why wasnt the Icthyosaur in the game...?

[MJ12]

there were so many great oportunities in the game to have the Icthyosaur show up.

I know that they couldnt have the hydra or whatever due to certain technical problems, but why not the Icthyosaur? It would have been awesome to fight a few of those in the airboat levels, or better yet "think" that the Icthyosaur wont show up, but does in one of the random lakes

 

[bbson john]

Hard to script, hard to fight with

 

[MJ12]

what do you mean hard to script?

and "hard to fight with", no crap, thats why it would have been a great addition to the water levels. The only other alien that was hard to fight (not including synths) was the Ant Lion Gaurd

 

[Darkside55]

Had nothing to do with being hard to script, and as for being hard to fight with...you've fought them multiple times before.

I can't be certain, but I would assume the reason for the lack of ichthyosaurs was because you never in a place that an ichthyosaur would logically be. While on the airboat, you were always in Combine-controlled areas...it's the same reason you don't fight bullsquids. Now, there were ORIGINALLY bullsquids in the canals, but there weren't in the released game. Why is that? Well logically, why would the Combine allow bullsquids to exist within or on the outskirts of the city?

Any other time you're near the water, you're devoured by leeches. You can't get past shallow waters to encounter an ichthyosaur (and the reason behind this is to set up a boundary for the player so you don't wander off). So there were no real places you could fight an ichthyosaur without it seeming odd.

 

[Docm30]

I see potential for them to infest lakes and/or other bodies of water in Episode 2. Which would be pretty spiffy, as they scared the shit out of me in Half-Life.

 

[morgs]

Theres bound to be a lake ion that forest in episode 2

 

[-Psy-]

If you download the SourceSDK and open the model viewer you can find the Icythyosaur there.

It has all the animations there but it was included because of reasons previously mentioned.

 

[Planetary]

Yeah the first game is more then enough of a Jaws homage.

 

[Link]

The teleport scene, just after you get the HEV suit? The last shot before you go back to the lab is in water? What was it that shoots forward to eat you just as you disappear?

 

[Darkside55]

That is the ichthyosaur.

They say they hauled it up from the Challenger Deep, but I swear that beast never swam terrestrial waters until a week ago...

 

[soulslicer]

o man, if you really want to fight it, just spawn the goddamn thing in ep1..

 

[Planetary]

Where exactly? There's no water anywhere there, except for that puddly bit in Lowlife.

 

[soulslicer]

i could only spawn it in ep1 for some reason. and i spawned it in the open and it died after a while by itself..wierd.

 

[MJ12]

i could only spawn it in ep1 for some reason. and i spawned it in the open and it died after a while by itself..wierd.

thats very strange, does it attack, or move around?

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

They will attack if you get too close.

 

[Rapstah]

Half-completed AI.

And what the hell is Willie doing in here? GTFO!

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I refuse.

 

[MJ12]

so if it was spawned in water, could it technically swim?

 

[soulslicer]

i am going to try today.. in the hospital water scene. if it really spawns, swims and attacks me. i will pull the electric switch and electrocute it..

 

[Jintor]

It can't swim. It just sort of half-floats there and bites you if you get too close.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

What Jintor Said. Doesn't even emit blood. Rather it behaves like concrete when shot.

 

[ríomhaire]

And when it dies it leaves a hologram of itself instead of a corpse.

 

[Ridge]

The Ichty is in HL2...when you teleport from Kleiner's lab and you get dropped in the water, if you dont move you see the Ichty come at you and then you teleport to the lab again...

 

[-Psy-]

so if it was spawned in water, could it technically swim?

Have you read what anybody has posted?!?

 

[Tyguy]

I dont see that thing living long in the ocean....put aside that its just a game and all, imo it would be shark bait

 

[Ridge]

With a mouth that big it could eat a shark whole...

 

[Asknoone]

I dont see that thing living long in the ocean....put aside that its just a game and all, imo it would be shark bait

I think they'd pretty much tear Sharks a new one.

 

[Xendance]

The Ichty is in HL2...when you teleport from Kleiner's lab and you get dropped in the water, if you dont move you see the Ichty come at you and then you teleport to the lab again...

We've discussed that already.

 

[MJ12]

Have you read what anybody has posted?!?

yes, and now I have my answers.


The fact that it doesn't swim, or emit blood, or leave a corpse is mildly dissapointing.

Has anyone made one with full AI, is that possible?

 

[Narvi]

yes, and now I have my answers.


The fact that it doesn't swim, or emit blood, or leave a corpse is mildly dissapointing.

Has anyone made one with full AI, is that possible?

Black Mesa Source is making one. Wait till 2008.

 

[Kevin]

Oh yea!
Can't wait till black mesa: source.
The ichy fight in the shark cage when you get the crossbow should be cool...it BETTER be.:hmph:

 

[Asknoone]

I'd like Valve to do a workable one. I'm scared of underwater like beasties...was recently reading a book about a rampaging Megalodon, and I think it'd be pretty awesome if we had Ichthyosaurs snatching at the legs of waist deep zombies. I'd settle for scripted sequences.

 

[Kevin]

I'd like Valve to do a workable one. I'm scared of underwater like beasties...was recently reading a book about a rampaging Megalodon, and I think it'd be pretty awesome if we had Ichthyosaurs snatching at the legs of waist deep zombies. I'd settle for scripted sequences.

You mean like they're floating in the water at one point and then they suddenly get pulled underwater by something you don't see at the moment?

And this has been said too many times already...an ichy is hard to script and make move smoothly and all that crap.
The one in HL1 wasn't as good too. Yea, it worked but when it was turning it was like lagging. And the repeating exhaling type of sound when it was attacking you was annoying too.

 

[Narvi]

Underwater beasts are hard to code. It's hard enough working out pathfinding and collision detection and so on in a flat plane, imagine doing so in a realistic way in three dimensions... not counting getting all the animations and so on to look realistic accounting for underwater drag.

Yeah, sounds like a nightmare.

 

[Kevin]

We'll just have to settle for scripted sequences for now...

 

[ríomhaire]

If they do include Ichthyosaurs they need new sound files. They sould terrible in HL1.

 

[Asknoone]

Underwater beasts are hard to code. It's hard enough working out pathfinding and collision detection and so on in a flat plane, imagine doing so in a realistic way in three dimensions... not counting getting all the animations and so on to look realistic accounting for underwater drag.

Yeah, sounds like a nightmare.

That's pretty much it.

 

[Aspe]

The ichthysaur always terrified me. I remember the first time I ever played HL1, thinking "bloody hell, do I really have to jump in there with that bastard thing?" I'm not too fussed about seeing it in future releases. I'd like bullsuids in marshy parts of the forest (if any), but it's spitting attack was always a bit lame.

 

[leib10]

Funny thing, it always scared me too. It was the only enemy in HL1 to do so. Just something about a big fish with big sharp teeth coming at you to scare you.

 

[Kevin]

So now that it has been said (again) let's leave ichy alone, since it's up to valve to decide wether he will show up again.
And about bullsquids i read they were supposed to be underwater too.
But they are there somewhere since Eli lost his leg to one.