In early February Creative Assembly invited AvPGalaxy down to their studios in Horsham, England to get a hands-on with Alien – Isolation, their upcoming first-person survival horror game. So Dachande and I packed our bags and went down to the studio to get our first look at Sega and Creative Assemble’s next Alien release:
“I barely made it far before I caused too much noise (try not to run!) and I heard the thudding of a massive creature running towards me. I barely had time to turn around and witness the first of several deaths on my playthrough of Alien Isolation. I watched myself fall the floor, my feet knocked out from underneath me as I was dragged to face the Alien. On one occasion I didn't even get the chance to turn around and face my would-be extra-terrestrial killer, only hear him steamroll towards me from behind.”
As well as the hands-on, we were also given a guided tour around the studios and had the chance to sit down and conduct an interview with Al Hope (Creative Lead) and Jon McKellan (UI Lead). You can find our impressions in the preview we have just uploaded. We have also uploaded the interview we conducted. You can find it as both a written transcript or an audio interview.
Link To Post
CA tweet 5 minutes ago : "we have some VIP guests in the studio from avpgalaxy"
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi22.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fb348%2FSpaceVoyager%2FSmiley%2Fpopcorn.gif&hash=ae0defa72713e8175a3a95cb3a6f5d514f318ad1) (http://s22.photobucket.com/user/SpaceVoyager/media/Smiley/popcorn.gif.html)
That's right! :) Several of our UK editorial staffers (Dachande and Corporal Hicks) are currently visiting Creative Assembly to meet the Alien: Isolation team. They will share almost 4 intensive hours with Creative Assembly and their upcoming game.
Here's a quick look at the plan for today:
- 12:15PM: Arrival at the station
- 12:30PM - 1:45PM: Early lunch
- 1:45PM - 2:30PM: Hands-on demo of the game
- 2:30PM - 2:45PM: First section of tour - Audio
- 2:45PM - 3:00PM: 2nd section of tour - Lo-Fi Sci-FI
- 3:00PM - 3:15PM: 3rd section of tour - World and Cast
- 3:15PM - 3:30PM: 4th section of tour - Alien
- 3:30PM - 4:00PM: Interview with Al Hope (Creative Lead) and Jon McKellan (Lead UI Designer)
Stay tuned to read AvPGalaxy's report on the tour soon.
Despite generally trying to distance myself from details on the game at this point, I'm definitely looking forward to finding out what they think!
Dis gon be good.
https://twitter.com/AlienIsolation/status/430735636119556096
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfpHx2eCEAA_Dsy.jpg)
lucky ass mofos
Quote from: ikarop on Feb 04, 2014, 04:31:02 PM
https://twitter.com/AlienIsolation/status/430735636119556096
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfpHx2eCEAA_Dsy.jpg)
Dat Corporal Hicks.
That's me dammit! Hicks is in the foreground!
So awesome! You guys are so lucky you get to have some time with that game! I cannot wait to play it!!!!
Quote from: Dachande on Feb 04, 2014, 05:36:02 PM
That's me dammit! Hicks is in the foreground!
I know, that's what I meant :D I should have clarified!
•4:00PM - 11:00PM: Dachande and Corporal Hicks give CA a seven hour diatribe about the wrongness of the alien model?
You can find some more pics from the visit here: http://forums.alienisolation.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/5934-avp-galaxy-visit-to-the-alien-isolation-studio-at-creative-assembly (http://forums.alienisolation.com/forum/main-category/main-forum/5934-avp-galaxy-visit-to-the-alien-isolation-studio-at-creative-assembly)
I saw on Facebook and automatically asked CA if Corporal Hicks was one of the interviewers, which they said yes to. He's always the lucky one :p
Can't wait for the full scoop. Specially after what they quoted what Dachande and Hicks said about the game.
You could always try to join our team and be the lucky one! :P
We prepared an alarmingly long list of questions for this so I wouldn't envy our poor interviewer very much.
I've just got in from the trip. Dachande and I are recording a podcast in a few minutes and I'll be preparing my written preview and interview transcript within the next few days. I don't want to give away much yet but here's something to consider. When Dachande finished the demo he could only utter "Oh God". I had to take a few minutes to calm myself down after playing.
And I mean that in the good way. Also got some cool goodies from CA:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfqGKreIcAA8g-p.jpg:large)
https://twitter.com/_CorporalHicks/status/430804232737148928
I just want to note that the tablet was Hicks'. Either that or i got cheated.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Feb 04, 2014, 08:52:52 PM
I've just got in from the trip. Dachande and I are recording a podcast in a few minutes and I'll be preparing my written preview and interview transcript within the next few days. I don't want to give away much yet but here's something to consider. When Dachande finished the demo he could only utter "Oh God". I had to take a few minutes to calm myself down after playing.
And I mean that in the good way. Also got some cool goodies from CA:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BfqGKreIcAA8g-p.jpg:large)
https://twitter.com/_CorporalHicks/status/430804232737148928
I'm looking forward to your write-up. The game sounds particularly exciting coming from you.
The game is sounding great so far considering your reactions.
Not that it probably matters but did you guys play it on a PS4, XboxOne, or a PC?
PC.
So when will the podcast be posted? :)
I'm just doing some tweaking on the edit.
I've got my eager face on. Can't wait to hear what you guys have to say!!!
Very nice preview and Q&A. Thanks for doing this! Nice to see a few more new screenshots.
5 stars out of 5. Great preview and interview, guys!
'Course, now I've learned that they've changed the Alien's hands. ARGH!! Still, I'm now more excited for the game than ever. 8)
Quote from: Mr. Clemens on Feb 10, 2014, 07:53:39 PM
5 stars out of 5. Great preview and interview, guys!
'Course, now I've learned that they've changed the Alien's hands. ARGH!! Still, I'm now more excited for the game than ever. 8)
That was a typo I believe. It should be amended now.
They're new screenshots? Which ones? You kept them quiet.
Anyway, great work to ikarop for organising the event, and for Dachande and Hicks taking the time to go down to their studio and represent the site. And thanks to Sega and Creative Assembly for inviting us in the first place. I didn't think we'd get all this done so quickly. Looking forward to your new podcast.
Yeah, I'm surprised at how weekly we managed to get all this done. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can't wait to play the full thing. If the completed game is as good as the demo, I'll be a happy bunny.
Your preview and interviews were excellent and answered so many questions I had. Thanks a ton you guys! Glad you had a good time at Creative Assembly.
Golly some of those answers took a long time to say nothing.
"Where does this fit with the canon?"
"We started with Alien and tried to keep to it."
Yeah, okay, but does it fit?
And the repeated use of "We're not talking about the wider game today" sounds a bit ... I don't get it, why wouldn't they take the opportunity to let the fanbase know about the whole game? We're clearly interested in more than "You in a room with a motion tracker and the Alien", why is that the only thing they were willing to talk about?
Yeah, I was curious as to why they didn't answer those questions. I suppose they are potential surprises.
Guess that's all they got at the moment to go on. How much do you want given away?
As for the canon thing - seemed like they answered it okay to me. We know where (or rather when) it fits, but they're not going down the same road as GBX with all the canon pimpage. Sounds like a good idea.
I understand dodging the egg-morph question, but I wouldn't think saying whether there'll be DLC or a multiplayer further down the line is giving much away about the game.
Oh, them questions. Dunno. Maybe it's too early to commit to DLC. I thought I'd read that there was no multiplayer already though...?
There isn't any multiplayer (Although one of the questions I'd wanted asked is if they'd at least considered it). And it's never too early to commit to DLC these days. Thinking about it, though, it's probably best not to announce plans for any of it before your game is released, like what happened with some next-gen platform releases recently.
People tend to think you're a stingy, money-grabbing bastard if you're announcing extra content months before the game's released which could just be put into the game to start with, so, y'know, good call, CA.
Quote from: SiL on Feb 10, 2014, 10:10:28 PM
There isn't any multiplayer (Although one of the questions I'd wanted asked is if they'd at least considered it). And it's never too early to commit to DLC these days. Thinking about it, though, it's probably best not to announce plans for any of it before your game is released, like what happened with some next-gen platform releases recently.
Quote from: RockpapershotgunAre there any plans to have any kind of multiplayer at all?
Hope: No. It's very much about a single player experience. We did think about it, it's not like we never considered it – and we had some pretty neat ideas around that. But for us the focus always was that single player experience.
Quote from: ikarop on Feb 10, 2014, 10:17:25 PM
Quote from: RockpapershotgunAre there any plans to have any kind of multiplayer at all?
Hope: No. It's very much about a single player experience. We did think about it, it's not like we never considered it – and we had some pretty neat ideas around that. But for us the focus always was that single player experience.
Oh cool, thanks!
Great Q/A and interview AVPG. :-)
Sounds like this game is going on the right track. However the leg issue still bothers me, i would rather have a man in a suit alien, as long as it was a carbon copy of Giger Beast... But im willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on why they change its legs cos the game looks cool and the Alien looks neat from the previews that have been released to the public.
As for DLC (if we do get it) i would like to play Newt surviving Hadleys Hope before the Colonial Marines arrived on Lv426. Can you imagine playing as newt and seeing the alien world through a child's eyes, With the same in game mechanics that alien isolation has?
Good work AVPG for interview.
I hope people are satisfied with the answer about the legs. I don't blame them for wanting to change the perspective from the Alien being a 'man in a suit'. Alien was a scarier movie when I was younger because so much was left up to the imagination. Having watched the film and scrutinized how it was made, seeing the alien suit, all of that really takes away from the movie today. I can't help but see a man in a suit when I watch it. I said in another thread a few weeks ago that I was always under the impression Ridley Scott wanted 'his' monster to look as far from a man in a suit as possible.
It's a video game character, why would people be thinking "Man in a suit"? It obviously isn't a man in a suit because it's a video game. Looking like one isn't relevant any more.
I don't know.
I've probably already mentioned it elsewhere, but seeing a completely accurate Giger Alien walking down the hallway conjurs up images of the test footage of Bolaji in the mockup suit. And while I really dig the crabwalk scene, a lot of people hate it.
Riddles left his full body shot for the second last minute of the flick, and it did end up disappointing many that it looked like a guy in a suit.
When you can't control the cutting and lighting in a video game and the Alien is walking down a fully light corridor - I can see how it could look pretty dopey (mind you, the Alien simply casually strolling towards you, rather than pouncing - because unarmed, you're rooted anyway - could be freaky as f**k).
Of course, that's not to say Mr Dog Leg Alien won't look just as dopey, but their rationale makes sense.
"Man, the original AVP for PC was scary as f**k, but damn those legs just took me right out. So obviously a guy in a suit"
said no-one ever.
People have never complained about the legs when they weren't double jointed, why would they have started now? "Guy in a suit" only applies when watching a movie and having the effect ruined for you. This is not a movie. There is no suit. The humanoid form isn't going to break suspension of disbelief.
If you say so.
I can't force myself to rage impotently about the legs.
I'm not raging about anything. Their game, they can do what they want. But their justifications are limp as f**k.
Okay, not rage then - endlessly moan?
Quote from: Kimo on Feb 11, 2014, 12:30:09 AM
As for DLC (if we do get it) i would like to play Newt surviving Hadleys Hope before the Colonial Marines arrived on Lv426. Can you imagine playing as newt and seeing the alien world through a child's eyes, With the same in game mechanics that alien isolation has?
YES! I agree 100% about playing as newt! Someone mentioned this in another thread a few weeks ago, and I loved the idea! The alien through newt's eyes would look 15 ft tall! Plus, can you imagine playing as newt, unarmed, trying to dodge multiple aliens WITHOUT a motion tracker! Oh, man that could be a pretty terrifying experience too, and I hope to see something like that from CA/SEGA in the future, whether it be an isolation sequel or a dlc pack...
egg morphing would be very interesting to see
Quote from: SM on Feb 11, 2014, 05:58:31 AM
Okay, not rage then - endlessly moan?
Not moaning either. Nor is it "endless", only when the subject is actually relevant. My sole complaint is every time a new game or movie comes out they'll harp on about how faithful they are, then change something and give a limp excuse.
No-one's asking you to care. You're free to not read these posts on the subject.
Have they harped on about how accurate they are on this game though?
Yeah, they kinda did, and that's the problem, also nevermind they had a giant f**k off poster of the original suit right there to gaze upon.
and yeah the justification are ridiculous market-handler speak.
They went at length on how much time and money they spent making things picture->pixel accurate or "true" even down to the concept drawings, which they trumpeted about doing in "Cobb" style, when a Hong Kong Asset and Placeable contract team could've done a photorealistic depiction without using "Cobb" style (whatever the hell that is) for half the price and in half the time.
(You think I'm exaggerating and I'm not, this literally happened with A:CM assets)
It's far more true to form to say "we wanted Brock Jaw, Jaws Mouth and Arfy Tyranid Legs because we thought they looked cool than to say "the Alien couldn't navigate correctly" (seriously what? what?) and then spend three paragraphs on the next page page about how much time and manhours they spent making everything else but the Alien super-orgasm-ultra-goddamn-photo-4K-motherf**king-jump-up-and-slap-your-mama-exactly-like-the-film realistic.
Basically shot themselves in the foot on that one, and Locusta pretty much drove the nail in the coffin on any marketing-speak rationalization before they even started the hype machine in public mode.
QuoteYeah, they kinda did, and that's the problem, also nevermind they had a giant f**k off poster of the original suit right there to gaze upon.
When? I thought that kind of thing was Gearbox's domain.
As for the navigation thing, I don't remember hearing that. I thought it was simply down to 'We didn't like how it looked with humanlike feet'.
Quote from: SM on Feb 11, 2014, 07:26:04 AM
When? I thought that kind of thing was Gearbox's domain.
The first magazine article posted in this board which explained the legs. After talking about why they "had" to change it, they then went on about how they weren't sure about the dome under the cowl, but it was important to keep details like that because it was part of the original suit, so they kept it.
That kind'a bullshit is what irks me.
Man people will bitch about every little thing in an Aliens game or anything that has to do with Aliens... Why bitch about the "legs" when its the game that you have to worry about? Personally the jointed legs make it look more creature like and not so much human. "oh this game is gunna suck because the legs are wrong".. whatever.. Im holding my judgement until I play it. No wonder why people dont take Alien related things seriously anymore..
Nobody's said anything like that.
Maybe try reading people's posts before attempting to belittle them.
Every iteration in the franchise has added their own take on the alien. Do you think everyone was happy with what Cameron did to the alien? No. So this is Creative Assembly's take on it, it's not the original movie made into a game it's a new chapter in the saga and to me it all looks really good so far. I just hope that the story and voice acting will be good this time around.
They do shoot themselves a little in the foot with talk of authenticity.
However, aside from the change to the legs - which yes, makes perfect sense. I saw the speed of the Alien and the speed in which they were having it interact with the world and it would look so stupid with the human legs, it truly would. No-one would move with the fluidity of that model - the general feel and look of the game is very Alien from what I experienced.
Guys, thank you for these superb interview and preview. Loved every word. And don't give a damn about them legs. ;)
Quote from: SiL on Feb 11, 2014, 05:48:27 AM
"Man, the original AVP for PC was scary as f**k, but damn those legs just took me right out. So obviously a guy in a suit"
said no-one ever.
People have never complained about the legs when they weren't double jointed, why would they have started now? "Guy in a suit" only applies when watching a movie and having the effect ruined for you. This is not a movie. There is no suit. The humanoid form isn't going to break suspension of disbelief.
This is the problem i have. Its a creature moving around inside a video game. I am not gunna think that the alien looks like a man in a suit when it moves, because i know they was never a man inside a suit to begin with. I would rather of seen a creature that moves more like Bolaji Badejo in his test footage with humanoid legs, then the design choice they have went with. Every time i see a still of the beast from a distance. it for a brief second reminds me of the Aliens from Alien Resurrection because of them dam legs. Dont get me wrong the rest of the creature looks f**king fantastic and the game environment looks awsome as well.
I think the mouth and jaw area is a greater issue than the legs, personally, since that's where a lot of the Alien's signature look and personality (not personality but you know what I mean, lol) comes from.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Feb 11, 2014, 09:40:11 AM
They do shoot themselves a little in the foot with talk of authenticity.
However, aside from the change to the legs - which yes, makes perfect sense. I saw the speed of the Alien and the speed in which they were having it interact with the world and it would look so stupid with the human legs, it truly would. No-one would move with the fluidity of that model - the general feel and look of the game is very Alien from what I experienced.
This. Totally agree.
We know the Alien is fast an agile, but you can't see it in the Alien film (its just a perfectly edited film thats make you "imagine" that).
Wow very well done interview.
I am still trying to be cautious about isolation and i agree that the dino legs are pretty dumb.
IIRC they are toating this game as some what canon,not to the extect of gearbox but they did say it takes place after alien and amanda kinda sorta might be still alive at the end, because burke is a liar pparently.
Game still looks great though. ;D
The Alien is supposed to climb into and out of ducts and ladders right? If we went with the humanoid legs, would it look like a guy climbing into a duct? And when it was running at you, would it look like a beast out of hell or an Olympic runner? That was mentioned in the interview, that they did try it out with humanoid legs first, then changed the design cause it wouldn't work to bring the terror. Having them legs would affect how the body is balanced when moving or sprinting. Frankly I would need to experience the real thing for myself before I'm totally convinced, but I expect that it would be kinda like having a small T-Rex charge at you.
Quote from: Darkness on Feb 10, 2014, 08:28:57 PM
They're new screenshots? Which ones? You kept them quiet.
They didn't look familar to me. These are from the Interview http://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/articles/creative-assembly-studio-visit-interview/ (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/website/articles/creative-assembly-studio-visit-interview/)
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-10.jpg)
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-03.jpg)
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-11.jpg)
From the Preview:
Better version on Amanda in the spacesuit
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-09.jpg)
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-01.jpg)
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/isolation-preview-04.jpg)
It's mainly the versions of the Amanda pic and top one but thanks for noticing.
Sounds great.
As expected with the legs really, they needed it to interact with the environment and not look crap. I would have liked the size question to be asked though.
Good preview and interview guys.
Liked the deflection about the eggmorphing too, that kind of answer usually translates into 'Yes it's in there but I can't talk about it.'
I asked Hicks about that, but he said he really couldn't tell if it was 'Yeah it's there, but I can't talk about' or 'Nah, just not addressing that'.
It reads like he barely thinks about it. "That's nothing to do with you in a room with an Alien and a motion tracker, not talking about it."
Not sure how it would fit into the game. You find a nest, and ... ? Have to escape? Torch it?
Well hopefully he just wasn't able to talk about it yet. I don't think eggmorphing has been in an alien game since the jaguar AvP, it'd be nice to see it back.
I don't know how it could work in this game either, but if nothing else having to go through a alien infested area with a bunch of people in various states of transformation asking you to kill them would be pretty creepy.
Im wondering about the differences between Isolation and Outlast, can we see our own body? outlast have and impressive level of inmersion...your hands on the walls, the doors...the floor
Since they did say that there would only be one Alien, and assuming that Alien has been around on the station for weeks, if not months, I doubt any egg morphing would have been successful... unless they meant something else when they said one Alien.
Personally, after reading the interviews and stuff, I'm wondering if another lost gem in the Alien life cycle would make itself known...box Alien anyone?
Depends on whether anyone found the Alien's lair where all the eggs are waiting or not.
Couldn't the alien's size be explained by its age? It's been on the station for a while by the time Amanda gets there, so there's been more time for it to grow. In Aliens, there was one alien which always looked to me like it was much larger than the rest (no, not the queen). It's the alien the captures newt; that one looked HUGE, but I guess that could have just been the perspective plus it could have just appeared larger while standing next to newt...
All the Aliens at Hadley were the same size.
Quote from: SM on Feb 12, 2014, 03:34:03 AM
All the Aliens at Hadley were the same size.
Either way, I'm not bothered by the alien's size. People are different heights, so why can't the aliens be different heights, right? Maybe this one burst out of someone Shaq's size! Lol, jk.
Quote from: Engineer on Feb 12, 2014, 03:23:41 AM
Couldn't the alien's size be explained by its age? It's been on the station for a while by the time Amanda gets there, so there's been more time for it to grow.
It would have been interesting to somehow use Ridley's original idea of the Alien having 24 hour lifespan. It could have been a big twist at the end. Maybe someone gives their life to save Amanda. Then she confronts this thing a few hours later to find it has collapsed or died in a corner.
Eh, maybe not a good idea... Idk...
Quote24 hour
Three days.
Also pretty much defenestrated.
Very good read.
Still no eggs, no huggers and this station somehow aquired Nostromo black box right? Well I think this one here might be an original Alien form Alien. That would make sense, Sevastopol crew stumbled uppon the area of Nostromo`s explosion and found jetisoned (spelling?) black box, but something else found them too. That would explain many things along with Alien`s size.
I personally don't mind the look of the legs at all. For me they make the creature look more menacing. The only thing that bothers me is I wish the creature had more drool. Not 'face covered in a swimming pool of drool' like Alien 4 but more like what was in the first 2 films. Maybe it is something that will be added in later.
Quote from: Samus007 on Feb 12, 2014, 01:16:56 PM
I personally don't mind the look of the legs at all. For me they make the creature look more menacing. The only thing that bothers me is I wish the creature had more drool. Not 'face covered in a swimming pool of drool' like Alien 4 but more like what was in the first 2 films. Maybe it is something that will be added in later.
Liquid fluids in a real time engine, which shall not look like crap? No. Not the next five, six years.
Quote from: locusta on Feb 12, 2014, 05:24:34 PM
Quote from: Samus007 on Feb 12, 2014, 01:16:56 PM
I personally don't mind the look of the legs at all. For me they make the creature look more menacing. The only thing that bothers me is I wish the creature had more drool. Not 'face covered in a swimming pool of drool' like Alien 4 but more like what was in the first 2 films. Maybe it is something that will be added in later.
Liquid fluids in a real time engine, which shall not look like crap? No. Not the next five, six years.
I dunno, there are a few tech demos that came out last year from Nvidia etc showing real-time fluid physics. While i'd like to see it in this game I agree it's probably too soon. But I don't think 5 or 6 years from now before we start seeing this in games.
Quote from: Master on Feb 12, 2014, 09:47:48 AM
That would make sense, Sevastopol crew stumbled uppon the area of Nostromo`s explosion and found jetisoned (spelling?) black box, but something else found them too.
I wonder if maybe a ship coming from Thedus (or another planet or base that would pass by LV-426 area) later on encountered radiation and debris from the Nostromo. They found the flight recorder and either heard the signal from the derelict (if we discount the never shot scene of Dallas turning off the transmitter), or found info in the recorder about LV-426. They find the ship and eggs and either someone gets impregnated or they somehow take an egg. Then they stop at Sevastopol on their way back to where-ever, and the Alien is born. The station crew contact WY about the recorder before the Alien wreaks havoc.
There is also the question of the planet Sevastopol is orbiting. Where is it in relation to LV-426? Why is the station there? Is there mining on the planet? Habitation of humans? A base?
A ship coming from Thedus wouldn't encounter any debris from the destruction of the Nostromo - assuming there is any, which is unlikely - since it was off course.
The station is decommissioned if I remember right.
Hmm. Am I the only one that feels like he doesn't actually know all that much more about the game? My impression of the game is still Penumbra/Amnesia in space. Which I think still sounds better than A:CM's CoD with bugs, but it's still not really grabbing me as much as it could be. As far as I know there's supposedly going to be traps and such, but it seems that you mostly just hide from it by breaking LOS or going into closets, which feels all sorts of weird when facing an Alien as opposed to horribly mutilated man monsters.
I just think the Alien is such a unique creature that could lend itself to some interesting mechanics, even in a horror game, that an Amensia reskin alone isn't enough to megahype me. The premise is excellent - you vs an Alien all alone on a station is basically the kind of game I've wanted to play forever, but it still needs to be executed properly.
I would have loved to have them take the opportunity and give an example of how those traps might work, or how those experiments with the gun impacted the game and if we can expect them to play a role later on. I guess I was a hoping to hear something like "at one point the Alien stops being playing around being deaf and blind you actually have to slow it down or disorient it to escape".
At first I thought I was just jaded and cynical, but then I told my friends what I know so far and heard their reaction: "You hide from an Alien behind boxes and in lockers? That's the dumbest f**king thing I've ever heard."
Maybe I'm not so crazy.
Still, a competently made Amnesia-like would still be miles ahead of Gearbox's pitiful attempt at a game. Literally a copy pasted Amnesia with an Alien model would still be kinda enjoyable in "for what it is".
QuoteAt first I thought I was just jaded and cynical, but then I told my friends what I know so far and heard their reaction: "You hide from an Alien behind boxes and in lockers? That's the dumbest f**king thing I've ever heard."
Is it that much different to Newt hiding in air ducts? How do you think she survived?
Well, after the DC I always figured she avoided capture the same way she avoided being found by other kids. She just went into places the Aliens couldn't get into, regardless of whether they knew she was there or not.
'Course, my friends probably don't see it that way - I'm guessing their reaction is simply based on their casual impression of what Aliens seem to be or do. I was actually kinda surprised since I expected them not to even notice, since one of the popular ways to see Aliens is as clueless Zerglings.
I think she spent the majority of the time hiding in the ducts, but she'd obviously been out to gather resources because of the state of her den and the fact the Marines find her in a hallway.
I was kind of skeptical too, but will give game a chance.
Quote from: DB on Feb 13, 2014, 12:09:19 AM
Well, after the DC I always figured she avoided capture the same way she avoided being found by other kids. She just went into places the Aliens couldn't get into, regardless of whether they knew she was there or not.
'Course, my friends probably don't see it that way - I'm guessing their reaction is simply based on their casual impression of what Aliens seem to be or do. I was actually kinda surprised since I expected them not to even notice, since one of the popular ways to see Aliens is as clueless Zerglings.
Considering Aliens smash down thick metal doors - I can't see them simply giving up when the little girl goes into a duct they can't fit into. They'll simply smash their way in.
Which only leaves the option that they couldn't find her.
Quote from: SM on Feb 13, 2014, 12:56:37 AM
Quote from: DB on Feb 13, 2014, 12:09:19 AM
Well, after the DC I always figured she avoided capture the same way she avoided being found by other kids. She just went into places the Aliens couldn't get into, regardless of whether they knew she was there or not.
'Course, my friends probably don't see it that way - I'm guessing their reaction is simply based on their casual impression of what Aliens seem to be or do. I was actually kinda surprised since I expected them not to even notice, since one of the popular ways to see Aliens is as clueless Zerglings.
Considering Aliens smash down thick metal doors - I can't see them simply giving up when the little girl goes into a duct they can't fit into. They'll simply smash their way in.
Which only leaves the option that they couldn't find her.
I'd agree with SM on this... Plus lets not forget that not ALL of the aliens were too big to fit into newt's hiding places; the facehuggers could have gone anywhere she went... Unless you believe the facehuggers stayed in the hive rather than travel out to find a host...
Quote from: SM on Feb 13, 2014, 12:56:37 AM
Considering Aliens smash down thick metal doors - I can't see them simply giving up when the little girl goes into a duct they can't fit into. They'll simply smash their way in.
Which only leaves the option that they couldn't find her.
I suppose that depends on where she chooses to hide. I've no doubt there are places the Aliens can simply try smashing through, but whether they can get to her or not would depend on how many feet of steel they have to smash through. If, say, she hides in a small duct surrounded on all areas by meters of metal it might take too much smashing to break through. The poor fella might just crush his hand or head trying.
It's also a matter of numbers, even if the Aliens needed direct LOS there's lots of the f**kers running around at night (well, mostly), and I'd assume that other people must have tried to hide but Newt must have had some quality that allowed to live that others did not. This is a little bit of narrative analysis and speculative intent, but my impression is that the scene in the DC serves the narrative purpose of helping the audience understand how this meek little girl could survive monsters that eliminated everyone else beyond plot armor - making the story a little more believable and thus helping the audience immerse themselves in the story. At least, that's how I'd do it if I were writing a girl that survives the Aliens. I thought it was quite clever - a little like how in
Them you can't help but wonder what the hell the girl does to survive the ants until later on you see other children apparently out of reach of the enormous ants.
It's a little too much speculation to be definitive, but it still strikes me as weird within the game. Even Newt simply hiding out of sight in ducts strikes me as a little more effort than simply crouching behind boxes but it is, after all, video game stealth and it is what it is. I would not consider it a deal breaker, as I'm far more invested on whether they can keep the Alien interesting through 9 hours of gametime.
As much as I like Amnesia, you do eventually start understanding the poor retard monsters too well for them to continue being scary. Other games might include many different enemies with different levels of awareness to keep you guessing, but my impression is that in this game the Alien is the primary antagonist. Supposedly the guy learns but the examples so far don't seem any more complicated than Mr. Freeze or Bane in the Batman games.
To give them the benefit of the doubt, they could actually use this to their advantage in a narrative sense. Perhaps at first the Alien does not really consider you a true threat, and thus, doesn't really care too much about whatever the hell your doing unless you obviously draw attention to yourself, but as the game progress and the Alien is foiled again and again it beings to focus more and more on you. Maybe you rescue some people from the Alien and that makes it mad. It learns about you just as much as you learn from it - as they kinda seemed to imply in one of the previews. Towards the later stages of the game the Alien might become more aggressive and meticulously perceptive, require proper use of weapons and traps to distract and disorient the more aware Alien. This makes the player need to apply everything he's learned until now and could keep things interesting.
It might be giving them too much credit, though.
TL;DR I bit.
I just can't see an Alien giving up when things get a bit hard.
Which all boils down to evasion. Whether hiding behind some crates or in a duct, she managed to get around without the Aliens knowing.
Similar principle at work here.
Unless they track by smell, and there's some evidence from Alien3 and Resurrection that might suggest their sense of smell is way more sensitive than ours. You could explain Newt's position being difficult to pinpoint because she holed up right under a big fan.
Simply hiding behind a crate may stretch credibility if this is the case.
Quote from: SM on Feb 13, 2014, 02:26:09 AM
I just can't see an Alien giving up when things get a bit hard.
Which all boils down to evasion. Whether hiding behind some crates or in a duct, she managed to get around without the Aliens knowing.
Similar principle at work here.
Unless they track by smell, and there's some evidence from Alien3 and Resurrection that might suggest their sense of smell is way more sensitive than ours. You could explain Newt's position being difficult to pinpoint because she holed up right under a big fan.
Simply hiding behind a crate may stretch credibility if this is the case.
Woah! What?!? Where's your evidence in alien 3 and resurrection that suggests the aliens have sensitive olfactory organ? I'm not arguing... I'm more just curious! I never picked up on that, and I can't recall a scene from either movie that suggests that. I could believe it for alien 3 for sure though! Inheriting traits from the host organism would mean the dog-alien would have a sensitive sense of smell compared to other aliens we've seen. But to take things a step further, the alien IS an apex predator, and predators tend to have very sensitive sensory organs regardless...
Vidya games gonna vidya game.
In mind I wouldn't exactly phrase it as the Aliens giving up out of laziness, but rather that they may not have had the physical strength and body structure necessary to remove all of the obstacles leading to Newt's capture.
A little like a cat chasing a mouse into a hole in a concrete wall versus chasing a mouse into some bushes where the cat may easily snap and break a few twigs to continue pursuit.
Even the Alien Queen seems to realize she can no longer pursue Ripley and seems to coincidentally stroll in Newt's direction, even though she may not have an exact idea of her location until further investigation.
I always took it that they didn't go into mindless killing spree the moment they knew a human was around. Big Chap could've just dropped down in the middle of the Nostromo crew at any point and killed them after it grows full size.
Since the last cocooned chick just recently burst too it seems likely that they had been pulling other survivors from around the colony just a little bit before the Marines got there.
There is a saying in Afghanistan, "You might have the watches, but we have the time."
In no hurry to capture what poses no threat.
I still always took it she went into hiding before the mass abduction of colonist though and the Aliens simply didn't bother pursuing where they couldn't naturally fit. But even if they did know about her whereabouts I don't really see them knocking the whole colony over to get to one little girl.
Yeah I don't buy that.
'You want me to rip open those ducts to get the little girl? It's not in my contract to do this kinda duty. You wanna gimme some more slime I'll be happy to do it. Let's talk about the bonus situation.'
QuoteWoah! What?!? Where's your evidence in alien 3 and resurrection that suggests the aliens have sensitive olfactory organ? I'm not arguing... I'm more just curious! I never picked up on that, and I can't recall a scene from either movie that suggests that.
Alien knowing about Ripley's embryo. Ripley knowing about Purvis' embryo.
Quote from: SM on Feb 13, 2014, 04:40:55 AM
Yeah I don't buy that.
'You want me to rip open those ducts to get the little girl? It's not in my contract to do this kinda duty. You wanna gimme some more slime I'll be happy to do it. Let's talk about the bonus situation.'
QuoteWoah! What?!? Where's your evidence in alien 3 and resurrection that suggests the aliens have sensitive olfactory organ? I'm not arguing... I'm more just curious! I never picked up on that, and I can't recall a scene from either movie that suggests that.
Alien knowing about Ripley's embryo. Ripley knowing about Purvis' embryo.
Oh, I see. I could believe that, but I always just attributed that to the alien having an extra sensory, like some sort of psychic link or something... Hence their big banana shaped heads (something's gotta be in those domes!). Ripley made some other comments in resurrection that makes me think there's some sort of psychic link between the aliens too, like the "I can feel it behind my eyes" comment. Although, I do believe she distinctly says "I can smell it" when she is talking about Purvis now that I'm thinking about it; I suppose maybe a little of both are true...
Even if we go with only the first film alone (like A:I seems to be doing), it seems like Ripley does a pretty effective job of hiding behind a wall when she encounters the Alien on her way to the shuttle - she's got direct line of sight to the beast, but she ducks back and slowly sneaks away. So, there's a precedent.
Quote from: Mr. Clemens on Feb 13, 2014, 12:31:38 PM
Even if we go with only the first film alone (like A:I seems to be doing), it seems like Ripley does a pretty effective job of hiding behind a wall when she encounters the Alien on her way to the shuttle - she's got direct line of sight to the beast, but she ducks back and slowly sneaks away. So, there's a precedent.
True, and in the shuttle she managed to hide in the spacesuits room for a lot of time. The Alien is lethal if he spots you, but is not a "GPS terminator x-ray vision machine".
The Alien is said to have some pheromone thing in some lore, and psychic link in others. However these is all based from when the Alien had a Queen... which means the original Alien might not follow any of the 'known' features. All we know for sure is what it doesn't have, which is X-ray or IR vision, which would allow it to see through walls. There might be other receptors that allows it to sense, like a sharks, but we wont know till more info is released.
Quote from: gabgrave on Feb 13, 2014, 03:02:01 PM
The Alien is said to have some pheromone thing in some lore, and psychic link in others. However these is all based from when the Alien had a Queen... which means the original Alien might not follow any of the 'known' features. All we know for sure is what it doesn't have, which is X-ray or IR vision, which would allow it to see through walls. There might be other receptors that allows it to sense, like a sharks, but we wont know till more info is released.
Very true... But I was trying to stay away from the books and comics. Those tend to open up a whole new can of worms a lot of times. Lol. But yea, even in Aliens there were a couple of scenes that suggested some sort of psychic link, like the fact the whole hive went into a frenzy when the marines killed that first chest burster... I guess they could heard it/seen it and their hisses were a form of communication to the rest of the hive. But the queen also seemed to command the other aliens to back off when ripley threatened the eggs. There's a lot of speculation here, I know. But either way, I think if there was some sort of psychic link between the aliens, the dog-alien would have had it with the queen-embryo inside of ripley in alien 3.
Quote from: Kimo on Feb 11, 2014, 12:30:09 AM
As for DLC (if we do get it) i would like to play Newt surviving Hadleys Hope before the Colonial Marines arrived on Lv426. Can you imagine playing as newt and seeing the alien world through a child's eyes, With the same in game mechanics that alien isolation has?
I'm a little late to this discussion, but I absolutely love this idea. Ever since reading
Newt's Tale as a kid, I daydreamed about how a child managed to evade 157 aliens. If "I can go places they can't fit" doesn't satisfy the skeptics, the best answer I can fathom is that the aliens went into a dormant state after breaking the barricade and capturing nearly all of the colonists. The absence of xenomorphs outside of the Atmosphere Processor for the first hour of the film would support this. It's not like the queen had a colony roster, taking inventory and saying "Jordan...Rebecca Jordan? We're one short, guys" (probably while wearing colossal reading glasses).
Someone suggested that she was left alive as bait, but it's more likely that Newt hid during the initial onslaught and was mostly free to move around once the aliens returned to the hive, mostly. The Xenos wouldn't have a reason to head across town searching unless there was something detectable. Ripley & Co were easier to locate because of all the noise--doors opening and closing, high-strung marines arguing over how f**ked they happened to be, and a massive pheromone signature (Hicks' manly musk accounting for most of it).
Or maybe she covered herself with mud :-)
Quote from: Birth_Machine on Feb 13, 2014, 06:08:33 PM
Quote from: Kimo on Feb 11, 2014, 12:30:09 AM
As for DLC (if we do get it) i would like to play Newt surviving Hadleys Hope before the Colonial Marines arrived on Lv426. Can you imagine playing as newt and seeing the alien world through a child's eyes, With the same in game mechanics that alien isolation has?
I'm a little late to this discussion, but I absolutely love this idea. Ever since reading Newt's Tale as a kid, I daydreamed about how a child managed to evade 157 aliens. If "I can go places they can't fit" doesn't satisfy the skeptics, the best answer I can fathom is that the aliens went into a dormant state after breaking the barricade and capturing nearly all of the colonists. The absence of xenomorphs outside of the Atmosphere Processor for the first hour of the film would support this. It's not like the queen had a colony roster, taking inventory and saying "Jordan...Rebecca Jordan? We're one short, guys" (probably while wearing colossal reading glasses).
Someone suggested that she was left alive as bait, but it's more likely that Newt hid during the initial onslaught and was mostly free to move around once the aliens returned to the hive, mostly. The Xenos wouldn't have a reason to head across town searching unless there was something detectable. Ripley & Co were easier to locate because of all the noise--doors opening and closing, high-strung marines arguing over how f**ked they happened to be, and a massive pheromone signature (Hicks' manly musk accounting for most of it).
Or maybe she covered herself with mud :-)
I disagree about your dormancy theory. Newt said "they mostly come out at night... Mostly." That makes me think they were nocturnal, but still active.
Small update: to clarify a little, I don't think the aliens were dormant at THIS time, but they could go dormant/hybernate if needed. Hence how the eggs survived so long on LV-426, and the alien attempting to sleep (I think) in the nostromo's escape craft.
Update 2: sorry, I have to add this too... I don't think covering herself in mud would do much good, but perhaps slime/drool! Lol, jk.
I think they are just patient. They would have just waited until Newt slipped up.
Oh and also, newt would have been hiding from 156 aliens since she was colonist number 157. But who knows how many facehuggers were running around too!
No, scratch that. 155 aliens at most. One didn't burst until the marines waltzed into the hive...
Quote from: Engineer on Feb 13, 2014, 06:50:28 PM
I disagree about your dormancy theory. Newt said "they mostly come out at night... Mostly." That makes me think they were nocturnal, but still active.
Small update: to clarify a little, I don't think the aliens were dormant at THIS time, but they could go dormant/hybernate if needed. Hence how the eggs survived so long on LV-426, and the alien attempting to sleep (I think) in the nostromo's escape craft.
Good catch. Maybe the point is that Newt was clever enough to learn their behavior and plan her movements accordingly to avoid detection. Judging from the film commentary, that was Cameron's intent. For me, that didn't require any suspension of disbelief. YMMV.
This begs the question of what errands the warrior xenomorphs were running at night. Lurk, stalk about, pick up a gallon of milk, lurk some more. That part was always hazy to me.
Got to have that bread and milk. Never know when it might snow.
Predators always search for food, but that doesn't mean they always find it. I think the aliens were searching for hosts, but couldn't find anymore since they caught everyone else and couldn't locate newt.
Christmas on Acheron. A gentle snow blanketing grim, phallic rock spires.
Quote from: Birth_Machine on Feb 13, 2014, 07:15:12 PM
Quote from: Engineer on Feb 13, 2014, 06:50:28 PM
I disagree about your dormancy theory. Newt said "they mostly come out at night... Mostly." That makes me think they were nocturnal, but still active.
Small update: to clarify a little, I don't think the aliens were dormant at THIS time, but they could go dormant/hybernate if needed. Hence how the eggs survived so long on LV-426, and the alien attempting to sleep (I think) in the nostromo's escape craft.
Good catch. Maybe the point is that Newt was clever enough to learn their behavior and plan her movements accordingly to avoid detection. Judging from the film commentary, that was Cameron's intent. For me, that didn't require any suspension of disbelief. YMMV.
This begs the question of what errands the warrior xenomorphs were running at night. Lurk, stalk about, pick up a gallon of milk, lurk some more. That part was always hazy to me.
Ha! Maybe they were building Gearbox's spurious second hive under the Colony buildings! It's much more likely they
were after milk, though.
Thanks Hicks, Dachande, Ikarop, and everyone else that set this up.
For the first time in a long time, I'm excited. Just the direction they're taking alone has a much higher chance to succeed in terms of delivering an authentic, frightening Alien experience. So happy to see this rolling, despite the obvious gripes that I may or may not agree with. :D
Also wanted to chime in on Newt's situation. It's clear from the Aliens:DC scenes that Cameron intended the audience to infer Newt's survival was due to her fitting into tiny spaces the aliens couldn't. I don't see a problem with this. Of course, they're absurdly strong, but they aren't going to ram their way through meters of steel alloy to reach one person when they have 150+ running around.
There are certain situations where it could be impossible, even for yon mighty Alien, and I personally think they just aren't that dumb. If they were, they would've just continued running at the sentry guns instead of adapting. It would be much easier for them to just wait for Newt to come out and snatch her then.
I like to wonder how much longer she would've lasted if the marines didn't show up when they did. Not long, I'm sure.
One more point on it is that I always thought there could be something in the spot Ripley ends up finding her. The fan-thing/garbage cycler overhead was such an eerie touch (that obviously comes up later in the film,) but I liked to think that maybe that had some effect on the Alien's perception, messing with wavelengths and vibrations and such that maybe it didn't like that area or couldn't properly find her?
I mean, Ripley obviously had no trouble getting in there, so why would the Aliens? It's my personal canon that the spinning thingy maybe helped her in some way due to the Aliens sightless senses. 2 cents added.
In my own pipe dream Aliens fan stories, I've had locations in colonies where the technology messed with the Aliens senses enough to allow people to hide in certain areas, but they figured it out only through luck.
Anyway, can't wait for this game, and I don't say that lightly these days lol. Thanks again, AvPG.
QuoteOf course, they're absurdly strong, but they aren't going to ram their way through meters of steel alloy to reach one person when they have 150+ running around.
Where is this mythical "meters of steel alloy"?
They sent almost an entire hive and smashed through a pressure door that was about 6 inches thick to six hosts?
Why not rip through some much thinner walls to get one?
The Aliens don't go berserk on humans just cause. Big Chap and even the Alien 3 drone could've just dropped into the mess and slaughtered everyone at any point.
They went apeshit after the Marines because the Marines waltzed into their hive and lit them up. Different stimulus get different responses.
Maybe they were happy with the number of colonists they had cocooned at the time.
Quote from: Kimarhi on Feb 17, 2014, 03:10:29 AM
The Aliens don't go berserk on humans just cause. Big Chap and even the Alien 3 drone could've just dropped into the mess and slaughtered everyone at any point.
They went apeshit after the Marines because the Marines waltzed into their hive and lit them up. Different stimulus get different responses.
Big Chap was utterly "ignorant" - O'Bannon's own words - and the same could be said of the Fiorina creature.
And that still doesn't answer of the question of Aliens suddenly not being interested in smashing down walls.
Only if you think the Aliens can't differentiate between unarmed and unarmored little girls and full armed and armored Marines who entered the hive, the same hive that withheld the queen and lit em up.
But if you don't think so we'll just have to agree to disagree.
They didn't seem to have any reservations about taking all the other unarmed and unamoured little girls.
The ones that weren't hiding well would get picked off kind of like the nostromo crew got picked off. Big Chap didn't go through a rampage smashing bulkheads because he could smell the crew in one end of the ship when he was in the other. Neither did the Alien 3 drone. Alien Res had one door smashing I believe but were still pretty leisurely about picking off both the Auriga and Betty crew.
Hence the skinny chick and Newt being the last survivors because they went places that were harder for the Aliens to track them.
They do what they want when they want.
I just find the idea of them going "Meh, I can't be rooted. What's one more host anyway?" pretty pissweak.
Big Chap didn't need to go on a rampage. The handful on the Auriga did a pretty decent job. One bumped off potentially a dozen people in seconds on the lifeboat.
I'm not saying they can't, I'm just saying they don't always.
I find the fact a person can hide behind some boxes to avoid the Alien more troublesome myself.
Still looking forward to the game because a game where the only protection from the Alien would be to hide behind steel doors would be boring I just don't think that's how it would be going down on the reals.
QuoteI find the fact a person can hide behind some boxes to avoid the Alien more troublesome myself.
On face value with no other context, yeah that sounds a bit hokey. I find the fact that the Alien won't hear your tracker merrily beeping away a bit hokey too.
What other kind of instance is there. If your behind some boxes and the Alien is on the otherside and that's the mechanics of the game you either buy it or don't.
I accept it as a game mechanic, I just find the idea lame.
An instance where there's something else diverting the Alien's attention.
Or, assuming it could smell the pants you've just soiled, an instance where there's enough air circulating to make your position difficult to determine - since it already can't see or hear you.
If it's just you, a room, an Alien and some crates I reckon you'd be dead in fairly short order.
Fair point. I doubt the gameplay mechanics will be that deep.
Hope I'm proved wrong.
Being that CA is designing the game only after Alien, I think that's where logic needs to be placed. Nothing in the first film suggested that the Alien could smell, break through walls etc.
It certainly had the capacity to track individuals through different areas of the ship.
It could've done that based on sound. Neither Brett, Dallas, Parker nor Lambert were being especially quiet prior to being taken.
But again, in the game it won't be able to hear your tracker.
Does the tracker actually make noise? Only gameplay I've seen is it being a kind of target indicator.
But after the first video I've been trying to avoid the spoilers.
Tracker sound (https://soundcloud.com/alienisolation/teaser-tuesday-audio-clip-mtracker)
i was comparing the tracker noise from isolation to the tracker noise from the movie with dallas's scene (link below)
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=937_1325022216 (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=937_1325022216)
it's not perfect match but it's close enough to the alien's bleep compared to dallas's bleep. also i wonder if the developers will take note of this scene and have their AI alien stop moving sometimes vs the tracker to raise the hairs on the back of the players neck or make them panic like lambert does.
in response to the newt talk, your also leaving out the possibility that the aliens might have known she was there all along but simply ignored her. i don't think meters of steel really matter when they not only punch through doors but also make holes through floors.
what i'm thinking about is how the alien from the first movie didn't really go after ripley after she escaped until she provoked it. if she didn't notice it how long would it have kept to itself before it made its move? maybe same thing for newt.
This was my thinking and I was kind of basing it on the aliens perceived threat level of prey. No basis for anything other than a hunch, but I would think a bunch of smelly marines filled with piss and vinegar and automatic weapons that ballsily walked right into the middle of the hive might leave a different impression than scared civilians trying to wait the thing out.
Any human that tried to stand its ground and confront the Alien I feel would be met with the same response (unless perhaps its a single Alien using guerilla tactics on its prey).
Okay, given that the Hadley's aliens could've gotten to Newt at any point, hypothetically, why didn't they? Was it just dumb luck that she managed to be the last one alive?
I'm going to stick to Cameron's original intention that Newt was able to fit places even the other children couldn't go. Given I don't really feel like getting into a drawn out debate on the layout of a fictional space colony, I'll choose to believe that Newt was able to squeeze into little spaces where the warriors couldn't reach or fit, and short of suiciding themselves to melt.. something above her or jack-hammering the entire section of wall/floor/whatever, they simply left her alone or were too busy getting the rest of the colonists, which were in a far easier location to breach.
This also brings up the Aliens ability to solve problems. Getting into a barricaded building would be a lot easier than reaching a little kid that's stuffed themselves into some nook at the ass end of some vent somewhere, scared out of their minds. A door is an obvious point of travel, so the Aliens bashed it down. The use of acid to gain entry is also implied in Aliens, though we don't see them do this directly. However, this is still basic problem solving. I mean we don't see them ramming their heads through the walls to get somewhere even though they might, eventually, be able to.
Realistically it could be any of these answers. They were too preoccupied, Newt just got lucky, or she actually managed to physically evade them for a time (though obviously this wouldn't work forever due to the need for food.)
Back to the OP, I would prefer it if the player wasn't ever sure how the Alien could sense, so they had to limit all factors and just hope for the best. Light, sound, etc.. There's plenty of evidence that the Alien can hear, at least from the first film.
QuoteOkay, given that the Hadley's aliens could've gotten to Newt at any point, hypothetically, why didn't they?
Evasion.
Quote from: mythology on Feb 17, 2014, 07:25:39 AMi wonder if the developers will take note of this scene and have their AI alien stop moving sometimes vs the tracker to raise the hairs on the back of the players neck or make them panic like lambert does.
Yep! They've said their tracker tracks motion specifically (unlike Ash's version). So if the Alien is being still... the blip disappears. :o
Quote from: SM on Feb 17, 2014, 10:40:33 AM
QuoteOkay, given that the Hadley's aliens could've gotten to Newt at any point, hypothetically, why didn't they?
Evasion.
Agreed.
This would be the ideal scenario for the game, for me, anyway. There is no real 'hiding' from the Alien, making evasion and delay the key concepts. You most likely can't stop it getting somewhere it really wants to get, and in any space environment (ship or station) you probably don't want to kill it unless you have a very good plan with an EVA suit preferably involved.
The Sulaco in Colonial Marines would've produced a gaping hole the size of a gas station after the first engagement anyway. ;) Such accuracy, so canon.
But to make my post the required RD minimum of 3 semi-paragraphs, I think using the evade/delay/distract theme would allow for some truly interesting and terrifying fun to be had with the Alien's behavior. I'm sure CA won't have the thing mindlessly charge you, so putting in some eerie curiosity, stalking, etc... reminiscent of Jonesy the cat's famous slap down scene in Alien would be so welcome.
Quote from: Mr. Clemens on Feb 17, 2014, 02:13:30 PM
Quote from: mythology on Feb 17, 2014, 07:25:39 AMi wonder if the developers will take note of this scene and have their AI alien stop moving sometimes vs the tracker to raise the hairs on the back of the players neck or make them panic like lambert does.
Yep! They've said their tracker tracks motion specifically (unlike Ash's version). So if the Alien is being still... the blip disappears. :o
Ash's version tracked Dallas moving and standing still, as well as only tracking the Alien when it was moving.
Bad wording on my part - Ash's tracker certainly tracks motion too, but that isn't what it keys on, as you know.
That said, are you certain it stopped tracking the alien when it stopped moving? All I've got is that Lambert tracked it when it came on the scene, and then we see Dallas's blip by itself for a minute (but are we seeing the whole screen?), and then, "oh god, it's moving right towards you!". I'm gonna have to go look again...
Lambert tells Dallas to hold his position as she loses the Alien's signal.
QuoteBad wording on my part - Ash's tracker certainly tracks motion too, but that isn't what it keys on, as you know.
I don't know what you're saying here.
"Micro changes in air density".
Yeah I know - the "micro changes in air density" are what it senses when you set the tracker to find a moving object.
It's a motion tracker - that can also pick up certain objects that are motionless.
Quote from: SM on Feb 17, 2014, 11:03:50 PM
Yeah I know - the "micro changes in air density" are what it senses when you set the tracker to find a moving object.
It's a motion tracker - that can also pick up certain objects that are motionless.
Dallas wasn't exactly motionless... He was breathing heavy and whipping his head back and forth looking for signs of the alien. Plus his flame thrower had a flickering flame. Not to mention, the air density would change as the air near the tip of the flame thrower warmed up over time. There's plenty of explanations as to why Dallas still had a signal on the motion tracker even though he stopped moving.
The alien on the other hand, has an exoskeleton which is rigid and it's chest/rib cage would not expand/contract as it was breathing. So it could have dropped off the motion tracker if it stopped moving, and if its body was shielding the tracker from picking up its breath as it exhaled...
... Those are my thoughts anyway...
Assuming it really does have an exoskeleton - it's constantly dribbling - wouldn't that get picked up, if little things like Dallas moving his head get picked up?
That thought crossed my mind... And well, if the aliens back is turned towards the morion tracker, it's body could have shielded any breath or dribbling. Or maybe it only dribbles when it's mouth is open, and it happened to have its mouth closed. Who knows. It's a possible explanation though.
And I think it's obvious the alien has an exoskeleton. Why wouldn't you think so?
Since its an Alien just because it looks like an exoskeleton doesn't necessarily mean that it is.
It's a rigid bone-like structure on the outside of its body rather than inside... Isn't that the definition of 'exoskeleton'?
Aliens have skin and muscle covering parts of (if not all) their skeleton.
Quote from: SM on Feb 18, 2014, 01:56:08 AM
Aliens have skin and muscle covering parts of (if not all) their skeleton.
Skin yes, muscle no, more like clock-work apart from the Facehugger.
Where do you wind it up to make the mouth work?
(https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.empireonline.com%2Fimages%2Fuploaded%2Falien-dome-jaw.jpg&hash=5985c9e341d1837ce0600ffbd7baaaf98ac4ba80)
Energy that it consumes from moisture winds it up.
Quote from: The1PerfectOrganism on Feb 18, 2014, 05:17:27 AM
Skin yes, muscle no, more like clock-work apart from the Facehugger.
Where do you ever see clockwork?
Or moisture winding it up?
It excretes gallons of moisture rather than consuming...
Wait we weren't being sarcastic? I thought it would be a given that they have muscles lol
Ah, sarcasm.
...of course.
Not to worry anyone, but WHY has the PC version of 'Isolation' disappeared from amazon.co.uk?
Quote from: Glaive on Feb 18, 2014, 11:49:21 AM
Not to worry anyone, but WHY has the PC version of 'Isolation' disappeared from amazon.co.uk?
Updating hopefully, I will be so pissed if they don't release it on PC.
Ok, so I did some research on the exoskeleton issue, and I found some contradictory information...
I did find several sources which state "exoskeleton" or "carapace" which is the dorsal side of an exoskeleton. However, those sources were primarily fan-speculation, and unreliable sources. Ultimately, I think it depends on what 'you' consider to be cannon (aliens colonial marines, anyone?).
I'm not the type to suddenly change my mind about what I consider to be cannon just because it coincides with my perceptions in a debate, and unfortunately I don't consider one of the primary "exoskeleton" sources to be cannon (A:CM, anyone?). With that being said, I'm going to swallow my pride a little bit and admit that the alien was not originally intended to have an exoskeleton. I found interviews from Ridley Scott and H. R. Giger which do specifically say that they wanted the Alien's skin to be translucent to the point that you could see its skeletal structure, circulatory system and organs. However, due to the limitations in special effects at the time, Ridley decided to go with the rubber suit instead which happens to appear more exoskeletal. Other contributors to the franchise probably just assumed it was an exoskeleton also and ran with it (A:CM, anyone?).
But going back to the point I was originally trying to make, the alien's skeletal structure, whether endo- or Exo-, is still very rigid and covers a greater portion of its torso than ours (stomach and kidney areas) which would make it less flexible than ours. So I still don't think the alien's rib cage would expand/contract as it is breathing. But perhaps that's just a visual artifact of the rubber suit too. But again, it's all just speculation and a possible explanation as to why the alien dropped off the motion tracker when it stopped moving but not Dallas. Another possibility, just as likely but also speculatory, is that Dallas had some sort of locator chip in his pocket or something that the motion tracker was also reading in order to see his location while at a stand still...
As for the PC version of the game... It's probably just an update and we'll see it back up soon. We've seen that sort of thing with many games in the past (A:CM, anyone?).
1. Zero evidence the Alien uses digestion or respiration, and quite a large stock of circumstantial evidence pointing towards the opposite.
2. Aliens, Res and AvP clearly display endoskeletal as well as exoskeletal structuring.
Quote from: Xhan on Feb 19, 2014, 02:16:33 AM
1. Zero evidence the Alien uses digestion or respiration, and quite a large stock of circumstantial evidence pointing towards the opposite.
2. Aliens, Res and AvP clearly display endoskeletal as well as exoskeletal structuring.
Uhmm... Where did digestion come from? Lol
Respiration was shown in aliens, and resurrection both... The queen's heavy breathing, and the fact you could see the alien's breath every time it exhaled in resurrection. I would say the fact that the alien could hiss/scream demonstrates breathing/respiration as well, but that really only shows that they have vocal cords. Lol.
I wish someone had asked if they'd be shying away from the creatures inate sexuality.
So how can Aliens survive in vacuum if they breathe? Has Resurrection ever counted with its wack cloned hybrid aliens? The 'breathing' could've easily been attributed to leftover Ripley juice. The Queen breathing is another story, but I still think it was probably just for dramatic effect.
I think people adopted 'exoskeleton' easily from all the bug bullshit, and the obvious biomechanical nature of the creature. Really no evidence to support this, but some to support the argument against it.
The Resurrection creatures are doing something like breathing - whether it's actual breathing like humans need to do is unknown.
They can scream underwater without exhaling.
Quote from: SM on Feb 19, 2014, 03:11:23 AM
The Resurrection creatures are doing something like breathing - whether it's actual breathing like humans need to do is unknown.
They can scream underwater without exhaling.
Yea... And the queen can scream in the vacuum of space too! Lol
Anyway... Breathing or not, the point I was trying to make was that the alien would be truly motionless and not Dallas, hence why the alien dropped off the motion tracker.
But who knows, it's an alien, it could potentially survive in the vacuum of space despite the need to breath. We don't know all of the mechanisms of its biology. But tardigrades can survive for a time in the vacuum of space! They don't breath like we do, but they still need oxygen nonetheless.
Quote from: Engineer on Feb 19, 2014, 03:26:57 AM
But who knows, it's an alien, it could potentially survive in the vacuum of space despite the need to breath. We don't know all of the mechanisms of its biology. But tardigrades can survive for a time in the vacuum of space! They don't breath like we do, but they still need oxygen nonetheless.
You're definitely onto something. The alien might breathe only when it's exerting and may not require respiration otherwise. Whatever the original intentions were, the biological properties of the Alien have drifted a bit through interpretation by a number of directors and screenwriters. We all love the films enough to rationalize these disparities, but the Alien does whatever a screenplay requires of it.
Regarding the endo-vs-exo question, maybe its support structure is outside of our conventional categories. Perhaps it's a series of tubes, like the internet :P. The external spine and ribcage indicate an exoskeleton, but the arms and legs show the opposite. The Alien form defies our attempts to neatly categorize it, and not knowing definitively lends to its mystery. Biomechanoids, as augmented and engineered beings, live in spite of nature.
Mesoskeleton.
Well said...
On a tangent... tardigrades are amazing by the way. The little criters are damn near invincible! Lol.
SPRUNG!!
Correction to previous post...
Mesoskeleton (C) Xhan 4evs
Hello everyone, this is my first ever blog/community post,ever, so be gentle with me,alright?The changing of the leg structure in A:Isolation?......the purist in me is very unhappy,but at the same time any story/narrative has to move forward,after 35 years ,and if that's what's required- a little up grade here and there...so be it. While the later films and the EU have their merits here and there the original still scares the s**t out of me, even now. Proper brown trousers time. And it seems gaming is trying to catch up,because it's finally got the tools.Shooting things over and over again bring back the memories,for sure, but A:I looks like it'll s*** me up in the comfort of my own home. The cross-overs, EU, are all well and good but my(respect for the creature....I admire it's purity....the memory of the organism is that it'll do you.... on sight.No questions asked. And that's where my fear still comes from. One of them will bloody have you, before you know it.(at the risk of kicking something off, Grid does kill two on his own,just saying)...That's the crux of it.Alien isn't a horror film to me, it's not sci-fi film,...it's terror, pure and simple. I look over my shoulder now when i watch it....but an immersive game hiding in the shadows.....?...an echo of my nightmares?I can't bloody wait!!!!!
i did notice the digitigrade legs were wrong for 1979 movie accuracy, but i think the developers did it on purpose to make the alien seem taller, more intimidating, make it seem bigger.
to me, it is because of the queen that maybe the first alien could of had legs like that.
the 1st and 2nd movie didn't have digitigrade legs
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/alien/behind/behind59.jpg (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/alien/behind/behind59.jpg)
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/aliens/behind/behind10.jpg (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/aliens/behind/behind10.jpg)
the isolation game does.
http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news-700/Alien-Isolation-Is-Already-Playable-Dev-Will-Polish-and-Balance-It-until-Launch.jpg?1390231737 (http://i1-news.softpedia-static.com/images/news-700/Alien-Isolation-Is-Already-Playable-Dev-Will-Polish-and-Balance-It-until-Launch.jpg?1390231737)
but when we first meet the queen
http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/aliens/behind/dennislowe06.jpg (http://www.avpgalaxy.net/gallery/albums/movies/aliens/behind/dennislowe06.jpg)
she goes from looking like shes got human legs to bending into digitigrade legs. i thought that was a neat trick if you watch it. it just seems so alien to me compared to earth life as she switches between the 2 so naturally.
so if the queen could do that, why not the 1979 alien?
"The Alien's footsteps boomed."
Why are the Alien's footsteps booming?
The Alien always seemed like a lithe sneaky, covert creature in the first first film.
I believe it was Camerons Queen Alien who was the heavy footed clomper.
"The Alien lets out a frightening roar "
This also seems a kind of a standard issue monster attribute.
Why would a stalking silent killer need to roar?
Except to fit into the standard issue iconography of monster as dinosaur.
(One thing that always irritates me in a videogame and that almost always signifies a general lack of creativity is a scene where a boss monster/character throws their hands down in the Wolverine pose and lets out a roar towards the screen.)
The graphics look nice.
As good as some of the best digital fan art, but interactive.
Which has got to be worth something.
Edit:
Actually I can kind of see how audible footsteps might be necessary from a gameplay perspective.
It probably wouldn't be fun to just be walking along and then get killed without any warning like the movie.
There are concessions that you have to make for gameplays sake.
QuoteWhy would a stalking silent killer need to roar?
Like how it did with Dallas?
I don't think it makes noise when it's just walking around, only when it's chasing you. I thought it sounds a bit silly too, but I guess maybe it makes it more intense when you can hear it thumping behind you
If the Alien is 9' tall with natural armor capable of deflecting bullets then it would have to have some mass.
Tigers have mass but they have soft paws too ^_^
RobThom, I have to agree with you big time on the roaring monster crap. Every movie. Every game. Every sort of creature/monster/robot/villain. It's like they go to monsteranimation.com and download a template.
So horrible and stale that I've actually turned off movies because of it lol, and use it to fuel my exhaustive rants about how cgi and art college anime emos are ruining everything, but I digress... the gameplay mechanics should illustrate a much better purpose for noises and footsteps, hopefully.
Seems like CA is committed to trying to make an authentic experience (trying = key word) so hopefully it will be for the most part believable.
Quote from: Mus on Mar 05, 2014, 03:11:58 AM
Tigers have mass but they have soft paws too ^_^
Tigers don't have body armor capable of stopping 9mm rounds either.
Does the alien? It has those ribs and I guess a hard head, otherwise they seemed pretty prone to explode with no reservations
It exploded when 10 mm explosive tipped light armor rounds hit it. The standard 9mm certainly hurt the Alien, but if you look at small arms hits Gorman had on the creatures, there is no penetration.
.45 at point blank range took several shots before it went down as well.
.45 and 10mm are much bigger rounds than 9mm.
They explode when hit by smart or sentry gun fire.
10mm pulse rifle rounds - not really. They do sting a bit, though.
Err, bullet size does not equal penetrative power. Round type does.
Do you see guys? Do you see what the sequels have done to it? It's a breathing, scimpering, easy-to-kill animal. Not so alien in its' characteristics at all. I hope Alien Isolation totally ignores all the sequels weakening changes to the once very definition of a truly perfect organism!
No not the sequels, it was killable in the first. However the crew wouldn't risk it because of the acid blood. The alien was never intended to be invincible.
That was the whole reason it has acid blood, they could just shoot it, but then it would f**k their ship up
I'm actually kind of warming up to this Alien Isolation.
If you just disregard any pretense that its any kind of "canon" (the devs were smart to mention that themselves),
and just take it for its own merits as a stand alone experience,
its got things that I like.
The Cobb/Alien styled environments.
Moebius suits.
Un-emphasis on run and gun.
And although playing as Ripleys daughter having an encounter with an Alien seems somewhat absurd,
its good enough for videogame logic.
The Alien is closer to Gigers,
but altered towards gameplay functionality.
Its not a reboot, remake or prequel.
Its not in 3D.
And judging from Rockstar and the GT franchise,
them Scots can pull off a good game when they want to.
Quote from: gabgrave on Mar 05, 2014, 11:04:26 AM
Err, bullet size does not equal penetrative power. Round type does.
That's what was said.
Aliens body armor stops standard rounds.
I can´t wait to see more of this game...
Will be awesome.
Quote from: RobThom on Mar 12, 2014, 03:58:19 PM
I'm actually kind of warming up to this Alien Isolation.
If you just disregard any pretense that its any kind of "canon" (the devs were smart to mention that themselves),
and just take it for its own merits as a stand alone experience,
its got things that I like.
The Cobb/Alien styled environments.
Moebius suits.
Un-emphasis on run and gun.
And although playing as Ripleys daughter having an encounter with an Alien seems somewhat absurd,
its good enough for videogame logic.
The Alien is closer to Gigers,
but altered towards gameplay functionality.
Its not a reboot, remake or prequel.
Its not in 3D.
And judging from Rockstar and the GT franchise,
them Scots can pull off a good game when they want to.
Uh...
It's not made by Rockstar, thank f**k too.
Based on everything the devs have talked about and all the interviews and first impressions with the game at this point in its dev process, it sounds like an interactive version of Alien. For me, a huge fan of the first film, who thinks that as a horror film, Alien does it much better than Aliens in that regard, this is like a dream come true. I still think the demo is little more than a peripheral first glance at an incomplete game, but even so, it looks great and you can tell they've really done their homework in regards to the look an sound of the game. If the demo makes anything clear, it's this. In regards to the gameplay and the plot, I think it's to o early to say and they might keep that under wraps until October. Can't say I blame them. You want people to be surprised, but at the same time, given the supposed random nature of the Alien's behavior, it will be impossible to predict. You'll only know its intent, but that first response to the game upon release is important all the same.
Regardless of how they handle it -- official demo or no, in-depth accounts of the plot, characters and story or not -- I think the game will gain tremendous respect among Alien fans overnight, but will be more to slow to come around to people who have been raised on nothing but Aliens. It's an annoying trend how much people love Aliens, and I hope if anything that this game breaks that and shows people the first first is just as strong, if not stronger, in its own right.