Xenomorph senses?

[Palekids]

Now I know its blind but in this game I feel like its definitely based on line of sight. I know it works off of noise but since I haven't been playing the game long, does it also work off of line of sight?

[F.Ultra]

yes it does also work off of line of sight.

[Palekids]

Originally posted by F.Ultra:

yes it does also work off of line of sight.

That kind of sucks, doesn't quite make sense but then again it may make things too easy.

[F.Ultra]

Well according to official sources the species might not have eyes as we know them but that does not mean that they cannot see:

The creatures are also capable of detecting heat via highly sensitive thermoreactive organs located behind the skull's frontal plate — which is itself constructed of the unusual C60 carbon-lattice, known to demonstrate exceptional conducive properties. Finally, the creatures possess largely vestigial photosensitive organs flanking the frontal plate; these visual receptors are thought to aid the creatures in seeing each other (Xenomorphs produce no notable body heat, a fact that would otherwise render them blind to their thermal receptors). These remnant visual organs are also thought to grant the creature the necessary depth perception required when attacking prey

[slimak[PL]]

played on hard and it seems to see whats in front of him so he can get past you hiding on the side somewhere and not notice you. also he doesnt react istantly and there's some short safe period to quickly get behind cover. also hiding behind not too high desks somehow works... and he never got me from under the desk. so the only problem was gettin into place with no spot to hide nearby.

and as for noise, on one fo the levels when alien just attacks constantly on you, I noticed that crouching instead of walking caues less attraction and its possible to do this part when hes clearly raging, only by sneaking to not face him, so I think theres diffrence between both. but not sure about blowtorches for instance, and getting into lockers that "seem" loud but I think its not creating actual noise for the alien if he doesnt see you when you enter them but im not 100% sure about that.

and he hears motion tracker of course so use it for sp[lit second only when alien's nearby.

[Palekids]

It may just be me but I constantly had issues right after being it when he attacks those three people and in doing so magically kept finding me. I got past it but too longer than it should have.

[slimak[PL]]

in the beginning of the game around the place where you find the hacking tool? if so, then yeah, he did it to me too, magically he saw me from lower level through barriers maybe it was scripted to increase chance of noticing me there. I think some portions in this game are silently scripted, and Im not talking cutscenes nor events that push plot forward, just casual stuff, this would be marginal minority, but still. in some portions I died in the very same way, sometimes alien appeared in the very same spot. so, as I said, I think they "forced" certain events towards happening in some specific way. OR last possibility, some objects in game in fact do not give you any cover, and some of them, although logically you should be spotted instantly, seem to keep you hidden.

[Mazryonh]

Originally posted by F.Ultra:

Well according to official sources the species might not have eyes as we know them but that does not mean that they cannot see:

The creatures are also capable of detecting heat via highly sensitive thermoreactive organs located behind the skull's frontal plate — which is itself constructed of the unusual C60 carbon-lattice, known to demonstrate exceptional conducive properties. Finally, the creatures possess largely vestigial photosensitive organs flanking the frontal plate; these visual receptors are thought to aid the creatures in seeing each other (Xenomorphs produce no notable body heat, a fact that would otherwise render them blind to their thermal receptors). These remnant visual organs are also thought to grant the creature the necessary depth perception required when attacking prey

This doesn't explain how the Alien is able to sense its surroundings as opposed to other living creatures. Seeing in thermograph isn't particularly useful just for getting around a room (look at videos taken with thermal cameras and see how low-detail the environment ends up being, since it's largely the same temperature). "Vestigial" visual organs don't sound like they can see much detail either, and would still be light-dependent. Echolocation would not be light-dependent but would necessarily be limited to the distances the user of that sense can hear its own sound pulses echoed back.

I liked how in the Aliens vs. Predator PC games the Aliens could determine what kind of species a living being was by smelling its pheromones. In game terms this translated to humans having a blue aura, Predators having a green aura, Aliens having a red aura (so it could easily tell which creatures were of its own species) and Synthetics/machines having none, while Aliens also had an alternate vision mode that washed out colour and pheromone vision but allowed you to see your close environment in good detail even in total darkness.

On a side note, the alternate Alien vision mode seen in the first two AVP games might be a visual approximation of what it might like be to "see" via echolocation.

[Palekids]

Originally posted by Mazryonh:

Originally posted by F.Ultra:

Well according to official sources the species might not have eyes as we know them but that does not mean that they cannot see:

This doesn't explain how the Alien is able to sense its surroundings as opposed to other living creatures. Seeing in thermograph isn't particularly useful just for getting around a room (look at videos taken with thermal cameras and see how low-detail the environment ends up being, since it's largely the same temperature). "Vestigial" visual organs don't sound like they can see much detail either, and would still be light-dependent. Echolocation would not be light-dependent but would necessarily be limited to the distances the user of that sense can hear its own sound pulses echoed back.

I liked how in the Aliens vs. Predator PC games the Aliens could determine what kind of species a living being was by smelling its pheromones. In game terms this translated to humans having a blue aura, Predators having a green aura, Aliens having a red aura (so it could easily tell which creatures were of its own species) and Synthetics/machines having none, while Aliens also had an alternate vision mode that washed out colour and pheromone vision but allowed you to see your close environment in good detail even in total darkness.

+1

[F.Ultra]

Originally posted by Mazryonh:

Originally posted by F.Ultra:

Well according to official sources the species might not have eyes as we know them but that does not mean that they cannot see:

This doesn't explain how the Alien is able to sense its surroundings as opposed to other living creatures. Seeing in thermograph isn't particularly useful just for getting around a room (look at videos taken with thermal cameras and see how low-detail the environment ends up being, since it's largely the same temperature). "Vestigial" visual organs don't sound like they can see much detail either, and would still be light-dependent. Echolocation would not be light-dependent but would necessarily be limited to the distances the user of that sense can hear its own sound pulses echoed back.

I liked how in the Aliens vs. Predator PC games the Aliens could determine what kind of species a living being was by smelling its pheromones. In game terms this translated to humans having a blue aura, Predators having a green aura, Aliens having a red aura (so it could easily tell which creatures were of its own species) and Synthetics/machines having none, while Aliens also had an alternate vision mode that washed out colour and pheromone vision but allowed you to see your close environment in good detail even in total darkness.

On a side note, the alternate Alien vision mode seen in the first two AVP games might be a visual approximation of what it might like be to "see" via echolocation.

That is becasue you compare the aliens thermal vision with todays thermal cameras, there is nothing that sais that these two must be equal. Anyways one major problem with them seeing pheromones would be that if they did then you would have no possible way of hiding ever since these can be detected regardless of if you hide or not. And on a side note there is actually to this day no proof that there are human pheromones, we know that certain animals have them but a human one have never been discovered.

[Mazryonh]

Originally posted by F.Ultra:

That is becasue you compare the aliens thermal vision with todays thermal cameras, there is nothing that sais that these two must be equal. Anyways one major problem with them seeing pheromones would be that if they did then you would have no possible way of hiding ever since these can be detected regardless of if you hide or not. And on a side note there is actually to this day no proof that there are human pheromones, we know that certain animals have them but a human one have never been discovered.

Thermal cameras are currently our best approximation of how certain animals sense heat signatures from other living creatures. We can "see" strong heat sources without our eyes, as anyone who has been near a large fire can tell where it is by feeling for the fire's radiating heat even with their eyes closed, but this doesn't do anything to tell us to not trip over a stone in our path.

I believe "pheromone vision" in the AvP games was made primarily to counter Predator cloaking, and yes, it would make hiding difficult in this game. Anyway, even without pheromones humans still give off distinctive smells, which animals like dogs can detect. But at least giving the Alien the ability to recognize other Aliens' scent would allow it to recognize its own species, and having organs with enough visual acuity through visible light would allow it to see when in vacuum (where echolocation and smell don't work).

Not being able to recognize your environment in a dark area is a problem even Mother Nature hasn't solved. Most bats can't see in the dark with their eyes very well, but they can use their short-ranged echolocation to hear their way around. Owls are well-known for their hunting ability at night from their ability to hear prey very well, but because they don't use echolocation they sometimes have trouble keeping away from objects that don't reflect much light and don't make their own noises. Take a look at the following video showing an owl that accidentally rammed itself into a window at night:

https://youtu.be/6BGoK5mtjOo

So it's not just important to sense prey, but also to properly perceive your environment to function well in the absence of light. Of course, the Engineers could have built the Xenomorph species to include senses that don't match modern science at all, but that's a handwave.

[Quinn_Paine]

Having observed the creature for so long, I think it does "see" (using senses very different from ours) in a narrow cone in front of it. This sense is not dependent upon light. It can see a human through a pane of glass, so it does not depend upon echolocation alone.

Thick smoke will baffle its ability to see a stationary human, even at very close range, though if the human moves, it will hear footsteps. Explosions so not deafen it, even temporarily.
The creature's peripheral vision is poor compared to a human's; if you stay still in a corner to the side, it will walk right past you. However, if the human stays still too long, local body heat will give him away.

It appears to navigate its surroundings by echolocation. When it senses a human near, it hisses, engaging the "active sonar" to locate it. Obviously, its hearing is excellent.
Its nest is designed to resemble the innards of a living entity, an endoparasite's idea of home, in locations aproximating body heat. But the nest is rendered in grays; the creature can sense temperature, but is colorblind.

[The Commodore]

Originally posted by Mazryonh:

I believe "pheromone vision" in the AvP games was made primarily to counter Predator cloaking, and yes, it would make hiding difficult in this game. Anyway, even without pheromones humans still give off distinctive smells, which animals like dogs can detect. But at least giving the Alien the ability to recognize other Aliens' scent would allow it to recognize its own species, and having organs with enough visual acuity through visible light would allow it to see when in vacuum (where echolocation and smell don't work).

Did they actually call it pheromone vision? I always assumed those 'auras' were bio-electric fields, as seen in Kirlian photography. With so much metal on board a ship/space station full of electronic equipment that is ultimately incapable of grounding itself (especially one skirting the edge of a gas giant's atmosphere), a creature that can see these fields would probably have very little trouble navigating its environment. Same is true for LV426 actually. The planet surface was VERY conductive.

If they see this way, they probably wouldn't see plastics though which might explain why they tend to ignore Synthetics.

[SyxTheDragon]

IT has Eyes underneath its dome :P

[Inferno]

Originally posted by GRC Sans:

IT has Eyes underneath its dome :P

I'm not going to bother speculating on the actual biology of a fictional creature; but according to Ridley Scott in the Alien Quadrilogy extra, the dome is the eye - he says it sees or senses out of it.
The eye sockets in its skull are likely just something left over from Giger's earlier designs of the Necronomicon, as well as the base he used constructing the "Big Chap's" first model.

[The Commodore]

Originally posted by Inferno:

Originally posted by GRC Sans:

IT has Eyes underneath its dome :P

I'm not going to bother speculating on the actual biology of a fictional creature; but according to Ridley Scott in the Alien Quadrilogy extra, the dome is the eye - he says it sees or senses out of it.
The eye sockets in its skull are likely just something left over from Giger's earlier designs of the Necronomicon, as well as the base he used constructing the "Big Chap's" first model.

A more CANONical explanation is simply that it's a holdover from humans. Chestbursters fuse their DNA with that of the host while they develop, so it's not so weird that their skulls have eye sockets, even though they don't actually use them.