1. What is the purpose of this FAQ?
This FAQ was written to answer some common questions about creating MODs for the game Half-Life (developed by Valve Software and distributed by Sierra Studios). Information contained in this FAQ is in NO WAY endorsed by or supported by Valve Software, Sierra Studios, or any other company affiliated with the game Half-Life.
Valve is a trademark of Valve LCC.
Sierra is a trademark of Sierra On-Line Inc.
This FAQ WILL NOT tell you how to write code. This FAQ WILL NOT tell you what each class or variable or function in the SDK does. This FAQ WILL NOT tell you how to create models, sprites, or cool effects in the game.
This FAQ will tell you what you need to know to set up a MOD. This FAQ also contains a list of common errors, a list of Internet resources for asking coding questions, and a list of tutorials, tools, and other freely available resources found on the Internet.
2. What is a Half-Life MOD?
A Half-Life MOD is a modification that someone has made to the single player or multiplayer version of the game Half-Life. These MODs usually incorporate new weapons, new levels (maps), and/or new methods or rules for playing the game. Some MODs are single player only, which means that you play against monsters (like in the original Half-Life game) using new weapons, new levels and/or new monsters. Other MODs are multiplayer (deathmatch) only MODs, where you play against other human players connected through the Internet, or on a Local Area Network (LAN). Some MODs support both single player and multiplayer.
3. What are some of the MODs that are better known?
One of the MODs that was included with an update to Half-Life is Team Fortress Classic. Team Fortress Classic (TFC, now called TF 1.5) was the first MOD for Half-Life that allowed players to form teams and work together to defeat the opposing team. Capture The Flag is one of the variations that Team Fortress Classic supports. Counter Strike is another well-known MOD that allows players to work as a team. In Counter Strike you are on one of two teams, the terrorists, or the counter-terrorists. The terrorists have seized a group of scientists and the counter-terrorists try to rescue the scientists. Members of each team try to kill players on the other team without getting killed themselves. Action Half-Life is another MOD available that creates a more realistic set of game play rules. In Action Half-Life, when a player gets shot, they run, walk, or limp at a slower pace than players who aren't injured. Each of these MODs have new weapons that are not available in the original version of Half-Life.
4. What do you need to build a Single Player MOD?
To build a single player MOD you will need to obtain the Half-Life FULL SDK 2.0 file. The FULL SDK contains all of the source code used to create the DLL in the original game. The FULL SDK contains all of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) code used for monsters, human military, and scientists found in the original game. The FULL SDK also contains all of the models used in the original game (plus some additional models that were not used).
You can obtain the FULL SDK from Valve's SDK web page...
http://www.valvesoftware.com/hlsdk.htm You can also download the latest SDK from fileplanet...
http://www.fileplanet.com/ (click on the Games: Action, then Half-Life and search for SDK)
You will also need a C++ compiler that is capable of building DLL files that are compatible with Microsoft Visual C++. The SDK contains Microsoft Visual C++ Workspace files that can be used to build the DLL files, providing you have Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0 or 6.0. Valve uses Microsoft Visual C++ version 6.0 and that is the only officially supported compiler.
When building the HL.DLL file using Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0, you will need to download and install the Visual Studio 97 service pack 3. You must download the FULL Service Pack and install it. You can obtain it from here (it's about 91 megabytes)...
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/sp/vs97/download.asp 5. What do you need to build a Multiplayer (DeathMatch) MOD?
To build a multiplayer MOD you will only need the Standard SDK 2.0. The Standard SDK does NOT contain the monster/grunt/scientist AI code found in the Full SDK, so you will not be able to have monsters or grunts or scientists in your MOD unless you code the AI routines yourself.
You can obtain the Standard SDK from Valve's SDK web page...
http://www.valvesoftware.com/hlsdk.htm You can also download the latest SDK from fileplanet...
http://www.fileplanet.com/ (click on the Games: Action, then Half-Life and search for SDK)
You will also need a C++ compiler that is capable of building DLL files that are compatible with Microsoft Visual C++. The SDK contains Microsoft Visual C++ Workspace files that can be used to build the DLL files, providing you have Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0 or 6.0.
When building the MP.DLL file using Microsoft Visual C++ version 5.0, you will need to download and install the Visual Studio 97 service pack 3. You must download the FULL Service Pack and install it. You can obtain it from here (it's about 91 megabytes)...
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/sp/vs97/download.asp You can also use a freely available C++ compiler environment called MingW32 to build the DLL files.
6. What do I need to know before starting to create a Half-Life MOD?
The Half-Life SDK is written in a computer programming language called C++. You need to have a fairly good understanding of how to write software using the C++ programming language. If you are unfamiliar with C++, you can start by purchasing some books on C++ programming to become more familiar with the C++ programming language.
You need to know how to use the C++ compiler you will be using to build the DLL files. This involves knowing how to add new modules to the DLL or remove existing modules from the DLL. You need to understand how to interpret the error messages given by your compiler when compiling the C++ source files that make up the DLL. You need to know how to modify compiler options, if necessary, to build the DLLs.
You need to learn how the code in the Half-Life SDK operates. This usually involves looking at existing code in the SDK to learn how things fit together. Again, you NEED to understand C++ to understand the SDK. The SDK relies heavily on C++ classes and inheritance. There are some comments sprinkled about in the SDK source code and the classes and functions in the SDK are fairly well written and fairly well structured.
One way to become more familiar with what types of modifications can be done using the SDK is to take a look at the various Half-Life coding tutorials available on the Internet. These tutorials show examples of how to change weapons, ammo, sprites, and other effects in the game.
The last thing that you need to have before beginning a Half-Life MOD is a well thought out design of what you want the MOD to be. Above all else, make sure that the MOD will be something that is fun to play, over and over and over again. Make sure that the MOD will be something that other people, besides yourself, will want to play. Many people begin a MOD with just a vague idea of having "really cool weapons and stuff", and usually don't get very far. The MOD should have some sort of overall theme. A futuristic space station setting, the old west, world war II, or a prehistoric caveman setting, are examples of a theme for a MOD. The weapons, textures, models, and gameplay should all tie in with this theme. Don't create an old west MOD with lazer blasters and light sabers. Make sure everything in the MOD ties together.
7. What are the steps necessary to have Half-Life load a MOD?
Each MOD goes into a separate directory within the Half-Life directory. When you create a MOD, you must use a unique subdirectory name which will contain all of the files that will be used for that MOD. The directory structure of your MOD will mirror the directory structure of the C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\valve subdirectory.
For example, if the name of your MOD is "Blastzone", you would create the directory C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone. If the MOD contains new maps, the maps would be in C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone\maps. New models would be in C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone\models\player, and so on.
In the Blastzone directory, you must create a text file called "liblist.gam". The liblist.gam file contains options about the MOD that tells the name of the game, URL information for the web site where the MOD can be found on the Internet, the version number, the size, whether the MOD is single player or multiplayer, and other options. Read the "How to make a mod" document for details on these liblist.gam options.
Whether you are building a single player or multiplayer MOD, you will need to create a dlls directory (note the "s" in dlls) in your MOD directory. For the Blastzone MOD this would be C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone\dlls. In the dlls directory you would put the hl.dll or mp.dll file (for single player or multiplayer respectively) that you build from the SDK for your specific MOD. In the liblist.gam file you have a "gamedll" option. This "gamedll" option should be set to "dlls\hl.dll" (for single player) or "dlls\mp.dll" (for multiplayer). Make SURE that the gamedll option has the correct directory and filename, for example "dlls\mp.dll" and NOT "dll\mp.dll" (without the 's').
If you are customizing the HUD display (adding weapon slots, changing HUD colors, etc.), you will need to create a "cl_dlls" folder (note the "s") in your MOD directory (C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone\cl_dlls for example). The cl_dlls folder will contain the client.dll file, which is used for client side modifications to the HUD. In the liblist.gam file, you will need to set the "cldll" option to "1" to indicate that the MOD requires a custom client.dll file.
8. How do I activate my MOD in the game?
To cause Half-Life to activate your MOD, you can start the game using the command line "hl.exe -game Blastzone", or you can select "Custom game" in the main menu. In the Custom game menu, click on the name of your MOD from the list of MODs and click on "Activate". Click on "Done" and then select "New game" or "Multiplayer", depending on whether your MOD is single player or multiplayer.
9. What if my version of Half-Life doesn't have the "Custom game" option?
You will need to use "Update" to download the latest version of Half-Life. Currently the latest version available from Sierra Studios is version 1.1.0.6. You can also download the update file from the following web site...
http://www.fileplanet.com/ (click on the Games: Action, then Half-Life)
10. How do I build the mp.dll file for multiplayer MODs?
Download the Standard SDK file and install it to a directory of your choice. If you are using Microsoft Visual C++, click on "File" then "Open Workspace" and browse to the directory where you installed the SDK. Browse to the "dlls" folder and select the mp.dsw workspace file. Click on "Open" to open the workspace. Click on "Build" then "Build mp.dll" to build all the object files and the mp.dll file. When the mp.dll file is built, the last step of the build process will copy the mp.dll file to "\half-life\mp\dlls" (which probably doesn't exist on your machine). To change this so that Microsoft Visual C++ copies the mp.dll file to your MOD directory, click on "Project", then "Settings" and scroll to the "Custom Build" tab. Change the description to something like "Copying to dlls folder.". Change the "Build commands" to "copy $(TargetPath) C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\Blastzone\dlls" (replacing Blastzone with the name of your MOD directory) and click on "OK". If you click on "Build" then "Build mp.dll" again, it should copy the mp.dll to your MOD's dlls directory.
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