 and replace 58 02 with 84 03
1680x1050 - Replace 20 03 with 90 06 and replace 58 02 with 1A 04
1920x1080 - Replace 20 03 with 80 07 and replace 58 02 with 38 04
1920x1200 - Replace 20 03 with 80 07 and replace 58 02 with B0 04

Save the file and then go to the game. Pick 800x600 under OpenGL (Direct3D won't work). Also, see below for FOV-adjustment.

Field of view

When running at widescreen-resolutions adjusting the fov is probably necessary. While in game, push the "~" Key, which opens the developer console. Then simply type default_fov 106.270273206 and push enter.

Alternatively you can also open config.cfg located in

Sierra\Half-Life\Valve\

And add the following to the bottom of it for 16:10 resolutions: default_fov 100.39487232 For 16:9: default_fov 106.270273206 If the new fov doesn't stick try creating an autoexec.cfg-file in the same folder and adding the line to it.

This also works for Half-Life: Opposing Force and Half-Life: Blue Shift.

V-Sync

Game is locked at 72 FPS by default. To change this open config.cfg and change the line fps_max "72.0". Note though that 100 seems to be the max value.

Enabling Developer Mode

Enabling developer mode will allow you to use in-game cheats and various console commands.

1. Right click Half-Life in your Steam library and open "Properties"
2. Open "Set Launch Options"
3. Type in -dev
4. Run Half-Life. Developer mode is now enabled. You can use the console command sv_cheats 1 to allow the usage of console commands such as god and noclip. Note that you might have to reload a save-game after enabling cheat-mode for certain commands to work.

Windows 7/Vista Performance Fix

In Windows 7 or Vista some users may experience extremely low framerate during gameplay even if their PC can run other more modern games perfectly. Setting HL.exe to a low priority will stabilize the framerate and allow you to play at 60fps.