Up until now, incorporating a mod into a first-person shooter was never a very easy affair, usually involving the player to set up obscure command lines, creating subdirectories, and other daunting tasks that prevent the average Joe from diving right in. Fortunately, Valve Software has made this entire process a pretty simple affair. The following primer will get your current version of Half-Life up to the Team Fortress Classic level as well as getting you online and finding games to play over the Internet.

Where Do I Get the Mod?

Your first stop should be Valve Software or Sierra, where you will find the new Half-Life v1.09 upgrade, which contains the elements needed to play Team Fortress Classic.

Once you've downloaded the 18MB file, simply double-click it, point it toward your Half-Life directory, and let it install. When it is completed, boot up Half-Life and click Custom Game from the main screen. A new screen will appear with Team Fortress Classic listed at the top of a window. Highlight Team Fortress Classic and click the Activate button to the left. Team Fortress Classic is now officially installed!

What Next?

Now, you should take the time to create a custom control configuration that can be done from the Configuration menu from within Half-Life. If you're wondering if your old control scheme still works, the answer is no. Team Fortress Classic involves many new commands and options, so you'll want to tweak all the options over again.