so yeah, i think this mod is pretty amazing and it feels like a real AAA title, but do you think it reaches valve’s level of quality? i am talking about pacing,enemy placement,weapon progression and all those things that valve’s hl does brilliantly? (particularly in hl2 IMO).
shit, i tiped in valva quality…
It’s pretty close to it overall and surpasses it in certain areas like options menu, etc.
I’d really like a dev commentary mode, though.
I think that “Valve quality” varies quite a lot: HL1 was quite low quality in terms of what you mention sometimes, and there were many moments in HL2 in my opinion that aren’t that great either. Though both games are overall amazing, and so is Black Mesa, and I think that it has the same amount of attention given to it. I really don’t feel that Episode 2’s graphics and ideas are better than Black Mesa in any way.
Some things, like voice acting and final polishing (like precise music placement, weapon balancing, etc…) might not always be absolutely spot on in BM compared to most of Valve’s stuff, but these are quite minor and yet they require lots and lots of testing, which takes a long time. I’m sure that the BM devs could have gone through more playtesters and taken a few more years polishing the game, and they would have been able to easily make those things absolutely perfect, but it would simply not have been worth it.
If you think about it, things like balancing weapons were terrible in HL at some times: the useless Snarks, the sparse ammo for the Gluon gun, the extreme amounts of MP5 grenades you got, the similarity in strength of most weapons… were all quite badly done, and BM does this a lot better.
Well no, I wouldn’t say BM is quite what we would see if Valve released it. But Valve is a very large company with lots of resources. They would be able to locate bugs on a much larger scale. They would have more bodies dedicated to polish and finish. They would be able to hire enough voice actors so that no two key characters would have to share the same voice actor.
This really isn’t a fair comparison. Having access to a budget of millions has benefits. Nothing to do with dedication, ability or planning. It is just practical limitations that hold you back when that asset isn’t there.
That BM is so damned near that quality though…well…it’s downright astounding. I can’t think of an adequate superlative for how impressed I am.
Ironically enough, Barney and the G-Man are voiced by the same actor.
And wasn’t one of the characters modeled after a homeless guy?
The model of Eli was based off of some dude on the street or something.
The point is though, that it was a choice for Valve, not because of restrictions as it may be in the case of BM.
Do you think BM is Vulva quality?
I think BM is Volvo quality
It’s not Valve quality yet but it will be (or near). I think this as an open beta.
To me, it is of Valve level quality. No doubt about it. This isn’t a mod, it’s a god damn AAA title. I spent hours exploring every area in BM, looking at every photo, cup, soda brands, snack brands, textures and posters.
Then the effects, the knockback from the houndeyes, the radiation static, the ambiance like the Harriers flying by, then bombing a building, then dogfighting with Manta Rays… This is a level of detail that requires a company with Valve’s resources to deliver, yet these handful of people did it for free.
I waited a long time for this mod to come out, I even gave up hoping it would ever be released, but now, after playing it… it felt good man, it brought me back to when I played HL1.
I’d say Valve ain’t got shit on Black Mesa, no seriously.
Every room you enter in BM is like what valve would call a “vista”
Yes, the level of detail, the level design, are glorious…I’m still drooling.
But the gameplay is off. That is what is lacking yet. The jumping and the marines are just bad. They can improve a little yet.
I think BM is vulva quality.
Edit: Ah, damn, someone already made the pun.
But it is very much vulva quality.
lol… funny on a few levels… anyway I think this is as close to Valve quality you will get from a mod, and I think valve should of officially recognised Black Mesa more… maybe they will when its released on steam.
Gah, you beat me.
But I would put it at the “damn close” level.
I definitely haven’t seen environmental detail in Valve games that would match Black Mesa’s.
Plus the little things like Dynamic Film Gran effect for radioactive materials and pools of blood forming under dead bodies are extras that Valve has never thought of before.
I think it absolutely reaches Valve quality.
If Valve/AAA quality translates into a lot of bugs,glitches,crashes then yes
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in before people kill me :3
EDIT: did I mention unbalanced gameplay?
For telling the truth?
An amateur developer team with no budget cannot achieve “Valve Quality”. They could patch BM for the next 10 years. It’s impossible.
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.