The Wasteland

The Wasteland, also known as The Wild or The Scrapland, is the area surrounding City 17.

Characteristics and features


The Wasteland is a desolated, barren, desertic, unsafe area, infested with Xen wildlife, such as Headcrabs, Antlions and Leechs, and also originally Bullsquids, Houndeyes and other undefined alien fauna. There lies shipwrecks, car wrecks, submarine wrecks, destroyed building and roads (such as the Highway 17) and other desolation scenes. The only thing to be in good condition is the railway, being used by the Combine for the Wasteland Train, linking their outposts together, transporting Combine troops or Citizens.

City 17 was originally to be surrounded by a wall protecting it from the outside, but it does not seem to be everywhere in the final version, although some sort of wall can be seen at the end of Episode One.

Half-Life 2
Although Gordon does not visit the Wasteland before leaving the City 17 parts of the Canals for their Wasteland part, the area can be first spotted during the teleportation failure caused by Lamarr in the second chapter, "A Red Letter Day". A desertic, sandy landscape with a wrecked car, a headframe, rocks, and a crow (that Lamarr attacks) are seen during a few seconds, among the other places quickly visited before Gordon is freed by the teleport.

Locations
The main Wasteland locations are:


 * The end of the Canals
 * Black Mesa East
 * Ravenholm
 * The Coast
 * Nova Prospekt
 * The Depot
 * The Air Exchange (cut)

Half-Life 2 episodes
Given the very lively flora seen in Episode Two, it seems that not all Earth surface is a wasteland, the Combine having likely not finished yet their conversion of Earth to their needs. Therefore the White Forest, although located in the outskirts of City 17, is not considered to be part of the Wasteland.

Behind the scenes


Gordon Freeman was originally to see the Wasteland for the first time when his train was carrying him to City 17. The area was to be infested with Headcrabs, Antlions, Bullsquids and Houndeyes and other undefined alien fauna. It was also to be much more desolated, since flora is still quite present in Half-Life 2 and insects can be heard in the Canals. The sea level was also to be even lower.

Like in the final version, Gordon was to reach the Wasteland while leaving City 17 through the Canals. There he was to meet Eli Maxwell in his lab, go through Quarrytown, and travel along the Coast (for unknown reasons), following the tracks passing by the Depot and continuing in unknown directions. There, the Depot and the prison were to be a simple stopping-off point, the main Coast chapter being the Air Exchange, the destruction of its reactor triggering the uprising in City 17. Like in the retail version, many rebel settlements were to be spread along the Coast, the prominent Wasteland region to be seen. The railroad theme was also very important from the start, all the main Combine settlements of the region being linked by the railroad.

The old Wasteland area was last worked on to at least May 2003, as an E3 map named "E3_depot2003" was last edited on May 2003.