Black Mesa (video game)/Achievements

	This article is non-canon.
	The subject matter of this article does not take place in the "real" Half-Life and Portal universe and is considered non-canon.

Black Mesa, a fan-made remake of Half-Life, comes with 50 Achievements, listed here in roughly chronological order.

Achievements

Image	Achievement	Official description	Chapter	How-to
	Proverbial Tinkerer	Interfere with the alarm and laptop in Anomalous Materials.	Anomalous Materials	Gordon must interact with a laptop seen at the beginning of the chapter, to the left of the security door he enters through, as well as push an alarm button located under the security guards desk. Doing so will cause the NPCs to react - in the first case a scientist will tell Gordon to get away from the laptop, and in the second case - an alarm will begin to reverberate, irritating the guard.Of note, the laptop screen references Walter Bennett.
	Convection Refinement	Ruin the microwave casserole.	Anomalous Materials	Gordon has to press a button on the microwave. After a while, it overheats, causing the achievement to unlock.
	Brownian Motion	Pass the toilet paper to the scientist in need.	Anomalous Materials	Gordon has to give a scientist in the WC a roll of toilet paper. A roll of paper towels from the same shelf will also count. Reference to the term "Brownian motion."
	Less Than Desirable Consequences	Die in the AMS Beam before starting the experiment.	Anomalous Materials	Once the Anti-Mass Spectrometer laser comes online, Gordon must jump inside it.
	Resonance Procrastinator	Refuse to insert the specimen into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer.	Anomalous Materials	After the delivery cart appears in the test chamber, Gordon has to simply refuse to push it. After roughly a minute, the Anti-Mass Spectrometer will overcharge and kill Gordon, unlocking the achievement.
	Caffeine Extraction	Perform surgical caffeine extraction from 20 machines.	Anomalous Materials and after.	Gordon has to push the vending machine's button 20 times so it spawns a can. Note that he doesn't need to drink any of the cans and one vending machine can spawn up to 15.
	Rare Specimen	Send the Hidden Hat to Xen.	Unforeseen Consequences (Steam version) "Forget About Freeman!" (free version) through Lambda Core	Gordon has to take the purple hat to the Lambda Complex and jump into the Xen portal while holding it. In the free version, it can be found in a container in the chapter "Forget About Freeman!". In the Steam version, the hat can be found after the Resonance Cascade, near the entrance to Sector C, on some pipes outside the transit system catwalk (where Barney opened the door for you).
	The Rarest Specimen	Carry the Hidden Hat to Endgame.	Unforeseen Consequences through Endgame	After taking the hat to Xen, Gordon has to carry it even further, all the way to the Nihilanth fight.
	Prophylactic Suggested	Get overtaken by a Headcrab's ample anterior.	Unforeseen Consequences and after.	Gordon simply has to be killed by a Headcrab. To speed up the process, he can hurt himself using explosives.
	Inflammatory Actions	Kill a Headcrab using fire.	Unforeseen Consequences and after.	The easiest way to obtain the achievement is to pick up one of the flares during the chapter Unforeseen Consequences, and throw at or touch a Headcrab with it. Note that the Headcrab has to die only due to fire so Gordon should be careful if he's travelling with a Security Guard.
	Well-Done	Cook a grenade for too long.	Unforeseen Consequences and after.	Hold down alt-fire to pull the grenade's pin and wait until it explodes in Gordon's hand. Reference to well-done steak.
	Mega Hertz	Kill 5 enemies with one grenade.	Unforeseen Consequences and after.	The easiest way to obtain the achievement is in a hallway in Unforeseen Consequences that has five tightly-grouped barnacles in a quincunx. Throw a grenade onto the tongue of the center barnacle. The detonation will destroy all five and grant the achievement. Note that the first grenades in the game are located after this hallway; you must pass it, get the grenades from the security office (co-located with the first pistol), and backtrack to the barnacles.
	Unified Coupling Theorum	Help the Barnacle and Headcrab find true love.	Unforeseen Consequences and after.	Gordon has to let 10 Headcrabs be caught by a Barnacle. The easiest way is to "camp" the conveyor belt in We've Got Hostiles. Saving the game before the Headcrab is killed helps obtain the achievement faster. Reference to the Grand Unified Theory.
	Permeable Infrastructure	Use the alternate path in Office Complex.	Office Complex	In the open-plan area of the offices where a battle against Vortigaunts is fought, there is a small adjoining meeting room at the end with turned-over couches and armchairs. There's a ladder into the ceiling vents, very similar to the one encountered earlier in the chapter; this starts the secret alternate path. (Some ceiling tiles need to be crowbared out of the way.)
	Our Brains And Your Brawn	Assemble all the possible Scientists and Guards at the end of Office Complex.	Office Complex	Gordon will need to gather a party of 4 guards and 2 scientists (a man and a woman) and escort them to the elevator shaft at the end of the level. Beware that the guards can accidentally shoot and kill each other during a fight. Reference to one of the scientists' oft-repeated lines in the original game.
	Calculated Trajectory	Kill 10 Airborne Headcrabs using the Shotgun.	Office Complex and after. (We've Got Hostiles in the free version)	Self-explanatory.
	Digital Wizardry	Kill 10 enemies with a reprogrammed Sentry.	We've Got Hostiles and after.	To reprogram a Sentry Gun, Gordon must pick it up from behind while it is in an idle state.
	Kinetic Repulsion	Kill a Marine with their own grenade.	We've Got Hostiles and after.	Self-explanatory. During a fight, a Marine can toss a grenade to either try to kill Gordon or force him to come out of hiding. Gordon needs to pick up the grenade and throw it at the soldier. The achievement unlocks only if the Marine that tossed the grenade is killed.
	Remote Detonation	Kill a Barnacle with a Satchel.	Blast Pit and after.	Gordon has to throw a satchel at the Barnacle's tongue and detonate it after a few seconds.
	Gray Matter Propulsion	Headshot 20 enemies with the .357 Magnum.	Blast Pit and after. (Office Complex in the free version)	Self-explanatory. Headshots on Assassins don't seem to count. Reference to the term "Grey matter."
	One Step Ahead	Kill 10 Enemies with Tripmines.	Power Up and after.	Self-explanatory. Mines don't have to be tripped by enemies themselves, any trigger (including shooting or using satchels) will suffice.
	Dead Reckoning	Kill an Assassin with the .357 Magnum.	Apprehension, Lambda Core	Self-explanatory. Reference to the term "Dead reckoning."
	Ethically Questionable	Conduct all of the questionable research experiments.	Questionable Ethics	Gordon has to kill an Alien Grunt, Snarks, a Bullsquid and Headcrabs using the laboratory equipment.
	Pepperoni Precipitation	View the *other* secret ending.	Questionable Ethics through Endgame	Gordon has to find Dr. Horn's pizzabox in the cafeteria in Questionable Ethics and take it with him to Xen, and then take it to Nihilanth.
	Universal Gravitation	Get killed by your own Snarks.	Questionable Ethics and after.	Self-explanatory. Reference to Newton's law of universal gravitation.
	Futile Resistance	Kill 10 enemies with Snarks.	Questionable Ethics and after.	Self-explanatory. Reference to the phrase "Resistance is futile."
	Quantum Capacitance	Overcharge it anyway.	Questionable Ethics and after.	Gordon simply has to overcharge the Tau Cannon by holding the alternative fire button and waiting a few seconds. Reference to the term "Quantum capacitance."
	Stealth Technology	Escape the Hangar in Surface Tension without alerting the Soldiers.	Surface Tension
	Nuclear Fishin'	Kill an Ichthyosaur with either the Tau or Gluon.	Surface Tension and after.	Self-explanatory. Note that both Tau and Gluon don't work underwater so Gordon should let the Ichthyosaur focus on him, get out of the water (either to the surface while aiming downward, or out of the water entirely) and kill it before it disappears out of sight.
	Centripetal Attraction	Kill 20 enemies with the Hivehand.	Surface Tension and after.	Self-explanatory. Reference to the term "Centripetal force."
	Hyper Saturation Conundrum	Drown in Lambda Core's coolant.	Lambda Core	Self-explanatory. To drown in the coolant faster, Gordon can hurt himself using any kind of explosives, Snarks, or by overcharging the Tau Cannon. Reference to the term "Hypersaturation."
	xen when	Wait too long to jump into the Lambda Teleporter.	Lambda Core	Once the portal to Xen opens, don't jump in. After a minute, the portal will overload, killing Gordon. Reference to the infamously long wait for Black Mesa's Xen chapters to be released.
	Premature Expulsion	Use an entire clip of Gluon ammo in one continuous shot.	Lambda Core and after.	After Gordon obtains the Gluon Gun, he must use the whole ammunition available - 100 Depleted Uranium-235 units - in one continuous shot. Reference to the term "Premature ejaculation."
	Orbital Trajectory	Skip the opening Xen island with a secret jump.	Xen	Upon reaching Xen, instead of going down the path on the left, Gordon must make some tricky jumps on the rocks to the right.
	Following the Rules	Use the welcome mat.	Xen	After going through a blue cavern lake with Barnacles and Ichthyosaurs, Gordon will enter a man-made research habitat. At the entrance, a sign instructs visitors to wipe their feet using the mat. Crouch on the mat and use the interact key to unlock the achievement.
	The Plan	Use Cyanogen to kill Gonarch.	Xen through Gonarch's Lair	In the laboratory outpost in Xen, Gordon will find a canister of cyanogen, which must be carried to Gonarch's Lair. After first battling the Gonarch and falling into a pit, a teleporter can be used to transport the cyanogen to the final arena, unlocking an otherwise hidden area where the gas can be deployed to kill the Gonarch.
	Unquestionably Ethical	Don't use the Cyanogen and let the Gonarch live.	Xen through Gonarch's Lair	After bringing the cyanogen canister to Gonarch's Lair, instead of using the gas on the Gonarch, Gordon must escape with the Gonarch unharmed.
	Prolific Popper	Kill all Protozoans in the Borderworld.	Xen through Interloper	There are 64 Protozoans to be killed, 37 of them are found in Xen, 22 in Gonarch's Lair (1 requires the cyanogen canister to be brought along) and 5 at the end of Interloper.
	Gonad Glider	Get whacked into oblivion in the ledge fight.	Gonarch's Lair	During the first battle with the Gonarch, let it kick Gordon into the abyss below.
	Doctor's Signature	Deliver the finishing blow to Gonarch with your Crowbar.	Gonarch's Lair	Self-explanatory. Upon taking fatal damage, the Gonarch will move to the center of the arena and explode.
	Post-Mortem Interval	Find each member of the missing research teams.	Gonarch's Lair	Gordon must find the bodies of 7 HEV-clad scientists scattered around the Gonarch's Lair. Either picking up the supplies found on them, interacting with or crouching on them is required to advance the achievement. The last body is found in the escape route that is only accessible if the cyanogen canister is brought along from Xen.
	Anti-Matter Over Mind	Kill a Controller without killing any of its mind-controlled Vortigaunt slaves.	Interloper	Self-explanatory. A single headshot with a Crossbow will put a Controller down.
	PhD in Pacifism	Don't kill any Vortigaunts in the Borderworld.	Interloper	Self-explanatory. The achievement will unlock upon reaching the summit of the Alien Grunt factory.
	Contest Propellant	Find the snack supply canister.	Interloper	After battling Controllers in the Vortigaunt ghetto, Gordon must go through a vent near the entrance of the village in order to advance. To the left are some breakable boxes hiding a passageway leading up, at the end a canister containing snacks will teleport in, unlocking the achievement.
	Black Mesa Decathlon Winner	Escape the Gargantua’s Lair without taking any damage from Gargantuas.	Interloper	Self-explanatory. As it says, only damage from the Gargantuas count; taking damage from the other creatures in the area will not void the achievement. Reference to the Black Mesa Hazard Course Decathlon.
	Laser Immunization	Complete Interloper without taking any laser damage.	Interloper	Self-explanatory. The achievement will unlock upon reaching the summit of the Alien Grunt factory: the room with eight Alien Trampolines in a ring where the manufactured Grunts are propelled far up into the darkness.
	Specimen GG	Take out all three Healing Crystals in Nihilanth’s Chamber at the same time.	Nihilanth	After inflicting enough damage on Nihilanth, 3 crystals will appear from apertures next to him. Gordon must throw down a satchel charge next to each of them and detonate them simultaneously. Reference to both Specimen GG-3883, the Xen crystal sample that started the Resonance Cascade, as well as the internet gaming slang GG.
	Late for Work	Defeat Nihilanth in under 4 minutes.	Nihilanth	Self-explanatory.
	Limitless Potential	Accept G-Man’s offer of employment.	Endgame	After G-Man finishes his speech, Gordon has to just step into the portal.
	Rather an Anticlimax	Decline G-Man’s offer of employment.	Endgame	After G-Man opens the portal, Gordon must instead wait for 20 seconds. The achievement icon is a reference to the ending of Half-Life 2.

Trivia

In bms_english.txt, there is a reference to an additional, possibly cut achievement named Instability Paradigm. Its description states "Experiment on 5 scientists".