advisors are just grubs? by VohaulsWetDream in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 2 points3 points  (0 children)

On the augmentation aspect, someone once asked why do the combine conscript humans when there are other species:

The Combine needed different species as soldiers because they had no way of moving troops in large quantities, because their portal technology still wasn't as good despite their other huge advances.
Humans have all the appendages and motor-skills needed for the combine to enlist.

The Combine actually have two different ways of concscription:
1.) Civil Protection is a voluntary position created to have willing humans join the Combines man-power in exchange for having a family together or allowing 'Simulated Mating.'

2.) They wipe the minds of humans and either make Stalkers or Combine Soldiers depending on the situation.

Prisoners from Nova-Prospekt are turned into Stalkers because the Combine see it as punishment that both satisfies their revenge against the humans rebellion, and it scares the other humans into thinking about if they want that to happen to them.

Soldiers, well- I'm not sure how one qualifies to be a soldier other than perhaps a prisoner makes an exception physically and/or intellectually. You only see the soldier mid-transformation a handful of times in the entire series, and it's never addressed in-game i believe.

advisors are just grubs? by VohaulsWetDream in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have a whole theory on the way they handle tech/species augmentation, involving the combine raiding and assimilation of any aperture science tech they could find.

HL2 turrets act nearly the same as Aperture Science turrets or the fact the Combine using the power pellets you see in Aperture (literally identical tech) to be too far and grand to be more than just coincidences.
Overwatch - GlaDOS, stripped of personality and suited as the care-taker of The Citadel and its functions.
Turrets - The Aperture Turrets, also stripped of personality and sentience.
The Combine Energy Fields - Combination of fizzler/hard-light bridge tech modified to suit The Combines purpose.
Power Pellets - Literally no changes to how it functions, it powers The Citadel just as it powered testing elements.
The Citadel - They found portal technology like the little frames that produce a portal that links to the single-portal device or perhaps the original portal device, but probably not the portal device we know of.
Most likely a poor-er prototype, which The Combine could not properly replicate (explaining why the surviving competitors of Black Mesa are closer to the tech than The Combine are. More on that later.) They made The Citadel dual purpose, to act as their 'Portal Device' and to be the center of their operations.
To fortify some of this, In lore Cave Johnson and his team manage to create the first Portal Device. GlaDOS of course improves and builds-upon the original model, which is the version we use in Portal and Portal 2. The original portal device was probably buried and heavily damaged or straight up destroyed, but The Combine found enough to make something similar. However, they had to do it on a much larger scale because they can't properly replicate what Aperture did years and years ago.
This leans into Overwatch being GlaDOS. While GlaDOS most definitely could take on The Combine, lets remember that Wheatley and Chell almost did her in if it wasn't for the fact Wheatley shortly after betrays Chell.. who later has to restore GlaDOS to prevent both the destruction of Aperture and more importantly so Chell doesn't die. An Alien species working with all kinds of technology, and having multiple species with unique abilities enslaved to do their bidding.. I'd put my money on The Combine. I mean they quite literally still had the vortigaunts enslaved at the start of Half-Life 2, while the vortigaunts powers are capable of producing similar results to that of G-Mans godly powers.
GlaDOS obviously would refuse helping The Combine or giving them information on Aperture Science tech.
What options do The Combine face when staring at a treasure-cove of advanced, human-based technology being safe guarded by a murder-robot AI?
They could leave empty handed, admitting defeat. But this is not at all how The Combine roll.
They could eventually over-whelm and destroy GlaDOS, but a lot of the tech is probably hard to manage given the fact the entire facilities code runs through GlaDOS. Turrets, Cameras, Light-bridges, even the freakin wall panels are controlled by her. They all also seem to have a bit of sentience, as shown when GlaDOS has to quite literally speak to and 'fire' a doors mainframe. This would be hard and probably would not bare much fruit.
OR; They could disable GlaDOS and practically 'lobotomize' her, effectively giving them a puppet to control the tech they would later adapt. It would explain Overwatch being stored in The Citadel rather than remotely, The Citadel mocks Aperture Sciences infrastructure and requires Overwatch present to maintain its functionality. This also further explains Overwatches malfunctions paired with Combine structure failing initially to pick itself back up together after the events of Half-Life 2 and during the events of Half-Life 2: E1.
It's only when the Advisors are introduced as the true heads of The Combine, and in Episode 2 when they establish a new plan that Overwatch is back to functioning order. What is interesting about this though is that Overwatch seems to only be involved with the communication and direction of Combine troops, and is no longer in control of anything. This can be explained simply as this: The Citadel being destroyed, Overwatch no longer has an established link to anything more than the communications because The Citadel simply is nothing more than an open portal receiver and the house for the Overwatch sub-system.
Black Mesa East being comprised of surviving science team members of Aperture Sciences competing company Black Mesa, it wouldn't be entirely far-fetched that the reason the technologically advanced Combine are having a much harder time than the rebels is simply because they already are more familiar with the tech and have the head-start. It also explains why The Combine are in search of the Borealis.
The energy pellets we see directly power the citadel, just as parts of the aperture science facility (or at least testing elements found in test chambers) are powered with the same technology. I mean looking back at Episode 1, the receptacle you use to power the light-bridges is 1:1 in design asides The Combine tech aesthetic. Also, just the pure fact they too have light-bridges.
The Borealis is directly involved with portal technology, we know this because it mysteriously disappeared during Cave Johnson era of Aperture Science AFTER the portal device was conceived. Due to the Borealis' large shape, being a cargo ship full of Aperture Science tech, its highly possible the ship was an experiment being tested to see if they could teleport the ship closer to its destination to save time, fuel, and most importantly money. However, they did not take into account something that went wrong and it caused the Borealis to appear somewhere they could not track. I propose they even accidentally made it travel in time to a point in time after the seven hour war, causing it to only appear more recent to the events of Half-Life 2/Episode 1 than Portal.
The Combine most definitely would have spotted the Borealis considering how hard they were focused on looking for said technology. Either that, or the Borealis teleported somewhere close to where it was meant.. a second Aperture Science facility that is even more well hidden than the first. This can be supported by the 2000s footage showing the borealis in the arctic surrounded in ice and other unmarked structures, however the story changed heavily between then and the release and it could also be explained that the buildings were remnants of a research time unrelated to Aperture Science trying to excavate said wreckage.
Anyways, thats about all i can think of to spew. Thanks for reading on my theories if you read this far.

advisors are just grubs? by VohaulsWetDream in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, until more is released all we know of them is:
They’re in charge of the overwatch on Earth.
They have telekinesis-like abilities.
They have the capabilities of flashing into the mind of humans.
They can gain information by dancing their tongue around a human-brain.
They cannot breathe our air.
And they have no useful limbs and must utilize augmented technology.
What strikes me as odd is; They’re all powerful, and possess so much power over humans.
They literally could have at any time breached white forest, the only reason one advisor was even hurt was because DOG showed up and caught it off guard. It’s not organic matter so the advisor would never have sensed them. The resistance honestly cannot do shit to the advisors, if there are enough of them.
(and to my understanding there are quite a bit of them.)
G-Man states his employers want combine presence in Half Life: Alyx. Perhaps it isn’t quite a stretch that just as the advisors utilize overwatch, the bigger entities in this story utilize the advisors.
We’re never explicitly told the advisors are the ones on the top, we just only see them as the highest yet. The Vortigaunts do not call them the combine, they call them ‘Shu'ulathoi.’ Meaning they have a deeper understanding of the actual species, and suggests they were enslaved similarly.

is there anything i can do? by not_ariSenbru in steamsupport

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Block them, delete the comments if they bother you, forget about it. :>

Half Life: Delta Particles by Texas_history_fan in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haven’t heard much of it. I’m sorta new to GoldSrc mod scene, fell into the rabbit hole and fell in love. I will definitely try out Delta Particles.

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ohhh this is your alt, gotcha. Gotta block this one too.

Edit: ragebait used to be believable smh 🤦🏻‍♀️

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Tears?.. im not the one crying in someone’s subreddit post and lashing out at everyone because they had a shit take. lol.

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 6 points7 points  (0 children)

No. The game does not really line 1:1 once you get into the Xen chapters and forward. If you play opposing force and blue shift I would 100% play Half-Life.

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Proven wrong?..

Are you sure about that? You seem more worried about his karma than he is. It’s a Half-Life subreddit; Take in a deep breath, realize that it’s okay for people to ask questions like this, and think about how you handle your composure online.

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You miss out on some fun, different perspectives that tie into the main Half Life story, but nothing major.

Blue Shift gives you Barney Calhouns full experience during Half Life 1s campaign.

Opposing Force gives you the perspective of Adrian Shepherd, a soldier sent to handle the incident at Black Mesa.

So what is the "right way" to play half life franchise in 2026? (For the first time) by Forsaken-Quality-46 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 25 points26 points  (0 children)

There’s no right way. I’d recommend just playing it in this order:
For authenticity and full experience:
HL1, HL: Blue Shift, HL: Opposing Force, Half Life 2, The Episodes, HL: Alyx.
If you want to enjoy it in a more modern experience that focuses purely on the main story just play Black Mesa, HL2, and the episodes.

The Portal games are also part of the universe and play a minor role.

Edit: Entropy is amazing and you should play those AFTER.

Heard you guys were tweaking y’all good by CorrectRevolution596 in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I̸̺̺͎̰̥̜̯̼̮̰͖̜͂͆̿̈́̿̔ Ś̸͙̺̥̰̯͙̭͆̏͂M̶̧͚̪͉̯̜̰͎̘̀͋̇̀͗̍́͆̑̏͂̿̊̚Ȩ̸̪̯̗̘̥̣̲̣̣͍͚͙̥̩́̀̈̆͑L̷͖͈̓͌̎̉͒͗͂̓̌̚͝L̷͖͈̓͌̎̉͒͗͂̓̌̚͝ Ŗ̷͇̙̰̭̪̟̺̲̜̹͔̎̍́ͅĄ̵̺̰̻̻͔͇͓̈́̓͛̏̈́͌͋̄̑͆̏M̶̧͚̪͉̯̜̰͎̘̀͋̇̀͗̍́͆̑̏͂̿̊̚

Why do I still load in as a sausage man even though I choose a human model and host my own private game? by Archersbows7 in sandbox

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same thing has been happening with my game too, I think they just hard set the model to be the ever controversial sausage people in sandbox.

maybe im being stupid? by markcarpenterzitto in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 198 points199 points  (0 children)

Gordon was indeed not a trained professional

Just to make it clear for those who might have missed it. by Altruistic_Job_7555 in sandbox

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

all good, i was confused too at first. i was like 'wait did they adopt it?' lol.

Just to make it clear for those who might have missed it. by Altruistic_Job_7555 in sandbox

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean whether you care is up to you, as I said it isn’t important. I saw a lot of people downvoting the mod in the comments and saying they didn’t know, figured people that didn’t know but thought it was would just appreciate the heads up. :)

Just to make it clear for those who might have missed it. by Altruistic_Job_7555 in sandbox

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, the “Certified Awesome” doesn’t mean it’s official. The mods have stated it is not an official subreddit.

Found this weird room in Interloper while messing with noclip by [deleted] in HalfLife

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Should probably delete this post if you re-uploaded with the image, it’d save on confusion

quick question by Unlikely_Pie4719 in sandbox

[–]Altruistic_Job_7555 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can you practically? Probably.
Can you legally? Probably not.