more info about hl1 story from marc laidlaw

Cons Himself

Cons Himself

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Originally Posted by Marc Laidlaw
Dear X,

Thanks for writing. Explanations outside the context of the game are
not really something we want to get into. Most of the things that are
hazy are that way simply because the right time and place has not come
about for clarifying these things in the context of the games. So, I
try not to say anything that would spoil revelations and backstory that
we may want to use in the future or are currently developing. The
relation between the Nihilanth race and the Combine is one of those
things. As for Race-X being from Xen, I'm not sure any of the aliens
we've seen were actually from Xen originally. Xen is a borderworld--a
place you have to go through to get to other places. It was colonized
by certain creatures that could adapt to it. The Race-X creatures
didn't seem particularly well adapted to Xen. I imagine their home lay
somewhere beyond.

Marc Laidlaw

notice he says nihilanth race and not Xen race.
also about xen being a borderworld, a dimensional slingshot. its interesting he says none of the races were originally from xen, but the ones that could survive there populated it...
finally the race-x creatures didnt seem particularly well adapted to xen, and that their homeland lay somewhere beyond...
 
That bit about Xen being a borderworld with no true inhabitants in very interesting. As is the whole thing about a "Nihilanth race". Opens up a lot with a very few, concise rules. However, any proof that this is a valid post/email from Marc Laidlaw?
 
Wow assuming this is real this really interesting
Angry lawyer would love to see this although it makes his theory less likely if the combine is this massive empire that we assume it is
 
john3571000 said:
Wow assuming this is real this really interesting
Angry lawyer would love to see this although it makes his theory less likely if the combine is this massive empire that we assume it is
Click to expand...
He's seen it, and he still hasn't given up. It's a couple of days old.
 
Thats unreal....thats awesome...which means that later on(next single player episodes?) we may find out that the nihilanth and combine races are: A) at war with each other, B) relatives or ancestors of one another but they are unaware, C) nihilkanths race was a slave race to the combine at one stage and managed to escape and find safety in Xen. Man the theories are endless, the good thing that i gather from Marc'swords is that everything will defintely come together in the end and exlpain everything.

CANT WAAAIIIITTTT!!!!!
 
the proof is, that it was in the info from valve thread. so unless you dont trust any of the info in there....?
 
I want more info.....you guys think aftermath will answer dome questions?
Will the halflife saga remain a trilogy? i think it would work pretty damn well as 3 parter, i dont want the game to go on for 6 or 10 episodes.
 
i dont know, id like it to go on a bit longer than 3 and im sure it will...i wouldntt want valve to build all this suspense and then just go and give us all the answers in one game. would feel kinda cheap.
 
john3571000 said:
Wow assuming this is real this really interesting
Angry lawyer would love to see this although it makes his theory less likely if the combine is this massive empire that we assume it is
Click to expand...

Hmm, what? I don't see how this message affects the Combine-on-Xen argument at all. If anything this quote:

Explanations outside the context of the game are not really something we want to get into.
Click to expand...

...shows that people thinking the fragfiles site had the Laidlaw seal of approval were clearly wrong. The debate is more open now than ever. Or rather, our victory is more crushing than ever :p
 
i think hl2 pretty much confired the nihilanth race were under the control of the combine - the surgery marks on nihlianth and controllers
- the neck braces and manacles on the vortis, grunts, controllers and nihilanth
- the general meshing of technology and biology seen in the vortis, grunts, controllers and nihilanth...

all combine trademarks, as we now know.,
 
Give me some damn credit, he was replying to me!
 
Surgery marks? Tell me where on a Combine there are such crude stiches, hmm?

The Advisor, by the way, has no stitches on it's flesh, but is wearing a large body-stocking with poor stitching.

How many times to I have to explain this: Why do manacles = combine? Do you see any manacles on the enslaved humans? Or the synth? Or anything in HL2 apart from the Vortigaunts? If anything, it shows that the vortigaunts were controlled by the Controllers, who DON'T have any form of manacle on them.

Vortis, grunts, and controllers are all organic, by the way. The grunt armour is an extruded exoskeleton. The only mechanical parts are the braces on the Vortigaunts, and the life support machine on the Nihilanth.

Yeah, and give Riomhaire -some- credit for that Laidlaw mail which proves that the often reference "HL2 Story Page" as misquoting Laidlaw.

And face it, Aftermath isn't going to explain much; Laidlaw enjoys watching us squirm too much.

-Angry Lawyer
 
Ask Riomhaire. And unless it's a non storyline related question, he's unlikely to divulge anything. He's covering his back so that people don't go "OMG LADELOW CONTRADICTIFIED HIMSELFF!!!!11" all over messageboards when Valve decide to change an unwritten bit of plot.

However, he will respond to things like "What are your literary influences" and stuff. Probably.

-Angry Lawyer
 
Wow, that's a bit of an eye-opener, despite it's vagueness and non-specificness.

So it's possible that the Nihilanth race comes from the combine world, an arbritrary homeworld, or maybe even just a race designed/modified by the combine for terrorising worlds, pre-invasion.

I guess the HL3 story is already written, at least broadly (obviously as they develop the game they will have to cut/change things), but I bet they have the general details.

I want to go to the combine homeworld! As long as it's not Xen-like anyway.

Looks industrial, from what I've seen through the swirly distorted portal...looks a bit like hell too.
 
Just because the "Nihilanth race" doesn't originate on Xen doesn't mean that they come from the Combine world. There are more than three worlds in the universe.

-Angry Lawyer
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Just because the "Nihilanth race" doesn't originate on Xen doesn't mean that they come from the Combine world. There are more than three worlds in the universe.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...

"an arbritrary homeworld"

But I think the story may get over complicated if they introduce loads of new worlds. We've already got Xen, and possibly the Combine homeworld. Things are going to get crazy if we have too many more :rolling:
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Surgery marks? Tell me where on a Combine there are such crude stiches, hmm?

The Advisor, by the way, has no stitches on it's flesh, but is wearing a large body-stocking with poor stitching.

How many times to I have to explain this: Why do manacles = combine? Do you see any manacles on the enslaved humans? Or the synth? Or anything in HL2 apart from the Vortigaunts? If anything, it shows that the vortigaunts were controlled by the Controllers, who DON'T have any form of manacle on them.

Vortis, grunts, and controllers are all organic, by the way. The grunt armour is an extruded exoskeleton. The only mechanical parts are the braces on the Vortigaunts, and the life support machine on the Nihilanth.

Yeah, and give Riomhaire -some- credit for that Laidlaw mail which proves that the often reference "HL2 Story Page" as misquoting Laidlaw.

And face it, Aftermath isn't going to explain much; Laidlaw enjoys watching us squirm too much.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...


lol sorry i had to laugh, but a "large body-stocking with poor stiching"

what is he, some kind of homo-flamboyant hard house raver in a badly-fitting lycra body suit?
 
Well, the Advisor was blind, so it's not like he needed fashion. Just something to keep him warm.

Laidlaw limiting the universe to three worlds would be completely stupid, though. That's going in the sort of "Earth is the centre of the universe!" type of thinking. And Laidlaw already mentioned other worlds through Breen in his speech at the end.

-Angry Lawyer
 
I think people are taking this 'Nihilanth' race out of context, he looks like a huge meshed together controller/vort combo.

I guess you could say that, that would make it, it's own race. But it dosn't mean that Nihilanth is natural or not from Xen.
 
I think Laidlaw meant the "Nihilanth" race as anything related to the Vortigaunts, Controllers, and Grunts. At least, that's what I interpreted it as.

-Angry Lawyer
 
Angry Lawyer said:
I think Laidlaw meant the "Nihilanth" race as anything related to the Vortigaunts, Controllers, and Grunts. At least, that's what I interpreted it as.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...

Same here, I figured it just referred to any Xen creature based on the 3-arm template type thing.
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Well, the Advisor was blind, so it's not like he needed fashion. Just something to keep him warm.
Click to expand...

lol, so why does it have bad stitching? you think he needs a new tailor? like an italian one maybe?
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Well, the Advisor was blind, so it's not like he needed fashion. Just something to keep him warm.

Laidlaw limiting the universe to three worlds would be completely stupid, though. That's going in the sort of "Earth is the centre of the universe!" type of thinking. And Laidlaw already mentioned other worlds through Breen in his speech at the end.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...
He's blind? Oh right, no eyes. I guess he must be telepathic seeing as he looks at Breen and Gordie, and talks without actually talking to Breen. So telepathy doesn't work with fashion I guess.
 
Blind as in doesn't use eyes, yes. If you're using other senses to detect position and stuff, I doubt they'd really notice things like rough stitching.
That's one thing Earth has that the Combine want - sewing machines.

-Angry Lawyer
 
Cons Himself said:
so remind us again why he needs an all in one lycra body suit?
Click to expand...
because you need to stop spaming!
 
Angry Lawyer said:
Blind as in doesn't use eyes, yes. If you're using other senses to detect position and stuff, I doubt they'd really notice things like rough stitching.
That's one thing Earth has that the Combine want - sewing machines.

-Angry Lawyer
Click to expand...

Wasn't it beer ?
 
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