Black Mesa Level Aesthetics

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Black Mesa Level Aesthetics

This is a guide about the aesthetics of various Black Mesa levels.

Black Mesa: Source and Black Mesa contain many detailed environments. This guide aims to help you recreate some of these.

Specific Areas

Anomalous Materials Labs

The Anomalous Materials Labs are seen in the chapter Anomalous Materials. The labs are mostly made from metal, with a clean and utilitarian feel to them. Hallways and rooms should be spacious and uncluttered, and often have high ceilings and computers and equipment lining the walls. There should be many scientists, and a few guards. The lighting usually is white, with a slight teal tint.

Material Filters

lab

Model Folders

props_am

props_lab

props_office

props_blackmesa

props_canteen

Offices

The offices (or sector D administration) are seen in the chapter Office Complex. The tight areas suit close-quarters combat. The offices are made from plaster and brick, with tile floors and ceilings that can conceal barnacles, with breezeblocks and concrete tiles in maintenance areas. The rooms are much smaller, and suit the shotgun. Offices have wooden doors and breakable windows with blinds. Interiors include desks, separated from each other by breakable cubicle walls in open areas, old-style desktop computers with CRT monitors, bookshelves, TVs and seating areas with sofas and armchairs. Areas are usually separated by red push bar doors, which are often locked and require the player to crawl through an extensive vent system to bypass. There are also locked, static doors throughout the chapter, making the area seem much bigger.

Material Filters

office

concrete

Model Folders

props_office

props_blackmesa

props_generic

props_canteen

props_pipes

Warehouses

The warehouses are seen in the chapter "We've Got Hostiles!". The open areas are best for fighting against enemies such as marines, assassins and bullsquids The warehouse are made from concrete, with high ceilings and support columns. Being warehouses, there should be many storage shelves, which can be used for cover and to store supplies.

Material Filters

hostiles

concrete

Model Folders

props_blackmesa

props_generic

props_junk

props_industrial

Small areas

Marine Camps

Marine camps are seen throughout the game, mostly in the chapter "Forget About Freeman!". They are small areas the marines have fortified with sandbags, barbed wire/razor wire, and 50 cal machine guns. They also contain supplies such as medkits, weapons and ammo. Make sure you only place weapons used by the marines such as MP5s, shotguns and RPGs, and not weapons like the .357 Magnum. Nearby crates should also use the "military" and "military_big" script presets, to drop various military stuff when broken. In outdoor areas, they have camo nets (displacements with the texture bms/army_net) and wooden boards on the ground. Some camps also have been used for medical outposts, having cotts and iv stands. They also sometimes have healthkits.

Note: The item_battery and item_healthkit from Half-Life 2 has the same function as the same two entities in Black Mesa, they just have different models.

Material Filters

army

wood

Model Folders

props_marines