There is a part of me that still loves Episode 1 the most because Valve turned the early part of the game into a traditional videogame escort mission, only you were the one being escorted.
I don't think there is much that can top tear-assing through the countryside in a beat up muscle car though.
Opposing Force, Decay, and Blue Shift were made by other companies, but they were officially contracted by Valve.
Prospekt was a game some guy made as a demonstration to show to Valve in the hopes that they would hire him, which they didn't do, but they said it was cool if he sold it on Steam. It's not 'canon' (although, to be fair, anything outside of HL2 and the Episodes is on shaky ground in that respect), but more importantly it's not very good. It's admirable that one person was able to put the entire thing together, but after seeing the end result it's pretty obvious why he wasn't picked up.
Every Half-Life game is special and amazing in their own ways.
Yes. It's probably about time to play through the hl games again. For some reason summer always reminds me of them. Maybe over my vacation. Never even beat the hl1 expansions.
Steam: offday
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chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Every Half-Life game is special and amazing in their own ways.
Yes. It's probably about time to play through the hl games again. For some reason summer always reminds me of them. Maybe over my vacation. Never even beat the hl1 expansions.
Did you beat Minerva?
Minerva is So Good. I have two AI stories from fights in that where the Overwatch impressed the heck out of me.
Minerva was great when I played it. It was the perfect antidote after I'd played through Ep1 to get the "One Free Bullet" achievement.
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anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
Nope! Never even heard of it until you just said something. Looks awesome, though. How have I not heard of this? It's been out for years...I'll have to check it out this weekend.
Nope! Never even heard of it until you just said something. Looks awesome, though. How have I not heard of this? It's been out for years...I'll have to check it out this weekend.
Let me know what you think. It can get pretty tough, but it's very satisfying to complete.
Just... maybe try normal at the start. To get in the rhythm of things.
Note: This update does not contain Xen. We are working on Xen! This is a small hotfix patch to resolve some of the issues with the Surface Tension Update.
Programming
CSM should now be functional and working correctly on AMD cards.
French and Portugese translation/captions are added and fixed in the main menu.
Fixed a bug where disabling CSM would cause it to set to “very low” when you next start the game.
Potentially fixed the “CSM ghosting” bug where a weird overlay would appear on the screen if you enabled CSM.
Fixed a bug where the godrays option would reset when the game is restarted.
cl_autoweaponswitch cvar added to disable automatic weapon switching, if needed.
Level Design
C2A5G (Surface Tension Uncut)
Fixed a bug where if you backpedal through the door that leads to the car park at the beginning of the map, it would close and could not be reopened again.
Fixed invulnerable AGrunt at the helipad if the player tries to save the Osprey.
Fixed alternate vent route Headcrabs from clipping with the player and being invisible if they the player jumps over the vent gap.
Fixed various conditions that allowed the player to exit via the bomb trap room and get into the TOW courtyard that way.
Add player clips to prevent exploitation of the map.
C2A5H (Surface Tension Uncut)
Fixed a bug where the hangar Guard choreography would get broken if you went to the hangar door exit before reaching the part of the level where you actually meet the Guard.
Corrected hanger security door to use the correct sounds like the rest of the doors in the map.
Player clipped the dumpster by the jump pad to prevent the player from getting stuck.
Removed the fence behind the guard shack to prevent the player getting stuck.
Ladders on the fire escape now work in case the player decides to use the jump pad to get on them.
Fixed 50Cal getting tank projectiles stuck in it.
Add player clips to prevent exploitation of the map.
Multiplayer
Fixed a bug where sv_ranked would crash servers on startup.
Generated loading screens for dm_crossfire, dm_rail, dm_power and dm_chopper. All official maps should now have proper loading screens at all resolutions.
Added some graphical detail to a few areas in dm_rail as well as a playerclipping pass to make projectiles get caught less on silly obstacles.
Fixed c2a5h and c2a5i showing up on the multiplayer map list.
Miscellaneous/Notes
Several big community mods have been broken with the last update. If you see missing textures or any strange behaviour, those are likely the cause. On a Rail Uncut is also broken and will cause texture errors in a few places in the game, particularly On a Rail. The author is working on fixing these issues.
Another Black Mesa patch. I love that the Xen disclaimer basically shows up automatically now.
Surface Tension Update - Patch 2
Note: This update does not contain Xen! We are hard at work on Xen. This is a small stability update aimed at lower-end users.
Programming
Fixed a number of potential crashing issues on low-end graphics cards.
Fixed an issue with the depth buffer that was causing the game to crash for some users.
Fixed some instances of the "Disable CSM" option not working properly.
CSM/depth buffer will now be disabled completely by default on low-end graphics cards that are not officially supported.
Fixed mat_hdr_level & mat_tonemapping_occlusion_use_stencil convars not working properly. This will hopefully help to resolve a sporadic issue for some users where the game would turn dark after a few seconds. If your game turns dark after a few seconds, try setting mat_tonemapping_occlusion_use_stencil to 1 in the console.
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augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
1. Half-Life VR? - This is a bit old, but apparently in the Valve VR app "Destination" they found some code for something labeled HLVR; subsequent updates actually ADDED more code, with some (specifically a glass shattering mechanic) popping up in DOTA2
2. Half-Life: decay lost levels - Valve Time has done some great investigation into the cut levels from Half-Life: decay. One of the more interesting things is that, due to it's proximity to Half-Life 2's development, some cut content was due to the developing story of HL2 conflicting with ideas in the game. Cool. http://www.valvetime.net/threads/the-cut-missions-of-half-life-decay.257441/
3. Mod Update 1 - Prospekt - Remember that shitty fan made Opposing Force sequel? Apparently the guy has been doing updates to it for the past year, fixing a lot of things people complained about and even adding a new stealth gamemode. I haven't tried it yet, but when I get a chance I'll let you guys know my thoughts.
4. Mod Update 2 - Black Mesa - Content Update 4 has been released, consisting of mostly bug fixes and a new linux client. Still no Xen. Changelog is due tomorrow.
Linux client beta!
Added the ZECU - Zombie Marines
Translations - Added Russian closed captions!
Added new security Joop model
Workshop publish tool is working again
General workshop improvements (all workshop items must now be VPKed to work)
VOIP works in multiplayer
Model Changes
Added all new security Jeep models
RPG and Tau weapon viewmodels can now have blood on them
Fixed MP5 tracers originating from above the gun
Programming Bugfixes
Fixed the ragdoll T-pose bug. There should be no more instances of ragdoll corpses standing up in the T-pose position when loading a save.
Re-added the cool Tau and Gluon gib effects from the mod. Now the gibs get their fizzy electric effects, as they did before!
Disappearing weapons bug is fixed in multiplayer. We believe we have resolved the bug related to your weapons sometimes disappearing in multiplayer when you respawn. Please report it to us again (with steps to reproduce, if possible) if you experience it.
Fixed voice chat in multiplayer
Fixed “double crouch” bug, aka “schrodinger’s crouch.” Fixed a hitbox bug related to rapid crouching that would make the player’s hitboxes always stay crouched, even while standing
Reduced physical scale of player viewmodels to ⅕ their original size. This has no impact on the size of the viewmodel in game (as it’s a scaled projection), but means there will be no more weird lighting bugs on the weapons, as their scale is now accurately represented. We also rescaled all the particles and associated weapon drag cvars to match the new weapon scale
Crossbow Bolt is now a simulated projectile with a speed of 8000 (from 2000). The old Crossbow bolt moved at the max speed allowed by the physics engine, so we switched it out for a tracer with a simulated speed. It is now far more useful as a long range sniping weapon, as intended.
Cvar viewmodel_lag changed to cl_viewmodel_lag now using different scaling
Fixed violence_hgibs and violence_agibs options
Implemented SetPointsPerFrag for mp_gamerules
Updated engine internals to Valve upstream
Fixed multiple crossbow bugs
Fixed multiple minor crashes and bugs
Language Updates/Fixes
Added Russian closed captions
Fixed UI not displaying translated UI prompts and chapter titles
Updated and fixed Finnish translation files
Updated and fixed German translation files
Singleplayer Level Design
bm_c0a0b
Fixed lighting on the helipad
bm_c1a0a
Fixed casserole explosion particle disappearing or not showing at all
bm_c1a1e
The crates during the platforming section are no longer physics objects, and are now static. This is to compensate for a physics engine bug which made jumping around here very unresponsive.
bm_c1a4d
Fixed airlock steam particle not appearing
bm_c2a2a
Added blocks on the tram lift platforms to stop the achievement hat from falling through them
bm_c2a4a
Hopeful fix for players getting stuck in the world after reaching the top of the ladder in the crusher
bm_c2a4f
Made the door at the end of the agrunt trip mine hall solid until the sequence has been triggered
Surface Tension
A minor foliage and rock overhaul in a few places throughout this chapter
bm_c2a5b
Added a block to stop players getting stuck behind a rock near the start of the minefield
Fixed a houndeye spawning under the ground near the start of the level
Fixed misaligned sprites next to the storm drain console
bm_c2a5h
Fixed pipe explosion not killing the player
Multiplayer Level Design
Crossfire
A prop fade distance pass has been done which should result in a frame rate improvement in many areas of the of map for users
Fixed visible nodraw near the middle of the map
Bounce
Fixed various texture issues due to CSM
Fixed floating props
Added extra details for jump pads including props and overlays
Known Issues
Hitching in MP on displacements. We will fix this ASAP.
Crossbow Zoom has weird interactions with FOV settings. This will be addressed in a later update by us overhauling how the Crossbow zoom works.
Crossbow aims high
Minor shadow errors on Linux.
GUI hints for VOIP are missing
Note: This update does not contain Xen. We are working on Xen and hope to have some media to talk about soon!
Mark yo calendars (for the inevitable delay): Xen is due out Summer of 2017!
Xen Timeline
Happy Halloween!
We wanted to use the holiday and the sale to announce our rough timeline for Xen. We are currently targeting a summer 2017 release. We will keep you up to date on our progress and we plan to show off some media as we finish developing Xen to give everyone a glimpse at what we are working on.
Why so Long?
We can’t overemphasize how much work it was to get the game on Steam. Most of our effort before launching was put into porting to the retail engine and getting the game to work better than it did in the mod. Since release, the team has been focused on developing Xen. We even planned our updates to have features that would help improve the earthbound levels and Xen (for example CSM).
We want to do Xen the justice it deserves, and have it be the definitive climax to the Half-Life 1 story. To do this we have completely redesigned and expanded the Xen levels to what we think Valve would have done without the limitations of the time.
To help illustrate this, here are some comparison shots of our levels to the original Half-Life levels in Hammer. Not only are our maps substantially bigger than the originals, there are more of them as well.
Comparison of HL1 and Black Mesa's first Xen Map[i.imgur.com]
Comparison of the first map of Interloper[i.imgur.com]
As always we want to thank our awesome community for supporting us in Early Access and for being as passionate as us about Half-Life. We have been working really hard on Xen and we hope you are as excited as us to see the full release of Black Mesa. We’ll have more in game media to show off in the near future!
Patch
We also wanted to quickly mention that we have a patch coming for our latest update. This patch fixes:
-The hitching on Linux multiplayer servers and on Linux single player
-Russian closed captions
-UI fonts being broken for people that do not have Steam set to English
-Workshop publish tool not launching
-ZECU torso crashing hammer and the game
Played through Prospekt again. The difficulty has been noticibly reduced (I only had trouble in a couple of parts) though there's a few parts where you're basically supposed to quickly find an escape route instead of staying and fighting, but you're given no indication this is the case, so at one point I wound up killing a couple dozen combine and they still kept coming, bleh.
VO is still bad, and the subtitles are still randomly broken. The "flashback" dialog isn't nearly as intrusive as before, but it's still embarrassingly bad VO. Beyond that, game seemed fine, if very derivative. Let's see what I said when it came out.
Uh..
-He fixed the node graph issue, but the game still hitches when it loads a level for some reason.
-Feels like it's less buggy. (I don't recall having most of the issues I had with the launch game.)
-Story still feels aimless, not cohesive, and doesn't live up to the premise.
The price has dropped to $10, but I still wouldn't recommend grabbing this for anything more than $5. There's better free mods out there.
The bonus "sneak" missions are garbage. You're just crouching through tight, nondescript combine corridors and trying to not get spotted while you figured out the patrol patterns.
Pretty much what I've assumed; they're working on it but don't have a good direction for it and they don't want to do it half-assed, so it's basically going in circles.
Also, while we were in the Holiday Forum, the Black Mesa guys put out a screenshot of Xen
Happy Holidays!
The team remains, as always, hard at work on Xen! Currently our specific focus is on gameplay: crafting a fun and cohesive experience from start to finish. We want our version of Xen to feel like it really belongs with the rest of the game in terms of mechanics, cohesion and progression. But we also want to push the boundaries and explore this unique and varied setting; to build an experience that feels both fresh and familiar to players from all walks of Half-Life veterancy. While our Xen is certainly going to be gorgeous, we are first and foremost really committed to making sure that the gameplay works on every level.
To give a bit of an exciting tease into what we’re doing at the moment, and as our own little holiday gift to you lot, please enjoy our first ever publicly released screenshot of Xen!
We will have more media for the community in the coming months, as well as more detailed updates as to how we are progressing. Right now we are up against a tough deadline, but we are committed and excited to work towards it and to finally unveil the definitive Black Mesa experience for everyone to enjoy.
Be kind to each other out there, and again, have a happy holiday!
Posts
Interesting compilation. I hadn't see a couple of those before.
Dang I haven't thought about HL3 in ages. I don't think I even got around to playing Episode 2.
There is a part of me that still loves Episode 1 the most because Valve turned the early part of the game into a traditional videogame escort mission, only you were the one being escorted.
I don't think there is much that can top tear-assing through the countryside in a beat up muscle car though.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Fuck that game.
Though I hear he put out a patch that may have fixed some of the issues I had with it. I should probably replay it.
Mods don't count.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Does Decay?
Opposing Force, Decay, and Blue Shift were made by other companies, but they were officially contracted by Valve.
Prospekt was a game some guy made as a demonstration to show to Valve in the hopes that they would hire him, which they didn't do, but they said it was cool if he sold it on Steam. It's not 'canon' (although, to be fair, anything outside of HL2 and the Episodes is on shaky ground in that respect), but more importantly it's not very good. It's admirable that one person was able to put the entire thing together, but after seeing the end result it's pretty obvious why he wasn't picked up.
Minerva comes to mind first and foremost, but that mod had the side effect of getting the guy hired.
Yes. It's probably about time to play through the hl games again. For some reason summer always reminds me of them. Maybe over my vacation. Never even beat the hl1 expansions.
Did you beat Minerva?
Minerva is So Good. I have two AI stories from fights in that where the Overwatch impressed the heck out of me.
Why I fear the ocean.
Let me know what you think. It can get pretty tough, but it's very satisfying to complete.
Just... maybe try normal at the start. To get in the rhythm of things.
Why I fear the ocean.
edit: And I just noticed that Father Gregori is wearing red Chuck Taylors, which is hilarious.
If they release 2 of three Xen episodes will that count?
They have a financial incentive to complete Xen now, at least, which is more than they had back when it was just a mod.
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/half-lifes-unpublished-steam-trading-cards.257039/
1. Half-Life VR? - This is a bit old, but apparently in the Valve VR app "Destination" they found some code for something labeled HLVR; subsequent updates actually ADDED more code, with some (specifically a glass shattering mechanic) popping up in DOTA2
2. Half-Life: decay lost levels - Valve Time has done some great investigation into the cut levels from Half-Life: decay. One of the more interesting things is that, due to it's proximity to Half-Life 2's development, some cut content was due to the developing story of HL2 conflicting with ideas in the game. Cool. http://www.valvetime.net/threads/the-cut-missions-of-half-life-decay.257441/
3. Mod Update 1 - Prospekt - Remember that shitty fan made Opposing Force sequel? Apparently the guy has been doing updates to it for the past year, fixing a lot of things people complained about and even adding a new stealth gamemode. I haven't tried it yet, but when I get a chance I'll let you guys know my thoughts.
4. Mod Update 2 - Black Mesa - Content Update 4 has been released, consisting of mostly bug fixes and a new linux client. Still no Xen. Changelog is due tomorrow.
VO is still bad, and the subtitles are still randomly broken. The "flashback" dialog isn't nearly as intrusive as before, but it's still embarrassingly bad VO. Beyond that, game seemed fine, if very derivative. Let's see what I said when it came out.
Uh..
-He fixed the node graph issue, but the game still hitches when it loads a level for some reason.
-Feels like it's less buggy. (I don't recall having most of the issues I had with the launch game.)
-Story still feels aimless, not cohesive, and doesn't live up to the premise.
The price has dropped to $10, but I still wouldn't recommend grabbing this for anything more than $5. There's better free mods out there.
The bonus "sneak" missions are garbage. You're just crouching through tight, nondescript combine corridors and trying to not get spotted while you figured out the patrol patterns.
Pretty much what I've assumed; they're working on it but don't have a good direction for it and they don't want to do it half-assed, so it's basically going in circles.
Also, while we were in the Holiday Forum, the Black Mesa guys put out a screenshot of Xen