They can bill me...

April 26 was "Alien Day," a celebration of the enduring Alien movie franchise. The date (4/26) was chosen in reference to LV-426, the lonely planet on which the terrifying Xenomorph race was first discovered. In the spirit of all things Alien, Steam is currently running a limited-time discount on all franchise-related games.

You can bag Creative Assemblies' excellent 2014 release Alien: Isolation for the sweet price of just $2.00 USD/£1.50 GBP, while its various DLC expansions - including movie adaptation Crew Expendable - are similarly discounted. Also on offer are Rebellion's 2010 shooter Alien vs. Predator, Zen Studios' Alien vs. Pinball, and Sega's notoriously poor 2013 release Aliens Colonial Marines. The sale en??ds tomorrow, so you know the drill, assholes?? and elbows.

But before you head out, marines, sound off with your favourite Alien moments in the comments below. I like anything with Pvt. Vasquez, or anything from Aliens, in fact. I also think the original Prometheus is underrated. Don't @ me.

The brilliant Alien: Isolation is just £1.50 for Ali??en ??Day [Eurogamer]

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The only good bug is a dead bug

History has not been kind to Aliens: Colonial Marines, and today's story doesn't exactly improve its shoddy reputation. As spotted on ResetEra, a modder attempting to overhaul Colonial Marines found an issue in the game's .ini file causing Xenomorphs to act, well, stupid. You remember the reviews. You remember that infamous gif. The aliens' behavior was a big sticking point ba?ck in 2013.

It might sound wild, but fixing a typo in a text file is seemingly all that's needed to improve how Xenomorphs act in Colonial Marines. Here's how modder jamesdickinson963 summed up the situation:

In??side your games config file (My Document\My Games\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGa??me\Config\PecanEngine.ini) is the following line of code :

ClassRemapping=PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachXenoToTether -> PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachPawnToTeather

I'm sure you'll notice the spelling mistake.

ClassRemapping=PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachXenoToTether -> PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachPawnToTether

If you fix it to look lik??e the above and ??then play the game, the difference is pretty crazy!

Why is this line important? There are two reasons:
1) AttachXenoToTeather doesn't do anything. It's basically empty or stripped.
2) AttachPawnToTether does ALOT. It controls t??actical position adjustment, patrolling, and target zoning.

When a Xeno is spawned, it is attached to a zone tether. This zone tells the Xeno what area is its fighting space and where different exits are. In Combat, a Xeno will be forc?ed to switch to a new tether (such as one behind you) so as to flank, or disperse so they aren't so grouped up, etc. (*disclaimer* this is inferred opinion, I can't see the actual code only bits)

Whenever the game tried to do this, nothing ha??ppened. Now it does!

Of course, the tweak isn't some silver bullet that automatically fixes the entire game and flips the script, but the results are noticeable??. Times like this remind me why?? I never got into coding.

Aliens: Colonial Marines AI fixed by a single lette?r [ResetEra -- Thanks, Kristofer]

The post Modde??r finds and fixes typo in Aliens: Colonial Marines that caused bad Xenomorph AI appeared first on Destructoid.

Modder does what Gearbox didn't

A modder has "fixed" Aliens: Colonial Marines.

TemplarGFX has created ACM Overhaul, a new mod that addresses the game’s dreadful enemy AI to make t??he Xenomorphs faster and more aggressive, as well as tweaking the in-gam?e world to make it more atmospheric and realistic. 

The modder has even scaled down enemy health to compensate for their boosted ??speed and aggression. Other tweaks include indefinite corpses and blood, improved lighting and shade, and improved weaponry.

"Experience Aliens: Colonial Marines how it should have been when it came out," states TemplarGFX on Moddb. "Heavily balanced and pl??ay-tested for exciting, suspenseful and most importantly, FUN gameplay.

"X??enomorph's have seen the most work fixing their behavior a?nd mechanics to make them truly terrifying foes to face, dramatically shifting the tone of the entire campaign.

"This State of the Bad-A** Art modification for ACM reworks, reprograms and rebalance?s Xeno AI, Human AI, Weapon Mechanics, Ballistics, Animations, Shaders, Par?ticles, Decals, Lighting, and engine features to get the best out of the game possible."

The mod releas??ed on March 20, 2016, and has already b??een updated. 

For more, including the full list of improvements (and there's a lot of them), head on over to Moddb.

Modder fixes Aliens: Colonial Marines [Eurogamer]

The post This is what Aliens: Colonial Marines ‘should have been’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Also talks why the game failed

Gearbox Software's 2013 Aliens: Colonial Marines is possibly the best recent example of a game gone completely awry. The reception was almost universally negative from fans and critics alike. The pre-release footage was often significantly different (and better) than the final product. Compounding everything was the fact that Colonial Marines was highly anticipated due to it being hyped as a canonical sequel to the film Aliens.

When everything bottomed out, the public came looking for answers. It led to attorneys from Edelson, LLC filing a proposed class action lawsuit on behalf of everyone who bought the game. Sega ended up settling the matter for $1.25 million, but Gearbox was recently dismissed from the suit after refusing to settle and the action failing to earn class s?tatus.

Gearbox head Randy Pitchford has no qualms with expressing how he thought that lawsuit was frivolous. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry International, Pitchford says "That whole thing was a huge waste of time. The legal system failed as it was being manipulated by what appeared to me to be, essentially, mafi?a-style extortion tactics."

He continued "Sadly, the manipulation would have actually worked, as it h?ad in other cases with those same guys and to the detriment of the industry and gamers and actual, you know, justice. But, those guys made a mistake in naming us as defendants because we stood up to them. That's all it took -- someone to stand up to them. And so they lost since they didn't have a legitimate case."

Pitchford also expressed that he believes that the market should judge a product, not the legal system. He believes it worked in the case of Aliens: Colonial Marines, as he said "The market proved it was doing its job perfectly.?? The market is dispassionate -- rewarding what it likes and punishing what it doesn't. There is an objectivity and fairness in the open market's harsh, firm justice."

What's left unanswered is Pitchford's intention with regard to the free market quote. It's up to interpretation whether he means that Colonial Marines was bad and the market reacted accordingly, or that general interest in the Aliens franchise was too low and that's why the game didn't succeed. Regardless of Pitchford's thoughts, he's right about one thing: the market wasted no time doling out harsh and firm justice, forever cementing the legacy of Aliens: Colonial Marines.

"We seem to like making completely new things" [GamesIndustry International]

The post Pitchford: Fans wrong to sue Gearbox over Aliens: ??Colonial Marines appeared first on Destructoid.

The former could have stayed off

Last week, Steam removed Aliens: Colonial Marines and Alien vs. Predator 2010. Speculation arose as to why it happened -- was it because of all the Colonial Marines drama at Gearbox in the past, or is it because of a lice??nsing?? issue?

All of the worrying was for nothing it seems, because both games have re-appeared on Steam. In other Alien-related news, go ahead and check out Isolation dur?ing the next Steam sale -??- you won't regret it.

You will regret Colonial Marines.

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The plot thickens

Sega has released a statement placing the majority of the blame for the misrepresentation of Aliens: Colonial Marines to customers firmly on Gearbox, especially Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. Sega has alleged that Gearbox did indeed create the Aliens: Colonial Marines d??emos shown at E3 and other trade shows in 2011, and that Gearbox did tell Sega that the demo was indicative of the final product.

This information, which was filed by Sega in an effort to block Gearbox from achieving its goal of being repudiated of responsibility in the case, included multiple internal emails indicating that Gearbox and Sega were working closely together on marketing the gam??e.

Sega gave eight examples in which Gearbox made announcements either to the press or the public without Sega's permission, including instances where they had released informati?on Sega had earlier asked Gearbox not to reveal in breach of the marketing agreement between the two companies. But that's not all. There was another internal email where Sega PR manager Matt Eyre confronted Gearbox about the leaks, which included sensitive information such as website posts and more. As a result, he was told that all of that mess was a direct result of Randy Pitchford "doing whatever the fuck he likes." Okay then. 

Sega also denied that Gearbox did not earn any royalties on Aliens: Colonial Marines, saying they had paid ou??t millions in "advance" royalties, and requested the court ignore Gearbox's request to be removed from t??he suit.

The filing also claims that Gearbox was offered the chance to be part of the settlement that Sega a??greed to last month for a buy-in of $750,000, a settlement that Gearbox is f??ighting to have thrown out of court by claiming they were not part of the settlement negotiations.

The next hearing for the case is bein??g held on October 29.

Gearbox?? boss does “whatever the fuck he likes”, says Sega [VG247]

The post Sega outs Gearbox for lying in Aliens: Colonial Marines c??ase appeared first on Destructoid.

Gearbox found crying by the toilet talking about how 'no one understands art'

Sega of America has tentatively agreed to pay out $1.25 million to settle a class-action suit brought against it and Gearbox Software that claimed the two companies falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines by using fake gameplay demos a??t E3 and other trade shows.

If their plan, which was filed Monday with the court, is approved, the settlement will clear Sega of America of any further litigation. However, Ge?arbox will still have to deal with the lawsuit. If approved by the court, Sega will pay $1.25 million into a settlement fund, of which $312,500 will be used to cover attorney fees for the plaintiffs, $200,000 will be used to cover the cost of administration, $2,500 will go to the plaintiff, and the rest will be used to pay eligible customers who purchased the game. Payments to customers, who must fill out a three-question claim form and have purchased the game before February 13, 2013, shall not exceed ?the amount paid for the game. The amount each customer who submits a claim receives will be dependent on how many people submit claims. No money will be returned to Sega regardless of the amount of claimees.

The settlement is not an admission of guilt, according to court documents. Despite agreeing to the settlement S??ega continues to deny any wrongdoi??ng and claims that they are agreeing to settle to avoid the continued cost of fighting the suit and the inherent uncertainty in any litigation.

The suit, which was filed in April 2013 by Roger Damion Perrine and John Locke on behalf of a class, made claims that Gearbox and Sega falsely advertised Aliens: Colonial Marines by showing demos at trade shows that didn't end up being accurate representations of the final product. These demos, which were coined as "actual gameplay" by Gearbox's co-founder Randy Pitchford, were criticized ??heavily after the game's release for featuring graphical fidelity, AI behavior, and even entire levels not featured in the final product. Gearbox also neglected to notify press or public about an??y changes to the final product from these "actual gameplay demos."

Sega to tentatively pay out $1.25M in Aliens suit while Gear?box fights on [Polygon]

In July, attorneys for Gearbox filed requests to?? be dropped from the case and refused to take part in any future negotiations, therefore they are not part of the new settlement agreement with Sega. Gearbox attorneys claimed that since the developer was a contractor and had sunk millions of its own money into finishing the game that it never belonged in the lawsuit. Attorneys stated that Gearbox honored Sega's request that Sega assume the defense of the lawsuit and now that Sega has settled Gearb??ox is obligated to pursue its rightful departure from the case.

As of August 11, attorneys for the plaintiff have filed a request with the court asking for more time to respond to Gearbox's requ??est to  have the suit against them dropped.

The post Sega agre??es to settle in Aliens: Colonial Ma??rines lawsuit appeared first on Destructoid.

Gearbox throws Sega under the bus

Last year a class action lawsuit was filed against Sega and Gearbox accusing the companies that the press demo shown at E3 of Aliens: Colonial Marines was not indicative of the final product and was misleading. Gearbox has recently filed a motion stating why the accusations are baseless and that it sh??ould be dropped from the lawsuit entirely.

Gearbox states that one of the reasons is that much of the ?venture capital for the game was fronted by Gearbox itself to supplement Sega's development budget. According to Gearbox Vice President of Marketing Steve Gibson, none of that money was paid back and Gearbox has received no royalties from any sales of the game by Sega. Gearbox went on to say that sales of the gam??e were too poor to qualify the company for bonuses from Sega and the only money received from Sega was pre-set milestone payments that were collected during development.

Gearbox also stated that Sega handled the marketing for the game entirely and that Sega approved every milestone submission that Gearbox turned in. The company also claimed that rumors that the pre-release footage was developed with a different engine were patently false, and that t??he only engine the game has ever ran on was the Unreal Engine. Gearbox's attorneys also stated that it is impossible to truly know how many people saw the press demo and then bought the game based off of it. They claim that such a broad requ?irement could lead to every purchaser of the game being named in the class-action suit. The attorneys also added that it could end up that people who were satisfied with the game could end up being swept into the suit as well.

Of course, there's also the whole rumor that Gearbox really just wanted to concentrate on working on Borderlands 2 and farmed Aliens: Colonial Marines out to TimeGate Studios who was then rushed to complete the game in a year and a half and that is why it is so horrible. This is definitely an interesting suit and one I will be keeping my eye on. But I'll tell you right now that even despite all the nonsense, I've played worse games. Like Darkest of Days.

Gearbox explains why it sh??ould be dropped from Aliens lawsuit [Eurogamer]

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The final part of the unthrilling saga

In the thrilling conclusi?on ??to a rubbish playthrough of a boring campaign, the noble Jim Sterling fights his way through Stasis Interrupted, fighting more Weyland Yutani mercs, having a close encounter with an alien Queen, and giving up on the last bit because it's dumb.

It was going on far too long anyway.

The post Now Bloody Playing: Aliens: Stas?is Interr?upted Part 4 appeared first on Destructoid.

Hicks and his magical pants!

Lisbeth is dead, and we continue our boring journey throu??gh space with ... some other person!

Witness the terror of aliens that ??stand around waiting to die. Be amazed by Hicks' magic pants! Feel shock at the comprehension of Weyland-Yutani's Danger Ammo!

The post Now Bloody? Playing: Aliens: Stasis Interrupted Part 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Jim finally gets a gun!

Hell yeah, I finally gets a gun! After the crawling and dawdling of the first part of Stasis Interrupted, the next slice of Aliens: Colonial Marines action actually gets some action!

Thanks for all the watching and feedback on part one! People are reall??y digging this, which is great. Expect more!

The post N?ow Bloody Playing: Aliens: Stasis Interrupted P??art 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Your ol' pal Sterling plays through the 'final' Colonial Marines DLC

I woke up slightly before 5am this morning and thought to myself?, "You know what the world needs? Another man with an annoying voice talking to himself while playing videogames on the Internet." So it is that I so?ld out and attempted a "Let's Play" thing.

Of course, there is a special reason, because you get to watch me face my old nemesis, Aliens: Colonial Marines. I'll be taking you on an adventure with the Stasis Interrupted DLC over the next few days, suffering a galaxy of bad animations and clipping so you don't have to.&n??bsp;

Enjoy!

The post Now Bloody Playing: Aliens: Stasis Interrupted appeared first on Destructoid.

Find out the truth behind a stupid retcon

One of the dumbest elements of Aliens: Colonial Marines was the sudden appearance of Corporal Hicks, a move that undid the can?on of the movies for no real reason other than the desperate need for a recognizabl?e character.

Hicks handwaved his nonsensical appearance with "that's another story," which I figured at the time was an excuse to sell us an explanation separately at a later date. Well, what do you know? Stasis Interrupted, a quietly released downloadable chapter, indeed sells us an explanation as to why Hicks appears in Colonial Marines when he was s??upposed to be hurtling toward his sleepy d??eath. 

It'll cost you $10, or will automatica??lly be obtainable by any poor soul who stumped up the green for a season pass.

In this new campaign you play as 3 different characters through an interlocking story. Waking up unexpectedly from hypersleep, Lisbeth and others must figure out why the spaceship they are on, the Legato, has been diverted to int??ercept the Sulaco leaving LV-42??6's orbit.

Fight your way through the alien infested spaceship, find out what Michael Weyland is after and discover what truly happened to Hicks. If you already own the Aliens: Colonial Marines Season Pass do not purchase this pack as yo??u will be charged again.

Alternatively, you could leave a container of fish and eggs behind a radiator for five days, eat the mulched contents, then bounce naked on a trampoline in a white room while the stomach poisoning sprays a steady stream of liquid shit all over the walls, and the resulting stains will likely tell a more respectful and cohesive Aliens story. 

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines ‘Stasis Interrupted’ out now appeared first on Destructoid.

World excitedly anticipates paying more money for garbage

Aliens: Colonial Marines is getting downloadable campaign content in the near future, ??with leaked PS3 trophies revealing all. Stasis Interrupted is the name of the DLC, and it'll be part of the Season Pass some people actually spent money on. 

Pricing and details outside of trophies are yet to be revealed, though my guess is it'll be an attempt to give the campaign an actual conclusion, rather than the vaguely comprehensible non-ending to the pathetic four-hour insult to the Aliens legacy we got in the main package. Definitely worth paying more money for, since $60 f??or half a game just wasn't enough. 

You can check out the trophies below, but be warned of potential spoilers. Then again, if you find a way to spoil your Colonial Marines e?xperience more than by actually play?ing it, you're some sort of X-Man.

I am still not over Colonial Marines, nor will I be in the near future.

• Thank You, That Will Be All - Complete Stasis Interrupted at any difficulty
• I'm Happy to Disappoint You - Complete Stasis Interrupted in Ultimate Badass
• We're Still Collating - Find all Stasis Interrupted Audio Logs
• I Only Need to Know One Thing - Find your family
• They Can Bill Me - Destroy the Legato
• I Don't Got All Day - Sever the umbilical without missing a shot
• They're Dead! OK? Can We Go Now? - Kill all the Lurkers in Sulaco engineering
• Now What Are We Supposed to Do? - Escape the FTL ship
• We Are Leaving! - Survive the Queen escape
• It's the Only Way to Be Sure - Destroy all samples in the labs of the Queen module

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines campaign DLC uncovered appeared first on Destructoid.

The School of Bullshit is open to new students

Randy Pitchford is far from ashamed that Aliens: Colonial Marines looked nowhere near as good in real life as it did in highly scripted showcase demos, going so far as to encour??age the indus??try to do it more. According to the Gearbox CEO, the only alternative is to never talk about a game. 

Apparently, "being truthful" hasn't yet presented itself as an opt??ion.

"A false demo created after product was finished would be dishonest," Pitchford said, defending himself from criticism on Twitter. "To share intent with work-in-progress should be encouraged! The alternative is to never d?iscuss any upcoming game until it is completely finished and available for purchase."

"Please compare E3 demos for HL2, Starcraft 2 and GTA 3 to final. There are *still* people bitching about di????fferences in each. Would you deem a creature/vehicle/mission demonstrated not in final game as incomplete product (as in each case mentioned)?"

Even this late in the year, Pitchford still seems to struggle with the problem people found in Colonial Marines' pre-release presentation. He doesn't acknowledge that, months after release, trailers and screenshots were still totally unrepresentative of the final product. He doesn't see an issue with foisting production onto lesser studios while still claiming credit publicly. Most importantly, he doesn't understand that other games show actual work in progress.

Gearbox did not show us work in progress -- it released a work in progress and charged $59.99 for it.

The post Pitchford encourages Aliens: Colonial Mari??nes PR tactics appeared first on Destructoid.

Studio lashes back at 'frivolous litigation'

Both Gearbox and SEGA have responded to a class action suit that alleges customers were lied to during the development of Aliens: Colonial Marines.?? Both companies are happy to defend themselv?es and seem unswayed by the threat of legal action. 

"SEGA cannot comment on specifics of ongoing litigation, but we are confident that the lawsuit is without merit and we will defend it vi??gorously," boasted the publisher. 

Meanwhile, Gearbox had stronger words, calling the suit "?frivolous" and defending its use of unrepresentative walkthrough demonstrations. 

"Attempting to wring a class action lawsuit out of a demonstration is beyond meritless. We continue to support the game, and will defend the rights of entertainers to share th?eir works-i??n-progress without fear of frivolous litigation."

The trouble with this particular lawsuit is, Gearbox and SEGA will probably be absolutely fine because of the narro??w focus of the allegation. It focuses purely on the walkthrough, which can indeed be defended as a work-in-progress.

If it had focused on the fact that the game was not the Gearbox production it claimed to be, or that SEGA continues to sell the game with misleading assets, it might have had a better chance. Sadly, Gearbox can indeed sit on its high horse and claim it was showing a work in progress, even though that "work" was not so much "in progress" as it was designed solely to be showcased -- as evidenced by the fact the finished product is completely different. 

At least Gearbox is proud of what it did, and the savvier cu?stomers now know full well that anything the company shows in future could be total bullshit. I guess we can't claim to be mislead ??in future if the next thing Gearbox makes is a turd.

I'm certainly expecting it, given the standards of acceptability the studio has proudly demonstrated t?hroughout all this.

Sega: The Aliens False Advertising Lawsuit Is "Without Me?rit" [Kotaku]

The post Aliens: Gearbox d??efends its ??right to mislead customers appeared first on Destructoid.

Gearbox and SEGA targeted for misleading advertising

SEGA and Gearbox have been slapped with a class action suit for Aliens: Colonial Marines, accused of lying about? the game to get it sold. It was only a m??atter of time. 

Edelson LLC has taken the case, which alleges that demo footage was used to promote Colonial Marines, advertising the shooter with images that "bore little resemblance" to the (un)finished product. The suit was filed on behalf of one Damion Perrine.

"Unfortunately for their fans, defendants never told anyone -- consumers, industry critics, reviewers, or reporters -- that their 'actual gameplay' demonstration advertising campaign bore little resemblance to the retail product that would eventually be sold to a large community of unwitting purchasers," reads the suit, as nabbed by Polygon.

"The gaming ??community had a strong reaction to the relea??se of Aliens: Colonial Marines," said Edelson, on why it took the case. "We think the video game indu??stry is? no different than any other that deals with consumers: if companies like Sega and Gearbox promise their customers one thing but deliver something else, then they should be held accountable for that decision."

Some have wondered why Colonial Marines is getting singled out, when games like Killzone 2 and even BioShock Infinite have demonstrated gameplay unrepresentative of the retail product. Indeed, Killzone 2's E3 demo was a sham, and Elizabeth has no horse resurrection scene in Infinite. 

Well, aside from the fact that neither Killzone 2 nor Infinite turned out to be a load of buggy, undercooked, disrespectful shit, the major difference is that Gearbox and SEGA kept showing the false footage. The advertising standards authority actually had to step in to stop SEGA Europe misleading its customers with demo footage, weeks after the game had launched, while the American site still uses misleading videos and completely doctored screenshots t??o advertise the ??thing.

We got to see what the other games looked like before they were up for sale. Not so with Colonial Marines. 

I'm generally not a fan of class-action suits, but I'm not about to whip out a little violin and lament the inconveniencing of a pair of companies that still, despite claims of investigation, have refused to address why this game turned out the way it did, or even who actually developed the fucking thing. At the very least, it'd be nice to find out what went wrong, or at least get someone to stop showing images of players fighting an Alien Queen with a Power Loader, rather than pressing six buttons to pathetically fling her out of an airlock. 

We probably won't get answ??er?s, as those responsible for this mess have proven themselves slippery and obfuscating under pressure. It'd go some way toward making things right, though.

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines gets class act??ion suit for lies appeared first on Destructoid.

What. A. Shock.

Those of you left caring may have noticed Aliens: Colonial Marines missed its Wii U release launch window. There's a very good reason for that -- SEGA fin??ally decided to shoot the lame dog in the head, and has quiet?ly canceled the project. 

SEGA confirmed the cancellation to Kotaku, though had no further comment. 

The Wii U version was, at one point, expected to be the superior alternative, boasting GamePad-exclusive motion tracker gimmickry, and enjoying the benefit of some much needed extra development time. The termination is in spite of Gearbox pimping the Wii U's greatness as a system and saying Aliens would be "better" on it -- just another unre?alized p??ledge from the studio on this particular game.

So there you go. No Wii U Aliens. Nintendo just breathed a sigh of relief. 

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines Wii U canceled appeared first on Destructoid.

European branch of publisher 'fesses up

Following an upheld complaint with the UK's Advertising Standards Authority, SEGA Europe has admitted that trailers for Aliens: Colonial Marines?? do not refl??ect the game's final (shoddy) content. 

The complaint was upheld by a Reddit user, who got a reply back from the ASA. The organization said it spoke with SEGA, and the comp??any confessed its sins once under scrutiny. 

"SEGA Europe acknowledged your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game," wrote the ASA. "They agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant YouTube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game. The disclaimer will be vis?ible when each online trailer is played."

A small victory, especially since demos aren't supposed to look better than the finished product, but the ASA is satisfied SEGA won't be "materially" misleading anybody with the disclaimer in place. It's pretty sad that, only in April, only in Europe, and only after an upheld complaint, will one wing of the publisher actually take a minor effort to stop selling Colonial Marines under false pretenses. 

The post SEGA admi?ts Colonial Marines trailers are unreflective appeared first on Destructoid.

Nope, still not 'getting over it'

I'm sorry, dear readers. I've still not "gotten over" Aliens: Colonial Marines. Af??ter a set period of ??time, gamers tend to get aggressively apathetic over certain situations, and seem to grow angry if someone else isn't as relaxed as they are. To answer these paradoxically furious calls for calm -- NOPE. 

That in mind, it's time to look at a new patch released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Following in the footsteps of the recently released PC patch, this update fixes a load of technical erro??rs and glitches, so numerous that it's easy to not even know half of them existed. 

Most important in this update is a fix -- after several weeks now -- that finally stitches up an issue Xbox 360 users were having with their save files getting wiped. Frankly, I co?nsidered that "glitch" a small m??ercy, but there you go. 

Full patch notes are below.

Xbox 360

General

• Added additional safeguards to better protect save data.
• Resolved an issue where a player's level could sometimes appear incorrect when backing out of a party.
• Addressed several scenarios under which players could spawn without a weapon.
• Changes to better prevent audio from sometimes cutting out during end of mission cinematics.
• Fixed issue where Xeno death animation was not properly calculating momentum of the killing blow.
• Smart Gun animation now properly tracks targets.
• Addressed some instances where Xenos would display erratic animations.
• Increased light radius for player's shoulder lamp.
• Adjusted aim assist to better reflect player input.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.

Campaign 

• Tweaked enemy and friendly AI to be more aggressive and responsive.
• Modified campaign difficulty to account for improved AI responsiveness.
• Improved enemy collision detection regarding doors and Power Loader.
• Players will no longer bleed out immediately when downed in a Power Loader.

Versus

• Increased duration of Lurker Pounce Challenge "Cat-Like Reflexes" from 10 to 20 seconds.
• Fixed issue where certain multiplayer challenges would not unlock properly for all characters.
• Crusher pick-ups now correctly appear as highlighted for clients.

PS3

General

• Added additional safeguards to better protect save data.
• Resolved an issue where a player's level could sometimes appear incorrect when backing out of a party.
• Addressed several scenarios under which players could spawn without a weapon.
• Changes to better prevent audio from sometimes cutting out during end of mission cinematics.
• Fixed issue where Xeno death animation was not properly calculating momentum of the killing blow.
• Smart Gun animation now properly tracks targets.
• Addressed some instances where Xenos would display erratic animations.
• Increased light radius for player's shoulder lamp.
• Adjusted aim assist to better reflect player input.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.

Campaign

• Tweaked enemy and friendly AI to be more aggressive and responsive.
• Modified campaign difficulty to account for improved AI responsiveness.
• Improved enemy collision detection regarding doors and Power Loader.
• Players will no longer bleed out immediately when downed in a Power Loader.

Versus

• Increased duration of Lurker Pounce Challenge "Cat-Like Reflexes" from 10 to 20 seconds.
• Fixed issue where certain multiplayer challenges would not unlock properly for all characters.
• Crusher pick-ups now correctly appear as highlighted for clients.

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines 360/PS3 update released appeared first on Destructoid.

Extra content for this game is almost impressive in its arrogance

Aliens: Colonial Marines' long-awaited (haha) "Bug Hunt" downloadable content is now available on Steam, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network. It's a wave-based survival mode that, given the general brevity of the game's hyped campaign, really ought to have been included as part ??of the launch package. 

Instead, you can stump up $14.99 ??to ??get three maps of cooperative horde defense -- unless you purchased the season pass for $29.99, in which case you get the mode alongside a fresh dose of feeling like the Lord of Chumps. 

With Gearbox recently releasing a 4GB patch in which it hunted down a ?shitload of bugs, the release of this content is ??humorously ironic, at least. 

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines ‘Bug Hunt’ DLC out now appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh man, remember this game? It wasn't very good!

Gearbox continues to demonstrate that, contrary to popular idioms, you can actually polish a turd. Aliens: Colonial Marines is being made shinier -- but no less stinkier -- in a 4GB PC patch that improves textures, A.?I. behavior, and a huge number of other things.&nb?sp;

The massive update should be available for download right now. Unfortunately, the patch doesn't fix its woeful story, nor does it include an apology or an explanation as to why the game continues to be sold with misleading information. Baby steps, I suppose. 

I'll give the devil its due -- some sort of halfhearted nod is owed to Gearbox for at least attempting to make this blasphemy worth the asking price for those duped into purchasing it. Such recognition should be shallow at best, though, considering the sheer lack of excuse for?? such effort bein??g required in the first place. 

Even at 4GB, this patch is a case of too little, and far too late for m?e. Time has had no ??discernible effect on my mood over this loathsome, greasy little shit, and I've no time to spare for its offerings so long after launch.

But hey, at least they fixed an issue where you could spawn without your first-person shooter avatar holding a gun. Well done them!

General

• Improved texture resolution.
• Various visual improvements.
• Added mouse smoothing to options menu.
• Fixed crashes tied to launch and motion tracker.
• Added additional safeguards to better protect save data.
• Resolved an issue where a player's level could sometimes appear incorrect when backing out of a party.
• Addressed several scenarios under which players could spawn without a weapon.
• Changes to better prevent audio from sometimes cutting out during end of mission cinematics.
• Fixed issue where Xeno death animation was not properly calculating momentum of the killing blow.
• Smart Gun animation now properly tracks targets.
• Addressed some instances where Xenos would display erratic animations.
• Increased light radius for player's shoulder lamp.
• Adjusted aim assist to better reflect player input.
• Addressed an issue that could sometimes cause co-op player revival to not work under certain circumstances.
• Addressed issues with players not spawning into a level properly.
• Fixed a marine player invincibility exploit.
• Resolved several instances where players could walk or fall outside of maps.
• Addressed an issue where Ripley’s Flamethrower (bonus content) would sometimes fire continuously without player input.
• Fixed an issue that could cause localized text to sometimes display incorrectly.
• Addressed an issue where weapon ammunition was not always highlighted properly.
• General user interface improvements.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.

Campaign

• Tweaked enemy and friendly AI to be more aggressive and responsive.
• Modified campaign difficulty to account for improved AI responsiveness.
• Improved enemy collision detection regarding doors and Power Loader.
• Addressed some issues that could cause improper warping for co-op players.
• Various tweaks to address instances where NPC characters would not always properly navigate to objectives.
• Players will no longer bleed out immediately when downed in a Power Loader.

Versus

• Fixed issues that could cause clients to report inaccurate results and statistics.
• Addressed instances where a map would appear to “pop in” when loading into a new match.
• New Xeno appearance customization added.
• Multiplayer teams should now correctly auto-balance between rounds.
• Increased duration of Lurker Pounce Challenge “Cat-Like Reflexes” from 10 to 20 seconds.
• Fixed issue where certain multiplayer challenges would not unlock properly for all characters.
• Crusher pick-ups now correctly appear as highlighted for clients.

The post 4GB Aliens: Colonial Marines patch a?vailable for PC appeared first on Destructoid.

PS3 and PC updates are on the way too

Gearbox Software has taken steps to make its awful game slightly less awful. The studio's second update for Aliens: Colonial Marines is rolling out on Xbox 360 right now.

The update covers issues and bugs found throughout both t??h??e campaign and versus modes. Notable fixes include letting co-op players revive their partners, and preventing players from walking outside the map.

Most of the issues addressed thus far seem to be relatively standard in terms of post-release suppor?t. PlayStation 3 and PC will also get the update, but Gearbox hasn't said exactly when it will be made available on those platforms.

Xbox 360 Update Information [Gearbox Software]

The post Aliens: Colonial Marines update ??rolls out for Xbox 360 appeared first on Destructoid.

'There was a reason [the demos] were never playable.'

That Aliens: Colonial Marines E3 demo sure was neat, but you know what wasn't neat? The actual game. According to an anonymous source that spoke with Kotaku, this was always going to be the case since the demo ran on h??ardware that far outmatched the power of current gen ??consoles.

"We were told many times through ??demo production, 'Don't worry about performance, just make it awesome,'" said Kotaku's mysterious source. "There was a reason [the demos] were ne?ver playable."

According to Kotaku, the E3 demo was built by TimeGate with animation by Gearbox and it ran in real time. Due to budgeting and the realities of current gen hardware, the development team (jury is still out on who exactly that is; TimeGate or Gearbox) ha?d to cut ??back on visuals for the final product and don't the results show:

"We were constantly cutting back more and more in t?erms of texture, shader and particle fidelity, in order to fit into the jacked memory restrain?ts," said a separate unnamed source.

And that is how you go from "wow" to "2.5."

From Dream To Disaster: The S?tory Of Aliens: Colonia?l Marine [Kotaku, image by VideoGamer]

The post Developer on why Aliens’ E3 demo was better than game appeared first on Destructoid.

Secret SEGA blogger says Duke Nukem Forever had a big impact on Aliens' failure

[Update: Just to make it clear, I have been able to corroborate the basic information presented by "Danielson," not his more editorialized opinions. I can't back his claims of "embezzlement" -- likely more an emotional response on his part than anything else. I cannot vouch for the blogger firsthand, only the information I've been able to double check with my trusted sources -- chiefly that Gearbox had at least tried to present SEGA an unfavorable contract, the game was slated for cancellation and later resurrected, and that Gearbox was not fully truthful with the publisher on how much work it was putting into Aliens. Naturally, with no official word, this is all st??ill just off-record stuff until someone can actually explain something publicly.

After chatting with some developers ?from various studios, I've ??edited the headline to be more clear, and am adding this update.]

An anonymous writer, who has been regularly spilling details from within SEGA on the blog SEGA Awakens, has addressed the ongoing Aliens: Colonial Marines saga, adding fresh perspective and blaming SEGA, TimeGate, ??and Gearbox in different ways. Mostly Gearbox, though. 

I've independently corroborated the blogger's information using my own resources, which is why I'm confident enough to share his rather valuable insight. In his blog, the man writing under the alias "Bryan Danielson" states that the torrent of rumors following Colonial Marines' release are "99% true," but wished to correctly apportion the blam?e. 

In an engrossing read, the writer separated the culpability of the three main entities involved, detailing exactly how SEGA, TimeGate, and Gearbox messed up. He begins with TimeGate, the studio rumored to be responsible for most of Aliens' development under Gearbox's command.

"TimeGate is at fault for: Wanting to even take on this project and their shoddy work," Danielson wrote. "Granted, I heard about their claims about Gearbox having full creative control, but they should? have tried to show their side of the argument and fight more if they had problems with Gearbox's creative control and ??creative direction.

"Honestly, I thought they should have risked some arguments and the possibility of losing the contract, if they had problems with the project like the Reddit poster said. However, there still is a chance of ?their claims being a lie or a?? half truth, but as I said above, TimeGate has some responsibility."

The whistle blower addressed the idea of TimeGate throwing out Gearbox's original project work when it took over, but could only offer speculation. The possibility is entertained that TimeGate may not have been legally allowed to use Gearbox's work, but it's also entirely possib??le the new studio decided to start a?gain from scratch for some other reason.

"SEGA is at fault for: Announcing the project in 2007 when no work was done at all," he continued. "In my view??s, a game project should be announced publicly when it is 50-60% done, so you won't have to wait 6 years for a game that turns out to be shit.

"SEGA is also responsible for not permanently cancelling the game in 2008. I don't know who found out about the mishandling of funds by Gearbox, but [canceling Colonial Marines] ha??d to be one of the few right decisions the board has done, or this person is one of the few board members who knew what they were doing (from what I heard, this person may have left the board a while ago when SEGA decided to start the project again). This game should have been cancelled permanently, and the final product is undeniabl?e proof of it.

"Despite that, I believe SEGA wanted to try to get some of the money back, at the fans' expense.  So another blame for SEGA there. SEGA should have also watched the project and development a lot better, because there was a lot of warning signs that said this was a disaster in the making. So whoever was assigned to watch Gearbox and the game has some responsibility too, unless the board was for??cing him to do it. SEGA and their lawyers also have some blame on the wording of the contract too, but more on that later."

The blog then moves onto the main event, addressing the involvement of Gearbox Software and its CEO, Randy Pitchford. In no uncertain terms, the studio is accused of robbing?? its publisher and lying to its face. 

"Now here is the company that should get most of the blame: Gearbox Software and Randy Pitchford. Gearbox stole from SEGA, they robbed us, lied to us about the game, and tried to get another company to make the game instead. Let's see where the funding went shall we? Everyone said the game went to both Borderlands games, but Duke Nukem Forever gets a mention as well, but it's pushed out of the spotlight, because people want to forget about that game, and I don't blame them!  Duke Nukem Forever had a big impact on Aliens: Colonial Marines as well."

A Gamasutra article was used to back up the claim. The article in question is an interview with Pitchford, in which he explains how his studio got the rights to Duke Nukem Forever. 

"It clearly shows that Pitchford and Gearbox wanted to focus heavily on Duke Nukem Forever, but how would they get the money to hire some of the 3D Realms team and even buy the intellectual property? Sure, they made a lot from Borderlands, but guess where they got the money to fund Borderlands in the first place? Yup, SEGA.

"So Gearbox essentially lied to SEGA, mishandled funds, broke agreements and contractual obligations to work on other projects, didn't want to work on a game they were contractually obligated to work on and gave it to another team, poor organization and direction on ACM, took on too many projects from different companies at once, and other th??ings that we may not even know about. Hell, part of me believes that Gearbox wanted this thing delayed as much as possible so they can get more funding money to embezzle from SEGA."

Danielson concludes by saying he's heard rumors of possible legal action being taken by SEGA, but admits the contract may preclude such a step from being taken. All Gearbox apparently had to do was ship the game to fulfill the agreement, which it's now done. He added that SEGA should have canceled A:CM and taken the studio to court, rather than try to make the fans pay for the investment. The writer even goes so far as to suggest SEGA ought to have published Borderlands, given it paid so dearly for it. 

"In this case, what happened clearly was SEGA had a decent eye on the project, rightfully cance??lled it, when they saw the problems, then someone decided to restart the project, leading to this massive mess," he concludes. "Where is our money Randy? We should get sales from Borderlands 1 and 2, since it was our money that funded it."

That eventual Aliens: Colonial Marines post [SEGA Awakens]

The post Anonymous whistle bl??ower claims Gearbox stole from?? SEGA appeared first on Destructoid.

Studio more than 'helped' Gearbox, according to TimeGate employees

The Aliens community has been digging hard to get to the bottom of the ever-winding Aliens: Colonial Marines story. The latest development involves the unearthing of a number of resumes attr?ibuted to TimeGate employees, revealing the extent of their work on the game. 

If they're to be believed, Gearbox's helping hands did more than just helpful handiwork. One designer claims to have done a lot of work formerly attributed to Colonial Marines' "lead" studio. 

Steve Baroski is one such developer. As TimeGate's lead level designer on Colonial Marines, Baroski reveals he was working with between five and eight developers to create environments for the solo campaign and multiplayer maps, up until 2012. He says Gearbox "took over principal development"? in 2012, at which point he "transitioned to a consultation role."

Baroski spent two years with Aliens, in which time he worked on all stages of level development, worked with the creative director and design director on l?evel dir??ection, fixed scripting problems, and created demos for public viewing. 

Next up, we have Jeff Smith. This senior software engineer, in the employ of TimeGate, oversaw development of the user interface "for other programmers??, designers, and artists to take over and polish to completion." He designed the game's matchmaking lobby screen, worked on player loadout screens, and integrated support for Steamworks?? and PSN. 

Robert Hallwood was the principal level designer, and claims to have led the team responsible for Colonial Marines' now infamously unrepresentative?? E3 2011 demo. He also worked on campaign maps, enemy scripting, mission scripting and story development, as well as lighting and audio cues.

Finally, level designer Nathan Wood claims? to have created the entire first level of the game, inclu??ding layout, combat scripting, lighting, and event hookups. 

These resumes seem to undermine SEGA's downplaying of TimeGate's involvement, revealing the studio to be in on it from the start. It's worrying that, despite such influence on the project, neither Gearbox nor SEGA publicized the studio's work until the game actually launched, and even then it warranted little more than a passing credit in the game's intro. In every other aspect, from the years of pre-launch hype to the box itself, Gearbox has been treated as the developer of Colonial Marines. Not a co-deve??loper, not an overseer -- the developer. 

In any case, the work detailed on these developers' sites seem to corroborate prior allegations that Colonial Marines was outsourced, and that TimeGate did far more than the "20-25%" of work Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford claimed. This is all before we get around to what Nerve and Demiurge did, too. What exactly was left for Gearbox to develop?

[Thanks to J. Struthers and other members of the Aliens fanbase for their help!]

The post TimeGate resumes show a LOT of Colonial ?Marines work appeared first on Destructoid.

Anonymous Aliens whistle blower blows whistle anonymously

It's fair to say the Aliens: Colonial Marines story has been a fascinating one. From the years of hype, to the negative reviews, to the later confusion over who actually developed the game, the??re's a lot o??f mystery and controversy afoot. Here's Destructoid to add a little more.

We've recently been chatting with a developer who -- as you might have guessed -- wishes to remain anonymous. Under this condition, he agreed to let us publish the things he's witnessed personally and learned from fellow project members in the time he spent working on Colonial Marines. 

Our man was involved with the game only briefly, between 2007 and 2008, but in just that short time he had some interesting reading for us. If his words are indeed to be believed, they further fuel the suggestion that Colonial Marines was increasingly sidelined for more "importa??nt" projects.&n?bsp;

"Gearbox was taking people off the project to put them on Borderlands 1," he says of his time on the job. "This was before the big art style change happened on Borderlands. Our team was getting? smaller by the month, making it very difficult to get the game made. Ironica?lly se??veral of the team members were ex-3D Realms people who were saying [paraphrasing] 'Finally, we're going to Gearbox to make Aliens, and we're going to ship a fucking game!' Hah."

According to our man with the inside track, it was later learned that SEGA actually canceled Colonial Marines, deciding? to cut its losses after such a?? long development cycle. 

"At some point in 2008, SEGA temporarily pulled the plug on the game," he said. "They caught wind of Gearbox shifting resources (despite still collecting milestone checks as if the team were full size) and lying to SEGA AND 2K about the number of people working on each project. This led to the round of layoffs at Gearbox in late 2008."

The developer confirms he later spoke with people attached to the project at the beginning of 2012??, and lear??ned they actually didn't expect the game to ship in February, given its current state. It would appear staff on the game knew the thing was a bust, and were prepared for a fresh delay. Obviously, that never happened, and now we're here.

Naturally, and like so much about this situation, information was provided on the hush-hush and cannot be taken as factual evidence of any wrongdoing on anybody's part. It is, however, yet another perplexing piece of the puzzle, one reflective of other things we've been hearing over the past week. Meanwhile, as SEGA and Gearbox both maintain a poker face, these whispered words are really all we have to go?? on.

The post Develo??per: Gearbox lied to SEGA, 2K over Colonial Marines appeared first on Destructoid.

Pitchford claims there are 'stakeholders' to think of first

After breaking his radio silence this morning to respond to lots of praise for Aliens: Colonial Marines, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford went on a bit of a blocking spree,?? cold-shouldering yours truly and a number of other people he claims offer nothing but "injury" in their criticism. 

In a number of Tweets, Pitchford addressed a few questions on the game, and went so far as to confirm his studio is examining the possibility of maybe explaining exactly what went wrong with Aliens,?? and why the game looked nothing like the advertised pro?duct.

"We are looking at that," he said in answer to a query on the subject. "Lots of info? to parse, lots of stakeholders to respect."

Another, more interesting statement was made shortly after. In response to on?e user who suggested he was sitting confidently on his ill-gotten monetary gains from the project, the former magician claimed he was looking to take a financial hit.

"I'm afraid it looks like I will lose a huge amount of money," he said. "We pay for our ?education."

While we wait for more information, Pitchford is apparently entering his notorious grandstanding mode, though he's not quite boasted about Colonial Marines' sales figures quite yet. In any case, his definition of "insult" appears to be quite broad, having blocked myself for asking if it's a good idea to display contempt for an audience, and earlier shutting out fellow critic Robert Florence. Not sure, exactly, what that's going to achieve (especially when sending me messages after I've been blocked), but fair enough. 

I look forward to hearing why Aliens: Colonial Marines -- which is still being advertised with false footage -- was advertised with false footage.

The post Gearbox ‘looking at’ an explanation for Colonial Marines appeared first on Destructoid.

Still zero explanation for the game itself

While the Internet at large still waits for Randy Pitchford -- or anybody -- from Gearbox to come clean and explain what went wrong with Aliens: Colonial Marines, the studio CEO has decided his best course of action is to display contempt for those who felt cheated when they boug??ht his stinker.

A number of Twitter accounts, which were only set up recently and seem spectacularly preoccupied with Gearbox and Gearbox products, are lavishing Pitchford with praise for Colonial Marines, and they are now the only people worthy of his time. Anybody with criticism -- not just the insults and threats he mentioned last time -- is to be ign??ored or outright blocked. 

Even if you like Aliens: Colonial Marines, it's undeniable something went wrong with its development, and Gearbox needs to tell people why they allowed customers to keep believing the game looked much better than it? actually did. For Pitchford to refuse to talk for a week, then do nothing but publicly lap up praise for his gigantic, Facehugger-shaped shit, is absolutely astoundin??g.

All we need now is for him to do what he did with Duke Nukem Forever and start making argumentum ad populum statements to really showcase how little respect he has for the game industry's long-term credibility. Of course, I'd prefer someone involved with this mess actually grow a spine and address the issue directly, but apparently that's as extravagant a request as asking for a decent Aliens game.

The post ?Randy?? Pitchford has only time for Colonial Marines praise appeared first on Destructoid.

Gearbox CEO breaks radio silence after Colonial Marines launch

Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford raised his head above cover today, making a few indirect Tweets regarding the controversial Aliens: Colonial Marines launch. While he didn't provide an explanation or an ap??ology, he did make it clear that he doesn't consider himself a liar.

"I've always profited from criticism and, thankfully, I have never been in short supply," he said. "However, insu????lt or threaten me and I want nothing to do with you. Expect block/ban/whatever I can do."

One person replied to Pitchford's pleas by telling him nobody likes a liar. The man who oversaw Colonial Marines fired back with a denial, and an assertion of his noble ambitions. 

"No one likes to be called a liar, especially if their intent was pure and they always spoke the truth when ?they spoke it," he claimed. 

Sympathetic stuff, if one is indeed inclined toward feeling sympathy for the face of a company very much under harsh scrutiny. Whether or not you believe the rumors of Gearbox's dupl?icity and shodd??y work ethic, the fact remains that Pitchford has a lot of explainin??g to do when he can finally muster the soul to speak more?? directly.

He doesn't consider h??imself a lia?r, but the basic evidence on display leaves room for few alternative interpretations. 

I feel lied to. I spoke to Pitchford about Aliens: Colonial Marines, and he talked to me about the game's "next generation lighting" and other awesome features. He promised things I never saw, he showed a room full ?of writers things that would never make it to the final product. At this stage, and after days of silence, it doesn't matter if Pitchford believed the words coming out of his mouth when he spoke them. That won't stop those of us he said them to feeling grossly misled. 

Personally, I feel embarrassed by the interview I conducted with him. One feels like a chump when they, in their enthusiasm for a game, publishes an optimistic interview with a guy whose words turn out to be little more than ash in the wind. Thanks to this interview, and indeed the entire Colonial Marines debacle, I've gone off the idea of previews entirely. I'm sticking to reviews, so I can have real code and be sure it's not some chicanery. To use an already overused Aliens quote -- it's the only way to be sure. 

The road to Hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. Pitchford could have started Colonial Marines with a pure ambition in mind, or he could have been scamming from the start. Either way, the sad and sorry result is the same. Either way, nobody from Gearbox came clean about the changes between the promised Aliens and the final version. Either way, Gearbox allowed customers to keep on thinking they'd bought something totally dif?ferent from what they got.

And the people accusing Randy of ly?ing to them certainly aren't to blame for that.

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