Adventure Game Studio

Well, it's been 8 years in the making, but Black Mesa is finally being released. For those of you who don't know, Black Mesa is a total conversion of the original Half-Life with far superior graphics and physics to work on the source engine. This has got to be one of the most anticipated mods of all time, and it's finally seeing a release date of September 14. For more information, check out their website (http://www.blackmesasource.com/).

I just think it's worrying that they are "releasing" it now, when they have themselves admitted it's not finished yet.
Especially when you realize they've kept it hidden for years due to that very reason!

In some ways, you're right. However, I've read that they plan to turn the Xen section into a game in itself. I guess they're going to really lengthen it from it's original size. I'm not happy with the choice, but I think it's justifiable. The team has been extremely secretive about the project for years, and if they're releasing something now, I feel like it's going to be quality. From what I understand, they're going to release the Xen section when they release Black Mesa: Death Match. According to them, that should be in a timely manner. Still, if they're on Valve time, that may very well be another 8 years :tongue:.

I'm sure it will be worth the weight.

I remember when I first got Steam in 2005, I was checking up on those guys every other week because I just couldn't wait to see HL using the Source Engine.  I feel like this is the end of a long and arduous journey that I totally forgot all about.

Quote from: KodiakBehr on Wed 05/09/2012 00:01:40
I remember when I first got Steam in 2005, I was checking up on those guys every other week because I just couldn't wait to see HL using the Source Engine.  I feel like this is the end of a long and arduous journey that I totally forgot all about.

We still have to wait for Opposing Force: Source and Blue Shift: Source. They're being led by other teams (actually, if I recall correctly, the two other teams merged), and while I certainly don't expect them to be of the same quality as Black Mesa, I still have hope that they'll turn out well.

I'm really hyped for this, Half-life has a campaign that beats every other FPS i've played, the perfect balance between scripted sequences, puzzle design, weapon progression and player satisfaction. Shame about the lack of Xen but this does mean that valve can finally release Half-life 3. :=

I tell you what. We better see that Valve highers these developers...

Quote from: Armageddon on Wed 05/09/2012 00:01:16
I'm sure it will be worth the weight.

Quote from: grim107 on Wed 05/09/2012 01:23:41
I tell you what. We better see that Valve highers these developers...

I feel like this is some kind of running drug joke...

Quote from: KodiakBehr on Wed 05/09/2012 00:01:40
I remember when I first got Steam in 2005, I was checking up on those guys every other week because I just couldn't wait to see HL using the Source Engine.  I feel like this is the end of a long and arduous journey that I totally forgot all about.

Half-Life: Source already exists.  It is just the original game using the Source engine though, the graphics and gameplay are basically identical, aside from a few lighting and physics improvements.

Quote from: Snarky on Wed 05/09/2012 10:43:01

Quote from: Armageddon on Wed 05/09/2012 00:01:16
I'm sure it will be worth the weight.

Quote from: grim107 on Wed 05/09/2012 01:23:41
I tell you what. We better see that Valve highers these developers...

I feel like this is some kind of running drug joke...

Dam, you got me there. I'm usually much better about that type of stuff. I guess I wasn't paying much attention :wink:

If I've never played any version of Half-Life, which would you recommend? I heard the Source engine remake wasn't well-regarded, but then this remake is supposed to include changes to the pacing (speeding up some bits and expanding on others), and isn't the pacing of the original supposed to be one of its best features? Besides, if it isn't complete I guess I would have to switch to one of the other versions halfway through. Should I just go with the oldskool original edition?

(I am pretty sure I already own it in some kind of OrangeBox package. Not sure whether the original or the Source version, though.)

ORIGINAL ALL THE WAY!!!

Half Life was/is one of the greatest games of all time!  The story, the gameplay, the pacing, the everything.

If you can play it in a totally dark room on a big screen with surround sound you will have a great experience!  (the graphics are, admittedly, a tad "aged" now but as we routinely show around AGS it's not all about the graphics!!)

AND CROWBARS!!!



...ahem. Sorry for that.

I dunno...spending 10 minutes doing nothing but looking around in a train right at the beginning bored me even then, dunno why people loved that so much :P.

If I'd never played any version previously, I'd probably go with HL: Source. I've never HL: Source extensively, but from what I can tell, it's not any worse than the original HL. The physics are better and a few graphics are improved (for example, the water is much more realistic.)

I, too, would have preferred the team put off a release until the game was actually complete, but it's not like I'm not going to download and play it the first day. I'm sure when the Xen section and Black Mesa: Death Match are finished, they'll all be included in one game.

Look up Black Mesa on Steam's Greenlight then and give it your support.

Just play the original, HL: Source is balls. The original still works perfectly on my 64-bit Win7, plus you get all those good GoldSrc mods like Cry of Fear and They Hunger and countless others.

Quote from: Babar on Thu 06/09/2012 17:55:54
I dunno...spending 10 minutes doing nothing but looking around in a train right at the beginning bored me even then, dunno why people loved that so much :P.

You, Sir, are a scoundrel.

Quote from: Babar on Thu 06/09/2012 17:55:54
I dunno...spending 10 minutes doing nothing but looking around in a train right at the beginning bored me even then, dunno why people loved that so much :P.

That's about as far as I ever got in that game :-/.

Quote from: Peder Johnsen+ on Fri 07/09/2012 20:23:56

Quote from: Babar on Thu 06/09/2012 17:55:54
I dunno...spending 10 minutes doing nothing but looking around in a train right at the beginning bored me even then, dunno why people loved that so much :P.

That's about as far as I ever got in that game :-/.

I'd kinda expect more, especially of adventure/point'n'click fans...

:p

Well, I've only played Half Life 2. But that has a train-based start which is the best opening to any game I've played.

Quote from: dkh on Fri 07/09/2012 20:26:23

Quote from: Peder Johnsen+ on Fri 07/09/2012 20:23:56

Quote from: Babar on Thu 06/09/2012 17:55:54
I dunno...spending 10 minutes doing nothing but looking around in a train right at the beginning bored me even then, dunno why people loved that so much :P.

That's about as far as I ever got in that game :-/.

I'd kinda expect more, especially of adventure/point'n'click fans...

:p

It weren't the train for me though, I love trains, I even spend hours and hours playing train simulators!
I'm just not much of a "beasts" related type of game fan.

It's been released: http://release.blackmesasource.com/

I sort of want to play it, since I've waited so long, but I'm too afraid to download it, as they have admitted that it's not really finished... Aaaaugh!

I watched TotalBiscuit stream an hour or two of it yesterday. Didn't look bad but it certainly didn't look finished quite yet either. It got some very curios performance problems (huge frame drops even on high-end hardware) and, well, Half-Life 1 is Half-Life 1. It was ground-breaking at the time but, if you haven't played it in all that time, you might be a little shocked - first-person jumping puzzles, very well hidden vents that you need to find to progress and all... :)

  I played (or watched mainly) the intro up until getting the suit.  I would have played the heck out of Black Mesa, but I'm headed on out a trip and don't want to get sucked in until I have time to properly get into it.

  Everything looked great at the game start, though I haven't shot anything yet.