Voltigore and Antlion Guard

[Llama]

This got me thinking. I was playing Opposing Force, and I was in the sewer section of Foxtrot Uniform (I think). The Voltigores were owning me. Now while playing I thought back to one the the earlier Half-life 2 screens which caught my attention in the first place. (The screenshot of the player with a shotgun on a beach with a Antlion Guard infront and a Combine Gunship below) I started thinking about how similiar the two creatures were.

So, with this in mind, I would like to start a comparison between the two aliens. Yes, I know the two creatures would probably never meet in fluff terms, but suppose they did. Which would be the superior? Which is stronger? Which has the better melle ability?

My vote goes to the Voltigore, but hey, it's anyones guess.
Discuss :imu:

[AciD]

Voltigore. Those mean buggers from Xen kept cleaning the floor with my ass in OP4.

[Llama]

Voltigores arn't from Xen :p They are a member of the Race-X, er, race.

[Samon]

Antlionguard. As powerful as the Voltigores little purple zappy attack was, it is easily avoided in open space, rather than the likes of a sewer. An Antlion guard would run circles around it, and clobber it.

I found the Voltigores very easy to kill.

[Eejit]

Voltigores arn't from Xen :p They are a member of the Race-X, er, race.

When was it confirmed that Race-X are not from Xen? I must have missed that.

[Samon]

Awhile back.

[CrazyJeepDriver]

Voltigore. Jeez I hated that bit from OP4.

[Talyn]

I'd say Antlion Guard as well - although I'm not so sure about the Myrmidon's dodging ability, it certainly has the endurance to eat a couple of blasts and still trample the Volt into powder.

[TheGMan.]

Antlion Guard got to a point where it was annyoing trying to kill it. Eventually I basically had to blow myself up in-order to kill it. So yeah, I'd say a Antlion Guard.

[Samon]

Blow yourself up?

Truthfully, I never wasted a single bullet on the Antlion Guard. I did exactly what the game was prompting me to do - shower it in props. From boxes to barrels, from wood to toilet seats, it could be done. Or force it to charge into a wall.
I thought it was a very fun enemy to battle, especially in the fact that you didn't need to waste a single bullet. Unless you are that way inclined of course.

[Angry Lawyer]

Antlion guards have more hitpoints and deal more damage per strike. Voltigores are actually pretty soft units, and seem better as anti-infantry.

Sadly, as I don't have the source code to Voltigores, I can't really test it easily.

-Angry Lawyer

[ríomhaire]

Guard. While I doubt a guard could dodge a voltigore's attack it could probable take a few shots of the 'lecticity before being taken down but I can't imagine the 'gore winning if the guard got up close(which it would rather fast as both seem to be lacking in the strafage department)

[Samon]

Once the guard had given the Voltigore a good head butt, I really doubt the fat lump could recover that well. Wham. Wham. Voltigore down. I doubt the Guard would be far from antlion support either.

[Beerdude26]

The Antlion Guard would rip through the soft tissue of the Voltigore.

[Edcrab]

I reckon an Antlion Guard is about twice as tough as a Voltigore- so my vote goes to the guard.

If the 'gore was at the end of a very long and narrow corridor, however, it might have a chance to soften the guard up with a few blasts first: and then it'd be more even ;)

[Angry Lawyer]

Those energy blasts were about 75% the damage of a rocket to the face.

Antlion Guards can take quite a few rockets before going down.

-Angry Lawyer

[Sabot]

Cant you try it on garrys mod?

[Angry Lawyer]

Voltigores don't exist in Garry's Mod.

-Angry Lawyer

[ríomhaire]

But you're the Lawyer. Surely you can take the gore and stick it in HL2 like you did with the A-grunt

[Angry Lawyer]

The Alien Grunt had a lot of base code from HL1 that was easily changed. Opposing Force never released its code, and Sven Coop had to make an educated guess. Remaking it for a demonstration would take a month or so, as opposed to the Alien Grunt, which as I had the HL1 source to convert, only took a week.

Rest assured, if I can get in contact with Gearbox, they'll reappear in CC17.

-Angry Lawyer

[Victor2]

no matter who´s fighting, I would the Victor, in fact I´m the Victor

[Jintor]

Blow yourself up?

Truthfully, I never wasted a single bullet on the Antlion Guard. I did exactly what the game was prompting me to do - shower it in props. From boxes to barrels, from wood to toilet seats, it could be done. Or force it to charge into a wall.
I thought it was a very fun enemy to battle, especially in the fact that you didn't need to waste a single bullet. Unless you are that way inclined of course.

Really? I generally wait till charge, double shotgun in side. Wait till charge, double shotgun in side. Occasionally hurl barrels at it.

[ríomhaire]

The Alien Grunt had a lot of base code from HL1 that was easily changed. Opposing Force never released its code, and Sven Coop had to make an educated guess. Remaking it for a demonstration would take a month or so, as opposed to the Alien Grunt, which as I had the HL1 source to convert, only took a week.

Rest assured, if I can get in contact with Gearbox, they'll reappear in CC17.

-Angry Lawyer
So it hasn't been axed?

[Polaris]

Maybe Voltigore because they have electro beams but Myrmidonts head attack is very powerfull...

[Edcrab]

Those energy blasts were about 75% the damage of a rocket to the face.

Antlion Guards can take quite a few rockets before going down.

-Angry Lawyer

True, but the neurocharged electrical pulse bursts of the Voltigore would clearly do fivefold damage versus a creature with such gigantic synaptic organs!

:laugh:

[Angry Lawyer]

So it hasn't been axed?

What, CC17? Far from it. Just taken out of the public eye.

-Angry Lawyer

[AciD]

Voltigores arn't from Xen :p They are a member of the Race-X, er, race.

Actually, its still in heavy debate wether the Voltigores are from Xen, and are a new Xen life form in Opposing Force and blindly branded as being apart of Race X.
Its ridges on its back matches that of the Houndeye although in a different colour, confirmed to be from Xen, and they generate an electric attack similar to the Vortigaunts, suggesting they are roughly from the same biosphere. (Xen)
(Think Chimps and Humans.)

Every Race X alien with a large eye (including the Pit Worm) has two eyelids which regularly blink horizontally across the eyeball.
The Pit Drone matches that closely of the Shock Trooper, although the skin is yellowish-tan in colour, they have a small head which sport rows of sharp spines alongside the shock trooper, and have (small) arm like appendages near their mouths which are also shared by the Shocktroopers, suggesting they are closely related much like how Vortigaunts are related to the Alien Grunts.

However, the 'Geneworm' seen at the End of Opposing Force seems more like the Xen Tentacle than a Race X alien, so that creatures origin is still in heavy debate.

[Llama]

Alien Slaves weren't originally from Xen either, so poo-poo on you :p

[Samon]

Actually, its still in heavy debate wether the Voltigores are from Xen, and are a new Xen life form in Opposing Force and blindly branded as being apart of Race X.
Its ridges on its back matches that of the Houndeye although in a different colour, confirmed to be from Xen, and they generate an electric attack similar to the Vortigaunts, suggesting they are roughly from the same biosphere. (Xen)
(Think Chimps and Humans.)

Every Race X alien with a large eye (including the Pit Worm) has two eyelids which regularly blink horizontally across the eyeball.
The Pit Drone matches that closely of the Shock Trooper, although the skin is yellowish-tan in colour, they have a small head which sport rows of sharp spines alongside the shock trooper, and have (small) arm like appendages near their mouths which are also shared by the Shocktroopers, suggesting they are closely related much like how Vortigaunts are related to the Alien Grunts.

However, the 'Geneworm' seen at the End of Opposing Force seems more like the Xen Tentacle than a Race X alien, so that creatures origin is still in heavy debate.


Actually, they aren't. Marc Laidlaw came along and pretty much said that the Race X beings were not from Xen. :)

[ríomhaire]

I was born in a hospital, I live in a house. Race X could easily have come from another world originaly and moved to Xen, just like our firends, the Vorts.

[Langolier]

Antlionguard. As powerful as the Voltigores little purple zappy attack was, it is easily avoided in open space, rather than the likes of a sewer. An Antlion guard would run circles around it, and clobber it.

I found the Voltigores very easy to kill.

Too bad Antlion guards are too stupid to do that. All they do is charge. So... the Voltigore would fry him.

[Angry Lawyer]

The Voltigore code's not exactly clever itself. Once it gets within a certain range, it tries to melee, regardless of foe. It'd get ripped to shreds.

-Angry Lawyer

[UltimaApocalypse]

Guard, no doubt about it. I seriously never found Voltigores hard.

[AciD]

Actually, they aren't. Marc Laidlaw came along and pretty much said that the Race X beings were not from Xen. :)

Heh I know that ;)
I'm trying to explain that perhaps the Voltigore was infact another new Xen creature encountered then blindly labelled as a member of 'Race X' just because its a 'new monster' in the OP4 expansion.
It has more characteristics of a Xen Creature than that of a Race X creature.

[Mechagodzilla]

Actually, they aren't. Marc Laidlaw came along and pretty much said that the Race X beings were not from Xen. :)When was this? :P

Last I checked, all the evidential stuff pointed to the xen livin'.

Also neither wins because the voltigore explosion would take them both out. :P

[Samon]

When was this? :P

You missed it.

Get searching. :p

[ríomhaire]

Heh I know that ;)
I'm trying to explain that perhaps the Voltigore was infact another new Xen creature encountered then blindly labelled as a member of 'Race X' just because its a 'new monster' in the OP4 expansion.
It has more characteristics of a Xen Creature than that of a Race X creature.
Yes, but they work in teams with shock troopers.

[el Chi]

Race X were rubbhish. Except for the Shockroach or beatle or... You know, that thing. And the green fellas with the huge claws.

[Llama]

Shocktroopers were awesome...cyclops soldiers ftw, though they didnt have big claws AKAIK. Pit Drones did, but they were brown

(OffTopic: This got me thinking. We should put up a respect sticky with the names of the people that are most "in-the-know" when it comes to the Half-life storyline...naturally i'd be in the top 5 :p)

[Samon]

So, who'd you put in the top 5 then? :p

[Llama]

Im not really sure. *Thinks* Riomhaire and Angry Lawyer for sure, Pai-Mei (Cant spell lol) if he was still around, Me, and you because otherwise i'd be hit with the Ban Stick :p. Actually, Sulkdodds instead of Pai-Mei since the latter no longer posts here

[Samon]

You'd have to complete a trivia first. Not that this would ever happen I mean...what would be the point?

[Llama]

Hey, it was worth a thought :p

I suppose noob control? Althouh that isn't a problem anyway these days.

gooddammitspellingftl

[AciD]

Yes, but they work in teams with shock troopers.

That is kind of Strange, this could either be sloppy coding (Such as in Foxtrot Uniform' Shock Troopers attack a Gargantua, which does not fight back. Shock Troopers AI was based on human grunt AI and Pit Drones, whose AI is based on that of a bullsquid, will attack headcrabs but not other Xen aliens, the shock troopers animations are called along the lines of "CROUCH_MP5")
or the Voltigore's knew the Shock Troopers somehow, but its confirmed Race X is not from Xen, and the Voltigore has more Xen characteristics than that of Race X...
The Mystery Thickens...

[ríomhaire]

Shocktroopers were awesome...cyclops soldiers ftw, though they didnt have big claws AKAIK. Pit Drones did, but they were brown
I wonder do they have depth perception?

[Llama]

If the eye is actually made of several connected eyes (Like a flies compound eye) then maybe. If not, they could always judge depth on some sort of extra sensory perception. (Sensing vibration, using sound waves?)

[ríomhaire]

Llama, you made me think. Maybe we sould e-mail Pai-Mei to inform him he won?

[Llama]

Won?
Im not familiar, won what?

[ríomhaire]

Won?
Im not familiar, won what?
The Combine weren't on Xen ;(

[Angry Lawyer]

If the eye is actually made of several connected eyes (Like a flies compound eye) then maybe. If not, they could always judge depth on some sort of extra sensory perception. (Sensing vibration, using sound waves?)

Or maybe they don't have depth perception.

-Angry Lawyer

[ríomhaire]

Or maybe they don't have depth perception.

-Angry Lawyer
Yeah. Though you'd think that if they evolved in an eco-system with animals that had depth perception (like the pit drone) that they'd have gone extinct.

[Angry Lawyer]

Fish aren't extinct.

-Angry Lawyer

[Llama]

I'd think they would need 3-D vision for lobbing those bouncy green spores of death.
Infact, unless the shock roach was held directly infront of the troopers eye without depth perception it would be very hard to accurately shoot it. Which clashes with the ingame experience (Shocktroopers accuracy was badass)

[Eejit]

Ok, so shocktroops have a sixth sense as well as the one eye. Problem solved ;)

[Angry Lawyer]

I'd think they would need 3-D vision for lobbing those bouncy green spores of death.
Infact, unless the shock roach was held directly infront of the troopers eye without depth perception it would be very hard to accurately shoot it. Which clashes with the ingame experience (Shocktroopers accuracy was badass)

Close one eye and throw a ball. It still mostly goes in the direction you want it. If you were blind in one eye, you could still train yourself to be a sharpshooter, or a grenadier.

-Angry Lawyer

[jimmyjam]

you guys are forgetting one thing
if the antlion guard kills the voltigore, you must recall that the guard only has melee attacks with which to do said killing
and dead voltigores explode

actually someone probably already mentioned it :{

[Langolier]

The Voltigore code's not exactly clever itself. Once it gets within a certain range, it tries to melee, regardless of foe. It'd get ripped to shreds.

-Angry Lawyer

The Antilion Guard would be hurting badly by the time he got close to the Voltigore, at which point the Voltigore has really nasty claws. It really all depends on the setting. If the Guard caught the Voltigore by surprise he could probably ram it and beat the hell out of it. Voltigores didn't seem that agile (though they aren't exactly slow either)

...and Voltigores are only easy if you bust out the M249 and/or lots of explosives. :p

[Llama]

Yes, but thats assuming the Claws would do the same to the armour like hide of the Guard as it did to a marine. The gaurds armour is far stronger than a PCV.

[Rizzo]

Cabt someone try it out in garrys mod or something? I whouldnt know, but could it be done?

[ríomhaire]

Cabt someone try it out in garrys mod or something? I whouldnt know, but could it be done?
You heard lawyer. It would take months.