Half-Life 2 no crosshair on triple monitors

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 14 Nov 2009, 09:03

Has anyone come up with a fix for the lack of the crosshair being displayed when Half-Life 2 is played on 3 monitors? I have tried it both with and without Matrox's SGU optimization for my Triple Head 2 Go DV, but the only way I can get crosshairs is to drop back to a single display.

Zoandar

Post by **MobsterOO7** » 14 Nov 2009, 14:44

There is no actual "fix" that we know of, and Valve doesn't care enough to tell us how to fix it. But its been tried and true that the crosshair works in HL2: Cinematic Mod. Which is a bit hard on computers but with the latest one you can select which textures get installed IIRC.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 14 Nov 2009, 17:15

Thanks. I'm a poor enough shot when I have the crosshairs. I can't imagine playing the game without them. ;-)

I did see several different beta versions mentioned for the Cinematic Mod (CM) as well as a lot of complaints about what they did to poor Alyx in the process. If you could recoomnend a good place to find the latest mod with the user configurable options, I would be most grateful.

Also, is the CM usable along with Matrox's SGU optimization, or would I want to leave that turned off when using the CM?

Zoandar

Post by **MobsterOO7** » 14 Nov 2009, 19:28

Cinematic Mod version 10 allows you to selectively mod the characters. Alex is preserved if you wish her to be.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 14 Nov 2009, 22:21

OK, I finally found a copy of the CM10 mod here:

http://www.gameupdates.org/details.php?id=3833

And it says "for 64 bit systems ONLY". What's up with that? I don't have a 64-bit system. Did anyone make the mod for 43 bit?

Zoandar

Post by **MobsterOO7** » 14 Nov 2009, 23:18

Technically it is for 64-bit mode only, but I have heard of people successfully running it on 32-bit mode. Since you have this problem I would suggest downloading an earlier version of the mod, say version 3. If that doesn't float your boat then I think you may want to look for some HUD modifications.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 15 Nov 2009, 00:10

Thanks for that suggestion. When I got the email you had replied I was actually looking at some of the earlier postings of the CM to see if they mentioned 64-bit or the missing crosshair. So I will try that, and report back how it goes. Surely there must be others dealing with this on 32-bit WinXP systems.

One other incentive for me to try the earlier CM versions is that I have old hardware, and also even the base 9.0 version had grown to 4.5GB. That's a pretty hefty download. Hopefully the earlier versions have a much smaller file set. There seems to be some confusion about whether the CM works on the first portion of HL-2, before the additional episodes are added.

One thing I did try which didn't help. I tried running HL2 in a window instead of full screen. After playing around with that in various resolutions I came to the conclusion that is isn't so much that I am spanning multiple displays as that in order to do so I am using the widescreen 16:9 format. It seems any usage of that format (perhaps even on a single display, but I haven't tried that yet) removes the crosshair. If I use the 4:3 format, it has the crosshair, but I can't get that to stretch across all 3 displays properly.

Zoandar

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 16 Nov 2009, 06:36

Well it wasn't easy, but I finally managed to download CM 4.0, and got it up and running. Alyx looks neat in shades. But still no crosshairs to aim the pistol, once I got that.

Due to the Jurassic age of my AGP 7600 GT card, I had to crank the display down a but, running at 3072 x 768 to stop the game from crashing on loading. Then once Alyx met me in the elevator, I was getting serious stuttering in both video and audio, so I had to crank down several of the display options from their highest setting to medium. But since doing that, the game is playable and still looks pretty decent. But would having reduced those settings helped to lose the crosshairs? I didn't have the pistol yet at that point.

So, you mentioned HUD mods? I had seen some mention of making "different" crosshairs in Half-Life. Are you suggesting that one of those mods might actually turn the crosshairs on for triple display gaming? Any suggestions which one might work?

Didn't there used to be an option to turn crosshairs on and off in HL? Or am I remembering wrong. If there is one I can't find it.

Zoandar

Leapo · Post by **Leapo** » 16 Nov 2009, 13:30

You could always try SoftTH.

When configured correctly, SoftTH doesn't cause Half Life2's cross hair to disappear.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 16 Nov 2009, 16:49

Thanks. I'll look into that option.

But in order for the CM to have gained the reputation for working around the missing crosshair issue, some folks must have achieved success. I wonder if perhaps that didn't happen with the really early versions, but came along later in its development? I suppose moving a few more releases toward current might reveal that. Although I haven't seen download sources for every release version, I have seen versions 7 and 9. Now that I have set up Firefox to actually work downloading huge files I can shoot for version 7 and see if it matters.

Maybe it would also be helpful to try and reach the operator of the FakeFactory site and ask them up front if it is supposed to work. If they implemented it in mid development they would know when.

Thanks for the help!

Zoandar

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 17 Nov 2009, 04:18

I checked out SoftTH. It requires PCI-Express cards to get decent frame rates. I only have AGP. Also, it apparently has issues with some games . Half-Life wasn't on the compatibility list, and Flight Sim X is not compatible.

So, I am still seeking a solution. I asked on the FakeFactory forum if the CMs are actually supposed to fix the missing crosshairs. I'll report back when I get a reply there.

Too bad Steam is ignoring the issue.

Zoandar

Butch_N · Post by **Butch_N** » 17 Nov 2009, 18:38

Hi

Have you actually tried playing without the crosshairs?
It plays okay without them. You have tracers on nearly all weapons. It was a bit awkward at first, but within no time I was getting along fine.

Though I must add, I am kinda used to not using crosshairs anyway. I mean in Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout 3, I have mostly played with them off. Maybe this made it easier for me to get used to it in HL-2. Anyway, if you didn't actually spend some time trying it, do so. You too may find that it's not so bad after all. Heck, you may even find it more immersive.

Good luck :)

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 17 Nov 2009, 19:06

Actually I have gone a ways with the pistol so far, and was completely surprised that I can hit things! Paying close attention to where the bullets are impacting, and always firing at least 2 shots, usually dispatches the columbine soldier without much effort.

I was afraid that when I later get to firing from the moving vehicles, and using the RPGs, that I would be doomed without a crosshair. Those striders are very difficult for me to kill anyway, even when I can get a crosshair on them. I'll keep proceeding this way and see how it goes, but I really would like to find a fix.

What puzzles me is that I can't find ANY posts anywhere describing this issue in triple-display HL2. Surely there must be others who have at least mentioned it. But as with all searching, its all about selecting the right word, and guessing what word the other guy used to describe the issue. I have been searching both with Google and wandering around in many forums for 3 days now and am amazed that I am not finding anything. Maybe there really is a fix and people found it quickly without using "crosshair" in their search. Or, maybe everyone just gave up and played without it.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion and encouragement. :-)

Zoandar

Butch_N · Post by **Butch_N** » 17 Nov 2009, 22:39

Hi again

With the RPG, you will have the infrared beam.
With the buggy and airboat, you have tracers.

I too tried searching when I first started playing it in triple screen mode. Like you, I didn't come up with much. So yeah, maybe others did just give up and play it without.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 17 Nov 2009, 23:54

Well that's a bit of good news. I was thinking that the RPG wouldn't have any sight at all. If it is only crosshairs that disappear, it must be some sort of snafu with the HUD.

I have been fiddling with different settings, working between the Matrox SGU optimizing utility and the games own display settings. Although Matrox recommends for the best configuration that all 3 displays be the same, I do not have that. It's a long story, so I won't get into why, but I have 2 identical 19" LCDs with a 22" widescreen LCD in the middle.

I decided if I have to go back to a single screen for HL, being on that center widescreen wouldn't be that bad. But of course Murphy makes the game display on the LH LCD if you turn off the 16:9 format to get the crosshairs back. Not desireable. But by working the settings between the 2 mentioned above, I think I have managed to get it to display, in a window, at a decent resolution, on the center display. I'll know if it stays that way next time I open the game. But so far I have that, PLUS the crosshair back again. It just won't let me stretch the window across all 3 displays without using 16:9, and when I turn that on, that's when the crosshair disappears.

I would be interested to know (should anyone be following all this who plays on a single wide display) if everyone using the 16:9 ratio also loses the crosshairs regardless of how many displays they are using. I could remove all my triple head hardware and connect up for a single display from the video card to find out for sure, but its kind of a pain to set it all back up again. That's why I wanted to find some way to get the single center display by adjusting settings. Then if I really want the crosshair I can just set up for that mode in HL, but still have the triple displays for everything else on the PC, without having to swap a lot of hardware around and reset everything.

It's funny, because last night I was hitting the soldiers well with the sightless pistol. But today I can't seem to hit anything, and got down to 11 health points just now before even making it over the fence at the rail station. Thank goodness for saving progress locations in the game! ;-)

Zoandar

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 18 Nov 2009, 05:53

I just discovered that, although the pistol has no crosshairs under my current triple head setup, the Zoom function DOES have its "cross-hair" style sight. So for long shots, I can use zoom to center the pistol on the target, release zoom, and fire. It works very well. In the scene where I am in the viaduct with only the pistol so far, with the columbine shooting at me from the bridge, I can use the overturned truck for cover, pop up and zoom on one of them, and duck back down, then pop up and fire. One shot, one kill. So perhaps this won't be so bad after all.

I would think this same tactic might work for any other weapon as well. Although, since it does work, why not the pistol cross-hair? Really strange.

Zoandar

shiney_face · Post by **shiney_face** » 25 Jan 2010, 05:03

I use CM10 because of the cross-hair issue. I'm pretty sure its because HL2 uses a different version of the source engine to the later games. CM10 uses the later version of the engine with HDR etc. and as such doesn't have the disappearing cross-hair. Also its combine not columbine lolz...

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 25 Jan 2010, 05:16

I use CM10 because of the cross-hair issue. I'm pretty sure its because HL2 uses a different version of the source engine to the later games. CM10 uses the later version of the engine with HDR etc. and as such doesn't have the disappearing cross-hair. Also its combine not columbine lolz...

Yea, I realized that I had mis-nomered on the Combine some time after I had posted this, but just let it go. I'm glad you got a laugh out of that. :)

Since I began this quest, I have had the good fortune to upgrade my PC. I now have a Q6600 quad core and am running 32-bit WinXP Home SP3 with 3GB memory using a GeForce 9800 GTX video card. So I might just be able to run CM 10 if I get lucky. I sort of got away from playing HL2 over the holidays as we had company here. But I'm looking forward to picking it back up.

Do you think CM10 would run for me? I don't want to go to all it takes to download and install it and then have it crash and freeze on me all the time. I have gotten used to not having the crosshair, but it does make things like long distance accuracy with the crossbow more challenging.

Zoandar

Kyouhou · Post by **Kyouhou** » 11 Feb 2010, 03:26

Put a piece of scotch tape in the center and draw one with a sharpie pen. =]
Low-tech and cheap. You'll get used to it.

Zoandar · Post by **Zoandar** » 11 Feb 2010, 23:47

Actually, that is similar to an idea I did have but have not implemented. As I was playing the game I did notice that when I zoom in (which DOES give you the cross hair, but most weapons won't fire until you zoom back out) the cross hair is always in the center of the display. I was thinking of using some black thread from top to bottom and left to right, stuck to the display bezel, to do the same thing.

Thanks for the alternate idea. I did go and look at CM10 the other day, and I see it can be had in HD or non-HD format (the latter of which is needed for 32-bit WinXP) but of course no mention on that site about this cross hair issue.

Zoandar

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