Why Everyone Loves the Half-Life 2 Beta

The Half-Life 2 Beta still fascinates people 20 years later, but why? Watch the video to find out.
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Thumbnail by ‪@Jauntyweb‬

[@ichundes]

Great video. That photo is me in ~2015. Back in 2003 I didn't plan to steal the game. I remember being hyped from the first HL2 ad and when the website was up I decided to look for some more information that might have been accidentally left on the servers. Instead I stumbled across a huge security hole that was trivial to use, basically multiple accounts with empty passwords, and I just couldn't resist. It was wrong to steal and share the development files and I do regret it, though I do enjoy this kind of content because of its historic value. A big reason for the mild sentence was that the German justice system's goal isn't punishment, the focus is on rehabilitation. The judge saw that I changed my life, I got a job, moved into my own place and didn't break any laws in the 3 years it took until sentencing.

[@heythatsprettygood6492]

the real Axel Gembe

[@mrdabrow]

I didn't know you have an account on youtube

[@foxdancemedia]

the man himself

[@kisielthe1st]

hol up

[@pogobod2128]

sorry to hear you got backstabbed by gabe newell lol, his favorite class really is the spy

[@silberner3848]

Im shocked there is no proper Half Life 2 beta fangame. The potential for a gritty dieselpunk setting in the Half Life universe is boundless.

[@Alb_]

Did you try raising the bar redux or dark interval?

[@user-sv6hv6ym1d]

There may not be many HL2 beta inspired games because of Valve, of how shy they are when some new big thing relates to the leak. I heard Valve were throwing cease-and-desist letters at such projects. It's a shame, i know.

[@Halo1138]

Raising the Bar Redux is one you should definitely look into.

[@yamstree2454]

there are like at least 20 playable mods

[@Kubaadamiec]

All hl2 beta mods are UNFINISHED and will never be, Execpt one, Beta Minimalist mod

[@AJSCATMAN]

It’s ironic how in the finished build, in the final chapter - Gordon Freeman, the man responsible for all the trouble the combine are facing - essentially delivers himself to Dr. Breen by taking the prisoner transport akin to how Gembe himself delivers himself to Valve.

[@seronymus]

I think Valve should hired Alex. He clearly loved the games sincerely and they just decide they want such talent in prison ?

[@lore9828]

​​​@@seronymus he probably was very disliked at valve at the moment, not only by the directives by the employees too, I guess hiring him would have brought a lot of backlash, because well software companies around the world use hackers to test their security so maybe if he told valve directly that he managed to breach into their network, and didn't leak half life 2, he would have been hired (or at least paid)

[@joshmayo659]

DEEP. LORE.

[@seronymus]

@@joshmayo659 WEED.SOLDIER.

[@tylerdotapp]

@@lore9828 honestly he is very lucky he didn’t get to go to the “Valve interview” especially with all the factors combined

[@nicegiraffe9375]

About the mysterious "hazard01" map: If I recall correctly the map was constructed by Mark Laidlaw as a test in order to see if surreal horror would fit within Half-Life 2. Also as a bonus fun fact: one of the ghostly Gman textures seen in the map can also be seen on malfunctioning breencast screens within the Retail game.

[@3333218]

It was also supposed to be the HL2 equivalent of the HL1 Hazzard Course; showing Gordon during his stasis having all kinds of hallucinations before finally being given a job by the G-Man.

[@OpenMawProductions]

@@3333218 burple 4 .29. 7 61. Autodidactic Insertion.

[@eldorado3523]

it really doesn't matter, people are always more fascinated by what could have been than what they have. If it was the other way around people would be fascinated by the HL2 we got

[@3333218]

Partially true. I'm personally enamored with a lot of content from the late 2003 Beta that was nearly finished but dropped for a myriad of reasons. What they chose to keep and what they chose to finish it's something I can't agree with at times.

[@WTFHAX93]

Resident Evil 2 is a very interesting case of that. [VERY LONG ESSAY WARNING] The original 1996/1997 build that we currently know as Resident Evil 1.5 is so vastly different from the final game. I myself was very interested in it ever since I was a kid and saw some screenshots of it in an old gaming magazine (the first one would be the RPD Lobby with the damaged shutter and zombies crawling under it, the other one was Elza at the part of Umbrella factory with zombie dogs, and yet another one was Leon being mauled by a zombie gorilla in the R.P.D. parking lot). Then, years later, the 40% build was actually leaked and we could finally see what the game could've been in higher detail. This was big. I actually prefer the atmosphere from that prototype over the one from the final game, it felt a bit more realistic, the police station was an actual police station for once, and not a re-purposed museum, the Umbrella factory was hella creepy with all those dead bodies just lying around near the entrance, Birkin's original mutated form was more grotesque (and he could even clearly call his daughter's name still), and the lab was a part of the game that changed the least (hell, the final game even re-uses one of 1.5's tracks for its special room). The zombies were absolute bullet sponges (only if you fought them with a normal handgun), and because the models were using less polygons, they could put really big groups of them in one room. It was possible to bisect them by closing shutters onto them. They could also climb and jump off ledges. Some cut monsters were actually very nice concepts, like the Man-Spider (1.5's kind of an equivalent of the Chimera from the original RE, but more spider-y), or zombie gorillas (they had two versions of those, the smaller, darker ones were supposed to be late game regular mobs, while the larger, light brown ones were early sub-boss territory). A mutant called Golgotha, could've sealed Wesker's fate as remaining dead after the first game: in one of its concept arts it had Wesker's face at the end of its tail. The monster was planned to be the final boss of the game very early on, but probably got integrated into one of Birkin's later forms. Zombie dogs in some of the early builds were based on German Shepherds instead of Dobermans (which makes more sense for a K-9 police unit). Side characters that died off very early in the final game had a much larger role in the prototype: Robert Kendo, known as John in 1.5, was one of the supporting characters for Elza - Claire's prototype, the other one still being Sherry, and Marvin was a supporting character for Leon, alongside Ada. Speaking of Leon, his prototype name was Grant Bitman (it was changed to Leon S. Kennedy very early on), and he was supposed to be friends with RE1's Forest Speyer and Joseph Frost (or at least know them, there's an early artwork of Leon, Forest, Joseph and another officer named Roy, which actually shares the role of Marvin from the final game in the prototype). Leon was also shown to be a smoker, just like Chris (that's why he has a lighter as one of his starting items in the final game), and having a Bloodhound. He was also already in the force for quite some time, instead of him having his first day on the job as the outbreak was already happening. Chief Irons had a smaller role, but he was a good guy instead of the creep he got to be in the final game. Ben was not an existing character, but John shared one of his story bits, which was being locked up in a cell for safety. Roy was supposed to give Elza a key to his cell, and they would come back for Roy, but he was already midway through turning into a zombie by the time John got to him (that concept was later re-used in RE3, as one of two ways Murphy Seeker could die, where he would beg Carlos to kill him before he turns). Annette was at one point planned to also mutate with the G-Virus, but there's only a single concept art of that. Leon and Elza had multiple textures for how badly damaged they were (this was used instead of the characters limping in Caution and Danger conditions in the final game). They also had two types of armor they could put on, first one being an R.P.D. armor, second one being an Umbrella-made armor, and all of those also had multiple damage intensity versions. Hand grenades were a thing in 1.5 (most probably for Leon, since Elza could get ahold of a Grenade Launcher, just like Claire would), which also had the Explosive, Incendiary and Acid variants. One of the prototype's shotguns - the SPAS-12, carried over to the first Dino Crisis game, as its icon was used for Regina's fully customized Shotgun. Tyrants were nowhere to be seen in 1.5. Only after the game was scrapped and re-made into what we have now, there were some concept arts for different versions of Mr X. There's lots of footage from this prototype, some from before it was leaked, but now most of it is from post-leak builds that modders have made much more playable.

[@3333218]

@@WTFHAX93 Awesome essay!

[@serojachef465]

we have nothing, what you are talking about

[@Razumen]

Yep, because our imaginations always make out what something COULD be, much better than it ever WOULD be in reality. Like, some of the cut content here is interesting, like the maps, but most of the rest is just kinda that's cool I guess to meh. HL2 doesn't need a bazillion guns, especially if they're just modern guns shoehorned in. Whatever made Valve change their mind about the direction of the game may be, the decision was a good one.

[@melc311]

The thing about the HL2 beta is that it was just a very rough collection of ideas and concepts that Valve was experimenting with at the time. It is very easy for people to fill in the blanks and imagine the HL2 beta to be anything that they want it to be.

[@Duckingheights]

Context is crucial to interpretation, and so with no to little or not enough context people can interpret things from the creators that may not match the creator's intent.

[@mwezi4193]

not really, they outlined the entire game and it's progression, had most of the story figured out and had it pretty much 15-20% finished. this is kind of a blatant lie

[@jessh4016]

​@@mwezi4193 Having a basic outline, an idea of the story, and just starting on production is like, the definition of "very rough collection of ideas and concepts". Also, one of the maps was made to see if horror would fit in the game. Again, that's the definition of "collection of ideas"

[@tommysalami420]

@@jessh4016 Horror does fit the series they expanded on that in half life alex.

[@InvictusMatrix]

​@@tommysalami420 Remember Ravenholm?

[@planescaped]

I know Valve were very upset about the leak... but history has proven it to have been a massive positive. Having such a vivid window into a version of such an iconic and historic game that otherwise would never have seen the light of day is frankly, invaluable, and a big part of HL2's legacy now.

[@3333218]

I frankly doubt I'd care as much about the game if it wasn't possible to study how it's conception evolved. I believe I'm not the only one.

[@victorkreig6089]

Valve is everything people pretend Bethesda is, a company that basically only exists because of shady practices and their mod community doing all the leg work for them.

[@0bzen22]

Nah not positive. Unless you mean video game companies now getting paranoid. Valve took a huuuuge hit. The leak cheapened the final product, and damaged Valve's image. The way Valve reacted turned a lot of people off as well. They recovered all right, they were about to go nuclear, with Steam, CS2, Team Fortress, and HL2. Valve's golden age, despite the leak, not because of it.

[@Razumen]

@@victorkreig6089 What shady practices lol, you're just spouting BS

[@davidreith2663]

@@Razumen steams drm for one

[@flareonguy7922]

I can't believe he didn't mention that the cremator at one point was planned to be in Half Life: Alyx, even has concept art that was released with The Final Hours of Half Life: Alyx.

[@3333218]

I have a feeling it got cut from HLA because it probably felt out of place and hard to position it inside the current Canon and Lore, even with the introduction of some adjustments to them. Also it seems they opted for the quarantine zone squads instead.

[@flareonguy7922]

@@3333218 Or maybe they didn't want to figure out how the immolator/flamethrower should be done. Just thinking about it feels unfair and unfun to play against in VR. Also Valve has a bad history with flamethrowers, it took them 10 years to get pyro's flamethrower to be semi consistent in TF2.

[@3333218]

@@flareonguy7922 We don't really know if the Immolator was gonna be a regular flamethrower or not. There's a good amount of evidence suggesting otherwise. The leak version of it was broken as well as the cremator npc itself. We also don't know which revision version of the Immolator is the one found in the leak. There's information that the process of setting things on fire with the Immolator would involve some kind of green gas that was either tossed as a grenade or projected from the weapon itself and then the Immolator would only be a recycled and reworked HL1 Gluon Gun with some electric sparkles coming out of the blueish plasma. It's possible the plasma balls from the AR2 evolved from that concept as well. So I can only imagine that in HLA it would have been something entirely different.

[@Robotic_Individual]

You know what you were doing Richter. Don't try to hide it.

[@variegatus4674]

@The guy is something very epic. First to say that *nobody cares whatsoever*!

[@ExtraQuestionableContent]

We all know why we clicked...

[@berthamcdurtha8554]

you are going to horny jail

[@izrrr4785]

He put the forgis on the jeep 😞

[@TheBETTERVModel]

Let him cook…

[@aruan7sp]

Same reason why I like HL1 Alpha, it looks like a completely different game. It's fascinating to see how it evolved into what we got on the final version and some of the things I wish they didn't remove.

[@dkskcjfjswwwwwws413]

hl1 alpha was bad though, through and through

[@ratpilled]

yea it was a little too friendly imo though

[@deepflare1028]

@@ratpilled I like how the HL1 beta was supposed to be this over the top goofy game while 2 was supposed to be much darker

[@-Zakhiel-]

@@deepflare1028 If by much darker, you mean "generic edgy dark stuff from the early 2000s" then yes. We were overflowed in the early 2000s by games were the protagonist is "so dark and so cool man!". The setting of retail HL2 is I think way better than what the early beta was. It's more realistic, less over the top. And there is no generic "we have to take down the evil air exchange generator and kill the bad guy and we win!". In HL2, the earth is fucked. No matter what it's a losing battle. The Ocean is fucked, there is Xen creatures in nature, humanity has lost, and the Combine don't realy even care about the place (you fight only augmented humans and alien slaves/warmachines). The combine could return at anytime and just oblitirate what's left if they wanted to, they have quasi infinite ressources, we don't. That's way darker than the beta version.

[@erosthespy]

​@@-Zakhiel- I'm pretty sure the Earth is almost just, if not already in the process, as fucked in the beta. The skies in retail aren't blackened and polluted to utter shit where the air is *actually* unbreathable and wastelands are already prominent in several levels which indicate the major drainage of many resources and oceans. Also, Xen creatures in nature? I'm confused as to which creatures you might be talking about. Antlions and the occasional Icthysaur are bad but not to the extent where there are massive Gargantua harassing city trains out in the wastes alongside Bullsquids and Houndeyes residing in the city gutters.

[@lgm4742]

It‘s surreal hearing one of the biggest leaks in gaming history being done by someone from your area. Great video as always!

[@NigerianCrusader]

You don’t sound german you sound like one of those americans

[@Mgm1244]

@@NigerianCrusaderwho are you tell someone what country they live/lived in

[@NigerianCrusader]

eh just vote donald trump since your probally an american dont vote mean joe biden@@Mgm1244

[@history_moose]

@@NigerianCrusaderwho are you to call him american when your name is literally nigeriancrusader

[@lml-mike]

I remember downloading in 2003 the leaked files and loading manually all the maps to be baffled about how good the source engine was, I was a minor. This leak convinced me to buy the half-life 2 gold pack without any hesitation (the most expensive one) at day launch, while at my young age and without the leak I would have never ever considered this investment.

[@sovo1212]

And this is essentially why that "250 million losses" figure or the "embarrassment" that Valve suffered is just BS. It was just a funny, amusing thing that happened back then, and didn't bring any consequences.

[@imembridibuddha]

@@sovo1212 You sure about this? Gaming leaks can be pretty damaging to companies in general,

[@sovo1212]

@@imembridibuddha Just think about it, there was no actual harm to the company nor the product. No one could (legally) do anything with the code. If anything, it served as free publicity. Valve without a doubt used the leak to victimize itself. HL2 still went on to be a massive success. Many other leaks were also irrelevant and didn't affect the companies at all. The most recent case was Tears Of The Kingdom, where the full game was leaked 10 days before the official launch date. It was perfectly playable either on a PC or a hacked Switch, but it still enjoyed record sales. Source code leaks are indeed great for game preservation, to me is nothing but good news every time they take place.

[@ShadowSumac]

@@sovo1212 I'd argue that it is not as great as you say. Not only it hits morale of developers, but its also hits company reputation.

[@cihloun]

10:27 RICHTER GOT TOO SILLY

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

It true though

[@pootis388]

hes not wrong tbh

[@EvilIceCream333]

​@@pootis388 ...it's a jumpsuit. With a jacket over it.. How the hell is just seeing someone's basic human figure with no skin showing automatically sexual?

[@pootis388]

@@EvilIceCream333 idk 💀

[@realcopoolman]

​@@EvilIceCream333shut up nerd

[@waterbears9874]

i love dark and gritty feels and looks too, but i feel like people nowadays are a little too obsessed with the idea of "dark and gritty" and as cool as the hl2 beta looks im not sure if it would be nearly as iconic of a game with that look, plus i feel hl2's actual look sells the depressing dystopian feel better, doesnt feel as over the top dark as the hl2 beta (which still looks cool again but yknow)

[@battedbook5811]

Yeah. The Beta was almost on warhammer 40k levels on how dark it was, like child slavery and manhack arcade. Retail is a lot more subtle about it, like how it never tells you out loud that there are no more children, it just says that human can't currently reproduce.

[@luka9967]

i agree, simply having no children anywhere, finding dolls and toys in a bad condition, walking by an empty, rundown playground whilst hearing the faint laughs and screams of children that would play here is in my opinion far better than "LOOK, THE CHILDREN ARE ALL SLAVES, ISN'T THIS SO DARK AND DYSTOPIAN LITERALLY 1984"

[@justpassingby298]

Dark and gritty is perhaps the worst key word that has circulated, along with souls like. It seems like because it was darker, that means it's totally better. and there's absolutely no good reason why valve didn't make the game with that aesthetic

[@Ze_eT]

@@justpassingby298 I especially hate how many people claim it was "more mature" just because it was darker. Just because dark and gritty stuff is used does not make it more mature, in fact, some of the "gritty" stuff made it more silly in my opinion. The manhack arcade is ridiculous in concept when you think about it beyond "oh my god, the citizens... they are killing each other! :OOO", for example.

[@yeahbuthow2005]

Why do you hate Warhammer 40k?!

[@mrrylen]

I did a college marketing final in 2003 on the totality of half life 2 at the time. It was in a mini documentary about the development of Valve, and it's games, successes and failures, and focused almost entirely on Half Life 2. It was about the development, released content, and the, at the time, NEW story about how all the source code had been leaked and hacked. One thing that I noticed in this video was he never talked about a lot of sub-engines that were ripped for HL2. The program that is still in use today is basically scripting sounds and syllabus from text, the program generates mouth movement at amazing speed and realism without the need or data space of manually scripting mouth movements for characters, whether in game, cut scene etc. It was MONUMENTAL to the gaming world, as how many us remember the days when just audio was cool and animated character movement was cool? NO MOUTH movement, as it was too time consuming and took too much space in the game. JUST one of the MANY things that spawned from HL2 that ultimately changed the entire gaming world. Truly a "Goldeneye of its time!"

[@IxodesPersulcatus]

I gotta admit, I prefer the release version of the Combine aesthetic. Completely uncaring and brutally efficient, without any fanfare. More and more unnerving the longer you think about it.

[@erikpng]

Yes. And it's not so in your face dark as opposed to the beta.

[@thedeviousduck8027]

I agree, the final aesthetic of the game gives a very surreal experience. the world feels off, withered, mechanical, like everything is mostly the same, but the trees are dead now, most of the animals are gone, and metal has begun to grow upon the buildings.

[@nicebruv6560]

I know there's a slight chance someone has mentioned this deep in the comment section (credits to him or her), but the bullsquids and houndeyes are still in the game. They just don't show up to fight Gordon.

[@BabzaiWWP]

where

[@topbadgun]

@@BabzaiWWPcut off content but still remain some file and animation in folders. Later moder use those in BlackMesa.

[@puzzlepuddles6712]

@@BabzaiWWP during the teleportation sequence in red letter day, there's a split second part where you're sunken in water and a bullsquid charging at you (the model is a little different if i remember but it still is what the bullsquid was reworked into)

[@unknowngamedev909]

@@puzzlepuddles6712 that is the big xen shark from hl1

[@The_Endless_Now]

@@puzzlepuddles6712 Yeah that Ichthyosaur's actually present in the first game, it's a separate species from the Bullsquid (and also has no squid-like features)

[@m.c.squawk708]

The free TVs map is present in the leak under city_test09 for anyone that would like to see it for themselves. There are however, no cutscene scripts present

[@ShadowSumac]

There is whole series of City Test maps, which were for "Get Your Free Tv!". Sadly all of them are empty, but waking around them is cool.

[@jkm4505]

Every few months I have this "Half-Life 2 Beta" nerd moment where I rewatch every video about it intensively and think how incredible but also bad it would have been - the beta is something that in 2023+ could look and feel absolutely awesome, considering how you can have incredibly great foggy aesthetics nowadays

[@3333218]

Same!

[@JoysGameRoom]

I do the same thing lol, I adore the HL2 Beta and every now and again I'll go all in again, haha

[@ShadowSumac]

I just launch HL2B and walk around some City 17 and few other maps.

[@NoNameTaken117]

I do need to remind people that Valve didn't scrap the beta because of the beta leak, in fact they scrapped the beta sometime ago before the leak because playtesters were bored. So Valve intended to scrap the beta, it's just that guy who leaked it got really lucky.

[@victorkreig6089]

Make whatever excuses you want

[@NoNameTaken117]

@@victorkreig6089 What excuses?

[@thatgothcat]

@@victorkreig6089 Nope he’s right.

[@imembridibuddha]

@@victorkreig6089 He's right, the 2003 leak was more reminiscent of the 1.0 version than the darker industrial-themed alpha build.

[@tommysalami420]

Damn the original leaker lost the best opportunity imaginable. Had he not shared with friends initially and just went straight to valve like hey you have a security issue, no doubt he would have gotten a job. Man got screwed by his friends

[@DefinitelyNotAMachineCultist]

Most individual people trying to keep a secret (of any kind) get screwed less because someone cracks their privacy (like this dude did to Valve), and more because they feel an insatiable attention-whoring urge to yap about it to every person who will care enough to listen. There's probably a list of gov bigwigs that screwed their gov by yapping about important details to family members for no reason.

[@Jayy997]

Finding a vulnerability on a website doesn't make a company want to hire you to make games... what kind of logic is that?

[@tommysalami420]

@@Jayy997 Ummm they don't hire you to make games they hire you to help with security. There is no bigger powermove an IT security person can use on a resume than I found a vulnerability that will cost you millions. Hire me and I'll fix it for you. That makes a solid form of both trust and respect as he was able to exploit their system but instead of instantly abusing the data he first goes to the company and honestly tells them everything.

[@BobTheMartin]

The ammount of content Valve creates and we might never see it is astonishing. Just imagine all the things they made in the last decade before Alyx.

[@victorkreig6089]

Valve doesn't make anything, they spitball and then throw it into the trash afterwards

[@bennyreda9415]

@@victorkreig6089 Wrong lol

[@victorkreig6089]

@@bennyreda9415 cope harder nerd

[@ShadowSumac]

@@victorkreig6089 Wrong.

[@mr.checkmate2856]

I feel like a large part of the reason Half Life 2's so intriguing to so many people is simply because of the atmosphere alone. Its atmosphere is one of if not the best in media I've seen. Almost nothing comes close to it. It's eerie, nostalgic, depressing, and relaxing all at once. The beta is just that but even more mysterious. I wish we could have a HL3, something that may very well never come. But those first 2 games and Alyx are ones that will forever live on as some of the best, most influential games over the last few decades.

[@CanadianCat64]

idk if youve seen the ending to hl alyx so i wont actually say anything but its ending basically confirmed hl3 is at least in the works

[@henryfleischer404]

@@CanadianCat64 It's been in the works since Episode 2 came out.

[@victorkreig6089]

It's really not anywhere near that profound It just has REALLY tight controls and an amazing soundtrack. The actual FPS design itself is paltry compared to the first game and the story isn't all that great either, atmosphere is pretty empty as well a lot of which comes from the story being way too rushed in it's pace

[@slick2500]

@@henryfleischer404 I wonder what ever happened to Episode 3.

[@TheSoleDweller]

@@slick2500 Haha!

[@Plutonia001]

I think the coolest concept of the HL2 betas was the idea that the Citadel is alive. Originally the Citadel was supposed to be this strange infiltration unit that tries to make itself relatable to the society it infiltrates, without really understanding the subtleties of such an act. And because City 17 is in a former Soviet Union region, that meant a lot of blending of architectures. So, you could have commie blocks, new glass box offices, neoclassical buildings and even gothic architecture. All of those separate styles would "bleed" into the Citadel and cause it to form itself to resemble the things around it. So, you'd have this gigantic skyscraper growing out of the center of a city, with a Frankenstein's Monster blend of romanesque pillars, engraved facades, keystoned archways, stained glass windows and badly sculpted gothic gargoyle statues.

[@Pearl-Slug]

I think part of the appeal of cut content is because it so easily fuels what-if scenarios in one's head about the game that could have been. Also, unlike books or movies or TV shows, a video game's unused ideas are usually pretty accessible with some digging, even without massive leaks like HL2's. The amount of unused content that just gets left in games when they ship is truly astonishing at times. Once a fan developed game tools for Bloodborne (my favorite game of all time, second being HL2 itself), a staggering amount of cut content was uncovered for that game, and to this day, I think it's really interesting to imagine a version of the game where you started in Hemwick, sat in chairs instead of lighting lanterns, all the switched around bosses, and so on and so on!

[@mrattapuss]

i think part of the allure is all the pieces left behind. beta geometry in the first train station map, strange map transitions which make sense if you slot beta maps back in, the fact that funny gman sighting and the ravenholm docks actually fit into the retail maps

[@bigblue344]

cut content being left behind in retail is common but with the beta being an almost completely different game it really feels like an alternate universe leaking in.

[@mrattapuss]

@@bigblue344 absolutely. there's a wonderful video where someone pieces back together what d2_coast_06 was. i wish i could still find it

[@industriastroll3177]

14:15 We have the map, we just don't have the citizen model & apparently it was nuked from the repo on accident in 2005. So, yeah.

[@scarletcrusader5431]

I remember when I first REALLY got invested in Half Life and its lore I absolutely fell in LOVE the beta. I'm a huge nerd for Half Life and finding the Beta and its content was my white whale. I loved exploring every nook and cranny of every map retail and beta while reading up on anything I could get my hands on. I love the HL2 Beta because it has a special place in my heart, i'll always be fascinated by it and i'm always finding something new.

[@3333218]

Damn you gave me the perfect metaphor for how I feel about this topic. It's "my White Whale"! Thank you!

[@Salack34157]

I actually feel bad for what Axel had to go through and that everything he caused was an accident

[@thegameranch5935]

Agreed, but 200 million is crazy lol

[@gdtyra]

Me too, and the fake interview plan is so nasty. I didn't think Gabe/valve would be so harsh on someone so young, especially after they reveal themselves and feel guilty. I don't know what the "hack" was exactly but there's no reason he should have been able to get into the network if it was secured properly. If a hacker managed to get Google account identities and activity history, I think we would blame Google for allowing it to happen much more than the hacker. Security best practices weren't as well understood back then I'm sure, but still.

[@pricelessppp]

Our government is evil.

[@jebalitabb8228]

@@gdtyraif you lost 200 million+ I’m sure you’d be just as nasty lol

[@victorkreig6089]

@@gdtyra Valve an Gabe in particular aren't good people, I don't get where the idea that they are even came from and it's really weird just how wide spread that perception is despite there not being anything to even lend to it's credibility of being true. To this day everyone forgets that Valve destroyed Troika Games

[@lambdaspecialist_source]

Yes I always noticed that the HL2 box art features the terminal from beta

[@FrankCf44]

Would you say that to my face though?

[@TheJayson8899]

@@FrankCf44 Paaaaaper back wriiiter….writer, writer!

[@hl2-beta]

I dig into HL2 beta since 2005 and back then it was something like a source of more Half-Life content for me. I thought that after HL2 was shipped it will be another 10-15 years before HL3 (if only I knew, lol) and I was thirsty for more content. So when I heard there's so called "beta" with tons of cut enemies, weapons, locations and other stuff I was eager to get it. When I finally got it it was like a Klondike. Eventually digging into beta content became somewhat of a hobby, for me. It felt like an archaeology, like I was excavating a huge ancient city of lost civilization, or skeletons of previously unknown dinosaurs. And yeah, that's why I love the beta. Valve scrapped so much content and ideas through the development cycle that even 20 years later we still manage to find something new and get another piece of puzzle of how Half-Life 2 was evolving from just bunch of rough ideas into best ever PC game.

[@am-asx1012]

Hey i didn't expect you to be here love your content

[@ShadowSumac]

Just imagine, if one day someone will unearth all of the stuff from 1999 and 2000...

[@labenvenci1584]

The Beta leak was interesting because the 2002-03 Storyline wasn't cut from it due to Spoilers. Playtesters and Devs at Valve felt the Air Exchange and overall beta storyline was weak. It was dark for the sake of being dark and felt it to need too confusing and convoluted, and ut shoved its themes in your face rather then being subtle. Along with the delay in 2002, they needed a lot of time to polish their already mixed story in the studio. The storyline was reworked and rewritten around early 2003 before the leak, people don't notice but there is unfinished concept and outline maps that are simular to retail HL2, and being the most recent dated around the time the leak happened as they began work on the version we know around the time.

[@bshap495]

It always annoys me when people act like the leak was the reason the 'dark and gritty' content was scrapped. The fact that there are no gas-mask citizens in the E3 demo proves that the Air Exchange concept was already scrapped. Overall, the demo has way more similarities to the final build than the beta. So I don't get why people think that Valve scrapped the entire story just because it leaked.

[@jorymo4964]

While the early concepts were interesting, I much prefer the tone of the final game. You still get the impression of an oppressive alien regime controlling every aspect of human life, but there's still sunshine and color. The environment does a great job of showing that things are bad without insulting the player's intelligence by constantly rubbing it in.

[@3333218]

That's very true! There are so many maps that are basically the same but reworked maps! Sometimes though the order and placement of the maps and their assets changed a lot and some lost their importance or got drastically reduced, but they're still there.

[@3333218]

Also people underestimate the absurd amount of Burnout and Fatigue the devs were feeling in relation to the whole project.

[@Miguensio_]

@@bshap495 Because some beta fans can't fathom that Valve decided to change the superior version of the game for a worse one without being forced by something

[@dopey473]

I think it's a simple pursuit for darkness in media we enjoy, constsntly trying to make things we enjoy more serious or "mature". Just now while I was playing a classic racing game Burnout 3 I remembered people thinking of various dark theories about the game and me just thinking why, it's just a racing game with no plot. Why make a crazy plot where you are hypnotized into mass killing people? Even now we're getting more remakes of horror games than any other genre. I don't have a concrete answer to why we do this but it is a very common occurance I see with media. Tl;dr we liek HL2 beta becuz durk n griddy.

[@kotomishione]

I think horror games getting more remakes is because of graphical and technological advancement because it benefits a LOT from it

[@dopey473]

​​@@kotomishione I disagree, if anything I think horror looks better the less you can make out. Just look at hoe many PS1 inspired indie games there are. And also if it is just graphics why aren't other genres getting the same treatement? Jacob Geller actually made a video somewhat related to this the other day. Check it out it's called "We're not remaking horror games we're searching for nightmares." or something along those lines.

[@deepflare1028]

Honestly, I think Dino Crisis deserves a remake more than any other horror game

[@AndreiCatalin42069]

I don't like how Capcom pointlessly reimagined a game that didn't need it like RE4 to be more "serious", "dark" and "realistic", ugh, it's pointless, make new games if you want that, don't take older ones and change them this much.

[@kotomishione]

@@dopey473 i was more about talking about general technological advancement than graphics, apologies

[@a6hawk]

Well uhh, I don’t. Sorry but you gotta change the video title now Richie Rich.

[@Mfr_eh]

Sorry what

[@minecraftcoolman59]

@@Mfr_eh the title of the video is why everyone loves the half life 2 beta this person doesnt love it so everyone doesnt love it

[@Mfr_eh]

@@minecraftcoolman59 oh thank you for your explanation

[@NigerianCrusader]

@@minecraftcoolman59I don’t ethier

[@throwacnt7603]

I think it is the appeal of "potential," there are so many blanks and areas where your imagination can fill in that in our imagination it could be the absolute best game ever and something that will remain in a perfect state of unrealized potential so it's not subject to an imperfect reality once it's realized. Thanks for the video I sometimes remember this beta and how awesome it was to have access to something like that at the time as a kid.

[@elitely6748]

I came just in time for another awesome video. Great video Richter, man I wish someone would make a fan made game for the beta though!

[@F0rtuneLT]

I find it so funny that (arguably) the 2 most damaging and expensive acts of corporate espionage in recent history are the deletion of the original files of Foodfight (2012) and the HL2 beta leak

[@Vincent654]

Very proud to support this videos!

[@ivancar555]

I still fondly remember that video of the guy reviewing beta themed bootleg russian bubblegum.

[@420Pizza2]

Dude i literally just checked last night if you had uploaded a new video and now i open youtube tonight and right on the frontpage is this. Fantastic video as always dude. Your content is seriously some of the best to watch about valve games. Much appreciated!

[@ffwast]

"straining valve's relationship with their community" is a funny phrase.

[@MinsideLetsplay]

Words cannot explain how much I was waiting for this video! :D

[@violetokamii]

I dont remember but I believe in 2019 or 2020, there was a guy who made the news leaving free CRT TVs on peoples porches, he was wearing a TV as a helmet. I'm wondering if he was trying to reenact the free tvs as a joke.

[@martinlysy]

The atmosphere exchange facility is such great concept, i would love if Valve would came back to this idea. Also, most of the weird stuff, like clock in room are propably just testing ground for map makers, i remember doing same weird things in order to learn how to use tools for map building.

[@gentaillahi6153]

That thumbnail is making it out from outta Air Exchange tower with this one 🔥🔥🔥

[@ansonx10]

I definitely liked Alyx's beta suit more. Once she got the black hair, at least. I recently played through all the HL2 beta maps I could find. The atmosphere is undeniable. That c17_01_16.bsp is such a vibe. I don't think I'd prefer it for the actual game, but man... The green lights inside the tall buildings create a potent feeling that is not felt anywhere in the retail version. There are some Air Exchange decorations that give a little bit of that same feeling too.

[@Catzss]

:Aware:

[@ShadowSumac]

Now, imagine those City 17 maps with a green sky (like in concept arts) and a fog...delicious...

[@AC-hj9tv]

Would bang

[@ansonx10]

@@AC-hj9tvbased

[@wyatttyson7737]

This really reminds me of a recent Mod for Halo 2. 343 Industries released some mod tools and ways to access the source codes from the older Halo games, and with that there is a mod called Halo 2 Uncut which tries to recreate what Halo 2 was intended to me. Like Half Life 2, Halo 2 was a very rushed production that suffered massive reworks and also had a deceptive scripted E3 demo that I think was in the same show year as the Half Life 2 one. The Mod restores cut enemy spawns, cut voice lines, a few cut weapons like being able to pick up turrets after they've broken off their mount, a few cut vehicles like the Falcon and Mongoose, and reworked several weapons like the BR to work closer to what was shown in the demo. Its a really fun mod, and as Halo 2 is one of my favorite games of all time it really is a special experience.

[@okitasan]

It’s interesting to hear how young so many of the people watching this (including Richter) are. Half Life 2 had to be a hell of a formative gaming experience. I was in high school when it came out so it was still highly influential for me, but I think maybe I can offer some additional context that some younger folks (especially those too young to remember when it came out) might not know about that time. I think the biggest thing I remember about the game and its E3 demo was the Source engine. The aesthetic, art and level design was leagues ahead of any other FPS out at the time. I’d never seen a game that looked more detailed and naturalistic in its environment. Its world looked like it could be a real place. And then there were the physics. The physics demo that could be found in the leak was absolutely mind blowing to see. These days, every game has pretty good physics, but Half Life 2 was the first to demonstrate realistic collision, weight, etc where those properties actually have an impact on gameplay. Up until HL2, if a game wanted to have a flying enemy be shot down and send it tumbling realistically across the ground, smashing objects out of its way, it would’ve had to be scripted-but Source could do it all in real time, meaning you could get all kinds of happy accidents, and get creative with how you utilize the world in how you play the game. It’s no overstatement to say there was gaming before half life 2, and gaming after half life 2.

[@BioClone]

I call it "the born of dynamic gaming" almost like creating the missing link between player interaction/performance space and environment. The average consumer doesnt seem much impresed by it when they play as they dont trully understand the differences between a super-scripted event based game vs the room for player experimentation.. for me it means a whole new dimension... The future of Open World games is based on the same rosetta stone IMO... not pre-scripted behaviours copypasted on a big map but dynamical entities based on a complex behvaiour system already developed between psycology and D&D.

[@okitasan]

@@BioCloneI’m sure developments in generative AI are going to make that more possible now than before, as far as non scripted story moments goes.

[@BioClone]

@@okitasan I honestly can only see AI as tool and never as brain or director unless heavy scripted by a human being. On small-limited actions It may do a decent aproach with little investment in comparison with manual labor... but I dont see it making a good dinamical plot... I do understand some genres may not really need a "story" at all... but I see those games simply pretending to become more a simulation and less to tell a story... For example one survival game may not need a Story but not having it will severily chop its interest or not become as memorable overtime. When I talked about having better sandbox/atmospheric elements I still consider a strong enfasis and core of a main story (not only environmental storytelling) I am aware AI could actually "chop" many good stories and generate "pseudo-originality" but never be trully original... while this may work for some people or genres I cant imagine it displacing real artists, I see this also mostly like the reason why a remake of something never is really able to become better than the original... it feels like some kind of patched version upgraded to modern times, yet it lost all the "fresh" factor that may trully surprise people to a point where he got impressed... and I find that "discovery" by the player the core piece that makes one work become "an unskipable masterpiece" In resume I would be saying something like "complexity is very welcome as long is not there just by the sake of being there" simplicity most of the times wins unjustified complexity.

[@nfwrambo]

8:19 you actually still explore the depot in the retail game, it’s where they’re holding Eli and their teleporter

[@RichterOvertime]

there is text on the screen explaining that my friend

[@tumble8323]

@@RichterOvertime The text appears for around 2-3 seconds, and is somewhat small and hidden in the corner away from the object the viewer is likely to be focused on, people are probably gonna miss it.

[@nfwrambo]

@@RichterOvertime oh I missed it, apologies

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

​@@RichterOvertimei cannot see that

[@combustiblelemons1894]

hl2 beta fans be like: OH MY GOD ITS SO DARK⬛🏴‍☠ AND GRIDDY🏃‍♂😩😩😩😩

[@digitalzeryphim6742]

I remember photos of the Hydra when it was announced somebody stole the original version of Half-Life 2's code.

[@Skibidi_dop2825]

0:48 "He Introduce Rage German Kid"

[@potardo9851]

I remember when I was kid reading a gaming magazine that talked about HL2 and I remember there being alot of concept art and renders showing things that ultimately didn't make it. I always wondered about that ever since I started playing the half life games in 2013. This explains alot. I wish I still had that magazine so I could refer back to it.

[@3333218]

I wonder if that magazine had concept art that we haven't seen since!

[@potardo9851]

@@3333218 I wouldn't doubt it. With all of its tiny dot matrix glory.

[@3333218]

@@potardo9851 😍

[@thelionzmusic]

Great video! 11:37 for spyro background music :P

[@MdahTube]

great vid!! thx for tying up some loose ends i had always wondered about between the beta> finished release! tho more untied loose ends seem to keep existing, lol

[@ariesnicholas4693]

Your usage of jak and daxter precursor legacy basin music is very refined I appreciate it

[@hyperanti9289]

beta alyx vance got me acting improper 😳

[@chillhour6155]

"will it run on my x486 ?"

[@kain0067]

That same year (or maybe before?) there was also a beta leak (used for E3) of Doom 3. To see the crazy new graphics of these games actually playing on your computer was almost unbelievable at the time.

[@elguitarTom]

the long boat scene with helicopter chasing you will be forever in my mind

[@HeisenbergFam]

Richter cherishes Half Life 2 as much as he can cuz deep down he knows Valve will never learn to count to 3

[@Felidanger]

WHY DO I SEE YOU EVERYWHERE

[@Shrub930]

You're the cook. You're the man who killed Gus Fring

[@murdoph]

​@@Shrub930 he's the bot. He's the man who killed original comments

[@Franshela]

(Insert KZbinr's name) cherishes (insert a valve game) 2 as much as he can cuz deep down he knows Valve will never learn to count to 3

[@Baderbear]

I think because how dark it is really and the fact the life In half life 2 beta looked so lifeless while in final HL2 looked all hope is lost but I won’t say it’s too dark or sad environment

[@WdoubleyouW]

Such a cool and well made video!! congrats

[@MaceWielder]

great vid! I'm younger so all of this was new to me. Also, love the SH2 music in the background.

[@karveka4371]

It's a good day when you post, Richter :)

[@Dushmann_]

8:00 t-the 'hyperborea'? *BUT YOU DIDNT HAVE TO CUT ME OFF*

[@RetroGamesCouple]

Great video. Just a small note: the amount of enemies produced and cut is quite normal for a big production game, where the (concept) artists are required to hand in tens of concepts for enemies at the beginning of production and then they are gradually cut off during design/implementation.

[@keddiels9843]

The Cortex Command music at 1:38 just smacked me with nostalgia!

[@asscheeks3212]

I am still obsessed with the beta versions of Bioshock infinite to this day and often replay infinite just to walk around and imagine a world that will never happen.

[@pumpkineater47]

There are some things that I would’ve loved to see in retail which could be polished and recycled from the beta, but I’m quite happy with how the final release turned out.

[@KamiJoJo]

All of the Beta talk reminds me of the existence of the Nuclearvision Entertainment's Codename: Gordon (released in May 17, 2004), which was a Half-Life 2 inspired Flash Game that oozes with HL2 Beta's level layouts shown in the E3 2003 Tech Demo, such as starting the game on docks similar to the one seen in the Ravenholm section, an early version of the Scout Car fighting off against a Gunship on an auto-scroller, then infiltrating into Nova Prospekt and ending the game on a fight against a Strider in the middle of City 17. The game constantly makes jokes on the characters being in a 2D space and it gives out some good humor to the experience, I'm not sure if it's still a game that you can get on Steam by a secret code but I remember playing a more optimized version of it without the need of discovering the game's existence through the platform, overall solid game that I barely ever see people talk about in general.

[@glitchyrhythm6749]

This gets me so hyped for half like three, coming this November

[@teaboy301]

I think my pre-existing love for anything Half-Life amplify my love for the beta. The themes just evoke some emotion I couldn't describe but resonates with me. Also dark n griddy dark n griddy child labor dark n griddy. (I'm subbed to radhaz, how could you tell?)

[@Claugustus]

I recognize so many of these beta models and played around with all of them on GMod HL2RP. Funny how we as a community recreate what we lost and got to live through it with that roleplay.

[@Deputy_Doofus]

Thumbnail was the first time i've ever seen sus artwork of Alyx cause i've never bothered to look up sus art of Alyx

[@bonelessman56]

I think the LMG at 11:11 might be based on the HK21 with some kind of scope on it, you can see it in how the stock connects to the rest of the gun the overall "roundness" of the gun and the front charging handle, to be honest if it was textured similarly to the mp5 it would look too bad or out of place

[@ShadowSumac]

Those LMG models are so old, they are supposedly centered like guns in HL1.

[@badmantru4377]

I miss this time on the internet, it was such a grand time.

[@tri-sapien6487]

7:53 so that's why I love the Air Exchange so much. It reminds me of my first shooter game ever. Honestly, I always preferred washed out colors over vibrant ones.

[@humanharddrive1]

i love your tone so much. of course I am subscribed so I can see more epic videos

[@TarsoCantAnimate]

Ahhh, I remember the release for Around the clock at Bikni Bottom, A game by Dave Microwave Games. Has to be one of the best horror games out there

[@flo5856]

I was like 8 years old when my older brother bought counter strike condition zero and on the CD there was this E3 half life footage as a promo. We were watching the footage more than we played the CS game haha So much nostalgia in this video for me ❤ Thanks

[@slav4335]

DARK AND GRIDDY!!!! DARK AND GRIDDY!!!! CHILD LABOUR OMG SO DARK AND GRIDDY!!!!!!

[@eleonora7490]

The hydra looks like the small version of the Eldenbeast.

[@butter81121]

12:45 silent hill 2 music plays

[@DarkD112]

I'm guessing that Valve started development by saying "everyone make what you want, keeping in mind these cliff notes for the direction we plan on going. Then we'll see what's the most fun and go with that." A good developer never expects that their first idea will be a slam dunk. You need room for revision. Most ideas don't pan out.

[@3333218]

Exactly!!!

[@victorkreig6089]

Lmao! Valve, good developer oh man my sides You do realize they have made a grand total of 3 games in 20 years right? And even the third is arguable as much of Alyx was made by other studios valve contracted and the project lead being a modder that Valve hired because of his TF maps Also good developers don't destroy half a dozen developers directly

[@DarkD112]

@@victorkreig6089 I'm unaware of this "destroy half a dozen developers" scandal you refer to. And it's true Valve hasn't been the most active game developers anymore. But the stuff they do and have released is all top notch. Just because you don't like their decision to retire from game development, doesn't diminish their history on the subject.

[@thatgothcat]

@@victorkreig6089 chill buddy

[@victorkreig6089]

@@thatgothcat go be a furry elsewhere, reply spamming like that

[@CrazyMarkStudios]

13:53 so that's where it came from... It looked and sounded familiar from a memory long time ago. Thanks for including this! 😊

[@stolenalt]

12:26 Fun fact: that sound is actually in the fan remake of half life 1: black mesa.

[@flexydex8754]

It's "Half-Life" 🤦‍♀

[@stolenalt]

@@flexydex8754 actually it's just "Black Mesa"

[@tophatfriendly6274]

happy 20th birthday to the leak!! *it feels weird saying that..*

[@tibsky]

hey richter, do you have the link to that dark and griddy meme at 7:25?

[@VeltynTV]

The footage in all of those presentations is pre-recorded and was available on a disc that came with Counter-Strike: Condition Zero

[@billieleavenworth364]

I was hyped as fuck for this game back in the day, but somehow never heard of this beta leak until now! I do remember reading about some of the cut content though. Another cut enemy was the Stalker, which ended up coming back in episode 1. Great video!

[@yourbestfriendwhosblack3211]

5:23 That's actually pretty fair. Our American justice system wants too much blood.

[@imselfaware419]

I guess a 2-year sentence for someone who killed several people is "too much blood"

[@heroninja1125]

@@imselfaware419 Since when did he kill several people.

[@flopsinator5817]

@@imselfaware419 I'm sorry but did this leak lead to several devs jumping out of windows or something?

[@naturesquad9174]

@@imselfaware419 fake news

[@landofnoone7048]

I have realised that the reasone why some people prefer Beta over final version is probably because... Beta feels more like a sequel than final HL2. I remember when I've been playing Half Life 2 for the first time it felt like a stand alone game that requires no knowledge of a previouse one. And, well, I haven't played the first HL before playing the second one. So the HL2 can work as a game in a vacuum by the plot, characters, enemies, ideas, etc. But Beta... from everything I know about it- it had the whole idea of "Take everything from a previous game and double it!" The amount of old and new enemies, weapons, locations, the whole dirty industrial vibe- they all gives that feeling of "Yeah baby! Now that's a sequel!"

[@jefftaylor1186]

Yeah everyone loves it now. But back when it was out and I was a beta tester for it I remember everyone complaining about how slow the gameplay was because of all the storytelling and lore they were packing in. Believe it or not people really didn’t give a shit about the combine or what it was or what even happened while Gordon was in storage. they only wanted to shoot stuff

[@gamanade4102]

gentlemen, i have the great pleasure to inform you that Richter Overtime has uploaded.

[@Jonathan-oy8cl]

I'm shocked that I'm a year older than Richter. growing up watching Markiplier, who is 12 years older than me, it's weird to actually be the older one for once.

[@Skorpeonismyrealname]

The fact Axel "only" served two years probation for what amounted to a security breach... kinda paints a different light for other systems. I was about to spend a year in *prison* for allegedly stealing a pair of $50 boots. Man makes away with 250mil in assets, but clearly regrets it? Yeah, you learned your lesson.

[@Gingerninja137]

maybe the gman crow thing did make it into the retail version, at least a little bit! i found the distorted trumpets broadcast just the other day in my most recent hl2 playthrough, and from what i can tell there's a crow or a raven on his shoulder in the shot. pretty cool.

[@lunondisposable5382]

I feel bad for the hacker, he really seemed to just be a dumb kid who didn't realize the scope of what he'd done.

[@clayleone9111]

Wii music playing over half life footage really made me realize how unfair it is that we never got Half Life 2.5: Wii Bowling as promised