Half-Life 2 - Highway 17 Under Bridge Ambience 1 Hour

[@TheLeaf424]

i always thought it was really strange to have a bridge so high above the ocean as well as ships aground so high up on the beach until i read that the combine pretty much drained the oceans

[@Mjavier-tw5xx]

The combine drained the oceans? Really...? When and why?

[@TheLeaf424]

@@Mjavier-tw5xx sometime after the seven hour war, when the combine took control of earth, they started draining the planet of resources. This included getting rid of the oceans

[@MrCaine10]

@@TheLeaf424 yes correct. The combain is an alien civilization stealing resources and destroying lifes on other planets.

[@TheLeaf424]

@@MrCaine10 Yes, i know. That's pretty much what I said

[@MrCaine10]

@@TheLeaf424 anyway great game, i miss the old times gaming was better

[@StopThisIsBatCountry]

This part of the game. Crossing the bridge, the ambience, the music, the shaking, the long fall down... it gave me legitimate goosebumps!

[@sushrutdongargaonkar2073]

I thought I was the only one who found the bridge crossing epic. Glad to know the others now. Cheers

[@timyac]

It's the best part of the game. I really enjoyed the Highway level in general. I remember being absolutely amazed at being able to park and enter the houses.

[@g.w.k.y6869]

The bridge part is my favorite scene or part in gaming it's just the atmosphere and gameplay just perfect

[@cygnusfloyd]

@@timyac Goddamn, I miss the times in gaming when something as simple as that blew our minds. I couldn't get over how big the environment was.

[@LehySnek]

@@cygnusfloyd It's not simple at all, they managed to keep us in awe because of the mystery, the story wasn't shoved down our throats, it was up to you to fit the puzzle togheter. But you gotta keep moving.

[@sillkthashocker]

It still blows my mind how groundbreaking this game was

[@3ManFunny]

for its time was ahead

[@IngoPagels]

@@3ManFunny realy? why? can you explain? What made it so special?

[@LonelyKnightess]

@@IngoPagels The physics system was fairly revolutionary for gaming and HL2 is widely regarded as basically starting the industry meme of the 'physics puzzle' since it started an arms race to try and replicate it. Everything after it was more or less expected to have some sort of physics system or else it was considered extremely dated. The world design is so impressive that it is one of the biggest reasons the game is still playable today - much like older games with retro graphics still stand the test of time for their art design being more of a focus than their graphical fidelity (and HL2 also has great art design). Valve spent a ton of effort trying to make the world feel natural and lived-in and like the player was actually within the world instead of just looking and shooting into it, which is something that games to this day struggle with. It wasn't the first atmosphere based shooter (and in fact, this was something Valve first did with the first Half Life) but HL2 largely set a bar for what a properly designed and built game world looks like. This is hard to quantify since it's so many things coming together (sound design, music, art design, minute-to-minute game feel, etc) but the set building of HL2 is one of the most revolutionary things about it for FPS games, for its time it was only challenged by other titans like Halo. AI was incredibly deep despite showing its age and oft being memed. HL1 faked its AI to look way more impressive than it was and that was often considered ground breaking, and while often an overlooked part (and missed, most people think the Combine AI is far dumber than it actually is), the dynamic flexibility of the AI was massive and was hugely influential on game AI moving forward. It alongside, yet again Halo, was a massive part of the split in AI design between dynamic 'sandbox' AI capable of reacting to various world states and static and scripted event driven AI that you see in games like Call of Duty (not to insult them, it's the nature of what they're trying to do). The trend in the industry started with the first game but the concept only really took off after HL2 brought the concept to at-the-time modern platforms with the continuous camera narrative. IE: the player's control isn't taken away by cutscenes and level changes and the game instead forms a complete narrative without ever moving off the character. There's a ton of stuff HL2 did that was big for the gaming community. The biggest problem with quantifying it though is that many of them were started by the first game and only really cemented by the second, or were done in a time in gaming where things were moving far quickly and shakeups were less significant than when the first game came out (as the industry was far larger and thus individual games were less influential).

[@IngoPagels]

@@LonelyKnightess Thanks for the comprehensive answer. Its from 2004. Thats a time line coverd by windows XP and the first multi core processors. I guess I see you rpoint. Kinda sad I never realy played it. Was obcessed with HALO. Played it for 12 years. And a little bit HALO 2.

[@IngoPagels]

@@LonelyKnightess I was thinking - what else what I do. Galevanting aroung the past and guess your even more right. Played Command & Conquer: Renegade that was published in 2002 and the AI was realy bad so was the environment. And Doom from 1993 had no AI at all. The enemy were just attacking after they "saw" you. Sux. I stuck to games I like and do not play any other games at all. All right. Topic closed. For now ;)

[@nexusomega1]

Oh god running out of missles and having to run 3 parts back to refill 🥶

[@Kekster3000]

@Eric Miret not sure if that's the case, but there were much less supply crates at some locations in release version of the game compared to current ver

[@Gogglesofkrome]

I think there is a supply crate you could use to get ammo indefinitely

[@karunyagopan]

These kinds of areas are the reason I can't get into speedrunning. Not because it's hard to do, skipping this bridge is really easy, but it's so well made and memorable that I can't bring myself to do it.

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Yis!

[@Max-hn5tc]

There is one interesting thing. When I was a little kid and played this game a looong time ago I really liked the Bridge level. After some years I found out that I somehow remembered this level as this Bridge was super high and there was a dense and greyish mist so that you couldn't see anything under your feet. I was a little bit upset when the real level didn't overcome my memory-based expectations. Because I think it would add a lot to the atmosphere of this location.

[@YesterdaysMinder]

To be fair, it's still one of the foggiest levels in the game. (To cover up the edge of the ocean, of course.)

[@Max-hn5tc]

@@YesterdaysMinderyeah, but the mist was super dense like in Silent Hill and dark grey as I "remembered" it. Its funny how our imagination when we are kids adds so many interesting details and embellishes them.

[@element1111]

@@Max-hn5tc Could it have been updated out of the game? Valve tweaked the game quite a bit over the years

[@Max-hn5tc]

@@element1111 No, I dont think so. I guess it was always like that. I also "remembered" the City 17 differently from the way it is in the game. I think it is just me and how I recall on playing the game when I was younger)

[@sygos]

@@Max-hn5tc your graphics settings could have an effect on viewdistance and fog. Did you used to play on low settings on a low end pc as a kid?

[@frmnNnj]

Mix this with Lab Practicum, and childhood is in the air.

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Exactly

[@vepply]

@Eric Miret same thing

[@cyn_1]

Childhood.. I am 15 and this is my most favourite Franchise ever

[@Redbr34]

@@cyn_1 I am 17, i played this like in 2011

[@Fel1xF7W]

@@Redbr34 22, played in 2013

[@crimsonlanceman7882]

I'm glad people still make ambience videos of this game. Valve soundscape is great. Edit: Holy cow! This got so many likes! Thank you guys.

[@canddos]

Singularity's Marauder Valve forget about this game :(

[@g.w.k.y6869]

@j mula not really but okay

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Can we all give exactly 2 claps for our mastermind behind the sound design for the half life series. Kelly bailey

[@TheWorldOf...]

TOTALLY.

[@T--kq3pj]

@@canddos how do you know they forget?

[@Dillon4599]

The thing that gives me chills is the creaking of the ruined bridge. It's just unnerving to hear.

[@crimsondynamo615]

Thousands of tons of concrete and steel with no maintenance is just barely holding together anymore.

[@DanielWindows]

​@@crimsondynamo615feels like something you see in infra game

[@easthastings6919]

lo-fi chill and relax fan Half life 2 ambience enjoyer mega chad

[@ukaszlelonek6467]

I was reading sth to this and suddenly...the razor train appears. Great work not looping this in 30 sec period.

[@DrevorReal]

I almost fell asleep listening to this. And then the train came. But it was freaking great. Thank you so much for this!

[@BleakmillGames]

The best thing to listen to working on a HL2 inspired game!

[@canddos]

just work nd relax..

[@kspangsege]

How goes with the game? 🙂

[@BleakmillGames]

really good haha, glad your asking! We will announce something pretty soon:))@@kspangsege

[@SuperDuperSeb]

One of my favourite sections in the entire game.

[@kenlee8028]

Gotta love the crabs coming out of fucking nowhere

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Lmao yeah, it's a weird oversight by the level designers

[@barankatalay982]

This is so satisfaying ambience i love half life 2.

[@blaykerietman6965]

This segment in the game: arriving to the shores of the lighthouse and the beaches bridge, reminds me of the point and click game Myst. Check it out, its on sale on steam- as well as the sequals.

[@CringePotato]

I think about this specific place in the screenshot a lot in my normal life. I think about that little room there. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the game for some reason. The first time I played Half-Life 2 I was enjoying the game throughout, but the bridge section was when I knew I loved the game. I’ve replayed Half-Life 2 so many times, but I always take a moment to take in the atmosphere when I get to the bridge.

[@kimmyjohnny31]

Honestly this might sound like a stupid idea but they should make a game about the Seven Hour War, and your following a POV of a HECU grunt

[@MrRed_2205]

The Flat Earther Hunter sounds awesome! imgine capturing the hopelessness and despair humanity felt during that time, to just be crushed by a species far far ahead of us technology wise, 10/10 would play, especially if it was made by valve's brilliant hands

[@iancooperman8970]

Already been done. It didn't turn out well.

[@sebastian4238]

@@iancooperman8970 we don't talk about THAT ONE

[@charple_]

@SCP 087-B yes but... We don't speak of it anymore

[@ddqwf]

well as stated before there actually was one but it was so poorly executed that it became an example of how NOT to make a half life universe game.

[@SuperDuperSeb]

Almost forgot to watch this today.

[@Mjavier-tw5xx]

Don't forget to watch it today :D

[@SuperDuperSeb]

@@Mjavier-tw5xx But of course.

[@smol_hornet613]

I appreciate the Razor Train.

[@benb9151]

It tells the player that there is a whole world with transportation and people (and Combine units) all over it

[@Pheer777]

This is probably a bit silly, but when Gabe Newell said that "the Matrix is closer than you think" my biggest hope was to play through Half Life 2 but with full dive immersion VR and just be able to take certain moments in the game to sit down and take in the ambience, like here.

[@jacksonbacksone]

The ambiance and loneliness is somewhat, comforting isn’t it?

[@idi3284]

theres now a VR mod for half life 2, although your comment is 2 years old

[@Pheer777]

@@idi3284 Yeah I saw, it looks pretty cool

[@kisekinomahou]

I fell asleep to this on loop and both times i woke up when the train comes 😢

[@yigityllmz]

Most iconic half life 2 chapter IMO

[@xenomorph2258]

This game is epic.

[@mahuba2553]

30:10 cool a train

[@Maxk-tt6hb]

I love this part in game.

[@TheWorldOf...]

Half Life sounds and ambience are superbe.

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Courtesy of Kelly Bailey (the sound designer and composer for HL series)

[@TheWorldOf...]

@@g.w.k.y6869 , Of course. ;)

[@BigOuterHeaven]

*very lonely and depressive place.*

[@Strelokos666]

Just a lil bit more watching in the fog and I will smell salty sea air.... *Lab Practicum plays*

[@kspangsege]

This might be my all time fav YT video, complementing my all time fav game 😃

[@kisekinomahou]

My favorite part of half life

[@whataboutart]

This part of the game is a masterpiece of level design.

[@kspangsege]

Masterpiece might be an insufficient word to describe it 😀

[@iam_adamfromearth]

Dunno why the entire chapter of highway 17 and the bridge gives me such nostalgia... the wind, the open view of the sea, the sand and beaches, driving along the highway alone... ahhhh... life's experiences...

[@HiCZoK]

video games barely have any ambient nowadays. Death Stranding had some cool spots. Otherwise I go to chronicles of riddick, hl2 or souls games

[@No_Sleepee]

@FacingWorlds Mirror's Edge is a masterpiece for ambience, and that's about it because barely anything else has held up over time.

[@trashmammal7798]

(Random) I have such terrible memory. When I was younger I’d seen the end of Episode 2- (SPOILERS) I remembered it to be in a desert, in a partially destroyed warehouse. Two machines had pinned Gordon and a different looking Alyx to the wall, and the other machine had picked up Eli, who looked similar to the beta version of him. He was killed by being stabbed through the chest with a razor sharp piece of the machine, like the Advisors’ tongues. The machines let go of me and Alyx, and dropped Eli’s corpse. They zoomed away on there rusty rails and the game ended with Alyx crying over Eli’s corpse. I don’t know how my brain scrambled details so much but I honestly liked my memory’s verision better. I remember beating the game for the first time and thinking, “Huh.. That’s different than I remember.” (I watched a playthrough of Ep2 years before and it hadn’t been modded or anything. It was by Bolloxed I think.) That’s all.

[@DanielWindows]

I think this is just a dream. Sometimes memories can be just a dream and not real life thing. One time I had dream which had strange Half-Life 2 level that looked similar to that bridge. thank for bad english

[@godowskitwins9202]

i love this!!!

[@wtweqttzttt2152]

who else sleeps with these playing

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Yep!

[@517ivory]

just imagine this in VR.

[@hasset9820]

R U A LARRY CROFT FAN :O

[@517ivory]

@@hasset9820 I LOVE LARRY SO MUCH

[@TheFloodFourm]

I need this so bad. Fuck, i’m playing Hl2 when I get home lol

[@ставрогин-я2з]

One of my favourite parts of this perfect game.

[@Dovah2798]

when I put this video with the 1 hour of lab praticum at the same time it gets perfect!

[@me67galaxylife]

Remind me of the bridge in post scriptum

[@vatanc4746]

Damn... This is therapeutic.

[@g.w.k.y6869]

Agreed, ambience in Half Life 2 in general is just fantastic, but this is one of more standout examples

[@DanielWindows]

I'm thinking about porting this level into infra. Cuz this level is my favorite and fits for infra's gameplay.

[@Occycat]

I keep hearing the wind and since it sounds like a gunship I always run to the nearest ammo crate and get my rocket out

[@ПавелСидорович-т4ч]

The best ASMR ever

[@heiraven]

И не пытайся сравнивать асмр с этим Шедевром)

[@Kekster3000]

@Eric Miret it's actually stimulates me in all possible ways

[@jmm1233]

source team created the best liminal spaces

[@crashmartin1525]

I think this goes well with Vague Voices and Lab Practicum

[@ToastyDoasty]

*wind noises*

[@dingiskhan984]

Yesterday, I killed the gunship and I then fell off the bridge and had to kill the gunship again, but the second time I nailed it.

[@dengawr6000]

Oh, look at my wallpaper now

[@S1nwar]

imagine you are one of a dozen or so people that managed to get to xen and back and the only one to stop the nihilanth...only to wake up 20 years later and having lost the entire planet to OTHER aliens

[@dimostychalas9716]

did you ever wonder why there is a cabin under the bridge with a sloped roof?

[@The_random_catie_tuber]

W h y n o t

[@dimostychalas9716]

@@Marzsala yeah you can see it in the video... The white cabin

[@MP-dm8xh]

**pulls out gun** *He knows too much*

[@abbcc5996]

it is a prefab cabin, they didn't know that the slope was unnecessary when they manufactured the parts and shipped them to be assembled elsewhere. alternative explanations: eastern european work ethic or lack thereof. valve oversight.

[@DVincentW]

Thanks... oops lost my balance..

[@swemx7403]

Games nowdays doesn't have ambiance moment like this anymore. Everything needs to go fast and i hate it.

[@MP-dm8xh]

Others games nowadays have this ambience bro

[@typeviicu-boat3616]

@Ахадъ-Хамъ Half-Life 2 Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Half-Life 2: Episode 2

[@g.w.k.y6869]

@@MP-dm8xh I think he means in a more prominent sense, half life 2 relies on a lot of ambience work for sound design, and in general just taking it slow to enjoy it, admittedly not many games take this approach as much anymore, some do, but most don't. ... And admittedly the quality of Sound design in HL2 is far higher than most, still.

[@canddos]

@@g.w.k.y6869 cool amb for 2004

[@МишаГго]

The best lo-fi music

[@Dekko-chan]

That was terrifying. And im not even afraid of hights. (Not really)

[@Skub_]

I do believe it’s time for a replay

[@Fabai0]

the part that gave me the most agony but it was worth it

[@TheStrongestHeroKnight]

It's just too good

[@landlockedcroat1554]

beatifull

[@korbyntaylor8089]

Well hey l, life is a highway.

[@awhahoo]

I might replay tthis part of the game

[@epicaramemodama]

Build a shed directly under a bridge. Okay. Put an angled roof on the shed in case it rains. What

[@g.w.k.y6869]

It's all a conspiracy

[@updaet6870]

Rain doesn't go directly down and there is still wind...

[@NotASpyReally]

woah a train actually passes through if you're there long enough 30:00

[@ОлегБур-в5ъ]

That's scary

[@МішаРедьква-я9ц]

Атмосферно очень

[@nmheath03]

Anyone know what animal makes that noise at 0:06 ? I keep thinking the compy from Dino D-Day, and as amusing as dinosaurs in Half-Life is, I somehow doubt it. A capuchin monkey is a second guess, but what would a capuchin be doing in Europe anyway?

[@Inspiron_1720]

Just a bird

[@kuluv2]

anyone ever shoot the birds? with bow and arrow?

[@villings]

why would anyone downvote this..?

[@GroovyCAAMPer1974]

r/Ihavereddit and its dislike

[@typeviicu-boat3616]

@@GroovyCAAMPer1974 how about you fuck off with that bullshit

[@GroovyCAAMPer1974]

@@typeviicu-boat3616 no u

[@globalglobal420]

gives me ptsd tbh

[@crowdarnoldsen2933]

We all do

[@jackster1611]

Hobo theme

[@dudejits3131]

why only 1 hour?

[@canddos]

we re slep.

[@berigarecordings]

hi! how can i download this in wav or flac?

[@knyt0]

ytmp3.cc/en/

[@disfuncionexe]

low key the most fun part of half life