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Vader
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Wed 11 Dec 2019, 21:23

About the Nostromo deck plans. Chariot of the Gods only shows the A deck. The recently released blueprints book which I highly recommend shows the other decks and I was very pleased with it. You can sort of run your finger over it and go "This is where Brett was taken, this is probably the hallway where Ripley saw the alien when she tried to get to the escape shuttle.." etc. The A deck in that book is identical to Chariot of the Gods I think but you see the other decks and how it all fits together. 
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You may want to check my Nostromo thread in the General forum. It's fairly low down on the first page.

In it, I address Graham Langridge's blueprints book, ALIEN: Isolation, as well as a number of other sources.
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
Riggswolfe
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Thu 12 Dec 2019, 06:14

You've done good work in that thread though your version of the Nostromo is too large I believe. I'm also not fond of the idea that the Nostromo is essentially a hyperdrive module that gets attached to the refinery but that's more a personal objection and one I think tries to solve a problem I'm not sure exists.

But about it being too large. I believe this may be a screenshot of the Nostromo on LV426 or something close to it. Notice the little bit sticking out in front. That's the bridge. Knowing what we know about the size of it in the ship, the Nostromo can have at most 4 decks but I think 3 is more likely.

Image

In this version you can see the lighted windows that are barely visible as bulges on the outside the bridge.

Image

I do have a lot of sympathy for your issues with how the maps work compared to the movies. Star Wars infamously has this problem with the Millennium Falcon and attempts to map it. They've finally more or less settled on a "good enough" deck plan but for decades there were issues especially when you compared the set sizes to the exterior views we get. I think the Nostromo probably has a similar problem. 
 
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Vader
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Thu 12 Dec 2019, 10:34

Great post!

Lest we get this thread (being about "xenomorphs") too far off topic -- could you re-post it in the Nostromo thread, and we'll continue discussing it there?

I can say that you are not wrong in your comment about the scale, but the question is much more complex than that, with several other ramifications. I'll gladly go into a lot more depth on it.
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
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Diego
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Fri 13 Dec 2019, 20:02


Non-snark: the important element is that the director made it clear that it wasn't removable, and that the process is inherently fatal to the host. Whether one considers that embryonic, canceroid, or digestive damage is largely immaterial to play; it only matters which if you're doing the one thing the creator decided was impossible... removing it without killing the victim. Also, given the time  that the facehugger spends hooked on, the critter itself having acid blood, and being able to suffocate the victim if attacked... whether embryonic, canceroid, or digestive, the death of the host is ensured by the time the facehugger falls off.

All the official and semi-official sources imply it to be canceroid in process, but, fundamentally, the difference between a fœtus and a cancer is merely that the fœtus organizes and differentiates while the cancer does not. (Some forms of cancer still organize - and can be classed by that organized shape.)
Yeah couldn't agree more. Given the rapid growth of the creature inside of the person the amount of tissue damage is going to be immense. Losing what is the mass of a chestburster from the chest captivity is going to assure death in hours. Even if the material taken into the creature for it's assimilation comes from all around the body, that's a lot of vital components lost, no wonder Kane says how shit he feels after waking back up and why he's hungry. Interesting points though about the cancerous nature of the creature. I can only guess that the reason why the immune system doesn't savage it early in it's development is because of the genetic material it takes from the host and utilises it to bypass a creatures internal defenses.
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https://alienwanderer.obsidianportal.com/
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Riggswolfe
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Sun 15 Dec 2019, 02:32

 I can only guess that the reason why the immune system doesn't savage it early in it's development is because of the genetic material it takes from the host and utilises it to bypass a creatures internal defenses.
This is actually a really good reason for why the alien absorbs some genetic material from the host. To keep it from being attacked by the body's defenses before it matures.
 
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Diego
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Sun 15 Dec 2019, 02:58

 I can only guess that the reason why the immune system doesn't savage it early in it's development is because of the genetic material it takes from the host and utilises it to bypass a creatures internal defenses.
This is actually a really good reason for why the alien absorbs some genetic material from the host. To keep it from being attacked by the body's defenses before it matures.
Yep, one of many in fact.
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https://alienwanderer.obsidianportal.com/
Session 9+ now up
 
S.M
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Sun 15 Dec 2019, 09:14

In regards to stages I just see them as a game mechanic same as what you'd find in a video game to provide a variety of enemies.  As far as the films go there's adults (aka warriors) and Queens.  In regards to naming, the capital A Alien is Xenomorph XX121 - to differentiate from other xenomorph lifeforms.

The different varieties can be put down to factors like the type of host, environmental factors, the age of the creature, genetic crossing (in Alien Resurrection), etc.

As for the host DNA determining the type of creature - that's not an Alien 3 thing.  It was established back when they were making Alien.
 
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Vader
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Thu 19 Dec 2019, 12:43

In regards to stages I just see them as a game mechanic same as what you'd find in a video game to provide a variety of enemies.  As far as the films go there's adults (aka warriors) and Queens.  In regards to naming, the capital A Alien is Xenomorph XX121 - to differentiate from other xenomorph lifeforms.
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My point precisely. But in the game the word seems to mean something else, as the section "Alien Species" is divided into the chapters "The Xenomorphs" for all the Alien variations, and "Other Extra-Solar Species" for all the other xenomorphs.

I feel the whole section by rights ought to be called "Xenomorphs" (without the the, which only compounds the issue), and be divided per xenomorph catalogue number, or by name, when they haven't "officially" been catalogued.
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
sathyr
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Thu 19 Dec 2019, 22:23

In regards to stages I just see them as a game mechanic same as what you'd find in a video game to provide a variety of enemies.  As far as the films go there's adults (aka warriors) and Queens.  In regards to naming, the capital A Alien is Xenomorph XX121 - to differentiate from other xenomorph lifeforms.
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My point precisely. But in the game the word seems to mean something else, as the section "Alien Species" is divided into the chapters "The Xenomorphs" for all the Alien variations, and "Other Extra-Solar Species" for all the other xenomorphs.

I feel the whole section by rights ought to be called "Xenomorphs" (without the the, which only compounds the issue), and be divided per xenomorph catalogue number, or by name, when they haven't "officially" been catalogued.
To be fair, that's mostly how it is. The Lion worms, Scorpionids, Harvesters, and Swarm are all catalogued creatures; the Neomorphs and XX121's are not. The existence of the Engineers is not classified, so while they may not be catalogued per se, they're still known to exist.

There's also value in catering to the common parlance rather than being overly technical when you're trying to engage the casual fan, and the casual fan thinks Xenomorph = XX121.
 
S.M
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Re: Trying to make sense of "Xenomorphs"

Fri 20 Dec 2019, 08:23

Yep.  Alien can many things to the average punter.  If you say Xenomorph, any familiar with that term knows exactly what you're talking about.
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