​

The legendary influential and era defining first person shooter, Half-Life, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary today, and to commemorate the occasion, Valve has launched a bunch of new updates and discounts to anything Half-Life related on their own store, Steam, starting on November 17th, 2023 and ending November 21st, 2023.

To start off, Valve got the development team back together for an exclusive new interview as the team revisits the game and how it eventually shaped into how it is today. Additionally, Valve is currently offering for a limited time the original Half Life 1 FOR FREE on Steam, so those interested in reliving the title that defined a generation of gaming can do so without a dime. Valve is also offering discounts on Steam for everything Half-Life related, going from Half-Life 1 and its expansions like Blue Shift and Opposing Force, but also Half-Life 2 and its expansions are on a 90% discount right now with incredibly low prices ($0.99).

But the celebration doesn't end there!

Valve is also offering a brand new update for Half-Life 1 that adds a lot bugfixes and new content, ranging from previously exclusive content like the Uplink mini-campaign and the 3 multiplayer maps exclusive to Further Data, to previously removed content, like the original Valve into video, and the original alpha models of the hero, titled "Ivan the Space Biker" and "Proto-Barney" as multiplayer skins. Valve also added 4 brand new multiplayer maps, full Steam Deck support (now showing the game as Verified for the Deck), UI scaling support, gamepad config for controller support, Steam Networking support, a bunch of updated graphical settings (Widescreen, lighting fixes, texture filter options, Linux software rendering), and much, much more!

Half-Life's 25th Anniversary message by Valve
Half-Life's new content for its 25th Anniversary
Get Half-Life 1 for free on Steam until Nov 21st

 

[spkatsi]

Bought the bundle!
Looking forward when I get onto to those as back in the day had not completed first Half-Life games.

 

[Xzi]

The steam deck is the eWaste.Valve wishes,no,dreams of Switche's success.

Gimme a break bro, Switch players wish they had access to even half of the PS4 library, let alone most of the PS5/XSX library like Steam Deck does. Valve isn't dependent at all on hardware sales for revenue either, whereas Ninty is dependent almost entirely on console sales for revenue. Then there's the eShop versus Steam's layout and feature set, basically David versus Goliath if David was a cockroach.

Nintendo can do right by consumers if they release a Switch 2 next year with DLSS support and a minimum of 12GB of high-speed RAM, but it wouldn't surprise me if they try to nickel and dime the specs all over again.

 

[tech3475]

Gimme a break bro, Switch players wish they had access to even half of the PS4 library, let alone most of the PS5/XSX library like Steam Deck does. Valve isn't dependent at all on hardware sales for revenue either, whereas Ninty is dependent almost entirely on console sales for revenue. Then there's the eShop versus Steam's layout and feature set, basically David versus Goliath if David was a cockroach.

Nintendo can do right by consumers if they release a Switch 2 next year with DLSS support and a minimum of 12GB of high-speed RAM, but it wouldn't surprise me if they try to nickel and dime the specs all over again.

The rumour I've heard is that it will be expensive:
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/nintendo-switch-2-price-just-tipped-and-it-could-be-a-game-changer

 

[Xzi]

The rumour I've heard is that it will be expensive:
https://www.tomsguide.com/news/nintendo-switch-2-price-just-tipped-and-it-could-be-a-game-changer

$50 more than Switch OLED is pretty cheap if it does have DLSS support and 12+ GB RAM. Would easily have three times the performance of Switch in third-party games, if not more.

 

[Marc_LFD]

The steam deck is the eWaste.Valve wishes,no,dreams of Switche's success.

Okay, you play on that old tech.

 

[Darth Meteos]

Everyone wants half-life 3... but when are we getting full-life hm?

the full-life is the time that will pass between half-life 2 and 3

 

[Latiodile]

i played the update briefly, and it feels different in some kind of unexplainable way, and some bugs from HL:S were backported.... somehow, like the texture randomization, the animation from when the scientist gets grabbed in blast pit and the HECU ignoring the scientist in "we've got hostiles"

it's also... very buggy
they also changed "push" physics so you no longer can yeet boxes across the floor, or the cart into the anti mass spectrometer, NPCs get constantly stuck as well despite also having better pathfinding at the same time. i've also come across a lot if instances where NPCs will just completely skip dialog or just not trigger properly, like the barney in the backroom where you get the shotgun. i also had a hostile vortigaunt spawn and almost kill me in the meltdown sequence


it's also kind of disappointing that none of the PS2 content was ported, like decay and the new models for the health kits and suit chargers



edit: they very, very lazily blocked off the "secret" health station in blast pit, not even removing the barnacle and leaving multiple holes in the wall... the barnacle's tongue even still clips through the floor they added

 

[pedro702]

i played the update briefly, and it feels different in some kind of unexplainable way, and some bugs from HL:S were backported.... somehow, like the texture randomization, the animation from when the scientist gets grabbed in blast pit and the HECU ignoring the scientist in "we've got hostiles"

it's also... very buggy
they also changed "push" physics so you no longer can yeet boxes across the floor, or the cart into the anti mass spectrometer, NPCs get constantly stuck as well despite also having better pathfinding at the same time. i've also come across a lot if instances where NPCs will just completely skip dialog or just not trigger properly, like the barney in the backroom where you get the shotgun. i also had a hostile vortigaunt spawn and almost kill me in the meltdown sequence


it's also kind of disappointing that none of the PS2 content was ported, like decay and the new models for the health kits and suit chargers



edit: they very, very lazily blocked off the "secret" health station in blast pit, not even removing the barnacle and leaving multiple holes in the wall... the barnacle's tongue even still clips through the floor they added

View attachment 404817View attachment 404818View attachment 404819

so the laziest and buggiest anniversary content i guess lol.

 

[Latiodile]

so the laziest and buggiest anniversary content i guess lol.

actively making the game worse, after editing this post i found even more severe problems, like not being able to climb the ladders in blast pit while crouching, and the ladder immediately after burning the tentacles also being impossible to get off of at the top

 

[_Snow_]

I wonder if Valve is fucking with us again. I am happy for this.. somewhat. Alhough as @Latiodile has pointed out - lots of bugs, which means rushed update. So is it then to hype the franchise once more? Or is this it? I swear, if at least Ep 3 doesn't come out and this is it.. yet again.. I'm going to burn down Valve. (Not a serious threat.. but I will definitely imagine it though.)

I can live in this WRONG timeline where HL3 will never exist. I don't really have a choice. Rather, it's Half Life 2: Episode 3 that is the biggest sore spot. I don't see why they didn't make it and end the HL2 story line. A 6 hour campaign with the exact same engine as Ep 2 - graphics levels and all - would have been perfectly fine. Abandon annoying Alyx. Shoot some advisors. Get some revenge on the Combine. Satisfied.

I don't know where I read it, but I think it was Gaben that finally admitted that they didn't release the next game because they didn't know what new bells and whistles they could add to the engine. Valve wanted the next game to be a fresh new experience - like HL2 was to HL1. They got caught up in this and stalled. It really wasn't necessary. I think if they'd at least had finished Episode 3, then they could have waited another decade or 2 to release HL3 and it would be a fresh new experience.

Oh well. I guess we'll see what happens. I am looking forward to watching the documentary.

 

[asdfzxc920]

edit: they very, very lazily blocked off the "secret" health station in blast pit, not even removing the barnacle and leaving multiple holes in the wall... the barnacle's tongue even still clips through the floor they added

View attachment 404817View attachment 404818View attachment 404819

You're not even on the right floor. That spot has looked that way since 1998.

 

[Latiodile]

You're not even on the right floor. That spot has looked that way since 1998.

you're right, my bad, i just saw some really jank walls and a hole in a wall and thought it was the health stations being cut off for no good reason

all my other complaints still stand though

 

[asdfzxc920]

actively making the game worse, after editing this post i found even more severe problems, like not being able to climb the ladders in blast pit while crouching, and the ladder immediately after burning the tentacles also being impossible to get off of at the top

Is this bug specific to that one area, or did they somehow break every ladder in the game?
This is almost as bad as the Linux update.

 

[Latiodile]

Is this bug specific to that one area, or did they somehow break every ladder in the game?
This is almost as bad as the Linux update.

most other ladders up to blast pit seem relatively fine, so it seems like they messed up climbing ladders while crouching for the most part, and getting off of some that overhang above a surface

the way they messed up the ladders in blast pit is that rather than just getting onto them, you need to jump to start climbing them or you'll literally bounce off of them towards the tentacles, it's like this for every ladder in the room


they also literally broke blue shift with this update, it straight up no longer launches

 

[Treskatae]

That's nice, but Black Mesa exists.

 

[Maq47]

I've never played any of the Half-Life games or Portal, although I've always wanted to, and this sale was the perfect opportunity to get both HL1 and HL2 for 99 cents. I bought HL2 and downloaded HL1. Now I'm waiting on HL2 to download. Yes, I'm 32 and haven't played any Valve games before. Sue me.

 

[EvilJagaGenius]

I have a Half-Life disc but I still got the freebie. I believe I read the old version is tucked away in a beta branch somewhere? Maybe it'd be worthwhile to download that version as well and load it into Xash3D.

I like Half-Life - Quake 2 is my favorite game, but HL1 has a lot of what I like about Q2 in it. I should replay it sometime, this is as good an excuse as any.

 

[pedro702]

I've never played any of the Half-Life games or Portal, although I've always wanted to, and this sale was the perfect opportunity to get both HL1 and HL2 for 99 cents. I bought HL2 and downloaded HL1. Now I'm waiting on HL2 to download. Yes, I'm 32 and haven't played any Valve games before. Sue me.

you should play hl 1 first to get to know the creatures and who is Gordon freeman first imo.

 

[Charli]

...
it's also kind of disappointing that none of the PS2 content was ported, like decay and the new models for the health kits and suit chargers
...

yeah, that would have been great.. I still very badly want to play that co-op game Half-Life: Decay

 

[Flora0]

​

The legendary influential and era defining first person shooter, Half-Life, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary today, and to commemorate the occasion, Valve has launched a bunch of new updates and discounts to anything Half-Life related on their own store, Steam, starting on November 17th, 2023 and ending November 21st, 2023.

To start off, Valve got the development team back together for an exclusive new interview as the team revisits the game and how it eventually shaped into how it is today. Additionally, Valve is currently offering for a limited time the original Half Life 1 FOR FREE on Steam, so those interested in reliving the title that defined a generation of gaming can do so without a dime. Valve is also offering discounts on Steam for everything Half-Life related, going from Half-Life 1 and its expansions like Blue Shift and Opposing Force, but also Half-Life 2 and its expansions are on a 90% discount right now with incredibly low prices ($0.99).

But the celebration doesn't end there!

Valve is also offering a brand new update for Half-Life 1 that adds a lot bugfixes and new content, ranging from previously exclusive content like the Uplink mini-campaign and the 3 multiplayer maps exclusive to Further Data, to previously removed content, like the original Valve into video, and the original alpha models of the hero, titled "Ivan the Space Biker" and "Proto-Barney" as multiplayer skins. Valve also added 4 brand new multiplayer maps, full Steam Deck support (now showing the game as Verified for the Deck), UI scaling support, gamepad config for controller support, Steam Networking support, a bunch of updated graphical settings (Widescreen, lighting fixes, texture filter options, Linux software rendering), and much, much more!

Half-Life's 25th Anniversary message by Valve
Half-Life's new content for its 25th Anniversary
Get Half-Life 1 for free on Steam until Nov 21st

HL3 When?