{"slug": "xash3d-fwgs", "name": "Xash3D FWGS", "category": "other", "category_name": "Other software", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 6, "warners": 0, "score": 4.178, "rising": -1.31, "first": "2026-02-10", "latest": "2026-07-28", "why": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 2, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": "github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs", "official_url": "https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Xash3D FWGS", "Xash3D-FWGS", "xash3d-fwgs"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 785455408, "item_id": 49090963, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49090963", "by": "wk_end", "date": "2026-07-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there's an open-source recreation of GoldSrc", "excerpt": "The most interesting thing about this link, for me, is seeing that there's an open-source recreation of GoldSrc [0]? That's apparently been around since 2011 [1]? I'm stunned I haven't heard about this before. Very cool. [0] https://github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs [1] https://www.moddb.com/engines/xash3d-engine", "context": "", "use_case": "GoldSrc engine recreation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half-Life ported to Mac OS 9"}, {"id": 784696592, "item_id": 49043537, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49043537", "by": "jwitthuhn", "date": "2026-07-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there is an unofficial open source implementation of goldsrc", "excerpt": "That is just the SDK, but there is an unofficial open source implementation of goldsrc. https://github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half-Life 2 running natively on HaikuOS"}, {"id": 775897504, "item_id": 48493594, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48493594", "by": "deniska", "date": "2026-06-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Well, there's always\u2026 https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs", "excerpt": "Well, there's always\u2026 https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Developer Gets Half-Life Running at 30 FPS on a Nokia N95"}, {"id": 751432880, "item_id": 46964555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46964555", "by": "bni", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS", "excerpt": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS (yes its a super awkward name) https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs Easy to use Mac build here: https://www.macsourceports.com/game/halflife", "context": "", "use_case": "playing Half-Life", "switched_from": "", "story": "Clean-room implementation of Half-Life 2 on the Quake 1 engine"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["goldsrc engine recreation", "half-life engine replacement", "playing half-life"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49089814", "title": "Half-Life ported to Mac OS 9", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46958231", "title": "Clean-room implementation of Half-Life 2 on the Quake 1 engine", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49034868", "title": "Half-Life 2 running natively on HaikuOS", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48452001", "title": "Developer Gets Half-Life Running at 30 FPS on a Nokia N95", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 785470112, "item_id": 49091882, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49091882", "by": "russelg", "date": "2026-07-28", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "the engine has been worked on for over 7 years now", "excerpt": "This isn't an all-of-a-sudden, the engine has been worked on for over 7 years now https://github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half-Life ported to Mac OS 9"}, {"id": 785455408, "item_id": 49090963, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49090963", "by": "wk_end", "date": "2026-07-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there's an open-source recreation of GoldSrc", "excerpt": "The most interesting thing about this link, for me, is seeing that there's an open-source recreation of GoldSrc [0]? That's apparently been around since 2011 [1]? I'm stunned I haven't heard about this before. Very cool. [0] https://github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs [1] https://www.moddb.com/engines/xash3d-engine", "context": "", "use_case": "GoldSrc engine recreation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half-Life ported to Mac OS 9"}, {"id": 784696592, "item_id": 49043537, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49043537", "by": "jwitthuhn", "date": "2026-07-24", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "there is an unofficial open source implementation of goldsrc", "excerpt": "That is just the SDK, but there is an unofficial open source implementation of goldsrc. https://github.com/fwgs/xash3d-fwgs", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half-Life 2 running natively on HaikuOS"}, {"id": 775897504, "item_id": 48493594, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48493594", "by": "deniska", "date": "2026-06-11", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Well, there's always\u2026 https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs", "excerpt": "Well, there's always\u2026 https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Developer Gets Half-Life Running at 30 FPS on a Nokia N95"}, {"id": 751477552, "item_id": 46967347, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46967347", "by": "BlitzGeology91", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I had to copy files from the version of Half-Life that I own on Steam", "excerpt": "Eh, I don\u2019t really think that this is an \u201cor\u201d situation. I think that this is an \u201cand\u201d situation. The last time that I set up Xash3D FWGS, I had to copy files from the version of Half-Life that I own on Steam into a different folder so that those files could be loaded by Xash 3D FWGS. I haven\u2019t tried Xash 3D FWGS in a while, but it looks like you still have to do that [1]. Also, are you sure that the Steam version of", "context": "", "use_case": "Half-Life engine replacement", "switched_from": "", "story": "Clean-room implementation of Half-Life 2 on the Quake 1 engine"}, {"id": 751432880, "item_id": 46964555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46964555", "by": "bni", "date": "2026-02-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS", "excerpt": "If you want to play Half-Life today I highly recommend Xash3D FWGS (yes its a super awkward name) https://github.com/FWGS/xash3d-fwgs Easy to use Mac build here: https://www.macsourceports.com/game/halflife", "context": "", "use_case": "playing Half-Life", "switched_from": "", "story": "Clean-room implementation of Half-Life 2 on the Quake 1 engine"}]}