Half-Life's On A Rail Isn't Bad | Cascade 

The only non-linear section of the game is literally on a rail AND IS CALLED ON A RAIL

On a Rail got more fun the more that I played it.

If the cart stopped when the player jumped off it maybe people would dislike the chapter less.

I'm ashamed to admit, I played the original Half Life for years without realising there was a soundtrack. Only after leaving the original install CD in by mistake did I discover it for the first time! It really does add to the atmosphere. This is a great series by the way, so much detail, a real nostalgia trip. Thank you!

I never had a problem with OAR in any of the games, it's just long enough and different enough, and gives more insight on the marines vs aliens fights throughout black mesa. Exploration also works cause it makes the place really feel vast. Overall I would say that OAR is pretty much early fame Surface Tension

That "paranormal wailing" is actually supposed to be a houndeye pack according to the files. EDIT: Reverfied myself that nothing in the files has any correlation to houndeyes, but the_horror# does awfully sound a lot like alien dogs howling, and iirc there are a lot of houndeye packs in the level.

Before I played half life for the first time I heard about how bad this chapter is. But when I got around to actually playing it I had almost no trouble with it. I don't understand how people find the loop confusing its literally just 2 circles.

The music that plays when you launch the rocket. Such a great moment.

I like bhopping through the whole chapter, I can't play half life like a normal person anymore

I never realized how truly brilliant the sniper in this chapter was. I always found myself thinking "Why would they put this random one-off thing here just to drain health?" But what I realize now is that as this video stated it is literally there as a curveball to players who have gotten too comfortable with the shoot/explore/collect items loop. They don't repeat it again until 3 chapters later in Surface Tension with the dying guard. It's just long enough that most players have forgotten about the first sniper but not so long that attentive players wouldn't be able to pick up on it. It teaches the player to always be on their toes in every new area they head into rather than just falling into a rhythm for the whole game. Valve really are masters of pacing and I hope no one forgets that.

The things that OAR does well are the tone/atmosphere (imagery and music), combat, the multiple paths (you didn't mention one cool side area that takes you underneath a scripted vort/marine fight), letting the player dictate the level's pace, and the incredible variety of enemies (headcrabs, zombies, barnacles, houndeyes, bullsquids, leeches, marines, automated turrets, fortified turret emplacements, rocket launchers, tripmines, explosives, and a sniper). This chapter features some of the best combat sequences of aliens and marines and is essential in conveying the scope of the invasion, the marines' almost single-minded focus on Freeman yet also questioning the morality of killing civilians, and the fact that the marines are fighting a battle they can't win. It also has very memorable imagery, such as the bridge over a flooded pit, a destroyed elevator in a side area, the marine ambushed by headcrabs, the colorful walls with flowing electricity, the machinery hauling industrial material to the right and left, the small side area with a bullsquid eating a marine with a barnacle and some graffiti and spray can, the rocket launch, etc. As for the things that suck, the combat tends to be rather difficult and sometimes annoying with marines, as well as dicey with a couple of vort ambushes. The combat for me can be taxing to the point where I dread the last fortified turret emplacement just before the outdoor section, because as your video demonstrates, you kind of have to save the MP5 grenades specifically for the marines manning the turrets. Also it seems that there are two cases of bad texture work, one includes z-fighting on the entrance to the bottom-most section of the rocket where the marine is fighting headcrabs, and another is an untextured part by the floor in the first battle area with vorts against HECU. Also a lot of people criticize the abundance of grey corridors but I feel that it's essential for depicting the gritty, dark overtones of the chapter. If you haven't already, I would recommend reading Wangman's pitch bible for OAR Uncut found here: www.leakfree.org/t/on-a-rail-uncut-re-adding-cut-areas-scenes-expansion-project/11920/3 as well as the longer, interesting comments (especially Vic's) on the RTSL Replay Experiment project for said chapter here: www.runthinkshootlive.com/posts/half-life-on-a-rail/

"The worst level" guys just shoot the wall arrows thats it lol

The song that plays during this chapter was honestly fitting for what valve was going for when it comes to half-life’s atmosphere

2:23 "Because not only is shooting signs unintuitive, but it really clashes with the more realistic approaches to gameplay the rest of the game takes." This is the same game where SMGs have Grenade Launchers, Single-barreled Shotguns can double-barrel shoot, the player flies upward into vents via a giant fan (which is turned on by a switch found below the deadly fan blades I might add), and a security guard gets blown up by a laser gun that leaves only his boots left unscathed where was standing with his bones piled up nearby, and you think shooting signs to change railways is too unrealistic.

I love On A Rail but only because when I was younger, I was too afraid to play Half-Life after the resonance cascade starts. I loved trains at that age, so I really wanted to play with the train you use at the end of the tutorial some more. When I actually played through the whole game I loved On A Rail because I was finally able to do that. I dislike Apprehension, the next chapter, because to me it feels like that was the chapter that messed up the pacing.

"You change train direction by shooting signs, which is unintuitive..." This really took me aback because when little kid me played this back in '99, shooting the signs was the most obvious thing in the world. There's an arrow sign? It looks like it spins? Shoot it to spin it! I wonder if because it was a common trope in cartoons and other media at the time. I wonder if it's like watching people play HL2 for the first time today and not even realizing there's a physics puzzle to solve, when at the time of release, 20 years ago, the physics were so hyped up that people were always looking for ways to interact with the objects in this new way.

Please keep on making more of this quality content! As for On a rail I think it also serves one more purpose that you did not mention: being the(pacing-wise) mid point of the game. It is revealed that the H.E.C.U are starting to have problems with containing the invasion and are starting to bring their heavy equipment in. And if you do not want to(or can't due to your health situation) engage in a couple of fights between aliens and marines you do not have to. If you are low on resources you can hunt around for crates, H.E.V. charging outlets etc. Sad that such an important part of the game gets so much hate. Just like Xen...

Excellent work on it! Also all the pre release stuff sounds correct so you're good! 👌

You speak so clearly that the auto captions actually understand you

It's refreshing to find others who love On a Rail! It's absolutely full of great moments, most of which you highlighted here, as well as some just absolutely solid combat arenas and a unique mechanic that is fun to use (and optional if you don't agree).

6:16 the haunting screams and wails are used at that red portal just before you meet the Nihilanth that plays scientist voice lines from before and during the cascade, "Big day today Freeman", "Some one get him out of there. Shut down the equipment and someone get him out!", etc. That portal was always so fascinating to me. Xen rock platforms floating in a black void that seemed like maybe it is related to the void space G-Man uses. Would love a video that discusses that, since it doesn't feel like the rest of Xen.

"Sirens In The Distance" when I first heard it, sounds like it's from the Fallout universe, especially with the screams, as Fallout has ambience of the past world of the souls who lost their lives in the Great War.

The only problem I had was with the clunky cart controls. They're not the most intuitive, and when you hop on and interact with it, you're glued to it. If you reflexively look to the side and hop off, you just accelerated it and now it's not at all where you wanted to be.

the soldier shooting rockets at you in the chapter is just terrifying for some reason lol

i think the screams may be gordon hallucinating. after hours of huge struggles without any breaks and watching his friends and co-workers die, combined with the creepy and abandoned feel of the place would drive me insane

On A Rail is the chapter I play any time I want a quick dose of HL, it's my all time favorite. Even after playing it countless times, it always leaves me with the feeling that there's things I've never seen before (and don't want to see) down there.

On a Rail is an open world adventure game in disguise.

Honestly, I loved On a Rail when I was playing on my first ever play-through. I still like it.

I genuinely liked On A Rail my first runthrough. Every run after, I completely forgot how to turn the cart on and had to play it without the cart

I’m gonna be honest and say I really didn’t like this chapter. But instead of being critical I’m gonna praise the black mesa uncut version. I love how to rails don’t kill you and it’s linear and un linear at the same time. I loved this and would recommend it

I personally dislike OAR but not because its "confusing", in fact for me on first playthrough it was a bit confusing but I got the hang of it shortly after as other players might have. But the reason why I just don't like it is because it gets boring cause most of the time as the chapter implies your on a rail and just hitting the things that change your direction, but the parts where your fighting tons of marines and aliens? chefs kiss, especially for the rocket launch part at the end of the chapter which is my favorite part of the game.

You're really great at explaining and organizing your points about On A Rail!

Sure some of the mechanics were a bit clumsy, but damn if I didn't love this chapter. It's just you and your train, fighting your way through the underground. It was probably my favorite.

On repeat playthroughs this chapter ain't so bad to be honest. The direction change is not intuitive at all, but once you get used to it, you can breeze through it pretty quickly. And because of this, I don't know why devs of Black Mesa decided to cut down a huge chunk of the chapter only to make the Xen chapters two or three times longer than Surface Tension.

I think what makes it a chapter that I'm not looking forward to when playing HL is just that you are constantly getting sidetracked with all the side passages and such for the player to explore. And while I love exploration, it also takes away from any sense of urgency as you are constantly stopping the car every few minutes. It makes the chapter feel almost like a slog, combine that with all the enemies and it can be a very exhausting chapter that feels a bit gimmicky. It does have some good moments, but those are really the times when you are not on the train itself.

it's one of those chapters that the more you play it the more you appreciate it

I grew up on Descent II, so "winding maze-like tunnels" feel like home to me. Honestly, I wish more games employed that kind of non-linear level design - the kind that would actually challenge you, give you the freedom to play around, and expect you to figure things out on your own.

Black Mesa handled On a Rail very well imo. One of the things I hated was that the rails shocked you in the original. It’s good that an unnecessary hazard is gone.

one of the devs for Black Mesa did an extension addon that put alot of the original layouts from the old half life into the Black Mesa remake, but with alot of the frustrating parts left out and a few edits to make the chapter in line with the rest of the game detail wise. Its well worth checking out.

I like too imagine that certain cut enemies are still *Cannon* to HALF-LIFE but just are not encountered and that the odd creepy f*cking screams in this level are actually Stukabats communicating with each other somewhere where Gordon never goes or ends up in after the bats have left

Great video and fully agree with everything said here. I loved OAR and still do and I'm still disappointed that they cut it down in Black Mesa.

I never figured out the sign shooting, I actually had to discover a glitch to get the cart further

Great video as always.

I remember actually liking On A Rail the first time, just the cart not stopping when you jump off was the only annoying part. It wasn't too hard to just remember what turns led where.

in finished this chapter when i was 5 years old without understanding english, yet one of my friends hates this level as if it killed his mother or somerhing

Honestly OaR is one of my favorite chapters, and also in Black Mesa there’s a mod that reimplements the sections that were cut and greatly extends the chapter.

I liked this level..., always have liked it. I still enjoy it very much.., so much I'm going to play HL (on ps2) "on a rail" part straight away ;) Greetings bibia.

When I played it the door that opens after you launch the rocket didn't open. I knew this was probably a glitch, and made sure I didn't miss anything in the rocket launch room. I pressed the button again and a second rocket launched...

On a Rail is arguably the best level in the game. The more I watched this video, the more I remembered how the fun the level actually was. I never really hated the level like what others say. Literally all of the sections you showed in the video were engrained in my mind; they were so memorable. The only problem I had with the level was the signs you had to shoot to change directions of the train.

FUN FACT: the "screaming" at the bottom of the rockets is a chicken/rooster call with some distortion

It was my one of my favorite chapters, it reminded me of the first Metro game

I think what makes the rocket launch more memorable is the frustration part of on a rail, so it feels like this rocket launch is like a big ass sigh of relief

The remnants of the first iteration of the "rocket launch chapter" where you start from the control room is still in the final game. In the previous chapter, at the top of the toxic pit where the grunts had set up a base, you can see a board (i.e. screenshot of the level editor Worldcraft) showing the layout of the power up + on a rail chapters. It shows that the track used to go from Power Up directly to the outside of the launch pad (the place with the sniper). Also the launch control room still has global triggers that check for the state of the silo doors which were supposed to change the camera view and clear the rocket for take off, but these logic triggers are not hooked up to anything in the final version.

I played the original Half-Life recently. I already knew about this one's reputation beforehand... Despite that, this chapter was definitely one of my favorites.

On a rail is acutely my favorite map. I just really like it. The carts a cool mechanic in this chapter which for me makes it very fun!

Always loved this chapter as it had this slightly unsettling feeling of being lost in a maze and having to find your way out of there while hitting all the various obstacles and sidetracks where you got off the train.

I loved it evenly like the rest. Though I am surprised people still make videos with the original Half-Life 1, instead of the remae, Black Mesa.

You're still not selling me on the design choices but your voice is so damn soothing I can't bring myself to disagree with you.

Playing on a rail in vr is awsome, with your left hand controlling the throttle, driving and blasting never felt so good

on my first playthrough this chapter felt like AGES the other 20+ times, it felt so good I love it. One of the best parts

I love how every NPC that purple founds gets killed by him

I like the small details of the chapter like the guard in the boarded up room and the secret vent/supply area under the stairs later on.

0:45 into this video, and I agree completely. I had more fun with "On a rail" than I've had in most entire games. It's Non-linear, as you point out, which gives the player freedom to clean up the area as they choose, while handling the puzzle aspects at their leisure... Brilliant!

I don't know why anyone dislikes this level. I thought it was a fun change-up.

When I played OAR, it was like the game was just doing the usual game techniques of showing where you need to go using lighting, and getting you comfortable with shooting the signs. Then once you get out of the loop, things continue to get more and more hectic. A typical difficulty curve. Once you get used to the mechanics, HECU Grunts start coming out of the walls, so you would do what Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist would do. Panic, then try to make sense of the situation you’re in, think of a plan, and execute it.

Polished, interesting and pleasant to watch. Made a frustrating chapter seem amazing! In my opinion, people pick on On A Rail too much and not enough on Residue Processing.

First played this game as a kid. Half life 2 came out when I was in 8th grade and up until 2018 I only played HL2. I played blackmesa then and cringed to the cart experience all over again. Memories had been flooding back for my play thru of blackmesa but that damn cart really puckered my ass. You have indeed changed my mind and since I have all versions on pc now, I shall be going back and doing a real play thru of hl1 original. For the first time in around 20 years. Thank you

i have a funny replay of Black Mesa where i threw a grenade at the marines discussing who Freeman is immediately after they finished talking. it's one of honestly way too many random game clips i have, but it's one of my favourites cuz it reminds me of the perfect comedic timing you sometimes find in old game clips on YT.

I remember actually sort of sequence breaking through this area. I didn't go on the rail so much as I went on the sides and traversed through the quickest path possible

Woooooow, loved this video dude, imma subscribe right now, really hyped about ur content

The music playing during the chapter is the sounds of the ghosts of people who died in the rail system

on a rail was my favorite chapter in the original half-life

I finally played through the main half life games a couple years ago to see what all the fuss over the years was about. The only thing that stood out to me was the archaic cart controls.

How can anyone hate On A Rail? It's the magnum murder rampage chapter!

honestly i didn’t have much trouble with this chapter, but mostly because i had no idea what i was doing and i just happened to be lucky and get through it quickly. i didn’t even know about that crane puzzle at the start

I had no idea you were supposed to shoot signs the first time I played it. And I just ran out of the cart and tried to cling to the edge of the tracks

9:28 I remember stumbling upon this broken elevator in my playthrough. It felt like a literal in-your-face message stating: "All ways to the surface, cozy offices and fresh air areas ARE CUT OFF. You're stuck in these old tunnels infested with things that try to kill you. And also it's probably night already, oooo👻" Uninteresting fact: when I played HL1 for the first time (before intently reading the lore) I thought that the engine, we used to burn the tentacles earlier, is attached to a rocket we launch in this chapter. As if we looped around for two chapters and ended up just above the silo area.

The whole point of the chapter is to be a long, grueling struggle. Remember the dialogue from the scientist at the end of We’ve Got Hostiles, then the guard at the end of Power Up? They can’t give you good directions or any idea how long it is. If it was perfectly linear, what would be the point in adding rideable carts?

OAR had some of the best Xen vs. HECU fights, ambushes, and bunker battles. But I do recall disliking it in 1999 because of all the backtracking due to the mazelike layout, and in 1999 HL1 was using state of the art tech. So it had looooong load times with the occasional crash. Today the load times are instant.

I was so confused at the first part of On A Rail when I first played. I didn't realise that you had to shoot the signs, so I just kept going around in circles until I googled how to continue.

As a child born in a 3rd world country, this game has been an eye opener to me especially the technologies back then. I wouldn't have an idea that humanity can go to the moon I can only look and admire, the rocket launch was just a moment for me.

I like how their was a ad with the kfc colonel in it before the video started

On my first playthrough I thought it was a okay length. as soon as I thought "i cant take much more of this...' it throws me off into the water.

I loved it, because I played it after I played Metro Last Light which train lever is an homage to this one.

Sir, I quite enjoyed this. You’ve earned a sub!

I've never really hated On A Rail. It's neat if you explore it all and surprisingly short if you just rush through it.

nothing in Half-Life is more satisfying than running through the sides of the tracks and going for pixel perfect revolver headshots on the necks of gas-mask soldiers for an instant kill that pieces the armor

god, the steam screenshot sound that played every time you showed the area map had me checking to be sure i didn't somehow click F12 without even having my hands on the keyboard every damn time ffs

I wish the player get locked into position when on the train, because even on Black Mesa when you go up, the player almost get thrown out of the train

Fun fact: you can launch the rocket without even needing to get inside the building all what you have to do is to jump on the sandbags anf from there jump into the window, look at location where the button is and press it, you'll be able to see the rocket in all it 12 polygons glory

I don't remember ever thinking 'this level isn't fun' when i first played this in the late 90s. The world building, visual storytelling and ambience are so strong throughout HL that it was more like 'oh gee whizz what now?' with each new level

The part with the crane in the way was literally the only reason i didn't like this chapter. I was so confused the entire time and to this day I still don't know how to get to the lever because I ended up just walking along the side of the track until the next train/cart/thingy loaded in with the next map. Edit: also it wont cost you any health if you walk on the concrete along the sides and not directly on the track (hence the tram ride PA: "Please, stay away from electrified rails")

On A Rail was always my favourite chapter because of it nonlinear structure, so I can explore map for secrets and also YOU'RE DRIVING A DAMN CART.

I remember that on my first playthrough back in 2000, I didn't even use the cart on the entire chapter because it just went away after I fell and I never found it xD After my friend told me it could be stopped I played it the intended way and it's one of my favorite chapters behind Surface Tension. I really thought people would hate Residual Processing rather than this...

I completely agree with you- You feel like you are in a real place and it's exploratory, not very video-gamey for its time, especially considering open world was later created following the same principles used in 'On a Rail'

On the indiana jones bit you were talking about(4:20), let me tell you what happened for me. I got back to the cart started it, the marined said "shit!" the cart left him behind as he tried to snipe me while I was riding the original cart. Ahh, that was hilarious when it happened. Thanks for this I enjoy your vids man, I mainly posted this comment because I want to know if this happened to any of you guys?

You shouldn't forget that this chapter is also very fricking fun to play in Sven Coop

I am surprised to hear that and i dont really know where your statistics come from, at least for me and my buddies it was one of the best parts of HL1 and most discussed when we played it first time. It was basically at top 3 things in all of discussions about this game, not in a bad way.

It’s not too bad, never thought of any bad map, although the tram ride at the star.

On a Rail is chapter where you can comfortable use stealth and miss half of combats.