Weather Control

The Weather Control, or Weather Station, is a location and chapter cut from Half-Life 2. It was to be set between the Kraken Base and Skyscraper chapters, being the second and last location of the third day.

Overview
The Weather Control was to be a massive dome that drained Earth of its oxygen, covered with antennas and radar dishes emitting red lights and with other structures around it, the whole facility partially hidden by snow and located in a canyon, in the Arctic regions North-West of City 17.

Story fragment
A story fragment of the Weather Control chapter given to the developers for design inspiration starts at some point after the Kraken Base chapter. The Air Exchange reactor has been destroyed several chapters before and the uprising is in process in City 17 and other Combine facilities in the Wasteland and other areas. After or during the Kraken Base chapter, Gordon was to meet with Captain Vance and his daughter Alyx (her whereabouts between the Air Exchange and this chapter are unknown), while Helena Mossman's whereabouts between Kraken Base and the Citadel are unknown:

After the news of the uprising spread, Conscripts soldiers stationed inside the Weather Control rebelled against the Combine units stationed there.

At the start of the story fragment, Gordon was in a column of battered Conscript Bradleys heading for the Weather Control with Captain Vance, his Conscripts and Alyx, the latter located in another nearby Bradley. Suddenly they were bombarded by Combine airships and several Bradleys and soldiers were destroyed. Soon after they reached the already damaged station. Vance then told Gordon that a C-130 was coming to take him to City 17, and that he had to bring "chips" with him. The plan before that was to hold off the Combine as long as possible in the canyon, then fall back inside the dome.

Right after Vance had finished talking to Gordon, Combine "mech carriers" arrived, one of which delivered a "mech" right between Gordon and the station in a package unfolding itself right after the carriers left. While Gordon stood in awe, the soldiers directly started attacking it, then he started firing as well. Then he spotted Alyx coming at the same mech from the other side, with a grenade ready in her hand. Her father called her, and, distracted, she misthrew the grenade that exploded in mid-air, near the mechs's "head". The attention of the mech was caught by the explosion and he directed itself towards Alyx, while her father and Gordon were rushing towards her. Then its head pulsed with a faint glow as if powering up for energy, and then fired at Alyx, missed, but she was shaken by the blast and fell, unconscious. At the same instant the mech's upper carapace was destroyed by one of the huge guns located in the battlefield below the station. They had been hidden by the ice and had been uncovered with the blasts of the battle. The Conscripts took control of them and others started firing missiles at the other mechs and airships. When Gordon arrived at Alyx's side, her father was with her, she had already regained consciousness and smiled to the two men. She then got up and reached for the huge guns to help the Conscripts. Right after that more Combine forces arrived.

This is were the story fragment ends. It is unknown what was to happen exactly during the next stages of the battle, and how long it would have taken. All that is known though is that Gordon and Alyx were able to go back to City 17 in the C-130 (or a chopper ) mentioned by Vance but crashed into the Skyscraper back into City 17. Vance was also to go back to City 17 around the same time, since Gordon was to find him after the crash.

Fate

 * This chapter is part of the storyline set between Nova Prospekt and the City 17 street wars that was completely cut, the game timespan having been reduced to three days instead of the original four. Since three levels and visited after the start of the uprising sparked in the Air Exchange, it is logical the see it in good way when back into the city. This timespan disappearing in Half-Life 2, it was replaced by a one-week timespan of Gordon and Alyx stuck between the two teleports.
 * This is also the only chapter for which no maps or any scripted material were created.
 * A similar battle might take place at the end of Episode Three as a final showdown to the series, but it is unknown if a Weather Control-like building will be seen.

Trivia
[*]The general atmosphere of the Weather Control battle is reminiscent of the Battle of Hoth in the movie Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar