Black Mesa Thread

game is a treat in these days. might as well replay it next week.

thing is.. we used to play HL on LAN. it was a blast ( in school ). funny as hell.. it was always the same map..
where someone could pull the plug in this tower.. and everyone that was outside simply evaporated.
can't remember the name of the map.

Black Mesa bring back memories that's for sure.

 

Just watched a friend playing it while he streamed, damn I could even remember where one of those jump scare headcrabs was hidden when he entered the room the first time playing Half Life or Black Mesa. They seemingly did a good job at recreating it when I can remember it from almost 20 years ago...

 

Why aren't you playing it yourself?

Seriously go play it now

 

I'm strongly considering it

 

I just got to Xen... oh my.

 

You tease.... but don't tell me.

 

On my way, soon...

Btw I even take some of my criticism back, fighting soldiers in more open spaces is better or then I just readjusted to it.

Soldiers are definitely not hitscanning anymore, they miss a lot of shots too.
Besides HL was always about using your wits as much as weapons so run and gun isn't the best approach, often, by design.

But, as said, always run + projectile weapons = heck of a lot more enjoyable combat.

Regardless playing BM has made me appreciate og HL even more.
BM is great largely because HL was great.

Level design for example is still sublime, even when ignoring a lot was dictated by tech limitations originally.

HL2 had way more open levels tech permitting but some of the charm of HL was lost.
Not to say HL2 had bad level design, far from it (I'll replay HL2 with MMod after BM likely).

 

There were a few moments that could be cut out of Xen, honestly, but they were followed by good moments, so that helped, like Gonarch's lair and the bossfight with it. Also, the Nihilanth is less of a joke in BM. I actually didn't expect it to...

Spoiler

turn into a bullet hell...

 

Combat in some places not well balanced. Usually easy but in Surface Tension when you're coming out of the manhole into the enemy base with many soldiers and a tank, that was a pain. Not helped by the crappy ladder behaviour when you move down you go up instead or viceversa. Would be great if someone did a remake of BM with a bit more polish .

 

There are multiple ways you can handle that encounter (work your way to the manhole near the "garage" to have a much better point of entry).

Yes ladders are finicky but Gordon has mastered the art of running up and down ladders without using his arms so you can shoot at the same time.

 

If thats where im thinking of, theres multiple manholes, so i switch between them, so that when you pop up from another one, the soldiers are over your previous one (if they spotted you), and the tank has to turn, which it takes a while to do, so you can take out the soldiers, and get a rocket off at the tank

Its the chopper at the dam that takes me sometime, takes me ages to hit the bugger with the Tau Cannon

 

Use the mounted MG instead

 

Sounds good, I was going to buy it, but turns out that I have already bout it at some point... No idea when.

 

Xen OST is simply top notch. im hearing it a lot lately while working from home.

 

I could do i spose

 

R.I.P the Chuckle Brothers mugs

 

Oh, that's what I wanted to ask - is the music supposed to blow out your eardrums every time it plays lmao

 

Yeah it is way too loud. Good thing it's rarely used.

 

Got out of the labs, straight into Surface Tension .
Now, got the rocket launcher and the helicopter fight is coming ...
Did I played this many years before?
Man, this game is a masterpiece...

 

Good god surface tension is so long in this game now.