Half Life 2 Tweak Guide

[Page 9] Advanced Tweaking (Pt.3)



The list of command variables is continued below:


Demo Commands


record [demoname] - Starts recording a demo of the current gameplay under the specified filename. The demo will be saved as demoname.dem in the \Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\[username]\half-life 2\hl2\ directory along with all its associated files.


stop - Stops recording the current demo.


demoui - Opens a small demo user interface which looks like a media player, but makes the opening and playing of demos much easier, including the capability to FF, REW and skip to specific points in the demo.


playdemo [demoname] - Plays back a pre-recorded demo of name demoname.dem.


stopdemo - Stops playback of the currently playing demo.


demopause - Pauses playback of the currently playing demo.


demoresume - Resumes playback of the currently paused demo.


listdemo [demoname] - Provides details of the specified demo file.


demo_recordcommands [0,1] - If set to 1, records any commands typed at the console into demo files.


startmovie - Starts recording movie frames, stored in the \Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\[username]\half-life 2\hl2\ directory as .tga files.


endmovie - Stops recording movie frames.


Benchmarking Commands


timedemo [demoname] - Plays the specified demo and reports performance information upon completion, including frames played, time taken, average FPS and FPS variability. Also records the information in a file called sourcebench.csv in your \Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\[username]\half-life 2\hl2\ directory.


timedemoquit [demoname] - Plays the specified demo as per the timedemo command and then exits the game to desktop.


bench_start [filename] - Starts benchmarking your current gameplay and writes information to the specified file in .csv format.


bench_end - Ends any benchmarking.


bench_showstatsdialog - Shows a dialog box displaying the most recent benchmarking results.


bench_upload - Uploads the most recent benchmarking stats to the Valve servers.


benchframe [framenumber] - Takes a snapshot of the specified frame of a timedemo.


perfvisualbenchmark - Runs a series of benchmarks on the current scene.


perfvisualbenchmark_abort - Stops the benchmarking and prints the results for various aspects of the rendering system in average FPS in the console.



View Commands


firstperson - Switches to firstperson (from Gordon's eyes) point of view, which is the default for HL2.


thirdperson - Switches to thirdperson (behind Gordon) point of view. Note in thirdperson view Gordon appears as an incomplete grey model.


centerview - Centers the character's view on the middle of the screen (only when bound to a key).


force_centerview - Centers the character's view on the middle of the screen whenever used.


fov [angle] - Specifies the character's Field of View (fov), i.e. the total angle which can be viewed at once. Default is 75, higher values create more of a "fish-eyed" view, lower angles create a zoomed view.


default_fov [angle] - Determines the default Field of View in HL2. Default is 75 (cheat).


gameui_hide - Hides any visible portions of the game user interface, e.g. the console. Primarily used prior to taking a screenshot.


hidehud [0,1] - If set to 1, hides the Heads Up Display (HUD) from view (cheat).


cl_drawhud [0,1] - If set to 1, the HUD is drawn on screen, if set to 0 the HUD is not rendered, which can improve performance (cheat).



Information & Diagnostic Commands


bug - Opens a bug reporting user interface which makes the reporting of game bugs to Valve simple, such as being able to take a screenshot and attach it to the generated report automatically.


cache_print - Shows the amount of memory used by cached information, and the total cache capacity currently used by the game.


cl_precacheinfo - Shows the files which have been precached.


cl_showpost [0,1] - Displays the player's position on the current map in X, Y and Z co-ordinates the top right corner if set to 1.


developer [0,1,2] - If set to 1 shows Developer messages in the top left corner, if set to 2 shows more detailed information.


fs_printopenfiles - Shows all files currently open.


listmodels - Lists all models currently loaded.


mat_info - Shows material system information.


mat_reloadmaterial - Reloads all materials which can take quite a while but may resolve any temporary graphical glitches.


mat_wireframe [0,1] - Displays materials in wireframe form (cheat).


mem_dump - Writes memory statistics to the file memstats.txt.


perfui - Opens a user interface which allows easy access to performance tools.


r_drawlightinfo [0,1] - Shows the source of all lights in the current scene and their associated information (cheat).


showbudget_texture [0,1] - If set to 1 displays a detailed control panel which graphs the memory usage for various types of textures.


soundinfo - Shows information about the current sound output device.


soundlist - Lists all known sounds.


snd_restart - Restarts the sound system which can take a while but may clear any temporary audio glitches.


snd_memasync - Shows sounds currently loaded and the memory used by each.


snd_show [0,1] - If set to 1 displays information about sounds loaded (cheat).


stopsound - Stops all sound effects currently playing.


stopsoundscape - Stops all soundscapes currently playing.


surfaceprop - Shows information about the surface currently under the cursor.



Cheat Commands

[The sv_cheats 1 command must be used before cheat commands can work]


sv_cheats [0,1] - Toggle. Enables the use of cheat commands in single player or on a multiplayer server if set to 1


god - Toggle. The player becomes invulnerable.


noclip - Toggle. The player can fly and move through solid objects.


notarget - Toggle. The player becomes invisible to NPCs (Non-Player Characters).


ai_disable - Disables all Artificial Intelligence (AI) for NPCs and puts them into their idle animations. Can be used to test the performance hit of AI, or to freeze NPCs.

impulse [code] - Generates objects, e.g. Impulse 101 gives the player all weapons.


buddha - Toggle. Player can take damage but won't die.


map [mapname] - Starts playing on the specified map (see maps command for mapnames).


sv_unlockedchapters [chapternumber] - Allows access to the specified chapters of the game. Chapter number are shown under New Game in the main menu (e.g. sv_unlockedchapters 3 unlocks the first three Chapters of the game).


npc_create [npctype] - Creates an NPC of the given type if that NPC is available on the current level.


npc_destroy_unselected - Destroys all the NPCs not currently specified.


npc_kill [npcname] - Kills specified NPC, or NPC currently under the cursor if none specified.


npc_speakall - Forces the current NPC to speak all their possible responses.


setpos [x y z] - Moves player to the specified co-ordinates on the current map.



Multiplayer Commands


addip [ipaddress] - Add an IP address to the ban list.


banid [userid] - Add a user ID to the ban list.


changelevel [mapname] - Change server to the specified map (see maps command above to find out mapnames).


cl_allowdownload [0,1] - Client downloads customization files.


cl_allowupload [0,1] - Client uploads customization files.


cl_cmdrate [packets/sec] - Max number of command packets sent to server per second.


cl_lagcompensation [0,1] - Perform server side lag compensation of weapon firing events.


cl_rate [bytes/sec] - Max bytes/sec the host can send data. Default is 10,000.


cl_resend [seconds] - Delay in seconds before the client will resend the 'connect' attempt.


cl_timeout [seconds] - After this many seconds without receiving a packet from the server, the client will disconnect itself.


cl_updaterate [packets/sec] - Number of packets per second of updates you are requesting from the server.


clientport [port] - Host game client port. Default is 27005.


connect [serverip] - Connect to specified server.


disconnect - Disconnect game from server.


hostport [serverip] - Host game server port. Default is 27015.


ip - Overrides IP for multihomed hosts.


kick [username/userid/userslot] - Kick a player by slot, userid or name.


killserver - Shutdown the server.


listid - Lists banned users.


listip - List IP addresses on the ban list.


writeid - Writes a list of permanently-banned user IDs to banned_user.cfg.


writeip - Save the ban list to banned_ip.cfg.


maxplayers [playernumber] - Change the maximum number of players allowed on this server.


mp_allowNPCs [0,1] - Allow NPCs on the server if set to 1.


mp_allowspectators [0,1] - Toggles whether the server allows spectator mode or not.


mp_chattime [seconds] - Amount of time players can chat after the game is over.


mp_fraglimit [frags] - Frag limit for deathmatch games.


mp_friendlyfire [0,1] - If set to 1, friendly fire is enabled.


mp_timelimit [minutes] - Game time per map in minutes.


mp_weaponstay [0,1] - If set to 1, weaponstay is enabled.


net_fakelag [milliseconds] - Lag all incoming network data (including loopback) by this many milliseconds (cheat).


net_fakeloss [percentage] - Simulate packet loss as a percentage of total packets.


net_graph [0,1,2,3] - Draw the network usage graph if set to 1 (More details of usage here).


net_maxfragments [bytes/packet] - Max fragment bytes per packet.


net_showdrop [0,1] - Show dropped packets in console if set to 1.


net_start - Initializes multiplayer network sockets.


password [password] - Current server access password.


ping - Display ping to server.


rate [bytes/sec] - Max bytes/sec the host can receive data. Default is 20000.


rcon [command] - Issue an rcon command.


rcon_password [password] - remote console password.


removeid [userid] - Remove a user ID from the ban list.


removeip [userip] - Remove an IP address from the ban list.


retry - Retry connection to last server.


say [string] - Display player message.


say_team [string] - Display player message to team.


slist - List servers on your LAN.


spec_player [playername] - Spectate player by name.


sv_allowdownload [0,1] - Allow clients to download files if set to 1.


sv_allowupload [0,1] - Allow clients to upload customization files if set to 1.


sv_alltalk [0,1] - Players can hear all other players, no team restrictions if set to 1.


sv_filterban [0,1] - Set packet filtering by IP mode.


sv_lan [0,1] - Server is a lan server (no heartbeat, no authentication, no non-class C addresses, 9999.0 rate, etc.).


sv_maxunlag [seconds] - Maximum lag compensation in seconds.


sv_maxrate [rate] - Max bandwidth rate allowed on server, 0 = unlimited.


sv_minrate [rate] - Min bandwidth rate allowed on server, 0 = unlimited.


sv_maxupdaterate [updates/sec] - Maximum updates per second allowed.


sv_minupdaterate [updates/sec] - Minimum updates per second allowed.


sv_password [password] - Server password for entry into multiplayer games.


sv_specnoclip [0,1] - If set to 1, spectators cannot fly through objects.


sv_timeout [seconds] - Number of seconds without a message from a client before client is dropped.


sv_voiceenable [0,1] - Enable voice on the server.


users - Show user info for players on server.



 


The next section wraps up the guide with some additional information to optimize Half Life 2 and concluding comments.







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