Black Mesa 2012 media - preparing for release
Bloodshot12
Join Date: 2012-05-25 Member: 152578Members
Join Date: 2012-05-25 Member: 152578Members
in Off-Topic
Anybody who follows black mesa in any way, shape or form, knows they haven't had any new or significant media in a while, and would also know from the devs that upon preparation for release, when the mod was close enough to being finished that they could confidently give a release date and have no trouble making it, they would forgo the blackout and start releasing different types of media over the course of a couple of weeks to prepare for the mod's release.
They just started it:
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BlackMesaDevs" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/BlackMesaDevs</a>
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/CUQJih.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/EP9JKh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/tYAFeh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/VArLKh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/0sNqmh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/k5WXsh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/aAbfRh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/jY66Oh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Here is comparisons between HL1 and BM
<a href="http://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=464764&postcount=477" target="_blank">http://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost...p;postcount=477</a>
They just started it:
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BlackMesaDevs" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/BlackMesaDevs</a>
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/CUQJih.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/EP9JKh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/tYAFeh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/VArLKh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/0sNqmh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/k5WXsh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/aAbfRh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/jY66Oh.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Here is comparisons between HL1 and BM
<a href="http://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost.php?p=464764&postcount=477" target="_blank">http://forums.blackmesasource.com/showpost...p;postcount=477</a>
Comments
<!--sizeo:36--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->*THIRTEEN POINT FIVE YEARS AGO<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
I will afford this significantly more credulity if they actually release anything.
I will afford this a large amount of credulity if "our first release" does <i>not</i> turn out to mean "we have only completed the first chapter but we're going to be done with the rest really soon! No seriously!"
And they specifically said that the mod would come out before the end of this year by the latest a couple months back as well, if you would like a more solid release date
The lack of a solid release date means that the mod isn't done yet. Since the mod isn't done yet, it is still vulnerable to schedule slip. We make fun of Valve time, but even by Valve standards this mod is old. There's still plenty of room for schedule slip.
And I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds "first release" to be a suspicious phrase. How many times do you need to release Half-Life's singleplayer campaign? Sure, there'll be bug fixes to make, but those are usually called patches, not releases. I could be wrong, of course, but it sounds off.
Just don't get your knickers in a twist, people. If they actually release it, that's cool. Just don't set yourself up for a huge disappointment if this turns out to be false alert.
The multiplayer will come later, or rather, in the "second" release
And I'm just pointing out, if you follow the forums and talk to the devs, you know this isn't really a false alert. The first release date was missed back in 2009, and they wanted to make sure to never have that happen again. This, for the really close fans, is basically like the "signal" to let them know that the "polishing" cycle is coming to an end
<img src="http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/5/4384/Questionable_ethics_machine.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/5/4384/Surface_Tension_Gunfight.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
We now live in a world in which DNF is a real thing you can play. I don't know what to expect anymore.
--Scythe--
--Scythe--<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Agreed. ANYTHING can happen now DNF is out.
No, this is what they do. Every few years, when everyone has given up and nobody cares about their vaporware anymore, they go on a media blitz and make everyone think it's coming soon.
Every time they do, fewer and fewer people come back and start caring.
They've dragged their feet and mismanaged this project so completely that people are just bitter about it now.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And they specifically said that the mod would come out before the end of this year by the latest a couple months back as well, if you would like a more solid release date<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's totally believable.
They only ever thought they could make release in 2009, and that was the only time they ever announced a release. Everything before and after it was just community rumors. The only media they uploaded in the span from 2009 to before this media was just to put some progress on the wiki in response to some community members questions. In fact the only released media that was noteworthy in the past 3 years wasn't even done by them, they gave a build to a games magazine and that magazine leaked all their shots onto the internet - shots which were never intended to be seen.
You have some bets or something you don't want to lose so your just lying to yourself until you actually lose them?
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/UnMds.gif" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/5953/rankad.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Just sayin'
<a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/09/interview-what-happened-to-black-mesa-source-part-1/" target="_blank">http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/09...-source-part-1/</a>
<a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/10/what-happened-to-black-mesa-source-part-two/" target="_blank">http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/05/10...ource-part-two/</a>
All the other mods on the site
Meanwhile I've finished DNF and I'm close to "finishing" Diablo 3.
That bit at the end...
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Being completely transparent throughout your entire development process is the opposite of that; it’s an easy way to disappoint your fans, because you won’t do everything right the first time, you won’t make perfect predictions, you will fail and make mistakes, state things you want to do and then not deliver. And every time you do, you will disappoint your fans.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
...feels rather relevant.
Yeah but what metric is used to compare them? How many people have looked at your mod's page? How much time has elapsed between when you registered at the site and now? How many screenshots you've uploaded?
Edit: Interesting article, SlainPariah. Good read.
Anyway, allow me to summarise the thread so far: A lot of us are skeptical about Black Mesa Source. It has been in development for a long time. I think we're all willing to give it a fair shake if it's ever released, but at this point it's not that we doubt that the BMS team can talk the talk, because they sure can talk the talk. It's that we doubt that they can walk the walk, and nothing short of walking the walk will convince us otherwise. To convince us, they need to walk, not talk. That's really all there is to it.
<img src="http://www.wiki.blackmesasource.com/images/5/5a/Bm_retro_hud.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Also young ELI
<img src="http://www.wiki.blackmesasource.com/images/f/f8/Youngeli.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
And another MP5 shot on Surface Tension
<img src="http://www.wiki.blackmesasource.com/images/c/c0/Pcpp_jan2010_06.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
They only ever thought they could make release in 2009, and that was the only time they ever announced a release. Everything before and after it was just community rumors. The only media they uploaded in the span from 2009 to before this media was just to put some progress on the wiki in response to some community members questions. In fact the only released media that was noteworthy in the past 3 years wasn't even done by them, they gave a build to a games magazine and that magazine leaked all their shots onto the internet - shots which were never intended to be seen.
You have some bets or something you don't want to lose so your just lying to yourself until you actually lose them?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Go find Mendasp and ask him about what a mismanged cluster-###### of amateur bull###### working on it was. Zero direction. Zero discipline. Zero guidance. Zero maturity. Zero everything that you need to make a game successful. Be told to work on a map, then be told to scrap it. Be told to work on something else, but not be given the information you need to make it work. Be told to scrap it, then go back and do the first thing you had after you already gave up on it, etc.
Without release dates you're willing to commit to, you either release crap or nothing at all. Every successful <b>business</b> in any sort of field works around deadlines.
It's not even like the BMS team had to write a story, come up with map design and major set-pieces, storyboard it, create concept art for the whole thing. The only reason it's taking so long is the project lead wasn't fired and someone with actual experience didn't take his place.
Example: this guy ###### about 'pressure from the community'. Rather than using that pressure as motivation to get his ###### together and get something done, he chose instead to ignore it completely and stick his head in the sand.
When you compare other mod teams who have done much more with much less, the Black Mesa guys - all, what, 40 of them, and 9 years of their lives - look like complete imbeciles. Indy teams with 1/4 as much time and 1/4 as many people have released several games in the timeframe they spent <b>not</b> releasing theirs.
Theirs that, again I should mention, had most of the work already done by Valve.
You said it yourself: Every successful <b>business</b> in any sort of field works around deadlines. Successful or not, they're no business. Different rules apply.
It's not like anything we're seeing in the screenshots is honestly that impressive. Maybe 4 years ago, now it just looks incredibly dated.
At least Duke Nukem Forever's perpetual development cycle was spent making it look fairly modern. What the hell have these clowns been doing?
Without release dates you're willing to commit to, you either release crap or nothing at all. Every successful <b>business</b> in any sort of field works around deadlines.
It's not even like the BMS team had to write a story, come up with map design and major set-pieces, storyboard it, create concept art for the whole thing. The only reason it's taking so long is the project lead wasn't fired and someone with actual experience didn't take his place.
Example: this guy ###### about 'pressure from the community'. Rather than using that pressure as motivation to get his ###### together and get something done, he chose instead to ignore it completely and stick his head in the sand.
When you compare other mod teams who have done much more with much less, the Black Mesa guys - all, what, 40 of them, and 9 years of their lives - look like complete imbeciles. Indy teams with 1/4 as much time and 1/4 as many people have released several games in the timeframe they spent <b>not</b> releasing theirs.
Theirs that, again I should mention, had most of the work already done by Valve.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ok? I really don't see why that matters at all? This is something they are doing in their free time, for fans of the games. Don't like their work? Don't play it. Simple as that. It's not like you have to buy anything to play it, you don't even need to own a single game for it. I would understand if they were making you pay for it somehow or if you donated money to it, but they don't even accept donations and pay for anything they need themselves. You don't even have to follow it.
And I don't see how DNF looked modern. It looked about as good as a 2007 game maybe.
And Mendasp may have had a valid point once, but he left in 2005 and the team has had changes in management, so that's not really a good example. (and btw, HL2 hasn't been out for 9 years)
I never even got excited. Why would the same old game with prettier graphics and, uhm, ragdolls be exciting? Especially when there are sequels... The Half-Life universe have a <b>ton</b> of material for mod teams to dig from (you know, <a href="http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/" target="_blank">this</a>). There's a huge gap between HL1 and HL2 for instance.
<img src="http://wiki.blackmesasource.com/images/3/32/Bm_c2a1a0025.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
I was reading the thread and I saw my name being mentioned... and I was going to say exactly this, the mod seemed like it had a management change for the better (not very long after I left IIRC, in fact things were improving by the time I left), but I never said it was a ######hole or anything like that. There was little direction or coordination when I was there, that's true, everyone was pretty much doing its own thing. But that was back in like 2004-2005, the mod had barely started back then.
I didn't even do that much for the mod, in fact what I did was pretty much crap that I'd rather get deleted forever because it was awful, I actually told them not to credit me because I didn't deserve it for the work I had done. I don't remember coming across that negative about them... I never rebuilt or scrapped an entire map as I wasn't there very long, so I don't think someone could have gotten that from me. I don't hate the BMS dev team (current or previous) or anything, as I have no reason for it... so I'm kinda confused.
Hopefully that clears things up.
I'm still looking forward to it, btw (I guess this is obvious?).