Russell's Lab
| |
| Russell's Lab | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Constructed |
N/A, refurbished after the Seven Hour War |
| Destroyed |
Unknown, definitively during The Uprising |
| Location | |
| Usage | |
| Era(s) | |
| Faction | |
| Game information | |
| Map(s) |
|
- Russell: "Alyx, great. Okay, let's — wait. My drone's okay, right?"
- Alyx Vance: "Nope. It exploded. I'm fine, by the way."
- Russell: "Right. Good, well that's the… that's the main… "
- ―Alyx Vance and Russell[src]
Russell's Lab is a City 17 location featured in the first chapter of Half-Life: Alyx, Entanglement.
Contents
Overview[edit]
Russell's Lab is a small laboratory hidden in an apartment that serves as a Resistance research base and Russell's personal residence, and is also where he created the Gravity Gloves. The entrance to it is concealed as a small living room, and the door mechanism is disguised as a locker which lowers when a hidden red button is pressed, revealing the lab within.
The dimly lit main room is stocked with an abundance of computers and monitors placed on racks, many of those used by Russell to program his Gravity Gloves, displaying cluttered desktops filled with code files and showing the amount of work Russell put into creating them. Russell installed his workbench in the middle of the pieces of equipment, where he can sip coffee while remotely carrying out actions with his drone or observing his companions' operations from a live video feed on their headsets. Behind his desk is a makeshift map table fitted with an advanced Combine holographic projector, which can display a hologram of City 17 for Russell to work out plans and routes.
Behind the room is a station where the current model of the Gravity Gloves is stored in two repurposed microwave ovens. Beside them is a mannequin with its hands missing and the wrist stumps badly burned, indicating a failed test of a previous version of the gloves. Next to the station is an inaccessible bathroom converted into a workshop where the various assembly and testing work for the gloves are done. There is a staircase that leads down to the garage and the backyard, where heaps of cargo crates and junk are found, and is used as Alyx's training ground for her gloves and her newly acquired gun. The back of the building faces a train yard where many abandoned trains are parked.
Related Achievements[edit]
| Half-Life: Alyx | |
|---|---|
|
Little Slugger |
| Represent yourself with a specific prop on Russell's map. | |
|
Eye of the Geiger |
| Measure Russell with the Geiger counter. | |
|
Mag-Snagger |
| Catch Russell's ammo magazine before it hits the ground. | |
Trivia[edit]
Russell's lab is available as a SteamVR Home environment.[1] The ability to host Half-Life: Alyx promotional environments was originally limited to the Valve Index virtual reality headset owners, with other users only being able to connect to existing sessions,[2] but later was opened to everyone.[3]
A whiteboard with the abbreviation “R.U.S.S.E.L.L.S” (Russell’s alternate name for the Gravity Gloves) can be found in the lab, with the meaning of the abbreviation still a work in progress. Russell currently names it as a "Really Useful Something Something Electronic Lightweight Levitating S".
A refrigerator in the lab appears to contain various foods, among which is a plastic-wrapped Headcrab carcass, with the words “DO NOT EAT” written in red marker on the wrapping. This hints that Russell has always wanted to eat a Headcrab, but ultimately hasn't the courage to do it himself, instead asking Alyx how it tastes when Gary gives her one.
There is a Garden Gnome bottle opener in the lab, and a Garden Gnome statuette in the backyard. If the player manages to bring either of these to the end of the game, they will unlock an achievement, mirroring a notorious achievement from Episode Two.
There is a figurine of the Scout from Team Fortress 2 on one of the racks in the lab, which can be used to represent Alyx on the map to unlock an achievement.
On one of Russell's computer screens, there is a screensaver showing the words "Russell's Computer" bouncing about and changing color, reminiscing a common DVD player screensaver. On another computer, Russell noted that he is trying to find Black Mesa files for Eli, but had no success in logging in to the Black Mesa Network. There is a post-it note in his workshop that reads "pw: laszlø", possibly being Russell's computer password and an Easter egg from his name "Laszlo" used in early development.
Gallery[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
Entrance to Jozef's laboratory.
A line of decommissioned trains next to the yard.
Retail[edit]
SteamVR environment.
The apartment with the secret entrance to the lab.
The lockers acting as the secret entrance door.
Russell learns about the fate of his drone.
Russell's main computer workstation.
Russell uses a holographic map to explain his plan to rescue Eli.
Assuring Alyx his full support.
Russell returns to his computer.
Russell's whiteboard and additional computational equipment.
Dr. Breen featured on the cover of "Tech Impact" magazine.
More computer equipment and the contents of his refrigerator.
The plastic-wrapped Headcrab.
A close-up of the Gravity Glove's code.
The Gravity Gloves station.
A converted bathroom with workbench and prototype gloves.
Another monitor showing the development of the gloves.
The password "lazl0" written on a post-it note.
The yard behind the lab.
A line of decommissioned trains next to the yard.
The Garden Gnome on a couch in the yard.
Model of the Scout figurine.
Model of the Geiger counter.
List of appearances[edit]
References[edit]
| Preceded by Alyx's Hideout |
Half-Life: Alyx story arc journey | Succeeded by Quarantine Zone entrance |
