What is Black Mesa?

Q. What is Black Mesa?

A. Black Mesa is a total conversion of Half-Life 2, retelling the original game of Half-Life. Utilizing the Source engine and its endless array of possibilities and powers, Black Mesa will throw you into the world that started the Half-Life continuum and introduced Gordon Freeman, the gun-toting, bullet-dodging Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics.

Release Information

Q. When will Black Mesa be released?

A. We have always gone for a "when it's done" approach. We have however commited to releasing in the year 2009.

Q. Will you be having a public beta?

A. No. The single player aspect of Black Mesa will not be released in beta form publicly. However, we will have a group of appointed testers to help us out privately. Please don't ask to beta test, as your request will be ignored.

Q. Ok, so the single player aspect won't be publicly released in beta form, but will the multiplayer side?

A. In respect of the co-op side, it will be handled the same way as the single player. As for deathmatch it is likely that this would be released as a public beta. However, we have no idea when this will be, as again it's a case of "When we're ready".

Q. How large will Black Mesa be when it released?

A. Current estimates place the final build between 5-6 GBs uncompressed.

Playing Black Mesa

Q. What will I need in order to play Black Mesa?

A. The only requirement to play Black Mesa will be that you own any Source Engine game on Steam. For a detailed list see here.

Q. How much will Black Mesa cost?

A. Black Mesa is a free modification; The developers will never charge you for playing mainly because we wouldn't want to make people pay to play, but also because it would be illegal to do so. As long as you have a copy of any source engine game on steam, Black Mesa will cost you nothing.

Offering Help

Q. I have this really cool idea, will you put it in?

A. If it fits in with the Half-Life storyline, then we may include it. Drop by our forums and do a quick search to see if the question has already been raised. If not, and you still believe it fits the HL story and gameplay, go ahead and post it. However, the more radical the idea the less likely it is to be included in Black Mesa.

Q. Are you currently hiring <insert your field of development>?

A. We're always on the look out for talent; Check our Jobs page for a specific application. However, even if your field isn't listed and you feel you have the talent, feel free to drop us an email with links to previous work at jobs@blackmesasource.com

Specifics

Q. Will Black Mesa feature any new weapons/enemies?

A. In Black Mesa you will have the same arsenal as Gordon had back in HL1. The same goes for enemies; Don't expect to see any brand new enemies, although, you may see some of the unicorporated/cut enemies if we find ways to incorporate them into Black Mesa.

Q. Will you include the Gravity Gun in Black Mesa?

A. No. Although we will be including Source's physics engine, the gravity gun doesn't fit into HL1 and therefore will not be included.

Q. Will the hazard course be featured in Black Mesa?

A. Just as in the HL1, Black Mesa will feature a hazard course; It may be slightly modified from the original to fit in with new additions from the Source engine.

Q. I found this bug in the original HL1, will it be removed in Black Mesa?

A. 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.

Music

Q. The music on the website is great. Can I hear more of it/get it in mp3 format?

A. Joel has some on his website: http://www.joelnielsen.com/music/. You can also find all of the released tracks in our Download section.