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
- Installing the Update mod is recommended to fix numerous bugs introduced by various later updates.
- Numerous mods are available for the game, including new levels and completely new game modes.
General information
- GitHub Issue Tracker for Linux bugs in Half-Life 2 and other Source-based games
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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SecuROM 5 DRM. Removed in a December 2004 update. Collector's Edition copies can bypass Steam if you launch hl2.msi directly. 5 to 6 CD's or 1 DVD. |
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Steam |
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DRM-free when launched directly from the executable. Some features will not be available (such as Achievements) when launched outside of Steam.[citation needed] |
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- A demo is available.
- All versions require Steam DRM.
- Soundtrack is available for free here.
Essential improvements
Peixoto's patch
Peixoto's patch forced resolution allows in high resolution without shrinking the HUD\menus. Super sampling anti-aliasing is also possible.
Skip intro videos
Enabling the console
- A list of console commands can be found here.
Command line[1]
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- See Command line arguments.
- Use
-console then in the console write bind F2 "toggleconsole"
Notes
- You can replace
F2 with any key of your choice.
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Options menu[1]
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- Go to Options, select the Keyboard tab and click on Advanced.
- Check Enable the developer console and open the console by using ~.
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Mods
- For additional, nonessential mods, see Additional mods.
- An unofficial update that fixes bugs, improves the lighting, draw distance and adds new effects among others.
- Standalone; uses a separate installation folder, separate save and configuration files, and separate Steam AppID.
- Does not include newer official updates, including an update that fixed NPCs not blinking. This particular bug can be fixed in Update by copying the vanilla client.dll and server.dll from
<path-to-game>\hl2\bin
to Update's <path-to-game>\hl2\bin
.[2] Can also use the .dlls from this pack.
- Textures for all NPCs, some weapons, some items, some crates, and some vehicles, upscaled with Topaz A.I. Gigapixel.
- Upscaled textures are faithful to the original textures.
- Works with Half-Life 2: Update.
- Large download at over 6.5 GB, including patches. Around 12.5 GB once extracted.
- A similar mod to the Half-Life 2 4X AI Textures but only for NPCs.
- Smaller then Half-Life 2 4X AI Textures. At 840 MB and 2.31 GB once extracted.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
- This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Save game data location
System |
Native |
Notes |
Steam Cloud |
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Approx. 100 MB available. |
Video
In-game general video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
- HBAO available with Nvidia Profile Inspector flag
0x0000002C
.
Input
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse/gamepad settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Game volume and music slider. |
Surround sound |
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4.0, 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. 7.1 output may require DirectSound3D restoration software. |
Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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Under a check box in the Audio menu. |
EAX support |
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Set snd_legacy_surround 1 in console (or launch the game with +snd_legacy_surround 1 ), 4 speakers in options, and use DSOAL for binaural HRTF mixing.[5] |
Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Simplified Chinese |
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Traditional Chinese |
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Czech |
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Fan translation including dubbing, download. |
Danish |
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Dutch |
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Finnish |
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French |
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German |
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Italian |
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Japanese |
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Korean |
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Norwegian |
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Polish |
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Portuguese |
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Brazilian Portuguese |
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[6] |
Russian |
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By default, the steam version has a new localization by "Buka". However, after the "SteamPipe" update, errors appeared in the localization, such as the effect of broken phrases. Therefore, it is recommended to download the patch, made by guys from the "hl-inside" forum. |
Russian |
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First offical localization by SDL and published for retail by "SoftClub" here |
Spanish |
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Swedish |
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Thai |
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Network
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
LAN play |
| 32 |
Users will need to open the developer console and type "maxplayers 4; sv_lan 1" and "map d1_trainstation_01" in the console. Do note that the game will not load an autosave, but you and your partner will respawn instead. |
Online play |
| 10 |
Use Synergy. |
Connection types
VR support
Issues fixed
Windows
- TweakGuides has created a comprehensive guide for fixing issues in this game which can be found here.
Purple and black textures
- See missing textures.
No lighting after Black Mesa East
Activate the High Dynamic Range in the Advanced Video Options[citation needed]
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Stuck in Black Mesa East
- Bug that happens in unpatched retail versions through steam.
The digital version of steam is not affected by this error since it will be automatically patched to the latest version.
Walk into the elevator, Quick Save F6, then Quick Load F9.
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Not enough space on disk (retail)
Copy the files[1]
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- Copy all the files from the disc to a new folder, then run
setup.exe
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Available memory less than 128 MB(retail)
Setting the compatibility mode[1]
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- See compatibility mode.
- Go to
<path-to-game> and find hl2.exe
- Set the executable to run under the Windows XP (Service Pack 3) compatibility mode.
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Half-Life 2 stuck on DirectX v8.0
Command line parameter[1]
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- See Command line arguments.
- Use
-dxlevel 95 , start the game and configure the desired video settings.
- Remove the command line before starting the game again.
Notes
- Not removing the command line will cause the game to set the options to their default values.
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Cyrillic Font Issue in Linux
Cyrillic Font Issue in Linux[citation needed]
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Find and remove the Helvetica font.
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SteamVR launches automatically when attempting to enter Options
Modify the gameinfo.txt file[7]
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- Navigate to
<path-to-game>/hl2/ and open gameinfo.txt with a text editor of your choice.
- Find the value of
supportsvr and change it from 1 to 0 .
Notes
- If you reinstall the game or verify the integrity of the files, this change will be reverted.
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
6, 7, 8, 8.1, 9 |
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OpenGL |
2.1 |
OS X and Linux only. |
Vulkan |
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Currently in "beta" branch, right click on Half-Life 2 on Steam Library, go to Betas, choose "beta", then use -vulkan Command line argument. Works via DXVK translation layer.[9] |
Shader Model support |
1.x, 2, 3 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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64-bit version is no longer available[8] |
macOS (OS X) | |
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[citation needed] |
Linux | |
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[citation needed] |
Middleware
Launch options
- A list of command lines can be found here and here.
Additional mods
- An extra list of mods can be found here. To view the most-rated mods, click here.
- A discussion of various graphic improvement mods can be found here.
- An unofficial port of the Japanese arcade version.
- This mod does not require Steam in order to run, but it requires you to use old files from Source SDK Base 2006. Click at the link above for more info.
- Enhances visual effects, weapon animations, sound, and gunplay. Most features can be toggled on and off.
- Compatible with all official Half-Life 2 titles and MINERVA and the FakeFactory Cinematic Mod. Compatibility patches made by the community for other mods and games based around the Half-Life 2 gameplay and various other addons can be found here.
System requirements
Windows |
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Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 | |
Processor (CPU) |
1.7 GHz
| 2.0 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
512 MB |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
6.5 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 ATI Radeon 9500 128 MB of VRAM DirectX 8.1 compatible
| Nvidia GeForce 6800 ATI Radeon X800 512 MB of VRAM |
- The original system requirements were as follows: Windows 2000/XP/ME/98, a 1.2 GHz processor (2.4 GHz recommended), 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended), DirectX 7, and 4.5 GB hard disk space
- Windows 98SE, ME, and 2000 were previously supported operating systems for the game, but as future updates for this game and Steam occurred; the support for these operating systems were dropped with non-Collector's Edition retail copies.
- Must be run without Steam to play on XP and Vista.
macOS (OS X) |
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Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
10.5.8, 10.6.3 |
Processor (CPU) |
1.7 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
4.6 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 8000 Series ATI Radeon X1600 Intel HD 3000 |
References