Half-Life 2 receives a major update after years
Although almost two decades have passed since the release date, Half-Life 2 still maintains a decent audience and is incredibly popular with the public. It is a title that although belonging to past generations continues to be played by fans, despite its now old age. The developers, after 17 years from the debut of this work, have launched a big update to their product: it is a very substantial patch, the most impressive of all those released in recent years.News introduced within Half-Life 2 with this patch are aimed at making the game much more accessible for the technologies available to us today. One of the noteworthy changes, in fact, is the addition of support for UltraWide screens, together with the increase of the FOV to 110, a feature that will help to make the title fit on any type of screen, regardless of its size. br>
Among the most interesting additions, however, there is undoubtedly the implementation of support for the Vulkan API; for the less knowledgeable on the subject, this means that gaming performance on devices with Linux will be significantly improved. The reason for this change is easily understood: the Steam Deck, in fact, runs on the same operating system, so it is almost certain that a similar update was necessary in order to ensure that Half-Life 2 is better supported also by the new one. Valve platform coming soon.
With the now imminent launch of the Steam Deck, we can expect updates of this type from any type of video game, especially those from Steam. Portal 2, in fact, has received a similar update in recent days, and it is likely that many other titles will follow it in the coming weeks.
If you're looking to expand your Steam library ahead of the arrival of Steam Deck, then you definitely can't miss the Death Stranding Steelbook Edition.
Half-Life 2 Is Getting Its Biggest Patch In Years
17 years after its initial release, Valve's classic shooter Half-Life 2 is getting a fairly major update, including increased FOV, Vulkan support, and fixes for years-old bugs. The update has been quietly pushed to Half-Life 2's beta branch, which players can opt into by selecting the option in the game's properties tab through Steam.
As reported by PC Gamer, the new update was picked up by YouTuber Tyler McVicker, who calls it the largest update the game has had in at least a decade.
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While the update is most likely to ensure that one of Valve's most beloved games runs smoothly on the company's upcoming Steam Deck handheld PC, some care has also gone into adapting the game for modern gaming PCs. The patch increases the FOV cap to 110, pushes a number of bug fixes that apparently have sat unaddressed for years, and includes a number of UI fixes designed to support ultrawide displays.
The new update also includes support for the Vulkan rendering API, which has better compatibility with Linux-based systems like the Steam Deck's SteamOS. Valve's Portal 2 was also updated earlier this year to support Vulkan, and it's likely other games in Valve's library will receive the same treatment thanks to the Steam Deck.
McVicker says that the beta update has some issues still, and isn't quite ready to go live yet. Still, curious players can check out the beta version right now by opting in through Steam's interface.
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