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

Difference between revisions of "Half-Life: Blue Shift"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
m (updated template usage)
(23 intermediate revisions by 13 users not shown)
Line 5: Line 5:
 
{{Infobox game/row/developer|Valve Corporation}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/developer|Valve Corporation}}
 
|publishers  =  
 
|publishers  =  
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Sierra Entertainment}}
+
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Sierra Entertainment|2001-2005}}
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Valve Corporation}}
+
{{Infobox game/row/publisher|Valve Corporation|2005-present}}
 
|engines      =  
 
|engines      =  
 
{{Infobox game/row/engine|GoldSrc}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/engine|GoldSrc}}
Line 15: Line 15:
 
|reception    =  
 
|reception    =  
 
{{Infobox game/row/reception|Metacritic|half-life-blue-shift|71}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/reception|Metacritic|half-life-blue-shift|71}}
{{Infobox game/row/reception|IGDB|half-life-blue-shift|60}}
 
 
|taxonomy    =  
 
|taxonomy    =  
 
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/modes|Singleplayer}}
 
{{Infobox game/row/taxonomy/modes|Singleplayer}}
Line 27: Line 26:
 
|steam appid  = 130
 
|steam appid  = 130
 
|gogcom id    =  
 
|gogcom id    =  
 +
|igdb        = half-life-blue-shift
 
|hltb        = 4254
 
|hltb        = 4254
 
|strategywiki = Half-Life: Blue Shift
 
|strategywiki = Half-Life: Blue Shift
Line 32: Line 32:
 
|wikipedia    = Half-Life: Blue Shift
 
|wikipedia    = Half-Life: Blue Shift
 
|winehq      =  
 
|winehq      =  
 +
|license      =
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 38: Line 39:
  
 
'''General information'''
 
'''General information'''
{{mm}} [http://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page Unofficial Half-Life Wiki]
 
 
{{mm}} [https://github.com/ValveSoftware/halflife/issues?labels=&page=1&state=open GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life: Blue Shift] and other GoldSrc-based games
 
{{mm}} [https://github.com/ValveSoftware/halflife/issues?labels=&page=1&state=open GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life: Blue Shift] and other GoldSrc-based games
 
{{mm}} [https://steamcommunity.com/app/130/discussions/ Steam Community Discussions]
 
{{mm}} [https://steamcommunity.com/app/130/discussions/ Steam Community Discussions]
Line 44: Line 44:
 
==Availability==
 
==Availability==
 
{{Availability|
 
{{Availability|
{{Availability/row| Retail |  | disc, key | {{DRM|SecuROM}}. Disc only required for CD music. | Steam | Windows }}
+
{{Availability/row| Retail |  | disc, key | {{DRM|SecuROM}}. | Steam | Windows }}
 +
{{Availability/row| Retail |  | Steam | Half-Life 1 Anthology. | | Windows }}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 130 | Steam |  |  | Windows, OS X, Linux}}
 
{{Availability/row| Steam | 130 | Steam |  |  | Windows, OS X, Linux}}
 
}}
 
}}
 +
{{ii}} All non-Steam releases can be redeemed on Steam.
  
 
==Essential improvements==
 
==Essential improvements==
===Skip intro videos===
+
===Official retail patches===
{{ii}} This fix isn't necessary for the Steam release, as that has no intro videos.
+
{{ii}} These are not needed for the steam version as that already contains the latest version.
{{Fixbox|description=-nointro|ref={{cn|date=July 2016}}|fix=
+
An archive of all official patches for Half-Life and its expansions can be found [https://www.moddb.com/games/counter-strike/downloads/half-life-updates-pre-post-1100 here]
# Find Half-Life: Blue Shift in your Steam Library
 
# Right-click the game name
 
# Select <code>Properties</code>
 
# Select <code>Set Launch Options...</code>
 
# Input <code>-nointro</code>
 
# Press <code>OK</code>
 
# Launch the game
 
}}
 
  
 
===Higher definition models===
 
===Higher definition models===
Line 101: Line 95:
 
===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
===[[Glossary:Save game cloud syncing|Save game cloud syncing]]===
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
 
{{Save game cloud syncing
|discord               =  
+
|discord                   =  
|discord notes         =  
+
|discord notes             =  
|epic games store       =  
+
|epic games launcher       =  
|epic games store notes =  
+
|epic games launcher notes =  
|gog galaxy             =  
+
|gog galaxy               =  
|gog galaxy notes       =  
+
|gog galaxy notes         =  
|origin                 =  
+
|origin                   =  
|origin notes           =  
+
|origin notes             =  
|steam cloud           = true
+
|steam cloud               = true
|steam cloud notes     =  
+
|steam cloud notes         =  
|uplay                  =  
+
|ubisoft connect          =  
|uplay notes           =  
+
|ubisoft connect notes     =  
|xbox cloud             =  
+
|xbox cloud               =  
|xbox cloud notes       =  
+
|xbox cloud notes         =  
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 142: Line 136:
 
|anisotropic notes          = Steam version comes with anisotropic filtering turned on by default. Default is set to 16 samples. Lower-end systems might have it set lower by default. Can be customized with <code>gl_ansio</code> command (i.e. <code>gl_ansio 16</code> means 16 samples anisotropic filtering).
 
|anisotropic notes          = Steam version comes with anisotropic filtering turned on by default. Default is set to 16 samples. Lower-end systems might have it set lower by default. Can be customized with <code>gl_ansio</code> command (i.e. <code>gl_ansio 16</code> means 16 samples anisotropic filtering).
 
|antialiasing              = true
 
|antialiasing              = true
|antialiasing notes        = Steam version comes with 4x MSAA turned on by default. Lower-end system might have it turned off by default. Can be overridden from graphics card control panel. You can use <code>-nomsaa</code> command line argument to force anti-aliasing off.
+
|antialiasing notes        = Steam version comes with 4x MSAA turned on by default. Lower-end system might have it turned off by default. Can be overridden from graphics card control panel. You can use <code>-nomsaa</code> command line argument to force anti-aliasing off. Enhanceable to [[SGSSAA]] on Nvidia systems.
 
|vsync                      = true
 
|vsync                      = true
 
|vsync notes                =  
 
|vsync notes                =  
Line 190: Line 184:
 
5. Disable Vsync in-game.
 
5. Disable Vsync in-game.
  
{{ii}} Disabling the cap may reduce the speed at which you move objects.<ref name="highfps">[https://steamcommunity.com/app/70/discussions/0/864973577972636754/#c412449508277202160 How to get 144hz/fps?]</ref> NPC turn rate bug was fixed.<ref>[https://steamcommunity.com/games/70/announcements/detail/1586880891220596672 Steam Community :: Half-Life :: Events]</ref>}}
+
{{ii}} Disabling the cap may reduce the speed at which you move objects.<ref name="highfps">[https://steamcommunity.com/app/70/discussions/0/864973577972636754/#c412449508277202160 How to get 144hz/fps?]</ref> NPC turn rate bug was fixed.<ref>[https://steamcommunity.com/games/70/announcements/detail/1586880891220596672 Steam Community :: Half-Life :: Events]</ref>
 +
{{--}} May cause game over in the elevator with scientists.}}
  
 
===OpenGL overbright lighting===
 
===OpenGL overbright lighting===
Line 291: Line 286:
 
|eax support              =  
 
|eax support              =  
 
|eax support notes        =  
 
|eax support notes        =  
 +
|red book cd audio        = limited
 +
|red book cd audio notes  = Replaced with MP3 playback in the transition to SteamPipe.
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 316: Line 313:
 
  |subtitles = false
 
  |subtitles = false
 
  |notes    =  
 
  |notes    =  
 +
|fan      =
 +
}}
 +
{{L10n/switch
 +
|language  = Russian
 +
|interface = true
 +
|audio    = hackable
 +
|subtitles = false
 +
|notes    = Available an [https://forum.csmania.ru/viewtopic.php?t=279 Audio Translation], created by fan from various unofficial voice-overs
 
  |fan      =  
 
  |fan      =  
 
}}
 
}}
Line 325: Line 330:
 
  |notes    = Retail only. [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=270031459 Download].
 
  |notes    = Retail only. [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=270031459 Download].
 
  |fan      =  
 
  |fan      =  
 +
}}
 +
{{L10n/switch
 +
|language  = Ukrainian
 +
|interface = hackable
 +
|audio    = hackable
 +
|subtitles = false
 +
|notes    = Fan translation and full dubbing by [https://tsfukraine.wixsite.com/main/blue-shift?lang=en TSF], [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i630RMlKdGdJcyxf5T14p2MgGsYCnj7F/view?usp=sharing download].
 +
|fan      = true
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
Line 374: Line 387:
  
 
===Run the game at screen refresh rate===
 
===Run the game at screen refresh rate===
{{--}} The Direct3D verison of the game defaults to 60 Hz in fullscreen mode.
+
{{--}} The Direct3D verison of the game defaults to 60&nbsp;Hz in fullscreen mode.
 
{{Fixbox|description=Use the <code>-freq <rate></code> [[Glossary:Command line arguments|command line argument]]|ref=<ref>[https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Command_Line_Options#Source_Games Command Line Options - Valve Developer Community]</ref>|fix=
 
{{Fixbox|description=Use the <code>-freq <rate></code> [[Glossary:Command line arguments|command line argument]]|ref=<ref>[https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Command_Line_Options#Source_Games Command Line Options - Valve Developer Community]</ref>|fix=
 
{{ii}} Example: <code>-freq 120</code> forces a 120 Hz refresh rate.
 
{{ii}} Example: <code>-freq 120</code> forces a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Line 404: Line 417:
 
|windows exe notes      =  
 
|windows exe notes      =  
 
|mac os x powerpc app  =  
 
|mac os x powerpc app  =  
|macos intel 32-bit app = unknown
+
|macos intel 32-bit app = true
|macos intel 64-bit app = true
+
|macos intel 64-bit app = false
 +
|macos arm app          =
 
|macos app notes        = {{CN|date=August 2015}}
 
|macos app notes        = {{CN|date=August 2015}}
 
|linux 32-bit executable= unknown
 
|linux 32-bit executable= unknown
Line 420: Line 434:
 
|interface        =  
 
|interface        =  
 
|interface notes  =  
 
|interface notes  =  
 +
|input            = SDL
 +
|input notes      =
 
|cutscenes        =  
 
|cutscenes        =  
 
|cutscenes notes  =  
 
|cutscenes notes  =  
Line 449: Line 465:
  
 
|minOS    = Snow Leopard 10.6.3
 
|minOS    = Snow Leopard 10.6.3
|minCPU  = 500 MHz
 
 
|minRAM  = 1 GB
 
|minRAM  = 1 GB
 
|minHD    = 4 GB
 
|minHD    = 4 GB

Revision as of 22:35, 15 November 2021

Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-Life: Blue Shift cover
Developers
Gearbox Software
Valve Corporation
Publishers
2001-2005 Sierra Entertainment
2005-present Valve Corporation
Engines
GoldSrc
Release dates
Windows June 12, 2001
macOS (OS X) March 30, 2013
Linux March 30, 2013
Reception
Metacritic 71
Taxonomy
Modes Singleplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives First-person
Controls Direct control
Genres Shooter
Art styles Realistic
Themes North America, Sci-fi
Series Half-Life
Half-Life: Blue Shift on HowLongToBeat
Half-Life: Blue Shift on IGDB
Half-Life: Blue Shift guide on StrategyWiki
Half-Life: Blue Shift on MobyGames
Half-Life: Blue Shift on Wikipedia
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

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 its original soundtrack added back in-game.[1]

General information

GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life: Blue Shift 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
SecuROM DRM.
Icon overlay.png
Windows
Retail
Icon overlay.png
Half-Life 1 Anthology.
Windows
Steam
Icon overlay.png
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux
All non-Steam releases can be redeemed on Steam.

Essential improvements

Official retail patches

These are not needed for the steam version as that already contains the latest version.

An archive of all official patches for Half-Life and its expansions can be found here

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.

Remade WON Menu

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

System Location
Windows <path-to-game>\Half-Life\bshift\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game>/Half-Life/bshift/
Linux <path-to-game>/Half-Life/bshift/
*.cfg 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>\Half-Life\bshift\SAVE\[Note 1]
macOS (OS X) <path-to-game>/Half-Life/bshift/SAVE
Linux <path-to-game>/Half-Life/bshift/SAVE/

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.
In-game video settings.

Graphics feature State Notes
Widescreen resolution
Need to adjust FOV accordingly so first person view doesn't seem cropped.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
Need to adjust FOV accordingly so first person view doesn't seem cropped.
4K Ultra HD
In-game and menu UI become too small.
Field of view (FOV)
See Field of view (FOV)
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
See Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Steam version comes with anisotropic filtering turned on by default. Default is set to 16 samples. Lower-end systems might have it set lower by default. Can be customized with gl_ansio command (i.e. gl_ansio 16 means 16 samples anisotropic filtering).
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Steam version comes with 4x MSAA turned on by default. Lower-end system might have it turned off by default. Can be overridden from graphics card control panel. You can use -nomsaa command line argument to force anti-aliasing off. Enhanceable to SGSSAA on Nvidia systems.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS
120+ FPS
See High frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Field of view (FOV)

When running at widescreen-resolutions adjusting the FOV is probably necessary.
Field of view[citation needed]
  1. While in game, open the console (~).
  2. Type default_fov 106.270273206 and press Enter.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

-window -noborder[citation needed]
  1. Find Half-Life: Blue Shift in your Steam Library
  2. Right-click the game name
  3. Select Properties
  4. Select Set Launch Options...
  5. Input -window -noborder
  6. Press OK
  7. Launch the game

High frame rate

Game is capped at 72 FPS (without Vsync) by default.
Set FPS limit[citation needed]
  1. Go to the configuration file(s) location.
  2. Create a new file called userconfig.cfg
  3. 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.

Disabling the cap may reduce the speed at which you move objects.[4] NPC turn rate bug was fixed.[5]
May cause game over in the elevator with scientists.

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.[6]
Nvidia cards: Enable the GL extension limiter[7]
  1. Download and run Nvidia Profile Inspector.
  2. On the Half-Life Blue Shift profile, set Extension limit to On. Apply changes.
  3. Go to <path-to-game>.
  4. Create a file called autoexec.cfg.
  5. Add new line gl_overbright "1".
  6. 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

In-game key map settings.
In-game key map settings.
In-game mouse/joystick settings.
In-game mouse/joystick settings.

Audio

In-game audio settings.
In-game audio settings.

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Use MetaAudio plugin with Steam version.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Red Book CD audio
Replaced with MP3 playback in the transition to SteamPipe.

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
Russian
Available an Audio Translation, created by fan from various unofficial voice-overs
Spanish
Retail only. Download.
Ukrainian
Fan translation and full dubbing by TSF, download.

VR support

Headsets State Notes
SteamVR
See VR.
Oculus VR (LibOVR)
See VR.
Windows Mixed Reality
See VR.
OSVR
Devices
Tracked motion controllers
Supports Razer Hydra.
See Input for details.
Traditional controller
See Input for details.
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[8]
  1. Install Half-Life VR Mod into Half-Life's root.
  2. Take client.dll from the mod and put it in Half-Life: Blue Shift's \Half-Life\bshift\cl_dlls folder.
  3. Add -game vr -dev -env -insecure -nomouse -nojoy +sv_lan 1 +sv_maxspeed 125 to Half-Life's launch options
  4. Set opengl32.dll to Read-Only in root directory of Half-Life.
  5. Ingame, make Half-Life windowed
  6. 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).

Run the game at screen refresh rate

The Direct3D verison of the game defaults to 60 Hz in fullscreen mode.
Use the -freq <rate> command line argument[9]
Example: -freq 120 forces a 120 Hz refresh rate.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 7 Lost with Linux update.[10]
OpenGL 2.1
Software renderer
Executable 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
[citation needed]
Linux
[citation needed]

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Miles Sound System
Input SDL

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
System memory (RAM) 96 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 4 GB
Video card (GPU) 16 MB of VRAM
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) Snow Leopard 10.6.3
Processor (CPU)
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)


Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 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).

References