Aliens - 1986 movie (was Dog Soldiers)

[DigTw0Grav3s]

A couple thoughts from a relative newcomer of the board. I apologize for the timing, considering that things seem to have calmed down, but now seems to be the time to do so.

First, a little bit about me. I never played the T2k product line. I was brought aboard through Twilight 2013. Accordingly, I don't have a lot of the same mores regarding canon vs non-canon, unit dispositions throughout the timeline, and the like. I don't expect this to carry any weight - in fact, I would bet that it reduces my "authenticity" - but it illustrates my background.

The tone on this forum is truly bizarre. People seem to be more interested in debating the nature of canon rather than simply cooking up their own versions and sharing them with others. I find the confrontational nature of the board absurd.

I am twenty-four years old. I seem to gather that the crowd here is much older than I am, given the date of the original T2k and some of the life experiences that I've seen related to one another in posts. Why, then, can't we all get along? Is this anyone's first forum? This is a board about an exchange of ideas and creation of new material. Calling one another out about the canon status of various material is simply stupid. This is a work of fiction about a war that never occurred.

If people need to be removed from the boards because of confrontational behavior, then I would submit that it be done immediately. I've spent a great deal of time on forums during my life. In my experience, people's personalities (perhaps "personas" is more accurate) do not change. Their troublesome personalities simply ebb and flow like a sine wave until something breaks. Given the tone, I would say that we are pretty close to something breaking.

Also, someone please get Eddie to come back. He was one of the principle reasons that I perused this board, as he was on the 93 Games board. I enjoyed his no bullshit attitude and his experience in a field directly relevant to our alternate history pursuits.

Thanks,
DigTw0Grav3s
(Earlydawn)

[raketenjagdpanzer]

man what

[DigTw0Grav3s]

Apologies; didn't see the older dates earlier in the thread. Thought that this thread was more recent, and that the arguments had spilled over into this one.

Nevertheless, I still feel like it's a pretty accurate reflection on a new guy's thoughts with regard to what's been going on lately.

On the positive side, does this mean that Eddie has since come back?

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I don't know but can we maybe discuss Aliens and so forth in this thread? And not site acrimony?

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

I don't know but can we maybe discuss Aliens and so forth in this thread? And not site acrimony?

Fair enough point but at least give DigTw0Grav3s the courtesy of directing him to a more appropriate thread for his post.

[Raellus]

My copy of the Colonial Marines Technical Manual arrived in the mail today. It's pretty dang cool. I especially like the little color blurbs between tech entries- they really add a lot of flavor to the otherwise fairly dry techical text. The multiple mentions of various OPFOR groups (Beebops, Bugboys, Slinkers) make me really curious about the conflicts that the USCMs engaged in outside of the Alien engagements committed to film, since very little additional context was given. It's clear that the Beebops are a nickname for Japanese forces, but the others are anyone's guess. Was the author just shooting from the hip or is there some more fleshed-out USCMs mythos* out there that I'm not aware of? Either way, he did a really convincing job.

On a T2K-related note, the USMC tanks ( including the M40 Ridgeway [sic]) look very much like the LAV-75 (with a dash of Merkava mixed in).

*I've seen covers from a comic book series based on the USCM but I haven't read or looked within.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Originally Posted by Raellus

My copy of the Colonial Marines Technical Manual arrived in the mail today. It's pretty dang cool. I especially like the little color blurbs between tech entries- they really add a lot of flavor to the otherwise fairly dry techical text. The multiple mentions of various OPFOR groups (Beebops, Bugboys, Slinkers) make me really curious about the conflicts that the USCMs engaged in outside of the Alien engagements committed to film, since very little additional context was given. It's clear that the Beebops are a nickname for Japanese forces, but the others are anyone's guess. Was the author just shooting from the hip or is there some more fleshed-out USCMs mythos* out there that I'm not aware of? Either way, he did a really convincing job.

On a T2K-related note, the USMC tanks ( including the M40 Ridgeway [sic]) look very much like the LAV-75 (with a dash of Merkava mixed in).

*I've seen covers from a comic book series based on the USCM but I haven't read or looked within.

I remember back in the day, even before filesharing became so rampant, having a (bad) scan of it and thinking the same thing about the M40. Also, I kinda prefer the whole USCM book as a stand-alone item with the xenos being nothing but background clutter. Which it works out they are!

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Was the author just shooting from the hip or is there some more fleshed-out USCMs mythos out there that I'm not aware of? Either way, he did a really convincing job.

The RPG details a few other alien races, but nothing with anything like the intelligence displayed by the Aliens. There's Arcturians (Frost mentions them in the Sulaco mess hall), Blackbody Coral, Harvesters, Hyper Algae, Morphers, Panamar Plankton, and Brachous Slugs. Only the Arcturians and Harvesters pose any threat to humans, and the Arcturians no threat to anyone with rock to throw. The others are actually useful in one way or another.

The RPG also splits known space into sectors, each controlled by a different corporation, or syndicate of corporations. Earth is a cesspool which the corporations try to avoid as much as possible except when they need someone expendable.

[James Langham]

Originally Posted by Raellus

My copy of the Colonial Marines Technical Manual arrived in the mail today. It's pretty dang cool. I especially like the little color blurbs between tech entries- they really add a lot of flavor to the otherwise fairly dry techical text. The multiple mentions of various OPFOR groups (Beebops, Bugboys, Slinkers) make me really curious about the conflicts that the USCMs engaged in outside of the Alien engagements committed to film, since very little additional context was given. It's clear that the Beebops are a nickname for Japanese forces, but the others are anyone's guess. Was the author just shooting from the hip or is there some more fleshed-out USCMs mythos* out there that I'm not aware of? Either way, he did a really convincing job.

On a T2K-related note, the USMC tanks ( including the M40 Ridgeway [sic]) look very much like the LAV-75 (with a dash of Merkava mixed in).

*I've seen covers from a comic book series based on the USCM but I haven't read or looked within.

You may now see where I got the inspiration for my article techniques...