Black Mesa East

Introduction

Black Mesa East is the name of Eli Vance's laboratory off the canals. Its attack leads to the player heading into Ravenholm.

Architecture

The lab is built out of some sort of waterworks facility. Indoors, the building is largely concrete, with some high ceilings, freight elevators, and curved lower ceilings. There are larger tunnels, one of which is the entrance, one leading to Ravenholm, which are fairly similar to the smaller halls. Otherwise, the lab is fairly simple.

Environment

Aside from the river outside the facility, and the rocky grotto where Alyx and Dog play, most of the area is indoors. The river area should have other similar buildings around it, to create consistancy. Power cables are also wise additions. The land around the water should be grassy and lush, with plenty of trees.

Indoors, lab equipment should be commonplace. The small hallways are fenced in the official map, so consider doing the same. Living quarters are included in the building's structure, so including those in a level allows more variety. Despite being a distant location, Kleiner's lab can be used for inspiration in those areas.

The grotto appears to have once been a drainage lake, considering the pipes coming from the facility. There is now a large amount of crates and varied materials, allowing the mapper to create more linear paths, or full-fledged mazes.

NPCs

Within the game, only rebels, the Vances, Dog and vortigaunts appear within the lab. Some crows appear within the grotto as well. Scanners show up at the end, forcing the player to leave, but otherwise the hostile presence is limited. The setting can be used in a multi-player map, however, and will be more action-filled.

Reference

Interior lab of Black Mesa East. Click to enlarge.