Combine theory?
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i thought they were just, well yeah, either humans under the influence of the weird things controlling city 17, or just kind of human-alien things, maybe there just normal humans being payed well, seeing as barney could pass as one 
EVIL
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The combine is a word to discribe a united force of aliens, combination of, striders are combine, so are the metrocops. you cant say combine are altered humans because you would state the the whole army of the combine are humans, including the strider.
The combine soldiers, metrocops and elites are as I believe captured humans who undergo the proces of turning into a metrocop, soldier or elite in nova prospekt. I think the prison pods that hold eli etc are used for that reason, to transport them to the citadell to undergo this metamorfisis. you can see on one of the monitors in nova prospekt (I think it was the room where alyx orders you to set up 2 turrets for the first time) you can see some human like creature stripped from all recognition and has mechanical pads infront of their eyes. I think that those things are ex humans that now serve the combine. and I believe that the same technology is used to enslave alot of races we havent yet encountered in HL2.
the high speed train that you have to outrun once you can get over the big bridge is the transport from city 17 to nova prospekt where they bring arrested humans to.
do note that the alien dr.breen was talking to is the true from of the combine, a slug like creature that has grown dependant of technology and enhance theirself with mechanical implants that allow them to see and move.
BTW, does anyone else think that the dark look of the combine technology and architectureis totally refreshing and simply rocks, I tip my hat to the artist who introduced that style
The combine soldiers, metrocops and elites are as I believe captured humans who undergo the proces of turning into a metrocop, soldier or elite in nova prospekt. I think the prison pods that hold eli etc are used for that reason, to transport them to the citadell to undergo this metamorfisis. you can see on one of the monitors in nova prospekt (I think it was the room where alyx orders you to set up 2 turrets for the first time) you can see some human like creature stripped from all recognition and has mechanical pads infront of their eyes. I think that those things are ex humans that now serve the combine. and I believe that the same technology is used to enslave alot of races we havent yet encountered in HL2.
the high speed train that you have to outrun once you can get over the big bridge is the transport from city 17 to nova prospekt where they bring arrested humans to.
do note that the alien dr.breen was talking to is the true from of the combine, a slug like creature that has grown dependant of technology and enhance theirself with mechanical implants that allow them to see and move.
BTW, does anyone else think that the dark look of the combine technology and architectureis totally refreshing and simply rocks, I tip my hat to the artist who introduced that style
Mr-Fusion
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That was my understanding of them as well.EVIL said:
I think it's pretty obvious the combine soldiers and cops are transformed humans. Things like the striders and dropships look clearly organic in nature, possibly from another planet that had been infested by the combine.
Absinthe
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EVIL said:
I absolutely loved it. Dark, sleek, monolithic, and downright creepy. The "coffin" rides in the Citadel were great because everything looked so cool and precise, and it made the entire thing look like some evil living machine, with billions of large-scale processes taking place all at the same time.
Brian Damage
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According to what little I could glean from the sample of RtB in the CE, they're a bunch of enslaved species (the Combine forces/overwatch) under the control of a higher race, which imbues its slaves with some of its characteristics (the actual Combine).
You have the human forces (Metrocops, Soldiers (both city and Nova Prospect uniforms) and Elites), which are humans that have been altered (apparently in levels of progression that run from the Cops to the Elites). The creature you can see on the monitor in Nova Prospekt is a "Stalker", a kind of heavily modified human prisoner who is being used as slave labour. Apparently most of their organs have been removed and the Combine run them on saline solution. Eeurgh.
Next lot of Combine forces are the purely mechanical things like the first sort of Scanner and all the different sorts of mines (Hopper, Roller and those ones the helicopter dropped).
Last are the Synths, "Self-replicating robots that evolve", which were either created or enslaved by the combine. The Striders, Gunships and Dropships are all Synths. So apparently those who were saying that the above mentioned creatures are biomechs were right. The book goes on to say "... these lumbering war machines were possibly once organic creatures that the Combine had enslaved and converted during previous invasions." and "... the designs intentionally blurred the lines between machine and animal...". So thay're basically either organics that have evolved mechanical features, or robots that have become complex enough to have biological features. Either way, they're biomechs.
The only thing that appears, in the book, to be an actual "Combine" (IE: of the ruling race, not under Breen's control) is the "Combine Advisor/Overseer" (name depends on where you see it, the picture caption calls it an Advisor, but the strategy guide describes it as an Overseer). It's a rounded flying blob of unknown size (nothing for comparison), which reminds me of a caterpillar. It has two armlike structures apparently grafted on, and some sort of what appears to be breathing apparatus on its front. It probably flies, and has some sort of blue glow emanating from its rear dorsal surface. I'm not sure if it has any eyes or other sensory features; the pic is too small. It's the creature you see Breen speaking to during the teleportation accident.
You have the human forces (Metrocops, Soldiers (both city and Nova Prospect uniforms) and Elites), which are humans that have been altered (apparently in levels of progression that run from the Cops to the Elites). The creature you can see on the monitor in Nova Prospekt is a "Stalker", a kind of heavily modified human prisoner who is being used as slave labour. Apparently most of their organs have been removed and the Combine run them on saline solution. Eeurgh.
Next lot of Combine forces are the purely mechanical things like the first sort of Scanner and all the different sorts of mines (Hopper, Roller and those ones the helicopter dropped).
Last are the Synths, "Self-replicating robots that evolve", which were either created or enslaved by the combine. The Striders, Gunships and Dropships are all Synths. So apparently those who were saying that the above mentioned creatures are biomechs were right. The book goes on to say "... these lumbering war machines were possibly once organic creatures that the Combine had enslaved and converted during previous invasions." and "... the designs intentionally blurred the lines between machine and animal...". So thay're basically either organics that have evolved mechanical features, or robots that have become complex enough to have biological features. Either way, they're biomechs.
The only thing that appears, in the book, to be an actual "Combine" (IE: of the ruling race, not under Breen's control) is the "Combine Advisor/Overseer" (name depends on where you see it, the picture caption calls it an Advisor, but the strategy guide describes it as an Overseer). It's a rounded flying blob of unknown size (nothing for comparison), which reminds me of a caterpillar. It has two armlike structures apparently grafted on, and some sort of what appears to be breathing apparatus on its front. It probably flies, and has some sort of blue glow emanating from its rear dorsal surface. I'm not sure if it has any eyes or other sensory features; the pic is too small. It's the creature you see Breen speaking to during the teleportation accident.
DESSTROYER
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accualy ive seen that on one of the cameras in nova prospekt
Sui
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when i first heard of them, i thought the soldiers were a "combination" of technology and human life. i thought that they were human created, and that the striders were a "combination" of Xen aliens and human technology. but of course
and btw, this picture hints that they are just the next step of evolution:
in the last level they come out of a portal from another universe, and seeing as there were so many guards, i suspect that the combine were origonally humans like us in their universe, but have been around so long (they might have been at the level of technology that we are now when the dinasaurs were around ) that they have modiefied themselves.
in the portal you see skyscrapers, so i think that they are simply a different type of human race, who have enslaved other species and studied them.
) that they have modiefied themselves.in the portal you see skyscrapers, so i think that they are simply a different type of human race, who have enslaved other species and studied them.
and btw, this picture hints that they are just the next step of evolution:
Crash Happy
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Breen's speech in the old prison seems to make it clear that the forces you're up against were once human. Your trip through the citidel shows it to contain a processing facility, humans go in - combine go out. I don't know about this synth lark but new striders and ships emerge from the same complex. I assumed they also contained human components. Maybe HL3 will make it clearer.
