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.
General information
- GitHub Issue Tracker for Half-Life 2: Episode Two and other Source-based games
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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Steam |
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DRM-free when launched directly from the executable with -game ep2 command line argument.[citation needed] |
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- 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
Low draw distance
- Default draw distance is too low resulting in noticeable pop-ins of vegetation during the driving sections.
Use console commands[1]
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- Download hiquality.cfg and put it in
<path-to-game>\ep2\cfg
- Enable console commands, open console using ~ button and type in
bind "F11" "exec hiquality" and press ↵ Enter
- When a new map loads, press F11 to switch to high quality configuration.
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Skip intro videos
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System |
Location |
Steam |
<Steam-folder>/SteamApps/common/Half-Life 2/ep2/cfg/ |
- This game does not follow the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux.
Save game data location
System |
Location |
Steam |
<Steam-folder>/SteamApps/common/Half-Life 2/ep2/save/ |
System |
Native |
Notes |
Steam Cloud |
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Approx. 100 MB available. Syncs save games and settings. |
Video
- HBAO available with flag
0x0000002C
.
-window -noborder[2]
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- For newer versions, see above. Otherwise follow this steps:
- Find Half-Life 2: Episode Two in your Steam Library
- Right-click the game name
- Select
Properties
- Select
Set Launch Options...
- Input
-window -noborder
- Press
OK
- Launch the game
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Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Over-all game volume and separate music slider. |
Surround sound |
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7.1, 5.1 surround sound, 4 speaker surround.[8] 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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"Silence the audio while the game window is in the background" check box. |
EAX support |
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Set snd_legacy_surround 1 in console, 4 speakers in options, and use DSOAL for binaural HRTF mixing. |
Royalty free audio |
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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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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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Russian |
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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. |
Spanish |
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Swedish |
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Network
Multiplayer types
Connection types
VR support
- By default VR mode will run full screen, to switch back to a borderless windowed set the
vr_force_windowed
convar.
Issues fixed
Purple and black broken textures
- A generic fix for this issue can be found on our Source engine page.
Pickup Icons cut off at the bottom
- Misaligned HUD causing pickup icons to appear cut at the bottom in certain resolutions.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9 |
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OpenGL |
2.1 |
OS X and Linux only. |
Vulkan |
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Use -vulkan command line argument. |
Shader Model support |
2, 3 |
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Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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macOS (OS X) | |
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[citation needed] |
Linux | |
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[citation needed] |
Middleware
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Middleware |
Notes |
Physics |
Havok |
Heavily modified variant. |
Audio |
Miles Sound System |
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Input |
SDL |
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Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
Used for startup videos and in-game movies. |
Console commands
- Games running on the Source engine can utilize Source Engine Console Commands for various tasks.
Enabling the console in Source games[2]
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- Launch the game
- From the main menu select
Options
- Select the
Keyboard tab
- Click the
Advanced button
- Check the box next to
Enable developer console (~)
- Click Apply
Notes
- Press ~ to open the console.
- Some commands may first require you enabling sv_cheats. You can do so with
sv_cheats 1 .
- Users without a US keyboard could experience some problems.
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Launch options
- View this Steam Support Article regarding launch options as well as the relevant Valve Developer wiki page for further information and a list of useful Source engine launch options.
Enabling a launch parameter[2]
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- Find the game in your Steam Library
- Right-click the game name
- Select
Properties
- Select
Set Launch Options...
- Input your selected launch options and separate each command with a space
- Press
OK
- Launch the game
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Mods
- For popular mods, see Mod DB's "Half-Life 2: Episode Two Mods" section.
- Research and Development is a Source Mod that requires Episode Two, download it from Mod DB.
- 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.
- Large download at over 8.5 GB, including patches. Around 22.7 GB once extracted.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP, Vista, 7 | |
Processor (CPU) |
1.7 GHz
| Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
512 MB |
1 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
4.6 GB | |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce FX 5700 ATI Radeon 9500 128 MB of VRAM
| Nvidia GeForce 6800 ATI Radeon X800 |
- Windows 2000 was previously supported, but as future updates for this game and Steam occurred; the support was dropped, even with 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 8 ATI Radeon X1600 Intel HD 3000 |
Notes
- ↑ While it partially works on XInput/Legacy Mode, it's best suited for Steam Input API mode.
References