Half-Life 2

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) release 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.


⤏ Go to series page
Half-Life mods and fangames (series)
Half-Life	1998
Half-Life: Opposing Force	1999
Half-Life: Blue Shift	2001
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

Key points

Installing the Update mod is recommended to fix numerous bugs introduced by the 2009 Orange Box update.

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

Unofficial Half-Life Wiki

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		European copies also include SecuROM 5 DRM.
Steam		DRM-free when launched directly from the executable.^{[citation needed]}

All versions require Steam DRM.

Soundtrack is available for free with purchase here.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Use `-novid` command line argument^[1]

Enabling the console

A list of console commands can be found here.

Command line^[1]

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.

Options menu^[1]
Go to Options, select the Keyboard tab and click on Advanced. Check Enable the developer console and open the console by using `~`.

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.

Half-Life 2: Update

An unofficial update that fixes bugs, improves the lighting, draw distance and adds new effects among others.

Half-Life 2: Survivor

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.

Half-Life 2: MMod

Enhances visual effects, weapon animations, sound, and gunplay. Most features can be toggled on and off.

Is compatible with Half-Life 2: Update, Episodes 1 & 2, Lost Coast, and MINERVA. Is not recommended for use with base Half-Life 2.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Steam	<path-to-game>/hl2/cfg/

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Save game data location

System	Location
Steam	<path-to-game>/hl2/save/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Steam Cloud

Video settings

In-game general video settings.

In-game advanced video settings.

Template:Video settings

Borderless fullscreen windowed

Instructions^[1]

See Command line arguments.
Use -window -noborder

Notes

For the Oculus Rift, set vr_force_windowed 1 in the developer console.

Input settings

In-game key map settings.

In-game mouse/gamepad settings.

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Czech				Fan dubbing, download.
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian				Original localization by SDL here
Spanish
Swedish				No explicit setting. Steam client has to be in Swedish.
Thai

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

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting		See Documentation: Dedicated Servers.
Direct IP

VR support

3D modes	State	GG3D	Notes
Native 3D
Nvidia 3D Vision			See also Helix Mod: Half Life 2:Update.
TriDef 3D
iZ3D

Headsets
SteamVR		This game might be playable with the Revive Compatibility Layer (compatibility list).
Oculus VR (LibOVR)		Available under Video Settings. See the Oculus Rift forums for further instructions.
Windows Mixed Reality		This game might be playable with the Revive Compatibility Layer.

Devices
Tracked motion controllers
Traditional controller
Keyboard/Mouse
3RD Space Gaming Vest
Novint Falcon

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]}

Stuck in Black Mesa East

Walk into the elevator, Quick Save `F6`, then Quick Load `F9`.

Not enough space on disk (retail)

Copy the files^[1]
Copy all the files from the disc to a new folder, then run `setup.exe`

Available memory less than 128 MB

Setting the compatibility mode^[1]
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.

Half-Life 2 stuck on DirectX v8.0

Command line parameter^[1]

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.

Cyrillic Font Issue in Linux

Cyrillic Font Issue in Linux^{[citation needed]}
Find and remove the Helvetica font.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	7, 8, 8.1, 9
OpenGL	2.1	OS X and Linux only.

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

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok Physics	Heavily modified variant.
Audio	Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Bink Video	Used for startup videos and in-game movies.

Launch options

A list of command lines can be found here and here.

Instructions^[1]
See Command line arguments. Enter your commands.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP (98, 2000)
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 3, AMD Athlon XP	2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB	1 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	4.6 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 2 MX ATI Radeon 7500 32 MB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce 6800 ATI Radeon X800 512 MB of VRAM

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, even with retail copies.

Must be run without Steam to play on XP and Vista.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.5.8, 10.6.3
Processor (CPU)	1.7 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	4.6 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 8000 Series ATI Radeon X1600 Intel HD 3000

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Verified by User:Suicide machine on August 11, 2016

[Sui-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 ^1.6 ^1.7 Verified by User:Suicide machine on August 11, 2016

[1]

Developers

	Valve Corporation
Publishers
	Sierra Entertainment
	Valve Corporation
Engines
	Source
Release dates
Windows	November 16, 2004
macOS (OS X)	May 26, 2010
Linux	May 9, 2013