Half-Life - Sense of Smell AI

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

As it had already been demonstrated prior, one element not covered here is Roach smelling. Roaches seek out food by scent in effectively the same manner Bullsquids do, albeit with much simpler pathfinding and animations. That Roach behavior was shown in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e53ak2Wii51rnq8

[@Louthanjen]

MarphitimusBlackimus ok

[@FelipeJaquez]

MarphitimusBlackimus Have you ever considered making a mod readding all of Half lifes broken or cut features like vortigaunts being able to revive each other and such? Maybe also improving HLs Ai making the npcs reflect these features more.

[@VB2P360]

I think you missed that if you break hanging meat, the gibs are so "potent" that even if its in combat it will ignore you and go for the meat until you attack it again.

[@TristenTheArgonian]

Zan (VB2P360) he did that one in a way earlier vid

[@ObsoleteVodka]

It's true that many of these features were useless since they were unnoticed by most players. But let's not forget that the original concept of the game was hugely ambitious, even more than the final product we know. So this video led me to believe that these are vestiges of ideas and mechanics that were scrapped during development.

[@GRZNGT]

If Gordon was actually doing science during HL1

[@GRZNGT]

Still, there is this tendency to a scientific observation which is present in all scientists.

[@spincer3033]

GRZ NGT Bhopping and no clipping is science beyond human minds

[@ozvoid1245]

@@spincer3033 Too true.

[@shaun5809]

He did science at the beginning with the sample.

[@crepasboi9218]

@@GRZNGT o

[@mrcomp1971]

So much ai for things you kill in an instant. Makes you really love the old Valve.

[@natalieobman5018]

It makes me wonder if Half Life was originally planned to be a stealth game, or at least have stronger stealth elements. The tutorial mentions a "sneak mode", lots of airvents, and all these details that wouldn't be noticed unless a player were closely watching enemies for opportunities to slip by.

[@ikagura]

I actually played more "stealthy" when I was in hard mode

[@octobbie]

666 likes lmao

[@peterjoyfilms]

mrcomp When playing on hard I found them pretty hard to kill at times

[@theobserver4214]

ikagura Half life is truly one of the greatest games ever. These tiny details just proves that fact.

[@BoshMind]

Even now I don't think a game has ever explored ai and atmosphere at such a subtle level as the original half life.

[@shyguy85]

​@SS-rf1ritoo bad they're so weak and the maps aren't really designed in a way to show off their ai

[@3DFella]

@@shyguy85 I always thought the marines had more fun-to-play-against ai than the combine. The combine die so quickly and are kinda dumb, the marines meanwhile can take a good beating before dying, and just generally feel smarter to me. The only problem with them is when they throw grenades at their feet lmao.

[@SlendytubbiesII]

​@3DFella the grenade at feet thing is intentional, when marines are low health they will throw it at their feet

[@SkullDreaming]

Everyone: Can't wait for HL 3 Marphitimus: Yo let me finish with the first...

[@TechnologicallyTechnical]

that feeling when even Ross Scott got through HL1 before Marphitimus

[@Knight_Of_Eleum_Loyce]

This is the problem with WIldpie101 (who makes the infamous Idiot's Guide To Dark Souls 1). They make a new video every 6 months or more sometimes. Everyone wants Wildpie101 to move onto to dark souls 2 and 3.

[@billybobbillerson9472]

H

[@mischiviousteefmonster3900]

Skull giggling here in the year of 2017 lol

[@erehttuo6994]

Liked it to make it 666 likes.

[@Batkenpre]

Valve were truly ahead of their time

[@mrcopycat2355]

And now they're REALLY behind.

[@thecodingethan]

That's Valve time for you, starting in first and never completing lap 3.

[@spera438]

once were

[@redjarman]

they heard the saying "quit while you're ahead", then everyone passed them

[@gtamike_TSGK]

@Mr Copycat I don't know Source 2 Engine came out in 2015 for Dota2 these things take time.

[@Raivop]

HL1 never ceases to amaze with its small details, like NPCs reacting to smell of all things! Truly the game was ahead of its time by miles. Great stuff as always, Marpy, keep it up!

[@radarridr]

Scientists and Security guards also chat with one another if they are idling nearby.

[@snaek2594]

Raivop Ahh... Old Valve. What the hell happened?

[@4pyr25]

Argus Natris mONEY!

[@CounterLife]

Indeed, most games these days don't even feature details like that.

[@Kaxology]

back when creativity was a thing, now everything has to be from a business stand point, prioritising profit over innovation. They used to make games, now they make money

[@alexhackett1312]

You know, this does explain why bullsquids are found in the freezer units, there's slabs of meat in there and if you destroyed them it would attract the bullsquids nearby. That is actually genius.

[@hazzmati]

Well he probably got in there by chance. The freezer door needs to be manually opened by valve and then the door closes on itself. He just got teleported in the freezer. (sorry don't mean to be a buzzkill lol)

[@alexhackett1312]

Sjaas I meant from a gameplay aspect, the slabs of meat drop gibs when hit with a crowbar, which attract the bullsquid already in the freezer forcing you to fight it.

[@MagnetismR]

Right on. Even mentioned in the strategy guide.

[@Vexcenot]

Except we never did that lol

[@bazzle592]

Bullsquids are really interesting when they're not trying to melt your face off.

[@eloas3260]

Is it wrong to say that they're cute?

[@Journey_to_who_knows]

I want one as a pet

[@vegisamalzero3681]

I. Hated. These. Things.

[@Justapilot_9700]

I hated as well... Now I wish we could be friends! Imagine how cool it would be to train them to attack the alien grunts!

[@noahfessenden6478]

@@Journey_to_who_knows Me too man. Imagine playing fetch with a bullsquid. The look on your neighbor's face would be priceless.

[@blueshit199]

I always thought the "Eww, what's that stench" line was random :0 interesting!

[@dafunktrunk]

Hello !!! Seeing you everywhere....

[@ikagura]

same

[@ikagura]

A bomb!

[@Zane6767]

@@dafunktrunk soo you are in everywhere too

[@OmnipotentGoggles]

Man. I thought Half Life was all about shooting and puzzle solving, not sniffing corpses and implementing boob bones. These videos have opened my eyes.

[@alol1551]

OmnipotentGoggles Everyone knows Half life would never succeed if the roach scent AI was never implemented!

[@jcdenton2187]

Aidan Lol Or boob physics!

[@MondySpartan]

The slogan of Valve, "open your eyes".

[@seifelshenawi6211]

MondySpartan now its open your mind

[@iamme2739]

@@seifelshenawi6211 like a can opener

[@timotlt]

_sigh_ *installs half-life again*

[@czarnakoza9697]

Gebirgs go back to tf2

[@wdaswwqads]

@Order & Chaos uninstalling half life is like deleting system32

[@teadrinkingkris9466]

*uninstalls hl and installs Black Mesa*

[@teadrinkingkris9466]

@gordon freeman *uninstalls bm and installs hl*

[@ruthenium6648]

@gordon freeman i like black mesa more, since the environments look better, the controls are better for parkour and they're perfecting Xen, i don't care about smell or enemy behavior, they're just meant to be killed anyways

[@jimjellyjinjamjimbo]

The dialogue you put for the Bullsquid was adorable.

[@bunslinger]

kinda sucks that most of this goes unnoticed because all the player is meant to care about is shooting everything that moves

[@CMDKeenCZ]

You are confusing today's era with the late 90s. Even FPS games were half shooting and half exploration back then.

[@iodreamify]

Sure, but all these behaviors get immediately overruled when the player steps in as he's the enemy and they start attacking you. I doubt people would start peeking around corners, listen to sounds or use cheats to stay invisible anywhere before the 10th playthrough. These are great to have and amazing to discover now but people being amazed to see them only today shows they're pretty obscure.

[@ciox----1----]

there's a lot of scenes where bullsquids are fighting headcrabs or each other and you can witness their eating mechanics after the fight

[@Jacks_Suffocating_Nihilism]

It's honestly poor game design. Many of these features could have been made prominent enough to notice and matter to gameplay with NPC dialogue, scripted events, puzzles, etc.

[@CrizzyEyes]

@@Jacks_Suffocating_Nihilism That would have just dragged out the game for everyone who didn't care about those mechanics. These are things meant to benefit the observant/creative player, although the norm for shooters at the time was the Quake/Doom style. Also, many of them are parts of incomplete systems that were never finished.

[@BabzaiWWP]

"I can smell you."

[@CRainHoovesPoney_Money_Poney]

NOpe

[@Viviana088]

That wouldn't be a certain gassy mexican line would it?

[@ElectricKitty]

Good name

[@-snek.]

Although I have but a measly shiv, it is quite effective when applied to the jugular.

[@ikagura]

haha but who are you?

[@MiRoKi1000]

So many undiscovered details I started to wonder if Marphy was just making all these facts up.

[@jcdenton2187]

That is a possibility. Marphy would be the troll of the century, unless it turns out Marc Laidlaw just made up Epistle 3 to mess with everybody.

[@DogsRNice]

JCD Gameanater technically he did make it up. Just like the story for half life

[@czarnakoza9697]

@@jcdenton2187 well i tested those out in the game. results were that his shit was true

[@GreatFox42]

You're kidding me. Smell is a thing in the AI? Jesus, I just thought the comments by the security guards were just random lines. I had no idea it was actually a _reaction._ I hope whoever was in charge of the AI in this game got a raise or something.

[@kencur9690]

GreatFox42 yeah it’s not like it is real smell. It just an action triggering it (so the action of dying and someone being within distance for 30 secs). Very creative programming, but it’s not like it is real smell or any different from other action triggering actions in other games. Just a very ingenious use of it in this one.

[@emoducky]

@@kencur9690 YOU DON'T SAY

[@kencur9690]

@@emoducky Yeah well I am not the one wetting my pants as if this is a new thing. It's just creative, but it's a "thing in the AI" as much as and in the same manner as other things are "a thing" in it... In other words, it's a matter of attention to detail, and not spectacular AI...

[@luigimcdingle1951]

@@kencur9690 It _is_ a new thing, though. How many other games have AI that causes NPCs to respond to things like the smell of corpses?

[@kencur9690]

Zackary Oravec no it is not a new thing in the AI - it is exactly the same mechanics used. It is a new thing in the design of the game.

[@v.mvarga4979]

Houndeyes and Bullsquids defeat any videogame creature when it comes to intelligence

[@TheNeXusCore9032]

@ BingusDoeslt What he said. Too much emphasis on graphics, not enough "meat" for the other parts of the game. There's so many things that can be done with this feature as demonstrated by the video. Imagine something like this in a open-world RPG game where a hunter can place various types of bait, a clean-up crew being sent to sanitize the area in a stealth mission, or similar.

[@lloydchristmas3637]

Dawood Ibrahim Don't forget Roaches.

[@jdphu]

Actually FEAR's AI from 2005 defeats it. But that no one can still defeat

[@SpaghettiToaster]

jumpdaphuckup ! Dwarf Fortress? The sims? Any game you get when you Google "great AI games"?

[@stellarfox5869]

no need to repeat your favorite games over and over spaghetti because noone cares about them.

[@GentleHeretic]

I will never get tired of these AI videos; the nuance of the original Half Life's design never ceases to impress me. Reminds me of an interview Warren Spector gave back when he was promoting Deus Ex, where he mentioned that during playtesting a guard was alerted to him silently sniping from the roof above, because a single bullet casing fell down next to his feet and clinked. Now that's detail.

[@fappylp2574]

Eh, unless the alerted AI clearly expresses why and how it was alerted it would simply seem unfair or random to the player. Super detailed, simulationist AI design makes for good marketing, but gameplay can be adversely affected if the rules, by which the AI operates, aren't communicated properly. I never noticed the scent mechanics in HL and I wager most others haven't either.

[@Name-ps9fx]

Fappy LP it’s all about the immersion...irl one would not necessarily know why a guard “just showed up”...was it random? Did I cross an IR beam? Did my shoes leave a scuff mark? A guard realizing a sniper is above by the clink of a dropped casing isn’t that far from reality = immersive detail.

[@fappylp2574]

It may be considered an immersive detail, but it stands in stark contrast to a different oversight, which is that the guard should have probably _already_ spilt his coffee when he heard the suppressed shot go off above him. Let me extend my previous point: The level of AI detail needs to be somewhat consistent or the player is in yet another situation in which he doesn't know what to expect. I understand that the elements of a game that, as a whole, lead to some degree of immersion are inherently subjective, but realistically, no matter how simulationist your AI is, the player's "disbelief" is sharply re-instantiated when that enemy chasing you inevitably gets stuck on a corner ;)

[@chaos.corner]

Which is a shame because knowing about the scent mechanic might have been useful.

[@Hirnlego999]

@@fappylp2574 Remember that most get their silencer information from movies, in which the sound is suppressed far more than IRL. All silencers in games are overpowered, Crysis tries to find a balances in this by making the shots a lot less powerful forcing the player to have a very good aim. Do headshots and it's fine but if you miss the AI will be alerted and all hell breaks loose.

[@kdiler]

Buillsquild is acting like a typical home cat :D

[@geniuinetf2dude481]

Its BULLSQUID and its more close to a dog than a cat

[@demanischaffer]

Maria Pop I mean nothing about Bullsquid says “Dog" Houndeye on the other hand

[@silent_stalker3687]

yes the bullsquid is a cat, goes eats food, goes back to bed, maybe snack on the food if it wants to later... still kills you even if it's full, throws it's shit everywhere, scratches your face if you piss it off. houndeyes are loud, jump around, annoying, but are safe to get up to and are easy to tell if they don't like you, a little harder to hit, probably shits in the floor at some point in the game.

[@mangy2fly604]

Maria Pop squidbillies

[@czarnakoza9697]

kdiler1 creator of the model wanted to make a space cat it ended up with our bully

[@Despon]

*bother to add tons of detail into games *cant bother to make another game

[@nhatdminh]

They were passionate nobody back then. Nowadays they dont even need to lift a finger to be millionairs.

[@theobserver4214]

Nass Lass Passionate nobodies that got the respect and money they deserved. Now they are whales

[@gabbyprincip1575]

Can't bother to update them either

[@hazzmati]

It's the sad reality we have to face. Valve never needs to make a single game ever again.

[@viridian6812]

A "before and after" thingy would fit better.

[@AdHocF1]

Funny to think that those features would never be of any real use in the game, since Gordon basically just runs through the game bashing all creatures without even thinking about it.

[@jcdenton2187]

Probably why HL2 doesn't have as many tiny little details like roach AI, Bullsquid smelling AI, and citizens commenting on smells.... With the possible exception of the last one, who's gonna notice either of the first two on a normal play through?

[@AdHocF1]

Maybe it’s supposed to be an immersion thing, where you don’t notice the mechanics of it, but all put together, it makes for a better player experience.

[@iodreamify]

Yeah, especially with speedrunners completing the game in ~30 mins. Entire map levels skipped not to mention such granular and complicated details.

[@kokosik21]

youre a fucking idiot if you think a gimmicky few lines of code in a decade year old game means a games company was ahead of their time. ohhh but portal 2 didnt have 'smell' ai (ai is not smelling anything by the way, just providing a preconfigured response to up to 3 potential objects) valve did much better in this old game that looks and controls like total shit, that has barerly any object categories by todays standards, a polycount and texture map so low resolution you can only really guess what youre looking at. dont live in the past you nostalgic loser

[@jax6943]

johnny cool Lol did you seriously just copy and paste your other comment?

[@215Days]

4:30 the Bullsquid tries to "bury" its meal for later, like a cat would, it's so cute!

[@murkotron]

This fact combined with the long sad meow sometimes upon their death makes me wonder...

[@Mrcryptidsarereal]

If you can find anything neat on the Gargantua or the Alien Grunt that would be awesome

[@slenderhatesmillennials195]

Well Alien Grunts eat dead corpses.... dunno about the Gargantua though.

[@geeworm]

Really Pissed Off Planet Earth Also applies for Alien Slaves.

[@slenderhatesmillennials195]

Really? Never saw that happen before.

[@geeworm]

Really Pissed Off Planet Earth In some room you could find 2 Alien slaves feeding off a scientist corpse.

[@czarnakoza9697]

Alien grunts observe vortigaunts

[@firedirt6128]

amazing how valve created such a amazing world with amazing ai. makes the world and creatures in it seem much more believable.

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

FireDirt nice clones though

[@firedirt6128]

wait what.

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

FireDirt all scientists have a couple dozen look alikes and don't get me started on the security guards

[@firedirt6128]

oh yeah. lol. that can break immersion.

[@IsmailofeRegime]

Funny how that works. In 1998 it was possible to give AIs the ability to smell and hear stuff, communicate with each other, and other things that astound us to this day, yet aliens look identical and Black Mesa employs clones.

[@CyberneticSheep]

*too bad valve wont continue looking for such small details now they never release hl3*

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

Supposedly.

[@enderzilla747orleomiranda8]

*Turns out Valve is taking so long to release HL3 because they're busy adding over a million citizen face models to make sure players never see the same face after many playthroughs* Edit: Sarcasm mode turned on in this comment.

[@liamschofield4435]

Suuuuuure they are

[@elshons1576]

Enderzilla747™ or Leo Miranda Who told you that? Lol

[@enderzilla747orleomiranda8]

*Sarcasm mode was activated on previous reply, please take note. Sarcasm mode off*

[@SirHorseLegs]

More Half-Life AI videos? Aw yeah.

[@Masterlegodude]

I wonder why they put all of these super subtle mechanics into Half Life, they're amazing, especially for the time that this game came out, but a lot these mechanics you wouldn't even notice in a regular playthrough

[@LordVader1094]

Because details mattered back then

[@snakeplissken111]

@@LordVader1094 I'd argue because they didn't consider the experience wholesale, rather. Unlike 1998's Thief or earlier System Shock (plus it's 1999 sequel). You might argue those are different genres. But equally, they're just far better VR/3DFPS experiences to this day. Half Life, at its core, is still kind of a fast-paced arcade shooter Quake clone running on heavily modified Quake tech. Shock, Thief and later on Deus Ex when incorporating better AI didn't do these as gimmicks -- but to actual promote the experience Half Life was only superficially touching on with gimmick AI that never mattered: That of an immersive, simulated 3d space. Looking Glass are the most undervalued and underrated developer of all time either way.

[@zorex.]

3:06 i really like that small detail where bullsquids jump in shock when suddenly attacked

[@rey.jazzzzy]

"Scents travel by air..." No, no, and no. Everybody knows scents travel on _wheels!_

[@RarefoilB]

Wonder if Valve looks at these videos and, like us, goes, "Ah, remember when we made games like these and put all this cool stuff in? Good times..."

[@gabbyprincip1575]

"Well..back to microtransactions"

[@antt2228]

Back to adding custom minecraft skins to csgo!

[@disaintnogame830]

RarefoilB well,back to never releasing original games and only add skins and make a card game instead of a overhyped never made "Epistle 3"!

[@IsmailofeRegime]

I bet if you asked the developer about the ability of bullsquids and humans to smell stuff, he wouldn't even remember putting it in.

[@TedThomasTT]

nah they're thinking "glad I'm still making games and not working for Valve anymore."

[@Feralbreed]

This is autism at it's finest, and perhaps the purest sample we've seen yet.

[@viridian6812]

And, potentially, the most unstable!

[@analanus3131]

HILARIOUS AND ORIGINAL.

[@MrRogerogerio]

I don't know how you could say that, although I will admit that the possibility of a resonance cascade scenario is extremely unlikely.

[@czarnakoza9697]

Plasma Dragoon likely*

[@MondySpartan]

@@MrRogerogerio Gordon doesn't need to hear all these, he's a highly trained professional! We've been shortly administered that nothing will go wrong.

[@shirosame7]

Coming back here after Cyberpunk 2077 disastrous AI... This fucking game is from 1998 mind you, 22 years old...

[@Maximus0451]

Smellovision for Half-Life when?

[@Arabesquian]

Maximus0451 People would start retching when they got to the waste processing level. Not me, man!

[@artificialintelligence8328]

I'm just curious what Xen would smell like...

[@delinard3401]

Bullsquid can be full? Nonesense

[@staryoshi06]

That's complete bullsquid ;)

[@jcdenton2187]

This is something I agree Half-Life 1 has over Half-Life 2: there are a lot of little touches and attention to detail to AI behaviour you will not find as much in Half-Life 2. Although Marphy has shown the seagull pooping on your car feature, which is a nice funny little detail. But I don't recall citizens commenting on smells, which is a really minor and such a small feature it doesn't much difference but still. Of course, this may kind of show why HL2 doesn't have as many tiny, random little touches like HL1 roach AI, Bullsquid smelling AI, and people commenting on smells; who the heck is gonna notice the first two on an average playthrough? At least the humans commenting on smells and the seagull crapping on your car are two things that you are likely to notice, but I *never* would have thought to see if a Bullsquid in the would be attracted to a dead body in the other room, or to see if the roaches took an interest in the gibs. That said, HL2 isn't totally lacking in little touches like that. I'd love to see Marphy take a look at the Combine Soldier AI, which is really a lot better than people give them credit for and their radio chatter is equally complex. It's just that the soldiers are fairly underpowered compared to the player thanks to game balance, and theyre slower than the HECUs were, and are so often put into map design that really limits their abilities, so they end up just dying too soon to really show off their AI. The best sections of the game for them is some of the coast levels and most of Nova Prospekt, where they actually are pretty competent and are the reason I think that's the best part of the game. The Episodes seemed to realize some of these issues and have better map design and improved their accuracy with the AR2, both of those go a long way to making them at least a little more challenging. Also, Hunter AI is great. And they are fast, and don't die too easily, but also can only shoot while standing still. The battles with them (except for the utterly frustrating final battle) remind me a lot of HECUs on steroids, though with their grenades and guns merged into one weapon sort of. Anyway, got a bit off topic but idc. It's really cool to see these little details put into the games even if they re something would you never notice on a normal playthrough. Eagerly awaiting the next video and hoping he does a few more on HL2 someday. :D

[@MrCantStopTheRobot]

I agree, the Hunter battles were the only time in HL2 that I felt the rush of HL1's HECU / Black Ops battles.

[@jcdenton2187]

@@MrCantStopTheRobot indeed. I like the Combine soldier battles but for different reasons- the combat is fluid and easy to enjoy, while HECUs and Hunters take up all your attention and are very fast and challenging in ways the Combine Soldiers arent quite.

[@yoshihammerbro435]

^_^

[@123coller]

Even a game AI made in 1998 is better than CyberPunk

[@geniuinetf2dude481]

I love how at 2:37 the bullsquid smells it instant

[@user-ec8cg1nx8x]

for the love of god never stop making half-life fact files even when there's nothing left just publish an empty file stretched for 5 minutes and i'll still watch it all through

[@bigboysdotcom745]

Definitely shows that HL2 is probably nowhere near as complete as they wanted it to be.

[@shaun5809]

Betas and leaks

[@DohTheEntertainer83]

@@shaun5809 That's not the reason why. Don't be stupid.

[@Gunslingerwashere]

Can I just take the time to admire this guys' series and how much effort he puts into watching these small details from a 1998 game, plus the added humor he puts in his videos?

[@HalfLifer81]

so glad that you are uploading again, your content is 10/10 all the time

[@joedoe1096]

These videos may not draw the biggest crowds, but your fans, myself included, really appreciate them. They're fascinating.

[@Antumarin]

Shame small details like these were never used in a clever way. I'm sure this could've been used in some sort of puzzle or stealth section.

[@forwardtsender8573]

Darn right. With all of these AI functions this game could have had amazing stealth/survival sections.

[@Antumarin]

Never uninstalled it. That being said I can't remember an instance in which I used stealth in Half-Life (unless you count sneaking up behind enemies so I can put a double barrel shotgun blast in their necks).

[@AdrianOkay]

Yes, in that part you could destroy mest carcass hanging on the ceiling to distract that very bullsquid

[@Antumarin]

True, but did you figure that out on your own or by watching Marphy's video? Because I sure didn't, I always rushed the bullsquid with guns blazing since that's the first thing you think once you see the scientist running away from it right in front of you. I'm not saying it's not in the game, nor that you can't use it. It's just that "small details like these were never used in a clever way". You're never taught these mechanics and you're never given a scenario in which you can use them to progress or just to mess with the AI.

[@AdrianOkay]

When i got the game in the old days i was a kid and i didn't knewd english, i placed the settings in hard thinking it was easy, and what happened? terrible aiming + buggy lap trackpad = 4 minutes to kill 1 hecu, i was literally playing half life at slowmo with a integrated gpu of the time, most of his videos are like, Oh, i knew it! for me

[@random_me666]

Hungry Pumkin: "I'm very hungry." "Give me the Bullsquid." (Gives Scientist) "No, I don't want that."

[@ghastler]

It's insane they went through the effort programming something like this and didn't use it for any puzzles or anything. It is just a small detail most normal players will never notice.

[@LmaoHeha]

Nearly 20 years and we still dont know all the features in hl1. Great video man :)

[@JacobHover]

Watching all your videos and still seeing stuff coming makes me experience this great sense of pride in gaming in last 3 or 4 years of gaming in the 90s. It blows my mind how much love and detail went into Half-Life. And although I remember reading about the whole 'enemies seek out smells' on the old big ass facesized PC box for HL it blew my mind when I discovered this. That and I always knew something was up with the roaches but never could place what it was until one of your other videos and I'll admit I never knew about the houndeye squads and dealing more damage but was always baffled at the insane amount of damage they could assumingly randomly do. Really enjoy your videos even though this is the first time I post on one, been watching for a long while now, think I shall finally sub too.

[@theobserver4214]

0:52 I always thought that was a random line they spoke. There should be a tiny mod basically simulating feeding your own creatures from XEN, sorta like tamagotchi except more fun

[@thatoneguy2023]

I got the notification when I was watching a half life related video

[@viridian6812]

I got the notification when I was eating.

[@szewuncio]

00:52 Guard: "Uh, what's that stench?" Author: "There's a dead body behind you, like, right there. It's body of a zombie you just killed, dude."

[@masscreationbroadcasts]

I always enjoy seeing new Half Geo Wild entries.

[@AbedAlkadder]

2:00 headcrab: oh hey bullsqu- Bullsauid: *Y E E T*

[@calebgresch9604]

Ah yes, the bullsauid, my favorite of the half-life enemies.

[@joman66]

The features that are broken in Half Life 1, do you actually go into the game files and fix them for the purpose of this video? (The broken features are my favorite part of your videos!)

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

I fixed and/or restored any cut or broken features that are shown in these videos.

[@nathanielpatasky2623]

MarphitimusBlackimus Do you ever plan on releasing a mod that compiles all of this stuff together?

[@AmBush2048]

The Vox dialogue is defined by the func door itself. I don't think it's possible to change them.

[@Tamamo-no-Bae]

I'd like this a lot.

[@MrCantStopTheRobot]

Is it a relatively simple fix or does it require a high level of coding / comp sci experience?

[@helloimziad7406]

It's crazy how an old game from 1999 has this much detail in it.

[@cupcakethesabertooth6802]

1:44 "dude, something died down here.." **standing right next to a dead headcrab**

[@AC3electrosphere]

1:11 Scientist: "I believe something smells quite foul here." Gordon: *looks at the body* "What? You mean that thing?" Scientist: *nods*

[@TamiyaGuy123]

Genuinely, I find every single one of the "Half-Life Fact Files" videos utterly fascinating. I'm curious, though - How do you actually find these things out in the first place? Do you just sift through files until you find something that looks intriguing? I can't imagine that anyone would even _notice_ as subtle a thing as _smell AI_, let alone go to the lengths that you have to understand and document it. I am very, very glad that you have, though. Excellent stuff, as always.

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

Focusing solely on one specific area such as just Bullsquid behavior or just Vortigaunt behavior makes it easy to see the connected systems that are working together. Even looking into one errant in-game aspect such as the Bullsquid's "sniff" animation can lead to a lot of discovery as to how and why such a thing was implemented.

[@TamiyaGuy123]

All I can say is that I am very glad that you have such a fine attention for detail, and that you've given due respect to a game that, as your videos show, was far ahead of its time.

[@ShinoSarna]

Honestly, I wish Half-Life's level design better incorporated this kinda stuff. Imagine potential this kinda thing would have e.g. for puzzle challenges, or something like that.

[@supersnow17]

No wonder Half Life 3 is taking forever, they're adding in tiny details like this into that massive game.

[@HungryHunter]

Half Life 3 baced on dwarf fortress code or what?

[@ebinmenes1698]

I dont think they are working on hl3 and i dont believe it will ever come out

[@rx-0gundam393]

I HOPED you're actually right.

[@XenoSpyro]

It's neat that one monster can sniff out dead things, but I remember this game being advertised somewhere with "monsters can track you by smell". This clearly never happens.

[@ZeranZeran]

The smell thing at 2:40 is better designed than some of the features in many of today's games. Wow.

[@KEZAEIV]

a game that is almost 2 decades old still impress and win over new games. it sure is the best game ever made

[@Zelousmarineinspace]

Well Well Well. Just finished the newest one of these, and then THIS uploads immediately. Cool stuff mate. Are you Spying on me?

[@garikm24]

2:00 "I like ya cut G" - Bullsquid

[@coondogtheman]

2:49 Bullsquid As Homer Simpson: Mmmmmmmm Crowbarred headcrab (drools)

[@user86s]

when hl 1 ai is way more better then cyberpunk 2077 ai

[@ilikekittycats]

they don't even have details like this in most modern games today. it really goes to show how hard the valve team worked.

[@MikeForce111]

19 years later, this late 90's game is STILL unraveling hidden features. HL for LIFE.

[@sg5811]

Superb editing makes even the most minute trivia totally engrossing, subbed for quality content

[@frydemwingz]

I remember reading on the game box that aliens can track you by smell, but I thought it was just a marketing thing.

[@forwardtsender8573]

I remember as well.

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

Nothing in the game actually supports aliens being able to follow living characters by smell, so those marketing lines were likely in reference to lofty planned features that were never realized. It's possible that the smell feature demonstrated here was meant to be the beginning of such a larger scent tracking system, not too dissimilar to how Bullsquids smell and track food from areas that are blocked or occluded, but that's only speculation.

[@TheTriforcebearer]

Of all days. I decided to pick today to play with the public alpha leak again. Was reminded of your videos so I decided to have a re-watch. And you just made one yesterday. I had no idea you were still making these! Really glad you are! It's a wonderful series

[@evilarctictech5970]

"When filming this movie, not one of the headcrabs was hurt"

[@0mikr0n]

I love that you're still doing this. You're in my top five favorite subs on KZbin.

[@TheGuardianTM]

Now I understand why Half-Life 1 have been voted as game of year so many times, this game has so many details, but none have seen them yet, yet, this game is still full of codes and suprises. I wonder if Valve did something similar to HL2 tho. Good video bro.

[@commenter_HIMIK-MAN]

So... They hear smells? Do they also taste colors?

[@Velmi_r]

but what do they SEE?

[@connorvaughn7968]

The scientists have always commented on smell. Hell, even to this day when I play through the game they will say "Do you smell that?" Or after you launch a rocket or throw a grenade they will say "Do you smell something burning?"

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

Those are random generic idle lines that are unrelated to the smell system. Scientist smelling is broken as an oversight in their code means they ignore scents, even though they're properly coded to try to smell.

[@micharespondek1172]

So much attention to detail, and nobody but the most dedicated fans and very observant people will notice. With this level of care and commitment no wonder Half-Life is one of the top FPSs ever. Reminds me also of the old Crowbcat’s video on Dead Rising. That game also had such moments. A zombie game of all things has more care put into it than most big titles nowadays.

[@0sac]

When its 5am and you're watching a video on stinky things in Half-Life 1....

[@davidnewhart2533]

They look more like Cuttlefish now that I think about it.

[@Kechioma]

The AI in this game is more advanced then the AI in GTA V.

[@MajorT0m]

My grandfather was a headcrab in the original half life and would have loved this video.

[@arandom8297]

I did not know that Valve modified the Quake engine by adding so many details in just one year

[@analanus3131]

More than that, actually.

[@madnessman1490]

*no headcrabs were harmed during the making of this video*

[@AWsounds]

"Corpses only stink for 30 seconds." Oh.

[@SaltyPeanut]

Geez the effort put in to this game is astounding! So is this video! Nice job!

[@sobaque42]

HEEY! That smells pretty good!

[@azkieel5323]

God. This series is good. I never did notice some of these when playing of course, because of the fast-paced combat. Thanks!

[@andhieyusuf7008]

And all these years I thought the smell comments are random...

[@JerryKid72]

I love you, I love your videos. one thing i would like to see is a simplified animated AI sequence tree slapped on the screen being updated live as the enemies act out.

[@mockz2327]

I jizz my pants when MarphitimusBlackimus uploads a video

[@meat8064]

The more videos you upload the more impressed I become with Half-Life's advanced systems. This game was revolutionary for its time, and in more ways than you would think.

[@oddfellow8186]

These videos on the Xen creatures kinda make me want a Zoo-Tycoon type game where you look after Xen aliens...heh...perhaps once most Earth animals were killed off or replaced by alien wildlife, the Union decided to open up alien zoos to keep the population happy?

[@analanus3131]

Why would they want to make the population happy?

[@oddfellow8186]

To try and stop revolts and win people over? I dunno o3o

[@analanus3131]

Because the Combine doesn't even try to make people happy, there was the Manhack Arcade, but that was cut, i mean, Metrocops beat up Citizens for fun.

[@oddfellow8186]

Yes, but Metrocops are a separate entity from the Universal Union, as they're still human and often mistreat other people simply because they can and not because they have orders to do so. While the Manhack Arcade was cut, I still think that the mere fact it was suggested (and at one point a part of the game) shows that the Universal Union tried to keep the population docile enough and occupied for a peaceful assimilation following the seven hour war.

[@Shoxic666]

The Bullsquid is a near perfect creature in gaming and I want a Bullsquid sim.

[@ReverendPuffin]

The amount of AI on show is amazing, How many uncovered topics do you think are left from HL Marphy?

[@MarphitimusBlackimus]

There are many aspects left to cover over multiple games.

[@ReverendPuffin]

Well that makes me excited for more of your excellent videos in the future. I've played Half-Life since it came out and every fact video you make makes me appreciate it a little more! Also what do you think of the new G-Man audio lines which were discovered earlier this week? Hopefully there's more out there.

[@CommanderTK9091]

This game was a marvel for its time. Graphics were incredible, AI was very solid, and al the small details were impeccable.

[@RysisYeenStreams]

Shame all the small details like this were left out of half life 2

[@Blazik3n99]

This game is so insanely detailed. It's crazy how much stuff there is that would just go unnoticed by the vast majority of players.

[@lefleiner3408]

If we pick a non-helmet conception (and even Laidlaw told us that helmet is canon and not canon at the same time: it only depends on player's likings, so calm down) then Gordon should smell like... a lot. A fucking lot. Covered with blood, well, anything that can go out of creature's stomach from a shotgun blast (yeah, even some "disturbing" things aswell), in sweat (drug administration system probably has it's own scent), later he will be covered in toxic deadly sludge, in shit and garbage from the waste recycling complex and etc. I think once you met a bullsquid, or any other hunter-like creature, they probably will chase you after that smell they encounteted at the first place. HGrunts, being masked, probably can't afford such feauture, but it would be funny if beret had this opportunity. Also they probably should have this checking where noise is coming from, like black ops assassins. Would be interesting to see Half-Life with all of it's cut/broken features restored.

[@Lysimachus]

Always a smile on my face whenever this channel has updated.