Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx
Developer: Valve Publisher: Valve Platforms: Windows, Linux Released internationally: March 23, 2020 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused enemies. This game has unused objects. This game has unused models. This game has unused cinematics. This game has unused items. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has a prerelease article

To do: A lot left over from Half-Life 2 and its episodes. Personal files left by developers. Much more to be discovered. All the leftovers should probably be on a subpage of its own. npc_headcrab_fast entity. Long pistol magazine model. Create gifs for all the unused Combine Worker animations. Document the now patched-out content in the Day One release. Document the unused content in the Mod Tools. Document the leaked September 2019 build As well as the source filmmaker files that leaked with it (1) Include the info shown in the Final Hours of Half-life Alyx

This article is a work in progress. ...Well, all the articles here are, in a way. But this one moreso, and the article may contain incomplete information and editor's notes.

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

The long-awaited Half-Life: Alyx takes place roughly 5 years before the events of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, and is Valve's first major installment in Virtual Reality. It features the perspective of the series' very own Alyx Vance as she embarks on a journey to save the human race, deprived of a crowbar and forced to settle on a pair of lackluster Russells.

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info

Unused Models From Half-Life 2 leftovers, to placeholders, all the way back to prototypes, this page has it all.

Unused Textures The G-Cube

Unused Weapons

Unused Characters Bob is working.

Unused Animations Characters who barely appear in the game having more animations than the ones that do.

Unused Sounds and Dialogue Lots and lots of voice lines mentioning.....Gordon Freeman?

Unused Text Fun loading tips, such as "Alyx Vance's mother did not survive the Black Mesa incident"

Missing Files Leftover asset strings from the infamous "tools_asset_info.bin" file Here we try to piece together scenes and sequences that didn't make into the game.

Developer Tools

An earlier manifest in the Half-Life: Alyx Steam depot was discovered to have developer tools used by Valve for debugging purposes. This manifest no longer exists on the server, however, backups have been made.

No VR Mode

There is a version of the engine DLL that allows the game to be run with the novr parameter, allowing the game to run without a VR headset. With a little bit of fixing, the game can be run on a standard display with mouse and keyboard controls. However, since the game was built from the ground up as a VR title, most of the VR functions will not function. This leaves the game impossible to complete via normal means. It was most likely meant to quickly test aspects of the game without having to put on a headset each time.

Personal Folders

There exist several folders scattered throughout the game files which are titled "Personal". These folders contain different developer's names and multiple "test" files, and may have been a designated area for developers to test their own content.

readonly_tools_asset_info.bin

A file called readonly_tools_asset_info.bin was discovered to have a plethora of data relating to files that had been removed from the game. It includes the names of each file, their path, and the size, however, it doesn't contain the actual files themselves. A link to this file is below.

Download Half-Life: Alyx readonly_tools_asset_info.bin File: HLA_Readonly_tools_asset_info.7z (3.5MB) (info)

It is possible to force the development tools to read the data from this file, which will cause the built-in asset browser to display the contents as if they existed in the release build (without the actual data, of course). In order to enable the functionality, replace the existing readonly_tools_asset_info.bin in the hlvr folder and add this line to gameinfo.gi:

disable_readonly_assets 0

Using this method will cause map files and certain animations to break, the only way to resolve the issue is by reverting to the file's current version.

Unused Puzzles

An unused unlocking puzzle, somewhat reminiscent of lockpicking minigames seen in different games. This puzzle appears to be unfinished, lacking any visual effects and animations. The objective involves guiding a small pin through tumblers that gradually close, which requires precise wrist rotations (with the added difficulty of avoiding the laser if applied to a mine). The player must navigate the pin by pulling and rotating it through designated passages, each successful move will turn the corresponding tumbler green, ultimately disarming the device. The puzzle will fail if the player makes more than three mistakes.

This early lockpicking-style puzzle is mentioned in the developer commentary, According to Tejeev Kohli, this approach proved too uncomfortable and frustrating for playtesters so it was ultimately simplified to a timing-based mechanic.

Developer Commentary

Transcript:

"Trip mines have appeared in prior Half-Life games and the act of defusing them seemed like a natural fit for a VR game, where players can perform complex operations with their hands. By this point in the game, players have already learned how to hack Combine technology with their multitool, but we wanted defusing a trip mine to be more tense than the hacking puzzles. To defuse a trip mine, not only does the player have to place their hand near the laser that could trigger the mine, but they have to perform the task within just a few seconds. Early versions of this puzzle we inspired by lock picking, resembling a series of tumblers that the player had to quickly align. Unfortunately, the tumbler design required players to rotate their wrists in an uncomfortable manner, particularly given that they had to also avoid touching the laser beam. We removed the rotational component but kept the timing element, leading to the mechanic you see in the final game. We also experimented with causing the trip mines to actually explode if the player failed to defuse them, but most players found this too punishing, especially in cases where a chain reaction of explosions could occur. Instead, the mines just stay active and the player can attempt to defuse them again. We did end up keeping this behavior for the hard difficulty setting but added a warning sound a few seconds before the mine actually explodes, to give players some time to move away. We also experimented with allowing defused mines to be removed and redeployed by the player, but we hadn't designed enough combat scenarios around this mechanic for it to be satisfying in practice, so this was left out of the final game."

Unseen details

Hidden Text

In Russel's hideout, one of the equipment, referred internally as "circuit_button_1" has a very small bit of text that reads:

• "This text is very small. I hope no one can read it"

In a similar vein, on the model "circuit_box_3" seen in the subway station near the Northern Star, it has a bit of small text that says:

• "(Trying) to make (the) text so (small) it will be (impossible) to read. You might (be able) to read it here in the source texture but not scaled down on a (final) 2k texture that will probably be max 1k in size. Ipsum sorum. And all that jazz".

---

Hidden Mural

a2_hideout as seen in Hammer

If you load the map "a2_hideout" in Hammer, you'll find numerous unplaced overlays outside the player's view. These include several hidden textures that appear to feature writing in blood. The file is called "messages_1.vmat" and can be found in the decals folder.

• 
• 
• 

From left-to-right, the messages read:

* "Your journey has begun"
* "The child from Black Mesa"
* "Our purpose is mutual"
* "We seek you, Alyx Vance is the key"
* "We seek the same end"
* "The weapon will enslave us all"
* "Azian Vance and her Sacrifice"

---

The Scientist

The Scientist, also referred to as "the Collaborator", is a shadowy figure that can be seen in the chapter "Revelations". By normal means, only her silhouette is visible, but with the use of noclip and mod tools, we are able to take a closer look at her appearance. A picture of a textured version of the model was leaked by Tyler Mcvicker when he was still in possession of an early leaked build of the game.

Concept Art.

Noclip	Model	Texture fix

---

Unseen Melon

Since Half-Life 2, the developers have been placing melons in maps of the series. In Half-Life: Alyx, there is one melon in the game, although it is hidden and can't be seen via normal means. It was discovered by YouTuber MarphitimusBlackimus.

Pick Up That Can

Among the many leftover assets from Half-Life 2, the iconic "Pick up that can" voice line was discovered in the files. It was originally thought to be just a leftover and not actually used in the game, but it was later found to be part of the same sequence as the melon. Due to its position relative to the player, it's impossible to hear it without the use of noclip.

---

G-man Billbord

In the map "a1_intro_world2.vmap", a billboard advertising eyesight treatment is visible just outside the playable area. It briefly appears again during the car accident sequence. The image seems to use a closeup of G-man's eyes — perhaps a subtle nod to the player being under his constant watch, or simply a reused asset.

---

Valve Guy

Valve's title screen "mascot", affectionately nicknamed "Mister Valve" by fans, is typically seen from the back, so players rarely get a good look at him.
But now you can, and this is what he looks like! What a cutie patootie!

Oddities

Inaccessible Resin

The game has many spawn locations for Resin that are inaccessible through normal means. These can only be reached by physically stepping outside the player area, using noclip, or viewing the maps in Hammer.

Name differences

Several characters are referred by different names in the game files, which reflects a lot of the changes made throughout development:

• Russell's model, along with props related to his hideout, are labeled as "Lazlo". Even earlier files from early in development list him as "Josef".
• The Combine scientist woman is referred as "Shadow Lady" and "Hahn" in some leftover files. Which aligns with the concept art seen in The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx.
  • Interestingly, Olga's character model has a name tag on her suit that reads "Hahn," maybe suggesting a connection or possible overlap between these characters during development.

Headset Model Name

At the beginning of the game, a drone hands Alyx a headset and it tells her to put it on. Internally, this headset's model name is commentary_node.vmdl

In November 2020, this made more sense when Developer Commentary mode was released, and, sure enough, the commentary nodes were glowing orange radio headsets. Valve intended to ship the game with developer commentary included, hence the model's presence and usage in the base game, but the chaos of moving to work-from-home in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in them deferring it until later in order to get the game released on time.

Health Syringe Parameter

One of the health syringe's parameters is "Physgun can ALWAYS pick up. No matter what." This is a leftover parameter from the original Source engine, explicitly used by the func_physbox entity to handle its interactions with the Gravity Gun.

---