Some developments have arisen over the last 48 or so hours. I've been experimenting and playing with a slightly different sequence of events. Not drastically different, mind you, but as I was developing things I started to notice a thread forming that I wanted to see how I could weave something a little more intriguing and original with it.
So...
The opening for the story that I had originally planned, and which is setting to the side as I try this slightly alternate approach, had an EEV mysteriously fall out the sky and inside was a nasty surprise.
Instead, imagine a predator pod drops out of the sky, and the humans come upon it, and instead of what we've seen before - A predator stepping out in full combat gear ready for a battle. They open it up and find "sleeping beauty" inside with a face hugger wrapped around her neck.
They both share the same Tattooing on their right arm, by the way. That wasn't a mistake. Though i'm not telling what their relationship is. Daughter? Mother? Sister? Cousin? Who knows. There's some kind of a ceremony at play in this version of events. It's not Bad Blood or anything. He didn't purposely infect her.
Once I get the Predators nailed down i'm going to be working on the human characters, including some of the new hardware. After thinking about I decided to try and find the middle ground between Colonial Marshalls and Colonial Marines, and so i'm utilizing a dropped concept from early on in Aliens development. The security force on Ixion are a small contingent of Colonial Guard. They're a lesser equipped version of the colonial marines, and essentially stuck to far off boony operations, their ranks littered with those who were shuffled out of the marines or other branches of service.
Also, in case anyone might not be getting the "Drifter" concept. Just take a look at this scene.
Quote from: Wysps on Jun 19, 2018, 04:33:00 AM
Neat, I'm already invested in the character – can't wait to hear about the backstory when this is finished (I'm sure you want to keep a lot under wraps for the final product). Like, where does the cape come from? He's advanced in years, did he hold some position of leadership? If he's the last of his tribe, wouldn't he want to fix that problem instead of going out in a blaze (i.e. progeny)? Will he have the acid-resistant flesh that few sources suggest Predators have? What relationship does he have with the Aliens – is this solely a retribution sort of thing? So many questions
Well, not to humanize him too much but my inner feeling on where Drifter is at when this hunt begins is like... Almost manic. At a couple points i'm trying to hint at unnecessary brutality on his part. Not that he breaks what we would consider "Predator rules" but that he's a little feral in his aggression. He'll be poised and then just start wrecking your day.
And no, I went with the idea that the alien's acid will eat Predator skin and tech just as easily as it does anything else. (His wrist gauntlet and mask are examples of battle damage sustained while fighting aliens. It's the reason he's lacking a right shoulder pad, too and he has that nasty acid scar there.
The more imposing and cunning the aliens are, the more suspense you have when the two creatures actually duel.