Christmas Media Update news

amen

Its not about being negative or positive, you see issues how would you resolve them?

Burn the witch!

You almost make it sound as if you are annoyed by the fact that we showing progress?

I'm actually sick of people saying this. It seems that just because Black Mesa is a big popular mod I'm obliged to like it, which is crap. It also seems that everyone thinks that just because the mod I was on is dead, I'm bitter towards any other mod kinda the same thats successful, which is also bullshit. Just because I'm going against the grain with my comments about the mod doesn't mean that its because I'm bitter, or that I don't want you guys to make progress, or whatever. I just simply don't like alot of the stuff that I see, in the same way that alot of other people don't like other mods that they see. Is it possible for anyone to actually be a bit level headed and consider that 'yes, maybe someone just dislikes what they see for one reason or another?'

its not about liking or disliking. if you dont like something how would you do it differently or what solutions could you offer?

Then I suggest you go to each one of the pictures, and comment on what you dislike about them and add some substance to your complaint. Or don't, it's entirely up to you.

ITT we're bitter at everyone else because our mods didn't survive.

Also I'm going to downvote your comment because it's stupid and childish and has no merit other than to be malicious, not because I particularly like Black Mesa.

I agree with prob101. What would you fix?

Seriously, though, Wraiyth, what makes a media update interesting? Untextured weapons? Skinned weapons?

This isn't my favorite mod, but I support it because they do some great looking work. I'd like to see some of the organic enemies, though. That would make it more interesting for me.

I've said in the past that alot of the screenshots are simply bland and even too clean. Textures are repetitive, the lighting isn't very creative, there needs to be something to just... break up the look a bit. In short, it looks unnatural and when you're using a current-gen engine theres really no excuse not to have variation in lighting and texturing and everything. Props don't fit (are those barrels made from polished chrome? They're the shiniest barrels I've seen in my life).

Then offer your obviously INFINITE talents, come up with something more specific than 'your mod sucks', or quit posting.

I just expressed my opinion and someone else has agreed, so I'd fully expect you to go flaming him as well. I guess I should have come to not expect anymore than smart arse comments around here. I've offered my views, I'm not saying I could do better because I'm not a mapper, but theres no need to be a smart arse when someone offers a negative opinion on something. If no one was critical and/or negative, what kind of world would we live in?

There's a difference between being critical and being a trolling jerkoff. You've overshot the former every time so far. Koroshiya_Ichi took your concern and voiced in a manner that might actually help, instead of quantifying it as "YOUR MOD SUCKS BECAUSE:" like you've been doing.

"Yet another lackluster and mostly bland media update, and a comment that will likely get buried by fanboys who can't stand negative comments about their favorite mod."

Oh, that's going to help the mod improve, amirite? Trashing someone's work is a good way to not piss them off and listen to you. Oh wait.

I see you're still watching the mod though. Apparently their supposed lack of quality or progress doesn't bother you enough to take them off your list.

I'm watching alot of mods that I don't care about. I haven't cared about Dystopia in a long time. DTBA is basically inactive, Rockstar is dead. I haven't bothered updating my watch list for a long bloody time, its hardly indicative of what I care about.
Yeah, I said that I thought the media update was lacklustre and bland, and that I believed the comment would get buried because its negative (which I'm surprised he hasn't been so far). Its hardly trolling, and I did provide critical feedback in the last post, which was the exact same feedback I posted months ago - the its bland, and I gave reasons. I think you're being more of a troll than me. You also only took one small portion of what I've posted anyway, there was more than that first sentence. And like what I say is going to help the mod improve because regardless of what I say, its mostly negative, and the devs prefer to bask in the glory of the million glowing positive comments they get. You gotta take the good with the bad, but it seems that no one can take any bad. I've had plenty of my work trashed, but I don't really care. If their comments are valid, I'll take them on board and address them. If I think they're an idiot, I'll just ignore them and move on. I won't come in, be a smart arse and make comments like 'you sound annoyed that we're making progress'. Theres enough arrogance stemming from the community that criticism will just get overlooked. If a mapper can't take the comments 'bland, repetitive textures, too clean needs more detail, props don't fit' and not be able to transform that into something useful, then clearly they shouldn't be mapping at all. I've said to plenty of artists 'This thing is off a bit, I can't really explain how, but it is' or 'This prop doesn't fit' without having to elaborate and they've been able to go back and fix it without any issues, or bitching, or smart arse comments.
I never said they haven't made progress either, by the way.

Also, I'm not gonna sugar-coat my comments just like Koroshiya_Ichi just to satisfy rabid fanboyism. People may not like my generally blunt and harsh 'to-the-point' kinda statements, but you're practically doing the exact same thing, so stop being hypocritical. Take the good with the bad and move on.

"screenshots are simply bland and even too clean" im with wraith on this one

no disrespect to BM, im have nothing but respect for the general standard seen throughout their work. I am looking forward to it as a mod and as a remake of one of my favourite games, but as a game in its own right there's nothing i find particularly exciting.

The work is great don't get me wrong, but i think there's a massive variety of mods out there churning out equally great work who don't get nearly, nearly the same level of exposure.

Plus I like to see some element of style in a mod or games art direction. For a better example although I love crysis as a game and cannot argue with the quality of the visuals, there's no particular style or signature feel to the atmosphere, just comes off as a little sterile to me, and it just feels a little similar here.

Just trying to give some balance to the argument :-D As I say though the work is still solid, and any mod making progress and taking steps towards completion is a good thing in my book, all the best to the team!

I respect everyone's opinion, but saying that this mod has bad lighting & texturing only goes to verify what you have already said yourself mate, & that's that your no mapper, either that or your not looking at the same screenshots as everybody else.

If your going to have an opinion at least make a valid argument & stop talking out of your ass mate.

Just because I can't map doesn't mean that I don't understand it. I can't play AFL Football, but I can still criticize how a game is played, whether someone is playing badly, or well, or perhaps think of tactical changes. You don't need to be a coder to play a game and say 'Oh, thats a bug' and perhaps think about what may cause it (ie doing this then this, may have this adverse effect). And you don't need to be a mapper to say 'Oh, I think that looks bad. I'd like for you to elaborate on why my point isn't valid, and just because I can't map doesn't mean I can't say what I think. I bet that heaps of people that make positive comments also can't map, but that doesn't stop them from saying 'Oh that looks good' but to say 'Oh that looks bad' you need to be an expert? That makes no sense.
If my opinion isn't valid, and if you think I'm talking out of my ass, please elborate exactly how and why. So far I've presented my opinions, and apart from a bit of abuse from various people, no one has really said much on the contrary. I've said that I believe the maps are bland and texturing is repetitive - if you really want a detailed analysis of a few shots then I can do it - and no one has come here and said 'Yeah its like this for reason X'.

Examples,

If you think that this is bad lighting:

Moddb.com

this lighting is outstanding.

or that this is bad mapping:

Moddb.com

then you sadly don't know what your talking about mate, & saying that you don't like something, & having a valid opinion on something, is totally different, as you've got to to have a least some idea of what your talking about a to give a valid opinion.

i.e

I think that american football is rubbish,

This is a statement & but not a valid opinion of the game itself, as I don't understand the game, & in order to give an objective & valid opinion of the game I would first want to know more about it to know what I was talking about.

You cannot give a truely objective opinion about something that you don't realy know much about, because opinions without knowledge behind them are nothing more then statements.

No ones saying that you are not entitled to say weither you like something or not, but to have a truely objective & valid opinion on something you have to elaborate on you point, which you've done very little of.

Just saying that this mod has bad lighting or bad texturing is not a very strong argument as anyone that is looking at the screen shots can see for themselfs that this is simply not the case, so without elaboration on your points they just come across as emty invalid statements.

Credit where credit is due, the first shot you linked to is good, and I never said that everything that BMS did was crap - my comment was 'For the most part'.
The second shot though is actually one of the ones that I would like to criticize. Compared to the original, its good, its definitely more detailed and looks better etc. All the shots are better when compared to their originals because, well, its a new engine, theres new technologies etc.
Taking the shot on its merit though, I think its only average. The room is too clean - theres not a sign of anything other than clean-ness, and environments aren't naturally like that. The textures are repetitive and not broken up - for example the orange poles could easily be made a bit different with alternate skins for the models. The far wall textures are repetitive, that doesn't happen in real life and should be broken up. The lighting isn't overly creative and fairly uniform, which depending on the environment isn't always bad, but it could be better. The grates on the floor are repetitive and could be broken up. Even the rails are all the same, vary up the texturing a bit. Even is its only subtle, it makes for a big difference. Same with the walls in the blue-ness. There is a lack of shadowing from the rails and the platforms, although from that shot its pretty hard to tell where the main light source is, so it may be more accurate than you can tell.
What I'd really like to see is for the mappers and the team as a whole to really grab Half Life by the balls, twist it around and really take some artistic license and make each map a piece of art, rather than just another map. Some maps are there, others aren't. As I said above, its a massive improvement over the original, but for the reasons I stated above I believe that the map itself is only average.

I commented on the picture itself about the lighting and the mapping, if you guys want to look at that. I'm surprised other people didn't notice the flaws..?

Unless I know nothing about emergency lighting (Which is possible, since I'm not exactly in that field).

Why should high-tech secret research lab have an old rusty dangerous explosive barrels? Think about it.

Conversely, why would it have polished chrome explosive barrels? I've never seen barrels that shiny in my life, ever. It doesn't make sense or fit in the environment. Also, I never said they should be old and rusty - just not as shiny as they are.

I have seen actually. Toxic waste barrels are really that shiny.

This is actually a good comment. Why was it buried?

I noticed that, also. I'm wondering how this will affect the gameplay in the areas...Probably using the flashlight more..? I never found the flashlight that fun to use, personally. I just played through Paranoia (The HL1 mod) and I found myself using the flashlight a LOT in there...It got kind of annoying after a while, since it felt more forced than atmospheric...if that makes sense.

It's not bad that you're deviating from the originals, though, otherwise it would feel very same-y. I like the blast pit areas. Good work! Can't wait to see the tentacles!

What the team is attempting is bigger than most companies would attempt anyway, so its basically a full production game without the team getting paid. But that doesn't mean that people can't be critical of their work, we're not obliged to like it and compliment what they're doing.

Now your showing your true colors mate, & if you did had a valid point before, then it's all been in vain with this chidish comment. You just come across as a bitter person that perhaps has been made this way because of the failier of your mod (even though you say that this is nothing to do with it), or someone that just likes to start flame wars, which i've seen all before, grow up mate....:(