Talk:Combine imagery

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Move behind-the-scenes information from the lead[added by][reason]	Additional Combine alphabet images[added by][reason] Alyx posters[added by]

Relevance

Is this article really necessary? It honestly seems like a dumping ground for all those posters and Klow's SVG logos. Not be rude or anything, but I'm just stating my humble opinion.--Fireman V2 23:19, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

I'm just explaining that part of the universe. Valve took that very seriously while working on HL2 and made it an important part of the Combine story. And I made those SVG logos for the wiki, might as well add them. Video game is an art, and this article proves it. I'd rather read this very article than Sandy's one. Klow 23:26, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

I think this is a necessary page, since there are so many logos used by the Combine in the HL2 series. It's not like every picture is a vector made by Klow; there are quite a few textures and in-game screenshots. Darkman 4 23:32, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

Wait til I start expanding Resistance imagery! ;-) That kind of page can be relevant or crap, depending on how you see it. Klow 23:37, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I see your point(s). While I can appreciate adding as much information as we can fit into our pretty much unlimited space, I prefer to focus on information that will be as useful as possible. I just find this page a bit.. overwhelming, kinda hard to digest. You know?--Fireman V2 23:46, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, it's a pretty big page, and can be a bit confusing I guess, but I can't make it better. I think we have to consider the universe as a whole, and cover art as much as weapons. This page is useful for people who like video game art, and some people for instance who hate the Race X, they might think anything related to them could be deleted, as well as all Gearbox content. So the usefulness can sometimes be very subjective. Klow 23:51, December 17, 2009 (UTC)

Alright, funny story, I finished reading this, and then I hit random, and guess which article came up? Smelltheashes 21:31, December 4, 2010 (UTC)

Citadel Core logo

Does anyone else see a resemblance to the radioactive sign (trefoil symbol) in the core logo? If you look carefully you'll realize that 3 of the 6 repeating parts around the circular center are shaped like the fins on the radioactive symbol, with a little chunk cut out. The other 3 seem to fill in the space, and the center dot is stylized. I'd add this observation to the wiki page but the page has been locked. — Unsigned comment by 129.21.192.112

City 17 logo

Should this be noted about it? https://old.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/48w9ja/something_interesting_about_the_city_17_logo/

It definitely seems intentional 99.92.61.189 09:54, 5 October 2022 (MSK)

This is still only speculation, and it's not likely to be correct. As mentioned in the article, this logo is just based on a cross section of an old Citadel design, and this is also the point in development in which the logo was actually frequently used. It should be noted that this logo barely appears at all in the final game except for some very tiny and blurry instances on a handful of Combine devices, so its prominence and the thought behind it in its present implementation shouldn't be overstated. There are other cases of speculation currently in the article that should be removed too, but this theory falls short of an appropriate threshold as well. Marphy (talk) 00:32, 7 October 2022 (MSK)

What is the source for the cross-section statement, by the way? Looking at proto_citadel_skybox.vmf, I can't exactly replicate the logo, there's not enough pieces to form it, and not in the same order by width. Is it enough of a proof that they're both round and segmented?

I do agree that the reddit theory doesn't need to be reflected. The pieces there aren't even all the same... and there's a much easier explanation - the artist took half of a ring, copied, rotated 120 degrees, copied again, rotated 120 again. Done. No extra deliberation required. Cvoxalury (talk) 18:33, 7 October 2022 (MSK)

I didn't mean that the logo is a one-to-one representation of a specific in-game iteration of the old Citadel design but rather a representation of its general form. This can be considered speculation as well (albeit with a straightforward visual foundation), but the article as a whole is in need of a review and verification in its present state, especially updates in light of Half-Life: Alyx's release. Marphy (talk) 23:12, 9 October 2022 (MSK)

Calling it 'Combine alphabet'

An alphabet is a set of letters, and typically different alphabets don't match all of the letters.

However, the in-game version does match all of the Latin alphabet 1:1, and it's rather obvious that the visual part was rooted in how the "normal" letters look. It's more than 'based' on the Latin alphabet - it is the Latin alphabet without deviations.

So should it still be called a Combine alphabet, and should it be called "translating" like on the Fabricator screen? It's not really "translating" when it was the same word, meaning the same thing, written with the same letters. "Transcription" is closer.

Alternative name could be either "Combine font" (not a fan of this... but that's pretty much what it is) or "Combine characters (/ character set?)" (a specific way to depict the letters). Although this can get confusing when searching. But then, a redirect from "alphabet" can stay.

I did check the developer commentary quickly (searched for 'alphabet', 'letter', 'font') but didn't see anything. Cvoxalury (talk) 16:56, 15 November 2024 (MSK)

I think part of the question here speaks to the intent of the developers which, at least as of now (and as you've pointed out), we don't know. Is the Combine's writing supposed to be a truly alien language, or does it matter that it's really no different than applying Wingdings to the standard Latin alphabet except more readable? At a glance, I wouldn't say most players would immediately identify the Combine writing as comprehensible, likely assuming it to be indecipherable alien jargon that needs translation. Of course, the truth is the only thing that needs "translating" is the characters to a more recognizable form since they're a direct one-to-one match with everything already written in plain English, an aspect that would also likely be a surprise to said players. Once one knows this fact, the Combine writings suddenly become much less daunting and even occasionally legible at times bar some very cryptic letters.

To this end, I would say most people would initially and intuitively regard the Combine writing as a being written with their own "Combine alphabet". However, that's not literally true since we're merely seeing alternate characters for the Latin alphabet. Nonetheless, the correct terminology to use here is really getting into semantics, and the more accurate ways of addressing it sounds awkward, exacerbated by the fact that this is a very unique scenario pertaining to a wholly fictional subject matter.

Colloquially, I think most players would still address these letters as the "Combine alphabet", even knowing the reality about them. Calling it a "Combine font" or "Combine typeface" sounds wrong, and this entails the unknown intentions of the developers and partially assumes an in-universe stance ("How/Why do the Combine speak English?"). The only alternate means of addressing these letters that feels correct and natural to me is "Combine characters", but that's essentially a synonym for "alphabet" already. Ultimately, given the lack of any official moniker whatsoever, I would opt towards the natural designation "Combine alphabet" that we've already arrived at here. It's explicitly stated that it's just a stylized form of the Latin alphabet, so I don't think this slight matter of semantics is cause for confusion. Marphy (talk) 02:59, 19 November 2024 (MSK)