Chapter 6: Blast Pit
After a harrowing encounter with the HECU on the surface, Gordon is forced back down into the facility amidst an overwhelming mortar strike and learns that they are deployed in Black Mesa to cover up everything about the incident, which includes killing any and all personnel associated with the project. A fellow scientist advises him that their only hope of stopping the invasion rests in the hands of the Lambda Team, a research team located on the other end of the base. However, in order to get there, Gordon must first traverse the rocket test labs of Silo D and avoid a deadly creature that has suddenly emerged from the blast pit.
Playlist with all completed chapters:
• Black Mesa: Definitive...
Notes:
- Gordon can take the lift down to the tunnels at 1:02 as opposed to the service ladders, but he will miss out on the Shotgun ammo as shown at 1:55
- All trams in Black Mesa feature an emergency stop if Gordon leaves it while in motion, as shown at 5:00. In HL1 if Gordon moves off the tram they will continue going on the rail uninterrupted
- Gordon will get launched into the air if he doesn't jump off the tram at 5:47 before it collides with the debris
- The "secret room" at 10:55 is also present in HL1
- The Tentacles in Black Mesa never seem to enter an "idle" state like in HL1 where they stop pounding the floors and do inquisitive taps to try to locate prey
- In HL1, shooting the Tentacles enough times at their "stems" will cause them to temporarily retreat beneath the blast pit. In Black Mesa, they will never withdraw
- Instead of taking the ladder, Gordon can jump straight down the shaft at 15:09 and safely land in the water with no fall damage
- If the exhaust fan spins up to full speed before Gordon climbs the ladder back out from the maintenance platform, he can turn it off again to slow it back down (17:43)
- The Houndeyes at 21:59 WILL wake up if Gordon does not crouch past them or gets too close to them. There is also a shield battery in the alcove behind them if Gordon chooses to kill them instead
Trivia:
- The lighting of the very first area of this chapter is a reference to the game series S.T.A.L.K.E.R. according to the level lead
- The second of three emergency broadcasts in the game can be heard at 2:35
- The HEV Suit's geiger counter will go off when Gordon is near radioactive material and a film grain effect will be applied to the screen, such as the big pit at 5:56. The counter will click more rapidly the closer he is to the source. For some odd reason in my playthrough it's not captured
- The area that Gordon passes through at 7:22 is the base of Silo D, which explains the huge amount of radioactive waste
- VOX lines in this chapter, such as at 9:16, were added in the 1.5 update
- The Silo D complex is comprised of three Cold War-era missle silos (9:39): D-01, which houses the rocket engine (and tentacles), D-02, which serves as a massive exhaust chamber, & D-03, which contains the generator that powers the engine
- The walkway at 10:04 leading to Silo D-03 is destroyed, a callback to HL1 where Gordon can destroy the same walkway by shooting the explosive barrels on it
- In past versions of the game, the scientist at 10:40 will hilariously ragdoll when he dies. This no longer occurs, though there was also a brief period prior to the 1.5 patch where after "dying", he will turn his head towards Gordon if he interacts with him
- It can be seen that the scientist at 11:16 isn't even pressing the "FIRE" button on the console
- Though the Tentacle is shown capable of reaching into the control room at 11:16, it will never do it again even if Gordon makes a ton of noise
- In Hl1, the guard that perishes to the Tentacle is on the same side of the chamber as Gordon, not the opposite (12:26)
- The Guard that dies at 12:26 is referred to by his partner as "Leeroy" at 12:56, and by his last name as "Jenkins" at 30:10, revealing his full name to be "Leeroy Jenkins", which is a reference to the legendary World of Warcraft character who charged headfirst into his problems with no forethought - a fitting name to say the least
- As seen at 13:55, the railings that line each floor of the blast chamber will fall down when the Tentacles strike them
- If Gordon quickly descends the elevator shaft at 23:40 before the lift falls, he can see that the scientist at 23:52 was observing him descending
- The pit at 24:38 housed a Bullsquid in HL1
- In HL1, Smithers (26:00) was found hiding directly ontop of the generator
- The Tentacles' mournful death wail can be faintly heard at 29:36
- In HL1, it was possible for the Guard at 29:55 to be killed by the exhaust heat from the rocket engine
- The guard is referencing the movie Predator (1987) at 29:55
- The area at 30:50 received a massive graphical overhaul in the 1.5 update
- The .357 Magnum makes its return to this chapter, and can be picked up from a dead Guard at 30:58, just like in HL1