Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Review (xr0)
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast is best described as a tech demo released in 2005 that showcased the benefits of High Dynamic Range (HDR), a new technology that Valve developed into the Source engine. The Lost Coast was initially created as a section in the Highway 17 chapter of Half-Life 2 but was cut from final release. The demo comprises of a series of commentary nodes from Valve developers scattered along a coastal beach setting, later through a small village area comprising of combine soldiers.
The cliffside area is one in which the developers were particular happy with as it reintroduces vertical combat similar to what we found in Half-Life 1. Unfortunately, we did not see this reintroduced in Half-Life 2. The developers made a note in the cliffside commentary node regretting that decision.
The developer commentary also expressed that Valve learnt many things through the process of building characters in Half-Life 2, and that by the end they believed they’d figured out a more effective process for designing and constructing characters. In Lost Coast, the first character you meet is a fisherman, who is described as the first character that Valve built using that process.
Randy Lundeen explained that the fisherman was designed to showcase HDR and dynamic tone mapping. “The highlights on his forehead and nose are good examples of specularity on human skin. You can see how the wrinkles on his cheeks, and around his eyes, are an example of how we can use normal maps to add depth.”
The first appearance of developer commentary through Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was a huge success, detailing various aspects of both technical and gameplay orientation. This proved to be a big hit and was later included in future Valve titles.