What changed in Black Mesa in 2019

Introduced a Master Volume slider for overall volume control.

A new set of achievements ready to be implemented for the Xen levels.

Resolved issues with the Always Run feature.

Sound effects and music volume sliders can now be adjusted independently.

Rebuilt the soundcache to resolve issues with static/screeching sounds.

Corrected the positioning of Vort sounds in the game.

Nihilanth's fight rebalanced on hard difficulty for increased challenge.

Improved performance during Controller energy ball attacks.

Many visual and lighting improvements throughout Interloper maps.

Optimized dynamic light settings throughout all Interloper maps for better performance.

Fixed Interloper, Nihilanth, and Endgame not unlocking correctly.

The full game including the Xen levels is now available on Steam mainline.

Restored a missing song that was not an intentional choice.

Various visual and lighting improvements throughout Gonarch's Lair.

Fixed the Rare Specimen achievement not triggering in Lambda Core.

Maps C and D split for significant performance gains on CPU bottlenecked systems.

Players will no longer drop items when walking onto a bouncepad.

Gonarch's health reduced from 3300 to 3000, requiring 3 less rockets to kill.

Implemented general optimizations throughout all Interloper maps.

Tidied up incorrectly written/ formatted names in the credits.

Fixed leaf sounds and the ability of certain objects to fall through them.

Added new maps and a boss battle to the game.

Enhanced gameplay element explanation.

Improved visibility of fumers with red lights.

Prevented players from backtracking and soft locking the game.

Grenade aim point is now set to center screen for easier aiming.

Adjusted long jump mechanics to be more forgiving.

Fixed having to press 'shift' after each level load with 'Always Run' enabled.

Removed the first tentacle that could easily block player path.

Ensured short cord cannot be used in long cord's place.

Targeted specific areas to increase the frame rate on all machines.

NPCs still float in the air after dying in some sections despite implemented fixes.

Some options are being stored incorrectly; focus will be on fixing this in a post-beta update.

Completed revisions on all released maps based on community feedback, focusing on Xen and Gonarch’s Lair.

Enhanced performance in the control rooms of Interloper (Interloper B1).

The Endgame section is complete and under review for release.

Completed the final art assets for Interloper D.

The Nihilanth section is complete and under review for release.

Improved performance and polished tasks in factory maps (Interloper C and C1).

Resolved a crash issue occurring in the first map of Interloper.

Testing and fixing major issues for the Earth levels.

Addressing bugs and performance issues for released Interloper levels.

Addressing a crash issue in the first map of Interloper.

The team is working on the last 5 maps: Interloper, Nihilanth, and Endgame.

Addressing bugs and performance issues in Xen.

Addressing bugs and performance issues in Gonarch’s Lair.

Fixed flashlight and other dynamic lights not displaying in starting cave.

Removed fire fumerol from final boss section.

Fixed breakable web hitbox collision detection.

Improved clipping for NPCs and players to prevent getting stuck.

Lowered damage from Gonarch fire.

Blocked web window that looked like the player could pass through.

Fixed players being able to long jump into start cinephys and get stuck.

Reduced screen shake caused by fire damage.

Fixed columns in final fight being able to kill players in one hit.

Updated and fixed model collisions, with some objects still missing collisions.

Increased performance in Xen B lower swamps as you exit the door.

Fixed a crash issue related to the Gonarch mortar.

Fixed RPG not tracking Gonarch hitbox.

Updated particles for healing island.

Added lights and wires to better guide player on the critical path.

Improved godray performance in all maps.

List of known issues affecting various Interloper maps.

Tinted burnable webs to differentiate between breakable and burnable webs.

Fixed Level of Detail (LOD) issues.

Removed dynamic light god rays to improve performance.

Removed collision from certain ceiling props to ensure they do not stop the player.

Fixed oil that was not slippery, allowing player to break start of final chase.

Fixed zombie HEV flashlight sprite when turned on by I/O.

Fixed various model collision and material types.

Slightly increased Gonarch hitbox.

Fixed lighting for better guidance and Gonarch visibility.

Fixed all breakable webs to break in ONE hit.

Removed some player obstacles to make the first chase feel smoother.

Fixed material types so it no longer sounds like walking on solid glass.

5 maps of the Interloper chapter are now available in Steam Public Beta.

Implemented minor art fixes.

Fixed black area portal issue.

Improved lighting and props for better player guidance.

Resolved two significant crashes that occurred in Interloper maps A and B.

Sun shadows appear abruptly at the end of the level.

Water is missing the refraction effect when players are underwater.

Waterfall particle effect ends too soon early in the map.

Alien Grunt sometimes gets stuck in his animation sequence at the start of level.

Visible seams between water models.

Bad performance reported in control room 1 and 2.

Some models are missing collision detection.

Elevator outside control room 1 sometimes shoots players into the ceiling causing a cheap death.

Dynamic lights are occasionally off map-wide.

Visible seams in water models.

Helps players differentiate between breakable and burnable webs

No longer sounds like walking on solid glass

Removed because it wasn’t having the desired effect

It was too thin

Allowed player to break start of final chase

Gonarch shove damage in map C chase reduced by 70%.

Fixed a crash related to Gonarch mortars.

Advanced Settings Menu is now fully hooked up.

Gonarch AI tweaks for final lair arena battle.

Bebcrab damage reduced by 50%.

Gonarch shove view punch and knock back amount greatly reduced.

Fixed bug causing Gonarch to do 250 damage on melee attacks.

Fixed Gonarch physics throw attack not respecting cool-down system under certain conditions.

Game Console: Partial Autocomplete implementation (WIP, expect bugs).

Bebcrab max count in final upper arena reduced by 33%.

Bebcrab jump height reduced to 20 units high, making it much less likely they clip one of your rockets.

Added 'Enable Developer Console' to the Game options screen.

Game Console: Command Input now has history.

Fixed major performance drop when using new UI.

Gonarch AI now behaves differently and deploys different attack patterns based on Easy/Normal/Hard difficulty.

Singleplayer game is now paused when UI or Console is Activated.

Game Console: Log Area now 1-2% faster than old UI.

Gonarch shove damage in map B chase reduced by 50%.

Fixed bug causing Gonarch to spawn 60 bebcrabs instead of 15 in lower arena battle.

Fixed a loophole where Gonarch could die/gib in map A and final upper arena.

Gonarch may freeze during a stabbing attack in the last map of Gonarch’s Lair.

Using old saves can cause various issues; players are advised not to use them.

All of Xen and Gonarch’s Lair is now available in the public beta branch, featuring 9 maps.

Earthbound has undergone a soundscape overhaul and fixes to game-breaking bugs.

Knockback Houndeyes can push players into walls, causing them to get stuck.

Interloper, Nihilanth, and Endgame will follow after this beta, doubling the map count to 18.

To fix a crash, HEV crystal chargers temporarily do not have a dynamic light.

The complete Xen soundtrack is now available for streaming and purchase.

Dynamic lights occasionally cut out and return when entering the next room; under investigation.

There is an occasional crash to desktop in Gonarch’s Lair, possibly related to mortar attacks.

Long jump sound effect sometimes plays on map load; cause is currently unknown.

Gonarch can occasionally run past players in an important chase sequence; map tweaks have been made.

Some props have incorrect material properties, notably in Gonarch’s Lair.

Large black voids appear due to area portals not interacting correctly with fog; fix planned for later patches.

Beneathicles do not respond to Gluon or explosive damage; fix is planned.

Linux version launches but has graphics display issues; fix is in progress.

Bebcrabs sometimes walk on 2 legs instead of 4.

Performance has been greatly increased across all maps, though frame drops still occur in certain areas.

Gonarch can occasionally run past players in an important chase sequence.

Beneathicles don’t respond to Gluon or explosive damage.

Some props have the wrong material properties, notably in Gonarch.

Performance has been greatly increased, but noticeable frame drops in the Xen swamps remain.

Linux is launching, but we are still working on getting the graphics to display properly.

HEV crystal chargers temporarily do not have a dynamic light to fix a crash.

Long jump sound effect sometimes plays on map load, cause unknown.

Bebcrabs sometimes walk on 2 legs instead of 4.

Large black voids in the levels due to area portals not interacting correctly with fog/xog.

Knockback Houndeyes occasionally push players into and through walls.

Occasional crash to desktop in Gonarch Chapter, possibly related to mortar attack.

A better menu with removal of irrelevant options, clearer settings, and enhanced controller support.

The full Xen soundtrack will be released on August 1st.

Implemented a new bloom process with modern standards for both earthbound and Xen levels.

The concluding chapters will be released to public beta soon after the initial Xen release.

The staggered release approach aims to allow for more thorough testing and faster bug catching.

Complete Xen and Gonarch's Lair chapters will roll out to public beta on August 1st.

A large number of issues reported during the technical beta have been fixed.

Players encouraged to report graphical, technical, and performance bugs during the beta testing.

List of known issues including Linux build absence, performance issues at 4k resolution, and ragdoll bugs.

Players can use the long jump mechanic by pressing the jump button twice rapidly in any direction.

First 3 maps of the Xen chapter released as part of the technical beta.

Implemented stumble animations to enhance immersion and strategy.

Increased the size of player-fired tracers and fixed a bug preventing NPCs from firing them.

Rebuilt the RPG tracking and re-added the cross-hair elements for better feedback in guidance mode.

Plans to launch a public Discord for community engagement and updates.

Significant progress with deep engine optimizations and game-wide asset optimization passes.

Details on the upcoming Technical Beta, Open Beta, and full release of Black Mesa.

Design locking the Interloper chapter while building out art and lighting.

Gonarch art and lighting completed, with technical effects and animations implemented.

Comparison of previously released media showcasing visual improvements.

Significant progress on the Nihilanth boss, including attacks, defenses, AI, and effects.

The entirety of the Gonarch chapter has been completed and is now with animators.