Eagle Eyes

[Myxomatosis]

I searched a tad for this type of thread and found nothing.. if it has been posted before, however, flame away.


This is really not that important.. but something that has always bothered me about HL2 is the fact that gordon has no helmet of any kind, yet he has a zoom... maybe I just don't pay attention, but if anyone knows why that is can you let me know?

 

[gabriel]

maybe its some kind of crazy fiber optics embedded in the suit somewhere.. ?

 

[Myxomatosis]

Well ok, but there is nothing near his head... and I'm pretty sure nothing comes from out of the suit to go infront of him. I thought maybe he had a brain implant or something.. and then realized that was retarded....

 

[ríomhaire]

I think he does wear a helmet, it was a mistake without it. Similar to the SMG without a grenade launcher that shoot grenades. There was a huge debate about it on leak-free.org

 

[gabriel]

maybe there is a helmet but you just don't see it with the rest of it before you put the suit on. i dont remember seeing a helmet attached to the suit in half-life 1 but we know there was one. right?

 

[ríomhaire]

Maybe the helmet was behind the suit?

 

[AJ Rimmer]

He has a helmet. 'Nuf said. Why? Because I say so!

 

[gabriel]

yeah, i say he has a helmet. i think it is just hidden behind the suit when you view it in kleiners lab.

 

[Myxomatosis]

He has no helmet, which is why he can't breathe underwater... also why headcrabs can hurt him.

 

[gabriel]

He has no helmet, which is why he can't breathe underwater... also why headcrabs can hurt him.

having a helmet wouldnt let you breath under water...

 

[Myxomatosis]

having a helmet wouldnt let you breath under water...

The helmet you get right before entering zen let you breathe in their atmosphere.. it sure as sh!t would let you breathe underwater... And it isn't a different helmet that you got since last time, because in this game you receive no additional equipment except for your HEV suit... and if it was on the back, well look at the previous statement... but that isn't the point. The point is that he can zoom in without any facial gear or enhancments.. spent all that time on physics and they forget the most basic of details...

 

[DieHard]

He has glasses, he could show the HUD and alow zoom with a wireless interface with the HEV with some micorochip hologram shit.

 

[Myxomatosis]

He has glasses, he could show the HUD and alow zoom with a wireless interface with the HEV with some micorochip hologram shit.

That is probably not right... in HL1(original & source), there is no "zoom" keybind... and if you ignore that and try the zoom anyway, you will find that very few guns have a zoom, the crossbow does, not to sure about anything else.. but pull out the revolver and you will see that it doesn't have a zoom. Therefore gordons glasses in HL1 were not zoom capable. And I doubt seriously that he could have upgraded his glasses since last game.. what, do they have eye glass shops in the stasis that Gman threw gordon in at the end of HL1? If they did upgrade his glasses they should have atleast told you on the box or something.. "see gordon like you've never seen him before!! with his new and improved zooming glasses!"... no

And about the HUD.. that is just something you have to have.. no logic necessary for that one. A suit zoom however you don't need (i.e HL1).

 

[Adabiviak]

Of course it has a helmet - look at the helmets on all the other suits of laying around Xen in HL1. Maybe it's hinged on the back? Maybe it's on the floor behind it? Maybe it's inside? Maybe it appears as miraculously as he manages to put the suit on in less than a second?

 

[Myxomatosis]

Of course it has a helmet - look at the helmets on all the other suits of laying around Xen in HL1. Maybe it's hinged on the back? Maybe it's on the floor behind it? Maybe it's inside? Maybe it appears as miraculously as he manages to put the suit on in less than a second?

I already explained why that wouldn't work.. the helmet lets you breathe in the harsh environments of zen, which you would otherwise not have been able to live, right? Well then it should allow you to breathe underwater.. you cannot breathe underwater.. so that means no helmet. There is no helmet folks.. Gordon can stay underwater for like 15 seconds.. and after that an additional 5.. dunno. But he could stay in Zen for an unlimited amount of time, so obviously it isn't the helmet. Don't forget the fact that headcrabs can do the poor bastard in. If he had a helmet.. it surely would have stopped an attack.

The suit in a second because half the gamers wouldn't want to sit through the tedious task of putting on a suit. If they could allow you to control that, however, it would have been cool. Have you ever played a game where you have to sit as the character puts on clothes, let alone a skin-tight, metallic suit? (not including cut scenes).. because if you have, tell me.

 

[jimmyjam]

The helmet you get right before entering zen let you breathe in their atmosphere.. it sure as sh!t would let you breathe underwater...

you made that up
the only thing you get before xen is the long jump module
the suit has a helmet, or else it would be the most useless hazardous environment suit ever

 

[gabriel]

yeah, he definatley has a helmet.
cant breath underwater because it's probably not equipped with oxygen tanks.
cant defend against head crabs because they have sharp claws and teeth and leap at you with incredible speed which could probably punture the suit or at least get through a little bit. the helmet is what keeps them from turning gordon into a zombie.
he has a helmet. it makes perfect sense.

 

[ríomhaire]

Xen has a breathable atmosphere, it's been confirmed. And if Gordon doesn't have a helmet then why does he have an Aux-Power-Oxygen?

 

[Myxomatosis]

Xen has a breathable atmosphere, it's been confirmed. And if Gordon doesn't have a helmet then why does he have an Aux-Power-Oxygen?

My only problem is that you never once see a helmet... you show me a pic of one and im convinced. Where is the confirmed breathable xen testimony?

As for the Aux-Oxy, no clue.
Oh well.. I emailed Gabe so maybe in a few weeks I will know.

 

[Retro]

Actually, if you check out Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, page 31, there's an early concept render/sketch of HL1 Gordon carrying a HEV suit helmet under his arm, plus a dim image of the full suit in the background. It doesn't seem to be finalized design, but perhaps the HEV suit was originally meant to include a helmet at one point.

And as was already mentioned, it seems a little odd to create a hazardous environment suit that doesn't involve some manner of helmet to shield some valuable MIT-educated synapses from frying, especially during those bits in the game where you're wading around in radioactive goop. Otherwise someone could totally thwart Freeman by wishing head cancer upon him.

*twists fists around*

 

[gabriel]

and like its been said before i might add, all the dead bodies in HL1 wearing hev suits have helmets. and i havnt got to play opposing force or blue shift yet, but i swear i heard somewhere that in one of those you see gordon run by in the suit and it does in fact have a helmet. i dont have anything to back that up though. just something i heard somewhere.
but as far as im convinced gordon does wear a helmet-type thing. but then again, in half life decay, dr. green and dr. cross dont wear helmets..

 

[Jintor]

It's all nano-aug... built into his eyes.

Or the suit plugs into his glasses, or something. -shrugs-

 

[AJ Rimmer]

My only problem is that you never once see a helmet... you show me a pic of one and im convinced. Where is the confirmed breathable xen testimony?

As for the Aux-Oxy, no clue.
Oh well.. I emailed Gabe so maybe in a few weeks I will know.

Barney definately has no oxygen helmet and could breathe just fine.
Unfortunately, Blue Shift and Opposing Force do encourage the "no helmet" argument by showing gordon without his helmet.

 

[Sulkdodds]

It's true; you don't need a helmet to survive on Xen.

I think the suit probably has some kind of extandable force field over the head area, or else a glass bubble that extends when you put the suit on. The HUD and the suit zoom are both part of the holographic heads-up display projected from the base of the suit's neck.

 

[ríomhaire]

Unfortunately, Blue Shift and Opposing Force do encourage the "no helmet" argument by showing gordon without his helmet.

They also teach that Barney has a magic disapeering armour suit and that Gordon didn't bring a log-jump moduel to Xen.
The helmet could have been attached to the back of the suit.

 

[Flyingdebris]

i think the no visible helmet is just for artistic reasons.

It would be stupid to have no helmet when you are in over your head in toxic goo or bullets are flying past.

The only reason we don't really see any helmet is because in all the times we see gordon, the artist or game is trying to let us know "THAT IS GORDON FREEMAN, NOT SOME OTHER GUY WEARING A SIMILIAR SUIT"

I personally think he'd have his helmet on almost allt he time.

Furthermore the helmet required to breathe on xen argument is pointless. Aside from the fact that barney needed no such beathing assistance, everything that teleported from xen to earth was able to breath in our atmosphere just fine.

Remember people, this is a hazard suit. Its designed for dealing with hazmats and other hostile environments, aside from also being a good combat suit. You don't see hazmat workers without their headgear on while cleaning up an industrial spill do you?

 

[Myxomatosis]

iThe only reason we don't really see any helmet is because in all the times we see gordon, the artist or game is trying to let us know "THAT IS GORDON FREEMAN, NOT SOME OTHER GUY WEARING A SIMILIAR SUIT"

Not really.. he could just tuck it under his arm, or hold it in his other hand. You never once see a helmet around his suit though.. and there is no toxic shit in HL2 except for that one level.. and the people there didn't have helmets. The thing is, if his helmet allows you to zoom in.. it sure as shit wouldn't be soft and allow a headcrab to puncutre it... so...

 

[A True Canadian]

The helmet is irrelevent to the topic of zooming in.

MY SILLY BUT STILL PLAUSIBLE THEORY:

Gordon's perscription for his glasses has expired and he needs new ones to see properly. He has trouble seeing things at a distance so the ZOOM button is actually him squinting to make the objects in the distance less blurry.

 

[Myxomatosis]

The helmet is irrelevent to the topic of zooming in.

MY SILLY BUT STILL PLAUSIBLE THEORY:

Gordon's perscription for his glasses has expired and he needs new ones to see properly. He has trouble seeing things at a distance so the ZOOM button is actually him squinting to make the objects in the distance less blurry.

Ha ha ha... and with that I am willing to let this go. There probably is no real explanation.. :sigh:

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Remember people, this is a hazard suit. Its designed for dealing with hazmats and other hostile environments, aside from also being a good combat suit. You don't see hazmat workers without their headgear on while cleaning up an industrial spill do you?

Actually I saw Troy McLure do it on the Simpsons... That's not a good argument though.

 

[Edcrab]

Personally I always pictured it just like the helmet on the HEV player model (as seen on corpses in Op4 too)- vaguely cloth-like and semi-flexible, and it merely folds up and assembles/disassembles when he deploys or undeploys it.

 

[Myxomatosis]

Personally I always pictured it just like the helmet on the HEV player model (as seen on corpses in Op4 too)- vaguely cloth-like and semi-flexible, and it merely folds up and assembles/disassembles when he deploys or undeploys it.

Ok. Well that foldable head gear (not helmet then) will not allow you to focus in on anything. So even if he did have that.. still doesn't answer the question.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Here are the two options, both equally valid if you ask me:

A folding Helmet is stored inside the suit:

HUD:
The heads-up display is projected on the helmet's visor.
Suit Zoom:
The best explanation is that camera(s) built into the helmet can zoom in, and this camera view is projected on the visor.
Aux. Oxygen:
The suit uses auxilliary power to scrub Oxygen from Carbon Dioxide, allowing for temporary breathing underwater.
Headshots / Swimming in toxic materials:
The helmet protects against these things, minimizing their damage.

Evidence for:
-An early piece of media shows Gordon holding a removable helmet.
-The original HL1 HEV pickup item did not have visible gloves, but Gordon rather clearly has gloves once the suit is on. This indicates that they were stored inside the suit, as a helmet might be.
-HEV suits found on Xen all had attached helmets.
-Gearbox made other mistake(s) on their depictions of Gordon. The lack of helmet may be such a mistake.*
-Gordon can survive surprising amounts of head damage.
-Certain visual elements have been introduced purely as gameplay tweaks and are not actually 'real'.**

Gordon doesn't wear a helmet:

HUD:
The heads-up display is a holographic projection.
Suit Zoom:
As above, camera(s) built into the suit itself can zoom in, and this camera view is projected holographically.
Aux. Oxygen:
The suit uses auxilliary power on the internal medical systems to prolong survival underwater.
Headshots / Swimming in toxic materials:
Assume that most headshots graze but do not connect, and that the toxic materials are simply not fatal after only brief contact. It's a matter of realism being sacrificed to promote more entertainment.**

Evidence for:
-Gordon and his HEV suit are shown without any indication of a helmet in all five Half-life games and every piece of concept art to date (including action scenes) except in a single early piece of media.
-BM Security guards' helmets use holographic HUDs as well.
-Security guards and resistance fighters have no facial protection, but can survive similar head damage.
-Gina is also shown helmet-less while working in all four Half-Life 1 games, showing that a helmet may not be mandatory for routine jobs.


*In Opposing Force, Gordon has no long-jump module. In Blue Shift, he is facing the wrong direction. Also, Barney is shown with armour in HL1, but without it in Blue Shift.

**In Decay, Gina and Colette's orange HEVs are shown in different colours for their third-person models (tan and red, respectively), a difference that only exists in the player's eyes.
(View-modeled hands, depictions of Gina in all other official HL1 games, and character dialogue within Decay itself all say the suit is orange.) This difference from 'reality' shows that some unrealistic things exist in the games simply to make them more fun.

Oh, also, the MP7 in HL2 does have two barrels. the lower one is slightly larger, to fire the small grenades.

Real:

HL2:

Note the lower, thicker secondary barrel
The grenades themselves are shown as larger than they 'actually' are, for gameplay purposes: making them easier to see/pick up/ dodge, etc.
That's another example of a slight visual change made to simplify gameplay, in spite of realism.

Conclusion: Gordon doesn't need to wear a helmet, and since he is shown without one in every game, (and valve's official stance is apparently that he doesn't wear one, judging from concept art) it's most likely that he does not wear one.
If believing he does have a removable helmet makes the game more realistic for you, however, your opinion is entirely valid based on the evidence at hand. Just less likely, overall.

 

[ríomhaire]

Poll time!

 

[clairelovestlc]

it must be somthing to do with the suit, because you cant zoon before you get it

 

[A True Canadian]

it must be somthing to do with the suit, because you cant zoon before you get it

I still think it's the perscription glasses. When Gordon squints things in the distance become clear while the things close up become blurry. And since it's a game, Gordon's vison wasn't made blurry by Valve because it would look weird to the gamer. Gordon's vison is likely 17/20 while ours is 20/20; meaning we don't notice the blurriness like Gordon.



P.S. Great use of logic Mecha. Great Post. :E

 

[Bob_Marley]

As you may alredy know i' firmly in the 'gordon has a helmet' camp but i have always wondered about one thing. And that is when Gordon is knocked out by the marines in a dark room, right after fighting the black ops assasins (aka those ninja ladies) in HL 1. How the hell did they pull that off? i mean the helmet protects gordon from HCs (we know this because they fall off) so how on earth did they manage to knock him out?

 

[gabriel]

As you may alredy know i' firmly in the 'gordon has a helmet' camp but i have always wondered about one thing. And that is when Gordon is knocked out by the marines in a dark room, right after fighting the black ops assasins (aka those ninja ladies) in HL 1. How the hell did they pull that off? i mean the helmet protects gordon from HCs (we know this because they fall off) so how on earth did they manage to knock him out?

it is possible to be knocked out while wearing a helmet...
and besides, i always pictured the "helmet" part of the HEV to be kind of a flimsy yet strong material like you see on real life hazard suits, not actually an incredicly thick heavy-duty helmet.

 

[Bob_Marley]

If its like that why doesnt gordon get K/Oed when he gets hit in the face with a shotgun? Cos a 12 bore buckshot shell full in the face has consideribly more force than the butt of an MP-5/M-4/Spas-12 swung by an enthusiastic marine.

 

[Myxomatosis]

If its like that why doesnt gordon get K/Oed when he gets hit in the face with a shotgun? Cos a 12 bore buckshot shell full in the face has consideribly more force than the butt of an MP-5/M-4/Spas-12 swung by an enthusiastic marine.

Because HL2 isn't ****ing Counter Strike...