Combine Code Words

Half-Life Series
#1

I love the convoluted codes that the Combine use. After listening closely to Overwatch and Combine Soldier dialogue, as well as examining “sentences.txt”, I’ve been able to generate a list of the probable definitions of most of the Combine code words for things:

Code : Definition / Rebel Term

Anticitizen 1 : Gordon Freeman
Airwatch : Scanner Network / Air Units
Biotic : Antlion (Could possibly also refer to other Xen creatures.)
Bodypack : Armour
Boomer : Gunship (?)
Bouncer : Enemy Grenade (Zombines use this for their own grenades.)
Cauterize : Cut Off
Containment Field : Shield
Control Section : Citadel
Dislocate : Remove
Displace : Retreat
Deserviced / Duty Vacated : Dead (Used for friendlies)
Exogen : (Usually used to refer to Antlions, but also occasionally to other hazards such as reprogrammed Sentry Turrets and Rollermines.)
Expunge : Kill
Extractor : Friendly Grenade
Flare : Grenade (In general)
Ghost 2 : Gordon Freeman
Interpose : Cover
Lock : Stand Ground
Hard-Point : Mounted Gun Emplacement / Bunker
Hurricane : Key Resistance Figure (Not Gordon. Used to define status of “outbreak”)
Necrotic : Zombie
Noncitizen : Rebel
Outbreak : Human Revolt (When said three times in short succession, means that the speaker is overwhelmed.)
Parasite / Parasitic: Headcrab
Phantom : Gordon Freeman
Political Conscript : Stalker (?)
Priority 1 Objective / Primary Target : Gordon Freeman
Probe : Investigate
Prosecute : Assault
Restrictor : Thumper
Ripcord : Retreat
Signature Imprint : Data Packet (Presumably)
Sterilizer : Sentry Turret
Storm System : Canal
Tag : Kill
Target 1 : Gordon Freeman
Transport : Teleporter
Universal Union : Combine
Vance Prime : Eli Vance (Presumably)
Vance Sub-Prime : Alyx Vance
Viscon : Enemy Sighted
Verdict : Bullet
Virome : Antlion
Viscerator : Manhack
Workforce Intake Hub : Trainstation
10-99 : Overrun
10-108 : Friendly Dead / Death
404 : Riot

I may have missed a few, and of course some are speculation, but I’ve tried to determine the best definitions when taking into account where they are used, etc. Your thoughts?

#2

Very nice, all your definitions seem sensible.
I always loved the Combine’s messages, and always did my best to work out what they were saying when I noticed them.

#3

In episode 2 they use “Vance Subprime” when referring to Alyx.
Edit: Whoops. Didn’t see that you had that already.

#4

Cool list! I like the “nicknames” they have for Gordon. Especially Phantom.

#5

Thanks!

I wish Valve would release some kind of proper code-book. It’d be interesting to see how they refer to things other things, such as Striders and Headcrab Cannisters. An idea for the latter could be “Vaccine”, as it sort of deals with an “infection” with a weaker “infection”, which is very vaguely what a real vaccine does.

#6

To bad I can’t tell a damn thing what they’re saying.

#7

“… possible 10-108” was used when you throw a can into a Metrocop near the trash can.

#8

Hmm, I’ve heard the Combine call Freeman “Anticitizen One” and “Primary Target/Priority One Objective/Target One” but I’ve never heard them call him “Ghost Two” or “Phantom.” Perhaps I just couldn’t quite understand them ingame when they said it.

Time to dig through the GCFs again.

The list does seems pretty spot on from what I can decipher ingame and from the clues the names of the audio files in the GCFs provide. Nice job.

#9

I checked and it was actually “10-103”. The other ones also say it when you throw things at them or get too close. It probably means a disobedient citizen, or some such.

The soldiers sometimes call him those when they’re in combat, e.g. “Designate target as: Phantom”. It is difficult to make out if you don’t already know what they’re saying.

#10

Interesting. I’m wondering whether the Combine have their own phonetic alphabet. Certainly some of the words they use are part of the existing NATO phonetic alphabet, such as echo, kilo, uniform, victor and x-ray. There are also several other words that may or may not refer to code words for weapons, creatures, buildings etc.

This is just a very quick selection of the short words that may possibly denote some form of phonetic alphabet. I would imagine that most of them refer to something else, but it’s still quite interesting.

A - Apex
B - Blade
C
D - Defender/Dagger
E - Echo
F - Fist/Flash
G - Ghost/Grid
H - Hero/Hammer/Helix/Hunter/Hurricane
I - Ice/Ion
J - Jury/Jet
K - King/Kilo
L - Line
M - Mace
N
O
P - Phantom/Payback
Q - Quick
R - Razor
S - Storm/Sword/Star/Stab/Slash/Stinger/Storm/Striker/Swift
T - Tap
U - Union/Uniform
V - Victor
W - Winder
X - X-ray
Y - Yellow
Z - Zone

It could be that they chose to keep some words, but also replaced other, perhaps weaker words with stronger ones. It’s interesting that a lot of them are weapons, such as blade, dagger, fist, hammer, mace, razor and sword. It fits in with the Combine’s history that they would encoporate violent words into their everyday language, as well as the irony of adapting and assimilating existing codes and improving upon them, or simply altering them to suit their own tastes. Which is precisely what they do, and what Combine means.

I also find it intriguing that the words spoken by the Overwatch voice that relate to violent procedures are medical terms, and therefore make everything seem ordinary and strict. On the other hand, words that relate to more ordinary procedures by the Overwatch troops are made more violent.

#11

Interesting: sentences.txt (located in source engine.gcf/scripts, in case anyone else wants to check it out) does give a partial phonetic alphabet list:

A lot of the other words you used refer to squad names for soldiers or Civil Protection officer. The more violent ones tend to be soldiers, whereas Civil Protection has names like “defender”, “hero” and “union”.

#12

Good find man. A lot of interesting information in there that I hadn’t checked or seen before. That’s not the complete phonetic alphabet that’s available though, as victor and x-ray of the existing NATO one are both missing. I’m most intrigued by the air support names.

Ghost and phantom already refer to Freeman, so I’m wondering what the rest refer to? All air support units? So that would include scanners, synths scanners, manhacks, hunter choppers and gunships I would guess. I had no idea they put so much thought into the game. I had just assumed that the soldiers’ speech was meant to be unintelligible.

#13

in Red Letter Day when you are being chased by the Metrocops you can hear the PA system say “Remember: Good work results in the privilige of non-mechanical reproduction simulation.”

So yes, they are bribing the officers with simu-sex if they kill gordon freeman.

#14

“Attention. Rank leaders. Reminder: one hundred sterilized credits qualifies non-mechanical reproduction simulation.”

Other notable comments by the Overwatch Dispatcher are “Premature mission termination will result in fifty percent reproduction credits.” and “Memory replacement is the first step towards rank privileges.”

Moreover, when a metrocop kills you, you sometimes hear her say “Reward Notice: Protection Team member, your family cohesion is preserved.” So as well as rewarding brutality with non-mechanical reproduction simulations, they also allow them to stay with their loved ones.

#15

I never thought of CP’s having families before.

Off Topic: Wouldn’t be kinda cool if you fought undercover CP’s that impersonated rebels/citizens?

#16

Cool idea, but I’ve never attributed subtlety to the combine.
The closest thing to a combine spy was Judith Mossman who turned out to be a double agent.

I’ve never under stood much of the combine radio chatter, Normally i’m more worried about my health bar or theirs. But I’ve always been interested in what I consider is missed dialogue.

#17

I always thought that these were either the Overwatch phonetic alphabet or if they were procedural instructions issued to Combine forces.

In any case if I can nitpick…

Anticitizen 1 isn’t specific to Gordon Freeman, it’s a level of citizen status, kind of like saying “the most wanted” though surely Gordon is the only person to have ever attained it.

Airwatch I believe refers to Combine Gunships and Helicopters rather than scanners… Scanners are apparently automated, so I don’t think they would take instruction through announcements.

Biotics (in Episode 2 refer specifically to Gordon and Alyx) seems to refer to human/earth lifeforms.

Containment Field means the Combine forcefields that do not permit non-combine organisms to pass through.

Control Section sounds more as if it refers to a district/designated sector of City 17.

Exogen specifically refers to Antlions.

Anyway… bouncer and boomer don’t sound like Combine dialogue… but perhaps refer to hopper mines and thumpers? I sincerely doubt boomer refers to gunships.

#18

the level of coolness in hl2 games stuns me still :open_mouth:

#19

I don’t know about boomer myself, but I was replaying HL2 yesterday, and I heard a Combine soldier clearly yell “Bouncer!” as he was running from a grenade I tossed at him, so Bouncer does indeed seem to at least refer to enemy grenades.

I haven’t heard Boomer used ingame (Though I might have just not understood the soldier or just wasn’t paying attention), but it would make sense if it referred to hopper mines or thumpers.

#20

Thanks dude, i will use this on my mod when i know how to mod.XD(No, but really)

And i think every combine is it own code like “C17-3-4” C17 is mean from City 17, from team 3 combine soldier 4, This just my own theory, don’t get too drag away by these.

I hear combine soldier say "Outbreak"x3 when i spawn 4-6 combine soldier in ravenholm for fun, i laugh out when i saw the last combine soldier say “Outbreak!Outbreak!Outbreak!” before mow down by zombies.

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