Aliens: colonial marines (2013 video game)

BDUs (Battledress Utilities)

Standard USCM battledress utilities (BDUs) are two-piece, lightweight polycotton coveralls with pockets secured by silent fasteners. BDUs are issued in several different patters for deployments to temperate, desert and jungle zones. The disruptive pattern of the fabric is printed in at least three colors, dependant on the design, and the different high-temperature dyes used in the print process are each designed to absorb infrared radiation at different frequencies, effectively breaking up the wearers IR signature. The dyes’ IR properties break down after time, especially after repeated washing, and so uniform utilities have to be replaced on a regular basis.

Normal utility fatigues, shirts, caps etc. have no special thermal properties, although USCM issue body warmers, ponchos and arctic clothes are designed to a ‘blackbody’ standard that provides a complete thermal shield.

«One of the most important pieces of protection I was issued were my shades. They were BiMex polarised filters with a non-reflective surface, designed to protect against lasers and nuke flash. I wore them damn things all the time, man. Never once saw a nuke, but I saw too many guys get blinded by sniping lasers.«

―PFC Harry Harris, 2/2 Colonial Marine, 8 Eta Boötis III, Chinese Arm (from Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual, p. 27)

Boots

• Commercial Industrial Boots (steel toe protection) — (Logistics Duties)
• M3 Boots (leather upper)
• M7 Jungle Boots (breathable nylon and leather upper)
• M8A2 Thermal Line Arctic Boots

Voice Talents[]

• Dwayne Hicks …. Michael Biehn
• Bishop …. Lance Henriksen
• Drake …. Mark Rolston
• Apone …. Al Matthews
• O’Neal …. Travis Willingham
• Christopher Winter …. Derek Phillips
• Bella …. Nisa Ward
• Cruz …. Jason Douglas
• Keyes …. Matthew Mercer
• Reid …. Ashly Burch
• Hudson …. Andrew Bowen
• Jennifer Redding …. Kimberly Brooks
• Demarcus Short …. Markus Lloyd
• Guillermo Quintaro …. Jason Liebrecht
• Michael Weyland …. Lance Henriksen (uncredited)
• Marines ….
  • Adam Ray
  • Anastasia Munoz
  • James Logan
  • Joel Johnstone
  • Sam Riegel
  • Steve Braun
  • Tiffany Hobbs
  • Khary Payton
  • Paul Brindley
• Weyland-Yutani ….
  • Feodor Chin
  • Dave Fouquette
  • Jesse Mackey
  • Dan White
  • Peter Jessop
  • Sunil Malhotra
  • Arif S. Kinchen
  • Keith Silverstein
• Additional Voices ….
  • Adam Epstein
  • Jason Foster
  • Zach Hanks

Мультиплеер

В сетевой игре Морпехи могут создать себе 5 наборов оружия. Чужие представлены в 3 видах, с различными способностями — Люркер, Плевун и Солдат. И у Морпехов и у Чужих присутствует широкая кастомизация, как внешнего Вида, так и боевых характеристик и снаряжения.

Мультиплеер представлен в игре в нескольких режимах:

КООПЕРАТИВ — Прохождение сюжетной кампании совместно с другими игроками (до 4 игроков), с возможностью динамического присоединения. В отличие от одиночной игры, товарищам можно помогать в случае тяжёлого ранения. Один из игроков (хост игры) играет за Уинтера, остальные трое играют за новых персонажей, не доступных в одиночном режиме.

СХВАТКА — Игра длится 2 раунда по 5 минут. Игроки делятся на 2 команды. Одна команда играет за команду Морпехов, другая за Чужих, в следующем раунде игроки меняются командами. Задача уничтожать оппонентов. За каждое убийство начисляются очки каждому игроку, а также всей команде. Побеждают игроки, чья команда набирает больше очков по окончании двух раундов.

ИСТРЕБЛЕНИЕ — Игра длится 2 раунда. Игроки делятся на 2 команды, Морпехов и Чужих, в следующем раунде команды меняются местами. Задача Морпехов уничтожать кладки яиц Чужих, удерживая позицию в течение некоторого времени, за что они получают очки. Задача Чужих не допускать уничтожение кладок и истреблять морпехов. Побеждает команда набравшая большее количество очков, по истечении двух раундов.

СПАСЕНИЕ — Игра делится на 2 раунда. Игроки разбиваются на 2 команды — Морпехов и Чужих. В следующем раунде команды меняются. Морпехи должны добраться до точки эвакуации, попутно выполняя различные задачи по выживанию. Чужие обязаны уничтожить всех Морпехов. Побеждает команда набравшая большее количество очков.

ВЫЖИВАНИЕ — Игра длится 2 раунда. Игроки делятся на 2 команды: Морпехи и Чужие. Во 2 раунде игроки меняются. Цель Морпехов — выживать в течение длительного времени, попутно выполняя тактические задания. Чужие должны уничтожить всех морпехов. Побеждают игроки набравшие максимальное количество очков.

References

1. «Aliens: Colonial Marines Wii U Gets Cancelled». GamingUnion.net (2013-04-06). Retrieved on 2013-04-06.
2. Thomas Whitehead (05 Apr 2013). «Aliens: Colonial Marines Cancelled on Wii U». Nintendo Life. Retrieved on 2013-04-7.
3. ‘Aliens: Colonial Marines’ Actor Michael Biehn Says Working On The Game ‘Wasn’t Fun At All’ (forbes.com)
4. Michael Biehn: voicing Hicks in Aliens Colonial Marines «wasn’t fun at all» | PC Gamer
5. Michael Biehn: Working on Colonial Marines ‘wasn’t fun at all’ | Engadget
6. Lara, James (March 22, 2013). «Aliens: Colonial Marines Bug Hunt DLC Review». MP1st. OPNetwork. Retrieved on March 29, 2013.
7. http://web.archive.org/web/20130215102942/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277125/?

Trivia

• The weekly salary of a Marine is $500-760.
• While never officially stated, it seems likely that the USCM was inspired by the United States Marine Corps, which was formed in 1775 and has fought in dozens of conflicts, including World War II and the War on Terror. The US Marines specialize in force projection operations far from home bases, much like the USCM. However, while the US Marines rely on the United States Navy for their mobility, the USCM is apparently a combined force capable of self-contained mobility and combat operations.
• In reality, only Great Britain has ever fielded a professional military force known as Colonial Marines (officially titled the Corps of Colonial Marines), which it did twice — the first Corps served in the Caribbean from 1808 to 1810, while the second, more substantial Corps operated in America from 1814 to 1816. During the American Revolutionary War, a group of militiamen also operated under the title of American Colonial Marines, although it was an irregular unit.
• A Colonial Marine Corps appears in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, which also featured Predator actor Bill Duke in a guest role in its second season.
• The actors playing the Colonial Marines in Aliens were required to read the Robert A. Heinlein novel Starship Troopers as part of their preparations prior to filming, and also took part in a training boot camp run by the SAS (Special Air Service), the UK’s elite special forces regiment, to help them effectively portray military combat personnel on screen.

Video[edit]

Video settings.

Field of view (FOV)edit

A slider is included, but no specific values are viewable.

Mission

The USCM is the major striking element of the United Americas Allied Command, and is the nation’s only major means of forcibly entering a hostile area from space. Its ability to project power on distant worlds makes it an essential element to the nation’s security, and as such its versatility and responsiveness are key in any crisis.

While the USCM is not directly controlled by Weyland-Yutani, they are often called upon as a security force when the interests of the company are at risk, as the business generated by their ventures is considered a great asset by the UA administration.[citation needed]

Trivia

• Aliens: Colonial Marines featured a number of firsts for the Aliens comic book universe:
  • It is the first comic book to depict Xenomorphs adapting to their environment based on the animals in which they gestate (a concept first depicted by Alien3); in this case, the seafaring Aliens of the planet Bracken’s World.
  • The comic also portrays the mutagenic effects of the Queen’s Royal Jelly on humans.
  • Colonial Marines introduces the first black synthetic in the form of the shop steward.
  • Finally, it introduces the Xenomorph-killing mercenary Herk Mondo in issue #6. Mondo would go on to star in two stories of his own in following years (Aliens: Mondo Pest and Aliens: Mondo Heat).
• Continuity-wise, the comic contains references to events and characters from numerous other Aliens comics stories, both past and concurrent, including Outbreak, Nightmare Asylum, Female War, Rogue, Newt’s Tale, Labyrinth and others.
• A letters page was included in the original issues, along with occasional supplemental material such as character pre-production sketches and diagrams of some of the new vehicles featured.
• There is some differences between single comic issues and the digital version:
  • In issue 1, one of the Marine is named Carrano while in issue 4 and 5 he is named Cerrano as in Tony Atkins sketchs. This have been corrected as Carrano in the digital version.
  • The numerous use of the word «Shit» is absent from the digital version. For example, when Corchiani realize that the situation going awry he says «Shit Shit Shit Shit!!!!». It has been changed in the digital version replacing «Shit» by «No»
  • In issue 3, when the Marines are stuck in the Zero-G well one of them says «They tore that bulkhead like toilet paper!». The word «toilet» was removed from the digital version.
  • Still in issue 3 when Xenomorphs were ejected in space, Boston tells Beliveau to look at the monitor, and Beliveau says «It has to be Bradshaw’s doing! He’s been waiting for me!». For unknown reasons the quote has completely disappeared from the digital version, despite being rather essential to the plot.

Star Wars Probe Droid (lower right)

• During the Joliet Mining Facility arc, there is a small hovering droid bearing a striking ressemblance with Star Wars Viper Probe Droid.

Gallery

The contents of the Collector’s Edition.

Queen

Promotional image for the game.

Soldier multiplayer skin.

Lurker multiplayer skin.

Spitter multiplayer skin.

Boiler multiplayer skin.

Crusher multiplayer skin.

Concept art

Concept art for the main Marines (O’Neal, Winter, Reid, and Bella).

Winter concept art.

O’Neal concept art (note the dog).

Reid concept art.

Marine squad concept art.

Monday as Hudson concept art.

Concept art of Monday as a PMC and colonist.

Weyland-Yutani PMC concept art.

Hazmat PMC/scientist concept art.

Assorted Hazmat concepts.

Weyland-Yutani mech concept art.

Concept art of the «Ranger’s» head.

Concept art of the Raven Xenomorph

Ditto.

Concept art of the Raven’s head.

Concept art of various heads and tails for the Raven.

Concept art of a Power Loader.

FTL ship concept art.

G2 Electroshock Grenade concept art.

M41A Pulse Rifle MK2 concept art.

M42A Scope Rifle concept art.

M39 Submachine Gun concept art.

Benelli Super 90 concept art.

Colt M1911 concept art.

NSG 23 Assault Rifle concept art.

XM99A Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle concept art.

Weyland-Yutani modified APC concept art.

Interior.

Kale Menges concept art of a Xenomorph.

Kale Menges concept art of various Xenomorph types, including what looks like a Praetorian and Snake Alien.

Ditto.

Kale Menges concept art of what looks like an early rendition of the Crusher.

Collector’s Edition

As well as various standard editions, a deluxe Collector’s Edition of the game was also made available, containing both bonus items available to the player in-game and exclusive physical memorabilia. This edition came packaged in a «Xeno Hive» cardboard box. The exclusive in-game content was later made available separately as DLC, but the physical items remain exclusive to the Collector’s Edition.

The exclusive items packaged with the Collectors’ Edition include:

• A Power Loader figure depicting a Marine fighting a Xenomorph Drone
• A USS Sephora blueprint
• A USS Sephora mission briefing printout
• A USCM graduation certificate
• A USCM recruitment card
• An LV-426 reconnaissance photograph
• Two iron-on USCM badges

Essential improvements[edit]

Pre-order Bonus/DLC Weapons

These weapons were originally only available with certain special editions of the game or by pre-ordering. They were later released as additional DLC for anyone to purchase. Like legendary weapons, they cannot be customized aesthetically or functionally.

Ripley’s Pulse Rifle

Main article: Ripley’s Pulse Rifle

Ripley’s jury-rigged Pulse Rifle/Flamethrower combination.

Based on the M41A Pulse Rifle/M240 Incinerator Unit combination rigged together with duct tape by Ellen Ripley near the end of Aliens. As with Hudson’s Pulse Rifle, it has a full 99-round rifle magazine (downloaded to 95 rounds) but is also capable of full-auto fire. It is incredibly versatile and powerful but can only be fired from the hip and blocks a large part of the player’s view due to its size.

It was initially available to those who purchased the Collector’s Edition, but was later released as DLC for everyone. It is the only DLC weapon that is also a legendary weapon.

XM99A Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle

Main article: XM99A Phased Plasma Pulse Rifle

A weapon based on boasts made by Hudson in Aliens (which was itself a reference to the gunshop scene in James Cameron’s earlier film The Terminator). A powerful energy beam weapon that must be charged in order to fire. Comes with a pre-attached 2x scope and contains limited energy to fire inside the cell.

It was initially available to those who purchased the Collector’s Edition, but was later released as DLC for everyone.

Sawed-off Double Barrel Shotgun

Main article: Sawed-off double barrel shotgun

Self-descriptive weapon. Fires two shells at once and must be reloaded after each shot, devastating, but it carries limited ammunition.
It was initially only available with the Extermination Edition, but was later released as DLC.

P9 SHARP Rifle

Main article: P9 Sonic Harpoon Artillery Remote Projectile Rifle

A weapon based on boasts made by Hudson in Aliens, the Sonic Harpoon Artillery Remote Projectile Rifle fires time delayed explosive darts that stick onto targets and detonates either upon impact of a target or after a few seconds upon hitting a solid surface.

It was initially available to those who pre-ordered the game, but was later released as DLC for everyone.

G2 Electroshock Grenade

Main article: G2 Electroshock Grenade

Propels to a height of 1m before unleashing a 1.2 gigavolt charge; informally known as the ‘Sonic Electronic Ball Breaker’ due to the detonation height and effect. It can be «cooked» like the M40 HEDP, though it has no effects on its countdown.

Based on boasts made by Hudson in Aliens, the weapon is a time detonation bounding mine, or ‘bouncing betty’ device. A handheld grenade is tossed to the ground. It then propels itself upward and delivers an electric payload of over 1,200,000,000 volts. The shock is instantaneous and delivers enough current to halt the central nervous system, but is rarely fatal.

History

«The marines train you like they want to kill you. And yeah, some don’t make it. They quit get injured, or they do something stupid and check out early. So, surviving means something. Means you’re a tough son of a bitch. Also means you’re representing something larger than yourself. The ones who came before you, the ones who’ll follow in your footsteps. And the ones you had to leave behind.«

―Alec Brand (from Aliens: Rescue)

The National Security Act of 2101 formally established the Colonial Marines and its structure. At its peak in 2165 during the Tientsin campaign, the USCM numbered over 240,000 Marines; by 2179 that number had dropped to 165,000, with a further 50,000 in reserve.

Shortly after the passage of the Colonial Protection Act in 2187, the Colonial Marines were renamed to the United Americas Colonial Marines (UACM). Additional to the name change, recruitment for the Corps was expanded from just North America to all other regions of the United Americas. Despite the name change, insignia and traditions from the previous organization carried over.

At some point in 2600 AD, Weyland-Yutani had bought the Colonial Marines, as the company had become vast and powerful to become a major politcal influence to rival an official government.

Послевоенное развитие

Война закончилась в феврале 1815 года, и три европейские роты 3-го батальона, Королевской и Колониальной морской пехоты были отправлены обратно в Великобританию. С их уходом батальон был преобразован в 3-й батальон Colonial Marines, состоящий из шести пехотных рот Colonial Marines и штабной роты Royal Marines, привезенных из Канады. Они несли гарнизонную службу на Королевской военно-морской верфи на острове Ирландия , Бермуды, и были доставлены оттуда на транспорте Lord Eldon, который должен был быть распущен в Тринидаде 20 августа 1816 года. Рядом с тем, что сейчас известно как Принс-Таун , бывшие колониальные морские пехотинцы сформировали свободный фермерское сообщество, известное как Merikens (иногда пишется Merikins) , под наблюдением их бывших унтер-офицеров. Домохозяйства имели участки площадью 16 акров (6,5 га). Эти поселения были успешными, и в 1847 году было официально признано их право собственности на землю. Сообщество потомков сохраняет свою самобытность и ежегодно отмечает свои корни.

Отряд во Флориде, который вырос примерно до 400 человек, был распущен, когда британский пост был эвакуирован в конце войны. Небольшое количество мужчин отправилось на Бермуды с британцами в составе группы беженцев, присоединившись к основным силам колониальной морской пехоты. Другие из подразделения Флориды остались в поселениях вокруг форта, который стал символом восстания рабов. Южные владельцы плантаций считали присутствие группы вооруженных беглых рабов даже в отдаленном и малонаселенном районе испанской Флориды неприемлемой опасностью; Это привело под руководством генерала Эндрю Джексона к битве при Негритянском форте в июле 1816 года и началу Первой войны семинолов . За участие в конфликте два бывших вспомогательных офицера корпуса были казнены в 1818 году в ходе так называемого инцидента Арбетнота и Амбристера . Считается , что бывшие беженцы Colonial Marine были в числе группы, сбежавшего на Багамах в 1822 году и основал на западном побережье острова Андрос , Ноколстаун [ так в оригинале ], сообщество , которое сохраняет свою идентичность на сегодняшний день.

Критика

Игра получила противоречивые отзывы от игроков и прессы, в большинстве случаев негативные. К недостаткам игры относили недоработанную графику, большое количество багов и частые ошибки поведения ИИ. Была отмечена кардинальная разница в уровне проработки показанной в трейлерах ранней версии игры и финальной. С другой стороны, некоторые издания и игроки отмечали, что несмотря на внешние недоработки игра сохранила аутентичную атмосферу фильма «Чужие», и соответствует духу шутеров «старой школы», при этом позволяя насладиться кооперативным прохождением с друзьями, а также хорошим мультиплеером.

Впоследствии разработчики попытались исправить недостатки PC-версии игры в нескольких больших патчах общим размером более 10 GB. Были исправлены различные ошибки, изменено поведение ИИ, добавлены текстуры более высокого разрешения и поддержка SSAO.

Журнал «Игромания» назвал игру «провалом года» (2013), а портал «Игромания.ру» наградил антипремией «Стрела в колено» (2013).

Майкл Бин, озвучивавший Хикса, которого он сыграл и в кино, обвинил «Gearbox Software» в том, что они работали над игрой без какого-либо энтузиазма и вдохновения.

В апреле 2013 года Роджер Дэмиен Перрайн и Джон Локк подали иск в английское Агентство по рекламным стандартам, обвинив SEGA и Gearbox в том, что рекламные трейлеры игры не отражали её реального качества и могли ввести игроков в заблуждение. SEGA признала вину и согласилась выплатить 1.25 миллиона долларов. Теперь все трейлеры игры будут снабжены соответствующей пометкой.

1 ноября 2017 года разработчик модов для игры нашёл опечатку в файле конфигурации .ini. В результате правки, игровой ИИ сильно преображается. Это делает ксеноморфов значительно умнее, и они гораздо реже попадают в тупиковые ситуации.

Tactical Weapons

These include hand grenades and placed mines and are stored as part of the player’s inventory.

M40 HEDP Grenade

Main article: M40 HEDP Grenade

Composition B15 fragmentation grenade used in both the U1 Grenade Launcher attachment and as a hand-thrown time-delay explosive. In the latter role, the timed fuse can be «cooked» by holding the fire button.

U4 Firebomb

Main article: U4 Firebomb

A Napalm B-based incendiary explosive; creates lasting chemical fires that reach temperatures of 1200 degrees Celsius. Detonates on impact, it cannot be cooked. Can either be thrown or fired off by its specially designed grenade launcher attachment.

M20 Claymore Mine

Main article: M20 Claymore Mine

A laser-triggered directional fragmentation anti-personnel mine. Consists of an explosive charge embedded with ball bearings. Designed for area defense or to slow an enemy advance.

Development

Aliens: Colonial Marines had a long and troubled development cycle, much like that of Duke Nukem: Forever, another high-profile Gearbox release from around the same time. A previous game under the Colonial Marines name was developed by Check Six Games and was to be published by Fox Interactive and Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 2 in 2001, but it was cancelled before it could hit shelves. A more traditional first-person shooter, it shared the same subject matter and setting as the Gearbox-developed game — it was to take place between the events of Aliens and Alien3, following a rescue team of Colonial Marines searching for the Sulaco. Despite the similarities in gameplay and story, however, Gearbox has stated that their game is unrelated to the Check Six version.

On December 11, 2006, SEGA had announced that they had purchased the electronic rights to the Alien franchise from 20th Century Fox. On December 15 of the same year, Gearbox Software and SEGA announced that they were working on a completely new game based on the franchise. A little over a year later in February of 2008, the game’s title was officially announced as Aliens: Colonial Marines and it was featured as the cover story of Game Informer magazine.

The development team took great pains to recreate the vehicles and settings of the films by using original set designs to recreate the exterior and interior of the Sulaco and LV-426. Concept artist Syd Mead, who had worked on Aliens, was hired to design areas of the Sulaco that did not appear in the film but would be used in the game.

A Shacknews article dated November 21, 2008, reported that Aliens: Colonial Marines game had been delayed, supposedly because of layoffs at Gearbox Software. However, Gearbox president Randy Pitchford continued to insist that development on the game continued. In a Kotaku article, SEGA had announced that their new Aliens vs. Predator game was to be released in early 2010 would be the first of the Aliens games to be released since aquiring the property, meaning that Aliens: Colonial Marines would come sometime afterwards.

At the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), Gearbox showed off five screenshots and stated that the game remained a priority for them.

In the beginning of June 2011, Gearbox unveiled a teaser trailer and officially announced that Colonial Marines would be presented at E3 2011 and that the game was expected to be released in spring of 2012. However, by January 2012, SEGA had announced that it had decided to delay the game yet again, pushing it to a fall 2012 release date. In addition, Gearbox Software also announced that they would be releasing a new trailer. On May 21, 2012, Gearbox Software had announced a February 12, 2013 launch for Aliens: Colonial Marines on PS3, 360 and PC with a Wii U release date announcement «at a later time». However, following the poor reception the game received, this port was ultimately cancelled.

Much of the game’s plot was written by re-imagined Battlestar Galactica writers Bradley Thompson and David Weddle. Gearbox has stated that they were invited to speak with Ridley Scott and view the script for his «Alien prequel» Prometheus, and several subtle references to Prometheus appear in Aliens: Colonial Marines. Ahead of release, it was rumoured that the prison colony on Fiorina «Fury» 161 would appear as a location in the game, although this was ultimately dropped from the campaign before the final release. The prison later appeared in the Movie Map Pack DLC for the game’s multiplayer, and also made an appearance (in several cutscenes) in the game’s singleplayer expansion, Stasis Interrupted.

Issues fixed[edit]

Failed to start game (app already running) erroredit

There is no universal fix, however these are confirmed to work for some users.

Failed to start game (RU release doesn’t work when English language is selected)edit

This solution is probably applicable to other non-English releases.

The game crashes to desktop after trademark screen, shows one of the error messages from previous issues.

Blue screen on AMD CPUedit

There seems to be problem with game running on AMD FX processors where game crashes to BSOD or freezes system. Issue is similar to Borderlands 2 BSOD and fix also works with Aliens: Colonial Marines.

No texturesedit

Forcing anti-aliasing via drivers on Nvidia GeForce cards will result in missing textures and black game scene.

Game Freezes / Crashes during Sessionedit

Due a memory restriction (x86 build), the game is limited to work with a maximum of 2GB of VRAM. Try either:

GPU detection fixedit

Game has problems with detecting some graphic adapters — mainly mobile GPUs and new graphics. Because of this, game can select wrong settings profile for your system.

 Log: GPU stats:
 Log: DeviceID: 00001244 
 Log: DeviceName: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti

 Log: GPU stats:
 Log: 	VendorID: 00001002
 Log: 	DeviceID: 00006738
 Log: 	DriverVersion: 8.17.10.1169
 Log: 	DeviceName: AMD Radeon HD 6800 Series

Unresponsive controlsedit