Head Crabs

[Malichi]

I would have to back the ant and hive theory...im not to sure about the whole gonarchs and gonomes (sorry about the spelling) but that seems to be the general idea behind the headcrabs.

New to the forums(dont know why I never signed up before)...Hola everyone

 

[Eejit]

Stranger things have happened.

No, not really.

Sure it happens in sci-fi, I'm aware of that. I was just saying it was stupid because it's actually impossible.

There's no reason to even assume that aliens would use DNA rather than some similar substance such as RNA for their genomse. There's no reason to assume that they use the same amino acids in their bodies. There's no reason to assume that they need to respire aerobically. etc. etc.

 

[XANA]

ok, now trailing off from the whole "how do headcrabs zombify people?" thing, maybe do you think we should focus on something else? feeding habits, defense, different types. the reason i mentioned feeding habits first was because of one thing, during the teleportation sequence, lamarr jumps in the teleporter with you (either she was scared or she likes you). you and lamarr are teleported to a desert-like area. but watch lamarr and you'll see she jumps and tackles a crow down. i dont know whether or not crows were on Xen. nor do i think watermelons grew there either. look on the door that has a bunch of pictures on it and there's a sticky note that says "get more watermelon for lamarr". hmm............ interesting. what do you think?

 

[Jintor]

There's no reason to assume they're alive.

 

[ríomhaire]

ok, now trailing off from the whole "how do headcrabs zombify people?" thing, maybe do you think we should focus on something else? feeding habits, defense, different types. the reason i mentioned feeding habits first was because of one thing, during the teleportation sequence, lamarr jumps in the teleporter with you (either she was scared or she likes you). you and lamarr are teleported to a desert-like area. but watch lamarr and you'll see she jumps and tackles a crow down. i dont know whether or not crows were on Xen. nor do i think watermelons grew there either. look on the door that has a bunch of pictures on it and there's a sticky note that says "get more watermelon for lamarr". hmm............ interesting. what do you think?

There's bats on Xen.

 

[Digamma]

I thought of something earlier. Please dont ridicule it immedietly.
Headcrabs have similar color skin as striders, gunships, and dropships: a light tan. What if headcrabs were from the same planet as striders ect. When the combine conqured the planet, they might have seen headcrabs as a possible weapon that didnt need to be modified, as they could be easily mass bred(using a gonarch). Then when they attacked the Vortigaunts homeworld, and the vorts fled to Xen using teles, maybe some crabs got though as well and ended up on Xen also...

 

[Eejit]

There's no reason to assume they're alive.

Well they grow, reproduce, react to stimuli, and have metabolism. So it's not so much as assumption as an observation.

 

[Darkside55]

Welcome, Malichi. This thread seems to be attracting a lot of new people to the forums; I think it might be safe to say that headcrabs are the most interesting topic for people to discuss.

On watermelons for Lamarr: I always assumed this was something related to the headcrab's nature, rather than to eat the thing. Headcrabs might simply be compelled to try and latch on to something with a head's size and shape, and try to couple with it. On the other hand, it's possible that Lamarr draws sustenance from a watermelon somehow, whether it be actually eating it or perhaps if her compulsion is sated that "feeds" her.

On stukabats: A headcrab's probably never tasted one. Stukabats lack any legs for landing on the ground, and they fly quite high, so the only way a headcrab would've ever gotten one is if it had ventured to a very high cliff and leapt off to snag one in the air. But then...it'd probably die upon impact--if it ever DID impact with the ground. As I recall Lamarr never actually grabbed that crow, it just leapt at it. It might've been trying to see what it tasted like, or she might've just been playing.

What if headcrabs were from the same planet as striders ect.

Your idea has some merit to it, if only because we always assume that headcrabs come from the same planet as the Xenians, and that might not be the case. There's an obvious resemblance between striders and gunships, but aside from coloration I don't see many resemblances between those two and dropships. Also, you have to imagine that they all went through the same forced evolutions, so their physical similarities might be the result of the Combine. All three of those creatures could be from different planets.

Now, headcrabs might not be from Xen at all. Well, nothing's really from Xen, but they might not've come over with the Xenian sentient races. There's no way to say if they did or didn't; saying that they did makes sense in how they arrived there, and how they've adapted to latch onto bipedal creatures like slaves and grunts. If we assume they're not from Xen, then we're free to go into all sorts of speculation. Perhaps they come from a planet that has bipeds very similar in structure, look, and composition to humans. Perhaps they were "banished" from that planet by being teleported from that universe to Xen, because they were such a problem. They might've been there before the Xenians. But there's no way to say whether this is or isn't. Fun to speculate, I guess, but for simplicity's sake and in the context of the gameworld, it's best to just assume that they come from whatever planet the Xenians originally called home.

 

[Jintor]

Well they grow, reproduce, react to stimuli, and have metabolism. So it's not so much as assumption as an observation.

Theoretically robots could do that.

I doubt that headcrabs *aren't* alive, and are robots, but theoretically...

 

[Eejit]

Well if they made a robot which could do all that there'd have to be some debate as to how alive it was
IMO it'd be considered more alive than viruses or prions at least.

 

[XANA]

As I recall Lamarr never actually grabbed that crow, it just leapt at it. It might've been trying to see what it tasted like, or she might've just been playing.

cool! i feel smart now!!! uh anyway, your recollection of lamarr not grabbing the crow is incorrect. heres something interesting to do. during the teleportation sequence, just when you arrive at the desert, go into the command console, enter in "sv_cheats 1" (without the quotes, naturally) and then enter "host_timescale X" where X is the number. i suggest either .3 or .5. watch lamarr and you'll probly see the crow being dragged down with lamarr. oh and for the host_timescale thing, the higher the number, the faster the game goes yet it drastically lowers the fps (depending on what number you chose. if you choose, like, 10, the fps will go down to about 1 or 2). lowering the timescale will significantly increase the fps, again, depending on the number (the highest fps i got it to go was 1141!!!!!). hope you have fun with that!

 

[Digamma]

cool! i feel smart now!!! uh anyway, your recollection of lamarr not grabbing the crow is incorrect. heres something interesting to do. during the teleportation sequence, just when you arrive at the desert, go into the command console, enter in "sv_cheats 1" (without the quotes, naturally) and then enter "host_timescale X" where X is the number. i suggest either .3 or .5. watch lamarr and you'll probly see the crow being dragged down with lamarr. oh and for the host_timescale thing, the higher the number, the faster the game goes yet it drastically lowers the fps (depending on what number you chose. if you choose, like, 10, the fps will go down to about 1 or 2). lowering the timescale will significantly increase the fps, again, depending on the number (the highest fps i got it to go was 1141!!!!!). hope you have fun with that!

Heh, I sure did

 

[Darkside55]

Timescale

I will have to look into that. I could swear that, in all the times I've played, the crow flies away before Lamarr grabs it. I could be wrong, however, so I'll check it out again sometime. Plus, playing around with timescale is always fun.

But, in either case, whether she grabbed the crow or not, the question is why. I say she's "playing" with it, much like a cat would with prey. Whether she actually intends to EAT the thing is another matter entirely. I don't see headcrabs having the necessary organs to digest food by themselves.

 

[lastHOPE_lambda]

Hey I was just playing through half life again the other day and I'm sure that this has been said before but the Gonarch has no mouth so why would the head crab want to turn into something thats a dead end and can almost certainly only live for a few weeks or less? I geuss other animals do stuff like that to like the Luna moth which when it goes throgh metamorphsis loses its stomach and mouth(very odd.) But that animal is on the endangered list so that just proves that its not smart to turn into somethin that can't eat! So what possible advantage does the headcrab gain from turning nto a gonarch and why would it want to?
Xen rocks by the way but just to make sure I understand what it is I'll ask you guys. It like a dimensonal rift right a world that exist outside of the normal space and time, and things from other worlds are occasionally sucked (for lack of a better term) into it and thats what makes all those seperate little islands in the rift. If this is true then since it exist outside of the normal universe the same laws of physics may not apply to it, thus things that have lived there awhile would evolve very strangely and differently from anything we've ever seen. But that just complicates things alot.

 

[ríomhaire]

Maybe it's mouth is where the egg-sack is and it goes through a cicle of eating/birthing.

 

[XANA]

well? did anyone see it yet? i know, its fun to do the timescale thing isn't it? if anyone wants cheats that can be fun, just let me know and ill try and give you some.

 

[lastHOPE_lambda]

Maybe it's mouth is where the egg-sack is and it goes through a cicle of eating/birthing.

lol I hope those headcrabs jump out fast or their mum might accidently eat them.

 

[XANA]

maybe the gonarch has some sort of ovipositor, like the female ichneumon wasp.

 

[ríomhaire]

maybe the gonarch has some sort of ovipositor, like the female ichneumon wasp.

ovipositor?

 

[Darkside55]

An organ for laying eggs. They birth live offspring though...

 

[XANA]

no, not the ichneumon wasp. if you want to know stuff about it, here's a link with information about our cute, cuddly, little parasitic wasp.
http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_wasps/ICHNEUMONIDAE.htm

 

[Eejit]

He means gonarches give birth to live offspring, so they probably don't have an ovipositor.

 

[the_rebel_medic]

I always figured they were native to xen. In nature, you see a vast number of variotions in a particular species. It makes more sense that they were natural evolutions, rather then combine mutations, since there's practically no millitary advantage in diversifying deployable headcrabs.

Going back yes but they could create limited life headcrabs

Headcrabs that die, and quickly despite life support

 

[XANA]

oh! you know what!? i just realized something i should've realized but i didn't because im such a blonde!!! crab synths bear a striking resemblence to headcrabs. maybe the crab synths are.... i mean were headcrabs! hmmmm....

 

[Sam]

Killing headcrabs with the gravity gun is a lot easier than using the crowbar I find. No chance of them hitting you then even if it does take a few shots.

I somehow doubt crab synths were once headcrabs but damned if it isn't a cool idea.

 

[XANA]

yeah but think about it huh? smaller front legs, thick hind legs. butt in the air. all the characteristics of a headcrab.

 

[ríomhaire]

yeah but think about it huh? smaller front legs, thick hind legs. butt in the air. all the characteristics of a headcrab.

Except that they are over 20 times bigger and have a protruding head.

 

[XANA]

yes, but remember, synths are creatures that have been captured and put under FORCED EVOLUION. and while im on the caps lock thing...... GINGIVITIS!

 

[ríomhaire]

yes, but remember, synths are creatures that have been captured and put under FORCED EVOLUION. and while im on the caps lock thing...... GINGIVITIS!

Meh, I REALY doubt it
BTW, that show has realy bad dubbing.

 

[InnerRayg]

yes, but remember, synths are creatures that have been captured and put under FORCED EVOLUION. and while im on the caps lock thing...... GINGIVITIS!

If perhaps the humans who underwent such evolutions (becoming, effectively, synths) were twenty times their original size I would find it plausible that the Crab Synths were Headcrabs at one point. But since they don't, I doubt this is true.

 

[skware]

i was curious about the HC's also, except, i think that hole in their chest is for the headcrab to easily control the nerve system (nerve thing can be found out by players of OP4) i just assumed the HC would latch on, and get a control on the host, the HC would need to maintain control easily, so they use the hosts arm, and literally tear the hosts chest apart, killing it, and giving the HC total control. the host wont need food now that its DEAD, and the new blood preserves the flesh. the HC's dont need food, and neither a dead person. i agree with the poison headcrab injecting mass poison, causing bloatation. the fast headcrabs dont transfer/inject new blood, so the body dies away leaving a skeletal structure, with basic muscles, light weight and having only most vital organs, they can move quickly and are agile. this is MY theory, as seen (read), it has all topics here covered, if i missed one tell me, ill think of something!

but theres some things i dont know
-how do the HC's know to grab onto their host if there are no humans on xen, i dont think a 5 second teleportation period would allow adaptation
-the headcrabs have no eyes, ears, mouths. how do they know people are there, i know it isnt like worms, feeling vibrations because they always know where you are they may have mouths (or some kind of communication organ) inside their gut, but ears would be muffled, and eyes concealed.
-why can the zombies moan around if the headcrabs are unable to speak, the host might still be alive, but shooting a HC of a hosts head makes him fall to the ground. it may be that the host still lives, and having a secondary brain (because the HC controls him now) ripped out causes some kind of mental reaction, causing death, but i dont think that is it

answering any of those 3 points would be apreciated, thx

 

[ríomhaire]

i was curious about the HC's also, except, i think that hole in their chest is for the headcrab to easily control the nerve system (nerve thing can be found out by players of OP4) i just assumed the HC would latch on, and get a control on the host, the HC would need to maintain control easily, so they use the hosts arm, and literally tear the hosts chest apart, killing it, and giving the HC total control. the host wont need food now that its DEAD, and the new blood preserves the flesh. the HC's dont need food, and neither a dead person.

That makes no sense. It would waste away and drop dead (or in this case stop functioning)
And it's a mouth, which it uses to eat

i agree with the poison headcrab injecting mass poison, causing bloatation. the fast headcrabs dont transfer/inject new blood, so the body dies away leaving a skeletal structure, with basic muscles, light weight and having only most vital organs, they can move quickly and are agile. this is MY theory, as seen (read), it has all topics here covered, if i missed one tell me, ill think of something!

Meh

but theres some things i dont know
-how do the HC's know to grab onto their host if there are no humans on xen, i dont think a 5 second teleportation period would allow adaptation

Humans have a vaguly Vort-like structure

-the headcrabs have no eyes, ears, mouths. how do they know people are there, i know it isnt like worms, feeling vibrations because they always know where you are they may have mouths (or some kind of communication organ) inside their gut, but ears would be muffled, and eyes concealed.

I'd say sonar. They make so much damn noise. And they could hear with their skin, snakes do that I think.

-why can the zombies moan around if the headcrabs are unable to speak, the host might still be alive, but shooting a HC of a hosts head makes him fall to the ground. it may be that the host still lives, and having a secondary brain (because the HC controls him now) ripped out causes some kind of mental reaction, causing death, but i dont think that is it

answering any of those 3 points would be apreciated, thx

Same as above. It needs noise to for it's sonar so it makes the host provide it (remember, if a headcrab zombiefied a vort the mouth wouldn't be concelled.

 

[Darkside55]

Headcrabs can smell prey. Watch them, or look at them in the model viewer, and they have animations for stopping and sniffing the air. They can also hear (apparently), but I doubt all those vocalizations they make are for sonar.

Zombies moan because the host is still alive, and concious of his situation. They plead for help if you play the zombie soundfiles backwards. Any other vocalizations are made by the crab itself.

 

[Eejit]

Headcrabs may also have a sixth sense similar to that of sharks, or the duck billed platypus (i.e. able to sense electrical pulses from the muscles of prey).

 

[Talyn]

I figured it was some kind of tremorsense, where they detected movement through vibrations.

 

[XANA]

Meh, I REALY doubt it
BTW, that show has realy bad dubbing.

and you REALY don't know how to spell "really". but other than that, i think that crab synths were once headcrabs because just look at it. it looks a bit headcrab-ish right? and i don't think that striders were origionally as tall as they are now. oh, and, yes i'm well aware that the show has bad dubbing, but........ it was made in FRANCE!!!

 

[Jintor]

Quiet, boy. He might not know how to speel REALY, but you're punctuation is HIDEOUS!

Kidding. Anyway, things look like other things. Maybe they evolved from crab synths. Maybe they evolved into crab synths. Maybe the species doesn't evolve and instead clones themselves, modifying themselves using precision computers and lasers.

 

[ríomhaire]

Quiet, boy. He might not know how to speel REALY, but you're punctuation is HIDEOUS!

Are you trying to be ironic?

 

[Talyn]

No, I think he just typed it in a hurry.

Anyways, back to the original issue - do we ever see headcrab zombies eating in Half Life 2? They're "mouths" are much less obvious, and look more like gaping holes in their bodies - those "teeth" just look like shattered ribs, and you can see the lungs and kidneys still within the body, so no "stomach" or "gullet" -than anything you can actually eat with.

 

[XANA]

No, I think he just typed it in a hurry.

Anyways, back to the original issue - do we ever see headcrab zombies eating in Half Life 2? They're "mouths" are much less obvious, and look more like gaping holes in their bodies - those "teeth" just look like shattered ribs, and you can see the lungs and kidneys still within the body, so no "stomach" or "gullet" -than anything you can actually eat with.

that's exactly what i was gonna say... well not exactly, but pretty damn close at any rate. Talyn, you rock, dude!!! not bad for a noob. :cheese: