Combine Gunship
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| Combine Gunship | |
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| General information | |
| Faction | |
| Type |
Aerial Assault Synth |
| Individual information | |
| Health | |
| Weapon(s) |
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| Game information | |
| Entity |
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| Designer(s) |
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The Combine Gunship, often simply referred to as a Gunship or a Boomer in Combine terminology, is a powerful, autonomous Combine Synth that integrates aspects of airplanes and helicopters with synthetic technology. It is one of the Combine's main aerial combat units and the primary force of the Airwatch.[4]
Contents
Overview[edit]
Gunships are powered by an array of jet engines on their underside, and they maneuver using a rear fan with insect wing-like blades. They have two large arms that resemble turtle or whale arms, suggesting that they were once aquatic. They appear to have two pairs of compound eyes that bear a close resemblance to those of a dragonfly: the two smaller ones are positioned directly behind their pulse gun, and the larger pair is found on both sides of their chassis. Like most Combine Synths and vehicles, the Gunship is invulnerable to small arms fire and can only be damaged by Energy Balls or heavy weapons, such as rocket-propelled grenades. Because of this weakness, Gunships will give any incoming explosives priority over enemies and will attempt to shoot them down. When confronting Energy Balls, they will try to dodge them.
Although lacking the Hunter-Chopper's explosive mines and rockets, the Gunship surpasses its rotorcraft counterpart in maneuverability and accuracy with its pulse turret.
Application[edit]
Gunships are generally used to patrol Combine Cities with their sensors[1] or attack enemies in remote locations not normally accessible to ground forces, where air power would be more convenient. In urban environments or when protecting important facilities, such as the Citadel's dark fusion reactor, Nova Prospekt's outer defenses, or the Overwatch Nexus, Gunships are deployed in pairs in which one protects the other from missile attacks. However, when deployed to oversee vast spaces such as the Coast, only one unit is present at a time. Gunships can be called in by the Overwatch forces using the Flare Gun.[5]
Appearances[edit]
Half-Life 2[edit]
A Gunship can first be seen in the chapter Point Insertion flying above the tenement buildings while Gordon Freeman is being chased by Metrocops. It is not encountered in combat until the chapter Highway 17, in which Gordon is given the RPG launcher and defends New Little Odessa from the Synth's attack. Gunships also appear near the Dock 137 and at the Bridge Point, just after Gordon deactivates the Force Fields in order to proceed further.
At the end of the battle of Lighthouse Point, another Gunship is encountered by Gordon and must be taken down to proceed. Two more of these aerial Synths are fought simultaneously in the chapter Sandtraps, just before he enters Nova Prospekt. Another one appears near the Overwatch Nexus and is later fought on the building's rooftop after Gordon deactivates the Suppression Device. During the last major street war battle near the Citadel's walls, a Gunship flies over the battlefield but does not stay around to be fought.
During Gordon's journey through the Citadel in a Combine Prisoner Pod, Stalkers are seen working on several Gunships. Later, a squadron of these Synths flies out of the Citadel as Gordon travels to Breen's office. The final two Gunships are encountered when he reaches the Citadel fusion reactor's core.
Half-Life 2: Episode One[edit]
At the beginning of the chapter Undue Alarm, a charred Gunship wreck is barring Gordon and Alyx's way until it is briefly moved out of the way by Dog.
A Gunship is encountered in the chapter Urban Flight, in which it can be seen before entering the Hospital and during the fight with Zombies and Combine Soldiers. When Gordon steps into the building's attic, he is attacked by the aerial Synth. After several hits with the RPG launcher, the Gunship crashes into the roof in a ball of fire.
During the outro train ride in the chapter Exit 17, a visibly damaged Gunship crashes into the tracks just as the train leaves the Technical Trainstation.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two[edit]
Although Gunships are not fought in Episode Two, they can be seen flying over a bridge with a Combine marching column escorting an Advisor housed in its pod in the chapter Freeman Pontifex.
Tactics[edit]
Destroying a Gunship with the RPG requires a unique strategy. Since Gunships concentrate their fire on any incoming missile and attempt to shoot them down, the laser designator should be used to guide the missile in unpredictable loops and roll on its way to the target to make it as difficult as possible for the Gunship to hit the missile. Ideally, the player should perform evasive maneuvers with the missile until it gets close, and then steer it around the Gunship, and hit it from behind. It is also sometimes possible to fire straight up at a Gunship directly above Gordon and hit its belly before it has time to recognize the threat.
Gunships are one of the toughest enemies, and dealing with them presents a number of problems, doubly so if there are other enemies in the vicinity at the same time. Since it takes three to seven hits to destroy a Gunship (depending on difficulty), the player can only effectively fight one if they have a steady source of replacement ammunition for the RPG. It is also important to have plenty of overhead covers to use in between volleys of gunfire from the vehicle. Gunships will always prioritize missiles over any other target, potentially allowing them to be utilized as diversions while Gordon can get away to safety and/or resupply.
Gunships can be damaged by any explosive, including SMG grenades, fragmentation grenades, RPG launcher rockets, or explosive barrels. Each of these takes out fixed chunks of the Gunship's health depending on difficulty level: 34% on Easy, 21% on Normal, and 15% on Hard.
Related Achievements[edit]
| Half-Life 2 | |
|---|---|
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Where Cubbage Fears to Tread (5G) |
| Defend Little Odessa from the Gunship attack. | |
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One Man Army (5G) |
| Destroy six Gunships in Half-Life 2. | |
| Half-Life 2 (cut) | |
|
Uninvited Guest |
| Kill both Gunships in the Nova Prospekt courtyard. | |
| Half-Life 2: Episode One | |
|
Attica! (5G) |
| Destroy the Gunship in the Hospital attic. | |
Behind the scenes[edit]
As seen in Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, early Gunship concepts were quite machine-like, while the final version depicts a more ambiguous, synthetic look. During early playtesting, Valve found that the Gunship would accidentally consider rockets fired at it as the more interesting enemy and try to shoot them down. This played so well that the RPG vs Gunship battles were reworked into a game of cat and mouse.[2] Furthermore, Nova Prospekt was originally to feature a Gunship factory and maintenance site located at the foot of the Depot called the "Gunship Bays", where naked Gunships stripped off their armor, and lines and tanks of fuel for the Synths were to be seen. The concept was heavily trimmed down and later reused in the Half-Life 2 chapter Our Benefactors, where Gunships can be seen mounted on the walls and serviced by Stalkers.[6][7]
According to Scott Dalton, Valve designed the Episode One Hospital Gunship battle to create a dynamic evolving experience while still keeping the player within a constrained area. Initially, the attic appears straightforward and provides plenty of cover. As the environment gets progressively more damaged, combat becomes more challenging; players are increasingly open to enemy fire, and the path to the rocket crate becomes more difficult to navigate. As the roof breaks apart, however, the Gunship also becomes more visible and therefore easier to hit, keeping things relatively in balance.[8]
Further investigation with the use of external programs reveals more behind-the-scenes information about the Gunship. The entity names of the two Gunships fought in Nova Prospekt are 'Penn' and 'Teller', after the comedy and magic duo.[7] The Gunship does not fly independently, unlike the City Scanners, but instead exclusively follows path tracks set in the game; info_target_gunshipcrash entities are used to suggest spectacular crashing points for defeated Gunships.[9] In the Half-Life 2 model viewer, the Synth's "dragonfly" eyes can be seen to possess the ability to extend downwards and sweep left and right.
As seen at New Little Odessa (in d2_coast_03) and during the City 17 uprising (in d3_c17_07) in the Half-Life 2 leak, the Gunship was also to fire a beam similar to that of the Strider with its belly cannon. While the cannon is still visible on the final model, this weapon is never seen demonstrated in-game, though it can be used in Hammer. In N.L.O., the Gunship fires its cannon at the shack where the "RPGGuy" is hiding, exploding the shack and killing him, allowing Gordon to grab the RPG. During the City 17 uprising, a Gunship attacks the bridge set beyond the plaza where Alyx gets captured in the final game (she just remains hidden there for no apparent reason in the leak). In the final game, the bridge is already destroyed, while in the leak, it is destroyed under Alyx and Gordon's very eyes.[10] Originally, the Gunship was also to launch projectiles, as seen in the leak model files.[10]
The aircraft encountered at the end of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast is in fact a Gunship using the model of the Hunter-Chopper.
A glitch causes Gunship pulse cannon shots that penetrate entities, such as glass func_breakable (e.g. the windows in Lighthouse Point) and RPG rockets it's trying to destroy, to increase their damage to 20/40/60/80 against the player.
Gallery[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
Concept art.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Composite image of texture files of the E3 2003 model, leaked in 2023 repository leak.
Fan-made restoration of the 2003 model.
Ditto, underside.
Gunship near the early Dock 137 in the E3 2003 demonstration "Coastline".
Concept art for the Gunship Bays.
The Gunship Bays in the Half-Life 2 leak.
Earlier and more completed Gunship Bays in the WC map pack map
bays.
Ditto.
Gunship killing the RPGGuy with its belly cannon.
Ditto.
Retail[edit]
Detail of the Gunship's pulse cannon.
Detail of the Gunship's belly cannon.
The first Combine Gunship encountered.
A Combine Gunship near Dock 137.
Ditto, near New Little Odessa.
A Gunship after taking damage.
A Combine Gunship harassing Gordon near Bridge Point.
Gunship firing at Gordon after the Bridge Point Force Fields are deactivated.
A Combine Gunship attacking Gordon at the top of the lighthouse.
A Combine Gunship near destruction near Nova Prospekt.
A Combine Gunship hovering near Overwatch Nexus.
A Gunship patrolling Overwatch Nexus.
Gunships being serviced by Stalkers at the Citadel.
Ditto.
A Combine Gunship being transported.
A Gunship leaving the Citadel.
A Combine Gunship coming from the Combine Overworld.
List of appearances[edit]
Main games[edit]
- Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Other[edit]
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- Source Particle Benchmark (Game files only) (Non-canonical appearance)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Half-Life 2 Prima Guide
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, page 96
- ↑ Derek Jenson's portfolio
- ↑ The Overwatch Voice
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (uncorrected proof), page 327
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar, page 230
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Half-Life 2 game files
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode One commentary
- ↑ Valve Hammer Editor
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Half-Life 2 leak
