Vortigaunts need more muscles. (This is not a joke)
https://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=543929&postcount=112
I wouldn’t call them more muscular per se but they were definitely alot rougher looking and looked like slaves.
That’s probably the worst part of Black Mesa for me.
Also, restore the tow missiles to the LAV like Half-Life to make it more challenging.
And allow grunts to reload even when crouched. I noticed that they have to stand just to reload.
I agree the LAV was to easy to destroy and dodge. And the suggestion you made about allowing the grunts to crouch and reload should be added as well since they do this in Half-Life
Let the player ambush the HECU and not the other way. Why? Because it’s funnier to ambush, also because Gordon is just a normal man, he can’t survive all those ambushes, the only way he could defeat those highly trained soldiers is by using his head and not his strength. I think you should make them difficult to fight directly, but easy to ambush, as in the original game. It’s about who shoots first, not who aims better(obviously in this case the HECU will aim better)
Also you could make barnacles eat zombies. That would be funny.
That’s a great idea I like the thought of being able to easily ambush the HECU again. Only one problem with your suggestion barnacles don’t eat the zombies in Half-Life 2. The only part of the zombie they do eat is the head crab.
Another request, make the bullsquid blink even for a second. I think the reason it doesn’t blink is it blinks when it’s eye position is at the sides. Now the eye position got changed so it looks like it chews something all the time.
Change the Hgrunt animations from SMG to AR2 maybe? It looks like it might fit better that way. Also consider doing that with the Shotgunners too so they look more professional.
Maybe for balance, make the SMG grunts stand still to fight, but allow the Shotgun grunts to fire on the move. You could also try using different AI behaviors for different fight outcomes. See Text’s usage of Defensive Behavior during his B1 Ambush.
Definitely make Soldiers use Grenades more, a lot more. Combine Soldiers used Grenades once or twice a battle, BM’s Soldiers might use Grenades like once or twice during an entire play-through. Compared to HL’s HECU, which used Grenades even more than Combine Soldiers, it’s seriously underwhelming. It also makes them look dumb, because their prefered method of getting you out of cover isn’t to flush you out with Grenades, it’s to charge right into your face (only Shotgunners should be doing this).
I couldn’t agree more with everything you just said, especially about grenades. HECU grenade use was a massive part of combat with them in Half-Life 1. I’m not expecting them to do the cool HL1 thing where they drop a live grenade and run when you’re too close to them, but they could at least throw a grenade or two in every battle. Black Mesa even lets you pick up their grenades and throw them back, which would be really useful if they threw more than like two grenades throughout the entire game. 
They should also fight more defensively, I think. Shotgunners running at the player is one thing, but it seems like even the MP5 guys do that a whole lot in Black Mesa. They seem a lot more tactical and less suicidal somehow in HL1. Or maybe it just feels that way because of how they use their grenades… Probably a little of both.
I thought they’re stupid in throwing grenades in HL1. They just drop it below them then crouch over it then boom. Ultimate suicide. This is better with Source engine. I just hope the devs also increase the rate of them throwing grenades.
Not counting MP5 grenades, they had two ways of using grenades in HL1: The standard throw, and the close range dropping thing. I just played through HL1 on Hard from start to finish over the past week, and I never saw one fail to run away after dropping a live grenade. The idea is that they can get away fast enough, but you’ll either follow them and blow up or be unable to leave the area and blow up. I thought it was rather clever.
But I have a feeling it couldn’t be executed as well in Source, especially since the player can pick up enemy grenades. Then it really would be suicidal of them, like handing you a free precooked grenade to use against them.
But I think we can all agree, they should throw grenades a lot more often in Black Mesa.
That was an ai bug iirc. They were programmed to place a grenade at their feet and run away, but taking damage ‘reset’ their AI. So when they placed the grenade and then got shot, they would ‘forget’ about the grenade and do their normal routine instead of running away from it.
Anyway, what I loved about old HECU and Combine AI was there were moments when I could hide behind a wall and wait for them, but instead a grenade would land beside me and I’d have to move. HL was more extreme with this, I remember at least one instance where I hid behind a box, looked up, and saw 4 grenades flying to me. Old HECU were frag crazy, and I loved it.
Maybe more sound ambience at sewers and radios.
Also make assassins roam around than just doing nothing when idle.
Show signs that the grunts are being healed by the medics. probably dialogs or something.
I think assassins should use grenades again, like they did in Half-Life 1. It would make combat with them closer to how it was in the original, add another angle in terms of things you have to keep in mind, and it would allow players to throw their grenades back at them as an additional method of taking some down. We all know explosives work well against assassins, and fighting assassins runs you out of ammo/explosives quickly. Why not be allowed to use their own resources against them?
Yes x10000. It’s so underwhelmingly boring how they just snipe and snipe and snipe me with their MP5’s but rarely want to do anything tactical like use grenades to flush me out. It’s sad. ;_;
I agree with everyone else pretty much. I too would like to see some more ambient music or something. I know the idea is to feel lonely and by yourself, but sometimes it just gets too boring and bland because there are such massive sections where it’s so quiet. Just a bit of ambient music, not a huge soundtrack or anything. 
I’m too lazy to go get a screenshot, but during FAF, the indoor tank just before Lambda Complex. At the far end of the room there’s a small observation room, and if you stand in there the tank keep firing at the thin wall and nothing happens. I think either the tank should cease firing or that wall should go boom.
Yeah that tank is bugged, I assumed it was already well known. For me, the Tank just fires it’s scripted shot at the wall, then aims it’s turret up as far as it can toward me, and stops moving. Even if you hide from it, it’ll just sit there and point it’s cannon at the wall near the door until it’s destroyed.
Marines: Turn off aimbot.
Mp5: 1. Redesign grenade launcher. 2. Balacne the dmg, especially againt marines, since right now the weapon is the least useful against them. (It doesn’t even interrupt / disturb them with their fireing, like the crowbar does)
Also Gordon is amphibian. It takes too long to drown. HP loss should be increased.
I agree. A lot of the HECU combat is easy and it could be done just standing behind a set of cover or two and firing. In Half-Life they were always keeping you on the move. If they weren’t closing in or flanking they were lobbing grenades and it was wonderful.
O_o
Whoa, what? I must be doing something wrong, because the MP5 is very effective against the HECU. Especially at mid-long range when the Spas’ spread gets a bit chaotic.
If we’re going for reasonable/realistic, no. I’m sure everyone here can hold their breath longer than it takes Freeman to drown.