Scout Car

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Scout Car
General information
Affiliation	Resistance
Type	Dune buggy
Health	Can be destroyed only by a Razor Train
Weapons	Tau Cannon
Usage
Makers	Reassembled by Eli and Alyx Vance; Tau Cannon mounted by Eli
Used by	Gordon Freeman
Capacity	1
Game information
Designers	Tri Nguyen
Entity name	prop_vehicle_jeep
Spawn code	ch_createjeep impulse 82

 

"That's why I called you, Leon. I was hoping you still had the scout car we left with you last summer. The one my Dad rigged with the Tau Cannon."

―Alyx Vance

 

The Scout Car, also known as the Buggy (its model name), is a scrappy, rough terrain vehicle used on the Coast by the Resistance. It was probably used by individual Resistance members to scout enemy movements along the Coast.

Overview

The Scout Car has four wheel drive, disk brakes, independent suspension, and has only one seat. It is powered by a small V8 engine possibly from a salvaged generator located at the rear. It appears to be fueled by propane (a common fuel along with natural gas used for stationary generator sets) with the tank next to the driver's seat. Although not particularly nimble due to the bias-ply medium duty truck tires, the Scout Car is ideal for getting from one place to the next with speed, and is well at home out on the open road. The Scout Car seems to have been constructed using scrap metal and other salvaged objects.

It is capable of a powerful Turbo boost, which gives it a sudden burst of acceleration. However, the vehicle becomes unstable and difficult to steer for the duration of the boost.

At some point, The Tau Cannon was attached to the Scout Car. An experimental directed-energy weapon that was designed in Black Mesa sometime before the Black Mesa Incident. It is ideal for clearing obstructions in the path of the vehicle and killing enemies such as Combine Soldiers and Zombies. Shortly before Gordon Freeman's arrival at the base where the Scout Car was housed (Shorepoint), Noriko, a Resistance member mounted an MP7 ammunition crate on the back.

Appearances

The Scout Car on Shorepoint's Pier 87.

Half-Life 2

After escaping Ravenholm, Gordon Freeman arrives at Shorepoint, a major Resistance base which was housing the Scout Car. In order to reach Nova Prospekt sooner, Gordon was given the Scout Car to take on his journey, with the permission of Leon, the base's leader. The Scout Car proved to be a very valuable vehicle for Gordon as he traveled along the coasts of Highway 17, and without it he most likely would not have made it in time. The last time Gordon saw the Scout Car was when a Dropship carried it away after the Combine overwhelmed Lighthouse Point.

Behind the scenes

• Its sound set was created from a library recording of a 1968 Camaro with stainless steel exhaust pipes and a highly tuned race engine.
• The Tau Cannon was originally supposed to be taken off the car at Lighthouse Point by a member of the Resistance, and be used as a weapon on foot.
• In the WC mappack map "e3_seafloor_drive", the Scout Car features a small screen beside the Tau Cannon. Eli was to talk to the player through that screen. Unfortunately the scene and sound files are missing from the playable Half-Life 2 Beta files, preventing from precisely knowing the nature of the messages.

Trivia

• During the Half-Life 2 chapters Highway 17 and Sandtraps, the player must use the Scout Car to travel along the Coast, eventually arriving at Lighthouse Point. If the Scout Car is destroyed or lost (such as by falling off a cliff or being hit by a train) at any point during these two chapters, the player will be presented with a failure message and will have to resume from the last saved game.
• The turbo feature on the Scout Car gives it a huge temporary speed boost, and is required for some jumps. However it makes steering almost impossible and makes controlling or stopping the Scout Car a challenge. It should only be used in open, straight areas or when climbing a steep hill.
• Driving it in relatively deep water will stop it. If this happens it must be taken out of the water with the Gravity Gun.
• Despite having headlights, it is not possible to turn them on. In addition, the flashlight cannot be used while inside the Scout Car.
• If the turbo is used while going full reverse, the Scout car will go faster than when it's activated going forward.
• The player's actual Scout Car is not really taken away. If the player goes out of the basement door of the Lighthouse, and moves as far as they can over the edge of the first platform without falling, they will hear gunfire start up and see the dropship carrying away a Scout Car. But, if the player walks back into the lighthouse and up to where the garage is visible, the Scout Car will still be there.
• The Scout Car can be spawned in Episode One and Episode Two, though it doesn't have a Tau Cannon.
• Picking the car up with the supercharged Gravity Gun can cause the Scout Car to "fly" awkwardly or cause a game crash.
• When a player spawns the Scout Car inside the Confiscation Field at the chapter Our Benefactors, the rays will try to confiscate the Tau Cannon attached to the Scout Car, just like how it would confiscate and then disintegrate Gordon's arsenal except for the Gravity Gun. However, the Tau Cannon, together with the jeep, will not disappear in the confiscation field.
• It is possible to avoid the Razor Train by parking the car in a safe place, then walk forward until the train arrives, then wait until it passes, then the player can drive forward without worrying about crashing into the train.
• In the Half-Life 2 Beta, the Scout Car can be seen travelling along the road next to the buildings in early City 17, normally where the APCs would be.
• After the May 26, 2010 update, the Scout Car is much more stable and its turbo function has a shorter cooldown time.
• Just like the original Tau cannon from Half-Life, right clicking and then holding emits a charged shot that does more damage, can go through walls and knocks the Scout Car backwards.
• It is possible to keep the Scout Car after the battle at Lighthouse Point by not putting it in the garage, backing it out, and using it in the battle (which is useful, as the tau cannon is quite powerful and has unlimited ammunition).
• In Garry's Mod, the Scout Car is renamed "Jeep", which is probably due to its entity name being prop_vehicle_jeep.

Gallery

The Beta Scout Car, featuring a hood and more detail.

The Beta Scout Car on Shorepoint Base's Pier 87 in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta.

Shorepoint, with the Scout Car on Pier 87.

Ditto, closeup.

The Scout Car is being moved on the beach by the Shorepoint's crane's magnet.

The Scout Car upside down on the beach after the crane's magnet fails.

Overwatch Soldier being killed with the Scout Car after throwing himself into it.

The Scout Car facing a fateful Razor Train.

Narrowly escaping the Razor Train.

List of appearances

• Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar