Black Mesa V6 - 'Not sure about the shotgun'-edition - Games

With the way Xen is styled in those pictures it's like you guys mapped the ocean floor as reference, particularly in the first one.

For something smaller, look at the CC screenshot and how those cliffs look more pink-ish ala HL1. This update will definitely be sweet.

I wonder if the security guards still run like they have a baton even when unarmed

Xen looks amazing, not what I expected, but not in a bad way either. I guess I don't know what I expected to be honest, it's hard to form expectations about alien themed textures from the late 90's. And a lot of Xen's rooms were downright ugly due to the same texture style being used on every surface. That rendition looks great though, I'm liking the alien-aquatic theme. I'm also loving the color correction .. correction. The world looks crisp and clear in the posted image.

I think they are trying to make a "bridge" between the human world and Xen. In Half Life the visual change was very abrupt. I think these two new screenshots are similar to the ones back then which showcase the early level of Xen before we delve into the fully realized and more organic Xen world. That's probably why we still see human related stuff in it because the scientists haven't gotten further into the world.

It'll be a great holiday season!

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;52380678]Without trying to give too much away...there will be green space clouds, don't you worry. Don't expect the colour pallet to be the same throughout... We have been trying on multiple occasions with the idea of a cold release, but once we knew we needed to delay beyond Summer it felt like it would be unreasonable for us to not show some progress and show the fans SOMETHING as a token of gratitude. We are acutely aware of the incredible support and enthusiasm of our fans and we don't want to take that for granted![/QUOTE] So what time of your team decided to update Black Mesa? Since you announced it will be delayed again.

[QUOTE=ChadMcGoatMan;52382612]So what time of your team decided to update? Since you announced it will be delayed again.[/QUOTE] The post said December.

[QUOTE=TextFAMGUY1;52380678]Without trying to give too much away...there will be green space clouds, don't you worry. Don't expect the colour pallet to be the same throughout...[/QUOTE] I hope the Vortigaunt factories retain their more mechanical look, even though most of them were still just generic alien texture. Will the Xen Thumpers be back too?

[QUOTE=Chrille;52336096]One thing I'd reeeeeally like to see improved upon is clipping. It's far too easy to get momentarily stuck on walls and surfaces with tiny one/two unit wide protrusions,[/QUOTE] I don't get why Valve never made the player collision hull slightly rounded at the corners to spare themselves (and everyone else) a fair bit of clipping work. That's how it seems to work in most other games/engines.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;52385504]Thanks, this is an old implementation though, looks much better currently[/QUOTE] Wow that looks extremely impressive, it would definitely add a lot to the game, especially with Xen. I remember Text saying a while back that they were looking at implementing PBR to some extent but didn't have the time or resources, CC would be missing a great opportunity if they didn't consider reaching out to you imo.

[QUOTE=KCKI113R;52385616]Wow that looks extremely impressive, it would definitely add a lot to the game, especially with Xen. I remember Text saying a while back that they were looking at implementing PBR to some extent but didn't have the time or resources, CC would be missing a great opportunity if they didn't consider reaching out to you imo.[/QUOTE] Depends on how 'drop-in' Sam's implementation is. While I'm sure CC want to add PBR, if it pushes the Xen release too far they might have to forgo it. Plenty of things could take tons of more work, such as just straight up refactoring to work with the new BMS features, or simply because the engines are on different branches of Source. There's also perf to consider, PBR could hit their budget in ways they didn't account for when originally developing levels.

That's true, I should have considered the different branches of source factoring in to ease of implementation. It wouldn't have to necessarily go in before Xen but I totally see your point, and yeah I imagine perf would take quite a hit

Our favorite boy bkdale is postin' about the new Xen props (and the process of makin' 'em) [url=https://forums.blackmesasource.com/index.php/Thread/30744-Xen-2-0-and-prop-models/?postID=629743#post629743]here[/url]. Also, here's some pics from the thread: [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/OHBJlro.jpg:[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/aSwp3fW.jpg:[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://i.imgur.com/qTSlup8.jpg:[/img_thumb]

[QUOTE=TheRealRudy;52384919][video]https://youtu.be/ct9mp9xfsVc[/video] if this is yours then fuck me thats hot[/QUOTE] Source Engine just never dies does it

[QUOTE=Killer monkey;52386498]Source Engine just never dies does it[/QUOTE] we'll talk when they figure out how to make it load texture bigger then 1024x1024 without crapping itself

[QUOTE=Exploders;52380682]With the way Xen is styled in those pictures it's like you guys mapped the ocean floor as reference, particularly in the first one.[/QUOTE] I showed those screenshots to a friend who knows nothing about Xen or Half-Life or really anything video game related, and the first thing she said was "Oooh, pretty! Look! A sting ray!"

[QUOTE=Chaotic Lord;52386576]I showed those screenshots to a friend who knows nothing about Xen or Half-Life or really anything video game related, and the first thing she said was "Oooh, pretty! Look! A sting ray!"[/QUOTE] I recommend showing him [URL="https://youtu.be/CgkJOPk9l_4?t=11m23s"]this[/URL] just to see what his reaction would be.

[QUOTE=Chaotic Lord;52386576]I showed those screenshots to a friend who knows nothing about Xen or Half-Life or really anything video game related, and the first thing she said was "Oooh, pretty! Look! A sting ray!"[/QUOTE] To be fair, we've been calling them sting rays or manta rays since HL1.

[QUOTE=glitchvid;52385626]Depends on how 'drop-in' Sam's implementation is. While I'm sure CC want to add PBR, if it pushes the Xen release too far they might have to forgo it. Plenty of things could take tons of more work, such as just straight up refactoring to work with the new BMS features, or simply because the engines are on different branches of Source. There's also perf to consider, PBR could hit their budget in ways they didn't account for when originally developing levels.[/QUOTE] Well, their current assets are textured with substance painter. All they'd have to do is re-export the project files and plug them in. I know, for a game with hundreds of assets that's not such a quick solution, but it's simple. but it's fuckin unviable tbh I should make that clear

[QUOTE=xalener;52387004]Well, their current assets are textured with substance painter. All they'd have to do is re-export the project files and plug them in. I know, for a game with hundreds of assets that's not such a quick solution, but it's simple.[/QUOTE] The new assets are, but the bulk of world textures and misc props that won't be easily PBR'd could pose problems. Maybe there could be a default PBR setting that emulates how Source surfaces look by default, or maybe keep the old rendering path intact, but then you'll run into assets clashing and looking like they're from completely different games. Switching rendering pipelines so radically late in development isn't an easy proposition.

the xen media looks phenomenal, i dont even care about waiting tbh

[QUOTE=Dr. Kyuros;52386675]I recommend showing him [URL="https://youtu.be/CgkJOPk9l_4?t=11m23s"]this[/URL] just to see what his reaction would be.[/QUOTE] Joking aside, that scene is just so good. One of the highlights of the game for me.

Our graphics programmer actually already wrote his own implementation of PBR for us, but we decided not to use it for reasons that I cannot remember perfectly. As expressed above, shifting our entire pipeline for assets halfway through development is just one spanner in the works too many. There were other issues with the implementation I think but I know that one of the main reasons we decided not to was that it was just too dramatic a change to go through. We've had to deal with way too many dramatic shifts and sudden last minute decisions that have huge rippling effects over the course of our development. We're trying not to make the same mistakes again, as tempting as it can be to try and play with new hotness. Our whole engine port was one such fiasco. We were stuck in development hell for 2 years for something as simple at a surface level as an engine switch from Source to Source. It was a necessary change (legally) but ultimately it was one that caused us a lot of unnecessary pain and frustration. [QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;52382678]I hope the Vortigaunt factories retain their more mechanical look, even though most of them were still just generic alien texture. Will the Xen Thumpers be back too?[/QUOTE] I'm the chapter lead for Interloper, and I can promise you that it's going to be amazing if you liked the original one. The Xen Thumpers are back WITH A VENGEANCE.

Black Mesa's listed for £14.99 on steam at the moment, but apparently I was only charged £5.99. Anyone else had this?

textFAM, will some of the areas of older surface tension maps get some touch-ups? There's a real noticeable visual quality difference between indoor areas and outdoors. After when Xen releases that is because that amazing stuff needs all the attention it needs right now [thumb]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/543046747431805880/FA0DFD056694278460676C024BC4273AD906F946/[/thumb] Things like really poor rock models that looks even worse when compared to the Xen rocks. [thumb]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/853844677164467554/91F3F1E754C5D3A60A5684F2F64015923D45B056/[/thumb] This looks off with the very low detail hl2-like rock model against the newer well detailed ones [thumb]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/448484014584139367/E2F8ADCD8E1A6602C82655C3FDD98CD03547A152/[/thumb] The visuals here look it came from a very basic hl2 mod from 2005 [thumb]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/853844677164468566/DF1CE74533A01B612B1F4B5E44EDBB2B7415F83A/[/thumb] The cliffside looks really flat, uninteresting and repetitive. The way it doesn't share the same colour as the skybox makes it worse (but new colour correction might fix that at least?)

[QUOTE=Dr.Cola;52390424][thumb]https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/448484014584139367/E2F8ADCD8E1A6602C82655C3FDD98CD03547A152/[/thumb][/QUOTE] Still don't get why this area was changed so drastically and turned into just another secret but I guess that was to make the Tentacle encounter in Blast Pit stand out more (although Xen might make this moot). The water tower near this area also has clipping issues still by the way. On the topic of visual improvements: any chance that the Bullsquids' eyes will be returned to [URL="http://www.cgjeff.com/bsquid/1.jpg"]their original positions like in the early renders[/URL] (and that sick eye texture too)

they should just use that cave and rework it for the ST tentacle

Hold up I've never seen that cave before, where exactly is it?

[QUOTE=Exploders;52390545]Hold up I've never seen that cave before, where exactly is it?[/QUOTE] surface tension, near the area with a ton of houndeyes after you climb up a ladder