The Combine's Failed Masterpiece | Citadel | FULL Half-Life Lore

The Citadel is an iconic structure in the Half-Life Universe. While navigating City 17, this ominous structure almost follows us around on our journey, just out of reach.
Why was the Citadel created in City 17? How important was it to The Combine and what does its destruction mean for the future of the series. In this lore video, I explore the Citadel in Half-Life.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:56 Background & Construction
06:17 The Interior
14:04 The Fall of The Citadel
18:29 Legacy
19:56 Behind The Scenes & Development
22:07 Closing Thoughts
The Citadel Height Reddit Post
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Standard Sources
Half-Life series playthrough research
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
Half-Life: Alyx Playthrough
Portal/ Half-Life Fandom
Old Valve Forums
Marc Laidlaw's Twitter
Breengrub Twitter
Reddit AMA (w/ HL: Alyx Developers)
AUDIO USED
Half-Life 2 OST: Lab Practicum
Half-Life 2 OST: Triage at Dawn
#Citadel #Lore #HalfLife

[@CrabGamingTF2]

I think the coolest part of the Citadel was how Valve used it as environmental storytelling to show your progression through the story

[@Skyrionn]

IKR. It was so smart. Just this huge ominous building in the background

[@JaxontheOkay]

it was so cool how you could see it at just about any point in the game. i just wish it was a little more consistent just how big it is

[@southpaw117]

@@JaxontheOkay What do you mean by that? If anything, its position relative to Gordon's travels isn't, but all the models used are the same size.

[@JaxontheOkay]

@@southpaw117 that's about what i meant yeah. at certain distances, we shouldn't be able to see it like we do - but i'm okay with sacrificing a tiny bit of realism for more driving in the point of the grasp the combine has on earth

[@southpaw117]

@@JaxontheOkay What maps do you feel Valve made mistakes with? "Follow Freeman!" is definitely problematic from start to finish, but I'm curious to know what you may have issues with.

[@the_tome_keeper42]

I love how the Citadel is so monumental, that even when it is destroyed, you can still see it's remains from miles out.

[@conker13245]

in 6th grade we got to choose our final report and i chose the combine in a heartbeat 😂 made a 3 foot citadel outta cardboard... Good times my teacher was horrified

[@4sythdude549]

"And this is where resistance members get their ruthlessly tortured until they turn into Stalkers! "Very... interesting, Hank. I really, *really* hope that you get accepted into that art school you applied to! I'm sure everyone *really* hopes so as well!"

[@dylanbksp]

@@4sythdude549 i wonder if he's austrian

[@Opinare]

@@dylanbksp uh oh

[@pyropulseIXXI]

my 6th grade report was on Brazil (Brasil)

[@pyropulseIXXI]

@@4sythdude549 We need another Austrian man to save us from these trying times. I beg pray that conker isn't accepted to art school

[@Khris_HeimdallDetachment]

Always thought of how imposing the Citadel is. Such a feeling of dread and anguish around it. I love it.

[@Skyrionn]

100% Valve does story telling best.

[@samuelhayden4710]

Especially the sound effects. They’re terrifying.

[@rockhound3.14]

@@Skyrionn 200% agree!

[@GoldenTiger01]

You're going to love being made a slave then.

[@PikkaBird]

@@samuelhayden4710 All of HL2 and its episodes had what I would call the best overall sound design in all of gaming history. It has never been matched, not even by themselves.

[@djoleluk]

Now that is think about it, i guess we have more chance to be invaded by the actual interdimensional empire like the Combine before we get a Half Life 3 game from Valve.

[@repkins]

Half-Life IRL

[@FleshWizard69420]

Ah yes, full life

[@giganiqqa3381]

​@@FleshWizard69420No life if you die.

[@jaytravis2487]

It baffles me that most people don't realize the sorta "double-meaning" of the word "Combine". A combine in the field is the machine that gathers those thousands of ears of corn and other goods. It can also be seen as something which combines, like 1+1, or human + alien life form.

[@pyropulseIXXI]

It has nothing to do with 'combining' things together. They are acting like every other Empire. By your logic, the Roman Empire should've been called the 'Combine,' because they combined things into 1 + 1 = Rome This is called 'pseudo-depth,' of which someone thinks something is deep, but it isn't. It is as if you just dove head first into a puddle on the street. Good job, I pray tell you don't get permanent brain damage

[@Wojtek_Ch]

I present to you, the almighty squirrel: 🐿️

[@refrigerater]

i think it might be called the combine because it combines creatures with machinery, eg. the striders are living things since, in episode 2, we can see the strider has a brain and bleeds when dog rips it out

[@pyropulseIXXI]

@@refrigerater It is called the COMbine because of the Combine Harvester., because of their harvesting nature; That is it. You can tell by the where the emphasis is. COMbine vs comBINE. It has nothing to do with 'combing' things together; that is a stupid interpretation Any other 'extra meaning' is just fans adding that meaning.

[@murrmakesstuff9269]

Combine can also just mean a collective or combination I belive

[@aliaborez3987]

They are the physical manifestation of what "Combine" is. As an idea, the Combine is brutal, overwhelming, massive, cold and efficent which is exactly what the Citadels emit.

[@samuelantoniocastillomeza5034]

It was an imponent structure and also a representation of the power of the Combine over all their conquer, plus their philosohphy of purely utilitarian and on-the-march architecture.

[@Skyrionn]

It has meaning on so many levels. And there are so many levels haha

[@pyropulseIXXI]

how often do they march?

[@handsomethanos4196]

The Citadels are the “master race” of the Combine. The Dark Energy Core is the beating heart that keeps the thing running. The Advisors act as brain cells, taking in information and processing it into actions. The Scanners (Synth and Robotic) are the eyes and ears, which gather information and send it to the brain. The Stalkers, and captured Vortigaunts are like blood cells, supplying energy to the body and doing repairs when needed. The Overwatch, Striders, Gunships, and Dropships are the Antibodies: purging any illnesses from the system should they arise. Separated, they are Humans, Vortiguants, Shuulathoi, and many other races. Under the Universal Union, however, they all become part one greater being: they become the Combine.

[@NKiwi2903]

I love this theory. I have seen the idea a few years back that the citadel is actually also a giant alien synth being. Maybe the "citadels" (as the humans call them) are also the true highest leading race of the combine.

[@lakesidepyre7956]

Amazing theory!

[@imnolongerasking5933]

The Citadel: Uniting people and creatures alike, whether they like it or not

[@unfa00]

Simple. Efficient. Glorious.

[@GigaBoost]

Don't use the phrase "master race" like that. It's incredibly disrespectful

[@eternal7912]

I don't think the C17 citadel actually took 20 years to build, seeing as there are no years on the charts you see in HLA, but only months. So the Combine built that thing really fast for how big it was. Also, I have a theory about the citadels. We know the core was teleported in, but in Raising the Bar, there was an excerpt that talked about complete citadels being teleported in at the start of the 7 Hour War, holding many of their forces. Initially, I thought Half-Life Alyx simply tossed that idea out, but then I got to thinking, you know, for being constructed by aliens, the one we see in HL2 seems like it was built for humans. So my theory is that most of the citadels were teleported in when the Combine invaded, but the one in City 17 was built for Dr. Breen and to act as the center for the Trans-Human Arm. Further support for this is the fact that City 17 doesn't look like it was ever the center for some massive alien invasion that would have leveled much of the city (especially considering the Combine didn't originally intend on subjugating humanity, but simply laying waste to it, taking Earth's resources and moving on).

[@christianmolick8647]

The Citadels were warped in from other worlds.

[@eternal7912]

@@christianmolick8647 This is at least partially true. HLA clearly depicted the Citadel of City17 being constructed, even showing us a diagram of the different stages. Though the core was teleported in. It is unknown as to whether it was the same way for the rest of the citadels, or if they were teleported in in their entirety.

[@Randy.Bobandy]

@@eternal7912 no idea why they felt the need to change that. It’s annoying enough they fucked with the story but that’s just pointless retconning.

[@WrynnCZ]

Im on the same boat with you. :)

[@nuckj]

@@eternal7912 I always thought the whole citadel was teleported somewhat in the air, so that it could ram itself a kilometer down the ground when it falls :D

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I think the most terrifying aspect of half life 2 is we've already lost. Earth is dying, invasive aliens species have wiped out earth's flora and fauna, or almost have. The sea is a death trap, and without the sea we all die. I doubt the forests are doing any better, they will be out grown but alien flora. With humanity all but wiped out, reduced to subsistence existence, nothing can be done. What are people even going to eat? No meat, no fish, farming is probably a no go again. Half life 3 is just everybody starving to death.

[@bruhsauce644]

portal 2 is set at least a couple of decades after portal 1 (which is set during half life 2). you can tell this by how plants have grown all the way down to the enrichment center. at the end of portal 2, you see a field of wheat on the surface. this means a couple things. earth's native plants are still doing fine, the atmosphere is intact, and there is still enough water around for more advanced life to exist.

[@voltairethegoldflame9280]

@@bruhsauce644 I think 2 is after the Half Life series ends (some people use a stupid thousands upon thousands of years later estimate but thats just ridiculous). Portal 2 could also be during the final act of the Half Life series; would be cool to have Chell show up.

[@bruhsauce644]

@@voltairethegoldflame9280 despite apertures insane efficiency, i doubt its thousands of years, but a century or so is totally possible considering the state of the enrichment centre. remember, half life's gameplay takes place over like a week. unless gordon gets plucked by gman again for a couple decades, i dont think portal 2s timeline is gonna merge with half life 3.

[@orangequill1645]

The combine may also just think humanity isnt worth the resources,and you still see fauna,water is still there and the aliens could be edible and somewhat tameable. If they aren't then there is still some farmable land which could support the living population

[@Opinare]

The Seven hour war did happen in 2001. so I can see why that would be happening because Half Life 2 takes place in 2020.

[@icecreamman9092]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think those "citadels" that can be seen through the portal to the combine overworld are citadels. I'm pretty sure they are some sort of portal spires that allow the portal to materialize on the combine overworld.

[@alexdietrich7975]

You could also be half correct. Half citadel, half portal spire? You see at the end of half life 2 the immense power and capability the citadel on earth has, being able to open the butt end of the portals that are initially created on the combine homeworld,, possibly from the power of combined citadels on their homeworld that we see in a glimpse through the failing portal at the end of the game

[@MtjaSaik]

The coolest thing about the citadel to me is how it's so huge. It's just crazy, especially the moving tiles in the middle of it ( displayed at 22:55 ), I wonder what it's purpose is though.

[@Wertyhappy27]

I assume its a hanger, for the scanners, and other aircraft

[@joshstraub6972]

@@Wertyhappy27 big brain

[@minelayer26]

@@joshstraub6972 well its not hard to figure out, when your in the citadel in game you can see striders and gunships being built

[@boonis5298]

@@minelayer26 and you can see gunships flying out of it

[@Bbhamadama888]

Essentially, it’s the White House and a military base/factory combined into one building. Combine

[@fonkyfesh-old]

I remember seeing the citadel for the first time, wondering how many 1000's more they have on other planets, and if the Combine could actually be defeated at all

[@greyraven9164]

Seeing the Citadel in Alyx after 12/13 years of wait was like..... being that 11 years old kid playing Half Life 1 for the first time. Mind blowing. VR is perfect for Half Life universe.

[@Hodenkat]

I love how HL2 keeps getting re-evaluated decades after it's creation, and the number of mods is staggering. I think it's the "averageness" of the characters that gives it so much of it's appeal. The familiar surroundings of towns with broken infrastructure from years of war, yet well preserved areas that seem almost untouched gives it such dynamics! Many of us older gamers were on the cusp of the computer gaming revolution and truly see HL2's value and contributions to the genre as landmarks. It's so satisfying to see it's still being talked about and in many ways emulated in other games of today. Thanks for the history lesson of HL2!!

[@alexdietrich7975]

Without Half Life, we wouldn't have such inspired independent writers and developers releasing their art. There are such incredible games that give off major half life vibes that wouldn't have been possible without this gane series existing. Check out Industria, freaking wonderful shooter that needs more content or a sequel or SOMETHING, I played it twice and desire more.

[@giganiqqa3381]

I only wish they kept a lot few more elements from the beta. Retail feels a little bit more like a glorified technical demo, but at the same time, you kind of wish for a little bit more. You kind of wish to see the results of the 7 hour war kind of wish to see the millions of millions of bodies that they probably have chucked in the ocean and mass graves. The hostile alien Is flora and fanua on overtaking and fighting the last of earth natives. The general starvation and lack of advanced medical care From the resistance. The state of other nations and what used to be left of them.valve can make spin off games showing these kind of things, and they would make millons.

[@512TheWolf512]

antlions are NOT native to Xen, they're native to the Vort's home! and Vorts also don't require them to exist, so they did not purposely get them to Eaerth either. they're simply stowaways, from the Combine.

[@KatarinaBohtana]

Technically, no one was native to Xen, all the species on Xen was teleported by the Nihilanth race.

[@GrimZJako]

Eaerth

[@512TheWolf512]

@@KatarinaBohtana I believe the animals that are present there in hl1 are all native, except the flying ones that take part in the assault on Earth

[@farawaygaming_]

Maybe the vorts did bring some antlions with them to xen, after all they do have those healing showers In the factories. And the water is the same color as the antlion extract

[@KatarinaBohtana]

@@mado-wh4jv Actually, the vortigaunts encountered the combine on their homeworld. In a last ditch effort, the last surviving vortigaunts discovered Xen as a way to escape, where they were able to hide until the Nihilanth escaped as well and proceded to take advantage of it's power over them, seeing itself as superior and the rightful ruler of Xen.

[@alecciarosewater7438]

now i want a game where you have to interfere with a Citadel's construction to make it as weak as possible for when you attack it

[@Skyrionn]

That'd be brilliant! I'd play that

[@bitbreaker_creator]

Like portal 2 leading up to the part where you switch GLaDOS for wheatley

[@imnolongerasking5933]

"I hope you brought something stronger than a Gravity Gun this time."

[@orangequill1645]

@@feralprocessor9853 I can not express in words how much i want a spin-off taking place in the 7 hour war, Mainly just to see the species the combine used

[@Trash_prince]

According to what I understand, the interior of the citadel is a huge spire which was delivered to earth, the citadel was being built around it, the core arrived, building continued, then the core was moved underground in my headcanon for some reason, I see the citadel as an ever expanding thing, as the combine always expand and assimilate more and more into their "species"

[@MostlyPennyCat]

That wasn't the force of an atomic bomb, that was the force of a hydrogen bomb, looking at what's shown in the game it looks equivalent to the big ones, the multi-megatons, maybe up to castle-bravo size at 15 Megatons. I'll have a further think about this, seems an interesting problem.

[@NovaBoi7]

New thoughts?

[@concept5631]

If the explosion was that powerful, I wonder how Gordon and Alyx survived it. Far away as they may have been, 15 megatons is 15 megatons.

[@madscientist1045]

The retail version of the citadel is the coolest looking for sure

[@NovaBoi7]

U have an image of it

[@madscientist1045]

@@NovaBoi7 bruh it's the actual citadel in the current half life 2 not the beta leaks

[@thebiggerboat3236]

I think HL:A is a really fun game, but its' retconning of certain things is sometimes an unwelcome change. Before Alyx, the Citadel was a massive super-structure that was presumably just fucking dropped violently and forcefully onto the world as a whole, and was very much hinted to be a sort of synth. The uncanny mechanical screaming and groaning, the weird wires that look like arteries and veins, and the way the citadel movies in an organic way suggests that it isn't just some military super-building that was constructed in a traditional sense, but was actually another alien creature that was agonizingly mutilated and turned into a techno-lovecraftian biomechanical war machine to suit the Combine's purposes. Having the Citadel's only true otherworldly essence come from some imported dark fusion reactor really reduces the intrigue and subtle themes of horror that the Combine are supposed to represent.

[@Randy.Bobandy]

I hate all the retconning Alyx did, it’s all pointless as well. I feel like they did it just cause they couldn’t use the original story any more.

[@ThyBigCheddar]

It's not retconning if you don't know. Then it's just explaining.

[@thebiggerboat3236]

@@ThyBigCheddar poop

[@theunholyadventurer2376]

I mean, it still can be that same feeling that it's a living creature. Just because it was built and constructed "traditionally" doesn't mean that it can't be a living being still. Much like how every other synth is most likely also just constructed.

[@thebiggerboat3236]

@@theunholyadventurer2376 Other synths are not "just constructed". They are all fashioned in the same way an Overwatch soldier is. A pre-existing, entirely organic being that has been artificially and horrifically modified and outfitted with highly invasive procedures in order to serve the Combine's interests, with little regard for the well-being of the creature outside of functional capacity for service. The idea that the Citadel has been 'constructed' suggests that its a traditional structure rather than a half-living (half-life) spear that was symbolically stabbed into the Earth after being teleported from another world.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Dear god half life 2 is still so beautiful. The ascension to the top is gorgeous, as the sound fades and you _feel_ higher just through good art direction. I know it's just a simple today texture of the city but the transition is perfect, the colour is perfect and the sound is perfect. In case you don't know, all the sound direction and music direction was performed by one man, it's why they all got together so well.

[@concept5631]

Got any new thoughts?

[@krush454]

Loved the video, I always love your lore videos. The first time I played HL2 I was losing my mind in awe of the strange beauty when Gordon is moving up the citadel to Breen's office. And your voice sounded fine, calm relaxed and awesome, as always!

[@darkySp]

20:50 Hey! Never saw that concept art for the organic version! I want to point out that the building with the red star you see is directly inspired by the National Palace of Culture in the center of Sofia, Bulgaria! I've grown up in this city and I didn't expect to see it, but I'm not surprised, because it's Viktor Antonov's ideas for City 17 :)

[@erani1925]

I more than love your videos of the half life lore! Thanks for making these well made a narrated videos!

[@dansmoothback9644]

Every few years i replay hl and the episodes. Started recently and then stopped for some reason. These lore vids have given me new motivation. Just, everything about the universe and story are so compelling and grand, yet weirdly relatable. That combined with the actual gameplay makes it, to me, game of the century...so far

[@Skyrionn]

I'm glad they could help in some way. I always get the urge to replay them properly when capturing the footage too!

[@unfa00]

Thank you for creating such amazing story and lore exploration for the game fans to enjoy! I really appreciate your calm and objective writing style as well as your narration. Awesome work!

[@SillyandStrangeYT]

Beautifully done videos, thank you for putting these together. Love the lore of HL.

[@MINISCULE2]

i noticed that in every video you make you sound monotone but only once you get to the behind the scenes part you actually get emotion

[@mikerowave1986]

I love the scene when Barney throw the crowbar while the Citadel goes on full alert. Seeing the insanely huge and brutally powerful structure, the symbol and center of the power of the Combine unleashing its full power while standing there with only a crowbar in hand, makes you feel really small. Like "There is the enemy, here is a crowbar, good luck!"

[@henderbac2262]

Something i hate and love at the same time about half life is the lore, the lore in this game is so interesting, so well written and very original but we barely know anything. I wish we knew more about the Combine.

[@crypticglow5075]

Your Chanel and videos are so underrated bro. Love your work

[@asoldierfromopposingforce2806]

Its strange how combine are trying there best to make the earth in control and i think they also found some good technology like the portal which help them and they trying there best to control humans maybe earth was really helpfull for them

[@Mae_Dastardly]

I like to think that literally all they care about is the portal technology, like Earth's resources and humans are just a little extra something to help recuperate costs while they look for the portal technology, and once they get it they're just gonna fuck off and leave humanity to slowly starve to death on their barren world because they're not worth the resources it takes to oppress anymore

[@outloud_overthinking]

it was brilliant. Had such a great time watching it. Appreciate your effort

[@j.michaelwiiams1859]

This whole time I thought they sent the entire thing down in one piece…I never thought they actually built it out on earth.

[@commanderpeanut8029]

They did sent the core and base down

[@codymcgrath2.3bviews3secon7]

Great video, I'd love if you did an hour long one soon!

[@newcastleman86]

The Citadel is alway cool to see in the game when playing. We have a science lab here where I live it’s a cool looking building. It’s call FermiLab in Illinois. Me and my friends call it the citadel lol. Great video!

[@SerpentNight]

The visuals in "Half-Life: Alyx" remind me quite a bit of the manga "Battle Angel Alita".

[@timwlake]

Great video! Where did you get those sprawling cityscapes of City 17? Did you make them yourself?

[@brodno1945]

That shot of the moon at the beginning got me thinking. You reckon the combine colonised the moon?

[@Bananappleboy]

The Citadel: A ginormous alien monolith, full of unimaginable horrors, and super advanced technology, as breen puts it, impossible to describe with our limited vocabulary, created only to benefit an interdimensional empire that conquered and enslaved countless other civilizations... Skyrionn: 15:13

[@simplypalid2521]

My favorite version of the Citadel is the one we got

[@brandonpearson3826]

Full playthrough from black mesa all the way through alex this winter. have to play it during the cold season. somthing about having the window open when its 57 degrees out all bundled up in blankets and covers while playing this game just feels soo good :) oh and snacks

[@leonidas1093]

Sounds awesome!

[@__taka__8200]

The Combine Winning the war against humanity: Caramelldansen in the Citadel The Other Citadel Hearing and seeing light from the City 17 Citadel: Damn, looks like there having a party.

[@Skyrionn]

A party they would not like the attend.

[@__taka__8200]

@@Skyrionn mhmm

[@__taka__8200]

@@Skyrionn there just bored and are listening to it a mile away thats in eastern europe

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

Great lore videos, dude!

[@ADHD55]

Great video 👍

[@jb9two957]

what is the true form of the combine, we see the synths, advisor grubs and mechs. but is their true original form ever explained in any way?

[@eidoneverchoosen1171]

No I believe the ones who kead the combine. Combined themselves with to many machines and aliens their true forms ha e long since been forgotten the have no history because they dont record anything that isn't about conquest and assimilating new technology and aliens.

[@NKiwi2903]

There probably is one alien race that first "founded" the combine, but now every species under their controll is part of the combine. Maybe these original "founders" are still the highest leaders of the combine or just became a part of it.

[@imnolongerasking5933]

@@NKiwi2903 Or maybe they were long gone and their former subjects run the war machine

[@binbows2258]

I always thought that perhaps the Combine was initially created by an A.I who just began conquering stuff and building an empire. With how coordinated and lethal the Combine is, I highly doubt there's a whole network of bureaucracy. I think that there is no civilian population of the combine, and instead, it's really just a giant military whichs absorbs other militaries into its own military to become even more powerful. Basically I think an A.I created an imperialistic, self-sustaining military that is not in service of a civilian population, but rather exists only to continue to grow itself.

[@eternal7912]

The Advisors seem to be the current master race, but we know they too had been assimilated at some point. My guess, is the Combine got so unimaginably vast and efficient, that the species that started it kind of got assimilated by their own "machine" and are now one of many twisted cyborg lifeforms that the Combine has in their numbers.

[@DevilishBeaver0]

Another brilliant lore video, the citadel always fascinated me when I was a kid.

[@Skyrionn]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the KZbin Membership!

[@wisecup2]

You doing good work dude. Keep it up

[@Skyrionn]

Thanks, will do!

[@plutoidrepublic2765]

this shit been up in my recommendation almost all day and here I am at 1:13 am realizing this video was uploaded today and is extremely new

[@AngryPenguin22]

The footage for this is fantastic. Great video!

[@ihatehandlestheyareannoying]

I like to think all of the other citadels across the planet are the unused citadels, the ones you showed at 20:44.

[@fernandovarhenvidal]

Awesome video!✨

[@vesnabernjak-ord8674]

Ok, I have a theory on how destroy the combine before they go through the super portal, if the rebels can find a number of nuclear warheads or combine weaponry similar to nukes they might be able to push them through the portal, resulting in them exploding while they are inside the combines world.

[@large-turkey]

Where are they gonna find a 'number of nuclear warheads' 💀 And even if the Rebels WERE able to acquire a set of nuclear weapons, how would they 'push' them through the portal?

[@dkkanofkash8798]

If you want to have a look at an alternate Citadel design, just look at the Citadel from Lambda Wars which functions as the main headquarters of the Combine faction. All other Citadels in the story are probably smaller guard towers with spotlights or just Combine Depots for local control.

[@mrcombine4312]

21:37 that part is VERY interesting!

[@Kappa7837]

I would like a Alternate Scenario where the Combine take full control and let Humans Breed again and have a functional Society.

[@cscdvmp]

hi Skyrionn, I love every videos you made about HL universe. What about combine/human weapons, all guns. there might be a reason for all of those weapons are used for both combine soldiers and resistance. Please make video about this. How they are produced ? Where did resistance get all of the weapons/guns. Why there is no factory for weapon production ? Why combine still use earth product ? :D Thanks.

[@TheKingTywinLannister]

Amazing video. Thanks. 👍

[@Proctor_Conley]

This was cool, Thank You!

[@carmelosgro6413]

I would have liked a brief description of the other citideles. Maybe you could write a story, about the others

[@arandomdragon1534]

For the slight lore inconsistency, it could be that part of the city vanished when the core of the citadel was brought in with the rest of it hen being built in situ.

[@mattsen4297]

wish we got to see more of how the combine work

[@Skyrionn]

I'd have loved to see that too

[@buddhablue21]

Great job!

[@therealevilmudbug]

Babe, wake up, new Skrionne video just dropped

[@Skyrionn]

Hello :D

[@paweszutowicz5732]

Imagine during the singularity collapse of the citadels core your a elite damaged laying on a apc. Nothing to help you. Vocoder damaged. You just want your suffering to end.

[@greenmanslabs745]

15:10 "Regardless of whether Gordon agreed with Combine's views or not" I don't think there is much question on that lmao

[@simplypalid2521]

19:50 I think if the Super Portal would have opened the Combine would just destroy humanity

[@Skyrionn]

Luckily they managed to stop it!

[@eidoneverchoosen1171]

They were going yo sent billion a of their monster aliens machines troops beaide the typical forces we see in game to just attack kill and destroy everything to avoid being called out that a lower race defeated their garrison. And to stop other uprisings. The combine don't bieve in losing and Gordan just made the combine feel defeat. One man undid everything in earth and they still failed to to stop him showing the. Combine can be defeated. Their empire cannot destroyed but they can be defeated.

[@bitbreaker_creator]

Gordon Freeman has entered the chat

[@_Synthronix_]

@@fantastikboom1094 you’re a fucking dickhead. You’re also a moron if you can’t understand what they were trying to say.

[@ikeyasector]

Half-Life lore is perhaps the most interesting in terms of events for me. Would really love to see how this story ends. At least one more game. The same with the old Freespace games. So many unanswered questions.

[@abnormality3345]

Glad you didn’t spoil anything at 15:29. Nice you’re still aware of the uneducated 🙂

[@ThisIsFolks]

I remember the first time going up through the citadel and seeing that it was a giant synth factory. It gave a sudden realization that the resistance truly had no chance.

[@ezra5325]

Sometimes I wonder if there's an combine engineer who help construct stuffs in the city, it would be cool to see one.

[@AmBush2048]

Alyx has that, to a degree

[@lucamckenn5932]

Wouldn't be too far fetched. In Halo the Covenant take advantage of a forerunner race known simply as engineers. They're quite simple: they see technology and they fix it. The Combine likely do have access to a servitor race that explicitly works on their technology/construction. Lots of peeps in the multi verses.

[@roflc0re]

The Citadel is the most iconic structure in video/computer game ever!

[@MichaelMaxwell747]

A very good breakdown.

[@Nin0z1]

Here we go again! Great vid as always. 😎

[@Skyrionn]

Awesome sauce. Thanks for watching :D

[@lorenzovalencia6816]

At the end of Episode 1 when the citadel is exploding, is that a portal at the top that opens? I've always wondered what that is

[@squadenjoyer]

love your explainations

[@Gog45100]

It would be kool if you did a video on citadel station

[@SirGingerOfKnight]

That moment in the watch later list, when I hear the intro noise.

[@ziongite]

The blast in city 17 would be much larger than an atomic bomb BTW. City 17 when you go up in the citadel, you can see the ground map portraying the city, it's portraying a megacity essentially, something the size of Tokyo, Beijing, NY, London etc. To be able to destroy all of that, the blast would have to be as powerful as hundreds of atomic bombs actually. Because in real life Hiroshima was only a small sized city by today's standards, it had less than half a million people, and the atomic bomb dropped on that city didn't even destroy the entire city, parts of that city survived if you look at historical birds eye view photos, that's how around a quarter or a third of the people in that city survived. If the atomic bomb couldn't even take out a small city fully, it's not going to take out a megacity like city 17 is portrayed. The blast to destroy city 17 would have to be more akin to that giant bomb that Russia made, the Tsar bomb I think it was called, 50 megaton bomb. BTW China's biggest nuke is something like 5 megaton, so only 1/10th the power of the Tsar bomb. You generally need something around 20-30 megaton to be able to take out an entire megacity.

[@KiiXii]

Who would win? Aliens Or One guy with a science degree

[@qcompressed1409]

Breen as an advisor with all his knowledge would be absolutely devastating

[@abdullahtshabal9522]

Another inspiration for the Citadel would be the Agosthino Neto mausoleum in Angola

[@The-Plaguefellow]

Someone else already pointed out the enunciation-based double-entendre of The Combine's name, that of the Combine (COM-bine) Harvester since they come along and mass-exploit the planets and species they come across, and that of the word "combine" (com-BINE) since they create creatures/machines of synthetic and organic beings. But, a possible third layer to this is that "Combine" (COM-bine) can also be used to refer to groups of companies/corporations that, economically, function as a single unit. Considering the discussion of contracts, advisors, administrators, etc. over more typical government terminology, this adds another layer of meaning to The Combine's name. At least, in my opinion, that is.

[@nonyabeeznuss304]

I remember when I first saw the Citadel being struck by how alien and bizarre it looked.

[@zekromfan1]

It’s funny to think that the Combine need an entire room with large energy beams to serve the same function an Aperture Science Emancipation Grill does on a much smaller scale. Though they may be incredibly advanced, they’re woefully inefficient, and their technology isn’t even at the same level as ours. Black Mesa was capable don’t get me wrong, but maybe Cave Johnson was onto something when he suspected they were stealing from his company. Aperture is beyond either of the two of them when it comes to technological advancement, it came at the cost of morality and human life, but hey even that’s a bit ironic given that the facility is entirely automated at this point, with AI and machines creating new advancements every day.

[@MacElMasMancoDeTodos]

"The transport of resources was very important: Materials, striders, *prisioners* " *HHHMMMMMMMM* 🤔🤨

[@TheOriginalGueza]

I don't play or care about half life at all and to be honest I don't have a clue what this video is about really... But if you upload a lore video, I'm watching it. It's as simple as that.

[@OnePolishMoFo]

When I think Half Life my mind always goes to The Citadel. An Alien contruct, intimidatingly towering into the clouds. Looming over the remnants of a European city. What few humans are left are essentially shackled and at their overlord's mercy. It's hopeless.

[@atyeszpapesz1426]

Organic Citadel looks more like how the combine we kind of knew in half life 1, i feel like the way it looks makes it feel like they got something alive and mad eit into this stiching pieaces to it, like the Nihilanth it has chains and an extra arm stiched to it, also the vortagaunts has chains on them, also it has a xen feeling to it which i think would make sense since xen was the place the combine and their slave aliens came from so whoever combine made the citadel would probably originate close to xen and so have a similar style, but then again to have that we would have to have all of half life 2 feel like half life, its hard to explain but still i think this version is good for this game, for a different kind of half life 2, one more like the original i would prefer the organic one more haha

[@SlavMarine]

All that advanced technology, and the office on top of it for W.B. .. but there's no bathroom anywhere.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Name a game moment equal to or more cathartic than the gravity gun getting supercharged but the security field and going ham at the Overwatch Elite and watching them just turbo panic. I'm sure there is but memory fails me at the moment

[@lisvender]

Maybe getting the hyper beam in Super Metroid

[@oha_der_erste9353]

You should make a video about the lore of Stray

[@Robert-gb1pr]

can you also do a video explaining what happened to the citadel on the inside when it blew up

[@zschwaihilii8596]

Great video I never knew it was this deep

[@Skyrionn]

The Citadel is so deep haha

[@512TheWolf512]

episode 1 is my favourite part of the half-life games

[@eldritchcthylla]

You should do team fortress and/or left for dead lore too

[@Noruzenchi86]

12:40 *reminded of carmelldansen citadel*

[@LambdaHXBN]

I've heard a theory that says that the citadel is just a giant thumper, to prevent antlions from going into the city, and when in episode 1, since the citadel got pee pee poo poo'd it got turned off, and antlions came into the city. what reminded me of this theory was the things outside of the citadel and in the underground part, the things that rise and then fall down, just like giant thumpers

[@orangequill1645]

I also assume the antlions learnt the hard way to not fuck around in a city with people swarming everywhere

[@trashmammal9203]

Well, there are the massive smartwalls, that just smash and eat through everything, so I think they act like thumpers

[@LambdaHXBN]

maybe but they arent always crushing, unlike the actual thumper