Before/After Experiment!

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

Hi everybody!

I would like to propose a bit of an experiment. Up until BM’s release, post what you think you will like about the mod, dislike, your thoughts, etc. When the mod comes out and you play it, edit your original post to include what you actually think of the mod. It would be interesting to see the difference!

I will go first.

I think that BM will have a sort of “Valve quality” polish. I am expecting a few bugs here or there, but otherwise I think that BM will be the best HL2 mod to date, even outshining GMod. I think that the level design will be top-notch, the models will look professional, etc. I am, however worried about the quality of the voice acting and non-Valve made animations.

EDIT: Just played up to the beginning of We’ve got Hostiles and so far it has exceeded my expectations by miles! All of my concerns about voice acting and non-Valve made animations are now gone. My only complaint about the mod is a little picky - the video/gameplay option defaults are pretty bad. My game was set to easy by default, and my video quality had all of the textures/effects set to low/medium, even though my shitty macbook(I used bootcamp) can handle max settings on almost everything. Everything else, however, is on-par with Valve games, and is much better than any recent CoD game. Definitely worth the 7-year wait!

#2

My only concern is the voice acting, especially the voice of gman. I hope there will be a miracle and the real voice actor of Gman will hear about Black Mesa and volunteer for the gman part in Xen.

edit: After playing the mod: Fuck that, the voice acting is unimaginably good.

#3

I have no worries. Period.

#4

I could be completely wrong, but I believe they already tried to get Michael Shapiro, but he was busy or something. I could be wrong here… anyone?

#5

You are right

#6

I wonder how long until some COD fanboy asks where the “Nazi Zombies” mode is?

#7

I am assuming to play a very true-to-the-original playthrough of the original HL game, but with updated graphics, precision gun-play and ragdoll effects giving the gameplay more “depth” than the original. I however also assume there will be much innovation to the layout and length of some areas, judging from comments made by the developers to do with game length and such.

I expect Freeman’s Mind to make the next episode of his series using this game, as a one off tribute to honour the mod, much like the ‘talk like a pirate day’ episode.

----EDIT----
It seems I got what I assumed.

Your wishes of luck for me came through. Thanks bro.

#8

Will we even hear the Gman’s voice in this version of the mod? I don’t recall him speaking up until the finale of the original game, but it’s been about 4 or 5 years since I’ve played it and I’ve only played it once, so my memory may be off.

#9

With possible legal concerns, Hapiro’s… employers may have limited him to certain…restrictions.

#10

Good luck with that.

Nope.

There was a section in Anom. Mats. where he’s speaking to a scientist. If they kept that seqence then you’ll technically hear his voice if it’s not silent. If not, you’ll have to wait for Xen.

I’m hoping On a Rail will turn out great. The original was so bland and boring, so I’m hoping there’s either lots of eye candy or lots of action further than staring at the blank concrete walls.

I’m a teeny bit worried about the G-man’s voice. Not that I don’t trust the devs have a very good voice actor, but that the voice is so unique, it could feel wrong with the slightest thing off.

Post Play Edit: On a rail was redesigned very nicely. It made sense and wasn’t boring.

#11

I’m honestly expecting the whole to be a cohesive and well detailed gaming experience, and I am confident that it will deliver. The only thing I’m really curious about is how the new music fits in with the game’s atmosphere, and whether the AI will feel completely new and challenging like I want it to.

#12

the first moments of half life, for me, are the most memorable. the tram ride. I can’t wait to turn off all the lights, start up the game, and get into character. “sitting” in a chair or standing and riding to work.

It will be just as great.

#13

I’m curious how the puzzles are going to work/look in an updated form. I can imagine them being a bit more complicated. Also, how the gameplay mechanics will work in a much more detailed enviroments. Take the huge fan in Blast Pit for example - will it have a power button conviniently placed under it?..or rather in a more appropriate location.

#14

I am expecting this to be as good as the devs imagined. I will play nice and slow, taking in everything (Not tearing it apart like I know some people will just because they HAVE to brag about how they could have made it better in 2 days and then ignore all counter arguments). I can’t wait to hear the sweet music along with the game (Since I have just been listening to the music). I have recently played the classic Half-Life GOTY version, along with HL2, Ep1, and Ep2, so I will probably play this, and then not replay the others haha. Hopefully others will enjoy it as it was meant to be enjoyed and not complain about how the the GoldSrc engine wasn’t used.

I have high expectations for On A Rail, Residual Processing, and Xen(of course). However, I believe that this matters will be taken care of and I won’t worry a bit about it.

#15

I expect it to be just a really fun time. The Inbound tram ride will definitely be amazing and show a more realistic look of Black Mesa, as with every other part of the mod. I like the fact that they were willing to almost completely change the layout of some of the maps, just to give it a newer, more logical look, while still mostly maintaining the general feel of the original maps. The face creation system looks amazing and innovative. The music is great. There’s nothing about this mod that I don’t like as of right now…except for maybe the absence of balaclavas. Hah.

Cool thread, OP. I’m interested to see what changes once I play it.

#16

Maybe it’s possible that VALVe will like the mod so much that they’ll offer to hook the team up with the original voice actors.

#17

Maybe they’ll even pony up the original .rmf and .wads!

#18

Will the Headcrab zombies mode be added at launch or will it be added as DLC later?

#19

Yes. It is coming to Black Mesa as a paid DLC next Undecimber for about $7, along with the release of the BMDM and Xen DLCs, which are, by the way, delayed to 5th quarter 2017 because they will be migrating those releases to Source 2.

On-Topic: I think Black Mesa will just play well. It looks very professional and I’m looking forward to playing because of that. I’m especially excited for the HECU battles. Ultimate HECU fan right here! B)

When mod releases and I get past the WGH chapter, I’ll repost here with my thoughts on the new HECU. :slight_smile:

#20

Why is that even a thing?

Also, Killing Floor: Black Mesa Edition. New community project, get to work.

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.