Half-Life (Windows)

This page details one or more prototype versions of Half-Life (Windows).

There are a number of prototypes of Half-Life available online. Some were demos given public release, while others were builds preserved by fans and the like.

Sub-Pages#

September 1997 PrototypeA press demo made before the game was retooled into the Half-Life everyone knows. Build 722 (Oct 16, 1998)"Net Test 1" build sent to Valve testers to test the network capabilities of the game. Surprisingly, quite a bit earlier and more unfinished than Net Test 2, despite only being compiled three and a half days earlier. Build 725 (Oct 19, 1998)"Net Test 2" build sent to Valve testers to test the network capabilities of the game. Almost there... Half-Life: Day OneA pre-release demo made two months before the final was released. It has many minor differences, including evidence of a cut weapon, removed animations, and some larger textures. Half-Life: UplinkA demo made after the game was released that nonetheless has a few differences.

Other Builds#

These builds are mostly the same as the retail build, but there are some minor differences here and there.

Build 718#

Evaluation release sent out to reviewers. Used by a mapper to create the map TIGHL01.¹

Build 735#

First Italian retail release of the game, compiled a week before the final release. No noticeable differences from other retail releases.

Build 738#

Released by the group "CLASS" three days before the final release. Aside from the engine being compiled 4 days earlier, the game files are identical to the retail release with the exception of mapcycle.txt, which lacks the map subtransit (same as in European retail releases), and btns_main.bmp, which lacks the graphic for the missing "3D info site" button in the video options menu.

References#