[aw3c2]

You enjoyed Black Mesa then, not Half-Life! Sorry for being so nit-picky, but I find the distinction important. You would not tell some Star Trek Deep Space Nine nerd that watching Star Trek Voyager is the same. The biggest similarity between BW and HL is the general story/setting and general level layout.

[austinshea]

You are not being nit-picky; you are being ridiculous.

You are replying to a comment which clearly states "I loved Black Mesa," and then go on to suggest that he enjoyed Black Mesa.

The general story, setting, and level layout are a tremendous amount of what would be considered a single-player, narrative-driven, FPS experience.

All that's left is the level of difficulty, and the feel of the code, as seen inside a particular engine. It's fine that you feel these are important aspects of Half-Life, but, when people wax nostalgic about this game, those who loved it remember their reactions to the setting they were in, the feelings they had inside the narrative, and the difficulties they had with particular aspects of the level design.

These are the things that were translated well, in your depiction. I haven't played it, but I suppose we can take your word for it: the team that made Black Mesa did a good job of replicating the Half-Life experience.

[vor_]

> You are replying to a comment which clearly states "I loved Black Mesa," and then go on to suggest that he enjoyed Black Mesa.

He was replying to a comment that stated that they didn't enjoy Half-Life but wished they had, and that Black Mesa let them do that. The reply is correct; Black Mesa and Half-Life are different games.

Half-Life is a good game, but it's also overrated because it was so novel for being narrative-driven at the time. It's still a Quake-like arcade shooter at its core, which is great but not new anymore, so people going back and playing the original expecting to be surprised may be disappointed.

[austinshea]

Yeah, and the commenter makes this distinction himself. I find it a strange, and aggressive, to make this point to someone who feels the same way.

People may be disappointed, people may feel like the commenters in this thread do, and people may appreciate both.

This is why it's ridiculous to ask someone else not to express their opinion on which is better.

[aw3c2]

No, what is left is much more than that. You left out the whole gameplay, which to me defines a game.

Invisible brushes, different physics, monsters are different, some attack much quicker and harder, others are dumbed down.

This might feel like an improvement to some people, to me it did not. It does make the GAME a different one though. If only you notice minor changes, don't even mind the different graphics and sounds, then it may very well be a better game to you.

But please do not say it is the same. If you have played Black Mesa, you did not play Half-Life. You played Black Mesa.

[austinshea]

The gameplay is the way the code feels. That's what defines the gameplay, as you describe it.

I never played it, and don't particularly care about what people think of either experience.

I didn't say it was the same, but, if someone feels that way, they are entitled to care about different aspects of the single player experience.

People are entitled to be as aggressive as you are, and I find it strange that you would ask others to keep their opinions to themselves, if they found Black Mesa to be the superior experience.

[smspence]

Wow, what website am I on right now? I can't believe these pedantic crap comments are on Hacker News.

[cobrausn]

You are on Hacker News and surprised to find pedantry?