-dev -oldgameui -windowed -novid -autoconfig -autoexec

Mine had not been responding when it's game menu loaded so i could not get in to it's detail settings. I found in the autoconfig.cfg file where the video res was and changed those to 800 and 600. It still froze on main menu until i found and used the above launch commands. Running in window also lets me monitor cpu temp with "Coretemp". Framerate was good. I lowered everything in video and audio details as much as possible. Still looks and plays fantastic. Temp never went past acceptable 70-75c. It's a fun game with the sort of puzzles to figure out in addition to character speech comedy, and rootin tootin shootin like Redneck Rampage Rides Again. hee hee. ;-) I suspect a lot of you with older systems would love to know you can enjoy it theses ways. Remember to save often, overwriting sometimes the most recent save, as sometimes you'll slip up, crack your skull and die. ;-) Salutes to the game makers and those that share ways to help getting it work well. :-)

And lower detail of everything in game menu options.

Paste thanks to other user post here I found. More paste from it maybe help if above not good enough :

My game won't start, or crashes after the splash screen
1) Before you start Black Mesa, add the following to the game launch options:
-forceuid3d9
2) If that doesn't work, add the following to the game launch options instead:
-oldgameui
3) If that doesn't work, add the following to the game launch options instead:
-windowed -noborder -forceuid3d9
4) If that doesn't work, add the following to the game launch options instead:
-dev -oldgameui -windowed -novid -autoconfig -autoexec
5) If that doesn't work, seek help from the developers on their discord server with the following invite link: https://discord.gg/KpBDTqm

= 'Game Launch Options'
Is a way to add commands via Steam to launch a game with different fixes. To get to the option to add the launch commands I reference below; Right-click Black Mesa in your Steam games list, click Properties, then under the General tab add the commands to the Set Launch Options box.

Make sure each command starts with either the 'minus' - or 'plus' + character indicated in the FAQ below; and has a space after each command.
The 'minus' - refers to an engine command and the 'plus' + refers to the developer console commands. (Example: -dev +fps_max 75

= 'Developer Console'
Is an overlay that will drop down from the top of screen over the game that allows you to input commands to enable or disable different settings not present within the settings UI. To access this; within the game, on your keyboard press the 'tilde' ~ key and the Developer Console should appear.

If the Developer Console does not appear, you will need to enable it. Go to the in-game Options menu, then select Game, then change the developer console option to 'yes'.

= 'autoexec.cfg'
Refers to a file in the Black Mesa directory that executes developer console commands automatically without you having to type them in each time you run the game. This file is located in:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Black Mesa\bms\cfg.
It can be opened in notepad. Right-click autoexec.cfg, click Open with, then select Notepad and click OK. Each new command will need to be entered below the previous one, starting with the last one in the file (which by default is r_farz -1) and then save the file.

Please note that adding Console Commands to the 'autoexec.cfg' is no longer necessary as you can simply add the console commands to the Steam 'Game Launch Options' field instead, by adding a 'plus' + to the console command instead of a 'minus' - (For example +fps_max 75)

I thought I would put together this quick guide to help new players that encounter some of the most common issues with Black Mesa Definitive Edition (1.5). A lot of people with similar issues seem to be creating a lot of unnecessary threads.

First Steps to try:
1) Check the Black Mesa Store Page for the Minimum Hardware Specifications.
As they have changed since the original MOD and Early Access releases. Integrated Graphics are NOT supported. Black Mesa has many major graphical upgrades that uses a brand new rendering engine, such as Dynamic Lighting and Shadows, which requires a dedicated graphics card. This is a game released in 2020, not 2004, and requires a modern PC capable of playing modern games.

2) Try unsubscribing from and deleting MOD's.
Some older MOD's are incompatible with the latest release and will need to be recompiled by the mod-maker for the latest version of Black Mesa's Steam Workshop. Most issues players are having are caused by having MOD's installed. The developers have and will continue to address modding and Steam Workshop issues.

You can disable MOD's quickly instead of deleting them, before you start Black Mesa; by adding the following to the game launch options:
+workshop_disable 1
Note that this will only work on MOD's installed via the Subscribe button in the Steam Workshop. (Where the MOD's files are located in the 'content' folder within the steam workshop folder. Unfortunately, this command won't work with MOD's installed within the 'custom' folder).

3) Make sure to Verify Integrity Of Game Files.
Within Steam, right-click Black Mesa in your games list, click Properties, click the Local Files tab, then click the Verify Integrity Of Game Files button. This will check your Black Mesa files against the files on the Steam servers. If there's any descrepencies, it'll redownload any corrupted files.

Why do you have an odd number of RAM?

4 ram sockets, being 32 bit, sys only runs glitch free up yo 3 gbs ram, 2 x 1gb cards, 2 x 512 mb cards. Net resarch found majority opinions and test results show it perform best using all 4 socket channels for less traffic/channel. ;-) I'll be buying new tower with Win11 Pro, maybe 10 gbs ram, few gbs vcard, 64 bit sys min, sometime in near future. Meanwhile it gives me satisfaction when I can learn how to stop games that made cpu too ricky hot, to run well in safe temp range and share to public for many in similar sys as mine. Knowing it's likely to help some feel better makes me feel better. ;-)

Originally posted by The Prime Minister of Canada:

Why do you have an odd number of RAM?

Back in the day we had 3 or 6GB RAM sticks. I used to have 12GB RAM back in 2011.

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Originally posted by DeadPhoenix:

Originally posted by The Prime Minister of Canada:

Why do you have an odd number of RAM?

Back in the day we had 3 or 6GB RAM sticks. I used to have 12GB RAM back in 2011.

Funny enough, until I upgraded last fall, I had a 12 GB config (6 x 2GB).

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