Anonymous edits have been disabled on the wiki. If you want to contribute please login or create an account.

Half-Life

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Revision as of 11:20, 14 October 2017 by Effcol (talk | contribs) (→‎VR: updated VR mod)
Half-Life
Half-Life cover
Developers
Valve Corporation
Publishers
Sierra Entertainment
Valve Corporation
Engines
GoldSrc
Release dates
Windows November 19, 1998
macOS (OS X) January 25, 2013
Linux January 25, 2013
Half-Life guide on StrategyWiki
Half-Life on Wikipedia

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
Half-Life mods and fangames (series)
Half-Life 1998
Half-Life: Opposing Force 1999
Half-Life: Blue Shift 2001
Codename: Gordon 2004
Half-Life: Source 2004
Half-Life 2 2004
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch 2004
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast 2005
Half-Life Deathmatch: Source 2006
Half-Life 2: Episode One 2006
Half-Life 2: Episode Two 2007
Portal (series)
Half-Life: Decay (unofficial port) 2008
Half-Life: Alyx 2020

This page is for the original game. For the Source engine port, see Half-Life: Source. For the unofficial remake, see Black Mesa.

General information

Unofficial Half-Life Wiki
GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life and other GoldSrc-based games
Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
Disc only needed to play CD music.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Green Man Gaming
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All non-Steam releases can be redeemed on Steam.
Soundtrack is available for free here.
Steam Edition has been updated to have full OpenGL support with texture filtering and smooth dynamic lighting.

Demos

Half-Life: Uplink

The official public demo for the game, it includes an exclusive chapter (and a training level) with content not found in the full release.

It can be downloaded here.

Note that the demo uses an older version of GoldSrc and may have compatibility issues with modern systems. For full compatibility, the SteamLink mod reworks the demo as a Half-Life mod.

Half-Life: Day One

A pre-release demo exclusive to OEMs, it contains the chapters from the full release up to and including "We've Got Hostiles" (5 chapters and a training level).

It can be downloaded here.

Note that the demo uses an older version of GoldSrc and may have compatibility issues with modern systems.

Version differences

Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition

Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition comes with both the base game and Team Fortress Classic

Half-Life: Dreamcast

An unreleased port of Half-Life to the Sega Dreamcast, it includes various major and minor differences from the PC release (ex. modified levels, new models, adjusted difficulty, etc.)

A mod that ports the Dreamcast version as a Half-Life mod is available on Mod DB.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Instructions

Higher definition models

The High Definition Pack[1] was created by Gearbox and first released alongside with Blue Shift on June 12, 2001. It was released for free on Steam on August 30, 2005, with a fixed version released a year later. This pack replaces most weapon and player/enemy models with higher polygon versions, substantially altering the style of some of them in the process.

For other options follow this guide.

Enabling developer mode

Enabling developer mode will allow use of in-game cheats and various console commands.
Instructions

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

*.cfg store the configuration.
This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game video settings (Steam version)
In-game video settings (Steam version)

Template:Video settings

OpenGL texture filtering

Instructions

Overbright lighting

The retail version supports this feature for improved dynamic range of lighting.[2] In the Steam version, this has been regressed since the removal of the Direct3D renderer.

Input settings

In-game key map settings (Steam version)
In-game key map settings (Steam version)
In-game mouse/joystick settings (Steam version)
In-game mouse/joystick settings (Steam version)

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings (Steam version)
In-game audio settings (Steam version)

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Censored (enemy soldiers replaced with robots, gore removed).
Italian
Korean
Spanish
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Russian

Network

In-game multiplayer settings (Steam version)
In-game multiplayer settings (Steam version)
For more information, see the "Half-Life Dedicated Server" section of our GoldSrc article.
Steam Edition actively supported via Steamworks.
Small, but dedicated community.

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
32 Versus, Co-op
Use Sven Co-op for co-op (see the FAQ).
Online play
32 Versus, Co-op
Use Sven Co-op for co-op (see the FAQ).

Connection types

Type Native Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Servers are hosted using a separate "hlds.exe," which can be downloaded with SteamCMD.
Self-hosting
Only LAN, by default. Use sv_lan 0 in the main menu and, if you have port forwarding set up, others can connect with the connect "ip address" command.
Direct IP
Open the console (~) and use connect followed by the IP and port.

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
UDP 6003, 7002, 27010, 27015, 27025
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

VR

Instructions

Issues fixed

Fatal Error - Available memory less than 15MB

Instructions

Windows 7/Vista Performance Fix

In Windows 7 or Vista, some users may experience extremely low frame rates during gameplay, even if their PC can run modern games perfectly.
Instructions

Missing Voice and Multiplayer Tabs under Options

Instructions

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 7 Lost with Linux update.[3]
OpenGL 2.1 3DFX MiniGL included (retail version only).
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Miles Sound System
Multiplayer WON, Steamworks WON for retail, Steamworks for Steam. WON has been shut down on July 31, 2004; fans have since recreated the network as WON2.[4]

Console commands

Games running on the GoldSrc engine can utilize GoldSrc Engine Console Commands for various tasks.
The console is enabled by default in GoldSrc games, press ~ to open it.

Crosshair

See Half-Life Crosshair Changer.

Modifications

They Hunger

Instructions

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 95
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium 133 MHz
System memory (RAM) 24 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 400 MB
Video card (GPU) SVGA, high color (16-bit)
Sound (audio device) Windows-compatible sound card
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.6.3
Processor (CPU) Intel Core 2 Duo
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8xxx series
ATI Radeon X1600
Intel HD 3000
Linux
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Ubuntu 12.04
Processor (CPU) 2.8 GHz Dual Core
System memory (RAM) 1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600 GT
ATI/AMD Radeon HD 2600/3600
OpenGL 2.1 compatible
Sound (audio device) OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
Other Graphic Drivers: Nvidia 310, AMD 12.11

References