Few suggestions for developers

Black Mesa Archive In-game Issues (Mod)
#1

Hi there. First of all thanks for this awesome remake. It was worth the wait and I’m really impressed with what you did with level design, voice acting, soundtrack, etc… But the thing is, there are few parts of the game that (in my opinion) were not done good enough. Description of this part of the forum sais “let us know what we can fix to make Black Mesa better!”, so why not give it a try? :slight_smile: Here are the “few” things that I would like to see fixed in the future patch:

  1. At the Blast Pit mission, where you need to repair the generator, there is a part where you call elevator to take you into a lower levels and while waiting for it, three Houndeyes will spawn there at the same time. How about changing it so they spawn one at a time? There isn’t exactly a lot of room to maneuver against three of them at the same time, not to mention that there is a LOT of Barnacles waiting to grab you if you make wrong step. It is pretty unfair part for players that don’t know what will happen while waiting for that elevator. It was almost instant quick load situation for me to the last save spot. Yes, it was easy when I knew that it will happen, but the point is, that it must be well balanced even for players that don’t know that it will happen.

  2. At the end of Questionable Ethics, reduce the ammount of soldiers coming at you. The key factor here is to make this combat fair! Fighting against two soldiers at the same time is hard enought as it is. So it would be a lot better if there was only two soldiers (on different places) grappling down from the roof instead of three at the same time. Fighting only two soldiers (one with mp5, other with shotgun) would make it a lot better. The same goes with soldiers that will come from behind the blast doors at the end. Two soldiers instead of four (plus one grapling down from the roof to make it a little more challenging) would definitely make ending much less frustrating. For soldiers on the roof: One at a time! Make it one soldier for first half of the fight and one for the second half. Also, after the fight, there should be a healing station in the room right before you get outside. Fighting those three soldiers outside with only 30 hp is not fair at all :slight_smile:

  3. Place at leseat 10 crossbow ammo here. It is a perfect spot for some fun sniping action. At first playthrough I was really frustrated at this part because I had no ammo for my crossbow and was forced to shoot my way through, and well, lets say that 1 player vs 10 soldiers at the same time wasn’t a fun experience.

  4. For the chopper boss fight - Make that cover a bit wider. It is too thin and player is still exposed a lot more than he should be. Also, the ammo crate with rockets is too far from cover, which makes it almost impossible to take those rockets without being hit by chopper. Yes, I know that chopper has reload time for weapons, but it’s simply too fast to manage it without taking a lot of damage.
    So - wider cover + crate closer to it, OR reduce chopper health so we can kill it with those 5 rockets even on hard difficulty, which would also make that boss fight a lot less “arcadey”.

For enemies and weapons balancing.

Enemies:

  1. Give Vortigaunts (Human slaves) and Houndeye a bit longer charge time before they use their special abilities. The main thing here is that player should have enough time to take cover / run away before Vortigaunt charges his electric attack / Houndeye charges his scream attack. Don’t make them as slow as they were in original HL! It’s actually better that they are faster, but they are a bit too fast now. Make it something in between BM and HL. Also as a result increase damage they do if they actually hit you.

  2. Increase health of Headcrabs. One hit kill with crowbar is OK, but they should take a bit more damage from 9mm weapons.

  3. Reduce the width of Bullsquids attack, but increase their damage. It’s really frustrating when you have to fight them in small rooms where you can’t even evade that attack. Damage is simply too low. Make it twice bigger or something like that.

  4. Make Ichthyosaur a bit faster and give him at least 3x more health. Only two shots from crossbow and only one mag from glock to take him down is a bad joke.

  5. Increase crowbar damage on Barnacles. Player should kill it before it bites him. It is like that in every Half Life game. Here it needs too much hits from crowbar and it always bites me if it is pulling me. Weapons damage is OK.

  6. Hassassins - make them more like in original HL = shoot only when standing still. Their AI is incredibly well done, but it’s really frustrating when they are running extremely fast and jumping around while still hitting me with every shot. I don’t want you to make them a static easy shot enemies. Just make them stop for half a second while they shoot me few times and start moving and jumping all around me again. That would make them a lot more enjoyable enemies imho.

  7. Marines - the worst balanced enemy in the game. They really need to have a LOT worse aim. Making them 30-50% less accurate should do the trick. Fighting them is simply NOT fun with such a good aim even at longer distances. That weapon damage combined with camera shaking all the time is incredibly frustrating and it really destroys all the fun. Instead give them a bit (and really just a BIT) bigger weapon damage.

Weapons:

  1. Mp5 is too weak compared to original HL where it had 50 ammo mag and 225 ammo in “backpack”. Fighting more than one enemy at the same time makes it almost a useless weapon. It’s really not fun when you have to pump 2/3 of the mag into one soldier and always need to reload if I want to kill second one, which leaves me with a lot of unnecessary damage taken while reloading. It should really be able to kill at least two soldiers with one mag, so either return 50 ammo mags (and +/- 225 backpack ammo) or make it more powerful.

  2. Grenade launcher on MP5 - make it fly a bit slower and change flight trajectory into more Half-Lifeish style.

  3. Frag granade - I know you don’t want to simply copy things from HL1/2, but really, grenade flight trajectory (and system of aiming) in HL2 is just too perfect to not use it :slight_smile: Secondary attack throw is perfect, but primary si just bad in smaller areas.

  4. TAU - too OP. Onle two-three shots to kill a soldier is waaay too easy with that rate of fire. So reduce the damage to 50% or make it fire slower.

  5. I don’t know what’s the weapons name (last weapon you can get. It uses same ammo as TAU), but it’s also too OP. It definitely must be nerfed. Almost entire final mission I wasn’t using anything else because this weapon was insta kill on everything (was playing on hard difficulty).

  6. Mines on the minefield - only 25 damage? These should almost insta kill you! :smiley: Definitely make them at least 3x more powerfu
    l. It’s really not hard to make it through that mine field, so players should be punished a lot more if they step on them.

Bugs:

  1. The drunken camera effect (don’t know the name. Last one on the bottom to the left) and aim assist in the “Black Mesa” optins menu will always return to default after restarting the game.

  2. When activating flashlight in canyon fight (place with jets flying/bombarding and with chopper boss battle) it will change color scheme of the scenery a bit.

Aaaaaand… that’s about it :slight_smile: I really hope that you will fix/balance most of these things to make Black Mesa a much more enjoyable game.

Fot other users: What do you think? Some opinions and other good ideas would be nice.

#2

I personally feel that assassins in BM is easier in HL1 on Normal difficulty.
In BM, assassins seem only shoot you in mid-close range then run away. Before they could approach me close enough, I always end up killing them with crossbow or even spraying with MP5 works.
In HL1, assassins will also shoot you at long range, making them even more annoying as it’s harder to locate their location.

The houndeye in BM is better than in HL1 as they can actually land their attack now while back in HL1, I could beat them up with crowbar since they will stop their attack and jump back as soon as they get hit.

#3

Yeah, that part about Assassins range is maybe true. I don’t remember it that well, but I remember that killing them was way easier than in Black Mesa

Yes, houndeyes are a lot better than in original HL, but sometimes there is too much of them so they will hit you no matter how hard you try. That’s the only reason why I think they should charge a bit longer (not HL1 long) to make fights with them more fair. Giving them higher damage instead is a good trade-off I think.

btw, added two new weapons into first post (TAU and mines).

#4

agreed about the mines. Even without grenades I can just use glock to manually destroy them all. Maybe increase damage to 50-70 works.

Haven’t used Tau and Gluon much aside from chasing off the apache in surface tension so I can’t give any comment on that.

Ichthyosaur health is quite ridiculous, I agree there. When I jumped into the water in Surface Tension to avoid the apache, I saw that shark there and frantically shoot it with the glock, and quite surprised that it was dead after I emptied just one magazine of glock. I thought that maybe the apache shot it before but after experimenting a bit, it seems that it was not the case.

The chopper fight was quite easy for me. The first time I encountered it in Surface Tension, 2 charged shot of Tau Cannon was enough to chase it away. In the 2nd encounter I pretty much able to destroy it without too much trouble (maybe I was lucky enough).

The battle in the end of Questionable Ethics was hard, I barely made it through while having 1hp in several instances. Partly because I didn’t use the Tau Cannon much.

#5

This is a dumb idea. Plenty of enemies spawn all at once. Hoards of enemies in the last few levels spawn at once. You want the devs to change all that? What a waste of energy typing you just lost.

So your complaints are basically “Boohoo the game is too hard, lets reduce everything”. Personally even on hard mode I find that the game lacks firefights. I want MORE fights and MORE people to kill. Not less. I don’t support this at all. Just because you suck and are slow in the head doesn’t mean they should change anything.

You really are just stupid I guess. This game is not so you can be a camper and snipe some people. Save your ammo and then use it for that area. Stop being stupid and expect the game to cater to your retarded playstyle. That’s what your thread is starting to look like.

So you want to make it even easier to kill that chopper? You’re going to get shot at a few times. Shake it off, or learn how to sprint and not get hit. That scene was easy, even on hard. I’m starting to really think that you just suck at FPS games, and instead put your energy into writing up stupid threads like this. I doubt you even tried on hard difficulty.

Vortigaunts already have a huge charge time, it’s right after their first attack. They can attack quickly for their first attack and their subsequent attacks are slower. Also, they are completely armorless and die in less than ½ a second if you shoot them with any weapon. A useless suggestion. You want to make them slower and more useless when its already easy as hell even on Hard, to gun down 10 of them in a matter of 2 seconds. By instead increasing the amount of damage they do? Is that your answer to everything. To supplement the fact that if you just sprint around you can dodge everything and never get hit, but if you don’t sprint around, you’ll get smashed by every attack? I’ll say it again, stop asking the devs to support your stupid playstyle. I also forgot to mention that they’re pretty shit scared of Gordon and don’t normally chase after him when they aren’t in a pack. If you single them out and kill off their friends, they usually hide.

2 shots is enough to kill a headcrab. It’s the same on all HL games. In levels with tons of them on harder difficulties, and I mean like 15-20 in a room. They would massacre you. Go play something else, you’re pissing me off.

Oh another, nerf, but strengthen idea! You’re so good at those!! The bullsquid attack width is already tiny and is easily dodgeable by pressing SHIFT and then sprinting to the side out of the way. Not only that but they already do tons of damage and burn through your suits power. Just shut up already.

Faster? Are you serious… in pools where there are 2 or 3 of them, they massacre you. Are you playing a different game or something? Reloading that annoying crossbow takes forever and is more than enough of a balance for you to get your ass kicked whilst they come after you. Seriously are you really serious? You’d be the worst game developer ever. 2 Crossbow bolts is enough, its already annoying trying to aim with it whilst in the water. Normally you can’t even see the Ichthyosaur if you are out of the water due to the reflection. Which makes it hard as hell to find it and shoot it. Use your darn brain.

Oh right, of course the player should be able to KILL EVERYTHING BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO KILL HIM!!! Because of course! realistically a barnacle would seriously die from just 1 swipe with the crowbar! It would be totally fun to make everyone just quick swap to a crowbar the moment they get stuck, knowing that if they mash the button, the barnacle will die in 1 hit. That way they can save ammo. You really are so stupid. This is really one of the dumbest threads I’ve read. Also, its not like that in every HL game dumbass.

Another thing that you suck at, and thus want nerfed. Do I really need to state why this is a bad idea again? People who suck at games like you stick to playing the game on easy. That is why there is an ‘easy’ difficulty. Stopping for half a second is enough for you to put 8-10 bullets in them or fire off 4 shells from your shotgun, killing them. Stupid, stupid, stupid.[/SIZE]

Right because specially trained Marines would have shitty aim of course. Like every other game like COD or whatever else. Of course you make the people who have trained their adult lives, year after year, night after night. You make their aim totally crap so you can easily avoid all of their attacks. It’s realistic. You get seen, you get shot at. Some bullets miss, and lots hit you. I suppose it would be a better idea to replace these guys with PONIES AND [COLOR=‘Magenta’]PINK FUCKING BUNNY RABBITS!!

Weapons:

The MP5 in HL2 sucks. The one in BMS kicks ass. Nothing is wrong with it at all. It takes out any enemy in 1-2 sprays. You call that weak? You really are an idiot. I’m actually starting to enjoy how much of an idiot you are. Also, a REAL MP5 only holds 30 shots… It’s not an UZI, it’s an MP5… if you knew anything about guns, it’s not a heavy rifle like an M4… There are extended magazines available for the MP5 in the real world, but the gun is supposed to be a lightweight, easily mobile weapon for quick response missions.

Mp5 bullet:
M4 bullet:

Which do you think creates a bigger hole? The MP5 is a lightweight fast firing and silencer capable machine gun. It’s not meant to be really capable of ripping limbs off and blowing fist sized holes in people. Stay in school kid.

Oh right, so grenades that are ‘launched’ should fly through the air slowly like gigantic bricks. Hahahaahaha!!

That is why there is 2 you fucking idiot![/SIZE]

There is fuck all TAU ammo around… and you can’t whore that weapon for long. It’s nice to have an OP weapon in any game. All games have one. Red Faction had the Gauss Rifle etc. Counterstrike has the AWP. etc.

I doubt that you were playing it on hard. I think you mean the ‘Gluon Gun’. Here is an excerpt from the Black Mesa Source wiki:

[COLOR=‘SeaGreen’]The Gluon Gun fulfills the role of a superweapon, disintegrating targeted matter at a sub-atomic level and indiscriminately vaporizing any life form in a matter of moments with excellent accuracy. Firepower must be used sparingly as each passing second depletes the weapon’s reserves relatively quickly, and its ammunition is very rare.

Understand now? Make sense? Yes? Good!

I really hoped I could find something to agree with you on, but sadly I can’t. The mines are fine. Games that kill you for simple mistakes are boring. Many of us have made threads about that already, that there are too many things in the game that kill you instantly.

Your ideas and suggestions are horrible. I sincerely hope that you are not looking for a job in any part of the gaming industry. In point, the game is not meant to be something that just ‘you’ enjoy. I think you failed to grasp anything from the original HL1 game. It sounds like you didn’t play it at all, and not only that but it seems that you failed to just grasp everything from the HL genré. The series has a very specific playstyle and you want to ruin that completely by throwing in what seems like a bunch of failure-styled features that other games have. Completely stupid, and I hope you keep your mouth shut in the future.

You got mine. Stay in school, fix that terrible spelling of yours and don’t you dare think about a career in the gaming industry.

In short, your idea to just ‘lower something’ and then ‘raise something else’ is just absolutely effing retarded. It’s like a placebo affect. It does nothing at all except change a few things in the game. You can still die if you get hit etc.

I have nothing else more to add to what I have already said. Excuse my rudeness but you’re acting like a complete moron.

#6

I love you too :wink: You could simply type that you don’t agree with me instead of insulting me all the time.

btw: I’ve played all HL games (my favorite game series) on hard difficulty. I’m playing majority of games on hardest possible difficulty in fact. Hell, even Dragon Age Origins was hell of a lot fun on nightmare :slight_smile: So no, I don’t think I’m lame or something.

But thanks for respond. Appreciated.

#7

At least you can take a bit of criticism. I’m very impressed by that, even if I think your suggestions are absolutely terrible.

I’ll drink to that!

#8

Thanks :smiley:

Btw, do you know something about this comment from “Really bad balancing” topic? 11th page.

“Damn spoilers. I haven’t reached those guys yet but I have found the game quite a lot harder than HL2 even on easy difficulty.”

Now I’m a bit confused why you insulted me that much for wanting Black Mesa to be as difficult as previous HL games, when you clearly agree that it’s a little bit too hard even compared to HL2. If you played Black Mesa on easy, try those three sequences on Hard difficulty and you will see why I want those changes.

#9

i didnt agree with alot of your comments, but i do think the mines should be increased. and the marines reactions should be a little more delayed, as when i was revealing myself from cover it felt like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzjgBAaWZw

also Leijonasisu, you put alot of effort into having ago at this guy, but honestly you sound very hypercritical. in one breath your saying hard mode is easy and all his comments are to nerf the game, then you say Ichthyosaur is hard enough… do you just have it against this guy… a lovers tiff maybe?

#10

You posted this in another thread. What changes did you make and could you share them? A simply copy&paste job would suffice. i’m playing through on hard mode with no shortage of frustrating quickloads. if you’ve found a decent balance to even the playing field, i’d love to give it a try.

-Kawai Tei-

#11

go to skill.cfg in cfg folder and change these lines.

bms_normal_jump_vertical_speed “200”
bms_normal_jump_crouch_vertical_speed “200”
(this will make jumping more like in original HL/HLS)
sk_plr_dmg_9mm “7”
sk_plr_dmg_energy “10”
sk_npc_dmg_9mm “3” (but in those really hard encounters such as the end of Questionable Ethics or Osprey drop off sequence you even need to go down to “2”)
sk_npc_dmg_buckshot “2”
sk_max_9mm “225”
sk_max_357 “32”
sk_max_buckshot “112”
sk_max_grenade_mp5 “5”
sk_headcrab_health “15”
sk_bullsquid_spit_amount “1”
sk_bullsquid_spit_dmg “20”
sk_ichthyosaur_health “300”
sk_human_assassin_health “40”
sk_barnacle_blunt_dmg_scale “2”
sk_mine_damage “50”

These are all of my changes that I’ve done to make the game a little better balanced for me. But I couldn’t fix that chopper boss battle on hard difficulty. By the way, few of those tweaks will make game a bit more challenging in places that were too easy (3x more health for Ichthyosaur, less damage for your energy weapons, more damage for bullsquids and more damage for land mines on mine fields)

And be aware that sk_npc_dmg_9mm will also drastically decrease effectiveness of security guard companions, so change that line ONLY after the soldiers arrive.

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.