agree in part.
My main gripe is the MP5, which not only feels weak to use (crappy sound, not much recoil, not much damage) but also has changed drastically from the original. I just wish they had kept it closer to the original design, especially since the original MP5 felt AMAZING to use.
The HECU combat also annoys the fuck out of me, but that is easily fixable with a few skill.cfg edits
Overall I can understand them wanting to make it a bit harder. I do think they went just a bit overboard with some of the reaction times and enemy projectile speeds.
The HECU were extremely accurate and the Vortigaunts fired too fast. The Bullsquids weren’t as fun to fight against because you basically couldn’t dodge to the left or right. You simply had to back way up which meant you couldn’t shoot them anymore so you end up sniping them instantly when taking a corner etc and not actually fighting them. Actually this goes for a lot of the enemies now. The controllers were a bit of the same. Their projectiles simply moved too fast and did a bit too much damage.
The MP5 seemed extremely useless against the HECU to me. I think I used explosives and the magnum and crossbow on them exclusively after seeing how ineffective it was. I cannot even express how awesome I thought the grenade launching aspect of it was though. They did an amazing job with that. It looked really good and functions perfectly.
It was a bit annoying how useless the crowbar felt against the barnacles as well. You are much better off using your pistol ammo on them in this mod.
I definitely second that , in the original and BS and OF the hound eyes were my worst enemy they scared the hell out of me ( i was like 8 when i started playing half life) especially in the freezer it would just come charging out of no where and ram you , in black mesa i dont think any of them charged me at all ! and yeah on the houndeye i think the improvements were definitely for the best if you get two or three (or more) you can get pretty overwhelmed because just like the vorts they have improved charge times
Didn’t bother to read the entire thread, but I would just like to point out that in the original Half-Life it takes 4 bullets from a pistol to kill the Barnacle. In Black Mesa the same, so you’re wrong when you say it’s harder to kill Barnacle’s… Same with headcrabs. 2 pistol shots in both games.
Not true. It takes the same six shots to kill a Barnacle as it does in Half-Life 2, at least on Normal. I’m currently replaying the original Half-Life (not even Source, the old original) and it takes four pistol shots to take out a Barnacle on Normal. Additionally, it takes three shots to the head for a Zombie to go down, which is considerably less than in either Half-Life 2 or Black Mesa.
Going back to Half-Life, though, reveals that the MP5K/M16 is just as shit for accuracy as the MP5 in Black Mesa. Even more so, in fact. But it has a considerably larger magazine size and seems to do considerably more damage, so it can take Marines down fairly easily, at least at close range. Hell, for as crap as it was, even the little machine pistol from Half-Life 2 was better at doing this than the MP5.
I get that the point was to make the game “harder,” even though I never saw the point of it, but the result isn’t so much a harder game a crap weapon. The Magnum is too powerful and has too much ammo and the SMG is too weak and has too little ammo.
Oh well I usually play on Normal because I’m more into the story than anything else, and it’s been taking only four shots to kill a Barnacle in Black Mesa Source. My point was that it’s not harder to kill a barnacle when the OP is saying it is.
I am ok with every thing so far. Zombies are easy to kill. Double tap them with the crowbar, then back up quickly so they don’t hit you, and then double tap again for the kill.
I love the houndeyes in BM btw. Great post processing and fun to play with [kill 
].
Bullsquids should keep the same health. They are the hardest enemies to deal with, mainly because you can’t get close to them and the spit damage is very, very high. Planning a way to dodge their shots while trying to kill them is already the main challenge. Their health isn’t as important.
I am annoyed by the marines though. There is one part where you come up behind two marines standing next to each other, both of which you can see through a sliver between the wall and some obstructions. The second you make a step to the left of the obstructions so that you have a clear view of their BACKS, both immediately turn around and literally immediately start shooting at you. While it may be possible in real life to see some one sneaking up based on changes in shadows/lighting in front of you, making the game that realistic makes it a bit not as fun, as we cannot use “tactics” with the marines. We simply have to act quickly, have good aim, and take cover as much as possible. I cannot remember if it was possible to sneak in HL1, but I am guessing by the way every one has responded that it was possible.
ON NORMAL it’s taking me six shots with the pistol to take out a Barnacle in Black Mesa.
Maybe you’re shooting too fast. I don’t know it’s taking me only four.
Nope playing on medium and 99% times they dont miss and it doesnt matter what i do running or covering .
Another thing is that rocket launcher is useless against helicopters 4 shots still nothing and its easier to take it down with Gauss Gun.
Black ops were joke on other side while in original they were real challenge here they are too easy to kill since they not using any tactic and only jumpng around like monkeys.
Same with vortiguans they are too weak .
I agree with Vorts, their AI is poor and they have too little HP and damage… the only thing making them a threat is too fast charging time, that’s in 80% of cases impossible to avoid
Zombies: As said, pace back and forwards, works perfectly for me
Barnacles: Watch where you’re going
Houndeye: Stay away and use bullets
If it wastes ammo, don’t use it. It’s obviously meant to be a first ranged weapon, and the developers probably wanted you to use the stronger guns unless it’s an emergency. The only thing I used pistols on in the end were barnacles.
I found it to work fine, I managed to kill two enemies, or kill one and hurt one, run around like an idiot and reload, shoot some more etc. It’s called a challenge.
As I and others said before, run back and forwards with the crowbar, otherwise, use guns.
Again, it’s called a challenge. And the houndeye having ranged attacks being deadly is a sign for you to get the hell out of their way and use actual guns. The shotgun is effective against every enemy, so use that. And considering they freeze to shake a bit before attacking, it’s difficult not to miss with for example a shotgun.
Then don’t use them, I thought the pistol kill was ok, since again, they’re the only thing I use the pistol for after getting new guns.
They’re based of the Half-Life 2 verision, with better graphics and improved colour. And harder to kill is good, it means there’s a challenge for you, which for me makes the game mor fun.
Maybe that’s why you have the sprint ability, shoot it, sprint to the side to avoid the spread (or most of it) and shoot it again.
Again, making the game more challenging is to the better. I don’t like when a game is too easy, that just gets boring in the end.
I avoid them in 75% percent of cases. Less though if there are more than just vorts attacking me. I agree the AI is poor though. In HL1 they attacked then ran from you, in Black Mesa they just keep attacking I think. I’m fine with their health and damage though. What’s suppose to make them challenging is that they never miss, so you need to either one-shot them with something or hide behind a wall. If you aren’t paying attention to them, they can nail you for quite a lot of health. That’s partly what made the final battle at the lambda core and the original running away AI more challenging (because you could lose track of them).
Also, I don’t get how anyone can complain about headcrabs. Zombies are completely possible to kill with the crowbar without being touched too. I’m glad they gave the bullsquid spread too, because that thing never hit me in HL1, nor did houndeyes.
I don’t particularly like the first houndeye fight though. I’m not sure, but it’s either impossible or extremely hard to kill it without taking damage with the crowbar. I suppose you could lure it to the barnacles behind you though.
EDIT: Nah, I killed it without getting touched (although it was pretty tough even on easy), but it doesn’t seem to get picked up by the barnacles.
Odd, because they’re suposaed to be programmed to run away after attacking. At least BM’s wiki says so.
I haven’t seen it much compared to HL1.
EDIT: Just checked, they attack, then chase after me, then attack.
Also, they don’t seem to have combat idle animations. They just stand there as if you aren’t there.
Huh… Maybe they’ll fix that in the Xen update.
Different people have different experiences. By contrast, my experiences;
I would like a better feeling of a good, hefty swing - right now the animation feels like you’re poking rather than swinging. Versus zombies, it’s fine. It caught me out to begin with, but their attacks are slow enough that you dart forward, hit and dart back, before they can strike you. I never take hits from zombies now, so long as I have a bit of room to back up.
I find it strange that a single-shot revolver is more effective than an mp5.
Yes. It’s different. Some like it, some not. I like it, but I find them a bit over-tough. A group of them badly handled will kill you - that seems unforgiving.
Bullsquid. I love the new bullsquid! an order of magnitude more interesting and fun than the original. The damage is just right and the spray on the spit is superb.
Same here.
I’m sure that’s hard to do with HL1’s lolsy crowbar attack speed.
That’s video games for ya (remember the Halo 1 pistol?). I found the revolver to be one of the best weapons in every Half Life game. Coincidentally I found the smg to be one of the worst.
Death is hardly unforgiving when you can quicksave. Half Life in general is a pretty forgiving series considering all the health kits and auto-saves strewn about. Also you shouldn’t be forgiven for handling a situation badly. 
I’ve found the lower smg ammo a tradeoff for higher power. In the original HL you had to pump a soldier full of bullets to get him to fall but in BM ive efound a carefully placed burst to the head drops them fairly easy. I see nothing wrong with the pistol model as it’s a much better represented Glock 17. Don’t fix what aint broke. Also I don’t see it being weaker. As for crowbar against zombies again I really see no change. As for crowbar against houndeye, I onnly had to use it on one or two because I got the pistol soon after they started showing up. I never got low on ammo all you have to do is not hamfist your way into every combat situation. The vorts def charge up way quicker but as mentioned earlier they don’t damage as much. Overall I don’t see any of those as a dealbreaker and perhaps you should look at this mod for what it is. Someones labor of love and their interpretation of it. Perhaps after playing original HL (still have it on my laptop) I was too blown away that I just paid NOTHING for a commercial grade mod to have time to nitpick.
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.