Throwing myself on the mercy of the GB community here--I'm very interested in playing the new Source mod but am new to PC gaming and was unsure about the best way to download it. Is Steam the optimal way to go (I don't have Steam installed) or would it be easier to download the game directly from the site? What 'mirror' should I use to get things going? Pardon my ignorance, but any help (including detailed downloading instructions) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I was under the impression you still need steam even if you get the mod files direct. could be wrong.

Black Mesa's not up for download on Steam yet, but a source engine game (Half-Life 2 etc.) and the '07 Source SDK (which is free) are required to play the mod, so you'll need to get Steam installed anyway.

I'd suggest using the torrent link on the Black Mesa site to download, installation's just clicking next, next and yes.

I assume you're talking about Black Mesa? First of all, it's not available on Steam yet, so if you want to play it now you will have to download the mod from their site. Secondly, even if you download it from the site you will need Steam anyway, as the mod requires Source SDK 2007. So first off make sure you have Steam. If you're worried about getting confused it might just be best to wait for the Steam version as it'll still be free and will handle all installation for you.

As people have said, you must have Steam and Source SDK 2007. I believe that at least one Source game is also required, but I'm not certain of that one.

Anyway, what are your computer's specs? I doubt two year old integrated graphics will run it well.

Here's a list:

1. Download Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/about/)
2. Install Steam and go through everything you need (make an account, password, etc.)
3. Open Steam and click on Library
4. Click right underneath Library and find Tools in the drop-down menu.
5. Scroll down the list and find Source SDK Base 2007.
6. Download Source SDK Base 2007 (right click>download or double click)
7. Download Black Mesa (all 3 files) (http://www.gamefront.com/black-mesa-is-live-download-it-here/)
8. Put the 3 files in the same folder
9. Close Steam if open (the end of Black Mesa installation will open it back up for you (I think))
10. Double click on Black Mesa Setup (DO NOT EXTRACT the .7z file, if you don't know what I mean, don't worry about it)
11. Wait for the install to finish
12. Open Steam again (unless you left the "Play Black Mesa" checkbox checked, then it should open it for you)
13. Find Black Mesa in your Library

::EDIT::

Seems like a Source engine game isn't required. @AhmadMetallic got it working without one, so just follow the list as-is.

what @myketuna: said, do as he said!

@Hitchenson said:

a source engine game (Half-Life 2 etc.) and the '07 Source SDK (which is free) are required to play the mod

Actually I got Black Mesa running without having any Valve games installed. All you need is the 07 Source SDK.

@AhmadMetallic: Ah, sweet.

@myketuna: awesome..thanks much.