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[Question] Half-Life 2 (retail build 2153) weird effect

dxvkclosed question
doitsujin/dxvk#5002 · opened 2025-06-11 by casasfernando · updated 2026-07-11 · 4 comments · github
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Ccasasfernando 2025-06-11 github

This is not really a bug report but rather a question or ask for thoughts from DXVK team since the problem is happening with and without DXVK with different versions of Wine (staging, ge-proton).

I'm playing the first release of Half-Life 2 (build 2153) on my Steam Deck OLED.
While playing the game I found a very weird effect in one of the scenes at the beginning of the game when Alyx is teleported from a lab after meeting Gordon ("A Red Letter Day" -map: d1_trainstation_05-).
While standing away from some objects and NPCs they look like "greyed out":

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but as I get closer to them they look as expected:

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I didn't progress much in the game yet, but so far I was only able to notice this issue in this specific part of the game (not sure if it will happen later as well) and I'm wondering what can cause it (an issue with Wine, a bug in the game -bearing in mind that it was the first release, etc.) and if maybe there is some dxvk config parameter that can help mitigate it.

My dxvk.conf file looks like this (otherwise the game will crash: https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/issues/2330):

[hl2.exe]
d3d9.maxAvailableMemory = 2048
d3d9.memoryTrackTest = True

As a side note, without DXVK (wined3d) and specifically using Wine-GE-Proton8-26 the game looks much more darker (I don't think it looks as expected) but also the issue doesn't seem to happen (or it is just so dark that I couldn't notice it):

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With Wine staging 10.7 the game looks the same with and without DXVK.

I can provide Wine and DXVK logs or an apitrace if needed but since the issue is happening also without dxvk I don't want to take much of your time.

Thanks!

Software information

Half-Life 2 (retail DVD. build 2153):
Exe version 1.0.1.0 (valve)
Exe build: 12:27:35 Sep 29 2004 (2153)

System information

  • OS: SteamOS 3.7.8 (Steam Deck)
  • GPU: AMD Custom GPU 0405 (Steam Deck)
  • Driver: mesa 25.1.3
  • Wine version: Wine staging 10.7 / Wine-GE-Proton8-26
  • DXVK version: 2.6.1
Ccasasfernando 2025-06-13 github

As I progressed in the game not only the issue described above happened again on different parts but also I found that the flashlight was not working as expected and some places were not lighted up when the flashlight was on (e.g. when going into a vent).
Did some research and found that this seems to be a known issue with older versions of the Source Engine when using DirectX feature level 9 on modern hardware. In case DXVK team is interested in the technical details or in case someone finds this issue in the future, some interesting reading:

TLDR; to resolve the problem (although it may have some undesired side effects/less graphical quality) you need to force the game to use DirectX feature level 8.1. This can be done by adding the mat_dxlevel cvar with value 81 as an argument when launching the game. E.g.: hl2.exe -game hl2 -steam +mat_dxlevel 81.
The game will still use DirectX 9 for rendering but by limiting the feature level to DirectX 8.1 the issues I mentioned are resolved.

I went through dxvk.conf to check if there is any configuration parameter that may help mitigate this without changing DirectX feature level in game but couldn't find anything.

Thanks

BBlisto91 2025-06-24 github

From what i could gather i don't think the devs have much input on this

Ccasasfernando 2025-06-24 github

No worries, I already completed the game with the workaround mentioned above and without any other issues.

Thanks

Bbillbeans 2026-07-11 github

I have this same problem but with WineD3D. I can't even get the game to start with DXVK.

mat_dxlevel 81

Typing this into the console also works. I only wonder if it degrades the graphics quality in a noticeable way. I'm playing on the retail build 2187, which I thought was the initial version.

After playing a bit more, it definitely looks worse with dx 8.1. Fog is almost nonexistent, lighting isn't as dynamic, reflections are a bit less detailed, it's not a dealbreaker but it's still disappointing. In certain outdoor areas dx9 doesn't look so bad, but you will quickly be wanting to switch back to 8.1 when you reach an area where the glitches are noticeable again.

Proton versions

Upstream links