Aliens - Colonial Marines Technical Manual

[FenGiddel]

What font are you using, is that City Lights? Reminiscent of the BluRay set menu aesthetic, right?

The font (I believe) is Berthold City Regular. The map does have the BR menu vibe! I was mimicking the blues in the grid that Lambert was viewing when she was scanning for Earth.

Dude, seriously, I would love pick your brain sometime when I've gotten a bit further. What program do you use, Adobe Illustrator?

Glad to help any way I can! I'm using a Mac app called "Paint 2", which is much like Microsoft's MSPaint (which is what I used to create my original maps long years ago.

That rad image of the approach orbit to LV-426 reminds me of this one map I started charting for my Star Trek Project, the necessary path of destruction for the Borg cube during the Best of Both Worlds invasion.

I'm a Trek fan from way back, so I enjoy hearing about your project!

Did you scope this Covenant one? It's got a bunch of the stars from the CMTM already incorporated.

Thanks! That's the first close peek I've had. I am glad you've found the CMTM connection, though. I like Lee's approach to the subject matter. I think somewhere I've compiled a list of the names. As well as those from the EU, but the latter seem to be discounted these days.

Can you tell me what is your source for the position reports please ?

Thank you! And certainly: for the basic framework, I used traffic reports I get of my nephew's tugboat journeys (from marinetraffic.com). The stats, specs, and coordinates were created using info from my database (on TNF's BO-TH-ER 1000 mainframe) and SM's site (ship speed?), as well as real-space coordinates for the stars. I wasted a couple of hours trying to apply some kind of logic to plot the locations, using the ship speed and the distance traveled. It's all estimated, but keeps things grounded somehow for me so I can keep a continuity to my maps. But that's part of the fun, why it takes a while to create the things, and (hopefully) why folks enjoy them!

[SpaceKase]

What font are you using, is that City Lights? Reminiscent of the BluRay set menu aesthetic, right?

The font (I believe) is Berthold City Regular. The map does have the BR menu vibe! I was mimicking the blues in the grid that Lambert was viewing when she was scanning for Earth.

Dude, seriously, I would love pick your brain sometime when I've gotten a bit further. What program do you use, Adobe Illustrator?

Glad to help any way I can! I'm using a Mac app called "Paint 2", which is much like Microsoft's MSPaint (which is what I used to create my original maps long years ago.

That rad image of the approach orbit to LV-426 reminds me of this one map I started charting for my Star Trek Project, the necessary path of destruction for the Borg cube during the Best of Both Worlds invasion.

I'm a Trek fan from way back, so I enjoy hearing about your project!

Did you scope this Covenant one? It's got a bunch of the stars from the CMTM already incorporated.

Thanks! That's the first close peek I've had. I am glad you've found the CMTM connection, though. I like Lee's approach to the subject matter. I think somewhere I've compiled a list of the names. As well as those from the EU, but the latter seem to be discounted these days.

Well, they're out of luck, we don't accept discounts here. ;P But seriously, your work is top notch, I'd love to 3D model them some time. Are you responsible for the Nostromo Files? I'm a big fan of the site!

Regarding the EU list, I think there was something extensive that someone threw together on a forum I saw, but it included a lot of RPG sourced material, which I have to exclude from my project for reasons of necessity, as well as a Ton of KOI colonies which were sourced from the Prometheus Project I think, which I also exclude, not because they're viral, (viral media is a favorite source of mine,) but because the references don't make any sense contextually. They're all Kepler Objects of Interest and they were included at the time because of the novelty of their recent exoplanet discoveries. But they're all taken from this small square of the sky nowhere near the neighborhood of all the other stars from the Films and the rest of the EU, like 3,000 light years up the Arm.

I was very frustrated by the stated destination of the Haldin from Blackout to one of the KOI stars, KOI-125-01. But quite rightly, I believe, I've written it off as a deliberately false flight plan left by Amanda Ripley and her passengers who were clearly sent, for reasons unknown, to the infested Mendel Station to die. Ms Yutani the lesser has clearly pissed off the wrong people and I'm guessing it was her cousin, the Big Yutani.

[Predator@Alien]

I would be interested in a map with all of the colonies that we can see in the Weyland Industries website. That's a good idea I think but if someone want to do it 

And I never pay attention to the fact that the systems were really precise in the franchise. So we can know were the places of the franchise are in the real universe ? Are there mistakes sometimes ?

[FenGiddel]

A really good start to that might be a comprehensive table of all stars and celestial bodies mentioned in the films, books, comics, etc., and classifying them accordingly. Then the mapper could choose which they wanted to include in their star chart?


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[SpaceKase]

I would be interested in a map with all of the colonies that we can see in the Weyland Industries website. That's a good idea I think but if someone want to do it 

So this map is pretty much what you're asking for. It might be difficult to interpret, but all of the KOI colonies that you can see in the Weyland Industries website are located over on the left in that light blue rectangular area some 1000-3000+ light years away from Earth which is at the center of the tiny looking circle at center. All of those colonies you're referring to were supposedly the very first colonies created by Weyland Industries immediately after inventing FTL from the 2030's to the 2090's. Apparently the colonists were all stinky folk because the Old Company shot every single one of them way out there past and around Deneb some 2,600 lys away, nary to be seen again.

By comparison, it took the Prometheus and the Nostromo about a year to go 40~ lys to Zeta 2 Reticuli, which is so tiny a distance on this map you can't even see it. At those breakneck speeds the new fancy starship Prometheus would take about 25-75 years to get to those colonies and then another 25-75 years back, You know, if they forgot their wallet or something.

The green and red buzz you see surrounding that tiny circle in the center are All of the rest of the stars of the AvP universe. Coincidentally, Deneb is the location of Farpoint Station from the very first episode of TNG, which even in that franchise was really really far off on the frontier of known space.

In this closest zoom, the Aqua circle is 108 lys in diameter, and LV-426, still too tiny to see, is halfway between the center and the right periphery of the compass there.

And I never pay attention to the fact that the systems were really precise in the franchise. So we can know were the places of the franchise are in the real universe ? Are there mistakes sometimes ?

And yes indeed, the star systems in the Aliens EU are remarkably accurate, with real stars far outweighing the fictional ones. To my knowledge Star Trek is the only other SciFi Franchise set in the "real world", and grounded in science) that's more prolific than the Alien universe. And overwhelmingly they do a good job, the only rare things I would consider mistakes, ie almost impossible to rationalize. are just these Viral media colonies we're talking about, that one single reference from Alien Blackout, and just one of the real stars listed on the Nostromo crew dossiers from that company inquest scene in Aliens, namely Beta Lyrae, which is way too far away to be accurate. like living in Paris and popping off to Moscow for a baguette. Overall though, everyone's done an awesome job over the years.

[Predator@Alien]

Oh yes indeed... The mistakes of the colonies of the Prometheus Website are a little unforgivable !

But is that something I miss or what ? : On a lot of maps here, I can see Tau Ceti as the closest star of the Sun but it is not right, no ? The closest are the three Centauri stars. And Tau Ceti is at 12 LY from us so... Did I miss something ?   

[Still Collating...]

Damn, so the Prometheus marketing colonies were not only crazy when it came to the time period, but even more crazy when it came to the distance? Yeah, I can not consider that canon anymore at all, that's just too much.

[SM]

Having colonies in that time period wasn't crazy, but the distances on many of them were impossible.

As for real locations in the EU - they're very thin on the ground.  I just went through an old list I had and when you take out locations on our Solar System and Zeta 2 Reticuli - there were four.  Rising Threat had a reference to Andromeda, which I suggested was changed to 51 Andromeda or Zeta Andromeda or similar (ie. somewhere in our galaxy).

Dust to Dust and Dead Orbit don't reference real locations.  Defiance starts off in Doradus, which is the same general area of sky as Reticulum.

I believe we'll find many of the Weyland colonies and other EU colonies in the RPG.

[SpaceKase]

Oh yes indeed... The mistakes of the colonies of the Prometheus Website are a little unforgivable !

But is that something I miss or what ? : On a lot of maps here, I can see Tau Ceti as the closest star of the Sun but it is not right, no ? The closest are the three Centauri stars. And Tau Ceti is at 12 LY from us so... Did I miss something ?

"C'est un esprit bidimensionnel." - Mgr. Spock, la Colère de Khan.

It may be an illusion of perspective you are seeing, my friend. Here's three different angles of the Core Systems for a different perspective.

I hope this helps a little, it can make one's eyes go crossed.

...

I believe we'll find many of the Weyland colonies and other EU colonies in the RPG.

Nice! You're talking about the Free League RPG that's coming out, right? Are you involved in the creation of any of the artwork for that or are you strictly consulting? I saw a low res image of a map for the book somewhere and it looks awesome so far. I have to stay away from RPGs myself, my poor, slow-processing, little computer brain has enough trouble crunching finite data, open ended and/or freeform art leave it alternatively broken or awestruck. Awestruck if I'm lucky. You guys seem off to a killer start though, when does the sourcebook drop?

[SM]

I'm only involved around the periphery.  The map doing the rounds is a souped up version of mine.

[SpaceKase]

Ah, right-oh! And your map originally evolved from Winchell Chung's work didn't it? If you don't mind the probing questions of a pop-cultural anthropologist, what's the story behind that map ending up on the Bluray menus? And who was responsible for making the modifications they chose for their final presentation? Apologies if the subject is a bone of contention or anything.

[SM]

I used Winchell's map as a basic starting point because it was big enough to encompass Epsilon Reticuli (which is where I placed Thedus).  Then I ripped the guts out and re-did it.

I guess Charles de Lauzirika was ultimately responsible for the maps on the blu-rays and all the pilfering of them (and other stuff I'd done).  It's simultaneously flattering and infuriating.  They did inspire me to rework my map though, 'cos their one looked cooler.  It's similar to 'working with' Fria Ligan.  I spoke to them last year and I was supposed to be working on the RPG, but apart from the occasional email asking for some bit of info or 'can we use...?' the work never materialised.

[SpaceKase]

I used Winchell's map as a basic starting point because it was big enough to encompass Epsilon Reticuli (which is where I placed Thedus).  Then I ripped the guts out and re-did it.

I guess Charles de Lauzirika was ultimately responsible for the maps on the blu-rays and all the pilfering of them (and other stuff I'd done).  It's simultaneously flattering and infuriating.  They did inspire me to rework my map though, 'cos their one looked cooler.  It's similar to 'working with' Fria Ligan.  I spoke to them last year and I was supposed to be working on the RPG, but apart from the occasional email asking for some bit of info or 'can we use...?' the work never materialised.

Wow, that is incredibly lame, I'm truly sorry to hear that that's how things went down.

"Turn all her mother's pains and benefits
To laughter and contempt; that she may feel
How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child."

Or in the eloquent phrasing of Brett: "Same old shit, man."

I'm really glad to hear that you've got a more copacetic relation with the Box Network nowadays and I'm really glad you're continuing on with your work. And hey, now you're in an exclusive club, with members the likes of HR Giger and Dan O'Bannon, as spiritual cohorts go, not too shabby.

[FenGiddel]

Oh yes indeed... The mistakes of the colonies of the Prometheus Website are a little unforgivable !

Or perhaps worthy of exploring and justifying, in-universe.

It's simultaneously flattering and infuriating. 

Oh, for the heady days when the internet was young, when you were ignored by the IP owner/franchisee, and the worst that might happen is the work got copied (sans credit) on another fan's website... It really puts a damper on one's ideas for sharing new and original content, even things that use movie production material as a springboard. At least, that's what I hear...

[SM]

Quite.