A newer updated FAQ to address any queries you may have, and explain what features and themes to expect in detail. Now expanded with further questions!
What is Dark Matter?
Dark Matter is designed to be an unofficial fourth and final Half-Life 1 expansion set in the Black Mesa Research facility during the resonance cascade incident. This time at last you play as one of the deadly Black Operator units named Kovac.
Not much is known about him other than he was born to parents from somewhere in Eastern Europe, is around 44 years old and is a former Navy Seal.
What is Dark Matter’s plot synopsis?
When Gordon Freeman successfully launches the Omega Satellite delivery rocket during “On A Rail”, Kovac is deployed to Black Mesa as part of a team tasked with overseeing the HECU cleanup operation. With the science team able to potentially cause further damage, containment of the situation will become much more difficult to accomplish. If the military cannot handle the cover up effectively, Black Ops should be there to assist and even take over if necessary.
Kovac is deployed as part of a team who are tasked with infiltrating the Gamma Labs following reports that the science team are initiating the next phase of their plan. You and your team must stop whatever is happening and detain a scientist named Dr. Keller who is wanted by the authorities due to his valuable knowledge about Black Mesa’s technology and projects. The rest of the science team is expendable, including the two armed HEV suit wearing scientists that have been causing a headache for the military in addition to Freeman…
Ultimately you fail to reach the labs in time, and the fallout from the procedure causes massive portal storms in the sky near your craft, before it is sucked into a vortex with you in it.
You awaken about half a day later following the military withdrawal. Soldiers trapped in the facility have made you their prisoner, they’re angry that your operatives are terminating their comrades. After an unsuccessful interrogation, you’re shot at close range and dropped down the bottom of an abandoned silo. The bullet went clean through and you survived, but you’re in a bad way, with no radio, no weapons, no backup and no idea where you are. Eventually you learn that orders have changed and everyone and everything is a target, with the situation so out of control that the only way to proceed now is to wipe the facility from the map once and for all…
In what period during the Black Mesa incident does Dark Matter take place?
Kovac’s mission begins at the very end of day one sometime during “Apprehension”, with part of the introduction events occuring after “Friendly Fire”. The main game itself starts on day two of the incident, towards the end of “Vicarious Reality” and the beginning of “Pitworm’s Nest”. It then lasts beyond the events of Opposing Force, with the final taking place around early afternoon of day three when the nuclear warhead destroys the facility.
The campaign is spread across 14 chapters (12 playable and an intro/outro) and will be around the same length as Opposing Force or longer.
Yes, Opposing Force enemies as well as new (such as the Race X bestiary being expanded) and variations of existing ones (ie zombies).
Are there new characters?
Yes, your fellow Black Operators plus at least one new member of the science team.
Yes, select Half-life/Opposing Force ones and new as well.
Yes, a complete new soundtrack will be created.
Is there a new training area?
Yes, players can take the training course in the Special Operations Unit facility if they wish to.
We have an all new code base using the Half-Life Updated SDK with some elements from Opposing Force Updated SDK backported, as well as various new custom features like a keycard system, real time radio communications, intelligence and a new thermal vision mode to replace the flashlight/NV. We’ll showcase examples of this at various points throughout development.
Do fellow Black ops fight with you?
Yes, both male and female black operators will assist you during some parts of the game, fighting enemies and sometimes helping you bypass areas that are otherwise off limits without them.
There will be limited stealth featured in some parts of the game, but for the most part the gameplay is still standard HL; this isn’t Splinter Cell 😉
What kind of new areas can we expect to see?
As previously mentioned, the Central Transit Hub makes an appearance finally, so there’s more post-disaster Black Mesa Transit System to explore. There’s the Main Facility Entrance, a new cliffside area and a new section of the underground Materials Transport network. You’ll see the regular kind of environments to expect as well as some newish original designs to freshen things up, otherwise everything is standard BMRF in the style of Gearbox/Valve.
Will you visit exisiting Black Mesa locations from HL and the existing expansions?
Yes, you’ll see familiar areas from Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Decay. Some of these are brief fun crossovers, others are more in depth such as the Lambda Complex (‘Paradigm Shift’).
Of course!
Will we see Freeman, Shephard, Calhoun, Green/Cross?
Gordon is in Xen, and Barney has already escaped Black Mesa during Dark Matter, but it’s possible you could see the others…
Every candidate under evaulation is a subject of the employers, whether they are ultimately hired, detained or end up out of range…
Yes, Race X are fully working and appear as the primary alien antagonist in Dark Matter’s campaign. You’ll see both existing units and new ones in their forces too.
Will we visit the Race X homeworld?
Maybe…
*Scientist voice* “Don’t be ridiculous!”
Does Dark Matter acknowledge other fan made mods in the campaign?
There are only small indirect references to other such mods in the campaign in the form of easter eggs, but there will also be hidden secret areas with more direct reference to certain projects as well.
Does Mitchell, Adam or any of the other characters from “Hunt Down The Freeman” make an appearance?
NO!
Does the game make use of enhanced visuals like detail textures, special rendering etc?
Nope.
Why aren’t you making this on the Source engine/Black Mesa?
…do I really need to explain this..? 
Are you planning to release the game on Steam?
Yes, that is the longer term plan. Either we have that sorted before the completion of Phase One, so we can do an early access release for each segment until the whole campaign is complete, or they will be released on ModDB and other places to start with and then the final completed product will appear on Steam.
Will it work on my non-Steam (WON) version of Half-Life?
The game is being developed on the latest Steam version, the 25th anniversary edition. It’s still too early to say whether there will be support for other builds or not. Ultimately if a Steam release happens, non-Steam legacy versions will be unsupported.
Same as the above.
Will it work on Half-Life: Source?
No, you need the original Half-Life game, it won’t work on Source.
Will it be playable on Android?
Highly doubtful.
Will it be compatible with VR?
Most likely not.
Can I play on my Steam Deck?
You should be able to play on the Steam Deck, but you will need to change some configurations to get it working properly. For more information on how to run Half-Life mods on the console, check out this video demonstration:
I thought you were using HD (High Definition) models in the game?
There has been a switch to focus on the LD style over the HD one going forward. There are obviously several HD variants of existing NPCs missing from the High Definition Pack, so not only will we have to produce all new models for the many new things that will appear in the game, but also fill in those missing gaps as well. It is much easier to create the new LD models to complement the existing ones, plus LD style is generally much more favoured in the community. We recognise that the HD pack is not everyone’s favourite, so we’ll be trying to improve the quality and fix some of the less appealing aspects of it later when the time comes. Ultimately, you will be able to switch between the two at the touch of a button in the options menu as usual, and this will also change the look of models on posters and other related items as well.
Will there be any multiplayer?
Dark Matter is being built with single-player in mind first and foremost, but it’s possible we could add multiplayer in the future…
When will the expansion be released?
The release is going to be split into three segments; Phase One, Two and Three. Phase One will comprise of the training facility and chapters 0 (intro) – 4, Two will contain 5-8, and Phase Three is made up of 9-12 and the outro. There is no definitive release date yet, we will announce that for each part when the time comes.
No, the first public release will be Phase One.
When we’re ready for public playtesting, we’ll make an announcement. Until then, only closed internal alpha and beta testing will be carried out.
How do I join the development team?
Right now I receive additional help from a small circle of people I know. If that changes, I will make an announcement as per the above. Voice actors will only be recruited when the relevant dialogue scripting has been finalised, so retakes can be avoided as much as possible.
That concludes the current FAQ! If you have any questions that aren’t covered here and/or you think they should be added in as well, let me know and I’ll consider it.
