Black Mesa Source Released

[CannonFoddr]

WTF - it's finally out .

After all this time - I totally forgot about it
Time to dig out my Crowbar again & play this while we wait for HL2EP3 / HL3 to come out (if THAT ever does)
Need a refresher to what the game was like

 

[rehevkor]

So far so aweome. The quality is amazing, hard to believe it's a fan project.

One thing that strikes me is the more realistic running and jumping mechanics. In HL1 you could sprint through the game and jump for meters from stand still, in Black Mesa you're not so super-human. Duck jumps for everything. Although sprint does seem to be unlimited.

 

[redfalcon]

So far so aweome. The quality is amazing, hard to believe it's a fan project.

One thing that strikes me is the more realistic running and jumping mechanics. In HL1 you could sprint through the game and jump for meters from stand still, in Black Mesa you're not so super-human. Duck jumps for everything. Although sprint does seem to be unlimited.

BM uses the HL2 jumping mechanics, however the (extreme) strafe jumping from HL1 was already removed back in the days with one of the patches. Sprint was unlimited in HL1 as well IIRC, but the flashlight drained power.

It is indeed awesome, but some of the later levels are a bit too streamlined and miss a lot of the funny details from the first few levels.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

The crouch jumping is honestly a bit ridiculous, I mean it just makes a bunch of unnecessary button pressing.

The first person platforming is also still a mess. Really wish they took it out in favor of some puzzles or bad guys to shoot or something.

 

[Deleted_171835]

I almost feel sick as I go through the game, looking at ALL the work they're doing... for free. I rather it have been like $5 bucks, just so that I could feel better about playing this. Just gonna donate for sure, they deserve that.

The team doesn't accept donations.

Kudos to them.

 

[CannonFoddr]

^^ that's a shame... I really would like to reward them for all their hard work...
(any chance posting back & asking if the developers have any charity preferences ?? - for all we know one or more might already support a charity & I'll rather give to that than any old charity)

Played it for a while last night (got up to 'Office complex' so far)... boy am I impressed....
Same HL1 but somehow 'different' & 'Fresh' - & I'm not talking about the graphics (even though my old 4yr PC is struggling & stutters occasionally... REALLY should update it sometime soon )

I'm remembering parts of the original & what I use to do, but then they throw in something different just to confuse you

e.g.

Spoiler

In original HL - the crowbar was found lying on ground near testing chamber IIRC, but in BM you don't get it until a little later, jamming a door shut

I like the flare addition for one thing.... so satifying seeing zombies going up in flames, although it took a while before I remembered you could 'throw' them (I was running up to 'em & stabbing them with it, like with the crowbar.... Duh !!)

Even the familiar things have a different feel to them in this.. the jumping between crates high in the air for example
.. in HL I found it quite easy... in BM you got to take into account the crates now swinging as you move across them (fell to my death a few times there )

I agree that the controls can be a little difficult to work with (especially as I kept confusing the controls with Minecraft's ... [Shift] in BM = Sprint, [Shift] in MC - creep & don't fall off edges... guess why I kept falling off the crates ), the Crouch jump is also sometime a little hard to achieve as well at just the right time

This is what HL1:Source SHOULD of been like IMHO

 

[Hadrian]

I have actually played HL again recently so I wasn't too keen on going back to the game so soon however I did like the Office Space reference quite early on and there are some good subtle changes that have actually spurred me on to play this.

It is clearly not complete, every now and again I get stuck on walls and I have to ctrl, alt del my way out because for whatever reason I can't restart or get to the menu at all.

The first person platforming is also still a mess.

I'm still amazed that the Metroid Prime series is the only one that has done first person jumping perfectly.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

The first person platforming is also still a mess.

I'm still amazed that the Metroid Prime series is the only one that has done first person jumping perfectly.

I think Prime did it well because the movement was so stiff. I know it sounds like a negative but it makes movement quite precise. Most other first person games are generally a lot more floaty. Prime was a lot more rigid so you didn't fear much of your forward momentum sending you slipping off a ledge. FUCKING PHYSICS MAN.

Although I hear people sing their praises for Mirror's Edge but I never got a change to play it and it seems like it blurs the lines between "first person platformer" and "first person time trial racer".

 

[Hadrian]

Although I hear people sing their praises for Mirror's Edge but I never got a change to play it and it seems like it blurs the lines between "first person platformer" and "first person time trial racer".

Not a game I can say earns the praise it gets. Glorified £10 indie game masquerading as a full price title.

 

[muckers]

I am loving this so far. It's absolutely fantastic. I'm finding it, graphically, a little more demanding than HL2. I don't have a god-tier setup, so I can't always run everything on max, but I'm finding I have to turn down the settings a little lower than I can run HL2 which is weird!

Still superb, though. Made even sweeter by the fact it's free!

 

[nukeboy95]

headcrabs are back ah

time to get me crowbar

 

[redfalcon]

I am loving this so far. It's absolutely fantastic. I'm finding it, graphically, a little more demanding than HL2. I don't have a god-tier setup, so I can't always run everything on max, but I'm finding I have to turn down the settings a little lower than I can run HL2 which is weird!

I experienced this too, but I guess Valve is better in optimising the levels than an independent modding team since they know their own engine better. The very last part in Lambda Core is the worst, I had to turn down everything to make it playable.

 

[rehevkor]

I experienced this too

I've has similar. It plays well enough without tweaking, but the load times are crazy.

Oh well, can't complain