Overview
Hey :DI want to show you how to start of and begin with speedrunning in Half-life in this guide.I am quite new to the HL speedrunning scene, but wanted to reflect on my experiences that i made during the 6 months im into it, to make it easier for everyone to start out.If you have tips for improvement let me know in the comments!
1. The Categories
You should obviously own Half life 1, in order to speedrun it.
There are 2 main speedrun-categories in this Game (I will use
[link] as my source):
1. Scriptless
Timing starts after you load the map “c1a0” and ends on the final hit dealt to Nihilanth (first
frame that the blue lightning appears).
Demo submission is required to verify all runs. Even if you decide to record/stream the run you will still need to submit all demos from when the timer starts to when the timer stops. Demo recording guide HERE.
Runs must be done on any WON version that is newer than 1.0.1.6 (1.1.0.7 is recommended).
Runs must be done using the latest version of Bunnymod XT.
“fps_max” must never exceed 100 (99.5 if playing on SteamPipe).
Using inputs/saves from a previous playthrough is banned.
Runs must follow the command whitelist that can be found HERE.
“_bxt_save_runtime_data_in_demos 1” must be used.
Changing difficulty during the run is not allowed. The skill setting must be set before starting the run.
You must not use the “wait” command or any scripts, macros, turbo buttons, hyper-scrolling and so on.
You can make aliases for single commands, but you cannot alias +something or -something, so for example, alias +fps “fps_max 15” is not allowed.
2. Scripted
Timing starts after you load the map “c1a0” and ends on the final hit dealt to Nihilanth (first frame that the blue lightning appears).
Demo submission is required to verify all runs. Even if you decide to record/stream the run you will still need to submit all demos from when the timer starts to when the timer stops. Demo recording guide HERE.
Runs must be done on any WON version that is newer than 1.0.1.6 (1.1.0.7 is recommended).
Runs must be done using the latest version of Bunnymod XT.
“fps_max” must never exceed 100 (99.5 if playing on SteamPipe).
Using inputs/saves from a previous playthrough is banned.
Runs must follow the command whitelist that can be found HERE.
“_bxt_save_runtime_data_in_demos 1” must be used.
Changing difficulty during the run is not allowed. The skill setting must be set before starting the run.
You must not use save warp or wrong warp tricks (change level delay is still allowed).
You must use at least 1 script of choice for at least 1 frame (or scripted command such as “save quick; load quick”).
Allowed scripts:
BXT Autojump
BXT Ducktap
BXT Auto jumpbug
Any object boosting script
Gauss boosting script
Scripted sequences of any length are allowed (unlimited amount of waits)
Commands cl_pitchup, cl_pitchdown, +use, +jump, +duck, +attack, +attack2, -forward, -back, -moveleft and -moveright allowed in both manual and inside scripted sequences.
Disallowed scripts:
Scripts consisting of +left and +right, as well as movement commands +moveleft, +moveright, +forward and +back (you’re still allowed to bind these single commands to a key)
Fastfire scripts
Any kind of third party macro scripts
I would highly recommend Scripted running as a beginner, because its alot easier.
The world record in this category is the run by Maxam (27:54m)
You can see his run here, but I would suggest watching other runs too, because you can learn something out of almost everyone.
2. Setting up
Because we’ve just decided, that we want to run the game with Scripts, we have to download them.
We are using GoldSrc, because it primary makes Bhoping easier, gives us an ingame timer and speedindicator.
You can download it here:
Once you’ve downloaded it, unzip it and put the folder in your Programs folder on your local Disk.
Now create a new text file and rename it whatever you want, but make sure to put a .bat
at the end.
You can copy and paste this text in the .bat file:
Now replace every (your location) with the name of your local disk, where you put in the GoldSrc folder (for example: c:/)
You should now be able to start Half-life GoldSrc, with a click on your .bat file.
3. The Key bindings (Bhop)
Now that, that is done, we can move on to create Key bindings.
You will use a technique called “Bunny hopping” to move in the Game, because it is alot faster than normal walking.
I will give you a link to a video that explains pretty good, how to bhop in my opinion (shoutout to Tryedz):
You should practice this technique within the beginning of the game (called h1a0),
because there are no enemies, or difficult jumps to master there.
The other Key bindings I use are created by d0t:
{LINK REMOVED}http://www.mediafire.com/file/fmoawu7o6dh6a2v/configs.rar/file
(You will be able to change every key, if you like in the config later)
Simply unzip the file again, go into “scripted” and copy and paste all the files into your GoldSrc folder.
(my path: C:GoldSrc Package 2.3Half-Lifevalve_WON)
I would also suggest to add:
in the confiig.
So you can practice different, individual parts.
4. Speedrunning
Now you are pretty much setup.
You should now watch speedruns, practice bhopping or watch a tutorial on the different segments in half-life and how to master them.
You can add LiveSplit aswell if you want to get more detailed times (tutorial by Smallant1):
I use the site [link] to see other runs and other times and what I have to beat.
I hope this guide was useful and you want to start Speedrunning this Game as well 😀