Hydra
From Combine OverWiki, the Half-Life Wiki
 | The content of this article has been cut.
|
| |
| Hydra | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Affiliation | |
| Type |
Wildlife |
| Personal information | |
| Weapon(s) |
|
| Game information | |
| Entity |
hydra |
| Designer(s) | |
The Hydra[1][2][3][4] is an enemy cut from Half-Life 2 during the later stages of the game's development.[3]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Hydra was to be a large underground entity made out of three neon blue tentacles that went up to the surface, while attached to the ground below. Each tentacle was to end with a different "head".[3] Its body was to be made of gelatinous, transparent flesh, with organs clearly visible.[1]
Its earliest use was consisting of a scripted sequence set in the City 17 sewers, during which an Overwatch Soldier was to be impaled by one of the three heads, right before Gordon was to have caught up with Alyx. It was showcased at E3 2003, in the map "e3_hydra", as well as the first Half-Life 2 trailer. The same area can also be found in other E3 maps, such as "e3_strider" and "e3_sewer".
More recent maps present in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta suggest it was to be met as a boss at the end of the underground levels of City 17, during the Uprising. These areas are now partially included in the Half-Life 2 chapter Anticitizen One, while others, designed specifically for the creature, such as "d3_under_01" or "d3_c17_08", have been completely removed (a self-explanatory text, "Final Hydra battle will occur here", is present in "d3_c17_08").[3]
[edit] Behavior and skills
One of its "heads" was to be pointed and capable of piercing through its victims, while the other's behavior is unsure. The pointed head model is unnamed and appears first in the scripted sequence; the two others appear right after, at which point the scripted sequence stops. One is named "seer", the other "smacker". "Seer" was probably to act as some kind of sensor (given its name and its finger-like protuberances), while "smacker" was probably to smack victims like a fist, or grab them like a hand, given its shape.
[edit] Fate
According to Ken Birdwell, who was responsible of its coding and AI development, the Hydra was cut for coding difficulties, a troublesome AI, and - while it looked good while fighting other players - an unsatisfying fighting experience in the first person, as the players were unable to see properly what they were fighting, before simply dying.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- The Hydra bares a passing resemblance to the Tentacle from the original Half-Life and from what little is known about it it would seem it was intended to perform a very similar role. It is possible that it was intended to be some sort of mutated Tentacle, in the vein of the Fast and Poison Headcrabs.
- The hydra is an actual invertebrate freshwater animal, and an Ancient Greek serpent-like chthonic water beast that possessed 9 heads. Both bear similarities with Backman's Hydra, notably a transparent body for the first one and several heads for the second.
[edit] Gallery
 Concept art of different heads. |
 The Hydra about to impale an Overwatch Soldier in the E3 map " |
 The Hydra impaling an Overwatch Soldier in the E3 map " |
 Hydra model, not used in the scripted sequence, without visible organs and animation errors. |
 "E3 Hydra" model, used in the scripted sequence. |
 "E3 Hydra seer" model, used in the scripted sequence. |
 "E3 Hydra smacker" model, used in the scripted sequence. |
 Pointed head in the map "e3_hydra". |
 "Seer" head in the map "e3_hydra". |
 "Smacker" head in the map "e3_hydra". |
[edit] List of appearances
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar (First appearance) (Non-canonical appearance)
[edit] Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- ↑ Playable Half-Life 2 Beta files
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Playable Half-Life 2 Beta
- ↑ WC mappack
