Day of Defeat: Source

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Day of Defeat: Source.

Those who had pre-purchased either the Half-Life 2 Gold or Silver packages were eligible for access to a playtest for the then upcoming Day of Defeat: Source, which began around February 2005. This build was radically different from the final release version, being closer to a direct port. Visually it appears to be in a 'middle ground' between Half-Life: Source and Counter-Strike: Source, using ported assets from the original game along with touched up maps and general Source improvements like ragdoll physics. Once they received valuable feedback from playtesters who were underwhelmed by the conversion, Valve ultimately decided that what they had made was not ready for release.¹ After this the project underwent a severe reworking and increased in scope. By July 2005 screenshots showcased the new, rebuilt version.

Unfortunately any of the builds for this version of the game have yet to resurface despite it's wide distribution.

Screenshots#

October 2004#

Around the end of October the earliest glimpse of Day of Defeat: Source appeared through two images that were uploaded to the Steam Forums.² The pictures feature the map Anzio, the former with it loaded into Hammer and the latter inside the game itself.

February 2005#

The playtesting period begins. More images of Day of Defeat: Source begin to surface from those with access. Sites such as IGN also start to post screenshots of the game.³

June 2005#

Two screenshots of Day of Defeat: Source appear in PC Gamer US showcasing the maps Anzio and Donner.⁴

Shortly afterwards Valve would announce their intentions of reworking the game and release a new image of the map Flash which had undergone a complete art pass.

July 2005#

Valve shares two more screenshots of the map Donner, showcasing the remade player and weapon models as well as greatly improved visuals across the board.⁵

August 2005#

Valve posts a single screenshot of the game, promising that Day of Defeat: Source would be coming soon.⁶

September 2005#

On September 2nd Valve confirms that the game will launch within the month.⁷ The following week the release date of September 26th is given.⁸

Renders of a few of the remade playermodels are also posted throughout the month.

Videos#

Some footage from the playtesting period still exists on the internet.

Watch on YouTubeWatch on YouTubeWatch on YouTube

Maps#

The maps Flash and Avalanche were available to play. Both received notable visual improvements compared to their GoldSrc counterparts:

• World textures were replaced with ones of Source Engine standards.
• Displacements were added to some spots to improve detail.
• New models were built to add detail and replace what was previously decals and brushwork.
• Model props used for objects like sandbags were replaced with new assets built for Source.
• 3D Skyboxes were added.
• Lighting improvements.

Pre-release screenshots also showed that work had also been done to both Anzio and Donner though they do not seem to have been included in playtests.

References#