List of Combine terminology

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This article contains a comprehensive list of Combine terminology used by Combine units and the Overwatch Voice throughout the Half-Life series, encompassing Half-Life 2, its episodes, and Half-Life: Alyx. They are taken from in-game voice lines and the sentences.txt file.

Civil Protection

The terminology employed by Civil Protection is very similar to human police code systems in the real world, but infused with the Combine's medical- and judicial-inspired Newspeak. The Overwatch Voice could be heard giving orders or judging citizens through the officers' radios.

Radio codes

Civil Protection and the Overwatch Voice base their radio codes on the real-life California Penal Code system. In addition, the Combine Chatter section in the uncorrected proof of Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar provides clear insight on what each code means.

Basic codes

Location: sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice, sound/npc/metropolice/vo

Code	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
Code 2	Proceed immediately with lights/without sirens	All units code 2.	allunitscode2
Code 3	Proceed immediately with lights and sirens	All units at location, respond code 3.	allunitsrespondcode3
Code 4	No further assistance required	Holding on 10-14 duty at code 4.	holdingon10-14duty
Code 7	Out of service to eat	Code 7.	code7
Code 12	Patrol your district and report extent of damage	All units return to code 12.	allunitsreturntocode12
Code 30	Officer needs assistance — emergency	(Not used in-game)
Code 100	In position to intercept suspect	Clear and code 100.	clearandcode100

Abbreviations

Location: sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice, sound/npc/metropolice/vo

Abbreviation	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
ADW	Assault with a deadly weapon	Confirmed as ADW on that suspect, 10-0.	confirmadw
APB	All points bulletin	I have a match on APB likeness.	matchonapblikeness
BOL	Be on the lookout	All units BOL we have 34s at.	allunitsbol34sat
CP	Command point	All units maintain this CP.	allunitsmaintainthiscp
CPT/PT	Civil Protection team/Protection team	Local CPT report status.	localcptreportstatus
DB	Dead body	DB count is.	dbcountis
Disp	Dispatch	Disp reports suspect incursion at location.	dispreportssuspectincursion
GOA	Gone on arrival	10-97, suspect is GOA.	ten97suspectisgoa
Incap	Incapacitated	Request secondary viscerator, primary is incap.	requestsecondaryviscerator
OC	Off course	Viscerator is OC!	visceratorisoc
Tac	Tactical	Switch comm to tac 3. Report, please.	metropolice_lost_short_02
UPI	Unidentified person of interest	No visual on UPI at this time.	novisualonupi
UTL	Unable to locate	UTL that suspect.	utlthatsuspect

10 codes

Location: sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice, sound/npc/metropolice/vo

Code	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
10-0	Use caution	Confirmed as ADW on that suspect, 10-0.	confirmadw
10-2	You are being received clearly	10-2.	ten2
10-3	Stop transmitting	(Not used in-game)
10-4	OK	10-4.	ten4
10-8	In service	Unit is on duty 10-8.	unitisonduty10-8
10-14	Convoy or escort detail	Holding on 10-14 duty at code 4.	holdingon10-14duty
10-15	Prisoner in custody	Prepare for 10-15.	preparefor1015
10-20	Your location	Officer down, request all units code 3 to my 10-20!	officerdowncode3tomy10-20
10-22	Disregard/Cancel last message	Uh, roger that, we'll run standard loyalty check procedure 243, my 10-22 intake station, over.	standardloyaltycheck
10-25	Do you have contact with [person]	Any unit, report in with 10-25 suspect.	unitreportinwith10-25suspect
10-27	Check for wants or warrants	(Not used in-game)
10-30	Does not conform to rules or regulations	I have a 10-30 my 10-20 responding code 2.	Ihave10-30my10-20responding
10-33	Alarm (type: audible, silent)	(Not used in-game)
10-38	Your destination	(Not used in-game)
10-54d	Possible dead body	(Not used in-game)
10-55d	Send coroner	(Not used in-game)
10-65	Clear for assignment	Unit is 10-65.	unitis10-65
10-78	Send ambulance	Dispatch I need 10-78 officer in trouble!	dispatchIneed10-78
10-91d	Dead animal	10-91d count is.	ten91dcountis
10-97	Arrived at scene	10-97.	ten97
10-99	Unable to receive your last message (or in trouble)	Officer down, I am 10-99 repeat I am 10-99!	officerdownIam10-99
10-103f	Disturbance by fight	(Not used in-game)
10-103m	Disturbance by mentally unfit (Mental person)	Control, I have a failure to comply with loyalty check, tag as possible 10-103m.	loyaltycheckfailure
10-107	Suspicious person	Got a 10-107 here, send airwatch for tag.	gota10-107sendairwatch
10-108	Officer down or officer needs assistance	We have a 10-108!	wehavea10-108

11 codes

Location: sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice, sound/npc/metropolice/vo

Code	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
11-6	Illegal discharge of firearms	Suspect 11-6 my 10-20 is.	suspect11-6my1020is
11-7	Prowler	(Not used in-game)
11-8	Person down	(Not used in-game)
11-12	Dead animal	(Not used in-game)
11-29	Subject has no record	(Not used in-game)
11-41	Request ambulance	(Not used in-game)
11-42	Ambulance not required	We got a DB here, cancel that 11-42.	wegotadbherecancel10-102
11-43	Doctor required	(Not used in-game)
11-44	Coroner required	Get that 11-44 inbound, we're cleaning up now.	get11-44inboundcleaningup
11-47	Injured person	(Not used in-game)
11-99	Officer needs help/emergency	Officer needs assistance, I'm 11-99!	officerneedsassistance

Penal codes

Location: sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice, sound/npc/metropolice/vo

Code	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
17f	Fugitive detachment	17f fugitive detachment	fugitive17f
24	Medical emergency	(Not used in-game)
27	Attempted crime	27 attempted crime	attemptedcrime27
34s	Shooting	All units BOL we have 34s at	allunitsbol34sat
51	Non-sanctioned arson	51 non-sanctioned arson	nonsanctionedarson51
51b	Threat to property (Bomb threat)	51b threat to property	threattoproperty51b
52	Simple arson	(Not used in-game)
56	Criminal damage	(Not used in-game)
62	Alarms	62 alarms	alarms62
63	Criminal trespass	63 criminal trespass	criminaltrespass63
63s	Illegal in operation (Sit-in)	63s illegal in operation	illegalinoperation63s
69	Possession of resources (Possession of stolen goods)	69 possession of resources	posession69
94	Weapon (Illegal use of weapon)	94 weapon	weapon94
95	Illegal carrying (Illegal carrying of gun)	95 illegal carrying	illegalcarrying95
99	Reckless operation	99 reckless operation	recklessoperation99
148	Resisting arrest	148 resisting arrest	resistingpacification148
187	Homicide	Suspect is now 187	suspectisnow187
211	Armed robbery	(Not used in-game)
243	Assault on Protection Team	243 assault on Protection Team	assault243
245	Assault with a deadly weapon	You are charged with terminal violation 148, 243, 245	youarechargedwithterminal
404	Riot	404 riot	riot404
407	Unlawful assembly	(Not used in-game)
415	Civic disunity (Disturbing the peace)	415 civic disunity	disturbingunity415
415b	Investigate the trouble	is 415b.	is415b
447	Arson	(Not used in-game)
459	Burglary	(Not used in-game)
505	Reckless driving	Dispatch, we need airwatch, subject is 505.	airwatchsubjectis505
507	Public non-compliance	507 public non-compliance	publicnoncompliance507
603	Unlawful entry	603 unlawful entry	unlawfulentry603
647e	Disengaged from workforce (Loitering place to place)	Anyone else pickup a 647e reading?	anyonepickup647e

Location prefixes

Civil Protection and the Overwatch Voice utilize location prefixes to designate areas into categorical sections. These prefixes are accompanied by a number from one to nine. Because Metro Cops are not encountered in some levels, many of these location prefixes are not heard in-game.

Location: sound/sentences.txt (location prefix by mapname), npc/metropolice/vo (filenames), sound/npc/overwatch/radiovoice (filenames)

No map (default)

Name	Filename(s)
Block	block
Zone	zone
Sector	sector

City 17 Trainstation (trainstation)

Name	Filename(s)
Station block	stationblock
Transit block	transitblock
Workforce intake hub	workforceintake

Also called Intake station in some voice lines.

Canals (canals)

Name	Filename(s)
Canal block	canalblock
Storm system	stormysystem
Waste river	wasteriver
Deserviced area	deservicedarea

Also called Storm runoff system or Restricted canals in some voice lines.

Black Mesa East (eli)

Name	Filename(s)
Industrial zone	industrialzone
Restricted block	restrictedblock
Repurposed area	repurposedarea

Ravenholm (town)

Name	Filename(s)
Condemned zone	condemnedzone
Infested zone	infestedzone
Non patrol region	nonpatrolregion

Coast (coast)

Name	Filename(s)
External jurisdiction	externaljurisdiction
Stabilization jurisdiction	stabilizationjurisdiction
Outland zone	outlandzone

Nova Prospekt (prison)

Name	Filename(s)
External jurisdiction	externaljurisdiction
Stabilization jurisdiction	stabilizationjurisdiction

City 17 (c17)

Name	Filename(s)
Residential block	residentialblock
404 zone	404zone
Distribution block	distributionblock
Production block	productionblock

Citadel (citadel)

Name	Filename(s)
High priority region	highpriorityregion
Terminal restriction zone	terminalrestrictionzone
Polity: control section	controlsection

Action codes

A list of random action codes that the Overwatch may order Civil Protection units to carry out.

Name	Filename(s)
Pressure	pressure
Document	document
Restrict	restrict
Intercede	intercede
Preserve	preserve
Search	search
Suspend	suspend
Investigate	investigate
Interlock	interlock
Isolate	isolate
Administer	administer
Cauterize	cauterize
Inject	inject
Inoculate	inoculate
Examine	examine
Apply	apply
Prosecute	prosecute
Serve	serve
Sterilize	sterilize
Amputate	amputate
Lock	lock

Radio sentencing

When Freeman is near death, the Overwatch Voice may sentence and judge him for a number of charges via the radio of Civil Protection officers. These voice lines begin with three short beeps (the "on1" sound effect).

Suspect names

Names used to designate the suspect (player), escalating in severity as the game proceeds through different maps:

Name	Filename(s)
Subject	subject
Citizen	citizen
UPI (Unidentified person of interest)	upi
Noncitizen	noncitizen
Sociocide	sociocide
Anticitizen	anticitizen
Freeman	freeman
Infection	infection

Charges

Name	Filename(s)
Capital malcompliance	capitalmalcompliance
Violation of civic trust	violationofcivictrust
Promoting communal unrest	promotingcommunalunrest
Failure to comply with the civil will	failuretocomply
Level 5 anti-civil activity	level5anticivilactivity
Destruction of Corporal Social Protection Units	destrutionofcpt
Divisive sociocidal counter-obeyance	devisivesociocidal
Inciting popucide	incitingpopucide

Judgments

Name	Filename(s)
Immediate amputation	immediateamputation
Terminal prosecution	terminalprosecution
Disassociation from the civic populace	disassociationfromcivic

Combine Soldier

The codes used by Combine Soldiers are more military-themed while also incorporating surgical Combine terminology.

Target names

Names used to designate Freeman (the player):

Name	Filename(s)
Freeman	freeman3
Anticitizen one	anticitizenone
Target one	targetone
Priority one objective	priority1objective
Phantom	phantom
Ghost two	ghost2

Names used to designate various types of enemies. The first four are also shared with Civil Protection.

Name	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
Parasitic	Headcrab	Call contact: parasitics.	callcontactparasitics
Necrotic	Zombie	Necrotics inbound.	necroticsinbound
Biotic	Antlion	We have biotics in the perimeter.	prison_soldier_visceratorsA5
Virome	Antlion	We have non-tagged viromes.	wehavenontaggedviromes
Exogen	An exogenous creature, most commonly referring to Antlions.	Visual on exogens.	visualonexogens
Priority two escapee	The player's companion (Alyx/Barney)	Target: priority two escapee.	target, prioritytwoescapee

Phonetic alphabet

Combine soldiers in Half-Life 2 communicate using a phonetic alphabet, which is a set of clear-code words for communicating the letters of the Latin alphabet. Note that some of the codes could alternatively refer to a unit/team name or an action (for instance "ripcord" standing for "retreat"), depending on the context. Combine soldiers in Half-Life: Alyx do not utilize a senteces.txt-based dynamic phonetic alphabet system, and the alphabet codes involved in scripted voice lines are largely based off Half-Life 2.

Location: sound/sentences.txt (phonetic alphabet/codes), sound/npc/combine_soldier/vo (filenames)

Character	Telephony	Example quote	Filename(s)
A	Apex	Team Sundown 3, set viscerators in sector Apex 5, and advance for contact. We have biotics in the perimeter.	prison_soldier_visceratorsA5
B	Boomer	Overwatch confirms double boomers dispatched inbound, ghost drop inbound, prepare for skyshield heavy suppression and wrapup.	prison_soldier_boomersinbound
E	Echo	Echo.	echo
F	Flatline	Flatline.	flatline
H	Helix	Team Sundown 3 deserviced, Helix 2 go active and intercept, Leader 12 out.	prison_soldier_sundown3dead
I	Ice, ion	Ice.	ice ion
J	Jet	block 64 jet.	block31jet
K	Kilo	Kilo.	kilo
M	Mace	block 31 mace.	block31mace
N	Nova	Nova.	nova
P	Payback	Payback.	payback
Q	Quicksand	Quicksand.	quicksand
R	Ripcord	Ripcord.	ripcord
S	Sundown	Team Sundown 3 deserviced, Helix 2 go active and intercept, Leader 12 out.	sundown
U	Uniform	Uniform.	uniform

In the Nova Prospekt prison guards' voice lines, the term "Black 4" is used to refer to Block B4, despite the code "Boomer" for the letter B already existing in the Combine phonetic alphabet. Similarly, “Delta 8" refers to Block D8, but A5 is still "Apex 5". It is unknown whether the different terminology is unique to Nova Prospekt.

Though not listed in the phonetic alphabet section of Sentences.txt, it could be inferred from the term "Helix Vector Tango" (High Value Target) that "Vector" and "Tango" stand for "V" and "T" respectively.

Unit names

In Half-Life 2, Civil Protection officers, Combine Soldiers, and Air Support units are identified by random code names followed by a number from one to nine. In Half-Life: Alyx, there are only four types of Combine units that the player encounters, and each type has a designated name of its own.

Half-Life 2

Location: sound/sentences.txt (unit names), npc/metropolice/vo (filenames), sound/npc/combine_soldier/vo (filenames)

Civil Protection

Name	Filename(s)
Defender	defender
Hero	hero
Jury	jury
King	king
Line	line
Patrol	patrol
Quick	quick
Roller	roller
Stick	stick
Tap	tap
Union	union
Victor	victor
Xray	xray
Yellow	yellow
Vice	vice

Combine Soldier

Name	Filename(s)
Leader	leader
Flash	flash
Ranger	ranger
Hunter	hunter
Blade	blade
Hammer	hammer
Sweeper	sweeper
Swift	swift
Fist	fist
Sword	sword
Savage	savage
Tracker	tracker
Slash	slash
Razor	razor
Stab	stab
Spear	spear
Striker	striker
Dagger	dagger

In addition to the names above, it could also be inferred from unused voice lines that the Combine Sniper's code name is "Scalpel One".

Air Support

Name	Filename(s)
Ghost	ghost
Reaper	reaper
Nomad	nomad
Hurricane	hurricane
Phantom	phantom
Judge	judge
Shadow	shadow
Slam	slam
Stinger	stinger
Storm	storm
Vamp	vamp
Winder	winder
Star	star

Half-Life: Alyx

Name	Unit type	Example quote	Filename(s)
Echo One	Grunt	Echo One is forward pressure.	advancing_on_target_12
Ordinal	Captain	Ordinal is engaged and firing.	firing_220
Wallhammer	Charger	Wallhammer. Advancing on target.	advancing_on_target_18
Antibody Protection Force (APF)	Suppressor	Antibody Protection Force active on.	suppressing_05

Miscellaneous codes

A list of various codes and abbreviations referring to different objects, concepts and actions.

Name	Meaning	Example quote	Filename(s)
Extractor	Grenade	Extractor away.	extractoraway
Bouncer	Grenade	Bouncer! Bouncer!	bouncerbouncer
Viscerator	Manhack	Team Sundown 3, set viscerators in sector Apex 5, and advance for contact.	prison_soldier_visceratorsA5
Sterilizer	Combine Sentry Gun	Internal stabilization teams deploy sterilizers in suspected infection blocks A5, A7, B2.	fprison_exogenbreach
Restrictor	Thumper	Priority warning: perimeter restrictors disengaged.	fprison_restrictorsdisengaged
Containment field	Force Field	Sterilizers and containment fields may be compromised.	fprison_dropforcesixandeight
Stimdose/Stimboost	A stimulant substance that soldiers consume.	Overwatch orders 3cc stimboost.	ovewatchorders3ccstimboost
Bodypack	A soldier's body or armor.	Bodypack holding.	bodypackholding
Viscon	Visual Contact	Affirmative, no viscon.	affirmative, noviscon
Helix vector tango/HVT	High-value target	Overwatch confirm HVT contained.	overwatchconfirmhvtcontained
Skyshield	Air support	Overwatch, request skyshield.	overwatchrequestskyshield
C&C	Command and control	Repeat, primary target has tactical C&C of biotics.	prison_soldier_freeman_antlions
ETA	Estimated time of arrival	We have secondary perimeter overruns, what is ETA on skyshield drop?	prison_soldier_negativecontainment
Hardpoint	Combine Bunker/Emplacement Gun	Hardpoint Shadow, report blackout status.	prison_soldier_bunker2
Ripcord	Retreat	Ripcord! Ripcord!	ripcordripcord

Behind the scenes

Kelly Bailey, the composer and sound designer for Half-Life 2, was responsible for creating much of the jargon used by the Combine forces in the game. To ensure consistency, he developed a dictionary of Combine terminology, which detailed their coded phrases and communication style. This resource was used by the development team to maintain a cohesive linguistic identity for the Combine throughout the game.

See also

• Combine location prefixes