Internet Archive: Free Download: Half-Life 2 Crowbar Run

This is a speed run of Half-Life 2 on hard difficulty in 134 segments completed on May 10, 2008 by lowerlogic.

Comments:
Unlike other existing Half-Life 2 speed runs, this run follows 2 extra rules, to make the run more challenging and hopefully more entertaining to watch:

1) I only use the crowbar weapon except for places where you absolutely must use another weapon due to game play mechanics or other scripted events.
2) I don't fly or wall climb.

Therefore this speed run is in entirely different category from other traditional speed runs of Half-Life 2. The running time is about: 2:11:32 (measured from the moment I gain control until the moment the portal explodes).

Segments with other weapons:
----------------------------

In some places I must use other weapons. Still, I try to keep their use to an absolute minimum so as to keep the speedrun as crazy as possible. I had to use other weapons in 3 places. These include:

1) Map d2_prison_01. To get into Nova Prospekt the wall must explode, and for that to happen the second gunship must be shot down. Only explosive weapons, such as grenades and the RPG, damage the gunships, so I use the RPG as it is the fastest.
2) Map d3_city_10b. To get through this level all three shield generators must be deactivated. The only way to deactivate a shield generator is with the gravity gun. Yes, I tried all sorts of other things - from throwing grenades at them (to be stolen from combine soldiers if it worked) to shoving tables into them in an attempt to deflect the energy orb out of the shield generator.
3) The citadel levels, you must use the gravity gun to get past the several shield generators and to destroy the portal at the end. Where possible I avoid using the gravity gun unnecessarily, except for map d3_citadel_04, where I go absolutely insane unleashing all my suppressed rage against the combine. The HL2DQ route for map d3_citadel_04 uses only 2 gravity zaps and is much, much faster so it is a much better route, however after several days of practice I was unable to come close to matching their awesomeness for that segment.

Misc:
-----

Like Half-Life 2 Done Quick, this speed run also uses a simple macro to repeatedly press the "jump" key for as long as it is held down.

This run is by no means perfect, and I'm sure another speed run that also follows these rules could improve upon it by at least several minutes and could use the gravity gun far less in the citadel maps.

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CREDITS
=======

While I, lowerlogic, am the only runner of this speed run, many of the tricks you see in this speed run were largely based of previous speed runs, so I have to give credit to the HL2DQ team for their incredible speed run and also to David 'marshmallow' Gibbons for his two speed runs of Half-Life 2. Without their routes, tricks, inspirations and shortcuts, this speed run would not be nearly as fast as it is today.

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MAP TIMES
=========

The times are rounded down and do not include _2.dem times.

Map name..............Time
d1_trainstation_01....2:49
d1_trainstation_02....0:28
d1_trainstation_03....0:16
d1_trainstation_04....1:36
d1_trainstation_05....7:50
d1_trainstation_06....0:56
d1_canals_01..........2:24
d1_canals_01A.........1:34
d1_canals_02..........0:20
d1_canals_03..........2:30
d1_canals_05..........1:34 (0:48+0:46)
d1_canals_06..........0:41
d1_canals_07..........1:59
d1_canals_08..........1:18 (0:16+0:42+0:20)
d1_canals_09..........1:16
d1_canals_10..........1:47
d1_canals_11..........2:49 (0:06+2:43)
d1_canals_12..........1:50 (1:12+0:38)
d1_canals_13..........0:25
d1_eli_01.............6:43
d1_eli_02.............5:54 (4:21+1:33)
d1_town_01............0:59 (0:22+0:37)
d1_town_01A...........0:30
d1_town_02............0:30 (0:11+0:05+0:04+0:10)
d1_town_02A...........0:41 (0:26+0:04+0:11)
d1_town_03............(skipped)
d1_town_04............0:42
d1_town_05............3:05 (0:22+2:43)
Part I................53:26

d2_coast_01...........0:21
d2_coast_03...........0:52
d2_coast_04...........0:34
d2_coast_05...........0:38 (0:14+0:24)
d2_coast_07...........0:44 (0:17+0:27)
d2_coast_08...........(skipped)
d2_coast_09...........1:09
d2_coast_10...........0:22
d2_coast_11...........1:16 (0:34+0:11+0:31)
d2_coast_12...........1:19 (0:30+0:22+0:27)
d2_prison_01..........2:22 (0:43+0:30+1:09)
d2_prison_02..........0:40 (0:23+0:17)
d2_prison_03..........1:03
d2_prison_04..........0:29 (0:11+0:18)
d2_prison_05..........1:13 (0:10+0:09+0:23+0:31)
d2_prison_06..........7:40 (1:58+0:10+2:37+2:30+0:13+0:12)
d2_prison_07..........5:08 (0:09+0:46+0:09+0:08+3:56)
d2_prison_08..........8:16 (2:48+5:28)
Part II...............34:06

d3_c17_01.............2:32
d3_c17_02.............1:17
d3_c17_03.............0:23
d3_c17_04.............0:20
d3_c17_05.............0:50 (0:12+0:24+0:14)
d3_c17_06a............2:09 (1:49+0:20)
d3_c17_06b............0:49 (0:25+0:20+0:04)
d3_c17_07.............2:00 (1:36+0:24)
d3_c17_08.............2:44 (0:19+0:17+0:13+1:34+0:12+0:04+0:05)
d3_c17_09.............0:30 (0:20+0:10)
d3_c17_10a............1:50 (1:14+0:12+0:24)
d3_c17_10b............4:51 (0:28+0:37+0:08+0:30+1:02+0:17+0:14+1:28+0:07)
d3_c17_11.............0:32 (0:07+0:25)
d3_c17_12.............0:22 (0:06+0:09+0:07)
d3_c17_12b............0:44
d3_c17_13.............1:23 (0:14+0:15+0:54)
d3_citadel_01.........1:02
d3_citadel_02.........2:51
d3_citadel_03.........1:01
d3_citadel_04.........3:23 (0:05+2:59+0:19)
d3_citadel_05.........2:17
d3_breen_01...........9:35 (7:03+0:48+1:44)
Part III..............43:25

Total time............2:10:57

========================
Comments on Each Chapter
========================

1. Point Insertion
------------------

The first chapter was relatively straight forward after studying other speedruns. I guess the only hard aspect of it was just trying to recreate the lightening fast routes in HL2DQ - I'm slower than them by at least a few seconds in each segment which is a little disappointing. You'll also notice that I don't use the teleport glitch used in HL2DQ. I didn't use it in this speed run because it seemed like a lot of extra hassle just to gain a few petty seconds, and the discontinuity of the teleporting looks weird (as opposed to walking through the Civil Protection Metro Cop in the second segment, which looks perfectly natural :P).

2. "A Red Letter Day"
---------------------

For the most part, this was a really boring chapter from a speed runner's point of view. The route in the last segment to hop across the trains was fun and is straight out of marshmallow's 2:15 speed run.

3. Route Kanal
--------------

While it isn't too hard to get through this chapter crowbar-only, getting through here quickly crowbar-only is a little tricky. When I first starting running the first level, I was waiting for the train. However it didn't seem very speedrun-like to stand around and wait, so I use a barrel to collision boost up to the platform, even if it only saves a few seconds. I tried other things, like stacking barrels, and using a barrel to collision boost in the other direction, over the force field, but neither worked. The next segment is mainly from marshmallow's speed run. The rest of the chapter is pretty much a synthesis of marshmallow's speed run and HL2DQ.

4. Water Hazard
---------------

This is the first chapter where I was actually to come up with an original route to proceed. Normally you'd just shoot the barrel on the other side of the gate to open in, and then speed right on through. My original route for getting past the gate was much, much slower – it involved playing through the buildings like a normal player till where you'd normally shoot the barrels but instead of that, stacking boxes and barrels up to get on to the roof and running across the roof to get to the support beams. Needless to say, this route is much faster and much cooler. Once I was even able to ninja the support beam as I was falling – unfortunately that did not make it into the final speed run.

After that I use the enter glitch, just like in HL2DQ, to prevent the gate from closing. However it is very fun and very challenging to try to play through that level the long way crowbar-only. The rest of the route is mainly from marshmallow's speed run. In the second to last segment marshmallow shoots the explosive barrels in the shipping container for the invisible wall to go away. I just drive to the other side of the cargo container and wait for the combine tanks to do my job for me :). The jump in the final level is also from marshmallow's speed run.

5. Black Mesa East
------------------

Most of this chapter is pretty simple. I got Dog to throw the ball into the trash bin :). It would have been much more entertaining if I was at the other end of the scrap yard and caught all the boxes with the use key, but the time the boxes spend in the air slow the segment down. Getting past the big locker at the very end of this chapter can be a little tricky though. You can't just run into it and expect the locker to fall over, however holding a barrel and pushing the locker with it seems to work every time.

6. "We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."
--------------------------------

This chapter was one of my favorite to run. First you see me use the spinning blade like a stepping stone to get to the other side. Most of the time the blade will kill you, but if you jump just right in the dead center, it won't, but if you try to stay on it for any amount of time, you usually will start sliding off the center and promptly die.

Next I use a box as a make-shift quarter pipe and collision jump up to the catwalk. I'd love to see a game where the sole purpose is to pull off crazy tricks like this. I tried using the box to bounce up over the wall into the next part of the level but I could never get enough speed.

In the next segment I use the usual route across the catwalks, but instead of trying to hack all the zombies to death, I just wait patiently for them to all get to my side of the door way and then just pretend I'm Mario and they are Goomba's and hop across them and slip out through the doorway.

The following segment is quite crazy. I actually didn't think you would be able to jump all the way to the far building, so I had even worked out a pretty fast and entertaining route for d1_town_03 that never made it into the run. 99% of the time you will not make it all the way, but once I was able to hop just good enough that I was able to make it. The jump that follows it doesn't look that hard but it was probably nearly just as hard as the first jump as the angle, height differences, and the lack of space to speed up all work in concert to make the jump difficult.

In the last proper level of Ravenholm I jump into the grave yard just to fetch an explosive barrel. I use the barrel to jump over the same invisible wall that marshmallow does, although he uses the gravity gun.

Very last level on the train tracks was a little tricky. If you don't grab the box at just the right time you'll slowdown and get killed by the logs falling off the truck. After enough retries the little battle inside against the combine goes smoothly.

7. Highway 17
-------------

Most of this is pretty much the exact same route that HL2DQ did though, again, not nearly as fast as them. In the second segment I can't shoot the plywood and I can't fall directly onto the ground or I'll die, so I sprint around it and use another rock as a intermediate step.

8. Sandtraps
------------

I guess the only hard part of this chapter was skipping the bugbait. Using some clever sprinting and jumping it's possible to get on top of the edge of the level just like other speed runs. My first route involved stacking boxes and using those to get up to the top, so I'm happy with how the final route came out.

Right before I enter the first d2_prison map (the level with the gunship battle), I need to pause at the bottom of the ladder for a few seconds to wait for the combine soldier to unload his clip. If I start climbing up the ladder right away he always kills me. This way he is trying to reload why I whack him to death.

The gunship battle is the first place where I must use a non-crowbar weapon to proceed. In my initial play through the game in the crowbar-only mindset I spent days trying to find a way around this part, but nothing worked. Riding a gunship is probably harder than trying to ride a raging bull, times a thousand. Only explosive weapons kill the gunship, and the destruction of the second gunship is the only way to trigger the side of the wall to explode.

9. Nova Prospekt
----------------

When I first started this speed run, Nova Prospekt was the first chapter that gave me doubt as to whether I could get though it quickly. Also this is the first chapter where I must confront my most feared enemy – the shotgun welding combine. It is also the first chapter where I do a mobile collision boost, so that is entertaining.

The hard part immediately after that is to stop the combine from spawning. So I avoid that trigger by only going part of the way up the stairs and crouch jumping to the right. After that I get some health to prepare me for the rest of the chapter and the following chapter. Next I basically run past everything as fast as I can. I pretty much had to keep playing each segment until I got a decent route that preserved enough health to get me through the next segment.

The last part where I toss back the combine's grenade went all right. The 2 combine at the top of those stairs have shot guns, so I can't just whack them to death or run past them. This little trick comes in handy many more times throughout the rest of the speed run.

10. Entanglement
----------------

This chapter could have gone better. Instead of just keeping track of my fastest attempt for each segment, I kept track of my fastest attempt and the attempts with the most health. Once I had done a segment successfully like 30 or 40 times I would start trying the next segment starting with the save point from the absolute fastest attempt from the previous segment. If that was impossible, I would revert to a slightly slower attempt that preserved more of my health. This was sort of like a depth-first search though speed run attempts and it got confusing after a while. I use pathfinding glitches to get through all the combine soldiers, though a seductive dance with combine grenade tossing and crouch jumping would have been much more entertaining, and possibly faster.

After the long boring segment where I wait in the dark for several minutes I think it is funny how I just leave Alyx out to die as I wait for her on the other side of the room. Most of the time she dies but every once in a while she would pull a Hail Mary and make it to the end zone alive.

11. Anticitizen One
-------------------

There are a lot more mobile collision boosts in this chapter. In d3_c17_06b I have to stack trash cans much to my disappointment as another mobile collision boost would have been faster. The next level is tricky with I think 2 shotgun combines. The best way to crowbar them is to crouch jump around them in circles – if you do it just right they will never finish aiming for you – and thus never shoot you. Level d3_c17_08, the one with the long platform, is definitely the hardest in the chapter. You basically have to build a fort out of barrels, or else sit on the platform like a duck exposed to enemy gun fire. The rest of that level is insane, I have to start a new segment every couple of seconds. This isn't out of laziness – staying alive with like 12 combine soldiers shooting you for any amount of time isn't a cakewalk.

12. "Follow Freeman!"
---------------------

More collision boosts, more running like a madman. I even ride a collision boost from a citadel energy blast, which is fun. I imagine riding a citadel energy blast is similar to surfing – you have to time it just right or you don't get anywhere. After that a little box toss gets past the force field. The final part of that level involves coaxing a soldier to follow me up the stairs, which I use at the beginning of d3_c17_10b as a live grenade dispenser to get past the floor gun.

Level d3_c17_10b was definitely the hardest map of the entire speed run. This map is like an escort mission – you need to guide Barnie to safety, using just a crowbar against the combine. The first thing I do after Barnie opens the door is run and zap the first shield generator – this will get the combine soldiers at later segment to be in a good place for grenade pwnage. I run into the hostage room and look at them so Barnie will make a bee-line to them and rescue them, rather than trying to shoot the combine which he is so bad at. Meanwhile I descend upon the two combine soldiers ninja-style so they don't hassle the 3 friendlies which will be Barnie's body guards for the rest of the map. After that I do what I can only describe as a skateboard railstand on a picture frame to get though the laser room. After whacking more combine to death and getting the last 2 shield generators I have to guide Barnie to the end of the hall way – for some reason he has a morbid fascination with going back up the stairs, but as you can see I block him and push him until he listens to me. After some hopper dancing I get to the end and go up the stairs.

The next few levels aren't all that interesting as you're probably expecting to see a collision boost at least twice a minute by now. The last level before the citadel is fun – a strider thankfully kicks me up to the stratosphere. Fortunately an invisible wall and the sloped roof prevent me from getting damage, though right after that I get some damage after clumsily falling off the light post. I discovered this trick my accident. I had originally planned a much more traditional route of shooting the striders with the RPG as normal, but during one attempt a strider kicked me, and changed my view of the map forever, or at least for a few seconds.

13. Our Benefactors
-------------------

The citadel levels are a bit awkward as it forces me to do a crowbar-only speed run without a crowbar. I decide to use the gravity gun only where necessary – on shield generators. d3_citadel_04 could have gone a lot better. If I could replicate the HL2DQ route for that level I would have as it is faster and uses far fewer gravity zaps. You'll probably notice that the screen doesn't fade in nicely. This is because I stopped the _2 segment as soon as possible, and so when I loaded my save point to start working on the next segment it forgot it was fading in :(. I thought of doing some video edited to fix it but decided against it.

14. Dark Energy
---------------

This is a relatively straight forward map. For the final area I don't use the gravity gun for anything but the portal, which I think is a nice way to end the speed run.

This movie is part of the collection: Open Source Movies

Director: Luke "lowerlogic" Perkins
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Language: English
Keywords: Half Life 2; Half-Life 2; HalfLife 2; HL 2; HL2; Crowbar; Speed Run; Speedrun
Contact Information: lowerlogic@gmail.com

Movie Files	MPEG4	Ogg Video	512Kb MPEG4
HalfLife2_CrowbarRun_21132_HQ.mp4	2.1 GB	550 MB	569 MB
HalfLife2_CrowbarRun_21132_IQ.mp4	5.1 GB	550 MB	568 MB
HalfLife2_CrowbarRun_21132_LQ.mp4	192 MB	552 MB	569 MB
HalfLife2_CrowbarRun_21132_MHQ.mp4	1.1 GB	550 MB	569 MB
HalfLife2_CrowbarRun_21132_MQ.mp4	567 MB	554 MB	569 MB

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Luke "lowerlogic" PerkinsHalf-Life 2 Crowbar Run (2008)

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