I also liked 'the narcissistic injury of the level ignoring me' as an excuse for unrealistic hit decals.
I didn't care for his 'so what?' attitude about someone pointing out they were unrealistic - because the game's supposed to be immersive. If you want an effect and the excuse doesn't fit, find a different excuse. What else would justify the mechanic you're trying to convey?
Someone complained about the hit decals from a 25 year old game being unrealistic? I don't blame him for the "attitude"; this was among the first games to have such a thing. That shit was cutting edge for the time and it blew our minds. Not even Quake 2 had hit decals, IIRC.
Half-life was hella immersive for the time. People take everything for granted nowadays.