Combine Factories

The Combine Factories (also nicknamed "garage" or "industrial") is a City 17 area cut from Half-Life 2 that was to be seen in the first chapters of the game, between the City 17 Trainstation and the Trainstation Plaza. It was originally to be accessed from the back of the City 17 Trainstation, although Gordon was to first pass through the area while arriving to City 17 on its train. The player was then to proceed to the Trainstation Plaza and see the trainstation main facade.

Overview
The place was to be quite noisy. The workers of these factories would have been consisted of both adult and child Citizens, working as slaves, as well as Stalkers and Vortigaunts. They were to be closely watched by Metrocops and Combots. Details about this level are given in the book Raising the Bar and the WC mappack. A map cut from E3 2003, "Industrial", depicts most of the Combine Factories in an incomplete stage. Other maps include maps starting with " " (1 and 2) and " " (coming in around 15 versions, some featuring the nearby trainstation) (not to be confused with the E3 map ).

An elevated railway for the Razor Train was also to be crossing the area, transporting Citizens from the Wasteland or other locations to the nearby trainstation. Big pipes and catwalks were filling the streets. Door Towers were used by Metrocops to open Combine Barricades while APCs and School Buses were traveling around the area. Vorti-Cells could also be seen in some areas.

Features
The factories area was to contain several sections that can be found in the several different maps:

Underground / sewers
Several underground rooms that seem to have undergone a fire can be accessed through a door on the street (they are also used in Vertigo). A small portion of the ceiling of one of the rooms collapsed and rain poured in overtime. The area leads to a small sewer area where Xen Light Stalks and a scripted sequence involving Rebel Vortigaunts were to be seen.

The Cremator factory
In this factory, children were to build Cremators, watched by a Metrocop. It can be seen from the street, then from above on a catwalk.

The garage
A standard garage featuring an APC being repaired and a small crane.

The Stalker factory
Stalkers are seen "attacking" a container in a building nearby the Vortigaunt factory.

The stenographer's chasm
It was an attempt to create a nightmarish environment, but gameplay was again an issue. The place was to be filled with Citizens typing information on stenographs. The scripted version of this room contains other types of machines and also children.

The Vortigaunt factory
A Vortigaunt could also be seen working under a room filled with generator-like green devices near the garage.

Fate


As the concept of human reproduction having been disabled by the Suppression Field evolved, children and the factory were eventually cut.

It was also easier to avoid censorship by removing the presence of children. Laws exist in some countries and regions that explicitly forbid children appearing in violent situations in computer games. Their absence can therefore be easily explained as a way to ease the adjustments needed for international release. Regardless of laws, news of a game where children could be shot could have become a controversial issue in the media. Several other violent video games, such as the Grand Theft Auto series, have no children for that exact reason. However, some who are in opposition to this theory may bring about the fact that no non-player character in the game who is meant to be an ally (such as members of the Resistance, Citizens, or Vortigaunts) can be intentionally shot by the player. Despite their absence as characters in the game, throughout City 17 and other areas the player can find many graffiti paintings of what appears to be either a Combine soldier or a Resistance member holding a baby.

Although some ideas sounded good on paper, the developers found themselves unable to find a satisfying gameplay for this area. Like the Manhack Arcade, this area didn't have a purpose strong enough to be kept.

The slavery/factory themes were recycled in the Citadel chapters and the slavery work was made for the Stalkers instead.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar