Black Mesa News

The Black Mesa team will be doing a community play session on Thursday, July 2nd!
Come face off against the Devs, and try out the new multiplayer beta!
The goal is to play the game and have fun, but we’ll be tracking any bugs or issues along the way.

We will also be streaming the games on the Crowbar Collective Twitch channel.
https://www.twitch.tv/crowbar_collective

(Note: Our gameplay tests have been super smooth, but some UI issues have not been fixed yet like character select, and the MP disconnect bug).

Happy Summer Sale!

The game is 35% off for Steam Summer Sale 2020 (June 23rd - July 9th). We have a bunch of stuff going on, so let’s get right into it!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


We have pushed a build to public beta to test the changes we have made so far for the next update. We have fixed or improved a TON of things in the game, but here is a quick overview:

-New art throughout earthbound to get the natural environment art more on par with Xen

-Full clipping pass to the entirety of the game to prevent getting caught on random environmental obstacles and to allow more smooth navigation
-Fixed weapons not playing animations correctly in multiplayer (pistol, shotgun, tau)
-Improved combat encounters (including fixes to HECU shooting through walls and getting stuck)
-Various improvements to environmental storytelling and scripted sequences
-Lots of fixes to small visual bugs like floating props, missing faces, and holes in map


The game should feel much smoother and more polished.

How to opt into the public beta


Friday, June 26th at 6PM the Black Mesa project lead, Adam Engels, will be running through the game and attempting to get the “The Rarest Specimen” achievement.

We’ll be giving away keys to multiple games, including Black Mesa, during the playthrough. Check out Crowbar Collectives Twitch channel for the scheduled stream times!



The team will be doing a community play session on Thursday, July 2nd at 3PM EST! The goal is to play the game and have fun, but we’ll be tracking any bugs or issues along the way (Note: Our gameplay tests have been super smooth, but some UI issues have not been fixed yet like character select, and the MP disconnect bug).



We’ve hosted the Black Mesa game box file so that anyone can download it and print one for themselves. It’s a large print size, but we are interested in seeing mini versions of the big box :P

We've also host the files for the 3D print of the HEV suit.


Link to Box Print

Link to HEV 3D Print


We have even more for the future 1.5 patch, including:

-A big change to one chapter we are really excited about, but don’t want to spoil yet
-UI enhancements and improvements
-Full controller support
-Additional art improvements for chapters, including Interloper
-Continued bug fixes and polish

We’ll have more updates and reminders soon. If you wanna stay up to date with all things Half-Life, check out our social media links below. If you have technical issues, or just want to chat with the Black Mesa developers and our community, check out our official Discord!



Thanks all! Stay safe and be good to each other.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

Do you aspire to work on video games, or are you already in the video game industry? Crowbar Collective has some fantastic opportunities for those with an exceptional attitude and the skills to match it! We have put together a superb group of people throughout the years from all over the world, and now we are looking for more.

• Character Concept Artist: Contract - 3-6 Months
  
• Character Artist: Contract/Part-Time - 3-6 Months
  
• Environment Concept Artist: Contract
  
• Texture Artist: Part-Time - 10/20 Hours Per Week
  
• Source Programmer: Part-Time
  
• Business Developer: Full Time
  

To learn more and apply, go to our website by clicking here.

If these positions do not fit you, please share it with those who might be a suitable candidate.

We’re interested in building a team, not just a game. Come work with us!

Hope everyone is doing well during these tough times. Because we are a remote studio, work at Crowbar Collective is largely unchanged by the pandemic. Like everyone though, each of us has been personally affected by COVID-19.

To help, Crowbar donated $2,000 to various charities to support people on the front lines and those in need. The company gave:

$500 to Games Done Quick (who in turn raised over $400,000 for PPE!)
$500 to the CNY Food Bank
$500 to Meals on Wheels (North Syracuse)
$500 to RIP Medical Debt

We know this is a small step, and there is a lot more to be done, but we hope this will be just the first effort we can make to give back.

If you find yourself in a position like us, consider donating or volunteering for the many great organizations in need! Small donations can add up to big changes. If nothing else good comes out of this crisis, hopefully we can all see we are one big community, and the good can easily outweigh the bad.

Stay safe everyone, and wash... your... hands!


Discord- https://discord.gg/sDdzKx

Here are some tips and tricks for new and returning players to Black Mesa!

[h3]Try lowering the difficulty[/h3]
Getting frustrated? Just lower the difficulty. No one worth listening to will judge you. We think Black Mesa is probably a bit harder than most games released today. You can always notch it back up if things get too easy. We want people to experience the whole game, not hit a difficulty spike and decide to move onto other things. We tried to address this as much as possible in the design of the game, but if you hit a wall, just go around it!



[h3]Use your good weapons[/h3]
Don’t be afraid to use your good weapons. We built the game to make sure you would have what you need to progress. Maybe don’t go nuking headcrabs with your Gluon Gun, but don’t be afraid to start with the big guns for the bigger fights.



[h3]You can long jump in any direction[/h3]
The long-jump is not just for forward travel. You can jump in any direction. This is super important in fighting the bosses and gives you a great way to dodge all enemy attacks.



[h3]You can reload the rocket launcher as soon as you fire in unguided mode[/h3]
No need to wait for the rocket to hit when you are in unguided mode. Just hit reload as soon as it is clear of the tube, and Gordon will load a new round!



[h3]Power Slide[/h3]
We added a slide if you crouch while running. This is really handy for getting into tight spaces quickly, getting into cover, or lowering your profile as you emerge from cover.



[h3]The Hive Hand[/h3]
The Hive Hand is often put aside as a useless weapon, but it is excellent for taking out headcrabs, barnacles, hoteyes, and breaking objects/objectives. Using it in smaller fights is a great way to save ammo.



[h3]You can sprint any direction, and while holding onto objects[/h3]
A feature we added was the ability to sprint in any direction. This is super important in the later boss battles. You can also now hold onto objects and sprint, which makes life (and certain achievements) a lot easier.



also,