xkcd

by **Felstaff** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:18 pm UTC

So, um, this may exist as a thread, but there's a lot of Half-Life 2 out there already to go trawling through. So...

I'm excited. But it probably won't even be released until September 14th 2012. That's four years, 6 months, and 16 days away.

Because Half-Life: Source was, effectively, pants. And I've been waiting over a year now for the fan-created remake of Half Life 1 using the source engine.

YouTube Teaser

by **LE4dGOLEM** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:31 pm UTC

Felstaff wrote:...Because Half-Life: Source was, a joke, haha, fat chance....

I'm sorry for this, but it's what I thought of when I saw "Black Mesa".

by **Pandercolour** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:42 pm UTC

You know this is never going to be released, at least not in a finished state, right?

by **Felstaff** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:09 pm UTC

Pandercolour wrote:You know this is never going to be released, at least not in a finished state, right?

What? Noooooo! Yes! Of course it will. It's a toss-up between this and FFVII for the PS3 between "best updated game that Felstaff has nostalgia-stained love for"

It will be a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS. It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

Black Mesa: Source will be both delicious and moist.

by **semicolon** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:47 am UTC

What was so wrong with HL:S? I never played it.

by **Pandercolour** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 1:01 am UTC

semicolon wrote:What was so wrong with HL:S? I never played it.

The only difference was ragdolls and cool water.

Everything else was the same, but Valve never said it would be anything else.

by **evilbeanfiend** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:37 am UTC

Pandercolour wrote:
semicolon wrote:What was so wrong with HL:S? I never played it.

The only difference was ragdolls and cool water.

Everything else was the same, but Valve never said it would be anything else.

lighting is different as well iirc but the textures and models are pretty much the same so it basically doesn't look much different.

by **Endless Mike** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:10 pm UTC

Felstaff wrote:What? Noooooo! Yes! Of course it will. It's a toss-up between this and FFVII for the PS3 between "best updated game that Felstaff has nostalgia-stained love for"

I'm not really sure why you'd want this. Rose-tinted glasses, I guess?

by **Aleril** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:45 pm UTC

I'll say this: Half Life was and still is one of the greatest shooters out in the market.

I think the thought of getting such a great old games and polishing it to a mirror finish is a thought that most people would and are going crazy for.

by **Felstaff** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:33 pm UTC

My sentiments precisely.

As a game that got an aggregate score of 94% across the board but has aged (visually) as well as Michael Jackson, there's a massive demand for it to be source'd up, so lovers of the game (of which there are millions) can relive the fantastic gameplay, level design and fun set pieces of Half Life 1, but with the aesthetically pleasing graphics of Half Life 2.

And it's taking so long because the dedicated volunteer programmers, coders and various other designers want it damn near perfect, and who would settle for anything less.

And it'll be free, but you have to own HL2 to play it.

Glee.

by **Pandercolour** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:38 pm UTC

The development group behind Black Mesa is also taking liberties with the art and level design, so you're not going to get the same experience. These being amateur and volunteer developers also ensures the game probably won't see release. I'll change my mind on that when I'm playing it.

by **SecondTalon** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:47 pm UTC

So.. what are the odds of this being hit with a Cease and Desist from Valve?

by **Ishindri** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:50 pm UTC

Well, considering that it's been active for four years now, you'd think they would have acted by now, if they were going to. Perhaps they share the same doubts Pandercolour does.

Myself, I can't wait.

by **Pandercolour** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:06 am UTC

SexyTalon wrote:So.. what are the odds of this being hit with a Cease and Desist from Valve?

Not very, since Valve practically advertised it over Steam.

Not to mention, the devs of BM: S have been in contact with Valve for the mod.

by **Felstaff** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:41 am UTC

Yep, it makes good business sense to allow the modding community to add to your games. Not only does it keep interest up between official releases (only 18 months 'til episode 3...) but it gives Valve a big friendly smiley face from the community for the being the emperor who comes down from on high to mingle with the commoners.

by **Hawknc** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:22 pm UTC

Pandercolour wrote:
SexyTalon wrote:So.. what are the odds of this being hit with a Cease and Desist from Valve?

Not very, since Valve practically advertised it over Steam.

Not to mention, the devs of BM: S have been in contact with Valve for the mod.

Which is why Valve will reign as king of PC gaming for quite some time. Encouraging an active modding community boosts the success of their products and gives them access to a much wider pool of potential future employees. Really, they can only benefit from projects such as BM, even if some liberties are taken with the IP from the original Half-Life. Needless to say, I'm very much hoping that this gets released.

by **Mother Superior** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:50 pm UTC

As far as I know, the only problem VALVe ever had with this mod is that it was originally called Black Mesa: Source, which made it sound like an official VALVe product.
And yes, this mod will kick ass, and furtermore, it will enable me to transform some old fanfics into comics.

by **Pandercolour** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 7:36 pm UTC

Mother Superior wrote:And yes, this mod will kick ass, and furtermore, it will enable me to transform some old fanfics into comics.

Oh God. The horror... the horror.

by **Toeofdoom** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:40 am UTC

Hawknc wrote:
Pandercolour wrote:
SexyTalon wrote:So.. what are the odds of this being hit with a Cease and Desist from Valve?

Not very, since Valve practically advertised it over Steam.

Not to mention, the devs of BM: S have been in contact with Valve for the mod.

Which is why Valve will reign as king of PC gaming for quite some time. Encouraging an active modding community boosts the success of their products and gives them access to a much wider pool of potential future employees. Really, they can only benefit from projects such as BM, even if some liberties are taken with the IP from the original Half-Life. Needless to say, I'm very much hoping that this gets released.

Of course, crytek and epic games (crysis and UT3) are doing this too, but I'm also hoping this gets released, as I would like to play the original half life, and this way I would get it for free given I have orange box.

by **Mother Superior** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 4:05 pm UTC

Pandercolour wrote:
Mother Superior wrote:And yes, this mod will kick ass, and furtermore, it will enable me to transform some old fanfics into comics.

Oh God. The horror... the horror.

NONE SHALL ESCAPE!

Website · by **Leesam** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:19 pm UTC

I've been having trouble waiting for this since i tried HL:S. I've played through HL too many times not to enjoy the hell out of this mod.

by **Felstaff** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 4:21 pm UTC

Leesam wrote:I've been having trouble waiting for this since i tried HL:S. I've played through HL too many times not to enjoy the hell out of this mod.

But did you ever bother going through Xen more than once? I usually gave up around Gonad's Lair.

Website · by **Leesam** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:46 pm UTC

Felstaff wrote:
Leesam wrote:I've been having trouble waiting for this since i tried HL:S. I've played through HL too many times not to enjoy the hell out of this mod.

But did you ever bother going through Xen more than once? I usually gave up around Gonad's Lair.

Yeah i'd still go through most of it. I wouldnt bother with the Nihilanth though. I used to play through with Sven Co-op quite a bit too.

by **Felstaff** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:12 pm UTC

I remember there was a bit in Sven Co-op where we'd all just get stuck. We were having a LAN party ("No Girls Allowed" sign on the door) and we literally spent hours in some Xen like dead-end, having no idea of where to go next. We gave up, and had an epic Rise of Nations bout instead.

by **Various Varieties** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:58 pm UTC

Has anyone seen their forum topic for creating textures to go in frames in the in-game Black Mesa offices? The Richard Feynman and Hedy Lamarr ones have to make it in there.

by **Zorlin** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 6:55 am UTC

Okay, I'm sorry - this is probably my biggest gravedig ever. I'm not proud of it.

But we're nearing the deadline, and in less than two months there will either be a release or a declaration of vaporware, since the team said it'll be released "by the end of 2009" and re-confirmed this on July 28th.

The new trailer is up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGlhgVz5r6E&fmt=22

There's also some "old stuff" on their Twitter that looks pretty awesome. I seriously cannot wait. For a fan-made production, it looks to be of incredible quality. I think Valve has probably co-operated a lot more than most of us think on this particular project.

Also, the Black Mesa (Source) Developers group on Steam looks to be rather active.

We're not dead!
51 Members | 5 In-Game | 13 Online | 0 in Chat
Playing time: 1197.2 hrs this week

Member Avg: 23.5 hrs past 2 weeks

by **Goldstein** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:06 am UTC

Cheers for digging this up. I played through Half-Life: Source not so long ago and enjoyed it, but had no idea about this very compelling reason to head back to Black Mesa.

by **SoapyHobo** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:30 am UTC

Zorlin wrote:The new trailer is up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGlhgVz5r6E&fmt=22

A year old trailer is hardly 'new', and a four month old confirmation does nothing to improve my criticism of their release date. I'd be surprised if it came out this year.

by **LTK** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 11:01 am UTC

I was wondering if this project was still active. I was so psyched about it. My biggest regret of Half-Life 2 was not being able to go to Xen. I really, really hope they're going through with it.

by **Awia** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:37 pm UTC

SoapyHobo wrote:A year old trailer is hardly 'new', and a four month old confirmation does nothing to improve my criticism of their release date. I'd be surprised if it came out this year.

I'd be surprised if it came out at all, the main website hasn't updated since that trailer a year ago.

The forums are active though so we might be lucky, but most definitely not this year.

by **thecommabandit** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 2:37 pm UTC

Plus their twitter page has tweets from around late September with videos demoing the particle effects for when a headcrab teleports in. They might be quiet but they seem to be working at it still.

by **Zorlin** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:47 pm UTC

SoapyHobo wrote:
Zorlin wrote:The new trailer is up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGlhgVz5r6E&fmt=22
A year old trailer is hardly 'new', and a four month old confirmation does nothing to improve my criticism of their release date. I'd be surprised if it came out this year.

I meant in comparison to the trailer that was posted in this topic. I don't really know if their release date is realistic, but no-one seems to have corrected it and a couple of the staff are still active on their fora.

They mentioned that co-op mode may be being cut from the initial release so that they can reach the deadline, which kinda sucks.

by **psion** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:28 am UTC

I was really interested about this some years ago, but I got the vibe that this wasn't going to be finished. There was too much talent and not enough communication. I'll be surprised if there's an official release that doesn't feel thrown together, especially if it happens before ep3 goes gold.

by **Texas_Ben** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 1:33 pm UTC

Zorlin wrote:They mentioned that co-op mode may be being cut from the initial release so that they can reach the deadline, which kinda sucks.

If actually getting to play the damn thing means missing out on co-op, I'm all for that.

by **Zorlin** » Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:09 pm UTC

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Bla ... eMedia#g/u

Just took a look at some of the first videos they posted... if this never gets released, at least the bloopers are amusing.

I'm all for co-op being cut if it means being able to play earlier.

by **SlyReaper** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:45 am UTC

Please please let this be released. I played through HL1 for the first time a few months back, and quite frankly, the apalling graphics detracted from the experience because I've been spoiled by HL2's graphics. I would happily donate money to the makers if they actually finished and released it.

by **Zorlin** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:14 pm UTC

Not really sure, but I think they updated the main page.

Also, a question I asked in the fora which later got deleted had a reply from one of the devs which mentioned finalizing the mod. If they're not finished, they're damn close.

by **Ubik** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:34 pm UTC

The main page definitely has been updated.

I am becoming more and more optimistic about this.

I wonder if it will be good, and if so, will the developers get job offers from game industry. Even though it's "only" a remake, that is they haven't started completely from scratch, it is still a full game and doing one isn't a small feat.

by **headprogrammingczar** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:35 pm UTC

To be had, they are kinda cheating by basically just duplicating one of the best games of its time. Judging from the trailer though, they have incredible attention to detail. The gameplay and level design is basically done for them, and the new art and animations are damn good. I can't imagine a way they could screw this up.

by **Zorlin** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:51 pm UTC

Hmm. Site seems to be very slow, and I think they just released new screenshots.

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