On a Rail Uncut
Text FAMGUY1 (real name: Chon Kemp, A.K.A. DIGITAL SPORTS – now the Lead Level Designer for Black Mesa) old project to finish "uncutting" Black Mesa. This mod extends Black Mesa’s On a Rail back to the length of the chapter in HL1, by seamlessly adding 4 new maps in between the existing Black Mesa maps.
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Black Mesa cut "On a Rail" extremely heavily, due to its unpopularity and confusing design in the original Half-Life. On a Rail was 10 maps in HL1, and is represented by a mere 3 maps in Black Mesa. While Black Mesa’s version of OaR has been well received for its less confusing design and greater focus, some fans (such as myself!) might have wanted to see the original HL1 maps given the Black Mesa treatment. Well, here they are! This is my attempt at restoring the missing maps from "On a Rail" to Black Mesa. Note that these maps are very far from straight 1:1 remakes. I’ve attempted to follow Black Mesa’s redesigning principles on the maps which I’ve remade. This means that areas which were poorly designed in HL1 were streamlined and simplified in this remake, and areas which had potential for expansion have been expanded. The aim of the project is to maintain consistency with both Black Mesa and Half-Life 1, and like ST Uncut, to maintain flawless integration with Black Mesa’s current offerings.
THIS MOD HAS BEEN LEFT UNFINISHED. I was hired onto the Black Mesa team in September 2013, and I put this mod on hold in order to invest time into my real commitments with Crowbar Collective. However, the mod is finished enough that it can still serve as a worthy addition to the game – but I just wanted people who play this to be aware that it is not 100%. Probably more like 60%.
