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Stalker
General information
Affiliation	Combine
Type	Transhuman Servitor
Individual information
Health	25
Weapon(s)	Welding laser
Game information
Entity / spawn codes	npc_stalker
Designer(s)	Ted Backman[1]

 

A Stalker is a human who has been drastically altered both physically and mentally as the product of extreme, brutal Synth engineering by the Combine.

OverviewEdit

Stalker ' limb extremities (hands and lower legs) have been removed and replaced with bolted-on metallic augmentations which offer reduced agility. The reasoning behind this is unknown, but would be useful in dehumanizing them further, and would cause pain with every movement. Apparently unable to talk, they will simply roar and make groans, probably because they have been both severely physically and mentally altered.

For ease of maintenance and to bring a dependence on the Combine, the Stalker's digestive tract has been removed, resulting in them surviving solely on a nutrient solution that the Combine provides, as evidenced by the gastric port in their sides. Stalker bodies are heavily atrophied, with very little muscle or fat tissue remaining.

All signs of their genitals have been surgically removed.

They have small plates on hinges next to their "eyes", which can be closed during periods of inactivity. In Half-Life 2: Episode One, during the trip in the stalker train, these plates are closed while the stalkers are in transport. After the train crashed the plates opened, which activated the stalkers.

ApplicationEdit

• The Stalker transformation process is performed at Nova Prospekt, after which they are transported to the Citadel,where they perform a single job that others nexus don't need, where they are required to maintain the core and guard from intruders.
• They are transported by Razor Trains, and are confined in pods during the transportation.
• Despite being seen in Nova Prospekt and the Citadel, Stalkers are never actually engaged in combat during Half-Life 2. However, it is possible to engage in combat with them in order to more easily achieve mission objectives in Half-Life 2: Episode One, as their lasers prevent certain tasks from being completed.
• Episode One is also where the exact nature of Stalkers is first revealed. In Episode One, the player and Alyx enter the Citadel. After a bit of progress, the player and Alyx enter a room with two Stalkers working a Forcefield, temporarily preventing progress. Alyx states that the Stalkers "shouldn't bother us if we leave them alone". Interestingly enough, when the player is in the core of the Citadel and chooses to kill one of the two Stalkers, the remaining one will turn to face the player and roar at Freeman. The Stalker will then proceed to attack the player with the laser tool. Contrarily, if the player is fast enough to cross a field bridge there before it deactivates, Stalkers can be approached face to face, and do not attack the player but instead walk away as if he wasn't there at all.
• It appears that the Citizens of City 17 have a full knowledge and understanding about Stalkers, what they are, and how and where they are "made." Alyx Vance comments on Nova Prospekt: "It used to be a high-security prison, it's something... much worse than that now." Barney Calhoun also makes the comment "He was about to board the express to Nova Prospekt!" at the start of the game, and sometimes Resistance members say, "They're not gonna make a Stalker out of me". However, this knowledge may just be limited to members of the Resistance.

Behind the scenesEdit

• The Stalker was originally planned to be fought in Half-Life 2, but this feature was cut and, later, re-introduced in Episode One.^[2]
• The Stalkers in the Half-Life 2 Beta had melee attacks, their laser attack did more damage and they would emit a high pitched scream when killed.

TriviaEdit

• Stalkers can be spawned via the console in Half-Life 2, but the game will crash if they are killed, due to the lack of a death animation. In Episode One, spawning works normally. In Portal, they are spawnable but stretch when killed.
• Stalkers spawned with the console in Episode One are generally non-aggressive, and will usually not fight if other Stalkers are killed in front of them.
• There is only one Stalker-related achievement, Pacifist, which can be gained by containing the Citadel Core without killing any Stalkers.
• SMOD has a full working Stalker NPC that attacks the player and other non-Combine NPCs.
• A spawned stalker and a spawned Vortigaunt will automatically fight, suggesting that the two were originally meant to.

GalleryEdit

Pre-releaseEdit

Stalker concept art

Concept art

Concept sketches

Concept art

The earliest known model.

Texture found in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta files, based on a Stalker screenshot, originally used for the WC mappack maps "e3_end" and "hazard01".

RetailEdit

ModelsEdit

Half-Life 2 model.

Episode One model, with phong mapping added.

Razor Train pod model from Episode One.

Grey, stretched "clamp" Combine logo featured on the box attached to its belt.

List of appearancesEdit

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

ReferencesEdit