Eldritch Warlord:
Upside? Old shooters suck (it's true, even if they were the best thing ever "back in the day").

Go and play Half-Life for one hour, go and play Resistance 2 for one hour. Come back and tell me old shooters suck.

whyarecarrots:
*starts praying to whatever it is that an atheist believes in that it's late 2009*

I worship The Great Purpleplots of Schmem.

HMm, I'll try the Flying Spaghetti Monster then....

YES! I discovered steam last summer and bought the Orange Box then HL: Source. I definitely prefer it to most shooters since then. That said, the thing that really annoyed me about it was the npcs having about 4 different models. I'd heard that all the HL2 characters were in it, but I couldn't distinguish them from any other generic npcs. Barney was apparently everywhere. I think that there was just one voice actor for all of the scientists, too. Great game, but it was annoying. This edition looks like it'll correct that, though. I don't care about the naysayers. This game will be awesome. AND IT'S FREE!! Even if you don't think it'll be good, there's no downside to getting it (if your computer can run it). So why wouldn't you?

Shiuz91:
Pretty cool I wonder if it's going to be PC exclusive?

It's a mod. And generally consoles unless they are modded Xboxes (Don't know plural to Xbox) don't get much attention from the modding community.

Shiuz91:
Pretty cool I wonder if it's going to be PC exclusive?

Well, if the previously released mods are anything to go by, this will be released on Steam via PC only: I doubt that independent modders have the time to port this to a console version

gmer412:
YES! I discovered steam last summer and bought the Orange Box then HL: Source. I definitely prefer it to most shooters since then. That said, the thing that really annoyed me about it was the npcs having about 4 different models. I'd heard that all the HL2 characters were in it, but I couldn't distinguish them from any other generic npcs. Barney was apparently everywhere. I think that there was just one voice actor for all of the scientists, too. Great game, but it was annoying. This edition looks like it'll correct that, though. I don't care about the naysayers. This game will be awesome. AND IT'S FREE!! Even if you don't think it'll be good, there's no downside to getting it (if your computer can run it). So why wouldn't you?

Well its a joke i believe, The people you meet is Half-life 2 are the scientist who happen to get out thats all.

Barney was the generic term used by the developers for the security guards. Also, I think that Magnusson is one of the scientists in the canteen at the start, where you are able to destroy the casserole ;)

But really all the links between HL2 characters and HL1 have been put in retrospectively to add some depth to the storyline; Kleiner, Magnusson and Eli were not planned in HL1 and the scientists were not meant to be named characters.

i've been waiting for this for years. i thought it was vaporware for sure.

whyarecarrots:
Barney was the generic term used by the developers for the security guards. Also, I think that Magnusson is one of the scientists in the canteen at the start, where you are able to destroy the casserole ;)

But really all the links between HL2 characters and HL1 have been put in retrospectively to add some depth to the storyline; Kleiner, Magnusson and Eli were not planned in HL1 and the scientists were not meant to be named characters.

I listened to the commentary on HL2: Episode 2 and it was said that Magnusson was created using a specific line he had that had kind of a grouchy tone. It would make sense if they were never supposed to be specific characters. Thanks for clearing that up. It would be cool if the characters were easily identifiable in the remake, though.

Edit: to anyone who cares and has played the game, Magnusson is one of the two scientists that you talk to before you enter the chamber. He says something like "Gordon doesn't need to hear this."

Damn that looks nice... I might have to get this... glad to see they actually put effort into this, would have been a shame to kill something that awesome.

Amazing! I mean I have even more respect for Valve not only have they improved the graphic system by 10 fold but they improved gameplay! I mean did you see how much better the cutscenes and the gamplay went together. No you walk around and look around at the stuff going on so you can totally just walk away if you dont care

Man that was badass, especially the part where you go onto the cliff edge and see the jets. Oh the memories...

Rankao:
The most amazing thing about this "MOD" is that it is literally done on the production level of a real full game. They have people who are professionals (and several amateurs) from all over the field. Concept Artist, Graphic Artist, Music Composers, Programmers, and Much more. All of this is done for free. (Its a mod so it will be free) No mater how well the Black Mesa Mod turns out, It will indefinitely be the deepest mod ever.

Eldritch Warlord:

TheGhostOfSin:
Is it just a remake of Half-Life or does it have the expansions?

That's an astute question, I also wonder that.

Additionally I wonder if a 360 port is likely.

Unlikely unless Valve picks it up from the lead devs.

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

harhol:
I've previously voiced my opinion on those responsible and (still) have absolutely no desire to play the mod. Dystopia destroyed itself within months thanks to the most arrogant and unhelpful development team ever to grace the internet and BM:Source has an even more dislikeable team. The whole thing has descended into a cynical, CV-whoring, ego-massaging vanity project (why redo the voices and music, ffs?) and has taken at least two years longer than it ever should have done. I wish the devs luck in their lucrative new careers but I can't say I'm excited about it any more.

While I, too, hate it when modders pretend that they're actual professional developers (like the BM team is doing), and while I'm sure there's a good amount of ego-whoring going on behind the scenes, there is a good reason to redo everything: Black Mesa is going to work with any Source-powered game, and therefore all of the assets need to be made from scratch. Re-using old music and sound is out of the picture, because the old sound and music is very low-quality by today's standards. Seriously, fire up Half-Life, listen to a couple of the scientists, and tell me that it sounds good by today's standards. It's raspy and scratchy; basically, it's terrible.

jsouth88:
is anyone else slightly underwhelmed by the Source engine? I guess they are going for realism, but it doesn't pull me into the visuals so much. But I played the original half-life so many times. It was a great game and even if the engine looks a little dated to me, i'm still getting it.

Nope, you're the only one. Source is great for two reasons: first, it actually looks like the real world instead of a version where everything has been coated in a layer of saran wrap, and second, it fucking runs well on my computer. Valve designed the Source engine to be modular; based on their Steam hardware surveys, they decide what they should add to the engine to keep it looking modern and running well on the average player's computer. As far as I'm concerned, it looks great, and it runs beautifully.

Radelaide:
They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

They won't port this because it is a mod. Orange Box was a retail game. It wasn't even ported by Valve - it was developed by Valve and ported by EA. Why would anyone spend the money to distribute a free mod on the xbox?

l33ticarus:
Amazing! I mean I have even more respect for Valve not only have they improved the graphic system by 10 fold but they improved gameplay! I mean did you see how much better the cutscenes and the gamplay went together. No you walk around and look around at the stuff going on so you can totally just walk away if you dont care

What does Valve have to do with this? It's a mod made by fans.

Calobi:

the monopoly guy:
I never played Half Life, so I hope this will take it's place.
P.S. What's a citrus bazooka?

Watch Zero Punctuation. Don't remember the review. It was something having to do with people buying awful games or basic remakes with just a new weapon or some such thing.

Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, I think.

Radelaide:

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

because its not being developed by Valve... its being made by 'just some dudes' its a MOD or modification meaning that it isn't not done by an official paid team of people and if fact NO ONE is making money nor can ANYONE LEGALLY be making money from Black Mesa. If fact Black Mesa website does not even have any advertisement and they said they can't even put up a donation button.

Okay, my bad.

curlycrouton:

ANTI-SANTA:
I only played the begining of the original because mine was a cracked copy. Hope they port it to the 360 coz my pc is no where near powerful enough to run that

I believe it's a mod, so no, it won't be ported to 360.

Think about it man, Valve wouldn't go through all that time and effort just make a patch that completely over haules the graphics of the original game. I dont think ANYONE still has their orignal copy of the game. So no, it wouldn't be a patch it would be a complete remake. So it might be ported after all :)

Rankao:

Radelaide:

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

because its not being developed by Valve... its being made by 'just some dudes' its a MOD or modification meaning that it isn't not done by an official paid team of people and if fact NO ONE is making money nor can ANYONE LEGALLY be making money from Black Mesa. If fact Black Mesa website does not even have any advertisement and they said they can't even put up a donation button.

Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble?? That is a kind of fresh madness, NO ONE but the most hard-core nerds would do that. Not unless they were getting something out of it.

ANTI-SANTA:

Rankao:

Radelaide:

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

because its not being developed by Valve... its being made by 'just some dudes' its a MOD or modification meaning that it isn't not done by an official paid team of people and if fact NO ONE is making money nor can ANYONE LEGALLY be making money from Black Mesa. If fact Black Mesa website does not even have any advertisement and they said they can't even put up a donation button.

Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble?? That is a kind of fresh madness, NO ONE but the most hard-core nerds would do that. Not unless they were getting something out of it.

I myself doing some side modding and I will have to say because it is fun. Its why asking a person is helping a friend rebuild a car, or work at a soup kitchen. Its because Its something they can create and you get an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when you see an item that you and several random people who you only know by their alias and their tone in text have finished and created. Well thats my theory, otherwise I would do to their website, log into their forum and ask that question.

Also a really full mod such as Black Mesa source is something really, really great to add to a resume.

Rankao:

ANTI-SANTA:

Rankao:

Radelaide:

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

because its not being developed by Valve... its being made by 'just some dudes' its a MOD or modification meaning that it isn't not done by an official paid team of people and if fact NO ONE is making money nor can ANYONE LEGALLY be making money from Black Mesa. If fact Black Mesa website does not even have any advertisement and they said they can't even put up a donation button.

Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble?? That is a kind of fresh madness, NO ONE but the most hard-core nerds would do that. Not unless they were getting something out of it.

I myself doing some side modding and I will have to say because it is fun. Its why asking a person is helping a friend rebuild a car, or work at a soup kitchen. Its because Its something they can create and you get an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when you see an item that you and several random people who you only know by their alias and their tone in text have finished and created. Well thats my theory, otherwise I would do to their website, log into their forum and ask that question.

Also a really full mod such as Black Mesa source is something really, really great to add to a resume.

You think it could be a stunt to land a job over at Valve?

ANTI-SANTA:

You think it could be a stunt to land a job over at Valve?

I doubt it, they have 40 people working on the project many who just want to see it a reality. That would be like 1/3 of Valves staff. If it becomes a hit they might grab one or two guys, but for the most part a lot of the are working on it like they would work on a vintage car for the soul purpose of seeing a dream reality. Lets face it, if they don't do it, no one else will.

ANTI-SANTA:

Rankao:

ANTI-SANTA:

Rankao:

Radelaide:

They did port Orange box. What makes you so unsure they won't port this?

because its not being developed by Valve... its being made by 'just some dudes' its a MOD or modification meaning that it isn't not done by an official paid team of people and if fact NO ONE is making money nor can ANYONE LEGALLY be making money from Black Mesa. If fact Black Mesa website does not even have any advertisement and they said they can't even put up a donation button.

Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble?? That is a kind of fresh madness, NO ONE but the most hard-core nerds would do that. Not unless they were getting something out of it.

I myself doing some side modding and I will have to say because it is fun. Its why asking a person is helping a friend rebuild a car, or work at a soup kitchen. Its because Its something they can create and you get an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction when you see an item that you and several random people who you only know by their alias and their tone in text have finished and created. Well thats my theory, otherwise I would do to their website, log into their forum and ask that question.

Also a really full mod such as Black Mesa source is something really, really great to add to a resume.

You think it could be a stunt to land a job over at Valve?

First of all, modding isn't madness, because the people doing it do get something out of it. They get the satisfaction of making something that is, hopefully, awesome. There are some people who just do it for their resumes, however most do it as a labor of love (with the side effect of having a nice resume). Those who are in it just for the resume, and not anything else generally lack the devotion neccesary to do a full Total Conversion.

Also, for all those who haven't understood this yet: This is a modification for Half Life 2. It is not a patch, DLC, or retail game. It is not made by Valve. It is a free download if you own HL2 on PC (used to require Counter Strike Source, but I think that is no longer the case.

Edit: Sorry if this post is now redundant, in the time it took me to type it, someone already replied. By the way, the vintage car analogy is perfect. Except for the fact that the BM:Source team is giving everyone a repaired vintage car. For free.

Really great mod. I hear the modders themselves are kind of a group of elitist pricks, BUT they make a good product.

Eldritch Warlord:

Bob_F_It:
Downside? I've already played it.

Upside? Old shooters suck (it's true, even if they were the best thing ever "back in the day").

someone agrees that duke nukem 3d was balls oh praise allah

ANTI-SANTA:
Why the hell would someone go through all that trouble?? That is a kind of fresh madness, NO ONE but the most hard-core nerds would do that. Not unless they were getting something out of it.

...Do you even know what a "mod" is? They're doing it either as a hobby or to add to their resume. Surprisingly, there is more than one country in the world that makes video games, and the experience of making a mod like this is valuable for getting a job at any one of them.

Liverandbacon:
Also, for all those who haven't understood this yet: This is a modification for Half Life 2. It is not a patch, DLC, or retail game. It is not made by Valve. It is a free download if you own HL2 on PC (used to require Counter Strike Source, but I think that is no longer the case.

I don't think the problem here is that people don't understand this after reading the thread, it's that people just aren't reading the thread. Additionally, you're not quite correct here - Black Mesa is going to work with any Valve Source-powered game. You don't need Half-Life 2. You could run it with Team Fortess 2 if you wanted. (Their web site links to this page, which lists all of the games that will be able to run Black Mesa; I can think of two Source games that aren't on it - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and Sin Episodes: Emergence - but that's probably because they didn't come with the Source SDK, either, or maybe its just an oversight and they will work after all).

Liverandbacon:
Also, for all those who haven't understood this yet: This is a modification for Half Life 2. It is not a patch, DLC, or retail game. It is not made by Valve. It is a free download if you own HL2 on PC (used to require Counter Strike Source, but I think that is no longer the case.

I'd just like to point this out: you don't need Half Life 2, just something that uses the Source engine. Something like CounterStrike: Source should work fine, even if you don't have Half Life 2.

Edit: That'll teach me to not automatically post... dang blues.

whyarecarrots:
*starts praying to whatever it is that an atheist believes in that it's late 2009*

You can pray and it not to be to anything.

Bob_F_It:
Downside? I've already played it.

Play it again. It never hurt anyone.

TsunamiWombat:
Really great mod. I hear the modders themselves are kind of a group of elitist pricks, BUT they make a good product.

Maybe that's what it takes to do something like this. Anyway, as you said, it's the product that matters, not the personallities.

Rankao:

whyarecarrots:
*starts praying to whatever it is that an atheist believes in that it's late 2009*

You can pray and it not to be to anything.

Well... yes, but that always seems like a bit of a cop-out to me ;)