Hello again, Scientist!

You’re just in time! We’ve released a new build to the public-beta branch on Steam, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share the results of our ongoing research and field observations with you.

Since our update last April, the team has been laser-focused on refining stability, improving user-facing systems, and streamlining the experience for both new recruits and returning personnel. With this update, we’re drawing ever closer to promoting the build to the main branch for everyone to enjoy. How invigorating!

If you’ve been considering a return to Black Mesa, or if you've been waiting for just the right moment to tour the facility, now is a splendid time to enter the public-beta (see instructions below). We've optimized, debugged, and eliminated several anomalous behavior patterns that could’ve caused quite a stir in the wrong hands.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

This beta represents one of the most stable iterations of Black Mesa to date. While the patch notes may appear modest in scope, rest assured: the changes improve compatibility with modern hardware and enhance support across Linux systems, both native and through Proton.

Your participation is, as always, invaluable to the facility's success. So don your HEV suit, calibrate your field instruments, and join us in pushing the boundaries of scientific fidelity once more!

And, if you can believe it, next month marks the 10-year anniversary of our initial release on Steam. 10 years! Oh, how the time flies when you’re refining interdimensional teleportation and recalculating resonance cascade probabilities... But I digress! We have grand plans to celebrate this milestone with the community, and we’re quite excited to share more very soon™.


Should you encounter any issues, particularly those of the game-breaking variety, please hop over to our Discord server and let us know. The sooner we can examine the anomaly, the better!

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and for helping us ensure the game is as scientifically sound as possible.

Onward, for science!
Superbus via Inscientiae!

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• Removed ALL false positive virus reports (according to VirusTotal)
  
• Refined conflict resolution logic for configuration overrides, especially when auto-configuration clashes with cloud-synced settings
  
• Shadow Quality Mode can now correctly be set to Ultra, without enabling unsupported features
  
• Updated bundled DXVK (Windows) to version 2.6
  
• Fixed secondary camera views rendering incorrectly on brush models
  
• Adjusted CSM depth bias to improve shadow precision on ToGL
  
• Enabled God Rays on ToGL
  
• Revised pickup and run mechanics for smoother player interaction
  
• Significantly improved ToGL binary shader cache, now enabled by default, resulting in faster load times after the first run
  
• Resolved Soft Particles rendering artifacts, which were especially noticeable on ToGL
  
• Fixed behavior of Environment Map Masks in ToGL, where all surfaces were forcibly marked as bump-mapped to reduce shader combinations and work around engine limitations
  
• Fixed auto-aim logic when the player is unarmed
  
• General auto-aim tweaks to improve accuracy and consistency
  
• Fixed certain 4-way blended materials appearing black in ToGL
  
• Completed a full validation pass to ensure all materials are well-formed and error-free within the Material System
  
• Reduced rendering path discrepancies between Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA for improved consistency across GPUs
  
• Added dismissable Rogue Point call to action at main menu

• Right-click Black Mesa in your Steam Library
  
• Select "Properties"
  
• Navigate to "Betas"
  
• Select "public-beta" from the dropdown menu

• Switching from Fullscreen to Borderless while also changing the resolution may cause the new UI to display incorrectly
  
• Restarting the game will restore proper UI layout
  
  
• When using DXVK, the mouse cursor may disappear in the main menu. Pressing the console key (`) twice will restore mouse input
  
• Falling rocks in FAF currently have no collision due to referencing an incorrect entity name. This may be addressed in a subsequent beta

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• Reintroduced DXVK support on Windows.
  
• Upgraded DXVK to version 2.4.1 and removed the redundant custom Vendor ID from the configuration file.
  
• Improved the Qt runtime setup in the Windows Launcher to preload necessary libraries for ANGLE if needed.
  
• Restored throttling policies and their application to game processes under power management.
  
• Updated the launcher icon on Windows

• Resolved an issue that caused the settings to crash due to concurrent exclusive access to the internal game save file during gameplay.
  
• Fixed the missing "_back" cable texture set, addressing visual inconsistencies.
  
• Thanks to npc_pigeon, narkvic, and the community for their efforts in identifying the solution. These additional files effectively mitigate the engine's error messages about missing VMT files, enhancing overall performance in scenarios featuring moving ropes. This is particularly noticeable during the rocket elevator sequence in "On A Rail."
  
• Aligned the Vertex Format in the Skin GBuffer shader with that of the Prop GBuffer shader to ensure consistency across shaders handling similar data.
  
• Updated backup code for statically lit bump-mapped props, ensuring that props are marked as non-statically lit if the static lighting checksum does not match, preventing lighting artifacts.
  
• Recompiled all Inbound Tram models using the newer Studio Model Compiler to resolve tangent-related issues and improve visual fidelity.
  
• Enhanced the Job Pool to support more than 16 threads, optimizing performance for multithreaded tasks.
  
• Updated DX Support Autoconfig to align Intel/AMD GPUs with NVIDIA, ensuring that the game launches at 1080p by default instead of a low 4:3 resolution like 640x480.
  
• Introduced functionality to automatically run auto-configuration if the configuration version differs, ensuring that every installation reconfigures itself on the first launch after an update.
  
• Addressed various issues within the game, resulting in improvements in several areas. Feedback from players who opted into previous beta tests indicates that the sporadic crashing they experienced has been resolved.

• Updated ToGL/Linux shaders with the latest GBuffer changes to ensure the application of up-to-date rendering techniques.
  
• Cleaned up the shadow filter state in ToGL/Linux, resulting in more accurate and stable shadow rendering.
  
• Migrated ToGL/Linux to use the OpenGL 3.3 Compatibility Profile, enhancing compatibility with a broader range of hardware and driver configurations while maintaining access to modern OpenGL features.
  
• Introduced an optional experimental Binary Shader Cache for ToGL/Linux, accessible via the -glusebinarycache command line option on Linux and native Steam Deck builds, which improves shader load times on supported platforms.
  
• Resolved a half-pixel halo issue in the ToGL/Linux rendering pipeline, improving visual accuracy in rendered scenes.
  
• Added per-triangle and optional per-vertex validation for studio models to resolve issues in ToGL/Linux related to static and dynamically lit models. A second pass for per-vertex validation can be enabled via the +r_studio_validate_vertices 1 command line argument.
  
• Improved lighting buffer quality on ToGL/Linux to resolve a red hue in specular highlights, ensuring consistent visual output across platforms.
  
• Added a missing window icon on ToGL/Linux to address a minor visual issue.
  
• Configured default arguments for the Linux launcher to optimize display settings on Steam Deck, ensuring a better out-of-the-box experience for AMD/Intel GPU users.
  
• Fixed debug assertions in Havok that leaked into the release build on Linux, preventing potential crashes during runtime

• Forced the shipped DXVK configuration on Proton if no overrides are provided, enhancing compatibility with Proton 9.x and newer versions.

• Implemented proper support for mirrored UVs in the Studio Model Compiler, ensuring that newly compiled meshes do not introduce visual bugs due to incorrect tangent data.

The perfect time has arrived to experience (or share) the acclaimed Half-Life remake that started it all. Black Mesa is now 50% OFF during Steam's Spring Sale!

Already own Black Mesa? Gift the experience to friends! Let them explore the facility, then settle your scientific disputes in deathmatch!

Take advantage of the sale, March 13th - March 20th !

Get Black Mesa here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/


Come join us for some classic deathmatch action! Members from both LambdaGeneration and Crowbar Collective will be playing and live streaming the event.

LamdaGeneration Event Details

Connect with fellow scientists and security personnel:
• Join the Crowbar Collective Discord
• Join the LambdaGeneration Discord

A Sale, Dr. Freeman? Is it really that time again?

Black Mesa is now 75% OFF from February 24th through March 3rd
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

If you've been waiting to hop in on the re-imagined journey of Gordon Freeman, now's the time!

We've pushed several improvements to the Public Beta branch, and we need your help in testing the changes:

• Fixed several commonly reported customer issues
• Applied polish to various UI elements
• Added a highlight for Crowbar Collective's next game, Rogue Point. This notification can be dismissed by clicking the "X" next to it.

To access the Beta:

Right-click Black Mesa in your Steam Library
Select "Properties"
Navigate to "Betas"
Select "public-beta" from the dropdown menu

Your insights are crucial for the continued improvement of Black Mesa. Please share your experiences with these new changes in:
• This discussion thread
• Our Discord

Once we've gathered sufficient community feedback on these changes, we plan to move them to the main branch. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Things are off to a quick start at Crowbar Collective in 2025! Here is what we've been up to:

Tune in to see our friends at Second Wind play some Black Mesa! Crowbar Collective Lead, Adam Engels, will be joining Yahtzee, JM8, and Mikee as they play through a few of their favorite levels.

🔴LIVE on Friday, Jan 25, 2025 @ 1pm EST


If you haven't seen our latest YouTube video, Crowbar Collective took a trip to the REAL Black Mesa facility! Be sure to check out what they're doing at Black Mesa, and if it has anything to do with Half-Life...



Be sure to leave us feedback, if you'd like to see more IRL Crowbar Collective videos! ❤

Our second Dev Briefing has been posted. As we continue to inform you on what's up and coming, we dig into the game's economy, the "Trooper" SMG, and the "Dead Drop" system.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1843840/view/529835367727104759

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1843840/Rogue_Point/

Need a last minute holiday gift for a friend, or that special gamer in your life? Black Mesa is here to the rescue!

Black Mesa NOW for 75% OFF during the Steam Winter Sale⛄

Get it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

The re-imagining of Gordon Freeman’s iconic journey through the chaos of the Black Mesa Research Facility... Now at a fraction of the price!

Get Black Mesa NOW for 75% OFF during the Steam Autumn Sale🍁

Get it here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

We're excited to share the news that HECU Collective have released Focal Point, the next chapter in their Black Mesa: Blue Shift mod!

Along with a bunch of fixes and feature updates, players will be excited to finally visit Xen through the eyes of Barney Calhoun. HECU Collective says this chapter is now their LARGEST yet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdtIAzJdChQ


Steam Workshop
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2424633574

Or you can learn more about their updates, and download it on ModDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/black-mesa-blue-shift-remake/news/chapter-5-focal-point-release


https://www.patreon.com/Hecu_collective


https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

Lots of great things coming down the line for Half-Life Fans.

Previously we released a Fall '24 Update as a Public Beta. With good feedback and insight from the community, we are making some necessary changes, and hope to push the update out to the mainline branch in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for an announcement on that.

You can find more info on that here:
Fall 2024 Public Beta

In the meantime, Black Mesa is on sale for 75% off, from 11/14 - 11/18
https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

In case you missed it, we announced our new upcoming title Rogue Point
Check out the trailer, and be sure to Wishlist it on Steam Now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1843840/Rogue_Point/


Their team has been hard at work getting the latest chapter in Black Mesa: Blue Shift ready for release. You can see their latest trailer here:
https://youtu.be/VdtIAzJdChQ

November 16th marks 20 YEARS since Half-Life 2 released. It's been a long journey, and Half-Life 2 inspired us to create Black Mesa in the first place, so we can't wait to celebrate 20 years with the rest of the community!

For some related news, check out this new video from NVIDIA and the Half-Life 2 RTX team!
https://youtu.be/5FZ49Ou8zAE?si=6rbWLACR7BCMaGDZ

More soon. Hope your November is going great!

We are incredibly excited to share with the community what we've been working on...


Our new game will be a rogue-lite tactical co-op shooter that offers a strategic approach to high-octane combat.

But that's not all...


We've partnered with Team17 as our publisher, to bring you Rogue Point!

Over the last couple of years, our team has been working on this title. It's been very difficult to not be able to share it with you all until now. While we will continue to support and cherish the work we did with Black Mesa, we wanted to take what we learned as a studio, and apply it to something new and exciting.

Rest assured we'll have more info to share with you all soon. We hope you'll take this next step in our journey with us. We couldn't have done it without you all!

Wishlist Here

here



Follow the Rogue Point socials:

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter/X
TikTok
Reddit

HECU Collective have shared a new recording from Xen and it contains... the Focal Point chapter release date! No more Xen When™ for this mod too! If you're interested, watch the announcement video now!



Along with the fifth chapter, their new release will also include a lot of great improvements and content for previous chapters as well!

• New and improved scenes for Living Quarters Outbound and Insecurity chapters;
  
• Improved skybox textures, lighting and Post Processing in all earthbound surface maps;
  
• Added responsive surface sounds to some environments that will be played with nearby explosions;
  
• Improved all explosions SFX and added distance attenuation to them;
  
• Added completely new surface properties for certain props with unique physics sounds. (E.g. barrels, tarps, monitors, crates);
  
• Updated many BM and BM:BS textures/materials;
  
• Various other visual improvements.

The updated mod will be available for download on Steam Workshop here: (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2424633574)

and will also be available to download ModDB