Does this picture look familiar to anyone?

[Maturin]

No, this isn't entirely random.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/DSC03378.jpg

This (the image was too big to embed) is a view of Sofia, Bulgaria as seen from the mountain massif known as Vitosha. Who knows what I'm getting at?

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/half-life/en/images/0/0b/CitadelSmoke.jpg

Sorry if this has been posted before.

 

[Warped]

nice connection there

 

[Maturin]

Actually, with all the light on the horizon of the Sofia pic, some clever soul could photoshop the exploding citadel right on the horizon.

 

[gFrohman]

That's an interesting find.

 

[Naudian]

None of the buildings match or anything...what's the big deal? It's just a photo with a similar angle...

 

[Mech Man]

How close is it to the ocean? Does it have a canal? Is there a small villiage on the outskirts? Hm?

 

[Maturin]

I don't think that one photo is based off the other, I just see a healthy amount of inspiration and coincidence.

Sofia obviously isn't City 17 as it is several hundred miles from the ocean, but stylistically it is supposed to be the closest match(because it's Viktor Antonov's hometown), and the way Vitosha dominates the area is similar to the dramatic rise in elevation just to the north of City 17.

 

[jet_porkins]

Couldn't be. Have an alien imperial force declared MARSHAL LAW on the town? HMMMMM??!!

 

[Maturin]

Couldn't be. Have an alien imperial force declared MARSHAL LAW on the town? HMMMMM??!!

Alien imperialists? Of course, comrade.

 

[Jebusy]

Thats really cool how they used that city.

 

[Gemma]

Nu Uh, I don't think it's the same place, just the same camera angle tbh :\

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Valve have said many times that City 17 and its architecture and inspiration came from Eastern European cities, and this is a consistant theme throughout our time in City 17. I'm sure there is an exact city which this actual screenshot is modeled upon in real life, but I can't match anything up, so it doesn't seem to be Sofia. But you are on the right lines.

 

[Fiberawptic]

Valve has also said numerously that City 17 isn't based off one particular city. It's several with some of the buildings being modeled after actual landmarks and some of the scenery from various different places. Its composed of not one but many cities...

 

[Rizzo]

You are all wrong. City 17 is obviously somewhere in scandinavia.
I saw it on the gas pumps.

 

[Maturin]

You are all wrong. City 17 is obviously somewhere in scandinavia.
I saw it on the gas pumps.

Joking or not?

Anyways, there are numerous signs in the cryllic alphabet, some of which use characters exclusive to the Bulgarian version. Not that that is all that important, since City 17 doesn't have a real-world counterpart.

I posted the picture because just borrowing some architecture and atmosphere does not mean that a large vista will match up, especially in a game such as Half-Life, with small, self-contained maps that have no definitive place in a larger geographic area. The similarity is partially imagined, and it's just an intriguing thing that only a fan would notice.

I don't think that the Episode Two overlook is based off a real photograph, but it is almost certain that Viktor Antonov, living in Sofia, climbed Vitosha to ski or hike and looked down on the city.

 

[Sledgehammer]

I like to think that City 17 is somewhere close to the Black Sea.

 

[JBails]

City 17 came from a lot of different places

But even VALVe need inspiration