The Combines - Games - Facepunch Forum

The Combines It is mentioned that the Combines are one large intergalactic empire that has attacked and enslaved different planets in different universe. This leads to some question I need to know. 1. In Half Life 2 and its episodes, we have never seen the Combines directly, closest are the Synth forces that the Combines have, half-animal,half- robot, and the Advisors.Is there a main alien race of the Combine Empire? 2. An Empire requires a leader to lead the entire empire. Breen was just a puppet ruler of Earth. Advisors are the 'somehow' true leader of Earth for Breen. But there are more than 1 Advisors, is it possible for the Combines to have one central ruler (Combine Overlord, Combine Emperor)? 3. Although not a question but, why haven't the Combine invaded Xen yet? I have 2 theories. 1. In order to open a portal to Xen, a large concentration of energy and matter is need.( Nihilanth keeping the portal open from Xen, teleportation lab in Lambda Core) I assume that the Combine don't have the technology to teleport to Xen. 2. Xen is the borderworld, it is also the mid section between two dimensions. Maybe the Combines aren't able to attack Xen yet as their teleportation technology can only teleport to any location within the same dimension. In order to open a portal to Xen, concentration of energy is needed or a mineral or crystals charged with energy is able to open an unpredictable portal to Xen.(Black Mesa Incident) What are your theories about the Combine Empire and Half Life Universe?

This might be better served as a post in the general Half-Life thread. And welcome!

Sorry, but I'm not too sure whether to place this in the HL/Portal General Discussion thread or put it on its own as it seems to be enough to stand as a thread of its own.

my theory is that they're things to shoot at who cares

[QUOTE=iAmaNewb;41629469]Combines[/QUOTE] You're doing it wrong. As for who runs the Combine, I always thought that it was run by a committee of Advisors.

Er, didn't you make [URL="http://forums.blackmesasource.com/showthread.php?t=15447"]this exact same thread on the Black Mesa forums last year?[/URL] [editline]edit[/editline] Anyway, I'll just repost my answers from there: [QUOTE] 1. In Half Life 2 and its episodes, we have never seen the Combines directly, closest are the Synth forces that the Combines have, half-animal,half- robot, and the Advisors.Is there a main alien race of the Combine Empire?[/QUOTE] The Combine isn't any one race, but a collection of races. So, in that sense, the human forces are as much the Combine as the synths or the advisors or anyone. It's implied that the advisors might have been the original race that started the Combine, but that's all conjecture. [QUOTE]2. An Empire requires a leader to lead the entire empire. Breen was just a puppet ruler of Earth. Advisors are the 'somehow' true leader of Earth for Breen. But there are more than 1 Advisors, is it possible for the Combines to have one central ruler (Combine Overlord, Combine Emperor)?[/QUOTE] It's possible, but I doubt it. That'd be too cliché and judging by what we've seen it seems more appropriate that there is no central leader but merely a collection of advisors. Human empires require a leader (at least thus far), but Combine is very definitely not human, they seem more like an ant colony or even a single entity. I'm not sure I'd even say the advisors are "leaders" in the traditional sense. If you think of the Combine as a single living organism (which appears to be how they view it by the medical terminology that's used) they're more like the brain cells of the larger creature. The advisors make the decisions, but not out of self interest or a desire to lead or even out of any ideological support for the empire, it's just the function that they've been designed to perform, just as the function of the synths is to invade and fight insurrections, and protect the brain. Without the brain, the body can't survive. [QUOTE] 3. Although not a question but, why haven't the Combine invaded Xen yet?[/QUOTE] I believe it was confirmed that they hadn't gotten into Xen because the Nihilanth was keeping them out? That's why it wanted to take over Earth, so it had another universe between it and the Combine. After Gordon killed the Nihilanth that broke down the "barrier", and allowed them to get into Xen and by extension this Universe. So by this point they probably have invaded Xen, unless the G-Man is keeping them out somehow.

When ever someone calls Combine, "Combines" I die a little inside

[QUOTE=Killer monkey;41630849]When ever someone calls Combine, "Combines" I die a little inside[/QUOTE] Combines....you killed wife? Dark man, you will suffar!

[QUOTE=p0rtalplayer;41630954]Combines....you killed wife? Dark man, you will suffar![/QUOTE] [img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mchly53WX31rso5ng.gif[/img]

[QUOTE=p0rtalplayer;41630954]Combines....you killed wife? Dark man, you will suffar![/QUOTE] [IMG]http://www.machinery.uk.com/interestingpics/combines-2.jpg[/IMG] Also, Tweevle, the reason why I'm doing this is to hear everybody's speculations about the Combine.

[QUOTE=iAmaNewb;41635201][IMG]http://www.machinery.uk.com/interestingpics/combines-2.jpg[/IMG] Also, Tweevle, the reason why I'm doing this is to hear everybody's speculations about the Combine.[/QUOTE] Combines are weak. [video=youtube;s7yw4qzRdl4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7yw4qzRdl4[/video]