From Black Mesa: Wiki

The mortar control panel, as it appears in the mortar test video below.

Overview

The Mortar consists of an aerial tactical map display which is used to direct mortar fire to a target location. It is encountered during the chapter Surface Tension, near a dead soldier named Cooper. He receives directions via radio, which Gordon Freeman receives instead. The primary function of the mortar is to destroy the Gargantua in the level and to clear passage onto the next, which is blocked by a sealed gate and 2 high walls.

Gameplay

The mortar consists of an interactive screen that allows the player to pick a target on the on-screen map that represents a location in the game world. After selecting a target, the player can press a button on the screen to fire the mortar rounds at the selected target.

Media

Trivia

• In the original Half-Life, the tactical map was used by the player to call in an airstrike on the designated target. Presumably, the impracticality of an infinite number of airstrikes being available to the player with minimal authorization led to the replacement of the airstrike with an off-map mortar in Black Mesa.

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