Okay, I am just wondering how the AI would be like in this game. I think a cool way would be that you have a basic AI for critters and people in the game that determines their basic behavior, then if a facehugger gets them there is an Alien override AI that latches on the original AI so that the xenomorph would act like a hybrid of the original critter/person and the alien. Such as in Alien 3 the Alien/Pooch hybrid, while still had many Alien attributes it also still had many dog like qualities and behaviors.

 

Having something like this would be kind of cool, so that different Alien hybrids can have different behaviors.

Assuming there are various types of Alien hybrids, this is a wonderful idea, though it does bring to mind the possible presence of Alien/Human genetic hybrids a la the Ripley Clone and Infant in Aliens: Resurrection.

Capital idea, but it's gonna be though to program I believe - since a massive amount of time would have to be used just to create various personalities - and a program designed to take factors from both and intertwine in a believable way, without erasing some essential core behaviour (like level of agression).

 

The bugs could be hilarious though - Aliens acting rather friendly and cultivated.

You need SPORE engine for that!

I don't see Obsidian building a fully dynamic world where there will actually be a wide variety and large groups of animals for the Aliens to commandeer for that particular stage of their reproductive cycle. It doesn't sound like it lends itself to a strong narrative.

 

That said, the idea of simply having different sub-species of Aliens behaving differently with elements of the old hosts behavior should be a given and the exclusion of it would be massively dissapointing.

Edited August 15, 200718 yr by Tale

It could. Imagine if the Aliens gain access to an orbital colony... with a zoo.

I doubt you'd get a lot of differing alien breeds from a zoo, most of the animals would most likely be used for biomass and sustenance.

 

Then again, it would be interesting to see how xenomorphs would act if they found an elephant, for example. Is a phant too big for gestation, or is it big enough for several chestbursters? Ah, so gross and so exciting.

Edited August 16, 200718 yr by Musopticon?

I would rather see a xenomorph hybrid from a lion or panther.

Would it really be that different from a human hybrid? If we go by basic darwinic principles, the xenomorph genome would probably discard all genetic material it found nonvital, the result being rather alike with all the other breeds. What I mean, is that while size might be a great merit if you are a hunter in a competitive savannah enviroment, it wouldn't matter much for a creature that's already the perfect predator(this is of course assuming that the alien we've seen is the default form). As for physiology, I think the creature would adapt to the needs of the enviroment and likely retain some kind of uniformity with the hive. Then again, if there'd be a whole pack of felines to gestate in...

I'm curious about how face huggers will be implemented.

 

In the FPS AvP series if a facehugger jumps at you, that is it, game over. In the PSX Alien Resurrection, if you were face hugged you would then get an x-ray scan of your chest as an alien started to grow inside you. You then had a limited time to find a surgical kit to remove the alien.

 

I'm hoping in the Alien RPG if an alien facehugger leaps at you you have a chance to 'grapple' with the facehugger, mashing keys or pressing certain directional arrows to throw the face hugger away. Depending on the era that the game takes place, if the game takes place in the Aliens/Alien 3 era, that is it game over. But if the game takes place in the Resurrection era it would be nice if you had access to surgical kits.

 

Likewise it would be neat if you could surgically remove the chestbursters from fellow squad mates or civilians who are infected. This could tie in to a morality system, come into a room full of infected civilians... who's life is the most important? The doctors, or the childs or the...

Good idea there, Greasedog.

Since I've read repeatedly that it's an Aliens game, and not an Alien game, I would think it's specifically meant to be reminiscent of the second movie. So, getting facehugged would be auto-game over.

Its all the same franchise.

Except they're usually very clear about that. If they name it Alien, it's based off the entire franchise. When they name it Aliens, it's based off the second movie. Gearbox's game is a prime example, as it's named Aliens and focuses on colonial marines.

 

The Aliens comics also often focus on Weyland-Yutani and the Colonial Marines. Some even feature Ripley and Hicks (one of the marines), before the great Alien comic retcon.

 

But then again, most of the comics are titled "Aliens" so I could be talking out my behind.

Edited August 16, 200718 yr by Tale

I'd much prefer it if facehugger attacks and incubation were used in the plot as a catalyst or source of drama than as a "you've been facehugged - game over!" or "you've been facehugged - you have an hour to remove the embryo!" gameplay mechanic. That is, I don't want being incubated to be something like being poisoned - it only matters where your stats are concerned, only a source of tension in that you need to find a way to flick the "facehugged = on" switch off. And facehug = instant death completely negates the promise of alien incubation.

 

What Obsidian should do, and I've said this before in that huge thread, is make incubation primarily a plot critical element in some way, and also use it as an element in the party mechanic. What if the PC has been incubated? How does he control his party? Some are going to want to help save him, some are going to want to kill him, some are going to just be afraid of him. What if a member of the team is incubated? What choices can the PC make? To maximize this potential, it's absolutely critical that incubation not be something that takes place in gametime. That is, it should be something the PC or NPC starts with, or it happens to him as a matter of plot. Because it would be just too much work to write and program one version of the game where the PC never gets incubated, one in which he gets incubated early, one in which he gets incubated late in a fight, etc. etc. and that goes double for NPCs, unless incubation doesn't matter to the plot of the game, and that would be a huge waste.

 

Perhaps they could make it a source of tension within the party by not making it clear who is incubated. Perhaps there are 3 different party members who could be incubated, but there's no way of telling who is or isn't. You could choose to kill whichever you think might be incubated, but it would be random, thus maximizing replayability. There are all kinds of directions Obs could take with this, my only fear is that they'll neglect their options.

Edited August 16, 200718 yr by Pop

They had something like that in "The Thing" except the tension was eventually lost once you realize EVERYONE was going to be contaminated at certain points no matter what you did .

 

Aside from the panic striken suicides and party members turning on each other they had a blood test system. The party had a limmited number of test kits with a few more scattered around the level. Party members could demand you take it (your refusal would invoke anything from distrust to a mutiny) and you could demand they take it (which upset them if they weren't infected, more-so if they were). It was neat little system and sounds similar to what you want to see Pop.

Edited August 16, 200718 yr by Jinx

I didn't like the Thing's system, because as you said, it was completely arbitrary as everyone got infected anyway. And the blood test system never showed anything. I tested a teammate's blood, no infection. Walked 30 steps to the left, team member grew crab claws and attacked me.

I think you've confused xenos and genestealers. Genestealers produce a differently motivated carrier, and linked offspring. Xenos produce someone experiencing shortness of breath followed by extremely acute gastrointestinal problems.

Party wakes up from cryo sleep to find all their tubes are broken and there's a single dead facehugger. Equipment doesn't work to scan who is infected, so everytime someone coughs you have to wonder if something's going to tear out of their chest.

 

But little did you know that one of them just ate a spicy burrito!

Edited August 17, 200718 yr by Tale

Heh. I like it!

Perhaps they could make it a source of tension within the party by not making it clear who is incubated. Perhaps there are 3 different party members who could be incubated, but there's no way of telling who is or isn't. You could choose to kill whichever you think might be incubated, but it would be random, thus maximizing replayability. There are all kinds of directions Obs could take with this, my only fear is that they'll neglect their options.

 

Mmmm... reminds me one of John Carpenter's Movie "The Thing."

not the game, unfortunately.

Party wakes up from cryo sleep to find all their tubes are broken and there's a single dead facehugger. Equipment doesn't work to scan who is infected, so everytime someone coughs you have to wonder if something's going to tear out of their chest.

 

But little did you know that one of them just ate a spicy burrito!

 

This is actually a great idea, especially if the infected party member/NPC is randomized.

 

Of the two AvP games, I found the original far more terrifying because alien position was randomized, they would and did come at you from all angles and areas where AvP 2 had the enemies in the same spot every time.

 

One of my favorite levels, a bonus level in AvP 1 called Waterfall, had buddy marines. You could play the map a hundred times and get a hundred times and see a hundred different fates of the marines. From marines surviving, to acid showers and my all time favorite shocking moment, an alien tail from the ceiling taking a marine's head off.

 

I really hope their is some form of randomizing in Aliens RPG.

Party wakes up from cryo sleep to find all their tubes are broken and there's a single dead facehugger. Equipment doesn't work to scan who is infected, so everytime someone coughs you have to wonder if something's going to tear out of their chest.

 

But little did you know that one of them just ate a spicy burrito!

 

This is actually a great idea, especially if the infected party member/NPC is randomized.

 

Of the two AvP games, I found the original far more terrifying because alien position was randomized, they would and did come at you from all angles and areas where AvP 2 had the enemies in the same spot every time.

 

One of my favorite levels, a bonus level in AvP 1 called Waterfall, had buddy marines. You could play the map a hundred times and get a hundred times and see a hundred different fates of the marines. From marines surviving, to acid showers and my all time favorite shocking moment, an alien tail from the ceiling taking a marine's head off.

 

I really hope their is some form of randomizing in Aliens RPG.

 

 

That sounds really cool. I think meta-randomness should certainly be used.

I'd much prefer it if facehugger attacks and incubation were used in the plot as a catalyst or source of drama than as a "you've been facehugged - game over!" or "you've been facehugged - you have an hour to remove the embryo!" gameplay mechanic. That is, I don't want being incubated to be something like being poisoned - it only matters where your stats are concerned, only a source of tension in that you need to find a way to flick the "facehugged = on" switch off. And facehug = instant death completely negates the promise of alien incubation.

 

What Obsidian should do, and I've said this before in that huge thread, is make incubation primarily a plot critical element in some way, and also use it as an element in the party mechanic. What if the PC has been incubated? How does he control his party? Some are going to want to help save him, some are going to want to kill him, some are going to just be afraid of him. What if a member of the team is incubated? What choices can the PC make? To maximize this potential, it's absolutely critical that incubation not be something that takes place in gametime. That is, it should be something the PC or NPC starts with, or it happens to him as a matter of plot. Because it would be just too much work to write and program one version of the game where the PC never gets incubated, one in which he gets incubated early, one in which he gets incubated late in a fight, etc. etc. and that goes double for NPCs, unless incubation doesn't matter to the plot of the game, and that would be a huge waste.

 

Perhaps they could make it a source of tension within the party by not making it clear who is incubated. Perhaps there are 3 different party members who could be incubated, but there's no way of telling who is or isn't. You could choose to kill whichever you think might be incubated, but it would be random, thus maximizing replayability. There are all kinds of directions Obs could take with this, my only fear is that they'll neglect their options.

This could be Obsidian's "Revan"!