☢️ Half-Life Dark Theme
A high-fidelity dark theme and sounds, inspired by City 17 and Black Mesa.
✨ Features
- Lambda Color Palette: Carefully picked colors to feel like you're in the Half-Life universe.
- HEV Smart Sound System: Real-time, priority-based audio feedback for startup, terminal errors, tab switching, and file operations.
- Icon Pack: Custom Lambda icons for your workspace explorer.
- Terminal Integration: Custom wrapper to trigger Combine radio sounds when toggling the terminal (
Ctrl+J).
- Full Customization: Toggle sounds globally or individually through VS Code settings.
🛠 Prerequisites
This extension provides an immersive experience with sounds from the HEV Mark IV Protective System. To enable audio features, your system requires a media player accessible via terminal.
Sound System Requirements
| Operating System |
Requirement |
Installation Command |
| Windows |
PowerShell (Built-in) |
No action required |
| macOS |
afplay (Built-in) |
No action required |
| Linux |
mpg123 |
sudo apt update && sudo apt install mpg123 |
🐧 Special Note for WSL2 Users
If you are using WSL2, please ensure:
- You have
mpg123 installed inside your Linux distribution.
- Your WSL2 instance is configured to output audio to Windows (standard in latest Windows 11 versions with WSLg).
- If you don't hear sounds, ensure your PulseAudio or system sound server is correctly bridged.
⚠️ Troubleshooting
If the sound system fails to initialize, the extension will still function as a color and icon theme. You can check the Extension Host logs in the Output panel for specific error messages regarding audio playback.
🚀 Installation Guide
You can install the Half-Life 2 Full Experience using one of the following methods:
1. Via Visual Studio Code Marketplace
- Open Visual Studio Code.
- Go to the Extensions view (
Ctrl+Shift+X).
- Search for
Half-Life Dark Theme.
- Click Install.
2. Manual Installation (.vsix)
If you have the compiled extension file:
- Open your terminal in the directory where the
.vsix file is located.
- Run the following command:
code --install-extension half-life-dark-theme-1.0.0.vsix
- Restart Visual Studio Code.
⚙️ Configuration & Commands
Once installed, the Walkthrough will guide you, but you can manually activate the modules:
Step 1: Apply the Theme & Icons
- Press
Ctrl+K then Ctrl+T and select "HalfLife Dark Theme".
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P, type "File Icon Theme", and choose "Half-Life Icons".
Step 2: HEV System Commands
Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and type HEV System to access:
- Enable All Sounds: Turns on the master audio switch.
- Disable All Sounds: Instantly mutes the HEV system.
You can also customize exactly which events trigger sounds (like file saving, terminal errors, or tab switching) by searching for Half-Life in your VS Code Settings (Ctrl+,).
🛠️ Development & Customization
If you want to modify the theme or sounds for personal use:
- Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/MateoRyhr/hl2-theme.git
- Install dependencies:
npm install
- Press
F5 inside VS Code to open a Discovery Host window and test your changes in real-time.
📜 Credits
This is a fan project. All audio assets and visual inspiration belong to Valve Corporation.
