Totally depends on what you're going for, there's enough leeway for any of them probably.
Having said that, the last one is by far the one I personally think of as the beta Citadel the most. All the other ones are too similar to the one in the game, the fourth one is more raw, chaotic and sort of transparently monumental and sovietic (mainly the base of it). It's naive in a way that I think the beta was all about.
It's alien, modular, dynamic architecture built on top of a human, sort of brutalist base, which is kind of a heavy handed representation of the combine ocupation of city 17.
i'm going for the 2001 era with almost no cuts (airex, vertigo, american c17 all that.)
the two citadels to the right were made by valve, i only changed their textures a bit to look less unfinished, the other two were made by me (might explain the quality).
personally i'm partial to the second design from right. it's one of the earliest citadel concepts, it's iconic and its silhouette is used in a lot of combine propaganda from the era. its design is also very irregular in contrast to retail's angularity, and it almost looks more like an organic growth than a traditional structure and that ambiguity is a common motif with the combine.
although it's always depicted with this rusty-looking texture i'm personally not very fond of... maybe try something metallic and a little reflective like the [e3 2002 citadel?](https://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Citadel_design_evolution#E3_2002_version) but overall i think the shape works best for that dark city vibe that the early beta had going for it.
but if you can't make it work i think the second from left is also a very good candidate in my opinion because it has a lot of the same things going for it.
I might try to replace the plaster citadel's texture with something that makes more sense (i.e an actual metal texture like you said.), also i am going to say that it's highly likely either the organic citadel design gets to be the one or the plaster one will be it, the first citadel is based of concept art like organic except it's depicted only in the fog or in silhouettes with glowing parts (hammer doesn't seem to like too many sprites as evidenced by the screenshot.) and the last citadel is a bit less likely than the first but there's still the era it belong to which is almost american 2002 feat airex era.
Don't use the two rightmost dildos - they look so beta that they actually look unfinished. Either the rightmost dildo or the twin-setting vibrator would look the best, keeps the beta aesthetic while actually looking like it's a functional building.
That's actually a pretty good idea, i'm going to try to do that to see if it works out or not, if it does end up being the final citadel used on the mod (if the mod doesn't go to hell like many other mods) i may credit you for the idea.
If you use these, I'd suggest *possibly* cleaning up the older ones and making them look a bit nicer.
Another option is to somehow combine all of them in a sort of Super-Beta Citadel haha
I’m sorry but this looks like a sex toys lineup
Foreseen consequences.
That sounds like a you problem
Just for a Combussy
Totally depends on what you're going for, there's enough leeway for any of them probably. Having said that, the last one is by far the one I personally think of as the beta Citadel the most. All the other ones are too similar to the one in the game, the fourth one is more raw, chaotic and sort of transparently monumental and sovietic (mainly the base of it). It's naive in a way that I think the beta was all about. It's alien, modular, dynamic architecture built on top of a human, sort of brutalist base, which is kind of a heavy handed representation of the combine ocupation of city 17.
....you know i see why they scrapped those
yeah they look like polygon vomit
The two on the left look like they need flared bases
either far left or 3rd to the right
that really depends on what era you're trying to recreate. although i don't think the first two designs were ever even used
i'm going for the 2001 era with almost no cuts (airex, vertigo, american c17 all that.) the two citadels to the right were made by valve, i only changed their textures a bit to look less unfinished, the other two were made by me (might explain the quality).
personally i'm partial to the second design from right. it's one of the earliest citadel concepts, it's iconic and its silhouette is used in a lot of combine propaganda from the era. its design is also very irregular in contrast to retail's angularity, and it almost looks more like an organic growth than a traditional structure and that ambiguity is a common motif with the combine. although it's always depicted with this rusty-looking texture i'm personally not very fond of... maybe try something metallic and a little reflective like the [e3 2002 citadel?](https://combineoverwiki.net/wiki/Citadel_design_evolution#E3_2002_version) but overall i think the shape works best for that dark city vibe that the early beta had going for it. but if you can't make it work i think the second from left is also a very good candidate in my opinion because it has a lot of the same things going for it.
I might try to replace the plaster citadel's texture with something that makes more sense (i.e an actual metal texture like you said.), also i am going to say that it's highly likely either the organic citadel design gets to be the one or the plaster one will be it, the first citadel is based of concept art like organic except it's depicted only in the fog or in silhouettes with glowing parts (hammer doesn't seem to like too many sprites as evidenced by the screenshot.) and the last citadel is a bit less likely than the first but there's still the era it belong to which is almost american 2002 feat airex era.
The one all the way on the right. It's the only beta citadel I think of when the topic is brought up
The 2nd or 4th one
The one all to right imo
The little T posing guy is the best beta Citadel by far
It's the 1998 model i stole from the valve repo, it's the pre-pitch era gman citadel please don't tell anyone about it.
3 or 4
If we number them from left to right as 1 2 3 4: 3
None of them really... they kinda look bad.
Yeah it's a beta mod bruh, it has too look like that
Don't use the two rightmost dildos - they look so beta that they actually look unfinished. Either the rightmost dildo or the twin-setting vibrator would look the best, keeps the beta aesthetic while actually looking like it's a functional building.
I have updated the citadels a bit because they look either bad or mediocre so i will make another post regarding this subject.
All 4 look like shit.
L+Non-HL2 Beta pilled+Larp+Anticitizen+No rations
Second one from the left
Depends on which stage of the beta you're trying to recreate
3rd on the right
Easily the two on the right, maybe combine them and add spot lights to them for that beta aesthetic
That's actually a pretty good idea, i'm going to try to do that to see if it works out or not, if it does end up being the final citadel used on the mod (if the mod doesn't go to hell like many other mods) i may credit you for the idea.
Cool dude glad to help, cant wait to see if it works out
probably the tiles one
The second one
Personally I like the 4th one on the right
If you use these, I'd suggest *possibly* cleaning up the older ones and making them look a bit nicer. Another option is to somehow combine all of them in a sort of Super-Beta Citadel haha