Black Mesa is great! But it could be perfect with some changes

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

Hi! Here are all the criticisms I’ve seen of Black Mesa after it’s release. Keep in mind, I’m not saying Black Mesa is bad - just that it has some issues that prevent it from being 100%.

  1. Lots of bugs
    Obviously, I’m sure the team is aware of this one.

  2. Soldiers are way too difficult
    While the team may think they’re alright, I have yet to meet someone who thinks they’re at the right level of balance. One issue is their reaction time is nearly instantaneous - one user reports that they start firing before they turn around! If nothing else, this and their accuracy need to changed.

  3. Crouch-jumping shouldn’t be required for EVERYTHING
    The team may want to keep crouch jumping in, but right now it is required for jumping over ANY surface. To new FPS players, crouch jumping is extremely difficult - so perhaps there should be an “auto crouch-jump” option in the menus?

  4. Ichysaurs are too easy
    They can be killed with two crossbow bolts, and I believe one clip from a pistol. They’re not nearly as scary as they were in Half Life.

  5. Tentacles seem weird
    It’s impossible to sneak past them, and grenades seem to distract them only momentarily.

Anyone got any others?

#2

There’s a bug reporting section if you didn’t notice…

#3

Well, these aren’t bugs. They’re just gameplay/balance issues.

#4

Still needs to be in bug fix section

#5

No. No it does not.

#6

I think the game just needs some playtesting by pro-player/HL veterans, and not family members :stuck_out_tongue:

#7

I can agree to some extent that the Soldiers are quite difficulty to fight. Their reaction times are just about instant; as soon as they see you they start shooting, and it’s very hard to sneak up on them. Though they can be killed without much hassle.

I don’t really have a problem with crouch jumping; it was quite common in HL, where you had to do it a lot, so it’s not strange that it’s required a lot in this game. I just crouch jump over everything so I don’t waste time.

I find the Ichysaurs very weak; I could kill them with 2 crossbow bolts. In HL, they could sponge at least two crossbow clips (10 bolts). I was surprised by how quickly and easily I disposed of them in BMS.

I didn’t have any problem with the Tentacles. I didn’t die once when I encountered them in Blast Pit because I crouch-walked around them, chucking the odd grenade to distract them if they were too close to me.

#8

I’ve had one crash and one glitch (wasn’t fatal).

Soldiers are challenging, but possible to overcome.

Crouch-jumping was fine, no problems there. It’s reasonable. Makes me feel like character is “climbing” on some objects, because it’s not possible for me in reality to jump on a crate or into the went without climbing on (in) it somehow :smiley:

What is Ichysaurs?..

Tentacles were easy enough - grenades worked fine in making a distraction for me.

#9

These.

#10
  1. not so lots, but yeah.
  2. they are fine. i beat the game on hard whit any much problems.
  3. i lvoe c-jumping.
  4. yes, dev in a live streams said that 2, probly will get hp buffed laster.
  5. yes it is posible i didint get hit.
#11

I also think that the water which contain them should be very murky, so you can only see 3/4 feet ahead of you, then I don’t mind how easy they die

#12

Oh. These things.
I don’t mind them dying fast, I was so scared of them that I’m actually glad of this factor…

#13

The problem with them dying so easily is that they suddenly don’t become so scary anymore.

In Half-Life, they were scary as HELL. You jump in, and if you need to turn a crank underwater or something you’re sitting there staring at the stupid wheel as it turns slowly, and you can do nothing but imagine that the Icky is coming up behind you… :fffuuu:

Plus it was much harder to kill. Several Crossbow shots.

#14

My question is about our beloved Shotgun. I hope you plan to do a little balance on it, because

    • It takes too long to fire and alternate fire while reloading. And to be honest, this is the best weapon against marines who are right infront of us. That worked better in Half-Life 1 and 2.
    • On the other hand I think the shotgun is a little too accurate while shooting to mid distance, though not sure about this.

I also hope you plan to improve the grenade of the Mp5, and… OK! I know you’ll do your best to make the game as balanced as possible, but this was on my mind.

Also, right after playing Black Mesa, I just checked Half-Life 2, to test it’s shotgun (for the reasons above)… when I noticed the sad thing: You guys, with Black Mesa, made even HL2 look outdated.

#15

I think one of the deciding factors about grunts is that you don’t know where they are or what to expect on your first playthrough, so you just keep getting ambushed and lose 80 armor points each time.

I played normal again and felt it was much less difficult than the first time.

#16

Residue Processing reminded me of how hard it was to figure stuff out in HL1. Even with some level changes, most of the puzzels and mazes remain. It is a good thing, as new players should have to “suffer” like we all did! It also feels really good to figure out what to do once it hits you.

I think the soldiers are fine. I remember them being hard in HL1 as well. Getting past the giant monster in Blast Pit was possible. All you had to do was throw a grenade on another level, and then book it to a door (and quickly break down the wood that is blocking the doors). The under water creatures still scare the hell out of me, as they do a TON of damage. Like I said about the spitters, it doesn’t matter how hard it is to kill them, it matters that they are a huge threat and are hard to deal with.

#17

I don’t mind the sea monsters being made much easier. They were scary for me the first time, maybe the second, but after that they simply became a pain. Your weapons don’t work underwater except the crossbow, and that’s inaccurate at a distance. The pistol works, but it’s not very powerful. Plus, you’re fighting underwater, which means limited mobility and a limited air supply.

I’d rather those bastards died easier. Saves me a huge hassle. I’ve always hated water fights in any game they show up in. In Half-Life, a sea monster takes four Crossbow bolts. I tested this a couple of days ago. In Black Mesa, it takes two. I’ll take Black Mesa. Because unless bolts are made instant-hit like in Half-Life multiplayer, then those fights will always be a pain in the ass. Making them easy, thus “skippable,” is an improvement in my eyes.

I get that these things are no longer scary now that you can defeat them more easily, but I just don’t like scares born from taking away your abilities by making your weapons not function as they should.

#18

Hey guys - I tried crouching past the tentacles, and it never worked. They would always instantly know where I was.

EDIT: It seems it works for some people, and not for others. A bug perhaps?

#19

For the OP

1 Bugs- Yes I’ve crashed a lot and seen strange things. But none of the bugs are game breaking IMO.

2-Soldiers- They’re not impossible, just really challenging. My experience at the dam was quite memorable. And perhaps this insta-fire thing is a bug? I’m certainly not getting it, half the time I get first shot at them. Using cover and guerilla tactics seems to work the best. The poster above me said it well mentioning being ambushed.

3 C-jump- Cmon how hard is an extra key press? FFS this isnt a kindergarten game, if new players can’t deal with that then they are not worthy. This is exactly the attitude that has been strangling advanced movement in multiplayer and forcing talented players to play down to dumb levels. BTW devs I really hope there will be a server cvar to enable some type of bhop in the deathmatch release. If not I’m out.

4 Fish- yes no challemge there. In fact the first one in Apprehension I avoided by simply jumping from the top of the shark-gun cage to the exit deck. Didn’t get the gun, but havent needed it. The next one at the dam I just sat there and used the dead soldier’s ammo in my pistol from the edge of the walkway. Both times no contact at all.

5 Tentacles- they are difficult to distract but that seems to work in your favour, as they seem slower to find you. I just ran right through the thing and made it to the button with a couple points to spare.

#20

There doesn’t seem to be any “sneaking” in Black Mesa like there wasn’t in Half-Life 2. “Sound” simply doesn’t matter, so crouching makes no difference. At least that’s the impression I get.

I crashed a lot. Every time I’d quick-load, I ran about a 1/5 chance of crashing to desktop seemingly independent of anything I did.

You mean like the argument that On a Rail was too hard because it was long and complicated so it’s OK that it was cut down?

I’ve heard tell you can just sprint past them. You couldn’t in Half-Life, since they’d actually lead target and bang the ground ahead of you, both causing damage and blocking your path. I didn’t think to try it on my playthrough - the guard told me to be quiet because those things hear me, so I followed his advise.

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.