Half Life 2, Lowest Graphical Settings Possible (CFG in Description)

HD Remake: • (HD) Half-Life 2, Lowe... (with settings that work in the modern source engine)
I lowered the graphical quality of Half-Life 2 by a huge amount by creating a custom configuration file, and this is the result. I didn't disable vertical sync, so the whole time the game was running at a solid 60 FPS, and I have no idea how high it could've gone if I had removed the cap.
The settings used were the following. Put them into a config file to see the effects (note that this is for an older version of the source engine and won't produce the same effects as in this video anymore):
mat_dxlevel 60
cl_ragdoll_collide 0
sv_cheats 1
mat_picmip 4
r_WaterDrawReflection 0
r_WaterDrawRefraction 0
mat_wateroverlaysize 8
r_lod 5
mat_fullbright 1
mat_diffuse 5
mat_bumpmap 0
r_shadows 0
mat_fullbright 1
mat_forceaniso 0
mat_forcehardwaresync 0
mat_reducefillrate 0
mat_mipmaptextures 0
mat_filtertextures 0
mat_bloom 0
mat_envmapsize 32
mat_envmapgasize 8
mat_antialiasing 0
cl_phys_props_enable 0
mat_filterlightmaps 0
mat_showlowresimage 1
I compiled that list together from various videos I found, as well as from messing around with all of the commands beginning with "mat_". Some of the strange effects you see are probably easily removed with no performance impact, so if you find anything, comment about it.

[@BlueIsTrueYT]

"Will this run on my 386?" -E3 2003 (aka HL2 Tech Demo)

[@R2Bl3nd]

I will never not give a thumbs up to this reference.

[@Raja-ev1ly]

486!

[@spaghettichan559]

"I would do anything for frames But I wont do that"

[@zeroze61923]

For which minecraft version is this texturepack?

[@luissembrano725]

this is half-life 2 idiot check the title

[@R2Bl3nd]

Luis Sembrano I hope you eventually realize that he was being sarcastic.

[@Chloroxite]

+Luis Sembrano It was a joke, fucking moron.

[@axmat3436]

*Half Blox*

[@QuestionableSprite]

Lol

[@ArmaBiologica35]

Half life 64.

[@KamKrzem]

3:43 "It's me, Gordon, Barney from Black Mesa!" Like hell you are, demon spawn...

[@peterw4910]

"Its me Gordon. Barney from Black Mesa" Yeah I could tell. lol

[@VGamingJunkie]

It'd be funny if, at these low graphics, he actually ended up looking like the security guard model from HL1 but, somehow, he looks even worse. XD

[@RoyaleNoir]

gman's eyes are eyes of ender

[@e-block9358]

Just noticed that too :P

[@crazyboybastian09]

Take your gay block game somewhere else please.

[@RoyaleNoir]

Baz Gordon I dont play it much anymore

[@TDRR_Gamez]

Lol gay block game!

[@RoyaleNoir]

TD RollinsR XD

[@psydex]

HALF-CRAFT

[@axmat3436]

psydex *HALF BLOX*

[@ImmaScumbag]

HL2 on DOSbox.

[@TDRR_Gamez]

+Da Troll Its Dos, Dosbox is just an emulator.

[@blood117]

HL2 for SNES

[@davidkitanoski1286]

For the atari 2600

[@franciscoandrada412]

David Kitanoski for a catodic ray thing

[@andrew11ds41]

+blood117 No idiot , this is played on PC (sarcastic comment)

[@jan_h]

+blood117 This is way too high quality for SNES

[@seba-1346]

blood117 on a 3ds

[@halfhalo33]

HL2 now on PS4, X1, and Wii U. HD Cloud Computing textures for PS4 and X1 coming soon.

[@bryansmith4153]

Here from /r/pcmasterrace, eh?

[@halfhalo33]

***** Yeap. You?

[@bryansmith4153]

halfhalo33 Yurp.

[@bryansmith4153]

halfhalo33 Are you AC3R665? I'm MyMegaGame

[@halfhalo33]

***** Yeap. Just notice you on the thread. To bad the Subreddit gone to shit, even though I've been there for only a couple of months.

[@jadplusminus]

...Now can I play Half-Life 2 on my 486?

[@R2Bl3nd]

E3 2004 reference! (or was it 2003?)

[@jadplusminus]

I think it was 2003. I'm surprised you responded so quickly!

[@R2Bl3nd]

I have notifications turned on on my phone for comments. I enjoy participating in the discussions on my videos. anyway, hard to believe that that video you're referencing is 14 years old. I'm sure there are people commenting on my stuff that are younger than that!

[@DizzysDizzy]

Runs great on atari jaguar

[@azmiesimon8359]

gman looks like avatar

[@mookid2223]

For the ultimate experience, watch in 144p.

[@-_-3894]

Kieran Taylor thaks

[@DarkStarboye]

I can't believe this was the first Half Life 2 video I have ever seen.

[@R2Bl3nd]

I'm sorry that your first taste of the game was a video showing it at its worst, lol. Also, most Half-Life 2 fans' first experience of the game was from this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apXHe2SFgLtpabM

[@thebaronvonbito]

In the PS1 days many artists tried very hard to get visuals as trippy as this video, and this equally enthralling graphical feat was accomplished by working against the intent and effort of the original artistic/design team. We've come a long way but a cool looking game can still look cool for so many reasons.

[@evangelism2]

Source is such an amazing engine, it can take full advantage of a well endowed computer and at the same time can be configured to run on a toaster.

[@Boo97388]

"It's me, Gordon! Barney! From Black Mesa!" *Turns around and see's the Devil.*

[@sonic8783Roblox]

Half life 2 For Atari

[@R2Bl3nd]

When trying a new CFG last week that I'm working on, in 1080p it was indeed hitting the 300fps limit. I changed fps_max to something higher, and it was reaching around 350 FPS. I recorded this video at 800x600, so on my modern system it'd probably have a ridiculous framerate. I'll find out what that will be in the next video.

[@shpeeven]

aka HL2: PS1 Edition

[@fishybusinessclass]

I like it! The blocky textures on the citizens creates an uneasy mood. The settings make them faceless, which to me takes away their humanity. Kind of like what the combine are already doing. Pretty cool.

[@vibekiller3024]

Still better than call of duty

[@endermangames_]

this aged like fine wine

[@endermangames_]

this aged like fine wine

[@theopenrift]

I'm sorry, but this is just agonizing to look at.

[@dawidstulejki5056]

U CAN DO IT IN CS:GO?????

[@R2Bl3nd]

Dawid Stulejki Most of the commands can only be used when cheats are enabled, so you could to some degree but it wouldn't look nearly as glitchy as in this video.

[@MattDistraction]

Thank you, with these config modifications I can now play HL2 on my microwave like I've always dreamed.

[@FinnLovesFP]

i have an old laptop with these specs intel pentiume 3 751mhz 512mb ram windows xp ati mobility 128 agp 2x half life 2 without this config runs at 4 to 27 fps on medium medium high but i cant set it or itl say visual c++runtime error will this increase its performance by atleast 20 fps?

[@EpimetheusSpeaking]

This must be Valve's true vision for the game. This is what I was always meant to be.

[@krecik2001]

Half-life 2 finally got a port to consoles :V

[@lychy645]

Daniel Tymiński it did when it was 2007

[@G0LD3NR0D]

I took a shot in the dark, and tried your 2011 update. somehow it worked, mainly because he has a pretty old machine. I dunno if someone updated your sound mod, but I think that would be an awesome project to undertake.

[@MrYUNOTROLL]

THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS REALLY COOL

[@Harry101UK]

Puts Crysis to shame.

[@rostarfreeman]

this looks like Duke Nukem 3D, back in the 1990's. It looks better than DNF though.

[@ElvenSonic]

DONE! Seriously, this was the only way I could play through this game.

[@987werther]

This can make the gameplay of the game in some parts or is that neither is with the graphics at full?????? Sorry my English, I'm Brazilian and I am using bing translator

[@Kuba38OwO]

These graphics are even worse than Half Life 1

[@Zriphelo]

Minecraft 2.0?

[@BoofPack69]

What a time to be alive

[@alb4599]

truly cutting-edge!

[@MoofyDoof]

Worse than Half-Life.

[@jackrao7484]

HL3 Ported to xbox 1

[@tryzombie505]

Nah nintendo ds import and im on about the very first ds

[@TDRR_Gamez]

STOP THE MOTHER FUCKING JOKES ABOUT THE POWER OF XBOX ORIGINAL! Actually it has a HL2 Port, and i gotta admit, its not that bad, It has some pretty good graphics if we compare it to Android Tegra k1 version, and decent framerate of 40-60 FPS (And rarely 30) But the control are a bit bad, but i got used to them.

[@tryzombie505]

To be honest not many people seem to like the xbone 1 still i don't joke about it wait...

[@TDRR_Gamez]

We all hate xboner, but i like xbox original.

[@SuperDanny1212]

thats actually really sweet

[@TheEpicLinkFreeman]

Oh, I saw that HD version and wondered what the point of recording the worst graphics possible, in HD, would be. But it makes sense now.

[@people287]

This looks pretty cool actually!

[@BullsquidGaming]

are the poison headcrabs and poison zombies still scary even with these settings?

[@Gametuber94]

Now that you are on, how can I get the effect to exclude the NPCs?

[@FinnLovesFP]

@SupahMrJD you know this works on a rage 128 right?

[@doa1377]

gotta respect the fact that he is giving hearts to comments even after 12 years

[@R2Bl3nd]

I always will. The viewers are what this channel is for.

[@saverofthehumens]

i have problem with hl2 can you help? i dont hear any music

[@growlinglucario7922]

I found this useful for Smod... Thanks...

[@LAHegarty]

What will this run on then? something quite old school I'm guessing..

[@flashn00b]

Is it possible to get rid of model interpolation?

[@Bouzery]

The Gravity Gun looks really good.

[@Rikoray]

That's so beautiful.

[@LDMythos]

"I didn't see you get on..." Of course you didn't, you don't have eyes.

[@MaxiSamurai]

Holy crap! Gman looks SO spooky!

[@leoz96]

There's one thing I usually do when im playing on my laptop, right click the shortcut and press properties, there will be a box that says sommething like "target" with a text in it, it will say something like "C:\Program Files.........\hl2.exe", just leave a space after that and write "-dxlevel 80" that will force the game to use direct x 8 level graphics, BUT if you are playing it on steam you need to do a diferent process so just tell me if you play it on steam or any other way.

[@Luminethereploid]

Is there a walkthrough of the game like this?

[@R2Bl3nd]

Actually, I just added that on this week. Annotations and descriptions can be edited anytime if you're not aware.

[@R2Bl3nd]

I did. Please read the description, it has all of the console commands I used. You can put it in the autoexec.cfg file and it should look like that.

[@Gametuber94]

How do I leave the character models as normal?

[@R2Bl3nd]

Shaddup, I can't go back and change it regardless. I'm making a new video soon, featuring the new engine and its more detailed settings capability.

[@StringDman]

Still Looks And Sounds Epic In My Opinion.

[@kaos88888888]

There is something like that for doom 2016?

[@kfcnyancat]

But still, how do you play a shooter on Kinect?

[@TheGiik]

I'm pretty sure he meant to say "Does this change the gameplay at all, or is it the same as if the graphics were set normally?"

[@maksuree]

can you do highest possible next?

[@rkb53]

Best Graphics Ive ever seen, I just came everywhere.

[@BPN40Cal]

It's true. I've been running HL2 on every comupter I've had since back when it came on 5 discs. And the best part is it has no problems with computers that are 'way too good' for it. It literally runs on everything.

[@BrothersWeird]

Can you explain to me the "flickering" effect on the seats in the train, luggage, etc.?

[@ashdjones]

Half Life 2 was comissioned by a guy called Ben (More money in Counterstrike). Analysis of his commuter train to London found 80% of furniture had his bogeys / snot on them, team said why'd you sit on so many chairs its unhygenic for AIDS etc, he said I flick them across when the cameras are off. He's in that room with the shutter before Barney having his sinuses upgraded / removed. Who knows.

[@ashdjones]

In respect to why Ben had a weekend commute to London, he was selling cannabis. The police did a deal that since they were planning to legalise this he could plead for a lesser charge. Turns out bogeys can spread plague or Covid 19 say. Doh.

[@Rings0fSaturn2k]

And here I thought G-Man couldn't be more scarier and look hes creepier than before.

[@R2Bl3nd]

HD version showing a lot more stuff and a few more tweaks is coming soon. DXtory was having a hard time getting a decent FPS at 1080p using Lagarith so I had to re-do a lot of parts, but I'll edit it tomorrow. Just wanted everyone to know, maybe hear their thoughts too.

[@mrCreepsy]

Can you do the opposite, can you increase the quality by huge amount by creating custom cfg file?

[@buttsbutts7858]

You should do a whole let's play like this.

[@ElvenSonic]

AGH! BEN! I THOUGHT I DESTROYED YOU! HOW DID YOU RETURN?

[@ElvenSonic]

Which config file do I put the settings in?

[@ArmoredGrass]

if you do a livestream, tell me when :3

[@JCDentonCZ]

Now that would be rather strange, with my custom laptop from 2010 I can play most Source games in medium detail on the Intel HD Graphics integrated GPU put on practically every 2009/2010 laptop (That's the first i3/i5/i7 gen, the 2012 generation is three gens further). Make sure you got the drivers installed and check out the settings of your PC, try switching HL2 and the other games to Steampipe Beta if it doesn't work for you.

[@R2Bl3nd]

Set r_lod to -1. When I make the new video (which is in progress at the moment), I'll include an up-to-date .cfg file with commented explanations for everything.

[@phredryck]

What are the defaults for these?

[@UltraPowered]

Thank god I wasn't planning on going to sleep tonight.

[@chikingames]

You say you read all comments? Well I have a question D: I lowered all of my in-game settings, and it doesn't look like this. It basically looks like an advanced GoldSRC game. Did you do anything else to get this working?

[@YouthTubezation]

I hope HL3 will look simillarly.

[@shadow1the1ultimate]

i DARE you to make a full playthrough of this

[@Morzall0055]

Have you played Black Mesa yet R2BI3nd? Its the remake of Half Life 1

[@PoweredByFlow]

Where can i get this Half Life mod for Minecraft?

[@TheFlaron]

Wonder if my computer can deal with this high graphic?

[@Vuthakral]

If I were to set the config to it's opposites, would I technically get Half-Life 2 Highest possible graphics?

[@Insanity_Crow]

How the hell did you get this to work on a Ti-84?

[@mahound9]

Uh, I turned on antialiasing which scambled the entire game for me and I need to turn it off without getting into the game itself. Which file do I need to alter and where is it? Can I find the appropriate command from the above, such as "mat_antialiasing 0"? THanks all youse groovy people!!!

[@TheMorbidAsshole]

WE FEEL YOUR COMPUTER'S SORROW BRO

[@Liam9787]

What makes you think this is, or looks anything like Minecraft? Plus this barely uses any HL1 textures. The only spot is in the intro with the testchamber, and it's like that without these settings anyway.

[@Swuggysal]

I just realised Barney in HL1 was just a security gaurd you met when you got off that tram. Now he is a main character... Idk why it took me so long.

[@Scoutscout1000]

where do you place the cfg file

[@eletronictoenails]

If you want to try to make other parts feel bad, the only ones I know is dsp_slow_cpu which makes the dsp effects low quality for low end CPUs at the time and dsp_off which just turns it off

[@raphael.cavalcanti3301]

Is it possible to correct the colours? I kinda like the idea of playing HL2 this way...

[@newagetapes]

just turn color correction on, and also, i agree. i think that's an awesome way to play it.

[@alexguayyy]

can you do this on L4D2??

[@TheDavo6233]

it will work on 150mhz and 96mb ram ? :D

[@GoldSrc_]

Metrocop: "Pick up that polygon". you should have continued to that part.