I like the subtle expansion of the Aliens universe. One of my problems with the alien prequels is that Prometheus ended up making the universe fall smaller. Instead of xenomorphs feeling like a small part of the Universe. Now everything has to be connected with the engineers and black goo. Outside predators, most life in the universe is just a byproduct of black goo and engineers.
Having just watched the most recent Aliens movie, I was all in it for the first part, but when they brought back the black goo I just cringed as I really didn't feel it was necessary.
The smartgun is covered in the book, but is referred to as Machine Gun on pg99, then more info about the weapon is in the Machine Gun skill section on pg 36. Great review of the game. The rocket scientists brought their own view and ideas to it which gives it a great feel 30yrs later. The modern Free League version is probably better suited for it nowadays.
Ahhh, cool stuff, thanks for letting me know. Leading Edge definitely did a very military version of the RPG, but the rules are their usual over the top detail. I've got my problems with the Free League game, but it's definitely fun and I've had a pretty good time playing it.
We had this but never played it. Instead we used it as a resource for Traveller & BRP. It was eclipsed almost completely by Space Hulk which really did capture the scariness & marine atmosphere of the "Aliens" film.
Just uploading the Rules Breakdown as I type. It's very Living Steel / Phoenix command. So very complex. They've simplified the damage system for the Aliens themselves, so not as much record keeping for the GM, but otherwise, still the same rules as written by Rocket Scientists.
Simulationism is different from complexity and also realism, although many people assume it is about simulating the real world and inevitably being complicated. The guy who developed that concept said he wishes he called it "emulation" instead. That is apt because it is about emulating whatever your game is about. Toon is an extremely simulationist game, as are the Scared Stiff and Marvel Superheroes RPGs, but they are far from being either realistic or complex.
Absolutely, but Leading Edge games were trying to simulate realistic combat, where you could be killed outright, but could bleed out from wounds hours later, while they're definitely complex, I do think they fit in the definition of Simulationism as well.
@@RPGGamer I definitely agree. Especially when they did Phoenix Command. More of an informational comment. It is really fun to think this version of Aliens and the new and vastly less crunchy Alien RPG are both aiming for heavy simulationism but one simulates the combat aspect and the other the stress of the situation. Keep up the good work.
I disagree with that, it is a universe with a lot of possibilities, the Fria Ligan Allen RPG and sourcebooks allows for lots of interesting scenarios - with or without xenomorphs.
@@martyh360 Feel free to do so, but I thought about this for a while. You could play as some corporate wetwork squad fighting against other companies off-Earth, but that would be spacepunk. The only way that would involve Xenomorphs is if an egg is the prize of a long campaign, before the beginning of the actual horror. Or you could play Colonial Marines involved in a Banana Wars in Space style game and stumble upon a clutch of eggs while eradicating rebels, pirates, raiders, mutineers, mutants, extremists, etc.
@@Nightbreed24 Some food for thought: In Fria Ligans „Building better worlds“ colonization and settling on new planets/moons is described in detail with lots of new character classes. That alone can be an interesting hard sci-fi campaign (like the UPP taking an interest in the world and instigating political turmoil)…
While the universe could be expanded out, including corporate warfare (or the assassin Synthetics mentioned in this book), so could be interesting, it is going to be an expectation that Xenomorphs turn up on a regular basis, and I can see that become boring quickly. I think for example they've done a better job with the Blade Runner RPG, where you can explore the subject in a variety of different ways, because Replicants don't have to be the villain every story, you can be exploring how the story effects them.
I like the subtle expansion of the Aliens universe. One of my problems with the alien prequels is that Prometheus ended up making the universe fall smaller. Instead of xenomorphs feeling like a small part of the Universe. Now everything has to be connected with the engineers and black goo. Outside predators, most life in the universe is just a byproduct of black goo and engineers.
Having just watched the most recent Aliens movie, I was all in it for the first part, but when they brought back the black goo I just cringed as I really didn't feel it was necessary.
The smartgun is covered in the book, but is referred to as Machine Gun on pg99, then more info about the weapon is in the Machine Gun skill section on pg 36.
Great review of the game. The rocket scientists brought their own view and ideas to it which gives it a great feel 30yrs later.
The modern Free League version is probably better suited for it nowadays.
Ahhh, cool stuff, thanks for letting me know.
Leading Edge definitely did a very military version of the RPG, but the rules are their usual over the top detail. I've got my problems with the Free League game, but it's definitely fun and I've had a pretty good time playing it.
Wow - I got this back in the day, but almost thought I'd imagined it!
So many games of the period I suddenly remember and am surprised by how they've faded into the mists of time.
We had this but never played it. Instead we used it as a resource for Traveller & BRP. It was eclipsed almost completely by Space Hulk which really did capture the scariness & marine atmosphere of the "Aliens" film.
I've had so much fun with Space Hulk over the years, was a joy to get my son to play it when he got old enough.
I'm intrigued to see how this one plays.
Just uploading the Rules Breakdown as I type. It's very Living Steel / Phoenix command. So very complex. They've simplified the damage system for the Aliens themselves, so not as much record keeping for the GM, but otherwise, still the same rules as written by Rocket Scientists.
Simulationism is different from complexity and also realism, although many people assume it is about simulating the real world and inevitably being complicated. The guy who developed that concept said he wishes he called it "emulation" instead. That is apt because it is about emulating whatever your game is about. Toon is an extremely simulationist game, as are the Scared Stiff and Marvel Superheroes RPGs, but they are far from being either realistic or complex.
Absolutely, but Leading Edge games were trying to simulate realistic combat, where you could be killed outright, but could bleed out from wounds hours later, while they're definitely complex, I do think they fit in the definition of Simulationism as well.
@@RPGGamer I definitely agree. Especially when they did Phoenix Command. More of an informational comment. It is really fun to think this version of Aliens and the new and vastly less crunchy Alien RPG are both aiming for heavy simulationism but one simulates the combat aspect and the other the stress of the situation. Keep up the good work.
I like the franchise, but a game based on it seems monotonous. Even the novels tended to be one-note.
I disagree with that, it is a universe with a lot of possibilities, the Fria Ligan Allen RPG and sourcebooks allows for lots of interesting scenarios - with or without xenomorphs.
@@martyh360 Feel free to do so, but I thought about this for a while. You could play as some corporate wetwork squad fighting against other companies off-Earth, but that would be spacepunk. The only way that would involve Xenomorphs is if an egg is the prize of a long campaign, before the beginning of the actual horror. Or you could play Colonial Marines involved in a Banana Wars in Space style game and stumble upon a clutch of eggs while eradicating rebels, pirates, raiders, mutineers, mutants, extremists, etc.
@@Nightbreed24 Some food for thought: In Fria Ligans „Building better worlds“ colonization and settling on new planets/moons is described in detail with lots of new character classes. That alone can be an interesting hard sci-fi campaign (like the UPP taking an interest in the world and instigating political turmoil)…
While the universe could be expanded out, including corporate warfare (or the assassin Synthetics mentioned in this book), so could be interesting, it is going to be an expectation that Xenomorphs turn up on a regular basis, and I can see that become boring quickly.
I think for example they've done a better job with the Blade Runner RPG, where you can explore the subject in a variety of different ways, because Replicants don't have to be the villain every story, you can be exploring how the story effects them.