Pre-Overwatch Combine.

[PortalStormzzzz]

What were they? What troops did the Combine use to invade Earth? Were they Xenian based Alien Grunts that got Combowned? Were they things we have yet to see yet? Honestly, what were the pre-overwatch Combine forces like?

 

[Avoidist]

Believed to be most of the synth units we are fighting at the moment; Striders, Gunships, that sort of thing. Whether the Hunters, Crab & Mortar Synths, Advisors, and/or Cremators were used is up for debate. Not to mention Xen wildlife in the mix just to shake things up.

Anything else is just pure speculation, though I'm willing to bet there is more to the army than we have seen so far.

 

[Trodler]

i wonder if combine know love..

 

[Avoidist]

i wonder if combine know love..

Of course. They love to kill.

 

[Trodler]

yeah but.. from the players POV they are evil, but maybe in their eyes they justify their actions by global conquest.. i mean im not saying they are RIGHT.. but its not as if they THINK they are the bad guys.. just like terrorists.. they dont actually say "well yes we are the opposer's of truth and justice and basically evil" they actually believe what they are doing is right! which im guessing is what the combine thought too! so with that in mind.. maybe they can love.. whos knows

 

[Asknoone]

They were most likely the kinds of massive Synth artillery units you see toward the HL2 climax. Only bigger and more efficient. And constantly being mass-produced by the 17+ Citadels that appeared via the Portal Storms.

 

[Druckles]

It could've been the citadel's landing wiped out most of the population of the earth.

 

[Ridge]

The Citadel didnt "land"

A hole opened up in the middle of the cities and the Citadels just appeared there...

Its likely they used the plasma artillery, the synths we've seen before as well as the captive Vortigaunts...

 

[Rapstah]

as well as the captive Vortigaunts...

What? I'm pretty sure they didn't use any of those in the initial assault on humanity. The ones we see are Xen wildlife that appeared during the Portal Storms.

 

[Ridge]

I recall it in RTB...maybe I'll flip through it again...its always an adventure...

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Yea, i know the bigger guys they used, but that can't be all of it. There had to be some sort of pre-overwatch infantry.

I'm making a free 3d movie on the subject and I need something for the Combine's invading army that is human sized. I'm guessing race X because they kept fighting after the big baby got owned. All the vorts surrendered and were mentally freed. So because Race X still fought up to the end and until the nuke, they were probably the combine. But I can't say for sure and if I can't confirm it, I might as well use them for troopers for the Combine.

 

[Tagaziel]

Race X Wasn't ****ing Combine.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Then why were they fighting after the nhilinath's Death? (wrong spelling, but fook it)

 

[nurizeko]

Why are the resistance fighting after their leaders surrendered after the 7 hour war?.

Just because a leader is killed doesn't stop an army/people fighting.

Hunters were probably more then suitable for the "human size" trooper role.

 

[Druckles]

The Citadel didnt "land"

A hole opened up in the middle of the cities and the Citadels just appeared there...

It was more of a "landing". Some huge chunk of a dick just appears in your city. I think there's alot of mass of people there which should've been there before...

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Why are the resistance fighting after their leaders surrendered after the 7 hour war?.

Just because a leader is killed doesn't stop an army/people fighting.

Hunters were probably more then suitable for the "human size" trooper role.

Yea but humans aren't mentally and physically enslaved by a big baby on a floater.

After that thing was blown up, there was nothing in control. even Laidlaw said that all the aliens close to the nihl died off after he died. Controllers?

So, race X's continued fighting as an organized foe would require something behind the lines controlling them. Such as... a space slug?

Yea I know, their not suppose to be part of the Half Life storyline, but if you add some combine tech to them, they're as close as you'll get to pre-overwatch I think.

 

[Ridge]

Have you read RTB? Nothing said it was a landing...

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Yea. I think RTB said that the cities had portal storms open up directly above them and the citadels come in through them.

 

[LandStander]

The Citadel didnt "land"

A hole opened up in the middle of the cities and the Citadels just appeared there...

Its likely they used the plasma artillery, the synths we've seen before as well as the captive Vortigaunts...

Didn't they fall from the portal storms?

 

[SpectreBlofeld]

I always got the impression while playing HL2 that the Citadel was 'growing' out of the earth.

The moving outer walls seemed to be moving outward and 'swallowing' up City 17 in order to 'feed' itself in order to grow more.

Probably totally wrong, but it's the impression I received and it's a pretty cool concept - that the entire Citadel is in a sense another 'synth,' a mechano-lifeform - perhaps itself the origin of the Overwatch voice, in a literal sense.

 

[LandStander]

How would they have come up from the earth though? This isn't war of the Worlds. The portals are in the sky.

 

[SpectreBlofeld]

Not saying they didn't.

 

[Druckles]

But however they appeared. Fact is, they're not small. And they don't take up no space. Thus there was matter where they used to be. This matter probably included people and buildings. Thus, if matter replaced it, no more people etc. Thus it wouldn't be too hard to fight a war when you've got huge citadels appearing from nowhere.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Back on topic, I shall have 3d modeled combine soldiers to what I think they may have looked like pre-human. I'll do what the people think look best.

 

[MJ12]

I always thought they used the Vorts for a while

 

[Tagaziel]

So, race X's continued fighting as an organized foe would require something behind the lines controlling them. Such as... a space slug?

Race-X, as previously stated, has nothing to do with the combine. They are fully organic, whereas the combine is primarily based on synths. Do you see anything remotely resembling Combine tech in Race-X? NO.

They are not affiliated with the Combine, period.

FFS.

Yea I know, their not suppose to be part of the Half Life storyline, but if you add some combine tech to them, they're as close as you'll get to pre-overwatch I think.

NO.

 

[Teta_Bonita]

I'm making a free 3d movie on the subject and I need something for the Combine's invading army that is human sized.

Alright, here's Valve's original concept for the combine super-soldier:

It's some sort of human-sized synth. That would work I think.

Also, if you don't like the hairiness, here's the Sven-Coop mod-teams take on the same concept:

 

[Aldenhelm]

I alwys thought they used prowlers.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Yea, but the thing about all of those is that they are human synths. I guess the best thing to do is to take a Race X super trooper, take a pinch of the white human synth with a tap of the prowlers and stick a gas mask or something on it. That's basically as close as I'll get I think, as Valve has never showed us the per-human combine.

I mean, they were at war with Xen for eons. In taking some of their worlds, they had to incorporate Vorts by then. I'm thinking an Alien Grunt with mechs and a gas mask. No skin showing, unlike the original Grunts.

But hey, if I make something truly awesome looking, maybe Valve will take it when they finally do make something with the main Combine army. That's basically what they did with the zombine. When the masses demanded new zombie, they made one. If I make a cool looking thing, then maybe the masses will demand Valve use it. Not like I'll charge them. I'll be happy enough if they simply use it.


In any case, My combine army will be a mixture of synths from Xen, Race X, and random other worlds I may make up.

I made an early concept of what I think should be a "strider elite" essentially, something in between a hunter and a strider:

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/5438/expun5.png

Note the major error in that I forgot to add an extra joint to the limb. It'll be added in game, or they'll be walking like zombies with toothpick legs.

 

[SpectreBlofeld]

Pre-Overwatch Combine, in the flesh:

 

[LandStander]

They're hideous!

 

[Tagaziel]

Yea, but the thing about all of those is that they are human synths. I guess the best thing to do is to take a Race X super trooper, take a pinch of the white human synth with a tap of the prowlers and stick a gas mask or something on it. That's basically as close as I'll get I think, as Valve has never showed us the per-human combine.

Do I have to repeat myself? Race-X has NOTHING to do with the Combine, so to use them as basis for a Combine Trooper is rather... unwise.

I mean, they were at war with Xen for eons. In taking some of their worlds, they had to incorporate Vorts by then. I'm thinking an Alien Grunt with mechs and a gas mask. No skin showing, unlike the original Grunts.

Search for Combine Guard screenshots from the beta. And why are you so obsessed with gas masks? They are a purely human invention - why a synth would require a gas mask, give me a clue.

In any case, My combine army will be a mixture of synths from Xen, Race X, and random other worlds I may make up.

*facepalm*

 

[Druckles]

Pre-Overwatch Combine, in the flesh:

QFT.

PortalStormzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz stop talking about Race X! You don't seem to have grasped their concept!

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

No, but their good as a basis to mix in with other things.

Obviously humans don't have no hands and feet and walk on sticks like stalkers do, and obviously humans don't have mech-ears and one big orange eye like super troopers. So using a raceX guy and adding vort-like additions onto it would make it look synth-like.

Oh, and good point on gas masks. Humans are the only ones with them.

 

[Saruke]

What happened was that the resonance cascade caused by the black mesa portal started a chain reaction that increased exponentially until their were so many portals you couldn't swing a cat without hitting one. Then the creatures from Xen came through, overwhelming any resistance put against them. The truth is the combine came in realitively late in the 7 hour war and because Earth was in such a weakened state from the Xen attacks they just came in and rolled us over.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

yea but xen's troops were devastated too. Combine killed them.

also, how long AFTER BM was the 7 hour war?

 

[Saruke]

well there arn't even any teenagers in half life and Alyx is the youngest character in the series and she's 22(?). So the black mesa incident and the seven hour war must have happened within less then a year of each other. Probably less.

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

THANK YOU. i was hoping so. Now when I make my film my Character, the general in command of Black mesa operations, can have one of the uber kool transitions where he's staring off into the field, dishonored by defeat in the South West, then a flash and it's one year later. He'll be in a city closed off to the outside, looking onward as the portal storms begin and the 7 hour countdown to defeat begins. Aw man, this will be awesome.

Note: tomorrow I shall post a picture of a pre-overwatch combine soldier that I made for the community's judgment.

 

[Saruke]

Ummm I must add a addendum. I'm nearly positive that the 7 hour happened within days of the conclusion of black mesa.

Sorry

 

[PortalStormzzzz]

Days later? well, I'm not really sure, because Raising the Bar or something says that enough time passed by so that Humans went to cities and abandoned the outer world as Xen life took it over. I highly doubt that in one or a few days all the wilderness of Earth was claimed by Xen, Xen's armies destroyed by the Combine, and then the Combine moved into Earth. It had to be a year at least.