First of all, congratulations on releasing Black Mesa through Steam. It’s an incredible achievement that will be forever remembered in the annals of Gaming History, a fan created mod that started nearly, if not a decade ago, and released, officially supported by Steam, on Gaming’s biggest Digital Distribution network.
You guys have done an amazing job, and I love you for it. I honestly much prefer Black Mesa’s gameplay over the Original Half-Life. It’s just so good.
But we need to talk about the weapons, and I think you have probably heard this one a few times. I’ll get to the most important one today.
The MP5/EOD. It’s a great gun! Far better than the original release’s, for sure. Accurate, great control over my fire rate, reasonable grenade launcher and so on, in addition to fairly plentiful ammo. I just love using it so much… Which, is exactly the problem. I much prefer it over every single other gun in the game, and I’m completely certain I am not the only one who feels this way. It’s so useful, that it’s too good.
See, here’s the thing. In the original release, I honestly despised the thing. Burst fire, lower ammo than the original, and not that powerful? I just didn’t dig. But this is a vast upgrade in every single way and the problem is exactly what I read you guys saying at some point before the original release. It completely overshadows the pistol in almost every way. Including accuracy. This weapon is the reason that I never had a problem dealing with HECU/Marine foes, or really anything under their caliber. It was my go-to for anything I wasn’t sure the other weapons could take out.
So I got to thinking, how exactly could the MP5 be rebalanced? It feels so good to use, it works so well, that it makes some fights all too easy- perhaps even, to a somewhat ridiculous extent.
I believe with the accuracy, you guys had it right in the original release. But the burst fire was a real hindrance. I wholeheartedly believe that for the sake of game balance, the MP5 is too accurate. The advantage in every half life game that the pistol has had over the SMG, is accuracy. I feel that for the spirit of Half-Life, this quality should be retained. So a kick to the accuracy would help in that regard. Perhaps even keeping its current firepower is perfectly reasonable with enough of an accuracy nerf. It should also be noted that there is no weapon as effective as the MP5 in the multiplayer (of course, that could just be my inexperience there talking, but even I, a fairly poor MP player did well with it.)
So chiefly, an accuracy nerf should likely be done, to let the pistol have its edge. But then that makes it less effective overall, perhaps even making the weapon switching too time consuming in the heat of a HECU battle. But a solution exists to this as well.
I propose also, that the M16 is introduced into Black Mesa, but before you guys stop reading, I believe with all my heart that the precedent is set for its appearance.
As it stands, the MP5 in the current release on Steam is much more akin to Half-Life 2’s Pulse Rifle, if not outright superior in every way to it. (It would not be difficult to argue that the grenade launcher is more useful than the energy ball of death.) But it has very little in common with Half-Life’s wonky little MP5 and Half-Life 2’s identity-confused “MP7”.
With a mag increase to 45 and an accuracy reduction, it may fill those roles once more. But then that leaves the void that Half-Life 2 filled with the Pulse Rifle. This can be filled with the M-16. 30 round magazine, current-MP5 accuracy, and to actually make it work within the current game’s balance, absolutely no grenade launcher. This would act as your accurate alternative to the MP5, more specialized in dealing with HECU/Marines. 2-3 magazines in spare max to carry for it, making it fairly reserved in use and mainline generally in HECU occupied areas, much like how in Half-Life 2, the Pulse Rifle’s ammo drops far, far more frequently in the last quarter of the game if not outright the last 30%.
I know it may seem strange to add a new weapon to Half-Life. To break the formula like that, but Black Mesa is in many ways a different game than Half-Life, and it does a whole lot different, in a good way. Why not add the M-16 for such a reason? It would not only add to the atmosphere that indeed, the HECU is a specialized task force, that they do conduct themselves in a reasonable military manner, and it would act as a potentially very fitting nod to the HD Weapon Pack.
Adding the M-16 in the proposed manner would only hit the MP5 where it needs to be, in that, considering every weapon you have at your disposal, it’s the flat out best. But that’s just really strange for a shooter like Half-Life, a shooter that’s akin to classic arena shooters like Quake, to have one gun that can do every job, and do-in every enemy more than adequately.
I love your game. It’s very, very good. Some things need tweaking and changing, your multiplayer is fun, your VA work is incredible, and so on. You’ve done a great job. I just feel that some criticisms and weapon rebalances must be made, and that there is indeed a precedent for adding a brand new weapon to the game.
Please, share your thoughts. I would love to hear any thoughts from the devs.
