Fancy playing the original Half-Life but not impressed with the graphics compared with modern standards. You’re in luck–there’s a thing called Black Mesa Half-Life: Enriched, a new mod that delivers a graphical overhaul to Gordon Freeman’s original adventure.
Developed by a modder called Hezus, the game features:
- Full overhaul of Half-Life‘s singleplayer campaign
- Bigger maps with more more details
- 200% upscaled texture resolution (256×256)
- Completely retextured maps with better lighting effects
- Over 250 new texture variants
- Detail overlays for every texture
- Updated models in low-definition style
- About 60% less loading points due to merged maps
- Support for all Half-Life versions
It also has fewer loading points, as well as a slick chapter selection menu. The video above showcases Half-Life‘s “We’ve Got Hostiles” level to demonstrate the improvements:
Here’s a look at the original level:
How has this been done? It’s all about the lighting and textures.
– Upscaled texture resolution
Using AI software, all textures in the original Half-Life have been upscaled to a higher resolution of 256×256 pixels. Back when Half-Life was released, the average norma texture size was 128×128. Thus, Half-Life: Enriched will look twice as sharp.
– Completely retextured with over 250 new texture variants
Due to the texture upscaling, all maps had to be completely retextured. By doing so, many errors and inconsistensies have been fixed. Next to that, many new variants to older textures have been created to improve the visuals of the maps.
– Completely reworked lighting effects
The upscaled textures create a much sharper lightmap which gives shadows and light more pronounces effects than in the original Half-Life. Nearly all lights now rely on much more realistic texture lighting and have soft glow effects.
– Detail overlays for every texture
Half-Life: Enriched will have full support for detail textures. These overlays will greatly increase the sharpness of the textures and can be toggled on or off according to taste.
How does this compare with Black Mesa, the remade Half-Life built in the Source engine? Here’s the same level again:
Without a doubt, Black Mesa looks and plays better. However, there is certainly some charm in playing the original Half-Life with improved textures and lighting.
You can find out more and download the Half-Life: Enriched mod directly from ModDb.
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.