Half-Life 2 - Unused Visgroups/Coast

d2_coast_01

In d1_coast_01, there is an issue with the majority of the unused visgroups being misplaced in nonsensical positions, generally out in the sea; however moving the objects in the direction of the final map will usually match them with their finalized counterparts where applicable, thus it can be assumed that the entire map was moved at some point, and the unused visgroups weren't corrected.

_old nodes

A large number of thinly-placed nodes, with the majority being in the ocean area.

_ambient wind

A single ambient_generic entity.

_perf removed

A func_smokevolume entity. Apparently, it was causing performance issues.

_airborne hintnode

To add to the various objects placed in the sea, an info_node_hint entity. It is named "_crane_driver", strangely.

_extra ropes

A fairly long set of ropes.

_side track overlays

Two overlays placed, of course, on top of the ocean.

_removed by art team

Two sets of trees and a brush-based arch. One of them is placed directly above the area the player initially drives in.

_new ramp

A displacement ramp outside of the map.

_old gravel ramp

Another displacement ramp.

_cits vs ants

An ai_relationship entity. Despite the name, it sets it so that citizens and antlions have a "Neutral" disposition towards each other.

_jeep training triggers

Three trigger_looks and one trigger_multiple.

_old tunnel

A simplistic brush-based tunnel.

beach env_cubemaps

Dozens of cubemaps scattered erratically over the ocean.

sun

An env_sun, alongside a info_target and sun_target.

mud

A displacement plain referencing "BLENDDIRTMUD005a", a texture only found in the Leak. A trigger_look entity is set up to be activated by vehicles entering it, enabling a missing entity named "sound_vo_surfaces" to play.

unrotated shack

An early, unrotated version of the shack before the tunnel. The lower walls on the inside reference an unused texture: "PLASTER/PLASTERWALL006C". Among other features, it contains a Crossbow, not found until several maps later in the final game.

_seaweed overlays

Several scattered info_overlay entities.

_birds

Three npc_seagulls.

_reed terrain

Three displacements with dense reed detailsprites. Their shape matches the water featured in another unused visgroup, "_stream water" (see below).

_skybox water

A cheap water brush.

_skybox pier

A single brush. Oddly, the top face uses a grass texture.

_stream water

Three water brushes filling the low ground near the broken bridge, creating two small ponds.

_rocks

A cluster of rocks, with a few playerclip brushes.

_ludicrous vclip

A func_vehicleclip entity. In comparison to the final version, it is much larger and is textured differently.

d1_coast_02

3d skybox

An unused skybox. It seems incomplete, as it only make use of a few bits of geometry.

_roof pieces

Two floating roof brushes.

_extra wires

Four sets of additional cables in the gunship encounter area.

_debug gunship

A npc_gunship entity.

_odessa testing logic auto

A logic_auto entity. It appears to have been used for testing in conjunction with the nearby info_player_start.

_terrain helpers

Several dev-textured sphere-like objects. It is not clear what their purpose is, but if the name is to be believed, they were somehow helpful in constructing the geometry of the map.

_gunship debug messages

One game_text entity that prints "Gunship switching paths.". It has no inputs or outputs.

_old odessa rpg ammo

Three ammo crates, one in a shed, the other two in Odessa's basement. The latter two overlap with several objects.

_old odessa rooftop

An early version of the second floor of the main building in the gunship base. It has several notable differences, the main one being the lack of any exits, and the much more damaged-looking dividing walls.

Final version
Early version
Final version
Early version
Final version
Early version

_crappy odessa rooftop

The polar opposite of "_old odessa rooftop", where nearly the entire floor's walls and roof have been apparently destroyed.

Final version
Early version

_flyby gunship

A npc_maker and set of path_track entities. The path goes from the Combine surveillance outpost, across the lake, to the gunship outpost.

_removed by art team

A number of cut details scattered throughout the map, ranging from brush-based stop signs on the first road to rails on the edges of Odessa's house's stairwells.

_4charsstatic

_harpoons - waiting for Jay

Various harpoons scattered throughout the map, typically through walls. Some refer to the cut model "models/props_junk/harpoon001a.mdl".

_gunship crash targets

Several scattered info_target entities.

_brushmodel map

A brush-based version of Odessa's map. It uses a different texture than the model counterpart.

_Odessa NPC Clips

Several NPC Clip brushes surrounding the doorways to other buildings.

_bumpmap cliffs

A slightly different version of the cliffs in the starting section of the map.

_water wall

A wall accompanied by a playerclip brush.

_brush treeline

Several treeline brushes.

_ambient wind sound

As the title says, an ambient wind sound. Or, rather, an ambient_generic set to play everywhere.

_static windmill

A prop_static version of the windwill at the corner of Odessa's base.

_unified citizen template

A point_template entity. Some of the entities it points to no longer exist.

_old rocks

Alternate version of one of the outer rock walls' outcroppings using a different texture.

_old antlionpush ss

An early version of the scripted_sequence where a citizen knocks the antlion off the edge. It uses the action animation "MeleeAttack01" instead of "d2_coast_03_antlion_shove".

_perf removed fences

Several fences near the front of Odessa's base.

_perf extra citizen

A env_entity_maker.

_perf removed props

Some additional scattered props throughout Odessa's base.

_perf removed fences 2

Another set of fences to the right of the entrance to Odessa's outpost.

_brick outer wall

Two brick walls in the same position as the previous two fences.

_old gate button

A prop that a nearby citizen presses when you are let out of Odessa's base. It was replaced by a nodraw-textured brush.

_old odessa light position

A differently-placed light in Odessa's basement.

_3d skybox

Contents identical to "3d skybox" above.

_test fog controller

A slightly different fog_controller, which has a blue active primary fog color.

_greeter out schedule

An aiscripted_schedule entity. Although it is unused, there are two later counterparts.

d2_coast_04

window ents old

A func_breakable_surf entity.

extra cars

Three additional cars in the area where the player is blocked off by them near the exit. models/props_c17/car01a.mdl

blockades

Two sets of two brush-based blockades, placed on either sides of the bridge.

apc

An apc stored in the yellow warehouse, which strangely, uses the buggy model.

unrotated catwalk

A different version (that also isn't rotated) of the catwalk the player has to knock over to progress. It uses more metallic textures.

mini container unrotated

Two brush-based shipping containers. The texture alignment on them is incomplete.

old_rock_cliff_area

An old section of the cliffs that blocks off where the player comes from in the final version.

_removed by art team

Several scattered changes, ranging from additional cars in the car pile, to brush-based tree "wrappers", to more aggressive skybox placement.

_3d sky template

Several nodrawed brushes in the skybox. They have a similar shape to the skybox brushes in "_removed by art team".

_window explosion ents

Two differently placed env_physexplosion entities.

_obsolete? antlionmaker

An isolated npc_antlion and npc_antlion_template_maker.

_extra wires

Four sets of suspended cables that start at the beginning of the map, and go all the way down to the ending road.

_old areaportal trigger

Four scattered trigger_multiple entities. They refer to a removed areaportal, "portal_start".

_antlion vs corpse script

A cut script where the antlions appear to be eating a dead refugee citizen.

old_ladder

A differently-placed brush-based ladder.

_old coastline

Three displacements on the coastline.

start_autosave_trigger_

A trigger_multiple placed at the start of the map. In addition to autosaving, it also tells the previously-referenced "antlion_eating_seq" to start.

legacy_entities

Two path_track entities.

_skybox version of world water

A skybox version of the previously cutoff sections of water.

_origin brush

A 512x SKIP brush, placed within the middle of the pond.

_original pond water

A different water brush for the pond, referencing "water_lowdirty002" instead of "water_coast02".

_old ramp vclip

A much larger version of the func_vehicleclip used in the final version.

d2_coast_05

3d skybox

A 3d skybox. There are no details beyond the box and the sky_camera entity.

_removed by art team

As usual, several scattered changes. This time, it mainly involves different versions and placements of the cars on the road, a slightly different shack, and some different skybox brushes.

_e3 only

A env_lightglow entity.

_chimney smoke

Two entities, prop_static and env_smokestack on top of the roof of the house in the middle of the map.

_extra soldiers

Two Combine soldiers at the initial refugee base, one of them in the garage and the other on the hill.

_perf removed

Several scattered props throughout the initial refugee base.

_non functional occluders

Three func_occluders.

_road blocks

Three brush-based road blocks.

_road explosion debris

A few scattered physics props.

_perf test - removed fire

Two fairly long lines of env_fire entities, apparently to be lit up and spread to nearby objects after the gas station pumps are blown up.

_gas trails

Two trails of fuel stain decals in the same directions as the previous group.

_explosive shack

A func_physbox-based version of the red shack in the same position as its final, static version. It is set up to explode from the gas station fires and contains three item_item_crate entities inside.

_giant tank explosion

Several entities intended to create a big gas tank explosion once it is reached by the gas station fires. Also includes two extra item_item_crate entities clipping through brush geometry.

_scrolling cloud layer

A textured plain in the (unused) skybox that refers to "NATURE/CLOUD001B".

d2_coast_07

Similarly to d2_coast_01, it appears that the map was moved midway through construction and the unused visgroups never corrected. It also has early parts of d2_coast_05, d2_coast_08, and various random other bits going outside of the skybox.

previous map

A section of d2_coast_05 in a very early state. No displacements have been set up, the bridge is seven blocky brushes, and sections of it overlap with the final map's playable area.

building prefab

A simplistic brush building. It references a since-removed texture: "PLASTER/PLASTERWALL036L".

bridge landing prefab

A catwalk ladder near the bridge's first arch.

catwalk1 duplicate

A tilted section of the catwalk.

nuked for skybox

A removed far-off section of the map. Oddly, the road exits the skybox before finally terminating.

sniper

A proto_sniper entity.

1 object

Three connected road brushes. Again, they end up exiting the skybox's area before ending.

extra disps

Several subdivided displacements to the left of the bridge. They go behind the cliff, and ultimately outside the map.

6 objects

Two woven displacements below the ocean level. One goes behind the far end of the bridge.

bathroom soldiers

A large trigger_multiple, and two aiscripted_schedules with npc_makers. The entities they refer to, "soldier_overlook_1" and "soldier_overlook_2" are not present in the map.

old house

An early version of the large white house. It is much simpler geometrically, and lacks an interior. A brush leaning on it has the texture "WOOD/WOODSHELF005a", which is a cut texture.

1 object

A phys_hinge for the windmill.

bridge_trigger

Multiple triggers scattered across the bridge.

oldfog

A trigger_multiple that sets the fog.

light_blockers

A light blocker that covers the majority of the train.

_perf_pass

A large number of scattered entities, mainly Combine soldiers and physics props. The majority of them are placed above the ocean.

_underwater skyterrain thingumy

A displacement below the ocean, with the 3d skybox texture. The bottom of the used skybox is below it.

unnecessary occluder?

One func_occluder.

_vis_cluster_complex

Several scattered brushes textured with "toolsinvisible".

d2_coast_08

The map has a number of similarities to d2_coast_07 visgroup-wise. It appears that it branched off from it at some point in development.

catwalk1 duplicate

Identical to d2_coast_07's version.

bridge landing prefab

Identical to d2_coast_07's version.

building prefab

Largely identical to d2_coast_07's, but the wall texture has been replaced with nodraw.

previous map

Identical to d2_coast_07's version.

solid ent ladders

Two sets of func_useableladder entities. They are not placed near any ladders.

3 objects

A section of catwalk. It overlaps with the bridge's brushwork.

barnicles

Two npc_barnacles.

old reload trigger

A large trigger that reloads the map upon falling to it.

blocking model areas

Several invisible brushes that appear to be present for collision purposes. They are not correctly aligned with the bridge.

6 objects

Identical to d2_coast_07's version, but with a different texture.

extra disps

Identical to d2_coast_07's version.

1 object

Identical to d2_coast_07's version.

bridge brush backup

A brush-based version of the bridge's supports.

old bridge supports

Two brush-based bridge arches. They are similarly textured to "bridge brush backup".

hint plane

A large hint brush.

2 objects

Two bridge structure props.

clip brushes

Two arches constructed out of clip-textured brushes. They were likely meant to be used with the older bridge supports.

old button

A dev-textured button. Its outputs reveal a few removed entities.

big occluder

A func_occluder.

_removed by art team

Several scattered changes, including a few plant props, a roof support with blocklights, and a section of the cliff wall.

_skybox experiment

A skybox. It is unclear what experiments it was used for.

stupid_dust_poofs

A cluster of env_smokestack entities, positioned under the bridge. A large chunk overlap with the bridge's geometry.

repelling_group

A number of entities meant to perform a Combine soldier assault. They are placed outside of the playable area, however.

_town clouds

A func_smokevolume entity. The visgroup's name likely indicates that the entity has been copypasted from a Ravenholm map.

_07 ammo crate

A RPG ammo crate, of course positioned nowhere near anywhere that would act as a floor for it.

bridge_dust

Refers to the same objects as "stupid_dust_poofs".

grenade_script

A cut script that tells a still-present Combine soldier to throw a grenade.

perch_points

Several air nodes, mainly positioned under the bridge.

badchunks

An env_shooter.

_seemingly obsolete fog triggers

Two trigger multiples that set the fog distance to 2048 and 1024 respectively.

d2_coast_09

flashback spotlight

A random spotlight with relatively simple settings. It is, oddly, not placed within the flashback room.

low wall

The Leak's version of it

A set of scattered "low" walls, surrounding the large building at the start of the level. They all refer to "STONE/STOENWALL014a", which is only present in the Leak.

road bits

skybox origin brush

A single, nodraw-faced brush.

skybox level bounds

Several brushes scattered around the origin.

3d skybox

A static prop of the coast, placed around the "skybox level bounds" brushes. Assorted brushes

1 object

A large, nodrawed brush. It seems to be a playable-area counterpart of "skybox origin brush".

fence npc clips

Assorted NPC Clip brushes placed around the fences of the third and last settlement on the map.

3 objects

Three func_illusionary "window_##_lighting_panel"'s, from 15 to 17. They have a used comments section, stating, "This brush is here to generate light to the interior space through the window. The white side should face the interior."

obsolete zombie triggers

Five triggers that individually awaken the idle zombies present. They are replaced by a trigger earlier on that awakens them all at once.

_removed by art team

Some objects are in use; these are not shown. A large number of removed and switched-out cars, some early work on the middle base's Combine tower, some rocks, and a road track.

_skybox experiment

Numerous scattered brushes in the shape of the map. They appear to have been used to extend the ocean's "visible" range.

zombie_tunnel_NPC_Clips

A number of variably-placed npc clips. They generally adhere to the positions of vehicles.

fence_npc_clips

Contents identical to "fence npc clips" (without underscores).

_old flashback scene

A cut sequence where two citizens scream and run away from a window, in a room very similar to the one seen early on in the car tunnels. A few ai_sounds, ambient_generics, and choreographed_scene entities exist to make the citizens run from the windows while a car apparently crashes into them.

_strange porch

A generic-looking "porch roof" brush. Oddly, this one is placed within the home, on the second story of the building.

ugly_ladder

A brush-based ladder in the same position as the later prop-based ladder.

bad_bad_faceted_pipes

Three sets of cylindrical brush-based pipes, which were later replaced by models.

perf

Various scattered revisions, mainly involving removed props. One of the entities, however, is a ambient_generic for the flashback scene.

legacy

One set of removed triggers, and a logic_compare a far distance away from the other two. It appears that the set of triggers was used in the cut flashback scene, considering their positioning and a large number of overlapping references.

d2_coast_10

Unlike most of the other maps consecutively before and after it, it only has one visgroup.

_removed by art team

A ocean brush, textured with "nature/water_wasteland002b".

d2_coast_11

_skybox terrain

Two displacements used for sand under the water on the northeastern corner of the map.

_camp light environment

A light_environment, located in the middle of the camp.

_training dummy blood

A blood decal next to the training dummy for the bugbait.

_wounded_writhing

thumb

Two logic_choreographed_scene entities that tell the two nearby citizens to lay pained on the floor. They are replaced by the scripted_sequences.

_Ladder_to_Turret

A ladder that would have allowed the player to access the top of the camp's front entrance.

_old_spawner_obsolete

A npc_antlion, npc_antlion_template_maker, a few logic_autos, and an env_player_surface_trigger at the beginning of the map. Later on, several trigger_multiples near the mid-section before the antlion guardian encounter.

_removed by art team

Three barrels, and two carpet decals.

_new_spawn_method_REVERTED

A set of entities similar to "_old_spawner_obsolete" with an additional env_shake entity.

_Old_2nd_spawner

Another set of "spawner" entites, this time lacking an antlion template.

_func_breakables

7 different func_breakable rocks, used as rocks.

_Old Antlion Guard Area

Some differences in the "arena" where the player meets the guard. There are several more rocks jutting out of the ground, a few more citizens around the arena and on the entrance, and some additional triggers.

It appears that originally several citizens would be nearby when the antlion guard appeared, helping you defeat them. In addition, once the player got close to the entrance to the base, the guard would try to ram the entrance.

_Antlion Guard Testing

A info_target and npc_bullseye. They appear to have been used for testing the charge against the base's entrance.

_lastfew_antlion_spawner

Another antlion spawner, this time in the antlion guard arena with several included info_node_hints.

_12 light_env

A light_environment. It is much darker than the other instances of this entity on the map.

_10 light_env

Another light_environment. It is has much more similar colors to other light_environments.

_guard spawn trigger

Contained within "_Old Antlion Guard Area".

_rock hiding spot

A brush-based rock with four props, half of which fail to load. It has one unused texture, "NATURE/ROCKWALL012B". The unused props are "models/props_wasteland/rockcliff04b.mdl" and "models/props_wasteland/rockcliff05d.mdl". Oddly, the whole area is well outside of the map boundaries.

_brushrocks_template

Using Leak textures

Several brush-based rocks, all referring to "NATURE/ROCKWALL012B".

_disp_rocks_1

A few displacement rocks in the middle of the map. Oddly, one of the rocks wasn't converted into a displacement.

d2_coast_12

3d skybox

Side view

A brush and sky_camera entity. The sky brush is textured with "NATURE/CLOUD001B".

unrotated pier

An unrotated version of the physbox pier seen nearby.

_removed by art team

Some extra hintnodes, a large rock prop, a removed lightpole, and an early version of the prison's outer walls, built with brushes and individual models instead of a single composite model. Said individual models refer to "models/props_wasteland/guardtower01.mdl", a single guard tower model present in the Leak but not in the final game.

_extra ropes

Two additional sets of cables that go along the pylons, which themselves cover the entire map.

_fog triggers

Two triggers, which respectively autosave the game and activate a logic_relay dedicated to fog control.

_obsolete hidden soldier

A Combine soldier within a small, nodrawed box. Considering its placement, it was most likely a template.

_old func_tanks

Closeup of brush emplacement

Some earlier versions of the bunker soldiers' emplacements, some of which are using brush-based models. The brushes use "MODELS/PROPS_C17/HANDRAILMETAL002A".