What's animal would make a good synth?

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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Wow dude you really don't like paying attention to story huh? Synths are half machine and half biological. There is a dimension of Striders and Hunters there has to be. whether there are wild Striders or Hunters we don't know.

In ep2 after the ambush at white forest you encounter a scripted event were Dog fights a Strider. Dog rips the Striders head open and out pops a biological brain. Also in ep2 go look at a Hunter after you kill it clearly it has skin.

Wow dude... Just wow.
 
Crash said:
So let's just say, they "most likely" can make something bigger.
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There's no proof of any sort why don't we call it a %50-%50?
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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Erm. No. Striders, hunters, and gunships etc, are all synths. Overwatch are also syths. Human synths.
 
Just because their machines doesn't mean they don't have biological components.
 
*facepalm*

They most denifately had living ancestors. It's the entire point of the combine, living organisms which were useful became bio-mechanical weapons.

I'm not being mean, but they are called SYNTHS, for a reason.
 
They are called the COMBINE because they COMBINE biological and artificial things to make their army. Even the advisors which are most likely the original combine not an enslaved species (out of the creatures seen so far) have mechanical arms.
 
Crash said:
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.
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They don't need to though, Panserbjorn are already huge.
 
I don't think you guys understand the meaning of the words your using so lets clarify,

synthesize(synth): To form by combining parts or elements.

machine: an apparatus consisting of interrelated parts with separate functions, used in the performance of some kind of work.

modify: to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially

So you see that synthesis implies the creation of an entity from base materials, where modify means to alter a already functioning system.

Therefore the "synths" are completely built from scratch (they obviously include biological elements I apologize if I implied they didn't) where as the Overwatch are modified humans. Completely different.
 
Saruke said:
modify: to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially

So you see that synthesis implies the creation of an entity from base materials, where modify means to alter a already functioning system.

Therefore the "synths" are completely built from scratch (they obviously include biological elements I apologize if I implied they didn't) where as the Overwatch are modified humans. Completely different.
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lolwut?
 
Saruke said:
Just because their machines doesn't mean they don't have biological components.
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Does not compute does not compute error error! *head asplodes*

If it's a machine with biological components then it's not a machine it's a f:)*king Cyborg or the the Combine's case a Synth!

Go away you epicly fail.
 
Shoes_Buttback03 said:
Does not compute does not compute error error! *head asplodes*

If it's a machine with biological components then it's not a machine it's a f:)*king Cyborg or the the Combine's case a Synth!

Go away you epicly fail.
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Uhhh... no.

Humans and animals are nothing more than extremely complex machines with organic components, so there's really no difference, not that there'd be any merit to or reason for pointing it out like you did even if there was a difference. I would not be pointing the epic fail finger in any direction if I were you.
 
ok let's try this again without the large amount of failure finger pointing done by me.

Synth's are mostly lowerlife forms compared to humans that were taken from there dimension and Combined with metal machines (circuit's, guns all that) to fit a particular field in the Combine military.

The Synths were wild animals at one time. I thought this was unbelievably obvious but I guess not. They were. They had there own place there own environment and there own behavior. Then all that was modified by the Combine.

Now for the Speculation. See this part is speculator not that < this ^not that < this. Search Half-Life wiki google hit hell e-mail Gabe himself I guaran damn tee that ^^^ is the one truth.

The Synth's you encounter are probably raised in tubes (there bio parts anyway) on Earth.

I'm sorry if I seem like an ass but I'm a little in shock no one knew this already.
 
That's because you think you "know" things that aren't necessarily true.
Valve didn't state that the Synths were lower life forms for one thing. We can't be sure what intelligence level they have now, or what it was prior to their 'optimisation' by the Combine.
 
Shoes_Buttback03 said:
The Synths were wild animals at one time. I thought this was unbelievably obvious but I guess not. They were.
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What evidence is there that they were animals? I would regard Stalkers as synth'd... Humans aren't wild animals.

You can't really classify aliens as animals because of the fact that they're not human...
 
Saruke said:
I don't think you guys understand the meaning of the words your using so lets clarify,

synthesize(synth): To form by combining parts or elements.

machine: an apparatus consisting of interrelated parts with separate functions, used in the performance of some kind of work.

modify: to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially

So you see that synthesis implies the creation of an entity from base materials, where modify means to alter a already functioning system.

Therefore the "synths" are completely built from scratch (they obviously include biological elements I apologize if I implied they didn't) where as the Overwatch are modified humans. Completely different.
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Did you even read that?

No, synthesis does NOT imply creation from base materials. Learn 2 dictionary properly.
Guess what - The Synths are Synthesised by having machinery synthesised onto their bodies. I can't understand how anyone could not figure this out.

Look, i'm sure you know better than the 14,000+ people on this website and almost every other HL2 fan out there :rolleyes:
 
Llama said:
Did you even read that?

No, synthesis does NOT imply creation from base materials. Learn 2 dictionary properly.
Guess what - The Synths are Synthesised by having machinery synthesised onto their bodies. I can't understand how anyone could not figure this out.

Look, i'm sure you know better than the 14,000+ people on this website and almost every other HL2 fan out there :rolleyes:
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Damn straight. I was about to post almost the exact same thing.
 
Saruke said:
Therefore the "synths" are completely built from scratch (they obviously include biological elements I apologize if I implied they didn't) where as the Overwatch are modified humans. Completely different.
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I believe the enemies featured in the Prima guide and wikipedia described as either 'Synth' or 'Humanoid' are all cybernetic/bionic organisms.

"Fictional cyborgs are portrayed as a synthesis of organic and synthetic parts, and frequently pose the question of difference between human and machine as one concerned with morality, free will, and empathy. Fictional cyborgs may be represented as visibly mechanical; or as almost indistinguishable from humans..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg


"Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. The word 'bionic' was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the Greek word "βίον", pronounced "bion", meaning "unit of life" and the suffix -ic, meaning "like" or "in the manner of", hence "like life" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionics

The semantical problem I see is in the fact (I think) that we don't know for sure if the Strider, for example, was originally a "unit of life", albeit alien. Its my opinion that they were, however the Prima guide describes the Hunter as 'a mutated Strider bred for closer assault work...' and does not give it an Entity Type rating!

Well, anyways!, the terminology between the 'alien' Synth forces & the Humanoid forces can be deconstructed in a variety of ways. Is there a difference between me with my hearing aid, a combine soldier and a strider? Well of course there is, but theoretically we could all be described as Cybernetic organisms.

A big difference between me and my artificial hearing aid and the Combine synths & humanoids is that I can take it out and still function at nearly 100% capacity. If you remove the artificial parts of a Combine Soldier or Strider they will probably not function at all. Therefore Saruke there is a difference between the Combine Synths and the Humanoids, but functionally it would only be slight if they were to suddenly revert back to a biological state in my opinion.
Using a simplified Dictionary.com definition of synthesis "meaning a complex whole formed by combining" I think Synths certainly need their own category because their 'whole', and the sum of their combined parts, seems to me much more synthetic than the humanoids. Perhaps their organic parts were grown from scratch, or perhaps they utilize a variety of different biological features from different organisms. Well, this it appears is open to debate.

P.S Prima Guides lists enemies such as the Senty Gun, Hunter Chopper as Entity Type Machines.

P.P.S Anyone for Elephant synths?
 
KineticAesthetic said:
What evidence is there that they were animals? I would regard Stalkers as synth'd... Humans aren't wild animals.

You can't really classify aliens as animals because of the fact that they're not human...
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Whether these creatures were "wild" or not before they were assimilated is entirely beside the point. The way I see it, "wild" is an arbitrary designation anyway, how is it determined whether any given creature is, or is not 'wild'? We humans consider any animal that we haven't confined/trained/taken possession of to be wild, which is surely a species-centric view.

Humans aren't wild animals.
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Then what are we? Civilized animals? How we humans define 'civilization' is irrelevant in the unknown dimensions that synths came from.

Trevelyan said:
Its my opinion that they were, however the Prima guide describes the Stalker as 'a mutated Strider bred for closer assault work...'
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I think you meant to say "Hunter". :)

Personally, I take the Prima guides with a pinch of salt. Despite their 'official' status, they are all too frequently filled with incorrect information. For example, the Orange Box Prima guide stated the new Antlion Workers seen in EP2 were mutated Antlions that burrowed near toxic waste dumps, but I get the strong feeling that's an obsolete explanation dating from when the new Antlion variety was simply a regular Antlion that glowed, rather than a completely new variety. The Antlion worker's important role in building and maintaining Antlion nests is too well established for them to be a 'recent mutation' that only appeared on Earth.
 
lol, cheers man. I did mean the Hunter and i've edited accordingly!

BTW, Yeah, i got the Orange Box guide a day or two ago and tbh i share your sentiments, as I do often with Wiki articles. But they serve at least a fairly:)P) accurate, rudimentary outline & resouce for most things I think.
 
Saruke said:
I don't think you guys understand the meaning of the words your using so lets clarify,

synthesize(synth): To form by combining parts or elements.

machine: an apparatus consisting of interrelated parts with separate functions, used in the performance of some kind of work.

modify: to change somewhat the form or qualities of; alter partially

So you see that synthesis implies the creation of an entity from base materials, where modify means to alter a already functioning system.

Therefore the "synths" are completely built from scratch (they obviously include biological elements I apologize if I implied they didn't) where as the Overwatch are modified humans. Completely different.
Click to expand...
..
I don't know how to reply to this, seriously. I mean.. you have been playing all along, thinking this? Did you not learn this at school? Do you not know what the word synth means? Do you not understand the obvious things shown, even if the word synth was not to be mentioned? Have you not heard a single interview, read any guides, or listened to any of the conversations in-game?
If you have;
Seriously, I'll leave you to have fun in your own mistake. You are really not worth the effort. This whole post was a waste.
 
Any sort of large bird would make a good synth, like an Emu.

Wolves
 
Zombine said they would be good airships. And the Combine's draining our oceans so they wouldn't be much help.
 
A Pterodactyl for an aerial unit would be awesome.

Dolphins for submarine units.

And last but not least a three toed sloth for reconnaissance.
 
Flys and mosquitoes, some of the most annoying creatures in the world, could be like suicide bombers or something like that.
 
They seem to have large variety of synths of insectoid creatures, perhaps indicating that their home galaxy has a different sort of evolutionary life. And they also have the benefits of exoskeletons, which serves nicely for war machines. Most life on earth is pretty squishy :)

Perhaps they can benefit from a different mental sort of intelligence and reasoning, as mammals wouldn't be the best to breed for war. Takes a long time to create offspring, lesser natural defenses and such compared to insectoids. (I'm thinking hunters, striders etc. here - they seem insectoid)

Maybe it's the versatility of humans, in that they can operate just about anything, that is interesting? Their insectoid synths seems to have one function only, as their weaponry and defense is permanently applied to them.

But concerning an animal that could become a good synth, other than humans, I'd say felines and/or canines. They're very fast and have great hunter instincts and reflexes. Featuring ranged weaponry they could be quite intimidating, as they would be able to function in just about any ground combat, making quick and precise blows on an enemy. They could be potentially more dangerous than a hunter for example, in that they can traverse much more terrain.

Shame for the combine that they was too late for the dinosaurs - now those could make some awesome war machines. (I'm thinking of the big tyrannosaurus with mounted canons, missiles, and machine guns in Gears of War - which you sadly never fight, but only flee from)
 
spider monkey all armoured up with steel claws, a minigun on it's head and night-vision!
 
I really don't think Hunters are insectoid. Ether mammalian or reptilian. But not insectoid.
 
A baby - I've heard they put them into striders...:cheese:.

Or a duck. - Just imagine an unmodified duck put into the middle of a battle. Some rebel would definitely say "duck", and when all the rebels duck for cover... ;)
 
Chuck Norris (Chucknlias Norriasazeal) Forerunners of the Chuckisarurus race dating back to Jurassic times. This creature is known to reside within dark, damp places and is usually a Carnivor using wit and pure power to overcome its prey. It has even been known to take down full-grown humans using a variety of attacks.

-Pounce
-Roundhouse kick

While the "Chuck Norris" has been thought to be extinct for years now, if the Combine were to recover the DNA or just one specimen it would lead to not a 7 hour anymore, but a 7 second war.
 
Raserisk said:
Chuck Norris (Chucknlias Norriasazeal) Forerunners of the Chuckisarurus race dating back to Jurassic times. This creature is known to reside within dark, damp places and is usually a Carnivor using wit and pure power to overcome its prey. It has even been known to take down full-grown humans using a variety of attacks.

-Pounce
-Roundhouse kick

While the "Chuck Norris" has been thought to be extinct for years now, if the Combine were to recover the DNA or just one specimen it would lead to not a 7 hour anymore, but a 7 second war.
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this.

or a giant turtle with pewpewlaserz and machine guns n stuff d00dz
 
Looking over this thread, I feel the need to make a "your mom" joke.
However, as I do not have the expertise to make such a joke, one of you do it.

but seriously, about that "Chuck Norris" creature, I think even Raserisk 's statement about a war with one of those was, shall we say, a little to hopeful for us.
 
your mother, she would have a very large protective natural shielding, with a small head that is hard to hit with a sniper rifle, or crossbow.
Happy now?
 
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