A Whole Bunch of Simulated Reality - HLX Files #6

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Overview

Tyler collects the HLX-related findings he has gathered since the previous episode, most of them drawn from Deadlock update files and from a Pastebin datamine published by Gabe Follower (Maxim). The through-line is a set of interlocking simulation systems — Pulse scripting, surface flammability, fluids, wind, material deformation, gravity/underwater/space movement, and NPC damage and mood — which he frames as an emergent-physics successor to Half-Life 2’s E3 2003 demonstrations. He explicitly hedges that he does not see the whole picture and does not know how the systems will be used. The video opens and closes with Game Awards speculation, which he repeatedly downgrades because he has heard nothing concrete about a Half-Life 3 announcement.

Mentioned events

Game Awards 2024 announcement rumors

• Description: Recorded the day before the 2024 Game Awards. Tyler cites Jason Schreier saying there will be two big announcements at the “oh my god, how did they do that” level, but states he has not heard anything about Gabe Newell appearing to announce Half-Life 3, calling that outcome “very unlikely” and noting Valve is “terrible at meeting deadlines and organizing events.” Mr. CEO Man was to stream and react to the show.
• Confidence: Speculation — Tyler explicitly says “I have n’t actually heard anything like that” and “I’m not going to sit here and assure you that this will definitely happen.”
• Category: Marketing
• Source: Tyler’s commentary on reporting attributed to Jason Schreier and on the Game Awards lineup.
• Earlier mentions: References the prior episode loosely (“since we last spoke a few weeks ago”) without naming a specific prior claim.
• Verification: unverified — would require the actual Game Awards 2024 announcements and Schreier’s reporting to compare.

Pulse scripting system and VPulse files

• Description: Tyler describes the “Pulse” scripting system as a flowchart tool comparable to Unreal Engine 4 Blueprints that lets developers wire game systems, NPCs, entities, and AI rules together. He says the files are called VPulse, that the system is partially used in Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, and that the code exists in Source 2 but no public user interface allows development with it. He presents it as Valve’s newest tool for fast prototyping, and asks viewers to explain it in simple terms for a future video.
• Confidence: Mixed — the existence of VPulse files and CS2/Dota 2 use is presented as datamined fact, while the Blueprint comparison and the claim that it “speeds up development” are Tyler’s understanding and inference.
• Category: Engine feature
• Source: Tyler’s account of Source 2 file datamining (VPulse files) and observation of Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — inspect Source 2/CS2/Dota 2 game files for VPulse assets and any editor tooling.

Surface flammability attributes in Deadlock localization strings

• Description: The latest Deadlock update reportedly added localization strings for surface attributes tied to flammability: “heat aura” (how close an object must be to a surface to be heated), “burn damage” (how much the surface changes fire damage dealt on it), and “instant ignition” (whether entities touching the surface ignite immediately). Tyler stresses that damage is modified by the surface rather than hard-coded per object.
• Confidence: Fact — specific localization string names are cited from a named Deadlock update.
• Category: Technology
• Source: Datamine of the latest Deadlock update localization strings.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — search the Deadlock localization files for heat aura, burn damage, and instant ignition keys.

Universal material coating and ignition system

• Description: Tyler connects the flammability attributes to a broader system where liquids and materials coat objects and change both the object and its surroundings, described as a more sophisticated version of Portal 2’s gels: gasoline or enemy blood can cover level geometry, and a flammable object can be ignited and launched with the gravity gun for extra damage. He notes that water, blood, object temperature, and flammability all interact, and frames it as an attempt to recreate the E3 2003 Half-Life 2 physics reaction.
• Confidence: Speculation — Tyler says “I don’t see the whole picture. I don’t know all the factors that will affect this system,” and the gravity-gun example is his illustration.
• Category: Gameplay
• Source: Tyler’s inference from the Deadlock surface-attribute strings and Source 2 physics capabilities.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: unverified — would need in-game demonstration or additional datamined code showing coating propagation.

Underwater and zero-gravity movement icons

• Description: Tyler says the latest Deadlock update included icons used in editing tools for two other player movement types beyond normal walking: underwater movement and “space flight,” i.e. zero gravity. He links this to altered or simulated gravity affecting the other physics systems.
• Confidence: Fact — the icons are attributed to a specific Deadlock update, though the interpretation of how they will be used is Tyler’s.
• Category: Engine feature
• Source: Datamine of the latest Deadlock update editor tool icons.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — locate the underwater and space-flight icons in Deadlock tool assets.

Hair shader and hair-dye parameters

• Description: Tyler lists “less important” findings: special hair shaders with variable strands, where the game determines the number of vertices and segments per strand, plus a separate command for hair-dye color. He jokes about what these combine into with the physics systems.
• Confidence: Fact — described as datamined parameters from the update.
• Category: Engine feature
• Source: Datamine of Deadlock update shader and console/parameter data.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — check Deadlock shader files and commands for strand vertex/segment and hair-dye color parameters.

Animgraphs on AI-controlled vehicles

• Description: Tyler states that AI-controlled vehicles can now have animgraphs attached. He ties this to new AI technology and transport simulation forming part of a single large-scale physical system built from many interacting small elements rather than scripted sequences, which he calls emergent gameplay, connected to the Pulse system.
• Confidence: Mixed — the animgraph attachment is presented as a datamined capability; the “emergent gameplay” framing is Tyler’s interpretation.
• Category: Technology
• Source: Datamine of Deadlock update files, as described by Tyler.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — inspect vehicle entity definitions for animgraph attachment fields.

Gabe Follower’s Pastebin datamine and simulated wind

• Description: Tyler credits Gabe Follower (Maxim) with conducting his own datamines and publishing them on Pastebin, and says comparing notes surfaced items he had not covered. Among them is simulated wind: not a scripted push with a leaf animation, but real high- and low-pressure areas with air moving between them.
• Confidence: Mixed — the datamine is a named source, but Tyler is relaying and interpreting another person’s findings rather than showing the artifact.
• Category: Technology
• Source: Pastebin datamine published by Gabe Follower (Maxim), compared against Tyler’s notes.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — review the Pastebin datamine and any pressure/air-flow entities in the files.

Destructive NPCs with detachable body parts

• Description: Tyler describes NPCs compared to Doom Eternal’s destructible demons, but with each body part able to be torn off and with that loss changing the character’s subsequent behavior: animations change and reactions to events differ.
• Confidence: Mixed — the capability is attributed to the shared datamine; the Doom Eternal comparison and behavior consequences are Tyler’s characterization.
• Category: Gameplay
• Source: Gabe Follower Pastebin datamine, as relayed by Tyler.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — find NPC body-part damage and behavior-state entries in the datamine or game files.

Material plasticity and elasticity simulation

• Description: Tyler explains simulated plasticity and elasticity as how much an object deforms under load and whether it retains the deformation afterward, using the example of a red plastic fuel canister with a yellow spout. He says different fluid variables also affect the behavior of a simulated vehicle’s wheels, for example blood on the floor reducing grip after a fight.
• Confidence: Mixed — the material properties come from the datamine; the canister and blood-on-tires scenarios are Tyler’s illustrative examples.
• Category: Technology
• Source: Gabe Follower Pastebin datamine plus Tyler’s inference about Source 2 mesh-based geometry.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — check for plasticity/elasticity material parameters and tire-friction fluid interaction code.

Voxel-based destruction and mesh deformation speculation

• Description: Tyler notes that Source 2 uses meshes rather than brushes, making mesh deformation feasible, and combines this with the voxel-based destruction systems “we’ve been guessing about for so long” to suggest it could be the most realistic result he has seen. He also mentions a Steam Deck launch “at some point.”
• Confidence: Speculation — explicitly framed as guessing and as not seeing the whole picture; the Steam Deck remark is offhand with no evidence.
• Category: Engine feature
• Source: Tyler’s analysis of Source 2 architecture and prior community speculation about voxel destruction.
• Earlier mentions: References long-running community speculation about voxel-based destruction without naming a specific prior video or leak.
• Verification: unverified — no artifact shown for voxel destruction or a Steam Deck build.

NPC behavior and mood system from older leaks

• Description: Tyler says there are a large number of NPC behavior patterns he had forgotten, which leaked online years ago alongside Half-Life: Alyx, Underlords, and Artifact. He describes mood-based reactions: NPCs have moods that depend on their environment, including player actions, altering both physical behavior and the lines they speak. He promises a separate episode on NPC behavior and AI reactions.
• Confidence: Fact — he cites specific older leaks tied to named Valve titles, though he admits he needs to re-read the material.
• Category: Gameplay
• Source: Older leaked Valve files associated with Half-Life: Alyx, Underlords, and Artifact.
• Earlier mentions: References leaks from years earlier (Alyx/Underlords/Artifact era) without naming a specific prior HLX Files episode.
• Verification: needs follow-up — locate the original Alyx-era leak containing NPC mood and behavior definitions.

Game Awards 2019 Half-Life: Alyx promise to Geoff Keighley

• Description: Tyler says Valve promised Geoff Keighley gameplay of Half-Life: Alyx at the 2019 Game Awards but backed out, and suggests Valve may want to make up for it by giving him Half-Life 3, adding that “if anyone was going to get Half-Life 3, it would be Jeff.” He immediately repeats that he has heard nothing and is less plugged into events than in previous years.
• Confidence: Mixed — the 2019 Alyx withdrawal is presented as established history; the idea of a Half-Life 3 make-up reveal is explicitly speculative.
• Category: Marketing
• Source: Tyler’s recollection of the 2019 Game Awards and his inference about Valve’s relationship with Geoff Keighley.
• Earlier mentions: None identified in this video.
• Verification: needs follow-up — check 2019 Game Awards coverage for the announced-then-withdrawn Alyx gameplay.

New or changed in this video

• Adds Deadlock localization-string detail for surface flammability: heat aura, burn damage, and instant ignition.
• Adds Deadlock editor-tool icons for underwater and zero-gravity/space-flight movement.
• Adds hair shader parameters (strand vertices/segments, hair-dye color) and animgraphs on AI-controlled vehicles.
• Introduces Gabe Follower’s Pastebin datamine as a second source, adding simulated wind pressure systems, detachable NPC parts, material plasticity/elasticity, and fluid effects on vehicle wheels.
• Explicitly lowers expectations for a Game Awards 2024 Half-Life 3 reveal, stating he has heard nothing.
• Frames the accumulated systems as an emergent-physics attempt to recreate the E3 2003 Half-Life 2 reaction; much of the video is synthesis and recap of previously discussed systems.

Notable quotes

• “Gabe Newell will come on stage and announce Half-Life 3, but I have n’t actually heard anything like that. This can happen. This is very unlikely.” — Tyler tempering Game Awards expectations.
• “The files themselves are called VPulse.” — On the Pulse scripting system.
• “Of course, I don’t see the whole picture. I don’t know all the factors that will affect this system.” — Hedging on the material/flammability simulation.
• “I’m not going to sit here and assure you that this will definitely happen.” — On a Game Awards reveal.

Open questions

• What exactly does Pulse/VPulse do, and will a usable editor or documentation ever be visible?
• How do the flammability, fluid-coating, wind, and deformation systems interact in practice, and are they intended for HLX or for Deadlock generally?
• Which of these Deadlock-derived systems are shared Source 2 technology versus game-specific features?
• What did the older Alyx-era NPC mood and behavior leaks actually contain?
• Whether Valve made any Half-Life announcement at the 2024 Game Awards.