They're slow because they plan on releasing the game in its entirety, all polished up, on a single date like a regular game studio. Personally, I don't think this is a great idea for a mod as they don't have to and they're working in their spare time. Even Gabe Newell thinks the same way -- he stands by the mod philosophy of "release early, release often." Mods have the flexibility of releasing early builds to the world to feedback. Black Mesa could have followed this by doing episodic releases as it is primarily a single-player game. While the product they have now is impressive, it was a very risky thing for them to work on the project for 6 years. Many members of the development team have came and went over the years.
View
