Quote from Porkbelly on 20 May 2022, 13h50

Reporting for duty! With my cat!

I always found this one fiddly as it was coded to take input from game paddles instead of keyboard. Mouse works in lieu, but still awkward to select actions. Does the manual have keyboard shortcuts?

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 20 May 2022, 13h54

Thank you ! Would you say you are more of an officer, an engineer or a scientist ?

 

Also, who is your closest of kin. I am sorry, I have to ask to fill red-tape. If will have absolutely no impact on the result of this interview.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 20 May 2022, 13h57

Quote from Porkbelly on 20 May 2022, 13h50

I always found this one fiddly as it was coded to take input from game paddles instead of keyboard. Mouse works in lieu, but still awkward to select actions. Does the manual have keyboard shortcuts?

Nope, it is all paddle. And damn, you know the game at least a bit. Though without some of the information in the manual (which I will share) I am not sure anyone can succeed without MASSIVE trial & repeat.

Quote from Porkbelly on 20 May 2022, 14h05

Engineer sounds good, yes, I'm sure I could fix anything with a large enough hammer, while wearing a jaunty flat cap.

It all sounds so pleasant and safe. But if I were to inadvertantly perish (so sad), please do send the cat to my great auntie Nora. I'm all she's got.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 20 May 2022, 14h13

Quote from Porkbelly on 20 May 2022, 14h05

Engineer sounds good, yes, I'm sure I could fix anything with a large enough hammer, while wearing a jaunty flat cap.

It all sounds so pleasant and safe. But if I were to inadvertantly perish (so sad), please do send the cat to my great auntie Nora. I'm all she's got.

Ah no close family then ? Interesting. I mean, sad. Consider yourself hired !

 

As one of our 3 engineers, you will be able to construct makeshift items in the maintenance room. You know : electric prods, flamethrowers, the kind of thing that allows for practical jokes. It could even be useful if you were attacked. Which, spoiler, will not happen, ahah, because of course this is space, not the 17th century Caribbean.

Quote from Porkbelly on 20 May 2022, 14h16

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 20 May 2022, 13h57

Nope, it is all paddle. And damn, you know the game at least a bit. Though without some of the information in the manual (which I will share) I am not sure anyone can succeed without MASSIVE trial & repeat.

While you're recruiting I'll take a look-see whether it is possible/easy to enhance the input routine to include the left-right arrows and enter key. I never it played much, always intended to rewrite that bit first to make it easier.

 

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 20 May 2022, 14h18

That would be useful, though since SEUIS I manage with the paddle just fine.

If you find a way to edit the name of the characters, I could make even more immersive screenshoots. You know : "Engineer Porkbelly" rather than "Engineer Trent Brenson".

Quote from Dayyalu on 21 May 2022, 13h44

Isn't Weyland-Yutani corporation?

Also, in as an officer. I don't have pets and my closest relatives have wholesale relocated to the UPP, thus losing all rights to my inheritance and life insurance.

I'm entirely sure the game won't spring to us weirdo surprises, everyone knows how Xenomorphs work by now, right. Right. (Alien games that would fit into this blog/forum are kinda scarce, amusingly. Aliens pretty much froze the series into action titles, mobile games or extremely weird outliers like console strategy games).

Quote from Argyraspide on 22 May 2022, 17h06

Well, I recently managed to get out of a tricky situation aboard another spaceship, but I'm sure this one won't be anything like it!

Sign me up as a scientist, so I can analyse the reasons why I make these bad decisions.

Quote from CaptainGrimlock on 27 May 2022, 13h02

Oh wow we’re back.

Sorry, didn’t get notified by email until today.

But yeah, I’m in.

Quote from Strange Fellow on 27 May 2022, 18h31

Can I bring a crab? Just a small one.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 28 May 2022, 18h40

With a name like that, Captain has to be an officer.

"Strange Fellow" ? "Wants to bring a crab" => We've got a mad scientist there.

So crew so far :

Officers :

• CaptainGrimlock
• Dayyalu

Officers can open the armory and the computer rooms. They also know the ship self-destruction mechanism but that's not like it is EVER useful.

Scientists :

• Argyraspide
• Strange Fellow

The scientists can operate the laboratory cages - I guess those are seriously complex cages. They also have access to the computer room

Engineers :

• Porkbelly
• [open slot]
• [open slot]

"Engineers" is the fancy name for "people actually doing the work". They don't have access to the computer room and even less to the armory, but they don't care, because they can do their own makeshift stuff in the maintenance room.

 

So waiting for two players and we are good to go.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 31 May 2022, 1h15

Going to ping the people that are into this, since I am super excited about that specific game 🙂

@andnjord @baud @kalarion @gubisson and @brutus-trump ?

Quote from Gubisson on 1 June 2022, 12h57

Engineer Gubisson reporting to the maintenance room!

Can anyone direct me to the mess hall after this? My cat is enquiring about the menu of freeze-dried kibble on this intergalactic flight.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 4 June 2022, 18h54

While we are waiting for the 7th player...

• You are part of the crew of a research ship on alien lifeforms
• The ship contains
  • the 7 of you,
  • Porkbelly's and Gubisson's cats !
  • a few alien creatures for study : 2 Poolbl Fontema, and 2 Sidurky's Uniped.
  • [in theory there is a third alien race, but I replaced it by the cats]
  • one mysterious egg. Maybe it belongs to a creature that is included in the giant database in the computer, but for which the egg is unknown. The plan is to study it on Earth, or at least check what the creature is if it hatches while in transit.

 

And what do you know, the egg hatched while in transit. The good news is that it happened while no one was in hibernation, so everyone is immediately ready to react. The bad news in that in breaching from its containment the 4 aliens and the 2 cats also escaped and are now distributed in the ship. Of course, they trigger the life detectors, so knowing where the baby Alien is is going to be tricky.

At least, unlike SOME other game, you will not have to put them back in containment (though it can be useful for various reasons). As for the Alien : you are absolutely forbidden to kill unknown lifeforms that are "relatively harmless". In practical terms, the game will forbid you to use lethal weapons against it as long as it is not clearly life-threatening. You must capture it.

 

Soon - more info on the ship.

 

 

Quote from Helly on 5 June 2022, 13h07

Ensign Helly, assistant engineer, reporting for duty! Please forgive my lateness, sir, Johnny was stuck into the engine power conduits again! Yes sir, I know, everybody keeps telling me that space is no place for a ball python, but I intend to prove them wrong!

 

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 6 June 2022, 0h25

Perfect ! We are full, folks.

I will probably start on Monday or Tuesday evening, so make sure to subscribe to the thread.

A. Intuitu Personae

Officers :

• CaptainGrimlock
• Dayyalu

Officers can open the armory and the computer rooms. They also know the ship self-destruction mechanism but that's not like it is EVER useful.

Scientists :

• Argyraspide
• Strange Fellow

The scientists can operate the laboratory cages - I guess those are seriously complex cages. They also have access to the computer room

Engineers :

• Porkbelly
• Gubisson
• Helly

"Engineers" is the fancy name for "people actually doing the work". They don't have access to the computer room and even less to the armory, but they don't care, because they can do their own makeshift stuff in the maintenance room.

 

In the manifest :

• 2 cats
• 2 fontemas
• 2 unipeds
• 1 mysterious Alien egg

Sadly, Johnny - Helly's ball python - deceased after a maintenance vent accident.

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 6 June 2022, 17h03

B. The ship !

Before we start the game, we need to talk a bit about this ship, so here is what you need to know (for now).

• The ship is divided in rooms. There is no way to see from one room what is in the next room,
• You can move by 3 rooms by turn (I ll give more information on rules soon), or move by 2 rooms and pick 1 item, etc.
  • Exception : Moving to or from the ventilation tubes(centre front of the ship, and "behind" the computer room / armory) takes 2 "movement points", because there are parts of a giant decaying python obstructing the way.
• Some rules are special. Here is the room you need to know for now :

• The bridge is at the center of the ship. It is strategic for obvious reasons, but it also includes :
  • The camera system. As long as someone is in there, you know which room is occupied by < something > (could be just animals, could be the Alien)
  • The auto-destruction system is there as well, but ah, it is not like you will ever use that, right ?
  • The bridge is also the only way to go in 3 important rooms :
• The armoury. Only accessible by officers (so Captain Grimlock and Lieutenant Dayallu), it includes :
  • Anesthetic Dart Pistols x2 - non lethal weapons
  • Laser Pistol x2 - very lethal. Only authorized against life-threatening aliens. So not this Alien. It is so tiny, it cannot be "lethal".
• The computer room. Only accessible by officers and scientists
  • You can try to query it for more information about the alien. Only one query allowed by turn (even by different characters). Scientists are more likely to succeed in getting useful information.
• The Cold Sleep room. With sub-zero temperature, if the alien is not resistant to cold, it is "Good Night Polly" if you bring it or lead it into this room. But then, maybe it is resistant to cold. Typically the kind of information the computer would have.

A further note : the doors of the armoury, the computer room and the Cold Sleep room are armoured. In theory, if the alien is locked inside, you have captured it. In theory. Except if it is particularly strong, but that's unlikely. Maybe the computer has this kind of information.

 

Other rooms of note :

• The laboratory
  • It includes
    • 4 transportable cages. Someone can carry the cage by hand to capture animals or the Alien. The cage have some anti-grav assistance so you can carry super heavy stuff easily with them, but they are designed to carry incapacitated animals - it is possible that something a bit too strong breaks from the cage
    • The lab cages : a scientist (and only a scientist) can transfer one animal/alien from a transportable cage to the lab cages. Whatever is successfully transferred to a lab cage is most definitely incapacitated. I think.
• The chemical storage room
  • It stores chemicals, and in particular 2 gas canisters that can be used as VERY dangerous weapons. Dangerous for everyone. Maybe even for the Alien. Or maybe not, who knows what is poisonous for it.
• The maintenance room
  • That's the Engineers secret place. They can manufacture :
    • Flamethrowers. Probably very lethal, and quite long to produce.
    • Electric Prods : Hopefully it stuns stuff, or at least forces an alien into a cage. Maybe. Easier to produce, not lethal.

 

Quote from The Wargaming Scribe on 6 June 2022, 17h30

C. First turn !

And we start for real !

Note that I use a version modified by Porkbelly so it displays your name, instead of the standard names from the manual. It also fixes some huge UI flaw - nothing you should care about.

 

Here is the initial situation with each of you minding its own business when the breach of containment starts :

• Captain Grimlock is on the bridge, which means he can use the sensors to know where non-humans forms are (indicated with the red squares)
• Lieutenant Dayyalu and Technician Helly are in the Recreation Room
• Professor Argyraspide was in a sick bay, checking the medecines
• Dr Strange Fellow was in the laboratory. He is not alone ... Gubbisson's cat is there !

• Engineer Gubbisson is in the Chemical Storage Room :

• Finally, Chief Porker is in the maintenance room.

 

Time for you to decide what you want to do. The game is a bit weird, and your actions are in 3 phases that must be played in exactly this order

• Special action phase #1 : ONE of :
  • Attack alien (with weapons, or with whatever you can find)
  • Prod alien if you have a stun rod
  • Try to put alien in cage : Can be done alone, unlikely to succeed without help or if the alien is not incapacitated in some way, but you can try)
  • Grab an animal
  • Put an animal in cage (it requires ANOTHER person to have grabbed the animal, unlike the alien you cannot try to force the animal in the cage if it is not grabbed)
  • Operate computer (in the computer room)
  • Lock in labcage (in the lab room, scientists only, if you have an animal or an alien already in a cage)

The rest you don't need to know yet. Note that you cannot "attack animals".

• Movement phase : you have 3 actions points that can be used to :
  • Move
  • Pick up stuff, or to move. You can pick up to 3 items at the same time - cages count for 2
  • Build stuff in the maintenance room (flamethrowers need 3 MP invested, stun rods 2 MP invested)

 

• Special action phase #2 : One of the same list, except "Lock in labcage", don't ask me why.

After that, the alien and the animals move.

Three final notes :

• Yes it is weird that picking up an item is a "movement" action and not a special action. That's the way the game works I am afraid.
• If you carry an animal by hands, the only available actions are "move" and "put an animal in cage".
• Again, you are not allowed to try to kill the Aliens. It is too small and inoffensive, cute in a way, for that.

 

So what's needed ?

I require to know what you do for first special action [the only available one is Dr Strange Fellow trying to grab the cat], then for movement, then for second action. You can state "if" conditions : "I move to that room where something was detected. If that's the alien, I attack it, else I grab it".