Scout Car

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Scout Car
General information
Affiliation	Resistance
Type	Dune buggy
Health	N/A (can only be destroyed in certain scripted areas of the level)
Passengers	1
Used by	Gordon Freeman, The Resistance, possibly Eli and Alyx Vance
Maker(s)	Reassembled by Eli and Alyx Vance; Tau Cannon mounted by Eli
Weapon(s)	Tau Cannon
Game information
Entity / spawn codes	ch_createjeep or "impluse 82"; its entity is prop_vehicle_jeep
Designer(s)	Tri Nguyen

 

 

"That's why I called you, Leon. I was hoping you still had the Scout Car we left with you last summer. The one my dad rigged with the Tau Cannon."

―Alyx Vance

 

The Scout Car, also known as the Buggy, its model name, and the Jeep, its entity name, is a scrappy, rough terrain vehicle used on the Coast by the Resistance, housed at the Shorepoint Resistance base. It was probably used by individual Resistance members to scout enemy movements along the Coast.

Overview

The Scout Car has rear wheel drive, disk brakes, independent suspension, and only one seat. It is driven by a small V8 engine, possibly powered by a salvaged generator located in the rear. It appears to be fueled by propane (a common fuel used for stationary generators) with the tank welded to the floorboard next to the driver's seat. Although not particularly nimble due to the bias-ply medium duty truck tires, the Scout Car is ideal for getting from one place to the next with speed, and is well at home out on the open road. The Scout Car seems to have been constructed using scrap metal and other salvaged objects. Its sound set was created from a library recording of a 1968 Camaro with stainless steel exhaust pipes and a highly tuned race engine, despite the fact that the Scout Car was canonically created from various pieces of scrap metal and an old engine.

The Scout Car is capable of a powerful turbo boost, which gives it a sudden burst of acceleration and a higher top speed for a short period of time. However, the vehicle becomes unstable and difficult to steer for the duration of the boost.

At some point, a Tau Cannon was attached to the Scout Car. The Tau Cannon is an experimental, directional energy weapon that was designed at the Black Mesa Research Facility some time before the Black Mesa Incident. It was originally supposed to be removed from the car at Lighthouse Point, by a member of the Resistance, and be used as a weapon on foot, according to the Half-Life 2 leak, but this was scrapped in favor of it remaining on the Scout Car. It is ideal for clearing obstructions in the path of the vehicle and killing enemies such as Combine Soldiers and Zombies. Shortly before Gordon Freeman's arrival, instead of one of the Resistance removing the Tau Cannon, Noriko mounted an MP7 ammunition box on the back.

Appearances

The Scout Car on Shorepoint's Pier 87.

Half-Life 2

After escaping Ravenholm, Gordon Freeman arrives at Shorepoint, a major Resistance base which was housing the Scout Car. In order to reach Nova Prospekt sooner, Gordon was given the Scout Car to take on his journey, with the permission of Leon, the base's leader. The Scout Car proved to be a very valuable vehicle for Gordon as he traveled along the coasts of Highway 17, and without it he most likely would not have made it in time. The last time Gordon saw the Scout Car was after the Combine overwhelmed Lighthouse Point; a dropship was seen carrying it away. A possible ramification of this is the fact that the Combine now possess the advanced weapons technology of the Tau Cannon, a fact which may be explored in later games.

Behind the scenes

In the WC mappack map "e3_seafloor_drive", the Scout Car features a small screen beside the Tau Cannon. Eli (likely Eli Maxwell at this development stage) was to talk to the player through that screen. Unfortunately, the scene and sound files are missing from the playable Half-Life 2 leak files, preventing from precisely knowing the nature of the screen. Another possibility is that the screen was to be used as a radar, like the one attached to the Muscle Car from Episode 2; the Muscle Car's radar may even be inspired by the leak Scout Car's.

Trivia

• The SMG ammunition crate features unlimited ammo.
• During the Half-Life 2 chapters Highway 17 and Sandtraps, the player must use the Scout Car to travel along the Coast, eventually arriving at Lighthouse Point. If the Scout Car is destroyed (such as by falling off a cliff or being hit by a Razor Train) at any point during these two chapters, the player will be presented with a failure message and will have to resume from the last savegame.
• The turbo feature on the Scout Car gives it a huge temporary speed boost, and is required for some jumps. However it makes steering almost impossible and makes controlling or stopping the Scout Car a challenge. It should only be used in open, straight areas or when climbing a steep hill.
• Driving it in water will stop it. It then must be moved with the Gravity Gun.
• Despite having headlights, it is not possible to turn them on. In addition, the flashlight cannot be used while inside the Scout Car.
• If the player activates turbo while going full reverse, the jeep goes faster than when it is activated going forward.
• The player's actual Scout Car is not really taken away. If the player goes out of the basement door of the Lighthouse, and moves as far as they can over the edge of the first platform without falling, they will hear gunfire start up and see the dropship carrying away a Scout Car. But, if the player walks back into the lighthouse and up to where the garage is visible, the Scout Car will still be there.
• As of the May 26, 2010 update, the Scout Car was given radically different physics, such as an easier-to-control speed boost and a higher stability to prevent it from flipping over too often.

Gallery

• 

  The leak Scout Car, featuring a hood.

• 

  The leak Scout Car on Shorepoint Base's Pier 87 in the playable Half-Life 2 leak.

• 

  Shorepoint, with the Scout Car on Pier 87.

• 

  Ditto, closeup.

• 

  The Scout Car is being moved on the beach by the Shorepoint's crane's magnet.

• 

  The Scout Car upside down on the beach after the crane's magnet fails.

• 

  Overwatch Soldier being killed with the Scout Car after throwing himself into it.

• 

  Antlion goo on the Scout Car, the result of running over many along the Coast.

• 

  The Scout Car facing a fateful Razor Train.

• 

  Narrowly escaping the Razor Train.

List of appearances

• Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar

References