HalfLifeStory Timeline finally updated!

[UltimaApocalypse]

http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm

Now has Episode 1 info.

BUT GOD DAMMIT IT STILL SAYS THAT THE COMBINE ARE ON XEN.
.............

Why doesn't GMan like them doing this? The way I see it, GMan wants that reactor to be destroyed as soon as possible and that transmission packet to be sent, at any cost. Why? Because it seems GMan is trying his hardest to lure the rest of the Combine forces over to Earth. This seems like GMan's plan from the beginning, the reason why he got Gordon to destroy the Citadel. This reason is to bait the rest of the Combine over to Earth so they can be fought on Earth, or so that GMan could distract the Combine while he mounts an attack on the Combine's homeworld. The way GMan sees it, hundreds of thousands of human and Vortigaunt lives will be lost in the destruction of City 17, but if that message is sent, GMan could win an interstellar war. On the other hand, the purple Vortigaunts care more about the lives of the members of the Resistance and the citizens of City 17 on Earth than winning the war.

Ugh.

 

[Black Op]

So we can just ignore it at will for now..... :smoking:

EDIT: I doubt that G-Man has selfless intentions in destroying City 17's Citadel. As long as his Employers recieve offers for services they can provide, they could care less for the Universial Union's existance. It is very possible the Union itself used G-Man's services at one time, yet G-Man is very willing to go aganist former customers. Finally G-Man makes it quite clear in HL2 that he's recieved many interesting offers for Freeman's services that he is willing to contemplate, so G-Man clearly has no clear mission for Freeman himself. Therefore, the HL Story site loses again.

 

[Nihilanth]

I know about the statement that the Combine chased the Xenians from their home planets onto Xen, but it never said they didn't rule them after that, did it? The Combine may have chased the Xenians from their homeworld, set up Nihilanth as the Xenians' Breen-like ruler, and yadda yadda. The grunt factory and the "slaves" Nihilanth phrase are a little too...Combiney if you ask me.

 

[Black Op]

I know about the statement that the Combine chased the Xenians from their home planets onto Xen, but it never said they didn't rule them after that, did it? The Combine may have chased the Xenians from their homeworld, set up Nihilanth as the Xenians' Breen-like ruler, and yadda yadda. The grunt factory and the "slaves" Nihilanth phrase are a little too...Combiney if you ask me.

Your theory has too many holes. Why hasn't local teleportation been implimented into the armies of the Universial Union? Where are the Advisors to advise Nihilanth? Why couldn't the Combine invade Earth themselves during the Black Mesa Incident? Why does the Nihilanth look nothing like a Synth if it's been artifically created? Why is there no Combine technology or architecture in the Borderworld? Why does everything on Xen look natural rather than synthizied? Where are the bloody Combine Dropships and Gunships that would have infinite value for theoritical Xen Overwatch operations? Finally, doesn't the activities of the Combine Empire mimick human imperialism on Earth?

All those questions leave no doubt that Xen was not a Universial Union posession at the time of the Cascade. Rather, the Nihilanth was a Vortigaunt creation that backfired and enslaved them all. With its power, the Nihilanth created a state and military-industrial complex that mimicked that of the Universial Union's.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Heh, the funny thing is that Valve linked the page on their most recent News Update. http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/message/656/

 

[Black Op]

Yet both sites that were cited in that update are marked as unofficial. Perhaps VAVLe never intended for Breen to come back, yet they referenced the EP1 Wiki page anyway. I think VALVe will remain silent as usual.

 

[99.vikram]

I just mailed Chan about the "Combine on Xen" thing. Let's see what he does :|

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

We, the people at HL2.net, send him many emails and he's done nothing.

 

[bigburpco]

Bullshit, that site is. It's only good at looking nice.

 

[ríomhaire]

they could care less

If you ever say that again *shakes fist*

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/timeline.htm

Now has Episode 1 info.

BUT GOD DAMMIT IT STILL SAYS THAT THE COMBINE ARE ON XEN.
.............


Ugh.

Why wouldn't they be?

 

[Asknoone]

Because it was confirmed they aren't.

I disagree with most of the site. My main gripe is the "G-man for Combine rebel alliance' bit. Meh, it isn't a great idea at all, and it'd be shame if Valve went down that route.

 

[iMMuNiTy]

"It seems a group of purple Vortigaunts think otherwise." Right... Purple vortigaunts...

Wow, he already decrypted the data packet that Alyx has retrieved! Awesome! /sarcasm

 

[Asknoone]

Errr, yeah, I'm pretty sure we don't actually know what the data packet is...

 

[bigburpco]

I hope it's something explosive

 

[0mar]

I really hope that the Gman doesn't get much exposition. I really prefer him as this enigmatic being/force that drives the plot from the shadows.

 

[Glenn the Great]

Because it was confirmed they aren't.

If Valve "confirmed" that Xen wasn't part of the Combine Empire, then why did Laidlaw tell me that they couldn't reveal that information when I asked him last month the simple question of "were the Combine in control of Xen at the time of HL1"?

What you have done is twisted a statement from Doug Lombardi (we all know which one), into somehow making it a "confirmation." The fact is, if you take that quote literally word for word, as I have explained before, it defeats your theory.

You have taken his quote, edited it a bit to fit your theory under the guise of your belief that Doug made a grammatical error, and then touted it as a confirmation for what you believe.

 

[esplin]

However, when e-mailed about the article Doug Lombardi did not retract his statement, so until we hear otherwise it is true.

Besides, the Combine units and tech don't look anything like the Xen aliens. That seems to defeat YOUR theory.

 

[Black Op]

If Valve "confirmed" that Xen wasn't part of the Combine Empire, then why did Laidlaw tell me that they couldn't reveal that information when I asked him last month the simple question of "were the Combine in control of Xen at the time of HL1"?

Perhaps because the answer is meant to be revealed in a later HL episode? Just because Laidlaw is keeping his mouth shut doesn't automatically make your theory correct.

What you have done is twisted a statement from Doug Lombardi (we all know which one), into somehow making it a "confirmation." The fact is, if you take that quote literally word for word, as I have explained before, it defeats your theory.

Actually, you're the person that's bending Lombardi's quote. I don't see anything that states that Nihilanth was enslaved by the Combine, but I do see how the quote says it was chased from its world. That quote makes the Nihilanth's refugees and the Combine two seperate entities.

You have taken his quote, edited it a bit to fit your theory under the guise of your belief that Doug made a grammatical error, and then touted it as a confirmation for what you believe.

I never heard of the grammatical error excuse before.....

 

[99.vikram]

What you have done is twisted a statement from Doug Lombardi (we all know which one), into somehow making it a "confirmation." The fact is, if you take that quote literally word for word, as I have explained before, it defeats your theory.

You have taken his quote, edited it a bit to fit your theory under the guise of your belief that Doug made a grammatical error, and then touted it as a confirmation for what you believe.

Forget that, go to Singleplayer Mythology, "Combine on Xen" thread. There's enough evidence there to disprove Combine on Xen.

 

[Glenn the Great]

There is not enough evidence to prove either theory correct on incorrect. The problem I am having is with you people arguing that your theory is the solid, etched in stone truth, which it isn't.

 

[Black Op]

There is not enough evidence to prove either theory correct on incorrect. The problem I am having is with you people arguing that your theory is the solid, etched in stone truth, which it isn't.

Your theory has too many holes. Why hasn't local teleportation been implimented into the armies of the Universial Union? Where are the Advisors to advise Nihilanth? Why couldn't the Combine invade Earth themselves during the Black Mesa Incident? Why does the Nihilanth look nothing like a Synth if it's been artifically created? Why is there no Combine technology or architecture in the Borderworld? Why does everything on Xen look natural rather than synthizied? Where are the bloody Combine Dropships and Gunships that would have infinite value for theoritical Xen Overwatch operations? Finally, doesn't the activities of the Combine Empire mimick human imperialism on Earth?

We'll believe you if you can fill up every single one of these holes that I already mentioned. Have good answers though.....

 

[esplin]

Actually Black Op I can handle this one.

A WIZARD DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! end communication.

 

[99.vikram]

There is not enough evidence to prove either theory correct on incorrect. The problem I am having is with you people arguing that your theory is the solid, etched in stone truth, which it isn't.

I used to be a diehard believer of CoX till I joined this forum (Cult?) D:

There are too many holes - it just gets wierd if you try to connect Combine to Xen, when there is no reason to. Nothing is written in stone, but this theory has more facts to back it up, a couple of lines from RtB and the HL 1 manual (vague, but clearly not in support of CoX).

NOTE: CoX = Combine on Xen.

 

[Nihilanth]

There are many holes in the "CoX theory", but who else would the Nihilanth be a slave for? He had shackles (like the Vortigaunts, and they were slaves, and they have the same shackles used by the Combine in HL2) and he was part-machine-looking. The Combine we know today were probably not even thought of during HL1, but an entity that controlled Nihilanth and Xen probably were (hence the "slaves" quote). I still believe the Combine controlled Xen, but many of their traits (for lack of a better word) weren't present on Xen because the EXACT idea of the Combine didn't exist back then. And who's to say they use the same technique they used on the humans on other planets? Maybe it was just what worked best for Earth.

 

[Glenn the Great]

I can easily make some proposals to fill in those "holes." I can't fill them with anything concrete, because as I argued, not enough evidence exists. But let's see what I can do....

Hole number one..... Local teleportation.

Have you ever considered that maybe the Combine did have local teleportation, and that they lost it when the Nihilanth died? The Nihilanth clearly has power over teleportation. He's depicted as being able to "hold open" interdimensional gates. We could consider that all of the local teleports on Xen are holes that are held open by the Nihilanth. You might say that the Combine could study the Nihilanth and reverse engineer his ability to teleport objects, right? What if it isn't that easy? What if the Nihilanth's abilities are linked to a spiritual connection with the "Vortessence", something that Combine machinery cannot duplicate?

Hole number two.... Advisors.

I have in the past suggested that there may be Citadels on Xen, but they are out of Gordon's sight. I have argued that the places we have visited on Xen may be wilderness areas: an outpost on a wild frontier. The number of animals running around unrestrained points to this. There may be advisors there, they are simply out of sight.

Hole number three..... Combine invading Earth themselves.

If the Combine is in control of the Vortigaunts, then they are indeed invading Earth themselves during HL1. They decided to send in the Vort Regiment first. Once they lost the Vorts, they had other slave races to fall back on during the 7 hour war.

Hole number four...... Nihilanth not looking like a synth.

There are stitches on the Nihilanth, and he may have mechanical insides. We just can't see past his fleshy exterior.

Hole number five....... No Combine tech on the borderworld/no combine arcitecture/natural appearance.

In the Grunt Factory, the conveyor belts in particular contrast the otherwise "natural" motif. The factory looks rather organic, but it has been modified to include Combine conveyor belts. This is seen a lot in City 17. The buildings themselves are Eastern European (which you could call natural to Earth), but alien tech has been grafted in. The grunt factory is a natural Xen structure that has had things like converyor belts grafted in.

Hole six..... dropships and gunships.

I guess the Combine didn't feel they needed those because the Controllers can fly and have a devastating ranged weapon. They've got the aerial department covered.

Hole seven.... Imperialism.

I totally agree, the Combine have Imperialist characteristics. This isn't a hole. The Combine is indeed an Empire. They invade worlds and then dominate and pillage whatever is of use to them.

See, with a little imagination, those holes go away.

 

[99.vikram]

See, with a little imagination, those holes go away.

But if you accept that Xen was not a Combine colony, those holes would never exist

PS: Nihilanth's shackle is BROKEN in HL.

 

[Glenn the Great]

But if you accept that Xen was not a Combine colony, those holes would never exist

PS: Nihilanth's shackle is BROKEN in HL.

If holes can be filled in with material that turns out to be the truth, were there ever any holes to begin with?

 

[Nihilanth]

PS: Nihilanth's shackle is BROKEN in HL.

But he still had shackles, meaning someone had been controlling him, even if they were broken or not, someone put them on him to control him, like the Vortigaunt in HL2.

And where were they broken? Can you show me a picture?

 

[Black Op]

Have you ever considered that maybe the Combine did have local teleportation, and that they lost it when the Nihilanth died? The Nihilanth clearly has power over teleportation. He's depicted as being able to "hold open" interdimensional gates. We could consider that all of the local teleports on Xen are holes that are held open by the Nihilanth. You might say that the Combine could study the Nihilanth and reverse engineer his ability to teleport objects, right? What if it isn't that easy? What if the Nihilanth's abilities are linked to a spiritual connection with the "Vortessence", something that Combine machinery cannot duplicate?

I have considered the fact that the Universial Union should have been capable of local teleportation had it controled the Nihilanth. However the Vortigaunts state that they have endured enslavement for eons, so the Combine have all the time they want to reverse-engineer the Nihilanth, create Synth Nihilanths, and station them all across their Empire. If the Combine can't do this themselves, the Vortigaunt slaves can easily be made to creat Synth Nihilanths that can tap into the Vortessence.

I have in the past suggested that there may be Citadels on Xen, but they are out of Gordon's sight. I have argued that the places we have visited on Xen may be wilderness areas: an outpost on a wild frontier. The number of animals running around unrestrained points to this. There may be advisors there, they are simply out of sight.

A Grunt factory would not be at all considered a wilderness area. Both the source of Xen's military-industrial complex and the Nihilanth would be kept safe in a Citadel or other facility where they can remain under the oversight of the Advisors.

If the Combine is in control of the Vortigaunts, then they are indeed invading Earth themselves during HL1. They decided to send in the Vort Regiment first. Once they lost the Vorts, they had other slave races to fall back on during the 7 hour war.

The Universial Union by its very nature would never rely on one race for an invasion. Its armies are comprised of a mix of the worthiest species throughout the Combine Empire. All other inferior species are subject to slave labor and menial tasks at their master's whim. In addition, constant human activities on Xen that resulted in the capturing of numerous creatures gave the Nihilanth a reason to invade Black Mesa. Finally, the Combine use tunnel entanglement teleporters as their prefered method of interdimensional transportation, which would never have been in use if the Combine was in control of the Nihilanth.

There are stitches on the Nihilanth, and he may have mechanical insides. We just can't see past his fleshy exterior.

I don't see stitches on any other Synth. If the Union created the Nihilanth, that means they were utterly incompetent with it. Not only was the quality of the Nihilanth poor in comparision to the other Synths, but it had the ability to rebel aganist its masters and turn tail to Xen. No beings ever affiliated with the Combine keep the ability to resist their masters, save for those few collaborating Administrators that are blindly loyal to their Benefactors. If the Nihilanth was a rebellious creation of the Combine, Dr. Breen would have been sure to have become Mecha-Breen a long time ago to make sure that mistake never repeats itself.

In the Grunt Factory, the conveyor belts in particular contrast the otherwise "natural" motif. The factory looks rather organic, but it has been modified to include Combine conveyor belts. This is seen a lot in City 17. The buildings themselves are Eastern European (which you could call natural to Earth), but alien tech has been grafted in. The grunt factory is a natural Xen structure that has had things like converyor belts grafted in.

The Combine never used bloody conveyor belts in HL2 if you ever bothered to notice. What's so special about conveyor belts being a Combine fixture if humans can create them as well? Surely the alien tech found in City 17 would have found its way to Xen too? Your line of logic baffles me.

I guess the Combine didn't feel they needed those because the Controllers can fly and have a devastating ranged weapon. They've got the aerial department covered.

An enemy that could be wasted by a dozen or so thornets from the Hivehand is not something I would consider to be devastasting. In no way could the Controller give the same close air support that a Gunship could provide. Neither would a Combine Overwatch do away with their Dropships to transport soldiers.

I totally agree, the Combine have Imperialist characteristics. This isn't a hole. The Combine is indeed an Empire. They invade worlds and then dominate and pillage whatever is of use to them.

The point I make is that you people assume only the Combine have the ability to create factories that produce soldiers and ect. Why can't you get it into your heads that other species throughout the universe like the Vortigaunts can manage their own military-industrial complex and wage war?

See, with a little imagination, those holes go away.

And look how easily the holes get emptied again..... :|

 

[99.vikram]

Nihilanth's crude stitches (to me) sugests that he was built by the Controllers to enslave Vorts.

 

[Tamer17]

I don't get the point of "not looking like a synth". This could be for the sole reason of gfx capabillities in the time HL1 was made or a change of the artistic design and view.

I'm not siding with any of the theories , but one thing I noticed is the shiny "torso" of the Alien Grunts from HL1 very much resembles the shiny torso of the captured humans that were in the process of "alterration" that can be seen in nova prospekt and in the citadel.

 

[99.vikram]

one thing I noticed is the shiny "torso" of the Alien Grunts from HL1 very much resembles the shiny torso of the captured humans that were in the process of "alterration" that can be seen in nova prospekt and in the citadel.

It is mentioned explicitly in th HL1 manual (or strat guide?) that the grunt armor is extruded from their skin due to their mineral rich diet.

It's not metal. It's exoskeleton.

 

[Llama]

I see the arrogant muppet has ignored everyones Combine-Not-On-Xen arguments.

 

[Asknoone]

Nihilanth's crude stitches (to me) sugests that he was built by the Controllers to enslave Vorts.

I think it suggests he was once adapted by the Combine, as they do to everything, but has escaped.

 

[esplin]

Very nice Black Op, but their is one point I want to make. Where are the PULSE RIFLES?????!!!!!! Every Combine Unit and his mother has a pulse rifle type weapon on Earth, so where are they on Xen?

 

[99.vikram]

Ziggackly, where is the pulse weaponry?

 

[Eejit]

Nihilanth's crude stitches (to me) sugests that he was built by the Controllers to enslave Vorts.

That would explain the vorts being enslaved for "eons". I agree.

 

[Asknoone]

Every Combine Unit and his mother has a pulse rifle type weapon on Earth, so where are they on Xen?

Well, that would be because its a weapon built for the Overwatch - who are humans. Its a human/Combine clash. Though, that is no reason to say see, Combine on xen lolz!

Because no, that'd be lame.

 

[Eejit]

Well, that would be because its a weapon built for the Overwatch - who are humans. Its a human/Combine clash. Though, that is no reason to say see, Combine on xen lolz!

Because no, that'd be lame.

He's talking about weapons using pulse rifle technology, not just the weapon you get. i.e. the weapons used by Overwatch and Striders, Gunships, APC pods on dropships etc.