Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
Encyclopedia
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is a multiplayer first-person shooter
video game developed by Valve Corporation
. Released on Steam on November 30, 2004, it uses many of the assets from Half-Life 2
, and the same Source engine. It features unique levels, optimized for multiplayer arena play, and a few new weapons. Also included are portions of the game's source code, which were the basis for many early Source-based multiplayer modifications. The game is the successor to the popular multiplayer component of the original Half-Life, but is offered as a separate product from Half-Life 2. Deathmatch, like Half-Life multiplayer, does not develop any part of the plot or story of the Half-Life series
.
Valve's Orange Box collection
does not include Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. On May 30 2007, Valve made an announcement that the game, along with Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
, would be made available as a free promotional deal for all ATI
graphics card users. The offer initially included the Source SDK
, allowing players free access to mods, but this unintentional feature was later removed. Valve also announced another free promotional offer on January 10 2008, which allows NVIDIA
graphics card users to download and play Half-Life 2: Deathmatch along with Portal: First Slice (the official demo of Portal), Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, and Peggle Extreme. Because of the large market share between ATI and NVIDIA, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is now free for almost all graphics card users.
mode includes most of the features seen in other games that can be played in deathmatch mode, such as Quake, Doom or Unreal Tournament
. The most notable of these features are: instant respawn; weapons that have specific spawn points; and special abilities (sprint, flashlight, etc.).
The aim of the deathmatch is simple: the player must kill other players to score points. If the player accidentally self-kills, they lose points. If a player is killed, they will respawn with 100 health points and the default spawn weapons, but will lose all the weapons and ammunition acquired before being killed.
. In the gaming aspect, TDM has almost the same rules as deathmatch mode, except for:
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game developed by Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
. Released on Steam on November 30, 2004, it uses many of the assets from Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
, and the same Source engine. It features unique levels, optimized for multiplayer arena play, and a few new weapons. Also included are portions of the game's source code, which were the basis for many early Source-based multiplayer modifications. The game is the successor to the popular multiplayer component of the original Half-Life, but is offered as a separate product from Half-Life 2. Deathmatch, like Half-Life multiplayer, does not develop any part of the plot or story of the Half-Life series
Half-Life (series)
The Half-Life series of video games share a science fiction alternate history. Nearly all of the games are first-person shooters on the GoldSource or Source engines, and most are linear, narrative, single-player titles....
.
Valve's Orange Box collection
The Orange Box
The Orange Box is a video game compilation for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, Mac OS X and PlayStation 3. The Windows and Xbox 360 versions were produced and published by Valve Corporation and released on October 10, 2007 as a boxed retail copy...
does not include Half-Life 2: Deathmatch. On May 30 2007, Valve made an announcement that the game, along with Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast is a small additional level for the 2004 first-person shooter video game Half-Life 2. Developed by Valve Software, it was released on October 27, 2005, through the Steam content delivery service as a free download to owners of the Microsoft Windows version of Half-Life 2...
, would be made available as a free promotional deal for all ATI
ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
graphics card users. The offer initially included the Source SDK
Source SDK
The Source SDK is a software development kit compiled by Valve Software that is used to create maps or mods for the Source engine, with the exception of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Alien Swarm, and Portal 2...
, allowing players free access to mods, but this unintentional feature was later removed. Valve also announced another free promotional offer on January 10 2008, which allows NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
graphics card users to download and play Half-Life 2: Deathmatch along with Portal: First Slice (the official demo of Portal), Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, and Peggle Extreme. Because of the large market share between ATI and NVIDIA, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch is now free for almost all graphics card users.
Deathmatch
The DeathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
mode includes most of the features seen in other games that can be played in deathmatch mode, such as Quake, Doom or Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament
Unreal Tournament is a futuristic first-person shooter video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes. It was published in 1999 by GT Interactive. Retrospectively, the game has also been referred to as UT99 or UT Classic to differentiate it from its numbered sequels...
. The most notable of these features are: instant respawn; weapons that have specific spawn points; and special abilities (sprint, flashlight, etc.).
The aim of the deathmatch is simple: the player must kill other players to score points. If the player accidentally self-kills, they lose points. If a player is killed, they will respawn with 100 health points and the default spawn weapons, but will lose all the weapons and ammunition acquired before being killed.
Team Deathmatch
In the Team deathmatch (commonly abbreviated as TDM) mode, players are organized in two teams, Rebels (Red) and Combine (Blue), both of them with different characters that appear exactly as they do in Half-Life 2Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 , the sequel to Half-Life, is a first-person shooter video game and a signature title in the Half-Life series. It is singleplayer, story-driven, science fiction, and linear...
. In the gaming aspect, TDM has almost the same rules as deathmatch mode, except for:
- Instead of only one player winning the round, the team with the higher score wins.
- If friendly fireFriendly fireFriendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
is enabled, one point is deducted each time a teammate is killed. - If the player selected a Rebel model for his character, and they are taken to the Combine team, they will get a random model from the list of Combine models. Nevertheless, if the player dislikes that character, they are able to choose another one from the list.
- If the teams are unbalanced, the team with fewer players won't get players from the other team, instead, they will get new players connected to the server.