Single-player FAQ
From Black Mesa: Wiki
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Weapons
Will Black Mesa feature any new weapons?
No. In Black Mesa you will have the same arsenal as Gordon had back in Half-Life.
Will there be new features for weapons?
The weapons will only be “sourcified” and rebalanced - if necessary - in the mod. No new functions will be implemented (this includes different secondary attacks for the crowbar and other weapons, as well as extra features like free-aiming [1], iron-sights etc.). Silenced versions of weapons in Half-Life (particularly the assassin's glock) also come under this heading.
Will you include the Gravity Gun?
No. The gravity gun doesn't fit into Half-Life and therefore will not be included. Also, you will not be able to get it through cheat codes in the console (the coding for it has already been removed). [2]
Can I switch between the MP5, MP5 with the red-dot sight and M4 models via console command?
No, only the MP5 without the sight will be available [3]. And the M4 is no longer being included in the mod [4].
How will grenades work in Black Mesa? Like Half-Life or Half-Life 2?
Both. Grenades are planned to mix both styles; they behave like the original Half-Life in terms of timing and cooking but like Half-Life 2 in terms of throwing and rolling. [5]
The model of <put the name of a gun here> isn't exactly as the real life/Half-Life one! Change it now!!!
Quoting a Black Mesa developer himself: "BM is not reality. We are not gun nuts and, despite it being a first person shooter, Half-Life was never about the guns. Not the realistic ones, anyway. [6]" So, if a gun (or marine/guard uniform, or science prop, or whatever) isn't exactly like in the original Half-life, or lack some detail that exists in the real life version... get over it. These changes are time consuming and demand a lot of work, that probably won't be made at this point in the mod development [7].
NPCs & Enemies
Will my favorite characters from the sequels be seen in Black Mesa?
Some of them will, others will not. Barney, Eli Vance and Isaac Kleiner will be seen. You will not see: Adrian Shephard, Gina Cross, Colette Green, Alyx Vance, Dr. Breen, Dr. Mossman, Dr. Magnusson, Dog, or any other character who are only made known to the player in HL2 and Episodes. .
Eli will be the scientist who sends you up to get help shortly after the resonance cascade. Kleiner will be the injured scientist who Eli is "afraid to move". Barney will be the guard visible at the start of your tram ride, banging on a door with his torch. No more additional appearances for these characters.
Can I kill/hurt friendly NPCs? What happens if I do it?
Yes. For more details, see NPC Alignment System.
How many security guard / scientist / HECU marine models have you made? Will there be a lot of twins?
Black Mesa will have NPCs of diverse age, ethnicity and gender (except for guards and marines, which will have no female versions). The textures/models for generic scientists, marines or security guards will never change (except between pre and post disaster), but the head/face combinations and body adjustments are completely random and will be different on each playthrough.[8]
Will the HECU Marines wear ski goggles and balaclavas?
No [9]. You'll see them with gas masks, helmets, berets and sunglasses [10].
Will the Vortigaunts gain attacks from Episode 2?
No. [11]
Will Black Mesa feature new enemies?
Don't expect to see any brand new enemies, although you may see some of the unincorporated/cut enemies if we find ways to incorporate them into Black Mesa.
Levels
Will the Hazard Course be featured in Black Mesa?
No. The little HUD hints (like in Half-Life 2 and the episodes) you receive throughout the chapters Anomalous Materials and Unforeseen Consequences made this separate training section unnecessary. [12]
Where will the player start the game?
You will start the game in the Black Mesa Inbound Tram as in the original Half-Life.
Have you made any significant changes to Xen? What changes?
Yes. You'll just have to wait and see when you play the game. [13]
Will Black Mesa have similar map structure and load times to Half-life?
All of the levels in Black Mesa are MUCH larger due to the Source Engine's much improved capabilities. In general, there will be less load times and many chapters that used to be several maps are condensed into less individual maps. This is designed to interrupt gameplay less and make for a more contiguous user experience. [14]
Gameplay
Are Achievements possible in this mod?
Yes, though none of which have been officially revealed. [15]
Which difficulty levels will Black Mesa have?
Easy, Medium and Hard. [16]
I found this bug in the original Half-Life, will it be removed in Black Mesa?
As we are rebuilding Half-Life from the ground up, it will be highly unlikely that the same bugs will appear. We will also be rigorously testing Black Mesa before it is released, to remove any bugs that we inadvertently create. This includes exploits like bunny-hopping.
Soundtrack
Do you plan to use the music (or remixed pieces of them) from the Half-Life soundtrack?
No. Black Mesa will feature its own soundtrack, made by the sound engineers.
So is the music scripted in a way that it ends when the fight ends?
The soundtrack is scripted and placed appropriately, but does not change dynamically, like it does in L4D with the usage of the Director [17]. The music isn't triggered by combat or anything that complex [18].
Can I hear more music/get it in mp3 format?
Joel Nielsen has some on his website. You can also find all of the released tracks in the Music & Sound section.
(Please contact Joel Nielsen before using any of these pieces in your own work)
But I prefer the HL original soundtrack! No way to change it?
It is possible to replace the new music with the old ones, but you'll have to do it yourself. [19]
Miscellaneous
- Easter Eggs: They will be included, but the kind of easter egg will be only by discretion of the developers. They will not reveal any information about it before the mod release. Easter eggs from original Half-Life probably won't be preserved [20].
- HEV Suit Helmet: No helmet for Gordon Freeman.
- Gordon model in 3rd person: There is no model for Gordon in 3rd person. Like in HL2, there is only a "grayman" model instead [21].
- Mirrors: Mirrors (the in-game reflective surfaces in which the player can see himself, not the download locations) will categorically not feature in Black Mesa.
- Soda Cans: They don't heal the player like in Half-Life. [22]
- Developer Commentaries: Their inclusion in the mod is uncertain at the moment. [23]
- Continuity with Gearbox Expansions: The expansions for Half-Life (Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Decay) will be largely ignored. The Developers will not be going out of their way to make Black Mesa tie in more with these games. The only known exception to this rule is the location of Barney Calhoun during Inbound. Thats all, until more information is released.
- Content from HL2 and Episodes used in Black Mesa: The majority of the content used in BM is made by the team. But BM also has few contents imported from the Orange Box SDK Shared Resources, reskinned and/or adapted to fit the mod standards. Some of them are:
- Weapons: Crowbar (re-skinned & re-animated) [24]; .357 Magnum (re-skinned & re-animated) [25]
- Enemies: Vortigaunt (HL2:EP2 slave model, with custom shackles) [26]; Barnacle; Leech [27]; Headcrab (also used in the custom Zombie models); Ichthyosaur
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