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| |introduction = | | |introduction = |
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− | |release history = The retail release was published by Sierra Entertainment up until the publisher lost all publishing rights to Valve's titles in 2005. The macOS X and Linux versions were released in 2013. On the game's 25th anniversary in 2023, an update was released which added new and previously exclusive content, as well as improving [[Steam Deck]] support, and breaking compatibility with many mods. | + | |release history = The retail release was published by Sierra Entertainment up until the publisher lost all publishing rights to Valve's titles in 2005. The macOS X and Linux versions were released in 2013. On the game's 25th anniversary in 2023, an update was released which added new and previously exclusive content, as well as improving [[Steam Deck]] support. The update initially broke compatibility with many mods (including other GoldSrc-based Valve games), but mod compatibility was fixed in the days following the release of the update. |
| | | |
| |current state = Like most of Valve's library, the game still receives bug fixes and general maintenance updates. It also enjoys a large community base, and various mods are released regularly. | | |current state = Like most of Valve's library, the game still receives bug fixes and general maintenance updates. It also enjoys a large community base, and various mods are released regularly. |
Revision as of 02:37, 23 November 2023
This page is for the original game. For the Source engine port, see Half-Life: Source. For the unofficial remake, see Black Mesa.
This page may require
cleanup to meet basic
quality standards. The specific problem is:
25th Anniversary update changed and fixed many things[1]; page needs updating to reflect these changes and fixes. You can help by
modifying
the article. The
discussion page may contain useful suggestions.
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 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person action and FPS game in the Half-Life series.
The retail release was published by Sierra Entertainment up until the publisher lost all publishing rights to Valve's titles in 2005. The macOS X and Linux versions were released in 2013. On the game's 25th anniversary in 2023, an update was released which added new and previously exclusive content, as well as improving Steam Deck support. The update initially broke compatibility with many mods (including other GoldSrc-based Valve games), but mod compatibility was fixed in the days following the release of the update.
Like most of Valve's library, the game still receives bug fixes and general maintenance updates. It also enjoys a large community base, and various mods are released regularly.
General information
- GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life and other GoldSrc-based games
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
|
The original release of the game uses a simple disc check and key authentication. |
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Retail |
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The "Game of the Year" edition and later patches remove the authentication and disc check. The disc is only required for the Redbook-based soundtrack. |
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Retail |
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Half-Life 1 Anthology, and 2005 Jewel-case. |
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Steam |
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|
|
|
- All non-Steam releases can be redeemed on Steam.
- Soundtrack is available for free here. FLAC files are also available if "Download high-quality audio files" is checked in Steam's music settings.
Demos
- The official public demo that includes an exclusive chapter (and the training level) with content not found in the full release. It can be downloaded here.
- The 25th Anniversary Update from November 17, 2023 officially added Uplink content to the Steam version.[4]
Half-Life: Day One
- A pre-release demo exclusive to OEMs. It contains the first five chapters from the full release and the training level. It can be downloaded here.
- Note that the demo uses an older version of GoldSrc, which may have compatibility issues with modern systems.
Version differences
- Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition comes with both the base game and Team Fortress Classic.
- Half-Life: Dreamcast is an unreleased port of Half-Life to the Sega Dreamcast. It includes various 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.
- The PlayStation 2 version has improved character models over the High Definition Pack (E.g. Eyeballs following your movement, Reflections on metal helmets, animated fingers, Etc.), an Alien Mode cheat, more detailed and animated models for health & HEV chargers & retinal scanners, an extended Hazard Course with an introduction, music added to the menu screen & the Decay expansion. None of which were officially put on the PC version. Although, a mod that ports the PS2 content to PC exists.
- The version of the game before the 25th Anniversary Update is available as a beta in Steam titled steam_legacy - Pre-25th Anniversary Build. This version has the best mod compatibility since the 25th anniversary made big changes that some mods may not be compatible with. [5]
Essential improvements
Official retail patches
- These are not needed for the Steam version as that already contains the latest version. The Steam version is even more up to date than the Retail version.
An archive of all official patches for Half-Life and its expansions can be found on ModDB
Skip intro videos
- Retail version.
- Steam version.
Use the -novid command-line argument.
|
Running in 24-bit or 32-bit color depth (retail version)
- The retail version of the game defaults to 16-bit color depth, with no option to adjust in-game.
Run game with -32bpp argument[citation needed]
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
-
config.cfg
is the main configuration file.
- This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Save game data location
The file names follow the pattern:
autosave.sav
half-life-000.sav
half-life-001.sav
- ...
The magic number (the file signature at the beginning of the file, consisting of two or more hexadecimal values) is JSAV
in ISO 8859-1 encoding (4A53 4156
in hexadecimal).
Video
Video settings (Steam version)
- For a list of console commands, see here.
- Assets for retail and pre-25th Anniversary Update versions are designed for 640x480, and UI may be too small at higher resolutions.
- 25th Anniversary Update updates the GUI to adaptively scale from 480p (640x480) to 4K resolutions.
Increase font sizes[7][8]
|
- Open
<path-to-game>\platform\resource\TrackerScheme.res in a text editor.
- Under
"Legacy_CreditsFont" , change "tall" as desired to change the size of the in-game credits font, used for the opening credits, level titles, and tutorial prompts. Recommended settings for a similar font size to that used in 640x480 are:
"30" for 720p or 768p
"40" for 960p, 1024p, or 1080p
"50" for 1200p
"60" for 1440p
"70" for 1600p
"80" for 2160p ("4K")
"120" for 2880p ("5K")
"135" for 3240p ("6K")
"180" for 4320p ("8K")
|
- FOV adjustment may be necessary at widescreen resolutions on non-25th Anniversary Update versions.
Field of view[9]
|
- In the game's launch options, add
+default_fov ### , replacing ### with the desired FOV.
- While in game, open the console (~).
- Type
default_fov and press ↵ Enter to confirm the changes have taken place in-game.
Notes
- Weapon models are affected by changes in FOV.
- To maintain identical vertical FOV to the 4:3 FOV at 16:9 resolutions, use
106 . At 21:9 resolutions, use 121 .
|
OpenGL texture filtering (Retail/pre-25th Anniversary Update)
- By default the filtering is enabled (except in Software rendering mode).
- Skyboxes are always bilinear filtered, regardless of texture filtering settings.[12]
Disable OpenGL texture filtering[13]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game> .
- Create a file called
autoexec.cfg .
- Add new line
gl_texturemode gl_nearest .
- Save the file.
Notes
- Using the line
gl_texturemode gl_nearest_mipmap_linear instead will enable mipmapping to prevent some textures from flickering at a distance, but will be blurry if not combined with anisotropic filtering.
|
OpenGL overbright lighting (Retail/pre-25th Anniversary Update)
- Overbright lighting increases the rendering dynamic range, resulting brighter and more colorful visuals. This also fixes chromatic aberration on brightly lit lightmaps.[14]
- Overbright lighting normally only works on the Direct3D and software renderers.[15][16]
- The 25th Anniversary Update fixed the overbright lighting and deprecates
gl_overbright
in favor of gl_use_shaders
.[17]
Nvidia GPUs: Enable the GL extension limiter[18]
|
- Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
- On the Half Life profile, set
Extension limit to On . Apply changes.
- Go to
<path-to-game> .
- Create a file called
autoexec.cfg .
- Add new line
gl_overbright "1" .
- Save the file.
Notes
- Doing this disables ALL OpenGL extensions, not just the offending extension! This has side effects:
- Disables non-power of two texture support; some textures will have uneven rows of pixels.[19]
- Disables multitexturing, which is used for detail textures, which may effect the appearance of other games and mods that share
hl.exe , including Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Day of Defeat.
- Doing this disables the Steam version's built-in MSAA. On the Half Life profile, change
Antialiasing - Mode to Override any application setting and Antialiasing - Setting to the desired level of antialiasing (such as 4x [4x Multisampling] for a vanilla look, or 32xS [Combined: 2x2 SS + 8x MS] for maximum antialiasing).
|
Use this Python script[21]
|
Note
- As this method modifies
hw.dll , it should not be used in VAC-protected servers.
- Does not disable OpenGL extensions.
|
Mesa drivers on Linux: Disable GL_ARB_multitexture extension with environment variable[22]
|
- Right click on Half-Life in your Steam library and choose Properties.
- Go to General tab and add
MESA_EXTENSION_OVERRIDE=-GL_ARB_multitexture %command% to launch options.
Notes
- For retail and older versions running through Wine, you can simply add this environment variable right before Wine command.
For example: MESA_EXTENSION_OVERRIDE=-GL_ARB_multitexture wine hl.exe +gl_overbright 1 .
|
Proprietary Nvidia drivers on Linux: On the retail version, write __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa before everything else[23]
|
- Open terminal and go to the Half-Life directory.
- Launch Half-Life using this command:
__GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa MESA_EXTENSION_OVERRIDE=-GL_ARB_multitexture wine hl.exe +gl_overbright 1 -console
Notes
- You might need to install the Mesa drivers first for this to work.
- You cannot use this method to play Half-Life on the Steam version. The game refuses to work otherwise.
|
Other drivers on Linux: Use Zink and disable GL_ARB_multitexture extension[24]
|
- Right click on Half-Life in your Steam library and choose Properties.
- Go to General tab and add
__GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink GALLIUM_DRIVER=zink MESA_EXTENSION_OVERRIDE=-GL_ARB_multitexture %command% to launch options.
Notes
- Requires a GPU that supports Vulkan.
- Driver-independent, can be used on any Vulkan driver.
- Mesa 23.2 or higher is recommended for best performance.
-
__GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=mesa is only necessary on proprietary Nvidia drivers.
|
Use HLFixes[25]
|
Note
- Fixes other bugs like music stopping during level transitions.
|
Input
Key map settings (Steam version)
Mouse/joystick settings (Steam version)
Audio
Audio settings (Steam version)
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
Lost with Linux update. Can be restored in retail version with DirectSound 3D restoration software (Creative Alchemy or dsoal). |
Subtitles |
|
Use Half-Life: Subtitles mod |
Closed captions |
|
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Mute on focus lost |
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EAX support |
|
A3D 2.0[27][28] and EAX were supported. Both have been removed with the January 30, 2013 update.[29] See MetaAudio for Steam version. |
Royalty free audio |
|
|
Red Book CD audio |
|
Deprecated with MP3 playback since 1.1.0.9. Current release still supports reading from CD when available. |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
|
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subtitles mod |
Croatian |
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Fan translation, Download. Please note: this is only for the main game, expansions/DLCs are not yet translated. |
Simplified Chinese |
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Traditional Chinese |
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French |
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German |
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Originally censored (enemy soldiers replaced with robots, gore removed). An uncut DLC was released after
BPjM cleared the game, but it has since been delisted and in 2017, model overrides were removed.[30] Players can still play in English, edit their registry, or ask the Steam Support to remove all Low-Violence tags from their GoldSource games.[31][32] |
Italian |
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Korean |
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Polish |
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Fan translation, download. |
Hungarian |
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Fan translation, [2] [3] [4]. |
Brazilian Portuguese |
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Fan translation, download. |
Russian |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download. Audio translation created from various unofficial voice-overs also available, download. |
Spanish |
|
|
|
|
Turkish |
|
|
|
Fan translation, download. |
Ukrainian |
|
|
|
Fan translation by TSF, download. |
Network
Multiplayer settings (Steam version)
- For more information, see the "Half-Life Dedicated Server" section of our GoldSrc article.
- Steam version is actively supported via Steamworks with a small but dedicated community.
Multiplayer types
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
3D modes |
State |
Notes |
vorpX |
| G3D User created game profile, (openGL) see vorpx forum profile introduction.
Note The profile also works with Half Life Opposing Force, Half Life Blueshift, Half Life Counterstrike (taken from Half Life - Generations). |
Issues fixed
InstallShield progress bar hangs and does not load main setup window (Retail version)
- The InstallShield used for the early releases can lock up waiting for a resource held by another process.
Find the offending process and terminate it.[33]
|
- Can be done using Resource Monitor (Vista or later) or manually terminating non-Microsoft processes one-by-one.
- Core FTP server has been observed to cause this issue.
|
Run the game at screen refresh rate (Retail version)
- The retail version of the game defaults to 60 Hz when running with Direct3D renderer in full-screen mode.
Input Lag in Direct3D (Retail version)
- On certain graphics cards, using the D3D renderer can result in severe input lag, even with disabled VSync.
Set gl_d3dflip 1 in the console[35]
|
Missing Decals in Direct3D (Retail version)
Use gl_polyoffset -0.01 in the console[citation needed]
|
Logo Movies At Startup Play Inconsistently (Retail version)
Run with administrator privileges[36]
|
- Navigate to
<path-to-game> .
- Right click on
hl.exe and click Properties .
- Click on the compatibility tab.
- Check the box that says
Run this program as an administrator .
|
No music playback (retail version)
Switch from CD playback to MP3[37]
|
- Make sure you have updated Half-Life to v1.1.1.0 (see patch), adding MP3 playback support.
- (This action requires a Steam account and Steam platform installed to access the content)
Put the MP3 soundtrack of Half-Life Steam version (see here) into <path-to-game>\valve\media .
- Add ID3v1 tags to the MP3 files (see instruction here)
|
Burn the soundtrack on a separate CD
|
- Open up your favorite CD burner utility program
- Create a new audio project
- Place a dummy file as track 1; since track 1 is data, the game skips it and moves straight to track 2.
- (This action requires a Steam account and Steam platform installed to access the content) Download the Half-Life soundtrack through steam (see here) And begin placing the soundtrack from 01 to 27
- Burn the CD
|
Main menu issues (Retail Version)
- In modern versions of windows the menu is usually not seen in full screen in addition to crashing when loading the game
Fatal Error - Available memory less than 15MB (Retail version)
Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP [citation needed]
|
Missing Blood & Gore (Steam version)
- There is an issue with the current Steam release of Half-Life, put short you can end up downloading a few of the censored content from the German version regardless of your location.
Black screen on startup (Steam version)
Disable FBO rendering[38]
|
- Add
-nofbo in the game's launch options.
|
Windows 7/Vista Performance Fix
- In Windows 7 or Vista with modern hardware, some users may experience extremely low frame rates during gameplay.
Set HL.exe to high priority[citation needed]
|
- Open Half-Life.
- Press Ctrl+⇧ Shift+Esc in order to open the Task Manager.
- Under the
Processes tab, find HL.exe and right click it.
- Set its priority to high.
|
Missing Voice and Multiplayer Tabs under Options
Replace the liblist.gam file[39]
|
- Make sure Half-Life is not currently running.
- Download the replacement
liblist.gam file from here (download starts immediately).
- Extract into the
valve folder in the installation folder, replacing the existing file when prompted.
|
Performance issues with dynamic lights on Intel graphics (OpenGL)
- Dynamic light sources being present, such as the flashlight or flickering lights, causes significant frame rate drops and lag spikes on Intel graphics.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
6 |
Removed in the January 30, 2013 update.[29] |
OpenGL |
2.1 |
3DFX MiniGL included in retail version. |
Software renderer |
|
|
Executable | PPC |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | |
|
|
[41] Xash3D has a 64-bit build. Refer to this file for instructions on how to use it.[42] |
macOS (OS X) | | |
|
[43]. PowerPC requires Xash3D.[44] |
Linux | | |
|
[43] |
Middleware
Mods
- Xash3D FWGS is a custom open-source Half-Life-compatible engine, made to overcome the limit of the GoldSrc engine, fixing compatibility issues for the original non-Steam versions too[46]
- It also includes quality of life options fit for modern systems, including HUD scaling.
- These fix certain small things without significantly altering the experience. Compiled from FWGS hlsdk-portable.
- Fixes some viewmodel animations.
- Fixes "rapid fire" crowbar when hitting certain corpses.
- Fixes tripmine beam duplication.
- Read the changelog on the GitHub page for more fixes.
- Half-Life 1: Ray Traced uses Xash3D: Ray Traced engine which is a variation of the Xash3D FWGS engine, with a custom path traced renderer.
- Alternative audio pipeline for GoldSrc. Re-implements 3D audio without replacing entire rendering pipeline. Combines A3D’s HRTF and Occlusion with EAX’s reverb.[47]
- Not compatible with software renderer.[48]
- Currently incompatible with the latest 25th Anniversary update[49].
- Do not use on VAC secured server.
Higher definition models
- Included in the Steam release. For the retail version of Half-Life and its expansions, the Official HD Pack can be found on PcGamingWiki.
- The High Definition Pack replaces most weapon and player/enemy models with higher polygon versions that resemble the PS2 models. For other options follow this guide.
- The option to enable the pack in-game is in the options menu, and the game must be restarted for it to take effect.
- The effect changes the art style dramatically, and whether or not it's desirable is up to personal preference.
- Makes all of the bit-crushed sounds & voices much more clear.
- Requires Xash3D or MetaAudio.
Higher quality Valve logo
- This will replace the existing Valve logo with a higher quality and newer version of the classic Valve logo (Open your eyes from 2004). Found within the files of the Source SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer. Available for Retail and latest Steam 25th Anniversary update.
Crosshair
- See Half-Life Crosshair Changer to customize the crosshairs.
- Upscales crosshairs to make them more visible when using Full HD or 4K resolutions.
- Optionally changes color of the crosshairs for Blue Shift to better match add-on aesthetics.
Enabling developer mode
- Enabling developer mode will allow use of in-game cheats and various console commands.
Use the developer 1 in console[citation needed]
|
Notes
- The developer console can be opened by pressing ~. You may have to turn it on in the in-game settings first.
- You can use the console command
sv_cheats 1 to allow the usage of console commands such as god and noclip .
- You might have to reload a save-game after enabling cheat-mode for certain commands to work.
|
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.
System requirements
Retail ("WON") version
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, 98, NT 4.0 |
98, NT |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 133 MHz
| Intel Pentium 166 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
24 MB |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
400 MB | |
Video card (GPU) |
SVGA, high color (16-bit) compatible display (software mode)
| OpenGL or Direct3D compatible 3D accelerator (OpenGL/Direct3D 7 mode) |
Steam version
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP | |
Processor (CPU) |
500 MHz
| 800 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
96 MB |
128 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
4 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
16 MB of VRAM
| 32 MB of VRAM |
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 Graphics 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 |
Other |
Graphic Drivers: Nvidia 310, AMD 12.11 |
Notes
- ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
, %PROGRAMDATA%
, or %WINDIR%
might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
- ↑ SGSSAA is also technically possible, but a GPU driver bug results in affine textures becoming extremely blurry in OpenGL games such as this title, especially noticable when texture filtering is disabled.
References