Little Rocket Man! (HL2:Ep2 Spoiler alert!)

Beware that this thread may contain SPOILERS for those unfortunate enough to not have played the latest installment in the Half-Life series. If you're one of them, then what are you waiting for? Go buy the Orange Box!

Anyways, I can now join the elite ranks of those who have gotten the achievement "Little Rocket Man". In order to do so, you have to make sure that a certain gnome found very early in episode 2 gets sent into space in a rocket at the very end of the game. Click here for a screenshot of my gnome after I put him in the rocket.

So - have anyone else graduated from the school of cool?

tore wrote:

Beware that this thread may contain SPOILERS for those unfortunate enough to not have played the latest installment in the Half-Life series. If you're one of them, then what are you waiting for? Go buy the Orange Box!

Anyways, I can now join the elite ranks of those who have gotten the achievement "Little Rocket Man". In order to do so, you have to make sure that a certain gnome found very early in episode 2 gets sent into space in a rocket at the very end of the game. Click here for a screenshot of my gnome after I put him in the rocket.

So - have anyone else graduated from the school of cool?

I didn't know about this little nugget Tore! a great excuse to reinstall and launch a gnome into space!

It really wasn't that bad. There are certain places in the game that you return to, so you can leave your gnome there. The first such place is in the mines where the vortagaunts (or however you spell it) heal Alyx. You can just leave your gnome there while you're out searching for the larval extract, then pick it up again later. Another place you can leave him is at the area overlooking the bridge, just before you leave the vortagaunt and Alyx to go get the car. However, in that area, you must leave the gnome close to the big door Alyx and the vortagaunt walk through when they rejoin you. The reason is, you have to push a lever in order to open the door so they can come join you. However, this door only stays open for a few seconds and if the gnome is not close to the doorway, you may not have enough time to get him.

Finally, you have to remember to close the door to the rocket after you put him in there. That was something I missed the first time.

The hardest part is really having to drive around with the gnome. He tends to fall out of the car in sharp turns and at high speeds.

tore wrote:

It really wasn't that bad. There are certain places in the game that you return to, so you can leave your gnome there. The first such place is in the mines where the vortagaunts (or however you spell it) heal Alyx. You can just leave your gnome there while you're out searching for the larval extract, then pick it up again later. Another place you can leave him is at the area overlooking the bridge, just before you leave the vortagaunt and Alyx to go get the car. However, in that area, you must leave the gnome close to the big door Alyx and the vortagaunt walk through when they rejoin you. The reason is, you have to push a lever in order to open the door so they can come join you. However, this door only stays open for a few seconds and if the gnome is not close to the doorway, you may not have enough time to get him.

Finally, you have to remember to close the door to the rocket after you put him in there. That was something I missed the first time.

The hardest part is really having to drive around with the gnome. He tends to fall out of the car in sharp turns and at high speeds.

..thing is Tore.... I didnt know I had a Gnome! where does one acquire said Gnome in order to Gnomify space with it?

Mongrol wrote:

..thing is Tore.... I didnt know I had a Gnome! where does one acquire said Gnome in order to Gnomify space with it?

Very close to the start of episode 2, there's a building you and Alyx enter where you contact Eli and the others at White Forest. It's just after a quick trip through a mine tunnel with headcrab-zombies in it. The garden gnome is in that building, underneath a table in the corner right next to the door you exit through.

tore wrote:

Mongrol wrote:

..thing is Tore.... I didnt know I had a Gnome! where does one acquire said Gnome in order to Gnomify space with it?

Very close to the start of episode 2, there's a building you and Alyx enter where you contact Eli and the others at White Forest. It's just after a quick trip through a mine tunnel with headcrab-zombies in it. The garden gnome is in that building, underneath a table in the corner right next to the door you exit through.

I know the exact place you are talking about! Excellent thank you... I loved HL2 EPs 1 and 2 (the most exciting vehicle use and chase scenarios i've yet experienced in any game) and have been looking for a reason to replay... the Gnome is the perfect reason!

It's a great game! I've finished it three times now and I still have a few more achievements to do, such as killing all the antlion grubs.

The hardest achievement must be neighborhood watch (I think it was called) - to save all the buildings when the striders attack.

Note that when I completed Little Rocket Man, I never got a message that I got the achievement. However, it showed up on the list of completed achievements when I checked later on.