The new patch is released! Introducing Black Mesa 0.0.2!
This is a much larger patch than the last one. We hope that this patch has resolved most of the serious performance issues and stuttering in multiplayer. See the full changelog below:
PROGRAMMING CHANGES
Performance fixes: Dynamic lights removed from muzzle flashes and explosions. These were causing stuttering and performance issues in MP, which should now be fixed. Dynamic light options removed from menu as they no longer do anything.
Loading screens: Our flashy loading screen system now works properly for MP on secured servers (the majority of servers). Previously they only worked on unsecured and listen servers. Also made some updates to the loading screens' appearance to make them a bit nicer.
Spawn system: Fixed all players penetrating each other to death over a single spawn point during round resets.
Chat box exploit: Fixed a recently discovered bug which affects all Source games and allows players to execute commands on all players using the chat box, potentially crashing the server.
Tripmine hitbox: Doubled the size of the Tripmine hitbox to make it easier to shoot.
BALANCE CHANGES
WEAPON TWEAKS
Crowbar
Crowbar range reduced from 76 to 40.
Crowbar force reduced from 20 to 13.
Crowbar attack speed on hit (singleplayer) reduced from 0.2 to 0.25 (is now 4 hits per second instead of 5 - is now the same as 2012 mod release).
Fixed weird recoil issue where if hitting the same spot repeatedly, the player's view would drift to the right.
Glock
Glock singleplayer damage reduced from 9 to 8 (to maintain 9mm parity with MP5).
MP5
MP5 spread (cone of fire) increased from 1 1 0 to 1.75 1.75 0.
MP5 horizontal recoil increased by factor of 1.75.
MP5 singleplayer damage reduced from 9 to 8.
Shotgun
Shotgun singleplayer damage per shot increased from 6 (48 total) to 7 (56 total).
NPC Shotgun damage increased from 15 to 20.
DIFFICULTY TWEAKS
Enemy damage multiplier for hard difficulty increased from 1.5 to 1.75. Hard difficulty just got harder!
ENEMY TWEAKS
Alien Grunt
Agrunt health increased from 96 to 120.
Agrunt Hivehand minimum range decreased from 256 to 128 (they are more inclined to use their Hivehand in close range, now).
Agrunt Hivehand max range increased from 2048 to 4096 (they are more inclined to use their Hivehand at long range, now).
Agrunt Hivehand usage increased and strengthened significantly:
Hivehand minimum burst size (minimum random number of bees fired per burst) increased from 3 to 5.
Hivehand maximum burst size (maximum random number of bees fired per burst) increased from 5 to 8.
Hivehand minimum rest interval (minimum random time between bursts) decreased from 2 to 1.
Hivehand maximum rest interval (maximum random time between bursts) decreased from 6 to 3.
Alien Slave
Aslave health increased from 60 to 70.
Aslave zap damage increased from 20 to 30.
Aslave zap cone increased from 0.6 (roughly 50 degrees) to -0.70710677928 (135 degrees). They are now significantly more accurate when firing at you now.
Apache
Apache rest time (rest time between bursts) increased from 2 to 3.
Apache charge time (how long it takes to charge a burst) increased from 2 to 3.
Apache max burst count (maximum random number of shots fired per burst) decreased from 40 to 30.
Apache min burst count (minimum random number of shots fired per burst) decreased from 30 to 20.
Apache burst hit max (how many times maximum he will hit you before he stops his burst) decreased from 5 to 4.
Assassins
Assassin damage bug fixed. Damage is now 5 (used to be 12!)
Ichtyosaur
Ichtyosaur health increased from 260 to 310.
LAV
LAV damage increased from 5 to 8.
Marines/Human Grunt
All Hgrunt healths increased by 10.
Commanders: Health from 60 to 70.
Grenadiers: Health from 50 to 60.
Grunts: Health from 50 to 60.
Medics: Health from 40 to 50.
The amount a medic can heal a fellow marine was increased from 25 to 30.
Increased Marine accuracy very slightly by reducing their spread from 6 6 0 to 5 5 0.
MAP CHANGES
SINGLEPLAYER TWEAKS
Anomalous Materials
Map A (bm_c1a0a)
Players should no longer get stuck in Freeman's locker.
Unforeseen Consequences
Map A (bm_c1a1a)
Kleiner now correctly looks at the headcrab that portals in after the dialogue with Eli.
Laser hallway beams now deal the correct damage.
Map B (bm_c1a1b)
Players should no longer get stuck in Freeman's locker.
Map C (bm_c1a1c)
Fixed visible nodraw area.
Map D (bm_c1a1d)
Fixed headcrabs falling & dying on the headcrab lift fight.
Map E (bm_c1a1e)
Fixed autosave loop on the crate jumping puzzle.
Office Complex
Map A (bm_c1a2a)
Fixed visible nodraw area
We've Got Hostiles
Map A (bm_c1a3a)
Fixed inconsistency between the 'We've Got Hostiles' & 'Blast Pit' transition areas.
Added visible glow to silo door button to indicate it is usable if the scientist is killed.
Blast Pit
Map A (bm_c1a4a)
Fixed inconsistency between the 'We've Got Hostiles' & 'Blast Pit' transition areas.
Map C (bm_c1a4c)
Fixed mysterious hat disappearing after fan puzzle.
Map E (bm_c1a4e)
Made adjustments to suspended pipe to fix the player getting stuck while trying to jump.
Power Up
Map A (bm_c2a1a)
Made control room guard a non vital ally after the the train is on the turn table.
Repositioned the shotgun and ammo in the control room to be more visible.
Corrected I/O that prevented the train from correctly passing the last guard checkpoint under certain conditions.
Apprehension
Map A (bm_c2a3a)
Fixed control room scientist scene so it plays correctly.
Surface Tension
Map E (bm_c2a5e)
The outside tripmines now pose more of a threat to the player.
Modified the Sniper and Guard/Scientist scene to account for different player actions.
Map F (bm_c2a5f)
Fixed fires not doing damage to the player.
Forget About Freeman
Map A (bm_c3a1a)
Fixed Vortigaunts blocking the doorway after the initial guard scene.
MULTIPLAYER TWEAKS
Weapon canisters dropped by players now use their HL1 behaviour - they drop the weapon + ammo that the player was using when they died. Previously they just gave you all the ammo the dead player was carrying.
Respawn time for all suit battery pickups increased from 15 to 30.
Respawn time for all chargers (health and suit) increased from 15 to 30.
Capacity of suit chargers reduced from 75 to 50.
Doubled the speed at which you place Tripmines in MP, to make them a more useful quick weapon.
Subtransit
Subtransit train is replaced with THE DREADNOUGHT. THE DREADNOUGHT is one lead tram and 2 flatbed trams connected together, with a 50 Cal turret on the front and back. Some known issues with THE DREADNOUGHT:
50 Cals don't work until the tram moves once.
Using the front MG vs switching the tram can be slightly annoying at times.
You slide a bit around when using the 50 Cals while moving.
Subtransit weapon layout reworked:
There are now two long jumps. One on either side of the map's tram track in the dead ends.
Gluon is now in a spot only accessible by long jump.
Added the 357 back to the top middle arch suspended walkway.
Added a few shotguns.
Added rpg ammo to the top of the suspended large metal crate.
Added crossbow to lower hallway under suspended metal crate.
Stalkyard
Increased red light brightness in vents.
Added a light in a dark corner in the large courtyard.
Undertow
Undertow weapon layout tweaked:
Moved the vat room Crossbow to the suspended grate inside the vat.
Added a light to the spinning vat piece, near the Gluon.
RPG in the river is now above the water, so it can be seen by players.
Lambdabunker
Lambdabunker weapon layout tweaked:
The ladder bridge to suspended grate is now a Hivehand pickup rather than 2 Snarks.
Bounce
Performance: Several performance fixes to improve the FPS on the map:
Replaced mine rail track, sleepers and fixings with one static model (improve performance).
Changed some models to static props.
Made all ropes static (not effected by wind).
Added hint brushes in tunnel below main shack.
Added an occluder to main shack.
Reduced chance for detail sprites on some paths.
Corrected draw distances on some models.
Tram lights are now static props.
Realigned textures on some displacements.
Moved shotgun in hivehand area due to clipping issues.
Made railing in hivehand area solid.
Made railing in central builing solid.
Increased clipping around bouncepad_02 near main shack.
Increased lighting in sewers from main dam.
Increased lighting near secure access door.
Moved bouncepad_03 away from displacements to aid access.
Moved 2 healthpacks near sewer entrance.
Cave paintings have more paint splash.
MODEL CHANGES
Changed the world models for the RPG and Tau to reflect their new viewmodels.
Updated the Hummvee to use proper specular and normal maps. Fixed lighting errors on it and improved its look significantly.
Fixed bad collision on some M35 (truck) variants, where players would get stuck inside them.
Updated the blast door model used in Surface Tension.
Fixed some of the pipe corner props so they are properly made of metal, insead of plastic.
Fixed the model properties on the Lambda Door to make it metal instead of plastic.
New models for the MP5 grenade and RPG ammo. Both should be more visible and unique looking now.
SDK CHANGES
Updated the modelviewer images for the new weapons (the old ones were extremely out of date).
Reminder
Please be sure to restart your Steam client and download the latest update. Running a dedicated server? Please be sure to run an update to bring your build up to date. Players running on the new client version will not be able to connect to out of date servers. As always, be sure to report any issues you find in our discussion forums and thank you again for the support.
Also, a hotfix
This hotfix contains a critical fix that affects dedicated servers. Please find the changelist below:
Changelog:
Resolved an interface issue in "engine_srv.so" that prevents the Linux dedicated server build from launching.
Reminder:
Please be sure to restart your Steam client and download the latest update. Running a dedicated server? Please be sure to run an update to bring your build up to date. Players running on the new client version will not be able to connect to out of date servers.
As always, be sure to report any issues you find in our discussion forums and thank you again for the support.
So that livestream happened on Thursday. They basically went over the recent patch notes, highlighted a handful of community mods and played some Black Mesa Deathmatch with the community.
Nothing earth-shattering happened, but I have to say the Crowbar Collective's updates and communication has been MASSIVELY improved over where it was even last year. If that's due to the Early Access money, then I feel confident saying that might have been the best thing to happen to this project.
Im watching a giantbomb quicklook of this and it seems like they have never played or heard of half life. They seem to think its an original indy game and its driving me crazy. Haha, how have you never played the original?!
They could have not paid attention when they picked up the HEV suit, then later humped a pipe for 40 minutes and complained about how Half Life has a "bugged jumping mechanic".
I'm thinking of slapping together a Half-Life website. (Nothing big; mainly just a rundown of the HL3 non-saga and maybe the occasional editorial) and need a good dumb name.
The Sega Dreamcast had a VGA adapter that would allow the system to output a 640x480 progressive image to a monitor, which looked gorgeous at the time. It was released sometime after launch.
The Sega Dreamcast also had a port of Half Life, which was repeatedly delayed, but eventually set to release in June of 2001, but it was not released. It was canceled by Sierra due to "changing market conditions" (namely the commercial abandonment of the Dreamcast itself). A finished (or near finished, depending on who you believe) build of the game was leaked onto the internet some years afterward, and it is playable from start to finish. It also includes the Blue Shift expansion, which was initially intended to be a Dreamcast exclusive.
I still fire up the DC version from time to time, but I just got ahold of a capture card with VGA input, so I was able to grab some direct screens at 640x480:
First and foremost, the Dreamcast version has a bit of an issue with save file sizes. The size of a save file gets larger and larger the farther in to a chapter you save, starting at a few blocks until eventually hitting 200 (the max size of a Dreamcast's VMU). Because of this the game has a password system for skipping to different chapters (each password is told to the player when they hit that chapter in their playthrough). The password system uses three lists of words that when combined form a password linked to the chapter (or cheat code) in question. For example, the unlimited ammo code is DREAMCAST GIVES FIREPOWER, while the code for Anomalous Materials (the first chapter in the game) is GORDON GOES TO WORK.
The entirety of the game is included, from start to finish, including scripted sequences.
It uses the models from the High Definition Pack, which was initially Dreamcast exclusive before being included in the PC release of Blue Shift.
Visuals look roughly on par with the hardware accelerated PC version at similar resolutions in most areas, with some having nicer textures on the DC
It uses a fairly strong lod setup to increase performance though, which is fairly visible when moving down a long, straight corridor.
Levels are broken up with load screens in roughly the same areas as the PC version.
The framerate in Half Life can occasionally dip down in certain areas where all hell breaks loose onscreen (like the chopper fight in the Dam or certain scripted sequences), but Blue Shift's framerate stays pretty steady throughout since it was designed with the Dreamcast's specs in mind.
One cool easter egg that was included was the addition of Dreamcast VMUs and disc copies of Half Life that were added as some of the random junk that can be scattered around when you smash open a crate.
The major downsides to Half Life on the Dreamcast are that the loadtimes are fairly long (and can be quite frequent due to the design of the original Half Life). This is alleviated a little bit in Blue Shift, but they are still very common. Supposedly the load time issue was something that the dev team was almost finished fixing at the time the game was canceled, but odds are we'll never know for sure.
The other issue is that the Dreamcast controller only has one analog stick. The default control scheme has you moving with the face buttons (similar to WASD), and aiming with the analog stick. The right trigger fires, up on the d-pad jumps, left turns on your flashlight, right is use, and down is crouch. The left trigger acts as an alt button, left trigger plus up on the d-pad is reload, left trigger plus left or right on the d-pad is switch weapon, etc. Because of this you have to take your thumb off of the analog stick to jump, which can make one or two of the platforming sections a little more difficult.
The DC release doesn't feature any multiplayer. The plan was to release the singleplayer game first, and then later do another release that would include Half Life multiplayer as well as Team Fortress Classic, and (it is assumed) Opposing Force, all playable over SegaNet. Obviously this never happened. The multiplayer maps are on the disc however, and if you have a DC keyboard you have access to the console, which means you can load them and run around by yourself.
Lastly, having a stable version of GldSrc to build off of on the DC means that quite a few Half Life mods (including the heavy hitters like They Hunger) have all been released for the Dreamcast as well.
At some point I want to record some video footage of the game running, but I thought some people might be interested in seeing more about the one console port that never saw the light of day, at least not in any official capacity. The PS2 port is probably still the go-to console version of Half Life due to the standard dual analog control scheme and the inclusion of Decay, but the DC version was no slouch, and it's still a blast to fire it up and unload a double order of buckshot right in a vortigaunt's face.
Black Mesa is currently on a 25% off Steam flash sale for the next 16 hours.
Also, they had a live stream today, where they mentioned a new patch was on the way. New features included a new, original MP map (dm_stack), the Gman model for multiplayer and zombie hands for the gun viewmodels for the Zombie and Zombie Guard player models. Also balance changes and bug fixes and other such patchy goodness.
Happy summer everyone! We are very excited to introduce our first content update to you, 0.1.0. This update contains new features, a new deathmatch map, and bug fixes that will enhance your experience with our product. Please find the changelist below:
UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS
New map dm_stack!
-Added G-Man as a playable multiplayer character.
-Added first person zombie hands model for zombie scientists
-Added first person zombie hands model for zombie guards
-Added first person guard hands model
DETAILED UPDATES
SINGLE PLAYER CHANGES
General
Fixed some music tracks not being affected by the music volume slider in the audio options (Office Complex, Blast Pit, Surface Tension & Lambda Core)
Unforeseen Consequences
Map A (bm_c1a1a)
Fixed blocking the crashing elevator with physics objects.
Map C (bm_c1a1c)
Fixed z-fighting pipe model.
Map E (bm_c1a1e)
Fixed canal bullsquid scene triggering late if the player took the lower pathway.
Office Complex
Map A (bm_c1a2a)
Fixed various prop shadows.
Blast Pit
Map D (bm_c1a4d)
Fixed player getting pushed under the lift and out of the map when falling.
Apprehension
Map B (bm_c2a3b)
Made freezer entrance scientist a non-critical npc once the door has been opened to prevent a save loop if killed by the player after entering the freezer.
Map C (bm_c2a3c)
Removed glock that was left in accidentally for testing purposes.
Residue Processing
Map A (bm_c2a4a)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Fixed Barney being unresponsive if the player saves him from death.
Map B (bm_c2a4b)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Map C (bm_c2a4aC)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Questionable Ethics
Map E (bm_c2a4e)
Fixed broken soundscape.
Map F (bm_c2a4f)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Map G (bm_c2a4eg)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Fixed several broken overlays.
Map H (bm_c2a4h)
Fixed car model having the incorrect orientation.
Fixed some brushwork that had been moved accidentally.
Surface Tension
Map G (bm_c2a5g)
Added in bounce jump pad decal.
Fixed floating pipes near the water tower.
Fixed floating debris from destroyed wall.
Forget About Freeman
Map A (bm_c3a1a)
Added in bounce jump pad decal.
Fixed a visible nodraw area near water.
Lambda Core
Map H (bm_c3a2h)
Fixed an issue with the sounds at the end of the final teleporter sequence, where you sometimes would not hear the scientist telling you to “jump now!”. You should be able to hear him all the time now.
MULTIPLAYER CHANGES
dm_stack!
Added dm_stack! dm_stack is a brand new, outdoor, fun map designed for smaller player counts.
dm_gasworks
Adjusted weapon placements in quite a few places:
Gluon Gun has been moved slightly (though is still on the same tower), to a position up high. It is now perched on top of a pipe on the same tower, and can now only be reached by hopping up to it from the railings, so requires 2 (simple) jumps.
Both uranium packs removed from Gluon spawn.
Removed one uranium pack from the hole Tau Cannon spawn.
One of the batteries on the tower bridge replaced with a uranium pack.
Added a clip of Crossbow ammunition on the red tower.
Removed a clip of Crossbow ammunition from the middle building.
Added 2 frag grenades in the top middle shack on the surface.
Replaced the MP5 by the forklift with a Shotgun with one ammo pack.
Adjusted the positioning of the RPG Fort’s pickup so the RPG no longer appears to be floating.
Removed both batteries from the ibeam on top of the elevator shaft. Removed one uranium pack from there too.
Added 2 frag grenades by the planks in the control room (which form a ramp to drop out the control room window).
Removed one ammo pickup from the Shotgun on the upper catwalks in the underground cavern.
Added a second MP5 grenade to the MP5 pickup on the underground tower.
Tweaked lighting and player direction in a few areas:
In the underwater swimming routes (01 and 02), added caution stripes surrounding the entrances to make them much more obvious to players.
Brightened up the lighting surrounding the swimming routes to make them stand out more.
Added a large spotlight shining onto swimming route 02, to make it stand out better as a major route.
In the underwater part of the elevator shaft, added a fill light so the underwater section is no longer dark.
Added a red light at the base of the elevator ladder, to make the route more apparent.
Significantly brightened up the light from the elevator shaft teleporter, to make that part more obvious at a first glance.
Next to the conveyor drop down, turned on a light next to the double doorway, to make that major route area less dark from outside, and improve player visibility.
dm_subtransit
Reverted the tram back to the original 1-car style. The DREADNAUGHT is no longer ingame, we felt that while it was fun, it was too buggy to be reliable or useful.
MODEL CHANGES
Added first person zombie hands model for zombie scientists
Added first person zombie hands model for zombie guards
Added first person guard hands model
Updated first person scientist hands
Added G-Man as a playable multiplayer character.
You can now get blood on the MP5.
PROGRAMMING CHANGES
Fixed the ragdoll bug where occasionally the Vortigaunts/Marines corpses would spawn in a T-pose/be behaving extremely oddly after loading a save game or level transition.
Adjusted RPG reloading mechanics to be more in line with HL1. Now, if you fire your RPG with the laser on, you cannot reload it until the rocket has detonated. If you fire with the laser off, and press reload, you are able to reload it even while the rocket is still in the air.
Adjusted Shotgun reload so you can interrupt the reload properly by firing, and it will fire instantly, instead of waiting for the current shell to be loaded first.
Tau Cannon adjustments:
Tau Cannon full charge time in MP is reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds, to better match the original Half-Life.
Tau Cannon full charge ammo usage reduced from 12 uranium to 10 uranium, to better match the original Half-Life.
Tau Cannon jump velocity reduced from 1100 to 850, to bring it closer to HL1 and to make it a bit less ridiculous and easier to control.
Tau Cannon hitreg fix - fixed a bug in the Tau Cannon’s hit registration that was making it register unreliably.
Tau overcharge volume reduced from SNDLVL_100dB to SNDLVL_norm.
Crossbow adjustments:
Zooming in with the Crossbow is now instant in MP. Welcome back, quickbow!
The Crossbow’s zoomed shot is now properly lag compensated, so should now register more reliably.
Voice chat is now enabled in MP and is bindable via the options menu!
I just realized how I want them to reveal Half-Life 3.
I want them to put out a trailer for Ricochet 2. Like a full trailer for a game based on Ricochet, with a big ridiculous singleplayer campaign and extensive multiplayer modes.. and then at the end, the screen glitches and you see the HL3 logo for a fraction of a second.
And then they officially announce the Purple Box with Ricochet 2 and Half-Life 3.
Not gonna lie, even knowing that was fake and just looking for my own curiosity, I felt my brain twitch on seeing that logo.
It's the ex you can't move on from, despite trying.
My phone keeps giving me links to "news" that Half-Life 3 is for sure being announced soon. Every day something new pops up on Google Now about it.
I just don't know if I can handle it.
This happens every year because of bullshit stuff like Scottsman/LaCabra posted. It guarantees hits and they can use the excuse of someone else putting it up.
That's why I never click those links. I've been fooled before.
0
Options
augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
Seems legit.
+1
Options
chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Have you not done tormenting me with your accursed photoshops! It's abominable! When! When! One day, is that not enough for you, one day he went dumb, one day I went blind, one day we'll go deaf, one day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough for you? They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.
You know how long we've been waiting for a new Half-Life?
I'm putting together a "what we know about Half-Life 3" article and I'm having a bit of difficulty with it because numerous facts no longer have proper sources because those websites died!.
Seriously, computerandvideogames.com died and took like a good third of my references with it. :razz:
You know how long we've been waiting for a new Half-Life?
I'm putting together a "what we know about Half-Life 3" article and I'm having a bit of difficulty with it because numerous facts no longer have proper sources because those websites died!.
Seriously, computerandvideogames.com died and took like a good third of my references with it. :razz:
Did Half-Life 2 ever really happen? I believe it was faked.
Posts
Forget About Freeman isn't missing anything from what I remember; it was Surface Tension and On a Rail that were cut down.
Probably worth skipping if you get annoyed when people refer to Half-Life in terms of "Best game of all time"
Also, a hotfix
Nothing earth-shattering happened, but I have to say the Crowbar Collective's updates and communication has been MASSIVELY improved over where it was even last year. If that's due to the Early Access money, then I feel confident saying that might have been the best thing to happen to this project.
I think I played the half life games way too much and that is fueling my irritation at their total ignorance of the source material.
They could have not paid attention when they picked up the HEV suit, then later humped a pipe for 40 minutes and complained about how Half Life has a "bugged jumping mechanic".
Sadly, half.life was already taken.
halflife.wtf
gabenewell.sexy
halflife.fail
whenyouaskvalveabouthalflifeallyouhearis.cricket/s
valvesdedicationtothehalflifefranchiseis.limited
thehalflifedevelopmentteamhaveallquitandtakenup.plumbing
atleasthalflifepaidforalotof.vacations
but sadly most aptly
halflife.rip
hope this helps
I'd go with WTF, but I dont want people to associate it with TotalBiscuit.
The Sega Dreamcast also had a port of Half Life, which was repeatedly delayed, but eventually set to release in June of 2001, but it was not released. It was canceled by Sierra due to "changing market conditions" (namely the commercial abandonment of the Dreamcast itself). A finished (or near finished, depending on who you believe) build of the game was leaked onto the internet some years afterward, and it is playable from start to finish. It also includes the Blue Shift expansion, which was initially intended to be a Dreamcast exclusive.
I still fire up the DC version from time to time, but I just got ahold of a capture card with VGA input, so I was able to grab some direct screens at 640x480:
First and foremost, the Dreamcast version has a bit of an issue with save file sizes. The size of a save file gets larger and larger the farther in to a chapter you save, starting at a few blocks until eventually hitting 200 (the max size of a Dreamcast's VMU). Because of this the game has a password system for skipping to different chapters (each password is told to the player when they hit that chapter in their playthrough). The password system uses three lists of words that when combined form a password linked to the chapter (or cheat code) in question. For example, the unlimited ammo code is DREAMCAST GIVES FIREPOWER, while the code for Anomalous Materials (the first chapter in the game) is GORDON GOES TO WORK.
The entirety of the game is included, from start to finish, including scripted sequences.
It uses the models from the High Definition Pack, which was initially Dreamcast exclusive before being included in the PC release of Blue Shift.
Visuals look roughly on par with the hardware accelerated PC version at similar resolutions in most areas, with some having nicer textures on the DC
It uses a fairly strong lod setup to increase performance though, which is fairly visible when moving down a long, straight corridor.
Levels are broken up with load screens in roughly the same areas as the PC version.
The framerate in Half Life can occasionally dip down in certain areas where all hell breaks loose onscreen (like the chopper fight in the Dam or certain scripted sequences), but Blue Shift's framerate stays pretty steady throughout since it was designed with the Dreamcast's specs in mind.
One cool easter egg that was included was the addition of Dreamcast VMUs and disc copies of Half Life that were added as some of the random junk that can be scattered around when you smash open a crate.
The major downsides to Half Life on the Dreamcast are that the loadtimes are fairly long (and can be quite frequent due to the design of the original Half Life). This is alleviated a little bit in Blue Shift, but they are still very common. Supposedly the load time issue was something that the dev team was almost finished fixing at the time the game was canceled, but odds are we'll never know for sure.
The other issue is that the Dreamcast controller only has one analog stick. The default control scheme has you moving with the face buttons (similar to WASD), and aiming with the analog stick. The right trigger fires, up on the d-pad jumps, left turns on your flashlight, right is use, and down is crouch. The left trigger acts as an alt button, left trigger plus up on the d-pad is reload, left trigger plus left or right on the d-pad is switch weapon, etc. Because of this you have to take your thumb off of the analog stick to jump, which can make one or two of the platforming sections a little more difficult.
The DC release doesn't feature any multiplayer. The plan was to release the singleplayer game first, and then later do another release that would include Half Life multiplayer as well as Team Fortress Classic, and (it is assumed) Opposing Force, all playable over SegaNet. Obviously this never happened. The multiplayer maps are on the disc however, and if you have a DC keyboard you have access to the console, which means you can load them and run around by yourself.
Lastly, having a stable version of GldSrc to build off of on the DC means that quite a few Half Life mods (including the heavy hitters like They Hunger) have all been released for the Dreamcast as well.
At some point I want to record some video footage of the game running, but I thought some people might be interested in seeing more about the one console port that never saw the light of day, at least not in any official capacity. The PS2 port is probably still the go-to console version of Half Life due to the standard dual analog control scheme and the inclusion of Decay, but the DC version was no slouch, and it's still a blast to fire it up and unload a double order of buckshot right in a vortigaunt's face.
the new hit sitcom
Death fears gravity.
I have no idea what to do with that sentence, but I know I love it.
Why I fear the ocean.
Also, they had a live stream today, where they mentioned a new patch was on the way. New features included a new, original MP map (dm_stack), the Gman model for multiplayer and zombie hands for the gun viewmodels for the Zombie and Zombie Guard player models. Also balance changes and bug fixes and other such patchy goodness.
UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS
New map dm_stack!
-Added G-Man as a playable multiplayer character.
-Added first person zombie hands model for zombie scientists
-Added first person zombie hands model for zombie guards
-Added first person guard hands model
DETAILED UPDATES
SINGLE PLAYER CHANGES
General
Fixed some music tracks not being affected by the music volume slider in the audio options (Office Complex, Blast Pit, Surface Tension & Lambda Core)
Unforeseen Consequences
Map A (bm_c1a1a)
Fixed blocking the crashing elevator with physics objects.
Map C (bm_c1a1c)
Fixed z-fighting pipe model.
Map E (bm_c1a1e)
Fixed canal bullsquid scene triggering late if the player took the lower pathway.
Office Complex
Map A (bm_c1a2a)
Fixed various prop shadows.
Blast Pit
Map D (bm_c1a4d)
Fixed player getting pushed under the lift and out of the map when falling.
Apprehension
Map B (bm_c2a3b)
Made freezer entrance scientist a non-critical npc once the door has been opened to prevent a save loop if killed by the player after entering the freezer.
Map C (bm_c2a3c)
Removed glock that was left in accidentally for testing purposes.
Residue Processing
Map A (bm_c2a4a)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Fixed Barney being unresponsive if the player saves him from death.
Map B (bm_c2a4b)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Map C (bm_c2a4aC)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Questionable Ethics
Map E (bm_c2a4e)
Fixed broken soundscape.
Map F (bm_c2a4f)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Map G (bm_c2a4eg)
Various miscellaneous console error fixes.
Fixed several broken overlays.
Map H (bm_c2a4h)
Fixed car model having the incorrect orientation.
Fixed some brushwork that had been moved accidentally.
Surface Tension
Map G (bm_c2a5g)
Added in bounce jump pad decal.
Fixed floating pipes near the water tower.
Fixed floating debris from destroyed wall.
Forget About Freeman
Map A (bm_c3a1a)
Added in bounce jump pad decal.
Fixed a visible nodraw area near water.
Lambda Core
Map H (bm_c3a2h)
Fixed an issue with the sounds at the end of the final teleporter sequence, where you sometimes would not hear the scientist telling you to “jump now!”. You should be able to hear him all the time now.
MULTIPLAYER CHANGES
dm_stack!
Added dm_stack! dm_stack is a brand new, outdoor, fun map designed for smaller player counts.
dm_gasworks
Adjusted weapon placements in quite a few places:
Gluon Gun has been moved slightly (though is still on the same tower), to a position up high. It is now perched on top of a pipe on the same tower, and can now only be reached by hopping up to it from the railings, so requires 2 (simple) jumps.
Both uranium packs removed from Gluon spawn.
Removed one uranium pack from the hole Tau Cannon spawn.
One of the batteries on the tower bridge replaced with a uranium pack.
Added a clip of Crossbow ammunition on the red tower.
Removed a clip of Crossbow ammunition from the middle building.
Added 2 frag grenades in the top middle shack on the surface.
Replaced the MP5 by the forklift with a Shotgun with one ammo pack.
Adjusted the positioning of the RPG Fort’s pickup so the RPG no longer appears to be floating.
Removed both batteries from the ibeam on top of the elevator shaft. Removed one uranium pack from there too.
Added 2 frag grenades by the planks in the control room (which form a ramp to drop out the control room window).
Removed one ammo pickup from the Shotgun on the upper catwalks in the underground cavern.
Added a second MP5 grenade to the MP5 pickup on the underground tower.
Tweaked lighting and player direction in a few areas:
In the underwater swimming routes (01 and 02), added caution stripes surrounding the entrances to make them much more obvious to players.
Brightened up the lighting surrounding the swimming routes to make them stand out more.
Added a large spotlight shining onto swimming route 02, to make it stand out better as a major route.
In the underwater part of the elevator shaft, added a fill light so the underwater section is no longer dark.
Added a red light at the base of the elevator ladder, to make the route more apparent.
Significantly brightened up the light from the elevator shaft teleporter, to make that part more obvious at a first glance.
Next to the conveyor drop down, turned on a light next to the double doorway, to make that major route area less dark from outside, and improve player visibility.
dm_subtransit
Reverted the tram back to the original 1-car style. The DREADNAUGHT is no longer ingame, we felt that while it was fun, it was too buggy to be reliable or useful.
MODEL CHANGES
Added first person zombie hands model for zombie scientists
Added first person zombie hands model for zombie guards
Added first person guard hands model
Updated first person scientist hands
Added G-Man as a playable multiplayer character.
You can now get blood on the MP5.
PROGRAMMING CHANGES
Fixed the ragdoll bug where occasionally the Vortigaunts/Marines corpses would spawn in a T-pose/be behaving extremely oddly after loading a save game or level transition.
Adjusted RPG reloading mechanics to be more in line with HL1. Now, if you fire your RPG with the laser on, you cannot reload it until the rocket has detonated. If you fire with the laser off, and press reload, you are able to reload it even while the rocket is still in the air.
Adjusted Shotgun reload so you can interrupt the reload properly by firing, and it will fire instantly, instead of waiting for the current shell to be loaded first.
Tau Cannon adjustments:
Tau Cannon full charge time in MP is reduced from 1.5 seconds to 1.25 seconds, to better match the original Half-Life.
Tau Cannon full charge ammo usage reduced from 12 uranium to 10 uranium, to better match the original Half-Life.
Tau Cannon jump velocity reduced from 1100 to 850, to bring it closer to HL1 and to make it a bit less ridiculous and easier to control.
Tau Cannon hitreg fix - fixed a bug in the Tau Cannon’s hit registration that was making it register unreliably.
Tau overcharge volume reduced from SNDLVL_100dB to SNDLVL_norm.
Crossbow adjustments:
Zooming in with the Crossbow is now instant in MP. Welcome back, quickbow!
The Crossbow’s zoomed shot is now properly lag compensated, so should now register more reliably.
Voice chat is now enabled in MP and is bindable via the options menu!
I want them to put out a trailer for Ricochet 2. Like a full trailer for a game based on Ricochet, with a big ridiculous singleplayer campaign and extensive multiplayer modes.. and then at the end, the screen glitches and you see the HL3 logo for a fraction of a second.
And then they officially announce the Purple Box with Ricochet 2 and Half-Life 3.
I just don't know if I can handle it.
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/06/half-life-3-confirmed/
It's the ex you can't move on from, despite trying.
This happens every year because of bullshit stuff like Scottsman/LaCabra posted. It guarantees hits and they can use the excuse of someone else putting it up.
Why I fear the ocean.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
I'm putting together a "what we know about Half-Life 3" article and I'm having a bit of difficulty with it because numerous facts no longer have proper sources because those websites died!.
Seriously, computerandvideogames.com died and took like a good third of my references with it. :razz:
Did Half-Life 2 ever really happen? I believe it was faked.