The Aftermath of the Black Mesa Incident: Definitive Edition

[@Neinfeld]

A followup to this video, documenting the Combine's planetary occupation, has been released. See it here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWOWpZKcacyAndk This video is a fan-made documentation of the events of the Black Mesa incident and its aftermath from the 1998 survival horror video game Half-Life by Valve Corporation. The purpose of this video is to detail a part of the Half-Life timeline that has yet to be explored by Valve; the time between the Black Mesa incident and the Combine invasion of Earth. I chose to make a video about this period of the Half-Life timeline as I felt as though it was the most interesting; the initial contamination of Earth's ecosystems by Xenian wildlife represents an event that the player saw on a much smaller scale during the events of Half-Life as well as at its fullest extent in the outskirts of City 17 during Half-Life 2, and so the goal of this video was to bridge the gap between the smaller and locally contained Xenian outbreak during Half-Life to the global crisis that it is in Half-Life 2, a time period of which has yet to be explored by Valve. For more information about the dates of the events featured in this video, please view my latest video, arranging a timeline of events in the Half-Life series based off of evidence found in the games. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rGS1oYOap86tpLs If there are any questions or requests about this video, please post a reply to this comment, and I will try to provide an answer as detailed as possible. Thanks.

[@EnclaveSOC-102]

Is this legit given the timeline of the Half-Life/Portal Universe? Or is some of this just fan theories based off of what is portrayed in real life?

[@floridianrailauto9032]

What is the music that plays during the Seven Hour War in this video?

[@acrohasatablespoon1408]

I would actually like to see this video, but it combines (no pun intended) the Portal timeline alongside the Half Life timeline

[@jagerwolf5821]

What are the meteorogical events?

[@melo459]

I can offer a spanish version of the video if I get your permission and material

[@codemancz798]

Saddam Hussein condemning the United States over the Resonance Cascade is not what I expected to see today.

[@bappo456]

Well the CIA did help Hussein acquire chemical weapons to go to war with Iran and the CIA told him the US wouldn't intervene if he invaded Kuwait, except it was a ploy to get public support for the Gulf War. Ha, yeah I can totally see him condemning USA.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Let's hope he gets a fate worse than death in this universe.

[@MertensHelbelga]

@@bappo456 Bruh the CIA know how to play dirty

[@Yingyanglord1]

@@MertensHelbelga Number wise the cia overthrew more democratic goverments than the soviot union. To stop communism.

[@danielaguilera9089]

...and Putin as well

[@vividcarmine]

It's *MY* sleepover and *I* get to choose the movie.

[@Poplock4121]

Ya thats not a tv, thats an anti mass spectrometer

[@12LoLproductions]

Do you know who ate all the donuts?

[@JacopoSantarella]

If this is a sleepover, why do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties?!?

[@britneyhochman5204]

RIP your friends. Or those who USED to be your friends...

[@ArghyadeepPal]

@@12LoLproductions They are waiting for you, in the test chamberrr....

[@edjoe0482]

"Although I will admit that the possibility of a resonance cascade scenario is extremely unlikely" Famous last words

[@TheMare1989]

"Gordon doesn't need to hear all this, he's a highly trained professional."

[@ACoarseGuy]

@Aleksandar Milović It was unintentional though

[@JNJNRobin1337]

technically i dont think breen necessarily forced it, but the odd conditions of the facility prior to the event seems to have caused it an abnormal system failure maybe they didnt do prior checks on the crystals that maybe should have been done (if they check the crystals (which they should do]]

[@TheObject268]

"We've assured the Administrator that nothing will go wrong."

[@cheeseman9072]

@@TheObject268 “ah yes, you’re right. Gordon, we have complete confidents in you”

[@abdullahtshabal9522]

of course the antlions emerge from australia first of all places

[@long_chin_man]

they arent even xen creatures. theyre just coming back since the difficulty setting was turned up

[@pannomic1818]

@@long_chin_man no, they are vortals.. aren't they?

[@KingThrillgore]

Time to don your leathers and get your falcons out of the garage, bogan

[@aandric]

Ey either that or florida, pick your poison

[@floridianrailauto9032]

@@aandric Florida would have the most beautiful beaches and yet the deadliest too

[@davidoneill7554]

I live within 75 miles of where Black Mesa would be in real life. Hell yea dude

[@kriegsmanno.133lostinthewarp]

Watch out for those head hoppers!

[@KingThrillgore]

On the plus side you would be dead well before the Combine invade

[@vengeflly]

Give me location of where would Black Mesa be

[@marconarvaez9871]

@@vengeflly on Black Mesa

[@somebodystolemytoast5885]

@@marconarvaez9871 yes

[@Happy_Fun_Ball]

Could you imagine if Gordon was so late that the science team just decided to cancel the experiment?

[@asdbef3667]

Then gordon would be in risk of losing jobs Besides... It is never late to cancel any scientific experiment

[@RealDrCohart]

The bad thing gordon would lose his job but the good new the world never ended

[@McBloccguy0]

Well, they will probably make other scientist's do it so the Resonasce Cascade is still gonna happend.. i guess

[@smokeyplane3285]

cons: Gordon gets a write up and some science team members are angry at him for a few days pros: this video doesn't happen

[@LordBackuro]

What if they just continued without him?

[@orcastrike7750]

11:38 just imagine hearing that a nationwide state of emergency has been declared because of an *unknown hostile force* . Think of how terrifying and vague that statement is, and the weight it could hold.

[@TTheDDoctor]

Analog horror at its finest.

[@orcastrike7750]

@@TTheDDoctor this isn’t analog horror lol, this is Half Life

[@TTheDDoctor]

@@orcastrike7750 True, but it uses the same fundamental elements as analog horror. You know, like with the low-fidelity graphics, cryptic messages, stoking paranoia and uncertainty...

[@gladeateor1950]

@@orcastrike7750 pretty sure in irl with being declared unknown hostile force like I think in real life people would think a mass terriost attack will happened

[@microman502]

@@TTheDDoctor i found the person who has been watching way too much analogue horror

[@SuperCreativeGT]

I love the detail near the end that Switzerland is just hunkered down in the Alps with their entire population armed and sniping Xen creatures from bunkers.

[@B007-r1w]

I mean, the entire country is essentially a doomsday surviv fortress. They'll fight until the last Swiss for their independance.

[@SunnyBlam]

Switzerland is a fortress nation after all. They'd be the last stand in a global catastrophe.

[@WebContractor7407]

the combine are probably like, "ah yes, the legend of Switzerland, we don't know if it actually exists, every time we go their its just mountains, if they do exist then they are really good at hiding, any way lets end this legend by nuk-" he was shot in the head by a Swiss sniper, then the camera man is shot, then the camera, *N O W I T N E S S E S .*

[@Sosishere_sos]

@METEOR STORM Yes and no. The Combine has full control over Earth and wouldn't want to waste time trying to subjugate a country which can cause more problems in trying to take over while not gaining anything in the short and long term. However Switzerland would have no way of defeating the Combines overall power. (unless they find a way to weaponize a Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and since this is the HL universe that not out of the realm of possibility.).

[@emilsingapurcan8054]

@@Sosishere_sos First of all hell yeah on the Collider idea. But personally i feel that Switzerland isn't defendable against orbital bombardment which we know the Combine have, so i think it would have been perfectly easy to take it over through use of force anyway, if trying to do so "diplomatically" failed.

[@gabbyprincip1575]

The Combine defeating Earth in 7 hours seems less impressive now knowing that humanity has been battling Xen for almost a month and they were already on the brink of collapse. Though it sets up a more sinister implication, as some would view the Combine in a sympathetic light because they are the ones doing the bulk of the fighting against Xen after Earth surrender

[@alemoncitrus8285]

I'm pretty sure the Combine would've absolutely annihilated humanity no matter what circumstances there were, unfortunately. That's part of what makes them so horrifying. They are unfathomably powerful beyond human imagination, and only flukes like how they can't move their military across space quickly kept the human resistance somewhat alive.

[@fRztyler]

@@alemoncitrus8285 But there is little to no point in annihilating humanity for them. What they wanted apparently was to Combine humanity with their Empire. Make servants and soldiers, turn them into Synths and harvest any valuable resources from the planet. Conquering one technologically inferior race living on one planet is easy, so maybe they even thought: "Aw shit, most of the specimen are already dead, let's protect the survivors so we can do funny experiments on them".

[@svijj_]

That's right! We're the good guys! 30 minutes in Non-Mechanical Reproduction Simulator for you, citizen!

[@scottm8292]

This. It's easy to see the Combine in a positive light once you realise that the 7-hour War, as brutal as it was, made things significantly easier for Humanity.

[@Dr.HooWho]

@@alemoncitrus8285 failed to stop a guy with a crowbar, yeah they definitely would have beat humanity if humanity was fully armed and have all its armies intact

[@calebexmortis620]

Videos like these make me realize how scary Half Life's universe is. We dont see this much in-game since we are just playing as a guy killing bad aliens but when you stand,look around you start asking questions with horrifying answers (Why are there no animals ? Why are there no kids ? What are Vortigaunts ?)

[@oceanman9559]

What

[@TheDivine1100]

1. there are small animals (at least in alyx) 2. no kids in 1 because they arent allowed to work at black mesa, no kids in 2 because of the suppression field set up by the combine 20 years earlier. 3. vortigaunts are like a hivemind alien race with psychic powers

[@WebContractor7407]

@Lucas Gonzalez Vorts. are. VORTS.

[@WebContractor7407]

@@TheDivine1100 VORTS ARE VORTS!!!

[@WildeHondremaurt]

Erhm guys, i think those questions were retorical.

[@IrateGamingZealot]

Imagine being Bill Clinton and having this shit happen a month before you retire

[@theaccountofalltime1]

Out with a bang

[@crep9352]

Or imagine being Vicente and having to deal with the same thing not even a week in office

[@enchantdos1058]

@u not ok for netflix well, for the price of having the same thing happen to every single major city in the world of course

[@sarminder4357]

"I did not approve government funding to that facility!"

[@Spodogo]

@@sarminder4357 the funny thing is, he probably wouldve said that

[@MikonyaanGurevich]

"Things have changed since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even _I'm_ not sure what's going out outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us, and *them*"

[@Chuked]

Glados

[@MarquisLeary34]

And like the HECU, GLADoS's solution is "let's torture this one innocent person."

[@aperturelaboratoriesmybeloved]

"Well, I was. Unless you have plan on building some super computer parts in a big hurry, this place isn't going to be safe much longer."

[@darklex5150]

Well, she was.

[@darkranger116]

*the literal world is ending* New York : "oH nO mY sToCk MarkEt"

[@TheDivine1100]

>2 billion dead oh no! the magical line!

[@easternempire2330]

World: literally on fire with an unknown hostile force invading through inter dimensional portal storms killing millions. Civil authority worldwide breaks down. Economists: tHe doLLaR hAS drOPped in ValUe!!

[@MxArgent]

To be fair, this is INCREDIBLY realistic

[@someguy4512]

@@MxArgent yeah just look were we are now over 5 million infected and 803K dead . . . and Economists be like :"NO NO NO Reopen the country . . . THINK ABOUT THE ECONOMY"

[@rusampler1877]

You jokers: "oH nO WHEre MY FoOD aNd SUplieS. ShOP iS EMpTY."

[@madscientist1045]

This proves that HL universe lore and story is very beautiful yet scary.

[@roypone6158]

True

[@samsunguser3148]

yes, I only saw the other video about a week ago and I was haunted by this scenario

[@theworldwhosoldtheman9906]

Time to drink Dr. P, Hououin Kyouma!

[@madscientist1045]

@@theworldwhosoldtheman9906 LETS DRINK SOME PEPPER JUICE!!

[@thevisitor135]

We need the Time Leap Machine more than ever now, Dr. Hououin Kyouma!

[@jonahc2807]

I can't think of a scarier phrase than "An unknown hostile force"

[@thaDjMauz]

How about the UN offering "unconditional surrender on behalf of all its 189 member states"

[@noahfessenden6478]

"Prepare for Unforeseen Consequences," perhaps?

[@pasta1549]

@@noahfessenden6478I was gonna try and counter that but thinking in hindsight yeah that’s still terrifying

[@federalinvestigationbureau5814]

minor nuclear accident,unknown hostile force,catastrophic meteorological events,unknown unidentified aircraft,global multinational assault and unconditional surrender of all 189 member states of the united nations are the scariest phrases you can hear in your life considering a dark future that lies ahead for you and humanity and the earth 😮

[@federalinvestigationbureau5814]

"minor nuclear accident", "unknown hostile force", "unknown unidentified aircraft", "catastrophic meteorological events", "global multinational assault" and "unconditional surrender of 189 member states of the United Nations" are the scariest phrases you can hear throughout your life

[@damastor918]

5:04 Canadian government: "So, what are the potential consequences of this minor nuclear accident?" A month later: "Your district is convicted in non-reporting. Daily nutrition cuts penalty. Following violation will result in permanent offworld relocation."

[@jokurdm]

Actually about months to maybe 2 years later, it takes awhile ti establish everything again, even with a jesus god super omg alien force in Earth, especially when they dont care other than to make them all soldiers for the empire

[@rusampler1877]

Even combines have hard time to fight effectively or rationally with multi-dimensional evolved nature of Xen. America is dead one way or another.

[@jockeyfield1954]

now all i can think of is Canadian combine "hey, sir, i accidently knocked this can on the ground, may you pick it up and place it in the bin, eh?"

[@Myne1001]

Pretty sure Canada doesn't even exist by the time of the Combine's rule. At the beginning of Half Life: Alyx, there's a world globe. North America has a big red 'X' scribbled on it, as if the whole continent is dead.

[@Calhoun3]

About that beer I owed you

[@alejandro6086]

Love your game.

[@TheD736]

Do you think you're gonna be able to survive the events of black mesa? I dunno how much practice you've had with that side arm of yours.

[@Calhoun3]

@@TheD736 I only take so much and no more

[@Handhandme]

@@Calhoun3 Shouldn't you be guarding some donuts and coffee right about now?

[@deuterium_21]

@Lav Kazan but do you know who ate all the donuts?

[@MichaelKinzer]

Every country on earth: Crumbling to ruins, devolving into chaos Switzerland: "What if we turned our cities into giant bunkers?"

[@ignaciovitalis3971]

I’m hoping that the Swiss strategy of turning off the lights, going to the bunkers, and pretending no ones home worked out in the end

[@boarfaceswinejaw4516]

after the combine are defeated the Swiss come out and claim the earth as their own.

[@rivenoak]

@@boarfaceswinejaw4516 not the worst thing to happen, global switzerland is fine

[@haseenabadshah5381]

420 likes lmao

[@ding1466]

Switzerlands cities have massive underground bunkers and fortifications disguised as buildings. They literally had bombs attached to every bridge in the country at point to stop invaders. A country of mountains, bunkers and guns is probs gonna hold out the longest.

[@vtii_k]

"Big day today Freeman"

[@deceseze]

i blame whoever ate all the donuts

[@danteezy945]

*rest of existence

[@helix2331]

in the *test* chamberrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@NotASovietSpy1]

gordon doesnt need to hear all this, he's a highly trained profesional

[@Antidragon-nl7by]

When I first played HL2 nearly two decades ago, I questioned if a world without the combine would be any better than the anarchy, chaos, and lawlessness left in the wake of the portal storms. The portion near January 2nd was like a sock to the gut as the worldwide casualties doubled... then tripled... then _quadrupled_ every hour. I then naively hoped that when the seven hour war ended, at least the casualty rate would drop... only for _even more_ people to die for lack of food, water, shelter, and other essentials than in the war itself when the Combine abandoned them after destroying the infrastructure they relied on. In short, I'm tempted to reinstall HL2 just to take another swing at those bastards.

[@Antidragon-nl7by]

@jou taama I would say that the surprise invasion and slaughter of 700 million people was what motivated the war. The Combine apparently made no effort to communicate prior to "pearl harboring" half the world, while showcasing a phenomenal lack of concern regarding collateral damage or the mass panic that resulted. I had formerly perceived the Seven Hour War to have been precise, surgical, and efficient in nature. I should have known that they were every bit as indiscriminate and heedless of innocent suffering as they were in the game (i.e. unleashing feral headcrabs in a major urban center or condemning an entire city block for the actions of a single man).

[@Antidragon-nl7by]

@jou taama Your vivid depiction of the Combine's mentality is chilling, and would be a great addition to any HL3 manual. That said, I would argue that oil prices and the value of the dollar are crucial aspects of the economy, and by extension human independence and self reliance. The worldwide economy was already suffering; it's complete collapse would all but cement mankind's dependence on their new aliens overlords.

[@angeloilersich5737]

@jou taama That's just flat not true that years passed between Black Mesa and the 7-hour war. The times magazine specifically points out that it has only been weeks of phenomena which have occurred.

[@RexOrbis]

@jou taama Which interview?

[@thevisitor135]

@jou taama An interim period which lasted anywhere from a few weeks, as is the case with this video's scenario, to a few years, the latest possible estimate. Given the Portal Storm's severity and rapid escalation, the most likely outcome is that it took the Combine several weeks to a month before they have fully conquered Xen and officially started to invade the Earth, thus kicking off the Seven-Hour War.

[@Itachi21x]

If the combine forces we see in HL are just a backwater police force, Imagine what the true combine military force is like.

[@TheJovian16]

I imagine something better than Hunt Down the Refund's dev team.

[@deekswap695]

@@TheJovian16 a really low bar really

[@CommanderCool101]

This is one of the more terrifying (and thankfully untouched) aspects of the Seven Hour War. Whatever they were it'd be impossible to grasp just how powerful and unstoppable they would've appeared, like War of the Worlds written by H.P. Lovecraft.

[@DiveTheseClips]

@@CommanderCool101 I think they would look like the combine forces in HL2 minus human combine soldiers (they appeared later, obviously) and minus human-inspired tech (combine helicopters, APCs etc). There would most likely be familiar striders, hunters, gunships, cremators and maybe members of other unknown alien races that were conquered by the combine and turned into synths.

[@yourmilkpowderdealer998]

What about those you see in the citadel?

[@Livingroomset799Dep]

This kind of slow methodical niche HL content is what makes being part of this community so rewarding

[@Gogglesofkrome]

it's always the slower franchises (half life, warhammer 40k, etc) that tend to be the most rich in lore and the most rewarding to delve into and explore, and filled with tons of fantastic, hidden little stories. While half life might not yet be as rich as warhammer in this regard, I hope that it will absolutely see something like this being a thing, and I'd be happy for it.

[@eragonbromsson1122]

@@Gogglesofkrome Halo too have a great lore.

[@Gogglesofkrome]

@@eragonbromsson1122 Used to, until 343 retconned a ton of it to make room for their reddit comic book fantasy.

[@lucasbarros8540]

​@@GogglesofkromeMass Effect has a very rich universe too

[@jackarmitage141]

"2020 can't get any worse." December: Edit - While it might not be 2020, looks like this is happening a few continents over.

[@antonio-onism9814]

This joke is not going to age well...

[@ExtraPrivatable]

Don’t do that.

[@tachikomagaming2451]

if only..

[@itsdokko2990]

plz don't

[@saynbezmenlerlutfenacarmsn9231]

*looks at CERN* come on, do something

[@nothingbutnegativity7495]

I find the portal storms the most terrifying. We've seen the massacre and the destruction brought to the Black Mesa facility in Half-Life 1, now it is happening all around the globe, in every single place. Basically nowhere is safe, outdoors or indoors. There is nowhere for you to hide. Imagine a few houndeyes and headcrabs suddenly show up in your house; zombies walking across the streets and literally tearing people apart; leeches in the water the people drink; barnacles all over the ceilings in the shopping malls, schools, offices, etc, ingesting people and leaving a pile of blood and meat on the ground. There are also tentacles stabbing every pedestrian passing by and every resident in the nearby apartment buildings, and antlions suddenly emerging from the ground and killing those people who are now too scared to run away. All the emergency services around the globe have come to a complete halt, as the police stations, hospitals and fire stations are already overrun. Almost every big city on Earth has become a brutal battle zone like Black Mesa. All armed personnel, police force and military, are trying to eliminate the hostile Xen forces that don't stop teleporting to Earth amidst the unprecedented chaos, only to get obliterated themselves, just like the HECU back in Black Mesa. Even with help from the Vortigaunts, the situation doesn't seem to get much better. With the destructive portal storms like the one we see in HL2: Ep2, millions of people around the world trapped under the debris are hoping for the rescue teams that will never come. And the Combine hasn't even come yet. I wish there is a Half-Life spin-off game, official or fan-made, telling the stories of extreme despair about the people all over the world struggling to survive the portal storms and fight against the Combine invaders. Edit: I just read the part from Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar about Eli's slideshow, it mentions headcrabs infecting people in the supermarkets, bullsquids chasing a family, ichthyosaur in a swimming pool etc. All these things happened while Gordon Freeman, Adrian Shephard and Chell were sleeping.

[@czechpishkot3872]

That is scary af.

[@EEE-1409]

I would just end it right there

[@loco4loco]

@@EEE-1409many people probably did…

[@honkworld9405]

Grab my crowbar.

[@person0-016]

Imagine a book in the style of World War Z telling the stories of those that survived this and the seven hour war.

[@luthfialdi.n]

US Military: "Alright, we can stop this thing." Resonance Cascade: "No you can't" US Military: "No we can't"

[@agentf.b.i2897]

Mission failed to next time

[@CaptainResident]

Everybody's gangsta until the military says "Forget about Freeman"

[@Unknown-ek1ox]

I mean shooting or interrogating staff brutally surely didn't help their cause. I wonder if it could've been reversed or notably diminished if they worked together from the start and throughout.

[@diligentone-six2688]

Gordon Freeman: *Are you sure about that?* Doom Slayer: *Can you repeat that?* The Combine and other monsters: *Heavy Breathing*

[@diligentone-six2688]

@@Unknown-ek1ox US Government doesn't like spilling secrets. That's the policy when they have Enemies inside and outside the Country. Gotta deal with it.

[@OfficialMaxBox]

I appreciate the changes, I felt much more engaged the entire way through. Well done.

[@thepanman436]

Max Box what are you doing here D:

[@LavenderJJ_secret]

@@thepanman436 KZbinrs are people too, they allowed to watch whatever they want

[@openjcd]

@Max Box where have you been?

[@xdrive2minecraft]

Reupload your old lmaobox videos

[@FatLoisGriffin]

@@LavenderJJ_secret no

[@thestrangecaseofharryhinde9473]

This gets even stranger when you realize that xen's creatures weren't just incompatible with earth's biosphere, but also each other's. All the xen creatures come from different planets fleeing from the combine after theirs were conquered. They're doubly incompatible with each other, that's two layers of invasiveness.

[@NoXion100]

The headcrabs can't be all that incompatible, they can zombify humans after all.

[@user-tzzglsstle585e38]

@@NoXion100 But is incompatible with everything else, like Bullsquid, Race X etc.

[@ic0nic707]

I kinda doubt that simple animals like bullsquids, houndeyes, and headcrabs would be intelligent enough to consider fleeing or even be capable of leaving their home planets. Nihilanth and Vorts, sure, but how does that work with the more animalistic aliens?

[@Tamamo-no-Bae]

@@ic0nic707 Simpler animals arrived through portals from many worlds.

[@lexscott2911]

@@Tamamo-no-Bae WRONG the vortigaunts ancestral practice is antlioin husbandry.

[@wyattwilbourne530]

You can't even see the casualty list near the end because it's so dark.

[@ringo5721]

@Josh JeanJacket Jaeger just like covid

[@HEXAGRAM-mo4cg]

It's close to 2.4 billion, like 2,384,000,000 I think, higher than that by a bit

[@IAmValefree]

@@ringo5721 no.

[@Delta547]

Dude, that australian scientists certanly knew how to deal with deadly unworldly creatures. I bet most australians didn't even realized that they are encountering alien lifeforms until, like, few weeks after.

[@MrCIA-me3ef]

They must have been big guys to take on bugs the size of a small aircraft

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

They only realized that it was aliens when one of the creatures didn't attacked then

[@watchmangames2337]

dude your hilarious (not an overused stupid joke)

[@camtubecamtube]

i like to think that, since tf2 takes place in the 60's-70's, all of that is before half-life. i like to think the mercs are somewhere battling out the combine

[@bananafone1414]

@@watchmangames2337 cope

[@darkhedgehog45678]

Half Life is one hell of a horror game when you look at it that way.

[@ВиториоКлиментов]

Half-life is a scary game. But i love Half - life.

[@FueledbyAdrenaline17]

I never understood how a lot people never saw it as a horror game, I feel an overwhelming feeling of anxiety when I see how events unravel in this video. Shits fucking terrifying.

[@drharoldpontiffcoomer]

Gordon, this is why you should follow instructions and put the crystal in SLOWLY.

[@pyraffin]

It wasn't the standard insertion procedure that screwed up! It was you scientist turning the machine up to 105% and proceeding with the experiment while ignoring the abormal fluctuations and the literal explosion of a computer's pannel before hand!

[@123sarge123]

Slower! Than molasses! Dripping off a spoon!

[@jaigray5422]

@@pyraffin The machine being put up to 105% and Gman giving them the purest sample yet ie the crystal that you put in said machine that opens literal portals to Xen just that it overloaded due to the new pure sample and the machine overclocked to 105% resulting in what happens in the game. Gman is behind everything from the start.

[@jaigray5422]

@@goldcrusader6712 At the end of HL2 Episode 2 Eli says they received the Crystals from Gman in the first place as the crystals to allow teleportation can only be found on Xen. So Gman is literally the one pulling all the strings and setting things into motion. Spoiler for HL Alyx, at the end of HL alyx Gman literally states he can nudge things and change events as he sees fit meaning every single time you see Gman in the games is actually him changing events at that giving time and place. Also he has the ability to completely change history by going forward and backwards in time as clearly shown and stated in HLA. And the fact he wanted Xen to invade earth hoping someone would kill the nihilanth which in turn would allow the combine to invade Earth much later on something he knew would happen. if you listen to the nihilanth in the original game it literally Warns you about the Gman that he is not what he appears to be and that he is pure evil. God Half life is such a great game with a great complex story but still trying to put the pieces together myself.

[@H.Kuznetsov]

@@jaigray5422 That's a nice theory, BUT, why would the G-Man be captured by the Combine in HLA? Looks like the Combine themselves have some issues with him.

[@theshotgun710]

Neinfeld: *makes new and improved aftermath video* Also Neinfeld: “Some believe the fate of our worlds is, Inflexible. My employers disagree...”

[@michaelandreipalon359]

We, the players: "How do we kill the son of a gun then, Eli, let alone defeat the Combine?" Gordon himself: "..."

[@Perenbarn]

it's such a shame a company with infinite funds can't get their asses off and do more with such a juicy story universe

[@Andrewnuva199]

They're too busy trying to see what next-Portal-tier software they can code to tell stories. The game devs outnumber the story nerds 5 to 1

[@GabrielDrunkenSailor]

nah bro steam sales are really setting me back

[@crylune]

Actually they never sat down, they always tried to make something else but it never worked out thanks to Source 2's jankiness and internal chaos. Maybe go read the Final Hours of HL Alyx digital book. Saying they stopped making games "because of Steam and CS GO skins" is foolish.

[@magnum7978]

@@crylune Plus the whole thing they had with their change in development style, mentioned in the same digital book.

[@Vik-wy3it]

We got HL: Alyx. They're working on HL3, I promise - and it'll be worth the wait

[@deconyus3412]

Australia: hey guys, some of these aliens are cool Xen: *poops antlions onto Australia* Australia: crikey nevermind

[@Xibo_Mata]

I think they are just from Australia I don't see anything wrong here

[@araja90]

just what Australia needs more dangerous wildlife

[@Raooka]

the antlions are overwhelmed by Australia's native animals

[@NightRunner417]

@@Raooka Lol Australian wildlife be like: "Oooh look it's something new to eat!"

[@rebel6301]

nah mate antlions are just native here

[@whitewolf8878]

I wonder what Gordon's friends were doing at this time and how they managed to survive during the Portal Storms and the Seven Hour War. It's almost horrifying and inspiring as to how they managed to survive while millions died from the Portal Storms, the Combine, and the Xen creatures.

[@Architector_4]

Probably various events like in Half-Life: Blue Shift. That game directly explains Barney's escape lol

[@Delta547]

Well, most of them weren't just random schmucks. Eli and Isaac was relatively well-known scientists. It's unclear how exactly they survived, but probably they find a way from Black Mesa, and later they were part of the Science Team who gave testimonies against BMRF administation to Congress. Magnusson, probably, too. That's implying that they were in major city somewhere in US East Coast, DC or NY, so they are relatively well-protected. Barney's escape, alongside Dr. Rosenberg and several others, are described in HL: Blue Shift. They probably was worth protecting because of knowledge and stuff. How they all survived Combine occupation and relocated to the eastern europe - that's another different story.

[@somebodystolemytoast5885]

"Good question."

[@Zanytiger6]

I would love a game similar to L4D but instead of Zombies it’s the Xen, and it’s just Barney and the other scientists trying to escape America.

[@Architector_4]

@@Delta547 I assume sometime after Combine has settled on enslaving human race with Breen being in charge, everyone realized that initial wars and stuff made various parts of the world (and especially US land) inhabitable, and therefore to preserve human race better, relocations were made. That would of course lead to overpopulation in habitable parts of Earth, but we have a hostile alien species enslaving us to deal with that problem. And yeah, Combine would probably instead want to leave people in inhabitable places to die out, but again, we have Breen, which isn't absolutely morally bankrupt to agree with that.

[@captaineldeezee1336]

Towards the end there, I just love how even though every other status report by a particular city and country is all about them fighting for their lives, or the poor state of the country, y'know, stuff you would expect, but one New York status update, meanwhile, is singularly focused on the state of the stock market. Those poor investors!

[@epsilonarcaneresearch1945]

*"Capitalism at it's finest!"*

[@Neinfeld]

Yeah, the theme of the importance of the economy over the loss of human life was a tad bit of satire I included in this video after watching the Western media's focus on the economic downturn spurred by the recent pandemic instead of the loss of an estimated 20 million lives as of 2022. No doubt that is what they would focus on in such a scenario as long as society lasted. In fact, I conceptualized this video in January 2020 and began working on it in March 2020. At the time, the pandemic had just emerged, and rather than providing insight into the characteristics of the virus and methods of infection prevention, all I heard from the news was concerning the stock market, which certainly influenced this video.

[@jamesdulak3108]

I found it funny every single time the stock markets were mentioned here. "The West Coast is cut off and presumed in a state of anarchy, millions have perished in China, the planet's ecology is suffering tremendous damage, but most importantly the stock markets went down another 100 points OH NO!!!!"

[@Glenni91N]

@@Neinfeld And you weren't wrong either,in HL- Alyx there are newspapers strewn about that have articles about this exact thing, millions have died, many cities lay in ruins across the world,but oh no, the stock market is not doing good. :(

[@GlobstersMessenger]

@@Neinfeld Neoliberalism. It's unfortunate but even in the case of a global nuclear exchange as long as some semblence of international capital existed there would be some people trying desperately to use economic estimates as the equivalent of telling the future by rummaging around in sacrified goats. But fuck man, if everything is derived from arbitrary numerical values that people are distilled down to, what the fuck would even happen to the world with 80 million excess deaths in a *month*, let alone a 3 years of a pandemic with far less. The entire system would crumble to dust before anyone could react.

[@beamer2131]

"until the all clear is given..." I dont think the all clear was ever given.

[@coltpiecemaker]

After defeating the Combine and saving the Earth from extraterrestrial interference, Gordon Freeman's first radio message to the citizens of the planet was: "New Mexico is safe to go back to y'all."

[@EstratosVarios]

@@coltpiecemaker Epistle 3. ALL. IS. FUBAR.

[@gianni50725]

@@EstratosVarios Nope, Earth is (probably) safe from the Combine after Epistle 3. The goal was never to destroy the Combine entirely, only to cut off their access to Earth and/or make Earth such a nuisance that it no longer makes sense to continue diverting resources to keep Earth under control. They are an efficient empire, not idiots.

[@NerevarOfficialReal]

@1up w The Combine suppression field was shut down after the destruction of the Citadel, so they can.

[@me67galaxylife]

@@gianni50725 Not like epistle 3 is canon, plus it's better that way in my opinion because epistle 3 would make a good hl2 beta sequel but for actual hl2 it's just out of tone

[@tassadar101r]

Earth: Was it a nuclear accident? Him: You are going to wish it was one.

[@MichaelAnderson-ug4ko]

Turkey: here have İstanbul if you excuse me I will grab the rest of my 55.3 million people..... Combine and aliens:WHERE ARE YOU GOİNG kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3fNiJhpZriSZsk Combine andaliens:okay sounds gut this explains Turkeys position in every post apocalyptic scenario

[@Vikingurr]

@@MichaelAnderson-ug4ko We just don't like to surrender. Die to the last man, or Survive, adapt and overcome! XD

[@MichaelAnderson-ug4ko]

@@Vikingurr ........ this comment represents Turkey in 20 percent of the post apoclyptic scensrios in the rest nothing happens to them

[@MichaelAnderson-ug4ko]

@@Vikingurr ........ this comment represents Turkey in 20 percent of the post apoclyptic scensrios in the rest nothing happens to them

[@MagicMaster667]

38:21 - My favorite qoute from all this: _"This is what happends when someone mounts pressure on the research team from above. April 1986, Chernobyl. December 2000, Black Mesa."_

[@EnclaveSOC-102]

@@goti4no820 Rosenberg even says in Decay and I quote, "we did not design this equipment to be run at such a high intensity"

[@chaosmiles07]

Jan 1st: "At least it can't get any worse..." Jan 2nd: "Hold my sustenance."

[@WebContractor7407]

s-s-SUSTENANCE!! also mmm cooked headcrab, tho seriously, what would a headcrab taste like, how do you cook it, medium rare?? like, is it even good for you to eat it, if it is good, what nutrients would it give? wait... What do barnicals taste like..?

[@deadpan6773]

@@WebContractor7407 chicken they taste like chicken

[@itsmant3]

Sure,sure..

[@PETRIXXXX]

when the impostor is sustenance!

[@TheMare1989]

"It can't get any worse than this..." "NO! STAHP! DARGH! NO! NO! NO! NO! STAHP! AAAAAAAAggHHHHHH!"

[@SrGillespie]

Imagine a game where you are a civilian or non related into Black Mesa and you are suffereing this events, like that lovers on HL2, and need to escape-survive-hold a position.

[@IIWolFFinEII]

Im thinking about making a mod that takes place during Portal Storm.

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

You play as a power line technician. What you thought was just another power outage, just another routine job, turns out to be anything but.

[@SrGillespie]

@@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1 is your first job and need to make coffee for a dude called Gordon Freeman and this happen, but then he says "where is the sugar?"

[@JavaMR]

So, Left 4 Dead but in the Half-Life universe. I dig it.

[@krashd]

That is basically the synopsis of The Mist (2007), trapped in a Tesco with strangers while the world is engulfed by an experiment gone awry.

[@Colddirector]

Just remember - when you think you're having a bad day, at least you aren't at Black Mesa on December 5th, 2000. Or literally anywhere else shortly after that.

[@chocolat-kun8689]

I think the ones who died during that die had it easy.

[@rekto5781]

nothing happened at black mesa in the year 2000

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

@@rekto5781you are wrong

[@Arthur32O]

i think its a china tiananmen square reference. the place where nothing happened.@@louisbeerreviews8964

[@tychusenfieldlarsson206]

I would really like to see the Earth water gets drained by the combine and see the map slowly turns into more land mass

[@kafuchino3435]

i think that happens a few years after negotiation with the combine

[@db5094]

Wait what when the fk does that happen

[@db5094]

@@CameronBrownCB it has an ocean though?

[@db5094]

@@CameronBrownCB Wouldnt that take absolute insane levels of space to take away enough water to clearly reduce it by that much, like where are they storing it and why

[@db5094]

@@CameronBrownCB well that's cool I guess, sad we dont get games that expand on the lore

[@aatusha]

At least 9/11 never happened in this timeline

[@raiden_0013]

I thought half life 1 was set in May 16 2003

[@someguy4512]

@@raiden_0013 well no if you see the military in HL1 they still use M16 and not M16A4 soo this takes place after the 1th Gulf war . . .

[@thevisitor135]

Oh, Calvin... After witnessing all of these events, you are gonna wish that only 9/11 happened in the 2000s.

[@raiden_0013]

Were twins towers even there during the 7 hour war?? So would it had to take place in 2000 or 2001

[@someguy4512]

@@raiden_0013 the twin towers were constructed in the 1970's and half life takes place in 1999/2000's

[@nefariousgremlin7554]

47:50 I love the idea of the Vortigaunts helping out the humans, there's a lot of potential there for cool stories

[@wolfen8619]

It makes sense too, after Gordon killed Nihilanth they became fully free and had their free will returned.

[@dingiskhan984]

Portals and aliens invading Earth. News: ThE DoLLar Is lÔšÏÑG itS ValÜe

[@evorm7329]

Have you literally seen the COVID news coverage? This is almost exactly what they would be focusing on during an alien invasion.

[@froggodoggo79]

That's actually realistic

[@Handhandme]

U.S.: *Is going through a catastrophic series of portal storms* Major corporations: NOOOOO OUR SHAREHOLDERS REEEEEEEE

[@froggodoggo79]

@Daveret Brunet Adventure Time: Before the War

[@Gabriel87100]

@@mike-6139 Everyone talking shit about the news about economics is completely ignoring the global famine, water, fuel and electricity shortage killing about a billion people as if economy only affects CEOs, lmao

[@PhoenixPalmer88]

33:00 India as the world burns around them: “I missed the part where that’s my problem”

[@NoMustang273]

Pakistan and Afghanistan too lmfao

[@DoctorBungo]

When I watch videos like this, I become super grateful that I'm only living through a global pandemic- and not a mass breakdown of civilization due to unexplained, aggressive scientific phenomena

[@EchoesPinkFloyd]

nice pfp :)

[@niccerkadoabuckado8256]

Nah we're just not there yet

[@IvanIvanov-oo3tb]

Well well well brother..

[@rvkice23]

WW3 wants to know your location

[@KingThrillgore]

Stick around, we just may get the latter.

[@TheD736]

On december 6th, NASA claims the launch of an unauthorized ballistic missile launched in new mexi- TRY SKIP THE DISHES TODAY Sorry, the weirdly cheery ads over this surreal horror experience amused me

[@WebContractor7407]

for a horrifying second I thought you said "aroused me" instead of "amused me"...

[@thevisitor135]

@@WebContractor7407 LMAO, exactly.

[@kuromifan10]

MikeJr U2b ah yes, random ads. My favorite fetish

[@theaccountofalltime1]

“We interrupt this alien invasion to bring you Jello”

[@DiscipleOfHeavyMeta1]

Wouldn't that actually be NORAD's job?

[@paulalanis3352]

“What’d you get for Christmas?” “A free planet, kinda almost passed it by too.”

[@TacBans]

I like how in the early stages, the official statements still try to cover it up, claiming it's a nuclear accident. Really keeps with the tone of the attempted cover up before the entire situation went to hell. Like, when the official statements on an incident include "unauthorized ICBM launch" and "unknown hostile force", it really starts getting the anxiety going. very good video, helps with the worldbuilding.

[@confidentbottle]

El Salvador: *struggling to recover from a catastrophic global event* An unrelated earthquake: lmao yeet

[@DEDZET]

This would be just perfect for a half life spin off movie, showing the effects of the Black Mesa incident on the outside world.

[@ChazizMTA]

Like The Walking Dead. The real spin-off was Fear the Walking Dead

[@koheletcalaforexclan6508]

Ø F F S E T // or like the intro to the halflife 2 movie Or at least a miniseries before it 👍

[@pogyt4671]

@@ChazizMTA was gonna say for a Idea as a Anthology series like they did with The Matrix’s animated Prequel, but that could also work aswell.

[@normalpigeons5190]

Imagine a TV show based on the Resonance Cascade, The Xen Invasion, and The 7 Hour War, although it's probably never going to happen, it's fun to imagine it.

[@aaaaaahhh9537]

Hunt Down the Freeman bayyybeee

[@Atomic181]

The whole thing from the Resonance Cascade all the way up to the surrender is just sad. The Half-Life/Portal universe has one of the most sad, depressing and hopeless situations I've ever seen humanity as a whole be forced into.

[@DriftJunkie]

It gets worse when one realises, we are living through not much worse scenarios IRL. Most of them not developing as rapid as 99% population decimation in a month, but still. It is a slow death through pollution, resources shortage, unfavorable climate change.

[@northchaser5163]

December 25, 2000 Rejected Black Mesa applicant Russell downloads the entire internet.

[@EnclaveSOC-102]

Wonder how much porn and cat pictures he had to go through to get to the more beneficial and scientific stuff to help the resistance.

[@CaribouGutSludge]

@@EnclaveSOC-102 you KNOW Russell came in clutch and made porn his FIRST priority

[@gouahh359]

Well, it was the internet in 2000 so I don’t think it would’ve been as big as it is today.

[@timurthelame4479]

Brilliant work as always. I love the implication that Breen negotiated humanity’s quick surrender by suggesting to world leaders that the Combine could not only protect humanity from both the portal storms and the Xen wildlife, but also provide new technology to humanity as well. It really drives home the idea that Breen was genuine in his efforts to paint the Combine as “our benefactors”, as he really did see them as a way to preserve the human race. Also, the quick mention of Race X’s aborted terraforming effort as an “unknown biological contaminant” in that one event was really cool, and made me smile a lot. I also liked that this video paints a different, and more realistic picture of the Seven Hour War than is usually interpreted: rather than the Combine single-handedly annihilating all world governments, teleporting fully-formed citadels randomly everywhere, and taking up the work of restoring infrastructure themselves, they opt for a more “hands-off” approach and even allow the surviving world governments the opportunity to restore order to their countries themselves. This is very much in-line with the Combine’s view of Earth as unimportant in canon, as they are unwilling to spend any more than the bare minimum of resources to keep Earth occupied. This interpretation also addresses the question of why the Combine would have a motive to restore order to a world that’s practically only useful to them for their resources. It also matches the Combine’s style of governance: initially allowing some degree of freedom and autonomy, before slowly taking it away piece by piece (by the time of Half-Life 2, we see that many cities are now under the control of the Combine themselves, rather than any of the remaining world governments). It’s similar to what we see in Half-Life: Alyx, with citizens still being allowed to wear their own fashion and clothing, before being forced to wear standardized uniforms in HL2. My only criticism would be that starvation wouldn’t actually be too rampant in the time between the Resonance Cascade and the period after the Seven Hour War. As we see in HL2, Lost Coast, and Half-Life: Alyx, some of the Xen wildlife (namely the headcrabs and the leeches) are actually edible, and with Vortigaunts assisting military forces and civilians during the Portal Storm, they would no doubt share information on how to prepare them for consumption.

[@floridianrailauto9032]

The Combine needed Earth because of humanity's short range teleportation technology

[@chuckbuck5002]

@@floridianrailauto9032 Yeah but they would have got it if they had actively looked for it aperture science would not be that hard to find being a leading government funded contractor.

[@kylefinn5301]

@@chuckbuck5002 did you Forget that Aperture is literally inaccessible during all of this because of GLaDOS?

[@chuckbuck5002]

@@kylefinn5301 do you really think one of our first ai’s could stand up to a INTERDEMINSIONAL MILITARISTS CIVILIZATION THAT ARE MASTERS OF CYBERNETICS AND DARK MATTER ENEGRY MANIPULATION

[@danpaz9485]

Its such a shame we don't get to see how the combine manage earth with the bare minimal or how life was after breen took power over earth

[@HoppingSkipper]

I would love to see a side game, maybe called HL:Fear or HL:Storm, that entails a regular person (or regular people, multiple short stories?) trying to survive against the portal storms, Xen fauna and the seven hour war. It would show the decline of Earth through TV, Radio and newspaper media, giving lore never before seen, and shedding light onto exactly how the Combine managed to subjugate Humanity over the next 20 years. Oh, and don't forget to add plenty of those sweet, sweet water flavoured sustainance bars...

[@IIWolFFinEII]

You can play 1187, it takes place during Portal Storm. Im thinking about making a mod that takes place during portal storm.

[@pyroshilov8474]

so This War of Mine but in Half Life?

[@IIWolFFinEII]

Pyroshilov 1 Not exactly.

[@ahistoryfanatic5683]

i would also like to see a side game, but my idea for it is that it's about a whole battalion of soldiers and marines fighting the xen aliens and the combine during the 7 hour war and the days leading up to it, slowly losing its strength as hours pass and the portal storms intensify, and when the top generals ask them to stand down, they don't, and keep fighting until there are only a few survivors hopefully willing to surrender themselves

[@velium365]

That would be so depressing. I love it.

[@TheD736]

In this timeline I died before my second birthday. Dunno if that's comforting or worrying

[@русланбуйло-ъ8т]

comforting

[@TylerDahn]

I mean, I wasn’t even born, so how do you think I feel.

[@TheD736]

@@TylerDahn relieved/mortified

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

Lucky you, I would've died around age 7 or 8

[@nahuezubi4475]

In this timeline i died a couple days after i born, well shieeet

[@TimesChu]

It shows how fascinating you make this just by virtue of getting me to sit down and watch a feature-length PowerPoint presentation.

[@someguy2302]

Tbh I have enough supplies to survive something like this but knowing my luck an alien grunt would teleport into my shower and kick my ass while I'm shitting

[@judgejudys3xdungeon94]

You shit in the shower? I thought I was the only one.

[@eliaartyom6074]

These Horror-documentary videos, they are so fucking good

[@mariic2]

Are there more videos like this?

[@FauxKun]

@@mariic2 You have EAS Scenarios but they aren't nearly as good as this one. Whoever did this knows how to set a good atmosphere

[@pyroshilov8474]

it's stuff like this that makes Barney an underrated character. to go through the events of Blue Shift, survive 20 years after all of this, seeing Earth get destroyed by Portal Storms, Xen Creatures and the Combine then go through the events of HL2, strong willed guy. Magnificent vid. even though it's a "remaster", still amazing to watch again

[@AtPlume]

Imagine hearing of a disaster at a massive research center, a potentially nuclear one. A massive worldwide event, where a whole nation almost completely stops it’s activity, because it’s that bad… And now imagine hearing that “an unknown hostile force is detected in this area” and that “airstrikes will begin immediately”. How fucking scary that would be.

[@buak809]

what's even scarier is that you have literally nowhere safe to go, no place is safe wether you hide yourself in a closet, in a storage bin, in an underground small bunker or anywhere else you'd imagine, a place as big as a closet - portal might appear there and you're done

[@AlexeiVoronin]

It's an improvement for sure. I was secretly hopin to see the news of the Citadels' appearance, by the way, which was hinted at in the game itself.

[@CaribouGutSludge]

Oh? When was it hinted at?

[@floridianrailauto9032]

I was hoping for news on the human synths like the Combine soldiers and elites we see in the game

[@KingThrillgore]

Before Half Life Alyx, they say the Citadels just warped into being at the start of the 7 hour war. Their appearance beckoned the beginning of hostilities. HL Alyx changes a few things but it's still likely something like the citadels appeared suddenly.

[@CaribouGutSludge]

@Mason Parker ohhhhh ok ok, thank you! I'm not very updated on the half life lore n shit, so this helps a bunch.

[@SunnyBlam]

@Mason Parker Wait, is that a retcon? I haven't played HL:A before. Some of the stuff from the HL2 beta no longer counts?

[@MrAwesomeAsian22]

Xeen and Been: "You lost, give us your hammer and sickle." Russia: "Not until you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"

[@captainpanic3616]

Even then good luck because I have glued it to my cold dead hands!

[@KingThrillgore]

@@captainpanic3616 Say goodbye to your arms then.

[@mccaf87]

Imagine a world in which those remarks from Tony Blair pertain not to the 9/11/01 attacks, but the resonance cascade at Black Mesa. Holy Shit.

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

No one’s speaking about the war criminal

[@wayne2442]

Government coverups are NOT in my job description!

[@halftime919]

MEDIC!

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Yes it is. Just double check the minuscule fine print right here in the lower right corner of page 3.

[@bigpappa4041]

Current situation is looking pretty grim!

[@bigblue9996]

This makes boot camp seem like Disneyland.

[@GEXITER]

*Shutting down. Attempting shut down. It's not...it's-it's not...it's not shutting down...it's not...* Perhaps if the spectrometer had shut down in time, this cataclysmic event would never have happened, probably the crystal itself already had enough energy to create such a storm of portals.

[@rogermarques79]

Half Life With "Good Ending"

[@ruancasillas2907]

Nothing you need to worry about, Gordon. Go ahead!

[@evertoluiznope1507]

I'm afraid we'll be deviating a bit from standard analysis procedures today, Gordon.

[@invalid_user_handle]

Eh, it all happened because they pushed it to 105% power, when it wasn't designed to go past 90%. That and the sample that they were scanning was, in their words "This is the purest sample we've seen yet. And, possibly, the _most unstable._ "

[@peixeserra9116]

The G-Man architected it perfectly. Convincing Breen to push the Spectrometer to 105 %, giving him sample GG-3883 for analysis and counting that Breen would let his pride and relationship with the Department of Defense speak louder than the concerns and protests of people like Rosenberg and Eli Shits fucked, man

[@dsouth7754]

In Black Mesa, there's a point in Surface Tension where you start noticing the HECU is rapidly losing ground against the Xen invasion. Then in a tunnel you hear the last EAS broadcast in the game that the President has declared a national emergency. I always imagine Gordon Freeman slumped up against the tunnel wall by that car radio blasting the EAS, slowly realizing nothing was ever going to be the same again; there was no "fixing" this.

[@alejandro6086]

This channel is incredible.

[@youssefabdelfatah6909]

Yeah

[@alejandro6086]

@@hyperioxd7209 Thanks.

[@haseenabadshah5381]

169 likes lmao

[@killerandroid303]

Are you telling me that during all this, Gordon was trying to escape Black Mesa and kill a giant fetus baby? Holy shit.

[@XeroWinGer]

Yes.

[@laylaruan]

I think only about two or three days pass in the course of Half Life (maybe a few more, god knows with Xen), so I expect for most of this he was safely in stasis

[@sorrenblitz805]

By December 7th he was in Xen, I'd say December 8th is likely when he defeated the Nihilanth and was "Awaiting Assignment" by his new...eh..eh..employer...

[@killerandroid303]

So you guys are saying he has been sitting in an endless void, without aging?

[@yvesheinrich5013]

@@killerandroid303 Yup, as the extraterrestrial claimed over three billion lives within two months.

[@ArghyadeepPal]

I can't even fathom the fear and the dread of the billions of people in this situation. Almost thinking about it gives me such a big nightmare. To see your friends, relatives, family getting turned into mutilated zombies..

[@user-tzzglsstle585e38]

That's probably gonna be a pretty rare occurence though, most of the casualties would probably from Bullsquids, Vortigaunts and Alien Grunts

[@Wastelander1972]

Almost 2.4 billion dead in a matter of two months. That’s some I am Legend shit right there.

[@darijus4094]

the population in 2000 was about 6.5 billion so yeah

[@tathnousoxide9707]

@@darijus4094 6.12

[@avery11123]

Are you kidding, I am Legend is way worse, in a matter of a few months 97% of earth is dead, probably more then that

[@yourfellowducky2712]

That’s scary there. 2.4 billion dead in 2 months. That’s like around 40 million deaths every day. (My math isn’t exact, but I tried)

[@RevolverRez]

This is what I love about Half Life - since you're only ever seeing things through the eyes of one person in each game, you never see the extent of the chaos going on. Black Mesa itself seems like a walk in the park compared to how the outside world ends up faring.

[@flydrop8822]

When you realise that even 20 years after the resonance cascade and the Combine still struggle in stopping the antlion infestations, you realise that there was absolutely no chance humanity was gonna survive the Xen onslaught. It's a weird thing but, in a way the Combine actually saved humanity from extinction. This makes Breen's words in the screens seem way more meaningful.

[@asdbef3667]

He is the one who is directly responsible apart from gman So no excuse

[@flydrop8822]

@@asdbef3667 And so is Freeman and Eli. I am not saying he is the good guy, absolutely not, but his points make more sense when consider that.

[@asdbef3667]

@@flydrop8822 i still dont get why you people blame freeman...he was a research associate... he was just a pawn..who has to follow orders... anyone would have done the same thing...so..no...it is not freeman's authority to abort the test...therefore not his fault

[@asdbef3667]

@@flydrop8822 also now that freeman is out of the criticism list..eli could have temporarily aborted the test..but eventually the decision lies to the admin .. i am sure breen would have had the test done with or without ELi......so yeah...he is one of the sole culprits of the events

[@emingmann1400]

@@asdbef3667 gman was the one who gave black mesa the very pure sample used in the trial that caused the resonance cascade and iirc was the one who made gordon late in hl1 so I place all the blame on him. not sure about whether or not opposing force is canon but he also reactivated the nuke adrian deactivated

[@MISSCHAMPAGNE]

2 things. 1. DEFCON soundtrack. That game is an absolute masterpiece, and the ongoing parallels to DEFCON in the format and storytelling of this video are not lost on me. Fucking awesome. 2. Your mind. The effort it takes to put something like this together. The painstaking detail! This is just incredible, and just makes me love my favorite game series even more. You really thought about EVERY detail that lingers in the back of your mind while you're experiencing this world, and the scale is fuckin baffling.

[@stringstorm]

There is also the fact that in all of the combat that happened, the Combine never deployed garguantuan starships. In Alyx, the 'vault' still required ground connection in order to keep it afloat. Would this mean that the Combine isn't a space faring empire and just use dimensional jumps to get to places they want to be/

[@ryanw1541]

Yep, they don't seem to have much in the way of 'space ships' - although orbital bombardment was mentioned in this video. They seem to use crude methods - portal storms using the Xen relay - to dimension hop and conquer/subjugate civilisations.

[@TheJovian16]

According to Epistle 3, Marc Laidlaw's summary for the unmade Half-Life 2: Episode 3, the Combine have built a Dyson Sphere around their star in their home universe. Which suggests they have at least basic interplanetary spacecraft if nothing else.

[@yurialexandre2037]

In game, Dr. Mossman said tha the Combine don't have knowledge about teleportation in the same universe, and to teleport to another place they require a huge amount of resources, like the small portal at the top of Citadel on HL2

[@sorrenblitz805]

They invaded earth because they had only long range teleportation and earth had short range teleportation which the Combine wanted. I read that somewhere a long time ago and it stuck in my head but I can't remember where it was that I read it.

[@KingThrillgore]

In HL2 Mossman mentions they can only do long-range interdimensional travel, and that humanity has mastered same-dimensional travel using Xen as a focal point. The Combine have absorbed every technology and society as it has expanded outwards, but possibly not inwards (hence their dyson sphere in the canon-disputed Epistle 3, which does not necessarily indicate intergalactic travel). Same dimensional travel is to them what the wheel was for us.

[@ProjectSynapse]

This is an incredible amount of work. Not only in lore-writing but in sound design as well.

[@Neinfeld]

Thanks! I played on your server on Gmod recently, and it looked great. Best of luck with the server!

[@jonahmoran3751]

There’s a reason why DEFCON’s music is terrifying.

[@dhdoctor6108]

I loved the last one and this one! Only one criticism and that's the death count is too dark to be seen towards the end.

[@AdvanceAU]

Exactly! This video is already leagues ahead of the original, but the text is almost redundant because of the fact that it's barely visible.

[@dantemakescoffee5316]

There was a death count?

[@thevisitor135]

@@dantemakescoffee5316 Yeah. There is a constantly updating casualty counter at the top right corner of the screen, which increases hour by hour, day by day, gradually getting redder and redder as the death toll continues to rise, until eventually, by the end of the video, it has a blood red colour amidst billlions of civilian and military deaths worldwide, all caused by the Black Mesa Incident, the subsequent Portal Storm, and finally, the Seven-Hour War on January 2nd, 2001.

[@terrarian_outlaw]

To be fair, it's as if it barely even matters keeping count on how many lives were taken during the combine invasion. Humanity was doomed the day the incident happened.

[@KingThrillgore]

I think that may have been a design decision on Neinfeld's part. I'm also assuming his death toll is based on data from governments in-universe so the actual death toll will be greater than what is reported.

[@ryano1267]

One side note though, the 'proper' name for the Combine is the Universal Union. Combine is more like a derogatory term by the eventual resistance.

[@Seekay37]

May not be entirely true though, as even Breen refers to them as the "Combine." But maybe he just rolled with that term because that's what everyone calls them by that point.

[@someguy4512]

no one calls it "THE Universal Union" but they say universal union . . . soo yeah it isn't THE name but Combine is

[@nuclearpotato4073]

That's not true, at all. Nowhere in the lore are they called the Universal Union. Marc Laidlaw himself has said the term was something the community made up on it's own.

[@Arkhaan_]

@@nuclearpotato4073 That's not really true either. The name "Universal Union" comes from the Breencast on Collaboration, in which Breen says "And only the universal union that small minds call 'The Combine' can carry us there." But it's true that it wasn't meant to be their official name. They aren't _The_ Universal Union, but simply _a_ universal union.

[@sorrenblitz805]

@@Arkhaan_ the Combine sounds better anyway. Universal Union sounds kinda generic and jim-jonesy.

[@ashleycat4]

Meanwhile, Aperture is doing their own thing.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Supposedly Aperture was being completely facilitated by GlaDOS by 1985 or something, so yeah Aperture was doing its own thing.

[@itsmant3]

Aperture is kinda more secret than black mesa

[@marblefade10]

@@sorrenblitz805 its not 1985, its few days before half life

[@xavibun]

Aperture be vibin' while the rest of the world is fucked.

[@512TheWolf512]

@@marblefade10 no. the only thing we know FOR SURE is that it takes place sometime during the occupation, as glados clearly knows about, and is afraid of, the combine

[@romas011]

The half life universe is so interesting. How humanity would cope with an external threat has always fascinated me, I really enjoyed this.

[@SilverTounge85]

Imagine the amount of zombies roaming everything from large cities to urban areas, due to headcrabs teleporting... Billsquids raking havoc, herds of Houndeyes...possibly Tentancles through highways. Not sure about the state of the Alien Controllers and Alien Grunts, after the Nihilanth is defeated. Possibly Race X aliens present as well....

[@gmodplayer547]

Pretty sure Race X pulled out from the earth after shephard killed the gene worm, they must have said "Fuck this, we're out."

[@normalpigeons5190]

@@gmodplayer547 Yeah they just wanted to visit Earth for a bit, but when it came to actually do something in the Xen invasion, they just hopped into their little portals and probably just retired from invading worlds.

[@ryanwill32]

@@normalpigeons5190 im going to assume they saw the combine coming and decided this tiny little planet wasn't worth fighting them over it

[@stickman8859]

Lol and fucking imagine theres an old dude staring at you and dissapeard ramdomly🤣

[@juckya9660]

I personally belief that ant lions and head crabs are generation x aliens that invaded xen, and endangered the population of hound eyes. Which is why you dont see them anymore. This is further backed up by how closely voltigores look in opposing force to antlions.

[@zigro433]

It's probably been mentioned already but showing real world events that had significance in our history become trivialized at the beginning by the events of black mesa and onward really feels like the calm before the storm

[@DBAWESOMESAUCE]

This video I feel is genuinely one of the scariest things I think I will ever see in my life. This video is just truly horrifying. It has brought me back to thinking about global terrors I have developed since my childhood that are on our horizon in the real world. The threat of nuclear war grows, I'm looking outside my window right now only to see the mountains covered in a cloud of billowing smoke and authoritarian regimes around the globe seem to be on the rise. Unlike the scenario in this video, I am firm in my beliefs that these troubles will be fixed by us. Yet this video reminds me that fixing those problems will likely take millions of deaths and will bring us all into a position where we are forced to leave our own dimensions of Xanadu and perhaps pass out of our power as human bodies many of us.

[@TheMelvinV]

Yeah bc anarchy is great! It isn't

[@floridianrailauto9032]

@@TheMelvinV Libertarianism is not

[@TheMelvinV]

@@floridianrailauto9032 You mean nazism? Liberalism is something different. It's just that the right have had idiots running parties for the last century. But for real, there are some things thay are a problem. Problem is they take it too far. No racism in Trump's eyes bc he thinks whit people are innocent. Rioting BLM supporters take their anti government bullshit too far bc they think black people are innocent. And you and me, we don't even keep track of how these groups form. We just choose a side not really knowing what impact it will have. It's uncertain times and my choice will affect the world no matter what that choice is. Unless I do not choose, which I highly consider. Or just a random vote. Grab the pencil. Say a phrase and sigh the first checkbox I spot

[@DBAWESOMESAUCE]

What have I begun in the replies? Jesus.

[@floridianrailauto9032]

@@TheMelvinV I think we're misunderstanding each other. You respond to OP mentioning authoritarianism by acting as if anarchy is the only other option (and then adding onto it by saying it's not). I say libertarianism is a great option. I'm not sure where Trump and BLM comes into this

[@The-Plaguefellow]

One thing I enjoy/find nicely horrifying in the visuals is that some of the countries just *stop* darkening in color after a bit and no news of what specifically happened to cause that ever comes up... ... Since it's likely that those countries have had their entire populations wiped out before any news could be received from them.

[@lagudoufu]

Y'know, I was wondering why we weren't hearing from any of the Asian countries for a while That would make much more sense considering most Asian cultures

[@bewisoffical]

America: *Black Mesa Incident begins* UK: Pastry group

[@Fr33zeBurn]

Yeah I really didn't get that lmao. And saying Safeway entered the FTSE market.... Safeway went under around that time here!

[@morpleporple1719]

For people who may be confused: “Unknown Millitary Force” is the combine! Also, this video is absolutely terrifying! It perfectly portrays the horror of this universe. Keep up the amazing work man!

[@morpleporple1719]

Edit: the unknown aircraft at the beginning are the alien fighters or ‘mantas’

[@DrCranium]

Please excuse me for the following nitpicking, but "unknown hostile force" mentioned in the video during the first days of the Black Mesa incident are, in-fact, Nihilanth's forces: the emergency broadcasts you can hear in the begining of the video (and which mention the "UHF"s) were taken from "Black Mesa", and players can encounter radio recievers playing these broadcasts on some levels (as far as I remember - during "Office Complex" and "Forget About Freeman").

[@enzo91821]

They are the creatures from the Xen world, the Combine forces only show up in the last few minutes of the video.

[@rainbowwhitey9274]

​@@DrCranium First radio is beginning of Office Complex. Second radio is beginning-ish of Blast Pit, after going down the elevator to get to the tram. Third radio is near the end of the Surface Tension, after the guard has a bad time.

[@VentrueMinis]

Now I understand why the 7 Hour War was 7 hours, not 12. The world was already in such a crippled state. Great video.

[@tetraxis3011]

Its possible it lasted longernt than 7 horus. For example the 100 years war actually lasted for around 106 years. The 7 years war lasted for almost 9 years.

[@cherrycheetos]

i like how it went from "haha it's okay guys, just a minor nuclear incident" to "HOLY SHIT THERES ALIENS HERE, BRING THE EXPLOSIVES" in like 24 hours

[@pinesquirdog]

Vladimir Putin: Who are you, Wallace Breen? Wallace Breen: I'm you, but better. ..or worse?

[@EmbeddedWithin]

Worse.

[@consul.4930]

Not bald.

[@АртемДерещук]

Meh. Putin would rat out the humanity for his own good. He'd live in a citadel and wouldn't give a damn about the rest of the world. Breen seems to have humanity's interest in mind - it's just that his overlords have really low standards of how occupied species should exist, and there isn't much Breen can do about that.

[@MrSnoopy100]

@@АртемДерещук ooo, liberahu porvalo)

[@llongdaede6881]

@@MrSnoopy100 +15 rubley)

[@sorrenblitz805]

"Aliens aren't invading, Freeman, you're just being Paranoid!" "The mail man isn't spying on you, Freeman, you're just being paranoid!" What else... "Owls can't read your thoughts, Freeman, you're just being paranoid!" "There's no civilization of anthropomorphic frog people living in the sewers, Freeman, you're just being paranoid!" Yeah? Well is it paranoid to expect five monsters to ambush me?

[@BMofficialvids]

Bet they wouldn't call him paranoid now if they were still alive!

[@Huziharamantics]

I love that people still support this game!!!

[@pprophet]

The HL universe has such a beautifully haunting storyline

[@michaelandreipalon359]

41:09: Christmas Eve. 42:50: Christmas Day. 51:25: New Year's Eve. 52:51: New Year's Day. 55:10: The Seven Hour War begins. 58:45: The Seven Hour War finally ends "officially".

[@velium365]

One hell of a way to kick off the new century.

[@PETRIXXXX]

Merry christmas!

[@Toothily]

@@PETRIXXXX More like, Merry crisis. And a happy new fear!

[@-kass3356]

All of this shit happening while Gordon is taking a good nap.

[@MultiNacho8]

I require the source of your profile picture. Merely for scientific reasons, of course. Not unlike those in Black Mesa.

[@-kass3356]

@@MultiNacho8 I got you homie but I don't know if you can see the link

[@MultiNacho8]

@@-kass3356 I cannot, my fellow scientist. I am quite befuddled.

[@McBloccguy0]

@@MultiNacho8 SUS

[@MultiNacho8]

@@McBloccguy0 I assure you, my friend, my interests are purely scientific.

[@Duhya]

Seems like the Combine didn't have to anything, because the world had already turned into Threads.

[@Benjamin-ns8ct]

*turned to shreads

[@SuperCreativeGT]

Benjamin Goodacre I believe he’s referring to an old film Threads, about nuclear war destroying England.

[@Benjamin-ns8ct]

@@SuperCreativeGT Oh really? Haha ok then.

[@ADos27578]

Threads is an utterly horrifying film, it's a recommended watch.

[@vrass775]

Have to wonder how much longer Earth might have held out if the Combine invaded before all the shit had hit the fan. Yeah we likely still would have lost but maybe instead of 7 hours we might have lasted 7 days?

[@sulphurous2656]

The nature of Headcrabs, Leeches, and Antlions make the Combine look like uninvited house warming guests by contrast. The Half-Life universe is one in which this planet is most likely screwed beyond repair no matter what.

[@Zekiraeth]

World population December 4th 2000: 6.2 billion World population February 12th 2001: 4.8 billion 70 days. 2.4 billion dead. Near-complete infrastructural, political, economic, and environmental collapse. The subjugation of humanity by an interdimensional empire. Truly terrifying to imagine.

[@anom2619]

"Minor nuclear accident"

[@KingThrillgore]

A very minor case of serious but minor nuclear accident. Not, try not to panic. Or do panic. As that is the proper reaction to being told there is a minor nuclear accident.