Black Mesa developers celebrated their twentieth half-life first trailer dedicated to the world of Zen
Today, the legendary Half-Life is twenty years old. Regardless of age, the first part of the series is still popular - it is not user modifications that finally make it into the story. Of even greater interest is Black Mesa - a fan remake on the Source engine, the development of which has continued in total since the release of Half-Life 2 (about fourteen years). In 2015, it finally appeared in Steam's early access , but the release of its last part — with levels in the world of Zen — has not yet taken place . Given that the project has become a long-term construction project, the first Black Mesa: Xen trailer published on Half-Life's birthday can be called a pleasant gift to fans.
“Happy Birthday, Half-Life! - wrote the head of Crowbar Collective Adam Engels (Adam Engels) on the Steam Community . “ We thank Valve for creating this masterpiece, which has become an important part of the history of video games.” No one from our team would have been where he is now if not for this amazing, inspiring game. We are pleased to have become part of this heritage, even if it is tiny. ”
According to the developers, all the scenes in the trailer were recorded in the game itself. The creators promise how to "polish" the visual component, so that Zen looks the way they would like to see it, and also solve all the problems with stability and performance. However, they are satisfied with the quality of these levels right now. No design changes will be made anymore - everything “works as planned” . However, Black Mesa: Xen will have to wait another couple of months - the release is scheduled for the second quarter of 2019.
Based on the results of playtests, the developers calculated the approximate duration of Black Mesa: Xen. Passing all levels in the alien world will take about six hours. For those who like to thoroughly explore the maps, this part of the game will be a little longer. The authors emphasize that their version of Xena is not just a remake of the Half-Life levels, but, by and large, an original work inspired by the original source and including cut out content that did not get into the game due to technical limitations (for example, the swamps will appear in the new version ). In general, developers are "incredibly proud" of their creation. Learn more about the remaining content users will be able in December, when there will be new demonstrations on various aspects, including graphics and NPC.
The developers thanked all those who are not indifferent to the remake, and admitted that only thanks to the fan support they still have not lost their enthusiasm. The creators were deeply touched by the positive feedback from visitors to the recently held Retro Game Con exhibition in New York: the authors were surprised to find out that there are a large number of people following the project since its inception.
Initially, Black Mesa: Xen was planned to be released back in 2012, when a free version of the remake called Black Mesa: Source was released. The rest of the game also appeared with a big delay (the release was to be held in 2009). For three and a half years since the start of sales in early Steam access, developers have improved performance, fixed many bugs and added new graphical effects.
