Can't believe I'm just hearing about this now!
Like all of you, I'm cautiously optimistic. But seeing as this could be the ALIEN game I've waited for my entire life, I can't help but dream up a little wishlist:
- Open-ended, replayable 'story': I don't want to go from point A to point Z and then put it on the shelf. I want to look at my situation, and desperately think of a way to make it better. Sometimes I'll lose a game and say "well, that got us all killed", and sometimes I'll surprise myself by succeeding at something I thought wouldn't work in a million years. Like sometimes, maybe going into the air shaft really is your best option; sometimes it isn't... the only way to find out is to try it. Similarly, I want the alien(s) to try different things, too. An unpredictable, always-different experience is key.
- Shipmates who look like 70s actors: I'm beyond weary of the endless parade of macho-men in Alien games. I know those were all supposed to be marines, so it makes sense, but still - I'm just tired of it. Give me more Hurt, Cartwright, and Stanton types. Characters I can look at and say, "oh buddy... I'm not so sure you're gonna make it!". The same goes for hyper-sexualized female characters (the character model in the screenshot appears to have a pretty realistic bust size, so that's a good start).
- NPCs that have varying states of composure: some of your shipmates are just more prone to freaking out than others. Some may not like you, others may not trust you. Keeping morale from crumbling should be a constant concern.
- Give players/characters a real reason to split up: this is a big one for me. It's hard to get scared (and by all reports, that's what they're going for) when you're walking around in a squad of armed characters. Send me back for the cat... I'm pretty sure I'll be fine. Along these lines, when it comes to multiplayer, restrict voice chat to only being able to hear players whose characters are near your own, or near a comm panel. The developers could even have fun playing with fade/echo effects depending on chat distance. Has this been done before? Also, separate servers for Bozos/Non-Bozos would be nice.
- A real danger of depressurization due to alien acid: 'Nuff said. Every other game has only really paid lip service to the acid. I don't know if they can code acid that actually eats holes in the deck, but avoiding spilling alien blood should be something you have to think about. All the time.
- Lots of character customization: Why not? Even if it's just mixing and matching different combinations of heads, torsos, and legs, I would love to be playing this game with different looking characters all the time! Such a thing would be a waste of resources in a run n' gun, but pretty essential for a heavy-immersion game like this, I think.
- A modular starship that rearranges itself at the start of a game: This is a big one, and I don't know if it's possible. A big part of the tension in Alien is that, even though the characters know where they're going, we don't. What's at the end of that corridor? What's around that corner? Gonna have to go look. This ties into the first point above, and makes for a fresh and interesting experience every time. They could explain it away by saying it's your character's first flight on that vessel, and he/she's not that familiar with it yet. Players can use the icons (like in my profile pic), to find what they're looking for. Of course the bridge should be at the bow on A-deck and engineering should be aft on C-deck, but beyond that... mix it up and surprise me.
Whew, I didn't mean for that to go on so long. If anybody read all of that, thanks for indulging!
[EDIT: Oh, and how could I forget:
- Secret, randomly-selected synthetic android. ]