An outsider's point of view on Black Mesa Release

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

Before you “old timers” try and toss me to the flames, I have been around a LONG time, though never bothered to register, as I hadn’t much to say. But I have been watching this mod since it’s inception. I’ve gotten more involved lately, mostly in the MODDB threads. Yes, I know there’s a lot of trolling and flaming going on there. But I’m going to have my peace here, for the first time, in hopes that the Devs see it and take it to heart.

We, the rabid fans, made them. No, I know they made the concept, they work the development of such an undertaking. Serious question. If no one, not one single voice was heard in support of such a mod, do you think they would have continued? Maybe. I seriously doubt anyone wants to move forward with a monumental task if no one will pat them on the shoulder and say good job. Or vote them best upcoming mod and win them a pretty uber PC. So it’s pretty solid that without us, The Black Mesa Team is nothing. Not meant out of disrespect, but it’s leading to my point.

I’d have to say other than a minuscule amount of brown nosers and a good number of die hard followers, a good deal of the community following this are angry and let down. Some because of the wait time, but for most it’s the lack of real communication. The lack of updates. I know, treading on old ground here. Most people did not spend some of their live watching this baby grow just to get hit with child support (fandom) and no visitation rights. So what if this does not cost us a dime? So what if people tell you you have no right to bitch? If you did not want it so bad or need it so bad, if it were not for the fans, this would never exist, or would fade into obscurity.

Hell, if this never comes out, it’s not going to kill me. If and when Half Life 3 comes out on a new engine, someone will attempt this project again, it’s not going to change the way people feel. I’m not a rabid flamer or troll, though I feel the onslaught of people’s hate and blind lust growing as I prepare to release my rant. I don’t really care. The whole point is I wanted to share my thoughts. I wanted to be heard. If the devs see this and respond, kudos. I don’t expect them to, they’re hard at work. But you all need to remember, this isn’t a new form of anger or distrust. It’s happened before, to the excess of legal repercussions because one man strung along an entire community and fed off their generosity, only to be proven false. Don’t act like people don’t have a reason to be fearful.

here’s to hoping Black Mesa is released soon. Here’s to the Devs if they can pull this off, and here’s to them if they can open a new line of trust and communication with the common folk that made them what they are today: Famous. But may they burn in Hades if they are stringing us along and lying to us. Nuff Said.

#2

You seem like a pretty reasonable person, and I completely understand how many people want more updates. I’m dying for something, I think that most of the “diehard fans” are probably just used to a small amount of information being given out, and are just tired of people who make stupid posts like YOU DEVS SUCK GIVE UPDATES MODS NOT COMING OUT LIARS!!!1!11

Many posts like yours that are worded rather badly have been coming up because of the building anticipation from people over-analyzing the small amount of information given.

TLDR: I think you are completely right, but the Devs don’t want to disappoint the community with another missed release date.

#3

All valid points, but the point of the matter is that the devs are already giving the fans a huge amount of their time. Of their blood, sweat and tears. They have literally given part of their lives for this mod.

Don’t you feel it’s unfair to expect them to give away even more of their time?

It’s not like they’re dead silent. A couple are pretty active here. Some visit occasionally. In any case, there is communication. For those not willing to browse the forum, there’s the wiki, where there are plenty of recent quotes (in relevant pages) with links to the post where it came from.

edit: I just noticed I have 1758 posts :expressionless: When the hell did that happen :fffuuu:

#4

If you are so supportive of this mod that you made the devs, you should know by now that asking for updates is counter productive.

#5

Burb, I don’t think he means the devs who participate in forum discussions and the community, I think he’s talking about actual official updates.

I respect every developer of this mod for their time and effort put into Black Mesa, but a few more updates wouldn’t hurt, I think too few updates leads to community to overanalyze and overhype everything that is given to them. If a dev posted something like, “Made great progress on Xen today! Confident with out internal schedule!”, I think it would make everyone happy, and it would take about 30 seconds to do.

#6

Why lost precious time on useless updates when you can work on the game ?

Both BM and HL3/Ep3 have an incredible fanbase which will wait no matter what because they know when it will come out, It will be near perfect.

Who wants details about the mod should look at the wiki and then, if he still has question can ask on the forum.
Because INTELLIGENT and RELEVANT questions always finds answers here.

#7

Oh, a few minutes of precious time, what will we do? That could be the difference of finishing the mod at 3:40 PM and 3:42 PM!

We’ve waited for about 6 years already, a few seconds can’t do much harm.

#8

Oh that’s sooo cute. No updates.

#9

That’s why the wiki is there.

#10

You know as well as I do that the average fans probably don’t frequent or check the wiki…and hearing something from a dev on the forums is different than seeing it on the wiki. Just look at the news section of the forum, it hasn’t had any news in over a year.

#11

yeah, The usual visitor isn’t going to go rummaging around the wiki. Threads like this will likely continue until the community hears something from the devs themselves.

#12

The outsiders, that was a boring ass book I had to read for school.

#13

You wouldn’t have anything to do with foxes, now would you?

#14

So…the devs put their blood, sweat, and motherfuckin’ beer into this mod and the “usual visitor” can’t find a couple minutes to research before posting?

Interesting.

#15

Interesting indeed, but I didn’t start checking the wiki until I was a registered user, I think that the normal person that comes onto this site checks to see if the mod is released on the home page, checks the cafeteria for some type of update, and then logs off.

You all can see that there are always more guests online than registered members.

#16

I don’t agree with the fact that the developers owe us anything, because we made them famous or anything. They have said many times that they are also doing the project for themselves, so it would not really matter to them if they weren’t famous.

The developers have not really said that they don’t give us updates because it would take too much time. Indeed, a twitter update would not take much time. The reason they gave is that it won’t change anything, because we will just keep asking for more. But I think most of us would feel a lot better if we heard anything official about the mod’s development about once every 3 months.

Not long ago they renovated a very important bridge in my city, and the timeframe for completion slipped from 1 year to more than two years. The bridge was closed during that time and it made everyday life a lot more difficult. It was very frustrating, especially not knowing whether the date will slip again. However, seeing people working on the bridge every day (despite not knowing what exactly they were doing) gave me a satisfying feeling, that stuff is being done and that they are moving towards completion. It’s irrational, but it gives some moral support. If the government would have just said “we’re working on it, it will be done when it’s done” without allowing us to see the bridge under construction, it would have been a lot more frustrating, even though it would not have changed anything in reality.

But of course, a bridge that was built on tax money that is necessary for everyday life is very different from a game that is being built for our amusement for free! I’m just saying that the two things yield similar psychological responses, even if they don’t have the same level of importance and seriousness.

#17

I don’t think it’s unreasonable at all. I understand that unlike AAA titles they have a very small staff and daily or weekly blogs are not possible. And trust me when I say that in following this mod from day one it has not been easy finding updates in every nook and cranny of the site, the third party mod sites, or the net. I haven’t been able to pinpoint anything significant that I hadn’t seen a year or two ago.

I do believe that the MODDB community had a major role to play in bringing this mod into the spotlight, and I frequent that site the most because of it’s huge database of mods and information. Not to say I think half of the trolls or flamers deserve the time of day but I am a legitimate follower of all things mod and having the ability to pull up my favorite website and see some Black Mesa goodness perks my day. I think that I am a part of a large number of gamers that do avoid the forums, because of the trolling and the severe number of rumors and bullshit that can come from them. And even in my disappointment that another year has gone by and I still don’t get to enjoy this promising venture, I still voted for Black Mesa as best upcoming mod.

Half Life is not a property that is held up by by a cornucopia of prepubescent fanboys. Mature and intelligent gamers around my age are the biggest supporters. I can say that I was horribly let down by that Star Wars mod fiasco. And to some degree I am scarred by that letdown. When people stop talking or stop caring, things become chaotic and fall apart. You are just seeing that frustration and angst coming more and more in chat or forum capacity because people have nothing to show for their dedication to the project. We as fans may not be making the mod, but we have been pouring our support and admiration for 6 long years. Is that not worth something?

Listen, you can take my ranting and simply dismiss this. I’m a hardcore fan of the Boondock Saints. If it weren’t for the constant pressure and support of the fans, All Saint’s Day may have never become reality. Tron Legacy would have been nothing more than a lost pipe dream. People do not simply put all their heart into believing in something to just have it met with silence. I truly believe that the MODDB community, as well as this community, deserve a minute of time here and there, just so their hopes don’t get smashed on the rocks. If you take on such a heavy burden when stepping into the limelight with someone’s baby, you have to be able to temper the pressure with some kind words and encouraging foresight.

#18

Even if we put a webcam behind every dev to monitor their work, many dumb people would still be bitching about BM not release.

EDIT : I know its frustrating to have no info/news in the frontpage but the last year was for the most part polishing the game and nothing really relevant would justify a news and for result spawn even more angry/misleading/troll comments.
We are men of words but the devs are men of action. I trust them to give us many hours of pure happiness.

#19

I’m starting to like you Vormaen, you seem like a smart person =)

Mont, you know as well as I do that all people want is some type of small update. When Nate said wait till the end of 2010, do you remember how pumped up everyone was? He never even stated any information whatsoever, and people got excited.

Like I said, saying something like “Sorry for the wait guys, we’re having a little bit of trouble on Xen.” Would only take seconds.

People are just starting to get fed up with the lack of feedback, I know that the wiki is updated on a regular basis, but the majority of people don’t visit it, even after reading posts from people that tell them to visit the wiki.

And the people who would whine if updates like that were posted are complete morons, I can see that you’re a huge fan judging from your posts in this thread, and don’t tell me you haven’t been frustrated at all with the long wait for this mod.

Again, thank you to all of the developers for putting such a long time of your life in the mod, I really hope the time you spent shows in your work and you get some great jobs in reward!

#20

That is something I would have to dispute. A hands on view of the work would probably squelch a lot of jabber. If people can see the labor, as one of the above posts implied, people would trust more in it.

I like the comparison to the bridge. I had a similar situation here in KC with a freeway. If I saw this project just sitting there collecting dust, I’d get pissed at the city for letting the project go. But once in awhile I’d see crews working, and I’d calm down and think things were going fine. two years later the project was finished, and things are going smoothly. Now if only we could get that laser missile tracker for drunk drivers and cell phone drivers, I would be at peace.

Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.