Half-Life 1, without loading screens

Name: Half-Life 1, without loading screens
Availability: InStock
Author: bishopdynamics

by bishopdynamics·Jun 22, 2026·1 point·0 comments

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AI Analysis

●●SolidWizardryNiche Gem

Level streaming for a 1998 engine eliminates loading screens across the entire campaign.

Strengths

•Level streaming system loads entire campaign without any loading screens
•Controller-first menu UI with automatic glyph detection and shared configuration
•Optional ambient occlusion, projected flashlight, and reworked entity shadows

Weaknesses

•Requires original Half-Life game data, limiting audience to existing owners
•Niche appeal restricted to Half-Life fans and retro gaming community

Post Description

During the ~48hrs that I had access to Fable 5, I decided to have fun with the Xash3D-FWGS engine for Half-Life 1, starting with a "level streaming" system (pre-load the whole campaign, its only ~500MB anyay).

After that was working, I succumbed to the call of feature creep and added a projected flashlight, and some ambient occlusion, and some hacky entity shadows.

Finally, I redid the menu system to be controller-first, using glyphs and detecting controller to match them, and to have the configuration shared between all the games. Of course, partway thru I lost access to Fable 5, and Opus 4.8 wrapped up the rest of it.

It was a lot of fun to build and play, and I thought maybe other people would enjoy playing it too.

Have fun!