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Shield Scanner

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This subject is related to the Combine era.
This is a good article. Click for more information.

For other uses, see Scanner (disambiguation).

Shield Scanner - dropship logo.svg
Shield scanner open.jpg
Scanner Type II
General information
Faction

Combine

Type

Bio-machine[1]

Individual information
Health

30[2]

Weapon(s)
Game information
Entity
  • npc_sscanner (HL2 leak)[3]
  • npc_cscanner (HL2)
  • npc_clawscanner (Ep1)
Designer(s)

Ted Backman[4]

The Shield Scanner, also known as Scanner Type II,[2] is the bio-mechanical counterpart of the City Scanner which appears briefly in the later chapters of Half-Life 2 and at the end of Episode One.

Overview[edit]

Closed Shield Scanner.

The Shield Scanner is a hovering craft that features a rounded brown hull and a searchlight and is equipped with a large retractable synthetic pincer arm. This tentacle-like arm is normally kept concealed behind an armored lid which has a red Combine insignia printed on it, and is used to drop Hoppers in combat areas where the Combine forces aim to limit the enemy's movement, such as streets and alleys, though occasionally the Scanner will also attempt to drop the mine on top of the player.

When not deploying mines, Shield Scanners are used for scouting and reconnaissance purposes. They also sometimes accompany Striders and act as spotters for them, searching buildings to report the positions of possible concealed targets inside which the Strider would otherwise be unable to see. Like City Scanners, Shield Scanners can temporarily blind targets with their searchlight, but with a longer-lasting flash. Shield Scanners are also similarly powered by a single battery which can occasionally be salvaged from them when destroyed and reused for the HEV Suit. However, it does not mirror the City Scanners' tactic of attempting to crash into its attacker when critically damaged.

Behind the scenes[edit]

Originally, the Shield Scanner was to protect other Combine units with an energy shield[3][5] and be equipped with an undetermined grenade weapon, possibly the same one to be used by the Mortar Synth.[6] The energy shield model, Scanner_Shield.mdl, can be found in the playable Half-Life 2 leak files, but in wireframe mode, only its shape could be observed, as its texture does not display (it can, however, be found in the Shield Scanner texture folder). The shield appears as some sort of bell jar, presumably used to encase a Combine squad member inside for protection. Additionally, a quick-firing machine gun dealing 3 points of damage per hit on the Shield Scanner is mentioned in the Half-Life 2 Prima Guide that is not present in the final game.[2]

In its texture files, the Shield Scanner is referred to as the "mine layer". A view of the Shield Scanner in the SDK model viewer reveals animation sequences that show it slashing and attacking targets with its claw. This is never seen in-game.

Although the Half-Life 2 leak Shield Scanner uses a separate entity, npc_sscanner, in Half-Life 2, the Shield Scanner is hard coded to only be present in the City 17 levels during the Uprising; in any map with a name that uses the d3_c17 prefix, all npc_cscanner entities, which are normally City Scanners, are forcefully replaced by Shield Scanners. Episode One reintroduces a separate entity for Shield Scanners under a different name, npc_clawscanner.

Gallery[edit]

Pre-release[edit]

Retail[edit]

List of appearances[edit]

Main games[edit]

Other[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]