To The White Forest

Spoiler Warning
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To The White Forest is the first chapter of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The player's journey as Gordon Freeman continues, starting at the collapsed bridge inside the train carriage.

Introduction

A black screen with the title Half-Life 2: Episode Two appears and fades, then the black screen fades away.

The player finds himself in a train crash from a collapsed bridge, Gordon and Alyx try to communicate to the White Forest base.

Maps

• ep2_outland_01 - The start, Alyx finding the player in the wreckage.
• ep2_outland_01a - Going deeper into the mine shaft, that looks to be abandoned, and then going into a cave.

Architecture

The forest is set in a cold Eastern European enviroment, pine trees, rocks, abandoned mine, and a collapsed bridge.

For a forest to look natural, there should be an area for the player to walk and is surrounded by high cliffs, rocks, and trees. There is also some small buildings that the player can go in.

The mines have support beams and multiple pipes on the wall and the ceiling, and the concrete for the floor, walls, and ceilings, also for walls are mostly of wood. Wires, fences, crates, lockers, rails, lights, mining cars, fuse boxes, generators, signs (for direction in the mine), rocks, beam clusters, explosive butane cans, barrels, explosive barrels, and cobwebs (Antlion webs) for detail.

The cave has multiple cobwebs (Antlion webs), rocks, crates, web sacks, water, and stalactites, and is helped by multiple glowing grubs and light to find the exit.

Environment

The color scheme of the environment has changed since Exit 17; yellow sky, brown and reddish are replaced with predominantly cold blue-gray hues.

This chapter serves as a partial revisit of Exit 17, and shares numerous elements with it. For example, collapsed Citadel can be seen in the distance, as well as a shooting gateway to the Combine overworld, and a collapsed bridge.

The soundscapes reflect on the collapsed bridge as well, with the Citadel portal to the Combine overworld, and more nature tone. On the inside, the soundscape includes deep humming coming from the cave, hits of rocks, falling debris, and grub sounds.

NPC's

The chapter includes several Combine units, such as a Hunter, Combine zombie, and Hunter-Chopper, and includes Zombies, like Posion Headcrab, Antlions, also includes a friendly NPC vortigaunt.

Reference

• 

  Collapsed bridge with a train crash.

• 

  Destroyed Citadel with the portal above the Citadel.

• 

  Gordon and Alyx finding a small communication building.

• 

  Alyx getting hurt by the Hunter.

• 

  A mine shaft after you fall with the elevator.

• 

  After going through a short cave the player finds himself in a mine shaft again.

• 

  After the mine shaft player finds himself in a cave.

• 

  Ditto.

See also

• Soundscapes

Half-Life 2: Episode Two Chapters
To The White Forest ep2_outland_01	This Vortal Coil ep2_outland_02	Freeman Pontifex ep2_outland_05	Riding Shotgun ep2_outland_06a
Under the Radar ep2_outland_09	Our Mutual Fiend ep2_outland_11	T-Minus One ep2_outland_12a