Hey, this is pretty great! I sat down and diffed the old and new releases (as well as some WON files) to see what's changed. So, to elaborate on some of the things mentioned in the change log:...
Exemplary
Hey, this is pretty great! I sat down and diffed the old and new releases (as well as some WON files) to see what's changed. So, to elaborate on some of the things mentioned in the change log:
Previously, Half-Life was built with SDL 1.3.0 and shipped with that library simply renamed to SDL2.dll. The game now appears to be built against SDL 2.0.20.
Mapping Z and R axis for gamepad right-stick support is now possible, but there still appears to be no ability within the engine to bind commands to analog triggers as of yet.
On Windows, vstdlib.dll now requires MSVC 2015+.
liblist.gam contains two new keys: animated_title and hd_background.
The original intro valve.avi and menu logo.avi are back, bit-for-bit the same as the original WON videos — but sadly (and obviously) no sierra.avi
StartupVids.txt is back, but instead calls valve.webm, a converted copy of valve.avi. There is no .webm equivalent for the logo, interestingly (see next bullet). According to debug info, WebMPlayer handles the intro video. In addition, audio for this sequence is not being sourced from the .webm file directly, but from sound/UI/valve_sound.wav. Interesting hack?
It looks like the logo is being interpolated to give it a nice smooth animation (the file itself is 24fps). The logo is a dynamic effect that happens in software, utilizing a set of new logo .tga files found in the resource directory. The logo.avi file is never actually loaded during runtime.
The menu system is still using VGUI2, so all of the floating windows of the text-based Resources system are still there. The menu has merely been skinned to appear like the old WON bitmap-based Gfx system. (A little bit of the best of both worlds.)
Single-channel versions of the WON menu selection sounds have been added.
The original WON splash.bmp has been sized up to 3840x1568 and sliced into the Steam version's grid format (meaning a whopping 105 .tgas for the menu background).
The HUD interface previously incorporated two sprite sizes, 320 (small) & 640 (large). This has been expanded to four sizes, now adding 1280 and 2560.
There are no changes to any of the campaign maps, except for spawnflags to three barrels on c2a5.map (Surface Tension).
There are no changes to any of the multiplayer maps (aside from the addition of the extra maps, including those from Further Data).
There are no changes to any models (aside from the addition of the extra multiplayer models, including those from Further Data).
There are no changes to any texture .wads.
The rapid-crowbar bug is not fixed. You can still kill a zombie and gib the corpse at some 30 hits-per-second.
New sv_allow_autoaim toggle command, independent of sv_aim adjuster.
The Uplink (demo) maps are bit-for-bit the same from the 1999-02 release. It also looks like they merged the two titles.txts together.
No other games (OpFor, BShift, etc.) have received these updates yet. Adding a logo.avi to another game's media directory, and setting animated_title in it's respective liblist.gam will only fall back to the "Half-Life" animated text effect until you create the appropriate logo .tgas for that game.
All in all, a pretty solid release, and if you have not played Uplink, it's a rather nice survey of the game condensed into a fun hour of gameplay.
Did anyone ever try out the Black Mesa fan remake? Curious to see how they stack up. Gotta hand it to Valve for allowing their own competition on the platform, and also still being willing to go...
Did anyone ever try out the Black Mesa fan remake? Curious to see how they stack up.
Gotta hand it to Valve for allowing their own competition on the platform, and also still being willing to go head-to-head with them on a level playing field.
Black Mesa is phenomenal. Some meticulous purists (which is not a critique) might find it falters in small parts and goes against the original in larger ones, but the game feels like if Valve...
Black Mesa is phenomenal. Some meticulous purists (which is not a critique) might find it falters in small parts and goes against the original in larger ones, but the game feels like if Valve released a remake of Half-Life around 3-5 years after Half-Life 2: Episode 2. At no point did it feel like a fan game honestly; the polish is there. In addition, a major change the devs implemented I adored is below:
Black Mesa Lategame Spoilers
They reinvented the Gonarch level as a chasee level instead of chaser, much like the Antlion Guardian in HL2:EP2. It's constantly pursuing you over the entire Gonarch level, albeit not as ferociously as the Antlion Guardian. You start the level facing off against it, and end defeating it in a massive 'arena.'
In addition to that, the Nilianth fight is changed to be a full-blown boss fight instead of being teleported to different locations. It was a little bit of a letdown compared to the Gonarch, but still a fitting fight for the boss. Also, Xen as a whole is a gorgeous environment. I almost want to say it was worth the extreme wait time between Black Mesa's pre-Xen release and the full one.
Black Mesa is definitely the way to go if you're new to the series, in my opinion. It's a remake, not a remaster, and I think it truly rises above its source material as a result. There's a lot of...
Black Mesa is definitely the way to go if you're new to the series, in my opinion. It's a remake, not a remaster, and I think it truly rises above its source material as a result. There's a lot of quality-of-life improvements, like more intuitive level design, better pacing, being more immersive (HL1 feels like a ghost town today with its barren environments), and that's before you get to Xen, where the levels actually feel well-connected, logically building to something great, and taking place in a living ecosystem, rather than a series of disconnected, barren wastelands that you fight and puzzle about before teleporting to the next one.
Black Mesa truly nails the art of placemaking, and its world actually feels lived in, which is something I can't say about HL. That's not to say HL was bad at that (at its release, HL's placemaking was revolutionary), but it was very much limited by the hardware of its era, and it doesn't hold up today without some seriously rose-tinted glasses.
I know there are a lot of die-hard HL fans out there who have a bone to pick with anyone who recommends BM over HL, so to any die-hard fans reading this: I have played both, and I played HL (plus Op4 and BS) before playing the sequels, and that was well before BM was available to the public, so my perspective is not purely retrospective.
There is definitely room in my heart for both. And hey, for those who do prefer Black Mesa, you can still get in that anniversary spirit this weekend by playing a reimagining of Uplink!
There is definitely room in my heart for both. And hey, for those who do prefer Black Mesa, you can still get in that anniversary spirit this weekend by playing a reimagining of Uplink!
This is a truly fantastic update, they basically fixed everything like hud/modern resolutions/controller+Deck support, reverted stuff like title screens and weapon models to their proper nostalgic...
This is a truly fantastic update, they basically fixed everything like hud/modern resolutions/controller+Deck support, reverted stuff like title screens and weapon models to their proper nostalgic versions, and threw together the missing "DLC" content from the bonus disc to make this the definitive version of Half Life 1 on PC, then added a few brand new multiplayer maps, added 2 famously cut player models as multiplayer skins, and made the engine better for future modders to play with on their way out. Amazing for game preservation! The one thing they forgot were the co-op levels exclusive to the PS2 console port of the game, called Half Life Decay. It feels like a pretty glaring omission when they added EVERYTHING else they possible could.
Hey, this is pretty great! I sat down and diffed the old and new releases (as well as some WON files) to see what's changed. So, to elaborate on some of the things mentioned in the change log:
SDL2.dll. The game now appears to be built against SDL 2.0.20.vstdlib.dllnow requires MSVC 2015+.liblist.gamcontains two new keys:animated_titleandhd_background.valve.aviand menulogo.aviare back, bit-for-bit the same as the original WON videos — but sadly (and obviously) nosierra.aviStartupVids.txtis back, but instead callsvalve.webm, a converted copy ofvalve.avi. There is no.webmequivalent for the logo, interestingly (see next bullet). According to debug info, WebMPlayer handles the intro video. In addition, audio for this sequence is not being sourced from the.webmfile directly, but fromsound/UI/valve_sound.wav. Interesting hack?It looks like the logo is being interpolated to give it a nice smooth animation (the file itself is 24fps).The logo is a dynamic effect that happens in software, utilizing a set of new logo.tgafiles found in theresourcedirectory. Thelogo.avifile is never actually loaded during runtime.splash.bmphas been sized up to 3840x1568 and sliced into the Steam version's grid format (meaning a whopping 105.tgas for the menu background).c2a5.map(Surface Tension)..wads.sv_allow_autoaimtoggle command, independent ofsv_aimadjuster.titles.txts together.logo.avito another game'smediadirectory, and settinganimated_titlein it's respectiveliblist.gamwill only fall back to the "Half-Life" animated text effect until you create the appropriate logo.tgas for that game.All in all, a pretty solid release, and if you have not played Uplink, it's a rather nice survey of the game condensed into a fun hour of gameplay.
Did anyone ever try out the Black Mesa fan remake? Curious to see how they stack up.
Gotta hand it to Valve for allowing their own competition on the platform, and also still being willing to go head-to-head with them on a level playing field.
Black Mesa is phenomenal. Some meticulous purists (which is not a critique) might find it falters in small parts and goes against the original in larger ones, but the game feels like if Valve released a remake of Half-Life around 3-5 years after Half-Life 2: Episode 2. At no point did it feel like a fan game honestly; the polish is there. In addition, a major change the devs implemented I adored is below:
Black Mesa Lategame Spoilers
They reinvented the Gonarch level as a chasee level instead of chaser, much like the Antlion Guardian in HL2:EP2. It's constantly pursuing you over the entire Gonarch level, albeit not as ferociously as the Antlion Guardian. You start the level facing off against it, and end defeating it in a massive 'arena.'In addition to that, the Nilianth fight is changed to be a full-blown boss fight instead of being teleported to different locations. It was a little bit of a letdown compared to the Gonarch, but still a fitting fight for the boss. Also, Xen as a whole is a gorgeous environment. I almost want to say it was worth the extreme wait time between Black Mesa's pre-Xen release and the full one.
Black Mesa is definitely the way to go if you're new to the series, in my opinion. It's a remake, not a remaster, and I think it truly rises above its source material as a result. There's a lot of quality-of-life improvements, like more intuitive level design, better pacing, being more immersive (HL1 feels like a ghost town today with its barren environments), and that's before you get to Xen, where the levels actually feel well-connected, logically building to something great, and taking place in a living ecosystem, rather than a series of disconnected, barren wastelands that you fight and puzzle about before teleporting to the next one.
Black Mesa truly nails the art of placemaking, and its world actually feels lived in, which is something I can't say about HL. That's not to say HL was bad at that (at its release, HL's placemaking was revolutionary), but it was very much limited by the hardware of its era, and it doesn't hold up today without some seriously rose-tinted glasses.
I know there are a lot of die-hard HL fans out there who have a bone to pick with anyone who recommends BM over HL, so to any die-hard fans reading this: I have played both, and I played HL (plus Op4 and BS) before playing the sequels, and that was well before BM was available to the public, so my perspective is not purely retrospective.
There is definitely room in my heart for both. And hey, for those who do prefer Black Mesa, you can still get in that anniversary spirit this weekend by playing a reimagining of Uplink!
This is a truly fantastic update, they basically fixed everything like hud/modern resolutions/controller+Deck support, reverted stuff like title screens and weapon models to their proper nostalgic versions, and threw together the missing "DLC" content from the bonus disc to make this the definitive version of Half Life 1 on PC, then added a few brand new multiplayer maps, added 2 famously cut player models as multiplayer skins, and made the engine better for future modders to play with on their way out. Amazing for game preservation! The one thing they forgot were the co-op levels exclusive to the PS2 console port of the game, called Half Life Decay. It feels like a pretty glaring omission when they added EVERYTHING else they possible could.
Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbZ3HzvFEto
an hour documentary on Half Life, not sure if it's worth it's own thread!
From 8 hours ago (an hour before this topic). :P
https://tildes.net/~games/1c7p/half_life_25th_anniversary_documentary
I... probably should have done a search haha I usually try to but it's friday, my bad!!!