Both of those are very minor points, but I want to bring them up anyway:
The Crowbar: The weapon model itself is gorgeous. It looks exactly like what a crowbar should. It’s just that its swing animation is weird. Maybe I’m just too used to Gordon attacking with wide, diagonal swings, but the “pecking” motion of the crowbar just doesn’t do it for me. Especially since you don’t see the arm. It’s actually the same problem I had with the crowbar in L4D2 - the survivors use it weird.
The Magnum: The weapon itself is awesome and I love how it feels, but why are the holes on the drum painted-on? This is a close-up asset, it’s in our faces, so that kind of shortcut becomes very obvious, very fast. All of the other weapons are exquisitely detailed, but this one just seems out of place. I’d honestly like to see the drum remade to have actual 3D mesh holes in it for the rounds to go in. It would improve the weapon tremendously, in my opinion.
the biggest problem isn’t the fact that the holes are painted on, it’s the fact that the holes can be covered up with blood, so the drum looks like it is solid
Yeah, magnum looked fine until I got splattered in yellow blood, it became various obvious that the holes were just a texture. Also the texture resolution on the ironsights seems a bit low; since you are putting it right in the player’s face in order to aim, the texture becomes a bit blurry.
I found a second Crowbar on a workbench in one of the darker areas… I was like “OOOH! Replacement!” (First Easter Egg? O.o)
Never noticed the Magnum’s looks myself until now. And the crowbar animation for me was just something to get used to, I’m fine with it now
short version: when using iron sights, the cylinder revolves after you pull the trigger, not before. That’s wrong, revolvers don’t work like that.
long version: the anaconda is a conventional single/double action revolver. Cocking the hammer, as in all revolvers, is what turns the cylinder. You can do that with your thumb (single action, i.e. the trigger performs one action only, releasing the hammer), or you can use the double action (i.e. the trigger performs two actions, cocking and releasing the hammer) trigger to cock the hammer and fire in the same movement. When you do it by cocking the hammer with your thumb, it turns as fast as you pull the hammer back - but you need to see the hammer move, and the animation shows it stationary, plus Gordon’s thumb isn’t touching the hammer. In double action firing, the rotation is very fast, usually a bit too fast to follow, but it happens just before the shot is fired, not after.
The way you’ve described it sounds like it’s wielded in the same manner as a fencing sabre. Look at the way the crowbar is made and it makes sense, you can bludgeon but the pull back can slash an opponent if it snags. Example
my favourite melee weapon in the HL series was the wrench from Opposing Force. It just felt right. Really weighty, and it had a useful secondary attack.
I hadn’t noticed this at the time of posting the thread, but I did since notice that, and it’s very obvious and quite distracting. I wasn’t aware that the magnum is on loan from Half-Life 2, but even if it were, I still feel it would look considerably better with actual 3D holes in the drum. Black Mesa looks gorgeous, and it does this by creating custom and very detailed props unique to itself. The Lambda Reactor Complex is just breath-taking and the final reactor is inspired. All of the “Barneys” are custom and brand new, as well.
I’d like to see the Magnum be made custom like those. Sure, it’s not a big thing, but it’s really the only weapon I can look to and say “Here, this is where they cut a corner.” I’m sure this is the case with other weapons, as well, but I really can’t see it in any of the others. Hell, the Gluon Gun even has an alt-fire mode that does nothing more than have Gordon play with the lever on top.
That I hadn’t noticed, but I do agree with you. If it worked wrong in Half-Life 2, then it worked wrong in Half-Life 2 - it’s still wrong. It’d be like firing the 9mm pistol and not having the slide animate… And I’m pretty sure it does.
Agreed. The wrench was also the most entertaining to use, and the only melee weapon in the original series that had an alt fire. We obviously can’t have in Black Mesa since it was never in Half-Life, but I like it nonetheless. A lot more so than the knive, lemme’ tell ya. That had an uninsipring animation.
I agree the way the crowbar is swung is just not right and I do hope it’s fixed eventually. It’s one of the main staples of the series and any half-life fan notices it the second they pick it up and swing it. Something that in your face should simply be fixed to reflect the original better.
What really bothers me about the magnum is that it’s so much better than a full automatic weapon. I find myself only using the magnum on soldiers when playing on hard because it’s insanely overpowered when compared to the MP5. I feel like the MP5 could use a bit of a buff so you aren’t spraying entire clips into one guy.
I also noticed the crowbar’s odd animation, but what I found particularly irritating was the weapon switch animations. In Half-Life 2, Gordon realistically raises the weapon and readies it. In Black Mesa, the weapon just quickley raises straight up into the air.
This is true to a point. The model mesh is the HL2 one, I think, but the skin is new, or at least seems so. In a way I miss the shiny chrome, but this satin finish is lovely too.
HL2 didn’t have the iron sight mode on its Magnum. That’s a new animation presumably made specifically for Black Mesa. Non-iron sight, it’s fine and works properly. It’s just the new animation that’s wrong. It’s such a shame, as the meaty impression of recoil in the animation is absolutely perfect.
One new thing I’ve noticed, though: the magnum drops shell casings when you reload (which is really nice - love that tinkle!) but the Glock and MP5 don’t drop empty magazines. So really, that’s a nit-pick with those.
Actually I found something weird about the way Gordon just drops all the loaded ammo everywhere, even if half of them hadn’t been fired yet. Then goes and puts the new ones in. Maybe I missed the anim and he only ejects a specific number, but it looks like he drops all 6.
I agree with pretty much all of the comments regarding the magnum. I think the model is fundamentally fine, but it needs significant refinement. The holes should be 3D, and the entire gun, iron sites included, would benefit from a higher resolution texture. Also, I feel like it should be shiny. It’s not shiny. It was shiny as fuck in HL1, and shiny as fuck in HL2. It should be shiny in BMS. Shit, the oil barrels are shiny in BMS, so should the magnum.
He does. This is how video games work. Did you forget that when he reloads the mp5 or any other weapon with an only partially empty clip, he does not stop to fill the magazine with ammunition (e.g. bullets), but simply discards it and loads a new one, magically retaining the rounds that should have been lost?
This is how video games work. They do not follow real world rules.
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.
