Half Life Cinematic Mod Alyx

Cinematic Mod 2013

This version of Cinematic Mod is for the new SteamPipe content system! You need Half-Life 2, Episode 1 and 2 converted to this new format (VPK files instead of GCF files). To do this, just launch each game in Steam and Steam will ask you to do so. Cinematic Mod adds cinematic effects, new music (mostly consisting of several tracks from the Batman Begins trailers), new sounds, new physics effects, HD textures, custom HD models, jiggle bone effects to Alyx, modifies weapon strength, etc. To Half-Life 2 and its episodes. The new Alyx model, introduced in Version 5, is based on Brazilian. Cinematic mod is a GREAT mod - the amount of new content, redone graphics, reshades is just outstanding, the sole fact that the mod was created by one guy is just unbelievable people just shunned by the fact how frivolously author came up with original material (remember, Half Life 2 has the status of a golden cow).

If you plan to play an older version of Cinematic Mod (or any other older mod), make sure to make a copy of the necessary GCF’s before you update, as the old GCF’s will be automatically deleted. For more info: see here.

Important notes

This is a graphical / music total conversion. It looks and sounds very different compared to vanilla HL2.
It's free, so don't complain: If you don't like the mod, you can delete it and play something else.
To play this mod, you must own Half Life 2 + Episode 1 + Episode 2 fully installed and unlocked! (= started at least once) You cannot play without Episode 2 content!
Remember to activate 'High Quality' graphic settings in the options dialog. Especially the model setting must be at 'High' or you'll get facial animation errors with HD models.
You must enable HDR, when using the dynamic shadow enhanced maps. (Looks very weird and unnatural in LDR)
If you are using HD characters, please re-initiate them with the new character pimper after updating the CM!
Foreign language users: Please reinitialize your preferred language with the configurator.

Purpose of this mod

Unified Engine; play the game (HL2 / EP1 / EP2) with the latest Orangebox engine / Advanced HDR / Dynamic Shadows
Enhance the old HL2 maps with HDR, blooming, color-correction, new props, dynamic shadows
Eliminate all blurry / Low-res textures with new Hi-res textures and/or Hi-res-Detail-Overlays
Give the HL2 trilogy a more stressed, darker and uncomfortable look
Enhance the soundtrack with a semi-dynamic new Hollywood-style music
Add optional HD characters
Add more replay-value

History

Click to show.

CM 2013 Final 1.01

Fixed missing map connection at d2_coast_07 (night version)
Fixed areaportal error at d1_canals_13
Fixed wrong triggered soundtrack in d3_c17_10b
Fixed missing hd models
Fixed missing KENDRA models (feathered hair)
Updated to the latest engine. This will prevent crashes at the options panel with steam running

CM 2013 Final

Map fixes
Fixed bad hands model on most characters
Added new HD Alyx (close to original VALVE face shape)
Updated SweetFX preset
Fixed incomplete crossbow model when using ultra wide aspect ratio (21:9) or eyefinity
Fixed ep1_c17_02 missing water
Added (optional) nighttime coast sequence after numerous requests. Use the configurator tool for enabling the new maps
(Warning: You cannot use old coast savegames after switching)
Added headlights for the buggy (hl2 EP0 only)

CM 2013 Beta 5

Fixed ep2_outland_09 (it was impossible to get past the laser cannons without cheating)
Small map fixes
Translation fixes for the configurator tool
Enabled and tweaked Real-Time Approximation to Subsurface Scattering for all human models

CM 2013 Beta 4

Small map fixes
Fixed old VALVE bug with wrong r_farz settings on mapload. This should increase performance on most outdoor maps.
Changed the SweetFX injector to boulotaur's for better engine integration. The new injector allows the engine antialiasing remaining active.

CM 2013 Beta 3

Fixed wrong international scenes files in all episodes
Fixed wrong audio for german users in some scenes
Updated DOF shader
Updated some maps
Fixed possible crash when dying while driving a vehicle
Added ENB based fantasy bloom effect
Reworked the Valve-style HD Alyx model (still wip)
Reworked the 'Kendra' model

CM 2013 Beta 2

Fixed d1_canals_01a (map was compiled with active gordon bounds / incomplete)

CM 2013 Beta 1

Mod entering beta state
HD model 'Kendra' finalized
Fixed missing radio buttons in the skill config dialog
Reverted to older engine, because of some errors
Sunrays working again (but still not fully compatible with multicore rendering)
Some map fixes
Reworked some scenes for compatibility to ultra wide aspect ratio (21:9) and surround gaming
Small codefix: Crosshair is hidden til the player is equipped with the HEV suit.
Re-Enabled Parallax Occlusion materials in some maps
Added Depth of field with bokeh blur and autofocus. Two variants available: with and without chromatic aberration
Added Filmgrain
Fine-Tuned ironsighted weapons offset for compatibility with DOF-shader
Added Ambient Occlusion (HBAO) -> NVIDIA ONLY! Doesn't work with ATI hardware. *** Warning, this is very expensive ***
Added Real-Time Approximation to Subsurface Scattering to the KENDRA HD model and most main characters
Added swaying grass
Updated SweetFX integration to the latest version 1.5.1
For GERMAN users only: Überarbeitete deutsch Audio-Lokalisierung bei den Citizen.

CM 2013 Alpha 17

New HD model
Map fixes (a lot)
Fixed Plotstopper in EP1
Worked around a crash bug with activated SweetFX on map transitions
Updated SweetFX integration with v 1.5 and new presets.
Please de-select SweetFX and re-select SweetFX in the configurator to avoid crashes
Added nightvision (default 'n'-key -> can be reassigned in the options menu)

CM 2013 Alpha 16

New (reworked) Sampaio model -> almost final
New Mossman model -> almost final
New (reworked) Lima model -> very work in process
Updated Sirena model. If you use this model, please select the new V3000 variants in the character pimper.
Reworked human rebels. If you use the HD humans, please re-select them in the character pimper
Fixed a huge amount of map errors (valve bugs and CM bugs)
Fixed crash bug when shooting at crane in map d2_coast_04
New configurator setting 'Large VRAM mode':
Try this setting if your GPUs has more than 2.5 GB vram.
It will force managed textures into GPU memory and allow DirectX to upload texture infos on level load, eliminating most stuttering. DO NOT USE WITH LESS THAN 2.5 GB VRAM.

CM 2013 Alpha 15

Fixed small errors in d1_canals_08 - d1_canals_12
Fixed plotstopper in ep2_outland_10 (never ending combine attack waves)
Fixed tonemap settings in ep2_outland_07
Reduced memory usage for rendertargets

CM 2013 Alpha 14

Fixed vortigaunt intro effect in episode 1
Fixed faulty sequence in ep1_c17_01
Fixed wrong particle impact effects
Fixed heavy map errors in d1_town_02
Fixed navigation problems in ep1_c17_01
Fixed jittering boxes in d1_trainstation_05
Fixed narrow area in d1_canals_02
Fixed bugs in d1_canals_07
Small fixes in d1_canals_01, d1_canals_06
Small fixes in ep2_outland_09
Added postprocess effect gausian blur
This is mainly for screenshots, but some testers liked it as a permament effect during normal gameplay.
I recommend to use the 'horizontal only' option

CM 2013 Alpha 13

Fixed wrong skill settings when activating original VALVE difficulty level (Please reselect CM skill settings in the configurator. After that you can select VALVE settings, if you want them)
Fixed plotstopper in d2_prison_01 (blocked gunship)
Removed the HQ version of HEV suit reflections effect (shader is not compatible with actual game engine)
Updated environment lighting in ep2_outland_06 and ep2_outland_06b
Fixed navigation bug in d2_town_02 (Monk not proceeding)
Fixed navigation bug in d2_coast_09 (dropship pingpong or never arriving)
Fixed terrain problem in ep2_outland_10a (jeep stuck under water)
Fixed world hole in d1_canals_05
Fixed wrong collision hull under a train car in d2_coast_01 (it was impossible to avoid a sniper)
Fixed invisible wall (elevator entry) in ep2_outland_11
Fixed performace problem in d2_coast_07 (near and inside farm house)
Fixed blocked strider navigation in ep2_outland_12
Fixed floating house parts (after exploding) in ep2_outland_12
Fixed combine soldiers spawning subsurface in d2_coast_12

CM 2013 Alpha 12

Updated Sourcecode and migrated to latest engine for better VR support
Rework und bugfixes in all maps after numerous internal playtest releases
Re-Inplementation of postprocessing effects
Updated models, textures and sounds
Bugfixes (tons of it)
Installer code changes for almost foolproof installation process.

For this release: Special thanks to the prefab contributors at gamebanana and very special thanks to z-o-m-b-i-e for his modelpacks.

CM 2013 Alpha 02 - 11

Internal playtest releases

CM 2013 Alpha 01

Migrating to Source engine 2009
Rework of every single map in the game
Improved lighting in all maps
Improved landscapes and foliage. Most outdoor maps are completely re-sculped with new displacements
Changed the old smoke explosions (moving alpha-texture planes, simple and ugly) to particle effects
Dropped Parallax mapping because of crashes (duh!), but improved normal mapping in the game
Tweaked self-shadowing effects
Added Bumpmapping to most old (flat) textures
Many new HD textures
Reworked the dynamic soundtrack system
Reworked Client-Code, fixing all known crash errors
Fixed all known plot-stoppers (like faulting npc scripts and event-triggers)
Changed directory structure to keep the mod independent from future gamefile updates (Steam *loves* to break things)

Hardware requirements

DX9 capable graphics hardware with minimum 512 MB VRAM. (1 GB recommended)
3 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)

Software requirements

Half Life Cinematic Mod Alyx Models

Fully installed Steam client. You can't start the mod without Steam running.
Fully installed and unlocked HL2 / EP1 / EP2. Make sure, you have started those games in the past.
Source SDK (SDK, Base, Base 2007) installed (you can get them in Steam | Tools).

Installation instructions

Download and unpack the RAR archive. You will get a setup.exe with some subfolders. Do not unpack the archive in the subfolder. Just run setup.exe and follow the onscreen-instructions.

The mod has to be installed into the 'common' folder inside the Steam directory structure. The installer will try to direct you to the right point. During installation the setup will migrate some VPK files from your half-life 2 installation into the mod directory.

Please assure the complete download of Half-Life 2 and its episodes, before trying to install the mod. Start HL2, EP1 and EP2 at least one time.

The installation will take a while.

The installer tries to copy some VPK and CACHE files from your official HL2 installation to the mod directory.
This can fail on non-standard steam installations or when some registry settings are missing. If you are getting errors on game start (error models, missing assets, black screen etc…), please copy the needed files manualy:
You need to copy all *.VPK and *.CACHE files from the hl2 / episodic / ep2 subdirs of your official HL2 installation to the subdirs in the CM2013 folder, but do not overwrite any files.

Oculus Rift support (untested)

Add '-vr' to the commandline of the Shortcuts in your CM2013 startmenu folder. (The final version will contain additional shortcuts.)

Starting the mod

Allways start your STEAM. The mod can start without steam running, but this will give you a lot of trouble (ingame-problems, resetting steam language settings). The final version will check for a running steam when starting. Use the shortcuts in the CM2013 startmenu folder for starting the mod.

About savegames

In this version almost all maps are updated. This will give you problems with savegames for sure. I'm sorry about that, but you have to start again with the actual chapter. This is, because VALVE stores several entity-states with entity-id into the savegames. Each map-update is invalidating the id-table, which leads to stability problems or strange effects when loading a savegame with old map-entities into the new maps.

Microstutter and heapsize

Half Life Cinematic Mod Alyx Fully Modeled

If you encounter microstuttering ingame (animations), try the heapsize command. Add -heapsize {bytes} to the shortcuts, i.e.: Shortcut: Cinematic Mod EP2 Target: …launcher.exe' -heapsize 512000.

Never set the heapsize above [your installed RAM amount / 3] or 512MB

setup.exe and virus warning

Half-life 2 Cinematic Mod Alyx

Setup uses a tool called SetACL for setting write permissions to the mods screenshots / cfg / save directories. Some antivirus software could warn about possible malware. This is a false positive.

Technical info

This mod's binaries are modified for memory allocation beyond 2 GB. To prevent Steam from overwriting this binaries with its own copies on each start, the mod is using a little launcher, that reroutes Steam's original binaries to > NIL.

Start this mod only with the shortcuts in your start menu (that were created during installation)!

Sound drops or crackling

If sound crackles occures, you can fix this by setting the snd_mixahead value in the autoexec's of CM's subdirectories. You will find the autoexec.cfg in the following directories:

FAKEFACTORY_CM2013hl2cfg
FAKEFACTORY_CM2013episodiccfg
FAKEFACTORY_CM2013ep2cfg

Try different value like snd_mixahead '0.2' or snd_mixahead '0.4' for increasing the buffered time of soundsamples. This will fix crackling or dropouts, but can lead to slightly asynchronous or delayed sounds.

Dynamic Shadows Note

The dynamic shadows were achieved with the placement of env_projectedtexture entities. Env_projectedtexture entities are omni-directional lightsources without falloff. This entity type is very costly and must be used sparingly and only in the most appropriate areas, where the normal static shadow would break the principle of optics too obviously.

For performance reasons I chose a limit of 3 simultaneous active env_projectedtextures in the players view cone. To avoid some of the numerous bugs with env_projectedtextures (like flickering overlays, light-bleeding through walls or just crashes) I had to place several lightsources different in the maps.

Env_projectedtexture entities are totally unsuitable as a replacement for parallel illumination such as sunlight. For a more accurate sun shadow I used area-triggered shadow_controllers with different angles in addition to the projected textures.

All these together is not the perfect solution, but much better than the old static lighting.

Attention: You must enable HDR, when using the dynamic shadow enhanced maps. (Looks very weird and unnatural in LDR)

Recources and credits