{{Article|hl2}}
{{Youmayd|the town|the chapter|Half-Life 2 storyline 6 "We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."|"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..." (chapter)}}
{{Cleanup}}
{{Location Infobox
|image=FileRavenholmsign.png|250px
|image2=FileRavenholm view.jpg|250px
|name=Ravenholm
|constructed=
|destroyed=
|location=The The Wasteland|Wasteland, a short distance from Black Mesa East
|builder=
|era=Combine occupation of Earth|Combine occupation
|affiliation=Resistance
|maps=*background03
*d1_town_01 to d1_town_05
|designer=*Viktor Antonov (appearance)
*Eric Kirchmer (appearance)
*http//www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,38926/ Horia Dociu (appearance)''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar''
*Damarcus Holbrook (appearance)http//www.damarcusholbrook.portfoliobox.net/ DamarcusWorks
*Aaron Barber (level design)
*Dario Casali (level design)
*Randy Lundeen (level design)
*http//www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,137372/ Justin Cruz (level design)WC mappack
*Steve Bond (level design)
*Tom Leonard (level design){{LI|pub/tom-leonard/0/86b/493|Tom Leonard}}
*John Guthrie (level design)http//www.gamespot.com/articles/the-final-hours-of-half-life-2/1100-6112889/ The finals hours of ''Half-Life 2''
}}
{{Quote|That's the old passage to Ravenholm. We don't go there anymore.|Alyx Vance|Half-Life 2|FileAl ravenholm01.ogg}}
'''Ravenholm''' is a former mining town and, later, Resistance stronghold located in the Wasteland, between Black Mesa East and the Coast. Following the Combine Combine occupation of Earth|invasion, it started being occupied by refugees who were escaping from the Combine-controlled City 17 to join the Resistance, but following a Headcrab Shell|shelling by the Combine, it became largely deserted and infested with Zombies, as witnessed by Gordon Freeman during his journey through the town. It is covered in ''Half-Life 2''’s sixth chapter ''Half-Life 2 storyline 6 "We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."|"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."''.
==Overview==
The town of Ravenholm mainly consists of small to medium-sized houses that are mostly traditionally built, being made from wood, stone and concrete. Several high-rise apartment buildings can also be seen in some sections of the town. These buildings, along with the streets, appear vaguely Eastern European, complying with the style of buildings seen throughout the game.
It would seem that Ravenholm remained "under the radar" for some time, but was eventually discovered by the Combine, which led to its destruction via a massive Headcrab Shell bombardment, causing the town to become completely overrun with Headcrabs and Zombies. Being linked to Black Mesa East via a tunnel, the entrance to Ravenholm was sealed shortly after the bombardment using a heavy gate, two barricades of crates, and guarded by stolen Combine Sentry Gun|Sentry Guns to prevent Zombies from reaching Black Mesa East. Alyx Vance points the gate to Ravenholm out to Gordon Freeman during his tour of the lab, and explains (with a hint of fear in her voice; thus hinting that she was either there before or heard about what had happened to the citizens) where it leads and that it was "sealed for a reason."The ''Half-Life 2'' chapter ''Half-Life 2 storyline Mesa East|Black Mesa East'' Later, Gordon is forced to escape through Ravenholm when the Combine raid Black Mesa East, during the chapter ''Half-Life 2 storyline#"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."|"We Don't Go To Ravenholm..."''.
Many areas of Ravenholm are littered with large saw-blades, propane cylinders, barrels of flammable material, and Ravenholm traps|booby traps which have been contrived by Father Grigori. The entire town is also littered with humans and Classic Zombies that have been hanged, burned, sliced, and have suffered other horrific fates by Grigori's traps. Due to the relative lack of ammunition in the area, Gordon must rely on traps and the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator|Gravity Gun (with which he can launch blades and other projectiles) to kill the Zombies.
===Features===
As one of the survivors in Ravenholm (female screams can occasionally be heard in the ambient noise, implying there still are other survivors), Father Grigori set up many traps and structures in order to dispose of Zombies more efficiently. The traps are engineered so that Zombies can randomly stumble into them but they can be easily circumvented by normal humans. In addition to traps, Grigori separated Ravenholm into districts using wooden barricades (so Zombies can be found in a more organized manner).
====Traps====
{{Main|Ravenholm traps}}
*'''Ravenholm traps trap|Car traps''' are created from a rope, a pulley, a car, and an engine. The car is tied with a rope from a pulley to the engine. It is held in the air by an extremely makeshift looking contraption, and a lever on the engine removes the pressure on the rope to drop the car (crushing anything beneath it), then the engine immediately pulls the car back up again.
*'''Ravenholm traps trap|Electric traps''' simply shock Zombie trespassers. (Only one of these can be found in the chapter, and the player has to deactivate it to progress onwards.)
*'''Ravenholm traps trap|Propane traps''' are attached to irrigation sprinklers that, when released, fill a small area with propane. The gas can be ignited with a gunshot or an electric spark (from the red switches stationed near the propane tanks) to create a large fire which will quickly incinerate any enemies in that area.
*'''Ravenholm traps trap|Propeller traps''' are found all over the town. They are created from engines and long, makeshift blades that appear to be made of steel sheets. The engine rotates the steel sheet, and uses it as a horizontal rotor. The blade is encircled waist high and any target passing by would be dismembered. Humans can easily avoid this trap by crawling or ducking. Classic Zombies, however, are unaware of the dangers and proceed. Poison Zombies, on the other hand, can decommission the trap. At least one propeller trap's blade will detach when activated, and when picked up, will automatically position itself horizontally (much like the saw blades). It can then be thrown with the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator|Gravity Gun.
==Appearances==
===''Half-Life 2''===
After being separated from Alyx Vance|Alyx during the Combine's attack on Black Mesa East, Gordon Freeman is forced to travel through Ravenholm. Armed with his newly acquired Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator|Gravity Gun and an assortment of weapons, Gordon traverses the desolate, Zombie-infested town, all-the-while utilizing bizarre traps. While fighting off hordes of Zombies, Gordon meets the last known human occupant of Ravenholm, Father Grigori (although there may be other survivors since a female scream and other human sounds such as sobbing can be heard in the distance from time to time). Grigori provides some assistance and advice to Gordon, such as arming him with a Combine SPAS-12|shotgun, and eventually leading him to an abandoned mine to escape the town.
==Related Achievements==
{|class=wikitable style="vertical-aligncenter;" width=100%
|-
!colspan="2" style="text-alignleft"|''Half-Life 2''
|-
|rowspan=2 width=64px|FileHl2 beat ravenholm noweapons.png
!style="text-alignleft"|''Zombie Chopper (25G)''
|-
|Play through Ravenholm using only the Gravity Gun.
|-
|rowspan=2 width=64px|FileHl2 beat cemetery.png
!style="text-alignleft"|''Hallowed Ground (5G)''
|-
|Escort Grigori safely through the church cemetery.
|-
|}
==Behind the scenes==
FileTraptown.jpg|thumb|250px|The Traptown docks seen in the E3 2003 presentation.
*Before being named "Ravenholm", the town has had several nicknames during ''Half-Life 2'''s development "Quarry", "Quarrytown", "Traptown", "Phystown", "Zombie Town", and simply "Town".
*Despite the various different itenerations of the city, the actual layout of the levels hasn't changed much during the development. Early concepts for Ravenholm had it set on daytime, and the general asthetic of the levels had a far more industrial feeling to it (similar to the Combine Factories area, but with signs of disuse). The old mining town theme is still present in the retail Ravenholm.
*At one point, Ravenholm was to feature both Combine Soldiers and Zombies, as seen in the Development of Half-Life 2#E3 2003|E3 2003 demo "Traptown". The way the player was introduced into Ravenholm was also different; the player was to discover the town at the end of the canals, above a lake filled with at least one Ichthyosaur, and enter the town through its docks. Black Mesa East|Eli's lab was to come after.
*The E3 demo also shows that it was possible to shoot any gun while using the HEV Suit's zoom function and that the player could discard weapons, indicating they could only carry a specified amount of firearms at a time. Also shown was the Overwatch Soldier's ability to break open doors when blocked by objects, which was removed in the retail version of ''Half-Life 2''.
*The earliest maps of the town have Ravenholm filled only with traps and set before Eli's lab. However, in the retail version, it is placed after Eli's lab, thus being a playground for the newly acquired Gravity Gun.
*The playable leak also shows that the player was to use a vehicle called the Digger to destroy a Combine Big Momma Pod to proceed through mines.Development of Half-Life 2 game|''Half-Life 2'' leak
*According to early concept art, the Combine Big Momma Pod was originally to be seen in a double hangar located around the building where Father Grigori is first seen in the retail game.FileRavenholm overview2.jpg
*Also according to early concept art, the apartment building was to feature the corpse of a Citizen the scenes|child on the ground floor.FileRavenholm overview1.jpg
*Ravenholm was to be the setting of the cancelled ''Half-life 2'' spin-off, ''Return to Ravenholm'', set shortly before the end of ''Half-Life 2 Episode Two'', co-developed by Valve and Arkane studios, set for release in 2007. However, the spin-off was cancelled when the developers realized that the staples of Ravenholm, such as headcrabs and zombies, had been played completely out, and the fact that they had it taking place before Episode Two, gave them a creative constraint, leading them to cancel the project.http//lambdageneration.com/posts/marc-laidlaw-on-the-cancelled-half-life-spin-offs-return-to-ravenholm-and-episode-four/
*Main Half-Life and Portal universe|''Half-Life'' series series' writer Marc Laidlaw has named ''WcThiefThief The Dark Project|Thief The Dark Project'' as his favorite PC game of all time.http//www.gamingnexus.com/Article/Valve-Software-Interview--Marc-Laidlaw/Page2/Item801.aspx Valve Software Interview Marc Laidlaw at Gaming Nexus Indeed, there may be influences from that game in the design of Ravenholm A portion of the wcThiefOld Quarter|Old Quarter of wcThiefThe City|the City, now known as the wcThiefSealed Section|Sealed Section, was walled off about 50 years prior to the events of the game, due to an outbreak of the wcThiefCategoryUndead|undead. The undead spilled from the wcThiefThe Haunted Cathedral|Haunted Cathedral, and began to infest the City until they were safely contained behind thick, high stone walls. At the time of the game, maps of the area were not very hard to find, and the people still tell stories about the wcThiefSealed Section Incident|Incident, and no one dares enter the Sealed Section. When wcThiefGarrett|Garrett, the protagonist, visits this place, it is a desolate and lonely, covered with decades of dead leaves, decaying buildings, and populated by wcThiefZombie|zombies, wcThiefApparition|ghosts, and an infestation of WcThiefBurrick|beasts. ''Thief'' similarities can be found again in the Victory Mine Mine, which resembles some aspects of wcthiefCragscleft Prison|Cragscleft Prison visited earlier in the game.
==Gallery==
{{Underconstruction-inline}}
===Pre-release===
====Concept art====
FileRavenholm concept1.jpg|Ravenholm concept based on a FileProto quarytown1 fixed0007.jpg|screenshot of the map "proto_quarytown1.vmf"
FileRavenholm concept1 comparisons.jpg|Ditto, with comparison to a WC mappack screenshot.
FileRavenholm concept2.jpg|Ravenholm concept based on a FileProto quarytown1 fixed0012.jpg|screenshot of the map "proto_quarytown1.vmf"
FileRavenholm concept2 comparisons.jpg|Ditto, with comparison to a WC mappack screenshot.
FileRavenholm overview1.jpg|Concept art of the apartment building, including the corpse of a Citizen the scenes|child on the ground floor.
FileRavenholm overview2.jpg|Concept art of an early journey, including the G-Man and the Big Momma Pod.
FileTraps concept nb.jpg|Concept art of the Ravenholm traps.
FileProptrap concept.jpg|Concept art of the Ravenholm traps trap|propeller trap.
FileRavensketch1.jpg|Ravenholm sketch.
FileRavensketch2.jpg|The XM29 OICW|OICW aimed at a Classic Zombie|Zombie in a Ravenholm sketch.
FileRavensketch3.jpg|Ditto.
====Screenshots====
FileZombies early rtb.jpg
FileZombies Ravenholm cover.jpg
FileZombie Ravenholm burn.jpg
FileZombies town.jpg
FileZombies streets smg.jpg
FileE3 phystown mi.jpg
FileQuarry02 cars.jpg
FileQuarry03 01.jpg
FileQuarry03 02.jpg
FileZombie town02 s01.jpg
FileZombie town02 s02.jpg
FileZombie town02 s03.jpg
FileZombie town02 s04.jpg
FileZombie town02 s05.jpg
FileD1 canals 02wc canalpass.jpg
FileD1 canals 02wc headcrabs.jpg
FileD1 canals 02wc barn.jpg
FileTraptown.jpg
FileE3 techdemo 60006.jpg
FileE3 techdemo 60005.jpg
FileZombie Ravenholm trailer.jpg
FileProto church s01.jpg
FileProto church s02.jpg
FileProto church s03.jpg
FileDemo quarrytown001.jpg
FileDemo quarrytown002.jpg
FileDemo quarrytown003.jpg
FileDemo quarrytown004.jpg
FileProto quarytown1 fixed0003.jpg
FileProto quarytown1 fixed0004.jpg
FileProto quarytown1 fixed0005.jpg
FileProto quarytown1 fixed0007.jpg
FileProto quarytown1 fixed0012.jpg
FileGraveyard1.jpg
FileAdvisors birther.jpg
FileD1 town 020003.jpg
FileD1 town 020005.jpg
FileD1 town 03 trap.jpg
FileG-man d1 town 01 window.jpg
FileG-man d1 town 01 window inside.jpg
FileD1 town 01 and 02 merged.jpg
===Retail===
====Misc.====
FileCoastmap sheet numbered.png|Ravenholm on the Coast map, at #0.
FileRavenholmsign.svg|Ravenholm's sign, vector version.
====Screenshots====
FileD1 eli 010019.jpg|The entrance to Ravenholm at Black Mesa East.
FileRavenholm menu bg.jpg|The moon from Ravenholm.
FileRavenholm church.jpg|Ravenholm's church.
FileChurch cart.jpg|The cart allowing Gordon Freeman|Gordon to leave Ravenholm.
FileD1 town 0300000.jpg|Zombie-filled street.
FilePropellerTrap.jpg|The Ravenholm traps trap|propeller trap.
FileGasoline Trap.jpg|The Ravenholm traps trap|propane trap.
FileGas Tank.jpg|Ditto.
FileCar Trap.jpg|The Ravenholm traps trap|car trap.
FileCar Trap Lever.jpg|The car trap lever.
====Models====
FileGravestone 01.jpg|Gravestone model.
FileGravestone 02.jpg|Ditto.
FileGravestone 03.jpg|Ditto.
FileGravestone 04.jpg|Ditto.
FileCoffin piece 01.jpg|Coffin piece model.
FileCoffin piece 02.jpg|Ditto.
FileGravestone cross.jpg|Gravestone cross model.
FileGravestone cross broken.jpg|Ditto, broken.
FileGravestone statue.jpg|Gravestone statue model.
FileGravestone statue detail.jpg|Ditto, detail.
==List of appearances==
*https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUw33CwqE_I ''Half-Life 2'' - E3 2002 Trailer {{1st}} {{Nc}}
*''Half-Life 2''
*''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar''
==See also==
*Half-Life 2 original storyline - Town - Quarrytown - Traptown - Phystown - Zombie Town
==References==
{{Imagecat|Ravenholm images}}
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*http//www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=64461 Fixed prototype map of Ravenholm used in concept art seen in ''Raising the Bar'' (requires ''Episode Two'' and ''Missing Information'' 1.5)
{{Succession
|title=''Half-Life 2'' story arc journey
|before=Black Mesa East
|after=Shorepoint Base
}}
{{Succession
|title=Half-Life 2 original storyline|''Half-Life 2'' original storyline
|before=Kleiner's Lab
|after=Black Mesa East the scenes|Scrapyard
}}
{{Locations}}
{{Resistance}}
CategoryThe Wasteland locationsCategoryTowns and citiesCategoryResistance locationsCategoryLocationsCategoryViktor Antonov designsCategoryEric Kirchmer designs
