Proto:Half-Life 2 (Windows)/September 29th 2004 Build
This is a sub-page of Proto:Half-Life 2 (Windows).
To do: If this is playable without cracks/workarounds, it should be moved to the Version Differences section in mainspace. |
Nearly identical to the final build, the only differences are bugs and a "Friends" menu. It was included with the Collector's Edition package, likely due to it taking more time to produce than the other editions due to including a T-Shirt and Guide.
Friends Menu
At this time, the Steam overlay didn't exist and you had to use a Friends menu to see your friends. When the Steam overlay was added in 2009, all Source Engine games were updated to remove the Friends menu.
The Friends menu doesn't function anymore as the old Valve servers are offline.
Ragdoll physics differences
The difference in ragdoll physics between the 2004 version and the current version of Half-Life 2 is that ragdolls in the 2004 release react more realistically when killed by weapons. But ragdolls in the current version react differently, giving them a strange falling effect. It is unknown when the change was made, but there is a theory that the change was made between The Orange Box version or the SteamPipe version. However, a way has been found to fix this change by copying the old version of the model's .phy file to the newer one, restoring the 2004 effect.
On Youtube, there are comparison videos of ragdoll physics between 2004 build and latest build.