Build 722 (Oct 16, 1998)

This is a sub-page of Proto:Half-Life (Windows).

readmeA single readme file detailing general testing instructions, as well as known issues.

General Differences#

Gluon Gun (Egon)#

The Gluon Gun's alternate fire is properly functional in this build instead of just playing an animation. In the final game, the alt-fire function was commented out in the code.

The primary attack is a narrow beam and the alternate fire mode cycles between the narrow beam and a wide beam that uses more ammo, has higher-pitched sound effects and "shakes" the gun a bit. The wide beam was used in the final game as the Gluon's primary attack, however.

Hivehand (Hornet Gun)#

The Hivehand has a faster fire rate than the final game.

Unused Maps#

assault#

A map set in an industrial area surrounded by a canyon. It has a bridge and a bunker with two Human Grunts inside. One of the bridge's ends has two Turrets surrounded by sandbags, which leads to a dead end. The map was slightly modified and featured in early material for Valve's Team Fortress in 1998, then reused in Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms in 1999.

battle#

An early version of the tank hangar from "Forget about Freeman!". The tanks use a primitive design with placeholder textures.

loot1#

A version of the multiplayer map "Bootcamp" that was intended for the cut "Loot" gamemode.

When loaded, players start in the middle of the map, inside a cage that will open after a few seconds. A few Human Grunts are running around in a loop around the map.

This gamemode would have started with teams of two people who had to hunt around the level for a bag of loot, as well as weapons. Players could only carry one weapon at a time. Once the loot was found, players had to bring it back to the central area to win the round. Dead players had to wait for the next round to spawn again. However, the logic for this gamemode seems to not be present in the code.

gruntdm1#

A version of the map Subtransit featuring breakable crates, Human Grunts and Tripmines. This was used for a scrapped Cooperative gamemode and can be seen in some pre-release screenshots. The presence of the cut health cabinets in place of health chargers suggest that the map has not been worked on for a while. This map is also mentioned in an internal Sierra document for Half-Life Alpha version 0.61, further denoting its age.

valve#

The original Valve intro sequence is included in this build. It would later be shared online by Valve developer Chris Bokitch in November 1999.

c2a2_ects#

An early version of c2a2e. According to the name, this was used for the European Computer Trade Show in 1998. This sequence was also used at E3 of that year, although at that time the map still contained Stukabats, which are absent from this iteration.

Notably the Train cart uses a much simpler and earlier design. One direction on the rail leads the player to c2a2h, though at the world origin and with no items. The other direction attempts to load the map c2a2j, which does not exist in the files, thus crashing the game.

c4a3a#

An early version of c4a1c exists in this build. What's notable are the inclusions of a large slot that peers into the skybox, as well as crystals that control the height of the elevator in the map. Players were meant to use these to raise the lift to the conveyor belts, while making sure the Vortigaunts nearby don't use them to lower it.

c4a3b#

An early version of c4a1d exists in this build.

c4a3c#

An early version of c4a1e exists in this build.

Map Differences#

See Also: Proto:Half-Life (Windows)/Build 725 (Oct 19, 1998)#Map Differences

To do: Add more differences along with also comparing the maps in Net Test 2. (If comparing the maps that were finalised in that build, Use the ones from the retail game's files.)

Office Complex#

c1a2d#

c1a2d is the same as Build 693 of Day One. Net Test 2 recompiles the map to not have an embedded WAD in addition to making the top and base parts of the platform supports be func_detail entities.

Blast Pit#

General:#

Every map in the chapter (c1a4 through c1a4k) has additional logic for level transition. In all of the levels, an unused keyvalue of worldspawn (worldspawn is an entity that is used for setting up map parameters) indicates that "Blast Pit" was originally named "Screams and Whispers", confirming the chapter titles present in Day One.

c1a4 and c1a4k#

Both maps use a different texture set to the Retail game, Both use tnnl_ textures in Net Test 1 while Net Test 2/Retail use c1a4_ specific textures which are already present in Net Test 1 used in other chapters such as Power Up. The early textures can be seen in a Worldcraft screenshot of c1a4 in the Sierra E3 1998 Press Kit.¹

c1a4b and c1a4i#

Both maps use additional multi_manager entities for opening the doors to the Tentacle Slio, In Net Test 2/Retail, The entities are deleted and the targetnames were changed to have the levers directly open the doors without relying on such entities.

Power Up#

c2a1#

The wounded Barney in the track control room is closer to the lever.

On a Rail#

c2a2h#

While mostly the same as Net Test 2, c2a2h does not have the scripted sentence for the Grunts' dialogue.

Apprehension#

c2a3b#

In the piston room, the crates on the ground under the broken ladder and the balcony to the right of the middle piston haven't been added yet.

Residue Processing#

c2a4c#

In this version, you can find the unused "SquidFall" sequence with a Barney/Security Guard and a Bullsquid in staircase area.

Watch on YouTube

Xen#

c4a1#

The first level of Xen starts with a "cutscene", attempting to show you the level. The present camera logic seems a bit unfinished as it ends about three seconds after loading the map.

The first lambda team corpse you see in the level is missing a medkit and a battery, along with a blood decal.

The "cage" where the butterflies are trapped towards the end of the level looks more polished than in retail.

Gonarch's Lair#

c4a2 & c4a2a#

Both of these maps have slightly different layouts and c4a2 has a long-jump module on start.

Interloper#

c4a1c#

In this version of c4a1c, you can find these crystal-like elevator buttons that don't do anything. They were supposed to control the elevators on this map.

Unused Music#

The Net Test disc includes two unnamed tracks that were cut from the final game. Both of these tracks are ~20 second long stingers. It is not known where these two tracks would have fit in the game.

Track 26

Track 28

Unused Models#

Some models present are in an older format and will not load in this build. This includes very old leftovers from much older versions.

Old Unused Models#

These models use an older format and must be converted.

polyrobo.mdl#

A newer version of the Polyrobo seen in the 0.52 Alpha.

This is a version 9 MDL file and currently it cannot be opened or decompiled. However, by using a hex editor, you'll find that the bone names are different. Bone names like 'body' and 'unnamed002' in the alpha model are instead substituted for the naming scheme used by the usual Biped skeleton names, such as 'Bip01 Head'.

0.52 Alpha	Prototype

doctor.mdl#

A newer version of the Ivan model seen in the 0.52 Alpha.

This model is also a version 9 MDL file, and it too has the bones renamed to fit Valve's Biped skeleton naming scheme, just like the polyrobo model seen here.

Modern Unused Models#

These models use modern formats and can be freely inspected.

bigfriendly.mdl#

The model for the cut enemy known as "Mr. Friendly". As the name implies, this model is significantly larger than the normal unused one.

maw.mdl#

A model for the Tentacle's maw. It has only one animation: orbit. This model is still referenced in the final game for an unused entity called monster_tentaclemaw.

testloader.mdl#

An early model for Loader Robot. Has early animations, lacks the wooden crate and sound events.

German Models#

heavy.mdl#

A version of the cut Human Assault enemy, intended for the censored German release of the game. He shares a similar appearance to the early Robot Grunts, seen in pre-release screenshots.

zombie.mdl

A version of the Zombie meant for the censored German release of the game. In the final German release scientists and zombies use the same model as in other releases, eliminating the need for a different model. The model also uses an earlier rig and earlier animations compared to the final game.

Model Differences#

agrunt.mdl#

Texture	Prototype	Final
GUN_Mouth1.bmp
Tounge1.bmp
Chrome2.bmp
Gun_Cheek1.bmp
C-Deltiod.bmp
Jaw1.bmp
Gun_Top1.bmp
Gun_Back1.bmp
Gun_Back2.bmp
Lft-Arm-Bck1.bmp
Hnd-Top1.bmp
Lft-Arm-Fnt1.bmp
Back1.bmp
Throat2.bmp
Thigh1.bmp
Smll Arm2.bmp
Claw1.bmp
B Calf1.bmp
FPrint1.bmp
Small Tth1.bmp
In Mouth1.bmp
AGRNT Chest1.bmp
Side1.bmp
Face2.bmp
Toe Clip1.bmp
Teeth1.bmp
Gun Top2.bmp
GUN Mouth1.bmp

The Alien Grunt's textures are less compressed, resulting in higher quality textures due to the increased color range.

Alien Slave#

Texture	Prototype	Final
Toes1.bmp

Vortigaunt toes are a solid grey rectangle in the prototype, seemingly by mistake as the Day One models doesn't share this oddity.

p_crossbow.mdl#

Prototype	Final

Texture	Prototype	Final
stock.bmp
sightcyl.bmp
recieverside.bmp
world_grip.bmp

The Crossbow's model as held by a player features less saturated, more natural looking wooden grips and a slightly less detailed scope.

p_egon.mdl#

Prototype	Final

The Gluon Gun's model as held by a player uses an older, much less refined design. The textures are the same as the early viewmodel, merely downscaled. However it uses a very basic mesh, with no backpack and poor UV mapping. The view model (w_egon2) for this version of the Gluon Gun is present in the Half-Life SDK with less detailed textures.

p_rpg.mdl#

Prototype	Final

The RPG as held by a player has its design as seen in the Day One demo and in some pre-release screenshots.

Player#

Prototype	Final

Gordon's model is similar to his Day One demo counterpart, including all the different animations. The gender bodygroup has been replaced with a helmet bodygroup, and the weapons bodygroup has been removed entirely.

v_crossbow.mdl#

Prototype	Final

The Crossbow's viewmodel center has a unique texture, internally named recslide.bmp.

v_hgun.mdl#

Prototype	Final

The Hivehand/Hornet Gun's viewmodel uses higher-resolution textures than the final model and slightly different shading.

Sound Differences#

Human Grunts#

The voice files hg_civvies and hg_sucks lack the radio filter and speed adjustments, making it more clear that Harry S. Robins voiced these two lines.

Unused Sprites#

flash1.tga/flash2.pcx#

These two files are contained in the sprites folder and seem to be the source file for an unused explosion sprite. Both files are extremely similar and did not make it into retail (a.k.a into the .spr format). It should be noted that because their file exension is .tga and .pcx, these two files were just the source file for the unused sprite and are not usable by the engine. These files are also present in the 0.52 alpha.

flash1.tga	flash2.pcx

hud.qc/logo.qc/sprites.qc#

These files were used to "compile" image files into the .spr format. Interestingly, hud.qc and sprites.qc indicate that the sprites are compiled for "Quiver" (a very early name for Half-Life), hinting that these files were used since the beginning of Half-Life's development.

UI Differences#

Multiplayer Customization Menu#

Within the Multiplayer customisation menu, several options exist here, and only here. Firstly, only two playermodels are listed; "Gordon Freeman" and "Gina Freeman". Secondly, the playermodels were intended to have toggleable attire, as evidenced by the popup with "Casual Wear" and "Hazard Suit". Lastly, the option to toggle a player's face existed. It is unknown what faces were to be toggled but it is speculated to have been faces uploaded from the user's computer.

All three of these options were removed by Net Test 2 and are non-functional in this build, implying they were already being phased out at this point.

Advanced Options#

There is no advanced options menu in this build.

Executables#

HLMaster.exe#

HLMaster.exe is an executable file bundled with Net Test 1's WorldCraft installation, presumably meant to operate the game's multiplayer master server. This executable was built on 13 May 1998, six months before the game's release.

The user interface shows the number of active multiplayer servers, the number of "transactions" and how much time is left until the next cycle. A checkbox to show server traffic is also present, however it does not do anything.

Pressing the "Shutdown" button closes the program.

NetGame.exe#

For whatever reason included with the Worldcraft build in this prototype is an early version of the game's menu, compiled on April 23, 1998.

None of the options seem to actually do anything and attempting to start a new game results in an error as the game tries to open engine.exe from "d:\quiver".

Main Menu#

The main menu is a little similar to the final one, however a few options are missing and "Load Game" is instead present in the new game menu.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Configuration#

Ditto, however there's a "Game Options" menu that isn't present in any other version.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Game Options#

A few of these options would later be moved to "Advanced Options" in Controls.

Video Options#

Early version of "Video modes" and "Video Options". Originally these were going to be in one menu and lacked an option to change the renderer.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Audio#

This menu lacks a slider for HEV suit volume and checkboxes for EAX, A3D and CD music.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Controls#

The controls menu is very different. Presumably, "Load" and "Save" buttons would save custom keybindings to a specified file, however much like anything else they don't seem to do anything.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Multiplayer#

Clicking on Multiplayer brings up a popup to log in. However, "LOGIN" can just be pressed to continue anyway.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

Single Player#

The new game menu is reminiscent of Quake, with Load and Save Game being here instead of on a separate menu. It also has no difficulty level selection before starting the game.

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

NetGame.exe	Pre-Steam menu

References#