The Surface Complex

for Black Mesa

10th November 2018

Jump to read the 37 comments   /   Leave a comment or review   /   Follow the comments RSS feed

Here is the third and final mapping challenge in the Mesa Cup.

The release contains 2 entries.

For this challenge, entrants needed to make the surface of Black Mesa as the main concept of the map.

For full details of the announcement, please see the original theme announcement.

Basic Details
  • Title: The Surface Complex
  • Filename: mesa-cup-c3-the-surface-complex-v1.7z
  • Size : 17.00MB
  • Author: JamaicanDave, Skorly
  • Date Released: 10 November 2018

Download Options

Download to your HDD [17.00MB]

Manual Installation Instructions

If you require more help, just ask, but please read and follow the instructions carefully or watch the video first – thanks.

  • Locate and open your Black Mesa installation folder. For example, mine is D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Black Mesa\.
  • Open the mesa-cup-c3-the-surface-complex-v1.7z file.
  • In it you will see two folders: bms and platform.
  • The platform folder contains a file which will overwrite a file in your installation. This is NOT a problem, but if you are unhappy about this follow the Optional Step below.
  • Optional Step: In your Black Mesa installation folder, open the platform folder, then open the resource folder. Rename GameMenu.res to GameMenu-original.res. This means your original file will not be over-written – but honestly, it’s not a problem.
  • Copy the bms folder into your Black Mesa folder. You may receive a message saying that you already have the same folders in there, don’t worry, you are only adding new files, so just say YES.
  • Launch Black Mesa
  • You now have a new menu item: BONUS MAPS (That’s what the GameMenu.res files was.
  • Select BONUS MAPS.
  • This will bring up a new window.
  • Select the Mesa Cup: C3: The Surface Complex folder.
  • You will now see both entries and can select them in any order.
  • Play and enjoy!
Entrants and Map Names
  • Disarray by JamaicanDave
  • A Stroll in the Park by Skorly
Judges

Dolmo The Douglas, Crowbar, Chon Kemp (Crowbar Collective), Ben AKA trumanji (Crowbar Collective) and Phillip are the judges for this challenge.

The Winner

In first place, with 98 points is Disarray by JamaicanDave. Congratulations to him.
In second place, with 64 points is A Stroll in the Park by Skorly. Well done to him or her.

This final challenge completes the Mesa Cup and details of the full results are available on the Overview page.

Full details of the scores, including a breakdown of the categories (but not by judge) can be found on The Mesa Cup: Public Google spreadsheet.

Reviewing

If you decide to use the Per-Map Opinion Images, please either watch the video below or use the SPECIFICALLY created mesa-cup-c3-rt.txt file. Thank you.

ReadMe files and Map sources

The compressed archive contains the readme files for each entry as well as the VMFs. These are included for educational purposes ONLY and MUST NOT be use for ANY other use.

Release Versions
  • 1 – THIS RELEASE – First version. No known issues.

    • Screenshots

    WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

    Screenshots

    WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.

    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3
    Reader Recommendations
    Avoid It!
    Think Twice
    Maybe
    Play It Later
    Play It Now!
    7 recommendations, average score: 4.43 (out of 5), standard deviation: 0.24 (what's that?)
    Total Downloads
    • 2,297
      Overall
    • 0
      Today
    • 1
      Last 7 days
    • 12
      Last 30 days
    • 113
      365 days
    Meta Review Data
    Statistics based on 7 comment(s) with meta review data.

    Installed:
    Using Gauge: Users
    Manually: 7 Users
    Time Taken:
    Average: 0 Hours, 51 Mins
    Shortest: 0 Hours, 30 Mins by DeanAmythe
    Longest: 1 Hours, 10 Mins by PlanetPhillip
    Total Time Played: 6 Hours
    Categories (?)
    Black Mesa BM Maps Play
    Tags (?)
    Collections (?)

    This release is currently not in a collection

    If you believe this release is missing important tags, please suggest them in a comment?
    Jump to a review
    Play It LaterPlay It LaterPlay It LaterPlay It Now!Play It Now!Phillip says Play It!Play It Later

    37 Comments

    1. ubilada

      I’ve been waiting for this challenge since it was announced and very excited to play, but there are just 2 entries? Well, I’m disappointed tbh. I hope there will be more BM challenges in 2019.

      Can other mappers explain me why there is very low interest on this challenge? Is the subject not interesting enough, or you guys were pretty busy with your daily life lately?

      Than you JamaicanDave and Skorly. I’m sure I’ll enjoy both of the entries.

      Reply
      1. Strontvlieg

        Well, I don’t map for Black Mesa (only for HL2 + episodes). However, the most prominent reason for the low amount of entries for BM is that mapping for Black Mesa is more difficult than mapping for HL2. A higher level of detailing is required to sort of make the map come across ‘believable’. In addition, the assets available for BM mapping don’t allow a broad variety of possible environments.

        Reply
        1. Duke

          I don’t have the retail version of Black Mesa installed on the PC, so I’m assuming it’s not worth downloading as it won’t work for me…maybe others are the same..please correct me if I’m wrong.

          Reply
          1. PlanetPhillip

            Yes, it’s designed to work with the retail version.

            Reply
            1. Duke

              OK, just bought it…hope it’s worth the download..

              Reply
              1. PlanetPhillip

                This one might not be, but try the first two challenges. Of course, the base game is said to be great too.

                Reply
                1. Duke

                  yes, played the base game, non retail version though…will also have a look at the other two…

                  Reply
        2. DeanAmythe

          Let’s hope that after the full release Crowbar Collective will focus on making mapping easier.
          I hope they will, it will be good for mappers and for them, since mods greatly expand the lifetime of a game.

          Reply
      2. Maki

        A lot of it comes down to being unfamiliar with Black Mesa’s assets and the level of additional complexity needed to make maps that resemble the retail ones. Their organization scheme is unlike Valve’s, the lighting is almost totally different, and NPCs tend to lack options. A great deal of BM’s architectural detail comes from elaborate BSP rather than props, which is very time-consuming to make.

        It’s a difficult thing to learn within the limited time span of a contest, and it doesn’t seem like many are interested in making BM content on their own in the first place. It’s logical that BM doesn’t offer anything that the devs themselves didn’t need to have, but that also means you’re often limited to desert exteriors and concrete hallways with only a few standout locations in between like Questionable Ethics. In Ep2, you have so much variety. You can do forests, cities, coasts, canals, and everything in between. Many HL2 assets do exist in BM, but they tend to clash with the much higher-resolution BM assets.

        Reply
        1. ubilada

          Thank you for your detailed answer. It definitely cleared the clouds in my mind.

          Reply
      3. gvarados

        I wanted to enter but I gave up after scrapping a couple maps.

        I personally didn’t like the combat in most of the outdoor areas in the game so I had a very hard time coming up with something I thought was fun and fit the theme.

        The HECU is a bad enemy in huge open areas because they only provide the player with one option, hide behind cover. I hated most of Surface Tension because of this, especially the dam. I am an incredibly aggressive player so I despise waiting behind cover. Usually, I charge them and die. I really liked Disarray because it managed to completely avoided this.

        Reply
        1. JamaicanDave

          Black Mesa’s Surface Tension was also one of my least favourite chapters, whilst in the original Half Life I remember it being one of my favourite. I think for me a big part of the issue is anything related to the HECU in Black Mesa (that’s marines, vehicles, automated defenses, snipers) can deal a huge amount of damage very quickly and accurately. Unless they’re setup in a way that restricts or disadvantages them they’re just not much fun to fight.

          Reply
          1. Maki

            I have a similar impression of the HECU and Surface Tension in general. It’s one of the most tedious chapters in Black Mesa. I think JamaicanDave did an excellent job in Disarray of hybridizing an exterior and an interior. It plays like an interior map, but it has the visual appeal of being outdoors. It’s a great example of taking something you might find unappealing as a mapper and morphing it into a form that supports your strengths.

            Reply
          2. denizen50

            JamaicanDave, do you know if this is supposed work with the latest retail version?

            I followed the installation procedure above, and it doesn’t show any ‘bonus maps’, nore was there any previous ‘platform’ folder….

            Reply
    2. PlanetPhillip

      To the 20 or so people who downloaded before this comment, I apologize. It was the wrong link. It’s working properly now.

      Reply
    3. DeanAmythe
      Play It Later

      Only 2 entries? Are mappers scared of Black Mesa or something?
      Anyway, the two entries we got were quite enjoyable.

      Disarray
      It is good

      Very enjoyable entry. One of the things I really liked was that it rewards you for exploring. You can find useful things everywhere if you just look for them.
      Combat was great too. You get a decent amount of weapons to fight with as well. There is a Chopper battle near the end which feels like a cool climax, but it keeps going a little bit after that with some battles against Soldiers. I believe it would’ve been best to first do the Soldier combat and THEN do the Chopper battle for the climax and a satisfying end.

      A Stroll in the Park
      It is good

      Another good entry. I really liked how the creator didn’t go for the desert-style surface, but did something new instead. This was a pretty long entry, you will shoot a lot of things. At the beginning there was an area where Vortigaunts fire at you while you are surrounded by crates, so the Vortigaunts knock the crates everywhere changing your cover. I am not sure if this was intentional, but I liked it nontheless.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Medium
      Playtime:
      30 Minutes
      Reply
    4. JamaicanDave
      Play It Later

      As there were only two entries to this challenge, one of which (Disarray) is my own, this will essentially be a review of A Stroll in the Park. Despite only two maps I reckon there’s about 45-50 mins worth of gameplay and certainly recommend anyone who owns Black Mesa give it a try.

      A Stroll in the Park by Skorly
      It is good

      I quite enjoyed this map and it’s remarkably long for a challenge entry, taking me around 30 mins to complete at a steady pace. I think seasoned players may find it a little on the easy side, but I’d rather that than too hard.

      Its premise is pretty simple – you’ve been hiding out drinking with a couple of other scientists and when you wake up you’re contacted on a radio and told you need to make your way to the surface. This doesn’t make perfect sense as you can clearly see you’re already on the surface, but it does the job of getting the player moving. You’ll proceed through a series of mainly interior storage locations battling xen aliens who’ve been busy killing the military before moving to a large, winding outdoor area where the HECU form the major opposition.

      I liked the layout of the map, there were numerous occasions you could see areas you’d visit later on or had already been too and overall found the visuals pleasing to look at. Sound was fine, there was a nice ambience throughout and a bit of music near the end. There were a few bits of environmental storytelling and scripted sequences, which gave the map a nice atmosphere. There’s plenty of pickups along the way, some hidden in crates and a few slightly off the beaten track. The combat was pretty fun and for the most part the setups interesting. I didn’t have too much trouble with the HECU rushing me, which isn’t as easy as it sounds to pull off, and certainly made fighting them more enjoyable. Besides combat there’s a few semi-puzzles navigating explosives, opening locked doors or climbing objects.

      I do have a few criticisms. Some of the interior lighting was a bit too yellow and the flicking lights actually hurt my eyes, whilst outside it was slightly too dark and difficult to see. Some encounters could have done with refinement. Examples include occasions where npcs were simply standing there waiting for the player, the HEV zombie appeared invulnerable, I managed to pick off almost all the HECU in the car park with the crossbow from outside the AI’s ability to respond and the trigger to teleport in the aliens could be skipped if the player jumped over the truck blocking the left hand path. Navigation was generally fine but I did get stuck for a couple of minutes after pressing the button at the end as the big screen showing the opening door was almost entirely in shadow and displayed a mostly black image. I had problems with all the physics enabled crates, especially when it was necessary to climb on them. This is partly from my own dislike of sources physics, which I find really janky, but they got quite obstructive and were responsible for my one death when I got wedged between two and the game gibbed me. This is more a problem with source but the mapper should try to work around it.

      I guess one small, final gripe is the map didn’t actually feel like it was set in Black Mesa nor did I find it a particular believable location, though honestly that’s not much of an issue when the maps fun.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Medium
      Playtime:
      50 Minutes
      Reply
      1. DeanAmythe

        I really enjoyed your entry, very good level design.

        Reply
      2. denizen50

        JamaicanDave, do you know if this is supposed work with the latest retail version?

        I followed the installation procedure above, and it doesn’t show any ‘bonus maps’, nore was there any previous ‘platform’ folder….

        Reply
        1. JamaicanDave

          As far as I know it should. There’s a slightly updated version of Disarray on the Black Mesa workshop if you can’t get SurfaceComplex working.

          Reply
    5. 23-down
      Play It Later

      Uhh I love Black Mesa and I do love these outside environment levels.. So I had high hopes for this contest.. It saddened me to see there were only 2 entries sent. Never the less thanks to Phillip and my thanks to the 2 authors of said maps. Without you and one another I doubt that we would’ve seen either level.

      My general opinion for both maps combined is as follows:

      Disarray by JamaicanDave
      It is good

      Certainly a brilliant map and well polished for the short amount of time given to the author. If I wouldn’t know any better I say make this claim (School kid) the author still has plenty of time at his disposal. I envy him.

      NPC scripting and monster placement as well as voice lines are making this little map kinda fascinating and it could very well fit in with the (extended surface tension chapter = steam workshop – a restoration of surface tensions original length and beyond, very recommendable)

      That being said the layout and texture choices are well made. Good job on this one. The rough play time of this is approximately 20 minutes.

      A Stroll in the Park by Skorly
      It is okay

      Another great entry. Well the only other entry that is… While I enjoyed this map immensely you finally get to feel that this map was meant as as competition map. That results in some areas looking rather barren and doll or assets being used as place holders although there appearance making zero sense on said place. For example we get this huge parking deck or at least what appears to be a parking deck.

      How ever what is interesting about that fact is that there is only a forest with no visible route or street leading off and 1 huge steel gate leading to the interior of a building. How ever once inside you notice immediately that this is supposed to be just a drop off point for trucks carrying various goods for the building. Things like that hurt terribly on the immersion when you get to realize “Something’s quite foul here”.

      Now that aside the map offers it all. Decent combat and plenty of supplies to remain in the fight.
      The fact that it was created during a limited time frame only makes it even better. It lacks npc scripts other than the initial radio message and a passing by Gark I didn’t notice anything unusual.

      I’d say this map would be my morale winner, for at least trying hard to get the job done in a short time. Unfortunately the mapper failed to plan the map properly through by the layout but that’s about it.

      At least we get to see a nice night time themed map which in some aspects reminded me of some regular hl2 maps. Approximate play time 15 to 20 minutes.

      Reply
    6. vancanucksfan
      Play It Now!

      I love playing BMS maps and was disappointed to see there were only 2 entries. I still got an enjoyable 60 minutes of play time from them so I’m not complaining. Here are my thoughts:

      Disarray: I liked this one the best. I thought the layouts and enemy placement were really good. You never got into situations where the combat seemed unfair or impossible. In fact if you looked carefully there was usually a solution to any challenge hidden somewhere, like the explosives tucked away near the tank. It was good to be in the middle of a battle with combatants fighting with each other sometimes instead of with you. It might have been nice to re-trace your steps once you completed your objective; that could have increased the play time considerably.

      A Stroll in the Park: This was a pretty good entry which was let down a bit by the ending. It starts well enough with you having really nothing except your crowbar for some time. If there was a regular pistol I must have missed it. The combat keeps escalating as does your weaponry, until at the end you reach the boss battle. It’s not much a battle though as all you can do is run away. I thought I was supposed to go down into the power equipment area outside and ended up getting stuck there with no way out. Also, when I stood on a box near the end I could see out of the map when I jumped up. So I think the ending needs some tweaking.

      2 pretty good entries is better than none. I hope there are more BMS competitions coming up.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Easy
      Playtime:
      1 Hour
      Reply
      1. DeanAmythe

        If I remember correctly, the regular pistol in A Stroll in the Park was at the beginning, right when you get out of the vent.

        Reply
    7. Hec

      Hey for some reason I am not able to post the recommendation, I’ve already written it but it just doesn’t show. Help.

      Reply
    8. Hec
      Play It Now!

      I think sometimes fewer are better than much. This is a great example of that in this challenge.

      DISARRAY
      It is great!

      You know, Jamaican Dave is a great BM mapper. It seems that BM maps are just his specialty. And on this occasion, the map he presents is as good as his previous works. I had a strong “Black Mesa” feeling when I was playing it, and the outdoor areas present a combat that it is quite linear but challenging all the time, so you have to think your move and combat from the beginning until the end. For me, this was the best map of the 2 in the competition.

      A STROLL IN THE PARK
      It is great!

      This was also pretty nice. I think its night setting is a great touch in this map, also despite it isn’t common to see green-forest scenarios in BM the outdoor combat it is great and filled with the old-school pure dose of action. And that escape finale is a great moment of nostalgia due to that enormous Garg chasing your tail and burning your butt at a very close distance!

      In Conclusion, this was a great competition I hope you to play it now.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Medium
      Playtime:
      1 Hour
      Reply
    9. PlanetPhillip
      Phillip says Play It!

      I admit I was disappointed when we only received two entries but but is not the quantity that counts but the quality. Both entries were fun to play and were quite long.

      Disarray by JamaicanDave
      It is great!

      It’s always nice to find a mapper use a game’s dialogue in maps, it adds depth. This map starts in quite a bland way but once you get to the surface things brighten considerably. You are shown the helicopter that will later plague your day, or at least it plagued mine. The whole thing reminded me of one of my favourite levels from all 3 GoldSource games – one from Opposing force, where the player spends a lot of time in a quite small area but is led a merry dance by the mapper. That’s what happens here. You can see other areas of the surface where you will get to but nothing is shown in so much detail that it is spoilt.

      You enter enough indoor ares to keep the level feeling varied and you face a variety of enemies and challenges. The map gives you a real sense of accomplishment when completed. My only two criticisms are 1, the third quarter of the map didn’t seem to have enough health. I spent many reloads between 1 and 6 health points. The room with the electrical puzzle could do with some. Secondly, there was a double door with a 50 calibre gun pointing at it that looked like it could have been fun but it never opened. I don’t know whether a trigger didn’t work or if it was never supposed to but it was a little frustrating. At the time of writing this review, I have not noclipped through to see if there was anything behind it. I’m pretty sure I heard some grunts.

      So, for such a simple concept, this map did a very good job of mixing things up, keeping me on my toes and making work hard to beat it. One of my favourite Black Mesa maps I’ve ever played.

      A Stroll in the Park by Skorly
      It is good

      Too dark. I know that sounds a little unfair but I personally dislike dark levels. Of course, the surface doesn’t have to be bright but this surface didn’t feel like a Black Mesa setting. I think it would have been just as fun set in narrow twisting canyons as it was with vegetation. I managed to get to a few areas I shouldn’t have and even got stuck once and had to noclip out. There were a few graphical issues with brushes sticking out and stuff like that but the author did the basics well. I managed to break the sequence by getting to an area earlier than I should have and could have missed a bunch of enemies. Perhaps that is was my reward? The Garg was clearly foreshadowed and the general combat and gameplay was fun.

      All in all, I did enjoy this but my overall impression is darkened (haha, see what I did there?) by the lighten, or lack thereof.

      Summary

      Two entries is obviously less than we hoped for and people talk about not having enough time to fully practice using the BM hammer assets. My argument against that is that we have had all year to practice and these challenges ARE practice.

      Sometimes games have modding facilities but the community just doesn’t create enough content to encourage more creators to try. Perhaps with the release of Xen next year, BM will have a revival of modders trying to build new levels. I certainly hope so.

      I am sure you will enjoy playing both of these entries.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Easy
      Playtime:
      1 Hour, 10 Minutes
      Reply
      1. JamaicanDave

        At one point those double doors by the 2nd 50 cal. gun did indeed open (they lead directly to the courtyard where the Vorts and HECU were fighting earlier). However for various reasons I had to drop that idea.

        Reply
    10. Duke

      Wasn’t sure where to mention this, but as this thread is on Black Mesa I thought I would here. Azure Sheep Demo is out, part one, for Black Mesa. I’ve downloaded it but the launcher that comes with the download doesn’t work, but if I can create some sort of short cut it might be worth a look at. Anybody else had a go at it ?

      Reply
      1. Duke

        hmmm, nobody apparently..

        Reply
    11. AdmiralSakai

      How did you get the preview images in the “bonus maps” window to work? I am trying to export .tga files from GIMP with exactly the same dimensions, but all I get are black images.

      Reply
      1. PlanetPhillip

        I used Photoshop, and don’t remember any special settings. Are you sure you have the correct names and locations, etc? If you want to, you could send me the files and I’ll test them on my system and maybe re-save them in photoshop.

        Reply
        1. AdmiralSakai

          Was able to get it working by saving the texture as a VTF.

          Reply
    12. MeMSix
      Play It Later

      Very short as there are only two maps in this map pack. It seems like a lot of people still are unwilling to give Black Mesa a go. My guess is because Black Mesa has a lot higher of a level detail standard than Half-Life 2. Along with Black Mesa’s more weighty gunplay making poorly designed arenas stand out more.

      BOLD: SPOILERS AHEAD

      Disarray
      It is great!

      The level design is quite well done in this map. There is very smooth combat going from indoor and outdoor areas, with the player attacking marines in small units. The helicopter was also a highlight as not once did I feel that damage from it was unavoidable. Combat is well paced as a clear direction of combat is set with a small stash of supplies and some breathing time greeting the player after every battle. Every encounter with enemies felt unique throughout as there is a lot of variety in the arenas you fight in to the enemies you fight. One second you are pushing a fortified choke point, then the next there is a helicopter boss fight.

      This was overall a very well made map with a lot of though put into its design. It is clearly the winner of the two maps.

      A Stroll in the Park
      It is okay

      This was a fun map, but had a few issues that held it back from receiving a higher rating. The first point is the ascetic. While I love forest maps, and the mapper did a solid job of detailing them, it seems a little bit out of place in Black Mesa. Especially with the use of HL2’s low poly assets against BM’s higher poly assets. The darkness doesn’t help the ascetic either as it is hard to get enjoyment out of the forest aesthetic when you can barely see anything. It just makes some gameplay areas harder to do as some of the enemies are hard to notice in the dark.

      Level design was alright. The first combat encounter with marines plays out well, giving the player plenty of room to flank enemies. Then there is a good puzzle on how to destroy a fortified turret. More rewards for exploration would be appreciated, like I found it odd that there was no hidden stashes on top of some of the large climbable crates. The scene where G-Man cuts you off from escape I didn’t notice was scripted as I though the door glitched because there was no sound effect. I only realized that was intentional after I spotted G-Man standing inside the poorly lit garage.

      Level design was still okay until the last part. This is what really brought the rating down. You face a large battle in a parking lot with HECU. Some more encompassing cover would of improved the area as it felt like marines got the flank on you too often. There was also on marine standing at an elevated position that I could not see till I got close because of the darkness in the map. It may be different if you didn’t take that much damage in the parking lot fight (unlikely with the very few suit batteries present), but for me it felt like the final section was an afterthought.

      First you fight a marine in cover through a small door which wasn’t that enjoyable of a fight. Then there is a tripmine section, but you can easily just clear them with a grenade if you don’t close the auto-locking door behind you. The door I found irritating as there was nothing indication that it would lock when closed, especially since it was a standard door and not a sliding one. From the parking lot onward you are given no health until you no longer even needed it. You have to fight a marine from a covered vent. Followed by dropping down to a large door opening and more marines rushing you. With me being at low health this was really annoying to tackle as I was not even given an option to approach more carefully. You have to stack boxes up to an area from there that seems like there should be a ladder. Then you hit a button, but you can’t tell what it does as it is across the room from the door it opens and the intimidating reaction to the button press is a Gargantua that has been teased since the beginning of the map appears.

      The Gargantua ended up being entirely anti-climactic. When it first appears, it is incapable of doing anything. Then you fight a few more marines in narrow corridors and come to a health/HEV station. You get all excited that you are going to have a boss battle with the Gargantua. You don’t. All that happens is you run away from it. You run across the map to the same garage that you though was established as closed off by the G-Man scripted event.

      I would have given the map an “Its Good” but the final section dragged it down to “Its Okay.” Although most of the map was enjoyable, just the final taste the map gives you with a frustrating end section and non-existent payoff.

      Installed:
      Manually
      Difficulty Played At:
      Medium
      Playtime:
      30 Minutes
      Reply
    13. ind3x

      A highly recommended mod. Maybe you are tired of the original version, then you can find other fun here

      Reply
    14. Fos

      Hi I’m new to this website, and when I open the mesa cup file, it tells me how do i want to open the file and it showed me abunch of random windows 10 programs, help?

      Reply
      1. JamaicanDave

        I’m guessing you’ll need 7-zip to unzip the download file. It’s freely available on the web.

        A word of warning about Surface Complex, it took place before the Black Mesa Xen update and there will be problems trying to play the maps on the latest version of Black Mesa. My entry (Disarray) is also on the BM workshop but is currently hidden until it gets updated to 1.0 compatible.

        Reply
      2. Fos

        edit: i figured out what 7z stuff is but now the menu icon won’t show up after i’ve done everything

        Reply

    Reply without including a Recommendation and MetaReview Data

    Recommendation System

    You must be registered and logged in to use the Recommendation System.
    Why not register now? It's free and easy. If you are already registered then please login.

    Comment Formatting Guide

    Well formatted comments are much easier to read. Please copy and paste the HTML Tags to use in your comment

    • HEADER: <div class="fix"></div><div class="sbe3">TEXT HERE</div>
    • BOLD: <strong>TEXT HERE</strong>
    • ITALIC: <em>TEXT HERE</em>
    • SPOILER: <span class="spoiler">TEXT HERE</span>