Game Differences

General Development Black Mesa
#1

What are the actual gameplay-based differences in this mod? I’m not talking about the layout of the maps or anything, but what exactly was changed?

I’m wondering because you can easily edit a lot of things through the scripts ad was thinking about maybe making a sort of mod that makes it somewhat more similar to the original Half Life. I’d like to say this is out of fun, in my opinion Black Mesa is better than Half Life.

So, these are what I know so far

Differences
Tentacle in the Mine Field in Surface Tension is missing
Reduced reserve Magnum ammo
-40% clip size MP5 (Includes Grenades)
Increased Marine Accuracy
Magnum in Office Complex, and not Blast Pit
Shotgun in We’ve Got Hostiles and not Office Complex
Chopper Destruction is mandatory
Tentacles are no longer idle
No Teleportation to Xen
Crowbar distributed later
Visible mines
Questionable Ethics Ambush
Vortigaunts & Houndeyes in the Lambda Core Portal Area
Garg is immune to everything except scripted events
HECU Medics
No Leeches

#2

In HL, you get the shotgun in Office Complex, when you save a hapless security guard from his zombified friend, and you get the Magnum in Blast Pit after you kill the tentacles.

On the other hand, in BM, you get the Magnum in OC, when you would have gotten the shotgun, and then get the shotgun later in We’ve Got Hostiles from the HECU.

#3
  • you can’t skip killing the chopper on the cliffside
  • tentacles are never idle: they always bang on floors
  • the Xen section with bullsquids near lake in AM is skipped
  • crowbar is received later
  • mines are visible
  • ambush at Q. Ethics lobby
  • vorts and houndeyes (+ 2 alien grunts when portal is ready) appear during portal opening sequence aside from controllers
  • you don’t have to return to track control room in Power Up to rotate the platform before leaving
  • garg is immune to explosives and energy ammo unlike in HL
  • HECU medics exist
  • activating coolant in Lambda Core involves much less alien grunts
  • instead of falling bullsquid, the houndeye destroys the bridge by detonating boxes nearby
  • no leeches
#4

same story different game :slight_smile:

#5

Weird, I was pretty confident in it being the same as it used to be in the original

#6

It was a houndeye reacting to a Bullsquid and setting off it’s atttack in BM which in turn destroys the bridge. So it’s mostly the same…I like it more actually.

#7

I think Black Mesa is Half-life’s DooM 3, Just a retelling of what happened

#8

General
-HECU Medics
-Female scientists
-custom sounds
-magnum’s reserve ammo is now 18 from 30
-mp5’s ammo is now 30 from 50
-mp5 grenade is 3 from 10
-tentacles cannot be idle anymore
-icky is weaker (or crossbow is stronger?)
-guard zombies
-guards can now have magnum and shotgun
-bullsquid’s eye position is different
-gargantua is immune to every weapon except scripted events
-alien grunt’s melee attack is now a tackle
-no leeches
-hecu’s improved accuracy
-flares
-no hazard course (thanks Dotard)

Black Mesa Inbound
-Barney’s appearance is linked with Blue Shift
-the scientist knocking on a door is now making tests

  • the first loader’s path
    -more open environment
    -the tram did not stop near gman’s appearance

Anomalous Materials
-more people
-gman’s apperance - if you observe too long, the scientist will close the curtains
-Eli and Kleiner’s canonization
-no bullsquids in the lake seen

Unforeseen Consequences
-guard not revived by CPR
-a scientist saying help before being killed by lightning beam
-the first headcrab’s appearance from HL is now a guard zombie
-crowbar is later given (your first weapon could be the crowbar or glock 17)
-pressing the elevator button is mandatory
-the scientist falling from a catwalk is now a guard
-no glock dropped by the guard reaching for a health charger but dies eventually
-a corridor from the airlock to a falling elevator is added
-first houndeye appearance is moved later
-barnacles introduced earlier
-freezer area added which leads to the first vort combat
-need to turn on a switch first before going down in a lift (which will be filled with headcrabs)
-houndeye blasting with explosives instead of falling bullsquid
-houndeyes added before reaching the elevator

Office Complex
-magnum appears earlier and shotgun appears later
-no fan in vents
-the puzzle to climb up a vent with boxes is removed
-a bullsquid in freezer room replaced with zombies
-sprint puzzles added

We’ve Got Hostiles
-less vents
-soldiers talking about killing scientists sucks is moved near the end of the chapter
-first shotgun appearance here instead of office complex

Blast Pit
-a vent leading to ladders is added and elevator is not the only exit anymore
-a guard attracting the tentacles’ attention is moved down
-satchels appear earlier
-a corridor (leading to Power) doesn’t have a wet floor anymore
-generator layout completely changed
-the scientist hiding spot is changed
-bullsquid moved from the bottom of the silo to one of the rooms
-turning fuel and oxy is not a switch anymore but valves

Power Up
-lift is malfunctioning first which will cause you to go to the broken stairway
-fans can’t lift you up
-a guard will change the rail pathing for you

On A Rail
-rails don’t electrify
-changing the rail pathing is removed (which made the chapter shorter)
-going to the base of the rocket moved later
-hecu dynamite scene removed
-you have to lift the rocket first before launching it
-no hecu snipers
-rocket launch is very visible unlike HL

Apprehension
-have to drain the waste to the sewers instead of whacking the exit with a crowbar

Residue Processing
-when conveyor belts end, it is now blades instead of liquids

Questionable Ethics
-first alien grunt is unarmored and can’t be battled
-bullsquid added in headcrab room (tesla)
-guard met in a room instead of a hallway
-experiments added
-gman’s new appearance
-it is now the removing the shield power instead of obstructing the shield
-ambush in the lobby added
-the exit is not a rotating door
Surface Tension
-more soldiers guarding the dam
-tentacle removed
-mines visible
-no apache in the minefield
-secret room in cliffside
-apache must be destroyed before crossing
-hivehand is on the lift rather than on the bottom
-tank added on the osprey scene
-a lot of areas like the garage is cut which leads to the garg chase scene
-gargantua shaking the tower

Forget About Freeman
-guard added at the start
-the door is opened instead of being destroyed by the tank
-xen sentry replaced by hecu sentries

Lambda Core
-less rooms
-coolant 01 and coolant 02 is longer
-the scientist shotgun scene (same in HL2 when alyx and gordon returned from a combine teleporter and kleiner does this) is removed but turrets are added to keep the xenians away
-more scientists in the lambda lab
-more aliens spawning in the portal room
-credits roll in this chapter (will be changed when xen is released)

#9

Nice overview.
EDIT: you forgot no Hazard Course :stuck_out_tongue:

#10

They moved the Barnacles in the fist of the game, I always used to time it just right so I could get a ride up to the bridge above skipping the marines lol.

#11

This is questionable, because if you noclip and see the guard banging the door, you’ll notice that he is just an ordinary guard and don’t have the Barney Calhoun’s face (different from Kleiner and Eli in AM). And after your arrival in the Anomalous Materials, the guard that opens the tram door says:“Barney is pretty scarce around these parts(…)”, reinforcing the Barney’s absence in the mod.

#12

Don’t know why, having Barney knocking on a door for 2 seconds wouldn’t have hurt the canon any more than cutting off Gordon’s ponytail :meh:

#13

https://wiki.blackmesasource.com/Barney_Calhoun

#14

It doesn’t make sense, from the dev’s perspective, to re-skin the model of a Half Life 2 character that is seen for about 2 seconds in Half Life and never seen again
besides, they clearly meant it to be Barney, he isn’t even wearing the body armor and helmet, the same way that he is seen in Blue Shift
also

#15

As said right there in the article, “his identity and location is not officially canonized at any point in the game, allowing his presence to be almost entirely up to the interpretation of the player”. So, his official presence in the mod is still questionable and open to debate, specially if you consider the AM’s guard quote that I pointed in my previous post. That wiki article could be improved in many ways after some thoughts… Anyway, I suggest to bring this discussion to the wiki’s talk page, as defining Barney’s appearance is not the point of this thread.

#16

Probably when the guard said that Barney is scarce around these parts, probably he meant only on Sector C. There are a lot of sectors in BMRF.

#17

But MANY more Alien Slaves.

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.