I DON'T HATE XASH3D (A remake)

I saw the reception "I Like Xash3D" got, and to be honest, I have to agree. It wasn't written very well, and I didn't have much to say.

So, because I fucking hate that post, I'm going to make it better.

== I DON'T HATE XASH3D ==

Right off the bat, we're treated to the menu, a nostalgic affair which is nearly identical to that of the 1998 disc release. If you own the Steam based copy, like I do, the background isn't animated, instead using, obviously, the Steam background of Gordon Freeman in front of a gray background. The engine, however, does include the menu buttons.

It has the same menus as the Sierra version of the game, except you can't select the graphics driver in game, and you can see a 3D rendered preview of your player model in the multiplayer menu, where you can also select whether or not your models are left or right handed. I imagine if you loaded the Counter-Strike mod, you would get the different models, but when there is only one set of models, it simply flips which side it renders, and not actually the models. I imagine that it's for models which are half unrendered.

When you start the game, it is mostly the same as whatever version of Half-Life you have - if you have 1.0.0.6, you will still have all the features it has. If it's 1.1.1.2, you have all the 1.1.1.2 features. Fairly standard stuff.

If you have not set your model in the settings, the game defaults to player.mdl. If you have, however, it uses the multiplayer model for both singleplayer and multiplayer. However, it does not work with games that supply their own models for teams, like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress Classic. I've tried. Most of the differences between Xash and Goldsource is in the minor technical side, and not the gameplay side. It increases many, many limits imposed by Valve for 1995 computers. It doubles, triples, or even quadruples the map limits, so I think that at least a niche of people making maps would enjoy these features.

Plus, you can load Quake 1, Half-Life, and HL:Blue Shift map types. Personally, I wasn't even aware that Blue Shift had a separate BSP version. You can load any of these to display instead of a background in the main menu.

But these features really shine when you've played 2 or more hours of Deathmatch. The increased decal count really shines here.

It also helps with mods if you want them to be more complex. A few noteworthy ones: Shaft, In Deep, Half-Life Enhanced, and PARANOIA 2.
It's 100% compatible with Goldsource content, as long as you have the version appropriate for your HL build.
Seemingly the points are to push the limits of Goldsource at the same time as making Sierra mods compatible. An admirable goal, surely.
I give it a rating of 8.2/10. It only adds functionality to your game.