Half-Life

Half-Life

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

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.

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 only needed to play CD music, and in previous versions; authenticate.
Steam

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 that includes an exclusive chapter (and a training level) with content not found in the full release. It can be downloaded here.

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 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.

Essential improvements

Disable texture resizing

By default, the game resizes textures to the nearest power of 2. This behavior can be disabled on hardware that supports non-power-of-two textures (most modern GPUs released within the past 15 years support them) by setting gl_round_down to 0 in the configuration files.

Skip intro videos

Steam release has no intro videos.

Use -nointro[citation needed]

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Half-Life\
Steam	<path-to-game>/valve/

*.cfg files store the configuration.

This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\valve\SAVE\
macOS (OS X)	<path-to-game>/valve/SAVE
Linux	<path-to-game>/valve/SAVE/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game video settings (Steam version)

For a list of console commands, see here.

4K Ultra HD

This section may require cleanup to meet basic quality standards. The specific problem is: Provide a vanilla resized HUD and crosshairs. Figure out how to increase other font sizes.. You can help by modifying the article. The discussion page may contain useful suggestions.

Assets are designed for 640x480, and UI may be too small at higher resolutions.

{{Fixbox|description=Increase font sizes|ref=|fix=

1. Open <path-to-game>\platform\resource\TrackerScheme.res in a text editor.
2. Under "Legacy_CreditsFont", change "tall" as desired to change the size of the in-game credits font, used for the opening credits and tutorial prompts.
   Recommended settings for a similar font size to that used in 640x480 are:
   • {{code|"30"} for 720p or 768p
   • {{code|"40"} for 960p, 1024p, or 1080p
   • {{code|"50"} for 1200p
   • {{code|"60"} for 1440p
   • {{code|"70"} for 1600p
   • {{code|"80"} for 2160p ("4K")
   • {{code|"120"} for 2880p ("5K")
   • "135"} for 3240p ("6K")
   • {code

     Field of view (FOV)

     FOV adjustment may be necessary at widescreen resolutions.

     Field of view
     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.

     High frame rate

     Use +developer 1 +fps_override 1 +fps_max ###
     Disabling the cap may reduce the speed at which you move objects. NPC turn rate bug was fixed.

     OpenGL texture filtering

     By default the filtering is enabled (not in Software rendering mode).

     Disable OpenGL texture filtering
     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.

     OpenGL overbright lighting

     Overbright lighting increases the rendering dynamic range, resulting in a primitive "bloom" effect.

     Overbright lighting normally only works on the Direct3D and software renderers.

     Nvidia cards: Enable the GL extension limiter
     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 will disable multi-texturing, which has the side-effect of disabling detail textures, which may effect the appearance of user levels and mods.

     Input settings

     

     In-game key map settings (Steam version)
     

     In-game mouse/joystick settings (Steam version)

     Audio settings

     

     In-game audio settings (Steam version)

     Localizations

     Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
     English
     Simplified Chinese
     Traditional Chinese
     French
     German				Censored (enemy soldiers replaced with robots, gore removed). An uncut DLC was released after BPjM cleared the game, but it has since gone. Players can still play in English, or edit their registry.
     Italian
     Korean
     Spanish
     Indonesian				Fan translation by IGTC Team, download.

     Network

     

     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 with a 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

     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).

     Headsets
     SteamVR		See VR.
     Oculus VR (LibOVR)		See VR.
     Windows Mixed Reality		See VR.
     OSVR

     Devices
     Tracked motion controllers
     Traditional controller
     Keyboard/Mouse
     Novint Falcon		The official game-specific 3D Touch Add On is required.

     Play area
     Seated
     Standing
     Room-scale

     VR

     Install Half-Life-VR Mod
     Install Half-Life VR Mod into game root. Add -game vr -dev -env -insecure -nomouse -nojoy +sv_lan 1 +sv_maxspeed 125 to launch options. Set opengl32.dll to Read-Only in the installation folder. Set game to windowed.

     Issues fixed

     Missing Blood & Gore on Steam version

     There is an issue with the current Steam release of Half-Life, put short you can end up downloading the censored version regardless of your location.

     Download this file to restore the lost gore[citation needed]

     Input Lag in Direct3D

     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

     Missing Decals in Direct3D

     Use gl_polyoffset -0.01 in the console[citation needed]

     Color depth in the retail version

     The retail version defaults to 16-bit color depth.

     Run game with -32bpp argument[citation needed]

     Fatal Error - Available memory less than 15MB

     Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP[citation needed]

     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.

     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
     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.

     No music playback in the retail version

     Switch from CD playback to MP3
     Make sure you have updated Half-Life to v1.1.1.0 (see patch), adding MP3 playback support. 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)

     Other information

     API

     Technical specs	Supported	Notes
     Direct3D	7	Lost with Linux update.
     OpenGL	2.1	3DFX MiniGL included in retail version.
     Software renderer

     Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
     Windows
     macOS (OS X)
     Linux

     Middleware

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

     Mods

     Xash3D

     Xash3D is a custom GoldSrc build made to overcome the limit of the GoldSrc engine, fixing compatibility issues for the original non-Steam versions too

     It also includes quality of life options fit for modern systems, including HUD scaling.

     MetaAudio

     Alternative audio pipeline for GoldSrc. Re-implements 3D audio without replacing entire rendering pipeline. Combines A3D’s HRTF and Occlusion with EAX’s reverb.

     Not compatible with software renderer.

     Must use -insecure. Do not use on VAC secured server.

     Higher definition models

     The High Definition Pack replaces most weapon and player/enemy models with higher polygon versions. 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.

     Restoring Original Menu

     Half-Life's main menu was changed with the game's transition from the WON (World Opponent Network) system to Steam. This mod restores the look of the original menus and adds the PlayStation 2 version of the menu music. An alternate GameBanana download link can be found here.

     Menus are 4:3 by default and cannot be stretched to fullscreen. In-game is untouched.

     Crosshair

     See Half-Life Crosshair Changer to customize the crosshairs.

     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

     Windows

     macOS (OS X)

     Linux

     Windows
     	Minimum	Recommended
     Operating system (OS)	95	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	32 MB Open GL or Direct3D compatible 3D accelerator
     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

     Notes

     References