Half-Life remake 'Black Mesa' has a post-release hotfix with a little Linux fix included

I've nearly finished my first run through and I'm enjoying it a lot. The Xen levels are gorgeous.

It IS quite brillant.
Except for the Interloper chapter - wow, that was probably the most massive break of pace I've seen in a game like that.
Game goes from lots of action, shooting, dodging missiles, jumping and the occasional puzzle to...
Gigantic, long-reaching levels with lots of walking, lots of waiting (on slow-moving conveyor belts, among other things), lots of simple-yet-annoying puzzles and extremely little in the way of action.
Almost made me quit the game - just completely threw me out of the experience. And when you look around, lots of people quite strongly dislike that one chapter.

But except for that one blooper, the game is a great experience. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes FPS games.

Seriously, Gonarch was so stressful I actually was happy for the interloper being so slow. Still stuck there, as it is very slow.
Still, Gonarch must be the most intense boss in a game I have ever played. You really get twitchy in panic of being followed/chased.
It's quite the difference when you realise that the HEV suite is so overpowering. You end up feeling a bit like a Xenomorph, so overpowered the HEV suits makes you, then you run into Gonarch... and it's so insanely powerful...
Big momma headcrab. Hungry, and later Angry top-level predator.

from change log:

Quote- ToGL/Linux: Changed/tweaked internal texture formats and video options to avoid visual issues on different dynamic lighting quality levels

So Linux version use Valve ToGL? I thought it was completely native. But apparently I was wrong.

Quoting: GuestIts not funny when a Shotgun is like a Sniper.

In fairness to Crowbar Collective, real shotguns do actually have a surprisingly far reach compared to their gaming counterparts. BM's shotgun is one of the most accurate ones I've used yet.

I don't quite get the hate on Interloper, I loved it. But to each their own.
(Oh also I hated every minute of On a rail when I first played the original HL, I'm so happy they cut it out)

Quoting: DamonLinuxPLfrom change log:

Quote- ToGL/Linux: Changed/tweaked internal texture formats and video options to avoid visual issues on different dynamic lighting quality levels

So Linux version use Valve ToGL? I thought it was completely native. But apparently I was wrong.

It's a Source Engine game, and Source uses ToGL. Source 2 has native rendering.

Quoting: win8linux

Quoting: GuestIts not funny when a Shotgun is like a Sniper.

In fairness to Crowbar Collective, real shotguns do actually have a surprisingly far reach compared to their gaming counterparts. BM's shotgun is one of the most accurate ones I've used yet.

Yeah, games always get that wrong. A shotgun isn't supposed to have the range of a melee weapon. The spread of the pellets is usually pretty tight, letting them travel relatively far.

Quoting: PopeRigbyYeah, games always get that wrong. A shotgun isn't supposed to have the range of a melee weapon. The spread of the pellets is usually pretty tight, letting them travel relatively far.

And pistols are not sniper rifles .

TL;DR Games are not realistic. Neither are movies. It's just our perception.

Game developers have to work with a surprisingly delicate balance between "realistic" and "fun". Hollywood has given us a very twisted perception of how guns work. So if you make it too realistic, it feels less realistic, because you subconsciously expect the guns to work like they do in the movies.

But the hardest thing to simulate accurately is "you", because in the actual reality the mechanical accuracy of the gun does not mean nearly as much as the person wielding it. There are even records of actual soldiers in actual conflicts complaining that their guns were inaccurate or ineffective, whereas it was often the case that under stress and pressure they were simply not able to keep on target.

The closest I have seen is the original Operation Flashpoint, later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault, where you would basically have no chance of hitting anything while walking around, and sprinting would make your heart race and your hands tremble. But this clearly wouldn't work for a fast paced game like Half-Life.

Quoting: Linas

Quoting: PopeRigbyYeah, games always get that wrong. A shotgun isn't supposed to have the range of a melee weapon. The spread of the pellets is usually pretty tight, letting them travel relatively far.

And pistols are not sniper rifles .

TL;DR Games are not realistic. Neither are movies. It's just our perception.

Game developers have to work with a surprisingly delicate balance between "realistic" and "fun". Hollywood has given us a very twisted perception of how guns work. So if you make it too realistic, it feels less realistic, because you subconsciously expect the guns to work like they do in the movies.

But the hardest thing to simulate accurately is "you", because in the actual reality the mechanical accuracy of the gun does not mean nearly as much as the person wielding it. There are even records of actual soldiers in actual conflicts complaining that their guns were inaccurate or ineffective, whereas it was often the case that under stress and pressure they were simply not able to keep on target.

The closest I have seen is the original Operation Flashpoint, later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault, where you would basically have no chance of hitting anything while walking around, and sprinting would make your heart race and your hands tremble. But this clearly wouldn't work for a fast paced game like Half-Life.

Another very realistic gun work was Brothers In Arms where the developers listened to old WW2 veterans that told them that early in the war they could empty a full clip at point blank range without hitting anything. I think most gamers finds the guns in that game "frustrating".

Quoting: F.Ultra

Quoting: Linas

Quoting: PopeRigbyYeah, games always get that wrong. A shotgun isn't supposed to have the range of a melee weapon. The spread of the pellets is usually pretty tight, letting them travel relatively far.

And pistols are not sniper rifles .

TL;DR Games are not realistic. Neither are movies. It's just our perception.

Game developers have to work with a surprisingly delicate balance between "realistic" and "fun". Hollywood has given us a very twisted perception of how guns work. So if you make it too realistic, it feels less realistic, because you subconsciously expect the guns to work like they do in the movies.

But the hardest thing to simulate accurately is "you", because in the actual reality the mechanical accuracy of the gun does not mean nearly as much as the person wielding it. There are even records of actual soldiers in actual conflicts complaining that their guns were inaccurate or ineffective, whereas it was often the case that under stress and pressure they were simply not able to keep on target.

The closest I have seen is the original Operation Flashpoint, later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault, where you would basically have no chance of hitting anything while walking around, and sprinting would make your heart race and your hands tremble. But this clearly wouldn't work for a fast paced game like Half-Life.

Another very realistic gun work was Brothers In Arms where the developers listened to old WW2 veterans that told them that early in the war they could empty a full clip at point blank range without hitting anything. I think most gamers finds the guns in that game "frustrating".

Wasn't Brothers In Arms marketed as being especially realistic, though?
I might confuse it with another game, of course - it's been a while.

In the case of being marketed as realistic, I could see that as being more of a positive thing, though.
Certainly not fun for a lot of people, but those people might not be the target audience.

Quoting: TheSHEEEP

Quoting: F.Ultra

Quoting: Linas

Quoting: PopeRigbyYeah, games always get that wrong. A shotgun isn't supposed to have the range of a melee weapon. The spread of the pellets is usually pretty tight, letting them travel relatively far.

And pistols are not sniper rifles .

TL;DR Games are not realistic. Neither are movies. It's just our perception.

Game developers have to work with a surprisingly delicate balance between "realistic" and "fun". Hollywood has given us a very twisted perception of how guns work. So if you make it too realistic, it feels less realistic, because you subconsciously expect the guns to work like they do in the movies.

But the hardest thing to simulate accurately is "you", because in the actual reality the mechanical accuracy of the gun does not mean nearly as much as the person wielding it. There are even records of actual soldiers in actual conflicts complaining that their guns were inaccurate or ineffective, whereas it was often the case that under stress and pressure they were simply not able to keep on target.

The closest I have seen is the original Operation Flashpoint, later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault, where you would basically have no chance of hitting anything while walking around, and sprinting would make your heart race and your hands tremble. But this clearly wouldn't work for a fast paced game like Half-Life.

Another very realistic gun work was Brothers In Arms where the developers listened to old WW2 veterans that told them that early in the war they could empty a full clip at point blank range without hitting anything. I think most gamers finds the guns in that game "frustrating".

Wasn't Brothers In Arms marketed as being especially realistic, though?
I might confuse it with another game, of course - it's been a while.

In the case of being marketed as realistic, I could see that as being more of a positive thing, though.
Certainly not fun for a lot of people, but those people might not be the target audience.

Yeah I think so, unfortunately the AI was very very bad (at least on the WII version) so your squad (it was squad based combat) members often messed up and alerted the enemies when you where trying to sneak past them... That part was really frustrating.

Meeh, 5 minutes in and it crashes (walking into the computer room that in the original is only accessible after the incident). So I tried using the proton version, and that doesn't start at all.
Back to the pile of retry in a year.

[quote=Linas]

Quoting: PopeRigbyThe closest I have seen is the original Operation Flashpoint, later renamed to Arma: Cold War Assault, where you would basically have no chance of hitting anything while walking around, and sprinting would make your heart race and your hands tremble. But this clearly wouldn't work for a fast paced game like Half-Life.

Well, a game like Half-Life you have an HEV suite, which is a powered suit, it apparently augments your physical capabilities. So one could make the case that it allows the "you" to be a lot more accurate.

I mean, look how little kickback there is on the large weapons. And apparently that was done on purpose as the powered suit handles a lot for you.

I mean, just watch your sprinting speed with the HEV suit, and compare it to the marines... You're like double their speed.

Quoting: grigiWell, a game like Half-Life you have an HEV suite, which is a powered suit, it apparently augments your physical capabilities. So one could make the case that it allows the "you" to be a lot more accurate. [...] I mean, just watch your sprinting speed with the HEV suit, and compare it to the marines... You're like double their speed.

I wonder if this is explained anywhere in the Half-Life lore?

Quoting: ArdjeMeeh, 5 minutes in and it crashes (walking into the computer room that in the original is only accessible after the incident). So I tried using the proton version, and that doesn't start at all.
Back to the pile of retry in a year.

Its sadly still bugged as fuck ;-(
bugs I reported 3 years ago are still in there -.-
Yesterday I played a round from the front and it crashed after 10min I think because of the flashlight
sry google translated :P
https://youtu.be/SZvkYLXhgso


Last edited by andy155 on 26 April 2020 at 7:43 am UTC