Black Mesa Transit System: Good morning and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. Comments on: 'Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa Transit System.' Black Mesa YouTubeGame Trailer Digital Foundry Comparison/Review ' Black Mesa was once a humble video game mod — but as of today, it's a full-fledged remake of Half-Life, newly released out of Steam Early Access. Apr 14, 2004 Announcer: 'Good morning, and welcome to the Black Mesa transit system. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the Black Mesa Research Facility personnel. The time is 8:47 A.M. Current topside temperature is 93 degrees with an estimated high of 105. The Black Mesa compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Funny/BlackMesa
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- In Unforeseen Consequences, the microwave that you used to blow up the casserole has a headcrab in it, and you can turn the microwave on and make it explode like in Gremlins!
- The microwaves in the facility also have a 'headcrab' setting.
- If you're feeling bloodthirsty, you can have fun causing a rampage by killing scientists before activating the 'plot device' with cheats. From feeding the Barnacles with scientists to blasting their heads off with aSPAS-12 or a Colt Python just like an old west movie. You can even summon in HECU marines and their tanks, then set off a full-scale gunfight in the Black Mesa lobby.
- Also in Unforeseen Consequences, when he sees Gordon after the resonance cascade, Dr. Kleiner will exclaim 'By Schrödinger's cat! He's alive!'
- Other such jargon-y expressions are used by various scientists — and as a Genius Bonus, they all have something to do with what the scientist is commenting on:
- One says, 'Maxwell's demon! It's cold in here!' Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that involves a hypothetical 'demon' making one side of a container hotter and the other colder* .
- Another says, 'By Becquerel's ghost! The radiation levels are off the charts!' A becquerel (named after Henri Becquerel) is a unit of radioactivity.
- And then, of course, there's Kleiner's aforementioned 'Schrödinger's cat' comment, referring to a famous thought experiment that involves a cat in a box simultaneously being alive and dead until observed. Sort of like how Kleiner didn't know if Gordon was alive or dead until he saw him.
- With a little bit of Gallows Humor, there's a part where a scientist manages to stop a headcrab by smashing it with a monitor. Ironically, he gets mounted by another headcrab right behind his backwhile celebrating his victory too early.
- More Gallows Humor combined with a little bit of Too Dumb to Live, the things the scientists say while attempting to hail the incoming soldiers before getting shot dead can be chuckle-worthy, but then there's the one guy who says 'take me with you! I'm the one man who knows everything!'
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- Other such jargon-y expressions are used by various scientists — and as a Genius Bonus, they all have something to do with what the scientist is commenting on:
- At one point in Office Complex, one can find (likely through hearing it first) a Houndeye sitting in a room and making curious noises while watching a TV filled with white noise.
- There is a picture of a cat hung up a wall in Office Complex, with the following caption:
- Erwin R. J. A. Schrödinger
Quantum Mechanics (1887 — 1961)
- Remember Clifford, the Dirty Coward who uses his friend as a Human Shield in Office Complex? Turns out if you shoot him with her around, she treats it like you killed an enemy! Just don't let the guards see this.
- The expanded lines for the Non-Player Characters can lead to some downright hilarious snarks and random comments - sometimes randomly having nothing to do with the context of the situation.
- Every variation of the guard's 'Make like a banana and split' line, including 'You better make like diarrhea and run.'
- 'Ya know, they used to give me pills for that kinda behaviour.'
- If you hear enough of the guards' lines for whenever Gordon throws something at them, it starts to make it sound like Black Mesa's Gordon is from Freeman's Mind!'Are you off your meds or something?!'
'Man — you're an asshole when you're drunk!' - In the hallway with the rotating signs, there's a scientist who comments on you standing next to him a long time by facetiously insinuating that you must find him attractive:'My — I'm handsome.'
'I've always been told that my left side is better.' - Guards will sometimes comment on Gordon's HEV suit.Looking slick, Freemeister! Popsicle orange really brings out your eyes.
- Even the HECU soldiers get in on the action.
Soldier 2:He looks like an orange ice-pop, sir.
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- Gordon. Pets. A. Snark.
- Neeeeigh◊.
- Also, there's an animation where the Snark becomes agitated. Which in result, Gordon ends up threatening to punch him, causing the Snark to squeal in fear.
- Kleiner instantly falling in love with the first Headcrab he sees.. which we may assume will be called Lamarr sometime later.
- If they manage to stay alive long enough, the guards have some stern words for the HECU.Guard:[noticing a marine miss him] Semper Fi, ya douchebags! [cue returning fire]
Guard: Go back to rifle class, Gomer!
Guard: Better stick to peeling potatoes, Skippy! - This video from Vinesauce's Joel shows that if you chuck the Pizza in Questionable Ethics at an NPC enough times, you will kill them! The same thing also happenswith the trash can!
- Black Mesa answers the question of just how the hell one wields the Hivehand, and the result of equipping it. You can't help but feel sorry for the poor thing.
- For bonus points, wait to do this until you find the nearby security guard. He'll have some hilarious reactions.
- Keep your subtitles on for some gems, particularly early on. Among them, the subtitles actually extend the r in 'They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the test chamberrrr.' During the same line, one of the other scientists turns around to look confusedly at the one who says it.
- Try standing outside the room where the G-Man is talking to a random scientist, and put on the subtitles to see how they describe their unintelligible conversation..
- If you return to the locker room after the Resonance Cascade in Unforeseen Consequences, you'll find one of the lockers has been blown open. Inside is a sign reading 'No Ridiculous Ties'.
- And if any players get their score tied for the top in the Steam release's multiplayer? 'Now this is a ridiculous tie.'
- In Anomalous Materials, one of the scientists is criticizing a research paper written by one of his colleagues. Talk to him long enough and he spouts this gem:'And what in the blue blazes is a.. is a ROFLcopter?'
- The new models and textures are pretty funny, too..
- The Cremating Furnaces in Questionable Ethics have options for Medium, Rare, and Well Done.
- There's a sign by the laser in Questionable Ethics that reads 'Existential Danger', next to the Infinity Symbol.
- Which becomes even funnier if you're familiar with the concept of an existential risk.
- The rotating sign displays in Anomalous Materials inform about different aspects of the facility in a matter-of-fact style. Except for one, which just says: 'Innovative! Our tram system is really cool!'
- When going through the portals in Lambda Core, you can find a room with a male scientist, female scientist, and a guard.Guard: These two bicker on Like an Old Married Couple.
Male scientist: We are an old married couple!
Female scientist: Who are you calling old!? - Inspection of the game's soundscape scripts reveals the following comments at the top of them://Inbound: Welcome to Black Mesa! Where hazardous chemical spills are a daily occurrence!
//Anomalous Materials: Someone explain to me why Gordon's job inside the test chamber, couldn't have been done by a robot, or even a monkey..
//Unforeseen Consequences: This is what happens when you 'force' a computer to divide by zero.
//Office Complex: Unbeknownst to the staff, the cafeteria had been serving bullsquid for years.
//We've Got Hostiles: Hey guys, thanks for the rescue. Oh, what? A bullet with my name on it? Cool!!
//Blast Pit: There's an alien tentacle in my soup.
//Power Up: The tunnel system smelled like fried chicken for months afterward.
//On A Rail: Good thing Gordon was around, or the scientists would have been forced to unleash droves of monkeys to press the rocket launch button.
//Apprehension: Luckily, the Female Assassins were in short supply. If Gordon had to face more than 3-4 at once, he never would have made it to Xen.
//Residue Processing: Tryouts for the Black Mesa swim team every Tuesday and Thursday.
//Questionable Ethics: Please remain stationary, while we remove your internal organs.
//Surface Tension: Look carefully for the hang gliding mini game in the cliffside level!
//Forget About Freeman: The 2008 finincial [sic] crisis was simply a cover for the repair costs of the Black Mesa facility.
//Lambda Core: And in the end, it was all just a crazy, radiation induced, nightmare!- You may get a feeling that someone in development had a thing for Freeman's Mind given that fried chicken joke was in that series.
- Not the game proper, but the voice actor for Kleiner posted this video of him singing Sir Mixalot's 'Baby Got Back' in the Kleiner voice.
- He later posted a cover of 'I got High', again as Kleiner, which ends with the Resonance Cascade occurring because he was high as a kite.Seeing predictable phase arrays.. But then, I'm high..
- He later posted a cover of 'I got High', again as Kleiner, which ends with the Resonance Cascade occurring because he was high as a kite.
- The bloopers. Hilarious Outtakes at their finest. Special mention goes to the alternate Black Mesa Transit System safety spiel and the security guard's bewildered reaction.Black Mesa Transit System: Please keep your limbs inside the train at all times. Fasten your seatbelts, and do not feed the rabid monkey.
Guard: What?
Black Mesa Transit System: Do not attempt to open the doors until the train has come to a complete halt at the station platform.
Guard:Must've been my imagination..
Black Mesa Transit System: Failure to comply may result in limb loss..
Guard: Huh?
Black Mesa Transit System: ..termination of your pass for the transit system..
Guard: Ugh..
Black Mesa Transit System:..and a one-way ticket to the principal's office.
Guard:Principal's office? What?
Black Mesa Transit System: In the event of an emergency, ignore it, and it will pass.
Guard:What the FUCK?
Black Mesa Transit System: Passengers are to remain seated and await further instructions should the emergency continue.
Guard: *clears throat* Ugh..
Black Mesa Transit System: If it is necessary to exit the train, each man for himself..
Guard: What the f..?!
Black Mesa Transit System: ..and the disabled personnel may wait behind and pray for a miracle.
Guard: SON OF A BITCH! - The HECU grunts have some funny quips if Gordon manages to wound them.Grunt: I'M SO GLAD THE MEDIC DECIDED TO TAKE A FUCKING VACATION!
- If you enter the server room during Anomalous Materials, a security guard points out that you did show up for work today, and reminds a scientist nearby that that means he owes him a pizza. If you then talk to the scientist in question, he makes several nasty remarks at the guard.
- In Power Up, one room has a scripted ambush where Vortigaunts teleport in as soon as Gordon enters the doorway. The room is chock-full of combustibles. A single stray shot from a Vortigaunt aimed at Gordon will cause a chain reaction that annihilates the ambush. In fact, the act of electricity arcing while they charge the attack is enough to set it off.
- With the fan release of the 'Hazard Course' chapter, there are many in-universe changes to avert things such as He Knows About Timed Hits or the fact that Gordon was accidentally signed up for security firearms training and some of them come off as humorous or incredibly morbid, or both.
- If Gordon lands in the water in the first room, Kleiner will point out over the PA system that one of the pipes running across the water might say 'wastewater', but he assures him that is not that kind of waste. But then one of the other scientist points that actually it is that kind of waste. Kleiner then tells Gordon that he shouldn't worry anyway, as he will, of course, be subjected to a full disinfection treatment once the course is over.
- When you get your crowbar, Gina's hologram instructs you in its use of prying apart crates that may obstruct workspaces, with the HUD tip lighting up with 'Mouse1: Pry open crates' but once you actually left click, you smash it apart and it changes to 'Mouse1: Destroy crates' and one of the monitoring scientists saying that works too. A 'Say 'Apple'.' moment if you could call it that.
- You're told that in the demonstration of laboratory hazards that if you have charged your suit's armour then you should come out just fine and if not, they have medical staff on stand by. Cue another scientist muttering in the background about calling up a medical team to the hazard course.
- One of the scientists hangs a lampshade on why they would need to train suit users on climbing ladders in the first place.
- The fall damage portion to demonstrate medkits and medical stations still includes blood like in the original game, though now it also includes a long smear leading to a locked-off door labelled 'First Aid Station', and said smear also has a wet floor sign set on top of it.
- Also from the Hazard Course, the dialogue of the same peppy guy who tells Gordon that he was accidentally signed up for firearms training.Scientist: Ah, Dr. Freeman. We've been waiting for you. Don't worry, I'm sure you hit some traffic… in the middle of the desert.
At any rate, welcome to the Black Mesa Training Facility.
Things have been in a state of commotion lately, but we're glad you're here.
Just let me double-check your file.
Ah, I see you've already signed our legal disclaimer.
'I, Gordon Freeman, hereby agree to the following terms…' blah blah blah '…as any case of serious injury, dismemberment, toxic poisoning, burns, rashes, lesions…' blah blah et cetera et cetera '…hereby agree to waive all rights as an employee of the Black Mesa Research Facility.' Ah!
Yes. It looks very good. - In Surface Tension, a scenario where a marine tosses a satchel charge into the gas pipe Freeman is crawling through is replicated from the original game with some tweaks. The explosion can still roast Freeman if the player doesn't react in time, but also blasts the heavy metal hatch on the opposite end from its hinges, sending it flying and crushing the marine.
- The Bland-Name Product for WD-40 is AN US. On the can is the actual product's list of uses.. which the name makes rife with Double Entendre.
- The 2018 April Fools joke.Bill:Forty bucks for a golden gun?! That's outrageous.. —ly awesome!
Bob: Well, for an extra $4,99 we'll throw in this handy, dandy thermos. And inside that thermos, is a specially crafted—
Bill: Uh? Uh, Bob? That's a gas can.
Bob:(eerily calm) Don't fuckin' interrupt me, Bill.
Bob:(describing the new premium HEV suit skins) And Cotton-candy Pink is extra sparkly, and it also has shields-effects that looks like a damn rainbow! (tearing up) It's a beautiful thing.
Bill:Yeeeah, I don't know, Bob. It looks like they just took a spray can to the whole thing.
Bob: Oh? Is that so? Tell you what. Let me go over there and get one of those, and I'll model it. And then — during the commercial break — you can kiss my sparkly, pink a— (gets cut off by the video ending) - Mod Let's Player A Jolly Wangcore, while playing the 'Crack-Life Remastered' mod, made a throwaway comment about a small coffee cup while a Black Mesa dev was watching the stream.
- Now with an animated version, courtesy of Antoine Delak of Gorgeous Freeman fame!
- The Steam achievements contain a few jokes in their names, accompanying images and even requirements to fulfil them:
- One requires getting killed by a headcrab. It's called 'Prophylactic Suggested' and the icon is Gordon's head wearing a condom◊.
- Doubling as a Shout-Out to Freeman's Mind, the icon for the achievement 'Kinetic Repulsion' (kill a marine with their own grenade) references a certain Ambassador◊.
- Aside from its eyebrow-raising name, the old icon for Premature Expulsion (use an entire clip of Gluon ammo in one continuous shot) featured a bespectacled Shoop-da-Whoop◊.
- 'Less than Desirable Consequences': Get killed by the Anti-Mass Spectrometer's laser before inserting the crystal.
- In Interloper, Gordon infiltrates one of the factories in Xen and an alarm immediately sounds. A nearby Vortigaunt nonchalantly pulls the plug on the alarm and goes back to pretending not to notice him.
- Elsewhere in the chapter, some moveable boxes are blocking a door in the Vortigaunt dwellings. If the player moves them and goes upstairs, they find a supply cache from Black Mesa.. that pops open and showers snacks everywhere.
- In Gonarch's Lair, after the first battle with the aforementioned boss, you can find a secret room with a whiteboard, scientific equipment and a radio. After interacting with this radio, it will play a voicemail from Barney Calhoun to Miller, describing his encounter with Dr. Horn, who believes that everyone is stealing his slices of pizza. While Horn's antics are pretty funny, the end of the message gives us a hilarious Call-Forward to Half-Life 2: Episode One.
- Officer Sezen: Hey Calhoun, guess who just locked himself out of his office again?
Barney: Ohhhh, not Kleiner!
Officer Sezen: Yup.. guess 'who's in the vents?
Barney:(runs away, knocking over a chair)
Officer Sezen: He's already halfway there, you're not gonna beat him.
Barney:(in the distance) Bullshit!
Officer Sezen:(approaches the phone) He ain't gonna beat him. (hangs up)
- There is a secret computer terminal that the player can open at the beginning of the game, in the reception room with a guard and two scientists. This is a carryover from the original game, and in both cases, one of the scientists will indignantly tell Gordon to get away from it because he's 'expecting an important message.' Here, however, unlike the original game, the computer screen displays an Instant Messaging program, open to a conversation with a suspiciously familiarscientist. The conversation itself consists entirely of idle chatter that Half-Life 1's Scientists would occasionally share with nearby friendly NPCs.
- In Questionable Ethics, have the security guard near the cafeteria follow you into the atrium, where two Grunts are discussing Black Mesa's Pretentious Latin Motto. The first grunt tries to pronounce it; if the guard is with you, he'll sneak up behind them as they talk, only to pause in frustration and say 'It's Latin!' The first grunt, without even looking to see who just spoke, says 'Oh. Hmph, foreigners,' before walking out of the room with his buddy.
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Index
• Black Mesa, The Ambitious Fan Remake Of Half-Life, Has Finally Hit Version 1.0 [Gamespot]
“Black Mesa's initial launch in 2012 also coincided with the introduction of Valve's Steam Greenlight program, which allowed users to vote for games to be added to Steam's storefront. Black Mesa was one of the first games to be voted on by fans and approved by Valve as part of the program, and soon after Valve approached the team about releasing Black Mesa as a commercial project. With full access to the latest version of the Source engine, and the ability to earn money from the project after working as volunteers for so many years, Crowbar Collective agreed. The game then launched in Steam Early Access on May 5, 2015. At this point, the Xen sections were still a work in progress, but Black Mesa's Early Access release allowed for valuable feedback and bug testing from the community. Eventually, after a couple of betas and some stress testing by players, the full Xen chapter was released on December 24, 2019, which brings us to now and the full release of version 1.0. 'Through luck, hard work, and maybe a bit of ignorance, we didn't shy away from our goal of bringing this game to completion,' said project lead Adam Engels in a blog post celebrating the 1.0 release. 'We are proud of what we built. We think this upcoming 1.0 release is the best, most polished, and most fun version of the game yet.'”• 'Black Mesa' Is Not the 'Half-Life' You Remember [Vice Gaming]
“It's more like Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho than the cleaned-up and 'digitally remastered' release of Star Wars. It's not just a bunch of high resolution textures, but a meticulous recreation of a long, complex, and beloved game in a more recent engine, with a few embellishments. Black Mesa's ambitions were so exciting when I first saw a trailer for it in the 2000s that I decided I wouldn't play it until the entire thing was finished. Different parts of it have been playable for years, but last week Black Mesa's developer Crowbar Collective started beta testing the 1.0 release of the game, meaning the entire thing is playable, beginning to end, including the game's last chapter, Xen, which takes place on an alien world. [..] What this means in practice is that Black Mesa tells the same story with a lot more fidelity. This is clear from the game's opening and iconic tram ride, where the player spends a long time looking around and absorbing the Black Mesa facility before being given any agency. What was once a giant, bare wall the player passed by is now a diorama of meetings rooms and labs filled with props—coffee cups, piles of papers, computers—and populated with more detailed character models going about their business. These models are one of the biggest improvements Black Mesa brings to Half-Life.”• A masterful remake that improves upon a classic [Eurogamer]
“Black Mesa starts with a ballsy opening gambit, an introductory tram ride that's longer than the one in the original Half-Life. It's odd to think such an iconic moment in FPS history was one of the less-liked aspects of Half-Life on launch. Extending it is a deliberate move on Crowbar Collective's part. It gives you more time to notice the extra details they've added into the introduction. Black Mesa is more populous than in Valve's original vision, with scientists loitering around the newly introduced railway station, and guards manning security checkpoints that didn't exist in the original. It isn't merely visual stuff that's changed either. The carriage's welcome message now sounds like it's emanating from a speaker, while a whole new soundtrack plays its opening notes out as a 27-year-old MIT graduate begins his worst day at work. It's a statement by Crowbar Collective. We're not messing around, nor are we slaves to every pixel of Valve's game. This, ultimately, is what defines Black Mesa. The willingness not just to replicate, but to attempt to improve upon the core experience of Half-Life. To refine what works and, crucially, remove what doesn't.”• Xen doesn't suck anymore. [PC Gamer]
“Half-Life is still great, but feels increasingly stiff and dated as the years roll relentlessly on. But Black Mesa being built on the foundations of Half-Life 2, borrowing its weapon handling and chaotic physics simulation, makes for a much more dynamic and engaging first-person shooter. And thanks to an abundance of movable and breakable objects, and devilish traps that frequently cause explosive chain reactions, the stricken research facility has never felt more reactive, unpredictable, or dangerous. But let's talk about Xen, because this is where Black Mesa makes its biggest statement. In the original Half-Life, Freeman's arrival on Xen was, for most players, something of an anticlimax. It's not as bad as people remember, but this otherworldly expanse of floating platforms, bizarre alien flora, and grubby textures is a low point for the game, with frustrating low-gravity platforming and a tedious boss battle against a giant testicle. But after years in development and several delays, Black Mesa achieves the impossible and makes Xen one of the best parts of the game. The new Xen is stunning to look at, and feels genuinely strange and otherworldly—as this cosmic place-between-places should. Shortly after teleporting there, Freeman finds himself gazing across a vista of weird floating creatures and a swirling, vivid nebula. Comparing both versions of Xen side by side, it's almost comical how much of an improvement this is.”
I really wish Steam had given us a proper Half Life 3 sequel, instead we're getting Half-Life: Alyx which feels very much a thing only created to sell more Valve Index units. Maybe the sequel we all want will happen some day, who knows, but in the mean time we have people like the Crowbar Collective putting in thousands of hours into this remake, clearly a labour of love. I might pick this up and venture back, it looks beautiful.
posted by Fizz at 10:10 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 10:10 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
I fully admit how beautiful and awesome Half-Life: Alyx looks, I just wish it wasn't in VR. Like just give us this story but without the VR. Bah.
posted by Fizz at 10:13 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
posted by Fizz at 10:13 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
Well, goodbye weekend.
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 10:17 AM on March 6
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 10:17 AM on March 6
Black Mesa, how intriguing.
posted by factory123 at 10:17 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
posted by factory123 at 10:17 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
I came to Valve games via the Orange Box, so I don't have quite the nostalgic attachment to the first game that a lot of people do, but.. heck, I'll give it a whirl.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:32 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:32 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
Something that is sometimes said of good remakes is that they are the game you remember playing, rather than the game you actually played. From the footage, I think that the visuals in Black Mesa are the best example of that I've ever seen. The love of the source material (which remains in my top 10 games of all time, and is almost certainly the only game I've completed multiple times) is so obvious in the..'exuberant care'?.. that has been given to every element. It sounds like that is true of the gameplay, too.
posted by howfar at 10:38 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
posted by howfar at 10:38 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
To prepare for Half-Life: Alyx, I recently played through Half-Life (non-Source) and Half-Life 2 and I think all of the various single-player DLC-like expansions for both. This was my first time playing any of them other than a brief attempt at the first game some years ago. It's impressive how fun these games are to play, even now, even without a nostalgia factor. This remake looks really good, but no doubt it had incredible base material to work with.
Also, for anyone who cares, Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and its two episodes are free to play on Steam until the release of Half-Life: Alyx later this month.
Fizz: I really wish Steam had given us a proper Half Life 3 sequel, instead we're getting Half-Life: Alyx which feels very much a thing only created to sell more Valve Index units.
Valve doesn't care about the Index specifically, they care about VR, which is a big differentiator for them. The Index for Valve/VR is like the Pixel lineup for Google/Android, an attempt to guarantee that quality hardware exists for the software. Similarly they're making Half-Life: Alyx to motivate the VR software market. VR in its current state has been around since 2016 and the number of good games is low, and almost none with the polish Valve is known for. Valve's free 'The Lab' collection of mini-games from 2016 is still one of the best.
I do VR with the Samsung Odyssey+ which is regularly on sale for $230, and you can use it at your desk. The $1000 perpetually-out-of-stock Valve Index that requires a whole spare room, is not necessary.
posted by bright flowers at 11:02 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
Also, for anyone who cares, Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and its two episodes are free to play on Steam until the release of Half-Life: Alyx later this month.
Fizz: I really wish Steam had given us a proper Half Life 3 sequel, instead we're getting Half-Life: Alyx which feels very much a thing only created to sell more Valve Index units.
Valve doesn't care about the Index specifically, they care about VR, which is a big differentiator for them. The Index for Valve/VR is like the Pixel lineup for Google/Android, an attempt to guarantee that quality hardware exists for the software. Similarly they're making Half-Life: Alyx to motivate the VR software market. VR in its current state has been around since 2016 and the number of good games is low, and almost none with the polish Valve is known for. Valve's free 'The Lab' collection of mini-games from 2016 is still one of the best.
I do VR with the Samsung Odyssey+ which is regularly on sale for $230, and you can use it at your desk. The $1000 perpetually-out-of-stock Valve Index that requires a whole spare room, is not necessary.
posted by bright flowers at 11:02 AM on March 6 [1 favorite]
Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman. Rise, and shine.
posted by mhoye at 11:05 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 11:05 AM on March 6 [7 favorites]
Also, Marc Laidlaw, one of the main writers for the Half-Life series, essentially posted a plot summary online for Half-Life 2: Episode 3 back in 2017. I don't think Valve is ever going to make a Half-Life game called 'Episode 3' or just '3' or 'Half-Life: Dog' or whatever, that picks up directly after the end of Episode 2.
posted by bright flowers at 11:06 AM on March 6
posted by bright flowers at 11:06 AM on March 6
I'll likely never make a post about it, but the Oculus Quest is a total game changer. 6 degrees of freedom (ie you can walk around) in a completely self-contained headset that is relatively affordable is remarkable.
There has been a chicken/egg problem of there not being enough of an audience for VR games for companies to spend money on making them, and then no one bothers getting a headset because there aren't enough games. With the Quest having been out of stock since December (ie, a ton of people bought one in the past 3 months), I'm hoping that changes. I got in as a playtester for a game that I'm not supposed to talk about but suffice to say it just wouldn't work in anything but VR and the experience of playing it is nothing like anything I've played in my ~40 years of gaming.
There's a Half Life port I might actually get around to playing this weekend.
posted by booooooze at 11:23 AM on March 6
There has been a chicken/egg problem of there not being enough of an audience for VR games for companies to spend money on making them, and then no one bothers getting a headset because there aren't enough games. With the Quest having been out of stock since December (ie, a ton of people bought one in the past 3 months), I'm hoping that changes. I got in as a playtester for a game that I'm not supposed to talk about but suffice to say it just wouldn't work in anything but VR and the experience of playing it is nothing like anything I've played in my ~40 years of gaming.
There's a Half Life port I might actually get around to playing this weekend.
posted by booooooze at 11:23 AM on March 6
See Full List On Half-life.fandom.com
Maybe Black Mesa?
That was a joke
Haha
Fat chance
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 11:43 AM on March 6 [14 favorites]
That was a joke
Haha
Fat chance
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 11:43 AM on March 6 [14 favorites]
A fellow scientist!
posted by dr_dank at 12:27 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 12:27 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]
Wolfenstein 3D and Doom may be the games that kicked off the whole FPS thing, but Half-Life is the first truly modern FPS. It's the most recent common ancestor of pretty much every FPS that followed except for a handful of games that are explicit throwbacks to the pre-HL era. And it pioneered storytelling approaches that are now standard throughout the industry, across genres.
I bought Black Mesa when they announced the release date for Xen, though I haven't dipped my toes into it yet. I'm looking forward to giving it a shot when I need my nostalgia fix.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:34 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
I bought Black Mesa when they announced the release date for Xen, though I haven't dipped my toes into it yet. I'm looking forward to giving it a shot when I need my nostalgia fix.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:34 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
Maybe Black Mesa?
That was a joke
Haha
Fat chance
I came in here to quote this. Thank you!
posted by gemmy at 2:15 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]
That was a joke
Haha
Fat chance
I came in here to quote this. Thank you!
posted by gemmy at 2:15 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]
Robert Yang, who did some work on this, is currently playing through and examining the level design as part of his ongoing Level With Me series (possibly NSFW, since he also makes sexy games).
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:16 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 2:16 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]
Yeah, HL remains a truly amazing, groundbreaking game and storytelling experience. It's unparalleled. It's the first game that really blew me away since the first time I played Wolfenstein.
FYI, it looks like HL isn't free to play anymore, but it IS super cheap --- $9.99.
posted by uberchet at 2:29 PM on March 6
FYI, it looks like HL isn't free to play anymore, but it IS super cheap --- $9.99.
posted by uberchet at 2:29 PM on March 6
uberchet: If you go to Half-Life on Steam at https://store.steampowered.com/app/70/HalfLife/ without logging in, you should see a light gray box with the text 'Play Half-Life'/'Play for free! Ends in 3 weeks' and a green 'Play Game' button, which lets you play the game for free but doesn't add the game to your library permanently. You can also buy it for $9.99 using the 'Buy Half-Life'/'Add to Cart' option below that, but I don't recommend buying it now since the game gets a 90% discount during pretty much every major Steam sale, along with similar discounts on other Valve games.
posted by bright flowers at 4:01 PM on March 6
posted by bright flowers at 4:01 PM on March 6
Similarly they're making Half-Life: Alyx to motivate the VR software market. VR in its current state has been around since 2016 and the number of good games is low..
..suffice to say it just wouldn't work in anything but VR and the experience of playing it is nothing like anything I've played in my ~40 years of gaming.
Taking Virtual Reality for a Test Drive - 'Of all my out-of-this-world moments, the most sublime were those I spent in the Stanford swimming pool.. I felt as if I were scuba diving along the ocean floor. I passed coral reefs and a shipwreck and swam with manta rays and singing humpback whales. Later, with a seal as my guide, I explored the lost city of Atlantis and then, after a slight technical glitch, glided through outer space, beholding Earth from afar and inspecting the Hubble telescope up close.'
Wolfenstein 3D and Doom may be the games that kicked off the whole FPS thing, but Half-Life is the first truly modern FPS.
marathon :P
posted by kliuless at 4:48 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
..suffice to say it just wouldn't work in anything but VR and the experience of playing it is nothing like anything I've played in my ~40 years of gaming.
Taking Virtual Reality for a Test Drive - 'Of all my out-of-this-world moments, the most sublime were those I spent in the Stanford swimming pool.. I felt as if I were scuba diving along the ocean floor. I passed coral reefs and a shipwreck and swam with manta rays and singing humpback whales. Later, with a seal as my guide, I explored the lost city of Atlantis and then, after a slight technical glitch, glided through outer space, beholding Earth from afar and inspecting the Hubble telescope up close.'
Wolfenstein 3D and Doom may be the games that kicked off the whole FPS thing, but Half-Life is the first truly modern FPS.
marathon :P
posted by kliuless at 4:48 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
I've played Black Mesa going back a year and a half ago, and it was kind of buggy. My flashlight wouldn't turn on and I couldn't pass one of the crushing machines. Frustrating experience, otherwise everything I'd want in an updated Half-Life.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:38 PM on March 6
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:38 PM on March 6
I was fairly interested in this until the DF review/preview noted that combat had been updated and made more challenging. My twitch reflex isn't what used to be and finishing the game was challenging enough the first time. The chance of me even making it to Xen is about zero, especially with a game controller rather than twitchy mouse and keyboard.
posted by wierdo at 9:16 PM on March 6
posted by wierdo at 9:16 PM on March 6
I remember playing the original Half-Life for the first time. Early in the game when Gordon is starting to venture out of the labs and office areas, looking for a way out of the facility, I found a ladder leading down into darkness.
I thought, 'No way am I going down there.' And then kind of marveled at how I'd never had that feeling of reflexively reacting as if I were doing something real rather than playing a video game.
Also, one of the headcrabs jumping out at me made my head lurch back out of the way so hard it ripped the earbuds out of my ears.
posted by straight at 12:10 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
I thought, 'No way am I going down there.' And then kind of marveled at how I'd never had that feeling of reflexively reacting as if I were doing something real rather than playing a video game.
Also, one of the headcrabs jumping out at me made my head lurch back out of the way so hard it ripped the earbuds out of my ears.
posted by straight at 12:10 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
I played an early version of Black Mesa, and mostly enjoyed it, although I'm not sure I'm in the right frame of mind to go back to the full game. I think maybe I'm tired of games trying to scare me? I downloaded the demo for the 2016 Doom the other day, and all I could think is, why are you throwing all these gross things at me? Why is this so stressful? And, I mean, the original Doom occupied just thousands of my hours. Something's changed, and I have to assume it's me. Scary skeletons met some need in me ages ago, that they don't anymore.
So when I was watching the videos for Half-Life: Alyx, all I could think was how constrained it felt. I don't know how it actually plays, of course, but the videos made it look very, 'Walk to this point. Look out, spooky people with turkeys on their heads! Shoot! Thank you, now walk to this point.' A fun-house at the fair. I'm sure it's very pretty, and I'm sure people will enjoy it, but after waiting 150 years for a new Half-Life game, I don't know, I expected to be much more excited over it. Instead of this combined feeling of, 'I'll never play this because I can't afford a headset' and 'when real life is so scary, why would anyone want a jump scare?'
Oh good grief, I didn't mean to sound so dead inside. I hope people get many hours of enjoyment out of these games. Especially Black Mesa, because it represents something so different than we usually see in the tightly controlled world of intellectual property, a creative endeavor, a labor of love, actually allowed by the original owners. That's a good thing!
posted by mittens at 7:47 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
So when I was watching the videos for Half-Life: Alyx, all I could think was how constrained it felt. I don't know how it actually plays, of course, but the videos made it look very, 'Walk to this point. Look out, spooky people with turkeys on their heads! Shoot! Thank you, now walk to this point.' A fun-house at the fair. I'm sure it's very pretty, and I'm sure people will enjoy it, but after waiting 150 years for a new Half-Life game, I don't know, I expected to be much more excited over it. Instead of this combined feeling of, 'I'll never play this because I can't afford a headset' and 'when real life is so scary, why would anyone want a jump scare?'
Oh good grief, I didn't mean to sound so dead inside. I hope people get many hours of enjoyment out of these games. Especially Black Mesa, because it represents something so different than we usually see in the tightly controlled world of intellectual property, a creative endeavor, a labor of love, actually allowed by the original owners. That's a good thing!
posted by mittens at 7:47 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
Half Life: Alyx does look like a very on the rails kind of game. I'm impressed with the animation and how far VR technology has come, but I wear glasses and I have no intention of getting contacts, so unless I shell out thousands of dollars for a custom VR headset with prescription lenses (which is a thing you can do), I'm kind of out of luck.
Ah well, plenty of other games out there for me to enjoy and Black Mesa looks like the remake we've always wanted.
posted by Fizz at 8:04 AM on March 7
Ah well, plenty of other games out there for me to enjoy and Black Mesa looks like the remake we've always wanted.
posted by Fizz at 8:04 AM on March 7
Also, for anyone who cares, Half-Life, Half-Life 2 and its two episodes are free to play on Steam until the release of Half-Life: Alyx later this month.
PSA: Anyone looking to revisit the original Half-Life 2 these days should check out Half-Life 2: Update instead. It's a community mod that tweaks the rendering and fixes a bunch of outstanding bugs (a while back Valve updated Half-Life 2 to a newer version of the engine, which caused a number of issues that they never bothered to fix).
posted by neckro23 at 9:49 AM on March 7
PSA: Anyone looking to revisit the original Half-Life 2 these days should check out Half-Life 2: Update instead. It's a community mod that tweaks the rendering and fixes a bunch of outstanding bugs (a while back Valve updated Half-Life 2 to a newer version of the engine, which caused a number of issues that they never bothered to fix).
posted by neckro23 at 9:49 AM on March 7
Half Life: Alyx does look like a very on the rails kind of game.
And I think that VR games will continue looking this way forever. (The ones that aren't cockpit games, at least.) It's not a technical limitation, it's a biological one. The kind of smooth movement that works and looks good on a fixed 2D screen completely wrecks proprioception in VR. Even the people who don't get outright sick report that they can only play for an hour or two before hitting the limit of their physical tolerance.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:19 AM on March 7
And I think that VR games will continue looking this way forever. (The ones that aren't cockpit games, at least.) It's not a technical limitation, it's a biological one. The kind of smooth movement that works and looks good on a fixed 2D screen completely wrecks proprioception in VR. Even the people who don't get outright sick report that they can only play for an hour or two before hitting the limit of their physical tolerance.
posted by tobascodagama at 11:19 AM on March 7
The VR game BONEWORKS (capitalization included), which came out last December, is similar to the original Half-Life as mentioned in the Wikipedia link, in fact deliberately mimicking it in some obvious ways. It can also cause VR nausea/discomfort, and at launch you couldn't save mid-level, which was annoying on longer levels especially with the nausea, though they added mid-level checkpoints later in a patch. BONEWORKS is what I think a more open, less constrained, less on rails Half-Life game would be like, and it's not something that I think a lot of players, especially players new to VR, would be very comfortable with.
Fizz: I haven't tried wearing glasses with VR but from looking around it seems some headsets work as-is depending on the glasses and the face, or there are options for custom lens/inserts for less than $100. Of course it's up to you but if your glasses are the only barrier and you really want to play Alyx or VR generally, there are options.
posted by bright flowers at 3:00 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]
Fizz: I haven't tried wearing glasses with VR but from looking around it seems some headsets work as-is depending on the glasses and the face, or there are options for custom lens/inserts for less than $100. Of course it's up to you but if your glasses are the only barrier and you really want to play Alyx or VR generally, there are options.
posted by bright flowers at 3:00 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]
>marathon :P
I'm so bummed to have only now learned the 25th anniversary edition shirt was a thing and is now sold out.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:16 PM on March 7
I'm so bummed to have only now learned the 25th anniversary edition shirt was a thing and is now sold out.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:16 PM on March 7
> I wear glasses and I have no intention of getting contacts, so unless I shell out thousands of dollars for a custom VR headset with prescription lenses (which is a thing you can do), I'm kind of out of luck.
I wear glasses with an HTC Vive and it works fine. I understand it might not work AS well for larger lenses but depending on your prescription/lens height it might be playable.
posted by fomhar at 5:15 PM on March 8
I wear glasses with an HTC Vive and it works fine. I understand it might not work AS well for larger lenses but depending on your prescription/lens height it might be playable.
posted by fomhar at 5:15 PM on March 8
The chance of me even making it to Xen is about zero, especially with a game controller rather than twitchy mouse and keyboard.
The nice thing about most Source engine games (incl. Black Mesa) is that it has a bunch of built-in 'cheats' for the single-player mode. I enabled 'buddha' mode (like 'god' mode except you still take damage all the way down to 1 hp) for especially difficult spots during my pre-Xen Black Mesa playthrough, and you can also do things like give yourself more weapons, ammo or health, adjust the amount of damage your weapons do, change movement parameters, etc.
posted by Aleyn at 11:33 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]
The nice thing about most Source engine games (incl. Black Mesa) is that it has a bunch of built-in 'cheats' for the single-player mode. I enabled 'buddha' mode (like 'god' mode except you still take damage all the way down to 1 hp) for especially difficult spots during my pre-Xen Black Mesa playthrough, and you can also do things like give yourself more weapons, ammo or health, adjust the amount of damage your weapons do, change movement parameters, etc.
posted by Aleyn at 11:33 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]
I had to stop playing HL2 a while back because it started messing with my head. I would be turning a corner and think 'There are probably going to be barnacles dropping down from that bridge up ahead, I should probably move to the side so I can avoid combine troops coming from the left.' Like, I wasn't actually thinking it, but I had internalised a way of assessing a scene as if it were in the game. That's never happened to me with any other game but, to be fair, I now avoid spending extended periods on FP shooters.
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:14 AM on March 10
posted by Joe in Australia at 2:14 AM on March 10
Yeah, that's like when you try to drive in real life after playing a few hours of GTA, and even though you're fine, it constantly feels like you might swerve off a bridge or run over a crowd. It really gets in your head.
posted by mittens at 6:48 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
posted by mittens at 6:48 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
I found Half Life: Alyx turns out to be pretty much as railsy as Half Life 2, but with some extra verbs available to the player. It works well, but a lot of what it does probably doesn't translate well to a trailer, so those are full of zombie-shooting (which is a little static, but more fun than it looks). It's not as open as something like Lone Echo, but I don't think that's because of the movement mechanics as much as just being a Half Life game that has to run at very high resolutions, very fast, without dropping frames, on consumer hardware.
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:16 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 9:16 AM on April 4 [1 favorite]
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