What's animal would make a good synth?

z0mbin3

z0mbin3

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What animal would make a good synth? What nich in the Combines Empire would it fill? Your only limitation is it has to be from Earth and it has to exist. Dinosaurs are allowed but I'm not going to mention them.

My candidates.

Silverback Gorrila. Put armor on it and give it somesort of awesome weapon and it could be the successor to the Hunter.

Blue Wale. With extream overhaul it could be the Combines bigest known airship. Think of it as a uber Dropship. Able to deploy at least 3 or 4 striders at once.

Giant Squid. (it exist's google it.) Prehaps an uber Strider? Or improved Gunship.

Elephant. Do I have to explain why? Fine it's an Elephant! I don't know how the Combine would modify it. But it would look so awesome.
 
Polar Bears: PanserbjornSynth = unbeatable.
 
"Say some pranksters put a bulletproof vest on a bear, shit, well what do you have now? Invincible bears."

lol anybody watch the "whitest kids you know"?
 
Squid are a bad idea for Synths IMO. They're too slimy and synths are rigid creatures... that and I f***ing hate Squid.

I'd say Scorpion-Synths would be neat, but I'm pretty sure that Mecha-Scorpions are an old, old cliche.

One synth Valve themselves experimented with and I think would be cool to return to: Human Synths! Makes sense since Transhumanisation isn't really working post City-17. Let's have some kind of Hunter-human in to fight the Human cause in the Combine Empire!

The Combine need giant bi-pedal insectoid mecha. Then Valve can rebrand the series 'Aura Battler Combine' and maximize their Japanese market potential.
 
The Cheetah would be a good recon unit. Put a camera and a laser on it and it could take pictures, shoot then run away real fast.

I think different spiders would be cool too, hunting down people catching them in their webs then have the ability to turn their victims into combine units.

Also some animal that have parasites while the giant animal can carry units the parasites could drop down and do some recon to see how many people are in the area.

A Hen would be the key animal here folks. Dropping explosive eggs.
 
PimpinPenguin said:
Pfft, Penguins kicks lizard ass. An Emperor Penguin in the Arctic, you don't stand a chance.
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dude, a deathmatch between a penguin and a komodo dragon. the emporer has no cha-

wait, didnt we allready have this argument in another thread?! forget it then. :p
 
Scorpion Synths FTW!

Also, an ANTLION Synth...?
And yes, Blue Whales would make awesome uber Dropships.
 
Suicide Eyehounds

Those one eyed dogs from HL1, but packed with C4 explosives or something.
Would also be cool to grab with your g-gun and throw it at enemies.
And the bugbaits should also work on them so you can control them like the antlions in HL2, would be cool to charge them at the enemy, or to set off traps.
Would work great with the new destruction technology physics from ep2.
 
It's highly unlikely that there are any terrestrial animals around anymore. Most likely the Xenian wildlife pushed them out to the edges of society, probably making most of them extinct.

But if I had to say, I'd say a cow.
 
TheBreenMachine said:
I think different spiders would be cool too, hunting down people catching them in their webs then have the ability to turn their victims into combine units.
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This would be my worst nightmare and would make the game ****ing impossible for me to play. :| lol
 
Some sort of giant frog, it could eat people then grind them up in its stomach, barf them up and use them as lubricant lol:LOL:
 
A Vortigaunt synth might be quite intresting...

Other animals:
Ants, they would make pretty good battlefield engineers (sized up of course)
Lizard: Dunno for the hell of it
Peguins: Amphibious infantry
Snow Tigers: Because I can suggest such madness
Scorpions: Like a strider, but flatter and the tail could be the strider gun
 
Druckles said:
But if I had to say, I'd say a cow.
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Interesting....

Roaches...damn things are supposed to be able to survive nuclear war. If there was a way you wouldn't be able to just step on 'em...Make 'em larger, with armor refractive plating maybe...
 
chicken, there is so much untapped potential in those things.
 
I can definitly see a bear being used, or a rhino.


Sloths, **** yeah
 
A big cat of some sort, definately.

Also, Tyrannosaurus Rex. **** yeah.
 
To all the people suggesting tiny insects like ants or scorpions: How would they be of any use worth considering to the Combine? They're too small. And don't tell me the Combine can take a Scorpion and just, "make it bigger", there's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing to such an extreme extent, all of the synths we've seen so far were most likely their size (or slightly smaller) before they were assimilated.
 
MattyDienhoff said:
there's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing to such an extreme extent
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There's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing, period. Everything in this thread works upon assumptions.
 
kupoartist said:
There's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing, period. Everything in this thread works upon assumptions.
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? How do you think they make Striders, Hunters, Gunships etc.? I'm not insulting you or anything I just want to know what you think.
 
MattyDienhoff said:
there's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing to such an extreme extent,
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And there is no evidence that they aren't capable...
And assuming that the synths, in their unmodified form, don't have guns growing out of their bodies, I would consider 'attaching' a gun to them, "an extreme extent"....

MattyDienhoff said:
all of the synths we've seen so far were most likely their size (or slightly smaller) before they were assimilated
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Most likely? I haven't seen any unmodified striders, gunships, or hunters, so I don't have any clue as to what size they were originally...
Maybe the Combine can augment the output of the pituitary gland to make things grow bigger? Maybe they can genetically engineer two species together?
So let's just say, they "most likely" can make something bigger.

Druckles allready pointed out: "It's highly unlikely that there are any terrestrial animals around anymore. Most likely the Xenian wildlife pushed them out to the edges of society, probably making most of them extinct." So this whole thread is just speculation. My point is: it's a freeking video game...unless there is a precedent, and in this case there doesn't seem to be one, anything is freeking possible...So, don't be a buzz kill, use your imagination, and have little fun....
 
Speculation? I thoght this was just what animal would make a good synth? To me that seem's like a fan art thread or something.
 
Crash said:
And there is no evidence that they aren't capable...
And assuming that the synths, in their unmodified form, don't have guns growing out of their bodies, I would consider 'attaching' a gun to them, "an extreme extent"....
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Not really, it's just biomechanical engineering. Attaching weapons systems to an animal and teaching it how to use them is, in my mind, nowhere near as drastic as "blowing up" an ant to be ten times it's natural size. :p
(Yes, I realise no one said that, but my argument was that they'd have to do that to make ant or scorpion synths any use in combat. Sure, they could leave them the size they are, but I'm pretty sure the disadvantages of such a small size would outweigh the advantages.

Most likely? I haven't seen any unmodified striders, gunships, or hunters, so I don't have any clue as to what size they were originally...
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I've only seen a gunship, in Raising the Bar, and it was roughly the same size as the modified ones we've seen in-game, just slightly gaunt-looking without it's armour.

Maybe the Combine can augment the output of the pituitary gland to make things grow bigger?
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That's a good theory.

So let's just say, they "most likely" can make something bigger.
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I'll agree with that, I just find the notion that they could make something so much bigger - so that it's several times it's original size - a bit far-fetched.

My point is: it's a freeking video game...unless there is a precedent, and in this case there doesn't seem to be one, anything is freeking possible...So, don't be a buzz kill, use your imagination, and have little fun....
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Even in real life, anything is possible, some things are just very unlikely, even in the context of a science fiction storyline.
 
I remain solid on my views. There will be many penguins..and maybe a white tiger..A few goats wouldn't be such a bad thing either.
 
kupoartist said:
One synth Valve themselves experimented with and I think would be cool to return to: Human Synths! Makes sense since Transhumanisation isn't really working post City-17.
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kupoartist said:
There's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing, period. Everything in this thread works upon assumptions.
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These posts are surely a contradiction in terms. Anyway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humanoid_and_synthetic_Combine_in_Half-Life_2 states...

'Stalkers are human beings which have undergone extreme psycho-biomodification and serve as slave labor for the Combine within the central citadel'

MattyDienhoff said:
there's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing to such an extreme extent, all of the synths we've seen so far were most likely their size (or slightly smaller) before they were assimilated.
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Well, the Crab synth does exist in the Prima guide and may possibly be fought in future HL installments. See here...http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=139378

However its probably just a nickname and for me bares no apparent physical or ergonomical relationship to earth dwelling crabs I've come across!

Anyway, i'd vote for some more aquatic synth's similar to the Ichthyosaur. It scared the crap out of me! However with the poisoned, arctic oceans we may end up near, some sort of advanced aquatic HEV suit may be in order. Preferably in Blue! And yeah, Penguin synths must be a given.
 
kupoartist said:
No they don't.
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Semantics seem to be getting the better of me again, but there does appear to be inconsistency in what you have written. What you have wrote below* seems to contradict what the Valve game designers/story tellers have led us to believe the Combine are capable of.

Shoes_Buttback03 said:
kupoartist said:
*There's no evidence that they're capable of modifying a living thing, period. Everything in this thread works upon assumptions.
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? How do you think they make Striders, Hunters, Gunships etc.? I'm not insulting you or anything I just want to know what you think.
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Shoes_Buttback03 shares my true sentiment, I just want to know what you mean? If by 'they're' you mean 'the Combine', I think your mistaken, they surely do 'modify' living things as stated as much here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...in_Half-Life_2 states...

'Stalkers are human beings which have undergone extreme psycho-biomodification and serve as slave labor for the Combine within the central citadel'
 
Trev is right, both Overwatch soldiers and stalkers are confirmed to be modified humans, proof the Combine are capable of modifying living things to an extent. (Which in my opinion doesn't include quadrupling their size, which is just outlandish, even in a fictional context.)

One thing that surprises me is how few people grasp the fact that Overwatch soldiers are synths, according to the game's definition of the term. They're existing creatures (humans) modified to suit the Combine's own ends and be mindlessly loyal. Granted, Overwatch soldiers aren't as heavily modified as most of the other synths (as in, they don't have 'grafted on' armour, or built-in weapons systems), but they are modified nonetheless and, therefore, fit the description.

It's also true that, obviously, the Combine didn't create (i.e. synthesize) humans, but there's no proof the Combine created any of the other creatures we know as synths, either; so that's not a prerequisite.
 
What we call a synths are just machines plain and simple. There are no "wild" striders or "Hunter" homeworld where these things live. They were all created from scratch using combine technology. And so the overwatch are not "synths" because they are not created from scratch their modified humans.
 
But that's just the thing, there is no proof whatsoever that the Combine manufactured synths from scratch or that they're "machines". Yet there is plenty of evidence to suggest synths are living creatures.

* Striders have brains.

* Blow a Gunship apart and take a look at the pieces, underneath the armour, there's light brown coloured flesh. In fact, in Raising the Bar, we see a "naked" Gunship with no armour or weaponry in one of the drawings.

* In between their shiny armour plating Hunters are white and distinctively fleshy.
 
Saruke said:
What we call a synths are just machines plain and simple. There are no "wild" striders or "Hunter" homeworld where these things live. They were all created from scratch using combine technology. And so the overwatch are not "synths" because they are not created from scratch their modified humans.
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Hmm, the wiki article I refer to here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humanoid_and_synthetic_Combine_in_Half-Life_2
States this

""Synths" are the current evolutionary generation of enslaved races gathered and assimilated into the Combine Empire during their interstellar travels. This has led to two schools of thought regarding the nature of the Synth: either they are biomechanical creatures genetically engineered by the Combine from the DNA of assimilated races, or are the descendants of creatures enslaved long ago by the Combine."

I believe the Combine Synths, seemingly not of earth origin, are biomechanical and I like to think there is credence in the opinion that at least some of these synths are 'descendants of creatures enslaved by the combine'. I do not believe they are 100% mechanical. Strider's appear to have a modified human brain as seen in HL: EP2 (as just stated by Matty now) .

I believe Humanoid Combine such as the soldiers can be termed 'Synths', which is shorthand for 'synthetic forces employed by the Combine empire'. Synthetic means of, pertaining to, proceeding by, or involving synthesis which simply put is a a 'complex whole formed by combining'. Hence the term Combine probably.
 
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