Because Earth the humans were the first to rebel and they never had to deal with one before so they didn't really think of it. That interview was posted on the forums ages ago and it will be almost impossinble to dig out as I don't know who posted on that thread.
Well that begs the question of why they make transports that only ferry around four people.Jandor said:
Still, it beats the Manta's who have only seen dropping a total of 3 troops at one time (Usually one or two); probably saves energy too, not having to teleport them in to just drop them on the roof.Again, I doubt the Combine created the Nihilanth in the first place and I doubt they have the capability to create a new one from scratch. Also, I must stress that Nihilanth was safely hidden away and only because Freeman faced him 1 on 1 and won (Which is highly unusual since the Nihalanth had more than a few human corpses in HEV suits laying around his chamber and his minions slaughtered human en masse at Black Mesa) was the Nihilanth destroyed.
While I simplified the concept, yes that is pretty much the gist of my smart alec remark. The Combine didn't use a mechanical or synth version of a small flying ranged attacker (Which we know they would have the capability to create since A. They had the technology that made the scanners and manhacks fly and B. We know they had lots of different weapons) , ergo they must not have felt the need to have one. (Or Valve just didn't feel the need to make that type of enemy
).
UndeadScottsman said:
,Jandor said:
You need to take a page from Yoda; "size matters not." A cold fusion reactor can theoreticly be the size of a VCR. We know the Manta's have SOME sort of natural energy source that is decently powerful, which would be how they produce their energy beam attack.
And I conclude that since both the Lamda Core, Kliener's lab and the Combine teleporter in nova prospekt had pretty obvious charge up times, the ball teleportation must require a decent ammount of energy; more than powering a simple synth dropship, at least.
*shrug* It's your dime.
No one has proven that it's wrong; nor has there been arguement against the theory can't be counter-argued using simple logic.Jandor said:and by the way, your wrong about the Combine and Xen
Jandor said:
Nope, neither side. Both arguments are plausible, but both also lack conclusive evidence. From a narrative standpoint though, the combine controlling Xen in HL1 makes for a much more interesting story, I do lean towards it.Angry Lawyer said:
I don't think it was obvious that he was fabricated at all. Surgery, implants and maybe some sort of life support. But not entirely manufactured.
Mecha said:
Laivasse said:
Now that you mention it, it is true that there were the tripod-shaped teleporters on xen. If the combine did control Xen, they would have access to them.Jandor said:
Mecha said:
Angry said:
There's a difference between "hiding their tracks" and "no reason to leave all this perfectly good equipment lying around when we have the locals to perform everything that we want done here"Angry Lawyer said:
How do we know they didn't use anything from Xen? For all we know, right up until the Nihilanth bit the big one, the Combine regularly used Vorts as a frontline force; utlized genetic characteristics in various Synth, and even had Interdimension Xen teleportation (Again, that would be Xen-to-Other Dimension teleportation, not the Xen relay method developed at Black Mesa)
Again, I find it more unlikely that there's an enslaved race we fight in the first game, FREE in the first game (As we find out in HL2), and then a race of enslavers attacks us shortly afterwards and they have nothing to do with one another. This is especially less likely what with the Borderworld being what it is, and how, seemingly, the center of the enslaved Hivemind has had extensive surgical and cybernetic augmentation, which fits the Combine's MO to a T.).... Heh.. MOT
The Nihilanth was pretty damn safe, what with being stored in a windowless, doorless chamber in the middle of who knows where and with only teleportation as a means to access him. How was anybody supposed to guess that Freeman, who's buddies at Black Mesa, fell by the hundreds to the Nihilanth and the rest of Xen's forces, would be able to take him out 1on1? Letting one human slip into your chamber so you can squash the nusicence once and for all like you've done to several of his HEV suited buddies isn't actually that stupid of an idea. On the surface at least.
Who said they controlled EVERYTHING extraterrestrial. (Extra-dimensional, actually, since I doubt they've been to our universe before). The residents of the Borderworld I would expect to have been one of the first races to fall to the Combine; being that it's metaphorically "in the middle" of all the dimensions. I highly doubt the Combine have been to EVERY dimension EVER, they've probably taken down quite a few though. Besides, it makes the Combine a bit more menacing, IMO, if we can see evidence of their previous work. Make them seem like a menace to more than just Earth.Laivasse said:
There's still four sides in that scenerio; just two of 'em are working together in Half-Life and two of 'em are working together in Half-Life 2.Jandor said:
Again, by controlling the Nihilanth the Combine have control over all of Xen and therefore it is part of their Empire. The Xen race is already suited to controlling Xen better than the Combine (Though I wouldn't go so far as to say that the Alien Grunts aren't being created due to Combine influence), and probably don't have much else to offer being all tied to the Hivemind. Xen and the Xen race are worth more to the Combine as a buffer zone and early warning system than a bunch of smoldering ash.
Do you REALLY think Valve would put all the slave stuff into Half-Life 1, make a race of slavers in Half-Life 2 and not go "Didn't we just DO this plot?" And it's really not that hard for the Combine to have started out as a simple one line "Cyborg aliens who enslaved the Nihilanth" blurb way back in the development of Half-Life 1 and got fleshed out during Half-Life 2's developement when Valve decided to go that direction. (Laidlaw probably has had a lot of backstory fleshed out since before Half-Life was even released; he IS a writer after all; that's his job.)Jandor said:
Either that or they do and just had no reason to do so in Half-Life 2. We only saw two combine teleporters, after all. Without the relay tech, Xen's teleportation just go from Earth to Xen. Kind of useless for what the Combine were doing aside from getting Transhuman troops offworld (Which we never saw)
Which Xen didn't have either; You'd think they would be able to tap into the Vort Hivemind or something if Xen DID have relay teleportation.
If no comment was made about Xen by Mossman that one time, would you state that Xen just plainly didn't exist? Regardless, there's no mention made of the slaves in the Citidel being human, no verbal mention made of the portal storms, no mention made of why the Combine are here, no mention made of if the Combine are terraforming Earth or just being bad for the ecology. No mention made of why the Vorts are fighting with us. No mention made of what's the deal with the "City" system the Combine have set up. No mention made of who the Combine are. No mention made of what they plan to do with Earth. Half-Life 2 doesn't mention a LOT of things because Half-Life 2 doesn't deal with exposition for the sake of exposition. To it's detriment, IMO. (But that's an argument for another thread.
)
Did I ever say it was? I was making the point that "no reference is made to Xen by anyone associated with the Combine." is a rather silly argument considering that Half-Life 2 has a number of issues and concepts in the game that no one even so much as mentions.Laivasse said:But that's not to say we should assume for assumption's sake either...
UndeadScottsman said:
Wait, what? This invalidates a possible retroactive link why? Seriously, what are you arguing here? That retroactive links aren't valid unless they get directly referenced in the next game, even if the game in question doesn't even bother to explain half of the NEW concepts it brings up?Laivasse said:
No, actually, I am not. Here is what I specificly said "I was making the point that "no reference is made to Xen by anyone associated with the Combine." is a rather silly argument considering that Half-Life 2 has a number of issues and concepts in the game that no one even so much as mentions."
"Combine's methods vaguely as "slavery"" <- What else would you call it? What the Combine do is an extremly BLATENT concept of slavery. They strip away the freedom of those cultures that they conquer and find usefull and force them to serve the Combine against their will. (And they do this using cybernetics) What else would you call it? What else could it possibly look like to the one having this done to them?
UndeadScottsman said:
I quite frankly couldn't figure out what the hell you were trying to say, nor how it was relevent to the conversation. I never said that the lack of mention of several things in Half-Life 2 proves the Xen-Combine theory, ergo I couldn't figure why you'd be arguing about it unless you were still trying to use the lack of the mention as invalidation for the theory. I seriously couldn't see what you were trying to argue.Laivasse said:
The depth of vagueness (Some things were pretty vague too: see the Stalkers; what the combine are doing to earth; the reasoning behind the City setup.. All things that are, IMO, are more vague than the Xen-Combine connection) is irrelevant to the fact that just because there's no direct mention doesn't mean it doesn't exist WHICH IS THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE. This ENTIRE conversation thread started when Jandor said "no reference is made to Xen by anyone associated with the Combine," to which I was trying to point out that Half-Life 2 doesn't mention a lot of things; that doesn't invalidate them though. Good grief, how many times do I have to say that?
So your saying that the Combine gaining control of mankind, assimilating them through cybernetics, due to their usefulness as slaves and soldiers; and the theory that the Combine gaining control of the Xen race, assimilating them through cybernetics, due to their usefulness in maintaining the Borderworld aren't similar? That there can be no coorelation between the two?
So you basically refuse the possibility that anyone who was "assimilated," no matter how much of their faculties remain, would not consider being forced against their will (And overriding one's will like you believe the Combine do to humans is a way of forcing a person to go against their will, make no mistake) to be slavery? You don't have to be able to care about it to be able to make the connection.
If Humankind would prove most useful to the Combine by running naked through the forest, picking cherries, what do you think the Combine would do with us? Look at the logic (Beyond my silly scenerio, of course
). Humans serve a purpose as slaves and soldiers to be used where the Combine sees fit. The Vorts serve a purpose as slaves to be used where the Combine sees fit. In case A, that would be where ever the Combine need them; in case B it would also be where ever the Combine need them, which would primarily be Xen where they are well adapted to.-No Extermination
Then what are YOU doing, exactly? Using your own opinion to try and prove a theory has no merit? I have never said that my opinion is the only way to look at it; in fact if we're going to bring up old quotes, I said multiple times that I could very well be wrong. Right now I’ve been trying to demonstrate why it’s logical to me since we apparently agreed that we’re not going to convince each other. (Are we even arguing against each other anymore? Or are we just be arguing for the "sanctity" of our respective theories
)" to which I, intending to be in the same humour, replied "No one has proven that it's wrong; nor has there been arguement against the theory can't be counter-argued using simple logic. ". It was pretty much a "I know you are but what am I" gesture of stalemate, but then people started arguing with it, so I defended it. Further arguments popped up and I argued them. Ultimatly, it still stands and I have been pointing out that it still stands. No one has revealed a smoking gun. Remember I've already agreed it might be wrong; but there's currently nothing that proves that nor, IMO, (Keyword there, OPINION) anything that really offers strong evidence against the theory.
UndeadScottsman said:
