Scarce ammo? Sounds like if this was integrated into the main Black Mesa campaign, a la Uncut maps, that problem would take care of itself.

Honestly... I am just happy that is not just another deathmatch map. Not that I don't like deathmatch
but playing Half Life for multiplayer is like playing Counter Strike for the bot matches. It just isn't right...

Scarce ammo is not necessarily a problem. Ammo scarcity is to give the player a choice between using ammo or to save ammo by choosing to skip said enemy\finding any alternative way. Because the NPCs were skippable, you indeed had the choice between skipping them or spending ammo. However, because I think quite a few NPCs were fairly easily skippable, there was less if any choices for the player to make when it comes to ammo conservation.

TL;DR - The problem was more likely the lack of sufficient obstructions\obstructing enemies(they were too easy to dodge or not blocking an objective well enough). Scarce ammo + skippable NPCs is not necessarily an issue. Too easily skipped or too scarce ammo is an issue though(but that's not what you said).

My suggestions for this map:
1. I personally felt like the ammo given was a bit too much if you looked for it even in hard difficulty. I'd say cut the ammo for all weapons in half(atleast for hard difficulty).

2. Maybe add another obscruction(perhaps change the enemies positioning around, add physics items like boxes + enemies to block the way)


[SPOILERS]
If you are talking about the rockets being too scarce there are actually more of them across the tram area
[/spoilers]

BTW the quality of this map was FANTASTIC. It was very fun. There are only a few small changes that might make it even better.

I appreciate everyone's feedback!

Sadly, as far as I know, you can't adjust item drops on a difficulty basis. You can't do it in Half-Life 2 either.

But one thing you could do in HL2 was use a special item that changed itself into whatever item the player needed most at the time. For example, when you smash a supply crate, there's an item that looks at the player's inventory and says "Hey, the player needs more SMG ammo," and then turns itself into SMG ammo. In Black Mesa, this mechanic seems to be missing. All of the crates I've come across were hardcoded to drop specific things, and this special item was unavailable.

So, that puts the mapper in a weird position. The more you try to balance Hard difficulty, the more you end up flooding Easy and Normal with health and armor pick-ups. And because Black Mesa doesn't have "small" pick-ups (like Health Vials), you're giving the player massive chunks of health and ammo at a time. It's a delicate balance.

Concerning obstructions, I did realize near the end that the level was pretty open. I did contemplate blocking off a couple doors, such as near the first Vortigaunt spawn, until the player had dealt with them. But, I decided, HL1 really doesn't do this, especially in the early stages. Later on in the game, the HECU ends up resolving a lot of these issues. Due to their speed and accuracy, you don't want to turn your back on them. But since this level doesn't focus on the HECU, things are admittedly rather open. I believe most players will kill everyone because that's the fun of the game. If you choose to run by everyone, that's ultimately the player's choice.

Add a few more marines at the end, you'll soon get through that ammo and teleport in a mixture of enemies behind the player to prevent easy back tracking?

Hmm.
Pros: Pretty great map, feels like something in the storyline
Gman reference
Good detail, liked the flashing door panels

Cons: I would like acouple more marines, maybe one surviving scientist or guard
The RPG Ammobox. I had no idea where it was until after the fight, so i had to spawn in RPG's via console to complete it. Make it a bit more locatable.
I found a tick on my leg while typing this

Also, i think there should be a .357 somewhere.

My review :

Level design : We feel that we are in Black Mesa complex. The graphics are good, but concerning the structure itself, I felt the level a bit too "corridory". I would like having one or two larger rooms with aliens inside. Despite this, the structure is coherent and realistic (I loved the palm tree with light in the entry).

Gameplay : Challenging but I didn't felt surprised many times except by marines and helicopter. Spawns are a bit too previsible. The barrel at the top of stairs with zombies weren't surprising at all and I felt it too classic. Same with the two following zombies. You should have put the MP5 later with much less ammo. The helicopter with military rush was entertaining, and almost the whole level was a battlefield, which is really good. I think you should have put maybe one more squad of Hgrunts to make it feel more oppressive. The RPG inside a crate wasn't a good idea : when I broke it with my crowbar, it instantly fired and killed me.

Overall : 6.5/10
I really enjoyed it. I think there are some changes to do to make it absolutely perfect.