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Back in Black
9 years ago
General
(10 points to anyone who's now humming AC/DC)
Not to long after the release of Half-Life 2, there were rumors that Valve would port the original Half-Life over to the Source engine. There was considerable excitement! Source was like nothing that had been seen at the time and to have the classic that started it all get a facelift to look as good as HL2 was certainly something to be excited about!
Alas, when it did happen... it was nothing more than a port to the new engine. Graphics remained the same, sounds remained the same and the levels were... pretty much the same. About the only difference were the particle effects (primarily explosions) looking better, but that was likely already something the Source engine already did. I can't speak for everyone, but it was a bit of a let-down.
After a while, more rumors swirled. Rumors of an independent, renegade team that wasn't going to just port Half-Life over to Source, they were going to rebuild it from the ground up and make it what everyone was expecting from the original porting project. It was a massive undertaking, but there were pictures! Proof of high-res textures, familiar levels and beautiful models.
The project fell off my radar for a long time until one day I decided to search it out again and found it with it's new name: Black Mesa. I downloaded the compressed package and integrated it into Steam (there were easy-to-follow directions, but it wasn't an automated install). And holding my breath, I launched it. It was, in a word, amazing.
For those of you who never got a chance to play the original Half-Life, it was a chance to catch up and see where it all started. To be there when Gordon Freeman creates a resonance cascade, opening portals to another universe. To run for cover when the military shows up to... uh... "help". To get your hands on strange new weapons, both Earthly and alien. And to band together with the surviving scientists and security guards to survive and get the hell out of Dodge alive.
But for those who have played Half-Life, this is Half-Life in stunning HD. All new textures, new music, re-recorded voice tracks (and additional dialog!) and expanded levels. Not just expanded like getting new rooms, but super-detailed. The opening sequence tram ride doesn't just start in the tunnels. It starts at the station, where other scientists are milling about waiting for their own trams. The open sections of the tramway tunnels have sunlight streaming in or let you look out over expansive desert landscapes.
And it comes with a strange sense of deja-vu. More than once I would be wandering down a tunnel with this nagging feeling something bad was around the corner but not able to remember exactly what it was. And then I'd turn the corner, see the giant alien beast pounding the military into the ground and think, "Ooooh yesss... I remember now." And maybe it was because I had played it through already, but looking out from the tunnel during the tram ride, I recognized places I would end up going through as events progressed.
Not everything is exactly the same. Some some things have been modified to take advantage of the shiny new game engine and beefed-up hardware. In the original Half-Life, the satellite launch control room had an open window looking out over the launch site. When you started the launch sequence, a blast shield would lower, leaving only a small slot that you could catch glimpses of light and smoke to let you know the rocket was being launched. But in Black Mesa, the window starts closed, and when you trigger the launch sequence, it opens and reveals the rocket launch in all it's amazing, smoke-belching, blinding-glare glory. No doubt HL-era hardware (or the original game engine) couldn't have handled something like that, but six years later, it was easily possible.
There are small details too. In the laser test room, be sure to watch for the ripples in the air coming off the hot upper assembly after firing. And as you're wandering through the wreckage of the laboratory, stop and marvel at the room where a liquid nitrogen tank has been punctured. It's spraying super-cooled liquid into the water coming down from the fire suppression system, causing five-foot snow drifts to pile up in the corners of the room. And some of the more frustrating puzzles (usually involving jumping) have been toned down and reworked to be less "challenging".
Even though it was an unofficial mod to Half-Life 2, it still went above and beyond. Little touches such as integrating with the start-up menus, showing a scene from your current place in the campaign as a backdrop. It's the same thing you'd see in Half-Life 2 or other official Source engine releases.
It wasn't complete, though. The programmers had not yet created Xen, the borderworld where the last part of the game takes place. But even with that limitation, things are wrapped up tidily. Gordon steps through the portal, the world fades to black, and up comes the text: "Subject: Gordon Freeman. Status: Suspended". A clear indication that the narrative is not yet over. There is more to come, even if we're not sure when it might arrive.
In short, Black Mesa is the port that should have been delivered the first time. But taking into account the years of work that went into making it (and the years that will undoubtedly follow) it's easy to see why Valve couldn't have delivered on that kind of promise without tying up their own resources for a long time. All I can say is go give it a try and experience the Black Mesa Research Facility for the first time. Or remember all the reasons you fell in love with Half-Life in the first place.
When I first played Black Mesa, it came in a pair of compressed files and had to be manually installed and integrated with Steam. Now I see that Black Mesa is officially available via Steam, and until July 4, it's on sale for only $8. I still have the old version, but I'm gonna buy up the new version. It'll be an official Steam app, it'll be easy to upgrade and let's face it: these folks deserve the support for driving the project this far.
Not to long after the release of Half-Life 2, there were rumors that Valve would port the original Half-Life over to the Source engine. There was considerable excitement! Source was like nothing that had been seen at the time and to have the classic that started it all get a facelift to look as good as HL2 was certainly something to be excited about!
Alas, when it did happen... it was nothing more than a port to the new engine. Graphics remained the same, sounds remained the same and the levels were... pretty much the same. About the only difference were the particle effects (primarily explosions) looking better, but that was likely already something the Source engine already did. I can't speak for everyone, but it was a bit of a let-down.
After a while, more rumors swirled. Rumors of an independent, renegade team that wasn't going to just port Half-Life over to Source, they were going to rebuild it from the ground up and make it what everyone was expecting from the original porting project. It was a massive undertaking, but there were pictures! Proof of high-res textures, familiar levels and beautiful models.
The project fell off my radar for a long time until one day I decided to search it out again and found it with it's new name: Black Mesa. I downloaded the compressed package and integrated it into Steam (there were easy-to-follow directions, but it wasn't an automated install). And holding my breath, I launched it. It was, in a word, amazing.
For those of you who never got a chance to play the original Half-Life, it was a chance to catch up and see where it all started. To be there when Gordon Freeman creates a resonance cascade, opening portals to another universe. To run for cover when the military shows up to... uh... "help". To get your hands on strange new weapons, both Earthly and alien. And to band together with the surviving scientists and security guards to survive and get the hell out of Dodge alive.
But for those who have played Half-Life, this is Half-Life in stunning HD. All new textures, new music, re-recorded voice tracks (and additional dialog!) and expanded levels. Not just expanded like getting new rooms, but super-detailed. The opening sequence tram ride doesn't just start in the tunnels. It starts at the station, where other scientists are milling about waiting for their own trams. The open sections of the tramway tunnels have sunlight streaming in or let you look out over expansive desert landscapes.
And it comes with a strange sense of deja-vu. More than once I would be wandering down a tunnel with this nagging feeling something bad was around the corner but not able to remember exactly what it was. And then I'd turn the corner, see the giant alien beast pounding the military into the ground and think, "Ooooh yesss... I remember now." And maybe it was because I had played it through already, but looking out from the tunnel during the tram ride, I recognized places I would end up going through as events progressed.
Not everything is exactly the same. Some some things have been modified to take advantage of the shiny new game engine and beefed-up hardware. In the original Half-Life, the satellite launch control room had an open window looking out over the launch site. When you started the launch sequence, a blast shield would lower, leaving only a small slot that you could catch glimpses of light and smoke to let you know the rocket was being launched. But in Black Mesa, the window starts closed, and when you trigger the launch sequence, it opens and reveals the rocket launch in all it's amazing, smoke-belching, blinding-glare glory. No doubt HL-era hardware (or the original game engine) couldn't have handled something like that, but six years later, it was easily possible.
There are small details too. In the laser test room, be sure to watch for the ripples in the air coming off the hot upper assembly after firing. And as you're wandering through the wreckage of the laboratory, stop and marvel at the room where a liquid nitrogen tank has been punctured. It's spraying super-cooled liquid into the water coming down from the fire suppression system, causing five-foot snow drifts to pile up in the corners of the room. And some of the more frustrating puzzles (usually involving jumping) have been toned down and reworked to be less "challenging".
Even though it was an unofficial mod to Half-Life 2, it still went above and beyond. Little touches such as integrating with the start-up menus, showing a scene from your current place in the campaign as a backdrop. It's the same thing you'd see in Half-Life 2 or other official Source engine releases.
It wasn't complete, though. The programmers had not yet created Xen, the borderworld where the last part of the game takes place. But even with that limitation, things are wrapped up tidily. Gordon steps through the portal, the world fades to black, and up comes the text: "Subject: Gordon Freeman. Status: Suspended". A clear indication that the narrative is not yet over. There is more to come, even if we're not sure when it might arrive.
In short, Black Mesa is the port that should have been delivered the first time. But taking into account the years of work that went into making it (and the years that will undoubtedly follow) it's easy to see why Valve couldn't have delivered on that kind of promise without tying up their own resources for a long time. All I can say is go give it a try and experience the Black Mesa Research Facility for the first time. Or remember all the reasons you fell in love with Half-Life in the first place.
When I first played Black Mesa, it came in a pair of compressed files and had to be manually installed and integrated with Steam. Now I see that Black Mesa is officially available via Steam, and until July 4, it's on sale for only $8. I still have the old version, but I'm gonna buy up the new version. It'll be an official Steam app, it'll be easy to upgrade and let's face it: these folks deserve the support for driving the project this far.
Where have you been? Haven't seen you in a couple months or so.
But then someone reminded me about some of the... less likable parts, such as the part requiring ultra-high jumps and sticking the landing on a small, moving platform. Where if you missed, you died from the fall or were left with so little health you were easy pickings for the enemies swarming around on the ground. I can't say I miss that, and hopefully it's one of those frustrating puzzles that they might re-work.
I'm waiting for it to be finished too, but I can probably wait.