[QUOTE=deathstarboot;37672329]I've...I've never played Half Life.
What is this and why is it so cool?[/QUOTE]
wtf man... go buy Half-Life, play it, then play this
[QUOTE=deathstarboot;37672329]I've...I've never played Half Life.
What is this and why is it so cool?[/QUOTE]
There's a million reasons.
Many of them are related to how groundbreaking it was. It was the first shooter to tell the story without breaking from gameplay - everything before cut away to cutscenes or title-text to do anything besides shooting. It invented squad AI. It invented multiple enemy allegiances - where there are two enemy factions fighting not just you, but each other. So there's definitely a lot of nostalgia involved, because it truly was far ahead of its time.
Just as much, though, has to do with the game itself. The shooting is very solid. The story is still good. It jumps between genres without seeming like different games - you're do low-ammo survival horror, straight up action shooting, puzzle-solving, platforming, all without really breaking stride. And the game really is a big game - you go through so many environments, so many things, that it's hard to keep track.
I'm sure others have said it better, and yes, Half-Life does have pretty universal acclaim. Tied for first place on Metacritic means a lot (it's a three-way tie: Half-Life, Half-Life 2, and Bioshock, each with a 98/100 average).
tossing up a mirror in a bit.
stay tuned.
1gbps network.
So how is it?
[img]http://i.imgur.com/YRiuS.png[/img]
if i ever finish i'll be seeding with a 350Mb up connection so join in <3
[QUOTE=NoobieWafer223;37671591]Mine keeps crashing after you launch the rocket and get in the tram... Son of a bitch. :\[/QUOTE]
Not the only one with the problem. A way to fix it to say "Fuck it" to the tram and run through the load screen.
[QUOTE=NoobieWafer223;37671591]Mine keeps crashing after you launch the rocket and get in the tram... Son of a bitch. :\[/QUOTE]Thankfully I didn't crash there or anywhere else. I did crash, but these were random crashes, not place specific. I did have a problem with the fan as when I would climb out it would always kill me. Managed to get through after 5 tries.
[img]http://puu.sh/15gAH[/img]
Almost 1TB for Black Mesa, I think Hetzner are going to be pissed.
So uhm there's no MP ?
[QUOTE=DrBreen;37673721]So uhm there's no MP ?[/QUOTE]
Comes out later as does the final sections of the game.
[QUOTE=usa;37673729]Comes out later as does the final sections of the game.[/QUOTE]
oh cool, when will that be?
[QUOTE=DrBreen;37673745]oh cool, when will that be?[/QUOTE]
when it's done
The main theme is nice but that remix is amazing.
Well, I'm as far as past the Dam in Surface Tension, and I've gotta say, Black Mesa Source is proving to be everything we were ever promised.
Every map demonstrates a stunning attention to detail, imbibing everything that made the original great and functional, while not being the least bit afraid of improving where Valve made mistakes.
For instance, the game does a decent job factoring the physics of Source into certain sequences, often sending the player on the short hunt for a missing valve or correcting miss-arranged plugs like we do all the time in HL2. It's more lip-service, but it acknowledges the capabilities of Source and designs the minor game functions as if they were always a part of the game.
What I love are the sections they redesigned. For instance: that winding vent-maze at the beginning of "We've Got Hostiles" that slows the game to a crawl and frustrates you every time you play it?
Gone. Rerouted and streamlined. Like a breath of fresh air...
How about "On a Rail," where we spend an exhausting amount of time in a track maze, shooting at switches to make them change?
Kept the memorable bits, got rid of the track-switching shit, put the player almost literally on a rail, nice and linear with a couple original puzzles, no getting lost. Plus a smidge more preparation for launching the rocket, but only stuff strictly on your way.
It makes me ITCH for what these guys will do with Xen. Even in the damn resonance cascade, we NEVER see Xen, other than maybe a dark cave with some vorts. Given Xen was always the slow little boy in the class in terms of Half Life's legacy, I can only imagine how different it will look and play when this team is finished with it. With how they gutted and remade "On a Rail," I can only guess that these guys will entirely rework how Xen functions, until it's transformed into something Valve would have wanted it to be, given some hindsight.
The AI works great, and it's livelier than anything GoldSource could have brought us. With additional work to existing encounters with guards and scientists, Black Mesa feels more and more like it has a soul. Much like when you start commanding squads of Rebels in Half Life 2, you sometimes gain followers to fight alongside or protect. This happened in the original game too, but you never really cared because they were blank slates.
These characters are emotive, every expression detailing a human quality that drives the player with an urge to see them safely through. At one point, I had three guards and two scientists following me in Office Complex, and we rolled through like a survivor-posse, the characters scripted to react to events in the game.
For instance, upon reaching that long ladder jump in the elevator shaft, one of the scientists told me to go on without them, explaining that he never passed gym class. Meanwhile, one of the guards muttered something about babysitting the scientists. And then one of the guards had something to say about the poor scientist dangling from the elevator shaft. I know these examples don't sound like much, but you FEEL the life imbued into the characters through these little moments. It causes you to experience the game in a whole new light.
Then the audio... my god, this game is a feast for the ears. If it's not the glorious soundtrack kicking in during the big action bits, it's the crisp, satisfying noise of picking up ammo, or firing your pistol, or merely taking a step. And the creatures of the game get an audio facelift too. Headcrabs sound like Headcrabs, and Vortigaunts gargle in their language ("Ga-lung! Ger Ga-lung!") but from the zombies to the gargs, everything has been replaced, and ALL of it is good. Houndeyes sound more realistic and are simultaneously adorable to hear, the bullsquids are intimidating as all hell, and even the gargantua sounds more distinct.
Speaking of the garg, they really go the extra mile for some of these encounters. The garg's AI surprised me in such a way I actually thought I'd triggered a bug.
After watching the glorious high definition blue beast-thing fry some soldiers, it turned to look at me, and tried charging its enormous body into the corridor too small for it, reaching a single arm in to spray a gout of flame at me. The animation is GREAT, oddly fluid for something so big, but it explains how the things can move so fast.
And then it stopped, simply watching me, hunched down to look at me, covering the doorway. This was when I thought there was a big, because I expected it to lose interest and wander around like Half Life.
But it didn't.
And then I thought to myself... if YOU were a massive predator only aware of ONE foe in the room, would YOU ignore it like it wasn't there? It took a satchel charge to stun the damn thing so I could make a break for the other side of the room within feet of the monstrosity, and I STILL got my ass a bit crispy!
The only thing about the game that bugs me is the sprint and jump controls. Overall the game is stable and polished to a mirror shine. Ladder control is improved to keep you from falling your clumsy ass off at the top, swimming keeps you level with the water as long as you move forward (no more forward+jump bullshit) and the only game crash I've had was much later in the game, telling me the engine couldn't load lump 53 or something between maps. It's not a gamebreaker, as it goes away the next time you try, but given how massive this game is, I'm stunned at how little issue I've had with it.
But as to the jumping... It feels odd, sticky even. I usually save before a platforming section, but I find myself failing at jumps I cleared effortlessly in Half Life, and easily clearing things that were five-try-reloaders in Black Mesa.
It's the game you love, with some neat surprises and gorgeous updated graphics... the fuck are you waiting for, PLAY THE FREE GAME, DAMNIT!
[QUOTE=Overv;37673847]when it's done[/QUOTE]
well fuck another 8 years
It's nice to have some new Half Life hopefully this will remind Valve how fun this series can be and they'll get to work on an official sequel.
In the mean time I wouldn't be opposed to this being included in a future Orange Box pack. It's much more accessible to new players. Include it with the original Half Life/Source if you want.
Already done, going to play when I get off work.
Oh and I am seeding for a week, enjoy!
[IMG]http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/3905/mica.png[/IMG]
so if Xen and MP are coming "when it's done", does that mean we'll be waiting another few years or what?
i can't seed the torrent much more, i'm stealing my neighbors internet and he's starting to notice whats going on
Anyone else had a problem firing the rocket booster to kill the 3-headed bastard? I had to use ent_fire to unlock the button and get it working; had turned on the fuel and oxygen supply but it just went "lol nope".
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;37675508]Anyone else had a problem firing the rocket booster to kill the 3-headed bastard? I had to use ent_fire to unlock the button and get it working; had turned on the fuel and oxygen supply but it just went "lol nope".[/QUOTE]
Did you get the second valve to activate the second fuel pump?
[QUOTE=dogmachines;37675544]Did you get the second valve to activate the second fuel pump?[/QUOTE]Yep, turned it and everything.
I've downloaded this 3 times, each from a different source, and the archive is still managing to get corrupted every single fucking time.
Fuck.
at 90% my torrent slowed down to 50 kbps(from 700)
my torrent never started after 7 hours great
This game.
It's... [I]beautiful...[/I]
Oh man the soundtrack is absolutely brilliant. Main theme is friggin beautiful and alot of these songs remind me of UT2k3/4.
It's amazing how good it looks and yet runs at 150 fps. Not that so much matters, but it still shows something when a lot of newer games get about 40.
[editline]15th September 2012[/editline]
[QUOTE=BloodYScar;37676425]Oh man the soundtrack is absolutely brilliant. Main theme is friggin beautiful and alot of these songs remind me of UT2k3/4.[/QUOTE]
Shame they're very short. Most of them are only about 1:30
[QUOTE=Cone;37674950]so if Xen and MP are coming "when it's done", does that mean we'll be waiting another few years or what?[/QUOTE]
No. At least the development of Xen began long time ago.
[QUOTE=deathstarboot;37672329]I've...I've never played Half Life.
What is this and why is it so cool?[/QUOTE]
It was essentially the first heavily scripted linear shooter.
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