ACM: Blog

Simon Jeffery E308 Interview

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:58:31 GMT

This is actually old news to those of us who have been keeping up with Gearbox’s Aliens game. But I forgot to post this up during the excitement of E3-08. So here it is for archiving purposes and for those that might have missed it.

The video is of Kotaku interviewing Simon Jeffery (President of SEGA of America) on their upcoming Aliens titles.

Thanks to Newbeing for the link.

Games Abyss Preview

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:28:26 GMT

Here's another Aliens: Colonial Marines preview. Very similar to the last one, but it does talk about how cool the alien queen is looking in game. Thanks to JamiePoole for the link.

Quote: "No word on the final roster of the different Alien species we can expect. From footage we have seen facehuggers, the standard black acid-blooded creeps, as well as a giant queen, are represented in a frightening level of detail."

That's all very nice, but come on SEGA / Gearbox, we want pictures or it didn't happen.

OXM Preview

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 15:48:30 GMT

Found a new preview on OXM. Sadly there’s nothing new in it, just covering old stuff we already know about. Though it does confirm the unannounced multiplayer will be competitive mp, so all you adversarial gamers out there should feel better knowing that.

“Our game is set after the events of [the film] Alien 3, which takes place very shortly after the end of Aliens,” explains Stephen Palmer, the game’s producer at Gearbox. “Our goal is to make a game that answers some of the questions from those two movies, and picks up the story basically right after the squad of marines was wiped out on LV-426 [the moon where humans first encountered the Aliens].”

Playing as a squad of four colonial marines, each with a unique personality and class, you’ve been ordered to investigate the USS Sulaco, the spaceship that Ripley used to escape at the end of Aliens, and that became derelict in Alien 3. “Since Aliens is our closest influence, we’ve strived for a level of authenticity to the films,” says Palmer. “The look of the game is directly inspired by the movies, down to the film grain and lighting. We’ve hired Syd Mead [designer of the Sulaco] to go back and create new concepts based on artwork that he made over 20 years ago — just so we can see what his vision was for the other areas of the Sulaco.”

You can read the rest at their website oxmonline.com

shacknews Interview Randy Pitchford

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:26:07 GMT

shacknews.com have interviewed Randy Pitchford on their games. And Randy spoke a little on Aliens: Colonial Marines. Here is what he had to say:

Randy Pitchford: "One thing that's cool is some of the people we've been able to work with to help us [on Aliens]. The guys that write the Battlestar Galactica series, Bradley Thompson and David Weddle, they wrote our script. They're amazing guys. They gave us a lot, too. We could make a whole season of TV with the stuff they gave us. [laughs] We profited from the writer's strike, let's just put it that way. We talked with a lot of people, but those guys are so good.

And then a lot of the concept guys that helped make the movies. Like [Aliens concept artist] Syd Mead, that guy walks on water. And to be able to go to his studio, his house, and then have him draw a bunch of stuff. "Here's when I designed the Sulaco back when we made the first movie. Here's the original artwork. You want a copy, Brian?" And Brian's like, "Yes."
And now he's designing all the new stuff, because the Sulaco's a big ship and we only saw a bit of it, so you get the guy who designed it to design the rest of it. And he's awesome, he designed so much stuff. And then like [concept artists] Keith Thompson, Craig Mullins.. anybody who knows these names knows what we're talking about. This is no joke.
It's a big team. And we're also working with people from all over the world. We've been working with a lot of amazing talent at other studios. I don't know how much of that will be used in PR, but there's a lot of people who care about this franchise. The opportunity to build a dropship, or build a pulse rifle, or build a smart gun, that's a pretty cool opportunity--a lot of artists would want to do that. So we have our core Gearbox team, but we're also finding a lot of folks around the industry now, guys who are on top of their game."

Thanks to Sadogoat for the link.

GDC 08 Randy Pitchford Interview

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:34:31 GMT

EDIT: (24th July) Sorry guys looks like the article was removed from the site.

I found this old Randy Pitchford interview from February this year over on gametap.

Here's a snippet from the interview:-

"GameTap: Will the game extend from the movies? Will you see scenes from the movies in the game or where there be parallels that coincide with events from the movies?

Randy Pitchford: The game and the story of Aliens is original, but there will be parallels that feel familiar. We have seen the movie. We know what it looked like to go in on a dropship. We have never done that ourselves, interactively, but we know what that looked like. And if we don't touch some of those things and have the movies as part of the experience, then I don't think we're doing the right job there. So of course we have to make sure that's part of the promise. That's about all I can say right now, but read the latest Game Informer for more on it."

"GameTap: For fans of the series who have seen the Alien creatures take on various permutations and transformations whether it's in comic books or the toy figures, what will you bring to the table. I mean, remember the toy chain where there was a bull or a dog and a snake alien?

Randy Pitchford: Yes, the canon of Alien. You remember that first alien in the first movie in that derelict ship, and there was a giant creature, the space jockey, from which the alien burst from its chest? What was that guy all about? He was huge. And what came out of him? These are really interesting questions. Brian, my partner, got to sit down with Ridley Scoot (director of the first Alien movie) and Ridley pulled out this book and blew the dust off of it. Ridley opened it up and it was his original sketches and original hand-drawn storyboards for Alien. So Brian sat down and got the whole backstory on Alien and the space jockey and where the Aliens come from. We're going to get to mess with some of that."

You can read the rest by going to gametap.com

Aliens: Colonial Marines slips to 09

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:21:20 GMT

computerandvideogames.com has news that SEGA have apparently released a list of game release dates for their upcoming titles. On the list is Gearbox Softwares Aliens: Colonial Marines. And it seems that the release date has slipped from late 2008 to Q1 of 2009. Not really a surprise to anyone who's been following the game since the beginning. As the game was originally publicized to have a late 09 release date.

Thanks to jamiepoole for the heads up.

Games Radar Preview

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:06:33 GMT

Here is another preview over on gamesradar.com. Its an old preview but does have a few new tidbits of information.

A couple of quotes from the article:-

"You play as a squad of six new Colonial Marines ordered to clear and sweep the USS Sulaco after its previous crew goes missing."

"Plot details beyond that are really thin on the ground, but Gearbox says that the six Colonial Marines will all have a unique perspective on the conflict, and that the game will be divided up into ‘TV-style’ episodes. This should mean that you can pick up the game for an hour at a time and feel like you’ve experienced a satisfying self-contained storyline."

Sounds like thats six playable characters in total then.

Thanks to Dwaine from the GBX forums for the find.

Sega Teases Aliens: Colonial Marines

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:05:34 GMT

I noticed this on Kotaku. "Sega teases Aliens: Colonial Marines."

Apparently a quick teaser video was shown at Sega Gamer's Day earlier this week in San Francico.

"In the incredibly short video a camera pans away from a clutch of Alien eggs as a voice, obviously the voice of a Marine talks in the background. One of the eggs breaks open unleashing a young Alien and you can hear the marine say: "Wait a minute there's movement, looks to be some kind of bug or something..."

Sega promised to have the game at their booth during this year's E3."

Hopefully that means we will see some video soon.

New Concept Art

Thu, 15 May 2008 02:39:52 GMT

Darkness from AvPGalaxy discovered some amazing concept art for Aliens: CM. They are environment concepts very much in the style of Syd Mead. You can see the images yourself by visiting AvP2Daily.com. There are also some game model renders.

I added all the images to the Photo Gallery.

Gameplayer Preview

Sat, 10 May 2008 20:49:07 GMT

EDIT: (07 / July / 2008) Dead link. Seems like the preview was removed.

Space Voyager found this preview on gameplayer.com

Here are a few snippets:-

"In fact, the whole place looks more like a movie studio than a games house, no doubt a result of Gearbox’s success in aligning with Fox Studios to acquire original scripts, artwork, design elements, and even sound effects from the Aliens film."

"A second major gameplay approach is through the use of what Gearbox are calling 'Make a Stand' situations. These are particular moments in the game where you will need to fortify your position against incoming aliens. Your preparation time will be short, but there are a lot of interesting decisions to be made that add a tactical layer to each encounter. Creative Director, Brian Martel, is enthusiastic about this mechanic. "It's the tools that we have; the ability to move things around, to put turrets there, to have the motion tracker so that you can know when they're coming and from where."

"That’s right, the motion tracker will be part of your arsenal and let us assure you that the patented 'Ping...ping...PING' sound is almost guaranteed to create enough tension that your arse will swallow your chair. “We had to ask, what fits really well in Aliens, but is something the player hasn’t experienced before?” Keith Schuler elaborates. 'What feels true yet different? And that was one of the ideas we jumped on, this preparing for a battle.'"

“Immediately impressive in this situation is the way that the aliens move. They’re fast and agile and do not conform to predictable A.I paths. In fact, you’re almost hypnotised by the way that they hop around the level, grabbing onto pillars before leaping to the ground and attacking your beleaguered squad by whipping their tails and slashing their claws. Being so fast, it’s hard to get an accurate bead with your weapon. You’re literally crapping your pants hoping that you can hold off against the hordes, hoping that the turret can kill a few or that your explosive charge can take out as many as possible.“

"There’s also some concern that throwing too many alien enemies at the player, and making them too easy to kill, may devalue the film presentation of aliens as virtually indestructible beings (where just one alien can tear apart a whole crew)."

Wow, sounds awesome!

Xbox 360 Magazine Preview

Sun, 04 May 2008 11:35:15 GMT

Issue 35 of Xbox 360 magazine (UK) has a new preview of Aliens: Colonial Marines. No new scans or pictures we havent already seen, but here is the preview and Q&A with Brian Martel.

The Preview

Moan as much as you like about the vacuity and vanity of the Eighties, you can't get past the fact that it was artistically one of the most influential decades for media, particularly sci-fi. Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey set the bar for flashy future-set media, but it was the Eighties and its gritty realism that would come to set the aesthetics for visions of the future still to come, thanks mainly to one visionary Brit. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and Alien created worlds that were not only plausible and familiar, but also filled with the unknown. James Cameron really took that to heart when making his sequel, Aliens, and there is now barely a single futuristic movie or videogame that doesn't give a nod to the Alien series. From Halo to Half-Life, there's a debt to the style, pacing, writing and design of the series that in its four films alone has managed to rake in $557 million at the worldwide box office. That's a lot for Gearbox to live up to.

While some thought that Aliens vs Predator 2 showed some promise, there really hasn't been a pure Aliens game worthy of the title, and that puts a lot of pressure on Gearbox to pull something special out of its hat. Rather sensibly, Gearbox has made the decision to go back to the well and draw as much as it can directly from the movies. For a start, it has made the move of hiring a concept artist, Syd Mead, who worked on the original movies (as well as Blade Runner and Tron) and could faithfully expand upon the Alien universe in a way most others would struggle to achieve.

The opening of the game, taking place around the time of Alien 3 in the series timeline, will see you lead a squad of US Colonial Marines onto the USS Sulaco, to investigate the fate of the crew who all seem to have disappeared, leaving their cryo-chambers empty and the ship floating in space. While this would appear to be the perfect setting for an alien attack, it won't be the only location the game uses to tell its story as you visit brand new worlds. Gearbox clearly doesn't want to be stuck making a corridor shooter and has stressed the importance of varying level design to make the whole experience more diverse and enjoyable.

Back when we first heard about Sega picking up the rights to an Aliens game, we had some simple requests designed to make the game worthy of its name. Every one of these requests revolved around bringing key elements from the movie back in the game, and it seems that whether or not Gearbox paid attention to us directly, it is looking to fulfil our most important points. For example, the game will be completely ignoring the existence of Alien: Resurrection, a blight on the otherwise good name of the series, with events in the game taking place just after Ripley's pod was jettisoned into space at the end of Cameron's action opera. This neatly puts Sigourney Weaver's character out of the equation, with the actress seemingly avoiding adaptations of her former work (Ghostbusters won't be getting her, either). It also gives writers Bradley Thompson and Dave Webber a clean slate to work from. The Battlestar Calactica duo have seen their fortunes rise in recent years, and having the freedom to craft a new story, albeit in an established universe, could lead to some very promising results. It's not as if the Aliens world isn't rich enough to support stories beyond those that are depicted in the movies.

A big part of the story is in the iconography, the objects that are immediately recognisable from the films. Three things we felt were essential in bringing Aliens home were the power loader, the motion tracker and the pulse rifle, and once again Gearbox has seen fit to include all three. The pulse rifle, in particular, is essential, and the developer has gone to great lengths to make it as authentic as possible. Gearbox actually went back to the filmmakers to secure the original recordings used to create the pulse rifle's unique sound and had them remastered for the game — that's dedication to authenticity for you. The motion tracker was always likely to feature in the game, having so much potential as a gameplay device and already proven itself more than capable of building tension and atmosphere. The alien scouts will crawl through air ducts and up walls just as they did in the movies, and are not constrained by any human-based motion capture. These fully animated characters will behave in an entirely inhuman manner, so expect the unexpected, regardless of what the tracker is telling you. While the dark corridors of the Sulaco will be an ideal place to test out some of this, we're more interested to see how the open worlds of the game will take to the aliens and if this will affect things significantly.

What will certainly give the game that little extra something is the seamless co-operative gameplay. With a choice of one of five marines to play as, you've got plenty of different roles you can potentially play throughout the game. Each marine has a skill, such as medic or technician, and can be used to perform specific tasks like welding doors closed against an alien attack or setting up gun turrets to protect your position. Four player co-op can be played online, as well as offline with split-screen, which is something quickly going out of fashion, but is more than welcome. Alien is, after all, a franchise that exists far beyond the sphere of gaming, and attracting our non-gaming friends to give this a try should be no problem at all. Of course, as good as your squad may be, the aliens are always going to break through eventually, and for that the game switches to quick-time events where you must either escape the clutches or be shredded like crispy duck. It's unclear whether or not your buddies will be able to save you in such scenarios but we would imagine there's a good chance they can.

Lest you get worried about the appearance of the marines in these shots, we should add that their final appearance has yet to be determined. There have been some vocal calls for character editing and even Live Vision camera compatibility, similar to Rainbow Six Vegas, to be included, and we would certainly echo those sentiments as they would add yet another interesting element to the co-op nature of the game. We also understand that a more confrontational form of multiplayer will be making its way into the game, and while the ability to play as an alien remains unofficial, we think it very likely. As a package, Aliens: Colonial Marines is shaping up very nicely and could well achieve the impossible by matching its source material for ingenuity and atmosphere. If nothing else, Gearbox is treating this IP with the utmost respect, building on the franchise's strengths in natural and promising ways. While currently being prepared for a late 2008 release, we wouldn't be surprised to see it slip into 2009 as originally planned, but that's no great shame as long as we end up with a fully polished and realised Aliens game.

The Q&A with Brian Martel

Gearbox Software's creative director Brian Martel tells us why Aliens was so important to his company and how its experience is making this adaptation something special

360: What inspired you to chase after the Aliens licence? Do you feel Gearbox is ideally placed to adapt this popular franchise?

Brian Martel: There were several different reasons. For one thing, it's always been a dream of mine to work on an Alien game. When the movie first hit the screen — I must have been 17 or 18 — I went to see it the very first day and it really left an impression. I've had the movie and the whole design in my head ever since, and without meaning to, I actually compared it to all the titles I ever worked on or otherwise came into contact with. You see a bit of Alien in every game.Somehow, the development of Aliens: Colonial Marines is just the thing for Gearbox. We've often worked on external brands in the past, and always treated them like our own. That's why we want to make a really good Alien game. Plenty of developers have tried before, but with the technology available today, we can create truly believable characters, aliens and environments, which allows us to tell a very intense, intriguing story.

360: You guys are big Aliens fans, but there are even more out there who'll be upset if you don't get it right. Is that a pressure?

BM: You know, it's always hard to keep everyone happy. At Gearbox, we have some of the greatest Alien fans right here. As long as we treat the brand sincerely and respectfully, that will reflect in the end result. I think when the players see the story and the game as a whole they will appreciate our efforts, so I'm not really worried. For example, I own several props from the movie, storyboards and probably every single Alien novel and 'making of book ever published. I really think all those hardcore Alien fans out there can rest easy: we are not going to disappoint you: a really awesome Alien game is what you'll get.

360: Have you worked closely at all with the original filmmakers?

BM: Not that closely! I mean, we are in contact with Fox, and they've provided a lot of material. We work closely with some of the special effects people at Amalgamated Dynamics, who did the special effects for Alien3, Alien: Resurrection and Alien vs Predator. We went and talked to them to get a better understanding of how the aliens work, and how they would design the aliens for a game. The writers' contributions were also essential in helping us create an experience that is as close to Hollywood as it gets. James Cameron hasn't been round for a chat yet, but hey, we'll keep knocking at his door. You never know...

360: Have you looked to try and implement some of the tactical gameplay from Brothers In Arms into Colonial Marines?

BM: The tactical command system used in Brothers In Arms is very intuitive and easy to grasp. You just aim at something and give the order to either advance to a specific position, or open fire on an enemy. Aliens: Colonial Marines doesn't require that much complexity. There's no sense in outflanking in alien. Why make the game harder than it needs to be? Sometimes, you may want to be able to give orders to your team-mates; I felt that way in Halo. Basically, we treat the squad like a tool. If I want a door opened, then one of the marines will cut it open. If I want to know where my enemies are, my lieutenant will give me their positions. It feels like a real squad, but without the complexity and depth seen in Brothers In Arms.

360: Has it been hard to get the alien Al right?

BM: Of course, players will want to see the aliens in the game act the same way as in the movie. So they want them to crawl along the walls and ceilings, and use objects in their environment, and they expect them to be clever. We learned from the movie that, for example, they are quite capable of cutting off the power supply. In the game, the aliens will often attack players and their team-mates head-on, but they will also set clever traps and attack from ambush.

360: Do you have any particular preference from the movies? Which one had the biggest impact on you?

BM: I think I was most creeped out by the first movie, because I was young. But if you're asking which one I prefer to watch, Aliens is the one that I enjoy most. There's the great cast, and really cool action that just creates a fantastic atmosphere. However, the first Alien movie is the best, in my opinion, because it's the original. It's not as fast-paced as the second movie, but it's certainty the best of all four Alien movies.

CVG Mini Interview

Sat, 03 May 2008 14:12:15 GMT

Theres a small interview over on Computer and Video Games. CVG interview Mike Gallo of Gearbox Software, Producer on the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines game.

Heres a small excerpt:-

"Where will the game take place in the Alien canon?

Mike Gallo: The game's set after the events of Alien3, which takes place very shortly after the end of Aliens. Our goal is to make a game that answers some of the questions from those two movies and picks up the story right after the marines were wiped out on LV-426."

Thanks to the G-Man over on AvPGalaxy for finding the interview.

Overview

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:39:12 GMT

Here are the things we have been able to confirm so far. Charlie Wiederhold, Associate Producer on Aliens: Colonial Marines said the design was iterative so all information presented here is subject to change during the course of the development.

Last Updated: 24 / July / 08

Full Title

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Release Date
Previously announced by SEGA to be late 2008, apparently the game has slipped to 09 now. The very first press release estimated late 2009 though so the game is likely on schedule. eggshen [site admin] from the SEGA of America forums said the release is planned for spring 2009. And a gamesradar preview said may 2009. So I guess SEGA and Gearbox are gonna remain sketchy on the actual release date for a while yet. The most recent date we have heard from SEGA has the game marked for Q1 of 2009.

Formats

The game is being developed for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Game Engine

The developers are using the most recent version of the UE3 engine. Same one as Gear of War 2.

Is This A Remake?

Many fans have asked if this is a remake of the Aliens: Colonial Marines game that was going to appear on PS2, but was cancelled before release. To answer that I’ll just post what wieder said from the 3Drealms forums:-

“The game isn't intentionally related to the previous game, but the title was absolutely perfect. It's not an association we're upset to have, as we all wish that game had been able to be finished because it showed promise. But yeah, any similarities are coincidences or just because they are good ideas for an Aliens game.”

Story
The story is written by Bradley Thompson and David Weddle (Correct Names) who most recently wrote for the remake of the Battlestar Galactica series and also worked on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series.

The game will be divided up into 'TV-style' episodes. Which means each instalment will be like an episode of 'Lost' or something similar, focusing on different marine characters with each new instalment. Each episode will tell its own story yet be tied into the whole and likely come to a head in the final instalment. We don’t know how many levels will be in each episode but previewers from gamesradar have said they'll last around an hour. And their will be more than six episodes.

It has been mentioned that we will be going up against an enemy faction (Speculated to be W-Y. Though wieder seems determined to throw doubt into our assumption...he ain't fooling us though) that want to harness the alien as a biological weapon. It has also been said that we will get to learn more about the alien race known as the Space Jockey found dead in the derelict spacecraft from the first film.

Here is the plot set-up published in the GameInformer magazine:-

“Ripley is dead. None of the soldiers dispatched from the military ship Sulaco survived the infestation of the colony Hadley’s Hope. The details of their doomed struggle against a predatory alien species on the moon LV-426 are unknown. In the absence of firsthand accounts, only one clue remains to illuminate the unexplained disappearance of Hicks, Vasquez, Hudson and the rest of the squad. That clue is the Sulaco itself, which has been found floating through space, the hypersleep pods ejected after an apparent fire in the chamber. The ship does not respond to any communications. Sent in to investigate the disappearance, a new squad of colonial marines is about to stumble upon the horror Lieutenant Ellen Ripley sacrificed herself to destroy: ruthlessly adaptable creatures bred as weapons and created for war. Hundreds of them.”

Single Player Campaign

The games single player component will focus on the Colonial Marines from James Cameron‘s sequel, Aliens. Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox software said "Our game's about becoming a Colonial Marine, and looking at it from the Colonial Marines' perspective,"

Adversarial Multiplayer

The game will feature an online MP component, but no details have been released as of yet. Sega have said that details will be released later in the year.

4 Player Coop

Jump in/out four player coop online and two player split screen. Or a combination of both. No word on whether the screen will be split horizontally or vertically. *Crosses fingers for the former*

Squad Based

Players will control a colonial marine squad of up to four marines including the player (Though that's actually called a fire team in proper military terms, a squad is much larger). Each marine will have a specific skill such as hacking, welding or explosives etc. The squad control / actions wont be as in depth as Rainbow Six: Vegas. And players will have to re-evaluate the standard squad shooter tactics. Positioning and firepower along with cooperation will take precedence over finding cover.

Playable Characters
In coop mode their will be five playable marine characters to choose from. The number of playable marine characters in single player is six. Four of the characters are currently named Winter, Bella, O’Neal and Monday. It has been said that the player will switch between the six characters during the course of the game and experience the story from their unique perspective. That will also allow the player access to each marine characters specific weapons and equipment. Apparently the marines wont die until their scripted deaths during the course of the game. It is unknown how GBX are going to handle team-mate deaths during normal combat with the aliens. Female marines will appear alongside their male counterparts.

Context Sensitive Orders

You can issue commands to individual squad mates. The control mechanic is context sensitive based, with you able to send marines to perform specialised tasks like sealing vents with the welder, hacking open doors, setting up sentry guns and planting explosive booby traps on oxygen tanks etc. In addition the player will be able to give basic move to, attack and follow commands.

Quick-Time Events

Quick-time Events, or as Gearbox would prefer to call them Close Encounters. The CE’s are tightly scripted events that appear at set points during the course of the game. Each encounter is viewed from first person view. During the course of these events subtle, but bright colours representing a corresponding control will flash at the edges of the screen. They will demand the player to press the corresponding control on the controller, which will play out mini sequences from the first person viewpoint of the player. PC controls will be designed separately to make the CE mechanic feel intuitive to use with M/K. The gameplayer preview said that the CE's WONT require super fast reflexes like QTE's in Tomb Raider or God of War, and that there will be multiple controls that perform the same action.

Acid Blood

Acid blood will mark the environment and hurt the players, but we don’t know the extent it will have on the surroundings yet. It could just be simple decals, burn marks etc.

Marine Arsenal

It has been said the game features a moderate arsenal. So far we know the game includes the following weapons:-

M41A Pulse Rifle
M240 Flame Thrower
M56 Smart Gun
Shotgun (In the gamesradar preview it says Hicks’ Remington shotgun will appear, although in the film it was actually an Ithaca Shotgun).
VP70 Semi-Automatic Pistol
M40 High Explosive Fragmentation Grenade
UA 571-C Remote Sentry Weapons System
Some type of explosive device (Could be classed as a gadget though)

Load-Out

Each character can carry five items of equipment; four weapons and a single gadget. Additionally all marines wear body armour and are equipped with Halogen lamps. Here is what the marines carry:-

Primary Weapon: Includes Pulse rifles and Smart Guns etc.
Secondary Weapon: These weapons are personalised to the character like Hicks’ shotgun.
Sidearm: A pistol for backup or use with a gadget in the off-hand, like a motion tracker.
Grenade: For use with the pulse rifles grenade launcher, but probably also usable as an ad-hoc hand thrown grenade.
A Single Gadget: Motion tracker, medkit, welder etc.

Gadgets

The following gadgets are confirmed so far:-

Motion Tracker - An actual in-game model that the player can equip in his off-hand. When equipped the player wont be able to use his primary weapon. But will be able to equip his pistol in his free hand.
Medical Kit - This item can revive injured squad mates and neutralise acid burns. Your A.I. Squad can also use this item to revive the player.
Hacking Kit - Is used for bypassing lock-downs on doors.
Miniature Welder - Used for sealing air vents and doors. (No confirmation on whether it can be used to cut new entryways or doors open yet.)

Locations

Here is a list of locations we have heard about:-

Sulaco (This will be the opening mission)
Derelict on LV-426 (Mentioned in GI preview)
Cargo Ship (Talked about in CVG mini preview)
Futuristic City (See concept art)
Deep Space Mining Asteroid (Acts as a front for W-Y alien research)
Shanty Mining Town - on a barely terraformed sterile dark planet (Gameplayer preview)
A Colony Type Settlement (The interior screenshots look similar to Hadley’s Hope, could it be the shanty mining town?)

Combat Environments

We will be experiencing both claustrophobic interior combat and less-restrictive outdoor conflicts.

Driving Segments

Its also been said that the game will feature driving segments. But no details on what vehicle or how they will be implemented.

Solo Segments

From time to time the player will find themselves completely alone against the xenomorph.

Make A Stand Sections
The game will feature Make a Stand sections which will be like the alien assault on operations in Cameron's Aliens. A classic siege moment, the player will receive information over his com-link (Likely from his commanding officer) that multiple aliens are about to attack. The player will have a slim amount of time to secure the area by giving context sensitive orders to his squad, like seal vent / bulkhead, position and set-up sentry gun, booby trap oxygen tank with explosive or push heavy objects in front of openings etc. Once time is up, the aliens will then attack wave after wave coming from every un-secured opening and the squad must hold them off to survive. It was said in the gameplayer preview that the motion tracker comes into its own at times like this. With it equipped the player can determine which direction the aliens are going to come from.

Characters and Enemies

So far we have heard about a number of non-playable characters and enemies that will be appearing in the game. The developers have said that alternate xenomorph castes wont be anything stupid appearance wise. Instead any new alien types will mostly differentiate themselves with their behaviour and attack patterns. Here is a list of characters and enemies we know about so far:-

Androids - Confirmed, but not whether they will be enemies or friendly.
Human Opponents - Confirmed, but its still unclear who they will be (Weyland-Yutani?)
Warrior - The classic ridged Cameron alien design seen in the second film. This alien will be the main one we encounter and it will often attack in numbers.
Drone - This sub-species of alien appeared in Cameron’s original script. It wasn’t used in the film but, it was to be the worker caste, nursemaid and hive builder. Currently the devs are experimenting with this caste and its ability to transport eggs using its carapace. (Not confirmed to be in the final game.)
Scout - The devs have confirmed that the smooth headed Giger design from the original film will appear in the game, and will be a much more sneaky solo hunter compared to the Warrior. This alien will hide and ambush the squad.
Face Hugger - Seen in the screenshots. It has been confirmed that head humpers will initiate a QTE if they land on your screen.
Chest Burster - We know there will be exploding stomachs, but its doubtful if the little critters will present any real danger.
Queen - In the game she will apparently appear as a boss fight. (Maybe a QTE?)

HUD
The heads-up display will be minimal with nothing but your FPV weapon model in hand. The health system will be like COD4’s recharging health mechanic. Though we are still waiting to hear how players will target the enemy. Will there be a aim down the sights mechanic like in COD4? We know the pulse rifles have had a rear grenade leaf sight added to the model. That wasnt in the films, so there must be a reason for the addition.

We do know that the pulse rifle has had an ammunition counter added to the left side as well as the right, so you can see it from your first person view point. It also says in the gamesradar preview that all the guns will have ammo counters that the player can see.

Alien A.I.

The developers have said the aliens will be smarter in this game, compared to older Alien titles. The aliens will use the air ducts to travel around and launch surprise attacks. They will hide in air ducts, pipes in the ceiling and the grating under the floor and wait for just the right moment to attack. The aliens will often attack players and their team-mates head-on, but they will also set clever traps and attack from ambush. The alien movement within the environment will be unpredictable making it difficult for the player to draw a bead on them as they move and attack.

Gore & Drool

It has been said repeatedly that there will be plenty of blood and guts. Gearbox have also mentioned that they are implementing alien drool using in game shaders.

Authenticity

Gearbox are well known for their faithful recreation of the source material they are working from as can be seen in their previous titles. For instance in ACM:-

The Aliens: Colonial Marines development team have access to all the original mixed and un-mixed sound recordings from Cameron's film provided by Fox. The sound guys said they are busy remixing / recreating them through modern sound hardware/software.
They have contacted Syd Mead who was a concept artist on the films, and are working with many other artists who also worked on the films. Syd Mead actually went back and created new concepts pieces for the game, like designing the rest of the Sulaco for gamers to explore.
The ACM team have accurately matched the film grain and colour tones to recreate the original look of the films.
They have constructed an actual working pulse rifle, motion tracker and apparently their offices are filled with other aliens related props and toys.
And best of all, Gearbox's Brian Martel (Executive Vice President) even got the chance to sit down with Ridley Scott (the original Alien films director), and discuss the whole back story of where the Alien came from and the species known as the Space Jockey.

Animation

The alien characters are being animated fully by hand using NaturalMotion's middleware morpheme engine. No motion capture for the xeno's, this is to make them appear more inhuman and more alien like. In the gameplayer preview it was said aliens move impressively. They are fast and agile and hop around the level, grabbing onto pillars and leaping back down to the ground to attack marines by whipping their tails and slashing with their claws. David Carter, director of animation at Gearbox said:-

"NaturalMotion's morpheme is poised to make a huge impact on the animation pipelines at Gearbox Software. Gone are the days of building countless transition and tweening animations, morpheme takes care of it all, while placing the 'look' of AI behaviors complete in the hands of our animators."

CVG Mini Preview For PC

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:09:41 GMT

Here is a nice small preview of Aliens: Colonial Marines from computerandvideogames.com.

A quote from the article:-

“However, Aliens: CM doesn't just include the atmospheric settings of spaceships such as the alien derelict (where John Hurt was facehugged for the first time), but expands into bigger locations including cargo ships (so that means power-loaders) and even futuristic cities - so maybe we'll get to see xenomorphs on Earth after all…”

I think we are unlikely to see the plot take the game to Earth mainly because it would break the canon of the last film too much, but the futuristic city sounds really tasty. Its also nice to know that there will be more ships to explore than just the Sulaco.

Thanks to arnolder from the Gearbox forums for the find.

Forums Rundown 02

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:30:23 GMT

I have been doing some more stalking over at 3Drealms.com. Charlie Wiederhold (Associate Producer on A:CM) has been replying to a lot of fan posts over there. So here is what he had to say:-

Commando Nukem Posted: “Aliens Colonial Marines. Hell yeah. In case anyone has forgotten what Aliens : Colonial Marines USED to look like, heres the E3 footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIeLGifENbI

Is that title just a rip or is there a particular similarity between the two games?”

Wieder Answered: “Oh and to answer your first question: The game isn't intentionally related to the previous game, but the title was absolutely perfect. It's not an association we're upset to have, as we all wish that game had been able to be finished because it showed promise. But yeah, any similarities are coincidences or just because they are good ideas for an Aliens game.”

Kalki Posted: “It does need to be darker and more shadowy with flickering and strobing lights. Like the AvP games. Never seen an alien exposed like that. They usually blend in. Then again, I'm only judging from banner size images and perhaps limited environments or maybe the xenomorph AI simply forgot to hit the lights first.”

Wieder: “Muzzle flash is 90% of the light hitting the xeno in the shots.”

avatar_58 Posted: “Well see the way I see it - it's just silly. Redoing the same scene over and over until you manage to get it right? Who thought this was a good idea? If they do it properly like grab a guy, use QTE to force him down, If you fail he goes free - then it's okay. When they do it like Tomb Raider or Jericho and force to review the same cutscene over and over until I get the combo....I just get irritated.

Even worse is for PC games. "BUTTON 10!". Excuse me? Where is....*dead*. Oh thats right button 10 requires me to press in my analog stick. How about next time you tell me that or stop using obscure buttons that aren't even used in the gameplay? Better yet - when the action is something like a rotation of the stick and you don't even realize it until the event ends.”

Wieder: “We don't like the bad examples you've given either. We very much want them to feel natural... just like strafing and shooting... and don't want you to do a "repeat until you figure it out just for the sake of extending gameplay" stuff. And even worse... don't want the "surprise the buttons are random and have no meaning to what's going on in the game so you couldn't possibly figure them out hahahaha... look how mean we are to the player!!".

The point is to have fun and experience something that you can't experience from any other entertainment medium. We've been staring down the "This better not suck and make people who otherwise like the game put it down" gun barrel from the start.

And yeah, PC is given it's own consideration. The foundational principle is to not *ever* have a player need to do a button hunt.”

Daveman Posted: “The guy holding the flamethrower in the picture you linked is standing really awkwardly. Hopefully it's just a badly-timed screengrab and not an indication of the quality of the animations.”

Wieder: “Please don't remind me. Work in progress!”

mysteryperfecta Posted: “The screens posted here look really good (the screens linked to won't load for me). However, I'm not a fan of the name of this game. Colonial Marines? Colonial? Don't like it. Not that it has any bearing on the actual game, but still, my two cents.”

Wieder: “Well... Colonial Marines is what they are called in the movie. We can't really call them anything else, and this game is *all* about experiencing first hand what it's like to be a Colonial Marine in the Aliens universe. From what the squad dynamics are like (personalities and combat) to what using the weapons is like to what encountering Xenomorphs is like.

We did kick around using the squad designation, and a whole host of other stuff... but ultimately it was the only name that really fit perfectly.

Now if we do a sequel... then we've got naming problems.

Or when you read "Colonial" does it evoke images of 17th and 18th century British Rule?”

Fjallraven Posted: “Am I the only one who think that weapons who are as square as that one, look ugly? I want more smooth edges. I personaly don't like that gun very much.”

Wieder: “The screen position for the first person Pulse Rifle isn't good in those shots. It doesn't show it well, and does make it just look like a big blob. To compare... the weapons in the marines hands are the same as what you are holding, so you can see just how much detail you are losing. We've been working on that exact aspect recently.

RE: The Xeno Skin Tone: Concerns are understood. Will wait until you're seeing them in motion with them moving in and out of different lighting styles to see how people react to them. Just like how the props look one way in the movie in motion vs under brighter lighting... game characters if used correctly do the same thing.

Example: The combat shot... imagine it in action... the muzzle flash is only going to lighten the Xeno up in flashes, otherwise he's very dark and only glints being picked up by the softer environmental light.

Or the one from first person in the vents... notice the lighting level changes through the vent... where the xeno would be going in and out of dark and light.

Or the one where you are peering down on your squad mate... where they swing in quickly and are gone with your buddy in no time (if that's what happens in that scene... who knows!!!

There are lots of other factors that go into picking the right color balance (gameplay, different light levels throughout the whole game, accuracy, etc)... but we definitely have heard and understand the concerns about the coloring. The fact that *that's* the only sort of things people are really bringing up makes us so happy... couldn't ask for anything better.

We knew Close Encounters were going to be a tough sell from the start and the most controversial aspect of the pitch... and no matter what Xeno style or color you pick everyone has a different favorite. That's what different versions are there for.

As for all the exceptionally positive and supportive comments... nothing but huge thanks for that. It means a lot for everyone on the team to read it. Gives us that much more drive to meet the expectations and play the game with you now.

On a personal note it's nice to finally get to show you guys some stuff that myself and the other guys have been working on after so long of a black out.”

Commando Nukem Posted: “This may be a dumb question but... Are these things we're talking about like this? : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv73h8fOwec.

That scene really pissed me off. I figure they wont be a big deal as long as its not so A = live, B = death. Its just too damn frustrating to have to redo and redo and redo the same sequence over and over again because one keeps dying.

Wieder: “Not a dumb question at all. That's one version of QTE that people think we're doing and that's very much NOT what we're doing. People also try to imagine it like God of War and while that's closer than Resident Evil 4's... it's still not what we're doing.

People have also tried to compare it to Jericho, and the only thing we *really* share with those is that we stay in first person like they did, but it's still not an accurate comparison.

There really is not a game that has taken the approach we're taking. But I'm not in a position to get into specifics. Just know that we really do understand why people are going "We hate QTE!"... we actually dislike having the Close Encounters called Quick Time Events purely because of the connotation it has in people's minds. But... that's the way the world works and it's up to us to turn that tide as we get closer to release.”

Well thats it for rundown number 02

-Sh0dan signing off

Forums Rundown 01

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:44:46 GMT

I've been doing a lot of internet stalking lately. Following the games associate producer around various forums on the internet. Beware Charlie I am watching you.

I figured why let all that good stalking go to waste. May as well post what Mr Wiederhold has to say about the game when asked about it by the fans. So here is the first forums rundown, which I may or may not update infrequently.

So lets get to it. Over on the AvPGalaxy boards:-

Ccoletta86 Posted: “ok so we got 4 marines to play with but can i ask why they left out the female marines?, im sure they could of made it work as many great games feature women(resident evil series ect)”

(Charlie) Wieder Responded: “Female marines are an important aspect of Aliens (females are an important aspect of the entire series in fact). We would be doing a disservice to the franchise by not having them.”

My Opinion: I would like to add that one of the squad characters names mentioned is Bella. Sounds very feminine to me.

Weasel Posted: “Maybe even a very minor predator reference? I mean, Predator: CJ had a portion in it with aliens, do you think that they might throw in some little hidden predator references?”

Wieder: “This game is 100% Aliens and Colonial Marine goodness.”

My Opinion: Woot!

The Necronoir Posted: “Before the old incarnation of Aliens: Colonial Marines was cancelled years ago much emphasis was placed on the fact that the single-player campaign would be taking place between Aliens and Alien 3, beginning on the Sulaco and bridging the gap between the two movies as the USCMC sent in a squad to figure out what happened to LV-426 and the previous team. With this latest batch of screenshots it looks like this might actually be a resurrection of that original concept.

Wieder: “Promise... new game from scratch. The only relationship between the two is the name was just perfect for both titles, and we both wanted to explore the Sulaco after the events of Aliens/Alien 3. But that's due to it being a really great idea and not due to any intentional revival of the original project.

It's not an association we're upset to have since it's a game that we wish we could have played! But we certainly expect this one to replace the older one in people's minds (and search engines!) soon.”

gameoverman Posted: “Just wondering will you be able to choose your squad members from the start or are they pre-selected? I would definitely like it if it were like Ghost Recon and you had a bunch of people with different weapons/stats to choose from.”

Wieder: “As is mentioned in the article, the single player/co-op game is very story oriented. If you've read about who the writers are then you know just how important the story is to us. So given the priorities customized members of the squad isn't really a viable option... at least not with the elements contained within the story.

Just like how in the movies everything about the marine defined their role in the story, that's the same goal with our characters. The Drake/Vasquez relationship isn't the same if one is a pulse rifle wielding medic and the other is a smart gunner with an antique shotgun. Even Hicks' shotgun as his secondary weapon is a part of who he is and plays a role in the story.

Though... notice that the article says "generally" you won't be switching weapons.”

My Opinion: Still not sure what to make of this. Not a big fan of only certain weapons and items being switchable, but I do understand where the devs are coming from, since they really are trying to define who the characters are. I am definitely not a fan of no weapons being switchable, but I guess we will have to wait until further information is released before we can really complain.

vehtam Posted: “what's with 6-legged facehuggers?”

Wieder: There are 8 legs. The jumping shot just obscures them. The one coming out of the egg shows all 8 legs a little bit better, though still a little obscured.

Xhan Posted: “There's a large shot of marines in tandem, a view one (pulse rifle) while the others cover a marine welding the door. All the marines are the same model at this point. It look very much like ops, and there's a DooM ]I[ style gigantic blood smear on the floor.”

Wieder: “Actually that shot should have the motion tracker in view, not pulse rifle?

Amusingly enough... in that shot all three marines *are* different (you can just barely see the facial hair on one guy). For any characters we don't have 100% complete yet we're using a standard model, so it's a mix and match right now. Easy to see how GI would get it a little mixed up, especially since everyone's back is to you in that shot.”

Well that’s it for now guys, I gots me some more forums to stalk.

-Sh0dan signing off.

Free A:CM Article Download

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:37:53 GMT

I found a new article on Aliens: CM. A website called gamerzines.com has a downloadable PDF article on the Gearbox game. There’s absolutely nothing new in the article if you have already read the GI article and Playstation magazine. But for the peeps that haven’t, it can bring you up to date on current information. One thing of note at the end of the article, is that it states the game is 60% complete. Whether this is accurate or not is anyones guess. Though it sounds about right to me.

Games Radar Mini Preview

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:24:05 GMT

It seems Game Radar has a small piece on A:CM. Again mostly talking about stuff we already know about. But they did have this to say:

Quote: "There'll be a range of both claustrophobic indoor combat and less-restrictive outdoor conflict. Art on show in Gearbox HQ shows city areas, too. Though we'll probably be happy about being cooped up in a dingy colony base, with plenty of room to hide, when it's time for the Make A Stand scenarios."

Head on over to the website gamesradar.com if you would like to read the rest.

OPM Scans

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:53:08 GMT

It seems the Official Playstation Magazine has some more info on Gearbox Softwares Aliens: Colonial Marines game. I found some scans on the web, nothing new screen shot wise, but there are some nice renders of the APC and Dropship. I added them to the Photo Gallery, enjoy

HINT: While in the gallery, if you want to save the large image version use the download control in the panel on the right.

Again, if theres is any problem with me displaying these PM me and I will take them down.

-Sh0dan

New Screenshots

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:18:44 GMT

I was a bit unsure about putting these up since they seem to be leaked screenshots, so any problems PM me. Half of them where used in the GI article, but there are also eight new shots not seen yet. Thanks to funcroc for the link to Xbox360-Universe where the images where first seen. You can find the images in the new Photo Gallery I put up.

Game Informer Scans

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 20:06:59 GMT

Scans from the Gamer Informer magazine can now be found on the net at AvPGalaxy. Also I decided to put up a new Photo Gallery, so you can find them in there as well. Enjoy if you haven't already.

Also any problems with me displaying these and they will come down straight away.

-Sh0dan

Aliens: Colonial Marines coming in 2008

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:19:22 GMT

funcroc over on the Gearbox forums, just pointed out that Sega have announced a release date.

ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES VIDEO GAME DETAILS REVEALED

First-Person Shooter Based on Popular Motion Picture Franchise Coming to Xbox 360®, PLAYSTATION®3, and PC in Late 2008

LONDON AND SAN FRANCISCO (February 21st, 2008) - SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America, Inc. today revealed details of the highly anticipated squad-based first-person shooter video game, Aliens: Colonial Marines(tm). Licensed through an exclusive agreement with Twentieth Century Fox Licensing and Merchandising and developed by Gearbox Software, the game will be available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows-based PC in late 2008.

In Aliens: Colonial Marines, players are part of a United StatesColonial Marine squad and must prepare to face an alien assault more intense and horrific than ever before. Driven by a compelling and original story penned by renowned writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle Aliens: Colonial Marines will retain the atmospheric look and feel of the original films while leveraging next-generation technology to create an entirely new interactive Aliens experience.
Packing classic Aliens weaponry ranging from pulse rifles to flamethrowers as well as brand-new equipment and skills all within a squad-based combat system, players will become an elite United States Colonial Marine. Featuring claustrophobic environments, a brooding soundtrack, and a multitude of surprises and shocks, players will battle against menacing alien hordes in strikingly detailed levels that include the stark interiors of the abandoned Sulaco and unique environments created specifically for the game.
Aliens: Colonial Marines will feature a story driven single-player mode and an all-new four player co-op mode allowing players to share the chilling experience with three friends. In co-op mode, each player will assume the persona of a Colonial Marine and have a distinct role to play in the completion of every mission. Additionally, more multiplayer modes will be revealed later in the year that will complete the Aliens video game experience.
Since its 1979 debut, Alien and its three sequels have grossed more than $557 million worldwide, garnering numerous awards, including two Academy Awards®.

Brian Martel and Randy Pitchford Interviews

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 13:57:54 GMT

Game Informer interviewed both Brian Martel and Randy Pitchford on the highly anticipated Aliens: Colonial Marines game. You can download the FLV format videos here at rapidshare.com.

Password: EllenRipleyXenomorph

Thanks goes to Takhen for providing a download link.

The vids describe how GBX made a list of dream projects they would love to work on, Blade Runner, Hellboy etc, Aliens topped the list, and during a meeting with Sega the Aliens licence came up. They hinted that they would be interested and talked about the original film makers and agreed on the best type of game. GBX began researching the films, books etc, while Sega acquired the licence. Brian then describes his love for the original two films and remarks that Cameron’s contribution is the granddaddy of all military / sci-fi games, and that its important to get back to that. He goes on to say how with next gen technology they can do the game justice, they can really make the aliens look scary and settings freaky. Also that the characters are an integral part that have been forgotten about by many, and that in their game they really want to push the characters so that they matter to the player. He also describes how more recent contributions to the franchise have done the series disfavour in that respect.

In the last part he talks about how both Scott and Cameron’s films where very different but each had unique elements that made them successful, and that they wanted to recapture the same elements from both those films. He says you have to have those moments where the player is separated from his squad, and that if the player was always with them the threat level wouldn’t be high enough, that there should be moments when there is one alien stalking you alone and other moments when there is multiple aliens coming at you in volume.

In Randy’s vid, he mostly talks about the forming of Gearbox and their passion for game making. Its a good watch, but too much to type here, so I’ll just pick out the bits that are important to us Alien fans.

One thing he mentions, that I am not entirely certain on is using original designers for the films. He says that they don’t necessarily have to do all the work themselves when the guys that did the art for the original films can get involved. He says, Aliens is currently transitioning from a pre-production phase to production, but hasn’t reached alpha stage yet. And describes how all their different projects are at different levels of production and that, that helps them balance the talent around between the different projects. Towards the end of the interview Randy says they will definitely want to keep up their relationship with Sega, but also further on down the line their could be a possibility of doing something with Fox, and that creatively he would love to spend a lot more time within the Aliens franchise.

PS: Any problems with me linking these, PM me and they will be removed.

4 Player Coop?

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:42:30 GMT

I noticed this over on Gamestop.com

Developed by Brothers-in-Arms creator, Gearbox Software, Aliens: Colonial Marines is a squad-based first-person shooter which recaptures the tension, horror and combat of the movies that created the sci-fi action horror genre. In the game, players battle Aliens using a variety of awesome weapons including pulse-rifles and flamethrowers, plus brand-new equipment and skills. Aliens: Colonial Marines will retain the atmospheric look and feel of the original films while leveraging next-generation technology to create an entirely new interactive Aliens experience. Claustrophobic environments, a brooding soundtrack, and a multitude of surprises and shocks will take the tension and action to unparalleled levels. Game modes include a single-player campaign plus four-person multiplayer player co-op, plus many more to be revealed in future months.

Charlie also responded to a comment made by Parker on coop, on his Gaming is Stupid Blog. Saying that Game Informer has started to release some info on multiplayer also.

I think that pretty much confirms there will be some coop play.