Black Mesa: Impatient

General Development Source 1
#1

The only reason why I named it impatient is because that’s really the whole background of this project. What I’m really working on is recreating all of the Half-Life multiplayer maps how I think they should be. I personally enjoyed Black Mesa Source but didn’t like the theme they’ve created along side the game. I miss the Half-Life feel; to me it feels like they destroyed it a bit.

I’ve worked on five different multiplayer maps so far (7/15/14 - date, due for change): crossfire, lambda_bunker, gasworks, rapidcore, office (PS2’s dm_office).

All of these maps have been created with my own knowledge of the Half-Life universe, architectural influence, and screenshots from the Black Mesa Wiki. This project is suppose to be a quick and fast (hence how I finished 2 maps in the same week). Other maps take longer; such as ‘crossfire’ due to only having one picture for reference and a few friend’s blind insights.

I can list three maps that are 100% (maybe 99.99%) finished. These are gasworks, lambda_bunker, and office. Crossfire can use a lot of optimization and a few more tweaks in gameplay.

I take it some of you are interested in actually seeing the content; if so, I’ll link to each of the threads I posted in the ‘Show Off’ section.

[align=center][COLOR=‘Red’]!Contains Spoilers!
!Warning some of these maps are closely related to in-game maps, use caution when viewing![/SIZE]
[COLOR=‘Blue’]EDIT: Each of the threads have the videos of the map.

Black Mesa: Crossfire[/SIZE]

Black Mesa: Office[/SIZE]



Black Mesa: Rapidcore[/SIZE]



Black Mesa: Gasworks/Lambda_bunker[/SIZE]





[/align]
Anyhow, I will keep updating this until I can create a full compilation of all the maps. I’m almost 100% positive (maybe not… hehe) that these will be finished before the Black Mesa 2nd installment comes. I lied. This project might be pointless, but I’m doing this to keep the community ‘exited?’ I guess I can say.

I’m still deciphering if I should put these all into a big WinRAR/7Zip Archive and upload it for people to play.

Thanks & have fun.

#2

It’ll certainly be interesting to compare and contrast yours with the official maps.

#3

I recommend using Crafty BSPviewer or Object Viewer for examining the maps. It’s what I’m using to try and mess around with rebuilding Datacore… If I’m not too lazy.

#4

He needs to be part of the dev team, making maps at this speed is a God’s gift for the dev team!!! :smiley:

#5

I’ve actually used both programs and I really enjoy them, I never actually thought to do it side by side though.

I would imagine that I’d be helpful in a way; but then again they might be finished with all of the maps by now.

I’ll probably kick all the other development teams in the shorts (Operation Black Mesa, Guard Duty,and Black Mesa: Hazard Course). I was going to start working on the freaking hazard course, but I felt so bad because I was sure I would have it done before the actual mod so I gave them a bone and waited a bit longer.

Personally I don’t see what takes these DEV teams so long. Maybe it’s the Colaboration/Cooperation parts. Maybe they are afraid it wont look good to the public so they keep on revising their work. I’m not sure where the ‘problem’ is, but one thing I know for sure is that you need to have fun with it. I can be completely wrong. I have so much fun recreating my favorite game to the Source Engine. I was lucky enough to have the BMS Dev team allow us to use their models/textures.

Sorry about the rant. Really nice seeing people encourage me. Make sure to do a tad bit of constructive criticism.

Thanks & have fun!

#6

Consider my jimmies ever so slightly rustled. Y’all need to tone down your superiority a little :stuck_out_tongue:

Eh, I’m afraid the reason it takes us ‘so long’ is the fact that us developers do have lives to live, and as such have obligations that come way before any mod creation can. No matter how many fans ask us why we take so long, the answer is the same. It simply takes time creating content.

It’s not a matter of the work for Operation Black Mesa and Guard Duty not being good enough to show the public, it’s a matter of having enough team members to collaborate with as well to create the content we need for a public release of media and such.

Oh, and also nice to see I have some competition with Gasworks, it’s the map I’m currently working on myself actually! It shall be interesting to see how your final iteration plays in the flesh!

#7

Hey, there’s a lot of working in making something like the Hazard Course.
Especially when you remake maps you’ve already done from scratch to build them to a higher build quality. Mostly during the school year. That said, thanks for not stealing our thunder or anything. :stuck_out_tongue:

As for criticism, your brushwork looks great, but I’m seeing a lot of large faces that look bland - put in some details to break up those massive walls! Stuff like vent covers, or bulletin boards in the labs, and large stencil signs on the buildings in gasworks would work nicely.

#8

I totally agree with you, I was being really arrogant, for jokes sake. Content takes time I just was being over exaggerate about them taking so long. Gasworks is a pain because I need to work with detail in the long corridors and fix some slight lighting issues in the ‘main underground chamber’.

Yeah, it’s all yours I was mostly kidding about doing those because I know people spend a lot of time perfecting their own projects. And yes, most of these aren’t complete and I was even going to finish them up by tonight (adding details in bland areas).

As a finale thought: some maps maybe due for larger changes. Maybe even a total revamp. I say this because certain maps have a weird unstable structure and really mess with me – for optimization sake.

Thanks again for the input. I’ve already started undertow, so now if I poop out on ideas for rapidcore or stalkyard I can work on it.

#9

Bloody hell I agree with that, it is an awkward shape is the map, and in the outdoor area optimization is a real challenge!

#10

Aah, that explains why you commented on our profile telling us that we’re taking forever and won’t live up to expectations. :retard:
I went ahead and explained to you why (not everyone’s a kid with 24 hours free to work), but it seems you didn’t read it. Nevertheless, I actually welcome you to create your own Hazard Course. :slight_smile:

Aaanyway, like Jif said, the basic structure and brushwork of your maps look quite nice, but the grander detailing and lighting is pretty bland. While definitely up to spec with something like CS, these don’t hold much of a candle to the rest of BM (except in the ways that were mimicked from actual BM, of course).

#11

Well, I mean… It’s not like we’re transforming this:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14565853/Pictures/HC/t0a0a0000.png

Into this:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14565853/Pictures/HC/mainthall.png

… or anything… nope. Clearly the inspiration for how to spruce up dumb and boring areas is easy to come by in the blink of an eye, and clearly we can throw things together, iterate, experiment, tweak, rethink, and redesign everything, in like 10 minutes flat for each and every single goddamn room in the Hazard Course.

Nope. No effort at all. Really quick. We’re just lazy asses. That’s why we’re taking so long.

…

:stuck_out_tongue:

…

Anyway, sorry to hijack. I just had to make a bit of a point there. More on topic, your work (especially how you do your geometry) isn’t bad at all! But like JeffMOD and the others mentioned, perhaps you could fill your rooms with more “stuff” to break the emptiness. Decals are your friend! Don’t underestimate the lowly decal/overlay. :wink:

#12

I know what you mean, hence how some of the levels are still in the works I took both comments into consideration. Gasworks: I plan on adding additional ledges to create a more… I don’t know, just to make the room make a little more sense, because the theme of the level actually changes throughout each room.

The main issues that’s stopping me from heavy details is the fact that you shouldn’t really shit on a wall, if you know what I mean. Sometimes a big silo wall is bland and doesn’t need anything to it. I understand that in some areas, but in my case you can leave most of these walls blank.

Thanks for the support and criticism. :smiley:

#13

I thought the main issue stopping you from heavily detailing this 99.99% complete shot was not having an image from Black Mesa to copy, but it seems that was just a bad guess.

Thing is, in none of these shots is there a wall that’s best left bland. Atop that, there are some areas that are very clear candidates for addition detailing.

Here’s some friendly suggestions:

This screenshot is more or less pulled directly from BM, so you would think it’s fine, but then you go and put a hole into the wall. Okay, but how did the hole get there? Where are the plaster debris and glass shards? Tiles from the ceiling?

I’m won’t say anything about this shot or this shotbecause they’re also just literally taken from BM with some tiny modifications. Congrats on the speed. Actually, that first shot could do with some debris from the fallen tile.

This shot is also just copied from BM media, but you could stand to make the lighting a bit more interesting and less perfectly consistent. Your reference image had some more saturated color (Black mesa is a colorful game!) and a hint of brightness variation, meanwhile yours is a mostly flat greyish-yellow. Details aren’t all just decals and beams!

I understand you didn’t have any material to copy, but these two images are just bland and empty and boring. There’s lots you could do to make these nicer to look at, especially the upper area. There’s no texture variation. :frowning:
I’d say wait for BMDM to come out so you can look at the maps and design the rest, but that might go against the “Impatient” thing.

Gasworks: As much as I don’t want to be a total dick, these look like the textures were chosen at random, and once again the lighting is dull and colorless. I’d recommend going back to making the outdoor area nighttime like the original, that way you can look at OaR to get some lighting ideas.
The big underground area is empty. Look at the old media of it, since that’s what you’re apparently going off of. Notice the beams, and ducts, and pipes, and actual model rails, and fans, and rounded edges, and just a bunch going on that makes the area feel like it serves a purpose. Sure, some walls are just big and bland, but in this maps there’s no reason for them to be. This is a huge area and the amount of things you could do to decorate it is endless. I’ll give you this though, I wasn’t expecting you to have so much of your own creative input in these screenshots, so kudos!
Note: The old BM shots were also not so great, honestly, but since that’s what you’re using, I’d look at them for inspiration.

Lambda Bunker: I’m not convinced you didn’t just decompile FAF, make barely noticeable changes and screenshot them, so no words on these.

There’s really a whole bunch you could do to improve the detail on these maps, my personal opinion is that none of them are worth being big bland silo walls. That’s just a cop-out, IMO. Even a section of Blast Pit - which was literally just a gigantic silo - had beams, gorgeous lighting, inaccessible paths and decals among other things to make it pretty and not boring.

#14

It takes them so long because of a simple reason you don’t seem to be able to grasp: doing something =/= doing it well.

I’m not going to be as passive-aggressive as some other people on this thread: these maps are bland, boring, sub-par.

What the guys on the HC remake have done is far more deserving of praise – as an outsider to the project I find it funny that with this map pack as your resumé you have the gall to suggest that you’ll ‘probably kick all the other development teams in the shorts’, however cheeky that remark may be.

#15

Thanks for the input Crypt, since I’m a nice guy, I’ll put all these ideas into consideration. Even though I did say…

and

Yes, all of what you said is completely accurate I might of portrayed myself wrong. I didn’t mean to be rude.

I could explain every single thing you pointed out, but that would be a little over edge right? I just don’t see 100% of the purpose of pointing out blatantly obvious things that I stated I’m aware of. Like I said I will work on those things you stated.

Hmm. I’m kinda of displeased why so many people like to abuse the constructive criticisms, almost not even constructive.

Anyway, I’d still like to see a big difference in what your ‘standard quality’ level and my work. I understand I opened this for constructive criticism, but from these kinda of statements “…these maps are bland, boring, sub-par.” don’t really help me much do they?

As an open statement: What HUGE difference are there from my levels and actual BMS levels. I only ask because I can open up any map from any developer and point out flaws. That would be completely idiotic, right? That’s what seems to be portrayed right now.

EDIT: Rapidcore is only composed of separate maps right now, the images and video given are from one of the rooms created. The room itself isn’t even finished. hence the blank wall opposite of the first door.

#16

I just gave you my CC and you wrote it off as “it’s not done yet!”

You were told the maps lack detail by various users, I even went so far as to point out specifics.

You responded with:

Which no one here seems to agree with.

Now you’re on this “it’s not done” schtick to write away any feedback. :expressionless:

I assume you’re talking about the small speckles of your actual work, and not the parts blatantly taken/copied from BM, right? If not, I can see how you’re having difficulty seeing the difference.

Regardless, I already told you the huge difference. Your detailing is very lacking, your lighting is dull and bland, and in gasworks which is surprisingly largely your own work, the textures don’t flow very well and aren’t used in a way that’s visually appealing.

#17

I don’t want to argue, but you weren’t very specific enough, you didn’t point out certain parts of the map you just said in general which makes no sense.

It’s always been ‘not finished’ I said it several times. To me it seems that you aren’t reading in depth.

I said this because not every single fucking wall needs to have a crack/door/stain/bird shit/pipe/vent/etc. Have you ever been to a real building before? Any for that matter? You still need to understand it’s an MP map you aren’t suppose to fill it to the fucking brim with details it just blocks the player and makes gameplay less fluent.

Okay, thanks. I’ll try to add these details. but I did make all these maps. I used in-game view for reference. I played the chapter, took screenshots, recreated the screenshots, done. If I were to actually decompile the map, that’s really kicking the developer in the balls.

“…Your detailing is very lacking, your lighting is dull and bland…” Where in each map specifically?

“…the textures don’t flow very well and aren’t used in a way that’s visually appealing.”
This one I don’t understand, unless we are seeing different pictures/videos I’m pretty sure it’s an industrial work site. I still want to know which textures specifically. It can’t be every single one right?

What kinda of map can you show me that has ‘good’ detailing, that I can see 100% of. Because I want to see what you are trying to sell me here.

#18

You would think so, right? I used to think that too. But to be honest, that’s actually not true at all! You’d be surprised how much just a few tiny cracks in a wall, or a few smudges here and there are enough to tip the balance and fool your brain into believing that a scene is more photorealistic than it should be. Try it… just a couple of faint decals here and there. It will go miles toward making your walls look much more interesting, even if they’re otherwise “blank”. :wink:

#19

I see what you mean, for some reason when I started doing Black Mesa themed I dumbed down on detail like that. I guess I’ll just analyze the map properly and add what’s required. This is what I needed for sure. Thanks for the advice.

After working on maps for a long time you can forget the things you first knew. 1998… Half-Life 1 mapping was freakin’ fun; I only made maps for the story. Hehe it’s hard to get use to these high poly aspects. I can use models!

#20

Hmm, you’re right, he did.

I’m becoming less and less sure that it is a joke, and more inclined to think the fellow is serious in his comments about speed of development…

Ay’ deary me…

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.