Borealis Speculations (Ep2 Spoilers)

[Frraksurred]

Though I've not read "Raising The Bar" I have learned of much of what it revealed. I have also never played the leak or any mod (such as Missing Information) that was based on the leak... but I do remember these:

*You might notice some of the padded ceiling textures were used in Portal, in the elevators

Both were released early in HL2's development when the ending was slated to include going to the Kraken Base, which involved the Borealis. The idea was scraped for HL2 because it's scope was too big. However by the looks of it, much of the map, models and storyline associated with it have been in Valve's hands for about three years now. Though we get a glimpse of it in Ep.2, it merely looks like a mock up (albeit an updated one):

In a concept art drawing show cased in the UK PC Gamer, there were several Advisors floating towards the ship. I'm going to hazard a guess that in Ep.3 we will not only get our hands on a Portal gun, face one or more Advisors in combat, but some how use the technology the Borealis contains to teleport to the "Combine Overworld" to kick some Nahilanth big brother butt (HL2 Vorts called him the "lesser master")... and then destroy the Borealis to seal any chance of another portal from there to earth being created again.

Thoughts?

 

[leib10]

I don't think we will be heading to the "Combine homeland" because there is no one place where they reside. It's a Universal Union of many worlds and universes, and there is no real way to strike them a single killer blow. However, I'm pretty sure that part of the Episode will take place aboard the Borealis, and we will discover what dangerous technology was mentioned in Episode Two. We will almost certainly get to directly fight the Advisors and perhaps some new enemies.

Interesting screenshots, though.

 

[giant384]

well towards the end of ep2 you were getting in a helicopter to go to the borealis. so i would 100% count on it.

 

[Frraksurred]

Since Eli refered to the whole ship as having a power that must be destroyed, and not just some thing on the ship, it is my assumption it contains something powerful enough to generate a large portal. Perhaps it's powered by the ship itself, who knows... the point is the Combine are going to want it to reestablish a link with their Overworld, Alyx is going to want to use it to try and some how destroy the overworld (then destroy it as her father requested) and Gordon is going to be stuck in the middle (again).

Whether we go there, or the Combine begins to open a portal and something comes here (ala Blue Shift), I do think we are going to face the "Greater Master" at some point.

 

[Kevin]

Can't wait to get there.
It seems so mysterious.

And i don't think we will be seeing the "Greater Master" anytime soon.
If, then perhaps a glimpse of it or something, but we're not going to be directly fighting it.

 

[Aldenhelm]

I don't think we will be heading to the "Combine homeland" because there is no one place where they reside. It's a Universal Union of many worlds and universes, and there is no real way to strike them a single killer blow.

sources?

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

sources?

Uh raising the bar, the prima guides, the games, the developers, interviews...it is kinda explained in HL2...

 

[Rapstah]

Sources are pure logic.

 

[Frraksurred]

I still think there is going to be a Combine Head some where. Despite the fact they have enslaved races all over the universe, their forces are largely mindless alterations of the races captured. When the system that controls them is destroyed, they become lifeless or uncontrolled like the Vorts.

If the Advisors control primarily through kenesis (much like Nihilanth), then I'm sure the "Greater Master" will be likewise, meaning destroying it would potentially bring down much of their operational backbone.

 

[monkeyclass]

we took down Nihilanth alone. Imagine what a whole resisstance with Rocket launchers could do to the greather master!

 

[Crash Happy]

I'm not sure how firm these sources are, I have never had the pleasure of reading Raising The Bar (about 50ukp on Amazon) for one thing. Anyway the fact that it's called a Universal Union seems to be an intentional joke. There's not much of a beneficial union from humanities point of view for one thing. Everything I see makes me think that the outer worlds are merely feeding the slugs. I'm not even convinced that they are all that much more technologicaly advanced from us either. Cutting to the point if the outer worlds merely feeding the requirements of our slug overlords (whom I for one, welcome) then it's not that unreasonable to assume that there might be a central world. It could be administrative or even just a sorting station of course.

 

[Frraksurred]

Here is another wrench in the works for you to chew on...

Some where in the gfc's of HL2 there is a reference to the Gman as our "mis-understood friend" (I'll try and track down the source later). What if during initial teleportation experiments, he was captured by the Combine before HL and found out they were going to attack earth. He devises this elaborate plan to defeat them, that has to include allowing them to come to earth in order for some one not controlled by them (us) to have access to them. He has been aiding Gordon (as well as others) in their gradual defeat. Though his tactics have been cut-throat at times, they have hurt the Combine as much as humanity. It is possible that his whispering "prepare for unforseen consequences" was more of a warning then a threat.

Just a thought.

 

[Apocalypse89]

I wonder if all the people who are "omg combine are spread out no central world lol" were asleep when Magnusson was practically screaming "Combine Overworld" at the player. It might be an administrative capital, it might be a massive military staging area, it might a Xen-like teleportation nexus, but the point the remains: The Combine have a single, vital world that is of considerable importance to them. The "Universal Union is completely non-centralized" theory was just that, a theory, which has now been disproven by an official source.

 

[Aldenhelm]

I haven't read raising the bar or most of the interviews, but i do know that the games don't mention ant kind of union, at least as far as i can see.(if they do please tell were).

 

[Apocalypse89]

Breen refers to the Combine as the "Universal Union" a few times during his propaganda broadcasts in HL2. Since 'Combine' is a negative term that humans created, Universal Union is the closest thing to an 'official' name we have for the Combine(their actual real name is most likely impossible to pronounce with human vocal chords).

 

[Atomic_Piggy]

Actually, the origanol world, assuming it still exists, will be largely irrelevant. Think, 10'000 years or so ahead - humanity has thousands of light years of dominance and is well on its way to conolising the galaxy. Earth will liekly still exist, however the time it takes to get from Earth to the edge of the conolisation effort would be phenomenal - several centuries at best.
So, it will be the worlds on the expansionist frontier that would be most important, as they could reach new areas quicker. So while the origanal world would be at the centre of the empire, it would hold no importance.

 

[The Monkey]

I thought that the Borealis ship in the pre-alfa leak was just a regular ice breaker. Maybe they just took the name and maybe a few models from the old concept when making Episode Two. I doubt they had any plans for the ship to have anything to do with Aperture Science back in 2003.

 

[Frraksurred]

As I understand it, according to "Raising the Bar" the ice breaker has always been referred to as the Borealis. Regardless, I agree Aperture Science was a later addition.

Valve has referred to the plot line as dynamic on several occasions. Considering they agreeed to hire the Portal team two years before their graduation, and then worked on Portal at least a year before it's release, it's not too far fetched a conclusion that they had something along those lines in mind in '03.