How long are the airboat missions?

[BRM62C]

I keep trying to give this game a chance because apparently it's better than HL1 but apart from it not being much like HL1, i try to give it a chance, and i enjoy it so far exepct for the airboat missions, this is where i give up. There's no context or relevence, it's really boring and hard (in my opinion). Maybe i just suck? And sure that can be your argument but if i was "good" at the game, it wouldn't make me love the airboat missions more than i already do which i don't at all. Are there a lot of airboat missions in this game? Just trying to decide whether i want to finish this game or not, i'm very annoyed.

[9seed]

There's only one airboat mission.
How far are you into it?

[BRM62C]

Originally posted by 9seed:

There's only one airboat mission.
How far are you into it?

I think im almost done with Water Hazard. So after this there's no more airboats?

[Sovereign]

As 9seed said there is only one airboat chapter. How long it takes depends on you and how much you explore the level but I'd say around an hour.

The context of the chapter is your trying to reach the resistance base along the canals and you need the airboat to travel down the canals.

[Jayrad]

Too long

[Half life Expert]

The airboat is only used in one chapter, Water Hazard, as well as the very end of Route Kanal when you first get it, and ever so briefly at the beginning of Black Mesa East. How about you just keep playing?

[Sikobae]

Originally posted by Brandon:

There's no context or relevence

Yes there is, you just haven't paid attention.

Originally posted by Sovereign:

The context of the chapter is your trying to reach the resistance base along the canals and you need the airboat to travel down the canals.

[BRM62C]

Originally posted by Sikobae:

Originally posted by Brandon:

There's no context or relevence

Yes there is, you just haven't paid attention.

Originally posted by Sovereign:

The context of the chapter is your trying to reach the resistance base along the canals and you need the airboat to travel down the canals.

Gordon needs to get to Eli, i have payed attention, sure it's in the game so by default, it's relevent, but you can't say Water Hazard was a big plot point. Whether teleporter worked or not, the story continues when we get to Eli, but they just made a unfun and boring way of getting to him that could have just been avoided completely if you ask me. It's not fun and you don't learn anything which makes it pointless. That's my personal opinion. I just wished the teleporter worked.

[BRM62C]

Thank you all for the help though, i'll continue playing!

[9seed]

When you get the airboat gun, then things get dramatically more entertaining.

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by Brandon:

Originally posted by Sikobae:

Yes there is, you just haven't paid attention.

Gordon needs to get to Eli, i have payed attention, sure it's in the game so by default, it's relevent, but you can't say Water Hazard was a big plot point. Whether teleporter worked or not, the story continues when we get to Eli, but they just made a unfun and boring way of getting to him that could have just been avoided completely if you ask me. It's not fun and you don't learn anything which makes it pointless. That's my personal opinion. I just wished the teleporter worked.

While I do think Water Hazard could have been handled better I hardly think just skipping a big chunk of the game's content is the correct solution. Just teleporting would have been far more boring and would have skipped some important story points and world building.

[Half life Expert]

Originally posted by Sovereign:

Originally posted by Brandon:

Gordon needs to get to Eli, i have payed attention, sure it's in the game so by default, it's relevent, but you can't say Water Hazard was a big plot point. Whether teleporter worked or not, the story continues when we get to Eli, but they just made a unfun and boring way of getting to him that could have just been avoided completely if you ask me. It's not fun and you don't learn anything which makes it pointless. That's my personal opinion. I just wished the teleporter worked.

While I do think Water Hazard could have been handled better I hardly think just skipping a big chunk of the game's content is the correct solution. Just teleporting would have been far more boring and would have skipped some important story points and world building.

Yes indeed. The whole journey through the canals happens because of the teleporter malfunction, and it also serves a purpose of showing the player the underworld of City 17 and further conveying the Combine oppression.

To Brandon, if the teleporter was not an option, and the route to the place you need to go is through these canals, how would you have preffered to get there? Walking would take alot longer and probably be a bit more boring to you.

There is a mod out there called Boatless that recreates Water Hazard completely without the Airboat. I haven't played it myself.


By the way, honestly asking here, could you elaborate more as to why you think Water Hazard is boring? I only ask because it is not uncommon for people to just call things boring without any thought as a way of being trolls. I'm not saying you are a troll, but what I am saying is that it would be helpful if you could be more specific as to why you think the airboat chapter is boring.

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by Half life Expert:

Originally posted by Sovereign:

While I do think Water Hazard could have been handled better I hardly think just skipping a big chunk of the game's content is the correct solution. Just teleporting would have been far more boring and would have skipped some important story points and world building.

Yes indeed. The whole journey through the canals happens because of the teleporter malfunction, and it also serves a purpose of showing the player the underworld of City 17 and further conveying the Combine oppression.

Exactly, it's also important to the overall gameplay pacing of the game. Plus it's very important to the story as without the teleporter malfunction the Combine wouldn't have learned of Freeman's return and most of the game's events would be very different (and a lot less interesting) as a result.

[BRM62C]

Originally posted by Half life Expert:

Originally posted by Sovereign:

While I do think Water Hazard could have been handled better I hardly think just skipping a big chunk of the game's content is the correct solution. Just teleporting would have been far more boring and would have skipped some important story points and world building.

Yes indeed. The whole journey through the canals happens because of the teleporter malfunction, and it also serves a purpose of showing the player the underworld of City 17 and further conveying the Combine oppression.

To Brandon, if the teleporter was not an option, and the route to the place you need to go is through these canals, how would you have preffered to get there? Walking would take alot longer and probably be a bit more boring to you.

There is a mod out there called Boatless that recreates Water Hazard completely without the Airboat. I haven't played it myself.


By the way, honestly asking here, could you elaborate more as to why you think Water Hazard is boring? I only ask because it is not uncommon for people to just call things boring without any thought as a way of being trolls. I'm not saying you are a troll, but what I am saying is that it would be helpful if you could be more specific as to why you think the airboat chapter is boring.

Originally posted by Sovereign:

Originally posted by Half life Expert:

Yes indeed. The whole journey through the canals happens because of the teleporter malfunction, and it also serves a purpose of showing the player the underworld of City 17 and further conveying the Combine oppression.

Exactly, it's also important to the overall gameplay pacing of the game. Plus it's very important to the story as without the teleporter malfunction the Combine wouldn't have learned of Freeman's return and most of the game's events would be very different (and a lot less interesting) as a result.

Gordon was found and was getting chased by the combine in the beginning, they already found him, the airboat doesn't have much to do with it other than literally every soldier and helicopter knows about him now. Doesn't seem like a big difference. I also don't like the amount of influence the combine has on the game, and i wish it was more alien driven but that's just me personally, and that's another reason i find the Airboat mission boring. I play on easy just because i need to make the resolution small to play the game at a good amount of FPS, and i don't want the hassle of playing a hard game on a small screen.. I never died much until the airboat mission where i died constantly because i didn't know where to go a lot and there was too much fire coming my way from heli's and combine. There's no way in hell Gordon would survive that ♥♥♥♥ realistically. I just think the mission was so poorly optimized. The driving controls weren't good either in my opinion which made it a ♥♥♥♥ ton worse. I quit the game for a few days cuz of the mission, it was annoying to me. I finished the airboat mission. I literally had to whip out my phone and lookup walkthroughs which i never like to do. I had to turn on God Mode to beat the airboat mission, i promise you. So that being said, i think it's more hard and complicated than it has to be personally. If they made it less hard, better controls, and more interesting maybe, i'd enjoy it but i still don't believe it was needed in the game. Thanks for recommending the mod but i already beat the mission on God Mode.

I'm not a troll at all, sorry if i seem like one, all i ever wanted was someone to tell me how long the airboat mission was because i was stuck. I said "airboat missions" because i thought maybe it's used throughout the whole game, but it's not, so it's not really a big deal to me anymore, already passed it. I also seem like a troll maybe because i'm trying to defend my right to an opinion, i don't think everyone is obligated to like what you like just cuz Half Life 2 is your favorite game. As humans we like different things, i don't see how it's a problem. No matter how good a game is, they will always have people who don't like it or something about it, you can't please everybody. I like the game though.

One reason i may have caused an argument is by the preception that i'm stating my opinions as fact saying that it's "boring" and "pointless", those are just my opinion, but i didn't mean to come off as bashing the game i think the mission can be great and fun for most people obviously since the game is so critically acclaimed. There's a case on whether you could say the airboat missions are pointless or influencial, i can agree that the missions obviously led to somewhere though, it wasn't a big part of the game so it isn't really worth arguing about, we can just have our seperate views and enjoy the game for what it is, no?

[Sovereign]

Originally posted by Brandon:

Originally posted by Half life Expert:

Yes indeed. The whole journey through the canals happens because of the teleporter malfunction, and it also serves a purpose of showing the player the underworld of City 17 and further conveying the Combine oppression.

To Brandon, if the teleporter was not an option, and the route to the place you need to go is through these canals, how would you have preffered to get there? Walking would take alot longer and probably be a bit more boring to you.

There is a mod out there called Boatless that recreates Water Hazard completely without the Airboat. I haven't played it myself.


By the way, honestly asking here, could you elaborate more as to why you think Water Hazard is boring? I only ask because it is not uncommon for people to just call things boring without any thought as a way of being trolls. I'm not saying you are a troll, but what I am saying is that it would be helpful if you could be more specific as to why you think the airboat chapter is boring.

Originally posted by Sovereign:

Exactly, it's also important to the overall gameplay pacing of the game. Plus it's very important to the story as without the teleporter malfunction the Combine wouldn't have learned of Freeman's return and most of the game's events would be very different (and a lot less interesting) as a result.

Gordon was found and was getting chased by the combine in the beginning, they already found him, the airboat doesn't have much to do with it other than literally every soldier and helicopter knows about him now. Doesn't seem like a big difference. I also don't like the amount of influence the combine has on the game, and i wish it was more alien driven but that's just me personally, and that's another reason i find the Airboat mission boring. I play on easy just because i need to make the resolution small to play the game at a good amount of FPS, and i don't want the hasle of playing a hard game on a small screen.. I never died much until the airboat mission where i died constantly because i didn't know where to go a lot and there was too much fire coming my way from heli's and combine. There's no way in hell Gordon would survive that ♥♥♥♥ realistically. I just think the mission was so poorly optimized. The driving controls weren't good either in my opinion which made it a ♥♥♥♥ ton worse. I quit the game for a few days cuz of the mission, it was annoying to me. I finished the airboat mission. I literally had to whip out my phone and lookup walkthroughs which i never like to do. I had to turn on God Mode to beat the airboat missions, i promise you. So that being said, i think it's more hard and complicated than it has to be personally. If they made it less hard, better controls, and more interesting maybe, i'd play it but i still don't believe it was needed in the game. Thanks for recommending the mod but i already beat the mission on God Mode.

Before Breen sees you during the teleport the Combine didn't know who you were, they just assumed you were some runaway. Breen immediately informs the Combine's leadership of Gordon's identity, as you see during the second time you teleport to his office.

How the hell can your PC, in 2018, not run HL2 at an acceptable framerate?

The Combine are alien, just in more of a professional militiristc empire sense rather then the horde of scary monsters sense like the first game.

I don't want to sound like an elitist prick, but are you really saying you couldn't beat one of the easier parts of the game on easy mode without using god mode!?

Originally posted by Brandon:

I'm not a troll at all, sorry if i seem like one, all i ever wanted was someone to tell me how long the airboat mission was because i was stuck. I said "airboat missions" because i thought maybe it's used throughout the whole game, but it's not, so it's not really a big deal to me anymore, already passed it. I also seem like a troll maybe because i'm trying to defend my right to an opinion, i don't think everyone is obligated to like what you like just cuz Half Life 2 is your favorite game. As humans we like different things, i don't see how it's a problem. No matter how good a game is, they will always have people who don't like it or something about it, you can't please everybody. I like the game though.

One reason i may have caused an argument is by the preception that i'm stating my opinions as fact saying that it's "boring" and "pointless", those are just my opinion, but i didn't mean to come off as bashing the game i think the mission can be great and fun for most people obviously since the game is so critically acclaimed. There's a case on whether you could say the airboat missions are pointless or influencial, i can agree that the missions obviously led to somewhere though, it wasn't a big part of the game so it isn't really worth arguing about, we can just have our seperate views and enjoy the game for what it is, no?

Don't worry, no ones saying your a troll. Water Hazard being the weakest part of the game is a fairly common opinion to be honest.

[Half life Expert]

Originally posted by Brandon:

I also don't like the amount of influence the combine has on the game, and i wish it was more alien driven but that's just me personally, and that's another reason i find the Airboat mission boring.

Erm, the Combine are alien. The Cops you fight during the early parts of the game are the only directly human personnel they use.

There's no way in hell Gordon would survive that ♥♥♥♥ realistically.

Of course he wouldn't in the real world, that's why he has the HEV suit afterall.

I'm not a troll at all, sorry if i seem like one, all i ever wanted was someone to tell me how long the airboat mission was because i was stuck. I said "airboat missions" because i thought maybe it's used throughout the whole game, but it's not, so it's not really a big deal to me anymore, already passed it. I also seem like a troll maybe because i'm trying to defend my right to an opinion, i don't think everyone is obligated to like what you like just cuz Half Life 2 is your favorite game. As humans we like different things, i don't see how it's a problem. No matter how good a game is, they will always have people who don't like it or something about it, you can't please everybody. I like the game though.

I didn't think you were a troll ether, I was just offering some honest advice as to how to not appear as one, as there are plenty of instances of trolls trying to get HL fans mad.

One reason i may have caused an argument is by the preception that i'm stating my opinions as fact saying that it's "boring" and "pointless", those are just my opinion, but i didn't mean to come off as bashing the game i think the mission can be great and fun for most people obviously since the game is so critically acclaimed. There's a case on whether you could say the airboat missions are pointless or influencial, i can agree that the missions obviously led to somewhere though, it wasn't a big part of the game so it isn't really worth arguing about, we can just have our seperate views and enjoy the game for what it is, no?

Certainly no game is for everyone, and it's perfectly fine for you to not like parts or all of Half Life 2. You did do the right thing in your OP by stating it was 'in your opinion'.


The Half Life series is not like some more modern games because they are not all about gameplay. They are experiences, both in terms of playing a game as well as story and world building. In terms of First Person Shooters, the Half Life series definetly stands among games that, in my opinion, also qualify as art. There is more to this series than one sees on the immediate surface, it doesn't go really deep, but there are things there.

The Half Life series has substance and nuance to it that alot of games lack. To fully appeciate it, you simply have to give it a chance and let it present it's entirety to you. I believe that HL fans sometimes get irriated with people complaining about a HL game before finishing it because it is best fully experienced before commenting on.