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Games
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I took a break from AC Shadows and played some Halo with a friend today. We did Duos on public matchmaking. We got absolutely destroyed by this Duo like 5 times in a row on different games (they must have been the only other people on our server) but it was a lot of fun. We also matched with this one Duo on Halo 3. It was a bit less fun because it was like they knew our constant position and took us out within a second of spawning, but that's the way multiplayer is i guess so i can't really complain, especially in a game as old as MCC where the Competitive is dead so everyone goes to casual.
We also went through a playlist for fun and also for those sweet, sweet, tokens to buy Xbox gear in the exchange (i just need the OG Xbox to put on my back). We did a multigame playlist and chose Epic FIghts, which took us through a Halo CE level and also Metropolis (Halo 3 kept crashing). The picture above is from that after my friend jumped to his death and forgot that CE has fall damage.
We also did Metropolis, which i trailed slowly behind in a tank. We originally were going to grab the Scarab Gun and soccer ball, but we forgot the important step of the Banshee so we didn't.
I ended up going back to them with the Acrophobia skull and pushed the ball around for a bit. That in fact, did not last long though as i shortly after accidentally blew myself up with the Scarab Gun:
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My week’s news!
Though, the roundup this time didn’t quite make it to 7 days after the last I shared, as I promised it would. Sorry!
As ever, this is the bits and pieces of news I’ve spotted that made me smile, or made me interested, so I thought they’d fit in nicely here.
My aim is to phrase this in a more personal manner than most gaming sites do now. My ever-lasting inspo is the old, old video game sites, blogs and magazines that I never had the privilege of being alive for:
- image/gif/link heavy
- personal voice (no hard news here!)
- mostly news or articles or points you won’t find on the ‘big’ gaming sites, these are the smaller, lesser things that I’m drawn to
A warning, some users who use some apps have told me there is slowdown in scrolling these. I'd recommend Thunder, or Jerboa apps - neither of which have any issues scrolling through these posts I make!
Grab a cup of coffee, settle in and poke holes in my mistakes and formatting (or, idk, just enjoy this)!
GOG News / Games
Surveyed / ‘how to better GOG’:
Interestingly, those of us who allow emails from GOG (you can deny these ‘promotion’ kind in your settings) saw a survey in the last day or so. The crux of this one is GOG seemingly floating the idea that they may introduce some kind of subscription service.
It does seem to be early days on what exactly that will entail (though that hasn’t stopped users everywhere getting very vocal about how they despise the prospect) – but for a platform build on being DRM-free, it’s hard to see how this will work exactly.
I adore GOG. As maybe you’ve seen from these posts so far, I own entirely too many games on there, it’s been my spot to buy games from the start (I actually checked how many I own on Steam – 41!), and I love their service:
- DRM-free
- Games’ preservation
So while I’m not seeing this in the most positive light just now (esp considering the recent numbers showing an 89% decrease in profits), I’m not going to be negative before we see the whole picture.
Games Updates:
I’ve just noticed some updates to games recently, and wanted to share them in a lil list. This isn’t the most thrilling of endeavors, since maybe you’re already aware that a new version of your GOG game is up and running. Though if not, here’s a few I noticed in my library which are new:
- Drova: Forsaken Kin
- Endzone 2
- Heart of the Machine
- Foundation
- Pillars of Eternity (is this the Poe game everyone keeps using the letters P, O and E for?
- The Thing Remastered
- Tunguska: The Visitation
- Wildermyth
- Rain World
- Ultima IV
- Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
- Kingdom Come Deliverance II
- No Man’s Sky
GOG Cover Template
Last few times I’ve mentioned or shared the physical GOG DVD covers people design, print and display – people have loved them. And no wonder, the lack of phsyical side of PC gaming makes something as small as a custom display of games you love such a beautiful idea.
I’ve come across this one by ‘Nejnop’ – this is a games cover template, for you to use if you want! Though as ever, if you’d prefer to scroll through the GIANT forum thread on GOG and see game covers others have made for you, you can use this link here!
If you’re curious, then:
Link to the template (and required fonts) here. Print your covers at 99% scale for the best fit: https://www.mediafire.com/file/k8m9vx3b5w6y9p7/GOG_Slim_Cover.zip/file
Void Bastards delisted:
As on the 31st of last month, we’ve seen Void Bastards delisted from GOG. Sad news, but there is slight hope as is stated:
No last-minute discount, but we'll try to re-sign the game ASAP.
Sad :(
The Crew
This is an interesting video I found on The Crew (the first game), and how a team are trying to save the game with https://www.stopkillinggames.com/
If you want to know more about The Crew and the Stop Killing Games efforts, check these links:
Kotaku’s article from last year
Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s article
And IGN’s, if you’d prefer their article
]ANYWAY, to the point, I really enjoyed this video from Fastminer07 on YouTube, it was clear and reiterates how important this is. Worth a look if you’re searching for interseting videos for your down-time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Ih__mE05c)
What GOG game did you play last?
Just...generally curious, if you did at all of course! I’ve been playing Bioshock 2 Remastered and it really is glorious. I love how the pinks look on the OLED screen, and how effective they are at making an underwater world look truly ocean-y.
In fact it inspired me so much with its deep ocean setting that I’ve been watching old-old movies set underwater, like The Abyss, Deep Star Six and most recently Leviathan
Dog day
Sadly the appeal of the word Doge has plummeted to now being synonymous with a fucking Nazi, but back four years ago when the stocks were checked, you got a cute little coincidence. Here’s the image telling all the stories I need to:
KCD II
And finally, you’ll have no doubt seen that Kingdom Come Deliverance II (what happened in the first 10 games?) has released on GOG.
This one was far more swift in coming to the platform than the first one was, and for a short time there it was feared that it was actually going to have Denuvo baked in (it was not)
Article via IGN on that Denuvo fear here, if you want to read more on it!
Anyway, now its on GOG and has had an update, and is looking and performing perfectly. It really does play so well on the Steam Deck. This is one of the very few games I bought on Steam, and have already played some of. I will however be buying again on GOG, because like you can see by my endless comments on it – GOG wins for me!
Anyway, as I’ve played, I wanted less of a hardcore ‘sim’ experience, than others. Of course there’s nothing wrong with that, but I just wanted it to be an easier experience for me to soak up the medieval setting. Mods I used via Nexus are:
- Ascetic Hunger Be Gone
- Easier or Harder Reputation
- KCD2 Easy Lockpicking
- Convenient Items
- Rich Merchants
- More Carry Weight
- Stay Clean for Longer
- Unlimited Saving II
- Instant Herb Picking II
I know, I know: ’You’re not playing how the game was designed to be played! You’re cheating!’ - yes, but to me this is how I enjoy the game, so...it made it a little easier to play for me!
GOG’s Top Wishlisted Games (30 days):
- KCD 2
- Silent Hill 4: The Room
- System Shock (25th Anniv. Remaster)
- Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
- Dino Crisis Bundle
- Baldur’s Gate 3
- Sudeki
- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
- KCD: Royal Edition
Rain World: The Watcher
...is now available on GOG!
Journey beyond to something, somewhere only ever glimpsed. When the world beneath your feet cracks and crumbles, will you hold on to all you once knew? Or dive into the unknown?
Link to the YouTube video on The Watcher is here!
Emulation / Retro Gaming
If you’re not emulating games on the Steam Deck, then I think you’re kinda crazy and you really, really should do so!. My fav option by far for doing so is to use RetroDECK, which had a great release recently and also a video made by emulation royalty Russ (of Retro Game Corps)
I’m also kinda obsessed with RetroDECK, so if you need any help, or questions, then you can always reach out to me. I love the damn thing.
Anyway, my point is, I effing love emulating and retro games, and here’s some stories and news I’ve found recently on the subject:
Halo 2 pre-release build pack has been released!
Hey everyone! We are excited to announce the release of the Halo 2 Pre-Release Pack! I would like to thank The Vengeful Vadam, Harcroft, Cheato, Revurt & Xbox7887 for making this possible. Extra special thanks to Carnivol for preserving the E3 2004 Demo. Pack is available for both Xbox & Xemu. We will be using this pack for our Tuesday, March 18th Halo 2 Pre-release Game Night on Xlink Kai. Join our discord for game night details; https://discord.gg/haloclassichub
This pack includes:
- Multiplayer Alpha Build - January 2004 (New Gametypes ADDED)
- E3 2004 Build - May 2004
- Includes 2 New Campaign Test maps prepared by the Vengeful Vadam; Zanzibar SP & Shared SP. See features like sprint, nightvision, and corner peeking along with the entire sandbox. Can you find all 40 bipeds?
- 4 Multiplayer Maps!
- Multiplayer Beta Build - June 2004 (Lockout install included)
- Halo 2 Alpha Campaign Test - Experience sprinting, nightvision & corner peeking on Waterworks. Includes all weapons and vehicles. Can you find all 11 bipeds? (Vengeful Vadam)
- Halo 2 E3 2004 Presentation Video
The download links are:
Xbox: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TCKVMuM0A-uR3heyhqKAwx7taSWHm3LM?usp=sharing
XISO: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wn6pGcOwXKb09yDmOZEKKJ0en5HtSpdc?usp=sharing
Dolphin Emulator:
Dolphin is the way in which we emulate GameCube and Wii games on PC ”...in full HD with various enhancements.” ...but it also runs on Android, Windows, Linux, MacOS, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Starting in 2003 as freeware, it has come a long way!
As of 21 days ago, they released their progress report on Dolphin (2503), and it remiss of me to not share this in an earlier news post!
The link to their detailed post is here, which is on their own site!
And here’s two rather beautifully designed capsule covers for Dolphin I found that I just have to share with you!
Xbox Retail Homebrew:
Perhaps you’re unaware, but for a few wonderful months there was an option to emulate so many systems on your Xbox Series consoles with zero repercussions. PS2, GameCube, Wii...all worked beautifully (the first time I played through MGS 3 was through my Series X!), but as with all good things, they end, in 2023.
Here’s a link to the article detailing the end of it being possible without further efforts - it is a article on The Verge Now, emulation is still possible via dev mode on your Series X/S consoles, but it is very much not as easy as it once was.
Now the point of my damn rant here, for those still running emulation on their Xbox, the new build is available, including full support with Retro Achievements!
XBSX2 Version 2.0.8.3:
Synced with the latest upstream commits as of 3/7/2024.
- Thanks to the new commits from the PCSX2 team we have themes now!
- Updated to SDL3 3.3.0 (Thank you to @3UR for swiftly working on this for me).
- Removed the Enable CDVD Precaching option from Settings due to excessive issues with the RAM limit.
- Updated assets to remove the .0 from XBSX2.
- Update the User Agent to include the user's console model.
- Remember Texture Packs do work but they have to be in the .dds format .png no longer works.
Interesting that via dev mode (not retail), things are still progressing and more than possible on the systems!
AzaharPlus:
AzaharPlus has been made and released. As was inevitable, the fork has arrived to skip around the ‘safety’ protocol Azahar implemented to make using pirated 3DS games harder. So the ‘Plus’ was build.
2120.2-A is the same as Azahar 2120.2 except for these features:
*Support of 3DS files. If a file works with earlier Citra forks, it works with AzaharPlus.
- Ability to download system files from official servers. No need for an actual 3DS.
It is available in 2 flavors. One that has the same application I.D. as Azahar, so it will replace it on the device. Its display name is "AzaharPlus".
Use this one if you have other apps that target Azahar, like a frontend for example. The other has a new application id so it can coexist with Azahar without issues. Its display name is "+AzaharPlus+".
Duckstation:
Duckstation (for android) just updated 3 days ago, which features:
- Performance improvements
- Multi-threading rendering
- Merging of multi-disc games in list
- Game compatibility improvements
- Additional controller types
- Texture cache and replacement support
- New patch code system
- CD image verification
This is a rather extensive lot of changes, and they’re all nice improvements! So if you’re emulating on your phone (or using some kind of SBC device which runs Android alongside Linux!) then you’re in for an improvement :)
Gameboy Advance SP Slate:
You might have spotted this on my Mastodon the other day, but these are a typical mod where you take the PCB and screen and install it in a metal shell - changing how the typical SP is a folding device and instead making it a typical old portrait look for the Gameboy.
Here’s a YouTube video if you’d like a closer look at the process!
I found this one made as a dedication to MegaMan and its a 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 design using UV printing. I think I'm in love!
MAME:
“MAME 0.276 has arrived just in time for the end of March, and it’s full of emulation goodness! Remember that 64-bit ARMv8 recompiler we added a few months ago? Well now it’s even faster! This release fixes graphical issues in Konami GX arcade games and Philips CD-i software. We’ve added several IGS gambling games, as well as Chinese versions of some Dynax mahjong games. The LinnDrum percussion synthesiser is now working with interactive controls and sound output. And speaking of sound, audio emulation issues in several arcade games have been fixed.
PC-88VA emulation is progressing, with fixes for multiple graphics modes. A few more peripherals for the TI-99 computer family are now supported. There have been a few CPU/DSP fixes that should improve Sega 3D arcade game emulation. Psion hand-helds now correctly detect more memory configurations and give better-looking video output. We’ve also fixed some issues with CHD creation, floppy disk image handling, and XML system information output. Windows users now get an option to have debugger windows appear in the taskbar and window switcher.
As always, you can marvel at all the exciting development this month when you read the whatsnewtxtfile The source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages can be found on the download page
...if you’re interested, you can read their full post here via this link to the MAME site!
The Fall of Citron (the emulator):
Citron, a Nintendo Switch emulator, has collapsed due to drama involving its lead developer, Zephyron (formerly known as Phoenix). Key issues include:
- Unjustified bans: Thousands of users were purged from Citron’s Discord without warning.
- Security concerns: Users were pressured to verify their modded Switches via a risky external app, raising fears of data misuse. Leaks revealed plans for a DRM system that could blacklist users.
- Zephyron’s misconduct: Credited with stolen code, harassed other developers (like Sudachi’s Jarrod), and allegedly hid a past scandal involving pedophilia accusations.
- Betrayal of Camille: The true main developer, Camille, did most of the work but was sidelined. Zephyron sent a baseless legal threat, removed Camille’s contributions, and sabotaged their donation page.
- Citron’s downfall: Updates broke functionality, and the GitHub was wiped. Zephyron allegedly declared the project dead. Moving forward, Camille and other devs (including those from Uzuy and Yuzu Mod) are creating a new emulator, Eden, promising a fresh start for Switch emulation.
If you want to read everything (it’s...way too detailed), including a ton of screenshots of who I can only assume are children in charge of moderating, you can check out the two posts I was directed to about it on Reddit:
The second of which, posted 30 mins ago at the time of writing this! Is here:
Other Gaming News:
Xbox & ASUS
You might have seen news recently that Xbox has been partnering with ASUS’ Ally range to work on an upcoming collab – a Xbox branded and focused Ally. From all reports, it’s a significant reworking on Windows 11 to be more handheld friendly (which it needs, desperately.
...Tom Warren clarifies a few things about Xbox’s thinking behind new hardware, stating “Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell me the company’s Xbox platform plans for this year and beyond are centered on one big goal: the unification of Windows and Xbox.” He goes on to say that Xbox is planning a new handheld tentatively slated for later this year that will be made in partnership with Asus called Project Kennan and should show the first glimpses of Xbox’s work to unify Windows and Xbox.
There’s an article here showing a video teasing the handheld and controller, if you want to see what they look like - it’s a really odd ad though, kinda cringe tbh.
PlayStation Store:
This is just...nice, it’s only an image of the PlayStation Store at the Sony Metreon complex in San Francisco, 1999:
Death Stranding 20 Million:
This has gone from a game I tried twice, and it didn’t grab me, to maybe in my top 3 games I’ve played in the last couple of years. I just love how well it builds a world. The atmosphere and environments, the loneliness and the absurdly amazing music choices just make this game perfection to me. I played it entirely through on the Steam Deck, but I’ve since also played it on my main PC and when played a max? It’s a work of art.
Since recently releasing on Xbox alongside the original PS release (not to mention PC), Kojima Productions shared on Bsky that the game has surpassed 20 million players. This is an amazing feat with modern gaming, and well deserved.
I am so excited for what is next with DS2!
And here’s an image of Léa Hélène Seydoux-Fornier de Clausonne who plays Fragile, in a rather nice Death Stranding top I am dying to own:
Game & Watch:
Just a fun image I stumbled across:
Gunpei Yokoi takes his Game & Watch prototype on the shinkansen circa 1980
The Miyoo Mini
The one SBC handheld I keep going back to is the original Miyoo Mini (or my version was a V2, which I adore). These little fellows are adored by the retro handheld community because they are so inexpensive, so small, and rather packed with features for that price-tag. The options for custom firmware are many, as with the aftermarket options for cases, buttons, stickers, skins...it really is a dedicated community surrounding these!
If you’d like to know more about these little fellows, then the age-old recommendation for any product which emulates is to look at Russ’ (of Retro Game Corps fame) videos on YouTube:
Anyway, one thing of interest in the Miyoo scene: a few people have been offering wildly expensive (though for custom machined metal, this price is reasonable) metal replacement cases for them. Material, CNC milling, anodization, printing etc.
MechDIY has made some rather pretty ones, which I’m just gonna cherrypick the cute 1990s ones from:
Respawn & Bit Reactor’s Star Wars game:
Some images of the upcoming turn-based, tactical Star Wars game made by Respawn and Bit Reactor (who have a 𝘭𝘰𝘵 of industry folk from XCOM working there) have ‘leaked’ early.
And the XCOM influences really are clear on this one, but in the best way. The game's official showing will be in April, at the Star Wars Celebration. But for now, we get these nice little leaked images as follows! :)
edit, one other photo refuses to upload, perhaps the res is too high? just so you know, one more image exists!
I recommend:
This is neither here nor there, but I wanted to recommend a game which I’ve enjoyed a lot from GOG, playing on my Steam Deck.
Transistor is -80% off right now on GOG, and ticks all the boxes for me.
It’s kind of like a hybrid game to me; an action RPG which makes me think of Hades that is just such a great expression of my fav art and architecture style – Art Deco. It’s made by Supergiant Games (known for Bastion). Set in the futuristic, cyberpunk city of Cloudbank, where a mysterious force called the ‘Process’ is erasing everything.
You play as Red, a famous singer who loses her voice and wields the Transistor, a powerful talking sword containing a man’s consciousness. The gameplay blends real-time combat with a strategic turn-based system, letting you ‘freeze’ time to plan attacks, while absorbed enemy abilities allow customization.
The art-style is just achingly gorgeous. Beautiful Art Deco designs are everywhere. Isometric gameplay, melancholic narrative, and such a nice soundtrack (including Red’s haunting hummed vocals), this is such a great game. And I can’t recommend it enough with such a steep discount at the moment.
Witchery GIF:
More pretty pixel art this time on The Witcher. This little GIF is by digital artist whose work I’ve shared before – 'KillerRabbitMedia'
This also just acted as a reminder to me that I need to go back to playing The Witcher 3 because it is one of those games I will never tire of playing! The Witcher 3 is also -80% off on GOG right now, just in case you've never played and want to pick it up for your Steam Deck :)
PS3 – customized:
In my ever-lasting quest to find fun consoles, this custom PS3 up. User 'cribsnib' customizes these to look as similar to their classic original PlayStation look as possible, and it's incredible how well they did!
Separating, sanding, priming, painting and clear-coating.
"𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 '𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘺' 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘺𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦"
From a hardware design perspective, this is pure art to me. Am I tempted? Yes. I’ve been looking recently at custom Xbox 360 consoles, being the generation of gaming I grew up with as a little-little child. It’s nice to know that 99% of the games you buy physically will just...play, without patches or updates that games now require to be even playable after launch.
Linux News:
This one is short and sweet, my friend Gardiner Bryant released a rather nice video giving a roundup of Linux news lately.
The link to his YouTube video is here, and def comes with my recommendation for this one!
This might be it?
I guess this might be the end of this one. I’m actually just landed in Rome, having impulsively booked a little while here, just after a week off from work and real life by the sea. Lucky me, right? So while I actually thought I might write more for this (I have a lot more to write, but maybe I’ll save them for the following week?), this girl’s gotta go find some coffee.
I’d also love to hear what you’ve been playing lately. Be it Steam Deck, or PC, or console, Switch...whatever. What games have you been playing and enjoying lately? My fav bit of pop-psych (for a Social Engineer – that’s my job!) my fav thing to try get a glimpse of who the person behind the user-name is via the games they’ve been enjoying!
So share!
Anyway, all my love to you as ever Lemmy <3
P.P.S: if you wanna follow me on Mastodon – do so here:
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Just did a GOG survey that focused on the idea of a paid membership option on GOG. Seems they're determining what people would be willing to pay extra for. Some of the options were
- a tool for backing up offline installers
- ability to install previous versions of a game
- extra insight into the preservation work they're doing.
- voting rights on games to bring into the preservation program.
And others that I can't remember.
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Made this base today, thought it turned out nicely :) I'll add a book case or two once I defeat skeletor tomorrow.
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Someone made the suggestion to remove the "until i forgot part", which initially i was hesitant to do for consistency, but after 257 days, i think the chances i forget are slim and i just think it looks better.
I went back to AC Shadows today, and eliminated another one of the Templars (if that's even what they are). One thing I've neglected to mention is the main antagonist itself. (Spoilers). They did a really good job setting them up in this one in my opinion. They're all mysterious masked men, and they're introduced to you at the very beginning when they kill Naoe's father. It's this dramatic cut scene that does an amazing job of:
- Setting them up as a threat.
- Introducing why the protagonist is against them in the first place.
The game has yet to elaborate if they're templars or not. Chances seem kind of up in the air though, because the Assassins are called the Hidden Ones either. It seems the name was lost when Naoe's father dies, and with the order in Japan being dead, Naoe kind of restarts it. Only she doesn't know what to call the order because her father left her out of the loop, so she calls it the "League of the Hidden Blade" because the hidden blade is what she has to go off of.
Anyways, the Target i eliminated, had this fun arena setup. When i went into it asked if i wanted to fight him as Naoe or Yasuke. I ended up going Naoe because her stealth is really satisfying (picture above i took during the boss fight). I snuck around the arena and took out all the enemies one by one, leaving only the boss. There was one move i was proud of (which i wish i could have clipped) where i lured an enemy to a Shoji Door and then stabbed them through it before vanishing through a hatch in the floor.
After clearing the Arena i ended up using parkour to sneak around the back of the boss, and then assassinating him. This game still follows the RPG title's "Hidden Blade no longer one shots" rule, but it had made it a little more fair by making it a skill tree upgrade where each upgrade eliminates an extra bracket of health, so there's no longer this annoying grind too get the hidden blade upgraded.
After that, i took Yasuke on a little cross country road trip, all of which the above screenshots were taken on. I took him to meet up with an NPC to start a quest.
Before i did that though, i took a detour to get a synchronization point with Naoe (who's better at Parkour).
Finally though, that brings me to the main screenshot along with the one above which i took to accompany it. I took it after a cutscene and got this really pretty view of the landscape and the sunset. I also had some fun with the photo mode and took a portrait of Yasuke:
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Long time no see! I really need to stop promising to write about specific games. I get too in my head about it, then I feel obligated to write instead of wanting to write. This is supposed to be a fun personal writing project, not work!
But enough about me. This is a space for discussing games! And as promised, today's discussion is on Black Mesa, a fan remake of Half-Life that was officially sanctioned by its creator, Valve.
The Black Mesa project was started in late 2004, shortly after the release of Half-Life 2, using Valve's new Source engine to rebuild the original Half-Life game from the ground up. It would be 16 years before the game was fully completed, although you could play most of it online for many years.
With new advancements in the Source engine over the years, the fan team kept rebuilding and enhancing sections of the game. Eventually, Valve stepped in and allowed them to sell the game commercially so they could afford the commercial license for their newer Source engines. The fan team never intended to make money off this game, but a source of income did help them keep building and improving the game.
Black Mesa is still available on Steam for $20, and I highly recommend supporting the team and buying it over the original game. Valve makes tons of money with their Steam store; they don't need the income from their old game.
So let's get into this game. Apologies in advance; I played this in 4K resolution, which resized everything appropriately except for subtitles. If there are subs, they're really tiny near the bottom of the screenshot. Open the image in a new window to see its full resolution and read the subtitles.
Black Mesa opens with you riding a tram line deep into an underground research facility in the New Mexico desert. You're playing as Gordon Freeman, a Theoretical Physicist with a PhD from MIT. You're running late to work today.
Side-note: I always saw Gordon as a much older man (I was a teenager when Half-Life first released), but now in my early 40s, finding out Gordon is only 27 makes me feel super old. He's so young! >_<
This game's opening was revolutionary for early games, as it played out like a film. You're stuck on this single-car tram for a few minutes, just taking in the sights of the research facility while opening credits slowly fade in and out. This was unheard of for a game in the late '90s and really pulled you into the world of the game. And this remake has so much more detail than the original game! Here's the same scene shown from Half-Life and Black Mesa, respectively:
In a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" scene, you pass by another tram on the left with a creepy-looking government man, or "G-Man" staring at you. He's wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. With all the scientists and security guards running around this place, this one G-Man stands out. This mysterious figure is important later in the game, but I'll let you discover that story for yourself.
If you're trying to find G-Man in the opening, you'll see him right before you approach a hazardous chemical spill. If you see this, you just missed him:
Eventually, you'll reach your stop where a security guard will come to let you off. He'll make a comment about you running late. If you linger around other scientists and security guards at the beginning of the game, you'll hear some interesting and funny chats. You can also interact with everyone, although some people won't have time to chat with you.
You enter the research facility (see main screenshot) and are instructed at the front desk to hurry up and get ready. Everyone's been waiting on you. You go to the locker rooms and don the H.E.V. suit, or Hazardous Environment Suit. This orange and black suit will protect you from most damage, heal you if you're injured, and will give you a HUD (Heads-Up Display) with some information about your health and weaponry.
Its protection status is on a scale of 1-100 and you can recharge it at H.E.V. charging stations. You can also find Health charging stations, which will recharge your suit up to 100 health. Think of H.E.V. as armor and Health as... well... health. You'll be fine if your H.E.V. drops to zero, but the game is over if your health runs out.
After making your way deeper into the research facility, you run into several other scientists who give you more information on today's research project. You are doing an analysis on a sample and are instructed to go down to the test chamber to get started.
One of the scientists leads the way, where the two of you run into Eli Vance (on the left below). Eli wasn't in the original Half-Life game, but he is an important character in the sequel who apparently worked alongside Gordon at the Black Mesa Research Facility, so Black Mesa chose to introduce you to him before the game gets rolling.
There's a malfunction in their equipment, so Eli and the other scientist stay behind to fix the machines. They complain that there's been so many issues lately and they can't explain why. They instruct you to go ahead without them.
You run into two more scientists at the giant blast door to the test chamber. They're eagerly awaiting your arrival, but are also worried about the test potentially going wrong. They have the utmost confidence in your abilities though, and encourage you to do well today. They use dual retinal scanners to open the door for you.
You find yourself in a giant room with a Mass Spectrometer filling the center of the room. Once inside, a voice over a loudspeaker instructs you to get up on the catwalk and start the rotors from a computer so they can get the test going.
The sample is brought into the room through an elevator in the floor and you're instructed to push its cart into the beam of the Mass Spectrometer.
Once you add the sample to the beam, everything goes haywire! A Resonance Cascade occurs! The scientists feared this was possible, but the chances were so slim, they didn't think it could actually happen. And yet...
In a flash of green, Gordon finds himself in an alien world. The Resonance Cascade has opened a portal to another dimension!
Some intelligent alien creatures approach Gordon, speaking in an unintelligible language. We'll later learn these creatures are called Vortigaunts.
In another flash of green, Gordon finds himself back inside the test chamber, which has been destroyed by the Resonance Cascade. People are dead, the lab is destroyed, and all sorts of alien creatures are portaling through the dimensional rift to Earth. You run into Eli and he instructs you to get to the surface so you can contact someone and let them know they're all trapped deep underground.
As a scientist, you're not especially trained to fight with heavy weaponry, so you make due with a crowbar you find on the ground, fighting through invading alien creatures on your way to the surface. Along the way, you'll come across the infamous Headcrab, which leaps at people's heads and munches on their brain, turning them into walking zombies.
There are also Barnacles, which attach to the ceiling and drop a super-sticky tongue of sorts that will grab you and drag you up to their awaiting mouth. Be careful; their lure is hard to notice if you're running around in dark hallways.
Then there's the Houndeye, a multi-eyed alien dog of sorts with a super-sonic bark that will injure you, even from a distance. And many more creatures to find along the way!
If you're paying attention, you might just run into G-Man again, who observes you curiously before calmly disappearing down a corridor. Who is this man?!
Once you get close to the surface, you learn the military has arrived and has orders to clean the entire site - terminating aliens and humans alike! They're intent on covering up the Resonance Cascade! If you manage to hold your own against the Marines, you'll earn yourself a nasty reputation and the military will call in Black Ops to take care of you once and for all. These guys are extremely fast and deadly:
Having nowhere left to go, you fight your way back into the underground facility and search for other survivors...
Why am I playing the fan remake instead of the original Half-Life game? Well, because Black Mesa was built not only to be easier to play through for modern gamers, but it also fixed plot and story inconsistencies, and flows better than the original. It's not just a visually-improved version of the game, but they rearranged parts of the story and gameplay to better introduce modern gamers to the world of Half-Life.
'Cause let's be honest, back in the late '90s to early 2000s, before games had standardized controls across platforms, FPS games were kind of the Wild West, with their control schemes varying from game to game. They were great fun in my childhood, but playing them nowadays is difficult and frustrating when there are much better controls in modern games.
So if you want to get into the Half-Life franchise and you're not sure where to start, Black Mesa is a great introduction to the series! The main games are Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2. The other games in the series are either expansions, multiplayer-only arenas, or spin-offs.
One could argue that the new VR game Half-Life: Alyx is part of the main series, but you spend the entire game playing as Alyx Vance, a side character from the series (and daughter of Eli). However, from what I've heard, it does advance the plot of the Half-Life franchise a little bit, so that sounds like it could be main game content to me.
Also, as I mentioned in my last post, the Portal games are set in the same universe as Half-Life. Their Aperture Science company is the competitor to Black Mesa; although the Resonance Cascade led to events that would negatively affect both companies. Portal and its sequel take place after the first Half-Life game.
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Day 256 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games l've been playing until l forget to post Screenshots
(lemmy.world)
Some friends asked me too play Lethal Company with him today, and i decided to do that over a 4th day straight of AC Shadows. The screenshots for this one will be a bit light because i have to go through and manually censor all my friend's info to respect their privacy.
We ended up buying this Disco Ball for our drone ship. It ended up being a constant in the entire playthrough. We had it running the entire time. Somehow it got everyone but me killed, as i assume it attracted the enemy. The TV i bought probably didn't help either though.
Said TV is pictured above. Apparently my friends could all here it through the radio in the game, which was fun because they got to chew me out for watching TV instead of doing my job (it was all in good fun though).
At one point we landed on a moon that was foggy (seen in the screenshot), and immediately my friends i was playing with walked off a cliff and drowned to death. It was even funnier to hear though because one of them radioed in as they were drowning just to announce they were drowning, but it was all muffled because they were, you guessed it, drowning. That's not the only time it happened too. There was a second time where they immediately jumped off a ship and drowned in mud. it hadn't even been a minute before they all died. I had to pull the ship out because i wouldn't be able to get all the scrap alone.
Here's a bonus picture of my friend in a Rabbit Suit
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From a game design perspective, this is a fine example of how to set up progression, all done at various levels -- the abilities, the opponents, the character stories, and the location reveals. Not too difficult in game mechanics but does take time to complete. From Google Play.
Caution / spoilers: some stories touch on death and suicide, and there are some creepy visuals and characters. Be aware when letting kids play, as you may need to give them some guidance.
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Day 256 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games l've been playing until l forget to post Screenshots
(lemmy.world)
Some friends asked me too play Lethal Company with him today, and i decided to do that over a 4th day straight of AC Shadows. The screenshots for this one will be a bit light because i have to go through and manually censor all my friend's info to respect their privacy.
We ended up buying this Disco Ball for our drone ship. It ended up being a constant in the entire playthrough. We had it running the entire time. Somehow it got everyone but me killed, as i assume it attracted the enemy. The TV i bought probably didn't help either though.
Said TV is pictured above. Apparently my friends could all here it through the radio in the game, which was fun because they got to chew me out for watching TV instead of doing my job (it was all in good fun though).
At one point we landed on a moon that was foggy (seen in the screenshot), and immediately my friends i was playing with walked off a cliff and drowned to death. It was even funnier to hear though because one of them radioed in as they were drowning just to announce they were drowning, but it was all muffled because they were, you guessed it, drowning. That's not the only time it happened too. There was a second time where they immediately jumped off a ship and drowned in mud. it hadn't even been a minute before they all died. I had to pull the ship out because i wouldn't be able to get all the scrap alone.
Here's a bonus picture of my friend in a Rabbit Suit
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Mini Metro -- surprisingly simple but compelling game mechanics and fantastic UI design
(lemmy.world)
An older title which I missed the first time around but recently discovered. Makes one think about how subways are designed.
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