Post by Alex on Sept 26, 2009 9:52:00 GMT -8
Owner: Half-Life
Research and Facilities
The facility is very high-security, as everyone is required to undergo a series of rigorous security checks as they travel around the complex. Black Mesa is dominated by a bewildering number of laboratories, test areas, and administration offices. Those, along with cavernous storage facilities, take up most of the underground areas of the complex. Despite being located in the middle of a desert, the underground and indoor sectors of Black Mesa are maintained at 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) at all times, enabled by Black Mesa's sprawling network of ventilation ducts.
As employees are required to live in the complex itself, Black Mesa contains many personnel facilities, including laundromats, recreation and sports areas such as lounges, basketball courts, swimming pools, a video rental outlet, fast food outlets, food courts, cafeterias, and at least one bar serving alcoholic beverages. The facility is well-populated by vending machines and rest areas for the employees of the facility. The complex also has its own newspaper, The Mesa Times. Black Mesa contains many automated machine-gun turrets, which, when activated, will emerge from armored cupolas and fire upon any moving object in their line of sight, as long as that "object" isn't a member of the Half-Life.
Size
The physical range of the facility is nothing short of massive, large enough that the surface area is divided into seven lettered sectors and upwards of nine numbered areas. Most of the facility is located underground, where vast concrete-lined caverns and old ICBM silos are linked by a network of electric trams, called the Black Mesa Transit System. Black Mesa is self-sufficient, housing its own ventilation, plumbing, sewage, and power generation systems including a hydroelectric dam and multiple types of electrical generators and reactors, some nuclear in design. The facility is filled with all kinds of laboratories and testing areas, most of which contain very high-tech equipment. The complex also features multi-story car parks (complete with Black Mesa four-wheel drive SUVs), arsenals of nuclear and conventional weapons, a local electric rail materials transport network, laboratories housing the latest equipment for every conceivable high-tech scientific discipline (including a powerful Anti-Mass Spectrometer), and even its own rocket launch site. The surface areas of Black Mesa features more modern construction.
Areas
Sector A Training Facility
Sector A contains the separate Hazard Courses used for training HEV personnel and security officers. Demonstrations are provided by trained instructors or prerecorded holographic assistants, whilst participants are constantly monitored by observing scientists. The two Hazard Courses are built over old, disused industrial sectors of the facility, and are each divided into an obstacle course and target range.
Sector A also contains a Satellite Communications Center, housing a large satellite uplink dish. Near this area is a vast semi-subterranean freight warehouse.
There are also the Area 4 Personnel Dormitories in this sector.
Sector B Coolant Reserve
The Coolant Reserve (sometimes called Section A-17 Prototype Laboratories) stores the industrial coolant used to maintain Black Mesa's thousands of computers and machines.
The section is also the site of the Displacement Field Laboratory, where Black Mesa's first teleportation experiments took place. It is powered by the Auxiliary Generator Facility. The surface level of Sector B is a Train Yard, and is used to ship freight in and out of the facility over the Nu Earth. The sector also contains the Area 2 Administration Offices.
Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities
Sector C is notable primarily for housing the Anomalous Materials Laboratories. This area contains the Anti-Mass Spectrometer (Test Lab C-33/a).
In addition to the Anomalous Materials Laboratories, the sector also contains the High-Energy Particle Laboratories and Supercooled Laser Laboratory.
Sector C is patrolled by guards from the Area 3 Security Facilities. The facility is adjacent to the High-Energy Particle Labs, and encompasses a central lobby, personnel facilities, video surveillance, and an armory.
The sector also contains the Level 3 Dormitories, which features a Library, a cafeteria, and an Aquatic Center with a large pool. The average dormitory room is furnished with a bed, entertainment center (with television) and a small bathroom with shower.
Several areas include carpeted lounges with wide-screen televisions.
Sector D Administration
Sector D is mainly a large underground complex of Administration Offices where the bureaucratic aspects of Black Mesa's upkeep take place, along with some limited research.
The Administration Offices are built beneath the surface's High Security Storage Facility, a large semi-subterranean warehouse made of interlocking Storage Areas. The lower levels of Sector D contains the Silo D Experimental Propulsion Laboratories where rocket engines are tested in one of Black Mesa's many missile silos.
Sector E Biodome Complex
The Biodome Complex, a relatively new area of the facility, contains a series of Specimen Observation Areas, where captured Nu Earth aliens are kept and observed in artificial recreations of their natural habitats. Alongside these enclosures are Specimen Containment Rooms where the aliens are studied in closer detail. Other than that, there living areas/dormitories for some of the races in the Half-Life is also here.
Connected to the Biodome complex are the Gamma Alien Quarantine Labs, where even more aliens are studied. Even closer detail is seen here.
This area houses a Beam Matrix. The matrix consists of three primary-colored lasers, that have be combined to make secondary colored lasers for outlets that power certain parts of the Matrix. Then, when all three lasers are combined and sent through multicolored crystals (from their conquests), power flows to this machine.
A crater on the surface of Sector E contains the Prototype Displacement Beacon, housed in a sewer. Lining the walls of the crater are three huge crystals that must be deployed and charged to create a Resonance Reversal. Near these devices is also a fairly large RPG armory.
The lowest underground levels of Sector E contains the Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory where aquatic aliens are kept in older decommissioned areas that have been flooded and converted into makeshift tanks. The sector also contains the Advanced Biological Research Lab, a smaller facility where the aliens were tested on and dissected by an automated robotic Surgical Unit, in ways that are likely unethical.
The second level of the lab is used as an experimental weapon research lab, testing dangerous weapons such as the Tau Cannon and a large High-Powered Laser. The other surface areas of Sector E form an Ordnance Storage Facility where vast amounts of munitions and explosives are stored, ranging from small arms to crates of dynamite, even including some nuclear weapons.. An area of this facility, Storage Unit 04 (also known as the Level 4 Storage Unit) also exists.
The Gamma Laboratories in Sector E were built later, as a means of capturing Nu Earth specimens without risking casualties. These labs use a Prototype Displacement Beacon, which generates strong displacement fields and opens miniature dimensional rifts between Earth and Xen, for the safe and easy collection of alien life.
The surface of Sector E contains the bulk of Black Mesa's still-functional military facilities (An army Base topside), including at least three Helicopter Hangars, a Topside Armory and a Topside Barracks. The nearby Silo E High Altitude Launch Center, a silo converted into a fully-functional satellite delivery rocket launchpad.
Finally, Sector E is the location of Black Mesa's various Waste Processing facilities, including the Biological Waste Processing Plant and Waste Processing Area 3.
In proportion to the rest of Black Mesa, Sector E is ultimately the largest area.
These various facilities are linked together, and to the rest of the base, by the (largely decommissioned) Sector E Materials Transport system, a network of dilapidated trams extending deep beneath the facility from Sector E Track Control.
Sector F Lambda Complex
The heavily fortified Lambda Reactor Complex is the site of Black Mesa's top secret teleportation labs. The reactor is a huge device consisting of the Lambda Reactor Main Coolant System, and the cylindrical Lambda Reactor Core. The core of the reactor consisted of four levels (Levels A-D) that fueled an extremely powerful teleportation portal on Level A, where survey Teams were equipped and sent outside the base.
Sector F is linked to the rest of the base via the Secured Access Lambda Sector Transport and the Central Complex, which contains Black Mesa's Central Command and Communication Centers and a Mechanized Infantry Repair Bay.
Sector G Hydro Electric
Located at the lowest points of the Black Mesa Research Facility, Sector G channels power from Black Mesa's rivers and underground Drainage Canal system. Its most prominent feature is the Topside Hydro Plant that consisted of a large hydroelectric dam-which resembles Hoover Dam-that cuts through the center of Sector E.
A large lift was built into Sector G. A tiny chemical-filled laboratory, freight tunnels, and the Small Materials Storage Area are all else that is seen of this area.
Additional Areas (those that don't belong to any sectors)
* East Personnel Entrance - The spot of which is shown, directly in front of Area 8 Topside Dormitories.
* Area 7 Recreational Facilities - Area 7 contains comforts and diversions such as sporting areas, cafeterias, and other personnel facilities.
* Area 8 Topside Dormitories - One of the many topside dormitories on the surface of Black Mesa, it features a basketball court and a small train platform.
* Area 9 Transit Hub - The Area 9 Transit Hub acts as one of the many transit security checkpoints throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility. Trams that pass through the Area 9 Transit Hub can be rerouted to both the Sector E, B, and C transit lines.
* Black Mesa Air-Traffic Control - This building is adjacent a large airstrip, and is used to monitor and direct activity in the airspace above Black Mesa. Special clearance codes have to be entered at this building before any rocket launch can take place in other areas.
* Infirmary - The infirmary is equipped with CAT and MRI scanners. There are laser-based experiments taking place in this building.
* Level 1 Main Facility Entrance - The Level 1 Main Facility Entrance is used as a central entrance checkpoint for all the facility personnel.
Research and Facilities
The facility is very high-security, as everyone is required to undergo a series of rigorous security checks as they travel around the complex. Black Mesa is dominated by a bewildering number of laboratories, test areas, and administration offices. Those, along with cavernous storage facilities, take up most of the underground areas of the complex. Despite being located in the middle of a desert, the underground and indoor sectors of Black Mesa are maintained at 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) at all times, enabled by Black Mesa's sprawling network of ventilation ducts.
As employees are required to live in the complex itself, Black Mesa contains many personnel facilities, including laundromats, recreation and sports areas such as lounges, basketball courts, swimming pools, a video rental outlet, fast food outlets, food courts, cafeterias, and at least one bar serving alcoholic beverages. The facility is well-populated by vending machines and rest areas for the employees of the facility. The complex also has its own newspaper, The Mesa Times. Black Mesa contains many automated machine-gun turrets, which, when activated, will emerge from armored cupolas and fire upon any moving object in their line of sight, as long as that "object" isn't a member of the Half-Life.
Size
The physical range of the facility is nothing short of massive, large enough that the surface area is divided into seven lettered sectors and upwards of nine numbered areas. Most of the facility is located underground, where vast concrete-lined caverns and old ICBM silos are linked by a network of electric trams, called the Black Mesa Transit System. Black Mesa is self-sufficient, housing its own ventilation, plumbing, sewage, and power generation systems including a hydroelectric dam and multiple types of electrical generators and reactors, some nuclear in design. The facility is filled with all kinds of laboratories and testing areas, most of which contain very high-tech equipment. The complex also features multi-story car parks (complete with Black Mesa four-wheel drive SUVs), arsenals of nuclear and conventional weapons, a local electric rail materials transport network, laboratories housing the latest equipment for every conceivable high-tech scientific discipline (including a powerful Anti-Mass Spectrometer), and even its own rocket launch site. The surface areas of Black Mesa features more modern construction.
Areas
Sector A Training Facility
Sector A contains the separate Hazard Courses used for training HEV personnel and security officers. Demonstrations are provided by trained instructors or prerecorded holographic assistants, whilst participants are constantly monitored by observing scientists. The two Hazard Courses are built over old, disused industrial sectors of the facility, and are each divided into an obstacle course and target range.
Sector A also contains a Satellite Communications Center, housing a large satellite uplink dish. Near this area is a vast semi-subterranean freight warehouse.
There are also the Area 4 Personnel Dormitories in this sector.
Sector B Coolant Reserve
The Coolant Reserve (sometimes called Section A-17 Prototype Laboratories) stores the industrial coolant used to maintain Black Mesa's thousands of computers and machines.
The section is also the site of the Displacement Field Laboratory, where Black Mesa's first teleportation experiments took place. It is powered by the Auxiliary Generator Facility. The surface level of Sector B is a Train Yard, and is used to ship freight in and out of the facility over the Nu Earth. The sector also contains the Area 2 Administration Offices.
Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities
Sector C is notable primarily for housing the Anomalous Materials Laboratories. This area contains the Anti-Mass Spectrometer (Test Lab C-33/a).
In addition to the Anomalous Materials Laboratories, the sector also contains the High-Energy Particle Laboratories and Supercooled Laser Laboratory.
Sector C is patrolled by guards from the Area 3 Security Facilities. The facility is adjacent to the High-Energy Particle Labs, and encompasses a central lobby, personnel facilities, video surveillance, and an armory.
The sector also contains the Level 3 Dormitories, which features a Library, a cafeteria, and an Aquatic Center with a large pool. The average dormitory room is furnished with a bed, entertainment center (with television) and a small bathroom with shower.
Several areas include carpeted lounges with wide-screen televisions.
Sector D Administration
Sector D is mainly a large underground complex of Administration Offices where the bureaucratic aspects of Black Mesa's upkeep take place, along with some limited research.
The Administration Offices are built beneath the surface's High Security Storage Facility, a large semi-subterranean warehouse made of interlocking Storage Areas. The lower levels of Sector D contains the Silo D Experimental Propulsion Laboratories where rocket engines are tested in one of Black Mesa's many missile silos.
Sector E Biodome Complex
The Biodome Complex, a relatively new area of the facility, contains a series of Specimen Observation Areas, where captured Nu Earth aliens are kept and observed in artificial recreations of their natural habitats. Alongside these enclosures are Specimen Containment Rooms where the aliens are studied in closer detail. Other than that, there living areas/dormitories for some of the races in the Half-Life is also here.
Connected to the Biodome complex are the Gamma Alien Quarantine Labs, where even more aliens are studied. Even closer detail is seen here.
This area houses a Beam Matrix. The matrix consists of three primary-colored lasers, that have be combined to make secondary colored lasers for outlets that power certain parts of the Matrix. Then, when all three lasers are combined and sent through multicolored crystals (from their conquests), power flows to this machine.
A crater on the surface of Sector E contains the Prototype Displacement Beacon, housed in a sewer. Lining the walls of the crater are three huge crystals that must be deployed and charged to create a Resonance Reversal. Near these devices is also a fairly large RPG armory.
The lowest underground levels of Sector E contains the Hydrofauna Studies Laboratory where aquatic aliens are kept in older decommissioned areas that have been flooded and converted into makeshift tanks. The sector also contains the Advanced Biological Research Lab, a smaller facility where the aliens were tested on and dissected by an automated robotic Surgical Unit, in ways that are likely unethical.
The second level of the lab is used as an experimental weapon research lab, testing dangerous weapons such as the Tau Cannon and a large High-Powered Laser. The other surface areas of Sector E form an Ordnance Storage Facility where vast amounts of munitions and explosives are stored, ranging from small arms to crates of dynamite, even including some nuclear weapons.. An area of this facility, Storage Unit 04 (also known as the Level 4 Storage Unit) also exists.
The Gamma Laboratories in Sector E were built later, as a means of capturing Nu Earth specimens without risking casualties. These labs use a Prototype Displacement Beacon, which generates strong displacement fields and opens miniature dimensional rifts between Earth and Xen, for the safe and easy collection of alien life.
The surface of Sector E contains the bulk of Black Mesa's still-functional military facilities (An army Base topside), including at least three Helicopter Hangars, a Topside Armory and a Topside Barracks. The nearby Silo E High Altitude Launch Center, a silo converted into a fully-functional satellite delivery rocket launchpad.
Finally, Sector E is the location of Black Mesa's various Waste Processing facilities, including the Biological Waste Processing Plant and Waste Processing Area 3.
In proportion to the rest of Black Mesa, Sector E is ultimately the largest area.
These various facilities are linked together, and to the rest of the base, by the (largely decommissioned) Sector E Materials Transport system, a network of dilapidated trams extending deep beneath the facility from Sector E Track Control.
Sector F Lambda Complex
The heavily fortified Lambda Reactor Complex is the site of Black Mesa's top secret teleportation labs. The reactor is a huge device consisting of the Lambda Reactor Main Coolant System, and the cylindrical Lambda Reactor Core. The core of the reactor consisted of four levels (Levels A-D) that fueled an extremely powerful teleportation portal on Level A, where survey Teams were equipped and sent outside the base.
Sector F is linked to the rest of the base via the Secured Access Lambda Sector Transport and the Central Complex, which contains Black Mesa's Central Command and Communication Centers and a Mechanized Infantry Repair Bay.
Sector G Hydro Electric
Located at the lowest points of the Black Mesa Research Facility, Sector G channels power from Black Mesa's rivers and underground Drainage Canal system. Its most prominent feature is the Topside Hydro Plant that consisted of a large hydroelectric dam-which resembles Hoover Dam-that cuts through the center of Sector E.
A large lift was built into Sector G. A tiny chemical-filled laboratory, freight tunnels, and the Small Materials Storage Area are all else that is seen of this area.
Additional Areas (those that don't belong to any sectors)
* East Personnel Entrance - The spot of which is shown, directly in front of Area 8 Topside Dormitories.
* Area 7 Recreational Facilities - Area 7 contains comforts and diversions such as sporting areas, cafeterias, and other personnel facilities.
* Area 8 Topside Dormitories - One of the many topside dormitories on the surface of Black Mesa, it features a basketball court and a small train platform.
* Area 9 Transit Hub - The Area 9 Transit Hub acts as one of the many transit security checkpoints throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility. Trams that pass through the Area 9 Transit Hub can be rerouted to both the Sector E, B, and C transit lines.
* Black Mesa Air-Traffic Control - This building is adjacent a large airstrip, and is used to monitor and direct activity in the airspace above Black Mesa. Special clearance codes have to be entered at this building before any rocket launch can take place in other areas.
* Infirmary - The infirmary is equipped with CAT and MRI scanners. There are laser-based experiments taking place in this building.
* Level 1 Main Facility Entrance - The Level 1 Main Facility Entrance is used as a central entrance checkpoint for all the facility personnel.