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Synergy News

24.12.1 Patch

  • Added backend support for Steam Networking. Frontend TBD.
  • Fixed additional instances of Anti-virus false positives with synergy.exe and srcds.exe
  • Updated executable icons on Windows.
  • Linux DS: Fixed NPC sounds not playing.
[h2]Steam Networking (beta) [/h2]
This update includes backend netcode support for Steam Networking. This means you can play Synergy with your friends without the hoster needing to port forward their listen client or dedicated server. UI changes to help facilitate this are currently in progress.

[h3]How can I use it now?[/h3]
Whoever will be hosting the server simply needs to load into a map and provide their SteamID64 to their friends. Type status in the console while loaded into a map to get your SteamID64.

This will be one of the lines printed:
steamid : [A;1;123456789:03210] (01234567890123456)
This is your SteamID. The SteamID64 is the one in parentheses: (01234567890123456). Send this to friends who would be connecting to your server.

To connect to a friend's server, type the following into the console given your friend's SteamID64:
connect 01234567890123456
This works with dedicated servers as well. When a dedicated server loads a map, it will also provide a game server SteamID64 via the status command. However the game client's Server Browser does not support listing servers via SteamID yet.

Issue Tracker
Discord

24.12.0 Patch

Fixed Linux client not launching on some popular distros.
Fixed infinite connect loop when connecting to 56.16 servers.
Fixed a McAfee AV false positive for synergy.exe and srcds.exe.
Fixed MetaMod/SourceMod not working with Synergy on Linux.
Fixed some additional cases where Synergy would fail to start if you have Source Filmmaker installed.
Fixed workshop items sometimes not mounting on dedicated servers.
d1_canals_03 & d2_coast_01: Fixed progression block at end of level if antirush is enabled.
d3_c17_02: Fixed dog being a bad boy sometimes by closing the gate early.
d2_coast_03: Fixed some visible triggers.

Issue Tracker
Discord

Half-Life 2 co-op mod Synergy upgraded for the Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update

Synergy is a free mod for Half-Life 2 that allows you to play the Half-Life 2 series and many other singleplayer Source Mods cooperatively with friends. It was recently upgraded to support the Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2024/12/half-life-2-co-op-mod-synergy-upgraded-for-the-half-life-2-20th-anniversary-update

24.11.1 Hotfix

ep2_outland_09: Fixed softlock on transition from ep2_outland_08 where two rebel NPCs will spawn and block the doorway, preventing progression.
d3_c17_07: Fixed softlock above turret room.
d1_canals_13: Fixed issue where some helicopter sounds would never play.
Added support for non-English closed captions and subtitles for ep1 and ep2.
Rescaled some difficultly settings in skill_mod.cfg to be a little closer to Half-Life 2.
Increased player respawn health from 60 to 80 and created a new convar to change this mp_player_respawn_health_factor

We are also aware of the Linux desktop client not working on some popular distros and are investigating.

Issue Tracker
Discord

Synergy: Half-Life 2's 20th Anniversary Update



[h2]Greetings Rebels![/h2]
Its been a long time. The last official Synergy update was way back in 2015!
Over the years we've been working in the `development` branch, which has had a lot of work done to it.
Due to the release of Half-Life 2's 20th Anniversary update, we are prompted to release this sooner than we've planned as to resolve numerous breaking changes from Half-Life 2's recent large update.

We're happy to announce that Half-Life 2's 20th Anniversary Update is now supported and we thank you for your patience.

[h3]Patch Notes[/h3]
  • Support for the Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update!
  • Fixed numerous crashes like the infamous "unconnected" player bug and player models jittering.
  • Significantly improved overall performance, especially with large player counts.
  • Rebalanced numerous, rather absurd, map-specific difficulty spikes in the Half-Life 2 campaign.
  • Fixed SteamVR starting when changing settings.
  • Initial official native support for Steamdeck (UI still leaves a lot to be desired).
  • Fixed various HUD issues introduced by Half-Life 2's Steamdeck update.
  • Official support for Linux Dedicated Servers.
    • Requires steam client installed (e.g. `sudo apt install steam`).
  • Added support for saved games.
    • Host can load a saved game and friends who join will be restored if they were connected at the time of the save.
    • Works on dedicated servers.
  • Various map-specific (EDT) improvements throughout the Half-Life 2 campaigns.
  • Fixed many level transition issues, particularly on backtracking maps.
  • Steam Cloud support for settings and saved games.
  • Steam Workshop support for dedicated servers.
  • Steam Rich Presence support.
  • Enabled spectator mode via console (jointeam 1)
  • Players will spawn in a vehicle on airboat levels (coast levels TBD).
  • Vehicles will no longer stop when the game autosaves.
  • Added more player voice command lines from ep1.
  • Fixed player viewmodels being invisible under some circumstances.
  • Optimized networking for some entities like the Airboat.
  • 'Use' key will now go through players to avoid blocking anything.
  • Removed cheat flag from some useful commands/cvars.
  • Added game content rating to unblock Synergy in Germany.
  • Increased maximum player support from 10 to 32.
  • Other changes lost in time.
[h3]Previous Version[/h3]
If you run into any regressions from the previous version (56.16) or bugs in general, please report them to our public issue tracker. Also feel free to make some noise on our Discord.
The previous version of Synergy is still available on its own Steam beta branch: `56.16`. Please report a bug if you feel the need to rollback. If you do rollback, also set Half-Life 2's beta to `steam_legacy` to make everything work as it did before Half-Life 2's 20th Anniversary update.

[h3]Our Next Steps[/h3]
One feature we were planning to have complete before releasing this update was automatic networking and Steam friend lobbies. This feature would remove the requirement of the host needing to port forward their local (or dedicated) server so their friends can join. This has been a large hindrance for those who simply want to play Half-Life 2 with friends out of the box and not deal with troubleshooting networks. Such a feature is a very high priority to us and we hope to have it ready in the near future.
There are likely other issues introduced in the Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update so we're keeping an eye on those as well.

Special thanks to IntriguingTiles, Balim and modi for helping with testing, reporting and fixing various issues over the last several months.

There is still much work to do but thanks for raising your crowbars with us over the years and we hope to see you again in City 17!