Possible next Chapter (after Ep. 3) in Half-Life?

Xevrex

Xevrex

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As Dr. Magnusson had mentioned to Alyx about the data packet, it is the "coordidates to the Combine overworld" followed by a "Dear God..." from Eli. Possibly, could this hint that Gordon is taking a trip to the land of Our Benefitters? It would definetly seem that the only way to stop the Combine, as persistant as they are, is to commit Vivicide (the destruction of an entire planet's population) or the genocide of the Combine. Just to make it clear, I have not beaten Ep. 2 yet, I'm on "Mutual Friend" fighting the Stryders to retrieve the achievement which they hold so near and dear. Oh, and the safety of the entire Human race. That too.

Ideas? Comments? Criticism? Flames?

P.S. This might belong in the story/mythology section. I apologize; I'm new.
 
Xevrex said:
As Dr. Magnusson had mentioned to Alyx about the data packet, it is the "coordidates to the Combine overworld" followed by a "Dear God..." from Eli. Possibly, could this hint that Gordon is taking a trip to the land of Our Benefitters? It would definetly seem that the only way to stop the Combine, as persistant as they are, is to commit Vivicide (the destruction of an entire planet's population) or the genocide of the Combine. Just to make it clear, I have not beaten Ep. 2 yet, I'm on "Mutual Friend" fighting the Stryders to retrieve the achievement which they hold so near and dear. Oh, and the safety of the entire Human race. That too.

Ideas? Comments? Criticism? Flames?

P.S. This might belong in the story/mythology section. I apologize; I'm new.
Click to expand...

It's benefactors
 
Well, that's what I kinda thought, too, that a future mission to such a place as the Combine's overworld could be a suitable maneuver.
 
Actually, Xevrex hit the nail on the head. Since Half-life 2 we've been offered various glimpses into the “far-side”, and once Episode 3 wraps up you can bet that's exactly where we'll be going. When Magnusson says Overworld I think he means the central galaxy or universe under Combine control, as opposed to an actual planet. There's no such thing as the Combine homeworld (I really hate the term too), because the Combine is not a single entity, no matter how much the announcer wants to think it is. It's a mass of annexed races from countless galaxies and solar systems; at this point there'd be hundreds of planets under Combine control. Stripped of their resources, populace and technology and assimilated into the single organism of the Combine. The only homeworld would be that of the Advisors, and I find it unlikely going there and crippling it would hinder the Combine in the slightest.

So terrifying this malevolent “far-side” is that the Combine use it as a threat to the Overwatch and human population. Breen described it in detail:

" ...carbon stars with ancient satellites colonized by sentient fungi.
Gas giants inhabited by vast meteorological intelligences.
Worlds stretched thin across the membranes where dimensions intersect...
Impossible to describe with our limited vocabulary! "

And one of the last things we see in HL2 is a crimson nebula and Combine transceiver towers. An environment so hostile to human life that Breen needed a host body in order to survive.

Half-life 2 and its subsequent episodes is very much the story of Earth under Combine control and the aftermath of Black Mesa. The Episodes see the Combine's grip on Earth loosening, and gradually setting us on a course of liberating the planet altogether. All it would take to wrap that storyline up is to say that the satellite used in Episode 2 was simply re-worked to create a planetary “block” of universe to universe portals; stopping the Combine from ever returning to Earth.

Alyx has attracted the attention of the Gman and now lost the one thing that would keep her on Earth. Gordon has no ties, and seems very much involved with the Vortigaunt's at this stage. Half-life 1 showed an alien resistance against the Combine. Gman is clearly an operative from beyond Earth. Everything leads to this ominous “far-side”, and the next Half-life game after Episode 3 will be taking us there.

I really can't wait. Given the artistic direction of Valve, you can probably expect something absolutely stunning.
 
Wouldn't mind a combine facility with a airex look and feel
 
One thing I'd love to see on the other side would be a few Citadels being built, laying horizontally.
 
Samon said:
Actually, Xevrex hit the nail on the head. Since Half-life 2 we've been offered various glimpses into the ?far-side?, and once Episode 3 wraps up you can bet that's exactly where we'll be going. When Magnusson says Overworld I think he means the central galaxy or universe under Combine control, as opposed to an actual planet. There's no such thing as the Combine homeworld (I really hate the term too), because the Combine is not a single entity, no matter how much the announcer wants to think it is. It's a mass of annexed races from countless galaxies and solar systems; at this point there'd be hundreds of planets under Combine control. Stripped of their resources, populace and technology and assimilated into the single organism of the Combine. The only homeworld would be that of the Advisors, and I find it unlikely going there and crippling it would hinder the Combine in the slightest.

So terrifying this malevolent ?far-side? is that the Combine use it as a threat to the Overwatch and human population. Breen described it in detail:

" ...carbon stars with ancient satellites colonized by sentient fungi.
Gas giants inhabited by vast meteorological intelligences.
Worlds stretched thin across the membranes where dimensions intersect...
Impossible to describe with our limited vocabulary! "

And one of the last things we see in HL2 is a crimson nebula and Combine transceiver towers. An environment so hostile to human life that Breen needed a host body in order to survive.

Half-life 2 and its subsequent episodes is very much the story of Earth under Combine control and the aftermath of Black Mesa. The Episodes see the Combine's grip on Earth loosening, and gradually setting us on a course of liberating the planet altogether. All it would take to wrap that storyline up is to say that the satellite used in Episode 2 was simply re-worked to create a planetary ?block? of universe to universe portals; stopping the Combine from ever returning to Earth.

Alyx has attracted the attention of the Gman and now lost the one thing that would keep her on Earth. Gordon has no ties, and seems very much involved with the Vortigaunt's at this stage. Half-life 1 showed an alien resistance against the Combine. Gman is clearly an operative from beyond Earth. Everything leads to this ominous ?far-side?, and the next Half-life game after Episode 3 will be taking us there.

I really can't wait. Given the artistic direction of Valve, you can probably expect something absolutely stunning.
Click to expand...

I agree with you in the fact that Gman is most likely beyond our Earth; possessing the ability to use telepathy to project his image and various others to those he speaks with (in this case, Gordon Freeman) almost depicts him as a prophet of some kind. He put Gordon, knowing he was the only one able to stop the Combine overlords of Earth, in the position of the Hero and was correct: Gordon was able to destroy most of the Combine on Earth and is on the verge of saving it. There is more to the Gman, as previously stated, than we know. Much more, seemingly the key to the whole story.
 
Maybe the latter half ala Xen. But I want to face human enemies for the majority of the game.
 
You know guys. I am not worry what will be in EP3. I trust valve that 12 years experience of game making is something + Marc Lindlaw Plot.
 
I don't see what they can do with this "far-side".
As Samon stated, there's very little chance that destroying the Advisors' home planet (and destroying an entire bloody planet - and essentially committing genocide in the process - just doesn't seem in keeping with HL) would stop the Combine in any way.
So I can't see where Valve will take us, even if it is (as it probably will be) off-world.

I don't see why, after destroying the Combine forces on Earth, Gordon would be sent away to tackle them on their turf when it's such a preposterously vast crusade.
Even if the G-Man wanted him to, exactly how can Gordon take them on?
Will he be working to free the Vortigaunts' home world in the same way he freed Earth? This would seem slightly more sensible, but still: why should it be Gordon's fight?

Of course, it'll probably be more up to the G-Man than anything else. Perhaps he'll take up those "interesting offers for [Gordon's] services."
 
I think this Laidlaw quote is pretty important:

Marc Laidlaw said:
Humanity is just starting to glimpse the larger context.
Click to expand...

I mean, Earth has been disconnected from the far-side. There's got to be repercussions of that event, aside from the Combine preparing a second invasion force to wipe the planet clean – only this time with no Dr. Breen to stop them.

I think there's a lot they can do. There's got to be other surviving planets defending against the Combine. The Vortigaunt's seem to hint at a past conflict with the Advisors, and we know Nihilanth was trying organize some kind of inter-galactic rebellion against them. And there's Gman and his elusive, mysterious “offers”.

If there's one thing that could cripple the Combine it would be de-stabilization within their own empire. They consider themselves one greater organism (hence medical terms in PA system), and everything seems to be connected – the Citadel for instance is a machine in itself, and damaging that damages the Synth production, the teleportation and communication systems. They are dependent on this all-consuming technology, and if one things starts to go so does the rest. That they have assimilated and consumed so much could be their ultimate downfall.
 
Keep it on earth, I think Valve will keep the Hl2 series on Earth and not show the combine overworld, since they made a mess of Xen in Hl1, they may decide to leave the combine overworld until a later date, if the combine survive past Ep3, if the combine on earth are destroyed, the humans won't go looking for trouble with a massive empire like that.

I think Hl3 will be about the actual combine, not just trans-human, or something entirely different.
 
We're either going to the far-side or a place that looks like it.
I'm willing to bet everyone has seen that little bit of concept art ever so reminiscent of citadel-style architecture. Most logical explanation? Unless there's some major combine base in the arctic with tonnes of Advisors floating around, we're going where the Borealis tech takes us.
 
Or, to a nice comfy stasis chamber...

No one has any proof that the concept art released is the combine homeworld/far side
 
I think, in the future, they will lump the three episodes together and call it "Half-Life 2: Aftermath", then call the next game Half-Life 3.
 
EP1 was aftermath wasnt it...
 
Combine make one last attempt to get back to and conquer earth? Some sci-fi gubbins that there is a way to stop them that will make it impossible for them to ever try again?

Either that, or we somehow send the borielis (Oh shut up) through, so they can all kill themselves with it?

Both would tie up the series quite nicley. Not that I want them to do that, I'd rather they tied up the current plot lines, and opened the way for something new.
 
There's no doubt that we will eventually be going beyond our universe and closer to the Combine Overworld. So far the series has taken place almost entirely on Earth (except for a brief stint in Xen) and while that is all good, it is limited in scope and depth and can only be taken so far. Traveling to the Overworld will open up an endless supply of possibilities.

We will most likely be visiting the various places the Combine have colonized through their conquests. To what end? The answer probably lies with the G-Man.
 
I don't think we're going to go to the Combine overworld yet, but other dimensions (similar to Xen) are very possible. My reasoning is that we haven't yet got any support networks in the Overworld like we do on Earth. Gordon is one man with a gravity gun. Going to the Overworld is like jumping into a cement mixer.
 
If the plot does continue beyond Earth, the alien planets have to be stunning.

If anyone's familiar with the Metroid Prime games, that's the kind of beautiful design I'd expect. Environments that really feel alien, not just different coloured Earth alternatives. Maybe with some crazy gravity too, since Valve love their physics.
 
GreatBlackthorn said:
If the plot does continue beyond Earth, the alien planets have to be stunning.

If anyone's familiar with the Metroid Prime games, that's the kind of beautiful design I'd expect. Environments that really feel alien, not just different coloured Earth alternatives. Maybe with some crazy gravity too, since Valve love their physics.
Click to expand...

THEY HAVE TO BE STUNNING!!!

And I think Metroid Prime Planets are ugly and obvious, not every environment you see has some stupid way of getting somewhere else, thats one reason I like the Episode 2 foliage, it is simple and looks good.
 
GreatBlackthorn said:
If the plot does continue beyond Earth, the alien planets have to be stunning.

If anyone's familiar with the Metroid Prime games, that's the kind of beautiful design I'd expect. Environments that really feel alien, not just different coloured Earth alternatives. Maybe with some crazy gravity too, since Valve love their physics.
Click to expand...

Yeah, crazy gravity that interferes with the gravity gun or sommat.
 
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