The Half-Life total conversion will be available for download in under 24 hours.
It's nearly time to go back to where it all began, to once again board the underground tram and travel deep into the bowels of the Black Mesa research facility. The long-in-development Half-Life total conversion, Black Mesa, is set for launch on Steam in T-minus 24 hours. Are you ready to relive Gordon Freeman's iconic first crowbar-wielding adventure?
After eight years of development, presumed cancellation, and a surprise rebirth earlier this year, Black Mesa will finally be available for download tomorrow for free, and courtesy of Project Greenlight and Valve's thumbs up, it will be on Steam.
If you've missed our previous articles on the topic, Black Mesa uses the Orange Box-era version of Valve's Source engine to give the 1998 all-time PC classic a facelift. Not just a graphical upgrade, Black Mesa is a total conversion, with all assets recreated from scratch and given a few tweaks. While the original storyline will not be altered, the 40-man volunteer Black Mesa design team has shortened some areas while expanding others. For example, the hydro-electric dam map will be roughly 25-times larger in Black Mesa. There is also a brand spanking new soundtrack to bring fresh audio to the new visuals.
So what do you need to play it? Oddly enough, the original version of Half-Life won't cut it. You'll need a game - any game - that includes Valve's Source SDK Base 2007. You can quickly and easily check to see if you have it installed by clicking the Tools tab in Steam. If you see the Source SDK Base 2007 entry, you're good to go. If not, you'll need to download it.
In under 24 hours, 14-year-old Half-Life is back. Can't wait to see how it looks, sounds, and plays in 2012 with Black Mesa.
[video][]
