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.
Key points
- As of July 2013, among other fixes, Blue Shift was updated with SteamPipe integration, with it's original soundtrack added back in-game.[1]
General information
- Unofficial Half-Life Wiki
- GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life: Blue Shift and other GoldSrc-based games
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
|
Disc only required for CD music. |
|
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Amazon.com |
|
Only available as Half-Life: Anthology, Comes with Steam Key |
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Green Man Gaming |
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Steam |
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Essential improvements
Skip intro videos
- This fix isn't necessary for the Steam release, as that has no intro videos.
-nointro[citation needed]
|
- Find Half-Life: Blue Shift in your Steam Library
- Right-click the game name
- Select
Properties
- Select
Set Launch Options...
- Input
-nointro
- Press
OK
- Launch the game
|
Higher definition models
The High Definition Pack[2] 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. The option to enable the pack in-game is in the options menu, and the game must be restarted for it to take effect.
For other options follow this guide.
Blue Shift's main menu, among other parts, was heavily changed with the game's transition from the WON (World Opponent Network) system to Steam. A mod was released by Reddit user HowardHeyman. It restores the look of the original Blue Shift menus, but without text subtitles, animated backgrounds, nor various options windows to keep within the Source Engine's assumed limits. The mod also adds main menu music from Blue Shifts's (in-turn, Opposing Force's) own soundtrack. An alternate download link can be found here, on GameBanana.
The menu also adds the "Custom Game" feature that was present in the WON version, where the player could select from an in-game menu to switch mods in-game. This feature is disabled by default in the Steam release, as Half-Life doesn't have true native support to allow run time switching, and, according to Alfred, the engineering effort to fix the function is better spent elsewhere.[3]
- Menus are 4:3 by default and cannot be stretched to fullscreen. In-game is untouched.
Enabling developer mode
- Enabling developer mode will allow use of in-game cheats and various console commands.
Turn on developer mode[citation needed]
|
Use the developer 1 in console.
Notes
- The developer console can be opened by pressing ~ (Note you may have to turn it on in the in-game settings). 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.
|
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
Video settings
Template:Video settings
- When running at widescreen-resolutions adjusting the FOV is probably necessary.
Field of view[citation needed]
|
- While in game, open the console (~).
- Type
default_fov 106.270273206 and press ↵ Enter.
|
-window -noborder[citation needed]
|
- Find Half-Life: Blue Shift in your Steam Library
- Right-click the game name
- Select
Properties
- Select
Set Launch Options...
- Input
-window -noborder
- Press
OK
- Launch the game
|
- Game is capped at 72 FPS (without Vsync) by default.
Set FPS limit[citation needed]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Create a new file called
userconfig.cfg
- Add in the following lines:
fps_max "<desired FPS value>"
fps_override 1
- The
fps_override 1 command disables GoldSrc's arbitrary 100 FPS limit.
4. Save the file and launch the game.
5. Disable Vsync in-game.
|
Input settings
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse/joystick settings.
Template:Input settings
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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French |
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German |
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VR support
Install Half-Life-VR Mod[4]
|
- Install Half-Life VR Mod into Half-Life's root.
- Take
client.dll from the mod and put it in Half-Life: Blue Shift's \Half-Life\bshift\cl_dlls folder.
- Add
-game vr -dev -env -insecure -nomouse -nojoy +sv_lan 1 +sv_maxspeed 125 to Half-Life's launch options
- Set
opengl32.dll to Read-Only in root directory of Half-Life.
- Ingame, make Half-Life windowed
- To play, Launch Half-Life and select
Change Game in the main Menu, and choose Half Life: Blue Shift.
|
Issues fixed
Game crashes before entering main menu (Windows)
Fix Data Execution Prevention setting[citation needed]
|
Ensure Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is set to the default (Windows programs and services only).
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
7 |
Lost with Linux update.[5] |
OpenGL |
2.1 |
|
Software renderer |
|
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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macOS (OS X) | |
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Linux | |
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Middleware
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 |
|
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) |
Snow Leopard 10.6.3 |
Processor (CPU) |
500 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
4 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 8 ATI Radeon X1600 Intel HD 3000 |
Linux |
|
Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
Ubuntu 12.04 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Dual Core 2.8 GHz AMD Dual Core 2.8 GHz |
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