Black Mesa

Black Mesa

BMS Classic - Surface Tension (v1.05b)
 This topic has been pinned, so it's probably important
Vassago Rain  [developer] Jun 5, 2021 @ 4:57am
Surface tension changelog (1.05b)
*WARNING: these don't list every single little alteration or tweak done, and this is especially true for ST, but it should give you a rough idea of what's in here before you commit to the download*

* General enhancements/bugfixes
- Restored from/based on earlier Black Mesa builds and/or Half-Life
+ New for BMS Classic - Full game download v1.10b

ALL MAPS:
* item_crate/supply crate prop shenanigans - unsealed crates/lids are now prop_physics instead of item_crate and lids are now debris
* Swapped out some normal bullsquids for melee-only bullsquids throughout Earthbound maps to add some variety to combat

= SURFACE TENSION =

ALL MAPS:
* Supply (health, batteries, ammo) and enemy placement has been adjusted
* Added Knockback Houndeyes from Xen chapters
* Swapped out almost all old-style AGrunts for Xen Grunts (some old AGrunts are still in use in some places where the Xen Grunts didn't work properly)
* Fixed numerous issues with items/NPCs clipping through the terrain and either not spawning or ending up outside the map
* Clipping pass - fixed a few rocks with particularly bad physics meshes here and there

bm_c2a5a:
* Minor performance enhancements
* Completely overhauled combat throughout the map - fuel dump at the start, down the road to the dam, on the dam itself, etc.
* Replaced old fake water brush trick with new Xen-style refractive water to prevent visual artifacts at bottom of dam
* Fixed music looping until mapchange if the player goes down the intake pipe without fighting the apache
* Added a switch to reopen the gate at the start of the dam
* Added an intro for the Knockback Houndeye at the end of the map
+ Improved line-of-sight to .50 cal on the bridge
+ Fixed broken skybox water

bm_c2a5b:
* Added a locked door to the charger tower that can be opened from the other side - improves map flow and makes backtracking less arduous
- Restored some detail throughout the map from unused visgroups in the file
- Restored the second minefield area with the Tentacle
* Added a few more frag grenades in the broken crate just before the minefield
* Fixed (ish) a bug where a headcrab in the minefield would be invisible
* Minor detailing around the storm drain hatch for better guidance

KNOWN BUGS:
* The tentacle *may* occasionally disappear entirely. I've done my best to work around this, but I doubt it's been eliminated entirely, and I don't think there's anything more I can do to improve it.

bm_c2a5c:
* Fixed alpha sorting issues with fake skybox fog and smoke from crashed helicopter
* Fixed rock material used on the cliffs - colour is now more consistent with the rock models and it's no longer shiny
* Adjusted animation speed of the bunker getting destroyed in the skybox
(Thanks to Citizen⁵ for inspiration/help on these)
* Attempted to improve NPC pathing on the cliffs - this seemed to be responsible for the majority of the assaults in the map not working correctly
* Made the RPG resupply crates refill 10 rockets at once, thus ensuring the player will have max ammo (unless they have an edited skill.cfg)
* Re-detailed the storage area where the RPG is found to make it a bit less claustrophobic

bm_c2a5d:
* Overhauled both the drainage area fight with the tank and the encounter with the APC shortly thereafter
* Marines (should) now become aware of player when the falling barrels drop into the drainage area
* Fixed a bug where multiple tanks would end up spawning
* Enhanced the appearance of the gate control buttons, since they were pretty bare before
* Removed some foliage to improve combat sightlines a bit
- Removed the health charger from the map transition area since it really didn't serve much purpose
* Fixed the gun cabinet in the transition room changing places between maps

bm_c2a5e:
- Removed the health charger from the map transition area since it really didn't serve much purpose
- Replaced hapless teleporting Vorts at the start with a bombing run and reintroduced the AGrunt appearance afterwards
* Detailing/expansion in a few places outdoors
* Adjusted tripmine placement a bit to make them less obvious/more hazardous
* Adjusted sniper behaviour and positioning
* Cut down on the ridiculous number of explosives/tripmines inside the ordinance building, in an attempt to counteract a bug where tripmines wouldn't do damage
* Moved the Hivehand and AGrunt corpse down to the bottom of the elevator, so the player's more likely to hear the guard's reaction
* Partial fix for the guard interrupting/preventing his own reactions to the Hivehand pickup (TODO: investigate this further - I suspect this might only be fixable via script editing, which is something I don't really want to do to ensure max compatibility with other mods)

bm_c2a5f:
* Reworked the APC "arena" a bit to improve combat and player mobility
- Restored(-ish) the building bombing scene from HL1
* Made the RPG resupply crate refill 10 rockets at once, thus ensuring the player will have max ammo (unless they have an edited skill.cfg)
- Restored the armoury lights
- Moved the "hungry Vorts" in the osprey lot to the top of the road right after the player drops down, so they're a more immediate threat
- "Supply door" leading to stairs to TOW can no longer be closed
- Unlocked multiple doors throughout the map to allow for backtracking and improve the map's flow overall

bm_c2a5g:
* Expanded the HECU vs. Xenians battle in the parkade
* Opened a door outside the parkade to allow for backtracking
* Fixed wrongly-textured clip brush in cinephys vent
* Fixed batteries getting deleted as soon as the cinephys vent breaks
* Fixed HECU shooting player through intact wall of broken vent
* Fixed invisible walls staying after the vent was destroyed
* Fixed (?) an invisible wall in the lot outside the garage
- Replaced the .50 cal in the garage lot with a TOW launcher and improved AGrunt behaviour
* Fixed helipad battle starting long before the player got close to it
* Changed helipad entrance - removed watch tower sniper spot, opened up the gates instead, replaced the xen launchpad with a healing pool
* Adjusted AI settings so the Xenians and marines will focus on each other before the player

bm_c2a5h:
* Optimization attempts
* Fixed HECU grunt that gets thrown through wall having a gasmask sometimes
- Bathroom door no longer locks behind player to trap them with snarks
* Improved clipping on pipe outside bathroom
* Fixed light in hallway not sounding like metal when hit
* Removed an invisible wall above the fence around the rocket area - yes, it was to prevent skipping the ZECU stairs, but it was obnoxious
* Restored the missing sniper (Tree Frog) radio conversation on the rooftop
* Made the RPG resupply crate refill 10 rockets at once, thus ensuring the player will have max ammo (unless they have an edited skill.cfg)
* Opened up one of the furnace building doors to prevent a softlock due to backtracking
* Added some detail to the ZECU stairwell
* Fixed pipe collision in furnace room not sounding like metal when hit
* Fixed a potential softlock at the end of the map
* Fixed the guard getting distracted and softlocking the game due to encountering enemies towards the end of the map
+ Fixed the radio conversation continuing to play when it shouldn't
+ Fixed the guard AI breaking and softlocking for real this time

bm_c2a5i:
* Raised EAS announcement's volume and made it start sooner, so it's less likely to be missed
* Attempted to turn down intro music's volume slightly so the EAS is more audible
* Attempted to make the Garg start chasing the player sooner
* Added railings and clip brushes to walkway along road where the Garg can't reach the player
* Fixed fuel truck not sounding like metal when hit
* Replaced old-style cheap water in canal/pool with Xen-style refractive model and xog
* Turned down air-raid siren volume slightly
- Restored Garg chasing the player if they try leaving without killing it
- Restored incoming mortar strikes once the player enters the hallway
* Added a one-way barricade into FAF - this does unfortunately prevent the Garg from chasing you all the way down to the door, but this was the only way to maintain compatibility with the regular game without breaking the AI

KNOWN BUGS:
- The tactical map can still be spammed to the point of crashing the game. Can't fix - there are no delay settings on the map entity, nor do it or the launcher itself take any inputs that I can use to address this.
Last edited by Vassago Rain; Jun 5, 2021 @ 5:25am