Hazardous Environment Suit
 
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- "Well, Gordon, I see your HEV suit still fits you like a glove. At least the glove parts do."
- ― Isaac Kleiner[src]
The Hazardous Environment Suit, also simply known as the HEV Suit, or the Hazard Suit, is a protective suit worn by Gordon Freeman and other members of the Black Mesa Science Team in the Half-Life series.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The suit was designed for use in hazardous environment conditions. It provides limited protection from the elements. It also displays vital information on the heads-up display. A computerized female voice speaks from the suit to provide information on the user's status as well as updates on environmental conditions. The suit needs to be recharged periodically; the greater the charge, the more protective power the suit provides. It can be recharged by using wall-mounted chargers or power modules. The suit design appears to be unisex, and it has a Lambda logo on the chest.
Appearances[edit]
Half-Life[edit]
In Half-Life, Gordon wears the Mark IV model of the suit. It was designed by Gina Cross. He is required to wear and operate the suit when handling anomalous materials, and is trained and certified in its use in the training course. It is also used by the survey teams sent to Xen to collect specimens.
The suit has a high impact reactive armor, atmospheric contaminant sensors, communications interface, vital signs monitoring to display the status of the user, automatic medical systems to administer morphine when the user is wounded, a defensive weapon selection system, and munition level monitoring. It also has a built-in flashlight, and a Geiger counter to alert to areas of radioactivity. Additional parts include a helmet and a Long Jump Module.
There is an automatic targeting system that allows the user to lock on targets in the PlayStation 2 version. The audio system is also used for communication in Decay.
Gina Cross is said to have tested an unseen Mark V prototype under the supervision of Richard Keller before the Black Mesa Incident,[6] but it is unknown how this is related, if at all, to the Mark V suit featured in the sequel.
Half-Life 2[edit]
In Half-Life 2, Gordon wears an upgraded version of his old suit, the Mark V. It was redesigned by Isaac Kleiner for comfort and utility.[7] It isn't explained how Kleiner acquired the suit. New features include vision enhancement provided by a zoom function, and a limited sprint function for moving quickly. The suit administers an antidote for neurotoxin when the user is attacked by a Poison Headcrab. Unlike its predecessor, it uses an auxiliary power source for the flashlight (excluding Episode Two), sprinting, and oxygen supply. Kleiner modified the suit so it can draw power from the Combine energy outlets and Batteries. Combine radio chatter can be heard through the suit.[7] There is also a suit radio used by Alyx Vance to communicate with Gordon.
Half-Life Alyx[edit]
In Half-Life Alyx's ending, which is set immediately following Episode Two, Gordon is still wearing the Mark V suit, now damaged and torn after numerous battles.
Behind the scenes[edit]
In Half-Life, the original concept for the suit by Harry Teasley consisted of a bulky Apollo mission-style space suit with a metal ring collar for a helmet, appearing like a heavy-duty environment suit for a scientist at a secret government research facility. This early suit can be seen on Ivan the Space Biker. Inspired by Teasley's concept, Chuck Jones created the HEV Suit.[1] The voice of the suit was recorded only once for Half-Life and reused in the subsequent games featuring it. Most of the recorded suit sounds are not used in-game. They are present in the game files but were presumably cut due to the lack of an actual purpose within the game. Originally, the suit was called the Power Suit. It had three main functions: protection, notification, and augmentation. Some functions were automatic, and others required power. The player could turn on or off the suit voice.[8]
In an early version of Half-Life 2, Gordon was to wear a leather suit instead of the HEV Suit. The HEV Suit was ultimately kept when the developers decided to retain iconic elements of the first Half-Life.[9]
In the Half-Life 2 leak, most weapon viewmodels show the HEV Suit with a darker more reddish-orange compared to the pale yellowish-orange seen in the final game.
Trivia[edit]
- Valve's company logo can be seen on the back of the original suit.
- There are two missing suits in the Anomalous Materials Laboratory when Gordon arrives. According to Randy Pitchford, these suits belong to Gina and Colette.[10]
- In the chapter Lambda Core, there are three empty suit tubes in the preparation room for the Survey Team. These tubes are actually full, and have suits in them, but they fall through the floor on map load because of a bug. This issue does not occur in the Source version of the game.
- In Half-Life the worldmodel for the HEV Suit doesn't have any gloves, while the viewmodels for all the weapons do show gloves. Additionally, Gordon's 3rd person model and Gina's model have gloves, but they do not have the "interface" on them seen in the viewmodel. The gloves in the High Definition Pack do not have any "interface" on them as well.
- An HEV Module can be found in Robot Repair.
- The Biosuit in Team Fortress Classic and Deathmatch Classic uses the Half-Life HEV model.
Gallery[edit]
Half-Life Alpha[edit]
Unused red version.
Unused green version.
Unused blue version.
Half-Life: Day One[edit]
Gina.
Ditto, render.
Half-Life[edit]
Concept art.
Early model.
Red version.
Ditto, render.
Ditto.
Ditto, in-game.
Viewmodel.
Ditto.
Model render.
The Mark IV.
Back of the suit with Valve's company logo.
Unused version with helmet.
Gordon Freeman.
Multiplayer version.
With helmet.
Multiplayer version.
Viewmodel example (Shotgun).
Ditto (Gluon Gun).
High Definition version (Shotgun).
Ditto (Gluon Gun).
The suit room.
Ditto.
Dead Survey Team member wearing an HEV Suit in Xen.
Ditto, in Gonarch's Lair.
Ditto.
Half-Life (Dreamcast port)[edit]
The Mark IV.
With helmet.
The Holographic Assistant.
Half-Life (PlayStation 2 port)[edit]
The Mark IV.
With helmet.
The Holographic Assistant.
Half-Life: Decay[edit]
Gina Cross.
Colette Green.
Half-Life 2[edit]
Concept art.
An early iteration of Isaac Kleiner with the Suit in some concept art.
Earlier orange for the Suit as seen in numerous viewmodels in the Half-Life 2 leak.
The Mark V.
Ditto, in Kleiner's Lab.
Viewmodel.
Chest logo.
The Mark V HEV Suit document from Kleiner's clipboard.
Half-Life: Alyx[edit]
The Mark V suit as seen in Alyx.
The many battle scars the suit has accumulated.
Other[edit]
The Mark V, leak version.
Survivor model.
Gordon statue.
Gordon action figure.
Unused Steam trading card artwork.
Promotional artwork[edit]
For Half-Life.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto, Dreamcast port.
The HEV Suit-inspired Biosuit on the Deathmatch Classic Steam portrait.
For Half-Life 2.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto, Xbox port.
Ditto, GOTY edition.
Teaser image to promote Steam for Mac.
List of appearances[edit]
Main games[edit]
- Half-Life
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life: Blue Shift
- Half-Life: Decay
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- Half-Life: Alyx
Other[edit]
- Half-Life: Day One (First appearance)
- Half-Life: Uplink (Non-canonical appearance)
- Half-Life 2: Deathmatch (Non-canonical appearance)
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (Non-canonical appearance)
See also[edit]
Associated media[edit]
Additional images related to Hazardous Environment Suit
List of quotes related to Hazardous Environment Suit
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Teasley on Ivan the Space Biker (August 3, 2014)
- ↑ Half-Life Alpha (version .61) Notes (
Half Life Main v6.doc) (August 26, 1998) - ↑ Derek Jenson's portfolio
- ↑ Marc Laidlaw on the voices performed by Kelly Bailey (June 4, 2022)
- ↑ Bill Van Buren on Valve voice actors (October 21, 2022)
- ↑ Half-Life PlayStation 2 instruction manual
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Half-Life 2 Prima Guide
- ↑ Half-Life SDK
- ↑ Marc Laidlaw on the black, leather suit (September 17, 2015)
- ↑ Half-Life PS2 and Decay on the Gearbox Software forums (July 6, 2003) (archived)
