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Black Mesa Source |OT| Do you know who ate all the donuts?

Dipswitch

Member
Apologies if this has been asked and answered before, but what's the recommended FOV value for a 16:9 widescreen tv and/or a 16:10 widescreen monitor?
 
Just started On A Rail.

I often think of Half-Life 2 as being my favourite game of all time. I'm not exactly sure why and can't express my feelings for that game, but I guess it's because of my memories of the first time playing through that game: it was like nothing I'd ever played before and it blew my young mind.

My dad managed to pick up Half-Life Generations after I completed Half-Life 2, but the original Half-Life just didn't have the same atmosphere I was looking for. Also it was bloody difficult for me at the time. (I was 11 in 2004!)

I think I remember only getting up to the end of On A Rail in the original, which is where I am at in Black Mesa now.

I have to say, I'm starting to think Black Mesa is greater than Half-Life 2. I think I'm starting to understand why some people think the original is better than 2; whereas before I just thought Half-Life 2 was the best thing ever.

If Black Mesa gets any better, I may consider it one of my favourite games ever.

I just wish Half-Life 3 was out by now.

It definitely gets better. You're still a couple of chapters away from the peak (title would be a minor spoiler I guess).

Going by the original HL, that is, only just started Black Mesa. Really interested to see what they do with that chapter though.
 
The more I play the more impressed I am with how well they recreated the original game and added their own twist to a few things.

At the moment, I genuinely can't think how Valve themselves could have done a better remake.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Just started On A Rail.

...

If Black Mesa gets any better, I may consider it one of my favourite games ever.

It does. Once you get to Questionable Ethics and Surface Tension the challenge, variety, atmosphere, and music go into overdrive.

Does it have all the levels yet?

Black Mesa Source covers everything up until the end of Lambda Core. It is missing the last 20% of the game (known as Xen), though the Black Mesa team may make Xen longer than it was in the original.

So I'm at the first "boss",
I climbed down some ladder and turned on a giant fan, and now I can't get up
. What to do?

Activate the fan and run up the ladder before the fan spins at full speed. Then jump into the fan, it will propel you upward.

Got a last set of a few pics. Questionable Ethics probably had the best cosmetic changes. The blue theme really clicked and as you can see, it has that oldschool level design. VVV

7992472217_aca4be6ec4_b.jpg


Surprised that they brought these things back, you barely see them any. Notice that the crossbow scope actually shows the world in front of you instead of being a generic 360 degree image. It's a 3D scope too, so when you zoom in it doesn't take you to a different screen altogether.
In the armory room on the building to your right, you don't actually have to reunite the security guard with his old pal. He will open up the huge stockpile for you regardless.
VVV

7992480632_d8a8975019_b.jpg


Probably my favorite battle overall other than the finale of Questionable Ethics. Surface Tension and Forget About Freeman the best the mod gets imo, although the remakes of We've Got Hostiles, Blast Pit, and Power Up were extremely satisfying as well. On A Rail, Apprehension, and Residue Processing are still somewhat of a dip in excitement just like the original, though they're still good levels. Lambda Core is well, Lambda Core. They kept it extremely similar to the original. That assassinX5 fight is not a joke, got really lucky on my first try.VVV

7992480358_a92b92d38c_b.jpg


They did fail to include one scene that I remember. There's a scene in the original HL where you're walking down a tunnel and a HECU grunt opens and closes a hatch in front of you really quickly. He dropped a grenade in the tunnel and you have to actually walk towards the grenade to get to a safe gap before it explodes.

Playing through Hard was a good challenge but I would have to recommend that most people play this on Normal. You really have to kill enemies instantly with the magnum/crossbow/tau or bait them into doorways and corners a lot of the time to survive and that's not always the most fun thing in the world to do.
 

GHG

Gold Member
Shows up in Steam after installation, but it doesn't start when I click on it

I had the same problem. You probably have the Steam beta UI enabled (big picture or whatever its called).

Disable it the beta, restart steam, double click black mesa and it should automatically download the SDK so you can get it running. For some reason the steam UI beta prevents the SDK from loading.

Once you ahve it up and running properly you can turn the beta back on if you so wish.
 

eot

Banned
They did fail to include one scene that I remember. There's a scene in the original HL where you're walking down a tunnel and a HECU grunt opens and closes a hatch in front of you really quickly. He dropped a grenade in the tunnel and you have to actually walk towards the grenade to get to a safe gap before it explodes.

Yup, they cut like the last 10 minutes of Surface Tension.
When the vent you're in gets shot up they transition directly to the Gargantuan chase (which basically starts Forget about Freeman), whereas in HL1 you fall down into a garage and go through a few more areas (including the scene with the satchel charge in the pipe). My suspicion is that they cut it because of all the organic jump pads in those areas, but they did include one so who knows. It stood out to me too though, I think it's one of the coolest scripted moments in HL1.
 

nan0

Member
They edited a lot in On a Rail, didn't they? Wasn't there a puzzle, where you had to change around railway switches?
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
They edited a lot in On a Rail, didn't they? Wasn't there a puzzle, where you had to change around railway switches?

Wasn't really a puzzle per se, you would do that two or three times throughout the level by shooting the sign which decided which direction your tram would take. Now that you mention it though there was a scene on the rails in the original where vortigaunts are "shooting" HECU grunts right across from them and you're kind of in the middle. They took out a few other areas and made the level more streamlined overall.

They took out the scene, as another example, when you're riding the train and you have to duck behind boxes behind lifted by cables that are being transported above you. There's no sniper near the rocket now either, you don't see one till ST. I'm so freaking glad that they took out the electricity on the rails though and the awkward pools of water you'd see on the tracks.
 

SparkTR

Member
I would not mind if, instead of being mod integration, their Steam release was an actual product. Price it at $10, release it with the Xen levels and Valve could provide some final touches like VA improvements (Eli's actual voice actor, for instance) and optimization. All this effort, I think it deserves something like that.
 

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
So did Goldeneye Source ever come out or did Activision kill that because of their new Goldeneye?
 

bengraven

Member
I want to play this pretty bad.

I always wanted to try the original, but it was too dated for me and HL:Source didn't even feel like an upgrade in textures - the first time I installed it I had to check to see if I accidently downloaded the non-Source version.
 

Razek

Banned
Just had a hilarious glitch in on a rail. One of the grunts started running up to me as I was crouched behind a cart. He ran into a traffic cone and just shredded into a million body parts. That cone sure showed him!
 
Okay so I'm stuck in the water processing place.

I been through the water flow and have found a side-exit that has allowed me to open red doors to already visited locations. There's also stairs for above the fire section that seem to lead to a dead end where there are a couple of suit charge cells.

Help!
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Okay so I'm stuck in the water processing place.

I been through the water flow and have found a side-exit that has allowed me to open red doors to already visited locations. There's also stairs for above the fire section that seem to lead to a dead end where there are a couple of suit charge cells.

Help!

Go back to the room you emerged from after the fire water area and go back into the water itself. Take a right, there will be more underwater hall for you to traverse.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
Do soldiers throw grenades with pinpoint accuracy, like they use to?

They throw them about half as often now I'd say. What they do in this game that they never did in the original is bum rush you. Can't tell you how many times I died from a shotgun grunt who just runs around the corner at you blasting you to shit whilst not giving a care in the world. It's so important to kill grunts really quickly in this game. Shotgun secondary fire/crossbow/tau/magnum are essential.

Just had a hilarious glitch in on a rail. One of the grunts started running up to me as I was crouched behind a cart. He ran into a traffic cone and just shredded into a million body parts. That cone sure showed him!

The gibs are CRAZY in this game. Spines, skulls, brains...just like the old days. The collision detection from HL is back too, you WILL get squished between or under objects, probably what happened to the grunt in your case. And speaking of squishing, the automated doors (yes doors) in BMS are unforgiving. They close on you after a short amount of time and if you stand where the door is supposed to close, you DO TAKE A LITTLE DAMAGE! If you don't have enough health to sustain the damage from the door, then this happens to you

7992920022_7740510e18_b.jpg


No, his legs are not clipping through the wall. The door cut them off.
 

eot

Banned
The effect from
the laser you use to burn a hole in a wall in Questionable Ethics
is spectacular. You can even see where some of the molten metal dripped down.
 

SHarris78

Member
Any game that has a Chuckle Brothers mug and the EXACT Bush VCR I used to own in the same room has to be awesome!!

Seriously though, as someone who has tried HL1 on many occasions and given up due to how dated it looks, this mod is perfect.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
The effect from
the laser you use to burn a hole in a wall in Questionable Ethics
is spectacular. You can even see where some of the molten metal dripped down.

You'll see that effect again but I won't spoil where :)
 

eshwaaz

Member
Only about an hour it, but I totally agree with the positive impressions here. What the developers pulled off - in their free time, no less - is incredibly impressive. So far, they're effectively dancing the very thin line between being true to the original while still skillfully adding new touches and changing level design.

I can't wait to see how other areas have been improved.
 

Randdalf

Member
We could be a group of 8 if that dude wouldn't have been eaten ):

You know, I really like this mechanic of picking up allies along the way, I could play a game where one of the key mechanics is finding new allies in the levels and building up little armies to take on different engagements.
 
This is amazing. It is obvious that they have been hard at work for the last 7 years. They could have shown a little bit of this too use sooner so we weren't so down on them :p. They have changed a lot of things for the better to make the game feel more modern, and it is a good thing. So far I am loving it more than HL1, but maybe that is because I played HL1 on Ps2, and then never again until after I had beaten HL2+Ep1.
 

GraveHorizon

poop meter feature creep
Why do you want to wait until it's released on Steam? There are no benefits and it could take weeks before they release it.
I'm assuming that if it's officially on Steam, I won't have to deal with all these installation issues people keep complaining about, and most of the kinks will have been ironed out. And I'll be waiting anyway for them to finish the game before I play it, as opposed to experiencing the gap between what they have now and when Xen is released.

I would not mind if, instead of being mod integration, their Steam release was an actual product. Price it at $10, release it with the Xen levels and Valve could provide some final touches like VA improvements (Eli's actual voice actor, for instance) and optimization. All this effort, I think it deserves something like that.

That would be nice.
 

Razek

Banned
They throw them about half as often now I'd say. What they do in this game that they never did in the original is bum rush you. Can't tell you how many times I died from a shotgun grunt who just runs around the corner at you blasting you to shit whilst not giving a care in the world. It's so important to kill grunts really quickly in this game. Shotgun secondary fire/crossbow/tau/magnum are essential.



The gibs are CRAZY in this game. Spines, skulls, brains...just like the old days. The collision detection from HL is back too, you WILL get squished between or under objects, probably what happened to the grunt in your case. And speaking of squishing, the automated doors (yes doors) in BMS are unforgiving. They close on you after a short amount of time and if you stand where the door is supposed to close, you DO TAKE A LITTLE DAMAGE! If you don't have enough health to sustain the damage from the door, then this happens to you

7992920022_7740510e18_b.jpg


No, his legs are not clipping through the wall. The door cut them off.

Yeah, the doors have got me a couple times. Those fire doors are brutal 1 shot killing machines! Also, those boat hatch like doors are fun to smush the slow walking had crab guys. Love it!

--
I wish they didn't abandon the magnum 35% into this game. It's my favorite weapon by far and they never give you ammo for it. It seems to be the most effective for everything sans the big dudes that shoot acid at you and of course the underwater enemies.

Edit: Funny, just as I alt tabbed back in I got a box of full magnum ammo. Ask and ye shall receive!
 

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
We released an update not too long ago, and Activision has left us alone thus far.

Oh wow look at that I haven't looked it up in a while and it's out and rolling! When did it come out! Now I got another mod to install when I get home. Sweet!


Any news on official steam release? I can wait and am not in hurry, just wondering when it will get it's own steam page and stuff.

I saw it recommended on Greenlight. Are they going to finish Xen, or is this as far as they go 'cuz, well. you know, it's named Black Mesa. Not Black Mesa and then Xen. :)


Any news on official steam release? I can wait and am not in hurry, just wondering when it will get it's own steam page and stuff.

One of my favorite parts of GTA: San Andreas!
 

JustinBB7

Member
Hm the steam news post said this:
The first set of titles to launch via Greenlight will be released independently in the months ahead (as they are varying stages of completion).

I wonder if they will wait until Xen is completed before they will put it on steam..
 

Metal-Geo

Member
Entire computer freezes at the dam part. Seems I can't finish it. :(

So far it's been an incredible ride though. Truly impressive work.
 

Jackpot

Banned
You know, I really like this mechanic of picking up allies along the way, I could play a game where one of the key mechanics is finding new allies in the levels and building up little armies to take on different engagements.

You should try Freedom Fighters.

Entire computer freezes at the dam part. Seems I can't finish it. :(

So far it's been an incredible ride though. Truly impressive work.

Going down the tube? I think it might be a memory issue. Try lowest settings for that bit. Failing that try noclip mode to bypass it.
 

eot

Banned
Hm the steam news post said this:

I wonder if they will wait until Xen is completed before they will put it on steam..

No, I think it's just a matter of them having to do some stuff on the back-end to integrate it with Steam as a standalone.
 

Berto

Member
The game really shines on Half-Llife weakest levels like On a Rail and Questionable Ethics, the changes they made really improved the original and thats impressive.
 
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