Black Mesa East - Is it in Episode One?

[Omega1]

This is a strange issue that I came across after reading the official Episode One strategy guide. As I'm sure everyone's familiar with, Black Mesa East was invaded by Combine forces in Half-Life 2 and was not seen for the rest of the game. Come Episode One and Black Mesa East also makes no mention. But, reading the Episode One strategy guide, it has this to say about Eli:

Currently Eli Vance has stayed in the secretive lair known as Black Mesa East to help control operations and worry about the safety of his only daughter

This is not a leftover bit from the original Half-Life 2 strategy guide. This is a new piece of info added in the Episode One guide. Now, it calls this secretive lair "Black Mesa East", but the guide noticeably doesn't identify this as being the same Black Mesa East that was seen in Half-Life 2... OR DOES IT? The Episode One guide goes on to say this about Kleiner:

Pulling back from his laboratory in City 17, Kleiner appears to have retreated back to Black Mesa East to join his more level-headed colleague, Eli.

Saying that he retreated back to Black Mesa East would imply that this is the same facility that was crashed by the Combine in Half-Life 2. Does this strike anyone else as being odd? One would wonder how they were able to regain control of Black Mesa East from the Combine, or perhaps this simply means that the Combine didn't stick around after capturing Eli the first time. Ignoring all that, this means that Eli and Kleiner are in Black Mesa East when they contact Alyx and Gordon at the beginning of the episode, and that this is from where Kleiner is broadcasting his messages over the Combine screens in City 17. However, I've also been told (by other unreliable sources, incidentally) that Eli and Kleiner are supposed to be in some abandoned missile silo that will be featured more prominently in Episode Two, not Black Mesa East. Forgive my lack of knowledge, but I have not been following the development of the upcoming episode too much, so I have no idea what this "missile silo" is supposed to be. Is the strategy guide in error? Or did Eli and Kleiner travel to some other location by the time of Episode Two? Any light able to be shed on the situation would be much appreciated.

 

[Apocalypse89]

Most likely an error, or the guide just didn't want to use "unknown location" and pulled BME out if its ass. Two reasons why:

1. We now know that in Ep. 2 that Eli and the rest of the resistance have moved their base to an ex-Soviet missile silo in the middle of the forest, not an abandoned hydroelectric plant like BME.

2. It makes no sense to return to a place that is not only well-known (and possibly occupied) by your enemy, but has been severely damaged in a recent attack.

 

[Inyssius Grey]

Yeah, Prima pulls things out of their collective ass on a pretty regular basis. This would be a pretty cool piece of information were it not obviously false, though. Nice find.

 

[Asknoone]

I'm sure it is simply a mistake, the guide not knowing exactly where they were taking Eli and Kleiner in Episode 2.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

I found this wierd. Considering the entries are done by Laidlaw, that sporboaly where they were gonna be. The story goes through loads of interations.

 

[Epsi]

Could be that Eli, Mossman, and Kliener went to BME, Kliener hacked the C17 announcement system, teleported Mossman to the Arctic using the equipment in BME, Eli gets in touch with Alyx and Gordon, then they retreat to the missile silo to be as far as possible away from the city before the Citadel blew.

 

[A True Canadian]

I highly doubt Black Mesa East is of any use. The place was getting torn apart from the Combine invasion. The damn ceiling was caving in. The real question is if the teleporter still works at the Black Mesa East location, but I think it was damaged during the attack. If the ceiling was coming down then the main section of the teleporter (hanging from the ceiling) would have likely come crashing down as well.

Is the base under Combine control? I'd like to think that no it isn't. After Gordon's terrifying night in Ravenholm he emerges from the mines in an old rail station under rebel control. Inside that station Alyx is seen communicating on a television screen (with bad reception). Where could Alyx be communicating from? I believe it was from Black Mesa East. Alyx, some rebels, some Vortiguants, and possibly Dog probably fought through the night keeping the base from Combine control. The base however, was pretty beat up afterwards and things were barely working. That would explain the bad singal, unless reception at that train yard was bad. The only other place that Alyx would have been able to speak to Gordon would be at the small base at the top of the dam.

She then made her way to a railway and snuck on one of the trains to Nova Prospekt from there. Either way, BME was in bad shape and would have taken some time to repair.

Could be that Eli, Mossman, and Kliener went to BME, Kliener hacked the C17 announcement system, teleported Mossman to the Arctic using the equipment in BME, Eli gets in touch with Alyx and Gordon, then they retreat to the missile silo to be as far as possible away from the city before the Citadel blew.

Here's how I see it.

During Half-Life 2, after Gordon and Alyx teleport into Kleiner's lab from Nova Prospekt, Alyx tells Gordon to take Dog and go on without her. Her reason being that she needed to get Kleiner to a safe location. Where exactly is that location? There's no feasible way to get Kleiner to Black Mesa East in a couple of hours, so where did he go?

I think Alyx sent him to the missile base. Afterall the Train Station is right next door. She likely rounded up some rebels and sent them on one of the trains out of the city. Kleiner probably arrived at the missile base shortly before the Citadel explosion (the one to end Half-Life 2).

How did Eli and Mossman get to where they are at the start of Episode 2? I think they each took seperate escape pods. Eli's was programmed to land at the missile base, while Mossman's was sent up north. I doubt Mossman and Eli both shared the same escape pod, because that would mean that Mossman would be at the missile base. There wouldn't be enough time for her to travel up north because the escape pods don't work like that (stopping off somewhere and then launching again). The only other way she could get north would be via a teleporter, but that would be odd considering Kleiner and Eli were both in City 17 and no one would have been able to build a teleporter at the missle base without their help.


So to summarize, yes I think that the Black Mesa East reference is a goof on Prima's part.

 

[Que-Ever]

I don't think anybody was there for a long period of time during episode 1, but they still would've gone back to check on the teleporter, wouldn't they? You wouldn't jsut leave something like that behind. Wait for the combine to leave or evacuate because of the meltdown, and then go salvage.

 

[Acepilotf14]

BME got shot with headcrab pods: OBviously, a few of the headcrabs could have escaped;found airvents and whatnot, they then seeked out any survivors that were alone and still near, and latched. or found a dead body or something.. can headcrabs latch to a dead body? hmm.. interesting.. but yeah, there would be zombies there and stuff.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

BME got shot with headcrab pods: OBviously, a few of the headcrabs could have escaped;found airvents and whatnot, they then seeked out any survivors that were alone and still near, and latched. or found a dead body or something.. can headcrabs latch to a dead body? hmm.. interesting.. but yeah, there would be zombies there and stuff.

Vortbies!:O

 

[Asknoone]

Here's how I see it.

During Half-Life 2, after Gordon and Alyx teleport into Kleiner's lab from Nova Prospekt, Alyx tells Gordon to take Dog and go on without her. Her reason being that she needed to get Kleiner to a safe location. Where exactly is that location? There's no feasible way to get Kleiner to Black Mesa East in a couple of hours, so where did he go?

I think Alyx sent him to the missile base. Afterall the Train Station is right next door. She likely rounded up some rebels and sent them on one of the trains out of the city. Kleiner probably arrived at the missile base shortly before the Citadel explosion (the one to end Half-Life 2).

How did Eli and Mossman get to where they are at the start of Episode 2? I think they each took seperate escape pods. Eli's was programmed to land at the missile base, while Mossman's was sent up north. I doubt Mossman and Eli both shared the same escape pod, because that would mean that Mossman would be at the missile base. There wouldn't be enough time for her to travel up north because the escape pods don't work like that (stopping off somewhere and then launching again). The only other way she could get north would be via a teleporter, but that would be odd considering Kleiner and Eli were both in City 17 and no one would have been able to build a teleporter at the missle base without their help.


So to summarize, yes I think that the Black Mesa East reference is a goof on Prima's part.

Bingo.

I highly doubt Black Mesa East is of any use. The place was getting torn apart from the Combine invasion. The damn ceiling was caving in. The real question is if the teleporter still works at the Black Mesa East location, but I think it was damaged during the attack. If the ceiling was coming down then the main section of the teleporter (hanging from the ceiling) would have likely come crashing down as well.

Is the base under Combine control? I'd like to think that no it isn't. After Gordon's terrifying night in Ravenholm he emerges from the mines in an old rail station under rebel control. Inside that station Alyx is seen communicating on a television screen (with bad reception). Where could Alyx be communicating from? I believe it was from Black Mesa East. Alyx, some rebels, some Vortiguants, and possibly Dog probably fought through the night keeping the base from Combine control. The base however, was pretty beat up afterwards and things were barely working. That would explain the bad singal, unless reception at that train yard was bad. The only other place that Alyx would have been able to speak to Gordon would be at the small base at the top of the dam.

She then made her way to a railway and snuck on one of the trains to Nova Prospekt from there. Either way, BME was in bad shape and would have taken some time to repair.

I disagree. The Combine would not let go of Black Mesa East - at all. The rebels, Alyx, Dog and the Vortigaunts would have had to flee, they couldn't of hold up against the Overwatch...honestly not going to happen. I think Alyx was communicating from somewhere in the wasteland, possibly a Vortigaunt outpost.

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

I disagree. The Combine would not let go of Black Mesa East - at all. The rebels, Alyx, Dog and the Vortigaunts would have had to flee, they couldn't of hold up against the Overwatch...honestly not going to happen. I think Alyx was communicating from somewhere in the wasteland, possibly a Vortigaunt outpost.

That would make shens. Then again, she must be near the City becuase she mentions that she'll take a train there. Unless theres a station along the way.

 

[Acepilotf14]

omg atomic piggie!! YOU USED MY POST ON YOUR SIG!!! I feel special now.

 

[Mesz]

That was the best post ever, I would have sigged it if Atomic Piggy hadn't stolen it first

I think BME was probably too close to City 17 and would have gotten boomsploded in the end of EP1, it's likely some rebels probably went there just to check things out and see what was salvagable, they probably just buggared off after that

 

[Polaris]

Probably it's not mistake of Prima books. Because when you "noclip" into place from where Eli and Isaac talk to Alyx and Gordon (at begining of Ep1) you can see equipment for teleportation process such as small anti-mass spectrometer - same as in Black Mesa East...