Combine and Xen Connection (A long, Comprehensive Theory of evererything HL)

[Jandor]

I'd say spelling over grammer, your grammer looks fine enough to me.

I'm not going to criticize spelling or grammer, as I know mine is all over the place .

and that really dosn't look that mechanical to me.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

It's a teleporter crystal. The Xenians do have technology, but it's not invasive, like Combine tech. It's designed to fit with their environments. If you look at the Combine stuff, the have a LOT of augmentation, and look really out of place, compared to the environment they're in. It's the whole organic vs. mechanical debate.

And I don't remember Controllers being green. Is that a reskinned one? Or have I just been away from HL1 for too long.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Jandor]

I completed it again yesterday. It was fun, but man did it look ugly after HL2 .

 

[ríomhaire]

And I don't remember Controllers being green. Is that a reskinned one? Or have I just been away from HL1 for too long.

-Angry Lawyer

It's the Blue Shift high detail model.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

One of these days, I'm going to get Blue Shift.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Asknoone]

One of these days, I'm going to get Blue Shift.

-Angry Lawyer

Its better than opposing force IMO. The chapter "Power up" is brilliant.

 

[FireCrack]

IMO blue shift absolutley blew compared to opfor. Unless you wre being sarcastic.

 

[Jandor]

I never bought the expansions uptil recently. Im currently playing through Blue Shift then I'm going to tackle Opposing Force.

Play them in reverse order.

 

[Ennui]

I liked Opposing Force a LOT more than Blue Shift... Blue Shift was too short and easy for my tastes.

 

[Asknoone]

I liked Opposing Force a LOT more than Blue Shift... Blue Shift was too short and easy for my tastes.

Perhaps. I just considered Blue shift more of a little map pack where you play as a security for some extra fun.

 

[fokke]

http://fragfiles.org/~hlstory/

Read this, I believe the guy is right.
You can't see the combine on earth either because they aren't there. The ones you fight are human slaves. Just like on Xen :
At first you kill Vortigaunt slaves, then: you kill vortigaunt grunts (manipulated by the Combine) In Opposing Force: You kill Shock Troopers, which are also manipulated Vortigaunts if you study them closely. The Combine have planned the Resonance Cascade, and the Aliens being transported to Earth was part of their plan. This was just the taste of the invasion. (7 day war)
As you can see on Xen: The industries producing Grunts have the task to produce an army, capable of at least conquering a small part of earth (Black Mesa)
There are believes that Nihilanth is a Vortigaunt too: Just all big and babylike.

 

[ríomhaire]

I don't think that guy is right on a number of points, for one I believe the Combine had no motive for getting in contact with Breen.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I can't believe people believe that tripe.

"Who are the Combine? The Combine (also known as the Synth...

Anybody else see the incorrectness of this comment alone?

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Asknoone]

I can't believe people believe that tripe.



Anybody else see the incorrectness of this comment alone?

-Angry Lawyer

Indeed, fools.

 

[Jandor]

This was just the taste of the invasion. (7 day war)

What 7 day war?

The Combine have planned the Resonance Cascade, and the Aliens being transported to Earth was part of their plan.

Why couldn't the Cascade have been an accident, the scientists do say the chance of it happening is small but possible. then Nihilanth, who isn't powerfull enough to reach Earth on his own, uses the Cascade, trying to keep it from going out of control. So he sends troops over to Black Mesa to stop whats happening on this side.
However, you kill him before he has chance and the resonance cascade goes out of control. The effects are so strong that it even manages to interfere with the Combine, who notice both Earth and Xen and invade both planets. which are both conquered rather easily.

you kill vortigaunt grunts (manipulated by the Combine)

Why couldn't that have been Nihilanths doing?

You kill Shock Troopers, which are also manipulated Vortigaunts if you study them closely.

Most people don't even think there from Xen. and they dont look like Vortigaunts to me.

There are believes that Nihilanth is a Vortigaunt too: Just all big and babylike.

Well, there is a running theme from Vortigaunts up to Grunts, up to Nihilanth, then down again to Controllers (who look like Nihilanth but not like Vortigaunts.)

 

[ríomhaire]

Actually in Decay Dr. Rosenburg says that the resonace cascade had to be caused because someone had to turn of dampening locks or something.
So this is my new theory in brief...
Nihilanth was really pissed off at the humans so he was preparing an invasion force. The g-man knew this so caused the system crash to do a number of things including shutting off the dampening locks (and shutting off Gordon's clearance) and caused the cascade as a pre-emtive strike.
He then sent in the military to clear things up. The military aported the satilite launch (even though it would stop the resonance cascade) as it would alow Nihilanth to locate Earth and start his invasion. The g-man now knowing an all-out war was inevitable steered Gordon to Xen where he could kill Nihilanth.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Actually in Decay Dr. Rosenburg says that the resonace cascade had to be caused because someone had to turn of dampening locks or something.
So this is my new theory in brief...
Nihilanth was really pissed off at the humans so he was preparing an invasion force. The g-man knew this so caused the system crash to do a number of things including shutting off the dampening locks (and shutting off Gordon's clearance) and caused the cascade as a pre-emtive strike.
He then sent in the military to clear things up. The military aported the satilite launch (even though it would stop the resonance cascade) as it would alow Nihilanth to locate Earth and start his invasion. The g-man now knowing an all-out war was inevitable steered Gordon to Xen where he could kill Nihilanth.

A; Gordon doesn't have clearance because he's new
B; How was the sattelitte supposed to stop the RC, and so what, seeing as Nihlianth already knew where earth was?

I maintain that Breen wanted the invasion to happen and he sabotaged the experiment, while the g-man tried to stop him. I strongly believe that there is a power struggle between them two. (or between Breen and possibly his allies and the g-mans employers)
Once the RC had happened, Breen, using standard regulations, sent in the HECU to cease the Facility and silence all witnesses, while the g-man, using god-like, time-stopping and maybe a little ass kissing sent in the black ops, to repel the army and stop Breen's plans, but also taking control of the lambda complex, as this is the only thing that can stop this whole thing. He suceeds thanks to Gordon, which he employs, but somehow, before or after the RC, Breen got involved with the Combine and g-man was helpless to stop them.

 

[Jandor]

I dont care about Decay because I havn't played it and never will .

 

[ríomhaire]

B; How was the sattelitte supposed to stop the RC,

It says it in Decay. That was its purpose.

and so what, seeing as Nihlianth already knew where earth was?

Who says he did?

 

[AJ Rimmer]

It says it in Decay. That was its purpose.


Who says he did?

He sends his little dudes here? Mighty hard without knowing where "here" is, unless he sent in like 290 000 000 000 000 000 headcrabs and hoped some came our way.
And I thought the purpose of the sattelitte was so the Lambda lads could send old Gordie through to kick some ass.

 

[Jandor]

I have never played Decay. But in the original HL, the sattelite is sent up so we can gain some control on this side and send Gordon through to Xen.
Nihilanth knows where here is because of the Resonance Cascade, before that, it was just random people coming through and stealing things. The RC gave him chance to get some revenge and stop us coming through.

 

[ríomhaire]

He sends his little dudes here? Mighty hard without knowing where "here" is, unless he sent in like 290 000 000 000 000 000 headcrabs and hoped some came our way.

That was the resonance cascade. Which caused portal storms between Earth and Xen. The satelite stopped these. Then Nihilanth sent troops to Earth. When Nihilanth was killed even worse portal storms happened.
Sorry if I sound too 'matter of fact'

And I thought the purpose of the sattelitte was so the Lambda lads could send old Gordie through to kick some ass.

No, fraid not.

 

[Jintor]

Oh, by the way: I learnt that resonance is the natural frequency of an object, and that the symbol of a wavelength is the lambda.

So, what actually happens in a Resoncance Cascade? Does the resonance of the Xenian Rock cause a rupture in the space-time contineum? Everything else does... *shrugs*

 

[AIDisabled]

Oh, by the way: I learnt that resonance is the natural frequency of an object, and that the symbol of a wavelength is the lambda.

So, what actually happens in a Resoncance Cascade? Does the resonance of the Xenian Rock cause a rupture in the space-time contineum? Everything else does... *shrugs*

Actually your definition just a wee bit un-right (not completely wrong, just a bit unspecific).

Resonance is defined as that condition where the frequency at which a body vibrates matches its resonance frequency. Because of this, the body in question can become dangerously unstable and may fail (which is engineering-speak for breakdown, crack etc). It must be noted that a resonance situation primarily affects only the body in question. So a Xenian Rock resonance shouldn't ideally affect any part of the universe other than the rock. However, that rock's breakdown could affect a lot of things--and this is what actually happens in HL1, I think.

Of course I could be wrong.

 

[ríomhaire]

You forgot to include 'cascade'

 

[AIDisabled]

Well, cascade (in this instance) is a chain reaction caused by the after-effects of the resonance breakdown of an unstable meta-radioactive substance. In other words it is entirely unpredictable. Some laboratories have attempted cascades in small scale, but the results are either not noteworthy, or classified. That's as far as I know.

Asking about the effects of a resonance cascade is like asking what's inside (or on the other side) of a black hole.

And of course, everything I'm saying is not definitive.

 

[Jandor]

I think the only reason the Nihilanth can get to Earth is because of the resonance cascade. Because Xen's native teleports rely on the crystals, no crystals on Earth, can't get here. The resonance cascade opens up portals to both sides, which Nihilanth tries to get under control so as to stop his slaves/worshipers/servants being taken to Earth, he then sends troops through to close Black Mesa and stop the storms, however you kill him before its achieved and everything goes tits up.

Yup, Gordon is the bad guy .

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I could go in-depth here about resonance, and crap, but the best way to picture a resonance cascade is to have a musical note cause a glass to shatter. Waves build up in the object, and as they are at the natural requency of the object, they superimpose, and get larger, and larger, until all hell breaks loose. Like the glass exploding.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[AIDisabled]

Yup, Gordon is the bad guy .

Has this been discussed before? I did a search (not extensive), but didn't find anything good. Please gimme links if it has been discussed before.

Know what? Badness seems a very logical move in the storyline, I think. After all we still don't know for sure what exactly Gordon unleashed by messing with Dark Energy, do we? And also, GMan will probably sell Gordon's services to the highest bidder without giving a rat's fart about ethics. And aren't those with the fattest pockets also incontrovertably evil?

 

[[46] pushit [2]]

I have a quick question. Throughout some of the posts I have read about creatures referred to as "synths"? What exactly are these? The weird combine creations shuffling around in the Citadel in the last 2 chapters? Thanks for clarification (and also, is there a sort of A-Z creature reference for HL1/HL2 -- confirmed creatures...)

Thanks.

 

[Jandor]

@ AIDisabled

I meant as in he had done the wrong things, not as in Gordon was evil, so to speak.
It's quite possible the G-Man is though.

@ [46] pushit [2]

The Synth are the 'Striders' 'Gunships' 'Dropships' 'Crabs' and 'Mortars' although you don't fight any Mortars or Crabs you see them in the Prisoner Pod ride up the Citadel, the things shuffling around are 'Stalkers', humans that have been experimented on and had there higher brain functions dumbed down or removed, they have also had there limbs amputated to be replaced with the Combine made limbs. They are run on saline solution as alot of there internal organs have also been removed.

Riomhaire has made a decent stab at a list, although I dont totally agree with it, it does explain Synths and Stalkers reasonably well.

@ Riomhaire

I like your list, but I think my views on the HL Sage have swerved some what .
I like your ideas on MawVorts and Mawmen.

@ General Populace

Someone has put something sticky under my 'N' key and its really annoying.

 

[ríomhaire]

I like your list, but I think my views on the HL Sage have swerved some what.

My views have changed a bit since I made that list, I'll be reviewing it on my site (I havn't done anything on it in a few days though )

 

[Angry Lawyer]

As long as your views now match mine, I'm happy

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Jandor]

300 Posts!! woohoo, you two titans of HL2.net have still outposted me by 1000 nearly.

Jandor for an Independant Xen, if only Pai-Mai could see me now.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Yeah, I miss the guy. He probably died, or something. Or found something better to do with his life.

The majority of my posts have been constructive ones - I avoid the off-topic forums, which explains my relatively low count compared to my join date.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[[46] pushit [2]]

Are Headcrabs considered Xenian? Or just some sort of Parasite that kind of "goes with the flow". I ask because it seems that the Combine do have some sort of control over them Headcrabs (Pai-Mei I liked your theory and tend to agree with you...the fact that the Combine are the ultimate "badguy" just seems too simple for Half-Life).

Anyway, we all saw the headcrabs being launched in the rocket-pod-type-thing that seemed to have come from the Combine (Don't think Xen produced any pods of those type). Also, are posion/fast headcrabs natural evolutions of regular headcrabs? It seems to me that the Combine somehow modified them, mass produced them or something and launched them via pod to take out human-infested areas.

If the Headcrabs are not even Xenian, then your theory about Combine having literally no idea about Xen would stand.

 

[Laivasse]

Also, are posion/fast headcrabs natural evolutions of regular headcrabs?

In Kleiner's lab there's a drawing of a headcrab on the noteboard, with the words "mutation? evolution?" written alongside, plus some illegible writing. It seems that Kleiner thinks it's either a natural evolution or a mutation, but not Combine interference - indeed, given that the Combine tend to turn things into big semi-machines with guns in their faces, the headcrab change seems to be quite un-Combine.

If the Headcrabs are not even Xenian, then your theory about Combine having literally no idea about Xen would stand.

Headcrabs are definitely Xenian. They come over with the Xen forces in HL1, and you meet their "queen" on Xen.

However the theory stills stands - Earth has been infested with Xen wildlife for 10 years and Xen stuff is everywhere. The Combine have taken the headcrabs from Earth and know nothing about Xen.

it seems that the Combine do have some sort of control over them Headcrabs

Hmm, they take them, stick them in pods and then fire them, but it seems like the control stops there. Zombies and Combine attack eachother - if headcrabs were a Combine-controlled creature, then why not program them not to attack the Combine?I've never seen soldiers shoot at an actual headcrab, but I don't think there's any point in the game where headcrabs and Combine come into contact, so that's still a little unclear. There is one point underneath the railway bridge where a headcrab emerges from a room where a Combine soldier was shooting you from, but I always considered that just to be shoddy enemy placement.

 

[Asknoone]

I've been reading over numerous information in both Raising the bar, and the half life 2 walkthrough and strangley enough, its come to the point where i am wondering about whether the combine DID have any connection with Xen.

The way its written is as if theres hardly a connection between the two. Yet playing through half life 1 shows theres a ton of evidence to support the theory

As of now i support niether side regarding the xen/combine connection. Instead I shall wait and see what comes of it.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Well done, Samon. You've progressed from blind believer to scientific analysier.
The only reason playing through HL1 shows 'evidence' is because you have pre-conceived notions about it after discussing things. Tell me, if HL2 was never released, would you believe in the connection?
Play through HL1 again, but this time, replace all thoughts of 'Combine Control' with 'Controller Control'. It makes for a different feeling.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Asknoone]

Well done, Samon. You've progressed from blind believer to scientific analysier.
The only reason playing through HL1 shows 'evidence' is because you have pre-conceived notions about it after discussing things. Tell me, if HL2 was never released, would you believe in the connection?
Play through HL1 again, but this time, replace all thoughts of 'Combine Control' with 'Controller Control'. It makes for a different feeling.

-Angry Lawyer

All too true Lawyer, all too true. I just find it hard to ignore these connections (Grunts in pods, the same conveyor betls and so on), I guess it is because of the lingering presence of the Combine in my mind.

I'm not going to jump to either side, but currently I'm more on the side of "There's no connection" - the very line in the walkthrough (These parts were written bt Marc Laidlaw, if any moans)

"Drawn to earth by the Dimensional rift"

Now that implies that they merley sensed this rip in space, or they were like "WTF!" When they were in control of Xen.

Thats me split.