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Oh, sorry about that. Seems that today I'm even lazier than usual ^^'
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Maybe I'll set it to download tomorrow then, as I'll be out most of the day.
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Played trough the first bit until all hell breaks loose. Very awesome so far and they added some extra bits of back story here and there. And you gotta love how everything just breaks down before you even get start the experiment, radiation is off the charts, everything is wrong. Oh who cares, let's go ahead anyway. Haha.
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Yeah... I don't reckon I'll get it yet considering it isn't finished... though I am very tempted because Half-Life
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Please don't go too spoilery, people. I haven't played the original Half-Life and I don't think I'm the only one.
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Gordon wins
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I'm debating whether I should play it vanilla first or not. On one hand, the rusty graphics and such do nothing for me. On the other hand, they don't really put me off either. |
You can safely play BMS first since the storyline is almost the same... It just has a LOT more shine than the original from what I've seen of it.
(82% after 8 hours... But getting there eventually. It's always the way when you torrent stuff.) |
My torrent's progress is at 0,0%. Only infinite ammount of time remains till I can play! ^ ^
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If it does that for more than 2 minutes, try re-starting the torrent. It worked for me but it's been a pain to constantly monitor my torrent on my second screen to make sure it stayed above 100kb/s or more... :S
And yay, it just finished downloading as I type this. I can hardly wait... |
It does that for a couple of hours (of me being too lazy to check), restarting both torrent or the client helped nothing ._.
Update: Redownloading the torrent file fixed the issue |
It may take a few tries. Always wait a couple of minutes to see what it does, though. Now that it's been out for some time it's a little easier to find good seeds than it was earlier.
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Here's my review for anyone who cares to read it:
Having got as far as Office Complex last night, I can say that it isn't perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than I expected it to be and damned, damned impressive for something that was made by fans rather than game developers. In fact, I think (minus a tiny bit of the voice-acting, AI response time, some bugs, and some of the animations) it's definitely on-par with what Valve probably would have done if they hired a team to do this. No wonder it took these guys 8 years... Although that sort of goes two-ways, since it has such a mirror-polish shine that anything which isn't done well in comparison to the polished parts stands out a lot more than it should, like noticing specs of dust on a white sheet. :S They nailed the atmosphere almost perfectly though and it accurately echoes the first game really well - Even though I've re-played the original Half-Life nearly as much as I've re-played Abe's Oddysee I still get a feeling of nostalgia. I really love how it's the same, but different - I mean it sort of lures you into a false sense of security. For example I'm so familiar with the first game and think that the layout of this game is similar, but then get jumped by a zombie, barnacle or a flaming barrel, or simply get lost, and am quickly reminded that it's a different game. I've not experienced that ever before while playing a game... That somehow makes the experience even more awesome. Also I love the majority of the voice acting, you can tell they really worked hard on that - It's mostly voiced well and the game dialogue is written pretty solidly. The additional dialogue was a nice surprise, too. But yeah, play this game - It's awesome as a standalone game too if you haven't played the original. |
Yay for spamming up this thread, but look what I did this afternoon as an experiment. :P Someone had to do it eventually I guess and I appear to have the aptitude, so...
Freeman's Mind in Black Mesa Source, Part 01 & 02 If it's popular enough or if nobody else does this better than I can (or if I don't get told by Ross Scott or the BMS team to stop), then I'll continue with more episodes. It'll be just clips like this though, and only with scenes that work with the dialogue, due to how different Black Mesa is from Half-Life: Source. |
Downloading this now.
My expectations are pretty high after 3 or 4 years. |
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It was on 90+% when my torrent downloader crashed and started again from the beginning...
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I think I must be one of the only people on the forum who couldn't care less about this. Half-Life 2 never really appealed to me, in fact the entire franchise just looked like another alien shooter. I don't know what the hype is about if I'm being honest. Nevertheless, glad you're all enjoying it.
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You don't get the hype because you never played the franchise. If you're a complete Half-Life virgin then starting with Black Mesa and then playing Half-Life 2, ep 1 and 2 is about the best experience you get get without question.
I didn't get what the hype was about when Half-Life 2 first released. A friend got me a pirated copy which is the only reason I tried it and I've been a massive fan ever since. I should probably try out more games that don't seem appealing to me for that reason, but meh. |
I just don't understand what the USP is. What is it that makes the franchise so endearing with its large cult following? That's not being sarky, I'm generally curious.
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1. You play as a scientist. Who beats the crap out of the military sent to stop you and your science.
2. You play as someone who wears glasses. 3. You play with a crowbar. I mean, it's a fantastic game, so it deserves the respect, but those elements are probaby why it has such a geek following. |
No, it's just the overall feeling, the enjoyment of the game. In HL2 it's just FUN to do things. And outstanding (for the time when it was relased) engine
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That doesn't explain why other games that are as fun don't have as much of a following.
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It's the way the story is told and what the story is about (lot of mystery about). Just try it, you'll thank us later.
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Maybe I'll give it a go when I get some money together.
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You almost don't pay Valve for their games. They're discounted on every occassion
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It's the fact you get a gun that picks things up and throws things. You kill your enemies with big saw blades, rocks, tree stumps, explosive barrels and at times even thrown cars. It's also the quality of the story, our Earth ruined by the invading aliens, a desperate bunch of humans fighting powers much greater than themselves for the little that there is left. Wonderful scenery and well-constructed characters (barring Alyx, who's as three-dimensional as your average muppet).
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It's not the story itself, aliens attacking earth is nothing new... It's the storytelling, the characters that aren't emotionless anymore etc
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The dullness is purely superficial. It's the gameplay that sets it apart. Every cool idea you've ever seen in a shooter has in some way been nicked off the Half-Life franchise. I didn't think it looked like much. I played it, it still didn't look great. But looks aren't everything.
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Gordon, I know you're all taciturn and silent and stuff, but when you can't even raise your voice to shout 'Look out for that zombie about to eat your face!' I really think you've gone beyond taciturn and into just plain mean.
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I thought Half-Life was good, but it was a little above average in my opinion. Half-Life 2 though was something very special. Scrabtrapman, have you played it much?
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So I was on a tram (like on of those rail-road hand carts but with an engine - that game calls it a tram; gimme a break), and it was going up a lift... a lift for trams. Bear with me here.
On the way up I get ambushed by turrets so I leap off and deal with said ambush. Then I climb to the top of the lift to catch up with my tram... only... it's vanished... Seriously, it's gone. Vanished. Missing. AWOL. Completely disappeared without a trace. Pulled into Xen by a freak portal event (not like there's a shortage of those). Either... the game has gglitched... or... Vautigaunts nicked my tram! And I don't have a save where it's not missing! (Short of going back an entire level to the save I made when I stopped for lunch.) At the moment I'm seeing the funny side, though this may change depending on whether or not it turns out I can get on without it. A mere 12 years too late... Dude! Where's my tram?! |
Doesn't it just happily keep going without you on it?
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It should come to a halt when it reaches the lift, and not automatically start again when it reaches the top. Luckily you can complete the game without riding it... at least you could in the original, and if the Black Mesa team have any sense it'll be the same here.
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So...Black Mesa is good?
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I'm thoroughly enjoying it - Even pacing myself by only playing it for a couple of hours every day. It's very nicely done.
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Very.
I actually enjoy it more to the original - I know that's a bold statement. |
I have it downloaded, just need to get it working.
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