Source 2006
Orange Box branch(2007, 2009/MP)
Day of Defeat: Source, was one of the features demonstrated in 
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, a tech demo.[2][3] These features are shipped by default with the release of 
Source 2006. This image compares between LDR, LDR with Bloom and HDR.The Source 2006 engine branch, also known as the Episode One engine branch, and the last Old Engine branch, was first introduced in 2006 with 
Half-Life 2: Episode One, with all previous games on 
Source 2004 (except Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast) upgraded to this branch. Some features of Source 2006, such as HDR rendering and color correction, are first demonstrated in 2005 with Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Day of Defeat: Source (both of them runs on a updated version of Source 2004 when initially released).
Source 2006 (circa July 29, 2006) also introduces Source SDK Base (the 2006 version of SDK Base was later renamed to Source SDK Base 2006). Mod that are based on SDK Base instead of directly on Half-Life 2 will prevent incompatible engine updates (like Half-Life 2 upgraded to Source 2009 in 2010 on PC) from making the mod unusable.
It was distributed in base source engine 2.gcf. While it was succeeded by the Source 2007 (also known as Orange Box) branch, Source 2006 continued receiving engine updates until December 2009, and in 2010, all first-party Valve games (except 
and 
) were upgraded to Source 2009. This branch requires 
Half-Life 2 content to operate.
The engine versions for this branch are 2733 (EP1) up to 4044 (Protocol 7).[1]
The SDK and SDK Base game for this branch are free to all Steam users.
Features
Previously introduced since Source 2004 (/ engine update):
- High Dynamic Range rendering (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. - Originally introduced in Day of Defeat: Source and Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (runs on newer version of Source 2004), but generally attributed to Source 2006.[2][3]
- 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.
- Commentary System
- Allows DVD-like director's commentary to be embedded inside levels.
- Direct3D 9 - Shader Model 3 (DirectX 9.0+ feature level/dxlevel 95)
- Unlocks greatly improved shader performance.
- BSP version 20
- New BSP version, with new lumps.
- Patching levels with lump files - update entity lumps, changing a .BSP file's entities without recompiling the maps.
New since Source 2004:
- Improved prop_static lighting
- Static props without normal maps or phong can now be lit by VRAD per-vertex, instead of at runtime based upon their origin or $illumposition.
- Phong materials
- Diffuse reflections for skin and other roughened surfaces on models.
- Facial animation upgrades
- More detail and intenser shapes for close-up performances.
- Dynamic interactions
- Dynamic interactions between NPCs using special animations.
- Lightwarp textures (DX9+ SM3)
- 1D textures that tint a material per-texel depending on their brightness.
- Detail prop shapes
- Improved detail sprites that sway in the breeze and bend away from nearby players.
Note:Some features above are only available with Direct3D 9, dxlevel 95 (DX9.0+ level) or later.Removed features
- DirectX 6.0 (dxlevel 60) compatibility level
- Support for DirectX 6.x GPUs has been partially dropped, but is still usable.
- Steam Friends menu (and Friends v2)
- In-game friends list & instant messaging, allowing you to chat in-game without Alt + Tab ⇆ to Desktop and open Friends in Steam client. Source 2006 uses Friends v2 (formerly Friends Beta), which removes Parlor Games option (a feature which allows player to play Checkers, Chess, Go, Hearts and Spades with friends), and relies on Steam API instead of Steam TrackerNote servers which has been shutdown.
- Originally present before it was eventually removed in July 31, 2007 engine update for Source 2006, as many of it's functionality are replaced by Steam Overlay which is introduced around September 2007 (or earlier in 2007). As of 2025, the friends feature (still works with latest Steam client) only works on Source 2004 games since 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 (both from 2005 or earlier) no longer works, since the old Tracker server was offline.
Availability
Game code for the 2006 branch is included in the now-deprecated Source SDK app. To compile the code for 2006 branch, see Compiling under VS2005.
All Valve games introduced with Source 2006 and previous titles that are upgraded from Source 2004 to Source 2006 are now currently using Source 2013 Singleplayer or the Team Fortress 2 branch (previously Source 2013 Multiplayer).
Usage
The following games still run on Source 2006:
Valve
- 2006 Source SDK Base 2006
Third-Party
- 2006
The Ship: Murder Party and The Ship: Single Player - 2006
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic - 2007
Eternal Silence - 2007
Fortress Forever - 2007
INSURGENCY: Modern Infantry Combat - 2007 Iron Grip: The Oppression
- 2009
NEOTOKYO° - 2010
Vindictus
- Heavily modified, and uses proprietary file format to store game files. Also support Direct3D (DirectX) 11, Nvidia PhysX, 64-bit.
- Heavily modified, and uses proprietary file format to store game files. Also support Direct3D (DirectX) 11,
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),[4][5] 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.
, 
v34, )Bug:Switching resolutions in some of Source 2006 games, may cause the right side of the HUD (ammo) to be improperly scaled. Some console text such as one that displayed by enabling cl_showfps or cl_showpos 1, will be either cut off or completely hidden. (tested in: GMOD 9, HL2 old engine)
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 7.0 compatibility level or higher)
Note:As Steam dropped support for previous version of Windows, and this branch requires Steam (unlike Source 2013), all Source 2006 branch games will require Windows 10 or later. Source 2006 games are still currently playable with the last version of Steam running on Windows 7/8/8.1.References
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