Source engine Archives

AppWizard

November 17, 2025

21 Years Ago Today, One of the Best Games Ever Came to PC

Half-Life 2 was released on November 16, 2004, as a sequel to the original Half-Life from 1998, developed by Valve using the Source engine. The game introduced a broader narrative and memorable characters, including Gordon Freeman, Alyx Vance, and Father Grigori, while featuring a sophisticated physics engine and the Gravity Gun. It received widespread acclaim, achieving a perfect score from Edge magazine and selling over 12 million copies within seven years across multiple platforms. Half-Life 2 was instrumental in establishing Steam as a dominant digital distribution platform and set new standards for storytelling in action games. Despite its success, there has been no formal sequel, although episodic content and a prequel, Half-Life: Alyx, have been released.

AppWizard

November 16, 2025

Almost 20 years since it hit Steam, Garry’s Mod finally addresses ‘lackluster support for weapons used by NPCs’ and gives Dr Kleiner his gun license

Garry's Mod, a sandbox game from Facepunch Studios, continues to be popular with over 22,000 players in the last 24 hours, ranking as the 62nd most popular game on Steam. Recent updates include a November patch that improves water visuals using advanced fluid rendering techniques, a March update adding new NPCs and a new game mode called Treason, and a July update integrating assets from Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 into community maps. The game is approaching its 20th anniversary on Steam next year.

AppWizard

November 2, 2025

‘Skinballs,’ a Saints Row test NPC that looks like four floating scoops of ice cream, has been preserved as part of a museum collection

Elizabeth Zelle, a former developer at Volition, discussed the character Skinballs from the Saints Row franchise with preservationists Andrew Borman and Phil Salvadore on Bluesky. Skinballs, a surreal NPC made of four spheres in different flesh tones, was created to help artists light scenes for diverse skin colors in Saints Row: The Third. It has gained popularity in modding communities and is now part of the Strong Museum of Play's collection, which includes various materials donated by former Volition staff. Skinballs is recognized for its quirky charm and cultural significance, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

AppWizard

October 7, 2025

This 2025 shooter made in a decades-old Doom engine is gorgeous, fun, and tough as nails

Mala Petaka is a modern game developed using the GZDoom engine, inspired by classic Doom and featuring vibrant colors and chiptunes. The game presents a challenging experience where the protagonist, Petaka, faces relentless waves of enemies. It includes modern gameplay mechanics such as a pseudo-glory-kill system, status effects that freeze enemies, movement technology for long jumps, and power-ups that activate god mode. These elements create a dynamic gameplay experience appealing to fans of the boomer-shooter genre.

Tech Optimizer

June 21, 2025

EDB enhances PostgreSQL analytics with open source add-ons

EDB has enhanced its data platform, EDB Postgres AI, to integrate transactional, analytical, and AI workloads. The new engine for PostgreSQL offers independent scalability from cloud storage and is optimized for columnar formats like Iceberg and Delta Lake. It utilizes Apache DataFusion for efficient query execution, achieving speeds up to 30 times faster than traditional PostgreSQL and providing 18 times greater cost efficiency for cold transactional data storage. The analytics accelerator allows analytical queries to be processed by Apache DataFusion within PostgreSQL. EDB claims a total cost of ownership that is six times more favorable and transactional performance that is 30 percent faster than SQL Server. PostgreSQL is evolving to support analytics alongside its traditional transactional capabilities, with EDB's goal being to provide tools for seamless analytics within the PostgreSQL framework without redefining it as an analytics database.

Tech Optimizer

June 11, 2025

Databricks Launches Lakebase: a New Class of Operational Database for AI Apps and Agents

Databricks has launched Lakebase, a fully-managed Postgres database that integrates operational and analytical systems for AI-driven applications. Lakebase is part of the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform and is currently in Public Preview. It utilizes Neon technology for continuous autoscaling, enabling low latency and high concurrency. Key features include separated compute and storage, an open-source foundation, AI optimization, lakehouse integration, and enterprise readiness. Early adopters are using Lakebase to enhance various business processes, and it is supported by a partner network for data integration and governance.

AppWizard

February 19, 2025

Valve releases Team Fortress 2 source code

Valve has released the complete client and server code for Team Fortress 2 (TF2) as part of its Source engine Software Development Kit (SDK), allowing developers to create game modifications. The SDK enables fans to "change, extend or rewrite" the TF2 experience, but all modifications must be non-commercial and offered free of charge. TF2 mods can be published on the Steam Store as new games. Valve emphasizes the importance of respecting community contributions and encourages mod creators to integrate community-driven content with the new modifications while honoring the work of Workshop contributors.

AppWizard

February 5, 2025

EA reverses course on Apex Legends sequel

Electronic Arts (EA) plans a significant update for Apex Legends, potentially called 'Apex 2.0', as hinted by CEO Andrew Wilson during an investor discussion. This announcement follows a decline in net bookings for the game, which has over 200 million players since its 2019 launch. Wilson emphasized the company's commitment to enhancing player experience and indicated that the update will likely occur after the launch of Battlefield Labs, expected before April 2026. The game is set to transition to a more modern engine, moving away from the current modified version of Valve's Source engine, and aims to improve server tick rates. EA also plans to expand the Apex franchise to support both competitive players and new communities.

AppWizard

December 12, 2024

Can’t wait for Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2? Sink your teeth into the prequel mod instead

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has faced numerous delays and resets, raising concerns about its potential launch state. The original Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines remains popular due to unofficial patches from modder Wesp5. The modding community is actively involved in projects like VTMB Prelude, which explores events leading to the original game. In Prelude II, players take on the role of a human vampire hunter from the Society of Leopold. The first episode featured new levels, dialogue, and boss fights, while the trailer for Prelude II highlights impressive environmental design using Valve's Source Engine. Prelude is developed by modders EntenSchreck, Hareishan, and Wesp5, who contributed to the Unofficial Patch. Prelude II is in Early Access and aims for refinement before the final episode, while anticipation for Bloodlines 2 remains high.

Winsage

December 9, 2024

Windows 11 for Arm can run natively on specific Android smartphones — the test device heats up very fast, and battery life substantially decreases

User anh0l demonstrated running Windows 11 on Arm from a Xiaomi Poco X3 smartphone, which retains a split partition for Android and has a functioning UEFI. Users reported touchscreen control issues, particularly with inverted functionality on the right side, and temperature spikes reaching approximately 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) during testing. Other Android smartphones have also experienced similar temperature levels. The Xiaomi Poco X3 can run Valve's retired Source engine at 30 FPS but struggles with Source 2-based Counter-Strike 2. Compatibility is better with Snapdragon 800 Series or newer CPUs, while older models are less effective. The shared architecture between Snapdragon CPUs in Windows Arm laptops and Android devices allows for this crossover, though driver support is incomplete. Despite high temperatures, anh0l claims the experience "runs flawlessly," with web browsing and basic Blender animations functioning smoothly at 120 Hz, impacting battery life and device temperature.