Source 2004

Source 2004

Developer(s)

Valve Corporation

Release date(s)

October 7, 2004 (original)
September 26, 2005 (, v2)

Platform(s)

Windows, Xbox

SDK

Source SDK (GitHub unofficial archive)

Source 2004 is the original build of the Source engine that Half-Life 2, Half-Life: Source and Counter-Strike: Source shipped with, then subsequently updated with the release of Day of Defeat: Source (and later Half-Life 2: Lost Coast),^[1] adding some features (such as HDR and Color Correction) which would become standard with Source 2006.^[1] The Source 2004 engine was succeeded by the Source 2006 engine branch with the release of Half-Life 2: Episode One, but Half-Life 2 continues to runs on this branch (without any updates since April 2006) until 2010 (when it was upgraded to Source 2009, at the same time when Valve ported Half-Life 2 and Steam to macOS), and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast alongside Half-Life: Source also runs on this branch without updates since April 2006 until 2013 SteamPipe update, upgrading these game to Source 2013 Singleplayer.

No current Valve titles hosted on Steam use this particular engine branch, as it is outdated.

It was distributed in source engine.gcf.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines still runs on a custom version of the engine which is more similar to the engine used in the Half-Life 2 leak (unofficially referred to as Source 2003). However, it uses a proprietary texture format, Python for scripting, BSP version 17, and supports Bink videos.

SiN Episodes runs on modified version of Source 2004 v2 (/), which contains few commands related to the HDR Rendering which was non-functional ("mat_hdr_level"), aside from that it also stripped BSP 20 support from Day of Defeat: Source and HL2 Lost Coast.

The engine versions for this branch are build 2106 up to 2497 (Protocol 5-7). The second version of Source 2004 (introduced with Day of Defeat: Source, adding HDR and other new features), started with build 2497 until 2707 (Protocol 7).^[2]

Features

Steam Friends menu (in Half-Life 2).

As this was the first ever branch of Source, this section only contains features which are exclusive to this branch, features that are later introduced with Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast engine update (later become standard in Source 2006), or software limitations (like supporting old DirectX versions and Shader Model 2.0 only). For the rest of Source engine features, please see Source - Features section instead.

Main article:  Source - Features section

Support for Original Xbox game console

Steam Friends & Parlor Games menu (removed in Source 2006 since July 2007)

In-game friends list & instant messaging, allowing you to chat in-game without Alt + Tab ⇆ to Desktop and open Friends in Steam client. It also have Parlor Games (referred as board games and Steam built-in game), allowing player to play Checkers, Chess, Go, Hearts and Spades with friends. In Source, due to a bug, Parlor Games was not playable.

Later updated in January 30, 2006, with Friends v2 (previously Friends Beta), relying on Steam API instead of Steam Tracker^Note server, but Parlor Games was removed (see below).

Friends feature was originally present in Source before it was eventually removed in August 2007 engine update for Source 2006 (build date July 31, 2007), as many of it's functionality are replaced by Steam Overlay which is introduced with the launch of Steam Community, and the Steam update on the same day (August 6, 2007).^[3] This removal also retroactively applies to Half-Life 2 (which continues to runs on Source 2004 build 2707) and other Source 2004 games, as Valve added the half-life 2 game dialog.gcf file which overrides GameMenu.res and remove the Friends option, even though the Source 2004 engine has never received any new updates since April 2006.
As of 2025, the friends feature (still works with latest Steam client) only works on Source 2004 games since January 30, 2006 (when Friends Beta was introduced), and all Source 2006 games before the "Friends" feature being removed. It can send messages to friends (the message is shown on Steam client, but not in-game). The Friends feature on older build of Source 2004 and GoldSrc (before January 30, 2006) no longer works, since it relies on Steam Tracker servers, which has been offline, but those can be restored by using old Steam client alongside Steam server emulator.

Shader Model 2.0 only

Anti-aliasing

Up to 6x MSAA. 8x MSAA unofficially supported through mat_antialias 8, but will reset to 4X on next launch. MSAA 8X can be also forced through GPU drivers control panel.

6x MSAA does not work on modern graphics card. Only 4x works.

DirectX 9.0

Uses Direct3D 9.0, with support for these hardware levels:

DirectX 6.0 (dxlevel 60) level (not officially supported, but works)

DirectX 7.0 (dxlevel 70) level

DirectX 8.0 (dxlevel 80) level

DirectX 8.1 (dxlevel 81) level

DirectX 9.0 (dxlevel 90) level

Inputs

Support DirectInput controller only

Since Lost Coast & DOD:S engine update

HDR, while generally attributed to Source 2006, was first introduced in Day of Defeat: Source,^[1] and later Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, a tech demo. This image compares between LDR, LDR with Bloom and HDR.

High Dynamic Range rendering^[1] (DX9 SM2)

HDR rendering (also known as HDR lighting) simulates brightness values outside computer monitors' actual range, before downconverting to  Standard Dynamic Range. This mainly involves "blooming" colors above 100% brightness into neighboring areas and adjusting a virtual camera aperture to compensate for any over-exposure that results. HDR rendering gives gives richer colors, better contrast and finer gradients. Not to be confused with HDR display output.

While being attributed to Source 2006, this feature was first introduced with Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Day of Defeat: Source (both runs on updated version of Source 2004).^[1][4][5] Half-Life 2 was also upgraded to the Lost Coast version of Source 2004, but all Half-Life 2 maps, even some of them was also recompiled in 2005, are still compiled with LDR lighting only, leaving the HDR feature unused. SiN Episodes also runs on this version and feature mat_hdr_level console command, but support for HDR was stripped in code which leaves it non-functional.

Film grain post-processing effect

Used in Day of Defeat: Source.

Color correction

Alter the color balance of an image to achieve a desired effect. For example, in Day of Defeat: Source, the color has been adjusted to be more desaturated.

Direct3D 9 - Shader Model 3 (DirectX 9.0+ feature level/dxlevel 95)

Unlocks greatly improved shader performance.

Anti-aliasing - MSAA up to 8x, and CSAA support.

8x MSAA can now be selected on the menu. Nvidia GPUs (from GeForce 8 up to Kepler-series / GeForce 600 & 700 card) can select CSAA anti-aliasing, which is less demanding than MSAA. CSAA is not supported on Maxwell GPUs (GeForce GTX 750, 750 Ti, 900 series) and later.

Commentary System

Allows DVD-like director's commentary to be embedded inside levels. Commentary System was used in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, but was introduced (and unused) with the release of Day of Defeat: Source.

Friends v2 (previously Friends Beta)

The original Friends feature was replaced with newer versions (since January 30, 2006) which relies on Steam API instead of a separate Steam server (Tracker^Note). Unlike the old Friends feature, this version still works with latest version of Steam, albeit buggy and partially functional. Any sent message will not shown in-game, but will appear in Steam client. The new Friends update was later released in March 14, 2006 as a public beta, and finally in May 2006, it was out of beta. Friends v2 removed Parlor Games feature.

Removed features (post-launch)

64-bit binaries

In December 2005, Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was updated to add 64-bit support, allowing it to access more than 2GB (4GB with LAA) of RAM, and increase performance slightly.^[6] However it was later discontinued and removed due to its instability on some systems. 64-bit support was later reintroduced with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (on Mac/Linux), and later the Team Fortress 2 branch, without any technical issues (aside from singleplayer mode on Team Fortress 2 branch which doesn't function correctly). The Titanfall branch also has 64-bit binaries.

Availability

The source code for this branch is no longer officially available.

An archive of the 2004 SDK is available on GitHub. SDK Base for this branch does not exist as mods using 2004 SDK are base directly on Half-Life 2 (requires older version of the game running on 2004 branch), instead of Source SDK Base (which did not exist at the time). However, Source SDK Base, now Source SDK Base 2006 (also Old Engine) are backward compatible with many mods that are based directly on Half-Life 2 (Source 2004).

Usage

See also:  Category:Source 2004 engine branch games

All Valve games (excluding console ports) that run on Source 2004 are now currently using Source 2013 Singleplayer or the Team Fortress 2 branch (formerly Source 2013 Multiplayer). The following games are still based on, or currently using Source 2004:

Valve

• 2005 Half-Life 2 (Xbox)

Third-Party

• 2004 Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines (Beta version)
• 2006 SiN Episodes

History and changes

October 7, 2004: Counter-Strike: Source was released. It was the first game to run on Source 2004.

November 16, 2004: Half-Life 2 and Half-Life: Source was released. Both these games runs on Source 2004 at launch. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines ships with beta version of Source 2004, which are more similar to Half-Life 2 2003 leak build (colloquially referred as Half-Life 2 Beta, Source 2003 and Source Beta) than Source 2004.

September 26, 2005: Day of Defeat: Source was released. It features major improvements to Source 2004, adding HDR and Color correction, along with other features. These features would become standard with the release of Source 2006. Half-Life 2 and the rest of first-party Source 2004 games also got upgraded to this engine, but the game remains unchanged aside from bug fixes.

October 27, 2005: Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was released. It also runs on updated version of Source 2004 (adding changes from Day of Defeat: Source). Lost Coast is a short tech demo, taking place in the town of St. Olga, which was cut during development of Half-Life 2. Aside from HDR, Commentary System (while introduced in Day of Defeat: Source and was unused) are also demonstrated here.

December 2005: In December 2005, Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was ported to 64-bit.^[6] However this result in bugs and instability on some systems at the time, leading to 64-bit support later being eventually removed.

April 6, 2006: This is the last time the Source 2004 engine received updates. Source 2006 (also an Old Engine branch) was later created in June 2006 with the release of Half-Life 2: Episode One, succeeding Source 2004 engine branch. Some earlier Valve games, however, continues to run on this engine.

May 2, 2006: The successor to Source 2004, Source 2006 was built on this day, along with May 6, 2006 and May 30, 2006 build, but it wasn't released until June 2006 with the release of Half-Life 2: Episode One.

May 10, 2006: SiN Episodes was released. It runs on custom version of Source 2004 (based on Day of Defeat: Source or Lost Coast version), but all of the new features introduced by both of these games (HDR, Color Correction, BSP 20, etc...) was stripped down and removed.

June 1, 2006: Half-Life 2: Episode One was released, succeeding Source 2004. Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch and Half-Life Deathmatch: Source was also upgraded to this engine.

August 6, 2007: While the engine itself has not received updates since 2006. All remaining Source 2004 games including Half-Life 2 received updates that removes the "Friends" menu, by mounting half-life 2 game dialog.gcf file. This update was released on the same day when the Steam Community was launched, and the Steam client update on that same day, adding in-game overlay (Steam Overlay), which replaced in-game "Friends" menu feature.

May 26, 2010: Half-Life 2 was upgraded from Source 2004 to Source 2009 (Orange Box) engine when Valve releases Steam for macOS. This update was initially exclusive to macOS, but was later released to Windows in June 10, 2010. This leaves only Half-Life: Source and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (and 2 third-party titles) as the only games that still runs on Source 2004.

May 10, 2013: Half-Life: Source and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast has been upgraded to Source 2013 Singleplayer (Beta), during SteamPipe transition. The engine update was later made public in June 2013, and this mark the end of first-party (Valve) usage of Source 2004. Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines and SiN Episodes are the only two games available on Steam (as of 2025) that still runs on Source 2004, with the former running on early version which shares similarity to Half-Life 2 2003 leak build (aka Half-Life 2 Beta) than Source 2004.

Known issues

Bug:All Source 2004 and 2006 games suffered from the fog bug that makes it more dense than usual, which was affected on newer GPUs (since GeForce 8000 series or newer AMD/ATI GPUs) and newer drivers. This has been fixed on NVIDIA systems since driver version "516.5x" (confirmed on RTX 3060),^[7][8] but is likely still present on AMD/Intel. This issue is not affected when using dxlevel 81 or lower, only dxlevel 90 or higher.

Additionally, using any D3D9 wrapper (which translates to D3D11, D3D12 or Vulkan), like dgVoodoo 2 (even on systems with newer NVIDIA drivers that fixes this issue) on this branch, can also cause this issue.

Note:This driver fix also makes VGUI UI (on DirectX 9 mode) looks dark exactly like DirectX 8 or lower. However, VGUI (in DirectX 9) will still look bright on Source 2007 and later.

  (tested in: , v34, )

Bug:Much older Source 2004 titles may not run on modern versions of Windows, and can display the error "Memory lower than 128 MB" or "Failed to allocate memory" when trying to run the game.

Fix:Right click hl2.exe (or other .exe for some games), set Compatibility mode to "Windows XP SP3".

  (tested in: )

Important:All Source games prior to Left 4 Dead engine branch or Source 2013 are known to have slower Alt + Tab ⇆ and can occasionally crash easily, especially when running on modern version of Windows.

System Requirements

Minimum Specs :

• OS: Windows 98 / ME, 2000, XP or later
• CPU: 1.2 GHz
• RAM: 256 MB
• Nvidia GeForce FX 5700, ATI Radeon 9500 (with 128MB VRAM)
• Direct3D 9.0 compatible video card (with atleast DirectX 6.0 compatibility level or higher)

Note:As Steam dropped support for previous version of Windows, and this branch requires Steam (unlike Source 2013), all Source 2004 branch games (except Half-Life 2 Collector's Edition) will require Windows 10 or later. Source 2004 games are still currently playable with the last version of Steam running on Windows 7/8/8.1.

See also

• Source 2006

References

References

1. Confirmed by downloading older versions of Day of Defeat: Source through Internet Archive (Steam2 Chunks archive from 2005-2009). The release version of DOD:S (runs on Source engine build 2497, dated Sep 8 2005), support HDR out of the box. It also have Commentary System (which is unused in this game, but later used in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast). Additionally the Source 2004 binaries (depot 200), aka source engine.gcf (depot 200), used in Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, also had dxlevel 95 mentioned on dxsupport.cfg. --leonidakarlach (talk) 09:21, 17 April 2025 (PDT). 2. Source Engine Build List - Google Spreadsheets Updated Source Engine Build List - VDC. 3. The Steam in-game overlay was silently introduced with the release of The Steam Community Update in August 6, 2007 as a public beta, alongside the launch of Steam Community on the same day. This update was later rolled out to all users on September 13, 2007. The in-game overlay wasn't mentioned on the changelog until Steam client September 18, 2007 update.. Retrieved on May 13, 2025. 4. See PDF. Lost Coast did not use base source engine 2.gcf (Source 2006 binaries), but rather source engine.gcf (which is Source 2004 binaries). Said GCF file was later updated to contain dxlevel 95 on dxsupport.cfg after the release of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast), and DODS only used it after an update. Also SiN Episodes, a Source 2004 game which seems to be built on Lost Coast engine, have non-functional HDR console command mat_hdr_level, but also does not support BSP 20 from Lost Coast.. 5. Differences between games and game versions - SourceRuns Wiki.js. 6. VALVE UNVEILS 64-BIT SOURCE(TM) GAMING TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AMD For those of you running with a 64-bit capable AMD processor, along with the Windows® 64-bit operating system, Half-Life 2 and Lost Coast are now available in native 64-bit versions. Steam will automatically detect your OS and run the appropriate version the next time you run these games. . 7. Source DirectX9 grey fog bug a0divided: This bug basically only happens while using DX9 with games that run on pre-Orangebox versions of Source, like Sin as mentioned above or HL2 & EP1 before the 2010 engine update. But what's interesting is that this bug was fixed at some point by Nvidia, at least on their newer cards with the latest drivers. I currently have an RTX 3060 Laptop GPU with driver 516.5 and the fog actually works properly on DX9. Unfortunately, I think it's still bugged with AMD or Intel GPUs.... Retrieved on September 04, 2025. 8. Verified by leonidakarlach (talk) 01:36, 14 September 2024 (PDT): Appeared to be fixed. Using RTX 3060 (desktop) and driver version 560.81. Using something like DgVoodoo2 would break this again..