Aliens: Colonial Marines

Aliens: Colonial Marines

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Response to Jul15, Randy Pitchford Eurogamer interview
On 24 JUL 15
[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-23-an-hour-with-randy-pitchford]

Let me go ahead and state my opinion on ACM, before exposing Randy's blatant lies and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ as posted in the above article (and other sources.) So, ACM is not a horrible game. There were clearly fans of Aliens involved in its creation. But, it was not great and it was most definitely NOT what was first advertised. The things I will zero in on the most is graphical fidelity (including animation) and artificial intelligence.

I am a big fan of the Alien franchise, as many of you reading this probably are. So I will be referencing Canon as well. After the E3 2011 infamous 11 minute clip, I thought, "this is a guaranteed home-run." Well, the take away is...I'll never pre-order again. I haven't since either. Now mind you, a lot of people harp on the aspects of the story or levels that were presented, but did not exist in the ACM:F (final) piece. I won't comment on that because stories in progress are ever changing (deleting and adding set pieces as well) and it's really only our individual opinion that decides whether we like the direction of the "new" Canon created in ACM. But, the idea that graphical fidelity and A.I. was lost due to technical limitations...is bulls#it.

The graphical fidelity of even the final patched ACM game was so far below E3 2011's, I still can't believe Gearbox got away with it. I'm not arguing that models and sets were not used in the final product, but the lighting effects and animations most definitely were not. But for some like members in IGN to argue that these were technical limitations or content that had to be reduced due to the creation process is disingenuous at best. Lets keep in mind before quoting Pitchford, that these 2011 released clips never stated “Work in Progress”, that was added later after it’s failure. To drive the point home, Randy states himslf (E3 2011 clip) “This is a big moment for us, because we haven't shown the game in action before. And so youre going to see what the game actually looks like. Not just screenshots...but the actual game-play.” [Source: https://youtu.be/2fHv4wQJfSY?t=1m16s]

Now that folks, was a lie. If were arguing game-play as first person shooter footage, then in theory you could have shown a clip of Call of Duty, etc, etc and said this is “actual game-play.” But, were not. We are talking about everything...most importantly, graphical fidelity. Now I cant prove this with numbers and graphs. But, watch [https://youtu.be/2fHv4wQJfSY?t=2m58s]. Did you see lighting and atmosphere effects in ACM:F like the next 60 seconds shows? I didn't. Did you see the power loader animations like this? [https://youtu.be/2fHv4wQJfSY?t=10m27s] I didn't. Pay close attention to the Alien animations as well. Those were more fluid, and most definitely could path-find better than xeno’s in ACM:F. Now, I understand it’s hard to prove. But for me...when its more fun watching this 11-minute video, than playing ACM:F...that’s a problem. It’s not like this level of graphical fidelity was impossible. With just 10 more gigs of data, Alien:Isolation made scenes that just looked utterly real. So not impossible for Gearbox and associates unless we are just questioning their programming skill.

The artificial intelligence was the worst aspect for me. Had these xeno’s been capable of more behavior like stalking and moving closer before exposing themselves to eyes, then it would have been a game changer for me. The graphics could have been overlooked. The xeno A.I. in ACM:F was abysmal. They just ran straight at you most of the time. Canon from both Alien and Aliens tells us that this wasn't the way they operated 90% of the time. Cameron was the first one to visualize the creatures using other surfaces for moving. He turned his camera’s upside down and sideways for the effect. But, the movie Alien alludes to this behavior. Brett was killed by this creature who was clearly stalking him from far above. It had to have the ability to not only quietly move down vertical equipment surfaces, but then pull Brett up. So Cameron really just extended those obvious ques from Alien. The first encounter in Aliens, xeno’s descended from above and were “coming out of the walls.” At one point a xeno sneaks up behind Newt using the cover of water. Later a xeno quietly waits behind an unlocked door for Burke. In the most poignant example, xeno’s use the hidden overhead space to close width and destroy the Marines+3 in operations. Etc, etc, etc. So many examples of xeno’s having intelligence and awareness...hive related or individual.

Lets go back to E3 2011 “game-play”. Out of Randy Pitchfords own mouth, “Aliens can climb on the celings, the walls. It’s all driven by sophisticated artificial intelligence.” [Source: https://youtu.be/2fHv4wQJfSY?t=4m55s] Well, thats good to hear Randy, because if you had just told me “don’t expect our artificial intelligence to have smart flanking maneuvers. They’ll be programmed to run right at you, they are just bugs.”, I would have kept my money to myself. More importantly, Randy would have no need for “sophisticated artificial intelligence” to pull that behavior off. So why then in Randy’s unapologetic ACM:F aftermath, does he state (JUL 15 Eurogamer interview), “Another person I engaged with it was like, the aliens were really stupid, they just sort of ran at me. I was like, kind of like they did in the movie? They're bugs. What are you expecting? Smart flanking manoeuvres? It's kind of weird.” So here...he is admitting this “stupid” xeno behavior is in the game and saying its Canon fault. Well, allow me to retort Randy. I’ve already proved above that xeno’s don't just sort of run at you. They use intelligence to flank from above below and the sides, from angles that are so good at disorienting. Moreover, they close width while staying hidden, as long as possible. That’s in the Canon that you supposedly love so much. It’s also in your own words during E3 2011. So why the acceptance of dumb xeno’s in ACM:F when you were clearly trying to bolster the xeno behavior in E3 2011?

I’m really only trying to say one thing here, Randy Pitchford is an egotistical charlatan, or at best a self-delusional liar. The community would have handled an apology or a fixed game. But, we didn't received either. The part that is frustrating for me (and I suspect most of you at some level) is that his reactions to the community's clear, concise and reasonable complaints were met with a mental wave of the hand. So why? Point blank, he thinks nothing of the money gamers spent to buy...cough, cough...pre-order his game and the falsehoods that it took to accomplish that.

What’s the fix? Well, when this bait and switch occured, the community attempted to use the legal route. This was either to get the product that we originally wanted and bought, or it’s to get our money back. When this route failed, we are left with the option of careful and prudent product inspection prior to purchase (Ha. Say that five times fast.). In the gaming world this means forgoing pre-orders and waiting until reviews are out. This is something that has become painfully obvious in the gaming community because of the ACM debacle. But, this is healthy. We need to let game makers know, empty promises for our money is not acceptable. With Gearbox, community plea’s were not enough. So I suggest we speak with our money...or lack of money. I say this as a fan of the Alien franchise and of someone who values my dollar paid out to gaming industry...let Randy be an example to other software studios and let him burn.

(I want to note that during the interview with Eurogamer, Pitchford uses the protected nature of creativity in art to insulate himself against most questions and critics. I would argue that a persons vision ceases to be protected art once it becomes a purchaseable commodity. Especially a commodity that falls within already licensed Canon. But, I digress. That’s just general Randy bashing.)

Sabot And Heat
Last edited by Sabot And Heat; Jul 28, 2015 @ 11:37am
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Showing 1-7 of 7 comments
mahon007 Jul 28, 2015 @ 11:24am 
Nice...
Garry Jul 28, 2015 @ 3:16pm 
I agree. Nicely written btw.
sc5879 Jul 28, 2015 @ 11:19pm 
great article.
Megatron Jul 28, 2015 @ 11:58pm 
I agree as well.

Randy needs to be taken out of the gaming picture. He clearly has made a huge amount of money for way too long, all he does is blame everyone else.

It's his fault duke nukem turned out to be a garbage game, and it's his fault why this game sucked as well.
Herald_UK Jul 30, 2015 @ 1:03am 
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. "
- Joseph Geobbels.

Nice rebuke. Very well put together.
xenon Jul 30, 2015 @ 5:06am 
a few points.
a:cm's graphics aren't that different from what have been shown in the demo. the biggest difference is the lighting. the models, textures and animations were actually... meh even by 2013 standards.

i remember randy running his mouth about how gearbox has found a way to make fully dynamically lit maps without taxing too much on hardware...then the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ has taken the words back and said it was too much.

regarding powerloader, by the way. it's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ scripted scene. look closely and you'll see what i mean. it basically aims at one spot, keeps looping the same animation, and even when the xenos stop coming out it's still firing.

the xeno ai was also terrible, with their animations. animations were stiff just like they were in the final, the biggest difference are scripted fov animations...they are simply flat out missing.
just to prove how ♥♥♥♥ the ai was, go back to the powerloader scene. you'll see xenos going into a...vent...and then simply glitch out in there and stand still. because they're simply scripted.

the entire thing was simply a few scripted levels. that's it.

this randy prick has been lying ever since he appeared on video.
Last edited by xenon; Jul 30, 2015 @ 5:08am
CMDR Benny Aug 7, 2015 @ 3:32am 
I've only just seen this.

I feel the position he adopted would have come across as more of a sincere, good faith thing if he'd been prepared to be a bit more straightforward in his answers and let people know how this debacle transpired in the first place, rather than being vague, evasive and talking about what is unverifiable.

It's all very well to call it a matter of taste but as a gamer who still plays the MP of this game and enjoys it, that's clearly not all there is to people's concerns. There are material, factual questions that have been raised about this release by a lot of gamers and assuming Mr Pitchford is straight up, it seems like a lot of the worst concerns and speculation could be swept aside with straightforward, factual answers.
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Date Posted: Jul 28, 2015 @ 11:22am
Posts: 7