So... Black Mesa

[Bagged Milk]

I'd like to apologize in advance if this topic has been done before, I went back 3 pages and all I saw regarding this topic was just that there was a release date. And if it hasn't been done before, jeez, I thought you guys were on top of everything.

In case you haven't heard, Black Mesa is a modern day re-imagining of the original Half Life. It's a total conversion with new models, sounds, animations, etc. It's been released today after about 8 years of waiting. So, what do you guys think of it? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Are you completely indifferent to it?

I am amazed by it. It keeps the whole atmosphere of the original even though everything is new and it's just awesome. There's a few differences that I was confused by. Like the whole layout of the complex is a tad different, but it's not that big of a deal. The movement feels a bit weird as well, whenever you strafe the camera angles a little, but I got used to it. All in all, it's fantastic.

here's the website [http://release.blackmesasource.com/]

 

[ToastiestZombie]

[EDIT] Holy shit, I expected at least a graphical upgrade but I didn't expect THAT! Entirely new sections, changes to setpieces, Kliener and Eli actually looking like their HL2 counterparts and more! This is all I wanted it to be and more. Also, the weapon models are amazing. Valve should hire these people now.

 

[Bagged Milk]

Damn servers! I want to play damnit! I've been waiting so long! Argh!

Will edit when I get to play.

The torrent only took about an hour-ish to download. And it should be even less now since there are even more seeds.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

Damn servers! I want to play damnit! I've been waiting so long! Argh!

Will edit when I get to play.

The torrent only took about an hour-ish to download. And it should be even less now since there are even more seeds.

I don't get torrents, way too fiddly and risky in my eyes. Still, the download is at 1.9gb out of 3.1gb at 175kb/s. My internet is shit like that. I'm gonna wait.

 

[LtWigglesworth]

A) ToastiestZombie, I love your avatar.
And B) Only 30 minutes until my torrent finishes, so I'll find out soon!

 

[DoPo]

I don't get torrents, way too fiddly and risky in my eyes.

There is very little difference to a normal download. Namely, you need a separate piece of software for it - BitTorrent, BitComet, Vuze, muTorrent (it is spelled with the greek "mu" in front, actually) or whatever. Well, from user perspective, at least. Nothing risky, especially since it's coming from an official channel. In fact it's less risky than the other download mirrors.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

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Well, I actually have used torrents before and even with legit torrents they always seem to go VERY slowly compared to my download speed normally. Like, 30kb/s at most! My normal download speeds are just more reliable. Even if I'm getting only 180kb/s...

... god I hate living in the one part of my whole town that hasn't got fibre-optic broadband yet.

 

[DoPo]

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Well, I actually have used torrents before and even with legit torrents they always seem to go VERY slowly compared to my download speed normally. Like, 30kb/s at most! My normal download speeds are just more reliable. Even if I'm getting only 180kb/s...

... god I hate living in the one part of my whole town that hasn't got fibre-optic broadband yet.

Then download a torrent with plenty of seeders, like most people do.

If you download from a dead torrent what do you expect? The BMS torrents will be very healthy.

Saying that...I've downloaded 3.5 MB over the past 27 minutes. I don't know WTF is wrong there: 2.2 kB/s average download speed, currently it's 3.0 kB/s.

There are plenty of peers who have it at 100%, availability is 30 and climbing. The only thing that's even remotely "wrong" that I see is that most peers are outside Europe. None from the UK, for sure. There is like one Lithuanian, one Polish and three Russians I share connection with.

So yeah, if it wasn't for that comment, I wouldn't have checked how my download is going. And now I'm perplexed.

EDIT: going at almost triple speed now. It might be my ISP, since I remember a similar thing happened last week for a limited time.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

Can you only download the thing via torrent?
Whenever I start up uTorrent it always says ETA is over 3 years and I really have much better things to do over that period of time.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Can you only download the thing via torrent?
Whenever I start up uTorrent it always says ETA is over 3 years and I really have much better things to do over that period of time.

No, there are various direct download mirrors available on Black Mesa's official site [http://release.blackmesasource.com/]. However, I've tried several of them and they were all agonizingly slow, probably due to high traffic. So I went torrent. Took only about 45 minutes. I have no idea why it is so slow for some people. Anyway, I'll be doing my part and will seed until a ratio of at least 30/1.

Currently installing it. Will update when I've played it.

 

[IrenIvy]

No, there are various direct download mirrors available on Black Mesa's official site [http://release.blackmesasource.com/].

I don't see those direct links at all, sadly

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

No, there are various direct download mirrors available on Black Mesa's official site [http://release.blackmesasource.com/].

I don't see those direct links at all, sadly

Click on 'DOWNLOAD NOW via official download mirrors'. It's on the right side, about two-thirds to the bottom, bellow 'Download soundtrack' and 'Watch Black Mesa trailer'. It'll make a window pop up that has all the available download options listed.

 

[LtWigglesworth]

Installing now...

 

[Bagged Milk]

It seems that this game has a forklift prejudice.

Spoiler

 

[Korten12]

Not very far in, I noticed changes from watching Freeman's mind, but so far it's awesome. Also I find the voice acting added in is actually quite good. The models also look great, above HL2.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Played it, and it is excellent. I wasn't quite convinced until after the resonance cascade, but after that point it becomes pure awesomeness. And I must say, the soundtrack is much, much better than in the original Half-Life, which adds a lot to the game.

It's great, play it.

 

[Goofguy]

Wow, you guys are getting me more and more excited for this, based on your strong reviews. Now I just gotta knock off a few games I've got on the go now so I can start this. Then again, maybe I should wait until after TL2 and Borderlands 2...

 

[D-Class 198482]

I'm just waiting for it to be released on Desura.