Could this mean the full Steam release is at hand?
Something’s up over at BMRF.us (Black Mesa Research Facility), the website connected to the still-unfinished Half-Life remake Black Mesa: Source. On January 1, the site began looping an intriguing emergency broadcast system message, the full transcript of which found on reddit /r/Games is as follows:
“The following message is transmitted at the request of local authorities. At 9:47 AM, Mountain Time, a disaster of unknown type has occurred at the Black Mesa Research Facility causing significant damage and failure to various power and communication systems in the surrounding areas. An immediate evacuation order has been issued for all residents within a 75 mile radius of the facility, and on-site military has been dispatched to provide assistance.
“Make sure to bring an emergency supply of food, water, clothing, first aid kit, flashlights with extra batteries, and battery powered radios. Follow local evacuation routes which have been marked by local authorities and only use one vehicle. Do not return to the warning area until the all clear has been given. If you are not in the evacuation zone stay where you are. If you are within the evacuation area and have no transportation locate your nearest police department or military officer. Do not use telephones or cell phones except in the case of emergencies. Stay tuned to local news media outlets for further details and information on this situation.”
It’s an interesting coincidence that this broadcast has come about when it did, as I’d just dedicated my Christmas holiday to playing through the spectacular remake of the classic Valve title. If you’re unfamiliar with the project, make sure to have a look at Joshua Derocher’s brief, but excellent review of the game. He seemed to like it quite a bit. If you’re interested in having a go at it yourself, you can find download links and information here.
While we can safely rule out anything connected to Half-Life 3, I think it’s is a safe bet that it may be related to the impending Steam release of the game announced back in 2013. Of course, it could be connected to the multiplayer portion of the game that’s been in the works; or, perhaps it’s both. Lending credence to the speculation, Black Mesa: Source level designer Craig Mirfin has been spotted posting tweets recently about both the multiplayer aspects of the project as well as commenting on the emergency broadcast message itself.
At this point, this is all we have to go on, but as the story continues to develop we’ll be sure to keep you up posted.
