Sector A Training Facility
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| Sector A Training Facility | |
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| Destroyed |
200-, during the Black Mesa Incident |
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| Game information | |
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- "Hello, and welcome to the Black Mesa Hazard Course, where you'll be trained in the use of a Hazardous Environment Suit. I am your Holographic Assistant."
- ―Gina Cross' Holographic Assistant counterpart[src]
Sector A Training Facility[1][2] is one of the seven main sectors of the Black Mesa Research Facility. Consisting of at least three primary areas, the Black Mesa Hazard Course, the Satellite Communications Center and the Area 4 Personnel Dormitories, it is connected to the Green Line of the Black Mesa Transit System.[2]
[edit] Area 4 Personnel Dormitories
As seen in the Security Shift Schedule given to Barney Calhoun, Sector A includes the Area 4 Personnel Dormitories. Two security guards started their Red (from 09:00 to 22:00) and Orange (from 21:00 to 10:00) Shifts there on May 15, 200-.[3]
[edit] Satellite Communications Center
Located right outside the Training Facility, it houses a large satellite uplink dish and a semi-subterranean freight warehouse. This facility is used in the Half-Life: Decay chapter Surface Call when Colette Green and Gina Cross help Rosenberg contact the military for help after going through the damaged Training Facility.
[edit] Data Control Operations
When the trio wants to enter the Data Control Operations building, they find that it is locked from the inside, and they must find a way around through the warehouse. Upon entering it, one of the ladies must go back to align the satellite dish properly, while the other left behind with Rosenberg reactivates the uplink. Then Rosenberg sends the emergency signal to the military, then Gina and Colette reunite with Keller who is waiting for them above the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, and leave Rosenberg waiting for the military to arrive.
[edit] Satellite Operations
There the satellite uplink dish, controlled from the Data Control Operations building, can be found. It is from this area that the duo enters the warehouse.
[edit] Warehouse
Gina and Colette traverse through this huge semi-subterranean freight warehouse to open the locked door to the dish control room. It is filled with Vortigaunts and Headcrabs, as well as a large radioactive waste leak. After leaving the warehouse from the rear entrance, they enter the Data Control Operations building, also from its back entrance.
[edit] Gallery
Rosenberg opening the gate to the Satellite Communications Center.
Parked M44 cargo truck in front of the warehouse.
Dead Xen creatures on the tracks in the warehouse.
Clearing the path in the warehouse with explosives.
Attacking Vortigaunts near a conveyor belt in the warehouse.
The radioactive waste puzzle.
Ore from a chimney.
Behind the Satellite Operations (left) and Data Control Operations (right) buildings.
Rosenberg reactivating the uplink with the Data Control Operations consoles.
Under the powered satellite uplink dish after repositioning the dish.
The uplink fully reactivated after the dish has been repositined and the commlink reactivated from the console by the ladies.
Rosenberg sending the emergency signal to the military before contacting Keller.
Rosenberg bidding the ladies farewell.
Schematics of the satellite orbit featured at the High Altitude Launch Center in Half-Life, reused here for the console.
[edit] Training Facility
[edit] Overview
- See the different sections below for more details about in-game appearances.
Encountered in all four of the original Half-Life games, Sector A's Training Facility contains the two separate Hazard Courses used for training scientists[1] (predominantly in the use of the HEV Suit in the standard "Black Mesa Hazard Course") and security guards (in the "Black Mesa Hazard Course for Security Guard Training").[4]
Out-of-universe, the Hazard Courses appear as the optional training chapters of Half-Life and Half-Life: Blue Shift. While both are two largely different areas, the maps of the Half-Life course have been recycled for Blue Shift, with several alterations and expansions. The original Hazard Course was also altered and expanded for the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life. A lobby was added at the very start to connect the Training Facility to the rest of the compound, and link both the scientist and security guard hazard courses together. The Target Range was also expanded to allow introducing the new lock-on targeting feature, consisting in shooting the Assistant with the M4. Some other parts were modernized, such as the station where the Long Jump Module is introduced.
In the Half-Life: Decay chapter Hazardous Course, the "Jumping and ducking" and "Target Range" sections of the Hazard Course are visited shortly after the Resonance Cascade when Gina Cross and Colette Green are required to pass through the destroyed remains of the course to reach the Satellite Communications Center in the surface with Rosenberg. Zombies instead of scientists are now found in the observation rooms, as well as large numbers of Vortigaunts and Headcrabs.
In the Half-Life: Opposing Force chapter We Are Not Alone, the standard Hazard Course can be accessed with the Displacer Cannon from the Xen area the device is found in. When Shephard teleports himself to the fourth "Jumping and ducking" station, Vortigaunts are swarming the area. Shephard then uses a portal in the observation area, and ends up in Sector E's Biodome Complex, and the chapter Crush Depth starts.
[edit] Organization
According to the spring/summer season schedule, tests are overseen by the Training Office that handles all tests performed in the Hazard Courses. They follow a seasonal schedule, with typically one test per day. Not all Hazard Courses are located in the Training Facility, with tests performed in other areas, such as the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in Sector C.[5]
Trainees are to sign a contract before taking the Hazard Course, in which they agree to waive all rights as an employee of the Black Mesa Research Facility in case of serious injury, dismemberment, toxic poisoning, burns, rashes, or lesions.[6]
The two known Hazard Courses are apparently built over old, disused industrial maintenance areas of the facility, and are each divided into an obstacle course for physical training (emphasizing the use of the HEV Suit for scientists) and a target range for firearms training, spread over thematic "areas" or "stations".[1][4] Trainees are taught by qualified instructors[5] or prerecorded Holographic Assistants;[1][7][4][8] in some areas they are monitored by observing scientists standing in observation rooms with large windows,[1][4] sometimes equipped with computers, corkboards and Health Chargers.[7][8] These large windows are equipped with shutters that can be closed in case of emergency,[8] and are linked together through security doors.[7][8] They also connect to the rest of the facility through elevators and maintenance areas.[8] Some areas are also protected by Ceiling Turrets.[1][8] Cockroaches and rats are also commonly found in the stations.[1][4]
Tests typically are divided into small numbered "steps"; most of the time, when a step is passed, a sound is heard while the number of the step is lit on the wall at the end of the station. Once all numbers are lit, the test has been passed. Most of the time Holographic Assistants first show the move to the trainee when needed. Audio instructions, as well as holographic animations can be replayed at will by interacting with small terminals located at the start of each station. Sometimes elements are emphasized by a sprite for the player to notice them, such as Chargers or the Long Jump Module.[1][4] Congratulations and support messages are also heard when a test is passed or when the trainee failed a step, respectively.[1][4]
[edit] Features
[edit] Lobby
Both the standard Hazard Course and Hazard Course for Security Guard Training facilities are accessed from a central lobby connected to the Black Mesa Transit System, which only appears in the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life’s training chapter, Hazard Course. In this lobby, there are two doors on each side, each leading to one of the Hazard Courses (the security guards' presumably on the left, the scientists' on the right). There two scientists monitor the Holographic Assistant software using several computer consoles. One of them greets trainees, and handles the needed paperwork. The other seems to mostly handle the computers.[6]
When Gordon Freeman checks in to take his course on May 16 at 7:30,[5] the computer scientist, apparently slightly clueless as to how things should work, is saying to the other:[6]
Oh, dear. Why aren't these sensors working? I wonder if they're needed for today's training run.
Upon noticing Gordon, the other turns to him and says:
Ah! Good morning, Gordon! Welcome to the Black Mesa Training Facility. Things are in a state of commotion this morning, but the Training Facility software should be in working condition. Please listen carefully as there is a little paperwork to take care of before we get started. Oh, I see that you have already signed our legal disclaimer: "I, Gordon Freeman, hereby agree to the following terms... Blah blah blah... In any case of serious injury, dismemberment, toxic poisoning, burns, rashes, lesions, blah blah, etcetera, etcetera. Hereby agree to waive all rights as an employee of the Black Mesa facility. OK, very good... And if there are no questions, then please step through this door to begin your training. The Holographic Assistant will instruct you as you make your way through the course. We'll be watching you, at various points, to track your progress. OK then, you may proceed, Gordon.
Gordon then proceeds to the door leading to the elevator that will bring him to the standard Hazard Course below.
[edit] Gallery
The entrance to the Training Facility from the Transit System, as reused in the mod Half-Life: Induction (with a few changes).
Another view of the lobby, as reused in the mod Half-Life: Induction (with a few changes, notably the originally reused Sector C map fixed here to match Sector A).
Scientist reading Freeman's contract for the Hazard Course.
Ditto.
The door to the standard Hazard Course, as reused in the mod Half-Life: Induction, located opposite to the door leading to the Hazard Course for Security Guard Training.
[edit] Standard Hazard Course
This course consists of the Half-Life training chapter, Hazard Course. In-universe, Gordon Freeman attends the course on May 16 at 7:30, the day of the Black Mesa Incident.[5]
Following the Resonance Cascade a few hours later, this area is visited by Gina Cross, Colette Green and Rosenberg, in their quest of reaching the Satellite Communications Center to contact the military for help, during the Half-Life: Decay chapter Hazardous Course. They arrive at the course with an elevator, reaching a maintenance area located behind the observation room of the first "jumping and ducking" area. They must then use a large elevator connected to the observation room to reach the Satellite Communications Center on the surface, but its controls have been disabled, and the duo must cross parts of the Hazard Course to reactivate the elevator from a maintenance area located below.
The sections for which an official name is known are marked with a "*", while the other names were coined for the wiki.
[edit] Introduction
- Upon reaching the start of the Hazard Course from the elevator coming from the left door in the lobby above, the trainee is welcomed by the Gina Cross-based Holographic Assistant in a small hall:
Hello, and welcome to the Black Mesa Hazard Course, where you'll be trained in the use of a Hazardous Environment Suit. I am your Holographic Assistant. Let's begin by stepping into your suit. You can see it suspended up ahead of you. If you see one of these buttons, press it, and I will appear to demonstrate certain moves.
- In the next room the HEV Suit is waiting on the catwalk crossing the room. In the following area, the Holographic Assistant appears again to say:
Moving around in your HEV Suit can be slightly disorienting at first. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with basic movement and soon it will fit you like a second skin. I will see you just around the corner.
- After going through a larger room (which is partly flooded with water, but only below the catwalk that the trainee must walk across), the proper training begins.
[edit] Gallery
Closeup of the Assistant at the start of the course.
Ditto, in the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life, with the HEV Suit right behind her.
Holographic Assistant model.
Terminal used to replay instructions.
Introducing the HEV Suit.
[edit] Jumping and ducking
There the jump and duck moves are taught, while scientists monitor the tests from behind large windows. It consists of seven stations;[1][8] the first four are built around a maintenance area equipped with an elevator. The observation rooms are all connected through security doors; the first one connects to the central maintenance area through a security door and is equipped with a larger elevator.[8]
- In this first area, the trainee is required to jump over three pipes. The Assistant states:
The first move we will practice in the Hazard Course is basic jumping. You will attempt to get over this set of pipes, using only your Run and Jump commands. It helps to get a running start. Watch me, and then try it yourself.
- Upon completing the test, a scientist says:
Good work! Those new suits can be tricky. Please proceed to the next area.
- When Gina and Colette visit this area, it is mostly still functional. While the trainee entrance is inaccessible due to a collapsed ceiling, the Assistant gives her instructions as normal. Two of the three signals heard when a jump is successful work, the one in the middle only generates the sound of broken glass, and its number at the end of the area won't illuminate.
- The second station requires ducking under three pipes. The Assistant states:
You will now duck under the next set of obstacles. Please note that crouching will automatically shift your suit into stealth mode, minimizing movement noise.
- Upon completion of the test, the scientist says:
Very good! I hardly noticed you. Move on to the next area.
- When Gina and Colette visit this area, it is flooded with radioactive waste. The Assistant button will explode when used. The first pipe has broken in two, the second is intact, the third is damaged and leaking steam. The two watching scientists have been zombified in an observation room where parts of the ceiling have collapsed; a fire burns behind the security door leading to the next area's observation room.
- The third area requires jumping over a pipe, ducking under the second, and jumping again over the last one. The Assistant states:
Now we will combine skills. You will need to jump, duck and then jump again. This will prepare you for the next room, where you will have to do both moves at the same time.
- Upon completing the test, a scientist says:
Good work! You look prepared for the next station.
- When Gina and Colette visit this area, it is functional (except that while the sound is heard after an action, the numbers at the end don't illuminate), but rubble is blocking the door at the end. In the observation room, the scientist has also been zombified. The ceiling has collapsed partially, but the next room is accessible.
- In the fourth area, jumping and ducking must be combined for a "duck jump", in order to pass through three elevated pipes. Jumping to reach them, then ducking to get inside. The Assistant states:
To get into these pipes, you'll have to signal your suit to make a duck jump. You'll want to stand right at the mouth of the pipe and continue to press forward. Then jump up and while are you in midair, go into a crouch. It's tricky, but you'll find it comes in handy.
- If the trainee is unable to enter the pipe, the Assistant adds:
Give it another try. Remember to move forward, jump, and while in midair, crouch.
- At the end of the test, the Assistant congratulates the trainee, while the monitoring scientist remains silent:
Nice job!
- Gina and Colette reach this area from the observation room, where the zombified scientists await. Two of the pipes are functional, while the one in the middle has crashed down off its pedestal. The trainee door is locked, and the women proceed to the maintenance area while using the maintenance door located at the end of the observation room.
- In the Opposing Force chapter We Are Not Alone, Adrian Shephard teleports himself in this station with the Displacer Cannon from the Xen area the weapon is found in. Vortigaunts are swarming the area and one is attacking the Assistant, apparently thinking it is a living being. Confused, he puts his claws through her, sends her an electrical charge and chases her when she shows how to jump, when she eventually disappears without having taken any damage, leaving him even more confused, before turning again Shephard. The latter then uses a Xen teleport in the observation area and ends up in Sector E's Biodome Complex, and the chapter Crush Depth starts.
- Of note is that the state of this station in Decay is inconsistent, which is set earlier chronologically: while one of the pipes is supposed to have fallen from its pedestal early during the incident, here it is intact, and the set is full functional. The corkboard of the observation room also has pinned on it a photo of the man with (Easter) eggs in his eye sockets, seen in all of the Gearbox extensions; the door has nothing written on it (it has "Security" in Decay), and the "Stairs" sign has been replaced by a "Maintenance Access" one in Decay. This Opposing Force appearance is also the first instance in which the observation rooms are given more detail, as they are completely empty in Half-Life, as well as in Blue Shift, even though it was released later.
- After applying the freshly learned move by getting into a pipe starting above the ground, the trainee reaches the fifth station consisting of a metallic shaft where the Assistant teaches them how to climb a ladder to proceed further. She states:
Walk directly into the ladder, look up and continue moving forward. If you want to come back down, just move backward.
- The sixth area consists of a large room where more complicated jumps are to be achieved. Two platforms must be crossed in three longer jumps, and the trainee can restart at will if they fall.
The next tree jumps get harder each time, but they are quite possible. Don't be surprised, if you miss the last one a time or two. If you can make all three in a continuous run, you are doing well.
- Upon failing the first or second jumps, the Assistant says:
Keep trying! You'll get it.
- Upon failing the third jump, the Assistant says:
If you keep falling short, you might be jumping too soon.
- When all three jumps are completed, the Assistant says:
Great work! Now there's one more style of jumping you need to learn.
- After a short metallic corridor, the Assistant introduces the Long Jump Module in the seventh and last area, requiring to make a long jump over a long gap:
Long jumping requires its own charging module, seen here. To activate your long jump, you will have to duck and move forward and then launch into a jump. Once you're up on the platform press the button and I will demonstrate the move.
- Upon completion, she adds:
Nice job.
[edit] Gallery
Rosenberg explaining to the duo how it is important to assure the safety of the people still in the facility in Decay.
The maintenance area around which are organized the first four stations of the "Jumping and ducking" section in Decay.
Rosenberg opening the shutters of the first area's observation room in Decay.
The working Assistant at the first area in Decay.
Gina Cross facing her holographic counterpart at the first area in Decay.
Zombie in the damaged observation room of the third area in Decay.
The working Assistant at the third area in Decay.
The fourth area with one of the pipes that has fallen in Decay.
Confused Vortigaunt putting his claws through the Assistant in Opposing Force.
Vortigaunt sending an electric charge at the Assistant in Opposing Force.
Zombie in the fourth area's observation room in Decay.
The same room in Opposing Force.
Gina firing at a Zombie in the fourth area's observation room in Decay.
The Assistant explaining how to climb a ladder in Half-Life.
The Assistant introducing the Long Jump Module in Half-Life.
Ditto, in the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life.
The Assistant demonstrating a long jump in Half-Life.
[edit] Objects and mechanisms
- After a catwalk and a ladder, the Assistant teaches the trainee how to use an elevator, which will take them up to an elevated platform.
Please start the lift by moving up to the button, looking at it and pressing the Use key.
- Upon reaching the platform, she says:
Now that you're up here, there's only one way down. Find the target on the floor below and do your best to hit it. If you take any damage from the fall, we will administer medical care at the next station.
- On the floor is a target partially covered with blood stains. Farther on the wall of the room are more blood stains left by two hands, cynically suggesting not every trainee has managed their jump well.
- After a short corridor, the Health Charger is introduced, as "medkit":
You will find medkits like this one throughout the Black Mesa compound. To restore your health, walk up to a medkit and press your Use key. Your health will recover gradually, until you are at full health or the kit is depleted. Once the light goes out, a medkit can not be reused.
- After a corridor, the test requires spinning a bridge to pass over a large room in which two large tanks are stored.
To spin that bridge, walk up to the control wheel and press the Use key.
- Upon jumping over from the spinning bridge, the Assistant compliments again:
Fantastic!
- The two next stations require dealing with crates.
- The first one must be pushed into a small pit:
Sometimes you'll need to rely on more then just your suit to get through a tight place. Try jumping this gap on your own. What you really need to do, is push that box down into the pit. Pushing is easy. Just move forward against the box and you can push it into position.
- The next area is a small hangar with metallic crates. There a crate must be pulled instead of pushed to clear the way:
If you can't push the obstacle out of your way, you might try pulling it. To pull a box, move up to it and press your Use key. While holding down the Use key to keep a grip on the box, move slowly backward. The box will come along with you.
- And the end of the room, the trainee must push three crates and walk over them to reach the exit. In the next room, the crowbar is introduced by the Assistant. There the trainee must smash through larger crates to proceed, then enter a vent by smashing the grate at its start:
Finally, if nothing else works you can try breaking the objects in your path. Make sure you picked up the crowbar, then simply smash your way through the debris.
- In the next area, the Assistant introduces the HEV Suit's flashlight. There, a maze-like platform must be followed to the end of a large room, where the lights have been purposely turned off by a security guard stationed in a nearby room. Many HEV Suit batteries can be picked up there. The Assistant asks:
Activate your suit flashlight for the next area.
- Upon reaching the end of the room, she adds:
Great! Remember, your flashlight drains power. So switch it off when you don't need it.
[edit] Gallery
Introducing the Health Charger.
The spinning bridge station.
Introducing the use of crates.
The flashlight maze.
[edit] Target Range*
After passing over a large canal, the use of weapons in the Target Range is introduced, in a room where an MP5, grenades and magazines have been placed on several tables:
Welcome to the Black Mesa Target Range, where you will receive training in firing a weapon, reloading, and firing the attached grenade launcher. Please pick up your weapon and advance to the firing station.
The next room is a mock firing area, which contains seven cardboard humanoid targets which move on a fixed path. There, the Assistant explains:
You'll have to hit every target in order to complete the course. But if you miss the first time, don't worry, it will come around again. Try to reload during pauses, rather than waiting to run out of ammunition at a critical time. To fire your grenade launcher, use your alternate fire button. Certain targets will break only when hit by grenades. Commencing sequence in five, four, tree, two, one.
When all targets are hit, she congratulates the trainee, and access to the next area is granted:
Congratulations! You have completed the Black Mesa Target Range. Please advance to the next area.
When Gina and Colette visit this area, it is swarming with Headcrabs; they must complete the test as in Half-Life, to open the trainee door that will be reached from the now collapsed platform, and go back to the maintenance area.
In the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life, a new station was added to the Target Range to introduce the new lock-on feature, consisting in shooting the Assistant with the M4 while she goes out of view while walking behind pipes. This area is not visited in Decay.
[edit] Gallery
The Assistant in Decay.
The Target Range in the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life.
One of the several rats found in the Target Range.
Gina killing a Headcrab on the lower level of the Target Range.
Gina chasing Xen creatures on the lower level of the Target Range.
The new test added in the PlayStation 2 version of Half-Life.
Cardboard target texture.
[edit] Aquatic Training*
The following area involves diving into a large water pool and swimming through it, while stopping at the midpoint to replenish air. Before the jump, the Assistant states:
Your HEV Suit monitors blood oxygen levels, warning you when you need to find an air supply. As you swim through this course, your oxygen levels will begin to drop. At the midpoint, you'll be given an opportunity to surface for air.
At the midpoint, the Assistant appears underwater and points to the surface. When the trainee reaches the surface, she states:
Come up and catch your breath. You will see the blood oxygen indicator on your suit heads-up display returning to its previous level. You are free to swim on to the end of the course.
[edit] Gallery
The Assistant at the very start of the Aquatic Training area.
[edit] Health hazards
- In the next room, the HEV Suit Charger is introduced:
This is the charging unit for your Hazardous Environment Suit. When you are running low on power, step up to any Charger and press your Use key. Your suit will recharge gradually, until the charge unit is depleted. Individual batteries may also be used to charge your suit.
- In the next area, the trainee is required to go under the floor, where pipes are leaking steam, and a small furnace explodes, both causing damage to the player. Right before, the Assistant states:
If you pass to fire or steam, you will see a heat damage icon lighting up. Directional indicators at the center of your display show you where damage is coming from.
- The following area is a small shaft similar to the one where climbing ladders was introduced, only that its bottom is filled with radioactive waste, causing damage to the suit's power. Right before, she says:
Proximity to radiation activates a Geiger counter and radiation display. Biohazards are also indicated with the luminous icon.
After that part is a large elevator, and the Assistant asks:
Please advance to the next area.
[edit] Gallery
Introducing the HEV Charger.
Sprite appearing on the HEV Charger.
At the start of the "Health hazards" station.
Steam inside the "Health hazards" station, with radioactive waste below the floor.
[edit] Use of human assets
Upon leaving the elevator is a civilian area where two security guards and a scientist can be found. They are watched by two Ceiling Turrets that will fire if one of them is hurt (they will shoot at everyone except the scientist); for some reason Freeman gets to leave the facility with his weapons, and this may be to show how Ceiling Turrets work. There the soda vending machine giving 1 health point per can is also introduced, though not verbally. The trainee is taught how to get the help of security guards and scientists to achieve their goals, or ask them to stay put. The Assistant asks to ask one of the two security guards to open the door leading to the Transit System:
Lead a security guard into the next room. He will let you back into the Transit System. You must approach a guard and press your Use key. He will follow you until you face him and press the Use key again.
When prompted, the scientist will say:
Yes! I will follow you, if you wish.
When asked to stay put, he will say:
OK. I will wait here.
When prompted, the security guard will say:
Sure! I'll follow you.
When asked to stay put, he will say:
OK, I'll wait here.
At the end of their journey through the Hazard Course, Gina and Colette reunite with Rosenberg in the elevator leading to that area. They cannot proceed further until the women have dispatched the Ceiling Turrets. When they open the elevator doors, the Assistant bugs and disappears with the animation during which she points to swim upwards then swim in the "Aquatic Training" section and her button explodes. Rosenberg then opens the way to the Transit System platform (of note is that the original numpad controlling the door in Half-Life has been replaced by a retinal scanner).
[edit] Gallery
The elevator leading to the "Use of human assets" area in Half-Life.
Ditto, with Rosenberg scared by the active Ceiling Turrets that follow, in Decay.
The Assistant explaining how to get help from the security guards in Half-Life.
The Assistant malfunctioning in Decay.
Ceiling Turret firing at Freeman in Half-Life.
Colette watching Gina about to shoot a Ceiling Turret in Decay.
Rosenberg clearing the way to the Transit System in Decay.
[edit] Transit System station
The next area is a large hall with a freight train similar to that of the Materials Transport is waiting on its tracks. There, the final test is taught:
Press your Use key to engage the train. Press your forward and backward keys to increase or decrease the speed of the train. Press your Use key again to disengage from the train.
When the trainee is entering a dark tunnel with the train, the Hazard Course concludes itself with these words by the Assistant:
Congratulations on completing the Black Mesa Hazard Course. You are now fully certified for use of the HEV Mark IV protective system.
- When Gina, Colette and Rosenberg reach the tracks, its visible end is partially flooded, and the Assistant and her button are missing. They then take the train with Rosenberg and eventually stop at a shaft leading them to ground level, then the Satellite Communications Center.
[edit] Gallery
The train waiting for Freeman.
The train waiting for Cross, Green, and Rosenberg.
[edit] Maintenance area
This area, located under the standard Hazard Course, is accessed with a ladder from the observation room of the fourth "Jumping and ducking" station. There a dimly-lit L-shaped "Secure Access Corridor" heavily protected by Ceiling Turrets is accessed from security door D-AL 201. When they trigger, the message "Security breach detected" by the Black Mesa Announcement System is heard. Gina and Colette must work together to disable the turrets from a small station, and finally reach a lower level through security door D-AL 202 (one has to temporally disable the turrets from beyond D-AL 202 while the other runs at the end of the corridor to turn off the power). At the start and end of the corridor are locked doors. Following the D-AL 202 area, filled with Vortigaunts, is the ground floor of the Target Range.
Following the Target Range, the women fall into a small canal where four large fans are running, and must work together to invert the wind direction with a valve and a lever in order to proceed together. At the end of another Vortigaunt-filled corridor, the ladies reach the bottom of the elevator shaft Gordon uses to reach the "Use of human assets" station, and make it climb the shaft through manual controls. They find Rosenberg inside, suggesting it is the same elevator than they intend to use at the start of the course, although they are in completely opposite areas. The duo has then to disable the Ceiling Turrets of the "Use of human assets" station in order to proceed together.
[edit] Gallery
Ceiling Turret warning sign.
Secure Access Corridor warning sign.
Being shot at by Ceiling Turrets in the maintenance area under the Hazard Course.
Two of the four large fans.
Gina and Colette battling Vortigaunts.
Ditto.
The manual elevator controls.
[edit] Gallery
"Target Range Access" sign.
"Climbing Tower Access" sign, unseen in-game.
"Aquatic Training Access" sign, unseen in-game.
"Back to Basic Training" sign, unseen in-game.
Early Assistant model in an early Hazard Course.
Ditto.
[edit] Hazard Course for Security Guard Training
This course consists of the Half-Life: Blue Shift training chapter, Hazard Course. In-universe, Barney Calhoun attends the course on May 12 at 8:00, four days before the Black Mesa Incident. On May 17, Otis Laurey was to attend the Security Guard Training, but he was apparently unable to attend and Gina suggested to Colette Green to ask Barney to replace him. This never happened due to the incident.[5]
The Hazard Course for Security Guard Training is made of the same tests as the standard Hazard Course, with several variations.
The sections for which an official name is known are marked with a "*", while the other names were coined for the wiki.
[edit] Introduction
- Upon reaching the start of the Hazard Course from the elevator coming from the left door in the lobby above, the trainee is welcomed by the Miller-based Holographic Assistant in a small hall:
Welcome to the Black Mesa Hazard Course for Security Guard Training. I'll be your Holographic Guide to assist you in your training. Begin by putting on your vest and helmet. You'll find this equipment in the next room. Whenever you see one of these buttons, press it, and I'll repeat instructions, or show you how things are done.
- In the next room the vest and helmet are waiting right of the catwalk crossing the room. The Holographic Assistant says:
Here you will find your standard armor vest and helmet. These will help protect you against any physical threat you may encounter while performing your duties. When your armor becomes too damaged to be useful, you'll need to find a fresh vest or helmet to protect yourself.
- In the following area, the Holographic Assistant appears again to say:
Moving around in your armor may be a little tricky at first. Take a moment to get a feel for moving around. Once you get comfortable with this, proceed to the next section just around the corner.
- After going through a larger room (which is partly flooded with water, but only below the catwalk that the trainee must walk across), the proper training begins.
[edit] Jumping and ducking
There the jump and duck moves are taught, while scientists monitor the tests from behind large windows. It consists of seven stations; the first four are probably also built around a maintenance area equipped with an elevator, as for the standard Hazard Course.
- In this first station, the trainee is required to jump over three pipes. The Assistant states:
The first move you'll need to practice is jumping. You'll have to get over all three of these obstacles in order to proceed. It helps to get a running start. Watch me do it, then try it yourself.
- Upon completing the test, a scientist says:
Good work! Please proceed to the next area.
- The second area requires ducking under three pipes. The Assistant states:
You'll need to duck under the next set of obstacles. When you crawl in the crouch position, you can be move very silently. This can be very useful when you don't wanna be heard.
- Upon completion of the test, the scientist says:
Very good! I hardly noticed you. Move on to the next area.
- The third area requires jumping over a pipe, ducking under the second, and jumping again over the last one. The Assistant states:
Now try combining moves. You'll need to jump, duck, and then jump again. This should get you prepared for the next room, where you'll have to do both moves at the same time.
- Upon completing the test, a scientist says:
Good work! You look prepared for the next station.
- In the fourth station, Rosenberg can be seen watching from the observation room. As in the standard course, jumping and ducking must be combined for a "duck jump", in order to pass through three elevated pipes. Jumping to reach them, then ducking to get inside. The Assistant states:
To get into these pipes, you'll need to perform a duck jump. You wanna stand right at the mouth of the pipe. While moving forward, jump up and hold the jump button to go into a crouch in midair. It may be tricky at first, but you'll find it comes in handy to be able to jump and duck into tight areas.
- If the trainee is unable to enter the pipe, the Assistant adds:
Give it another try. Remember to move forward, jump, and while in midair, crouch.
- At the end of the test, the Assistant congratulates the trainee, while the monitoring scientist remains silent:
Nice one.
- After applying the freshly learned move by getting into a pipe starting above the ground, the trainee reaches the fifth area consisting of a metallic shaft where the Assistant teaches them how to climb a ladder to proceed further. He states:
Walk directly into the ladder, look up and continue moving forward. If you wanna climb back down, just move backward.
- The sixth area consists of a large room where more complicated jumps are to be achieved. Three platform are to be reached, and the trainee can restart at will if they fall. This set requires four jumps instead of the three of the standard course.
The next four jumps get more difficult each time. Don't worry if you miss the last one a few times. Just climb up, and do it again. If you can make all the jumps in a continuous run, you're doing just fine.
- Upon failing the first or second jumps, the Assistant says:
Keep trying and you'll get it.
- Upon failing the third or fourth jumps, the Assistant says:
If you keep falling short, you may be jumping too soon.
- When all four jumps are completed, the Assistant remains silent. In the standard course, the next area is the Long Jump Module, which is not available here.
[edit] Objects and mechanisms
- After a catwalk and a ladder, the Assistant teaches the trainee how to use an elevator, which will take them up to an elevated platform.
To start the lift, walk up to the button and press the Use key while facing it.
- Upon reaching the platform, he says:
Now that you're up here, there's only one way down. Find the target on the floor below and do your best to hit it. You may take some damage from the fall, but don't worry about it, we'll give you some first aid in the next section.
- On the floor is a target partially covered with blood stains. Farther on the wall of the room are more blood stains left by two hands, identical to those seen in the standard course.
- After a short corridor, the Health and HEV Chargers are introduced:
You'll find medical kits like this one throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility. To restore your health, walk up to a medkit, then press and hold your Use key. Your health will recover gradually, until you are at full health, or until the kit is depleted. Once the light goes out, a medkit cannot be reused.
You may also find HEV charging stations such as this one through the facility. These stations however can only be used by qualified science personnel wearing powered hazardous environment equipment. So they will be inaccessible to you during your duties.
- After a corridor, the test requires spinning a bridge to pass over a large room in which two large tanks are stored.
To spin that bridge, walk up to the control wheel and press the Use key.
- Upon jumping over from the spinning bridge, the Assistant compliments:
Great job!
- The two next stations require dealing with crates.
- The first one must be pushed into a small pit:
Sometimes you'll need to rely on quick reflexes to get around. Try jumping this gap on your own. What you really need to do, is push that box down into the pit. Pushing is easy. Just move forward into the box and you can push it into position.
- The next area is a small hangar with metallic crates. There a crate must be pulled instead of pushed to clear the way:
If you can't push an obstacle out of your way, you might try pulling it. To pull a box, move up to it and press your Use key. While holding down the Use key, move backwards, and the box will be pulled with you.
- And the end of the room, the trainee must push three crates and walk over them to reach the exit. In the next room, the crowbar is introduced by the Assistant. There the trainee must smash through larger crates to proceed, then enter a vent by smashing the grate at its start:
If nothing else works, you can try breaking things that block your path. Pick up the crowbar, and smash your way through the boxes.
- In the next area, the Assistant introduces the flashlight. There a maze-like platform must be followed to the end of a large room, where the lights have been purposely turned off by a security guard stationed in a nearby room. The Assistant asks:
You'll need to use your flashlight for the next area.
- Upon reaching the end of the room, he adds:
Great! Remember, your flashlight will lose power overtime, so switch it off when you don't need it. When the flashlight is off, it will recharge itself.
[edit] Target Range*
After passing over a large canal, the use of weapons in the Target Range is introduced, in a room where an MP5, grenades and magazines have been placed on several tables:
Welcome to the Black Mesa Training Target Range. You'll get a chance to fire your weapon, reload, and fire the attached grenade launcher. Collect your equipment, and proceed to the firing station.
The next room is a mock firing area, which contains seven cardboard humanoid targets which move on a fixed path. There, the Assistant explains:
You'll have to hit every target to complete the course. If you miss, don't worry about it, the targets will keep moving until you manage to score a hit. If you wanna get through the Target Range as quickly as possible, try reloading during pauses, instead of letting your gun run out of ammunition at a critical time. To fire the grenade launcher, use the alternate fire button. Some targets can only be destroyed by lobbing grenades. I'll start the sequence in five, four, tree, two, one.
When all targets are hit, he congratulates the trainee, and access to the next area is granted:
Congratulations! You've completed the Black Mesa Training Target Range. You may advance to the next area.
Security guards can also practice in other shooting ranges such as the one found in the Area 3 Medium Security in Sector C.
[edit] Aquatic Training*
The following area involves diving into a large water pool and swimming through it, while stopping in the middle to replenish air. Before the jump, the Assistant states:
Your heads-up display will let you know when oxygen becomes critical. That means you'll need to find some clean air to breathe. As you swim through this course, your blood oxygen levels will begin to drop. At the midpoint, you'll be given an opportunity to surface for air.
At the midpoint, the Assistant appears underwater and points to the surface. When the trainee reaches the surface, he states:
Come up to the surface and catch your breath. You'll regain health lost from holding your breath too long once you've made it to the surface for air. Go ahead and swim on to the next section.
[edit] Health hazards
- The next room is empty, while the HEV Suit Charger is introduced there in the standard course.
- In the next area, the trainee is required to go under the floor, where pipes are leaking steam, and a small furnace explodes, both causing damage to the player. Right before, the Assistant states:
If you pass through fire or steam, you'll see damage icons come in your heads-up display. Directional indicators at the center of your display will show you from what direction damage is coming.
- The following area is a small shaft similar to the one where climbing ladders was introduced, only that its bottom is filled with radioactive waste, causing damage to the suit's power. Right before, she says:
Proximity to radiation activates a Geiger counter and radiation display in your helmet. Many other biological and chemical hazards are also indicated in your heads-up display.
After that part is a large elevator, and the Assistant asks:
Please proceed to the next section.
[edit] Use of human assets
Upon leaving the elevator is a civilian area where two scientists can be found (the weapons are removed during the elevator ride). There the soda vending machine giving 1 health point per can is also introduced, though not verbally. The trainee is taught how to get the help of scientists to achieve their goals, or ask them to stay put. The Assistant asks to ask one of the two scientists to open the door leading to the Transit System:
Lead a scientist into the next room. He will open the door that leads back into the Transit System. To have someone follow you, approach the person and press your Use key. He will then follow you until you face him and press the Use key again.
When prompted, the scientist will say:
Yes! I will follow you, if you wish.
When asked to stay put, he will say:
OK. I will wait here.
[edit] Transit System station
The next area is a large hall with a freight train similar to that of the Materials Transport is waiting on its tracks. There, the final test is taught:
Press your Use key to engage the train. Once engaged, move forward backward to increase or decrease the speed of the train. Press the Use key a second time to disengage from the train.
When the trainee is entering a dark tunnel with the train, the Hazard Course concludes itself with these words by the Assistant:
Congratulations on completing the Black Mesa Hazard Course for Security Guards. You're now certified to join the Blue Shift High Security Unit.
[edit] Gallery
Introducing the vest and helmet.
The Assistant suggesting to take time to adjust to the equipment.
Area leading to the "Jumping and ducking" section.
Rosenberg watching the test from the observation room of the fourth "Jumping and ducking" area.
The Assistant showing how to enter the first pipe in the fourth "Jumping and ducking" area.
Introducing the Chargers.
Cockroaches near the Target Range.
Scientist opening the way to the Transit System.
[edit] Behind the scenes
trainingroom.bsp" in the playable Half-Life 2 leak.
hazard01.vmf".- In the Half-Life texture files can be found four signs related to the Hazard Course, suggesting a hub leading to the different areas was at some point considered. Out of the four, only one, "Target Range Access", is used in-game. The three others, "Climbing Tower Access", "Aquatic Training Access", and "Back to Basic Training" have been scrapped from the final version. While the last two can be identified, it is unknown what "Climbing Tower" was to refer to.
- The Hazard Course is the spiritual ancestor of the Test Chambers from Portal and Portal 2.
- Some Hazard Course-related material can be found in the Half-Life 2 files leaked in 2003.
- First, in the playable Half-Life 2 leak, the map "
trainingroom.bsp", a very simple map with its walls and floors made out of concrete, explains how to command Rebel squads through text appearing on the screen. This was eventually scrapped in the final game as all these features are shown naturally during the course of the game.[9] - In the WC mappack, the folder "hl1_hazard" contains an incomplete set of the uncompiled maps of the Half-Life Hazard Course, with a series titled "
hl1_hazard_0#_old.vmf" (the original maps), and another titled "hl1_hazard_0#.vmf" (the maps converted with Source textures) from 0 to 5.[10] - Again in the WC mappack, the map "
hazard01.vmf" (last edited December 11, 2002, but as old as November 2001 as "hazard.vmf") found in the folder "marc" shows some sort of sketchy Hazard Course with the walls, floors and ceiling made of brown metal. Overseen by Kleiner from a large screen, Freeman is asked to shoot, using an MP7 found on a table in front of him, a small box placed on top of several larger ones. When hit, it causes an unexpected explosion, which then breaks a pipe and triggers an alarm, allowing Freeman to proceed further into the map despite Kleiner telling him not to move until he returns. Arrived at stairs at end of a corridor, the muffled words "What's going on in there? Look at these readings! It seems to be..." After the stairs there are three cells with surgical tables in them; in the third is a Combine Assassin waiting behind a partially opened door. At the end of a long corridor, the walls begin to shake and images also appearing in the E3 demonstration "Psyche" start to appear on the screen. At the end of the corridor the G-Man awaits and makes a short speech: "Cleverly done, Mr. Freeman, but you're not supposed to be here. As a matter of fact, you're not. Get back where you belong and forget about all this. Until we meet..." He then sends Gordon back to the Hazard Course. The player then has to shoot the box again, after which nothing explodes, and Kleiner tells him to proceed to the next area. Upon taking a door that opens, the game ends.[10][11]
- First, in the playable Half-Life 2 leak, the map "
[edit] List of appearances
- Half-Life: Day One (First appearance)
- Half-Life
- Half-Life: Uplink (Non-canonical appearance)
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life: Decay
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Half-Life
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Black Mesa Transit System map
- ↑ Half-Life: Blue Shift instruction manual
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Half-Life: Blue Shift
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Half-Life PlayStation 2 instruction manual
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Half-Life, PlayStation 2 version
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Half-Life: Opposing Force
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 Half-Life: Decay
- ↑ Playable Half-Life 2 leak
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 WC mappack
- ↑
Playthrough in a fixed "hazard01" map on YouTube
| Preceded by Black Mesa Transit System |
Half-Life story arc journey | Succeeded by Black Mesa Transit System |
| Preceded by N/A |
Half-Life: Blue Shift story arc journey | Succeeded by Area 8 Topside Dormitories |
| Preceded by Sector C Test Labs |
Half-Life: Decay story arc journey | Succeeded by Sector C Test Labs |
