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Half-Life

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games

Template:Infobox The Steam-version of Half-Life is perhaps the easiest to obtain and play but the retail version also runs quite well on modern computers.

Patches

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

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

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: 

1024x600 - Replace 20 03 with 00 04 and replace 58 02 with 58 02
1280x720 - Replace 20 03 with 00 05 and replace 58 02 with D0 02
1280x800 - Replace 20 03 with 00 05 and replace 58 02 with 20 03
1366x768 - Replace 20 03 with 56 05 and replace 58 02 with 00 03
1440x900 - Replace 20 03 with A0 05 and replace 58 02 with 84 03
1600x900 - 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).

  • [1] Thread on widescreengamingforums

Also, see below for FoV-adjustment.

Field of view

When running at widescreen-resolutions adjusting the fov is probably necessary. Open config.cfg located in 

Sierra\Half-Life\Valve\

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.

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 useage of console commands such as "god" and "noclip".

System Requirements

Template:SysReq