Half-Life (Windows)

Development Info Prototype Info Prerelease Info ModelsModels of various cut enemies, items and much more! TexturesLeftovers from cut areas, the insides of the G-Man's briefcase, Xena the Warrior Princess, and many other cut textures await you. SoundsWhat do you get when you mix a much more chatty HEV Suit, a Security Guard near an RPG, and a Scientist trying to send a message? This page! Unused AnimationsRats! Unused EntitiesDevelopment leftovers in the code! Oh my. Loading Area DifferencesDevelopment leftovers hidden just out of view.

Quake Leftovers#

Due to Half-Life being built on top of Quake's engine, it's no surprise that the game still has some bits of Quake left in it.

Mission Pack Checks#

Upon startup, Half-Life will silently do checks if you have Quake's mission packs (Scourge of Armagon and Dissolution of Eternity) installed or not due to Valve never removing this piece of code from the original Quake source code.

Quake Model Support#

Prior to the SteamPipe update in 2013, Half-Life used to support Quake-format .mdl files (Alias Models). Although the game still partially supported Quake models (if a custom renderer was used), a security patch on August 2019 completely broke this support for good. Oh well.

Unused Behaviors#

To do: Check if these are actually in the game and not restored content, otherwise they should be moved from here to the SDK page.

Houndeye#

Watch on YouTubeThe Houndeye pack was supposed to distinguish the leader from its minions through two animations, depicting the leader standing up while the minions would have recoiled in fear. Despite the behavior retained in the retail, the animations are never triggered by the Houndeye, and therefore go unused.

Level designers can place information nodes to define environmental elements - namely, machines and blinking lights - that idle Houndeyes will occasionally wander over to and paw at out of curiosity. No such nodes are used in the retail game.

Alien Blood Drinking#

Watch on YouTubeCertain aliens (e.g. Houndeyes) were meant to be seen drinking both human and alien blood.

Houndeyes are fully capable of blood drinking, however no information nodes are properly set to be as drinkable human or alien blood, and thus this behavior is never spotted in the final game. Bullsquids are unable to drink human blood due to behavior conflict in their AI.

By extension, Pit Drones in Half-Life: Opposing Force also inherit the Bullsquid's broken blood drinking behavior.

Vortigaunt/Alien Slave#

Vortigaunts, while in combat, were meant to use their electrical bolts to revive their dead friends. They also were to react to the dead bodies of fellow Vortigaunts, by running away in fear when seeing their dead bodies.

Scientist#

Scientists were meant to play animations showing displays of fear upon spotting an enemy.

Unused Map Content#

Object 36#

The military post in Power Up (map c2a1a) contains 2 entities that both spawn an object labelled as "type 36". Since no item is labelled as such in the final game, nothing appears in these two spots.

HEV charger in Apprehension#

The widest block on the cage walkway in c2a3a acts as a fully functional HEV charging location. It's possibly a leftover from an earlier map revision.

Unknown Ammo Type#

The top floor in Questionable Ethics (map c2a4f) contains a non-existing entity, ammo_9mmARclip. Only ammo_9mmAR and ammo_9mmclip exist, which are ammo clips for the SMG and pistol respectively. Since it does not exist, nothing appears in this spot. It is presumably an early revision of ammo_9mmAR, judging by its name.

"Forget About Freeman!" Elevator#

In the map c3a1, there is an elevator with a closed door. If one noclips inside, the player will see a red triangle. Walking towards it will either crash the game (if the game is being run in Software mode) or transition 2 maps ahead to c3a1b, right before the Lambda Complex, floating on the ceiling, unable to do anything as the player entity has been deleted. If playing on the pre-25th Anniversary edition, the player's camera is rotated 90° as though they died.

This entity was originally intended to take the player to c3a1c, part of the earlier The Communications Center revision of the chapter. Despite this, the switch has been changed sometime after to send the player to c1a3b, but with some invalid flags in the trigger entity, which is what is causing the oddities. The switch also exists in the multiplayer level lambda_bunker as it reuses map geometry from c3a1.

The reason the player is left stranded above the ceiling of c3a1b (or worse in the event of a crash), is likely due to the player entity being deleted. The trigger_changelevel on the button tries to move the player to the designated starting location in c3a2b, but due to the landmark value in the changelevel trigger not existing, the game freaks out and the player entity ends up being deleted entirely. Running the command "status" in the developer console shows that you are at coordinates 0, 0, 0. A similar bug can be encountered by standing on top of the tanks in Surface Tension, where the player gets deleted and the camera is moved to 0, 0, 0.

Attempting this in the Source version will exit the level and return to the main menu because the game doesn't know how to properly transition into the map. Engine differences mean that rather than forcing the map to load regardless, if the changelevel is found to be invalid, it simply doesn't change level.

Interestingly, if the trigger_changelevel is touched while running Half-Life in the Xash3D source port, it will actually load c1a3b without deleting the player entity, but is placed at the maps default info_player_start, the same that is used when putting "map c1a3b" into the developer console. It also does not transfer your weapons, ammo, suit, or anything else you had on you.

Lambda Core Suits#

In the map c3a2d, three HEV suits are meant to spawn in their appropriate containers. However, the entities are placed too close to the walls, making them fall to the bottom of the map. Via entity edits, they can be moved.

In Half-Life: Source, these spawn normally as the entities themselves were made smaller.

Disabled Headcrab Spawner#

Watch on YouTubeInside of Xen's main island is a deactivated Headcrab spawner, which has a notably long time between its second spawn, being 20,000 seconds long (5 hours and 33 minutes).

Multiplayer Level Signatures#

All multiplayer levels created by Dario Casali contain his signature somewhere in the level that can only be seen by using the noclip cheat. Most of them have a unique blue glow around the signature.

Crossfire#

Security Guards#

If the multiplayer level Crossfire is loaded as a single player level (easily done by simply loading it via the console as soon as the game is started) or has monster entities enabled, there will be three Security Guards in the level. One will be in the left bunker, the next will be next to the Gluon Gun, and the last one is in the floor above the Gluon Gun.

Since Crossfire can only normally be played in multiplayer, these Security Guards go unused. What their purpose is cannot be figured out.

Hidden "Blue Room"#

In the room with the Longjump module and HEV charger, there is an unopenable door blocking a passage to a secret room. It is visible in-game by setting off explosions around it (the scorch mark decals do not cross over from the wall to the door) or when using render commands like r_drawflat, gl_wireframe, etc. Inside the room is a spiral ramp leading to a crossbow, crossbow ammunition, HEV suit batteries and health kits.

Dario Casali provides an explanation for the "Blue Room" in an interview with Planet Half-life from 2004.

Pratt: Ok, once and for all, the “blue room” in crossfire - why is it there, and is there really any way in?
Dario: I could fill an encyclopedia with the number of emails I was sent about this blue room! There's actually no way in there. It existed right up till the last minute before the map was released, and so when the decision to remove it was made, only a very minor change to the level was permitted. The solution was to disable access to the room rather than deleting the room. No one I told this believed it, by the way.

Some map edits (or AMX Mod plugins) provide a way to open this door and enter the room - e.g. by shooting specific lights in a certain order, or performing some other secret action.

Subtransit#

Co-op Mode remnants#

Watch on YouTubeSubtransit was originally meant to be used as a cooperative multiplayer map, before the gamemode was ultimately scrapped. Many of the assets once utilized for this mode remain in the final deathmatch map:

• The map is fully noded for AI navigation, meant to be used by grunts seen in pre-release screenshots.
• 3 co-op specific spawn points are present in the map, and remain unused in normal multiplayer.
• Picking up the RPG triggers a partially broken scripted sequence called "rpggrunts", where 4 human grunts would enter the courtyard.
• The map is also unique in that it makes use of already planted tripmines.

Datacore#

Datacore is partially noded for AI navigation, as it was originally used as a level on the main game.

Antidote#

Datacore contains a single Antidote canister that usually falls out of the map, since it is placed too close to the floor. Via entity edits, it can be relocated and spawned normally.

Rustmill#

Similarly to Crossfire, a single Security Guard can be found when the map is loaded as singleplayer.

Impulse 99#

The command "impulse 99" makes it so that the logos of Valve, Sierra Studios, and Half-Life itself will quickly rotate among each other on the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Note that the Sierra Studios logo is still used in the Steam version of the game when the cheat is activated, even though Valve terminated their publishing deal with them long ago. It has become apparent that this was used during E3 1998, as seen on the small television screens showcasing gameplay videos.

This command will only function when submitted to the console at least three times. With the 25th anniversary update, it no longer works on resolutions above 1280x720/1280x960 or higher as the game fails to find "sprites/1280_logo.spr". Copying 640_logo.spr or logo.spr and renaming it to "1280_logo.spr" will fix the issue.

Regional Differences#

The German version had several changes made in order to avoid a USK 18 rating. A free patch was later released on Steam that restores the old blood and gib effects.

Robot Grunt#

The most significant change in the German version is that the Human Grunt has been replaced by a robot, appropriately named "Robot Grunt" in the Half-Life modding tools. The robot has a green, vaguely camouflage color and a one big red eye sticking out of the right side of its head. Their voice has been changed as well to make it sound robotic compared to the Human Grunt. The sound clips used to make up the Human Grunt's combat dialogue are still in the game's files, but unused.

This was done to abide by German laws regarding killing people in video games and media. By making the Human Grunts robots, the law could be bypassed.

The design may be familiar to non-German fans, as it was later used as a multiplayer model for every version of the game.

Robot Grunt	Human Grunt

Alternate Death Animations#

The Scientist and Security Guard are still human in the German version, but have a unique death animation not seen in the uncensored version of the game (presumably to bypass the same laws that made the Human Grunts into the Robot Grunts). When a Scientist or Security Guard is killed but has not suffered enough damage to be gibbed, they will sit down with both legs crossed while shaking their head from side to side in disappointment. Those put into the "sit down" state are still considered solid for a while, and can even be gibbed.

Censored version	Uncensored version

Censored version	Uncensored version

Reused Voice Lines#

These are lines from a chronometric counting scheme used by a Scientist who is performing CPR on a Guard right after the Resonance Cascade. It should be noted that these lines are in the original (English) version of the game, but are only spoken when the game uses the Scientist model from the censored version.

Blood and Gibs#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: I've seen German versions that have blood decals already placed in the maps present, and ones that have it missing. Likely to be a difference with Steam releases, but unsure if this comes down due to the maps themselves being different, something done in-engine or the WAD texture itself.

In a default installation, the "low violence" mode is enabled, disabling all gibs and blood. However, with the variables "violence_agibs", "violence_ablood", "violence_hblood", and "violence_hgibs" set to 1, a unique version of gibs and blood can be enabled.

When humans are shot, they will bleed a strange dark yellow blood. This blood isn't the same as the blood spewed by alien opponents. If an NPC is gibbed (Scientist, Security guard, or Robot Grunt), they will explode into mechanical parts, such as gears and springs, instead of human gibs. There will still be red blood, however.

Alien blood and gibs are the same as the uncensored versions if they are enabled.

Censored version	Uncensored version

Censored human blood	Uncensored alien blood

Censored version	Uncensored version

Female Assassin#

The German version of the game removes the breasts (and the associated jiggle animations) the Female Assassins have.

Censored version	Uncensored version

If a Female Assassin is killed from behind while running, they will not flip their goggles to reveal their eyes.

Censored version	Uncensored version

Changed multiplayer models#

The Gina, Gordon, HGrunt, and Scientist multiplayer models were replaced with copies of the Helmet multiplayer model.

Revisional Differences#

Direct3D Support#

Support for Direct3D rendering was removed from Half-Life (and retroactively, all games that share the GoldSrc engine) during the 2013 SteamPipe update.

Screen tilting#

In older versions of retail Half-Life, taking fall damage or strafing left and right would result in the player's screen being tilted slightly. The functionality was removed in versions 1.1.0.8 and later, but was later restored with the 25th anniversary update.

Pre-1.1.0.8	1.1.0.8

Menu#

When Valve first re-released the game on their Steam service, they replaced the main menu. Gone was a locked 640x480 menu with separate menu options, and replaced with a menu that scaled with the game's resolution. Also gone are many menu options, including Hazard Course, Custom Game, View Readme and Previews. However, two new menu options was added, "Servers" and "Friends". The GUI looks identical to the Steam GUI back during its initial 2003 launch. Later in 2007, the "Friends" menu option was later removed in favor of Steam Overlay.

The 25th Anniversary update changes the title screen to be more reminiscent of the original release, effectively making the menus a combination of both the original and Steam releases, albeit with the UI windows now properly scaling based on resolution.

Pre-Steam versions (1.0 to 1.1.1.0)	Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)	25th Anniversary Update

Pre-Steam versions (1.0 to 1.1.1.0)	Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)	25th Anniversary Update

Console#

In the pre-Steam versions of Half-Life, the console slides down from the top of the screen when activated. In the Steam versions, it is now located on its own window and overlays the pause menu.

Pre-Steam versions (1.0 to 1.0.1.6)	Pre-Steam versions (1.1.0.0 to 1.1.1.0)	Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)	25th Anniversary Update

In-Game Chat Font#

The in-game font in the Steam version is completely different. It is larger than the WON version and uses a solid orange color instead of orange with black borders.

Pre-Steam versions (1.0 to 1.1.1.0)	Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)

25th Anniversary Update#

In celebration of the game's 25th anniversary, Half-Life received a fairly large update in November 2023, focusing on Steam Deck support, extra content, and an overall cleanup of the game.

New Game#

The New Game menu has been overhauled, with the Training Room moved from the difficulty menu to its own separate button, alongside an additional button for playing Half-Life, and new to the 25th anniversary update, a button for playing Half-Life: Uplink.

Pre-Steam versions (1.0 to 1.1.1.0)	Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)	25th Anniversary Update

HUD#

The HUD was reworked to properly scale with higher resolutions in this update. 1920x1080 resolution shown as an example

Legacy Steam release (1.1.1.1)	25th Anniversary Update

Maps#

Four brand-new Deathmatch maps were added with the 25th anniversary update: Contamination, Pool Party, Disposal and Rocket Frenzy, as well as three maps from Half-Life: Further Data, the official addon CD. The maps added from Further Data being: DoubleCross, Rust Mill and Xen DM.

Playermodels#

Four playermodels were also included: two from Further Data and two familiar faces from the 0.52 alpha - Ivan the Space Biker and Proto-Barney. However, the ported Further Data content appears to have been updated as well.

TMCM

Too Much Coffee Man received a new preview image, correcting how his coffee cup hat actually looks.

Further Data	25th Anniversary Update

Skeleton

The Skeleton was completely retextured. Further Data originally repurposed an existing model, whereas the 25th anniversary model has new textures with support for color selection in its bones and glowing eyes, and a new preview image.

Further Data	25th Anniversary Update

Further Data	25th Anniversary Update

Sprays#

To do: Specify which sprays where added.

The default spray selection was greatly expanded with certain sprays included in Further Data.

Hidden Menu Options#

Demo Player#

In the twelfth section of gamemenu.res, there is a commented out "Play Demo" option, which is a file player used to view .dem files. Removing the comment lines (two slashes) in every line related to this option will restore it, along with its functionality.

This option remains intact after the 25th Anniversary update but, presumably due to the restructuring of the menu in this update, was moved to the sixteenth section in gamemenu.res. Unlike the other options in this menu, it was not given a descriptive caption.

Legacy Steam release	Current Steam release (25th Anniversary Update)

Custom game#

In pre-Steam versions of the game, a "Custom game" option was present allowing for the player to quickly activate and deactivate their installed GoldSrc games/mods, such as the Gearbox expansions and Team Fortress Classic. This option is still present in current versions but is hidden when the game is launched through Steam (thanks to a "notsteam" value being set to 1 in its section under gamemenu.res), presumably due to being redundant with Steam's library interface serving a similar purpose.

It can still be seen when launching the game directly via it's executable file, or editing gamemenu.res to set the "notsteam" variable to 0. Notably, changing games in the Steam version is slightly less seamless than the original release, reopening the game window into the loaded game rather than loading the new game's menu over the current window.

Legacy Steam release	Current Steam release (25th Anniversary Update)

Oddities#

Alien Grunt Sprite#

The Alien Grunt sprite used to simulate the horde of Alien Grunts in the bad ending appears to be based on the design seen in the 1997 prototype, not the final's.

Alien Grunt sprite	1997 prototype Alien Grunt

The game additionally only uses one frame of a full sprite animation. The full animation is present in the PS2 version, however.

Used frame	Unused full animation

Scigun Texture#

Near the end of Lambda Core, the player will reach a double glass door with a Scientist and a Security Guard on the other side. The Scientist is armed with a Shotgun (with the internal name scigun.mdl) and will point it at the player before putting it down. However, this shotgun uses a completely different texture than the actual Shotgun item model. It has a white rear, a gray stock, and a gray body, along with a much higher resolution texture. This seems to be from an earlier version of the Shotgun when it had different colors, but the model used by the Scientist was never updated when the model was changed to the final's textures. It also has other differences in the model, such as a longer handguard.

Scigun	Shotgun item model

NIGHTMAR.MPG#

Watch on YouTubeThis is a trailer for a Nightmare on Elm Street Platinum DVD which is in the main directory on the disc.

By the time of Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition's release, publisher Sierra was doing some cross-promoting with New Line Cinema. This means that several of their game releases during this period also contained movie advertisements on the discs.

References#