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Let's discuss the Half-Life Episode 3 plot without Valve/Steam talk

sn00zer

Member
Just wanted to start a thread to discuss the plot without talking about Steam/Valve/

Cuz got damn that is some good plot

Thanks Das Ace for the translation
I hope this letter finds you well. I can hear your complaint already, “Gordon Freeman, we have not heard from you in ages!” Well, if you care to hear excuses, I have plenty, the greatest of them being I’ve been in other dimensions and whatnot, unable to reach you by the usual means. This was the case until eighteen months ago, when I experienced a critical change in my circumstances, and was redeposited on these shores. In the time since, I have been able to think occasionally about how best to describe the intervening years, my years of silence. I do first apologize for the wait, and that done, hasten to finally explain (albeit briefly, quickly, and in very little detail) events following those described in my previous game (referred to herewith as Episode 2).

To begin with, as you may recall from the closing paragraphs of my previous missive, the death of Eli Vance shook us all. The Resistance team was traumatized, unable to be sure how much of our plan might be compromised, and whether it made any sense to go on at all as we had intended. And yet, once Eli had been buried, we found the strength and courage to regroup. It was the strong belief of his brave daughter, the feisty Alyx Vance, that we should continue on as her father had wished. We had the Antarctic coordinates, transmitted by Eli's long-time assistant, Dr. Judith Mossman, which we believed to mark the location of the lost luxury liner Borealis. Eli had felt strongly that the Borealis should be destroyed rather than allow it to fall into the hands of the Combine. Others on our team disagreed, believing that the Borealis might hold the secret to the revolution’s success. Either way, the arguments were moot until we found the vessel. Therefore, immediately after the service for Dr. Vance, Alyx and I boarded a seaplane and set off for the Antarctic; a much larger support team, mainly militia, was to follow by separate transport.

It is still unclear to me exactly what brought down our little aircraft. The following hours spent traversing the frigid waste in a blizzard are also a jumbled blur, ill-remembered and poorly defined. The next thing I clearly recall is our final approach to the coordinates Dr. Mossman has provided, and where we expected to find the Borealis. What we found instead was a complex fortified installation, showing all the hallmarks of sinister Combine technology. It surrounded a large open field of ice. Of the Borealis itself there was no sign…or not at first. But as we stealthily infiltrated the Combine installation, we noticed a recurent, strangely coherent auroral effect–as of a vast hologram fading in and out of view. This bizarre phenomenon initially seemed an effect caused by an immense Combine lensing system, Alyx and I soon realized that what we were actually seeing was the luxury liner Borealis itself, phasing in and out of existence at the focus of the Combine devices. The aliens had erected their compound to study and seize the ship whenever it materialized. What Dr. Mossman had provided were not coordinates for where the sub was located, but instead for where it was predicted to arrive. The liner was oscillating in and out of our reality, its pulses were gradually steadying, but there was no guarantee it would settle into place for long–or at all. We determined that we must put ourselves into position to board it at the instant it became completely physical.

At this point we were briefly detained–not captured by the Combine, as we feared at first, but by minions of our former nemesis, the conniving and duplicitous Wallace Breen. Dr. Breen was not as we had last seen him–which is to say, he was not dead. At some point, the Combine had saved out an earlier version of his consciousness, and upon his physical demise, they had imprinted the back-up personality into a biological blank resembling an enormous grub. The Breen-grub, despite occupying a position of relative power in the Combine hierarchy, seemed nervous and frightened of me in particular. Wallace did not know how his previous incarnation, the original Dr. Breen, had died. He knew only that I was responsible. Therefore the grub treated us with great caution. Still, he soon confessed (never able to keep quiet for long) that he was herself a prisoner of the Combine. He took no pleasure from her current grotesque existence, and pleaded with us to end his life. Alyx believed that a quick death was more than Wallace Breen deserved, but for my part, I felt a modicum of pity and compassion. Out of Alyx’s sight, I might have done something to hasten the grub’s demise before we proceeded.

Not far from where we had been detained by Dr. Breen, we found Judith Mossman being held in a Combine interrogation cell. Things were tense between Judith and Alyx, as might be imagined. Alyx blamed Judith for her father’s death…news of which, Judith was devastated to hear for the first time. Judith tried to convince Alyx that she had been a double agent serving the resistance all along, doing only what Eli had asked of her, even though she knew it meant he risked being seen by her peers–by all of us–as a traitor. I was convinced; Alyx less so. But from a pragmatic point of view, we depended on Dr. Mossman; for along with the Borealis coordinates, she possessed resonance keys which would be necessary to bring the liner fully into our plane of existence.

We skirmished with Combine soldiers protecting a Combine research post, then Dr. Mossman attuned the Borealis to precisely the frequencies needed to bring it into (brief) coherence. In the short time available to us, we scrambled aboard the ship, with an unknown number of Combine agents close behind. The ship cohered for only a short time, and then its oscillations resume. It was too late for our own military support, which arrived and joined the Combine forces in battle just as we rebounded between universes, once again unmoored.

What happened next is even harder to explain. Alyx Vance, Dr. Mossman and myself sought control of the ship–its power source, its control room, its navigation center. The liner’s history proved nonlinear. Years before, during the Combine invasion, various members of an earlier science team, working in the hull of a dry-docked liner situated at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center in Lake Michigan, had assembled what they called the Bootstrap Device. If it worked as intended, it would emit a field large enough to surround the ship. This field would then itself travel instantaneously to any chosen destination without having to cover the intervening space. There was no need for entry or exit portals, or any other devices; it was entirely self-contained. Unfortunately, the device had never been tested. As the Combine pushed Earth into the Seven Hour War, the aliens seized control of our most important research facilities. The staff of the Borealis , with no other wish than to keep the ship out of Combine hands, acted in desperation. The switched on the field and flung the Borealis toward the most distant destination they could target: Antarctica. What they did not realize was that the Bootstrap Device travelled in time as well as space. Nor was it limited to one time or one location. The Borealis, and the moment of its activation, were stretched across space and time, between the nearly forgotten Lake Huron of the Seven Hour War and the present day Antarctic; it was pulled taut as an elastic band, vibrating, except where at certain points along its length one could find still points, like the harmonic spots along a vibrating guitar string. One of these harmonics was where we boarded, but the string ran forward and back, in both time and space, and we were soon pulled in every direction ourselves.

Time grew confused. Looking from the bridge, we could see the drydocks of Aperture Science at the moment of teleportation, just as the Combine forces closed in from land, sea and air. At the same time, we could see the Antarctic wastelands, where our friends were fighting to make their way to the protean Borealis; and in addition, glimpses of other worlds, somewhere in the future perhaps, or even in the past. Alyx grew convinced we were seeing one of the Combine’s central staging areas for invading other worlds–such as our own. We meanwhile fought a running battle throughout the ship, pursued by Combine forces. We struggled to understand our stiuation, and to agree on our course of action. Could we alter the course of the Borealis? Should we run it aground in the Antarctic, giving our peers the chance to study it? Should we destroy it with all hands aboard, our own included? It was impossible to hold a coherent thought, given the baffling and paradoxical timeloops, which passed through the ship like bubbles. I felt I was going mad, that we all were, confronting myriad versions of ourselves, in that ship that was half ghost-ship, half nightmare funhouse.

What it came down to, at last, was a choice. Judith Mossman argued, reasonably, that we should save the Borealis and deliver it to the Resistance, that our intelligent peers might study and harness its power. But Alyx reminded me she had sworn she would honor her father’s demand that we destroy the ship. She hatched a plan to set the Borealis to self-destruct, while riding it into the heart of the Combine’s invasion nexus. Judith and Alyx argued. Judith overpowered Alyx and brought the Borealis area, preparing to shut off the Bootstrap Device and settle the ship on the ice. Then I heard a shot, and Judith fell. Alyx had decided for all of us, or her weapon had. With Dr. Mossman dead, we were committed to the suicide plunge. Grimly, Alyx and I armed the Borealis, creating a time-travelling missile, and steered it for the heart of the Combine’s command center.

At this point, as you will no doubt be unsurprised to hear, a Certain Sinister Figure appeared, in the form of that sneering trickster, the G-Man. For once he appeared not to me, but to Alyx Vance. Alyx had not seen the cryptical schoolmarm (no male equivalent) since childhood, but she recognized him instantly. “Come along with me now, we’ve places to do and things to be,” said the G-Man, and Alyx acquiesced. She followed the strange grey man out of the Borealis, out of our reality. For me, there was no convenient door held open; only a snicker and a sideways glance. I was left alone, riding the weaponized luxury liner into the heart of a Combine world. An immense light blazed. I caught a cosmic view of a brilliantly glittering Dyson sphere. The vastness of the Combine’s power, the futility of our struggle, blossomed briefly in my awareness. I saw everything. Mainly I saw how the Borealis, our most powerful weapon, would register as less than a fizzling matchhead as it blew itself apart. And what remained of me would be even less than that.

Just then, as you have surely already foreseen, the Vortigaunts parted their own checkered curtains of reality, reached in as they have on prior occasions, plucked me out, and set me aside. I barely got to see the fireworks begin.

And here we are. I spoke of my return to this shore. It has been a circuitous path to lands I once knew, and surprising to see how much the terrain has changed. Enough time has passed that few remember me, or what I was saying when last I spoke, or what precisely we hoped to accomplish. At this point, the resistance will have failed or succeeded, no thanks to me. Old friends have been silenced, or fallen by the wayside. I no longer know or recognize most members of the research team, though I believe the spirit of rebellion still persists. I expect you know better than I the appropriate course of action, and I leave you to it. Except no further correspondence from me regarding these matters; this is my final epistle.

Yours in infinite finality,

Gordon Freeman, Ph.D.

GOT DAMN

+Breen bug is something that has been expected for a while, but I love the twist that he has been around for a while and long enough to be fearful because his original self was killed by Gordon in his lifetime

+Time travelling and portal swapping DURING THE MUTHERFUCKING 7HOUR WAR ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME HOLY FUCKING SHIT....this is some holy grail HL2 lore stuff.

+And that cherry on top of Alyx getting called by the Gman and leaving Gordon behind. just *mwah* perfection. GMan has threatened to leave Gordon behind more than enough times, and GMan has shown time and time again that once he is done with someone he will abandon (Opposing Force) or no longer save (Eli Vance) them. Taking Alyx and Alyx going willingly only to abandon you seems unfair, but you did exactly that to her in HL2s ending

god damn this wouldve been great
 
The best part is the realisation that everything you did to stop the combine was ultimately futile. Like the suicide bomb run wouldn't have done a damn thing to them. That just says it all.
 

Eppy Thatcher

God's had his chance.
The description of what sounds like the final act would have been 5 star top tier PERFECTION of gaming. going back and forward in time. It's so easy to imagine Half-Life doing this right as well... walking down a hallway and look out a port hole to see all the antarctic snow then the very next window the port in the middle of a giant battle?

Working your way through the snow towards the ship in the first place?

That Dyson Sphere ending?? A wonderful little reminder that G-Man aint your fucking friend and then those VORT-Bros back at it again. Kind of funny that they just teleport you back to a beach on earth or whatever but still - excellent.

The last paragraph or two did confuse me a little. Is Gordon thrown forward in time? Or is it just back on earth with some damage done to the Combine and it's back to the grind?

SlugBreen, i could imagine, turning into just the best meme ever as well.

so much lost potential.. .
 
Do you think they were going for "your efforts were entirely futile, the end" or if there were a Half-Life 4, it'd take place thousands of years later as the new resistance prepares?
Possibly around Chell's exit from Aperature
? I think I've made sense of the importance of the Borealis to the Combine though. It just seems weird that a Tier 2 civilization would be going after our tech.
 

Mariolee

Member
Do you think they were going for "your efforts were entirely futile, the end" or if there were a Half-Life 4, it'd take place thousands of years later as the new resistance prepares?
Possibly around Chell's exit from Aperature
? I think I've made sense of the importance of the Borealis to the Combine though. It just seems weird that a Tier 2 civilization would be going after our tech.

Do you mean Half Life 3? I believe this is Half Life ep 3.
 

rav

Member
There were other episodes in development so it's possible, although IIRC they wouldn't necessarily have invlolved Gordon.

Again, we're not talking about HL3, this is Episode 3.

That's the best part. HL3 you could probably have played as Alyx.
Being tugged around by the GMan just like you were in HL2 as Gordon. Lots of interesting places this could have gone.

It's sad that it truly is over and wont go any further. It's okay I think I'm finally over it anyways.
 
I firmly believe that they never planned to make a HL3. It's pretty clear they were going to do episodes as an annual franchise thing. This description sounds like DLC, not a full game.
 

Heartfyre

Member
It may just be the telling, but Breen-Slug doesn't sound like a necessary or even interesting plot point. I could see it removed entirely with little changing in the overall story. Might be different in the context of a game and not a genderswapped fanfic, though.

Frankly, the ending is perfect. Everything from the previous episodes gets developed and resolved. The ending is sorta cliffhanger-y in a "What's Gordon going to get up to next time" kind of way, and who knows how Alyx winds up, but those aren't questions that need answers. This is closure enough until the inevitable arrival of fan mods of widely variable quality.

I am content.
 

sn00zer

Member
It may just be the telling, but Breen-Slug doesn't sound like a necessary or even interesting plot point. I could see it removed entirely with little changing in the overall story. Might be different in the context of a game and not a genderswapped fanfic, though.

Frankly, the ending is perfect. Everything from the previous episodes gets developed and resolved. The ending is sorta cliffhanger-y in a "What's Gordon going to get up to next time" kind of way, and who knows how Alyx winds up, but those aren't questions that need answers. This is closure enough until the inevitable arrival of fan mods of widely variable quality.

I am content.

Naw Breen slug is a great play on finally FINALLY being able to take down a slug and it turns out to be a pitiful waste of a defeated Breen. Honestly all of the plot is excellent play on a lot of long standing tropes and fan wishes. Seriously 7 hour war.....fuuuck

EDIT: I agree on content. I can close that book now just knowing
 

RRockman

Banned
The vortigants are Bros for life.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was pretty sure you are never given a choice to not follow the G-man. I only remember being able to choose once before getting killed horribly. Alyx willingly ditching Gordon is a HUGE curveball, especially since it seems the G-man did it out of spite. He normally stops time before he steals you, with no one else the wiser, but here it seems like he stops time WITH Gordon being able to move and see Alyx go just to rub it in.

Speaking of which, Alyx went from best girl to worst girl in record time!!! I'm quite surprised.
 

sn00zer

Member
The vortigants are Bros for life.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I was pretty sure you are never given a choice to not follow the G-man. I only remember being able to choose once before getting killed horribly. Alyx willingly ditching Gordon is a HUGE curveball, especially since it seems the G-man did it out of spite. He normally stops time before he steals you, with no one else the wiser, but here it seems like he stops time WITH Gordon being able to move and see Alyx go just to rub it in.

Speaking of which, Alyx went from best girl to worst girl in record time!!! I'm quite surprised.

You do in Half-Life 1, also I imagine the scene would not have played as a heel turn, just that she does not notice you are conscious.
 

Melon Husk

Member
I feel like it's set up so that Cara Mia will wake up in the future at the same time as Freeman. It's a good script, it leaves a lot of choice for future writers.
 

TheXbox

Member
The ending is perfect and Laidlaw conveys it beautifully.

I caught a cosmic view of a brilliantly glittering Dyson sphere. The vastness of the Combine's power, the futility of our struggle, blossomed briefly in my awareness. I saw everything. Mainly I saw how the Borealis, our most powerful weapon, would register as less than a fizzling matchhead as it blew itself apart. And what remained of me would be even less than that.
Reminds me of 2001 and other top-shelf sci-fi from the era of Clarke/Asimov.

Pad the rest of the game with new gravity mechanics, combat encounters, Portal references, and you've got yourself a damn fine episode. I can't believe they never got it done.
 

Kurdel

Banned
Alyx going from virtual girlfriend to someone that outgrows you is an amazing arc.

That Dyson sphere and Borealis scenes sound incredible.

"Come along with me now, we’ve places to do and things to be,” is an AMZING G man turn of phrase, love it.
 
Do you think they were going for "your efforts were entirely futile, the end" or if there were a Half-Life 4, it'd take place thousands of years later as the new resistance prepares?
Possibly around Chell's exit from Aperature
? I think I've made sense of the importance of the Borealis to the Combine though. It just seems weird that a Tier 2 civilization would be going after our tech.

I feel like the implication for a long time has been that though the Combine are very powerful, they have extremely low control of portals. Like they mostly piggyback off of existing portals and that's how they learned of Earth through its new connection to Xen. Why does humanity happen to discover more stable and controllable portal tech than an otherwise much more advanced empire, you may ask? Well Black Mesa was handed the tech by the G-Man you see...

g-man.jpg

Breen but especially Eli Vance seem to suggest they know of the Gman, and I specifically remember Eli saying something along the lines of "I knew I shouldn't have trusted him", shortly before Alyx is forced to tell him to prepare for unforseen consequences. I feel as though somehow Eli was planning on cutting off the Gman's control but the Gman somehow tipped the Combine off to the resistance's location and well...

The main mystery is whether Aperture had any help as well, and of course why the G-Man (or his employers, more likely) wanted to give their power to Earth. Was it to set them up as a target for the Combine? Maybe the invasion of Earth was meant to distract them from noticing that a greater threat was approaching, maybe Earth was just a scapegoat in a much larger war.
 

Daft_Cat

Member
Man, combine that story with Titanfall 2's time bouncing mechanic... Sounds like the team was well on its way to topping themselves.

Not to mention fans and critics alike would've lost their minds. Especially back around 2010. Not really sure what Valve was "missing" from a creative point of view.
 
The ending is perfect and Laidlaw conveys it beautifully.

Reminds me of 2001 and other top-shelf sci-fi from the era of Clarke/Asimov.

Pad the rest of the game with new gravity mechanics, combat encounters, Portal references, and you've got yourself a damn fine episode. I can't believe they never got it done.
Well said. What a damn shame we'll never get to experience this.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
I feel like it's set up so that Cara Mia will wake up in the future at the same time as Freeman. It's a good script, it leaves a lot of choice for future writers.

Yeah I would totally expect Gordon to end up in the same field as Chell by the end of it. The field being there means that either

I feel like the implication for a long time has been that though the Combine are very powerful, they have extremely low control of portals. Like they mostly piggyback off of existing portals and that's how they learned of Earth through its new connection to Xen. Why does humanity happen to discover more stable and controllable portal tech than an otherwise much more advanced empire, you may ask? Well Black Mesa was handed the tech by the G-Man you see...



The main mystery is whether Aperture had any help as well, and of course why the G-Man (or his employers, more likely) wanted to give their power to Earth. Was it to set them up as a target for the Combine? Maybe the invasion of Earth was meant to distract them from noticing that a greater threat was approaching, maybe Earth was just a scapegoat in a much larger war.

I honestly think Aperture's portal tech was a complete curveball that G-Man somehow didn't predict. Going by this ending it seems like he had a hand in getting rid of the Borealis for good, I think the implications here is that Mossman was right.
G-Man himself is probably some interdimensional arms dealer who plays both sides for his own profit, Earth possibly having something to end the Combine for good at their disposal would be bad for business.

Edit: I was just thinking, doesn't Aperture tech share quite a few design elements with the Combine as a whole? Isn't that kind of odd?
 

cjdunn

Member
Not a fan of the idea that Alyx would gun down Mossman.

But overall, this Big Science science fiction is why I hold the HL series in such high regard. In practically all other games, sci-fi is used solely to explain and justify bigger guns and explosions.
 

RRockman

Banned
You do in Half-Life 1, also I imagine the scene would not have played as a heel turn, just that she does not notice you are conscious.

That's what I was referring to. You get dumped into a cave filled with non bro vortigaunts and they tear you to bits.

And the Alyx worst girl thing comes from the fact that she let her hate get the better of her and not only did she kill someone in cold blood, (that person was a putz but It really didnt sit well with me how she went about it) she also ended up wasting a HUGE opportunity for the resistance to win the war by turning the borealis into a useless suicide bomb, rather than her ditching Gordon. I saw that last bit more as the G-man disrespecting Gordon by keeping him in the time stop to witness it, rather than the usual only you and me approach he normally adopts.
 

border

Member
I don't like how the G-Man is just this omniscient force that can just intervene when Valve written themselves into a corner or if the writers feel like delivering a proper ending.

This version of Episode 3 would not have sat all that well with me.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
The ending is perfect and Laidlaw conveys it beautifully.

Reminds me of 2001 and other top-shelf sci-fi from the era of Clarke/Asimov.

Pad the rest of the game with new gravity mechanics, combat encounters, Portal references, and you've got yourself a damn fine episode. I can't believe they never got it done.
I said it in the other thread also: combine it with the Portal 2 ending, which ends on a decidedly optimistic note for Earth, and I would have been entirely happy with the closure those two endings give us

portal_2_screenshots___ending_2___freedom_by_angelx91-d4lok4y.jpg
 
Yeah I would totally expect Gordon to end up in the same field as Chell by the end of it. The field being there means that either

I honestly think Aperture's portal tech was a complete curveball that G-Man somehow didn't predict. Going by this ending it seems like he had a hand in getting rid of the Borealis for good, I think the implications here is that Mossman was right.
G-Man himself is probably some interdimensional arms dealer who plays both sides for his own profit, Earth possibly having something to end the Combine for good at their disposal would be bad for business.

Edit: I was just thinking, doesn't Aperture tech share quite a few design elements with the Combine as a whole? Isn't that kind of odd?

Interesting stuff. I think it is clear he plays both sides to some extent, but I also feel that his ultimate goals must be aligned against them. I can't see what the ultimate goal of just keeping a stalemate would be for him, as I don't know what he'd actually get as payment for his arms deals. It seems more like he plays both the Earth and the Combine to distract them both from a greater threat that he represents.

Then again, maybe he reallt does want to keep both sides at a stalemate so he can reap the rewards from deals with both. Maybe his "payment" is more thralls like Gordon, Eli(?) and Alyx to use as weapons/tools as he pleases. I feel like it might have been implied that Gordon wasn't randomly picked by the G-man but instead was some kind of payment for something, or that he'd received a new offer for his "services" and might turn him over to new buyers at the end of HL2.

Argh! I know that this thread is supposed to be free of Valve talk, but damn! I really wish they'd just make the rest a comic book series or something since they are so opposed to making it as a game now. This is really very interesting stuff to explore and speculate about.

Edit:

I think the similarities in visual design of Aperture and Combine stuff is interesting, but mostly it exists just in the uniforms of certain troops and a couple miscellaneous things IMO. The majority of Combine architecture and tech has a stark black, chunky and inhumanly industrial look to it, versus Aperture's stuff being almost entirely white and clean looking. I like the idea you mentioned that Aperture's portal tech might have been a total surprise for the G-man, but how could he not know?

It's implied that it doesn't use any kind of "Xen slingshot" techniques, and is instead some kind of totally unique form of portals unlike Black Mesa or Combine tech, so it'd be very interesting if either Aperture received help from an unknown third party (presumably opposed to both the G-man and the Combine) or that their scientists were just that damn good. The G-man potentially influencing Alyx to destroy the Borealis in a wasted effort does seem to imply that he saw the acquisition of it by the resistance to be a threat, so it would have been very interesting to see if Chell's release in Portal 2 could've potentially tied in to some future paradigm shift that'd maybe come into play in HL3.
 

Melon Husk

Member
I said it in the other thread also: combine it with the Portal 2 ending, which ends on a decidedly optimistic note for Earth, and I would have been entirely happy with the closure those two endings give us

Optimistic? If they coincide, for all we know Combine could rule the world, albeit weakened without reinforcements.
If they're seperate, yeah it's nice that one is gloomy and other is "happier", if you can say that.

Interesting so they have a Dyson sphere which means they're wayyyy more advanced than anything earth can comprehend. Alyx kinda goes crazy and fucks you over. They wouldn't not kill Gordon if that was the end of his story. I'm guessing HL3 was going to be about you taking the fight to the G-Man and Alyx.

I imagine it's about liberating Earth, hence open world gameplay.
 
Interesting so they have a Dyson sphere which means they're wayyyy more advanced than anything earth can comprehend. Alyx kinda goes crazy and fucks you over. They wouldn't not kill Gordon if that was the end of his story. I'm guessing HL3 was going to be about you taking the fight to the G-Man and Alyx.
 
Seems real good. Cant really say much more then that.


A damn shame we will never actually see that finale because it sounds extremely visually striking.
 

RedShift

Member
If humanity really stood no chance against the Combine why did G-Man cause the resonance cascade to bring them to Earth? His "benefactors" clearly wanted to destroy the Combine, he must think there's something on Earth that can cause that.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Optimistic? If they coincide, for all we know Combine could rule the world, albeit weakened without reinforcements.
If they're seperate, yeah it's nice that one is gloomy and other is "happier", if you can say that.

The Borealis takes off from the Aperture dry dock, which we know is in the Portal 2 facility, to keep it away from encroaching Combine forces. If several decades/centuries later that's now a sunny skied field of wheat I'm guessing the Combine is either gone or significantly beaten back yeah
 

Cindres

Vied for a tag related to cocks, so here it is.
In the other thread I complained a bit that the plot didn't answer enough question, mainly surrounding the G-Man. I've definitely changed my tone in the last 24 hours.

I think if we would've had more episodes following, playing as Alyx, then questions may have been closer to being answered. I think it became more clear, imo, that the G-Man likely lead the combine to the resistance, or at least that one grub (the name of those things is escaping me right now) so that Eli didn't give the game away

Ultimately all I ever wanted was to know what the G-Man was and what he was up to. But destroying the portal in ep2 and the borealis in ep3 would cut off the combine from earth so at least that part of the story would see some amount of closure. (Obviously we don't know if the earth forces would have beaten the remaining combine but the resistance was doing ok under their rule so gotta assume they have a fighting chance)
 
D

Deleted member 231381

Unconfirmed Member
The translation for 'schoolmarm' is 'headmaster'. It's a reference to this.

Just fyi.
 

Blam

Member
I like this story It would have brought a lot of closure I believe it was done right.

Which without a doubt Valve would have been able to acomplish 10fold.
 
If humanity really stood no chance against the Combine why did G-Man cause the resonance cascade to bring them to Earth? His "benefactors" clearly wanted to destroy the Combine, he must think there's something on Earth that can cause that.

I always liked the theory that the G Man is actually Gordon Freeman from the future and he had to go back into the past to make sure he was always in the right place.

Gordon Freeman
 
I always liked the theory that the G Man is actually Gordon Freeman from the future and he had to go back into the past to make sure he was always in the right place.

Gordon Freeman

Unless Gordon sees some serious shit that completely changes him, I can't see why he would be so hostile to his past self (and in the case of Ep3), seemingly leave him to die. Yes I suppose he would then know that he'd be saved by the Vortigaunts but I really don't buy this theory lol.
 

dr_rus

Member
I don't like how the G-Man is just this omniscient force that can just intervene when Valve written themselves into a corner or if the writers feel like delivering a proper ending.

This version of Episode 3 would not have sat all that well with me.

This was like this since literally the first game in the series.
 

Uriah

Member
I always liked the theory that the G Man is actually Gordon Freeman from the future and he had to go back into the past to make sure he was always in the right place.

Gordon Freeman

I can't find a source, but I seem to recall this being denied by Valve.
 
I like the idea the Combine were taking all of earth's science facilities over, but didn't manage to take Aperture Science or any of its tech.

It makes Glados seem like a total badass who was able to repel the largest threat the world has ever seen. Just to protect her testing.
 

Easy_D

never left the stone age
I can't find a source, but I seem to recall this being denied by Valve.

Plus Gordon being sort of the antithesis to G-Man once the Vorts are on his side, they bail him out of G-Mans interference and hail him as The One Free Man. Meanwhile G-Man has superiors, is super bureaucratic and has direct superiors

Edit: What I'm wondering is why Breen is important enough to slugify and is that one slug you see in Episode 1 supposed to be Breen or not?
 

Yazzees

Member
Alyx is specifically described as "acquiescing" when the G-Man shows up to take her away, which is a word I've always taken to mean involving some reluctance. It's not like she does a 180 on you. The disbelief at her gunning someone down isn't something I understand either. She'd have to be on edge after Eli dying like that.
 

Melon Husk

Member
Interesting so they have a Dyson sphere which means they're wayyyy more advanced than anything earth can comprehend. Alyx kinda goes crazy and fucks you over. They wouldn't not kill Gordon if that was the end of his story. I'm guessing HL3 was going to be about you taking the fight to the G-Man and Alyx.

Quoting the G-man here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIO3lDSoCcc
When I plucked her from Black Mesa, I acted in the face of objections that she was a mere child and of no practical use to anyone.

I have learned to ignore such naysayers when quelling them was out of the questions.

Still, I am not one to squander my investments... and I remain confident she was worth far more than the initial... appraisal.
Like the HL2 ending except he takes Alyx
maxresdefault.jpg

And Gordon catches a glimpse of the Combine, something like this I imagine
%E6%88%B4%E6%A3%AE%E7%90%83.jpg
 

sflufan

Banned
I firmly believe that they never planned to make a HL3. It's pretty clear they were going to do episodes as an annual franchise thing. This description sounds like DLC, not a full game.

That's because it's for Half-Life 2: Episode 3, not Half-Life 3
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
The last paragraph or two did confuse me a little. Is Gordon thrown forward in time? Or is it just back on earth with some damage done to the Combine and it's back to the grind?

Not to derail the thead, but that part is Marc throwing some shade at Valve.

As for the story, this sounds like it would have been completely amazing.
 
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