Hello, fellow zombie scientist!

Weve just released an update to Black Mesa. Our goal was to improve performance, improve controller support, and fix a number of issues, without breaking your save files.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/362890/Black_Mesa/

Here are the patch notes!

Key Updates

• Improved performance of the game (Vulkan, UI optimization, New Renderer/New Post Post Process Optimization)
  
• Fixed cases where game would crash on startup
  
• Fixed UI flickering and artifacting
  
• Fixed crash in the first map of Interloper that players were experiencing
  
• Improved controller support using Steam Input
  
• -Click here for detailed notes on adjusting controller support
  
• Fixed hitch when weapon decals are first applied to gun
  
• Re-enabled weapon decals by default

• Ported the game to DXVK 2.3.1 (first launch option)
  
• Performance enhancements have been implemented for the New Renderer and New Post-Process systems, particularly noticeable in scenes featuring water
  
• Fixed moss shaders and direction control for both vertex lit shader and skin shader (for props with/without phong)
  
• Fixed halflambert/warp/specwarp related problems across all the shaders
  
• Unlocked the even higher graphics setting in options menu
  
• The lighting quality settings in the New UI have been updated to reflect recent changes.
  
• Monitors and refract views can now leverage the New Renderer features
  
• God Rays support has been added for the sun and local lights
  
• -Note: God Rays are intentionally turned off for monitors and reflection views
  
• Improved the blending quality of normal maps within 4-way blending
  
• SpotLight cookies should now work on any orientation. Cookie sprite sheet no longer needs to be square.
  
• Black Mesa now requests high-performance power management on Windows, which should reduce power throttling impacting performance
  
• Implemented the ability to dump environment variables (-dumpenvironment launch option), assisting in resolving potential issues
  
• Lots of misc graphics fixes
  
• Disabled CPU-based backface culling for Func_Brush models
  
• Disabled CSM for viewmodels for secondary cameras
  
• Fixed flicker near Light Volume edges
  
• Fixed Xog artifacts with cheaper water

• Xbox Controllers
  
• Playstation Controllers
  
• Nintendo Switch Pro Controllers
  
• We have also implemented proper Gyro support for Steam Deck!

• Modified the Game/UI rendering synchronization, aiming for stable UI presentation across all three available modes
  
• Updated the UI frame limiter logic to enhance the smoothness of frame pacing, which was particularly noticeable when vertical synchronization was active
  
• Improved performance by optimizing the texture lock implementation within the UI
  
• Resolved the issue where the UI occasionally failed to render at full size after resolution adjustments
  
• Fixed alpha blending of UI with background map
  
• Added a number of missing translators, including the 2012 mod translators (need to track down a list of who did what language)

• Interloper A crash fix
  
• Resolved the issue where the Tau Canon would crash upon the owner's demise
  
• Addressed a potential hang issue upon exiting the game
  
• A reflection bug involving Xen fog at extreme angles has been fixed
  
• Transparency issues in fake water have been resolved, and it now supports New Renderer, New Post-Process, and CSM
  
• Resolved outline artifacts present in alpha-tested materials
  
• Resolved an issue where view models were improperly identified within one shader, leading to lighting and shadow inconsistencies
  
• Fixed a bug related to the Diffuse Warp when using more than eight slots in the atlas
  
• Fixed a Workshop Client issue related to double initialization, which had the potential to cause crashes

• Alt-Tabbing while using Vulkan can sometimes crash the game
  
• Anti-virus can sometimes flag the game as malicious even though it is not (well see what we can do about this)
  
• Minor UI overlap errors on some ultra wide monitors
  
• Some UI elements need localization