General Xen Chit-Chat Thread

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#1

UPDATE 06/21/2018: We just got a crapton of new screenshots and Xen news to celebrate the Steam Summer Sale! Check out the Steam Community announcement here! I’ve also put all of the screenshots in the media spoiler.

UPDATE 06/16/2018: Listen to this man. He means what he says. This thread was always meant for constructive conversation. Throwing vitriol at people who disagree with you, troll or not, makes you just as bad as them.

Welcome to the Unofficial Xen Thread! Feel free to discuss any theories, ideas, or general excitement here. Please be polite and respectful of other people’s opinions. And just ignore trolls, don’t bring yourself down to their level.
Have fun! And don’t be afraid to quote me if there’s a new piece of media I can add to the front page here.

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The following spoiler contains only official teaser images of Xen from Black Mesa’s developers obtained from multiple sources, I.E. Instagram, Twitter, BMS Forums, etc. including development images, full screenshots, and concept art.
Not included are community-sourced Hammer/HLMV screenshots or other such leaks that the developers may not have intended to release. Lookin’ at you, freaky-ass Nihilanth model!

[Potential chapter background for Xen]
youtube.com/watch?v=YktnjkGP_Ao



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(The above two images are concept art.)

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Instagram Source.

#2

Xen Multiplayer maps… And I’m also very interested in flying platforms, xen longjumping, alien factories and technology, health pools, ‘weather’ and atmospheric sound effects, xen glowflies, xen flora, organic mapping and skybox landscapes. Will be interesting to meet Big Momma and Nihilant aswell… And scientists.

#3

Kind of redundant to make a new thread but such is life.

I for one hope that xen will include all kinds of camels not just aquatic ones. That way Gordon can make a smelling action with his nostril attachment, bending the pink hair while tasting the bread crumbs.

#4

No doubt the same amount of energy and creativity will be put in the Xen level and audio design, can’t wait for that. I’m hoping it’s somewhat trippy.
I’m hoping for some cool monologues by the scientists on Xen and Earth as well. Do we know if the voice actors have been recorded yet?

#5

In addition to what has already been mentioned i am also looking forward to see what maps or map packs people will be putting out on the workshop as i have been playing a lot of those in recent months or so.

#6

When Xen comes out, I wish to see more creatures that are not ported to the Earth.

I also hope someone can add the removed NPCs that from the original HL to the workshop.

I’m excited for those creatures that rebuild in a new type in source engine.

#7

The easiest method of doing that would be to port the npcs from Half Life: Source.

#8

I’m wondering what sort of engine improvements we’ll see- I’m in particular looking at different ways to simulate colored accent lighting without actually illuminating things, but I’m hoping there’s also further expansion of the entdata capacity and other map limitations.

#9

I thought General Xen was Superman’s nemesis.
Oh wait, nevermind that was General Zod…

#10

Zod is the Nihilanth confirmed.

#11

What if Nihilanth teleports Gordon to the timeline of Samurai Jack? Gotta get back, back to the Xen, Samurai Freeman. But plot twist Gordon finds a portal and it sends him to the Half Life 2 beta storyline and the consul is played by Louis de Funes. I’m so confused.

#12

No, silly, Lord Zod was the villain from ‘Power Rangers’.

#13

Didn’t we have a “big damn Xen thread” a while back? I can’t seem to find it now…

#14

I seem to remember something like that too. In any case, it doesn’t look like it’s around anymore, so hopefully this thread can act as a replacement.

#15

Since this is a Xen thread, it will become an arguement soon enough, and it will be either closed or moved to the Raminator’s laides club.

Oh well.

Might as well enjoy the ride.

#16

I can only hope not, I suppose. It’s not like things used to be when we had absolutely no mention or media of Xen from the devs, and it was 100% up to speculation.
With the media and the potential release timeframe, we have enough to go off of for civil conversation.

#17

I FOUND MY THREAD!

Behold.

I’m just gonna say I’m proud of myself for calling some of the artistic choices in that recently released screen, with more human-constructed elements being blended with Xen’s maps.

#18

The steam Summer Sale is coming soon, I remember that one of the devs has mentioned in the steam forum that they will show us something new during the Summer Sale time.

The last Halloween update also came in the Halloween Sale, so we may get a news in the Summer Sale. It is the most appropriate time that the devs always say, I suppose.

So just wait, and stop complain. It’s no use to argue about it here, they should know about this.

#19

I’m interested about Xen’s flora & fauna, weather, and this kind of stuff.

Also about whether we’ll see some official Xen multiplayer maps once it’s out, and what those “huge amount of large engine improvements” mean more exactly. I’m hoping primarily for performance improvements, this was always the weak point of the game for me.

#20

Xen Will be like the surface tension uncut levels where the framerate will be more surreal than the environments.

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.