Half Life thread - Discussions about Valve's FPS magnum opus(es) and any related content (spin offs, expansions and etc)

[Nameless One]

Speaking of Half Life supplementary content, what are your thoughts on Black Mesa? I know they removed some things like Einstein scientists, but they added a whole bunch of new content as well like entire extra sections/longer levels and a completely redone Xen. This on top of better graphics makes me wonder if this is the best way to play the game today, especially if you didn't experience the original back in the day.

It felt way worse to play before I even got past chapter 1 because I couldn't figure out the retarded fucking Barney tram platforming segment. Fuck Black Mesa, it's horse shit and a complete downgrade from the original. And I finished the original HL1 before. Its way easier to just get completely lost in a bad game design way and the puzzles are lamer and less video gamey.

 

[JayseeDenton]

I think HL2 kinda sucks until after Ravenholm

I don't disagree with this really though i have a soft spot for route canal.

(Yes even the strider section at the end of EP2)

Huge agree, this was a massive letdown even my first time playing and I was mostly starry eyed on my first playthroughs to the point where I don't see flaws. So much wasted potential.

EP1 is better HL2, unironically.

Man really? 2 citadel chapters, a chapter that's entirely zombies... i guess the city section of this one was kino though. And the hospital segment was fucking awesome. I think the peak of HL2 is the cities, anticitizen one and follow freeman don't have a dull moment. When i was in 8th grade i probably replayed those 2 at least 30 times... i remember every map by heart lol.

Both Ep1 and 2 leaned very heavily on zombies and antlions. Episode 2 had like 3 instances where you fought combine soldiers. It honestly felt like they were getting lazy to me, like they didn't want to make node graphs...

 

[RunningWindInbound]

It felt way worse to play before I even got past chapter 1 because I couldn't figure out the retarded fucking Barney tram platforming segment. Fuck Black Mesa, it's horse shit and a complete downgrade from the original. And I finished the original HL1 before. Its way easier to just get completely lost in a bad game design way and the puzzles are lamer and less video gamey.

Sounds like you're just shit at vidya bro...

Man really? 2 citadel chapters, a chapter that's entirely zombies... i guess the city section of this one was kino though. And the hospital segment was fucking awesome. I think the peak of HL2 is the cities, anticitizen one and follow freeman don't have a dull moment. When i was in 8th grade i probably replayed those 2 at least 30 times... i remember every map by heart lol.

Both Ep1 and 2 leaned very heavily on zombies and antlions. Episode 2 had like 3 instances where you fought combine soldiers. It honestly felt like they were getting lazy to me, like they didn't want to make node graphs...

HL2 is overrated, but that take would get you crucified by the jannies

 

[Nameless One]

Sounds like you're just shit at vidya bro...


HL2 is overrated, but that take would get you crucified by the jannies

Sounds like you're a retarded MLPfag who needs to be bullied offsite you stupid fucking /v/ dweller.

 

[RunningWindInbound]

Sounds like you're a retarded MLPfag who needs to be bullied offsite you stupid fucking /v/ dweller.

malding for what lol. I've never spent more than a combined 45 minutes on 4chan.

 

[Star Classic]

I don't disagree with this really though i have a soft spot for route canal.

I should've mentioned this is coming from a guy who's got about 400 hours in HL2, the chapters themselves I don't think are bad, they're A+ material compared to most games, I just have played them over and over and have realized most of their shortcomings.

Outside of gameplay though then yeah its still great, the orange-red hue of the dusk sky in Water Hazard is ingrained into my brain, so is that one little place with the wind chimes. I will remember coming across that area till the day I die.

Man really? 2 citadel chapters, a chapter that's entirely zombies... i guess the city section of this one was kino though. And the hospital segment was fucking awesome. I think the peak of HL2 is the cities, anticitizen one and follow freeman don't have a dull moment. When i was in 8th grade i probably replayed those 2 at least 30 times... i remember every map by heart lol.

Both Ep1 and 2 leaned very heavily on zombies and antlions. Episode 2 had like 3 instances where you fought combine soldiers. It honestly felt like they were getting lazy to me, like they didn't want to make node graphs...

I can say that one of the shortcomings of the Episodes is that there wasn't more new stuff to do. Which is a shame because ALL of the stuff added in the episodes is amazing. I said it earlier but it really cannot be understated how adding just only like 3 (technically 4) new enemies throughout the entire game did wonders for variety

Do they lean into antlions and zombies too much? Yeah maybe, but that's what they had to work with without adding extra.

Given how much content was cut from EP1, including 3 full maps based on the number jump from ep1_c17_02a to ep1_c17_05, I think it could've been even better had it been given more time, like everything in life.

It felt way worse to play before I even got past chapter 1 because I couldn't figure out the retarded fucking Barney tram platforming segment.

Genuinely what are you talking about?

 

[Nameless One]

In Freeman's terms, Black Mesa is a slow clunky piece of shit.

 

[RunningWindInbound]

Genuinely what are you talking about?

there's your problem right there jfl

 

[Nameless One]

View attachment 7716141

there's your problem right there jfl

I recommend lurking moar.

 

[Star Classic]

I'm not even trying to argue with you man I actually was curious about what you were talking about

 

[Nameless One]

如果您毫不犹豫, Physics 更多的社会信用将从您的个人资料中打折，Black Mesa is a Glorified Tech Demo 从而导致口粮供应减少。 您还将被送到新疆维吾尔自治区的再教育营

 

[Soggy Floppa]

In somewhat unrelated HLX news, in addition to the strings found in Source 2 CS2 received a complete animation system overhaul including the weapons which have been improved since the 13 years ago they were first introduced via CSGO

I imagine with these new animations we can infer that HLX's will be pretty similar in terms of quality and I gotta say they do look pretty slick especially the reload animations.

So glad its not COD slop animations. So sick of those. These look very clean and every comment it trashing them, do CS players even like CS?

 

[Star Classic]

So glad its not COD slop animations. So sick of those.

Agreed. They still have a "Valve-ness" to them but they look HD, hard to describe.

These look very clean and every comment it trashing them, do CS players even like CS?

No, but this doesn't apply to just CS, look at any old game and if there's a mod for it you have people lining up to get their flashy COD animations round the block because God forbid we play games with the intended stuff, its already happened with L4D, HL, Fallout, etc.

 

[Nameless One]

I want a CS linear offline and co-op game campaign or spinoff because I'm weird. Around the maps with unique objectives that are more taxing on hardware. But seeing as it's always been an online shooter that'll never happen.

What sparked this is seeing the cool Neotokyo HL2 level mod. Neotokyo is a dead source multiplayer game from 2009 with neat aesthetics. I found it from trying to hunt down an OVA of the same name. Sadly seems like it's in purgatory.

 

[Cpt. Stud Beefpile]

Just finished one last run on Black Mesa and its Blue Shift mod before uninstalling them for good. It is a hell of a bittersweet feeling to say the least. But I can't achievement-hunt any further due to IRL responsibilities and age has ended late-night gaming.

Firing up the OG day-1 retail on a laptop I had to hook to an external CRT monitor (the displays of many early laptops were SHIT for gaming) was an excitement rarely equaled. And even being hogtied to that monster, playing Half Life beat any other shooter I'd played at the time in a dozen different ways since DOOM. I will never forget my jaw dropping further and further as the inbound train ride kept going like the Energizer bunny and thinking "holy shit this is just the intro?!"

Black Mesa is an amazing achievement for even releasing in a finished state, nevermind getting Valve's blessing to be sold on Steam instead of DCMA'd into the fringes of the Internet. That is damn near unheard of for a fangame.

I wish I could shake the hands of every last person who made our wish for a proper HL1 remake come true.

 

[Nameless One]

HL1 never needed a remake, game is perfect as it is. The extended late-game levels are nauseating time wasters even compared to the original that filtered a generation of gamers. Black Mesa doesn't have the proper feel that HL2 and other source games provide and the art direction is different best and shot to shit at worst.

It's an accomplishment that it got Valve's attention and they used blueprints for what Valve could have done but the story of the development feels more rewarding than the final product itself. It's passionate nerds remaking a game for a new age with new ideas that worked to varying degrees.

But now that it has sacred golden calf status in the mod scene, you cannot criticize it ever without making autistic faggots spaz out and explain why this is totally the best mod evar. Even if its fanmade; Black Mesa is still a game remake and it will never replace the original. Unless you can't handle the original game for whatever reason like some fucking tasteless fodder then it never will be the replacement some people make it out to be. Black Mesa is not HALF LIFE and if you believe the original is "outdated" then I have to remind you that in the span of just 5 years we went from Doom 1993 to Half Life in 1998. I think we'll never see something like that again because of the neverending chase to always be new, homogenized and flashy.

 

[thhrang]

The episodes meanwhile are all killer no filler besides the bad finales for both (Yes even the strider section at the end of EP2) minus those finales story content.

I find Ep2's strider ending to be fun. I like running over all the Hunters.

 

[JesusChristDenton]

Half Life is essentially two completely unrelated (both really damn good) settings with a shared protagonist. I've always wanted more from the vibe half life 1 had and due to the way the story was written we will never get it. Xen was genocided and the remaining aliens are feral or on the human's side.

I may not be big into reddit tier multiverse slop, but I remember reading a headcanon somewhere that Black Mesa leads into Half Life 2, while Half Life is set in a separate universe.

Black Mesa is far from perfect, but it would definitely explains the differences in tone and artstyle between HL1 and HL2.

 

[Nameless One]

I think Half Life 2 makes perfect sense as a sequel and fits the nature of the games themselves. Gordon accepted to be a tool of G-Man, did jobs, and got knocked out and woke up on Earth which may as well be completely alien to his and our prior experiences. It's great. Beyond that though, the art style is retained faithfully compared to what the dark & gritty 1984 style was going for and simply reflects a leap in technology. It is an evolution in design and held back from going towards the UBER DARK aesthetic that was popular at the time and it gives the game a very unique and timeless feel as a result of their changes in development.

Good sequels shake things up like that to prevent stagnation and pitfalls of being repetitive. Do you just want Half Life to just be Area 51 and Ayylmaos surrounded by a bumfuck nowhere Desert in Arizona? Cause I don't. I think the 1984 alien regime with ties to Black Mesa is a more interesting concept than what HL1 did with its aliens and Vorts. I like that they seemingly killed and enslaved Xen spexies and removed its influence from the world we play in. In Alyx there's more Xen wildlife as a result of feedback and questions but in HL2 the most you got were barnacle zones and the Ep1 caves.

The weird ass final boss of HL1 makes zero sense compared to the antagonists in 2, and I like that Breen is the guy who ran/oversaw Black Mesa, and sold out to the combine. It fits Half Life perfectly with the conspiracy ayylmao stuff.

 

[30+GameOvers]

HL2 is overrated, but that take would get you crucified by the jannies

I want to correct you and remind you that without Half Life 2 you wouldn't have many modern games as we know them today, but you're a brony 2025 join date so I think my words would be lost on you.
Funny how I don't hear nearly as much people saying that San Andreas is overrated, despite both being released the same year and being about as influential to later games going forward.

Huh, I'm the exact opposite. Gonna say something out of pocket but I think HL2 kinda sucks until after Ravenholm. Past that and I think its great, maybe peaks at about Nova Prospekt/Entanglement or the street wars.

Even with what I Just said above, I do have to agree. I never finished Half Life 2, and I think I stopped at one of the later City 17 stages where you have human NPCs following you as the game throws Strider bosses at the player. Technologically wise, the game pretty much set the standard for every other game going forward. You ever see a physics puzzle in an FPS? You have Valve to thank for that. You like the realistic facial motions every game has now? Great, that means you're a Valve fan. That said, judging the game purely as an FPS, it's kind of mid after Ravenholm. It's less of a cohesive whole and more of a string of setpieces strung together, I think even the devs said so themselves, which I think is a downgrade from the first game that feels like an adventure from start to finish. The mechanics aren't anything special, I think they should have innovated in that department a bit more from Half Life 1, and frankly I got Half Life 2 on my xbox via Orange Box and I found Portal and Team Fortress 2(the unpatched one without new weapons or any cosmetics, so the best kind) to be so much more enjoyable. Never even touched the episodes. I was thinking of finishing the game now, but frankly, I want to simply wait for Ross to finish Freeman's Mind 2, no point in spoiling myself the final few sections I haven't gotten to.

That said, Half Life 2 is still a classic and a fantastic game, especially if you bundle it with the episodes as one cohesive experience. Sucks we never got an ending, but hopefully Episode 3/Half Life 3/Alyx 2 will soon fix that.