Where's The Key To The APC?

[Maronan]

I was playing Point Insertion, and I had just walked into the flat where the citizen by the window gets startled and says: "I thought you were a cop." After a few moments, an APC pulls up outside, and several CPs run by. At that point, I noclipped to the street outside. Having done so, I found that using the action button on the APC centers your viewpoint underneath it and brings up the buggy instructions. (ALT: Turbo CTRL: Handbrake)

No controls actually do anything (although tabbing again brings your view and controls back to normal) and naturally, you're not even supposed to be there in the first place, but is this a cut feature or something? Were there ever plans to allow players to hijack the combine APCs?

 

[huntingbear]

possibly but i'm guessing the APC and the buggy have the same vehicle controls. there is a mod called Strider mod where you can pilot a strider, APC, and a chopper.

 

[Sledgehammer]

There were most definitely plans of it.

I believe that the airboat feels somewhat like an apc would, except with much better view.

 

[Maronan]

possibly but i'm guessing the APC and the buggy have the same vehicle controls. there is a mod called Strider mod where you can pilot a strider, APC, and a chopper.

I've got to get that mod!

And although you can't actually drive the APC, it suggests that they do have the same controls. I don't use most of the default set; alt-turbo and control-brake are the controls I normally use on the buggy. (And tab-use.)

 

[PimpinPenguin]

Originally we were supposed to be able to drive the APC. However the playtester's didn't like it so Valve cut that feature out. It was mentioned in Raising The Bar.

 

[Lizardizzle]

what teh penguin said. The playtesters said it was too slow, so VALVe took it out. Weird, since it's very fast.

 

[gFrohman]

That's too bad, since if you could drive it around, you'd pretty much have unlimited rockets to shoot around, if the weapons were programmed in as well...

 

[Sledgehammer]

I can also imagine that the very limited field of view would be an issue.

 

[HL2p0rTaL]

Well I just found out that you can also have access to the APC on the XBox 360 version of HL2, but it just shows, Press LB for Turbo and A to use the Handbrake and you can't drive it though.

 

[Omnomnick]

Cool. Sounds like there was originally plans for it but it was probably cut because it was inappropriate to just steal a combine vehicle.

 

[HL2p0rTaL]

Probably so. But if anyone wants to try this on 360 just go to the part in HL2 right after you get through the apartments and when you are on the roof type in the invincibility cheat (LB UP RB UP LB LB UP RB RB UP) and then jump off of the roof and go to one of the APC's and press X.

 

[Full Life 1?]

Its just the way the combine apc is designed for mapping. It always has an npc driver who controls it from inside, and therefore you can enter it.

 

[gFrohman]

Yeah - I just tried this, and you can enter, but your vision goes blank and you can't move.
Good find, though.

 

[Vegeta897]

Go into the first room on your right. Talk to the drunken man 4 times and a secret compartment will open in the bookshelf behind you. Inside the compartment is a length of twine. Take the twine and use it on the broken film projector. Watch the film to find out the secret word. Go to the man on the couch and say the word. He'll write out a note saying "Corwin sent me." Take the note to the combine officer on the other side of the hall and he'll let you in that room. In the center of the room there is a large elliptical rug. Lift the rug and you will find a secret trap door leading to the boiler room. Take the door to the boiler room and you will notice it is very dark. I hope you saved some matches from Chapter 2, because you'll need one here to light the candle mounted on the wall nearby. When the candle is lit, you will see "FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH" carved by knife into the opposite wall. The knife rests on the ground nearby. Take the knife. Return to the room with the drunken man, and look for a painting on the wall of a man mounted upon a horse. Use your knife to cut out the canvas near the horses mouth, and you will find the key to the APC was planted inside the painting. Now you can drive the APC.

 

[Otto-Grainer]

The effort and time you spent into that is curious, but job well done.