The Citadel

[Dsty2001]

It occured to me when I played through the game last time, but could the huge thing dropping down from the Citadel that chews away at the ground also provide protection from Ant-Lions? Maybe this is why we see antlions in C17 after the Citadel is critically hurt.

 

[Polaris]

We will see antlions because explosion of dark fusion reactor blackout City 17 power shields...

 

[ríomhaire]

Sorry, been discussed to death like almost everything else, ;(

 

[DuBbL3 U To0]

i have no idea why so many ( & the majority ) of people think that the beating machines are used to dig into the ground. think about it, what does beating on the ground do? it compacts it & makes it more stable. If the Citadel- a behemoth of a structure, most probably weighing more than one million tons- did not have the beating devices at its base. It would simply sink into the ground, much like the leaning tower of Piza. (for those of you less informed. the leaning tower of Piza is the way it is because it was built on a soft soil. & slowly sank into the ground)

HOWEVER, i could be wrong...

 

[_Z_Ryuken]

I'm thinking it's just a positive side-effect of a larger operation.

Is there a current, canon, story extension to HL2 somewhere?

How are you seeing antlions in C17 after the citadel is "critically hurt"? What does that mean?
I only played through twice and am not really familiar with all the famous places and what not.

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

I like the idea that that huge thumper keeps out Antlions. But, the evidence against this is, whats keeping the Ant Guards out? Because they don't actually come from the ground like the Antlions, which those machines on the coast prevent them from doing. I can easily see a horde of ant guards smashing through into City 17, so the shields to seem like a more logical thing to go with.

Also, I would love to see a full scale Antlion invasion. Antlions flying over walls, hundreds at a time, Ant Guards smashing through Combine Walls...

 

[_Z_Ryuken]

What the **** is an ant guard?

 

[UltimaApocalypse]

Ant Guards, the mini bosses you see a few times in the SandTraps/Nova Prospect levels?

Oh and nevermind, I was wrong. Ant Lions do come out of the ground. Just played that level again.

 

[highlander]

i read somewhere were the Citadel morphs to its envoirment, and other Citadels are around the planet, linking up maybe?

 

[Asknoone]

No, I truly doubt that. The Combine (I assume) use the Citadels in all of their conflicts. Are we assuming every planet they invade his a wasteland filled with alien wildlife? Probably not.
Antlions aren't the only thing out there, and not everything is disturbed by thumpers.

Just a side effect of a much larger operation.

 

[highlander]

well who knows all might be revealed in AM

 

[ríomhaire]

i have no idea why so many ( & the majority ) of people think that the beating machines are used to dig into the ground. think about it, what does beating on the ground do? it compacts it & makes it more stable. If the Citadel- a behemoth of a structure, most probably weighing more than one million tons- did not have the beating devices at its base. It would simply sink into the ground, much like the leaning tower of Piza. (for those of you less informed. the leaning tower of Piza is the way it is because it was built on a soft soil. & slowly sank into the ground)

HOWEVER, i could be wrong...

You know that some types of ground liquidate during earthquakes?

 

[Puzzlemaker]

So are the huge thumpers on the citidel to dig, or to keep the antlions out?

I thought they where to dig down, but the antlion idea holds a lot of merit and makes more sence. Hmm.

 

[Asknoone]

It makes very little sense as far as I'm concerned. They simply wouldn't build the Citadel with that in mind.

 

[Aspe]

To keep the antlions out of the city, I would have thought the thumping would have to be done with such great force that the vibrations are noticeable throughout all of City 17, and they are not. It would disrupt the gameplay somewhat, I think.

 

[esplin]

Raising the Bar puts it like this:

"Everything about the Citadel is invasive-it's digging into the ground beneath City 17 while its articulated walls rake outward, demolishing everything in their path."

No mention of Antlions so its unlikely it helps with that. It sounds more like the Citadel is embedding itself into the planet in order to make room for more Combine structures. Thats my theory anyway.

 

[XANA]

possibility

maybe those crusher walls are destroying buildings and stuff so the combine can expand the citadel and continue with their diabolical plans to... do... stuff.:|