Nova Prospekt




 * "It used to be a high security prison... it's something... much worse than that now." - Alyx Vance

Nova Prospekt, originally known as the Gulag or the Prison, is a Combine facility featured in the chapters "Nova Prospekt" and "Entanglement" of Half-Life 2. Before the Combine occupation, Nova Prospekt was a high security penitentiary. The Combine took the prison and used it to detain and process people who were deemed threats to the Combine including, but not limited to, political prisoners, human resistance fighters, and ordinary civilians. Prisoners are known to be processed and transformed into Stalkers or Overwatch Soldiers.

Layout
Nova Prospekt is separated into two parts as illustrated respectively in the two chapters of the game titled "Nova Prospekt" and "Entanglement".

The original prison (Nova Prospekt itself)
The old section of the building follows the motif of an Alcatraz-styled maximum security prison riddled with open confinement chambers (useless to the Combine), labeled cell blocks, offices, and large shower and maintenance facilities. The Combine appear to have made little use for this particular area as they have moved all Combine related facilities and processes into the new section of the massive complex. This section exhibits many signs of disrepair and disuse, such as large pools forming in the sub-basements, crumbling ceilings and massive holes in the ground dug by Antlions. Some of the less visited corners of the old section also contains vermin such as Barnacles, headcrabs and Headcrab Zombies, which adds to the fact that the Combine care little for the older section. These sections of Nova Prospekt are also slowly absorbed into the new Nova Prospekt by means of Combine technology.

The Combine Depot
The new section of Nova Prospekt houses the processing facilities utilized by the Combine to convert prisoners into Stalkers, as well as the developmental technology for the Combine teleport.

The architecture of this section is an example of Combine land development technology, seen in the final scene of "Nova Prospekt" and in City 17 later in the game. This technology in its predeveloped stage is a massive wall of assorted bars, wires, and machinery arranged randomly. The random positioning of any particular part of the structure, working with every other part of the structure each with its own variable function, allows for millions of permutations of arrangements that, according to a specified program, will build into whatever Combine facility it has been told to become. This mode of automated construction allows for the Combine take-over of any particular area. This development is shown in the final scene of "Nova Prospekt" when the player happens upon an absolutely wrecked part of the old facility bordered on all sides by this wall of random machinery. As the player progresses through this odd valley of destruction, the walls begin to slowly change position eating up more of the old facility and becoming more specific in its arrangement. Shortly after this scene the player enters into the train depot of new Nova Prospekt, upon close examination of the wall, it is discovered that the depot has been composed entirely out of the moving machinery seen earlier. Later in the game startlingly detailed examples of similar Combine architecture are seen in the City 17 Nexus, and in the Citadel.

Cell blocks
Nova Prospekt's prison areas are divided into 12 different cell blocks. All other cell blocks are seen as abandoned or in complete disrepair.

Old Nova Prospekt

 * A3 - Highest security cell block, the first visited by Gordon Freeman. A flooded maintenance room needs to be taken to access cell block A5. Cells have small windows in their ceiling.
 * A5 - Larger but infrequently patrolled cell block. it is followed by a big room with turrets.
 * A7 - After the showers comes this larger very commonly patrolled cell block, with a torture room where a Vortigaunt can be found.
 * B2 - This block cannot be accessed.
 * B4 - Primary prison control cell block (besides New Nova Prospekt/depot cell blocks) where an important battle between Antlions and Nova Prospekt Prison Guards occurs.
 * B7 - Extremely small cell block, annexed to block B4.

New Nova Prospekt

 * C1 - This block does not contain cells but the laundry facilities and the kitchen. After that comes the cafeteria.
 * C2 - This cell block is linked to the cafeteria and cannot be accessed. An Antlion Guard comes from it.
 * C3 - This cell block is linked to the cafeteria and is entirely flattened by Combine mobile walls. After that comes the Depot itself and maintenance areas.
 * D7 - More commonly used control cell block, in which Combine cells are installed. In the control room, Alyx Vance discovers that Judith Mossman betrayed the Resistance. After that comes another flooded maintenance room.
 * D8 - Cell block where a difficult battle is lead by Gordon Freeman. Combine cells are also installed. After that can be accessed the lower levels of the Depot where the teleport is located.

The turning point of the Combine War
In Nova Prospekt, it becomes clear to the player that the Combine is not as invincible as once thought. Multiple visual clues suggest that the Combine, with all their technological superiority, were losing ground to the human "infection", even before Gordon arrived, such as:


 * General disrepair
 * Mechanized security (turrets, forcefields, etc.)
 * Headcrab infestation
 * Unremoved corpses in some locations
 * Antlion infestation
 * Some evidence of escape (Such as Lambda symbols.)

Nova Prospekt is a turning point in the story. Up until this moment, the Combine forces seemed to be in full control over the situation. They were chasing Gordon, and he was constantly on the run. After the "Nova Prospekt" chapter of the game, this drastically changes. Gordon stops running and engages them in their very base.

Half-Life 2


As mentioned above, the player visits along with a pack of Antlions. The Antlion swarm heading into the complex, goaded by Gordon Freeman, seemed to trigger practically all the Antlions in the area surrounding the complex to help invade. This can be seen in-game by Combine having to fend off endless hordes of Antlions either flying or tunneling into the structure. Even a few of the extremely-tough Antlion Guards come to join, smashing through thin walls with impunity and ramming any Combine they find, as well as Gordon himself. Although the Combine Overwatch attempted to defend the older section, they were overpowered by the numbers of Antlions as well as the occasional Antlion Guard and the efforts of Gordon Freeman. The older sections are assumed to be overrun and destroyed by hordes of Antlions as towards the end of the chapter, "Nova Prospekt", the player can hear the P.A. system ordering the soldiers to retreat from the older section.

Although background noises suggest that antlions are present in some area, the Combine-occupied newer section remained untouched by the Antlions as witnessed in the chapter "Entanglement". Thus, this portion of Nova Prospekt suffered minimal structural damage. This was until Gordon and Alyx used the main Combine teleporter located deep within the newer section in an attempt to flee the facility with Eli Vance and Judith Mossman. While the teleportation was successful, the teleporter went unstable during the process and exploded just after the teleportation was done. It is assumed that the explosion destroyed most or all of the newer sections. The destruction of Nova Prospekt was the event that signalled the beginning of the rebellion and the one week long urban battle that resulted with the destruction of the Citadel's dark energy reactor.

Half-Life 2: Episode One
While Nova Prospekt is not seen or mentioned in Episode One, during the second half of the chapter "Exit 17", one can see a train platform labeled "Nova Prospekt" in a very similar way to the one seen in Half-Life 2's first chapter. However, the player can observe that the platform is largely sealed and littered with crates and other useless items which suggests that the Combine stopped using Nova Prospekt after the teleporter (and presumably, the rest of the facility) exploded.

Behind the scenes


Originally, the Nova Prospekt chapter was just the Depot flanked with a smaller prison, a simple stopping point in Gordon's path to the cut Air Exchange (where the signal for the uprising was originally to be given from), until it became one of the longest chapters of the game. After the AirEx chapter was cut, the uprising trigger was moved to Nova Prospekt. Before getting into the Depot, Gordon was to pass through the "Gunship Bays", where Gunships were built. This area was moved to the Citadel levels.