Half-Life's Synths: The Combine Horror [Part 1] - ValveTime Database: Episode 10

[@SmithOfGear92]

I absolutely love the hum of a Combine Dropship's engines... It's so creepy and eerie, and lets you know that trouble is on the way.

[@apersonwhoexists546]

Gordon : ah shit here we go again

[@thefrub]

Gunships and dropships are alien whales with thrusters on them. They think they're swimming

[@projectkepleren]

was about to say thaht

[@grimfandango7135]

Damn

[@vj3137]

I disagree on the Gunship. I think it was a flying creature.

[@Schulze35]

You got any proof or is this just theoretical ?

[@BlueWelder]

@@Schulze35 its very possible that the combine took this creature from a water planet before turning it into a Synth. Taking away the jets and the wings, I see a majestic creature thats the mix between a whale, a squid, and a crab. but seriously though, why would it have suction cups? it looks more like it used to belong in the water at some point

[@edgardjs9185]

i want to see the natural form of those creatures. such as strider, gunship, dropship, and hunter. maybe strider original form is three legged giant crab.

[@blueshit199]

I'm really interested in seeing the natural form of gunship, I wonder how it looks like without the rotor on it's back...

[@fakename1084]

Half life 3.... We can only hope...

[@halopro8958]

Something for me to do in Spore...

[@nelmie7083]

im pretty sure while youre going on an adventure in breen's pod you can see a pre modified strider below. I dont know when exactly and i dont remember what it looks like but pay attention to the creatures around you until you see something different then what you normally see and then voila thats probably the strider.

[@johnathan5252]

One thing we can tell as far as the hunters go is that they probably had eyes on both of their sides as we can see 3 eyes on to the right of the two eyes/ flechette launchers. The feelers and pincers directly underneath those flechette launchers also seem to be natural.

[@snozzcumbers]

The synths and zombies from HL2 are probably the most horrific opponents from any game I have ever played, stalkers in particular.

[@theelegantassassin1174]

snozzcumbers Are Stalkers even enemies? As I understood, you encounter them maybe once or twice, and they aren't even hostile towards you

[@robojunkie7169]

The Elegant Assassin in several occasions, they might fire a red laser beam at you, they're quite formidable on rooftops.

[@SirKolass]

The Elegant Assassin Sometime stalkers fire the red lasers at you, maybe they get angry you're messing up with their stuff, but that hardly will happen. lol

[@anonecki]

They were supposed to be featured prominently back in the beta I think

[@luuk3213]

Especially fast zombies

[@gore780]

The advisor is a big coffee bean

[@mettawatkutaninwat5411]

The Logan Express. Lol

[@badgaming538]

Wallance "bean"

[@ToyotaCamry-bc6qy]

excact

[@alistairsloan5883]

ha

[@SirKolass]

They are big potatoes

[@piff5723]

"Hey we're almost done with the latest helicopter!" "LETS TURN THIS WHALE INTO A HELICOPTER!" " '-' "

[@VK-jy3pi]

"Hmmmm name?" "Gunwhale and dropwhale?" "No. Gunship and Dropship! I'm a genius!"

[@unbearablysmug2437]

Or a butterfly into a tank

[@oneforthegun7178]

Piff5723 they are just machines with biomass

[@mapleflag6518]

INFLATEDFROG HELIUMBALLON They were actual living creatures that had mechanical parts added to them.

[@oneforthegun7178]

Canada Eh? Ya but their looks make that hard for me to believe

[@SammyWhiteley]

I personally believe that the gunships serve a similar function to the whale on whatever planet they originally came from. their flight very much resembles swimming, and their seemingly redundant fins would also imply that they are naturally aquatic. They likely swim very close to the surface, as a compound eye would not function very well at greater depths. Their colouration as well appears very similar to a tiger shark.

[@Rattlepiece]

+Sammy Whiteley I was going to suggest a whale. But a shark is very likely too!

[@SammyWhiteley]

in terms of colouration, They do resemble whales, I was thinking that too.

[@rayhill1]

Sammy Whiteley and if you see one just flying idle you can see how its twitching and trying to stay in the air like a baby on his first bycicle

[@Nightflyermike]

11:09 if you look around this image, you can see a naked gunship concept art, this could help determine what kind of animal the gunships really are

[@andyhorton4690]

I completely agree!

[@nexusoflife]

I wonder what these alien species looked like before the Combine turned them into Synths.

[@halopro8958]

I might try to make some in Spore before their unnatural modifications. I'm not gonna do the Adviser though, because who the hell knows that they used to look like.

[@SirKolass]

Halopro895 I don't think they were something really different of what they're now.

[@andyhorton4690]

The gunship and dropship were most likely aquatic creatures.

[@luuk3213]

@@halopro8958 the Advisors are the combine. they are the masterminds behind the whole invasion.

[@Journey_to_who_knows]

Advisors lost limbs because they got so lazy with technology there was no use anymore and they declined into blobs

[@DAS_k1ishEe]

Never forget the Nova Prospect Part, with the Breencast in it. The way Breen talks to combine soldiers indicates, that the soldiers are still able to think for themselfs to a certain degree. Instead of simply shouting out orders to the soldiers, Breen uses Progadanda and he is treatening them to capture Gordon, not ordering them. All of this seems like, even with erasing memories and augmenting those humans, it only makes them more open to influene. That's why Breen needs this Propganda and pseudo-religion, not only to calm down civilians, but also to keep control over the soldiers. Summary: Either the Combine is not able to fully control the human mind, or it does not want to fully control it, in order to remain the soldiers ability to think more creatively. What seems sure is, they do not fully control their Soldiers.

[@evilflyingspacepotato2214]

Bullshit, Combine soldiers have been brainwashed at a dramatic level. The Combine can infact fully control their soldiers, they're mental in some way but they still can't go rouge or resist.

[@DAS_k1ishEe]

So why the need of that Breencast when they simply can press a switch with "Obey" on it?

[@evilflyingspacepotato2214]

To simply give orders or something, but even if a morale boosting speech can effect them, that still won't lead to any other Emotion like free will or betrayal.

[@DAS_k1ishEe]

half-life.wikia.com/wiki/Breencast "Dr. Breen addressing the Overwatch" It's neither an order, nor a morale boosting speech. He is preaching to them. He is telling the transhuman force, they have to proove the Combine they are worth living in the Union. The only alternative is to die with the rest of the human species. THEORY: The humans that became the Transhuman Force believe that the Combine came to earth, to save them from extinction. Who to blame after the Black Mesa Incident? The Combine? Combine were invisible at that point. Eli & Kleiner telling the world, some alien force is behind it, while standing in front of the giant crater that was Black Mesa? Not believable to the mojority of people. The people would think they only try to find an absurd explenatin to cover up the more simple story: Mad Scientist playing around. After the Black Mesa Incident came the Portal Storms. Who to blame? Seems like Eli, Kleiner & Co. fucked up larger than everyone expected. Now the World is in danger, Humans at the edge of EXTINCTION (A word Breen uses in that Breencast). Then came the Seven Hour War. The Combine came not as attackers, but as saviors! They claim the earth is done for. humanity will die, unless they are ready to take the next step of Evolution and join the Combine Union, but everyone who wants has to PROOF he is worth it. This might be why Breen is using Religion. People believe Combine came to save the Humans. Combines are God and Breen is the Pope of a religion born to protect a lie: The Combine are behind the Portal Storms. For somelike Gordon (ergo the player) who did not witness the last 20 (!) years , the combine look immediatly like the bad guys here. But for someone who had to fight his whole live, facing extinction, the Combine might look like saviors. You are right, the transhuman force has no free will. They are fully controlled by the Combine by washing their brains. But that brainwash is not infused in their brains by a cardtrige. It's by making them believe for decades it's the only way, they will survive. The Soldiers you fight in HL2 are scared to shit. Breen is working with emotions, speaking to humans intincts, while saying humans have to let go of theese things.

[@evilflyingspacepotato2214]

Jesus christ, you don't have to drown me in paragraphs, but I still disagree that they still have solid emotion, the machines in Nova Prospekt is sure to make them cold and non expressive.  And they're not scared, there is no solid evidence, one soldier is not afraid to fight one man that killed off a fraction of their force. Same for the rest. Our Benefactors are here here to help. OUR BENEFACTORS ARE HERE TO HELP!

[@DigGil3]

I think it's sensible to assume that synths received a lot of genetic engineering. Wheels, jet engines and propellers don't seem to develop naturally, although biological mechanisms exist for them. These could be engineered by the Combine unto the natural creatures. So, synth features can not only be either cyborg grafting or original biological features, but can also be trans-species grafting or genetic engineering/grafting too.

[@Kaydwardson]

yes, is also possible, judging by non released/leaked and early designs that the advisors (that were said to be the founders of the Combine) were probably very humanoid, but (just like us) they evolved alongside technology, using it to enhance their natural abilities, and later merging it with their bodies.

[@mrdoctorcourier2337]

This is old, but I have a hypothesis. So the Combine's ultimate goal is to control all universes and be one unstoppable force. Now if the Advisors evolved alongside technology, increased their natural abilities with it, and became so dependent on it that they effectively evolved backwards into their grub like state, then is it possible that Advisors are actually humans from another universe? Is the Combine Advisory just another version of humanity, a more evolved version?

[@SirKolass]

No shit, i though they were born with engines.

[@andyhorton4690]

Exactly.

[@luuk3213]

Jet engines could be made by a strong breath or constantly farting

[@Kastrenzo74]

I was a Half Life fanboy, it was the game that really got me into PC gaming.. so Im probably a little biased. but I seriously think the Combine are one of if not the most fucked up antagonist group that's ever been shown in a game. The only other group that even comes close is perhaps Mass Effect's Reapers. It's kind of gruesome how both of them will take an entire species and just turn them into one or two things for their empire. the Gunships look like they were once some kind of aquatic alien, for example. And Humans just become footsoldiers and glorified janitors on stilts

[@mistersmiley9425]

Actually the Vortigaunts become glorified Janitors. Humans become engineers on stilts.

[@TheD736]

The thing is, the combine are *truly* aliens. They don't even think this is evil. It's just that there alien minds don't understand the problem.

[@mistersmiley9425]

If anything the fact humanity rebelled is stupid. IF we had complied they would of eventually turned back on our breeding capabilities (Only if Overwatch proved their might).

[@ferriusnillan5323]

M3M3L0RD why they should gave breeding abilities back? They arent dumb.

[@PKM9107]

Kastrenzo I know this comment is old, but the Flood from Halo is pretty similar. The more behind them is far different, but the Flood is honestly one of the most dangerous enemies in all of gaming. Not only do they put any zombies to shame, but the can mind fuck non sentient beings as well. They're not to be fucked with.

[@RedRobot101]

Neat! The freaky gunships in particular always piqued my interest. Can't wait for part 2! :D

[@nazarenogonzalez5614]

same here

[@ferbthe2gadgetguy]

Red Robot holy crap. Nice to see you here Mr. Red

[@charmyzard]

Dropship is a robber!, it stole Gordon´s Jeep!!!

[@charmyzard]

Gunship = Giant Squid With Fly Eyes?

[@ismaciodismorphus3320]

Red Robot 🚪🔑

[@geemcspankinson]

Combine: *Has the technology of a thousand worlds* Also Combine: "Robots are for pussies."

[@DanDanAtomicMan8701]

I can't imagine PETA's response to this.

[@harrypotamus4968]

Well, the combine aren't glorified for taking over other species, and are instead seen as the enemy for it, so I imagine PETA would have no problem with Half Life.

[@mapleflag6518]

Harrypotamus I doubt that due to the way they reacted to the tanookie suit which is not even made of Tanookie fur

[@puss_n_booze]

they'd probably secrectly join in;

[@blueshit199]

G-Man works for PETA. First he ruined Black Mesa for their questionable research on aliens, then he unleashed an Uprising against the Combine for creating the synths. It all makes sense now

[@xalener]

My theory for the Strider is that it was originally some sort of deep sea squid-like creature with bio luminescence and shit. It would explain the glowing brain and wail-like vocalizations. Would be cool to see a world of un-synthed striders and they're all on a similar level of civilization as humanity or something. I like to imagine ALL of the major synths encountered in the series are the dominant species from their respective worlds.

[@galapagos6186]

I was surprised they don't used world's animals as synths.Dogs as searchers;cats as guardians;chickens as fighting creature;clownfish acting as leeches and pig with MetroCop like function.Xen probably was infected with animals quickly as portal storms began to appear.

[@nutlet1]

+Pink Sideneck Turtle earth creatures are primitive

[@blueshit199]

+HoopingKangaroo Turtle They use humans tho. But it would be cool to see combine doggies :3

[@xXwachabackXx]

My guess is the glowing brain is an implant that makes the strider obedient.

[@5xg378]

@@galapagos6186 Keep in mind that most of earth's widlife went extinct after the introduction of the species from xen into the ecosystem

[@chase_h.01]

The information about the Advisors in this video is now outdated. The Advisors original species name is Shu'ulathoi. They were taken over by the Combine like many other races, they did not create the Combine.

[@amingandrei]

The Advisor's are called Shu'ulathoi by the Vortigaunts, that's not their original species name. The Advisors are called "advisors" by humans, mostly the resistence

[@allhailthecartlord7256]

....Chase do you have a source

[@alexanderdick4712]

The combine wouldn't make a synth that high of a rank.

[@blueshit199]

the part about them being called shu'ulathoi was known since ep2 and the rest was easy to guess by yourself

[@Julian_H]

Synths are some of the coolest enemies in half-life 2. Their ai is so interesting and varied due to their organic nature, but the modifications allow them to have more interesting abilities and features other than running and shooting a gun, like flying, flechettes, and warp cannons.

[@AcidiFy574]

Not to mention they shoot down missiles You don't see that in today's games

[@Moticolev]

i like Kleiner's description of combine soldiers as "post-humans"

[@kR-qj7rw]

I mean they are the next step on evolution It just suck is from both a global. Fascist regime from breen basically selling humanity to the combine as "see we wre good soldiers with just a bit of augmentation don't exterminate us" Kinda like how the graffiti of a chimp a normal person and a meteocop on the half life 2 cities

[@darkpandalord3844]

I wonder what the "original" Combine are. What I mean is the species or race who run or at least started the Combine.

[@brineseagaming5986]

Pretty sure those are the Advisors

[@thatdudemetro6271]

@@brineseagaming5986 Nah its something different.

[@andrewgradilla7283]

@@brineseagaming5986 I thought that too but the advisors could be just another enslaved race and just working as advisors.

[@pedroventura2180]

@@andrewgradilla7283 yeah, I think the advisors are like the stalkers, they're slaves that do administration work, but on a superior level.

[@EvilSantaTheTrue]

Yes

[@Blurns]

You compared the pulse canon to an eye, despite there being 2 eyes on both sides of it, it's quite clearly a nose.

[@fogboundcleric1]

Imagine it sneezing.

[@Blurns]

I'm pretty sure that's how it shoots.

[@fogboundcleric1]

Blurns You said it was a nose though.

[@blueshit199]

Yeah, Strider moving it's pulse gun looks more like aiming rather than looking around.

[@Blurns]

fogboundcleric Noses don't sneeze?

[@azamatalabergenov5113]

It’d be cool if last remaining CP units joined the resistance in the end...

[@mohamednail1707]

I think because CPs are really hated by the citizens and resistance that why they used masks and voice changer in order to go any where with out getting recognized or killed by the citizen

[@denifnaf5874]

Fun fact: at the end of ep1 we see some cp's that try to catch the train for themselfs (They realised the combine ain't paying shit after the citadel blew)

[@radilime]

Apparently synths are actually synthetic versions of the original animal instead of a weaponized cyborg according to one of the writers.

[@skvmma]

13:15 It's the combine at the front, When he gets out, the gun stop firing.

[@ayot8762]

the gunships always reminded me of cyborg sky whales

[@FaceParrot]

8:42 I never even knew Striders even *had* actual brains!

[@DrFaex]

"Fucking Synths" -Maxson

[@ottokoit]

lol

[@뭐야-y1n]

Faex I love how a BOS comment striked out of nowhere.. LIKE GADAMN PRESTON FCKING GARVRY GIVING U DAMN SETTLEMENTS IN NEED IN HELP

[@Deadflower20xx]

Nice video! I can't wait to learn more about the Combine in HL3, whenever that happens haha. They're such an interesting antagonist that really makes you fear for the world, just by seeing the drained oceans and modified humans, but also equally badass :)

[@WELSHGAMER99]

+Shanaシャナ ikr

[@GeryGump]

I fully agree!!

[@EGeorgev]

wait they drained oceans? where was that hnted in the game, must have missed it. We can clearly see a huge body of water alongside the highway 17, so I don't know where you got that idea from.

[@Deadflower20xx]

The coast is littered with beached boats that are way higher than they're supposed to be, and there are tons of piers you can see that are raised far above the sand, like the area where you acquire the car. The ocean is there, but clearly drained. I recommend reading the half life wiki article on the combine, it goes into a bit more detail. In the Raising the Bar development book (you can find a pdf somewhere) they explain that they use a teleporter to send water to other colonized planets. It's not entirely drained of course, as the Combine aren't finished completely fucking up the earth, but it's clearly been dried up tremendously.

[@EGeorgev]

now that you've mentioned it. I can't believe how much still evades me when I've played the game more than once.

[@blueshit199]

I think that the Gunship is some sort of insectoid/naval creature since it shares some similarities with a dragonfly and a dolphin. It's ability to fly/swim was enhenced by adding the jet engines and the propeller blades later on Earth, to make it more agile. The grill in front of Dropship always reminded me of mouth of a whale, or rather a whale shark, which has a similar shape... I wonder why didn't you cover the Stalker in this video tho. One more thing, I wouldn't consider Advisor a synth since it's biological and artificial parts are clearly separated and those creatures seem to have a higher position in the Combine hierarchy rather than just serving as war machines.

[@blueshit199]

One more thing, it might be that some citizens actually believe in Breen's propaganda and join the Orverwatch thinking that they do the right thing, also some of the pre-7 hour war millitary and first CP units migh have grown loyalty to the Combine throughout those 20 years without brainwashing?

[@simpleshapes8113]

Advisors are a race of telekinetic grubs referred to as Shu Ulathoi. Once the combine conquered and subjugated them they harvested grubs, used their bodies to house the great minds and tacticians of the combine. Some of the tech jammed into them is meant to prevent them from growing and going through metamorphosis.

[@slav4335]

how do you know

[@ValveTime]

For this year's Halloween festivities, we're analysing the vast array of Combine Synths in the return of ValveTime Database!

[@estuh3741]

+ValveTime I love you.

[@Omnomnick]

+Estoh

[@MrAdam802]

+ValveTime NICE!! love this series, and love when its half-life focused!! do more please!

[@Nightflyermike]

+ValveTime So you finally took my suggestion. nah dude its all good, the video was perfect exactly what i had in mind, even though im pretty sure i had little to no influence on its creationXD

[@Omnomnick]

Nightflyer mike A bunch of people requested synths as a Database topic, so it's likely you had some influence! That said, the topic is just so interesting, we were always going to cover it ever since Database was first conceived.

[@drakep.5857]

There's something I've always found very unsettling about how the gunships move. You can tell they are in a lot of pain.

[@mapleflag6518]

Or maybe they were aquatic creatures and they moved like that before they got turned into gunships

[@mrsubject1]

Awesome video, I like how you didn't fall into the trap of thinking metro cops are synth. You've done your research and it shows boi great vid

[@jonessmith7834]

I always thought the Gunship, Strider, and Dropship were maned vehicles, and I also thought that the Hunters were drones, and I thought the soldiers were just wearing cool armour

[@j_boc]

THIS WAS 7 YEARS AGO

[@genericcreator6467]

When you showed the first picture of augmentation that’s a metro cop, metro cops do not go under augmentation unless they give permissions (Oof you covered this) Also, for the loyal thing, they are threatened to torture or even death if they do not do their job, if you listen to the radio.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

12:30 According to raising the bar, the dropship was to walk like a crab in game.

[@halopro8958]

Makes sense

[@SirKolass]

It definitely wouldn't work

[@000WE-d4j]

i feel like the dropship was an alien coconut crab and the gunship is a alien fly

[@Gophilio4567]

4:54 Wait, how do you know that? Nothing indicates that the CP was trying to capture the trains for themselves. Actually, as far as I remember, Barney even says that the CP is trying to protect City 17 at all cost.

[@ghostiewhostie238]

Gordonkris no he says that they have to get to the trains before any chickenshit cp has any second thoughts about defending the city

[@SirKolass]

Dude, why would even a cp still fight for the combine after all this? it wouldn't give any benefit to them other than getting rations in the grave.

[@SirKolass]

if I joined CP just for a better condition, I would join the resistance after all this happened.

[@saltedhorsemeat4843]

joining the CP likely means being tasked with flushing out and then gunning down the Resistance, so the only way you're becoming a CP Officer and a Resistance member at the same time would be to be an inside man for the Resistance beforehand, anything that isn't that and you're probably getting shot when things go down

[@KeveTeller]

Yeah, tha theory was new for me. But it sounded cool!

[@chistinelane]

I don't know why, but the strider brain makes me laugh so much. You'd really expect it to have some complex nerve center or something, but nope, just a big pink ball

[@anghbalahr2971]

Valve most horrific creature? VR-Team or Greenlight

[@SalusFuturistics]

Also the Metrocops not being augmented, explains why nobody notices Barney being undercover. If they were transformed, his Cover could be blown, simply by his superior asking him to take his Helmet off for a Sec

[@dinkthegreatest]

The Elite's Helmets have a singular eye and possibly a camera inside of their head are used to increase accuracy

[@juliangardisky7236]

@pyropulse That is fucking horrifying. Thank you.

[@RainyBat]

The gunships and dropships seem pretty likely to have originally been some kind of creature that would be somewhere in a zero gravity enviroment, some kind of space whales

[@RainyBat]

Especially with the fins and all

[@Coelohihi]

or, you know... water.

[@goatsandbullets]

wait they can pick up gordon's buggy? i never actually noticed that could have happened

[@SeaJay_Oceans]

Borg. 6:30 the 'Advisor' is the Alien Race that built up the Combine. You can see it's eye spot, it's basically a technologically advanced parasite race.

[@KaptainKommissar]

Man. I always thought the Combines vehicles and war machines looked a little weird, but I never thought that they were living creatures.

[@Ramjambler]

How did you explain the Striders crying out when you killed them?

[@ZeroSubsYT]

I have a theory that the DropShips and GunShips are actually the MantaRay creatures from the first Half Life that the combine have heavily modified.

[@maksuree]

thank you for not actually showing the advisors going all brain-bug. that shit disturbed me on a truly deep level when i was a kid, and i still have a trauma response when i see it replaying the games today

[@ternsenzen]

what do you mean with "brain-bug"?

[@vietphuongbong3441]

Sgt ternsenzen the impaling + brain sucking part. Starship troopers reference

[@IMN602]

Puuuuusssssyy

[@blake8675]

At least it’s quick and painless.

[@e4-m0nngaming57]

I was scared of the stalkers.

[@pleasantdashi7112]

Gunship has scars that look like places for dragon fly wings

[@slycooper1001]

striders are from swamp planets or deep sea enviroments long legs for traversing deep bogs or undersea silt

[@laurentf7906]

Or an oversized world, Mayne they ré like spiders

[@Iruparazzo]

i think "synth" actually stands for "synthesize" as in they are synthesized creatures - ones who have been ~Combined~ to create new forms

[@dontwrite9s4ever86]

im wondering which race got suckered into aiding the Advisors in the first place.

[@starlightdragon2665]

I actually think many of the synths the combine used are once enemies Gordon faces in Black Mesa. The dropship looks very similar to the Manta Rays you see in Black Mesa; and some of the creature you run into bear similarities to combine synths. What I am afraid of learning; is what kind of synths ended the seven hours war; because the combine we know and love are not the ones who brought Humanity to their knees, especially since rebels can easily fight and kill those guys.

[@gaspar30]

The Overwatch and other human troops aren't Synths, they're just that, enhanced humans, the transhuman army, etc etc, neither are the Advisors. Synths are that, synthetic machines/organisms, not living things converted into machines, they're machines made out of synthetic organic traits picked up from other life-forms the Combine has encountered and mastered, they're manufactured in series. Who knows how they make them, the Combine is an interdimensional empire, they most likely mastered genetic engineering and cloning, so the can make living creatures from scratch and by design, those are the synths.

[@Noahthelasercop]

gaspar30 If you're considered transhuman, and are brainwashed to the point where you can't question orders from superiors, you basically go by your definition of synth anyways

[@gaspar30]

A Hideous Cube No. Synths =/= transhuman. Brainwashed transhuman with lots of implants is still just transhuman. You're born human you can never be synthetic. Do you even know what synthetic means?

[@Noahthelasercop]

gaspar30 It seems you've got me in the previous comment as I had misunderstood you, but Synth in the Half-Life universe refer to creatures extensively modified by the Combine empire

[@Noahthelasercop]

gaspar30​ I really don't care about this argument anymore, despite that, I'm self-admittedly wrong. 

[@semvision]

The transhuman overwatch soldier are indeed synths. But they are not referred to as such because "synth" is a term used to point out the large alien things.

[@luissantiago5163]

the alien species were also from a world with significantly lower gravity so it would be understandable that the gunship could use some artificial help.

[@JonIler]

The Combine: Valve's Borg

[@av3nger3]

The black, circular tech on the backs of advisors most likely allow them to fly and levitate

[@haywood225]

Im on mobile and im on 4% im so scared taht i cant watch the whole vid :( and i left my charger at my house!

[@haywood225]

3% D:

[@haywood225]

Goodbyecworld 1%

[@skidward5225]

Bill Morgan ded

[@badgaming538]

Bill Morgan are you dead

[@Pyrashusband]

Bill Morgan please come back!

[@Leitis_Fella]

The hypothesis that the Advisors are also synths leads to the terrifying possibility that the Combine became so advanced and technologically dependent, they devolved empathy for other living beings and created their empire for the sole purposes of furthering their own technological luxuries

[@Frautcres]

Glad this is back!

[@camina0464]

I would like to say that since mature Shu'ulathoi can take on any form, the G-man could be one of the Shu'ulathoi that survived the "virus" of sorts (likely the Combine).

[@baconking4332]

I wish the in the game the civil protection troops joined the human resistance instead of turning against the combine and still killing resistance members I hope in Half life 3 Gordon runs into a large army of civil protection soldiers and they become allies with the resistance and Gordon fights along with the civil protection

[@evilflyingspacepotato2214]

CP's don't betray the Combine because they're loyal to them and most know they would have an empire on their backs.

[@milloeslemp]

+Evil Flying Space Potato In ep 1 I think or its ep2 anyway there are CP independent of the UU fending for themselves in a group killing civilians

[@derekjohn7535]

There have been hints in episode 1 that some metrocops defected and joined resistance but you dont see them im suits probably so they can be distinguished from ones that are still loyal to the combine

[@pennysheldor7136]

That would be cool if they fought resistance and overwatch units.

[@StillGotShit4Brains]

Hold up, I swear the Gunship's bellycannon's been fired?

[@Omnomnick]

+StillGotShit4Brains Not in a retail game.

[@StillGotShit4Brains]

+Nick Blackburn You sure? I swear it's happened to me during the gunship battle before you enter nova prospekt.

[@Omnomnick]

StillGotShit4Brains The Gunship's ability to fire the cannon still exists in the engine, but it's impossible for it to naturally fire it in-game.

[@ZeppNSoft]

In gmod there is an addon wich makes the belly Cannon ability into a gun and it is very cool

[@susa.k.a.pinkguy2036]

it happened me too

[@skelebop78yearsago58]

i wan't to see how these synths looks like before getting turned into a Cyborg

[@loud2814]

Maybe the gunships and dropships were sea like creatures since we've never seen the combine homeworld fully there might be a sea.

[@SirKolass]

What makes you think those came from the combine homeworld?

[@stacyalmira3502]

The combine dropship reminds me to the stingray alien like in half life/black mesa

[@MikeyD64]

At about 11:10, what is the book shown?

[@IngoGerth]

+Mikey D I'd like to know this too!

[@500rads6]

Probably raising the bar

[@blueshit199]

+Mario Bogdan knowing that there is no other book explaining HL2 development, I think it is for sure Raising the Bar ;)

[@SirKolass]

Bairing the Raise

[@specialunit0428]

My theory is that the Gunship used to swim/lived on a water planet as the way it moves and the fins it has on its sides re similar to that of a fluid-moving sea creature. The Dropship could possibly come from the same planet as they sport similar external looks

[@awesomemeatball9264]

never played half life but damm this looks horrifying xD looks really fun to tbh ^^

[@fders938]

Weirdo

[@awesomemeatball9264]

These comments lmao

[@bountyHG]

The last three synths look incredibly similar. I feel as though if they were taken from a planet and modified, they may be from the same planet or even universe.

[@makli922]

What I learned in this video: Yes, Advisors may have anus's No, I did not want to know that Yes, I am interested And finally, Female? or Male?

[@Bleh197]

You should also analyze their sounds. I remember first time hearing Strider god was that epic

[@KidGamer2002]

If you play HL2RP On Garry's Mod..You already know this! Like me :)

[@vhbc8791]

Yup :D

[@blueshit199]

HL2RP? What's that?

[@KidGamer2002]

BlueShit199 Half-life 2 Roleplay in Garry's Mod,serious roleplay. You can roleplay as a Synth,Combine,Civil Protection,everything in the HL2 universe...Its extremely fun!

[@vipersquad115]

+Kidd Gamer it's better with TnB (Huge model pack)

[@colegilliam2379]

Blackout hl2rp is one of the worst servers on gmod. Everybody breaks lore and turns themselves into "limb enhancers with super strength, top of class in boot camp." Blah blah unlorefriendly bullshit. Then the rebels come around and all the civilians storm them and scream "CAN U GIV ME GUN?!? I WANNA BE A REBEL TOOOOO" and the cycle just repeats itself. Then, the events happen, and the only people who get to join in are the combine players, while the civilians have to just sit there and watch through a window.

[@Hotomato]

I always thought that Overwatch Elites just looked through the singular helmet eye, rather than having their eyes replaced with a camera.

[@EliteAaron]

I thought they were just guys with suits

[@clubinabowl]

the things on the back of the advisor are what give the advisor its abilities,flying and grabbing stuff like a barrel

[@livingthedream0527]

I always wondered how Barney disguised himself. Very glad you made mention of it!

[@erkkaheino2184]

AlexB4455 before i could play half life i tought barney was traitor that left combine😀

[@SirKolass]

LordOrλnge Yeah, everyone watched the video mate

[@philmust3651]

"these creatures were probably force to become synces." YA DON'T SAY

[@phantom_yt5176]

With combine soldiers instead of making augments I thought the combine would insert some control chip wiping their memory making them follow orders without question and putting military tactics and info in kind of like the clone trooper inhibitor chips from Star Wars.

[@WernerLehman]

Such a good video. Never looked closely at the synths so I've missed all these little details.

[@Ikelae]

The dropship looks like it was previously a filter feeder to me personally.

[@gotajobforyou621]

1:20 I agree 'synth' is 99% likely a shorthand of 'synthetic', but I think the implication is that they're engineered from scratch, rather than modified from normal organisms. 'Synthetic lifeforms' as in artificial, fabricated, or false, or any other number of synonyms for synthetic. Soldiers are never referred to as synths, and afaik they're explicitly considered transhumans, seperate from synths. Stalkers are also never referred to as synths. All the units classified as synths either share a roughly insectoid body plan(advisor, dropship, gunship, crabs & mortars you see in the citadel) or tripod body plan(striders & hunters).

[@aeronautisch]

The gun and dropships were likely originally flying creatures on Xen but due to the change in gravity on earth as well as having complete control over them remotely (theory) it makes sense they made those creatures cyborgs

[@Neo2266.]

I’d like to think that the advisors are thw only actual Combine we ever see in Half Life Or maybe they’re not something like an actual Combine Soldier, but more like a augmented Combine animal, like the equivalent of a human Dog or something like that

[@apersonwhoexists546]

The striders gun is not a eye because when dog is atacking first he rips of the eye and yet it still knows where dog is

[@_s_s_world_]

we need full lenght movie about all this stuff

[@thegmodhelper9997]

Didn't first know where i saw the Strider for the first time that they have a brain i thought there is someone sitting inside there.

[@jldesign9268]

One thing that is worth noting about the CP Officers: They might not be physically augmented, but they still undergo mental treatment such as brainwashing and memory replacement. For example, the Overwatch Dispatch Voice states that "Memory replacement is the first step towards rank privileges". CP Officers are also sometimes "blackmailed" by the Overwatch, as some of the voicelines of the Overwatch dispatch hint towards a CP Officers Family getting into trouble if he fails a mission. And, of course, there's always the threat of a "permanent off-world assignment".

[@elnegromatapacos162]

Hunters can also be seen performing instant-kills on resistance fighters with their head-mounted blades at melee range. This only occurs during the boss-fight in episode 2, or if you spawn in citizens during a segment where hunters appear.

[@ShawndaPrawn]

Reminder: all Combine forces encountered on Earth are basically a skeleton crew meant to maintain the occupation. We have so far not seen anything of their REAL power.

[@denifnaf5874]

Mortar and crabsynths where the closest we have seen

[@michaelmccloskeyooi]

8:43 "Appears relatively untouched" The thing has fucking lights flashing all over it

[@mono_si]

This will always be recommended to me. It. Always. Gets. Recommended. Again.

[@AkuenSan]

This may have already been mentioned before, but the combine leaders always reminded me of the turrets from later projects like Portal. Obviously since HL2 came first, they can't have been inspired by such things, but I wonder if maybe that's still a hinting at what they might be like or represent. Something closer to full machine or a watchdog like a turret would be.

[@CaveyMoth]

It's interesting how the Combine compare to Quake's Strogg. I wonder what larger Earth-bound creatures would be like if they were stroggified.

[@denifnaf5874]

Superfast cyberhippos anyone?

[@pray7056]

12:55 maybe the eye's are right below the front wings (like a snails eye's)

[@therudestofclouds2007]

i never new the carrier synth steals your buggy!

[@safs4929]

Speaking about Half-Life 2, in Raising The Bar, we're told that there was supposed to be a part-human and part-Synth enemy called the Combine Synth Elite Soldier. It's the precursor of the retail's Overwatch Elite. In concept art, the Synth Elite would be wielding a spear and a shield. In the beta, Gordon and Alyx encounters one of these guys in the Air Exchange chapter (at least, according to Raising The Bar). Then there was also the Combine Guard, another part-human and part-Synth enemy. This one was going to use a weapon called the 'Combine Guard Gun' which is some sort of energy cannon that is charged and shot at enemies which if hit, vaporizes them. Later, the weapon was recycled as the warp cannon and became Striders' alternative weapon.

[@ashecitism5615]

What's interesting about the Advisor is Marc Laidlaw basically was writing about their origins in his BreenGrub twitter account. They were the Shu'ulathoi living in an isolated world until the ones he cannot name found them.

[@Just-A-Clown111]

the combine does something that no other videogame antagonist can do, scare me, but like the real feeling of fear, it's just one of the most cruel and tetric enemies in fiction

[@Rusty511]

Very entertaining and informative, loved it! Can you guys do one on the Citadel itself next time? So much about it is still a mystery. From the destruction around the base of it leading us to believe it is a multidimensional structure that was portal'd in by the Combine; to the creepy ever expanding nature of it as we witness first hand it as it swallows buildings and consumes city17

[@Fenrize]

Imagine seeing all the striders, dropships and other xen animals unmodified in their natural habitat, would really drive home what Combine has really done to them It's pretty creepy by itself but imagine that done to earth animals and it's worse

[@denifnaf5874]

Oh shit superfast cyber hippos!

[@Fenrize]

@@denifnaf5874 Funny looking (or not), hippos are plenty dangerous naturally. Just imagining them like synthetic walking human trash compactors and/or biological tanks, slow but going through everything and everyone