Black Mesa opens a staged public beta for its major visual update

Crowbar Collective is testing new lighting, reflections, controller menus and performance changes before a mainline release.

Crowbar Collective has opened a public beta for a major Black Mesa update. Its October 2 Steam notice describes performance work in demanding areas including Xen, new lighting and reflections, and a redesigned menu with full controller support. The first beta stage covers chapters 1–5. The studio intends to roll

changes out in stages and move them to the main branch after testing; this is not the finished full-game release. Official source. Headline image: Crowbar Collective; official Black Mesa public-beta announcement art.

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