In which design document can I read that the HECU logo features a horse head? Strange question, but I've seen the HECU logo with a horse head, and I can't find any official confirmation that there's anything there at all other than a shield and 3 lines.
(Edited by Staff)
My ass is heavy
Got it. It's in Black Mesa Source. And only there. Since I couldn't find any evidence that it was in official Valve games (I poked around on valvearchive.com ), that means it's not canon.
I also don't remember where we could officially see the H.E.C.U. logo with a horse. The only place where I found it was on a low poly model of a soldier with a beret, whereas the same soldier in the HD version just has a black beret without any logo This dude analyzes the H.E.C.U. (but in Russian): youtu.be/YfBUKx0gnrM?si=kg8rDIAu… Also, that dude recommended watching him, but he only analyzes gear: youtu.be/g9ALGncKPWY?si=a1PHxXz8…
The real HECU logo is in the HLOF multiplayer mode and it's a star in a circle. But the multiplayer mode can't be canon since it's just a competitive meat grinder.
There's also a star on the doors of HECU trucks (HL1/HLOF/HLBS (HLDecay uses a model that does not have any signs) ), but I think it's just a recognition mark.
The same star within a circle was used on USA vehicles during WWII. After the war, the USA changed it. But, the USA still use similar stars in circles, but they differ in design. Also Valve didn't care to what would be the logo of the H.C.E.U. And, everything created by Gearbox can be considered canon or non-canon with a 50/50 chance
Yeah, I'm aware of that. But that's the only logo used for the HECU in the official Half-Life games. Valve didn't come up with a logo, they just took an image of American soldiers, which suggests that they weren't originally supposed to be called HECU or anything at all, but just be like American soldiers. Something made me think: “Were HECU soldiers called HECU soldiers in Half-Life 1?”. And after digging through the files, it turned out that they have been called that since HLOF. In HL1 they just had the technical name Human Grunt.
Thinking that Valve didn't know what to name these soldiers and simply called them "grunt" in the game files is correct. But thinking that "grunt" is their official name, when Valve names to them as H.E.C.U. everywhere except in the game files, is not. I will take Half-Life 1 and Left 4 Dead 2 as examples: - In Half-Life 1, weapons are named in the files as .357, rpg, crossbow, satchel, 9mmhandgun, etc. The Black Ops assassins are called "hassassin," while the H.E.C.U. soldiers are named as "hgrunt," "fgrunt," or just "grunt." - In Left 4 Dead 2, the Tank is named to as "hulk" in the game files, even though that no one in the game calls it that - at most, Ellis names it as a "[...] BIG ASS THING." The L4D2 survivors are named as "producer," "mechanic," "gambler," and "coach" in the files. So: - If the game itself names to the soldiers as marines, then they are marines. - If official documents or concept arts call them H.E.C.U., then they are H.E.C.U. (though in concept arts, they are named as "infantry grunt"). - If the game nohow name them, then checking the game files is an option. But if the files only contain generic names like "hgrunt" or "fgrunt," we simply call them "grunts.", "marines", or just "soldiers." In other words, checking the game files should be the last step in determining an "official" name, as file names often come from what first comes to the developers's minds.