You can’t tell me that as soon as Portal got the full path tracing experience you weren’t sitting there jonesing for them to do the same thing with Half-Life 2. We all want it, and Nvidia has been working with, what it’s calling four of the HL2 mod community’s “top mod teams,” to make it happen. It’s called, obviously Half-Life 2: RTX.
But while Valve is aware of this Nvidia-backed project, the company behind one of the greatest PC games ever made has no formal involvement. Though, to be fair, that might actually mean it gets a release this side of the next ice age, such is the laggardly power of ‘Valve Time’.
It must be said, however, that development has only just kicked off, with the current four mod teams—now going by the sobriquet, Orbifold Studios—actively looking for extra modding help to get the rather sizable task finished.
As a full RTX Remix project, you’re getting the full Half-Life 2 game effectively remastered. You’re getting new, high-res assets, fully ray traced lighting, and RTX IO support. That ought to bring the game right up to 2023 standards, and honestly, the project sizzle reel makes it look pretty incredible.
Nvidia has informed us that the mod teams which have joined forces to create Orbifold Studios have come from these projects:
Project 17: a mod recreating the first chapter of Half-Life 2 in VR, while also bringing the visual quality up to current-generation standard.Half-Life 2 Remade Assets: a project setting out to recreate assets used across Half-Life 2 with high fidelity graphics and physically accurate properties.Half-Life 2 VR: a mod that allows players to experience Valve’s 2004 PC gaming classic in virtual reality.Raising the Bar: Redux: a cut-content total conversion mod for Half-Life 2, bringing old-school ideas to life with a fresh art style and revitalized combat.
(Image credit: Nvidia Valve)
(Image credit: Nvidia