There were at least 2 or 3 elevators that literally brought you back to the beginning of the room for no reason.
Like seriously, were those things even necessary? :meh:
The extra elevator can be useful for navegation if you know what are you doing…that is hard if you are not familiar with games with heavy backtracking…
No, the problem is that the elevators only become useful on your second or third playthrough when you actually already know the solution. The first time through, when you decide to take the elevator to explore, only to be sent back to the beginning, you really begin to hate it. Especially since EVERY elevator does that. And then you attempt to figure out why certain doors are locked, only to flip a switch that seemed to have zero relevance to the solution which magically unlocks the doors. And then you go through those doors only to find that you basically backtracked again.
In a backtracking game like Half-Life, if you’re going to backtrack, you should either make the backtracking route ONLY available once you’ve finished your task (eg, We’ve Got Hostiles), OR, make the backtracking route the exact same as the original route you took (eg, Blast Pit).
Based on that, the only useful and non-annoying elevators were the ones in the coolant pool, because they start off at the endpoint so you don’t ever think to explore using it.
I loved the Lambda Core chapter. Yeah, I got lost in it, but I loved it. It brought me back to when I used to wander around for hours in HL 1. And the portals… I explored every entrance from portal 01 to 09, just because of how awesome they looked.
The only two chapters that dissapointed me were On a Rail and Surface Tension, simply because a lot of portions from them were cut and I was expecting to relive a lot of the stuff that I did in HL1, but they were just… gone.
I sincerely hope that when Xen comes out, the developers would also finish the missing portions from On a Rail and Surface Tension.
In any case, the game was fantastic. Would play again. Can’t wait for Deathmatch. I used to play a lot of HL 1 DM back in the day.
Yeah the portals in Lambda Core were really well done. That was the good section of that chapter. 
Surface Tension for obvious reasons. Many things were cut.
What’s there is great, except for the helicopter battle. It took me some time to figure out that there is a box with infinite rockets. I think it’s the only ammo box in the entire game. To introduce such a mechanic during a tough bossfight is not a good idea. Plus there is no room to maneuver. The heli kills almost instantly and I don’t like the attack pattern. The battle felt a bit dull, almost like work. Wait 10 seconds, peak around corner, shoot, take cover. Repeat 10 times (on Hard). Sounds like a modern fps. 
The tank battles are much better.
Residue Processing by far.
Surface Tension, just cause I hated it in Half life, liked it more in Black Mesa but still kinda was meh about it. I just like being inside Black Mesa rather than outside it. (Really liked the jets and stuff in the background though)
I agree it should be better implemented, but if you take your time to observe you can actually use the elevator to your favor on the first walkthrough. I used them to have advantage in the battles against the vortigaunts. I wish they were more evident, though…
I’d like to compliment whoever it is that made Residue Processing. I think pretty much everyone will agree that it was the weakest chapter in Half-Life, but the Black Mesa version was far less irritating. Sure, it’s a change of pace compared to rest of the game, but it’s now some reasonable puzzle gameplay rather than something you just want to noclip through.
I had no trouble with the Lambda Core coolant sections. Thought they looked fantastic and I enjoyed exploring and figuring out where to go. Going the “wrong” way would tend to lead to ammo or health or suit energy or something so no complaints there. Though I think it would have been good if there was more indication that activating the pumps unlocks an Auxillary Tank room; I stumbled upon it by accident and I can imagine other people instead thinking they need to jump into the coolant in the first area. (The pool of coolant in the first area serves no purpose, it has ladders to get out if you fall in but there’s nothing to find down there.)
For me its not that the screen itself was flickering, rather the targeting cursor that would flicker, a rapid flicker where it is invisible for longer than it is visible. I found that I had to furiously go CLICKCLICKCLICKCLICKCLICK where I wanted it to bomb for it actually register my click.
I actually loved residue processing. I like dangerous environmental hazards and traps.
No least loved chapters for me. Love Black Mesa, and I love Half-Life.
I don’t see why people hate residue Processing that much. sure there’s not many enemies to kill there, but it’s supposed to weaken you at that point in the game, you go from being a scientist with weapons to a scientist in a suit. You’ve been caught, your weapons are gone, you need to figure out a way back up to the surface, to find yourself some weapons and get to the lamda complex. You’re supposed to feel weak, lost, and alone. Thats the point of it. The pacing is so slow for that chapter because you’re lost, much like in OAR where you’re supposed to be lost.
Thats my two cents anyways. I don’t really have a least favorite chapter myself. OAR could have been longer really, I wanted to feel lost like in a maze. would have put more validity to the security guard’s comment “When you find the rocket…IF you find the rocket, you need to get up to the control room and launch it yourself.” Meaning that there was a maze between you and the rocket.
Apprehension for me. It is the same torture as the HL1 version, if not more, thanks to the fact I can’t see squat underwater where you fight the fishes or in the freezer (I have bad eyesight). I might update this later since I just started Residue Processing.
Residue processing requires more subtle clues about how to navigate it and to reinforce the feeling of loneliness that you should have exploring it. I remember that after chamber 19 in Portal you have levels with similar ambience. It would be cool if the devs used that knowledge to improve the level.
I have no least favourite chapters, they’re all good.
I actually didn’t find Residue Processing to be all that horrible. I actually like Black Mesa’s version more than the Half-Life version, even if they are both quite similar in many aspects.
Here. The aiming reticle constantly jumping around, bit of input lag when you actually click to aim it and the actual cross-hair flickering almost constantly. I mean, I didn’t have any real problems using it other than mis-clicking a few times because of the input lag, but still.
Note: that’s not my video and the bloke in it didn’t have any serious problems using it either, but the screen itself looks very buggy for many people.
I didn’t think lambda core was that confusing… Took me maybe an extra 30 minutes to figure out where to go in some places but you guys act like its pumpkin head 2.
Really it wasn’t that bad and it kind of felt rewarding to figure it out with little to no help.
That being said my least favorite chapter is still lambda core cus i felt the action kind of hit a screeching halt. There was maybe one room in the whole lab that made me actually have to try. The guy that says “its a zoo in there” before you get in made me think there would be a lot of Xen monsters but there really wasn’t.
Maybe its just me idk
Definitely Lambda Core.