The train you arrive on.

[Baldrick]

Has anyone thought that the train you arrive on is the same train from the end of half life 1, just different looking?
Because you finish on a train, and you start on a train.
And your close to black mesa... (Because you go to black mesa east)
Could just be symbolic though.
But i like to think you came out of a slow time warp on the same train.

The train might just look different in hl2 because they could use more polygons and increase detail.

 

[FaultySanity]

Black mesa is in New Mexico.

City17 is in Europe.


You're no where near BM.

 

[Ren.182]

Nah it's a different train. The doors on this train are in the middle, on HL they were at the front.

Black Mesa East is just a new name for the place, possibly because it is in eastern Europe.

 

[Xenome]

One thing I don't understand: Why didn't valve include a nice train ride at the start of hl2? You even start in a train.. but your immediatly at city 17. They could have made more out of that I think..

 

[jimmyjam]

they moved the train ride to the citadel
Point Insertion essentially acts as hl2's train ride anyway, but you walk through it instead of moving automatically

 

[guyonthecouch]

hhhmmmmm....i don't think so....

 

[Asknoone]

No its not, black mesa is a crater now, i think the train went with it...

Also the train that arrives at city 17 has come from somewhere else, thats why those citizins are on, theyre bieng re located/

 

[Arden]

The train ride at the start of HL1 was the start of Freeman's new assignment at Black Mesa, and since it was so far from the surface to the Anomalous Materials sector, it was a good time to fill him in with everything he never wanted to know about Black Mesa. The train ride to City 17, on the other hand, was simply a relocation journey, and since the Combine were trying to make everybody forget everything, they weren't going to be telling you stuff (besides, everyone already knew what was going on).

Plus, the train in HL1 moved on a suspension track, while the train in HL2 was an actual train.

Personally, I like the beginning of HL2 much better, simply because it's more interactive until they actually let you do something (when Barney gives you your crowbar). You've barely arrived at this new place when all of a sudden you're missing, and being hunted. Compare that to 5 minutes of "blah blah blah..."

 

[Rhalle]

they moved the train ride to the citadel
Point Insertion essentially acts as hl2's train ride anyway, but you walk through it instead of moving automatically

Corect. You get the long version of the train ride at the end, instead of the beginning of the game.

 

[kirovman]

One thing I don't understand: Why didn't valve include a nice train ride at the start of hl2? You even start in a train.. but your immediatly at city 17. They could have made more out of that I think..

They originally had the idea that you would start off in the countryside, and how monster infested it was. The monsters would occasionally try to attack the train, but the people inside don't pay much attention to it.
That was after the g-man was standing behind you on a hill, which quickly showed the world changing from rich and green to a wasteland with combine dropships flying overhead saying "Don't worry Mr Freeman, we're not really here. Not yet anyway"

Also my favourite line from the script is

"But you won't have forgotten, Mr Freeman. You remember how the air used to taste. You remember how freedom felt. You remember...the sky."
And it was gone.

On the train the man you meet is called Samuel and he is the only person who will speak to you, giving you a spare gas mask to survive the outside conditions.
You arrive in the city and see the abandoned suburbs, and you go through an electric fence monster control system with turrets to kill monsters.

It's all in raising the bar. They also had an ice breaker journey to Dr Mossman's lab and a plane ride back to the citadel.

 

[sfc_hoot]

Speaking of trains, I've found a real-life train that looks amazingly similar to the C17 trains. Very likely that Valve based their trains on it.

 

[Sid Burn]

Speaking of trains, I've found a real-life train that looks amazingly similar to the C17 trains. Very likely that Valve based their trains on it.

yeah its amazing they can actually copy a real life train. Anyway, where did they got the models for the Razor train? or did they created it on their own?

 

[kirovman]

yeah its amazing they can actually copy a real life train. Anyway, where did they got the models for the Razor train? or did they created it on their own?

Looks slightly Ex-soviet locomotive.

Evil and menacing.
Watch 007 Goldeneye, you see one just at the end of the Tank part of the movie.

 

[Shadow][]

i think in raising the bar it had many train starts where you talk with gman and he shows you many past-present-future sightings of city 17

 

[Jesus Lincoln]

In raising the bar they had written a long sequence on the train, where you are going through the wasteland and the voice on the train was supposed to be the same HL1 train voice.

 

[Is This Tea]

Looks slightly Ex-soviet locomotive.

Evil and menacing.
Watch 007 Goldeneye, you see one just at the end of the Tank part of the movie.

I'm sure James Bond is a highly accurate source for information about the Soviet Union.

 

[kirovman]

I'm sure James Bond is a highly accurate source for information about the Soviet Union.

LOL fair point. Look at the train though, does look like the Razor train.

 

[Coder Jim]

I haven't actually bought "Raising The Bar" yet although from what everyone is saying about it, it looks very good. I'm waiting for the modification book to come out under Prima, although i have no idea when its release date is. Has anyone any ideas?

 

[Sid Burn]

In raising the bar they had written a long sequence on the train, where you are going through the wasteland and the voice on the train was supposed to be the same HL1 train voice.

That could've been cool. IMO.

 

[Coder Jim]

That could've been cool. IMO.

I agree, it would have been interesting to see what difference it would have made to the experience of the game, i see no reason why modification teams can't run through the book and design the alternate scenes. :thumbs:

 

[pomegranate]

Due to stuff like this, reading Raising the Bar was a bittersweet experience for me - it seems they left out all kinds of stuff which would have been very cool in favour of a lot of stuff which was just mediocre - e.g. the intro train ride and the railway station were both pretty boring and uninspiring in my opinion, and the other ideas they had were fantastic. But they didn't use them. Weird.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I really wish they had kept in the things they took out. they were amazing.

 

[Great Grizzly]

the problem with the scenes are that the gman give u information. which totally goes of the usual "you only know what you need to know theory" that hl uses alot

 

[Is This Tea]

Due to stuff like this, reading Raising the Bar was a bittersweet experience for me - it seems they left out all kinds of stuff which would have been very cool in favour of a lot of stuff which was just mediocre - e.g. the intro train ride and the railway station were both pretty boring and uninspiring in my opinion, and the other ideas they had were fantastic. But they didn't use them. Weird.

I get the exact opposite feeling from it. I look at everything they were thinking about doing and I’m glad they went with what they did. An opening train ride would have been awesome but for most of the stuff they were planning on doing… the whole look to it all… Was very uninspired. Dr. Breen in an “Evil Star Trek” uniform… that sort of thing. The role and model for the stalker especially was an exceptionally good change. They should have left in the cremators though… Those looked awesome!

 

[Danimal]

I really wish they had kept in the things they took out. they were amazing.

I would want it as a Half-life 2: Deleted scenes

 

[Jenga]

They originally had the idea that you would start off in the countryside, and how monster infested it was. The monsters would occasionally try to attack the train, but the people inside don't pay much attention to it.
That was after the g-man was standing behind you on a hill, which quickly showed the world changing from rich and green to a wasteland with combine dropships flying overhead saying "Don't worry Mr Freeman, we're not really here. Not yet anyway"

Also my favourite line from the script is


On the train the man you meet is called Samuel and he is the only person who will speak to you, giving you a spare gas mask to survive the outside conditions.
You arrive in the city and see the abandoned suburbs, and you go through an electric fence monster control system with turrets to kill monsters.

It's all in raising the bar. They also had an ice breaker journey to Dr Mossman's lab and a plane ride back to the citadel.

Good thing they changed it. The current beginning does a good job of easing the player into the universe through Freeman's shoes.

 

[DeusExMachina]

Dude, how could you not want a wasteland introduction? It would be perfect. Just like the first Half Life showing you your current surrondings, the train ride would've been awesome. Ant Lions jumping on the train, scratching away at it to no avail. Headcrabs bouncing off the hull. Stuff like that. And the Ice Breaker level sounded just great and original. I didn't care much about the Hydra, but I'm sure it would've been fun to fight if they had just worked it out so it you could dodge its one hit kill tentacles.

If they make a Half Life 3, Gordon won't ever need another gun again. All he needs is the Advanced Gravity gun and he could take down a whole army. And his suit can go to 200 now! He's an unstoppable one man army. Then again, maybe Valve won't give back his improved HEV suit or Gravity Gun.

 

[colson]

Dude, how could you not want a wasteland introduction? It would be perfect. Just like the first Half Life showing you your current surrondings, the train ride would've been awesome. Ant Lions jumping on the train, scratching away at it to no avail. Headcrabs bouncing off the hull. Stuff like that. And the Ice Breaker level sounded just great and original. I didn't care much about the Hydra, but I'm sure it would've been fun to fight if they had just worked it out so it you could dodge its one hit kill tentacles.

If they make a Half Life 3, Gordon won't ever need another gun again. All he needs is the Advanced Gravity gun and he could take down a whole army. And his suit can go to 200 now! He's an unstoppable one man army. Then again, maybe Valve won't give back his improved HEV suit or Gravity Gun.

Obviousloy not. You'll get ripped off of all ur gear just like hl and hl2.

 

[Llama]

I really wanted the Hydra too be in HL2. But yeah, a wasteland intro would ne increbidle - Gunships vs Gargs, Antlion Guards vs Striders.

BTW, how cheap is RtB now (In pounds)? I've been thinking of it for a while

 

[Baldrick]

In my mind the train you arrive on, is the train from the end of half life 1.
They just updated the train so it would fit in with half life 2.
Who says the train wasn't moved?
Who here can really say that valve didn't mean for that to be the train from the end of half life 1?
(Any valve employees reading this, just ssshhh)

So i say its the train from hl1.

 

[Kyorisu]

Hl1 - Monorail - Electric track
Hl2 - Train - Diesal locomotive most likely

 

[pomegranate]

Baldrick, how can it be the same train if, as you say, it had to be changed? What, the gman kept the train carriage in his garage for ten years, modded it up, then stuck it on the trainline going into city 17? Apart from anything, all the trains in Black Mesa would've been destroyed by the nuke. I reckon the train in the end sequence was probably a simulation/forced halucination (by the gman).

What are you thinking of? Pretty lame idea IMHO.

 

[Sid Burn]

In my mind the train you arrive on, is the train from the end of half life 1.
They just updated the train so it would fit in with half life 2.
Who says the train wasn't moved?
Who here can really say that valve didn't mean for that to be the train from the end of half life 1?
(Any valve employees reading this, just ssshhh)

So i say its the train from hl1.

Its different... The one you ride on HL1 is a tram. On HL2... its a train... you see the difference?

 

[Jintor]

The dude on the train goes "I didn't see you get on"... I guess this would imply that they were on before Mr Skin Disease dropped you on your ass.

BTW, the first level is fun to cheat around it, because you can see the reactor, the prison and stuff from your "vision" if you noclip around. Also crossbowing guards to walls, that's fun.

 

[CREMATOR666]

Tried killing the Half-Breen thing, didn't work. What a pity

 

[Eejit]

And his suit can go to 200 now! He's an unstoppable one man army.

I was never sure whether his suit went to 200 because of what happened during the gun-theft sequence or because the Citadel had uber-rechargers

 

[kirovman]

I was never sure whether his suit went to 200 because of what happened during the gun-theft sequence or because the Citadel had uber-rechargers

I assumed it was the consfication process, they couldn't recognise the gravity gun and the hazard suit, and somehow superpowered them both (bit of a stupid machine to have but never mind). I think the chargers were just normal, if they were superpowered they would have probably said "superpowered TM"

They charged your health up too, didn't they?

 

[Jenga]

maybe they're chargers meant for the elite troops and not the Civil Protection guys?