ALIEN: Out of the Shadows (Novel 1)

[Hudson]

Nope it's the same. Juts given that steel blue tint, which is weird cuz that's for ALIENS not ALIEN. I always think of ALIEN as greens and blacks. For some reason that's the colors that are given to the movie.

I guess I was picturing the Alien that was on the Gameinformer cover or whatever magazine.

[Cvalda]

It's on the other side of a mountain range, it's not exactly in a convenient location. They only even thought to look where it was located because Burke gave them a call and said "go here, see what you find".

So how'd the original survey team miss it, then? I guess even crude early-21st century Google Maps technology gets phased out in the future, and they just randomly plonk colonies down on planet surfaces.

[SiL]

Sure, it's nice and noticeable on a flat surface like that; now add all the other jagged rock formations surrounding it and covering the rest of the planet.

Basically; Alan Dean Foster covered this shit back in '86. It's not that much of a stretch. Unless you really, really want it to be for some reason.

[Cvalda]

If it weren't only a couple days slow drive away from the Colony, to a plateau they already have identified and know the coordinates of (yet somehow didn't see the giant spaceship), yeah, the "nobody noticed it" excuse might fly, but when they do already know there is a plateau there, know the coordinates, and it's relatively nearby, and they didn't notice this:



...that's kind of ridiculous.

[SiL]

That's ridiculous? The Nostromo landed 800 meters from it and they still didn't see it. Or notice it on descent.

(Yes, I edited the post. Sorry.)

[Cvalda]

The Nostromo also landed there in the middle of a storm, pre-terraforming,

They also didn't map out the whole surface of the planet or specifically know there was even a plateau there, as the dialogue in Aliens specifically states the colonists did.

[SiL]

The dialogue in Aliens says no such thing -- just that the coordinates are "out past the Illian (sp) range".

[Cvalda]

    LYDECKER
                    You remember you sent some
                    wildcatters out to that
                    plateau, out past the Ilium
                    range, a couple days ago?

So, uh, how then did they know about the plateau?

Edit: lulz, Cameron deleted the reference to the plateau that's in the shooting script from the on set dialogue. Probably for the very reasons brought up -- which still don't adequately address the mapping issues.

[SiL]

Yeaaaah ...

Meanwhile, if we watch the film, we notice that all mention of "plateau" are conspicuously absent.

EDIT:

So that's what that feels like.

/Batman.

[Cvalda]

Meaning Cameron deleted it because he knew the set up was seriously flimsy, and just decided to make it vaguer so that it could be handwaived.

[SiL]

Right. So he removed the incriminating line and stopped it being a plot hole. Plot convenience, sure; hole, not as much.

[Cvalda]

Potato, po-tah-to.

[Kimarhi]

Ah lawd, Sil is defending Aliens.

[Mike’s Monsters]

They don't have permission to use that artwork, it is most likely going to change, if not, legal actions will be taken.

Is that your artwork?

No, but I'm good friends with the artist Dan LuVisi. I informed him about the cover and he had no idea. He's talking to his legal team.

[Mr. Clemens]

They don't have permission to use that artwork, it is most likely going to change, if not, legal actions will be taken.

Is that your artwork?

No, but I'm good friends with the artist Dan LuVisi. I informed him about the cover and he had no idea. He's talking to his legal team.

I'd presume that Fox owns all commercially-created, licensed Alien artwork.