Assassins without cause

[Tantalus]

In Opposing Forces, you constantly fight assassins. Sorry if this has been posted before (I tried to check) but who the hell are they? They are uber pimp, so they probably work for the g-man... or his ... employers.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

The Black Ops were sent in when the regular soldiers started retreating, because they were failing miserably at killing the aliens.

I didn't see anything that connects them to the G-man at all, so I think they were just higher up on the military food chain.

 

[Tantalus]

So the soldiers went in to clean up the scientists, and the ops were sent in to clean up the soldiers? =/

 

[Mechagodzilla]

So the soldiers went in to clean up the scientists, and the ops were sent in to clean up the soldiers? =/

The soldiers were sent in to clean up the scientists and the aliens, but they had to retreat because the vortiguants kicked their asses.

Then the black ops were sent in to kill the scientists, the aliens and any soldiers who were left behind.

 

[Tantalus]

Thank you. Also, what was the connection between the G-man and Sheppard? If I remember correctly, the OpFo manual mentions him...

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Thank you. Also, what was the connection between the G-man and Sheppard? If I remember correctly, the OpFo manual mentions him...

G-man showed up at Aidrian's base one month before Half-life 1 started. A few days later, the marines were told to start training for a mission to Black Mesa, and the G-man watched them.

So, it's implied that G-man was the one who sent Aidrian and all the other marines to Black Mesa.
Or, at least, he made sure they were well-trained and prepared for the battle before Dr. Rosenberg sent out the first emergency broadcast.

 

[Tantalus]

G-man showed up at Aidrian's base one month before Half-life 1 started. A few days later, the marines were told to start training for a mission to Black Mesa, and the G-man watched them.

So, it's implied that G-man was the one who sent Aidrian and all the other marines to Black Mesa.
Or, at least, he made sure they were well-trained and prepared for the battle before Dr. Rosenberg sent out the first emergency broadcast.

Wow, you have all the answers! Many thanks, no more questions for now, but I'll be back as soon as i think of some!

 

[Mechagodzilla]

I'm helpful that way.

 

[Bing_Oh]

Hmmm...I believe that the BlackOps had one specific mission, actually...the detonation of a nuclear device in Black Mesa. Everything we see them do in OpFor is in connection to retrieving, transporting, and detonating the nuke.

I agree with Mechagodzilla that they are simply higher on the military food chain, but I see it as clearance for a specific sensitive mission. And, I guess you could say that I technically agree with his belief that they were sent in to kill ALL groups when the Marines failed...he just didn't mention their rather extreme way to kill them...

 

[Tantalus]

Hmmm...I believe that the BlackOps had one specific mission, actually...the detonation of a nuclear device in Black Mesa. Everything we see them do in OpFor is in connection to retrieving, transporting, and detonating the nuke.

I agree with Mechagodzilla that they are simply higher on the military food chain, but I see it as clearance for a specific sensitive mission. And, I guess you could say that I technically agree with his belief that they were sent in to kill ALL groups when the Marines failed...he just didn't mention their rather extreme way to kill them...

That is an intresting view...there is a very good chance that is the reason they were sent to Black Mesa... Thank you as well!

 

[Cons Himself]

hes right = their mission was detonating the nuke as a way to clean up the base

 

[InnerDemon]

G-Man planned the Cascade Reno-whatever. The marines were a part of the test that G-Man was planning for Gordan. The reason why G-Man placed Adrian in zero-space, is because despite all odds. Adrian lived. He wasn't supposed to.

However, because he did. Perhaps Adrian will become of use in the future.

Come on people, Valve released HL2M because we begged, now lets beg for Adrian's return. >_>

 

[Tantalus]

G-Man planned the Cascade Reno-whatever. The marines were a part of the test that G-Man was planning for Gordan. The reason why G-Man placed Adrian in zero-space, is because despite all odds. Adrian lived. He wasn't supposed to.

However, because he did. Perhaps Adrian will become of use in the future.

Come on people, Valve released HL2M because we begged, now lets beg for Adrian's return. >_>

Resonance Cascade. I used to think that the g-man planned it, but wasn't it Dr. Breen?

 

[Is This Tea]

Resonance Cascade. I used to think that the g-man planned it, but wasn't it Dr. Breen?

Pure conjuncture… both are prime suspects. Or perhaps Black Mesa was run like most other state efforts (NASA)… concerns were ignored and never made it to the top brass…. But that’s no fun now, is it? We need a bipartisan Black Mesa commission report.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

The black ops kicked the marines asses because they decided to go AWOL, so they were a tad pissed of when the bait ran away

 

[jimmyjam]

it's not pure conjecture, the conversation between g-man and the sci at the beginning of the game involves pushing it through with out being tested yadda yadda

 

[PILMAN]

I remember at the end of Opposing Force the nuke went off while you were in the plane so black mesa must had been obliterated. As for the Black Ops they were just some assasin guys because the military couldn't do a good job so the assasins basically wanted to get rid of any evidence of aliens ever being there so it wouldn't leak and many of the soldiers already there were doing a shitty job and figured they would just kill them too since they were a hassle and it seemed both teams had different objectives.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Resonance Cascade. I used to think that the g-man planned it, but wasn't it Dr. Breen?

No-one knows who caused the resonance cascade, or even if it was just an accident.

We only know a few things:
-Dr. Breen ordered the experiment to be done quickly, to increase the spectrometer power to 105% and use the most unstable crystal they had.
-There is a possibility that some of the failsafe devices that would have prevented the cascade were sabotaged by someone.

So, I would guess Breen caused the cascade. If he sabotaged the machine, and ordered all those other things, he created the perfect conditions for a cascade.

I don't think G-man caused the accident and sent in the troops to test Freeman, because that really doesn't make much sense to me.
The G-man hired Gordon to help fight the combine invasion. So, why would he cause the invasion, just to hire Gordon to fight the invasion that he created by hiring Gordon? It's a paradox.

It looked to me, instead, that G-man sent in the soldiers because he wanted to stop the invasion. Which Gordon sort-of did by killing Nihilanth. It would also explain why he guided Shephard towards the lambda labs.

 

[PILMAN]

This is probably going to sound stupid but what is a Resonance Cascade? I remember it being said in HL but what does it really mean?

 

[Tantalus]

This is probably going to sound stupid but what is a Resonance Cascade? I remember it being said in HL but what does it really mean?

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. It has something to do with the unstable sample of the alien...


Resonance
Physics. The increase in amplitude of oscillation of an electric or mechanical system exposed to a periodic force whose frequency is equal or very close to the natural undamped frequency of the system.
Physics. A subatomic particle lasting too short a time to be observed directly. The existence of such particles is usually inferred from a peak in the energy distribution of its decay products.


Cascade

A succession of stages, processes, operations, or units.



Does that help? It has a very bad connotation in case you didn't realize.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

This is probably going to sound stupid but what is a Resonance Cascade? I remember it being said in HL but what does it really mean?

It's the accident that caused all the aliens to be teleported to earth.

 

[Tantalus]

It's the accident that caused all the aliens to be teleported to earth.

Well, maybe not an accident...

 

[Bing_Oh]

There is another possible explanation for the G-Man intentionally causing the resonance cascade...though it's a theory where quite a few things must prove true.

IF we assume that the G-Man is a representative of a force that directly opposes the Combine and that he wants to bring earth and/or Gordon into direct confrontation with the Combine in such a way as to make it LOOK like an accident (so as to not expose his "employers" as the motivating force, thus attracting the Combine's attention toward them), the resonance cascade was the perfect way...assuming that Xen was a conquered territory of the Combine prior to the resonance cascade.

Let's think about it...
We know that Black Mesa was experimenting in teleportation before the resonance cascade. We know that the scientists at Black Mesa knew about and were exploring Xen. The conditions were ideal to make it look like the resonance cascade was an accident, thus bringing Xen (and, hence, their Combine masters) into confrontation with Earth without exposing the true motivating forces behind it (the G-Man's "employers"). The Marines are put in place to contain the Xen invasion long enough for the G-Man's primary objective (that is, the death of Nhilianth and, with his death, the Combine leadership's attention is attracted toward Earth) to be completed, then the BlackOps are ordered to destroy the entire facility, thus closing the portal to Xen and eliminating the artifical threat to Earth (because, after all, the G-Man is looking for an ally...or, at the very least, a diversion...and Earth conquered after a two-front interdimensional war would not necessarily serve that purpose).

Like I said, alot of "if's" and speculation.

 

[Tantalus]

There is another possible explanation for the G-Man intentionally causing the resonance cascade...though it's a theory where quite a few things must prove true.

IF we assume that the G-Man is a representative of a force that directly opposes the Combine and that he wants to bring earth and/or Gordon into direct confrontation with the Combine in such a way as to make it LOOK like an accident (so as to not expose his "employers" as the motivating force, thus attracting the Combine's attention toward them), the resonance cascade was the perfect way...assuming that Xen was a conquered territory of the Combine prior to the resonance cascade.

Let's think about it...
We know that Black Mesa was experimenting in teleportation before the resonance cascade. We know that the scientists at Black Mesa knew about and were exploring Xen. The conditions were ideal to make it look like the resonance cascade was an accident, thus bringing Xen (and, hence, their Combine masters) into confrontation with Earth without exposing the true motivating forces behind it (the G-Man's "employers"). The Marines are put in place to contain the Xen invasion long enough for the G-Man's primary objective (that is, the death of Nhilianth and, with his death, the Combine leadership's attention is attracted toward Earth) to be completed, then the BlackOps are ordered to destroy the entire facility, thus closing the portal to Xen and eliminating the artifical threat to Earth (because, after all, the G-Man is looking for an ally...or, at the very least, a diversion...and Earth conquered after a two-front interdimensional war would not necessarily serve that purpose).

Like I said, alot of "if's" and speculation.

.

Whoa.

 

[big_king_frosty]

There is another possible explanation for the G-Man intentionally causing the resonance cascade...though it's a theory where quite a few things must prove true.

IF we assume that the G-Man is a representative of a force that directly opposes the Combine and that he wants to bring earth and/or Gordon into direct confrontation with the Combine in such a way as to make it LOOK like an accident (so as to not expose his "employers" as the motivating force, thus attracting the Combine's attention toward them), the resonance cascade was the perfect way...assuming that Xen was a conquered territory of the Combine prior to the resonance cascade.

Let's think about it...
We know that Black Mesa was experimenting in teleportation before the resonance cascade. We know that the scientists at Black Mesa knew about and were exploring Xen. The conditions were ideal to make it look like the resonance cascade was an accident, thus bringing Xen (and, hence, their Combine masters) into confrontation with Earth without exposing the true motivating forces behind it (the G-Man's "employers"). The Marines are put in place to contain the Xen invasion long enough for the G-Man's primary objective (that is, the death of Nhilianth and, with his death, the Combine leadership's attention is attracted toward Earth) to be completed, then the BlackOps are ordered to destroy the entire facility, thus closing the portal to Xen and eliminating the artifical threat to Earth (because, after all, the G-Man is looking for an ally...or, at the very least, a diversion...and Earth conquered after a two-front interdimensional war would not necessarily serve that purpose).

Like I said, alot of "if's" and speculation.

Cozmic

 

[jimmyjam]

obviously the resonance cascade cause portal storms to go on long after hl1, and I'd hope that the G-Man is more in the know than to think that destroying black mesa would close the link to Xen
it might be a good way, however, to destroy the evidence of his and his employers' hand in it

 

[big_king_frosty]

I wonder how much the shares cost in his company?

 

[jimmyjam]

yea g-man travelled back in time and bought shares in his own company, and then became rich when the company became big (big because of the success of his time travel escapades)
then he used the money to purchase time travel technology!@@12

 

[Tantalus]

yea g-man travelled back in time and bought shares in his own company, and then became rich when the company became big (big because of the success of his time travel escapades)
then he used the money to purchase time travel technology!@@12

That's what I would do....
but seriously, how do we know G-man can travel through time? We only know that he can stop it... a dimension of difference (seriously)

 

[DSDchemE]

Resonance Cascade: interesting term

I think the best description would be using these definitions:
Resonance - the enhancement of an atomic, nuclear, or particle reaction or a scattering event by excitation of internal motion in the system
Cascade - something falling or rushing forth in quantity

Basically if you put those together then you have what happened...a self-sustaining and expanding event resulting from a single source. My guess to what happened was this:

Energy causes the sample's atoms to start vibrating at a certain frequency (primary). To create order, energy is applied to keep the vibrations oriented correctly (secondary). A giant magnet (the 3 metal things around the test area) were used to keep the core in line. As more energy is added to the middle, the resonance of the sample (and surrounding air) hits a certain point where it tears a hole through to Xen. If the test works and is stable, the sample is sent to another location where it is used for exploration. However, one unfortunate day the energy was boosted (maybe to get faster results?) and became strong enough to break through the containment. As the vibrations (or resonance) "cascaded" from the source, most were cancelled out but others were amplified by the surrounding material, hitting the right frequency to break through to Xen. These unstable openings created more vibrations, the cascade spread, and so on. Eventually (during the time you're escaping to Xen) portal storms appear as the resonance hits the ionosphere (or something). Combine come through in response to this "attack" and take over Earth. And that was the resonance cascade.

Probably not the way it happened, but one way it could have.

 

[Hackman]

As more energy is added to the middle, the resonance of the sample (and surrounding air) hits a certain point where it tears a hole through to Xen

So they were trying to make another portal to zen?
I always wondered what the hell they were trying to achieve in that test chamber, as there is already a functional portal at lambda.

 

[senshi]

As far as i'm aware the test chamber was used to examine the sample.
"We don't know how long the readings will take. Please, work as quickly as you can"
Maybe the material of the sample is something that can be used to create portals easier (you saw how long it took for the lamda portal to open). And whatever the boosted test procedure did created the casscade