What did Ravenholm do?

[troy_en]

To the combine that pissed them off so badly, they shelled the entire population of Ravenholm?

[GamerXT]

There was this thing called a war. What did Earth do, might be a better question.

[sethiepotter]

Ravenholm was being used by the rebels to house overflow from Black mesa east.

[troy_en]

Originally posted by GamerXT:

There was this thing called a war. What did Earth do, might be a better question.

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

[Snark]

They emulated Nintendo games.

[Valvatorez(Cox Cable = awful ISP]

Originally posted by troy_en:

Originally posted by GamerXT:

There was this thing called a war. What did Earth do, might be a better question.

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

Poster might be trolling. Ravenholm was a Resistance stronghold. The tunnel also has ceiling turrets in it.

[John Super Earth]

Originally posted by troy_en:

Originally posted by GamerXT:

There was this thing called a war. What did Earth do, might be a better question.

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

Citizens in C17 are kept alive for manual labour, and because Breen managed to buy the planet time by helping establish the transhuman forces, who are the combine soldiers you see throughout the game (this does not include metrocops, who are volunteers incentivized with increase food rations). Essentially, Breen wants to prove that the human species is useful to the combine, in the hopes that they do not wipe us out.
As others in the thread pointed out, Ravenholm was used as a rebel stronghold. Instead of launching an assault on the town, the combine simply used headcrab shells to flush out the rebels and prevent the area from being used by the resistance again. Presumably, they've done this to many other towns on the outskirts of the city. Anybody who manages to find their way out of C17 are confronted by beaches full of antlions, some of which are probably artificial, as the combine have drained the oceans significantly. Not very pleasant.

[Balthasar Gelt]

Originally posted by craig skinflute:

Originally posted by troy_en:

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

Citizens in C17 are kept alive for manual labour, and because Breen managed to buy the planet time by helping establish the transhuman forces, who are the combine soldiers you see throughout the game (this does not include metrocops, who are volunteers incentivized with increase food rations). Essentially, Breen wants to prove that the human species is useful to the combine, in the hopes that they do not wipe us out.
As others in the thread pointed out, Ravenholm was used as a rebel stronghold. Instead of launching an assault on the town, the combine simply used headcrab shells to flush out the rebels and prevent the area from being used by the resistance again. Presumably, they've done this to many other towns on the outskirts of the city. Anybody who manages to find their way out of C17 are confronted by beaches full of antlions, some of which are probably artificial, as the combine have drained the oceans significantly. Not very pleasant.

Wow the Combine suck worse than I thought. Anti-surfing narcs.

[Balthasar Gelt]

This is decidedly NOT tubular.

[Snark]

Originally posted by troy_en:

Originally posted by GamerXT:

There was this thing called a war. What did Earth do, might be a better question.

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

Because the HL2 story makes no sense the more you look at it.

[Bob]

ravenholm part of the underground railroad (route kanal + water hazard), used as a hideout for resistance members and rebels
the combine then found it, and instead of deploying troops which would result in alot of loss of resources (there was somewhere between 100 and 200 rebels in ravenholm) they just said "♥♥♥♥ it let the headcrabs deal with them" and shelled the hell outa the place

[Ghidrah1]

The ones kept alive likely had slave labor potential

[ilaikotlik]

I think the combine just tested these headcrab-missles on Ravenholm when the Combine noticed it, i dont really know this all, just as i think

[-$ilver-]

They either resisted or simply existed. It's hard to tell. From my understanding, it was a town that harbored the Resistance. Probably not one or two or even a handful of members. It was probably the base for one major cell and they were brutally dealt with. It wasn't just a means to an end, but as an example to the others. You fight the Combine, there are worse things than becoming even an Overwatch...

In my head canon, there were only a handful of survivors and Father Grigori raised them and taught them to be fighters. Since they were so few and obviously outgunned and not trusting of others, not even other citizens or Resistance cells, they were very brutal in their tactics, even fighting their own if the need arose. They had to be to survive. Plus the horrors they saw would even turn a Saint.

[GamerXT]

Originally posted by troy_en:

This doesn't explain anything. Why keep everybody of City 17 alive, and then shell Ravenholm so much that its entire population becomes zombies?

Was thinking that happened before City17 was even used by the Combine. I never knew it was a rebel base until more recent in the story.

Originally posted by craig skinflute:

the combine have drained the oceans significantly.

Wasn't that from the prototype story ? The ocean or sea, doesn't seem drained in the retail maps.

Although I guess some of the beaches are sort of large.

[Cursed Hawkins]

Originally posted by GamerXT:

Originally posted by craig skinflute:

the combine have drained the oceans significantly.

Wasn't that from the prototype story ? The ocean or sea, doesn't seem drained in the retail maps.

Although I guess some of the beaches are sort of large.

You're not very observant if areas that have docks built where they are, suddenly have nothing but sand beneath them because there's this thing called a sea floor that's nothing but sand and that's including where the docks would have been built, plus there's the Hydro-Electric dam just before Black Mesa East, where did all the water that's meant to be the side that you need to ramp just to get through the gate go if not drained by the Combine! They had 20 years to drain Earth of its resources M8, think about it, 71% of Earth's surface is covered in water is what you're seeing in-game even remotely look something like that 71%?