Ever wonder why the Combine soldiers talk funny? (large spoilers?)

[[Matt]]

I think everyones seen this model by now...

http://mathus.myby.co.uk/d2_prison_040004.jpg
http://mathus.myby.co.uk/d2_prison_040003.jpg

Its a Human thats half way through the process of bieng turned into a combine soldier in nova prospekt. On closer inspection it seems to me like the larynx has been replaced with an implant that looks very much like a speaker. No wonder they talk like they do...

 

[pAiNtHeAsS]

huh
i never saw that
what part of the game is that at?

 

[[Matt]]

its in nova prospekt. You see it on a monitor so i just no clipped through the wall to get to it.

 

[Hackman]

You can look at the model with the model viewer. 'Soldier-stripped' I think it's called
I wonder why their guts are covered in that chrome/bronzy stuff...

 

[marshmallow]

Then how does Barney talk like them?

 

[rum]

good point

 

[[Matt]]

Then how does Barney talk like them?

Combine police and combine soldiers sound very different.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

You can look at the model with the model viewer. 'Soldier-stripped' I think it's called
I wonder why their guts are covered in that chrome/bronzy stuff...

The bulge on the side implies that they had new organs added in. :O

 

[theace55]

talking with a gas mask on your face probably makes you sound a little different..

They seem to use radios a lot so thats probably where the beeping comes from.

 

[f|uke]

I wonder what the thing on his side is for tho,. looks like its attached to one of his kidneys,..

 

[DesertChicken]

^Perhaps it's the power plug where they use all those power stations and batteries to juice themselves up.

About how barney sounds like that:
Oh come on. You don't think Barney would be smart enough to notice the CP's talking differently(for whatever reason) and find a way to augment the sound?

 

[Steve]

Now, it may just be me...but it seem to me that a trachaeotomy would be detrimental to a person, not make them a "super soldier".

 

[Bing_Oh]

I suspect that the Overwatch are implanted with a communications device, thus the modifications to the throax/larynx. "Throat mikes" are quite common in military and specialized law enforcement units for their reliability, clarity, and ability to transmit with only minimal sound. This would seem like pretty standard equipment if you wanted to create a supersoldier.

As for how Barney got away with impersonating one of the Civil Protection, I think that they are unmodified (or very minimally-modified).

 

[f|uke]

Now, it may just be me...but it seem to me that a trachaeotomy would be detrimental to a person, not make them a "super soldier".

Detrimental?! A trachaeotomy is the gift of life! You just try smothering one of these super solders with a pillow, or drowning them in a toilet, and see how far you get! And the chicks love it! .. at least the freaky percing s&m chicks do. Hey, the world opens up to you when you have a hole in your neck!

 

[DSDchemE]

I doubt its just a speaker, chances are that they also don't need to breathe (in the same way at least). This would make sense considering normal humans can't breathe combine air. And when they've replaced your lungs and internal organs, how can you use your vocal chords anyway?

 

[Steve]

Detrimental?! A trachaeotomy is the gift of life! You just try smothering one of these super solders with a pillow, or drowning them in a toilet, and see how far you get! And the chicks love it! .. at least the freaky percing s&m chicks do. Hey, the world opens up to you when you have a hole in your neck!

Hmm....

"QUICK, NED! THIN OUT THEIR NUMBERS!"

"nnn...*click* thin out their numbers nnnnn"

 

[[Matt]]

I doubt its just a speaker, chances are that they also don't need to breathe (in the same way at least). This would make sense considering normal humans can't breathe combine air. And when they've replaced your lungs and internal organs, how can you use your vocal chords anyway?

Could be a device to help them breathe in other world environments also...

 

[[Matt]]

Out of interest ive just played through the start again and barney sounds different to even the civil protection combine he is disguised as.

 

[slightlyretarded]

yah he does

 

[Lemonking]

maybe they take transformed Humans offworld thats why they need that thing on their throat
I remember that Chick saying:MISSION FAILURE WILL BE TREATED WITH PERMANENT OFF WORLD ASSIGHNMENT....

 

[jimmyjam]

their voices are due to their masks and radios
marines in hl1 talked very similarly

 

[Smoke]

for the love of f**k! its a frikkin rebepl halfway to becoming a stalker! look closer and youll see, look at the bloody trousers! then look at a rebels!
THE SAME I TELL YOU! THE SAAAAAAAAAAME!!

 

[Steve]

for the love of f**k! its a frikkin rebepl halfway to becoming a stalker! look closer and youll see, look at the bloody trousers! then look at a rebels!
THE SAME I TELL YOU! THE SAAAAAAAAAAME!!

No, you silly goose, they're not.

They ARE exactly the same as the trousers on the combine soldiers.

 

[Dasparov]

No, you silly goose, they're not.

They ARE exactly the same as the trousers on the combine soldiers.

..ye....yeYEAH!!!...TAKE THAT!!!!!!

 

[jimmyjam]

plus the model is called soldier_stripped
and it's not in the process of being converted... the animation (it's static actually, but it's under anims) is called autopsy

 

[Mouldy Punk]

I found that on a monitor there aswell, I also found another person...thing...on the same monitor

First one of the stripped soldier


Second one of an unknown model...

 

[f|uke]

Second one of an unknown model...

Thats the Stalker,. you see that one all throughout the Citadel.

 

[happyhappy]

what do stalkers do?

 

[Ennui]

slave work, humans not strong enough to be overwatch.

 

[AzzMan]

In raising the bar, when it talks about the stalkers it says their organs have been removed and replaced with a saline solution because its easier to maintain. I'm guessing the same is the case with these soldiers, I imagine the thing in the side could be to drain the old stuff out and refill them with new fluid or whatever they need.

 

[lord dubu]

The chrome bit around the waste reminds me of the carapace from warhammer 40k. It's a a kind of second nervous system that is surgically added to the soldier, and then it grows under the skin to make them into the space-marines... probably something similar is going on here.

The eyes are also chrome... pretty cool if you ask me. I gotta whip up a fan-art demasked soldier now.