Why Buy Black Mesa on Steam? :: Black Mesa General Discussions

Among many reasons why, here are some compelling reasons on why you must experience Black Mesa:

Surface Tension: UNCUT!
Dynamic CSM shadows
A new dynamic lighting system
Massive visual overhaul
Stand alone game (no need for any Half-Life game to be installed)
Vastly increased stability from the mod version
New, Unique Source Engine.
Linux support
Full Steam integration
Steam Workshop
Large portions of the original game have updated level layouts.
Multiplayer Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch
Recreated multiplayer maps Crossfire, Gasworks, Stalkyard, Bounce, Undertow, Lambda Bunker, Subtransit, and Stack
All new first-person weapons models and animations for all of the classic weapons.
Complete overhaul of Marine A.I.
Vortigaunts feature new A.I and attacks.
All new Marine voice over
Adjustments and polish to various A.I. throughout the game
Complete overhaul of weapon damage values for player and NPCs
New recoil system that bases accuracy on skill and not random spread values
All new multiplayer animation system
New U.I. and loading screens
Added god ray graphical feature (sunlight beams)
Weapon bob and sway
Stand-alone mod tools
Stability improvements for Hammer
New Hammer entities for creating new game modes
A massive reimagining of the original Xen with all new levels and chapters that alone span the length of a full game.
Continued support and bug fixes

The Black Mesa Team (Crowbar Collective)

There's been a lot of questions about how Crowbar Collective works. We wanted to give you guys a better understanding of how we operate and what to expect from us.

First off, we are in no way associated with Valve. We're fans, just as much as you. After Black Mesa was Greenlit, Valve offered to let us sell Black Mesa on Steam. We were floored by the offer, and could not turn it down. That gave us more access to the Source Engine, and more resources to finish our game. Valve gave us a license and answered our technical engine questions via email, but they were not part of the development of Black Mesa.

Crowbar Collective isn't your typical game development team. We're an international group of part-time developers who work on Black Mesa in our spare time. Additionally, there is no physical 'Crowbar Collective studio.' We communicate through Steam, Skype, and online forums. Being able to work well despite not being in the same room, let alone time zone, is probably our most significant accomplishment over the years.

None of this excuses us from delivering what we said we were going to deliver. We are working away on Xen, and we will continue to improve the game before and after Xen ships. We hope this answers some questions about what's new in the Steam version and gives you a better understanding of the Black Mesa team.

Thank you for your support.
- The Black Mesa Team

Press Reviews

Here are some reviews of Black Mesa if you are wondering what other people think.

Metacritic at time of writing 84. User rating of 8.8[www.metacritic.com]

"Looks and plays phenomenally." [www.polygon.com] - Polygon

"A brilliant tribute to one of the greatest videogames ever made" - Destructoid

"Black Mesa is definitely the best way to experience one of the crown jewels of first-person shooter history" - IGN Black Mesa Review

"...whether you're a novice to the series or looking to brush up on your lore ahead of Alyx, I would consider Black Mesa both an essential game in its own right and the best way to play Half-Life today" [www.theverge.com] - Verge

"It is a triumph on many levels, and in terms of scale and polish, the most impressive fan game ever made." - Rock Paper Shotgun

“Xen is a triumph” - Andy Kelly, PCgamer

"One of the best remakes ever, not because of its loving recreation of the original Half-Life but because it dares to change and improve it." [metro.co.uk] - Metro

Additional Reviews

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