Half-Life Beta From 1998 Has Been Discovered

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Half-Life Beta From 1998 Has Been Discovered

Key Takeaways

  • An old beta build of Half-Life has surfaced online.
  • The leaked beta is dated to October 1998, thus predating the game’s commercial debut by just a few weeks.
  • The build contains some cut content, including a different Chapter 13 level and another alien enemy. It also contains time-bomb code meant to prevent it from being played past a certain date.

As a gamer who has spent countless hours immersed in the intricate world of Half-Life, stumbling upon this old beta build feels like finding a long-lost relic from a bygone era. The Communications Center level and the cut alien enemy are tantalizing glimpses into what could have been, and it’s fascinating to see the evolution of such an iconic game.

A previously hidden version of the game Half-Life, which features some deleted material, has recently been found online. This unofficially released game is believed to have been created in October 1998, suggesting that it was made only a few weeks before the official release of Half-Life.

19th November is when we’ll celebrate the 26th anniversary of the release of the groundbreaking game, Half-Life. This was Valve’s debut title and remains one of the most influential first-person shooters in gaming history. As they were wrapping up development, one of the last features they were perfecting was Player vs Player multiplayer mode, which they were fine-tuning right up until the very end.

Half-Life Beta Build Containing Cut Level Leaks Online

A testament to these efforts has now emerged online in the form of a Half-Life beta build uncovered by game researcher Frogsnatcher. This pre-release version of the game was found on an old CD dated October 20, 1998, suggesting the build predates the shooter’s commercial debut by roughly one month. The disc itself has “net test 2” written on it in a sharpie pen, which indicates that this beta was primarily geared toward ironing out the game’s multiplayer features right before Valve hit it big with Half-Life. That notwithstanding, one of the biggest differences between the leaked beta and the finished product has nothing to do with multiplayer, but a cut single-player level called The Communications Center.

Initially conceptualized as an early adaptation of “Half-Life’s” Chapter 13, known as The Communications Center, was imagined by Valve engineers John Guthrie and Kelly Bailey in earlier stages. As per previous accounts, the initial version of this map was primarily stationary, with a significant radar dish programmed to rotate being its main dynamic element. Other levels from the leaked build show minor scripting variations compared to the final release, although these discrepancies are relatively insignificant, according to Frogsnatcher’s reports.

Leaked Half-Life Beta Build Comes With a Time Bomb

Playing the 1998 beta version of the game, even though it was shared by Frogsnatcher, isn’t a simple process due to its time-bomb code that restricts activation after a specific date. To overcome this issue, users can set their system date to any day in October 1998. Furthermore, as reported by some enthusiasts who tried it out, the leaked beta can function only when run in Windows ME Compatibility Mode.

In addition to finding leftover textures during the network test, Frogsnatcher came across several unused assets, primarily related to weapons. For instance, the crossbow in the beta version exhibits a distinct appearance due to its unique bolt-loading system. Moreover, the researcher stumbled upon a static model of Stukabat, an enemy alien that was removed from the final stages of Half-Life‘s development.

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2024-09-21 20:13