Half-Life: Source
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| Half-Life: Source | |
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| Developer(s) | Valve Corporation |
| Publisher(s) |  Valve Corporation (Steam) |
| Engine | Source engine |
| Release date(s) | November 16, 2004 (Steam) November 16, 2004 (Windows) November 25, 2004 (Windows) December 21, 2004 (Windows) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) 17+ BBFC: 15 OFLC: MA 15+ PEGI: 16+ PEGI: 15+ (FI) |
| Platform(s) | PC Windows |
| Media | CD, DVD, or Steam download |
| System requirements | 1.2 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 9.0c or higher (included) |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse (PC) |
Half-Life: Source (HL:S) is a conversion of the 1998 science fiction first-person shooter Half-Life to run on the updated Source engine developed by Valve Corporation. It is available via the Steam content delivery service, bundled with the Game of the Year Edition of Half-Life 2, and the Collectors Edition of Half-Life 2.
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[edit] Features
While billed as a "digitally re-mastered" upgrade of the original Half-Life, HL:S does not feature either the High Definition Pack that was introduced with Blue Shift or any new models, apart from a few physics objects taken from Half-Life 2. Instead, all of the original models, levels, and everything else from the game have been transported directly into the Source engine without much modification. Even models which are available in a graphically updated form in Half-Life 2 (such as the Vortigaunt, the Headcrab, and the Ichthyosaur) remain in the old forms from 1998. One model in particular, the headcrab, changed considerably, becoming significantly larger in Half-Life 2.
HL:S does make use of new Source engine technologies for lighting and water in which it departs from the Gouraud shading used in the original Half-Life and water receives a translucent effect rather than being opaque and there is a simulation of water refraction and difraction. Due to the availability of high processing power PCs, Half-Life: Source features new high-resolution skyboxes, which simulate a longer draw distance. Although Source includes a physics engine, most objects in HL:S cannot be manipulated in the same way as they can in Half-Life 2 (particularly since there is no Gravity Gun). Also, there is no "E key lifting", which allowed you to lift items in Half-Life 2 early on.
The loading and menu screens have been redesigned to be similar to the ones in Half-Life 2, with the backgrounds featuring several scenes from various portions of the game (namely, Anomalous Materials, Xen, Blast Pit, and Surface Tension).; the only difference between the HL:S menus and the Half-Life 2 menus is the absence of a "2" in HL:S. In this way, Half-Life: Source is only referred to as such through Steam; for all intents and purposes, and throughout the game, it is only ever called Half-Life.
[edit] Differences
[edit] Movement and weapons
The movement speed of the player is significantly faster than in Half-Life. The crossbow has been redesigned so it pins enemies to walls if they are close enough (as in Half-Life 2). However, where HL:S is a port, rather than being built from the ground up, the interactions between the environment and objects are imperfect. For example, if a corpse is pinned to a door and the door raises, the corpse remains in place, rather than being hoisted into the air. The inclusion of physics in HL:S has changed some puzzles, notably a point where Gordon has to jump a chasm using hanging boxes: in HL:S these boxes swing in response to being jumped on, whereas in Half-Life they remain stationary.
There is a notable 'ragdoll' effect on the NPC's. If characters are killed they will fall over like a 'ragdoll' rather than the animated deaths as in the original version. Bullet abrasions also appear on the enemies.
[edit] AI
Some aspects of Half-Life 2's artificial intelligence can be seen in Half-Life: Source. One is that enemies are more alert to the presence of the player and take cover when injured. Another is that allies follow the player in a manner similar to that in Half-Life 2. When engaging enemies, instead of always remaining in place until either the target or they themselves died, allies will disengage when the player moves on. However, unlike in Half-Life 2, there are no group commands for ordering your allies around. In some cases, the modified artificial intelligence adversely affects gameplay, such as interfering with some of the many scripted scenes from the original.
[edit] Criticisms
Half-Life: Source has been criticized for not including the detail or quality of the Source engine found in Half-Life 2. This is mainly due to the fact that it re-used textures and models from the original game, instead of designing new ones or even re-using the models from Half-Life: Blue Shift. [1] However, a third-party modification for Half-Life 2, Black Mesa, is being made to complete a full conversion of the original Half-Life game, with Half-Life 2 graphic standards.
- When the player passes over a load point, if his current weapon is reloading or firing, that action stops; the player has to press fire or reload again to recommence his action. There are a few load points which are close to heavy combat locations, particularly with marines; this game behaviour is entirely capable of ruining the current game, as a marine, firing at close range, can remove 50 points of armour in two or three seconds.
[edit] Multiplayer
The official multiplayer part of Half-Life: Source is Half-Life Deathmatch: Source. It is available to owners of Half-Life: Source and to those who purchase Half-Life 2: Episode One via Steam. It is not a full graphical update, merely using the Half-Life art resources on the Source engine. Occasionally, ragdolls "breakdance" instead of behaving in a more realistic fashion.
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