Half Life 2 Anniversary Archive: E3 2003 Demo

[@CROSHII]

The original capture from the 2003 demo, what a beautiful day to be alive

[@cristhyanandradegeraldo3501]

Eu concordo

[@JonathanP4]

@@cristhyanandradegeraldo3501 eu concordo.

[@ivobarreto815]

​@@JonathanP4 eu concordo

[@shervin2]

With no audience gasps and dev commentary? and no 480p? Yes, yes it is.

[@nicolas11464]

​@@cristhyanandradegeraldo3501 eu concordo.

[@goodcat132]

24:00 - He throws "F" and then "U" at the Strider with gravity gun lmao You can't convince me that this wasn't intentional, knowing Valve

[@spascho]

Lol I didn't realize this at first, it's gotta be on purpose :D

[@ZanderLexx]

No man 😊 means scram pusscat you had three meals already and it's 10 AM 🤣

[@pedroanitelli]

"Foxtrot Uniform"

[@aapoetik]

Everyone in the audience yelled "eff you!!" when it happened. It was intentional 😎

[@bennzy48]

Very much intentional, there was a narrated version of this video released originally. During that section they did actually go "F" pause "U". Classic....

[@AlekseyDenisov-EscapeArray]

Will this run on my 486?

[@Ky_Grey95]

Bro didn't get the reference ​@@TheBitsGuy2002

[@Shydood]

My spreadsheet ran so well!

[@Niko_Devroom]

Yoooo! Legendary comment!!!

[@jasonofa3633]

Classic

[@DemopanwithDoommusic]

You need more rams

[@kisaragi-hiu]

"previously only available as shakycam recorded from our E3 booth, now available as direct capture" just… thank you

[@SU76M]

Dude, it's included in leaked HL2 beta, I remember playing this demo by myself.

[@JozaManolic103]

​@@SU76MI'm pretty sure that was a remake

[@dopero]

@@JozaManolic103 while the maps were leaked, the demos itself didnt work and E3 was just pre-recorded demos so this is the exact same presentation in HD

[@SpanWolf]

It was released in chunks in high quality Bink back in the day. I know, because I kept playing each section over and over again on my computer while I waited for the game to come out.

[@NeWx89]

Wasn't there official Bink VIdeo (or whatever it was called) trailers of these? I remember downloading those trailers back then. On dial up just one video took several hours so I had it downloading over night when I went to bed.

[@ultr4nima]

Seeing this footage in high quality is genuinely surreal

[@Capewearer]

Nothing surreal, that's how game would look on monitors if we played that old version. You're misusing term.

[@ulascelikbas4823]

@@Capewearer I think he is talking about the leap from the quality of the "original" E3 video where it isn't screen captured and rather recorded with a camrecorder.

[@NotSpyral]

monitors were pretty shitty back then so id say this is pretty surreal ​@@Capewearer

[@t0talschad3n]

​@@NotSpyral with pretty shitty you mean not 4k?

[@cheebadigga4092]

@@Capewearer you do realize all other captures of this specific piece are manual recordings of a screen (e.g., with a camcoder / digital camera) and not the screen captures themselves? You're misusing context.

[@CTYJIKEP570]

0:13 Gman in the bathroom in front of the mirror, getting ready to meet with Freeman

[@Golabkiwsosiepomidorowym]

“I’m gonna say something in Chinese to confuse the fuck out of him”

[@jesuschrist.official]

​​​@@Golabkiwsosiepomidorowym"I took the liberty of your bing chilling, most of them were government property. As for the social credits, I think you earned it."

[@fraigy]

This had to be so fucking mind-blowing in 2003. Hell, its mind-blowing now

[@kazioo2]

It was the most impressive technical demo reveal of all time for me. Never again any reveal impressed me as much.

[@cedric_v]

It sure was my friend. What a time it was for gaming

[@CairnTrenz]

I was there. One thousand years ago

[@JakubKotyza]

I thought it coudnt be real, the techological jump was unbelievable. The top shooter in 2003 was first call of duty and it looked like it was made from cardboard.

[@tbmoriginal]

ok rivers

[@PeterusTV]

13:25 "Remember when we thought black mesa was as bad as it could get" 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💥💥

[@molanohouse]

I really wish that line was in the final game.

[@Jev6]

@@molanohouseThat entire portion is in the final game; tf are you talking about

[@Guiscardr]

@@Jev6 a version of that map is, but Barney’s voice line isn’t. Barney isn’t even with you on that level.

[@Jev6]

@@Guiscardr Yeah he is, but he’s using the alias Roberto

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

“We’ve been rather busy in your absence Mr.Freeman.” God, I hope so.

[@grebodya]

Аминь

[@CoreyLaddo]

They just don't make 'em like this anymore

[@KANTURALI-01]

Wow, coreyladdo is here?

[@ptj-abbie]

Hi CoreyLaddo!

[@Jlaps941]

Ayyyy coreyladdo

[@g984]

When the face goes from HL1 to the HL2 G-Man it felt like we had time travelled to the future - what an amazing time to live through

[@xcharg]

HL1 + HL2 = HL3 it's confirmed guys!

[@aaaidan]

I downloaded a handycam capture of this, on a 56k modem, back before HL2 was released. It took shifts of several hours, over at least a few days. Back then, you needed special software to resume downloads. I was not disappointed. This demo got me so hyped and I must have watched it dozens of times. HL2 itself was a major reason I ended up founding a game studio a few years later. I'm no longer making games, but the spell that HL2 cast lives on.

[@streamnoremorse]

Reget or Flashget?

[@aaaidan]

@ haha, don’t know those ones! I used “GetRight”

[@n0vi]

Same way I experienced it for the first time. It was electric. I only remember Code Veronica videos pre-Dreamcast launch giving the same "this is actually next gen" vibes back then.

[@babyhoods]

I only associate this video through an old camcorder, not the actual capture! This is awesome

[@kazioo2]

In my country a magazine put all of these videos in high resolution on the DVD.

[@P4INKiller]

@@kazioo2 They weren't high resolution, they were heavily compressed SD footage. I've got a video uploaded of them.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

@@P4INKillerThere were BINK files that Valve released that were in 720p.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

I’m now remembering that back in the nineties and oughts, that instead of choosing the resolution, we chose the file type for quality. There were Real Player files for low, wmv for medium, and BINK files for high.

[@Ralexand1988]

Kind miss the 'will this run on my 486?' jokes haha

[@LovablePWNER]

7:45 I love how you can see Alyx is handing you an MP5 but yet you pull out the MP7. Probably an older animation from when you were going to have an MP5 but at this point they were going to be using the MP7. It's so incredible to see this demo in such High Quality!

[@hydroponicgard]

The MP7 has the MP5 world model, you can see it with combine soldiers. :P

[@LovablePWNER]

@hydroponicgard Ooooh and the resistance guys are using MP5s too. That makes sense! So they had the model the player uses but not the world model.

[@molanohouse]

I kinda wish the MP5K was still the standard smg during the game. Like, I love the MP7 but the in-game model looks so awkward compared to the actual thing, even the previous model they had for the MP7 looks better.

[@khrisbro]

smg

[@LovablePWNER]

@@khrisbro uh huh

[@sarcasmenul]

3:23 that kind of real time rendering in 2003 must’ve blown the tops of so many heads. That’s the sort of thing you used to render on whole ass farms with awkward soft like renderman and writing shaders by hand, in a *damn text file*. Insane.

[@FacepalmInteractive]

T la...

[@BeyondBaito]

The fact that you could have real-time subdivisions on walls on a PC in a VIDEO GAME. They mention Pixar using this stuff in movies, and while its a different rendering process just the fact that you could have THAT in a game in 2003 was shocking.

[@Yoshilisk]

really cool to see how each of different demo video focuses on different aspects--presumably things that were important at each different point in development 2000 spends a lot of time looking at the shaders, facial expressions & mouth movement, and overall model quality. 2002 focuses on environments and interactions between characters, with a few physics moments as well (e.g. the tank getting pushed over, antlions ragdolling down the stairs). and then 2003 brings it all: model quality & facial expressions, environments, lightning and textures, a working camera, and a TON of physics both overt (barrel plinko, early gravity gun) and subtle (the vertical blinds flying up as a metrocop shoots through a window!)

[@n0vi]

Those vertical blinds were scripted animations

[@TeutonicKnight-w1j]

We had static ass GTA San Andreas levels of physics back in 2004, and Halo 2's ragdolls and heavy props. Then Half-Life 2 came up with this... this gives you a good idea of how crazy it was back then.

[@user-gh9hz9yf3e]

In fairness no other game has had physics nearly as good or important to the gameplay as half life games

[@sebastiankulche]

Well to be fair, GTA San Andreas had a massive map for the time with variety of vehicles, NPCs, etc. It would be next to impossible to have HL2 visuals (which were made for short more cramped levels) on a huge open world.

[@coolactiongamer5277]

@@sebastiankulche Far Cry 1

[@sebastiankulche]

@@coolactiongamer5277 Far Cry 1 had a more static enviroment that i would classify more as semi open world. It wasnt a true sandbox game with things such as flyable vehicles, multiple side missions or the ocassional random chaos you can cause.

[@delpher32exe]

saddest thing barely any AAA games have good physics today. Can't name even one that has PLAYABLE physics

[@debonaire_nerd]

The original capture from the 2003 demo, what a beautiful day to be alive Seeing this footage in high quality is genuinely surreal Half life 3 confirmed? More importantly, will this run on my 486?

[@ShadwRavn]

3 archive videos, E3 … Half life 3 confirmed ?

[@Head.D.Hunter]

😂😂 just a matter of time.

[@tranlewlinign9592]

Bro be dreaming again🤣

[@Tbbzlol]

Yeee i think HL3 confirmed too match “3” on last time we are see from Valve :)

[@somerandomgamer8504]

For once... Maybe yes, actually.

[@TheDonutKing2010]

What are you implying Valve?

[@gefx0164]

I still remember little me watching that Ravenholm bit with my chin on the floor when the combine was shooting through the window then busting in the door destroying the makeshift table barricade, then the player kills like 5 combine soldiers with only physics. That stuff was absolutely mindblowing, next level interaction in a video game back then, nothing else had that. One of the best video games ever made. Valve games were such a big part of my childhood, its so cool to watch this 20 years later. Also back in those days Half Life 2, Doom 3 and Stalker were the big 3 shooters coming out pretty close together. Stalker came a bit later but I am pretty sure there was some footage from it on E3 03 or 04, everyone was so hyped on the forums talking about these 3 games. 20 years later we have very strong rumors of a new Half Life game in development after so many years, Stalker 2 is coming out in a few days and next year there is Doom Dark Ages. I hope thats a sign of a new golden age coming :D

[@WallaceMoura]

Peak Half-Life 2 history right there my friends.

[@baaqu69]

you are insane. you are happy about literal DEMO of half life 2 in 2024 instead of expecting valve to realse a new game

[@leonleguan1398]

@WallaceMoura Yes for me too man. @baaqu69 HL-Alyx VR??? Maybe you don't get it, but back in the days HL² was so hyped and they delivered big time. I was hooked with HL1 in 1998 and 2004 with HL² it was so special too. Games like this never been seen before, like a new gold-standard in game physics. The Devs from HL were way ahead of other studios. It's the same with HL-Alyx in VR. Just mindblown.

[@Jev6]

@@baaqu69bot-type comment 😂

[@Deathshuck]

I remember seeing images of the Hydra ( 13:06 ) on PC Gamer magazine in the early 2000's, it's really cool seeing it again after so many years.

[@levin1750]

In the HL2 Anniversary page, at the very bottom, we can find a trash can near to 1 SODA CAN, but INSIDE of the trash can we can find TWO soda cans more. Like, bro, why specifically 3 soda cans?

[@bobsmith-x8h]

....Half-Life 3 confirmed

[@zoeykiller1911]

CONFIRMED! WHOOO

[@CarlosCastillo-tu9ug]

And also a gnome

[@pilotmemes]

Pick up the can.

[@AJ-po6up]

Yeah why 3, I wonder hmm 🤔

[@oOyetioneOo]

Remember seeing those physics of the letters being blown away at 22:52 and just being gobsmacked! Was totally the moment I wanted to switch from consoles to PC gaming.

[@bgildersleeve]

I have such fond memories of watching this demo over and over again while sitting in my apartment in Berlin, Germany waiting for this game to come out. I didn't have internet at the time so I actually bought a DVD that somebody had burned with this video on it. I've never been as excited about a piece of media (be it a game, a movie, a book, or an album) as I was about Half Life 2 in early 2004.

[@KorsAir1987]

I remember being in a LAN Party with my friends and we spent hours watching the demo again and again...good times.

[@ff.mychael]

Dude just like me not having internet, 14 yo, waiting for this and Fable. I was so obsessed like in a bad way. It was so harsh to view these videos not being able to play it instantly. Such good memories

[@SafetyRabbit]

Same here in Australia. I watched these so many times! Then it came out and it was amazing. It’s hard to conceive nowadays just how revolutionary this was as we’re all so used to these features in modern games but at the time there was absolutely nothing quite like it.

[@A2L112]

21 years on and this STILL looks incredibly impressive

[@1awrenceofarabia]

I was in 8th grade when I first watched this. Someone at E3 took a grainy illicit recording and shared it on Kazaa. I watched it over and over, it was the highlight of my summer.

[@FacepalmInteractive]

October 2011 not bad m'en.

[@pilotmemes]

Thank goodness for Kazaa

[@JimWilliam]

I remember these so vividly from my childhood, I was blown away by these demos I had never seen anything like this before back in 2003. Thank you for uploading them.

[@TheHeavyModd]

To be certain there never was anything like it since, either

[@saricubra2867]

​@@TheHeavyModdExcuse me, Crysis 1? It melted my PC many times.

[@Industrialman96]

I WAS THERE! THANK YOU, VALVE!

[@FacepalmInteractive]

11 August 12 prév oct12 nn agent.. a a 11aout13 nn

[@MathiasK29-44]

Still impressed by the quality of graphic and lighting especially at 5:40 20 years ago, and still up to some high standards today, incredible achievement. If only they could still be a pioneer game designer.

[@Zanatof]

When I was 13, I remember a magical moment: I had pre-ordered Half-Life 2 at my favorite game store and was lucky enough to get it on release day. As soon as I got home, I installed it and started playing as much as I could. The next day, by some stroke of luck (or maybe not), I got sick with a fever, which meant I stayed home and could keep diving into this masterpiece instead of going to school. I still remember the moment the doctor came into my room to examine me. My screen was paused on the game, and he was completely blown away by how incredibly realistic Half-Life 2 looked for its time. Even more impressive, the game was perfectly optimized. That memory remains etched in my mind as a mix of excitement, discovery, and pure awe!!

[@AliensComeback]

Even I was mind-blown after discovering Portal and Team Fortress 2 on KZbin back in 2008! Garry's Mod was a blessing to me back then. Shame that most of the video game industry are less creative despite the recent technological advancements.

[@thenextension9160]

Did an LLM write this? I got hl2 day one and it was buggy af lol optimized yeah right that came months later

[@Zanatof]

@@thenextension9160 It seemed fluid to me at the time when I was 13 haha 😂

[@thenextension9160]

@@Zanatof haha or maybe you just had a much better pc than I did!

[@DanielEhlmann]

This legitimately reads like an LLM wrote it. The doctor made a house call due to a fever? What is this? The 1940s?

[@SilvercattoOsom]

RIP to all the 486 users out there that never got a chance to experience such a masterpiece.

[@GamingShogun]

I was at the Standard Hotel at E3 2003 to see this in person.... Such a fun preview - the excitement in the room was palpable! Gosh I miss those great E3 previews.... 😭

[@Haunuva]

Lucky you!

[@sarcasmenul]

were you the guy who said "he looks like hell" when the hl1 gman model came on? 😂

[@GamingShogun]

@@sarcasmenul lol Nope, that was not me!

[@sarcasmenul]

@@GamingShogun damn, i wonder if that guy will ever see this and drop a comment, i loved his little quips about his 486 and his spreadsheet on the og camcorder footage

[@JaleSwiftpaw]

Back in the day when Half-Life 2 was released, my build was a Pentium 4, 1 GB of RAM and I believe it was the Radeon X1300 Pro (AGP version) with 256 MB VRAM. The game was also around 4 GB. They don't make games like this anymore. I'm glad I could play this gem back then.

[@Gregger57]

i can’t believe we are witnessing gaming history right now

[@Joe-dy7bb]

Most of this footage has been out for 20 years

[@TimurSokol]

Literally

[@mcgfn]

@@Joe-dy7bb on shitty shakycam, not in a source capture. especially the other two demo videos they just uploaded

[@thesecondeevee9754]

is that the fucking aphex twin album cover but scout as your pfp

[@Gregger57]

@@thesecondeevee9754 Maybe.

[@josiahjack455]

Holy crap it looked THIS good! It blew me away as it was fom the old well watched recording, but this is what they saw in person that day!? That's insane!

[@TheBeleon]

The graphics transition between HL1 and HL2 is phenomenal, this game was ahead of its time.

[@deltahl]

Indeed.

[@Capewearer]

Can't say it was ahead, but definitely it was legendary experience from gameplay side and art-design.

[@untitled4542]

​@@CapewearerIt was definitely ahead. There were no other games that came anywhere near the source engine at that time.

[@Capewearer]

@@untitled4542 have you played Far Cry 1 and Unreal Tournament 2003/2004? I did. They were really great in technical and gameplay side. Or Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay? Please, don't follow into the trap that Valve were the only innovators. Because they're not. By overpraising them you just insult other's people work, which has equal, if not the better value. Don't let your personal love to rewrite the history.

[@MozzaBurger88]

20 years later, while obviously not "peak" anymore, it has aged well and still looks really decent. It was absolutely ground breaking. I remember vividly that E3 footage from the screen capture with the crowd reacting. 5 lives ago 😅

[@ChannelSho]

I remember watching the Gamespy capture way back when and that alone hyped me up to no end about this game. The whole period between 2003-2004 I felt was last big "oh my god" moment for technological progress in games between Source, idTech 4, and Unreal Engine 3.

[@DjAdam16]

13:25 - What a scene. That is so sick!

[@Compman2000]

I was ridiculously obsessed over this demo when it came out. Thanks Valve!

[@hydra7427]

6:02 I remember when this footage was playing on repeat in tech stores on every TV. This demo had greater reach than you’d think.

[@ovejanegra7355]

I still have those cam videos that appeared during that E3 in an old external hard drive. Being able to watch this as original capture gives me such a nostalgic feeling, pretty much like that scene in Ratatouille when Ego tries Remy's dish.

[@CouragSomeone]

I've watched the shakycam version so many times, this feels so surreal.

[@JesusKristov]

This was incredibly important to me when I was 13. Watching the demo reel at postage stamp resolution on the disc that came with PC Powerplay magazine. This has transported me back 20 years to when I thought video games were the most incredible thing in the world. I miss that a lot.

[@ImABadTeammate]

This. This is the one. Once the physics are shown off, my mind was blown. Thank you for uploading this and not letting it be lost to history.

[@prltqdf9]

Seeing this back in 2003 was pure digital magic. I was literally in awe. Only the Crysis pre-release videos managed to duplicate that feeling 2-3 years later.

[@denizplays1307]

I was here fellas! HL2 history right here!!! Happy- 20th- Half-Life 2 ANNIVERSARY!!!!

[@InFlamesor12]

Iam still in awe by the ridiculous polish, high quality and just overall just so many years ahead of anything that released even several years after this one. Even to this day this stuff is something we dont see in the vast majority of modern games.

[@crylune]

The game that defined a generation. I hold this game and the source engine close to my heart. Every sound, texture, map and model is instantly recognisable and a large part of my early gaming journey. So happy to be here to watch it turn 20.

[@Jaocagomez]

Same, brother

[@thealandude9146]

I'm so used to seeing the camera recorded footage from gamespy this is refreshing

[@TheRealVulle]

I watched these videos included in the Counter-Strike Condition Zero box back in the day. Never thought i would see them in HD 20 years later. Amazing stuff!

[@Pleumel]

In 2004 I bought counter strike: condition zero in a store wich doesn't physically exist anymore. in ther box was a demo video cd with this content.. can you imagine the hype i was in? It was insane... seeing the hydra scene or the strider bursting through the building.. I've never seen something like this before.. amazing.. Thank you for uploading Valve

[@osadniczek140]

i still hear that one guy saying "wow" upon seeing hl2 gman

[@GeneraliskYT]

I still hear the chuckling from 1:39

[@ZiggyPanda]

This is so hard to get across how mindblowing this seamed back then. I mean, imagine you’re a kid on your ps2 playing vice city (shhh don’t tell anyone) and then someone comes round with a pc mag cd and says “guys, you ain’t gonna believe this!?” You pop it into your family pc that you mainly played half life 1 on and see these 30 second clips one after the other of insane physics, lighting, animation, textures, models, sounds it was like T2 came out all over again it felt like the future. Even playing the game in 2004 at pretty much unacceptable fps for modern standards with everything on low graphics blew our collective minds we couldn’t believe it was a thing we were actually able to be playing! Uploading these really recaptured that nostalgia so thanks valve

[@djphantom5198]

W Valve for preserving history

[@XRAY81]

21:39 It's crazy how this cut map has more atmosphere and detail than the most of the shipped maps.

[@wonder2k19]

They'd still had to consider the Xbox limitations. Reminds me of HLA near the beginning.

[@atifarshad7624]

​@@wonder2k19xbox version wasn't considered until after the PC version was released. So it's not that.

[@wonder2k19]

@@atifarshad7624 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHK9goaXjNutjrM "So the decision to do an Xbox version was made very early on....."

[@Jev6]

This isn’t even remotely accurate- how the fuck do you have twenty likes, lol

[@Germanistan]

I remember seeing this for the first time. Everyone back then was amazed by the graphics, the physics and the facial animations. People said it can't get any better than that. But then again I also remember seeing Elder Scrolls Morrowind for the first time and thinking you can't have more realistic water graphics.

[@Kuznet609]

Crysis engine (with Halflife 2 Source) was much more impressive than the Gamebryo from Elder Scrolls Morrowind. No engine has impressed me more since the Crysis engine.

[@golarac6433]

​@@Kuznet609way, you're saying that an fps game engine from 2007 looks better than open world rpg engine from 2002 ? No way

[@SaddamHussain-192]

Havent played half life can you tell me is this demo of new game?

[@Dislob]

@@SaddamHussain-192 No. It's the video of the demo of Half-Life 2 that was presented at E3 in 2003. If you read the description it says: "The demo that revealed Half-Life 2 and the Source engine to the world. This was previously only available as shakycam recorded from our E3 booth, now available as direct capture."

[@Kuznet609]

@@golarac6433 I don't know what you RPG-fans always have with your open world fetish. If the same textures, landscapes etc. are always shown and experienced in an open world, then I don't find it impressive. Rather boring and monotonous.

[@nicosaurus1616]

6:42 "you're staring at me, AGAIN" FREEVANCE CANON 2003

[@Silent002]

I remember watching these over and over back in the day, just being blown away by the tech on display. Looks quaint 20 years on, but still decent. Half Life 2 was the game that just rose the bar across the industry, every game was compared to it for years after, and rightly so.

[@Dynamonic]

If this was shown off to the world today as a brand new game, I would still be very impressed! Half-Life 2’s legacy is simply timeless!

[@LOLYOU1337]

i still remember having a headcrab nightmare as a little kid 😏 half life is so crazy nostalgic

[@DRB-il2pg]

Lolyou is here let's go

[@Koptevoi]

I was here

[@FacepalmInteractive]

Men.. I see that KZbin video thumbnail WHERE OG CSGO KZbinRS ??? u here my man.. ma chad... ma bunnyhoppin youtuba. . My esea guy..

[@Кацап0]

Why did u used this emoji.

[@sean_r]

why. did you pick that emoji

[@Visceral3D]

My mind was blown when i first saw this is glorious 240p shot from a camcorder back in the days

[@thecommentor3845]

13:23 still the best opening to a combat showcase. the gunfire was really vivid here too. sucks that some of it got lost

[@Terminated_Account]

A videogame dev actually archiving their stuff and its not ashamed to show it to people? Wow.

[@unnecoppro]

Watching people who were around and had their jaws drop when the original E3 2003 demo was shown comment on this is surreal. Side by side with people who experienced gaming history

[@777malkavian]

Man, this demo is still impressive, why has the gaming industry advanced so little in these 20 years?

[@ff.mychael]

I still have this video from my Official Xbox Magazine DVD! I used to watch this over and over so much!! I was always amazed thinking this was a huge leap in photorealism for vgames! Im 35 in december now and I still go back to HL to this day. Please...HL 3🙏❤️

[@Bloodlustian]

I remember watching this e3 recording dozens of times as a teenager. Eagerly awaiting its release. I was running a hand me down system from my father at the time which could barely run the game at 720p. But by god was it some of the best memories i have.

[@shpeck_]

The fact that this engine is being used in modern games to this day is amazing

[@detail___5387]

13:47 When he throws that grenade and the soldier ragdolls! Most modern games refuse to do that, let alone make it look that realistic. Damn shame considering the tech we have now and how great it could be.

[@kilvertm]

This and Crysis were monumental upgrades in gaming tech.

[@DaBoaringDragon]

I remember that pachinko "machine"! Was so impressed back in the day! This brings back memories...

[@ActualDavis]

So awesome to have this finally released in full HD, absolutely insane.

[@URRS_1996]

Thanks muffinhunter by the gameplay tech demo of 2011, this video is the same only 1080p

[@kriminellerbusfahrer5991]

This is where the legendary gaming history has begun

[@stuffedmannequin]

Glad to see the original video. I do miss the audience commentary for the original e3 camcorder recording of it. It's comfy. It really reminds you of how E3 used to be back in the day, and listening to all the oohs and ahhs from the small audience watching really hits home just how revolutionary this tech was.

[@JasonWill]

I remember burning this video to a CD-R to show a friend the next day. We must have watched it 1000 times. Happy 20th HL2!!

[@sylvananas7923]

Those physics had everyone LOSE IT back then

[@zerosolidus]

Still better looking than most games in 2024. The animations are on a different level.

[@evgenim1]

Absolutely right

[@ren7a8ero]

Processing power increased tens of times, but the game design stagnated. We need valve and others expanding the boundaries again, things are boring today.

[@semyonzhigunov671]

Comparing baked pre-rendered lighting to real-time dynamic is a certified big brain move

[@Architector_4]

@@semyonzhigunov671 Underlying technology does not change how the games look like in the end. If baked pre-rendered lighting truly gives greater results, then consider this a litany against developers not using it more today.

[@gamerxt333]

@zeroosolidus Basic ragdoll animation from 2004 isn't "on another level" compared to today. Pass the bong if you think otherwise.

[@dimazaharov8565]

You can spot GoldSource in Source in these demos. Amazing, how technology jumped.

[@xamtastic]

This is like watching that version from a camcorder but you put glasses on

[@kzyfm1]

8:41 it's crazy there was a sequence in beta like this. Pushing AI to it's limits. I also love how every prop feels interactible.

[@tonythesuperperson]

God I spent hours watching the shaky cam version of this in 2003

[@ming1408]

6:32 I'm so amazed by this scene and I'm sad that it never made it to the final game. The voice performances are still really good!

[@bestshadow6585]

I geniunely only read "Half Life E *3* Valve" for a second and was choking

[@ouzer]

Witnessing this demo in person at E3 was mind blowing. We had to wait in a long line to enter this tiny theater room that was set up for the demo, and Valve was also kind enough to hand out HL2 shirts to every guest in attendance.

[@andresbravo2003]

In fact, this is the Highlight of E3 2003 right there.

[@ropa1828]

I was so amazed when i first saw this demo with the reaction of the E3 crowd, goosebumps. Made me construct my own street in Source later on, good ol days, thank you Valve.

[@entity8019]

This was gaming's "Matrix-moment". This turned everything on its head. My jaw fell through the floor. I doubt we'll ever have anything like that again.

[@Teodoro95]

I fondly remember being blown away seeing this demo for the first time! I still have the demo cd that came with Counter-Strike: Condition Zero!

[@dangduong1581]

First of all, a huge thank you to Valve for celebrating the game's 20th Anniversary, which is the coolest game I've ever played in my gaming history. Furthermore, I also appreciate them showing the cut level at 11:29, which was seen on the leaked build of the game. Thanks to that, we get to witness the E3 demo in its full, uncut glory!

[@VovanUA-]

Idk what about you guys, but that shakycam version is the only one for my heart. Hearing impressions of all those people is something that brings you back in time, right to that place

[@TrueKin01]

Today looks good for half life fans, y'all deserve it after waiting so long, sad that my cake has gotten moldy however

[@xmilkteax]

Aaayyy moldy cake is still cake 🥳

[@YoutubeModsAreSnowflake]

Don't worry , "the cake 🎂 is a lie" anyway

[@juniorx6]

The first time I saw this Half-Life 2 video was when I bought Counter Strike Condition Zero and it came with a CD with this exclusive Half-Life 2 video as a gift. This video was the reason I wanted to play Half Life 2. Thanks for reminding me of this Valve!

[@dennisbraun6235]

I’ve watched this demo so many times back in the day. It was insane growing up with this technological advancement in gaming. I also remember a demo where they showcased a big Antlion up close, and its armor was very shiny. There was also a demo set above the streets of City-17, where they were running on the rooftops, and it looked amazing with all those reflections on the metal roofs. Man, I miss gaming as a kid so much. Today’s kids will never be able to truly appreciate the technological advancements that game engines made in the early 2000s.

[@FacepalmInteractive]

That demo might be the 2003 Directx9 shader thing !. The shiny roof tiles looked amazing..

[@dennisbraun6235]

@ that was the one. Oh man thanks for sending me down memory lane.

[@dinokaki]

It still look amazing after 20 years....what a golden gaming time to be alive.

[@sedatalizevit51]

Its still looks good for an 20 years old game. Well played Valve, I hope that the next generations will feel the exact same feelings for the next HL just like us.

[@FailedNorSeling]

As dated as Source 1 is... it stood the test of time and spawned many Valve games and unique releases (and heck, spawned Black Mesa). Guess it is the case with modified versions of the Quake engine (goldsrc, Quake 3) that when you put some heart into, good stuff come out.

[@avtomatkalashnikova1947]

Still wondering if this can run on that guy's 486.

[@ViolentValentine]

But his sheets run well at least

[@lordneo256]

Thank you for all the games and the many years of fun I have had. Many more to come. It feels... so far you have been one of the few that have been true to their audience. Seeing this in this quality is... like seeing an old friend again. And I genuinely feel happy about it. Thank you again, all of you.