Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Krispy

Black Mesa vs Half-Life 3: Which will be released first? (BM Discussion)(BM DurrHurr)

Well?  

56 members have voted

  1. 1. Well?

    • Black Mesa
      18
    • Half-Life 3
      2
    • Impse 3D
      36


Recommended Posts

LkMax said:

It was not out of place, it brought a fresh scenario and I love alien worlds (and I have no problem with platforms). Also I would wish the same for you, but hell was "invaded" so many times it would be a walk in the park donw there... bring marshmallows. =P


It just felt weird going from a connected research lab thin that sort of felt like it could be a real place as long as you did't examine things too closely(those weird offices that have no practical way for the scientists to enter or leave that you can see from the opening) to super freeman bros with dull artwork.

Thing about hell is, doomguy has some sort of super not dying from the heat from nearby lava pools powers. You on the other hand would quickly be Hell Fried Human. Finger lickin' good!

Share this post


Link to post

Yeah biggest problem with Xen was platforming in a game that wasn't really constructed for platforming. I'm pretty sure the Black Mesa Source crew realize this so they're putting extra effort into designing the Xen levels with this in mind.

Share this post


Link to post

If they get the votes, I don't think there will be a problem. It's more or less publicity for Valve. HL2 went on sale yesterday, 75% off. Perhaps I'm naive (probably so), but my intuition is that the severe discount on that game, this week, is no accident and happened because Valve knows that the hype about Black Mesa will sell copies of HL2 and its two episodic entries, not to mention the original HL for comparison.

I can easily see Valve might feel weird about promoting something like Black Mesa, but at the end of the day, it's a win for everyone, I think.

Share this post


Link to post

I think there's already some free Source mods on steam... why would they need greenlight? whatever...

Share this post


Link to post

This process appears to be designed to largely replace whatever their old process was. A lot of worthy mods never did make it to Steam, though half of them were probably IP violations (Goldeneye: Source comes to mind).

If Valve saw anything wrong with Black Mesa they'd have said something negative about it, sent a C&D, etc. Mogul's hunch sounds about right: Valve is going to make a pile of money indirectly from Black Mesa and they know it. They also know the PR will be good, especially if the mod turns out to be good.

Share this post


Link to post

The launch was hilariously inept; trying to make Valve proud, I guess. Not sure why they built so much hype if they knew they were only going to have one direct download and one torrent on some no-name tracker. Once more mirrors popped up it got better, but still.

I started both a direct download and a torrent, and it looks like they're both going to finish in about twenty minutes.

Share this post


Link to post

yeah even the torrent tracker they used was down so I grabbed it from a more stable host :P

(Seriously, why didn't they just post the magnet link or torrent hash? if blackmesasource.com stays up that's all you need....)

Share this post


Link to post

Played through the first two chapters so far, liking this a lot more than I thought I would. The level design changes and new enemy placements are keeping things fresh.

Spoiler

Not too thrilled with all the zombies added to the beginning. Having to kill them with physics props and flares makes it even worse, since the crowbar is found later than in the original.

Since Valve's given this their blessing and accepted it on Greenlight, I wonder if there's a possibility of them releasing the original/HL:Source for free.

Share this post


Link to post

Just finished the "Office Complex" chapter.
So far it's very nice. Only complaints I have is that it's a little on the quiet side and then of course seeing (and especially hearing) the HL2 Disney version of the vorts in HL1 is a Jar Jar moment.

Share this post


Link to post

Been playing it for a few hours. Just finished the Blast Pit chapter. For an "amateur" project it's really quite spectacular. Props to the team for finishing what they set out to accomplish all those years ago (lack of the Xen chapter notwithstanding).

But I have a couple of complaints. Having to crouch jump all the time to climb every object is irritating, and makes jumping puzzles a nightmare. And the marine combat chatter is abysmally bad; so bad that it breaks the immersion of the game for me. Considering that the rest of the NPC dialogue is professionally done, I honestly don't know what they were thinking.

Share this post


Link to post

Yeah, the marines have awful dialogue. They sound like cheesy, dubbed anime villains.

I agree about the crouch jumping too. It's tedious. Why do these games have so many shitty jumping puzzles anyway? Whoever heard of an FPS player talking about how much they love jumping puzzles?

Share this post


Link to post

The crouch jumping is excessive. Why would you design your environments like that? Typically, there might be a small handful (say, three) required crouch jumps in a game. This game practically forces you to do it for every single jumping task.

Also, in my opinion, if you're going to spend all these years redesigning the levels, you should make them easier to navigate than a game from 1998. You will spend a great deal of time running back and forth through the same area looking for some hint you missed that will open up the next area. That might have been compelling gameplay (it wasn't) 15 years ago, but it just strikes me as a waste of my time today. It's not fun or challenging or interesting -- it's just boring and probably evidence of lack of talent for the level designers. That, or the game has a bit of an identity crisis, a la DNF, due to its excessively long development period.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm pretty sure that running back and forth in the same area is part of the puzzle solving element of HL. It forces you to observe the entire environment. I enjoyed it in the original and I enjoy it now. Also, for some reason, heights in Black Mesa have given me a sense of vertigo that I don't often get in other games.

All in all, I've pretty much liked everything I've seen so far (up to where I have to kill the huge green bird arm things that attack sound). Crouch jumping doesn't bother me because I spent years playing HL1 engine games every single day. The team did a really, really good job and you can't beat the price (free) for the content you get.

Share this post


Link to post

As someone who regularly dusts off his old copy of Half-Life, I'd have to say if anything, I've been pleased that they've eliminated quite a few of the jumping puzzles from the original game. Yeah, there are still a few, but not nearly as many as in the original. It's nice to see them looking at those puzzles and recognizing that they don't add anything. This is especially obvious in sections where you're climbing ladders in elevator shafts... The original game would have you constantly trying to leap from ladders to narrow ledges, whereas in Black Mesa, they provide makeshift walkways.

My biggest gripe so far is simply that my computer is kind of old and they really pushed the Source engine to its limits. The first brief section topside with the military was practically unplayable on my machine, and I hate how many hits I'm taking due to my computer randomly stuttering in the middle of a fight. Other than that, though, I feel just as immersed in the game as I did the original when I played it all those years ago.

Share this post


Link to post
Mogul said:

The crouch jumping is excessive. Why would you design your environments like that? Typically, there might be a small handful (say, three) required crouch jumps in a game. This game practically forces you to do it for every single jumping task.


Not to go all "HURR REALISM" but when was the last time you vaulted straight onto a waist high wall/box without bending your legs/using your arms?

Share this post


Link to post

Right, I thought about that. But bent knees are pretty much always part of jumping animations. It's reasonable to assume that your character isn't straight-legged when he jumps. And besides, when pretty much the only times you have to jump, you actually have to jump+crouch, what's the point of jump+crouch? Inelegant design, imo.

Share this post


Link to post

Heh, I'd forgotten compulsory crouch jumping was in the original game.

I still don't care for it.

Share this post


Link to post

Crouch jumping has never bothered me, probably because of Half-Life, but the jumping in this feels really off for some reason. I actually fell a couple times during the hanging box section, something I haven't done in the original since I first got the game.

The only other thing that's really bothered me about this so far is purely engine related, and it's all of the loading screens. I had completely forgotten how annoying those are in the (Gold) Source games.

Share this post


Link to post

Damn, I'm stuck in part of the game.
SPOILERS!

Spoiler

It's the conveyor belt part. I've been there for like two hours now. There doesn't seem to be a way out. Any suggestions?

Share this post


Link to post

That section was pretty obnoxious. I can't remember how it was in the original, but I'm sure the solution didn't blend into the background as much as it does in this.

Spoiler

Did you find the area where you can use the joystick to move the little bridge thing on the crane? On the wall near where you enter that room there's a tiny button that opens one of the shutters. You just position the bridge in front of that open shutter and jump into it.

If you didn't get that far, you basically drop from each conveyor belt onto the one below it, you'll get to the area I'm describing eventually.

The same buttons are used solely for detail all over the place, so I walked right past it about four times before I finally took notice to it.

---

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×