Black Mesa Xen Created 4 years ago2019-06-25 01:43:39 UTC by satchmo satchmo

Created 4 years ago2019-06-25 01:43:39 UTC by satchmo satchmo

Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 01:43:39 UTC Post #342793
The final chapter of the Black Mesa project is about to be released.

Four years after the initial release, Black Mesa is finally near completion.

Here is the new video to whet your appetite.
9 minutes of walkthrough
satchmo satchmo“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. -- Samuel Beckett”
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 02:12:28 UTC Post #342794
When you say "about to be released", does that mean it has an actual release date or is it still a vague "coming soon"?
Penguinboy PenguinboyHaha, I died again!
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 09:01:34 UTC Post #342795
That's absolutely stunning and it certainly makes up for all the content that was cut out of the game particularly the "On a Rail" and "Surface tension" which were reduced in size by 75% each.
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 09:38:03 UTC Post #342796
Certainly looks like a better version of Xen than what Valve had come up with.
HL for me always ended at Xen because its just annoying jumpy bits and half baked organic geometry which the engine wasn't made for.

Have to a agree with 23^^ those chapters were quite short.
rufee rufeeSledge fanboy
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 13:18:39 UTC Post #342797
When you say "about to be released", does that mean it has an actual release date or is it still a vague "coming soon"?
Still pretty vague as far as I know. But it sure looks like they have the bulk of the content ready for prime time.
satchmo satchmo“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. -- Samuel Beckett”
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 13:29:43 UTC Post #342798
That's absolutely stunning and it certainly makes up for all the content that was cut out of the game particularly the "On a Rail" and "Surface tension" which were reduced in size by 75% each.
Surface Tension has now been extended in the Steam release, in case you didn't know. It was a LOT longer when I did another run recently.

This looks good though. A Hell of a lot better than what we got with HL1, but then that was their goal in the first place.
monster_urby monster_urbyGoldsourcerer
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 16:02:47 UTC Post #342799
Can't wait, this looks better and better with each new piece of media they release, Hopefully it'll be worth the wait.
sluggard sluggardInsert Creative "Custom Title Text" here
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 20:43:06 UTC Post #342800
The first three Xen maps can now be played in a beta release: Xen Technical Beta
The Mad Carrot The Mad CarrotMad Carrot
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 22:13:56 UTC Post #342801
I shall wait on the full release.
monster_urby monster_urbyGoldsourcerer
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-25 23:13:14 UTC Post #342802
Yeah, I feel like a small taste will just ruin the full meal when it's time.
I'll probably check out the earthbound chapters real quick to see if a couple outstanding bugs have been fixed yet but otherwise just keep thinking about what to do next on the map I'm working on.
Notewell NotewellGIASFELFEBREHBER
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-26 05:43:24 UTC Post #342804
If a small taste ruins it later it had to be pretty shit to begin with.
Stojke StojkeUnreal
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-26 06:56:55 UTC Post #342805
That's not what the phrase means. It means that some people (myself included) would prefer to wait until the full thing is available, rather than play a less polished beta version.
Penguinboy PenguinboyHaha, I died again!
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-26 12:23:32 UTC Post #342806
If this thing keeps getting delayed until autumn-winter it will be in perfect timing with me getting a new rig, so I can fully taste the eye-candy :biggrin:
Do you guys feel like they diverged from the overall theme style of the original Xen? I know it's a modern interpretation, but that's what I sense. I haven't played a in a long time but I remember more purplish surfaces.
Striker StrikerI forgot to check the oil pressure
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-26 12:27:18 UTC Post #342807
Striker said:Do you guys feel like they diverged from the overall theme style of the original Xen? I know it's a modern interpretation, but that's what I sense. I haven't played a in a long time but I remember more purplish surfaces.
From their devlogs, as I have understood, it looks like they're completely reinventing Xen from the ground up rather than re-imagening Valve's Xen. Still, I can't wait for Xen to finally be released. Gonna have to play through the whole game from start to finish when that happens.
Dr. Orange Dr. OrangeSource good.
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-26 20:51:01 UTC Post #342808
Penguin
I personally enjoy beta content if the final product is to my taste ("good").
Stojke StojkeUnreal
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-27 20:18:24 UTC Post #342809
Their interpretation is nothing like the original Xen, which was a barren and isolating place. I am perfectly fine with the changes they made.

It's been decades since the original HL came out, and it just makes sense to re-imagine the old concept.
satchmo satchmo“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. -- Samuel Beckett”
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-28 13:17:03 UTC Post #342812
That is beautiful. Looks resource intensive. How did it run?
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-29 10:44:55 UTC Post #342816
Looking very nice. The ambient sound is good too.
Posted 4 years ago2019-06-29 12:10:24 UTC Post #342818
It's all great, the environments are of very high quality, but it just doesn't feel alien enough. Valve's Xen was maybe atrocious but I think it had the potential to become something much, much better. But BMS version looks like a very well made yet typical alien planet from a generic science fiction movie or something like that.
Still looking forward to it, hopefully it'll be fun to play.
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