Valve reuses map geometry from HL2 for the episodes

[Gergor]

Hope this hasn't been posted. I was playing through Half-Life 2 the other day and noticed a particular area that seemed to really remind me of a spot from Episode One. So I loaded up EP1 and found the spot and realized that Valve had most likely taken part of an HL2 map and made some changes here and there-

The original map (d3_c17_04) from HL2:


The altered map (ep1_c17_02b) from EP1:


Another from the original:


One more from the EP1 map:


I'll leave you to find the similarities for yourselves, I just think it is interesting how Valve makes use of the resources they have. If you have a good memory, its like revisiting spots from the original game after the passage of time.

 

[Ennui]

that's not the exact same geometry i dont think, at least not the second one, just a similar layout. more likely they used similar reference shots for those areas, because it's not very practical to reuse geometry when you change it like they did.

 

[Gergor]

I don't know- if you look at the stairs in the third screen and compare them to the ones in the last screen, they appear very much the same, as do some other elements of each map. Perhaps they did use the same reference photos, but I don't think it would be impractical to take a releatively vague spot from the original game and use it as a base for a relatively vague spot in ep1. Actually, Valve have a history of using existing resources as a base and expanding on them (Quake Engine -> Goldsource). Or maybe I'm just bored and have too much time on my hands.

 

[Yorick]

Oh wow it's the same style.

Streets in real life can't look anything alike

Seriously, I doubt they did, but if so, who cares.

 

[Dario D.]

They do look strikingly similar, and some of the building geometry is identical. A mapper could have easily taken those level chunks and used them to "block-out" an area, just to have something to start with, then gone over them to scramble them up a bit.

That can save a lot of time, if done efficiently... (even though I, personally, would lose time doing something like that)

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Maybe it's the same street...

 

[Shinobi]

for the first one I'd believe it was the exact same geometry...

I haevnt played piesode 1 but does the story cross back over those areas?


that's both cunning and cheap at the same time..

 

[Dario D.]

I haevnt played piesode 1 but does the story cross back over those areas?

No, it doesn't seem like it... Everything feels new.

 

[Unarmed]

The story doesnt cross back as such... And although the geometry is strikingly similar the texrtures are not.. Therefore these are probably not the same places in different times, since I dont think the citizens of C17 add and remove theyr windows and redo their walls on a daily basis.

It seems as if VALVe has used old stuff from HL2 as a stating point for some of their EP1 maps as was stated above. Too bad they didn't change them much enough becuase I dont like it when its all this obvious.

Good find anyways...

Its like most smaller caves in WoW being exact replicas of each other. Although I feel that Blizzard is allowed to get away with that concidereding the World of Warcraft is the size of finland :S

//Unarmed

 

[-Psy-]

If you travel around you'll notice that everywhere seems pretty much the same.

 

[Finger]

that's not the exact same geometry i dont think, at least not the second one, just a similar layout. more likely they used similar reference shots for those areas, because it's not very practical to reuse geometry when you change it like they did.

Sure it is. A texture change, lighting change, throw in a few different effects - much quicker than rebuilding completely from scratch.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Loads of streets in City 17 look the same. Wait, thats true in real life.
But it would be cool if that was the same place. :stare:

 

[JohnnyBeverage]

Well you are going back through City 17 so it would be expected that you could go through the same streets.

 

[^Ben]

Oh wait - you mean buildings in a city might looks similar and be laid out in a similar fashion? Well color me tickled.

 

[Dodo]

none of the screens are the same. the third and fourth screen look like they have the same geometry... but its just the building on the right that looks the same, and they must have rebuild it because of the fact the player goes inside that building.
at the end of the street the HL2 screen has one of the buildings a bit closer, and the buildings on the right dont match.
but i must admit it looks alike.

-dodo