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.
Half-Life 2 is a singleplayer first-person FPS game in the Half-Life series.
The retail release was published by Sierra Entertainment up until the publisher lost all publishing rights to Valve's titles in 2005. Valve subsequently partnered with Electronic Arts to distribute later retail versions of the game and future titles. The macOS X version was released in 2010 and the Linux version later in 2013, both coinciding with the launch of Steam on their respective platforms.
Like most of Valve's library, the game still receives bug fixes and general maintenance updates. It also enjoys a large community base, and various mods are released regularly.
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.
Steam installation can be bypassed on Collector's Edition copies by launching hl2.msi directly. five to six CDs or single DVD.
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| Steam |
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DRM-free when launched directly from the executable. Some features (such as achievements) are unavailable when launched outside of Steam. |
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- A demo is available from Steam.
- The soundtrack is available for free from Steam.
Essential improvements
Peixoto's patch
Peixoto's patch forced resolution allows in high resolution without shrinking the HUD or menus. Super sampling anti-aliasing is also possible.
Skip intro videos
Enabling the console
- A list of console commands can be found here.
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Command line[1]
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- See Command line arguments.
- Use
-console, then write bind F2 "toggleconsole" in the console.
Notes
- Any key can be substituted for F2.
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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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- 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, which introduced new bug fixes and features, follow this guide or use this patch (Mirror #1 Mirror #2) to update the game.
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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Saves and most settings. Approx. 100 MB available. |
Video
- HBAO available with Nvidia Profile Inspector flag
0x0000002C.
Input
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.[6] |
| Royalty free audio |
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Localizations
| Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
| English |
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| Belarusian |
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Fan translation, Steam Workshop. In testing stage. |
| 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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[7] |
| Brazilian Portuguese |
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Mod DB. |
| 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
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Activate the High Dynamic Range in the Advanced Video Options[citation needed]
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Stuck in Black Mesa East
- Bug that occurs in initial retail release. (i.e. Collector's Edition version, etc.)
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Walk into the elevator, Quick Save F6, then Quick Load F9.
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Not enough space on disk (retail)
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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Modify the gameinfo.txt file[8]
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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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Certain music and sound effects don't play (Fedora Linux)
- Having SELinux enabled can cause certain music and sound effect files to not play when on Fedora Linux.
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Lower security level[9][citation needed]
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Run the following terminal commands:
sudo su
sudo setsebool -P selinuxuser_execheap 1
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Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| Direct3D |
6, 7, 8, 9 |
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| OpenGL |
2.1 |
OS X and Linux only. |
| Vulkan |
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Enable Vulkan using -vulkan Command line argument. Works via DXVK translation layer.[11] Windows[12][13] & Linux only.[citation needed] |
| 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[10] |
| 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. |
| Anti-cheat |
Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) |
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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.
- 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 than Half-Life 2 4X AI Textures. At 840 MB and 2.31 GB once extracted.
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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Verified by User:Suicide machine on August 11, 2016
- ↑ Field of View - Valve Developer Community - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ Verified by User:Mr. obsolete 341 on 2021-11-22
- ↑ Verified by User:Al2009man on 2022-05-05
- Tested on DualShock 4 V2 and DualSense Controller while Steam Input is forcefully disabled.
As of this writing: Left/Right Joystick does not work if Steam Input (under Legacy mode) is enabled.
- ↑ Verified by User:Al2009man on 2022-05-05
- Seems like this method no longer works on Steam Deck branch.
- ↑ Half-Life 2 with 3D spatial sound 🎧 (OpenAL Soft HRTF audio)
- ↑ UOL Jogos, 29/12/2004 (archived). - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ Steam Community - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ Steam Community :: novimatrem-chan :: Review for Half-Life 2 - last accessed on 2022-03-25
- "Fix missing music/sound effects in Source Engine games (Valve games, etc.) on Fedora
Unfortunately, on Fedora, some Valve games have a bit of an issue regarding completely skipping playing certain audio files.
None of this causes any crashing, but can lead to a worse gaming experience, confusion, and the appearance of buggyness- and generally isn’t great.
To work around this, please refer to the following steps, and all the games’ audio will then work perfectly.
You need to open your Terminal emulator, either from the usual application menu place, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+T, or sometimes it’s Super+T AND THEN type the following into it, entering your password when it prompts you.
sudo su
sudo setsebool -P selinuxuser_execheap 1
That’s it. Your game will now function as intended, enjoy being able to hear the soundtracks, music, sound effects, etc! Especially ‘Still Alive’, and the banger that Half-Life 2’s soundtrack is, amongst others.
valve pls fix"
- ↑ 64-bit Half-Life 2 released - Eurogamer.net - last accessed on 2020-08-27
- ↑ pcgamer.com - last accessed on May 2023
- ↑ Verified by User:kr0tchet on 2022-04-02
- dxvk_d3d9.dll exists in game directory (Windows only)
- ↑ Verified by User:Expack3 on 2022-04-04
- Windows version seems to use DXVK v1.8.1-3-gd3e43ed3, based on output log.
