Black Mesa team teases first screenshot of reimagined Xen
54 replies, posted
The blue areas could be places that science teams explored while the normal orange/yellow tinted areas could be uncharted territory?
[QUOTE=Karmah;51568868]The picture in question:
[t]http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/rBRU5av2hKKUXmWMNdT3nC.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
the colors remind me of ori for some reason.
[QUOTE=Techbot;51570330]the colors remind me of ori for some reason.[/QUOTE]
As in this Ori? Cuz the Prior Staffs sort of had that effect.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/a986MRs.jpg[/t]
[editline]edit[/editline]
Oh right Ori and the Blind Forest. :v:
Makes me think somewhat of Myst, in a way. Especially with the bits of human machinery present. A bit like Todelmer from Myst V, in some weird way.
I can see why they haven't really told us anything about it for so long and why it isn't in the game yet, it honestly doesn't look much like Xen.
Like I appreciate the work that has gone into this and it does look REALLY nice, but it doesn't look like Xen.
They said on the announcement in the comments Xen has multiple thematic and visual changes.
This is probably just a new look to break things up, I'm sure there will be more classic looking areas as well
[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;51572566]They said on the announcement in the comments Xen has multiple thematic and visual changes.
This is probably just a new look to break things up, I'm sure there will be more classic looking areas as well[/QUOTE]
That seems like a really stupid thing to do. The theme and visuals of Xen weren't the problem people had with it at all. There's a difference between remaking something to make it better while keeping the overall feel of it (which is what they've done with the rest of the game) and changing something pretty much entirely just because they can.
Visually it looks better than HL1, obviously, but it's not captured what Xen was all about. Maybe the other areas will be better, but considering their approach to it for that Cave it still seems like they've not quite understood it.
Xen was supposed to be some extremely strange, weird, otherworldly dimension where nothing seemed ordinary. Even the rocks themselves looked very organic and in some ways alive, which in combination with all the other strange plants and animals that didn't belong there meant the whole place felt like something that was entirely alien. It wasn't just some normal earth-like caves and rocks with the occasional glowing thing.
A few years ago they talked about how "unfun" many sections in Xen were, in the original Half Life. They wanted to change the gameplay to make more sense and to make it more fun than it was in HL. They apparently spent a lot of time to convert Xen in a way that works good since many people complained about the Xen sections in the original.
Also low Gravity.
[QUOTE=nightlord;51572907]That seems like a really stupid thing to do. The theme and visuals of Xen weren't the problem people had with it at all. There's a difference between remaking something to make it better while keeping the overall feel of it (which is what they've done with the rest of the game) and changing something pretty much entirely just because they can.
Visually it looks better than HL1, obviously, but it's not captured what Xen was all about. Maybe the other areas will be better, but considering their approach to it for that Cave it still seems like they've not quite understood it.
Xen was supposed to be some extremely strange, weird, otherworldly dimension where nothing seemed ordinary. Even the rocks themselves looked very organic and in some ways alive, which in combination with all the other strange plants and animals that didn't belong there meant the whole place felt like something that was entirely alien. It wasn't just some normal earth-like caves and rocks with the occasional glowing thing.[/QUOTE]
See:
[QUOTE=Enil;51571977]See this [url]https://forums.blackmesasource.com/index.php/Thread/30480-Xen-Holiday-Screenshot/?postID=626744#post626744[/url]
[I]Developer: This screenshot portrays one single section (an interior, no more) of one single map, very early on in Xen. The entirety of all Xen is currently 14 maps, and it gets much more alien, weird, and isolated as you progress through it. Without giving too much away, Interloper becomes pretty crazy, bizzare, and organic. But...well...we wouldn't want to spoil the surprise by showing our main hand at this early stage now, would we?[/I][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Bloodshot12;51572566]They said on the announcement in the comments Xen has multiple thematic and visual changes.
This is probably just a new look to break things up, I'm sure there will be more classic looking areas as well[/QUOTE]
I hope the alien factories look a lot better though.
Just realized, the citadel factory parts were the counterpart to the Xen factory bits... Probably because I couldn't tell those were factories...
[QUOTE=nightlord;51569537]The Human equipment isn't the problem. It's the colouring and the lack of a wierd alien look to everything, it just seems like a generic cave. With Xen in HL1, even the rocks had an alien feel to them and there were all the strange plants [I]everywhere[/I]. For example:
[img]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/half-life/images/f/ff/Xen_first_teleport1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20100219152014&path-prefix=en[/img][/QUOTE]
half-lifes graphics may not be great by todays standards but god damn is it artistically pleasing and creative.
[QUOTE=Pat.Lithium;51575889]half-lifes graphics may not be great by todays standards but god damn is it artistically pleasing and creative.[/QUOTE]
The art is really out of this world. Weird as hell.
[QUOTE=Cold;51569525]The whole world of Xen is pretty much a giant organism, which is a design I wouldn't expect the best game-dev teams in the world to do a half decent job of actually implementing in modern graphics, let alone a indie team with the source engine as its starting point.[/QUOTE]
There is a game from 2000 called Evolva. The devs specialized in "organic art", so all textures have an organic look, it's like you are playing on a coral reef or something. It might be close to what Xen was supposed to look.
[QUOTE][IMG]http://i.imgur.com/IQzqIbA.png[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ogm2v2i.png[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/qm7Pddk.png[/IMG][/QUOTE]
That looks trippy as fuck
[QUOTE=Antimuffin;51572953]A few years ago they talked about how "unfun" many sections in Xen were, in the original Half Life. They wanted to change the gameplay to make more sense and to make it more fun than it was in HL. They apparently spent a lot of time to convert Xen in a way that works good since many people complained about the Xen sections in the original.[/QUOTE]
I despise people that don't like Xen levels tbh
[QUOTE=Craptasket;51581154]I despise people that don't like Xen levels tbh[/QUOTE]
The amount of insane platforming you have to perform in Xen levels is really high, so I can see why some people don't like them. But the atmosphere alone of being isolated in alien world makes the journey through the levels worth it. I hope devs also realize that.
[QUOTE=Craptasket;51581154]I despise people that don't like Xen levels tbh[/QUOTE]
I feel like I'm one of the few who thought the Xen levels were OK. Still not as good as the rest of the game, but i didn't hate them.
i always loved the change of pace and scenery when you first go to xen. the music is perfect for it too.
I just hate "on the rail" episode.
Boatload of enemy,many turrets,confusing level.
I wish it was a little brighter, maybe like, water reflections glowing against the walls to make it look organic even in still shots. There's a lot they could achieve with textures, I'm just not sure what the source engine would accomodate
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