I must admit, I'm not incredibly knowledgable about Predator source material... I've seen both films and I read the comic versions of Concrete Jungle and Cold War, but that's about it. I always wondered about Pred vision, since there isn't much info about it.
If the Predators' real vision is a low-contrast, infrared spectrum (as in the movies,) how could they have possibly developed their civilization the way they did? Meticulous technological construction, differentiating between materials/substances/food sources, recording information in a complicated written language, differentiating between colors and contrasts for the purposes of creating art, etc. would be nearly impossible without the ability to see in the visible spectrum. In the movies and comics, it's at least hinted that Predators ceremonially value different colors, just like tribal human cultures (i.e. black meaning death, red meaning war, gold being an object of wealth, etc.) Should we assume that Predators do have the ability to see beyond infrared without their masks (which would be a total retcon?) How else could their society function?
Answer is quite simple: there is no answer for this questions, because in any of films about Preds are no information about it.
Quote from: Master on Oct 10, 2007, 02:02:30 PM
Answer is quite simple: there is no answer for this questions, because in any of films about Preds are no information about it.
What about the expanded universe?
Only definate answer I've read was in Forever Midnight. They said that the Predators stole their technology from a race that landed on their homeworld and then enslaved a load of other races who built stuff for them.
In Concrete Jungle, I'm sure they hypothesized the technology was stolen too.
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Oct 10, 2007, 02:44:46 PM
Only definate answer I've read was in Forever Midnight. They said that the Predators stole their technology from a race that landed on their homeworld and then enslaved a load of other races who built stuff for them.
In Concrete Jungle, I'm sure they hypothesized the technology was stolen too.
...wow, that degrading...the preds arnt even smart enough 2 come up with their own tech? in Forever Midnight did they conform that or did they just state it as a hypothesis?
No. Blatantly said it. Me, I'd easily agree with the assumption.
hm...it just dosnt seem lik it would be lik that, but if they did steal the tech at least we no there smart enough to reverse-engineer it since its obiviosuly been cusomized(the maskes, for instance, are maded for a pred...), so i guess even if they did steal there tech they are at least still smart enough to understand how it worked and custiomize the technology.
With enough time you could probably train a monkey to use predator technology. I'm pretty sure some elements of the EU basically retcon the movies and have the predators see in the same spectrum of light that we do, EG the Prey novel.
Since the first AVP movie has shown the predators basically enslaving the human race to build their ritual pyramids I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that they could have done this to another race to gain their technology. The technology could have come from several subjugated races or maybe just one. The only thing we can be positive about is that without EU retcon, it'd be impossible for the predators to develope any of their technology themselves.
yea, a monkey could USE pred tech, but they couldnt hav stolen tech already cusomized for them, they hav 2 hav understood the tech at least at some level 2 customize them for themselves, plus, pred c in infrared correct? atleast in the movies. and i dont think the preds forced the humans to build there pyrimeds, they just taught the humans HOW to build the pyrimeds...(they could hav forced the humans 2 build the pyrimeds so thered be a place to breed aliens, but ppl still built pyrimed in other parts of the world that dont survie this perpose(egypt for instance))
Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Oct 10, 2007, 02:44:46 PM
Only definate answer I've read was in Forever Midnight. They said that the Predators stole their technology from a race that landed on their homeworld and then enslaved a load of other races who built stuff for them.
In Concrete Jungle, I'm sure they hypothesized the technology was stolen too.
exactly. that's what i thought. they enslaved them for thier religious and entertainment practices. the race that they enslaved was forced to create more starships designed for use by the predators. same with the other technologies(thier weapon and healing systems) for when they go on hunts. the race they enslaved was aware of earth, it's coordinates and the life on earth and that knowledge was passed on to the preds. they then took advantage of it, and for thousands of years have been visiting earth for hunts, rights of passage within thier societal structure. the predator home planet, along with the other race's planet are both located in the milky way galaxy along with us.
preds also hunt on other lifebearing planets in the galaxy too.
but if they inslaved an alien race smarter than them to create new techs, y didnt the slave race just use som of the techs they created to rebel?
Quote from: megachu17 on Oct 10, 2007, 07:20:35 PM
but if they inslaved an alien race smarter than them to create new techs, y didnt the slave race just use som of the techs they created to rebel?
probably only a few ships landed to explore the pred planet, unknowing of the presence of these cunning creatures, lurking about. easily overtaken, but not killed due to curiosity.
but still, i think the predators have other masks(for tech) on thier homeworld and are able to see visible spectrum with them. they are intelligent enough, imo, and have normal hands. could go either way.
thier nails are a little long to do any soldering and microchip development though, lol.
Hey Accaris why does your description of normal Predator vision sound almost exactly like one of my posts? Anyway I think the Preds see like we do, and the infared vision in the first two movies are a sideaffect of wearing the mask for a while and that given enough time it would slowly return to the visible spectrum.
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:24:29 PM
I think the Preds see like we do, and the infared vision in the first two movies are a sideaffect of wearing the mask for a while and that given enough time it would slowly return to the visible spectrum.
Yeah kind of like when our eyes adjust to darkness or light
Quote from: Miker25 on Oct 10, 2007, 11:35:26 PM
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:24:29 PM
I think the Preds see like we do, and the infared vision in the first two movies are a sideaffect of wearing the mask for a while and that given enough time it would slowly return to the visible spectrum.
Yeah kind of like when our eyes adjust to darkness or light
Yeah, but more like when we look at a bright light and there's a colored spot on our vision for a while.
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:24:29 PM
Hey Accaris why does your description of normal Predator vision sound almost exactly like one of my posts?
Because I must have missed it while skimming over the 100 random search results for "predator vision?"
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:48:06 PM
Quote from: Miker25 on Oct 10, 2007, 11:35:26 PM
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:24:29 PM
I think the Preds see like we do, and the infared vision in the first two movies are a sideaffect of wearing the mask for a while and that given enough time it would slowly return to the visible spectrum.
Yeah kind of like when our eyes adjust to darkness or light
Yeah, but more like when we look at a bright light and there's a colored spot on our vision for a while.
I think this explanation is a good compromise. I'm going to use it from now on!
Quote from: Accaris on Oct 11, 2007, 12:26:10 PM
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:48:06 PM
Quote from: Miker25 on Oct 10, 2007, 11:35:26 PM
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 10, 2007, 11:24:29 PM
I think the Preds see like we do, and the infared vision in the first two movies are a sideaffect of wearing the mask for a while and that given enough time it would slowly return to the visible spectrum.
Yeah kind of like when our eyes adjust to darkness or light
Yeah, but more like when we look at a bright light and there's a colored spot on our vision for a while.
I think this explanation is a good compromise. I'm going to use it from now on!
I like this theory
Humans can't possibly understand on any level what Infr-Red vision is really like. It's like trying to imagine a new colour, you just can't do it. The vision in the films is just a representation for us, in reality their vision may be much more sensitive, able to detect even miniscule differences between temperatures. This cannot be achieved with current technology, but I am willing to believe that Predator vision is far more sensitive than most people think.
Quote from: Kriszilla on Oct 11, 2007, 07:15:27 PM
Humans can't possibly understand on any level what Infr-Red vision is really like. It's like trying to imagine a new colour, you just can't do it. The vision in the films is just a representation for us, in reality their vision may be much more sensitive, able to detect even miniscule differences between temperatures. This cannot be achieved with current technology, but I am willing to believe that Predator vision is far more sensitive than most people think.
Precisely, you've hit the nail on the head. The same goes for documentaries which try to represent other modes of vision, such as what a bee, with it's compound eyes, sees. When we look at such a representation we find it hopelessly bewildering, but that's just because our minds aren't wired to be able to comprehend data in that medium.
The idea that using the mask causes the predator's vision to alter is, quite simply, ridiculous. Spec-Ops soldiers who use nightvision goggles frequently don't have a 'hangover' period where they can miraculously see in the dark.
Maybe it's like nearsighted- farsighted
In Predator, he is nearsighted, sees all red, needs the mask to blue it.
P2, he sees allways blue-ish, 20-20.
AVP- farsighted. Always red because that is what their eyes are used to.
But I think they see infra-red. Didn't Keyes say so, too?
'Course, what does he know.
Quote from: The Necronoir on Oct 12, 2007, 12:35:12 AM
Quote from: Kriszilla on Oct 11, 2007, 07:15:27 PM
Humans can't possibly understand on any level what Infr-Red vision is really like. It's like trying to imagine a new colour, you just can't do it. The vision in the films is just a representation for us, in reality their vision may be much more sensitive, able to detect even miniscule differences between temperatures. This cannot be achieved with current technology, but I am willing to believe that Predator vision is far more sensitive than most people think.
Precisely, you've hit the nail on the head. The same goes for documentaries which try to represent other modes of vision, such as what a bee, with it's compound eyes, sees. When we look at such a representation we find it hopelessly bewildering, but that's just because our minds aren't wired to be able to comprehend data in that medium.
The idea that using the mask causes the predator's vision to alter is, quite simply, ridiculous. Spec-Ops soldiers who use nightvision goggles frequently don't have a 'hangover' period where they can miraculously see in the dark.
When was the last time you looked through a Predator's mask? How do you know they get infared vision the same way we do?
Quote from: Vemados on Oct 12, 2007, 02:02:01 AM
When was the last time you looked through a Predator's mask? How do you know they get infared vision the same way we do?
That's exactly what I'm saying... they don't. What we see in the films is a
representation of what the predator sees, not its actual vision.
Quote
The idea that using the mask causes the predator's vision to alter is, quite simply, ridiculous. Spec-Ops soldiers who use nightvision goggles frequently don't have a 'hangover' period where they can miraculously see in the dark.
Spec ops soldiers are also human beings, not bizarre aliens from some other side of the galaxy with physiology that no one really understands or can explain.
I think any reasonable speculation about Predator vision is acceptable, simply because the information about it isn't conclusive. I still like Vemados' theory, maybe modified a bit. Maybe their retinas have a kind of photoluminescence, where if they are exposed to a certain wavelength, the Predator's perception changes for like 10 minutes and then slowly returns to normal (like photo film.) Their blood is biolluminescent, so maybe the same principle in their eyes affects their vision.