XDM features:
Also featuring advanced game mechanics, upgraded and new weapons, new high-quality maps, new hi-def models (with team coloring and LODs), amazing background music, character voice packs, lots of special effects (but no hi-end hardware requirements). XDM offers full set of customization options: HUD, GUI, chat, team colors and names, individual weapon slots and priorities, localizations. It has almost everything you would want from Half-Life multiplayer but didn't get in 1998!
All original Half-Life maps, models and sprites are compatible with this mod, even some single-player mods like Timeline 2: Iced Earth (which don't have DLLs) or even Arctic Incident (now included and extended!) are playable. Unpredictable advanced object interaction, improved monster AI, great visual and audial experience. The mod includes optional botmatch* mode with up to 31 angry HPB bots (experimental). XDM is cross-platform and works with WON and Steam Half-Life versions (1110+), supports Xash3D on large variety of platforms: Windows, Linux, including AMD64 and ARM64 (although this may require manual assembly) desktops, portables and consoles!
This mod has been developing since 2000 (first public testing was in 2001) and lives even now!! :)
(^_^)/ Did you know?
XDM is also a great modding platform (like SoHL), not only for singleplayer, but for all game types. Check out videos to see some of the features.
«In the end, I just wanted to make Half-Life better.»
◊ Install these before use:
◊ Also recommended for playing (friendly projects, may include some XDM tech):
◊ * botmatch mode may not be enabled by default, depending on release. Enabling may require setting "botmatch" to "1" in adv.settings or console and editing "liblist.gam" to point to XBM.dll. See readme.txt for details.
<pre> look, I've already spent 100+ minutes fighting with Krita (and yet coudn't resize the font), that's why this article will be short.</kthx>
DISCLAIMER: all of the following is true for FWGS version of Xash3D, other forks, ports, bundles and flavors are on their own.
Many of you heard of Xash3D engine and some even tried running it in their daily lives. So, what benefits it could offer to XDM? The answer is: plenty. But there are pros and cons.
Today I'll be focusing on the fullBRIGHT textures, a feature originally planned but never implemented in the original Half-Life engine. In short there are special textures in HL1 models, distinguished by their flags. Notable flags are: CHROME, ADDITIVE, MASKED and FULLBRIGHT. Chrome textures were used extensively from the very beginning and gave certain parts of models a very polished and pseudo-reflective look.
The X control point logo model uses chrome texture and the tree branches - masked mode.
(this screenshot is ooold)
The two transparency modes were only added for the Day of Defeat mod f*k you it is a mod game, via slight modifications of the proprietary closed-source anally locked DRM-infected GoldSource DLLs. Which we could thankfully use with Half-Life until this became a mainstream feature with the first VGUI2 (a.k.a. Steam) release.
So, what about FULLBRIGHT flag? I'm not sure if it was cut away or coudn't make it to the deadline, but this feature I've been craving since I started modding: it makes triangles glow in dark. No, not in the modern day shadery glowy blur-hdr-bloom way. Just always drawn at maximum brightness. I.e. not shaded at all. Sounds easy, right? And it is. But watch just how gorgeous it can look!
These screens and buttons of these weapon models are "glowing" using special texture flag that only works in Xash3D. In Half-Life they're just usual textures.
Fun fact: I've added support for this feature into my studiomdl compiler (that produces finished HL1 .mdl models) veeeeeeeeery long ago, made a few test textures, had a few I AM DISAPPOINT moments and totally forgot about it. 15 years later, someone showed me XDM on Xash3D and... LCDs on C4 charges were glowing! It was amazing. This is what happens it you do things properly and thinking ahead with compatibility in mind. Two projects jsut connected together like puzzle pieces.
But back to the ugly reality. Xash3D still doesn't read .scr-files, doesn't generate its server configs properly, doesn't display map preview images and has "DONE" button instead of "OK" in "Create LAN game" window. Luckily, XDM has its workarounds like sv_generategamecfg (or smth.). Don't (want to) know how others are managing without it. So, unfortunately, right now it's more like XDM is inventing more hacks to support Xash3D rather than the opposite. :(
Oh, right: DM_Tropic also doesn't overflow under Xash3D. To this day no one really knows why HL starts reloading all models every second all of a sudden and eventually causes MAX_GL_TEXTURES crash. I've spent days repainting static models to optimize them, but that did not help at all.
That's it for today.
And take a moment to appreciate my hand-made bandwidth- and RAM-saving image previews which ModDB refuses to generate. :D
Unsettling results of benchmarking XDM on a slow machine. Is it really that bad?
Have a quick look at XDM CD (actually, a DVD) back side and tell me if you like it.
XDM is written with portability and compatibility in mind. Since most of the time it was played as a Half-Life mod, which is a Win32 x86 platform, it...
XDM is written with portability and compatibility in mind. Since most of the time it was played as a Half-Life mod, which is a Win32 x86 platform, it...
XDM version 3.0.4.1 complete release. Win32 server + client + botmatch. Fully portable offline installer.
X-Half-Life Deathmatch 3.0.3.8 Source Code package (updated after release)
X-Half-Life Deathmatch 3.0.3.8 Software Development Kit (SDK) (does not include source code)
X-Half-Life: Deathmatch (XDM) version 3.0.3.8 release. Linux server + client. Binaries only, no resources.
X-Half-Life: Deathmatch (XDM) version 3.0.3.8 release. Win32 server + client + botmatch. Fully portable offline installer.
>>> X-Half-Life Deathmatch v3.0.3.8 ALPHA GHOUL [BB] edition <<< FILE UPDATED 28.11.2016
I've been getting this error whenever I try to load a game, whether it's singleplayer or a bot match or whatever. Took a screenshot of it here: I.imgur.com
If I click Ignore, it sometimes loads depending on map (Singleplayer and DM_LostCity worked, but DM_000 crashed. DOM SkyTown loaded, but crashed after walking into what I assume is a powerup.) It also crashed when I tried to use a voice command from the menu, so between that and the fact that it looks like a file named "voice.cpp" is the issue, I'm guessing there's something going on with that.
But, no 25-anniversary compatiblities?
Hello, surely someone already talked about this but I just wanted to say this mod is mod is great but it actually crashes a lot when playing with bots. Like the second I shoot an enemy bot the game just freezes and crashes a few seconds later. The pathfinding is kinda broken too at least in CTF, bots don't know how to navigate the map. Also it still has the assertion failed issue with C++ not fixed yet everytime I start a game. I DO think this is a way better HL:D and I did play the arctic campaing thing on this mod, so I hope you can continue to improve it. I know this is a really old mod and nobody plays it anymore, but I really hope it does get fixed for at least for me to come back and play some casual vs bots. Anyways, good luck.
Thanks for your kind words! I'm always investigating crashes people tell me about. I found out though that on various steam versions HL works a bit different (I'm not using the most recent one) and that sometimes makes things go kaboom. For example Linux HL1122 doesn't crash on models like Win32 1121 does. I won't be implementing fancy crash-handlers (that may also impact performance), but if you're good with VS2010 you can try at least running debug mode and figuring out the place of problem yourself (although I don't insist, mainly because I found and reworked many bugs since).
As it is stated in documents, bots are experimental. Waypoints don't work very well, and if you look closely, most maps don't even have any. (
I am terribly sorry for disappearing! It's just too much to do. Ive been working my job till night and then fixing protocol till 3am. It is exhausting. Xdm works perfectly on hl1121 but fails with most other platforms due to protocol rearrangement. It is not unsolvable, I'm just out of breath. Been pushing myself too hard for the last half year.
Dev update: I've eliminated a lot of code duplication in AI and also introduced custom sounds in most monsters. Code cleanup also allowed to do one thing: spawning dead monsters without need for special monster_billgates_dead. Just add "deadflag" 2 and the code will find and fast-forward the death animation to last frame and make it permanent.
I'd love for an update to this mod that adds a modified base HL campaign that has all the new weapons added throughout.
Hmmm... but I can't imagine how could I fit new weapons, like Black Hole Gun for example, into HL story line. There's not much room for all of those.
There was actually supposed to be a single/coop campaign, but I'm out of manpower for such an enormous project (making a single map took me a year).
The almost finished release will be delayed. My apologies. More detailed explanation is in my blog Moddb.com
hello, great mod, the latest version is really very good! I mainly play with friends and bots, is it possible to create waypoints? I can display them when there are waypoints but how can I create them directly? I created a lot of waypoints for HPB bots, (waypoints on, waypoints add, waypoints save), how does it work in Xdm?
Hi! It works the same. Use command menu (PG UP default) to overview what's possible and swith modes on/off. Then bind wp commands to some unused keys. My example:
bind "KP_MINUS" "waypoint_delete"
bind "KP_PLUS" "waypoint_add"
If you make good working waypoints for maps, please share! )
PS: team IDs are probably broken in bot code, don't panic if they don't work.
PS2: we're working on new bot code that uses navmesh instead of waypoints, but... that's in "to be done" stage. :(
the waypoint commands do not work for me, I can see the waypoints in the map with the waypoint on command but I cannot add or delete any, nothing happens when I indicate waypoint add or waypoint_add in the console
omfd, it's true! and I don't get how this is happening. I'm investigating the code. Sorry for the trouble.
The command behavior is really weird! So is the code. But in order to research further and fix it I'll have to physically travel to the dev pc. It will take a few days. (
hello, possible to upload a fix as soon as possible of course
Ok. Found the problem, it is worse than I expected.
Is the bug complicated to fix?
yes, but there are others too. Anyway, almost done.