Original Xash3D Engine by Unkle Mike (Windows version) supports wide variety of Half-Life mods, from simple 1-map mods to mods which change everything - from game resources (textures, models, sprites, sounds etc.) to gameplay itself (new weapons, NPCs, monsters, game mechanics etc.). But some people use ported versions of Xash3D FWGS to play Half-Life mods on different operating systems (like Android, Linux, Mac, iOS etc.). And they want to know which mods are supported by Xash3D for their platform. The major rule here is that any ported version ("fork") of Xash3D contains standard Half-Life code. So, technically, any ported version of Xash3D should support properly any Half-Life mod, which doesn't use a new game code.
In this article you can find those mods, which are based on standard code of Half-Life. They may have changed textures, models, sprites, sounds, skill configs, but they don't change gameplay itself. This should allow you to play these mods with any fork of Xash3D (if it's ported correctly). Mods which include non-standard game DLLs (you can find them in dlls or cl_dlls folders usually) most probably should be ported on corresponding platform, otherwise they will not work properly (new weapons, NPCs, monsters will be missed, and game mechanics will be broken), so even if you manage to run such mod on any platform except Windows, you will not able to play it as intended. By the way, any multiplayer mod contains changed game code, so they must be ported with no exceptions, and they are not listed below.
SINGLEPLAYER MODS, BASED ON
STANDARD HALF-LIFE CODE
All listed mods have a download link (if possible). All listed mods have at least 2 playable maps. You can play them with Xash3D, using common rules of mods' installing (with an adjusting to specific OS). EXE-files are supported only by Windows, so if you see a mod, packed into installer, you should unpack it before trying to use it on another OS. Highly rated mods are marked with a bold font. Some mods have a tip of how to prevent potential problems with a mod, or an information about inner bugs of a mod (which show themselves not only with Xash3D, but with GoldSrc too). Some mods had problems with performance on old builds of Xash3D because of engine-side mirrors (if "gl_allow_mirrors" cvar is set to "1"), but in current versions and for most of ports on another OS it's probably is not actual already (because that cvar is removed or doing nothing).
Please note: unfortunately, some mods' authors do not know, how to properly set Valve's game dlls via liblist.gam of their mod, so they just copy dll files (hl.dll & client.dll) from valve folder into mod's folder. For original Xash3D this only works if old non-SteamPipe dlls were used. Otherwise, the engine is unable to load client.dll, linked to Steam assets, and the game do not start (Host_InitError: can't initialize client.dll). All mods listed below are based on standard game code, so if you have a trouble with their client.dll (if they have one), you can safely delete both dlls & cl_dlls folders inside mod's directory. So the engine will use appropriate dlls from your valve folder. This method works properly only for mods which do not modify original game code for their needs. Other mods (with non-standard game code) must be used only with dlls shipped with a mod.
- 101 Grunts
- 1986, aka Black Mesa Circa 1979, 1986
- 2009EB (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- A Day in the Life of a Coward (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- A Dream, aka Map a Dream by Skals (set fps_max to 60 to prevent a possible sticking of the box in the elevator at the map comp28m2)
- Adam
- Affliction
- Afraid of Monsters
- Agamemnon Icarus Glass
- Aggregate Pain
- Alternative Way: Part 1
- Assassin Mark 2
- Assault on Roswell v2.0
- Back to Xen
- Back to Xen 2
- Be Careful!
- Beginnings
- Betrayal (the mod has inner bugs; set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- Between Two Worlds
- Black Mesa Energy Testing Chamber
- Black Mesa Sideline (set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- BlackMesa 2007, aka Black Mesa Missions 2007
- Blood and Bones
- Boom (Huknenn) v1.0 & HL Boom: Gold Edition v1.1
- BoomeNShtein3D: Episode 1
- Brave Brain (it's recommended to play bugfixed version 1.1)
- Breakdown
- Breakdown 2: Afterwards
- Buddhist Wars
- C&C Tiberian Dawn v2.0
- Castle Creep (there is an inner bug in the end of 4th map - don't go further of that point where a bomb is placed, otherwise level change will not work)
- Castle Disposed
- Chaos Theory
- Chernobyl (this mod has inner bugs; in the beginning you have to use noclip, to fix a sticking in the bus)
- ChickenMix
- ChickenMix 2 (there are a couple of minor bugs, but they are inner bugs of the mod)
- Confronted with Consequences & Confronted with Consequences 2016 Remake
- Construction
- Conundrum
- Conundrum 2
- Crash (there is a small issue with a lift in a final map - you should stay closely to the lift's button after you've pressed it, otherwise door of the lift won't open)
- CWC Board Mappack Initiative (the mod has inner bugs)
- DAV Sub
- DAV Train
- death = power
- Death in the Dark (there are some minor inner bugs, but they don't interfere with the mod's progress)
- DejaVu v2.00
- Destination Black Mesa (there is a small inner problem that can randomly appear in the mod's ending - the last map with credits may start improperly; type restart command into console if you get this issue)
- Destiny
- Deth (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- Do
- Doomed-life
- Down Time v1.1
- Drug Barons
- Dungeon Death
- Dust Runner v1.1
- Dwell
- E. T. C., aka Earthquake Testing Centre
- E. T. F.
- E7: Black Star (limit fps_max to 50 for the map an_ele to prevent a possible sticking of boxes on a big elevator's platform; or you can try to push a box down from the platrofm before the elevator stops)
- Edge of Darkness
- Edge of Death - Series 1
- Enemy 2
- Engineering Mankind
- Episode Power Plant and China
- Episode Secret Weapon (you will face a serious inner bug at the second map if you try to play this mod on hard difficulty)
- Escape by Leo Ring
- Escape from the Egyptian Tomb, aka RacerX Compo 12 Egyptian Museum
- Espionage
- Exodus
- Exodus 2
- Failure
- Faraon (it's a set of 4 maps which can be combined in one singleplayer episode: map 1, map 2, maps 3-4)
- Fate Reversal v1.1
- Fathom 2.4
- Freeman
- Freeman's Escape (2 maps by JiggZ)
- Freeman's Fight
- Freeman's Return
- Freeman's Return 2
- Freeman's Revenge
- Freeman's Tomb, aka The Crypt
- G-Invasion v2.5, aka G-Man Invasion (there is an inner crash bug on final titles: some text lines are too long and cannot be properly displayed)
- G-Man House
- GameStar, aka Episode 4 GameStar
- Gateway
- Gateway 2
- Gina's Adventures
- Gman Island Part 1
- Gman Island Part 2
- Graber v1.1
- Ground Zero by Derek 'Hellfire' McBurney
- Gut Reaction
- Half-Life: Dreamcast v1.1
- Half-Life: OPS (there is a potential inner bug in the map escape - do not use any HD replacement for default scientist's model, otherwise you can't finish the map without noclip)
- Half-Quake
- Half-Quake 2: Amen
- Hard 2 (set fps_max to 60 to prevent a possible sticking of Barney on an elevator in the beginning of the mod)
- Hardman - In the City (the updated version of the mod has been tested)
- Haunted (set sv_validate_changelevel to 0 to avoid a problem with level change between maps pagan7 and pagan8)
- Hazardous Materials: Episode 1 & 2 (suppotted only by older builds of Xash3D, like 3887 or earlier; newer builds will not load some maps)
- Hazardous-Course 2
- Help Wanted
- Hidden Evil v1.01
- High Speed
- hlife_hotdog_compo26
- Home Alone -NOT
- Hour-Glass
- Idol Hunt
- Independence Day (set sv_validate_changelevel to 0 to avoid a problem with incorrect level transitions)
- Infestation
- Infiltracja
- Infinite Rift
- Instinct
- Insurrection
- Irreality
- Ispitatel
- Jailbreak (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- Kill All Greenpeace
- Krypton (there is one inner bug on the map with a rocket pad - the rocket can get stuck when you try to launch it)
- Lands of Lore v2 (set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- Last-life
- Life's End
- Macky's Adventure
- MadCrabs (there are couple of potential scripting problems, but they seem to be inner problems of the mod, so if you stuck somewhere just try to replay your game from last autosave)
- Marine Invasion: Episode 1 & 2 + Freak-Lager (map for Opposing Force, so it requires custom game code and resources from OF)
- Mario Keys
- McBeth
- Medieval World
- Mel Soaring 2: Star Rancor
- MINIMICUS
- Misantrophy (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- Mission Failed
- Mission MC Poker
- Mission of Mercy
- Mission to Kill
- Mission to Kill 2
- Mistaken Identity (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- Mistaken Identity 2 (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- Moonwalker
- Mystery House v1.0
- NewBlackMesaVille
- Night Shooting
- No Exit
- No-Life
- Nuclear Power Plant
- Occupied Territory
- Office Commando (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly; the mod still has some inner problems)
- Operacja Gargantua
- Operacja Mirra
- Operation Krautsalat v1.1 (there is a potential inner bug at 3rd map - a door to the control room will not be opened, until all alien grunts leaved their cells, so don't kill those of them, which are still in cells)
- Operation: Nova (there is an inner bug with an M60 machinegun on a map with Osprey: it can be activated and used if you are staying in front of it, not behind it)
- Optimum Fear
- Outrun
- Outwards (Day One)
- P.I.Z.D.E.C.
- pagoda (Steam version is recommended, it fixes a bug in the first map)
- Peaces Like Us (v1.0 uses standard Half-Life code, v2.0 has specific game code)
- Phobos IV
- Pimp My Car (there is an inner issue with incorrect responses of buttons on combination locks)
- Point Blank – Stackdeath Complex
- Prisoner Escaped
- Prisoner of Event
- Prisoner of War
- Project Quantum Leap
- Project VIP
- Projekt Einstein
- Recon, aka Reconnaissance
- Red Mesa
- Red Mesa 2
- RES v1.0
- Rescue 9-1-Freeman
- Resistance
- Resistance 2
- Resistance 3
- Return
- Return 2 (there is an inner problem in the first map with a moving of the second metal box, just keep pushing the box, until it begins to move)
- Reviviscence
- Road of Destiny
- Rooms: TWHL COOP Project, aka Rooms Half-Life or TWHL Rooms (set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- Run for Life (the plagiary version of this mod with changed menu background also known as Mad Escape)
- S.W.A.T.
- Sabotage
- Sagharmath
- Sandscroll
- Saving Bob
- Secret Base
- Secret Santa 2011 for Soup Miner
- Secret Santa 2011 for Stojke
- Senses in Decay
- Shift-Two v1.1
- Sky Mesa
- Sleephorst v1.5
- Slimy Situation
- Smart Decoy
- Somewhere in Time
- Sooper 2
- Split-Second (DL link)
- Subhumanity
- Terminal Monstrosity (4 maps by Anthony Plant)
- Terror Side (set sv_validate_changelevel to 0 to avoid problem with level change between some maps)
- Test Your Skill
- The Challenger Deep
- The Challenger Deep 2
- The Evil Thing
- The Evil World
- The Haunted Lab
- The Long Night
- The Mansion
- The Night Things
- The Night Things 2: Woodstock Manor
- The Returning (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- The Ropes (set fps_max to 60 to prevent a possible sticking of a barrel which you need to lift down with an elevator at the second map)
- The Way Is Clear
- The Way Is Clear 2
- The World Machine
- The Xeno Project
- The Xeno Project 2
- Then and Now
- They Live, aka Chungo
- Timefall
- Timeline
- Timeline II: Iced Earth
- Todesangst
- Tokami Island
- Tower (set sv_validate_changelevel to 0 to avoid a problem with incorrect level transitions)
- Trespasser
- Try, Try Again
- Tucked Up
- TWHLmix
- Two Smoking Barrels
- Typical Disaster
- Typical Disaster: The Lost Levels
- U-Life
- Underground v2.0 (there is an inner crash bug on final titles: some text lines are too long and cannot be properly displayed)
- Underground Territory
- Undertime
- Uplink Addon v1.2
- Uplink Lite & Uplink Lite Plus
- Uplinked
- USS Darkstar (set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- Vengeance
- Virtual Reality: The Real World
- VLOKAM
- VLOKAM 2
- Wail of Death
- Wail of Death 2: The Hell Master
- War Crimes v1.2
- Way to Victory
- Windmill v2.0
- World War III Missions (Part 1, 2 & 3)
- Worst Holiday (there are 2 problems with doors; a door at second map can be opened if you sit down near it; to pass the door in laboratory you should run quickly as you can from ventilaion shaft - there is an autosave point on a previous map, if you failed)
- Xen
- You Are in Army Now
- Zubben
There are also some mods, released in alpha, beta or demo state, or mods which have no complete storyline or which have been cancelled in development, so they may be not fully-featured or may contain some inner bugs. However, these mods have no incompatibilities with Xash3D, so you can try them also.
- Alpha Research Facility v0.3
- Back in Future Alpha version
- Biohazard 2 (unfinished version of the mod)
- Black Meat (unfinished mappack of 3 maps)
- Bloodreign (the mod has inner bugs, especially second map)
- Boreality: Part 1 (there is a visual glitch problem on the map mell04, but same happens for original Half-Life too)
- Catacombs: Part 1
- Cro-man's Office Mappack
- Great Escape (unfinished mappack of 2 maps)
- Half-Life Episode Two Demo Alpha v1.0
- Half-Life: Marine Demo (by EDOC32)
- Hazardous-Course (first incomplete version of Hazardous-Course 2 mod)
- High Tech v0.2
- HL: Paranormal Demo (use build 4055 or later to play the mod properly)
- HL Shadows, Part 1
- HLNewEnd
- Invader Beta (unfinished mod of 3 maps)
- Kleiner's Adventures Demo (there is custom client.dll, but it looks like it only change HUD's color)
- Kleiner's Adventure: The White Line Demo (there is custom client.dll, but it looks like it only change HUD's color)
- LV-426: Episode 1
- Malevolence (v1.3 uses standard Half-Life code, v1.4 uses custom SoHL-based code)
- Meth-Life Demo v1.0
- Night-Fire Demo
- On the Other Side, aka OTOS (there is a train-related bug in the beginning, which makes you to use noclip, but it's an inner flaw of the map)
- Orion: Part 1, aka Project Orion
- Padle Mesto Demo (some scripts & buttons are not configured properly in this mod, so they can be activated/deactivated automaically after reloading of a saved game)
- Panic at Black Mesa Demo
- Plan B v1.1
- Preview of the “Paradox” (use build 4055 or later and set sv_validate_changelevel to 0 to avoid a problem with incorrect level transitions; the mod still has inner problems)
- Project Focus North v1.6 Demo
- Qortez, aka Quortez (it's recommended to use only default low-poly model of scientist for this mod; also set fps_max to 60 via console to prevent an issue with one of scripted sequences)
- Return to Lambdacore Demo
- Route City Beta 1
- SHAFT - Part 1
- Shortcut v1.0 Beta
- Stargate Test (3 maps, it's earliest outlines of known Stargate mod)
- Stoka
- Striker's Compo 26 (there are some minor bugs, but they are inner bugs of the mod)
- Technology Test 2
- The Gate Playable Demo
- The Fugitive Demo (before you launch the game delete or rename dlls folder inside mod's folder, it contains files which are compatible only with WON Half-Life v1.0.1.6 or earlier)
- They are Back (incomplete mod outlines)
- Tiefseelabor, aka Deep Sea Laboratory
- Time-Shift
- Train Single Beta (before you launch the game remove cl_dlls folder and gfx.wad file from TrainSingle directory)
- UNS Progress (cancelled mod preview, 4 maps)
- WAR: The Killer Beta 0.1
- White Force Beta, a prototype of Residual Point mod (set fps_max to 60 via console to prevent a possible sticking of crystal cart)
- Your First Mission Demo (rename mod folder "yfm demo" to "yfm" before playing; only 2 training maps are avaliable)
- Zombieland v1.1
Some mods were released as a set of maps without level transitions (because they are independent, or because mod's author was unable to finish the mod). So if you want to try them, you should start every map manually via console. Look inside maps folder of a mod to check names of present maps (and load them with map name_of_a_map command or use nextmap to load one map by another in alphabetical order).
- AvsM 1 v1.2 (6 maps)
- Cook The Headcrab Episodes 1 & 2 (2 maps)
- Cook The Headcrab Episode 3 (2 maps)
- Cook The Headcrab Episode 4 (2 maps)
- Dangerous Toy Tech Demo (4 maps)
- DAV HL Pack 1 (2 maps)
- Discoman v2.2 (there are 2 maps: main map & the training; the main map has inner bug - a combination lock for the last door won't open if you made save/load during the play)
- Dramatic Measures aka Surprise! (4 maps)
- Funny Map Pack 1 (9 maps)
- Half-Life Shorts (5 maps)
- Half-Starwars (2 maps; set gl_allow_mirrors to 0)
- Japanese Episodes (3 maps)
- K7 Trouble (8 maps; in Windows, you have to delete cl_dlls folder from the mod's directory before you start to play; also remove "secure 1" string from liblist.gam or gameinfo.txt file to get the console working)
- Night Shift Beta (7 maps)
- Pillars of Pain: A Buddy & Kona Saga, aka PoP-BaKs (5 maps)
- Star Wars Half-Life (2 maps)
- The Crabulator v0.1.9.6.1 (2 maps; rename mod's folder to TheCrabulator)
- The Mansion (2 maps by Unbreakable)
- TS_MF (2 maps)
- TWHL Cubicles (10 maps by different authors, which can be loaded one by another with specially assigned buttons: N - next, P - previous)
- Valve ERC Contest #1 - "The martyred pop machine" (10 maps by different authors)
- Valve ERC Contest #2 - "Best train-ride sequence" (3 maps by different authors)
- VOLCAN Beta 1.3 (13 unfinished maps by kaos.mods)
- Woodpigeon's Map Pack (3 maps)
Some mods have minor incompatibilities which can interrupt normal gameplay or completing a mod. But they still almost totally playable with Xash3D.
- Alternate Path (there are 2 issues which hopefully fixed in latest builds of Xash3D, but they may appear for you, so if you have deep sticking in elevator between maps out3 & out2, use noclip as solution; and set sv_validate_changelevel to 0, if you have a problem with level transition between maps outside & out2)
- Graf War (to make spray painting working in the mod, put preferred logo with a name "remapped.bmp" into logos folder, or rename the present "andre.bmp" for "remapped.bmp")
- Hard (you may get stuck inside boxes in a moving truck on the second map of the mod - type restart command in the console to fix your position when the next map is loaded and truck is stopped)
- Pulse Episode One Beta 1, Terrorist Attack (maps of these mods have a "leak" bug, it causes visual glitches and a problem of significant performance drops after some maps played)
- The Hill (there is a mapper's flaw in changelevel settings between maps thehill & thesequel, it can be corrected only manually by editing of entpatches for these maps - you need to rename "bottom rung" value to "bottomrung"; after editing you need to start a new game)
- Threatening Skies Pre-Demo (aka Half-Life 1.5; you may get stuck in a roof of a train on level change between maps game010c and game010d; use noclip or restart command to fix this)
P. S. Some of mods, which were released not so long ago, are not listed here, but will be added later as soon as possible. Also there are a lot of so-called HD-packs or messup mods which don't contain new maps or new code at all, but focusing on replacing of default models, sounds, sprites, textures etc. (e. g. Overhaul Pack). Such mods are also work with Xash3D without problems, so it's not even needed to mention them as compatible. Most of single maps listed there are also just maps without custom code, if you can't find inside new DLL-files in dll or cl_dll folders.
Probably, need a link on our wiki: Github.com
(Any person can edit this wiki)
Just asking how to run the mod that have a .exe file ?
Use Windows. Or find archived version of the mod. Also some of exe`s are self-extracting archives and probably can be extracted with corresponding un-archiving program (which can work with RAR or 7-Zip archives, for example).
I'd like to make an amendment to this list!
Hazardous Materials: Episodes 1 + 2 contains two maps (hm_ep2_6a and hm_ep2_8a - they're both actually variants of the same map) that simply WILL NOT LOAD in Xash3D, but will under the Steam version of Half-Life.
If you try to load them (or the game tries to trigger them through the intended map triggers), the console message says "map hm_ep2_6a/8a is invalid or not supported".
Fortunately, you can move the mod over from a Xash3D install into your Steam version of HL and load a save game, but it's still a pretty bad error I've not seen in any other mod, and it's not mentioned here, so...
Thanks for the info. This issue is caused by some changes in the engine. Looks like new builds mistakenly treat some maps (hm_ep2_l6a, hm_ep2_l8, map hm_ep2_l10a) as if they are invalid ("funny lump size" error). This doesn't happen with build 3887 and older. So currently the solution is to use build 3887 or older to play this mod.