GoldSource engine
The GoldSource engine was developed by Valve Software after licensing the Quake (id Tech 1) engine from id Software. Following the release of Half-Life the GoldSource engine received a number of updates and extensions both to support better mod support and to support the features of further games developed on the engine. The v1.0.x.x/SDK v1 branch was the engine that Half-Life was relesed with but on 28th May 2000 the v1.1.x.x/SDK v2 branch was released with patch v1.1.0.0/Half-Life SDK v2.0. When GoldSource engine games were brought to Steam the Steam branch was released as v1.1.2.0: further updates such as the addition of Mac and Linux support kept this frozen version number.
Engine branches
| Branch | Company | Features | Based on | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0.x.x/SDK v1 | Valve Software |
Per-texture palettes Coloured lighting |
Quake (id Tech 1) |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
| v1.1.x.x/SDK v2.0 | Valve Software | VGUI | v1.0.x.x/SDK v1 |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
| Dreamcast | Gearbox Software | Compressed model textures | ? |
v30 .bsp v11 .mdl |
| PlayStation 2 | Gearbox Software | LOD models | ? |
v40 .bs2 v10 .dol |
| Xbox | Ritual Entertainment | Improved lighting | ? |
v30 .bsp v11 .mdl |
| Gearcraft | Gearbox Software | DirectX 8 renderer | v1.1.x.x/SDK v2.0 |
v42 .bsp v14 .mdl |
| Steam | Valve Software | VGUI2 | v1.1.x.x/SDK v2.0 |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
| Linux/Mac | Valve Software | Linux and Mac support | Steam |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
| Svengine | Sven Co-op Team | Extended engine limits | Linux/Mac |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
| 25th anniversary | Valve Software | Shaders | Linux/Mac |
v30 .bsp v10 .mdl |
DirectX 6
The GoldSource engine shipped with a DirectX 6 renderer but it was removed when the engine was ported to Mac and Linux.
DirectX 8
007 Nightfire shipped with a DirectX 8 renderer.
EAX
The GoldSource engine originally shipped with EAX (Environmental Audio Extensions) sound - a sound library by Creative Technology built on top of DirectSound. It was removed when the engine was ported to Mac and Linux.
Vertex animation
Although the GoldSource engine added support for skeletal animation, Quake's original vertex animation support remained in place for many years: the engine would load Quake .mdl files though they would be rendered all in black. An update in 2019 to address remote code execution vulnerabilities removed this functionality: Mod_LoadAliasModel in gl_model.c was updated to no longer call Mod_LoadAliasFrame or Mod_LoadAliasGroup, presumably because the inputs were not correctly checked.
Detail textures
Detail textures were added to the engine as part of the release of Condition Zero. They were also used in Day of Defeat.
VGUI
The VGUI user interface framework was added to Half-Life in the v1.1.x.x/SDK v2 branch. Prior to this patch the in-game user interfaces were text-based and required the keyboard to choose menu items.
64-bit support
Counter-Strike and Condition Zero received experimental 64-bit support for Linux dedicated servers in the first half of 2004. 64-bit support ended in October 2006 but 64-bit engine and game binaries continued to be shipped. The Half-Life SDK release in 2013 still containted references to 64-bit builds in the Makefiles.
Svengine
Sven Co-op received access to the GoldSource engine and made a number of updates. Their updated engine is known as Svengine (https://wiki.svencoop.com/Svengine).
Source engine backports
With the move to Steam, some Source engine features were backported to the GoldSource engine: Filesysteam_steam.dll/Filesysteam_stdio.dll, tier0 and VGUI2.
List of games using the GoldSource engine
| Game | Platform | Developer | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Condition Zero | Windows | Rogue Entertainment Gearbox Software Ritual Entertainment Turtle Rock Studios Valve Software |
2004 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes | Windows | Ritual Entertainment Valve Software |
2004 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Counter-Strike | Windows | Valve Software | 2000 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Xbox | Ritual Entertainment | 2003 | |
| Counter-Strike: Online | Windows | Nexon | 2008 |
| Counter-Strike Nexon: Studio | Windows | Nexon | 2014 |
| Counter-Strike: Neo | arcade machine | Namco | 2003 |
| Day of Defeat | Windows | Valve Software | 2003 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Deathmatch Classic | Windows | Valve Software | 2000 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Dismounted Infantry Virtual Environment | Windows | Maverick Developments QinetiQ |
2003 |
| Gunman Chronicles | Windows | Rewolf Software | 2000 |
| Half-Life | Windows | Valve Software | 1998 |
| Mac OS X | 2013 | ||
| Linux | 2013 | ||
| PlayStation 2 | Gearbox Software | 2001 | |
| Dreamcast | Gearbox Software | not officially released | |
| Half-Life: Opposing Force | Windows | Gearbox Software | 1999 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Half-Life: Blue Shift | Windows | Gearbox Software | 2001 |
| Dreamcast | Gearbox Software | not officially released | |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Half-Life: Decay | PlayStation 2 | Gearbox Software | 2001 |
| Windows | Gearbox Software | unreleased | |
| Half-Life: Hostile Takeover | Windows | 2015 | unreleased |
| James Bond 007: Nightfire | Windows | Gearbox Software | 2002 |
| Mac OS X | Aspyr Media | 2004 | |
| Ricochet | Windows | Valve Software | 2000 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Team Fortress Classic | Windows | Valve Software | 1999 |
| Mac OS X | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Linux | Valve Software | 2013 | |
| Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms | Windows | Valve Software | unreleased |
| Teebo and Kai: The Search for Awl | Windows | Valve Software Escape Factory |
unreleased |
| Xbox | Valve Software Escape Factory |
unreleased | |
| Threewave CTF | Windows | Threewave Software | not officially released |
| Tutus | Windows | Maverick Developments | 2002 |
List of licensed mods using the GoldSource engine
Unlike the Source engine, the GoldSource engine was never opened up to licensing by independent developers, though free mods Cry of Fear and Sven Coop were granted engine licenses and Steam distribution and Natural Selection Steam distribution was explored but never made public.
| Game | Platform | Developer | Steam Release date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cry of Fear | Windows | Team Psykskallar | 2013 | https://store.steampowered.com/app/223710/Cry_of_Fear/ |
| Natural Selection | Windows | Unknown Worlds Entertainment | 2002 | https://store.steampowered.com/app/120/ |
| Sven Coop | Windows | Sven Co-op Team | 2016 | https://store.steampowered.com/app/225840/Sven_Coop/ |
| Linux | Sven Co-op Team | 2021 |
Half-Life Dedicated Server
The Half-Life Dedicated Server tool allows the hosting of dedicated servers for multiplayer games. In early versions of the Half-Life SDK it was open source. The source code shows that the -usegh parameter forces it to load ghostinj.dll - a .dll created by GameHost that allowed remote server management. It appears that ghostinj.dll was never released.