Combine Vs. Xen - the final solution

[UltimaApocalypse]

Compare and contrast to the Combine, who enjoy sticking metal in just about everything. And of course, pumping peoples' insides out and replacing it with easily maintained saline.

-Angry Lawyer

I'm not trying to imply that the Combine were on Xen....I'm trying to imply that the VOrtigaunts could be using Combine tech.

:flame: If you believe the Combine were on Xen you can die a slow and painful death:flame:

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

Compare and contrast to the Combine, who enjoy sticking metal in just about everything. And of course, pumping peoples' insides out and replacing it with easily maintained saline.

-Angry Lawyer

I'm not implying that the Combine were on Xen, if you believe that you may die a horrible firey death:flame: But I am implying that the Vortigaunts could be using Combine tech they picked up from somewhere

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Well, that's a possibility, but healing tools don't strike me as very Combine. The Combine don't tend to care much about their low-level troops, and therefore a healing chamber would be rather un-Combine. But some of the baseline tech could be originally Combine - Kleiner's teleporter uses Combine capacitors to store power for it.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Apocalypse89]

I've been shutting down tons of "Combine occupied Xen" discussions on other forums by simply posting the link to this thread.

Props to AL and everyone else for taking care of this age-old issue. Now we only have to find a way to disprove the whole "G-man = Gordon Freeman WHOAMG" thing.

 

[Eejit]

Now we only have to find a way to disprove the whole "G-man = Gordon Freeman WHOAMG" thing.

Is that even worth the effort? It's the most nonsensical theory ever. It's based on EYE COLOUR and removing letters from a characters' name... And requires there to be time travel, plus Gordon to have major plastic surgery.

I tend to laugh at it rather than argue.

 

[Sulkdodds]

With that theory you honestly don't even need to argue.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I've been shutting down tons of "Combine occupied Xen" discussions on other forums by simply posting the link to this thread.

Thanks to Orfuss on Leak-Free, my argument managed to stop community pressure from forcing them to replace the Xen factory section with a huge Combine Citadel.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Sulkdodds]

They were going to do that? :O

 

[ríomhaire]

They were going to do that? :O

No but there were plenty idiots screeming for it.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Aha, but:

- Freeman must have been going to rather central or at least important locations while in Xen - a factory, Nihilanth's chamber, eccetera.

- Elusive wildlife would be unlikely to be found in such central/industrialised locations - for example, it's unlikely you'd find a panda wandering around Washington DC.

- Combine tech meanwhile, is more likely to be found in such central/industrialised locations - for example, it's likely that you'd find one of those distinctive human government buildings while in Washington DC. Like the White House.

Considering that Gordon journeyed into the heart of the Xenian machine, he have seen Combine tech if there was any anywhere. But he might not necessarily have seen elusive wildlife.

but ur assuming that the Combine would make changes in Nihilanth's chamber however since theres no such changes in Breen's office, is it not fair to assume the Combine would not change Nihilanth's chamber?

i don't really believe either side right now after seeing how vague Marc Laidlaw seems to be in all responses...not that its a bad idea, infact its probably a good idea to stay vague...leaves for many possibilties for expansions and HL3-4 etc

of all the theories being shared here, the most intriguing to me is the one with a third race (Gman's new contractor as of HL2?) possibly in the picture.

and oh...just for Samon: Adrian Shepherd for the win!!! :bounce:
AL, could this thread be the reason why Badgey has the head start on women?

 

[ríomhaire]

but ur assuming that the Combine would make changes in Nihilanth's chamber however since theres no such changes in Breen's office, is it not fair to assume the Combine would not change Nihilanth's chamber?

Where did he mention the Combine changing Nihilanth's chamber?

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Where did he mention the Combine changing Nihilanth's chamber?

he said something to the effect that the Combine would have changed Nihily's chamber and i countered with my post
that or i mis-understood his post.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Well, considering Breen's chamber was made from Combine metal...

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Apocalypse89]

Thanks to Orfuss on Leak-Free, my argument managed to stop community pressure from forcing them to replace the Xen factory section with a huge Combine Citadel.

-Angry Lawyer

:O That's just crazy. I mean, even if the Combine-on-Xen theory was still plausible, the Xen factory still had a completely different style and atmosphere from the Earth Citadel. Changing it would have been plain stupid.

Oh, and I'm also finding myself using this thread to warn people who post links to the Half-Life Story Guide how outdated it is.

 

[Llama]

has anyone managed to make contact with the writer yet? I tried to tell him his guide is crap (though I put it more politely in my email ) but got no responce

 

[ríomhaire]

has anyone managed to make contact with the writer yet? I tried to tell him his guide is crap (though I put it more politely in my email ) but got no responce

I don't know if he answers that e-mail address anymore. And he hasn't updated his sight. He could be dead for all we know.

 

[Sulkdodds]

He just ignores everyone I believe.

 

[Eejit]

Well, considering Breen's chamber was made from Combine metal...

-Angry Lawyer

And had Combine view screens and allowed the combine people-pods entry.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

'xactly.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Polaris]

has anyone managed to make contact with the writer yet? I tried to tell him his guide is crap (though I put it more politely in my email ) but got no responce

In his page is this:
Q: I completely disagree with pretty much everything on here! It's absolutely preposterous!
A: Please remember - everything on this site is simply my interpretation of the events. It's the analysis of the story, and how it logically fits together given all the information we have. If you disagree, please, I urge you to create your own guide

He have own theory, that's all. If you have better guide - give us link...
I disagree with some things in this guide but I respect him.
It really shameful to send him email with abuse ...

 

[Asknoone]

It is people politely asking him to change it, I mean...why host something thats false? It was speculation at the time, but now there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that surpasses it.

 

[ríomhaire]

In his page is this:
Q: I completely disagree with pretty much everything on here! It's absolutely preposterous!
A: Please remember - everything on this site is simply my interpretation of the events. It's the analysis of the story, and how it logically fits together given all the information we have. If you disagree, please, I urge you to create your own guide

He have own theory, that's all. If you have better guide - give us link...
I disagree with some things in this guide but I respect him.
It really shameful to send him email with abuse ...

Yes but the fact is that some information on the site is blatently wrong.

 

[Polaris]

Yes but the fact is that some information on the site is blatently wrong.

Like this - 1995, The Combine Empire invades and takes control of Xen, eventually turning the entire planet into a slave race. (only date doesn't fit , how can he say that?)
or this - You have to remember, Gordon also freed a different race: the Xenians. So this is the second big blow Gordon's struck against the Combine. The funny thing is, he doesn't even realize it.

 

[ríomhaire]

He even has the date of the BM incedent wrong.

 

[Eejit]

He said he was more polite than saying his guide was 'crap' which is hardly bad abuse anyway.
So no need to play the shame game.

 

[Apocalypse89]

In his page is this:

He have own theory, that's all. If you have better guide - give us link...

Wikipedia seems pretty reliable when it comes to finding info about the HL universe. You have to do a bit of mental filtering to seperate the gameplay crap from the storyline, but that really doesn't take much effort.

 

[Polaris]

Wikipedia seems pretty reliable when it comes to finding info about the HL universe. You have to do a bit of mental filtering to seperate the gameplay crap from the storyline, but that really doesn't take much effort.

I know wikipedia (I wrote some things) its best source of informations about HL2, but I meant Llama's own guide...

 

[ríomhaire]

I edited the headcrab section before and some asswipe changed it back.

 

[Llama]

I edited the headcrab section before and some asswipe changed it back.

/me gets a strange feeling of De Ja Vu.
You've said that before :x

 

[ríomhaire]

/me gets a strange feeling of De Ja Vu.
You've said that before :x

Yes yes I have.

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

He also said that he doesn't have time to read emails because he's getting back in school, but that was a while ago....Perhaps he just doesn't care and has abandoned Half Life

 

[Solver]

Stop criticizing the poor guy, host your own timeline instead .

 

[Llama]

We shouldnt have to, thats the point

 

[ríomhaire]

BTW I edited Nihy's page on the wiki, fixing a wrong quote and removing 2 Combine references.

 

[Llama]

Good good. All is in order :E

 

[r2000]

The same way as we found Xen. Coincidence.
Or, an event in the magnitude of a Resonance Cascade has to show up on some sort of big scientific equipment. Perhaps that notified them.
If they're attacking lots of worlds with tunneling tech, they must have a way of detecting worlds in the first place. And I'm sure Samon has a sound byte from an extended (and cut) ending sequence, where Eli yells something about, if Breen gives them the tech, they'll be free to "Pop between Universes at will, and enslave everyone" or something.
Or, again, maybe they've always known about us, and have only just gotten around to attacking?

-Angry Lawyer

Agreed. The Resonance Cascade had to be a giant becaon across the dimensions.

 

[Langolier]

I do not see how anything has changed. Also, nobody here has proved that the Combine either were or were not on Xen. Those for/against their respective positions have only shown that both theories are pretty equally likely. Though admittedly, folks such as Angry Lawyer and his 'cronies' are much more over-confident in their interpretation than they should be. Either of them calling the other side "close minded" is laughable.

The facts in the storyline are kept vague on purpose. Nobody can prove either side right or wrong. It just won't happen.

I can look at alot of the things we saw on Xen and relate them to things I saw on Earth in Half-Life 2, doing that, I can come to the conclusion that Xen was under Combine control or had stolen some of their techniques. At the same time, I can see how different they are and understand that the Combine may have had absolutely no presence there. I think the biggest mistake people make is to assume that what we saw on Earth was a proper representation of the Combine's tactics as a whole, as opposed to just one planet. Just remember: we are dealing with aliens here, not humans.

Personally, I don't think the Combine controlled Xen. I think they wanted Xen because in having Xen they could have easy access to any universe they desired. I also think that the G-Man being an agent of some other faction that is trying to stop the Combine (or potentially just rival them) also wanted the Boarder world. Either to use themselves, or as some measure of insurance against a Combine invasion. We don't know what role the G-Man played in the Military's plans, only that he was involved in some way.

Of interest: we see the G-Man around Sector-C prior to the cascade in both HL1 and HL: Decay. From Decay, we know that the equipment had been sabatoged. The Administrator was pushing the experiment to go along, and he was nowhere to be found durring the incident (so far as we know), however he mysteriously wound up the leader of Earth after the Combine arrived. Dr. Keller forumlated the plan to launch the satalite into space to close the cascade. The military aborted said launch. After Freeman succeeded in restarting the launch, we soon no longer saw any random Xen life teleporting into Black Mesa. (yes we did see at least one Bull Squid and one Head Crab, but I think it is important to remember that a rocket needs a little time to get into space, and the sattelite needs time to get into its proper orbit! It's not instant people.) Xen soldiers did continue to enter the base though, apparantly via a portal being held open by Nihilanth. Freeman killed Nihilanth, but at some point more portals began to open again, but world wide. In HL2, the Combine cannot teleport from A to B in the same univerise. Only from A to B from different universes.

I'm not sure exactly how the Combine came to know humanity if they had no presence on Xen. No one is sure, especially not Angry Lawyer. Do they have some sort of technology that lets them detect portal activity in other dimensions? Possibly, but we certainly don't have any hard evidence for it, do we? We just don't know. No one does, even Marc Laidlaw might not know for certain how everything fits together because it's possible he has not written it all yet.

 

[Llama]

Did you even read the thread? Have you any idea what you are talking about?

The ENTIRE half life story has been planned out already.

 

[ríomhaire]

I do not see how anything has changed. Also, nobody here has proved that the Combine either were or were not on Xen. Those for/against their respective positions have only shown that both theories are pretty equally likely. Though admittedly, folks such as Angry Lawyer and his 'cronies' are much more over-confident in their interpretation than they should be. Either of them calling the other side "close minded" is laughable.

The facts in the storyline are kept vague on purpose. Nobody can prove either side right or wrong. It just won't happen.

Did you read the first post?

I can look at alot of the things we saw on Xen and relate them to things I saw on Earth in Half-Life 2, doing that, I can come to the conclusion that Xen was under Combine control or had stolen some of their techniques.

Actualy, Xen and Combine Earth are almost completely different IMO.

At the same time, I can see how different they are and understand that the Combine may have had absolutely no presence there. I think the biggest mistake people make is to assume that what we saw on Earth was a proper representation of the Combine's tactics as a whole, as opposed to just one planet. Just remember: we are dealing with aliens here, not humans.

I agree

Personally, I don't think the Combine controlled Xen. I think they wanted Xen because in having Xen they could have easy access to any universe they desired.

They do, they just need a rediculous amount of power to do so. And they may have other boarder worlds under their control as far as we no.

I also think that the G-Man being an agent of some other faction that is trying to stop the Combine (or potentially just rival them) also wanted the Boarder world. Either to use themselves, or as some measure of insurance against a Combine invasion. We don't know what role the G-Man played in the Military's plans, only that he was involved in some way.

He was examining the HECU troops, he was seen talking to an officer and he is the only civilian the HECU didn't target. I'd say he was more than involved. I'd say he organised the attack, maybe even had something to do with the founding of the HECU.

Of interest: we see the G-Man around Sector-C prior to the cascade in both HL1 and HL: Decay. From Decay, we know that the equipment had been sabatoged.

>_>
<_<

The Administrator was pushing the experiment to go along, and he was nowhere to be found durring the incident (so far as we know),

So far as we know Bobo the Clown killed off half the Vortigaunts in BM. The lack of being seen by 5 people over 3 days in a masive facility doesn't meen he wasn't there.

however he mysteriously wound up the leader of Earth after the Combine arrived.

You think the UN and American Government sat back and watched the Portal Storms? They got someone who knew about these aliens and got him into the government, thus giving him the ability to negotioate with the Combine if they contacted the government, which I believe they did.

Dr. Keller forumlated the plan to launch the satalite into space to close the cascade. The military aborted said launch. After Freeman succeeded in restarting the launch, we soon no longer saw any random Xen life teleporting into Black Mesa. (yes we did see at least one Bull Squid and one Head Crab, but I think it is important to remember that a rocket needs a little time to get into space, and the sattelite needs time to get into its proper orbit! It's not instant people.) Xen soldiers did continue to enter the base though, apparantly via a portal being held open by Nihilanth. Freeman killed Nihilanth, but at some point more portals began to open again, but world wide. In HL2, the Combine cannot teleport from A to B in the same univerise. Only from A to B from different universes.

What? What does portals between Xen and Earth have to do with the Combines lack of local teleports?

I'm not sure exactly how the Combine came to know humanity if they had no presence on Xen. No one is sure, especially not Angry Lawyer. Do they have some sort of technology that lets them detect portal activity in other dimensions? Possibly, but we certainly don't have any hard evidence for it, do we? We just don't know. No one does, even Marc Laidlaw might not know for certain how everything fits together because it's possible he has not written it all yet.

Maybe it was a coincidence or maybe they were traking the Xenians seeing as they had a previous history together.

 

[Llama]

Riomowned!