A Return to Black Mesa?

The Monkey

The Monkey

The Freeman
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We don't know the nuking of BM seen in Opposing Forces was canon, and even if it was there's a large chance a lot of the facility survived the blast. I think it would be great if you had to return to Black Mesa to, for example, prevent the Combine from returning to Earth by using technology still in the facility.

What do you think?
 
Considering how wrecked that place was like an hour after the Resonance Cascade it would be interesting to see wrecked it is now, besides the headcrabs that were there would have bred like crazy so it would be good as a Ravenholme-esque level.
 
Yeah, most of BM was underground so there might be a small chance of that.
 
Didnt valve say that parts of OpFor was canon and mention the nuke specifically? I might be wrong i just remember people saying that in similiar discussions before. But i would love to go back i just dont see it happening.
 
The nuking of Black Mesa was canon. Valve said it themselves. It would be cool to go back, but wouldn't make much sense. leave that part to a mod team.
 
I think Valve's position on OpFor can be better summed up as:

Nothing that was changed/added in OpFor is currently relevant to the story. Therefore it's all canon unless, or until, we later decide it isn't.

Laidlaw basically doesn't want to be constrained by anything other people have written, but he currently doesn't see any conflicts with what he wants to write.

However I doubt that the story for HL3 is even in its embryonic stages at the moment, which means that the chance for a return to BM is still in there no matter how small. Personally I think it would be cool, although I can't imagine any circumstances under which a return would be convincingly necessary, rather than just a fan service. I certainly don't think it should have anything to do with the Combine, whose story should be ending with Episode 3.
 
Don't you guys get it? Bombing somewhere is Valve's way to say "no, you're not going to return here". First Black Mesa, then City 17.
 
Valve didn't bomb BM though - Gearbox did, although Laidlaw apparently gave them the order. The thing is, since it happened in a Gearbox game Valve are free to ignore it should Laidlaw ever have a change of heart.
 
Fact: Laidlaw wanted Gearbox to nuke Black Mesa.
 
I'd still love to see a singleplayer mod about returning to black mesa. Gordon's got a hazard suit so the radiation ain't no thang, and surely a significant portion of the BMRF survived the blast considering most of it was far underground.
 
I have always imagined that if we do go back there there would be lots of skeletons in recognisable garments , for example skeletons wearing lab coats and stuff.
 
Laivasse said:
I think Valve's position on OpFor can be better summed up as:

Nothing that was changed/added in OpFor is currently relevant to the story. Therefore it's all canon unless, or until, we later decide it isn't.
Click to expand...
this. at least I hope so. I don't want BM nuked. :(
 
I've always been for a return to Black Mesa, even if it's brief and just a temporary teleport mishap. But I don't want a full forced nostalgia trip.

Basically, I can live without it. But if Laidlaw were to ever write it in (and with good reason I imagine), then I'd be ecstatic.
 
It'd be fun but it isnt going to happen... :(
 
I can't forsee it being worked into the story without coming off as compeltely cheesy and overworked.
 
Absinthe said:
I've always been for a return to Black Mesa, even if it's brief and just a temporary teleport mishap. But I don't want a full forced nostalgia trip.
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Well we did get G-Man in Ep2 giving part of his speech from Black Mesa.

G(ordon)-man said:
Yeah.Instead they should support Black Mesa:Source.
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No they shouldn't. At least no more than they do for any other mod, eg Steamworks (the 5 upcoming mods) or email conversations (Fortress Forever). Unlike other mod teams Valve has hired in the past (Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Minerva, etc) there is currently no proof of Black Mesa's quality. It would also step on the toes of any official reimagining in the future (Gabe has said that they would like to do this, it's something of a pipe dream ATM, obviously, with so many other projects going).
 
Laidlaw has also said:
Laidlaw from the Laidlaw vault said:
I wasn't very close to the creation of the expansion packs, and much more concerned with how to move the story forward and open up the universe; so I only take the games created by Valve into consideration when I am working on the story...there are more than enough potential contradictions in our own designs without me worrying about contradictions in the inventions of other developers who were not part of our initial creative meetings.
Click to expand...
Now granted, Laidlaw said that nuking BM was his idea because he didn't want HL2 set there - I happen to agree it would have been creative death for that game. But we're past HL2 now and who knows where the story might take us (however briefly) after Episode 3.

All I'm saying is that the fact that BM was nuked in OpFor could prove to be irrelevant, should Laidlaw get a new idea that involves BM as an important location. Whether or not that would be a good idea, or whether or not there is any feasible scenario which could take us back there, that's another matter. I can't think of any scenario that would fly, but like some others have said I would like just a taster for the nostalgia value. The scene in Gman's Ep2 speech whet my appetite.
 
The Vortigaunts have a secret portal relay set up on the outskirts of the ruins of the Black Mesa Research Facility, which was built using equipment looted from the outposts set up on Xen (See Blue Shift). They are using this relay to constant communications between the Vortessent cells in Xen and Earth (The Vortigaunts' psychic network cannot extend between dimensions, as such the Vortessence has undergone a mitosis, an Earth cell and a Xen cell. This has created a friction between the Vortigaunts in the two worlds, the reborn Earth-bound Vortigaunts are not so much tied to tradition as their Xen-based counterparts, but I'm getting rather off topic). The Vortigaunts on Xen, using data gathered from the Lambda resistance have constructed a sort of dimentional bomb of sorts, that would create a portal storm between any attainable universe and Xen. Of course, this is not desirable while the Vortigaunts inhabit Xen and a cabal of Vortigaunts is working on making the bomb work on a universe entirely internally. This is where Aperture Science comes in...
 
riomhaire said:
The Vortigaunts have a secret portal relay set up on the outskirts of the ruins of the Black Mesa Research Facility, which was built using equipment looted from the outposts set up on Xen (See Blue Shift). They are using this relay to constant communications between the Vortessent cells in Xen and Earth (The Vortigaunts' psychic network cannot extend between dimensions, as such the Vortessence has undergone a mitosis, an Earth cell and a Xen cell. This has created a friction between the Vortigaunts in the two worlds, the reborn Earth-bound Vortigaunts are not so much tied to tradition as their Xen-based counterparts, but I'm getting rather off topic). The Vortigaunts on Xen, using data gathered from the Lambda resistance have constructed a sort of dimentional bomb of sorts, that would create a portal storm between any attainable universe and Xen. Of course, this is not desirable while the Vortigaunts inhabit Xen and a cabal of Vortigaunts is working on making the bomb work on a universe entirely internally. This is where Aperture Science comes in...
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ho yea
 
Things you never heard in HL2 because they were cut, but were recorded, #24:

"Black Mesa is a crater."
- Eli Vance
 
That was in the leak, though it confirms Black Mesa got nuked.
 
This is one of those ideas where you say "hey, it would be awesome to do this in Epiosde 3, i mean, its black mesa dude!" but this would be such a poor thing to do on valves part. It would not only seem like the cliche "lets take them back to the past and have them revist already explored territory" but it would show lack of creativity and originality from valve if they brought it back... Its only been stated a thousand times from Laidlaw that he wanted Black Mesa to be nuked so people wouldnt think of going back. Guess he underestimates the ideas of fans :p.

We already know Episode 3 is going to revolve around Borealis in ANTARCTICA, having it also revolve around black mesa in NEW MEXICO is going to be waayyyy to much for one single Episode... What i think should and probably will happen is when we see the g-man in EP 3, he will freeze time like he always does, and we will be in some kind of flashback of black mesa, just like in EP 2 he talks to you while sitting in the black mesa lobby but in 3, we would see more of it... that would be cool.
 
It's all as possible as returning to City 17. What good is it? You're just walking around rubble.
 
test said:
That was in the leak
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shhheb1.gif


DoctorWeeTodd said:
It's all as possible as returning to City 17. What good is it? You're just walking around rubble.
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One day we might return to C17 as well.

It might even be sooner rather than later.
 
I think it would be better that we do not return to Black Mesa. However it would be pretty cool to go to the crater that Black Mesa inhabits.

I think if Valve ever tried to put Black Mesa as a military base again they are just going to have a fan uproar. They are going to have thousands of complaining fans and thousands of mods that correct it (Like renaming Black Mesa to Blue Mesa or something)
 
test said:
Don't you guys get it? Bombing somewhere is Valve's way to say "no, you're not going to return here". First Black Mesa, then City 17.
Click to expand...

True... it would be nice to go back to Black Mesa.... but it's toast
 
Again, having BM get nuked was a good idea. valve doesn't want to use the over-used and stupid 'go back to past locations' kind of thing. Sure i love BM to death, but it would lower valves creativity level if they re-used something like that.

But what would be an excellent idea if at the conclusion of EP 3 while G-man does his schpeil, we see more flashbacks and images and backgrounds of BM, and i mean a ton more. Just look at the lobby valve recreated of BM for the G-man scene.... ****ing sexy, looks cooler than BM:S.

G-ManDeskLarge.jpg
 
Looked far bigger than it used to. I honestly didn't recognise it and I'm still uncertain as to whether it's the Black Mesa lobby.
 
The scene itself confirms that it is Black Mesa, whether or not it's a re-imagining of the same lobby as HL1's or another lobby somewhere else in Black Mesa is really up to the player, I guess.
 
The Black Mesa lobby featured in Ep2 was sexified for a younger audience.
 
My stance of BM is that we won't be able to interact with it anymore, however GMan may take us to several areas of the facility, just after it was nuked (in a sort of 3rd person flashback). This would provide disclosure as to the fate of the facility, and satifsy some peoples curiousity as to what the facility would of looked like if Valve reimagined it.

Plus having a mushroom cloud hanging over the facility would provide for a PrintScrn moment. I personally would like it as a desktop background.
 
Druckles said:
Looked far bigger than it used to. I honestly didn't recognise it and I'm still uncertain as to whether it's the Black Mesa lobby.
Click to expand...

Dude, it probably is. Its the BM lobby remade, they wouldnt follow the exact dimensions and texturing. They made it new and fresh looking. And you can't deny, it looks awesome...
 
WAIT!
I specifically remember either Magnusson or Kleiner saying that their rocket would tap into the equipment in what was left of Black Mesa to shut down the Combine's super portal!
 
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