Half Life/Portal world question

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Nieroshai

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Vonnis said:
I think the only reason Portal and HL are in the same world is because Portal was an experiment, and Valve knew damn well that HL fanboys would buy anything that even remotely mentioned that franchise. As such, I don´t even consider the Portal and HL worlds to have anything to do with one another. Maybe I´m too cynical, but the only reason for any relation is a reasonably keen business sense on Valve´s part.
You may now flame me and declare Valve to be a collection of gods worthy of naught but our utter devotion who would never do anything to make more money. I´ll politely disagree.
The next Half Life episode will feature an Aperture Science ship, the Borealis. Aperture technology is guaranteed to be present, as may be Aperture AIs. I don't question your integrity, I simply use in-game incidents as gauge of what is and isn't canon.
 

MysticToast

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Nieroshai said:
MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
I don't think ground up moon rocks is the only surface you can place portals on. I'm not sure but it seems to me like they discovered that you can ALSO grind up the moon for portals, in addition to the usable surfaces on earth.
This is inaccurate, they used moon rocks because they couldn't find any other material that would hold the portal's charge. It quite simply requires a material that Cave Johnson implies can only be found on the moon.
I don't buy that. It doesn't specifically say in the game that moon rock is the only portal-able surface.

According to the Combine OverWiki (and yes I realize this isn't the MOST reliable source) it says "Moonrock is also a good portal conductor" which I'm just saying to add to my statement.
 

Beryl77

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SaltyOrange said:
Well,this actually cleared things up.I always thought Valve insisted that portal is in the same universe as half-life and didnt want to change it.
Sry for my lack of knowledge on the subject :)
Well it still is in the same universe. Aperture Science gets mentioned in ep2 as the company who made the Borealis and some secret technology but the connections between the games are loose. You'd never see Gordon Freeman run through the Enrichment Center or Chell in the next hl game.
You could say that as long as you're in Aperture Science, you're in this funny world but as soon as you step out of the facility you're in the serious world of Half-Life.
 

Vonnis

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Nieroshai said:
Vonnis said:
I think the only reason Portal and HL are in the same world is because Portal was an experiment, and Valve knew damn well that HL fanboys would buy anything that even remotely mentioned that franchise. As such, I don´t even consider the Portal and HL worlds to have anything to do with one another. Maybe I´m too cynical, but the only reason for any relation is a reasonably keen business sense on Valve´s part.
You may now flame me and declare Valve to be a collection of gods worthy of naught but our utter devotion who would never do anything to make more money. I´ll politely disagree.
The next Half Life episode will feature an Aperture Science ship, the Borealis. Aperture technology is guaranteed to be present, as may be Aperture AIs. I don't question your integrity, I simply use in-game incidents as gauge of what is and isn't canon.
That´s future talk though. Not saying it´s not going to happen, I´m sure it will, but the way I see it this is just fanservice. They made a fairly vague link between HL and Portal with the first Portal, and now they´re expanding on that, because it worked and because not doing so would piss off the fans (and rightly so, as honestly the HL story is a bit of a mess and any hint about the story or game universe is valuable, and Portal can´t stand on its own feet in that regard). Again, good business sense.
 

Tharwen

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Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
Surely it could at least be used for long-distance travel? The military could make several portals to the moon, or just put portals around the world so they could get the places faster.
 

Aleate

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Solo-Wing said:
ciortas1 said:
Face it - after Portal 2, that universe has nothing to do with the Half-Life one. Apart from the extremely fucking clever reference by Cave Johnson, of course. Stop trying to make sense of it.
And that harbor easter egg.
See something that is making me wonder is...
at the end of Episode 2 when they see the Ship, wasn't it like wrecked somewhere in an icy place or whatever? Then why the hell is it still in the dock in the abandoned Aperture Science labs from the 80's?
 

Outright Villainy

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Aleate said:
Solo-Wing said:
ciortas1 said:
Face it - after Portal 2, that universe has nothing to do with the Half-Life one. Apart from the extremely fucking clever reference by Cave Johnson, of course. Stop trying to make sense of it.
And that harbor easter egg.
See something that is making me wonder is...
at the end of Episode 2 when they see the Ship, wasn't it like wrecked somewhere in an icy place or whatever? Then why the hell is it still in the dock in the abandoned Aperture Science labs from the 80's?
An empty dock is there. No ship.
 

Nieroshai

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Vonnis said:
Nieroshai said:
Vonnis said:
I think the only reason Portal and HL are in the same world is because Portal was an experiment, and Valve knew damn well that HL fanboys would buy anything that even remotely mentioned that franchise. As such, I don´t even consider the Portal and HL worlds to have anything to do with one another. Maybe I´m too cynical, but the only reason for any relation is a reasonably keen business sense on Valve´s part.
You may now flame me and declare Valve to be a collection of gods worthy of naught but our utter devotion who would never do anything to make more money. I´ll politely disagree.
The next Half Life episode will feature an Aperture Science ship, the Borealis. Aperture technology is guaranteed to be present, as may be Aperture AIs. I don't question your integrity, I simply use in-game incidents as gauge of what is and isn't canon.
That´s future talk though. Not saying it´s not going to happen, I´m sure it will, but the way I see it this is just fanservice. They made a fairly vague link between HL and Portal with the first Portal, and now they´re expanding on that, because it worked and because not doing so would piss off the fans (and rightly so, as honestly the HL story is a bit of a mess and any hint about the story or game universe is valuable, and Portal can´t stand on its own feet in that regard). Again, good business sense.
Theree's a difference between forced continuity and an expanded universe. Portal referred to Half Life from the beginning through dialogue, including when GLaDOS mentions that the world above has pretty much become unsafe for organics(the Combine?), tying in with the fact that she mentions Black Mesa as a competitor to Aperture in the end. Also, if you look in office windows you can see projector screens. These have comparisons between Aperture and Black Mesa as companies. So sure Half Life 1 and 2 were created without Portal in mind, but Portal's story was written with Half Life in mind. And then in episode two they decided it was time to show that the connection would come to mean something.
 

Nieroshai

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MysticToast said:
Nieroshai said:
MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
I don't think ground up moon rocks is the only surface you can place portals on. I'm not sure but it seems to me like they discovered that you can ALSO grind up the moon for portals, in addition to the usable surfaces on earth.
This is inaccurate, they used moon rocks because they couldn't find any other material that would hold the portal's charge. It quite simply requires a material that Cave Johnson implies can only be found on the moon.
I don't buy that. It doesn't specifically say in the game that moon rock is the only portal-able surface.

According to the Combine OverWiki (and yes I realize this isn't the MOST reliable source) it says "Moonrock is also a good portal conductor" which I'm just saying to add to my statement.
After double-checking, I see what you mean. That still leaves metals, wood, and most other building and natural materials out though, there are PLENTY of different surfaces in 2 that you can try the gun on, that yield little more than a flash. So it requires the right kind of mineral, which I'd assume is hard to come by. Still though, with the Gravity Gun, it simply needs a power source and something to lift. It is not constrained by having just the perfect conditions, it's constrained by the mass of the object. So in Aperture Labs the Portal gun would win out, but outside it's just an expensive toy without some expensive and difficult prep work.
 

Nieroshai

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Tharwen said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
Surely it could at least be used for long-distance travel? The military could make several portals to the moon, or just put portals around the world so they could get the places faster.
This could be a useful application. I think though that Aperture wanted to keep the portal gun to themselves though because it was a testing apparatus that made all their other technologies possible. Also, there would need to be a moon base with, say the blue portal, and a machine that makes an accurate shot at the target's location to get them there then the destination. The Black Mesa teleporter would be better if it wasn't made of scrap iron, because it teleports the individual to specific coordinates without having to inscribe an exit hole. Teleporting back, on the other hand, I don't know. Maybe combining the two? Maybe you use the BM porter to get there, shatter a vial of moon juice and shoot it with the A porter to get home.
 

Gabriela D.

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MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
I don't think ground up moon rocks is the only surface you can place portals on. I'm not sure but it seems to me like they discovered that you can ALSO grind up the moon for portals, in addition to the usable surfaces on earth.
That's what I just said. In adiition to the white panels in Aperture, you also have the White gel (made from moon rocks). Which you cannot carry with you all the time. In this case, portals cannot be used in a fast-paced military operation. Only in controled environments, like a lab or a base.
 

Gabriela D.

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Tharwen said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
Surely it could at least be used for long-distance travel? The military could make several portals to the moon, or just put portals around the world so they could get the places faster.
Of course. Used for transportation it has a lot of potential. No more roads, no more cars, no more pollution, fuel crysis solved. We could go virtually ANYWHERE.

Which brings up the possibility of abuse. I'm not opening that can of worms.
 

Coldie

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Nieroshai said:
After double-checking, I see what you mean. That still leaves metals, wood, and most other building and natural materials out though, there are PLENTY of different surfaces in 2 that you can try the gun on, that yield little more than a flash. So it requires the right kind of mineral, which I'd assume is hard to come by.
The "right kind of mineral" in this case consists mostly of Silicon and Oxygen, with some common metals on the side. Considering that one of the consistently portalable surfaces in the game is plain concrete, you can safely assume that silica is, indeed, the key. And Earth has no shortage of sand in sight.

So portal forth and multiply... or something.
 

MysticToast

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Gabriela D. said:
MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
I don't think ground up moon rocks is the only surface you can place portals on. I'm not sure but it seems to me like they discovered that you can ALSO grind up the moon for portals, in addition to the usable surfaces on earth.
That's what I just said. In adiition to the white panels in Aperture, you also have the White gel (made from moon rocks). Which you cannot carry with you all the time. In this case, portals cannot be used in a fast-paced military operation. Only in controled environments, like a lab or a base.
That's not what I meant. The panels in Aperature appear to be made out of concrete or something similar. And the fact you can place portals in the bowels of the facility (where they wouldn't have had a need to put moon rock gel) shows that it's not just limited to where they want you to do it.
 

Aleate

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Outright Villainy said:
Aleate said:
Solo-Wing said:
ciortas1 said:
Face it - after Portal 2, that universe has nothing to do with the Half-Life one. Apart from the extremely fucking clever reference by Cave Johnson, of course. Stop trying to make sense of it.
And that harbor easter egg.
See something that is making me wonder is...
at the end of Episode 2 when they see the Ship, wasn't it like wrecked somewhere in an icy place or whatever? Then why the hell is it still in the dock in the abandoned Aperture Science labs from the 80's?
An empty dock is there. No ship.
Sigh... shows how much I pay attention. For some reason I thought that that was the dock and the ship was the wall next to it.

Man I'm an idiot :D...
 

Dr. Paine

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For the record, the turrets we see in game are 'consumer versions of their most popular military android.' They're for home defense.
 

Dr. Paine

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Sgt. Sykes said:
Did you see that massive amount of turrets build in the complex that's being shipped to regular homes? Apparently they do sell.

Although, since P2 takes place when all original life on Earth is possibly obliterated, maybe they're being immediately discarded, or they're shipped to the combine. Maybe they have sense of humor.

Actually, as there's a couple instances of seeing the boxes in P2, it can be assumed that they're shipped to somewhere else in the facility, unboxed, and used by GLaDOS.
 

Gabriela D.

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MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
MysticToast said:
Gabriela D. said:
Human_Sacrifice said:
Portal technology and fall boots are way more useful to the military than zero-point energy field manipulation.
Yes to the long-fall boots, no to the portal gun. It's not practical enough since it can only create portals on one type of surface. And carrying around the moon rock gel isn't efficient in any way. So that avenue is closed (scientists dead, GLaDOS obsessed with testing) since there is no one to improve the design of the gun to work on various surfaces.

I think I'll stick with the "lift'n'squash" gun.
I don't think ground up moon rocks is the only surface you can place portals on. I'm not sure but it seems to me like they discovered that you can ALSO grind up the moon for portals, in addition to the usable surfaces on earth.
That's what I just said. In adiition to the white panels in Aperture, you also have the White gel (made from moon rocks). Which you cannot carry with you all the time. In this case, portals cannot be used in a fast-paced military operation. Only in controled environments, like a lab or a base.
That's not what I meant. The panels in Aperature appear to be made out of concrete or something similar. And the fact you can place portals in the bowels of the facility (where they wouldn't have had a need to put moon rock gel) shows that it's not just limited to where they want you to do it.
But you still NEED the panels or a suitable surface to do it. That's my point. The portal gun is too pretentious to be used outside a controlled environment.
 

Nieroshai

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Coldie said:
Nieroshai said:
After double-checking, I see what you mean. That still leaves metals, wood, and most other building and natural materials out though, there are PLENTY of different surfaces in 2 that you can try the gun on, that yield little more than a flash. So it requires the right kind of mineral, which I'd assume is hard to come by.
The "right kind of mineral" in this case consists mostly of Silicon and Oxygen, with some common metals on the side. Considering that one of the consistently portalable surfaces in the game is plain concrete, you can safely assume that silica is, indeed, the key. And Earth has no shortage of sand in sight.

So portal forth and multiply... or something.
Yes, but isn't every portalable surface white or at least looking like it was painted? Also, sure we know what a moon rock is made of, but it takes resources to chemically engineer a LOT of the perfect mix of elements.