Suggestions for the final Steam BM version

Black Mesa Archive The Cafeteria
#401

I would say it would depend on location, (if still talking about the idea) in the tower with the boss would stay hostile do to direct control but any where else turn docile do to nothing forcing them to do anything.

the only problem with this idea is how would the player know, which is the problem with any idea on xen, unless the player is told or given some good hints this would be more or less a hidden event.

EDIT: can’t stop thinking, so here are ideas to clue the player into the fact that the vorts are slaves.

first clue: the classic half life even(heavily modified) where the player runs into the vorts operating the thumper things, they are alone at the start and will not attack the player in fact they will run if shot at, after a bit 2 a grunts will enter the area and fire upon both the vorts and the player, once the a-grunts are dead a controller will enter and the vorts will turn hostile.

second clue: player runs into a lone vort that will say “Freeman wait” (or at least try to), if the player doesn’t kill the vort it will charge 30 armor.

third clue: player stumbles upon a group of dead vorts with an alien grunt in the area.

#402

I like the idea of a secluded Vort charging your HEV. It’s not too game-changing, and it gives a solid clue. More like the Vorts are supporting you in secret, like an underground railroad of sorts…

#403

that’s sort of the idea, something like the vorts being in slaved would need to be hinted at more then just shown with the devices clamped to them. that and it would allow the players to “discover” that the vorts can be allies on there own or in the absence of controllers. seeing as most players would just shoot it, it would be something of a enlightening find to thoughts that don’t.

#404

Well, I love the idea. Whether the devs do or not… We’ll have to wait until release.

#405

What I’d like to see most importantly is an improved AI for security guards. They don’t know what to do when they’ve a shotgun in their hands.

#406

I’m not sure that’s true. There might be exposition in the form of Nihilanth’s lines, but we’re not sure yet what it means. It’s possible that Ep3 or HL3 will finally tie up that loose end.

And the existence of dead survey team members in HEV suits show that the Black Mesa team has been to Xen before, which would mean that this all isn’t an accidental connection to the borderworld.

#407

The problem with Vorts becoming friendly after you kill a controller, is that there aren’t any controllers before you get to Xen, which means they don’t need one to remain enslaved.

About exposition and such, the point of Xen is, imo, about exploring a strange world with strange life. I hope that’s what they’ll expand most on, making the place feel alive and inviting for exploration.

#408

actually there is an explanation, earth is a hostile inviroment, the first in counter most vorts had with beings on earth is a bullet to the brain. example the first in counter with a vort is it spawning stuck in a room then blowing the door down, player reaction holly shit bang its dead. most vorts on earth in hostel Territory and have no choice but to fight, on xen they know the land so they can run. most of them in the begining are just defending them selves, then as things go by the alien grunts are keeping them rained in do to it being a hostile land, (who would run into a dessert with no way to survive).

progression an reasons for vort hostilities (in my view)

  1. self defense, the players first incounter is with one that was trapped in a room probibly thinking it was going to be killed so hostile.

  2. learned behavior, most vorts past this point have dead science team and gaurds aroudn them more then likely where attacked first and learned to be hostile to humans.

  3. cannon assault: now that the a-grunts are on earth, the vorts have no choice but to attack or be killed. (in canon at least a-grunts are from what I read hostile to vorts)

  4. mind control via collar: on xen there are controllers around which probably can’t survive earths atmosphere and are likely combine “tech”. on xen the controllers can control the vorts. the vorts on xen know the land do to having been there for a while, and are not threatened as much by freeman do to earlier experiences with recon teams which where dispatched.

as for reasons that the vorts would stop fighting freeman, keep in mind the can read minds, so it would be feasible that once on xen they have scanned is mind at points and learned of his mission which would result in there permanent freedom.

#409

Naw, I know the connection’s not accidental. I don’t even think the RC was an accident (BUT, let’s not get off-topic). When I say that it’s confusing from a story perspective, I mean that while you’re in Xen, (especially for the first time) you don’t know what’s going on! I mean, you know it’s another world, and that this is where the aliens are beaming in from, and you have an inkling (supported by the dead survey teams) that people have been here before you. HOWEVER, besides knowing that somewhere out there, there’s an alien that needs killin’, you don’t really know what you’re doing.

You just hit switches, jump into things that kinda look like portals, and hope you’re going the right way… Xen needs a story arc of some sort. In it’s HL state, it’s kind of a tour… You can derive clues from these places, but it’s not compelling, and the game looses it’s tension… Which is ironic, because you’d think jumping into an alien world is about as tense as a situation could get! I think that the Vorts uprising, turning them into sympathetic characters, is one heckuva plot twist (that is within Half-Life canon), and is very compelling!

If BM Xen has some sort of simple story arc, even if it’s not a Vort uprising, it would make Xen more engaging, and make it feel more like another world with it’s own issues, rather than some freaky obstacle course made out of floating islands and strange factories…

However, I have said my piece now, and I don’t want to turn this into a “Please make/don’t make a Vort uprising!” thread. :slight_smile:

#410

Yeah loss of tension… That is the main downfall… That is why I suggested what I did… I simply cannot think of anything else to make xen actually feel a bit scary… It’s more like you are teleported to super mario world…

Perhaps the floating xen islands need to go… to stop it feeling like mario land.

I don’t think xen needs a story… I think it needs to be all about things being strange and different… Different movement…Different gravity…Different game speed…different sounding…

It’s like a new game at the end… But it’s all the little things we see… that raise questions… That we do not have answers for and probably will never have answers for.

#411

This. So much. In fact, Xen needs story in general.

Of all the Xen chapters, only Interloper and Nihilanth had any real indication of a story to them (the docile Vorts in the former, the exposition of the boss from the latter).

The chapter Xen was just a short bit of platforming and Gonarch’s lair was nothing more than a boss battle. Granted, the latter revealed where headcrabs come from, but that’s it. Storywise these two chapters add very little.

And in short, it’s lacking in comparison to the rest of the game.

So that’s my hope for the Xen chapters is to see a bit of narrative.

#412

Well for a start falling into gonarchs lair would be better than teleporting in with her from the start…

Say if you saw the gonarch… And you thought you could make your way around and avoid it… But you fall in there by mistake…

Xen is strange and beautiful… But it needs to be cruel in nature and surprise the player… Things that may look beautiful suddenly attack the player when you approach them…

What possible story can you add to xen… You would probably have to have scientists that are alive… That makes xen seem less hostile and more the beutiful garden marioland again. The feeling of being alone is one of the only things it has going for it.

I want horror in a beutiful strange land… Thats what I want lol

Showing the crystals ready to go to earth and instrumentation of dead science crews for studying and monitoring life…

How to make it scary?

If controllers could do a psychic attack on the player… That could be quite scary…Similar to combine advisors although weaker

Antlions would be a good addition to xen also vortigaunts farm the lavae.

Something similar to the hydra that could grab the player and you have to hack it off with the crowbar… Unlike barnacles they come from the side of walls or the floor like a moray eel…

Finally there is no weapen progression on reaching xen so I suggest the displacer canon be added before interloper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWwSv69A6Yw

https://half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Displacer_Cannon

this would add some gameplay mechaics also with it’s alternate mode… Having to travel to places you cannot get backfrom unless you use the alternate fire mode.

There is a source version… Modified gravity gun model although the properties seem totally different.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=159271441

#413

I really like this idea of the vorts somehow rebelling, but like darkone said, it should be somehow a kind of hidden event, I could imagine this happening when getting close to the nihilanth. Before that, the vorts would normally remain calm when the player aproaches to them, maybe even greet them like in anomalous materials? And once freeman is close to the end, they actually fight against Agrunts, if there’s no controllers around, since it would seem that freeman would finally free them.

Also I have some ideas of some possible events:

  1. (To show the vorts are slaves) At some point you see some vorts walking fast to some sort of machinery being or just going somewere, escorted by an Agrunt, one of them walk slower than the others and the Agrunt punches him and he falls to the ground, the Agrunt shouts something as the vortigaunt stands up and then runs with the rest of vorts.

  2. (To imply the possible rebellion) Possibly around the factory, you reach a point where your way is being blocked by sth transparent, maybe a xen crystal, as you aproach it you see a vort from behind that trys to say “freeemaan” and blows the crystal, if you walk in its along 2 other vorts then you see all 3 heading towards 2 Agrunts surveilling some other vorts, and the 3 start engaging the Agrunts, if the player helps and some vorts survive, you see them start walking closer to you probably in content, but then you see them start behaving strangely as a controller enters the room, then the vorts become hostile.

  3. At some point you find a survey member dying that tells freeman that he must kill “him” (Nihilanth) and maybe gives a clue to where to proceed ,depending which chapter his in, before dying.

Also I feel like this thread is incling towards xen, should it be moved to the Xen thread? Moderators what do you think?

#414

sort of don’t agree with the event ideas, mostly because I think it should be a passive thing which players can miss if they are not paying attention.

#415

While I think that the majority of the most telling scenes should be subtle or hidden, I think 1 or 2 very obvious ones are in order.

#416

Well, actually n2 is very direct, true that, but for 1 if it was kept in a side areas it could be quite subtle.

#417

Well, n2 could actually be some sort of secret route…

n3 is a great idea also, because it keeps the objective fresh in the players mind. If they don’t want someone alive on Xen, though, he could have somehow written his message on a floor/wall…

We really are just speculating here, though… The Devs probably have their own plans that are well underway by this point.

#418

Please add Surface Tension Uncut and On a rail Uncut into the final steam version.

#419

A dev has already replied your question.

https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=555202&postcount=327

https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=555204&postcount=329

#420

isn’t the dev team going to uncut surface tension them selves? they sort of hacked to levels together as a quick fix in the game so I would think they would uncut it.

EDIT: some minor cosmectic ideas. more to explain things then any thing.

RADIOACTIVE WARNING
location: all around the facility
sign wording:WARNING, radioactive material marked with green luminescent dye, If you see green report and evacuate area.

QE lab signs (not likely but would be funny)
1.TESLA WARNING
location: next to a tesla fire button
sign wording: DO NOT activate tesla decontamination systems with out clearing the room of all large biological material, we do not want a repeat of the exploding chicken from last week.

2.HEAD CRAB warning
location: right out side of headcrab chamber
sign wording: DO NOT ENTER ENCLOSURE WITH OUT APPROVED KEVLAR HEAD GEAR.
note: this would require placing some security helmets next to the sign for full effect, sort of a nod to teh QE team knowing what the headcrabs can do.

  1. TRANQUILIZER BOW WARNING(managment warning)
    location: security offices in QE labs
    sign wordings: I don’t care how funny it is the tranquilizers are not toys.

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