Net Test 1
Net Test 1 is the first of two known development builds of Half-Life that were sent to playtesters to test the game's multiplayer features. It was leaked on October 19, 2024 by Chad Jessup.[1] This build is labelled "B9" (Beta 9) and comes from a fairly late point the game's development, but still contains plenty of nice things. Net Test 1 was leaked one month after [Net Test 2], but was compiled four days earlier on October 16th, 1998.
Content
Maps
This build contains maps that were likely made to test cooperative multiplayer, a feature that was ultimately scrapped from the final build of Half-Life.
| Filename | Notes |
|---|---|
| assault.bsp | Presumed cooperative map. This map was previously seen in a series of screenshots for Valve's Team Fortress, and appeared in screenshots for Team Fortress 2: Brotherhood of Arms. |
| battle.bsp | Short scenario of a three-way battle between Alien grunts, the military and the player. Later featured in Surface Tension. |
| c2a2_ects.bsp | |
| c4a1.bsp | This map opens with a cutscene that moves the camera to simulate the player gazing at Xen's floating islands. |
| c4a3a.bsp | An early Xen map. |
| c4a3b.bsp | Another early Xen map. |
| c4a3c.bsp | Another early Xen map. |
| gruntdm1.bsp | Presumed cooperative map. Would later evolve into the Deathmatch map Subtransit. |
| loot1.bsp | Multiplayer item collecting map. Would later evolve into the Deathmatch map Boot Camp. |
Models
This build contains models that were intended for Half-Life's German release, namely the Human Sargent and the Zombie, the latter of which also giving us a glimpse at the Scientist's model. Additionally, the p_model for the MP5 is identical to that from Day one, and the Crossbow and RPG p_models use their earlier designs. The latter two are also in the Net Test 2 files.
Skyboxes
This build contains all the skyboxes for Half-Life in the Targa (.tga) file format without banding or compression. However, they are all limited to a 256x256 resolution.
Music
Within Net Test 1, an earlier version of the game's soundtrack was discovered with incomplete mastering.
