Note: There is a rather small story behind this. Roughly 20% of my initial concept is in the map. If you want to know about it more I recommend reading the original story. It's contained as spoiler text below. I will not spoiler you if you don't want it to.
After more than a decade of neglecting this blog—thanks to work, shifting passions, and just not having enough time—I figured it was about time to dust it off. And what better way to kick things off than by talking about my entry in the "Escape from Black Mesa" mapping contest?
Disclaimer: The Contest was in 2023. I had some time (vacation) and it was rather rainy in my area. So why not spend roughly 200 hrs in a contest which might even yield a small graphics card? - Note: Didn't win. Didn't even come close to winning, but it was fun anyhow. It felt strange diving back into something I used to do so naturally. But once I got past the initial frustrations, I found myself completely absorbed, just like in the old days.
Re-learning Hammer After a Decade
Jumping back into Hammer after so long felt like cracking open an old toolbox where half the tools had changed, and the other half I only slowly remembered how to use. The fundamentals were still there, but modern Source mapping—especially with Black Mesa's upgraded engine—was a different beast. The biggest hurdle? The lighting system. The most interesting thing was: The Hammer editor isn't the only kid on the block. Hammer++ had matured and extended the old Hammer editor quite a bit. Don't forget the Hammer editor originally released in 2004 with Half-Life 2. Prior to that, my old buddy WorldCraft and Hammer 3.4 were the kings for GoldSrc (HL1 Engine) mapping. Combined with a different feature set BM:S provided, including a lighting system that doesn't require baking in shadowmaps, it required quite a big ramp-up phase.
Hammer++ brings several key improvements over the classic Hammer editor, making it a powerful tool for modern Source mapping. Some of the standout features include:
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Real-time lighting preview: Unlike traditional Hammer, which requires compiling to see lighting changes, Hammer++ allows for instant previews, making fine-tuning much easier.
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Better selection tools: The improved selection and movement tools streamline object manipulation, reducing frustration when dealing with complex geometry.
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Grid snapping improvements: More control over how objects snap to the grid, making alignment and precision much easier to maintain.
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Built-in 3D skybox preview: No more tedious switching between map views—Hammer++ lets you preview the skybox in real-time within the editor.
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Extended camera controls: Navigation in 3D view is smoother and more intuitive, a small but meaningful quality-of-life upgrade.
Despite these advantages, setting up Hammer++ for Black Mesa: Source wasn't entirely straightforward, leading to some initial headaches. In the end, though, it was worth the effort.
Black Mesa’s Lighting: A Blessing and a Curse
Black Mesa Source has an incredibly powerful lighting engine, vastly superior to the standard Source engine’s system. Deferred lighting and dynamic shadows give a level of realism that classic Source maps just can't match. But coming from multiplayer mapping, where lighting is often a secondary concern compared to flow and visibility, it was a challenge to use this new system effectively. Getting the right balance between atmosphere and visibility took a lot of trial and error. Hammer (OG) didn't have any tools for real-time lighting changes. I didn't want to invest too much time getting Hammer++ ready due to its non-straightforward setup for BM:S, but in the end, it was worth it.
Single-Player Mapping is a Whole Different Game
As a former multiplayer mapper, pacing a single-player experience was probably the biggest challenge. Multiplayer maps rely on player interactions to create tension, whereas in a single-player map, that tension has to be scripted into the environment, enemy encounters, and progression. Too few encounters, and it feels empty; too many, and it becomes exhausting. Striking the right balance was an ongoing battle, but one I really enjoyed figuring out.
For example, I initially placed too many enemies in a corridor, turning what should have been a tense buildup into a chaotic mess. I had to rethink the pacing, spacing out encounters more thoughtfully.
A Sound System Held Together by Duct Tape (and Logic)
One of the jankiest things I managed to implement was a custom sound system that helped guide the player. Old Half-Life 1 and BM:S had a script system where it was possible to play sound snippets matching written text. Only a few sentences and phrases were recorded, but this system was charming. If you played on old Team Fortress: Classic or modded CS 1.6 servers, you've come across these sounds even if you never played Half-Life.
Since I couldn't rely on other players to direct attention, I needed a way to communicate important moments. I patched together a system using ambient sounds and scripted triggers that would announce key events—like hinting at an upcoming enemy (there is only one enemy type in my map) or nudging the player toward the right path. It was a hacky solution, but it worked surprisingly well to keep the pacing tight without relying on excessive visual cues. It didn't help either that time was running out, so I did what I could best: logic_relay and delayed triggers.
Hearing those familiar sound cues again brought back memories of modding in the HL1 era, where we had to be incredibly resourceful with what little assets we had.
Small Info About the Competitors
Especially the first three places: great job. Couldn't compete with that. If you want some fun and enjoy some puzzles, I recommend checking them out. I'm baffled by how one could produce this much content in that amount of time.
The first-place winner blew me away with their intricate level design and attention to detail, while the second and third showed an insane level of polish. Seeing their work was both humbling and inspiring.
Wrapping Up
Placing 10th in the contest was a solid result, but more than anything, this project reminded me why I love mapping. It was a mix of relearning old skills, adapting to new tools, and pushing my creativity in ways I hadn’t done in years. Maybe this will be the push I need to start mapping more regularly again—or at the very least, to update this blog more than once every 10 years.
Steam Page and Download:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2876828623
Screenshots
Original Story:
SPOILERS! Select the text to read the original story.
Your name is Edward Fouler. You are a 34-year-old scientific advisor recently relocated to the Health and Research facility. You are a father with two children.
During your work, you discover that the fluid used to heal wounds (medi-stations / first aid stations) is extracted from living organisms. Research conducted within the facility had experimented with Xen creatures to extract this vital fluid. After the resonance cascade, the military took over and attempted to scale up production. Field-accessible first aid stations were considered crucial to mankind’s survival. However, there were not enough Xen creatures to meet demand.
So the military did what they had to do. They used humans to fill the gap between demand and supply. And it wasn’t “just” criminals or willing participants—it was anyone they could get their hands on.
Once you realized what was happening, a chilling realization set in: not only could you end up in one of those chambers, but so could your children. Horrified by the situation, you made the only decision you could—you had to sabotage the entire facility and put an end to this horror.
By systematically sabotaging every system, you pushed the base into near-critical failure. Everything was either overloaded or offline. Only the final safety systems remained operational—systems that needed to be shut down for good...