Half-Life's Synths: The Combine Terror [Part 2] - ValveTime Database: Episode 11
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- To continue our Halloween celebrations, we're picking up where we left off in our last episode and diving deep into the stories behind the rest of the Half-Life 2's monstrous synths, mysterious weaponised creatures that form the backbone of the Combine war machine!
Check out Part 1 of our look at the Combine Synths: • Half-Life's Synths: Th...
Learn more about this episode's topic:
Synths Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Synth
Combine Empire Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Combine
Hunter Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Hunter
Shield Scanner Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Shiel...
Advisor Pod Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Advis...
Crab Synth Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Crab_...
Mortar Synth Combine Overwiki Page: combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Morta...
Check out more episodes of ValveTime Database:
Ep10 - Synths: The Combine Horror [Part 1]: • Half-Life's Synths: Th...
Ep9 - An Exclusive Look At "The Crossing": • An Exclusive Look At "...
Ep8 - The Borealis: The Untold History [Part 2]: • The Borealis: The Unto...
Ep7 - The Borealis: Past, Present, and Future [Part 1]: • The Borealis: Past, Pr...
Ep6 - Ravenholm: • Ravenholm - Database: ...
Ep5 - Half-Life Uplink Film: • Half-Life: Uplink - Da...
Ep4 - The Special Infected: • The Special Infected -...
Ep3 - Prospero: • Prospero - Database: E...
Ep2 - The Green Flu: • The Green Flu - Databa...
Ep1 - Headcrabs: • Headcrabs - Database: ...
Playlist: • ValveTime Database
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Music by: / vegeta897
Additional Game Music by: Valve Corporation
English Subtitles by: Dietrich Ginocchio
ValveTime does not claim to own any of the copyrighted musical tracks or game footage used in this video. - Hry
![Half-Life's Synths: The Combine Horror [Part 1] - ValveTime Database: Episode 10](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/1l2UfkRjEz0/mqdefault.jpg)
![Half-Life's Synths: The Combine Horror [Part 1] - ValveTime Database: Episode 10](/img/tr.png)
![Ravenholm - Database: Episode 6 [60FPS!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7IvYuZzRllE/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Borealis: Past, Present, And Future [Part 1] - Database: Episode 7](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/AY8fxF-UvvI/mqdefault.jpg)
I wouldn't really think of the Crab and Mortar synths as easter eggs. I think the narrative purpose of them is to show the player that the Combine is so much more vast and expansive than something he or she is going to experience in game. Just because you don't fight or interact with a certain set of enemies, doesn't mean the combine universe is equal to this set.
Very true, it’s the same with the conscripts, they are mentioned but never encountered
Mentioned? I thought the Conscripts were completely scrapped during the beta.
Captain Cancer I’m not entirely sure, but I do believe that at least one time they are mentioned
@@I_dunno_yet Any idea where?
Captain Cancer not really sure I think they are mentioned by NPCs talking
2:50 i think those “boils” are the creatures original eyes before being replaced by the more advanced blue eyes
ArnorAteBscotch yea me too
Nice one, maybe they could be sensors? as true self, maybe like a ''sonar'' ish type creature.
the boils recieving sound and based on that it knows where it is or something.
@@V4YGR3 No, those boils are it’s actual eyes.
Someone should try and draw what the synths might look like without the augmentations
I tried to do so with the gunship, but failed :P
+TheBuragi Thats what I was thinking, both the gun ship and drop ship seem to have originally been sealife
I find its more likely that they are aquatic, it just matches their movement
The gunship appears like it would take on a shark or dolphin like role, being a large predator
The dropship appears to be a filter feeder, as most of its body is either torso, or limbs
But they ARE aliens, their ecosystem can be unfathomably different than ours
OR maybe, instead of being aquatic creatures, they could be creatures which's home planet is very gaseous, explaining their lack of eyes, very 'aerodinamic' shape, and possibly a very light weight.
I ain't no scientist though.
gunship despite your opinion heve eyes from fly, i think he's genetically combined from few creatures.
The Hunters are so cool... though, I think I disagree in a few places.
To me, that armor that they have looks really artificial. It glows rather unnaturally, and while it _could_ just be because the Hunters are really alien, it seems to fit into Combines' aesthetics very well. Also, if that were all totally natural, then there probably wouldn't be a spot for an antenna on the back.
Also, I think it's commonly accepted in the community that the boils on the sides of its 'eyes' are the eyes themselves. I personally theorize that the 'eyes' that shoot the darts are a modified part of their original biology, and that whatever the pre-Synth Hunters were used these to shoot some manner of ranged stingers. That would explain why the Combine didn't just outfit them with another Pulse-based firearm like every other synth bar the Stalkers: they already had a potent built-in weapon that they just needed to upgrade a little bit.
Yeah, I agree.
I wouldn't say that the armour glows, it's more like a pearlescent texture.
={Lord Fishball}= Brantonisme I agree, but it still looks very artificial to me. The Combine love that color, which adds more evidence.
Also, I'd like to point out that hunters spark when damaged.
The two vertical eyes seem implemented, there is a shaft of skin surrounding it like as if it was planted in.
Evil Flying Space Potatoe Your fucking profile picture is lovely
Ouuuuuagh that Combine announcer gives me chills every time.
GLaDOS’ evil twin.
Probably a synth woman hidden somewhere as well. The combine kept her voice and didn't tamper much with it because it was so perfect.
It's voiced by the same VA as GLaDoS
Overwatch
@@MrIndigold bruh what
I disagree with you with the Hunter being mostly organic, the armor may be organic, but the explosive flechette cannons? There's no way those are organic, nor eyes, the small "boils" as you described them are their eyes, at least, that's what I believe
The eyes are the "boils on the side of the eyes"
I think the 2 Blue tubes they have near theyr mouth are theye Guns
They use the blue circles as guns as well as eyes, similar to how the strider uses its main gun as an eye, since its seen twitching about and scanning the area.
@@Soha_an. still could be a riminant from its original organic form
There’s no way the boils are their eyes.
I think that the hunter's "eyes" are actually augmentations that are just for launching the exploding darts, and the small white "boils" are its natural eyes. if you think about it, it would be extremely impractical from an evolutionary standpoint for a creature to use its primary sensory organ as a weapon, and for it to store darts inside its body for the sole purpose of firing them out. also, the darts appear to be artificial in origin, with their shape and colors being reminiscent of many other combine technologies. and if the darts are indeed natural, how would the hunter "grow" them inside its body so quickly as to maintain the rate of fire seen in the half-life games while still being able to contain normal vital organs within itself? my personal theory is since the hunters only appear in the games after judith mossman gives the local teleportation technology to the combine, the hunters antenna and dart launcher(s) are actually part of the same apparatus, wherein darts are teleported in very quickly to a small magazine inside the hunter's body, then fired out through its two launchers, probably using some kind of compressed gas system, much like an airsoft gun or actual dart launcher. please let me know what you think of my theory, or if you have one of your own, i'd love to hear it.
Definitely.
if you look closely at the hunter while idle, you can see the "eyes" actually move a bit (twitching), i think those are its eyes, those boils dont seem like eyes to me :P
You do realize not everything will be the same as earths inhabitants right?
Junebug482 Just because it’s made on earth doesn’t mean it’s not made to not be from earth
@@conneath the twitching is just the hunter adjusting the aim of its weapons as it scans the area. the "boils" are likely compound eyes with protective films over them or something.
And... Cremators? i know its a beta enemy but his head appears in a cup on Eli's lab and it means its in the game
I think that's just an easter egg.
Cleaners do exist in retail universe, but they appear only to clean up fighting areas after they ended and we never sit around enough for them to come
Cremators are canon. That's why you see burnt bodies all over the sewers of City 17 and more.
cremators are robots, they arent some enslaved aliens, just robots.
RegularGamer TV pretty damn sure they are synths, there’s a spine connected to the cremator head
I thought you were going to talk about the different musical synths valve used for the OST.
Lol, the Combine Yamaha DX-5
I remember reading somewhere that hunters were forcibly evolved hound eyes.
I always felt bad killing hound eyes. They were both adorable and mostly harmless. The doggos of Xen.
lwnf360 WWEEEEEeeee BOOM! **beep beep** internal, bleeding, detected.
Whow Whow Wheehhhhh
Imagine being so technologically advanced that you go to another dimension and augment some animal you found to become your bulletproof sleeping bag.
Imagine your entire existence just being the bulletproof sleeping bag.
I think the hunters share some similarities with the houndeye from half-life 1
I think they look like the bullsqiud, if you get rid of the eye cannons and armour
Those vertical blue things aren't the eyes, the small cluster of three white orbs on either side are the eyes
I agree. The blue things are augmentations.
I actually think the Mortar Synth looks more like a Bullsquid.
I think the hunter is more similar to a pit drone (seen in opposing force, race x). One leg was added. His claws on forehead were removed and replaced by two eye cannons. And if you look carefully at a hunter, there are something like eyes on the sides of his head. The same like pit drone.
I absolutely love your Database series. I'm actually way more interesting in analytical in-lore videos like these than general Valve news to be honest. I learned a lot here, and I consider myself a pretty formidable Half Life expert. It's amazing how rich this universe is, and how a lot of what makes it interesting are very subtle details that will never be noticed by most players. It's what makes the Half Life series so very unique.
+Carl Minez Watch the development history videos on here, in addition to the Overwiki's pages. Thanks to unusually heavy leaks (I shit you not almost everything made for HL2 is now in public hands) and the concept art books it is a treat for serious HL fans. Lots of discarded ideas worth perusing, and enough to make several games out of (which they did and HL3 has been hinted to use more of what was abandoned for HL2).
I could swear I've seen that 314 reference somewhere before in relation to worlds and such, but I can't for the life of me remember in what context or universe it was.
+TigerXtrm Yea me too.
+TigerXtrm Perhaps 314 refers to spherical worlds? Seeing as you need Pi (3.14 etc) to calculate circles and spheres and stuff.
+Filthma Wouldn't that apply to the vast majority of worlds though? I think I had it confused with something related to Halo.
*****
Maybe. But, if you think about it, Xen in Half-Life is considered a sort of world, but it's definitely not a planet and far from spherical. There's a good chance that the Combine has conquered other worlds that have a similar sort of form. And if the majority of the worlds are spherical, then I guess the majority of them fall into the '314 category'?
You're probably right though.
In the Marvel universe, the different dimensions are noted with numbers, maybe you got that from there
is it just me or do mortar synths look like COMBINIFYED bullsquids?
Oh man you're right
Nah, bullsquids are not the type of creature to have an exoskeleton
I think that the crab and mortar synths originally were used during the 7 hour war because the combine had very little idea of why capability Earth held.
This leads me to believe that after the seven hour war they were all sent to be distributed in the new territory or were going to be returned to other combine areas in other universes where they were needed or being housed.
The crabsynths apear in the cut cinematic sequence in alyx
man I had a dream hl3 was coming out
Half life 2 episode 3: Combine units turn against breen
@@Mewcat That can't happen for 2 reasons:
1: Breen is dead.
2: Combine units can't turn against their leaders.
@@thesenate9939 dude, it was a joke.
@@Mewcat You have a horrible taste in humour, then.
and by sarcastic, you meant you are a fucking moron right ?
The one scene that actually scared the crap out of me in ep2 was when you were opening the gate and you turn around and the hunter is right behind you in the window
one crucial thing not many people know is that the ''armor'' on the synths is actually a kind of carapace. this is especially shown on hunters as they have chrome/multicolour carapace which is based of a beetle's shell
This is why I love valve they will model, texture and code a creature just to be shown got 5 seconds.
This series is much much better that the FNAF filled clusterfuck that is Game Theory. Very interesting.
hoa Nguyễn Đặng Thị Thu Don't compare Half-Life 2 to FNAF
Lucian Ganea pretty sure he was comparing this channel to game theory.
Indeed!
Lucian Ganea I have no problem with FNAF, but that game’s kind of a mess so yeah.
@@anthonygeiter5842 that in on itself should be a felony
Man I'm really enjoying these videos, I've already got the Half life 2 collectors edition stuff so the majority of this information was already there, but it's nice to go back to the Half Life universe like this, cheers.
You said there is no augmentations visible on hunter, but what about the 'eyes' shooting flechettes, the anthena-thing on the back and all the openings on the back of the creature?
8:10 so, maybe that indicates Earth is the 314th dimension conquered by the Combine :o It might be as well the identification number of this particular Pod, or the spesies in general.
3.14 about equals pi, and earth is round, so maybe that's it?
Jack Rutledge Goembel Wow, I didn't think about it o_O That sounds interesting.
BLUESHIT199 WHY DO I KEEP SEEING YOU EVERYWHERE?!?!?!?!
I love how the shield scanner looks like a walnut
We're back for Part 2, so join us as we examine the rest of the Combine's monstrous synths!
Holy shit that was quick, just watched part 1 this morning 👍🏻
+ValveTime Those boils are actually its real eyes, with the large frontal "eyes" being just weapons. There is also an antenna and ventilation on its back.
+Erevis Kael What about the boils that have burst on the other side of the Hunter's face?
+ValveTime I love you even more than i loved you before.
+ValveTime
I'm pretty sure 314 is the Combine's number code for Earth's universe.
It's so great to see all these different species and creatures getting along and working together. I only hope real life can reach the level of unity that the combine has reached.
I always love to watch these series. All database gives me chills and scary moments while learning more about Half-Life universe. Thanks Valvetime!
1:55
Gordon : hey !
Hunter : What ....
Gordon : stop pls
Hunter : no
I can't help but feel that the crab synth has some relation to headcrabs since they look similar.
+Nscaleguy1
...Because they're both crabs? Uh-huh, sure.
+Nscaleguy1 Also that their idle animations are similar & the it has a weapon in a cavity in it's underbelly, where a human head would normally fit.
+Blurns Not only that, but the worlds which the headcrabs were found in where pretty new to the combine, and the most the they were able to do was weaponize the existing ones with a few genetic modifications. This would also explain the lack of the crab synths in the game, as their development was probably underway in the C17 citadel, and it's partial destruction destroyed the research and production areas before the newly created prototypes/designs could be deployed.
Maybe it was some sort of natural growth that maybe takes years of time (other than the guns and such)
I don’t know, but they look somewhat similar to antlion guards
Bloody hell, that was fast.
I still look forward to a Database episode entirely, not partially based, on the Portal series.
Part one of this synth series was my first video that I have watched of you, and it satisfied my nerdy interest in the Half Life universe. It also sold me on your channel. *SUBSCRIBED*
And here I thought I wouldn't play Half life 2 again after spending over 100 hours in HL2 and it's episodes...
god how good was episode 2. Fantastic combine design!
Great episode dude, as a huge fan of HL I found this really intresting.
the armour in the hunter is probably synyhetic, made of some kind of balistics resistant gel that’s different from strider armour because other planets didn’t resist with almost exclusively small arms
I think the “small boils” on the hunters were the creatures original eyes...it would make sense as such a set up would be ideal for direct and additional depth perception(similar to jumping spiders) The must’ve been some sort of predator and the artificial eyes were put in place of a main eye(top) and a mouth(lower) as artificial eyes would substitute quite well for natural eyes in these given positions. The “boils” were probably “shut off” as they became obsolete...the reason they remained is likely do to the fact that they may have some decently thick clear chitin as a shell (like many insect) and removing it was pointless as new eyes were supplemented.
I think the Mortar is some form of bullsquid, with the two 'legs' and the frontal tentacles, only heavily modified for military use.
The boils on the hunter are in fact its eyes, the blue orbs are where it fires the flechettes from.
9:00 nice! I hoped you talk about those guys. I didnt know anything about them.
You guys do a fantastic job of analyzing and picking out the facts that these games have to offer. Nice work as always.
I miss this series. Also, where was the episode of the stalkers?*
Harrybo1628 the database series
stalkers are just rebels who got caught and got modified to the point of terrifying levels
nope alope he means the episode
this is what makes half life so cool, we don't know, there is almost no exposition so we need to be "detective" and piece together the lore for our self. I loved first time playing through half life 2 at release reading the posters, news and learning the history for myself.
One of the most satisfying things is finally killing a strider with your last bit of ammo
Found the Database series last night, love the work put into all the videos.
It's a shame how many synth enemies were cut from the game, things like the Cremator, Assassin, and Combine Guard looked like they could have been interesting additions to the final product, but that may just be a "forbidden fruit" type of situation. I guess we gotta put trust in Valve that these were cut with good reason, however it is still fun to see what could have been.
Definitely looking forward to more videos in the future, keep up the good work!
How cool! was always curious as a kid about these different enemies. it'd be cool if in half life 3 we could see the combine world or other worlds.
Still a great game after 15 years
i just realized
Hunters sounds
are highpitched striders sounds
It's actually fascinating to look a Crabtank and Mortar.
They are very clearly of a different design, of a different era. Their coloring scheme is bright, yellow-ish, very Xen-like in appearance. The bright purple is NEVER seen in any combine technology AT ALL, when you think about it! Neither is the long, prominent spiky antennae clumps seen on both of them, meaning that in that design, every synth would have had one. They are obviously a remnant of a very old combine design style, perhaps the entire combine empire would have the same design aesthetics, with yellow and purple. But they have gone through redesigns into the current brown-grey-white palette.
great video! very in depth!
The crab synth reminds me a lot of the bullsquid with it's 2 legs and antenna poking out it's front end. Would make sense because the giant creature at the end of HL1 was trying to escape something and lead with it lots of creatures.
Wish this channel would come back :( was one of my favs
aren't those boils on the side the actual eyes?
+TheLemming1337 Not unless they have three on one side and a burst one on the other.
+TheLemming1337 I was wondered too for that
I feel like they could've been the original eyes, but those glowing things now functor as better eyes/weapons and were added by the combine. That could be why they seem mutated and burst, because they're no longer necessary.
On the hunter: I believe the things you referred to as eyes are simply augmented guns, as that does not seem like a natural thing to be on the hunter and is almost certainly augmented. The things you referred to as boils are, I believe, the eyes.
Well, the Hunter and Strider are similar in other ways, such as both fire with their eyes
I find the revolver is the best for those hunters.
Always wondered about them tank synths appearing in the citadel... I really hope theres going to be an ep3.
the minigun also reveals itself when it walks ( the crab synth ) it also contains animations of a melee attack and charge attack!
It's sad that nearly 4 years have passed since the last episode of Database was posted...One can only hope they'll return someday.
I think the Crab Synths might be the basic stage of the Dropship, and the Mortar Synths are the basic stage of the Gunships.
Just speculation though!
Awesome video!!!
I think the Hunter we see in episode 1 is a variant design for snow, as the raid takes places in the Arctic
with the hunter the blue dots arnet eyes, theyre flachette launchers they have small gray eyes to the left and right of the lower launcher
I think they used the mortar synths were used but unseen as the artillery where you begin taking down striders
Seeing the Hunter close up, I thought the things that were described as boils in the video, were its actual eyes, as you can see a bit of a glint/shine in them - 2:23
Kind of reminds me of spider eyes.
Maybe you should also talk about how the deleted/removed Synth and Combine villains (E.g Wasteland Scanner) would affect this!
The crab synth has some animations carried over from the antlion guard/guardian
The "tankcrab" is basically a armoured shep with a minigun and strong frontlegs for meele combat. And the "mortar" is most likely the fast air fight, likely having the same porpous as a combat jet, at least that's what I think...
The voice when fleeing the barn is just like that from the boss robot of portal
They are the same voice actor.
I think the advisor pod is the same species as the gunship originally, like a stalker equivalent of the gunship species. I love these games, so much great visual and audial storytelling
The shield scanners may have the exact same armour as the striders, but obviously much, much thinner, hence vunerable to small arms fire.
The hunter might be a combination of a few creatures. One being the hound eye because it has 3 legs, that were removed and given very muscular legs. The other was probably just a random modification but I'm thinking it's brute charge and strength was from a bull squid. I can't name anymore other then it hunts in packs like the houndeye, but don't have a pack leader and are given orders by combine soldiers or by that weird antenna coming from it's back, the only exception is their leader is a strider but it has been proven that this two are two completely separate creatures. Again its just a theory, it might be some alien we have never seen before
Once again very interesting. :)
simply amazing design!
If you ask me, the blue armor on the Hunter reminds me a lot of a beetle's shell, so perhaps the armor is natural while the eyes, innards, and cannon being augmented.
The crab synth gives me a strong IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) vibe. Similar to a an LAV or light tank of sorts. Shame it wasn't actually featured. But I don't know how they would balance it I guess alongside the strider and combine APC's and whatnot.
Honestly I hope the Crab and Mortar synths appear in future games (lol future games!) but honestly.. they're cool looking.
I think that the actual eyes for the strider (the old, pre-modified ones) and the new eyes are augmentation.
It's funny how we look at all of the augmentations of the synths as creepy and unthinkable...yet in the future, we will embrace augmentations. Humanity will become unrecognizable.
Cavey Möth and if I wanted a fortune teller I would have asked. Who told you we would do that? Did ya go there yourself?
Gayben is a monster for letting such a great story be left unfinished
I love the hunters because they blur the line between what the combine captures and what the combine makes
I hope when ever valve makes another half life related thing that they interduce stuff like the hunter crab synth adviser pod tlmore of the unknown transformed creatures
Maybe they'll use the Crab synths and Spikey McNothanks in Half Life 3
Which I still believe will come one day
If i had to make a blind guess about how the mortar synth worked, or alternatively come up with an implementation for valve to use, i'd have the mortar synth basically act like a city scanner, except it lob a slow moving, weak grenade instead of take pictures.
I'd imagine it'd be the kind of thing you could catch and throw back with the gravity gun.
With hunters I feel like those boils could be it's original eyes before the combine added it's flechette launchers
To me hunters and striders have a lot of similarities both are a tripod stance,Both have two cannon like thing that fire,Both have a tough armor,And both are strong synths of the combine.
The antenna on the hunters is actually a satellite internet receiver, so that the hunters can continuously be vibing to sector sweep on Spotify
Can't believe you didn't mention the heartbeat that comes from the gunship and dropship
I feel that crab synth is used to guard combine structures, same with the mortar synth
I think that the crab & mortar synths are headcrabs heavily modified because in the mortar synth has the back headcrab legs.
And now synths are complete robots *coughfallout4cough*
Finally, my questions are answered from "what's this crab synth in the citadel?"
Small note from 1:56, the stacked blue things are not the hunter's eyes, but rather a weapon. It's actual eyes are the "boils" that can he mentions at 2:49
Though a few of the Hunter's animations show it moving it's flechette launchers around like eyes.
9:15 on of them looks kinda formiliar from Opposing Force when your in the dark in the canals
ah dude, I really like your these videos about the combines! But I couldn't help but notice an obvious cut at 5:58 ahha
Maybe those flying synths at the end are a more advanced version of a tick pod?
The crab and motar synth, have very and i mean *VERY* High ranks in the combine universe. In the 7 hour war they where used to kill humans and soldiers and stuff
I think those boils on the hunters _are_ it’s eyes. The glowy blue bits are it’s guns.
The hunter’s flechette launcher is the eye under the higher one, it’s likely that people who haven’t seen hunters before would write it off as a xen creature just before it shoots its flechettes out of its lower eye, because attaching a gun to a creature is too open
I got the idea that the mortar synth was the combines modifications to the bullsquid from the first game.
Do race "X" next
7:45 sounds like Glados, they are the same devs, so maybe it's the same actor
Tbh the voice is pretty cool.
It is actually the same actor ;)
Pyro Paragon
Ellen McLain served as the voice actor for 'Portal's' GLaDOS, and 'Half-Life 2's' Combine Announcer and Female Citizens, just as her husband voiced 'Team Fortress 2's' Sniper and 'Half-Life 2's' Male Citizens.
JavaScript Not to mention Ellen also voice acted TF2's Announcer.
Topper
"You failed!"
*booooooooo!*