Hello,
I just recently played BMS and loved it ofc blah blah blah. I’ll cut to the chase, the game was incredibly near-perfect imo. Instead of throwing big ideas at you (the developers) and overloading you with unnecessary changes, since with Xen and Deathmatch, your probably already heavily burdened, here are some very simple and easy to fix ideas that could make the game just ever so better for the final release on steam. As a developer of a lot of source custom content (I’ve done it all, mapping, modeling, sound editing, texture design, ect), i understand it’s annoying when people load you up with dozens of ideas, which they don’t realize can take ages to change.
Visuals
-Make the vortigaunt resemble more the alien slave from HL1. The episode 2 vort appearance just doesn’t fit in BMS. The rest of the Xen creatures are spot on and the vort should be as equally menacing. You should implement this amazing skin for it, which looks identical to the HL1 vort. https://blackmesa.gamebanana.com/skins/126897
-Still regarding the vortigaunt, user Pettifog pointed out that the vorts use a relaxed posture animation instead of the more predatory posture that is also used in half life 2. Switching to the second posture would help make the vorts feel more threatening. I’m going to repost it here:
-A minor but interesting thing i noticed is the vista desert skybox has sort of reddish tint to it. If it were more brown, it would blend better with the actually map geometry, plus probably look a little more realistic. Someone already made the correction: https://blackmesa.gamebanana.com/textures/3754
-Use this headcrab skin. https://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1221980&p=40162317&viewfull=1#post40162317
Gameplay
-I know many people have comments on gameplay balance, but the only thing i can really say is make the marine grunts have less accuracy. They seem too accurate. In larger levels like Surface Tension, i could be a hundred yards away and an HECU grunt can hit me with 9 out of the 10 bullets he fired. There should be more spread in their bullet trajectory, thus making it so when far away they only hit you about 50% of the time or less.
Audio
-Make the vortigaunt sounds more alien-like. Similar to how i commented on the skin of the vortigaunt, make their sounds creepier like in HL1. The EP2 noises just aren’t threatening. User xalenar, i feel, did a great job making the vort noises more alien and scary. His other creature sounds like houndeye and zombie are also great and resemble HL1 while also being new and fresh. His post: https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showthread.php?t=16380
-Zombie noises sound too much like the normal zombie and should have more alien effects in them. The thread i linked directly above has good zombie noises as well.
-Make the HECU grunts voice lower. As a quick experiment, I took some of the grunt radio sounds and lowered their pitch in audacity. They sound a lot better and more menacing with a lower pitch. Don’t believe me? Try it out.
Misc
-This idea isn’t very necessary but by the time Black Mesa is finished and released on steam, the Hazard course mod (which uses tons of content from Black Mesa) will probably be done. You guys should consider seeing if they would let you implement it as a part of the full game. Just like the original HL1. Link for anyone interested: https://www.moddb.com/mods/black-mesa-hazard-course