Combine Grunt (Evolution)

The grunts of the OTA are the weakest, lowest rank, and most common class of combine soldier found in Half-Life: Alyx. Being the standard enemy found in Alyx, they are also, coincidentally, the class with the most known versions. The aim of this page is to showcase each rendition of the combine grunt known to have existed in chronological order.

Version -1: Source 2 Combine Soldier (2015)

Prior to Half-Life: Alyx's conception, a combine soldier model was created to work within Source 2 by Max Aristov. This model was used first in 2015 during the first attempts at creating a VR experience by Valve, then again later on during the development of "The Lab" for the cut "shooter" demo. The model is found in Half-Life Alyx, albeit missing its standard textures. In spite of this, the model includes colored alternative textures for a shotgunner (the class that later became the Charger), temp suppressor textures, and temp commander textures, meaning that the standard soldier likely evolved into the grunt at a later point.

Recreations

A number of recreations exist of this soldier for Garry's mod, Half-Life 2, and Half-Life: Alyx:

Half-Life 2

Garry's Mod

Half-Life: Alyx

Remade Texture Files (By JosephtheKP)

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  The model seen in 2015

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  Shotgun variant

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  Suppressor variant

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  Commander variant

Version 0: Concept Art (Between 2015 to 2018)

A number of concept art images appear to resemble that of the grunt. Here they are listed below:

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Version 1: 2018 Grunt (2018)

The earliest known rendition of grunt, this one appears to be very similar to a number of the soldiers seen in the concept art, especially considering its theme of grey and orange. It has a grey suit, a white helmet, a tube coming from the chest onto the back (something that was recycled for both the cut recon class and the hazmat class), and an overwatch emblem on its arm.

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  Seen with an early Ordinal

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  Closeup

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  Side view of the Grunt walking.

Version 2: Grey Grunt (2019)

Incredibly similar to the previously shown grunt, this one is found in the reveal trailer for Half-Life Alyx, as well as much of the promotional content that was shared around this time. Of the noticeable differences, some of the most major changes from the 2018 rendition of the model are that the tube that was found on the top right of the torso has been removed and the forearms are black and orange, as opposed to the grey that they appear as in version 1. The insignia on the left arm has been removed and the grey suit appears to be slightly lighter in shade.

Recreation

Like the Half-Life 2 Combine Soldier model, the 2019 model has received a recreation attempt:
Half-Life: Alyx

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  Visible slightly off-screen on the right.

Version 3: December 2019 Leak Grunt (2019)

The last of the known pre-release renditions of the Combine Grunt before the final version, there are only two known screenshots of this grunt, released by Tyler McVicker in January of 2020 along with the other screenshots that had been leaked to him at the time. The exact date on the files are December 4th, 2019. This version of the grunt is vastly different to its predecessors and greatly resembles its final version, albeit with much less dirt and smudges on the suit and with both different colors, insignia, and patterns on it.

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Version 4: Final Grunt (2020)

This is the final version of the Combine Grunt, which is seen in-game. It was finalized in the latest by March 2nd of 2020. This design features new helmet colors, different insignia, and has finally reached the smudge pass it so desperately needed.

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  The eyes in this image are blue, which may either be carried over from Version 3 or accidentally using the "dead" blue eyes seen in the final game.