more then some, the mutations in the chest are needed for their evolution. the end goal of a headcrab zombie is to turn into a gonarc. As for why they do not have the chest maws in hl2, the headcrabs we see in half life two are geneticly modified by the combine to be less of a threat, hence why they are well less mutated over all. they are their as a bomb the hell out of armed people have them mentaly break down to do having to shoot allies then mop up with the troops.
easy targets by design.
We’re going a bit off-topic IMO.
Indeed. Please take this conversation to another thread if you wish to continue it. This thread is to specifically discuss the Xen timeline/announcement.
Well goddamn, an update on Xen! Nice
Thanks for your hard work, guys.
Here I have several questions about the Xen developing, perhaps you may think it is unnecessary to answer them, but I’m willing to know your thought. (Don’t worry, I won’t ask the release date, LOL.)
1.In the original HL, we can see the bird-like creatures Boids flying in the sky in Xen. In the original HL they are just background and cannot be hurt or killed by players in any way, so will you change them to the real NPCs so that they can interact with players?
2.Will we see more Xenians in the new chapters? Yes, I am saying the cancelled NPCs just like the chumtoad and mr.friendly and the others by VALVE. If you are planning on this, I have an idea here. Just add them as an Easter Egg to somewhere in different areas in Xen. Players must find the creatures by themselves. This can also be a steam achievement, just called Lost Xenians: Find all the creatures that you have never seen before in Xen. Though you may not plan on this, but I am glad that we can see them in the future.
3.Will you make your brand-new creatures that are completely designed by your team? Though it may conflict with the original game, but we know that Black Mesa is based on Half-Life, but not the same as Half-Life, you are making your own game.
4.For MP, will there be new MP maps that based on Xen world after Xen is done, like the xendance in HLOF?
5.It seems that Source Engine is not good at rendering big maps, like the open field in the new areas in STU. I get a bad gameplay here, the FPS is low. Now the new Xen is bigger than the original ones, how will you balance the design and the optimization for gameplay? Will you cut the map size when you find that it is hard to do so?
6.Is there no content update any more before Xen is done?
Sorry for my poor English, thank you very much.
We do indeed have the Boids, but they’re mostly used as scenery NPCs. We view them as being similar to the Mantas - they’re mostly scenery rather than actual NPCs.
I’d rather not spoil it.
No new creatures, no.
New MP maps based on Xen? Most likely, yes.
The maps have been designed with optimisation in mind. They’re going to be taxing - the Source engine simply isn’t designed for what we want to do, but they should run about the same as the STU maps do - we hope.
Probably no more content updates before Xen, no. I won’t rule it out entirely, but probably not.
Can you say definatively whether or not we are going to get updated mapsrcs before Xen?
Thank god, we finally have something. Thanks you guys!
Seeing as we have a timeframe now, I feel like the old question begs one more ask:
Will we be seeing (or hearing) any more teasers before the release? I love the mystery behind vague things, like the map grid views. Just enough, but not too much.
I have to ask, will the teleporter event at the start change when xen is added. aka will the bullsquid area be returned and the vort area’s background be improved?
If not, I’m sure someone will mod Bullsquid lake back in.
I too want to know this. It might ruin the big reveal of Xen, but it’s also an iconic moment, so I dunno which of the two the devs will prioritize keeping.
They were supposed to come with the last hotfix, but we had issues with that. Can’t say for sure.
There’ll be more media, tidbits and teasers, but we’re not going to give away anything major. It will be mostly a secret and a surprise.
Maybe, maybe not! Who knows?
In half-life I found Xen to be actually the weakest part of the game.
You and everyone else who played the game. That’s the reason I’m SOOOO looking forward to what this new addition will show. i can’t wait to see where their imagination takes us on this voyage. It’s going to be so different from HL1 that a lot of people are going to be upset but, being totally different is what I’m looking forward to experiencing. 
Seeing the current way they follow, I don’t think Xen is gonna be a disaster as in the Original Half Life.
I’m pretty sure we gonna see the same eye candy, already in Black Mesa
Xen is gonna be amazing, they can use the most wrong twists from their mind to bring Xen alive!
And with physics they can do alot in an environment with low gravity!
Does Joel have any samples of the Xen music to share? Or just keeping it a surprise until it gets released?
Will there be new achievements with Xen?
There could be one for finding this guy: youtube.com/watch?v=tyjOfZJsnqw
I guess we gonna see more achievements added to the main game
With the addition of extra-large extra-huge maps rendered in Source, is it a possibility that the teleports from the Nihilanth chamber will amount to you being teleported to more rooms in BM xen? Or will it be the same as the original?
[DIDN’T READ LOL NVM]
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.