HAZARD COURSE COMMENTARY: As Black Mesa does not come with the tutorial segment that its Half-Life 1 counterpart featured, the team at PSR Digital elected to recreate it themselves. The results are stunning - Hazard Course is a richly detailed, ambitious and wildly entertaining accompaniment to the base game that reaches the same level of quality as the main game’s chapters. At its heart, the mod serves as an orientation to the player prior to their fateful day at Sector C Test Labs, and in this it succeeds. However, like everything else in Black Mesa, the mod is also a love letter to Half-Life, its lore, and its fans. A comprehensive introductory sequence that explains Freeman’s seemingly unnatural proficiency with firearms and again alludes to what little personality is discernable of him (always late for work), while also providing a ton of references to Half-Life lore, similar to what Crowbar Collective did in Anomalous Materials. A wonderfully recreated Hazard Course deep in the bowels of an abandoned waste filtration facility, providing a sense of place and allowing the developers to add a ton of environmental details and fill in the blank slate of HL1’s version to their heart’s content. A plethora of optional and/or alternate pathways & actions for the player to explore, many of them with their own unique reactions from the observing science team (they even comment if the player uses noclip!). An ending sequence that ties the entire tutorial together with a neat bow, while also challenging the player to replay it to beat their best time. And last but not least, a self-contained minigame (a minigame within a mod of a re-imagining of a game, if you will) that is a fun little detour into parody and horror and is quite entertaining in its own right. All the above are many (but not all) of the parts that make Hazard Course such a blast to play through. Though it is a mod that you will need to download, I cannot recommend it enough and urge everyone to install it and treat it as canon with the rest of the base game (in fact, I wanted to title this video “Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 00 - Hazard Course”, but wanted to avoid confusion with what’s in the base game and what’s not). Thanks to the team at PSR Digital for the work they put into this mod - it’s simply brilliant 😊 P.S. PSR Digital is also currently developing a recreation of Half-Life: Decay called “Peer Review” and it looks very promising - check it out: www.moddb.com/mods/peer-review
That gman seems to be hidden away from everyone. Dr Breen was unaware freeman was given free training. Breen must of been a terrible leader, but great accountant.
Somewhere, some manager, feels less of a man unsless he's got a crate worth of submachine guns and 450 impact grenades. And a ceiling gun turret next to 'non smoking' area just for good measure..
TRIVIA & EASTER EGGS: Here is a comprehensive (but by no means complete) list of trivia information and easter eggs I came across while making this video. I’m sure I’ve missed a TON of additional cool tidbits and content, so please feel free to contribute by replying to this comment chain or in the comments section. - The soundtrack that plays at the tram ride is the original Black Mesa theme, composed by Joel Nielsen. This early version of the theme is not used in the final game - The door that Gordon can knock on is apparently a callback to the old version of the mod, though what it refers to alludes me (1:02) - The guards at 2:22 mention the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit (HECU), the military group that Freeman eventually combats during the events of the campaign - The intro sequence prior to descending to the actual hazard course is an expansion of the PS2 version of the tutorial in HL1. In that version, a scientist greets Gordon and runs through his waiver in a fashion similar to 2:55 - This mod provides justification as to why a research assistant like Gordon ended up being so proficient with firearms during the game - he was "accidentally" signed up for weapons training as part of the Hazard Course (3:28) - though I'm sure the G-man had something to do with it - The original signage of the building before its conversion to a training facility can be seen at 5:10, and reads "SECTOR A WASTE FILTRATION" (5:10) - At 5:15, three scientists can be seen arguing about the administrator's decision to order bulk quantities of weaponry. Knowing the administrator's identity as Wallace Breen and what he gets up to in HL2, it can be inferred that this was done on purpose ahead of the Resonance Cascade - At 6:08, the scientist kneeling behind his desk is actually counting a box of tacos, easily seen by noclip - The scientist at 7:29 mentions the legendary 1993 game Doom (HL1 takes place in the late 90s) - At 10:13, Kleiner is referencing his past job as a professor at MIT, during which he met Gordon. impressed by his performance, Kleiner was the one who recommended Gordon to Black Mesa - The holographic assistant at 11:22 is Gina Cross, who is one of the two main protagonists in the HL1 expansion "Half-Life: Decay". Gina is also very popular amongst the Black Mesa team, as evident by dialogue in Chapter 2 of the main game - The bootup sequence for the Mark IV is quite different than the main game's (12:05) - The comment at 16:45 is a playful jab at criticisms of ladders in Source games, namely how many have difficulty going up or down them - The comment at 20:13 references the addition of Landing Jets in the main game's Long Jump Module - The slightly ajar door at 21:14 leads to a closet with a Trans Pride Flag painted on the wall and text reading "I am a human too" - The skull at 22:15 belongs to Dr. Yorick, a previous tester who died at the Long Jump Fall training room. It is said that his soul haunts the course, and is why picking it up sets Gordon on fire (this is according to developer dky.tehkingd.u) - The sleeping Houndeye at 25:28 cannot be woken, even if Gordon jumps on it. However, it can be killed using the skull found one map prior at 22:15 - The dialogue at 27:55 is a jab at HL2's flashlight mechanics, as it runs off the same auxiliary power as the sprint function does in that game (fixed in HL2:EP2) - The rats at 28:40 can be killed - There is another rat present in the SMG training room at 32:37. As well, a headcrab is present in the yellow container on the far side of the room - The purple hat that flies out of the container at 34:41 is also present in the main game as an easter egg item that players can carry throughout the game for an achievement and secret ending - The song that plays on the radio at 45:11 is called "Broadcast Intrusion". Destroying the radio (both before and after activating the song) will elicit responses from the Guard at 45:35 - In HL1's Hazard Course, the tutorial ends at the tram room shown at 47:27 - The crate at 48:02 that is labelled "Warning: Do not crowbar" will explode if destroyed, though cheats will need to be used to get weapons at this stage of the course - The freight tram at 48:36 is the same one that Freeman rides at the start of Chapter 9: Apprehension in the main game - The training administrators’ comments at the end of the course will vary depending on how fast (or slow) Gordon completed the course. They will even accuse Gordon of cheating if he is fast enough (you can look up any speedruns of this mod to hear the dialogue) - In addition to what is shown in the video, the training administrators have comments for each of the following situations: - Gordon procrastinating putting on the suit (11:58) - Gordon's landing during the long jump tutorial at 19:13 (different responses depending on where he lands) - Gordon not using the health items at 20:48 - Gordon procrastinating breaking the vent (27:00) - Gordon dying during the course - Gordon destroying the base of the holographic projectors - The player inputting "noclip" into the console
CREATOR COMMENTARY: Hazard Course contains so much hidden dialogue, easter eggs and alternate pathways and actions that I’m sure I’ve missed out on a bunch. One of the hard decisions I made early on was to NOT cover them all because I’m trying to portray Gordon as how I envision him in my mind - a prankster, but with good heart. Therefore, I tried not to break every single thing I came across or be a constant pain in the ass to the Guards or Scientists (though me shooting out all the cameras is my attempt at portraying how annoyed Gordon is of the Hazard Course’s..er…fatally hazardous…nature… That being said, I do think I will make a separate follow-up video to showcase what happens if Gordon decides to kill the Guards at the security checkpoint (44:14). In that video, I can afford to be the murderous scientist-killing psychopath that I’m sure we all played as at some point in this game 😉 Lastly, I chose not to cover the entirety of Five Nights at the Hazard Course (FNaHC) because of how monotonous the video will be - to beat the game and preserve my power I’d most likely be constantly staring at the hallway and minimizing camera usage (and also abuse the bucket), which I don’t believe will make a very entertaining video. However, I might eventually make a video exclusively covering the minigame in which I beat it, just to show how it ends.
Thanks for showing all the lines and reactions. Amazing work with all the lore and map additions, but what I really loved about this is the sense of humor of the NPCs, it remind me a bit of Portal dialogues. This make them more likable, and also you might feel something when you see them all dying.
I found out this Easter egg or something today in the hazard course that probably nobody had found, if you finish the hazard course before the 2 minute mark, the people at 49:19 will catch on fire and explode with an insane blast radius. If you make it before the 10 minute and after 2 minute mark, instead they will assume you were speed-running or, “cheating undetected”. You also get unique lines if You noclip.
the RETURN OF THE KING i can't say i was aware the original half life had a training course/tutorial but seeing it in black mesa was way more entertaining than it had any right to be given the subject matter. even something as normally boring as a training course feels like it has so much life put into it with all the different interactions you can get by doing different things in the course
You nailed why this mod is so fun for me as well - on the surface it might look like yet another run of the mill tutorial segment, but all the optional dialogue and actions and easter eggs really breathe life into it. Really reminds me of Portal 2 in that regard.
Nice to see you back! And, since I'm making my own crazy/dumb Half-Life "walkthrough" project, might as well add some trivia about things I'll notice here. Or just comment on some neat moments xD 1:45 - Funny how they referenced Keller, character who appears only in PS2-exclusive HL:Decay, in the intro area inspired by PS2-exclusive version of Hazard Course. 4:10 - "That's Firearms 103". Oh, you mean Boot Camp? 6:18 - It's the very first thing you'll hear in PS2 version of Half-Life, if you start with HC. 26:46 - This "Unseal crates anyway" sent me into stupid giggling fit 34:24 - Considering that Gordon canonically ran through the HC on the same day Resonance Cascade happened (according to HL PS2 manual, at least), this guy is a goddamn prophet.
Fun fact, around 24 minutes in its possible to use the long jump while power sliding to jump over the gap without the assistance of the box, and the scientists have unique dialogue for it
20:24 ok, now hold up. Is the shoeprint on this door implying that Barney's friend from HECU's Blue Shift attempted to kick down this door?? Same devs, same canon?
I was so miffed when the original Hazard Course mod didn't carry over when I transitioned from the free Black Mesa mod to the full Steam version. Thanks for bringing it back, man.
Hey, I didn't expect you to do this part of the mod... Nice! It is kinda necessary imo, since this course adds a lot of info and lore for the game... I really wanted to see what happens if you get the 100th percentile on the course tho, There are not any videos (Or at least I didn't found any) that show a run with that placement (Aside from the speedruns which marks aren't legal according to the scientists)
I will try to dig through the audio files to see if there are any lines for that situation - as far as I know they only have lines up to the 84th percentile. Everything else after that causes Dr. Bickford to say his "My god man are you trying to speedrun the Hazard Course??" line
I did end up finding some lines where Dr. Simowitz says "That's definitely gotta be a new record - we barely made it here before you and we have a car!". But this is then followed up with Dr. Bickford accusing the player of cheating. So I'm not sure if there are actually any lines for a 100th percentile run aside from the ones for speedrunning.
@@Sexy_Nutella And I searched some videos and apparently there's not any way to make the 100th percentile Unless You're using console cheats or movement exploits so yeah, Kinda dissapointing you can't get the record legally. Anyway, i'm excited to see the genocide route of the Hazard Course 😈😈😈 I Saw a video of the emergency response, but it's now outdated.
@@Sexy_Nutella @Sexy Nutella Here's the footage. Perhaps the devs took time to get details from here. It was absolutely amazing 2o3wWUoN3LM [EDIT - I just found out PSR made this hazard course as well, no wonder the hazard course had an intro!]
@@Sexy_Nutella It was actually awesome that they'd use it as a refernece. I'd really wish Marph would cover HC in a video, however, what he said when I asked him about it: "Bits of the Hazard Course will appear in some future topics, but we don't know enough about its pre-release state to make a dedicated video on it." Too bad the HC is underlooked at.
@@Sexy_Nutella Yeah its an hl1 mod the weapon fov is higher, zombies can run, and theres additional weapons like a g36 and auto shotgun th-cam.com/video/gR_6PgNKVCc/w-d-xo.html
25:50 no me esperaba ver a un Houndeye, todavía no llegaron los alienígenas! 54:00 así q finalmente el catástrofes acaba de comenzar y a lo último el guardia fue atacado por un zombie! Buena jugada *Sexy Nutella* y Feliz Año Nuevo 2022, me reía cuando destruía las cámaras vigilancia jajajaja. Me gustaría q juegues *BM: MILITARY* o también *HL2 : DANGEROUS WORLD*
¡Feliz año nuevo! Espero que lo estés haciendo bien :) Puede que esté ocupado revisando todas las modificaciones, pero intentaré cubrir las que me interesan con seguridad.
19:30 I forget if there's blood splatters like that in HL1 but I just think back to Freeman's Mind looking at that and going "NOPE! I'm done. End of course."
34:27 you see, this is actually a clever Easter egg regarding that fact that in the very near future, Gordon will actually need to use a submachine gun with a grenade launcher attached to survive. I can’t believe how subtle, ingenious and subversive this Easter egg is!
Love the run down feel of that place. Unlike Aperture, Black Mesa isn't even trying lol Thanks sm for uploading! I had no idea there are so many easter eggs in there
No problem! Yeah haha, Aperture and Black Mesa are both equally shady but I like how Aperture differs in that they hide them all behind white walls; it always gives me a creepy, sanitized feel
I'm very glad of there being a well made Hazard Course for Black Mesa (played it myself) and enjoyed the VA of the Scientists and Security Guards with them being the BM voice actors. I've enjoyed watching your gameplay of it on how Gordon is seen being a absolute troublemaker and pain to nearly everyone in the course only to later figure out it trained him for a unexpected attack. I really love you video! Sorry to sound like a pain but if I'm correct, isn't BMCE compatible with Hazard Course by some foldering since the Scientists have their default BM outfits?
I did indeed try to get BMCE to work, however it doesn't seem to take effect. I understand I had to delete a certain file in the Hazard Course directory, I followed the instructions to a T and still couldn't get it to work unfortunately :(
@@Sexy_Nutella That's saddening to hear but don't worry, the video is fantastic overall on how you play as Gordon Freeman being a trouble-maker. If you want to know: I tested out BMCE on Hazard Course, and it suprisely worked for me. The way how I did it was deleting the 'hcourse_misc_.' vpk in the Hazard Course folder, then restarted on playing Hazard Course, and it played it working on my end.
@@standardzombie3454 That's the fix I tried too, but it unfortunately still didn't work for me and also removed Hazard Course from the "Steam Workshop" page :( oh well
@@Sexy_Nutella The way I managed to get BMCE to work with this is to install BMCE as instructed, then when installing hazard course, decompiling the hc misc vpk, and deleting the character_manifest.txt file (in the scripts folder), since the main reason why people tend to have BMCE not work is bc something is overwriting BMCE's character manifest file. Recompiled it, and it worked as intended! It's a little more intentional and precise than deleting the whole misc vpk entirely, but it's simple when you know what you're doing. (Oh yeah, you have to use a custom folder, put the hc files and BMCE's stuff in custom, I forgot to mention that)
Im trying to come up with a reason for the HEV Suit Bootup to be different than it is in Anomalous Materials. Maybe it's a training suit, and not the real thing? Who knows.
I guess from a mod standpoimt, perhaps they just designed the bootup before CC put theirs in for the main game? Canonically they can be different versions like you said I assume. I do like the text for the Hazard Course variant better though, the faded orange really gives the suit some character
@@Sexy_Nutella True, they did create the Bootup back before Black Mesa proper had a Bootup sequence. Personally, though, I'm a sucker for the actual Bootup sequence. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and awesome.
@@Sexy_Nutella I made the bootup sequence for the original 2012 Mod Mesa version of BMHC. I decided to add it because we didn't have access to the classic "DING! Welcome to the HEV Mark IV Protective System, for use in hazardous environment conditions" voice line available for us to use, and I felt that picking up the suit without that line was kind of boring and anticlimactic for such a pivotal moment in the chapter. So I came up with the boot sequence (inspired by the Crysis nanosuit bootup sequence) to serve as a kind of replacement cinematic "oomph" to make up for the fact that we couldn't use that line. It wasn't until much later on, after we released the original version of BMHC, that CC told us that by sheer coincidence they'd also come up with the idea entirely on their own and implemented their own version of it in the Retail Mesa version of AM. I decided to stick with our own version in the Retail Workshop BMHC re-release though, since it's over much faster than the ultra-cinematic CC version, and it fit the pacing of the level better. As for the in-universe reason why it's different, idk. Maybe it's because it's an older model of the suit or something.
The houndeye is simply an easter egg, though canonically perhaps one of the captured specimens from Xen managed to escape and wound up in the Hazard Course? Or maybe a staff member is keeping it as a pet hah
When I suggested you do that playthrough of Xen Museum once you have time, I was thinking in addition to giving each iteration of each map its own video, you could give timestamps for what locations correspond to what final maps in the event a single beta map covers multiple final maps. For example, when showing the Interloper B betas, the timestamps would show when the areas corresponding to B, B1, & B2 are in the video.
@@Sexy_Nutella Remember what I said about CC using Valve's initial plans for Xen? It’s especially apparent if you look at the sketches in Raising the Bar.
Here in the mod it seems to be optional - perhaps the HEV scientists that did eventually go to Xen were mandated to take the weapons training as part of a secretive separate program since they were exposed to the dangers of Xen
@@Sexy_Nutella Or maybe its just customary to play off the weapons training as some kind of scheduling error since they don't know what they're getting into yet.
Am i the only one that finds it weird they make you jump from like 15 meters, knowing you are going to get injured? Like yes, we needed a way to teach the palyer how to use medkits, but it could have been that an accident or something happened
Since PSR is also doing _Peer Review_ (the _Decay_ remake), I wonder how much of this iteration of the Hazard Course is going to align with their Hazardous Course chapter (the second stage).
We used as much geometry from BMHC as it made sense to do so. But that doesn't mean it was easy to do; it caused a whole ton of other problems, specifically the fact that BMHC relies on so many BMS assets that porting the geo to Peer Review requires us to remake a ton of those now-missing BM assets, many of which we're still in the process of working through.
1:30 What if, just like in Far Cry 4 or the game Dont Touch Anything, we get an easter egg if we wait as we are told? I will try this and let y'all know...
There are different lines for different time cutoffs. I forget what the time cutoffs were, but the different reactions range from basically "how the hell are you this slow" to "there's no way in hell you got this time legitimately".
I use nvidia Shadowplay, but the "smoothness" is due to my deliberately slowed down mouse movements and the fact that I don't lift it. It's a pain to record this way but I'm glad it looks smooth.
I do not like the ending. It doesn't make sense to me how these scientists just come out there, greet us personally, make photo and there is even a mobile timer. It should be less personal and more automatic. The Hazard Course is afterall avaible for a lot of employees.
Easter egg, but essentially that skull belonged to another Hazard Course participant who died in the course. Haunted the arena ever since. Source: Devs on their forums
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 11 - Questionable Ethics [Hard]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gnurktyx3tc/mqdefault.jpg)
![Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 11 - Questionable Ethics [Hard]](/img/tr.png)
HAZARD COURSE COMMENTARY:
As Black Mesa does not come with the tutorial segment that its Half-Life 1 counterpart featured, the team at PSR Digital elected to recreate it themselves. The results are stunning - Hazard Course is a richly detailed, ambitious and wildly entertaining accompaniment to the base game that reaches the same level of quality as the main game’s chapters. At its heart, the mod serves as an orientation to the player prior to their fateful day at Sector C Test Labs, and in this it succeeds. However, like everything else in Black Mesa, the mod is also a love letter to Half-Life, its lore, and its fans.
A comprehensive introductory sequence that explains Freeman’s seemingly unnatural proficiency with firearms and again alludes to what little personality is discernable of him (always late for work), while also providing a ton of references to Half-Life lore, similar to what Crowbar Collective did in Anomalous Materials. A wonderfully recreated Hazard Course deep in the bowels of an abandoned waste filtration facility, providing a sense of place and allowing the developers to add a ton of environmental details and fill in the blank slate of HL1’s version to their heart’s content. A plethora of optional and/or alternate pathways & actions for the player to explore, many of them with their own unique reactions from the observing science team (they even comment if the player uses noclip!). An ending sequence that ties the entire tutorial together with a neat bow, while also challenging the player to replay it to beat their best time. And last but not least, a self-contained minigame (a minigame within a mod of a re-imagining of a game, if you will) that is a fun little detour into parody and horror and is quite entertaining in its own right.
All the above are many (but not all) of the parts that make Hazard Course such a blast to play through. Though it is a mod that you will need to download, I cannot recommend it enough and urge everyone to install it and treat it as canon with the rest of the base game (in fact, I wanted to title this video “Black Mesa: Definitive Edition - 00 - Hazard Course”, but wanted to avoid confusion with what’s in the base game and what’s not). Thanks to the team at PSR Digital for the work they put into this mod - it’s simply brilliant 😊
P.S. PSR Digital is also currently developing a recreation of Half-Life: Decay called “Peer Review” and it looks very promising - check it out:
www.moddb.com/mods/peer-review
3:35 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯😭
$иге ша$ рагт орн тне р1ап
@@Tikkanier I suspect G-man interference
@@Sexy_Nutella I think this is a consistent assumption, as G-Man was also watching Shephard in his training session iirc.
That gman seems to be hidden away from everyone. Dr Breen was unaware freeman was given free training. Breen must of been a terrible leader, but great accountant.
23:07 Freeman has the mind of a true scientist. "Well, that set me on fire the first time. _But does it do that every time?_
the scientist humor in this is just awesome... "traffic in the desert" and "just the one phd" crack me up everytime
Yeah, the dialogue is hilarious.
Somewhere, some manager, feels less of a man unsless he's got a crate worth of submachine guns and 450 impact grenades. And a ceiling gun turret next to 'non smoking' area just for good measure..
The same scientist after the Resonance Cascade happens, probably: "I predicted all of this, you know!"
I love the part where you just stare at the blood, then the scientist, and shake your head. Then stare at the blood again. It's such a mood.
Glad you appreciate that characterization :)
20:24
If you think about the fact that someone tried to kick that locked door down for medical assistance, i’d say thats pretty damn messed up
It did feel kinda weird not having this in Black Mesa! Not to say the game is not a flipping unforgettable gem of a masterpiece!
I agree - this mod canonically can fit right into the main game as "Chapter 00" haha. It's just too polished to pass up.
Probably because there's already a hint tutorial in the game
I like how the guard at 2:00 and 4:30 discusses the HECU and joining the marines to the guy who voices all the marines in the game
I like how they got the BM Voice Actors in Mods, it make it feel like it's part of the Actual Game
Agreed! Gives it a sense of continuity with the main game.
"Integrated waste disposal system" Does it recycle Gordon's sweat and breath moisture? An armored stillsuit. I knew he was really Gordon Fremen.
No, it means he has a Mechanical Diaper and it wipes him automatically
@@raidenstern6617 Ah yes, perfect for those situations where Gordon must've soiled himself in the course of his journey ;)
Now I'm imagining Paul in a HEV suit and I can't get that mental image out of my mind
@@Sexy_Nutella i imagine everytime gordon crouches he just shits himself and wipes his ass with the plates
@@Sexy_Nutellacursed lmfao
TRIVIA & EASTER EGGS:
Here is a comprehensive (but by no means complete) list of trivia information and easter eggs I came across while making this video. I’m sure I’ve missed a TON of additional cool tidbits and content, so please feel free to contribute by replying to this comment chain or in the comments section.
- The soundtrack that plays at the tram ride is the original Black Mesa theme, composed by Joel Nielsen. This early version of the theme is not used in the final game
- The door that Gordon can knock on is apparently a callback to the old version of the mod, though what it refers to alludes me (1:02)
- The guards at 2:22 mention the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit (HECU), the military group that Freeman eventually combats during the events of the campaign
- The intro sequence prior to descending to the actual hazard course is an expansion of the PS2 version of the tutorial in HL1. In that version, a scientist greets Gordon and runs through his waiver in a fashion similar to 2:55
- This mod provides justification as to why a research assistant like Gordon ended up being so proficient with firearms during the game - he was "accidentally" signed up for weapons training as part of the Hazard Course (3:28) - though I'm sure the G-man had something to do with it
- The original signage of the building before its conversion to a training facility can be seen at 5:10, and reads "SECTOR A WASTE FILTRATION" (5:10)
- At 5:15, three scientists can be seen arguing about the administrator's decision to order bulk quantities of weaponry. Knowing the administrator's identity as Wallace Breen and what he gets up to in HL2, it can be inferred that this was done on purpose ahead of the Resonance Cascade
- At 6:08, the scientist kneeling behind his desk is actually counting a box of tacos, easily seen by noclip
- The scientist at 7:29 mentions the legendary 1993 game Doom (HL1 takes place in the late 90s)
- At 10:13, Kleiner is referencing his past job as a professor at MIT, during which he met Gordon. impressed by his performance, Kleiner was the one who recommended Gordon to Black Mesa
- The holographic assistant at 11:22 is Gina Cross, who is one of the two main protagonists in the HL1 expansion "Half-Life: Decay". Gina is also very popular amongst the Black Mesa team, as evident by dialogue in Chapter 2 of the main game
- The bootup sequence for the Mark IV is quite different than the main game's (12:05)
- The comment at 16:45 is a playful jab at criticisms of ladders in Source games, namely how many have difficulty going up or down them
- The comment at 20:13 references the addition of Landing Jets in the main game's Long Jump Module
- The slightly ajar door at 21:14 leads to a closet with a Trans Pride Flag painted on the wall and text reading "I am a human too"
- The skull at 22:15 belongs to Dr. Yorick, a previous tester who died at the Long Jump Fall training room. It is said that his soul haunts the course, and is why picking it up sets Gordon on fire (this is according to developer dky.tehkingd.u)
- The sleeping Houndeye at 25:28 cannot be woken, even if Gordon jumps on it. However, it can be killed using the skull found one map prior at 22:15
- The dialogue at 27:55 is a jab at HL2's flashlight mechanics, as it runs off the same auxiliary power as the sprint function does in that game (fixed in HL2:EP2)
- The rats at 28:40 can be killed
- There is another rat present in the SMG training room at 32:37. As well, a headcrab is present in the yellow container on the far side of the room
- The purple hat that flies out of the container at 34:41 is also present in the main game as an easter egg item that players can carry throughout the game for an achievement and secret ending
- The song that plays on the radio at 45:11 is called "Broadcast Intrusion". Destroying the radio (both before and after activating the song) will elicit responses from the Guard at 45:35
- In HL1's Hazard Course, the tutorial ends at the tram room shown at 47:27
- The crate at 48:02 that is labelled "Warning: Do not crowbar" will explode if destroyed, though cheats will need to be used to get weapons at this stage of the course
- The freight tram at 48:36 is the same one that Freeman rides at the start of Chapter 9: Apprehension in the main game
- The training administrators’ comments at the end of the course will vary depending on how fast (or slow) Gordon completed the course. They will even accuse Gordon of cheating if he is fast enough (you can look up any speedruns of this mod to hear the dialogue)
- In addition to what is shown in the video, the training administrators have comments for each of the following situations:
- Gordon procrastinating putting on the suit (11:58)
- Gordon's landing during the long jump tutorial at 19:13 (different responses depending on where he lands)
- Gordon not using the health items at 20:48
- Gordon procrastinating breaking the vent (27:00)
- Gordon dying during the course
- Gordon destroying the base of the holographic projectors
- The player inputting "noclip" into the console
16:45 Freeman's mind reference
7:40 you can see opposing force in the guys computer
It doesn’t take place in the late 90’s it sometime in 200x
CREATOR COMMENTARY:
Hazard Course contains so much hidden dialogue, easter eggs and alternate pathways and actions that I’m sure I’ve missed out on a bunch. One of the hard decisions I made early on was to NOT cover them all because I’m trying to portray Gordon as how I envision him in my mind - a prankster, but with good heart. Therefore, I tried not to break every single thing I came across or be a constant pain in the ass to the Guards or Scientists (though me shooting out all the cameras is my attempt at portraying how annoyed Gordon is of the Hazard Course’s..er…fatally hazardous…nature…
That being said, I do think I will make a separate follow-up video to showcase what happens if Gordon decides to kill the Guards at the security checkpoint (44:14). In that video, I can afford to be the murderous scientist-killing psychopath that I’m sure we all played as at some point in this game 😉
Lastly, I chose not to cover the entirety of Five Nights at the Hazard Course (FNaHC) because of how monotonous the video will be - to beat the game and preserve my power I’d most likely be constantly staring at the hallway and minimizing camera usage (and also abuse the bucket), which I don’t believe will make a very entertaining video. However, I might eventually make a video exclusively covering the minigame in which I beat it, just to show how it ends.
"Doctor Freeman, are you trying to speedrun the Hazardcourse?!"
I'd really like to see this as an official update to the game at some point.
You and me both! It simply adds so much to the game and it's of the same quality
The PSR team really made funny moments in that mod
Yeah, I laughed at a lot of the team's reactions to Gordon breaking stuff especially.
I can *feel* Gordon getting more pissed off with every section he has to go through, I love the way you portray his character
That was indeed my intent, glad it shines through in the gameplay :)
The amount of detail put into these projects are immense
Thanks for showing all the lines and reactions. Amazing work with all the lore and map additions, but what I really loved about this is the sense of humor of the NPCs, it remind me a bit of Portal dialogues. This make them more likable, and also you might feel something when you see them all dying.
Yeah, they really expanded the scope of this training course.
I found out this Easter egg or something today in the hazard course that probably nobody had found, if you finish the hazard course before the 2 minute mark, the people at 49:19 will catch on fire and explode with an insane blast radius. If you make it before the 10 minute and after 2 minute mark, instead they will assume you were speed-running or, “cheating undetected”. You also get unique lines if You noclip.
I didn't know about them exploding - is there any video that shows this? Super cool
@@Sexy_NutellaI found a video demonstrating that ending. Here: th-cam.com/video/lOMOtBff7iM/w-d-xo.html
the RETURN OF THE KING
i can't say i was aware the original half life had a training course/tutorial but seeing it in black mesa was way more entertaining than it had any right to be given the subject matter. even something as normally boring as a training course feels like it has so much life put into it with all the different interactions you can get by doing different things in the course
You nailed why this mod is so fun for me as well - on the surface it might look like yet another run of the mill tutorial segment, but all the optional dialogue and actions and easter eggs really breathe life into it. Really reminds me of Portal 2 in that regard.
Nice to see you back! And, since I'm making my own crazy/dumb Half-Life "walkthrough" project, might as well add some trivia about things I'll notice here. Or just comment on some neat moments xD
1:45 - Funny how they referenced Keller, character who appears only in PS2-exclusive HL:Decay, in the intro area inspired by PS2-exclusive version of Hazard Course.
4:10 - "That's Firearms 103". Oh, you mean Boot Camp?
6:18 - It's the very first thing you'll hear in PS2 version of Half-Life, if you start with HC.
26:46 - This "Unseal crates anyway" sent me into stupid giggling fit
34:24 - Considering that Gordon canonically ran through the HC on the same day Resonance Cascade happened (according to HL PS2 manual, at least), this guy is a goddamn prophet.
Appreciate the additional trivia! Didn't realize those tidbits about the PS2 games :)
Fun fact, around 24 minutes in its possible to use the long jump while power sliding to jump over the gap without the assistance of the box, and the scientists have unique dialogue for it
That's cool - I was trying to get over that with the long jump but the pipe always got in the way. Nice to know it is possible though!
Outro
50:17 - Five Nights at the Hazard Course (minigame)
53:56 - JUMPSCARE WARNING (See description)
"U.S Army Rangers, twelve years." I sort of want a mod where you play as this guy.
God bless the folks who make these mods. This was so much fun.
Agreed. This is a blast
Glad to see you’re back uploading after your Black Mesa play through, excited to see what comes next!
Good to be back! Hazard Course was a video I always wanted to make. It was really fun to showcase it.
20:24 ok, now hold up. Is the shoeprint on this door implying that Barney's friend from HECU's Blue Shift attempted to kick down this door?? Same devs, same canon?
36:50 Vital testing apparatus destroyed.
I was thinking that's a good callback to Portal as well!
I was so miffed when the original Hazard Course mod didn't carry over when I transitioned from the free Black Mesa mod to the full Steam version. Thanks for bringing it back, man.
No problem :)
49:10 "U broke the tram, didn't you?" 🤣
What a nice late Christmas present! I hope everything is well with you Nutella and you had a happy holidays!
You as well, thanks! :)
Hey, I didn't expect you to do this part of the mod... Nice! It is kinda necessary imo, since this course adds a lot of info and lore for the game... I really wanted to see what happens if you get the 100th percentile on the course tho, There are not any videos (Or at least I didn't found any) that show a run with that placement (Aside from the speedruns which marks aren't legal according to the scientists)
I will try to dig through the audio files to see if there are any lines for that situation - as far as I know they only have lines up to the 84th percentile. Everything else after that causes Dr. Bickford to say his "My god man are you trying to speedrun the Hazard Course??" line
I did end up finding some lines where Dr. Simowitz says "That's definitely gotta be a new record - we barely made it here before you and we have a car!". But this is then followed up with Dr. Bickford accusing the player of cheating. So I'm not sure if there are actually any lines for a 100th percentile run aside from the ones for speedrunning.
@@Sexy_Nutella And I searched some videos and apparently there's not any way to make the 100th percentile Unless You're using console cheats or movement exploits so yeah, Kinda dissapointing you can't get the record legally.
Anyway, i'm excited to see the genocide route of the Hazard Course 😈😈😈 I Saw a video of the emergency response, but it's now outdated.
US Army Rangers for 12 years, sad that it’s going to be blue on blue with the marines on that fateful day
Loved that they included that line. The little snippets of dialogue are always what makes these games so interesting lore-wise
I never noticed the HL Fnaf minigame
such an interesting little thing
Yeah, it's a neat little bonus
I love the Doom reference a classic 1990’s games that I will play one day such a Time period accurate thing for a 2000”s era gaem
This was a great mod, I loved the addition of the spiteful things they say and your antics. Great job :D
Hey, it's nice to hear from you again! Hope you've been doing well and as always thanks for the comment :)
I swear Decay also had more on the Hazard Course. BM just puts it onto the next level.
Haven't had a chance to play Decay, I didn't know it had a Hazard Course too!
@@Sexy_Nutella
@Sexy Nutella
Here's the footage. Perhaps the devs took time to get details from here. It was absolutely amazing
2o3wWUoN3LM
[EDIT - I just found out PSR made this hazard course as well, no wonder the hazard course had an intro!]
@@Clazzette Yeah, PSR Digital made this mod for Black Mesa, and I believe they did reference the PS2 version of Half-Life for the intro sequence :)
@@Sexy_Nutella It was actually awesome that they'd use it as a refernece.
I'd really wish Marph would cover HC in a video, however, what he said when I asked him about it:
"Bits of the Hazard Course will appear in some future topics, but we don't know enough about its pre-release state to make a dedicated video on it."
Too bad the HC is underlooked at.
Such a well made mod. Looks straight out of black mesa!
Agreed! The level of quality is just as good
gordon is a fucking menace here lmao, considering they share a world i think he and chell would get along well
Gordon was so good with hes shooting he got the job as the security guard :D
Gordon and Barney would make a killer duo
I'm so glad that there's finally some canon explanation for why Freeman can handle weapons like a Green Beret...
Yeah, I liked how they explained it in this mod
Coolness. I wish thered be a version of the "Hard-life" mod for Black Mesa. With hard hat workers and non helmeted scientists in HEV suits.
That sounds cool. Is it a mod that just reskins the NPCs or does it change anything else?
@@Sexy_Nutella Yeah its an hl1 mod the weapon fov is higher, zombies can run, and theres additional weapons like a g36 and auto shotgun
th-cam.com/video/gR_6PgNKVCc/w-d-xo.html
25:50 no me esperaba ver a un Houndeye, todavía no llegaron los alienígenas!
54:00 así q finalmente el catástrofes acaba de comenzar y a lo último el guardia fue atacado por un zombie!
Buena jugada *Sexy Nutella* y Feliz Año Nuevo 2022, me reía cuando destruía las cámaras vigilancia jajajaja.
Me gustaría q juegues *BM: MILITARY* o también *HL2 : DANGEROUS WORLD*
¡Feliz año nuevo! Espero que lo estés haciendo bien :) Puede que esté ocupado revisando todas las modificaciones, pero intentaré cubrir las que me interesan con seguridad.
19:30 I forget if there's blood splatters like that in HL1 but I just think back to Freeman's Mind looking at that and going "NOPE! I'm done. End of course."
34:27 you see, this is actually a clever Easter egg regarding that fact that in the very near future, Gordon will actually need to use a submachine gun with a grenade launcher attached to survive. I can’t believe how subtle, ingenious and subversive this Easter egg is!
Sweet to see you posting!
No problem! Hope you've been doing well :)
51:50 "purple man"
*that one song starts playing*
2:25 HECU, huh? Well, you’re in for a nasty surprise. XD
Love the run down feel of that place. Unlike Aperture, Black Mesa isn't even trying lol
Thanks sm for uploading! I had no idea there are so many easter eggs in there
No problem! Yeah haha, Aperture and Black Mesa are both equally shady but I like how Aperture differs in that they hide them all behind white walls; it always gives me a creepy, sanitized feel
@@Sexy_Nutella Aperture is a giant trap and yet black mesa, a research facility, kills more people
(cerified OSHA approved)
I'm very glad of there being a well made Hazard Course for Black Mesa (played it myself) and enjoyed the VA of the Scientists and Security Guards with them being the BM voice actors. I've enjoyed watching your gameplay of it on how Gordon is seen being a absolute troublemaker and pain to nearly everyone in the course only to later figure out it trained him for a unexpected attack. I really love you video!
Sorry to sound like a pain but if I'm correct, isn't BMCE compatible with Hazard Course by some foldering since the Scientists have their default BM outfits?
I did indeed try to get BMCE to work, however it doesn't seem to take effect. I understand I had to delete a certain file in the Hazard Course directory, I followed the instructions to a T and still couldn't get it to work unfortunately :(
@@Sexy_Nutella That's saddening to hear but don't worry, the video is fantastic overall on how you play as Gordon Freeman being a trouble-maker.
If you want to know:
I tested out BMCE on Hazard Course, and it suprisely worked for me. The way how I did it was deleting the 'hcourse_misc_.' vpk in the Hazard Course folder, then restarted on playing Hazard Course, and it played it working on my end.
@@standardzombie3454 That's the fix I tried too, but it unfortunately still didn't work for me and also removed Hazard Course from the "Steam Workshop" page :( oh well
@@Sexy_Nutella The way I managed to get BMCE to work with this is to install BMCE as instructed, then when installing hazard course, decompiling the hc misc vpk, and deleting the character_manifest.txt file (in the scripts folder), since the main reason why people tend to have BMCE not work is bc something is overwriting BMCE's character manifest file. Recompiled it, and it worked as intended! It's a little more intentional and precise than deleting the whole misc vpk entirely, but it's simple when you know what you're doing.
(Oh yeah, you have to use a custom folder, put the hc files and BMCE's stuff in custom, I forgot to mention that)
7:33 Ahh yes, Doom runs on anything, even in Black Mesa's computer systems
This is SO COOL! I wish they added this into the actual game!
Im trying to come up with a reason for the HEV Suit Bootup to be different than it is in Anomalous Materials. Maybe it's a training suit, and not the real thing? Who knows.
I guess from a mod standpoimt, perhaps they just designed the bootup before CC put theirs in for the main game? Canonically they can be different versions like you said I assume. I do like the text for the Hazard Course variant better though, the faded orange really gives the suit some character
@@Sexy_Nutella True, they did create the Bootup back before Black Mesa proper had a Bootup sequence. Personally, though, I'm a sucker for the actual Bootup sequence. It's the perfect combination of nostalgia and awesome.
@@connorgolsong290 I do love how the base game's sequence shows alll the systems turning on :)
I always imagined it as an earlier version of the H.E.V suit (Possibly an early test version of Mk. IV or even Mk. III)
@@Sexy_Nutella I made the bootup sequence for the original 2012 Mod Mesa version of BMHC. I decided to add it because we didn't have access to the classic "DING! Welcome to the HEV Mark IV Protective System, for use in hazardous environment conditions" voice line available for us to use, and I felt that picking up the suit without that line was kind of boring and anticlimactic for such a pivotal moment in the chapter. So I came up with the boot sequence (inspired by the Crysis nanosuit bootup sequence) to serve as a kind of replacement cinematic "oomph" to make up for the fact that we couldn't use that line.
It wasn't until much later on, after we released the original version of BMHC, that CC told us that by sheer coincidence they'd also come up with the idea entirely on their own and implemented their own version of it in the Retail Mesa version of AM. I decided to stick with our own version in the Retail Workshop BMHC re-release though, since it's over much faster than the ultra-cinematic CC version, and it fit the pacing of the level better. As for the in-universe reason why it's different, idk. Maybe it's because it's an older model of the suit or something.
This was fantastic!
Glad you like it!
19:33 Uh oh.
25:40 How did that houndeye get there?
The houndeye is simply an easter egg, though canonically perhaps one of the captured specimens from Xen managed to escape and wound up in the Hazard Course? Or maybe a staff member is keeping it as a pet hah
When I suggested you do that playthrough of Xen Museum once you have time, I was thinking in addition to giving each iteration of each map its own video, you could give timestamps for what locations correspond to what final maps in the event a single beta map covers multiple final maps. For example, when showing the Interloper B betas, the timestamps would show when the areas corresponding to B, B1, & B2 are in the video.
Thanks for the suggestions!
@@Sexy_Nutella Remember what I said about CC using Valve's initial plans for Xen? It’s especially apparent if you look at the sketches in Raising the Bar.
Thought weapons training was mandatory for HEV course as in xen the scientist's wearing HEV suits had weapons with plenty of ammunition.
Here in the mod it seems to be optional - perhaps the HEV scientists that did eventually go to Xen were mandated to take the weapons training as part of a secretive separate program since they were exposed to the dangers of Xen
@@Sexy_Nutella Or maybe its just customary to play off the weapons training as some kind of scheduling error since they don't know what they're getting into yet.
Am i the only one that finds it weird they make you jump from like 15 meters, knowing you are going to get injured? Like yes, we needed a way to teach the palyer how to use medkits, but it could have been that an accident or something happened
Black Mesa is a giant walking OSHA violation for a reason I guess :P
I hope tripmine studios add the training course in blue shift and opposing force training boot camp in the new remake
@26:25 -- Dude should have said that was coming out of Gordon's paycheck...
They do say something along those lines when Freeman shoots enough of the cameras
I wonder why the scientist at 6:38 looks like Freeman.
Probably just a coincidence in my opinion!
The guard was a ranger for 12 years wow
I think he's the same voice actor as the rest of the HECU as well :)
37:19 Do not destroy vital testing apparatus.
Since PSR is also doing _Peer Review_ (the _Decay_ remake), I wonder how much of this iteration of the Hazard Course is going to align with their Hazardous Course chapter (the second stage).
Yeah, looking forward to that for sure!
We used as much geometry from BMHC as it made sense to do so. But that doesn't mean it was easy to do; it caused a whole ton of other problems, specifically the fact that BMHC relies on so many BMS assets that porting the geo to Peer Review requires us to remake a ton of those now-missing BM assets, many of which we're still in the process of working through.
53:58 Dude wtf is that ending lol 😂
Haha, I was trying to throw back to Dead Space 1's ending with that jumpscare.
damn 54 minutes?
when i played the hazard course it was like 20 minutes
It takes much longer at the pace I'm working at, in order to show off the various easter eggs and interactions and such
1:30
What if, just like in Far Cry 4 or the game Dont Touch Anything, we get an easter egg if we wait as we are told? I will try this and let y'all know...
Interesting if that goes anywhere!
Its been a month aince you're last upload
3 months actually. I've just been occupied with other things haha
lol in the screen opposing force pic ^^
Nice!
Glad you liked the video!
hows this only have ~600 likes
Is that a goddamned dot matrix printer in the background? In 1998??
I wonder what happens if you wake up the houndeye at 25:40
i got 9th and 84th percentile at the end, do they have a voice line for each one? If so that's impressive.
They have one for 85th percentile, where Dr. Bickford accuses Gordon of cheating haha. 9th percentile I haven't checked
There are different lines for different time cutoffs. I forget what the time cutoffs were, but the different reactions range from basically "how the hell are you this slow" to "there's no way in hell you got this time legitimately".
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
What did you use to record? It's pretty smooth gameplay
I use nvidia Shadowplay, but the "smoothness" is due to my deliberately slowed down mouse movements and the fact that I don't lift it. It's a pain to record this way but I'm glad it looks smooth.
in the newest version of this game,they remove so much good/nice feature!
If you're referring to the fact that this mod wasn't part of the base game, it's always free to download and make seamless with it! :)
I do not like the ending. It doesn't make sense to me how these scientists just come out there, greet us personally, make photo and there is even a mobile timer. It should be less personal and more automatic. The Hazard Course is afterall avaible for a lot of employees.
i didn't know that Gordon Freeman is a dumb scientist 🙂
25:30 is lmao
This Is Same
22:18 WTF? Lol
@22:20 -- What the hell just happened
Easter egg, but essentially that skull belonged to another Hazard Course participant who died in the course. Haunted the arena ever since. Source: Devs on their forums
What do they say if you die?
A bunch of different voicelines upon death. Most of them hilarious