Opposing Force is more than meets the eye

The Combine and Race-X being related, is just a guess, and I don't really think they are. The theory about Opposing Force being just a "action-pack with new weapons and enemies" that does not relate to Half-Life is a bit depressive, but then again, Valve sacrificed many things creating Half-Life 2, and they just might have done that with Race-X and Adrian.

Race-X may be just "viking wannabe" race that thought it might be a good idea to pillage Earth, but then Adrian blows their leader off the face of the planet, and then G-Man completes the job by destroying the whole Black Mesa Facility. And that just to make one of the BEST FPS Expansion Pack of it's time.

Yes, it's sad to think that Race-X is out Valve's plans, since they have plans to build expansions over the Alyx character (bleh!), and maybe Barney Calhoun again (Look at the ending credits in Half-Life 2, IT IS THE SAME BARNEY CALHOUN FROM BLUE-SHIFT, and not some "generic" Barney). But I do want Adrian to return, even if it has to be as a corpse, just to see wtf happened to him.

Anyway, Opposing Force gives more clues about the G-Man, the Black Mesa facility and the Military in Half-Life Universe, than it gives about Xen or the Combine.
 
Perhaps. But then again, was he a pawn of the G-Man? After all:

Who sponsored Gordon at the facility? (Well actually we dont know. It says 'unknown'. But I would guess the G-Man).
Who constantly watches Gordon?
Who congratulates him on taking out Nihilanth and allowing Earth to invade Xen?
Who is seen in the anomolous materials lab talking to a scientist?

Possibly G-Man wanted an excuse to go to war with Xen. Therefore he started one indirectly. However you are right about Dr.Breen. He obviously had some hand in things.

However, these things I've listed could be something else entirely. What it could be to me is that the G-Man did not want a a rift to be opened and prepared a contingency plan: Gordon, the Marines, and the Black Ops. This would explain why he then calls Gordon back to take out the Combine - he didnt want them in our world from the beginning. But can you imagine the G-Man's plans being rent asunder? It seems odd that he would wait some twenty or so years before deploying his secret beardy weapon again.

What I said before was my theory before HL2. Now I'm not so sure. Quite a puzzle.
 
Calhoun said:
There are no race X aliens in Half-Life 2.
Click to expand...

Also there wasn't no Gargantuas, no Squids, no Houndeyes, no USA PCV Military Grunts, and definitely NO BIOZEMINADES! :LOL:
 
skulldodds i would say we simply dont know enough about the gman to be able to conjecture on his aims or anything else, other than that:

he may be opposed to the Combine (Gordon frees Xen from Combine - HL1....Gordon frees earth from Combine - HL2...both under the careful eye of the Gman)...

OR

he is an alien mercenary ('I have received several interesting offers for your employment Mr Freeman')

either way, he cant be a friend of the Combine, and therefore cant be a superior of Breen...

true, he is obviously keeping close tabs on Gordon, but it is yet to be revealed why...

i dont think the gman harboured any ill will to the Xenians on their own, rather he obviously is opposed to the Xenians as part of the Combine, which they are, until Gordon frees them....
 
Doug Lambardi said that Race-X had no relevance on Halflife's story at all in an e-mail he was sent, on these very forums. Race-X was just added in so you would have some new enemies to fight.
 
Cons Himself said:
ok, sorry that you already knew about part A. but as for the g man causing it? youre a bit off the right track there.

who insists on overloading the equipment?
who sends up the purest sample yet?
who 'just wouldnt listen' to the scientists concerns?
who had the most to gain from the combine taking over earth?

guess - its the Administator. all the hints point to it being the Administrator who actually wants the resonance cascade to happen.

my conjecture behind this would be:

Once Xen had been discovered through the course of standard scientific research, The Administrator (Breen) was either contacted by, or accidently discovered, the Combine. Breen was thereafter in contact with the Combine and in league with them. Breen tried to cause the resonance cascade to open earth up to the Combine (who controlled Xen through the Nihilanth, the 'lesser leader' as the Vortis call it). Remember, Breen tralks about what the combine have shown him at the end of HL2....'huge meterological intelligences....stretched across the dimensions'. He obviously become obsessive about the chance to explore the Universe and made a deal with the Combine - cause the resonance cascade to let the combine into earth...remember, the combine had no way to teleport to earth in significant numbers without their dark energy reactor.....
Click to expand...

If you ask me, this is spot-on exactly how it is.

Now, if this is true, what is the G-man up to?
It seems to me that the G-man is totally anti-combine.

One thing HL1 and Opposing force had in common is that both Gordon and Shephard were extremely talented fighters, both were watched and guided by the G-man, and both eventually ended up in the teleportation chamber, on a one-way trip to Nihilanth's chamber. Shephard didn't make it though.

So, since Nihilanth was a combine "administrator" like Breen, and was in the process of invading earth, G-man clearly wanted him killed. By sending a huge contingent of anti-alien marines into black mesa, and guiding the best ones towards Nihilanth, he clearly wanted them to kill Nihilanth and free the bulk of his army, rendering the vortiguant invasion force harmless.

Since Gordon was the one who accomplished that task, he was awarded with employment. Shephard proved himself worthy, but was a few seconds too late to reach the portal. So, he got a harsher "cold storage" treatment instead of getting nuked, as a sort of consolation prize, and maybe for the G-man's later use.

Now, in HL2, Gordon is thawed out and sent to kill the second combine administrator: Breen. And we all know how that worked out.

Race-X is almost definitely from Xen. Scientific survey teams returning from Xen brought back samples of Shock Trooper young, and the spore plants they use as food and weaponry. The strange squeaking lights that fuel the gene-worm's teleportation are xenian as well, sucked to earth from the part of Xen with the giant microbe-like structures in the distance.

Now, it could just be a coincidence that race-X came to earth on the exact first day of the combine invasion. Instead, I think they are Xen's version of the resistance. They clearly disliked the Garg, which is the "tank" of the Nihilanth army. They went to Earth in an attempt to sabotage the combine's plans, whatever they were.

And, since Breen was working for the combine and had overseen the capture of many of their children, they must have percieved humans as a combine threat as well. So they just went in in an effort to kill everything they could, and they were very successful at that aim until their invasion force got nuked.

But, since they have no connection to the human resistance and never acheived any influence over any key events, it is safe to say they have no major signifigance to the overall plot.
 
Seems about right on all counts so far.

Could the G-Man be part of something much higher than we think? Something like an interstellar illuminati...things that play games with the universe? "Slaves...we are their slaves..." says Nihilanth. I wonder...
 
thats what i like to think skuldodds :)

guess we'll have to wait for the next expansion pack for more info :D

as an after thought - does anyone know what the gman says tro the vortigaunt he is communicating with in the level Route Kanal, via the TV set (in the red shipping container/carriage thing)?
 
I was already comfortable to think that Race-X is just a pack of alien enemies that are fun to kill. Perhaps the best alien enemies in the whole Half-Life story so far, that's why I think they deserved a better place in the game.

Anyway, Valve created so many characters out of thin air creating Half-Life 2, and neglected so many others like Dr. Rosenburg, Adrian Shepphard, Walter, Simons, Gina, Colette, and others, along with enemies like the Gargantua, bullsquids, houndeyes and many others... my opinion is that Half-Life 2 development was rushed like we all know, and even knowing that the game itself is really good, the story, many enemies and explanations that were meant to be in the final version, are just ghosts from old video footage, leaked Betas and scripts.

I just hope that they will realize what they've done, and start filling the gaps, perhaps finding a way to put Adrian and Dr. Rosenburg and Gina and others with an expansion of their own. Like I said, wouldn't be awesome to se all those characters back together fighting against the combine in other citadels? Well, I think it would rock for sure.
 
Go, go, Godzilla! Putting that creative mind to work, I see.

Just a couple of possibilities/points/alternate theories/inane ramblings.

First, if Race X was a form of "Xen resistance," then why attack Earth forces? If you really think about it, why teleport to Earth at all? What do they seek to gain? Something just doesn't fit...

Second, let's assume that the G-Man, in the guise of one of the Admin's men, intentionally put into motion the events that led to the resonance cascade. The big question (and, it's a big question in alot of the theories) is, "why?" This one might have an answer, though. What if the G-Man's intention was to put Earth in direct confrontation with the Combine? Perhaps the G-Man is seeking allies of a sort. Xen seem to, almost certainly, have been a Combine-controlled dimension. Perhaps Xen was a test for Earth just as Black Mesa was a test for Gordon...to see if they were worthy allies (or, perhaps more aptly, worthy PAWNS against the Combine).

The G-Man's "employers" clearly wouldn't want to draw attention to/expose themselves by creating a DIRECT confrontation between the Combine and Earth, so they create a confrontation between Earth and a surrogate of the Combine (Xen), knowing that the Combine will step in directly IF Earth proves a threat. Black Mesa, having already accessed Xen, made the perfect tool to this end.

Plots within plots. It's all very Machevellian.
 
the g man is not subservient to the administrator - Breen...could Breen stop time?
 
Cons Himself said:
the g man is not subservient to the administrator - Breen...could Breen stop time?
Click to expand...

Because he chose to place himself in a subservient position to advance his own goals does not imply that the G-Man IS subservient. Manipulation from the shadows is the G-Man's game. I strongly suspect that he would take whatever position suited him and his purpose.

Don't confuse the "man" with the position.
 
ok i still think you are reading too much into the situation. although everything here is conjecture - the whole admin started the resonance cascade theory is based on fact a bit more.

the one thing im not going to conjecture about is the gman as we know nothing about him and he speaks 3 times across maybe 2 minutes in the 2 HL games...just wait for HL3 for explanation about gman - everything else is fair game :)
 
Mechagodzilla said:
Race-X is almost definitely from Xen. Scientific survey teams returning from Xen brought back samples of Shock Trooper young, and the spore plants they use as food and weaponry. The strange squeaking lights that fuel the gene-worm's teleportation are xenian as well, sucked to earth from the part of Xen with the giant microbe-like structures in the distance.

Now, it could just be a coincidence that race-X came to earth on the exact first day of the combine invasion. Instead, I think theyare Xen's version of the resistance. They clearly disliked the Garg, which is the "tank" of the Nihilanth army. They went to Earth in an attempt to sabotage the combine's plans, whatever they were.
Click to expand...

I don't think they are from Xen - or at least they're from a different part.
If you look at the biodome levels the Race-X flora and spore-gun/baby shocktrooper tanks are kept seperately from the traditional Xen habitat, as well as new portions of the biodome being under construction.
Also the sky Adrian sees in Op4 look very different from that in HL1.

I don't think it was coincidence that Race-X invaded the day after the Resonance Cascade (storyline of HL1 and expansions takes at least 2 days I believe), but I see them more as a rival Power rather than a resistance movement.
Also I don't think it's said that the Combine invasion immediately followed the cascade, I believe that the 'portal storms' would have lasted at least a few days for newspapers to be published - with correct terminology.
 
I have just sent Mark Laidlaw a few specific questions about the story in HL universe, also related to the points raised in this thread. I hope he will send me an answer :).
 
Solver said:
I have just sent Mark Laidlaw a few specific questions about the story in HL universe, also related to the points raised in this thread. I hope he will send me an answer :).
Click to expand...

Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment :devil:

Well... good luck! :frog:
 
I liked it so much that I elected as my signature from now on :stare:
 
Nice sig then :).

I've received a response from Marc... amazing, he took under 40 minute to write me back, I really appreciate it. Here is what he sent me:

Marc Laidlaw said:
Hi, Solver, I'm assuming whatever I tell you is going to get posted somewhere, so I'll be very careful in answering.

I will not talk about the meaning of the game or clear up stuff that has yet to be clarified or revealed; it only makes sense to do this in the context of the games themselves. Stuff that hasn't been revealed is that way because we're not ready to reveal it. Everything that's there is there for a reason; ditto for everything that isn't there. I can only say, "Stay tuned."

Race-X was Gearbox's creation, and likely would only be continued if Gearbox were to do more episodes in the HL universe. There were gameplay modes they wanted to explore, and their designers wanted to make some new monsters; Race-X was a great way for them to do this. The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story. Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay. We did coordinate overarching story elements with Gearbox, but left a lot of the details for them to explore and invent according to what worked for their design process. As for whether Shepherd was put on ice before or after the Nihilanth's demise, it's really hard to say, since Gordon's time in Xen and in the Nihilanth's chamber may not be mapped directly against the timeline of events at Black Mesa.

The gman mumbles sound fairly close to what I remember him saying...strangely enough, I can't find the script for that exchange.

Thanks for taking such an interest in the story. Before HL1 came out, it was tough to convince outsiders that FPS players would care at all about having any kind of story in their game. Obviously, given the wide range of reactions, they care quite a bit. The debate over HL2's content is much more varied.

Yours,
Marc Laidlaw
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted by Marc Laidlaw
Hi, Solver, I'm assuming whatever I tell you is going to get posted somewhere, so I'll be very careful in answering.

I will not talk about the meaning of the game or clear up stuff that has yet to be clarified or revealed; it only makes sense to do this in the context of the games themselves. Stuff that hasn't been revealed is that way because we're not ready to reveal it. Everything that's there is there for a reason; ditto for everything that isn't there. I can only say, "Stay tuned."

Race-X was Gearbox's creation, and likely would only be continued if Gearbox were to do more episodes in the HL universe. There were gameplay modes they wanted to explore, and their designers wanted to make some new monsters; Race-X was a great way for them to do this. The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story. Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay. We did coordinate overarching story elements with Gearbox, but left a lot of the details for them to explore and invent according to what worked for their design process. As for whether Shepherd was put on ice before or after the Nihilanth's demise, it's really hard to say, since Gordon's time in Xen and in the Nihilanth's chamber may not be mapped directly against the timeline of events at Black Mesa.

The gman mumbles sound fairly close to what I remember him saying...strangely enough, I can't find the script for that exchange.

Thanks for taking such an interest in the story. Before HL1 came out, it was tough to convince outsiders that FPS players would care at all about having any kind of story in their game. Obviously, given the wide range of reactions, they care quite a bit. The debate over HL2's content is much more varied.

Yours,
Marc Laidlaw
Click to expand...

Very interesting, more or less what I hoped a response would be...

Also the theories that you fight Nihilanth -before- the experiment happened in BMRF have some new and nice evidence. :)

Good work Solver :cheers:
 
Oh, to make it more clear, I asked Marc five specific questions when I mailed him.

1) Does the Race-X from Opposing Force have relevance to the official story? (The community agrees it's been asked before, but disagrees on what the Valve answer was).
2) Is it correct that Nihilanth was just a figurehead leader of Xen, and was actually under Combine rule, just as it's the case with Dr. Breen and Earth?
3) Is it correct that in Anomalous Materials in HL1, where the GMan can be seen talking to a scientist, the sound files do actually contain information, as offered here: http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=24511
4) In Opposing Force, when the GMan put Sheppard in stasis, was it before or after the Nihilanth was killed?
5) Finally... though you might be unable to answer this one... is it true that a connection exists between the GMan and the Vortigaunts?
Click to expand...

N3 is that big thread in the General forum - and so apparently the mumbles have been deciphered correctly. N1 and N4 are answered pretty well... and he obviously hints that answers to N1 and N5 will be revealed by what he says. I'm certainly glad on that :).
 
Well... then it only answer us one thing:
We'll never see Shephard again :p. Unless Gearbox and Valve start working together again on another expansion, which is extremely unlikely, due to the fact that Gearbox is making it's own games right now.

Since you had so much luck having a response from, suggest to him to write something with Adrian, but setting him on the Half-Life 2 Storyline... it has so many possibilities.
 
RAMBO-PM said:
Since you had so much luck having a response from, suggest to him to write something with Adrian, but setting him on the Half-Life 2 Storyline... it has so many possibilities.
Click to expand...

The story for what happens next is already written. So how the trilogy ends, what happens, etc., is all planned out and written, and if anything at all is going to change, it's very minor details.
 
Like he said: "Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay."

It means that since he's the one who has the most info on the story (maybe because he's the one who wrote it), maybe he can still find a way for Adrian in the whole story.
 
RAMBO-PM said:
Well... then it only answer us one thing:
We'll never see Shephard again :p. Unless Gearbox and Valve start working together again on another expansion, which is extremely unlikely, due to the fact that Gearbox is making it's own games right now.

Since you had so much luck having a response from, suggest to him to write something with Adrian, but setting him on the Half-Life 2 Storyline... it has so many possibilities.
Click to expand...

Actually it only says we probably won't see race-X again, he didn't mention Sherpa...
 
Then, the most probably way we're gonna see Adrian, is in Half-Life 3, when Gordon finally finds out what the hell everything was all about, and see Adrian somewhere "frozen in time"... just like an easter egg.
 
Hey, a writer that has written a story he's satisfied with (and the other guys at Valve, too!) will not be adding any major points to it. If Adrian's in, he's in, if not, then not.
 
I'm not asking for him to CHANGE anything... just ADD... I can't think of a reason why a writer would not accept suggestions to something that he hasn't done yet.
 
Exactly because he has done it - the story's written. Besides, adding is changing. To add a new character into a story is not as easy as it sounds, a lot has to be tweaked, reviewed, etc. Trust me, I have written some stuff in life.
 
Me too, although not exactly a book... but that's why I'll quote him again:

"Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay."

Having Adrian to comeback would be great fun if you ask me. Maybe he will comeback.
As a Fan, you really can ask the author for something extra:
" Race-X was a great way for them to do this. The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story. "
 
thats really great that he replied to you, explaining almost everything you wanted to know (actually he did explain everything, just some of the explanations arent here yet)...
im really starting to get into the half-life story/world... its really interesting, almost like a new starwars :p
 
Yes, this is one of the reasons why people love Valve - you can email their team members and get replies on stuff that interests you. Very few other game developers do that. So I really appreciate Marc taking the time and writing to me.
 
Well, Solver, it seems that you've lived up to your name by solving at least one mystery...Race X has no direct connection to the core HL story. I did notice that Mr. Laidlaw didn't say the same for Corporal Shephard, though.
 
Yeah, I also sent an e-mail to Marc about Corporal Shephard, and he said: "As you noticed, Adrian Shephard's
future is in the G-Man's hands, and I'm not sure what he has in mind."

Also he said: "We haven't announced anything about adventures of the other characters
at this time, so I wouldn't be able to comment on that."

Enough for those who say that Shephard and the others (Dr. Rosenburg, Gina, etc...) would be forgotten...
Apparently, they weren't :p
 
I finished hl1 and opposing force like 5 years ago and i never actually played blueshift, so i can't remember all charachters in game except the obvious ones...From what i see we got too many unanswered questions and we cant find answers till new half-life game / expansion come out... But after reading through these posts i think i'll replay hl1 and opposing force. Just to remember story line...
Is blueshift any good? (No wonder why i never remember barney lol)
 
Ummm...Race-X has nothing in common with the Combine, Race-X was just another race from the same dimension drawn to earth because of the events of the cascade. Race-X just saw this as an oppurtunity to invade a planet for valuable resources, they have nothing to do with Xen, or the Combine, they're just oppurtunists. The Xen worm, for anyone who has read the OP4 strategy guide, are actually biological factories, that take resources, and precess them for it's races needs.
 
if you lived in a dimension overrun by the combine, you too might be quick to invade another world when the opportunity arises

edit: as for whoever wanted scans of the notes in the hl manual and the journal in the op4 manual, I can't help you with the former but PHL has the latter
http://www.planethalflife.com/opfor/guide/weapons.shtm
 
Cons Himself said:
Nihilanth > Xen Controllers/Grunts > Vortigaunts (slaves)
Breen > Transhuman Combine Overwatch > Stalkers (slaves)

anyone else see a pattern? this has also been confirmed by marc laidlaw to be 'pretty much' the story...
Click to expand...

I noticed the pattern. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Krynn72
You guys, what the **** is up.
Replies
11
Views
2K
Tollbooth Willie
Tollbooth Willie
Lizardizzle
2019: The year of Half-Life SFX videos
Replies
4
Views
2K
Ennui
Ennui
B
Half-Life's revisited locations
Replies
0
Views
6K
Barnz
B
bbson john
Hi everyone. I am new to this forum!
Replies
11
Views
6K
Tollbooth Willie
Tollbooth Willie
B
The making of the world's first Half-Life fan comic
Replies
0
Views
18K
Barnz
B
Back
Top