GoldSrc (Concept)

GoldSrc

CONCEPT

GoldSrc, or Goldsource is the engine behind the original Half-Life.

Overview

GoldSrc is a 3D graphics engine developed by Valve Software and based on id Software (Company)'s QuakeWorld engine. Like its predecessor, the GoldSrc engine was responsible for a surge in the sales of PC graphics cards and was instrumental in the development of 3D gaming as we know it today.

GoldSrc is a heavily modified version of the Quake engine and thus inherits some traits from it. Some systems were written from scratch by Valve like the artificial intelligence (AI) based on tasks & schedules, the skeletal animation system and much more. GoldSrc also reuse some code from QuakeWorld (update for Quake primarily designed for better networking play) and Quake II but only for precise parts.

Originally, GoldSrc's netcode, the coding that handles online multiplayer, was similar to the one in the QuakeWorld engine. However, in 2001, Valve implemented a new netcode that was designed to make it easier for players with high ping to play well via "lag compensation".

Name

The name GoldSrc was given retroactively after the engine's source code repository was split following the completion of Half-Life. The new "Goldsrc" branch referred to the Half-Life engine that was shipped to retail while the "Src" branch was continually updated leading to the creation of the Source engine used in Half-Life 2 and subsequent Valve games.

Modification

Based on an engine already known for its modification potential and built by a company who has since become known for its support of modifications; the GoldSrc engine allowed users to shape the world of Half-Life as they saw fit. Fans have created a huge number of mods on top of GoldSrc using tools provided by the game developers themselves. Modifications such as Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat (Franchise) have gone so far as to be picked up by Valve themselves and ported to the newer Source engine as saleable products.

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