Half-Life 2

macOS Compatibility

Method	Rating	Notes
Native	Perfect	Compiled the Source Engine Leak. https://jameshug.notion.site/Guide-to-Installing-Portal-Using-Source-Engine-on-macOS-660803f9ced149cfa1647d38fd5a7092
Rosetta 2	Unknown
Compatibility layer
CrossOver	Runs	Installed via Steam on CrossOver 21, extreme fps drops during shootouts and explosions.
Wine	Unknown
Virtualization
Parallels	Perfect	Playable.

Native ARM build from leaked source

These instructions are heavily based on guides written by James Hug. This method can be used to build native ARM macOS ports of Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 & 2, Portal, Counter-Strike: Source etc. as long as the necessary game files from Steam have been copied into the correct folder.

Enter these commands into a Terminal window:

1. Install Homebrew

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

On Apple Silicon Macs: remember to set the path, modify this command with your username:

(echo; echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"') >> /Users/$(whoami)/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

2. If Xcode Command Line Tools does not install, then install it manually:

xcode-select --install

3. Install required packages from Homebrew (added the jpeg-turbo dependency from instructions)

brew doctor
brew cleanup
brew install sdl2 freetype2 fontconfig pkg-config opus libpng libedit python3 jpeg jpeg-turbo

4. Clone the Source Engine GitHub repository

git clone --recursive https://github.com/nillerusr/source-engine
cd source-engine

5. (this is step was not needed when building HL2 on 1st July 2023) The location of StubSteamAPI was recently moved on 23rd May 2023, so this has to be put into the correct place for the build scripts to work:

1. Rename /stub_steam/ to /StubSteamAPI/
2. Move /StubSteamAPI/ into the /thirdparty/ folder.

6. Set pkg path:

export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/jpeg/lib/pkgconfig"

7. Configure game builds:

• Half-Life 2:
  • python3 waf configure -T release --64bits --prefix= --build-games=hl2
• Half-Life 2 Episodes:
  • python3 waf configure -T release --64bits --prefix= --build-games=episodic
• Portal:
  • python3 waf configure -T release --64bits --prefix= --build-games=portal
• Counter-Strike: Source:
  • python3 waf configure -T release --64bits --prefix= --build-games=cstrike

8. Build the game:

python3 waf build

9. Create Build folder Install build into directory, this can be located anywhere ideally append with hl2, episodic, portal, cstrike etc.

python3 waf install --destdir='~/Documents/Build folder/hl2'

10. Open Build folder in new Finder window.

11. Open Mac version of Steam and install games e.g Half-Life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, Portal, Counter-Strike: Source etc. these game files I will refer to as the Steam folder.

12. Open Steam folder in Finder: right-click on game in Steam library, go to Manage and Browse local files. Alternatively navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/

13. In the Steam folder:

• Delete Steam folder/bin/ folder.
• Copy/move Build folder/bin/ folder into Steam folder/ replacing the previous Steam folder/bin/ folder.

14. In the Steam folder:

• Delete hl2_osx
• Copy/move from Build folder Build folder/hl2_launcher
• Rename the hl2_launcher into hl2_osx

15. In the Steam folder:

• Navigate inside 'game' folder (e.g. /hl2/ or /episodic/ or /portal/ or /cstrike/)
• Delete the bin subfolder (e.g. Steam folder/hl2/bin/)
• From the Build folder go to game folder (e.g. Build folder/hl2/) and move/copy from the Build folder to the Steam folder into the game (e.g. Steam folder/hl2/)

16. Now the respective game can be launched from within Steam.

17. Other parameters:

• cstrike (Counter-Strike: Source) - in addition tot he above instructions, also copy the Steam folder/hl2/ and put it in the root of the Steam folder so that the game will launch.
• tf (Team Fortress Classic)
• dod (Day of Defeat)
• hl2mp (Half-Life 2: Deathmatch)

Suggested settings for the native version

Tested on Macbook Pro 16 2021 16 GB

1. Add launch parameters (Steam): -noborder -windowed -refresh 120 -autoexec

This starts the game in the windowed borderless mode and limits FPS to 120. Windowed borderless is needed to ignore the Macbook's notch (render the game under it). Otherwise the interface elements and aim are shifted incorrectly, potentially making the game less playable.

2. Add settings to autoexec.cfg

In /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Steam/steamapps/common/Half-Life 2/hl2/cfg/autoexec.cfg, add this:

//set the video mode to your display resolution (i.e. 1728x1117 - Default, 2056x1329 - More Space). Uncomment only the resolution you are using.
mat_setvideomode 1728 1117 1
//mat_setvideomode 2056 1329 1
// Forces the engine to load audio asynchronously. Removes audio micro-stuttering in some cases.
snd_async_fullyasync 1
snd_async_minsize 0
snd_noextraupdate 1
// Improve texture quality
mat_picmip -1 
mat_antialias 4
mat_forceaniso 8
//BELOW: Enables software AA at maximum quality. Software AA works alongside normal AA, and helps to remove further
//aliasing, such as power lines. Little to no frame loss with this enabled.
mat_software_aa_quality 8
mat_software_aa_strength 2
mat_software_aa_strength_vgui 2
mat_software_aa_blur_one_pixel_lines 0.5
mat_software_aa_edge_threshold .8
// Enables small motion blur with forward movement, feel free to remove
mat_motion_blur_forward_enabled 1
// Key binding to manually to enable some of the settings
bind "/" "r_newflashlight 0; r_lod 0; r_maxdlights 128; r_shadowmaxrendered 1024; echo 'Graphics commands have been applied.'"

This will make sure that the game will run at max settings. FPS will still be 120 almost everywhere except the places in the game that were buggy on the other platforms as well.

r_newflashlight 0 - disables HL2 flashlight that is not working well (causes various artefacts when interacting with shadows). With this setting the game will use the still functional HL1 implementation of flashlight.

r_lod 0 - always fully load all nearby objects (buildings, cars, etc.). Looks better as the objects will not switch their appearance suddenly when you approach them. There is little to none performance penalty on Mac with its SSD.

r_maxdlights 128; r_shadowmaxrendered 1024; - could potentially improve the look of the game, feel free to remove if you see no difference.

Binding these r_* settings command to / key is necessary, because the game will reset these settings while in the Main Menu.

You need to tap / key when you already loaded the save game. The settings then will stay enabled for the whole session (even if re-loading the saves), until you exit the game

Known bugs

- When playing with Airpods, the audio starts stuttering randomly. Fix: Mute and unmute the audio on the Macbook.