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That star's 'alien megastructure' is likely just a swarm of comets
Occam's Razor apparently holds true everywhere, even in the farthest reaches of space. While researchers speculated that star KIC 8462852's mysterious dimming might be the result of alien megastructures, NASA is about to publish evidence supporting the theory that it's really just a swarm of comets. Based on the strange dimming and the moderate infrared light levels, you may be looking at a pack of cold comets on a "very long, eccentric" orbit. If so, the strange signatures over the years reflect different-size comets passing around the star.
A swarm of alien satellites may explain one star's strange behavior
There's something extremely odd about KIC 8462852, a star 1,481 light-years away from Earth. It demonstrates irregular, seemingly unnatural, flickering patterns -- usually, scientists detect a faraway planet by measuring the regular drops in brightness that occur as it passes in front of its sun, but KIC 8462852 is different. It exhibits extreme drops in brightness, up to 22 percent at one moment, and there appears to be no pattern to the light show. For comparison, a planet the size of Jupiter normally drops in brightness by just 1 percent as it crosses the sun, according The Washington Post. The star's weird behavior remains unexplained, but scientists have a few ideas about its origins -- including a massive alien structure.
An 'Alien' movie is coming from the creator of 'District 9'
District 9 creator Neill Blomkamp gave sci-fi fans a brief glimmer of hope in January, when he teased that he had secretly been working on an Alien sequel that had (apparently) been scuttled. Well, it might be back on again -- Blomkamp is now claiming on Instagram (with support from Variety sources) that the project is "officially [his] next film." There's no word on the movie's plot or when it might hit theaters, but his sneak peek showed concept art that included Ripley in an alien-like suit, Weyland-Yutani's headquarters and the return of Aliens' Corporal Hicks.
Ancestry website won't let you borrow its UFO records
You wouldn't think that genealogy websites would have much need to defend copyrights, but they're apparently quite zealous -- so long as you're interested in alien spaceships, at least. Ancestry.com has forced enthusiast site The Black Vault to take down legions of declassified US records on UFO research because some of them were taken from its Fold3 subsidiary. While the documents are public domain, their digital copies supposedly aren't -- Black Vault has to either get permission or digitize the records itself in order to post this content online, a spokeswoman says.
Joystiq Top 10 of 2014: Alien Isolation
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. I'm suspicious of Alien: Isolation as I play it, waiting for the leather shoe to drop and seeing a meddling executive come chasing after it. It's just a cartoon in my head, sure, but these games are made or broken by how well they can bend to the needs of the creator, the desires of the publisher and the expectations of a varied audience. A low-action survival game with a persistent stalker isn't usually where video game aliens end up - not even THE alien. You start questioning everything. There are too many jagged parts for a blockbuster game, too many harsh pitfalls for the easily frustrated player, too much smart enthusiasm for what is truthfully a tarnished property. And on top of that it's supposed to be an intimate horror game from Creative Assembly, the studio best known for giving you a god's view in the Total War strategy games. And yet few studios could have been as suitable as Creative Assembly, for fanatically recreating not only the look of 1979's 'Alien', but instilling the same vulnerability and paranoia that must have clung to the film's lone human survivor, Ellen Ripley. Alien: Isolation puts her clever daughter in a similar predicament, inherits a horrible monster with a matryoshka doll of mouths, and proves that authenticity is key not only in historical fact. Whereas Total War unfurls the history books as best it can, Alien: Isolation is devoted to recreating the timeless truths of Ridley Scott's film: its look, its unpredictable killer and the sigh of relief we share with those who survive.
Step into Alien: Isolation's 'Trauma' center in second DLC
Alien: Isolation's second survivor mode pack is now available to download. Dubbed "Trauma," the add-on introduces Sevastopol's medical officer, Dr. Lingard, as a playable character. Lingard explores three new maps in the game while seeking to destroy her research on the Alien, witnessing the consequences of bringing the creature onboard the station. The DLC is now available for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC with PS3 and PS4 downloads opening to PlayStation owners tomorrow in Europe and Thursday in North America. Trauma is one of five Survivor Mode add-ons for Alien: Isolation, the first being Corporate Lockdown, which launched in October. The next three pieces of DLC for the mode are Safe Haven, Lost Contact and The Trigger. All five packs are part of the game's $30 season pass, which happens to be half-off on Steam today along with the game itself ($25). Each pack is available for purchase individually for $8. [Image: Sega]
Tube TVs, VCRs and magnets give 'Alien: Isolation' its signature look
From Halo to Dead Space and countless titles in between, the influence of the Alien franchise can be felt just about just about everywhere in video games. But hardly any of the releases starring the titular onyx xenomorphs actually capture aspects of what made Ridley Scott's beloved 1979 sci-fi flick so special -- a feeling that somewhere in space this could all actually happen. To do that, the team behind Alien: Isolation (out today for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One) had an altogether different plan of attack: a retro lo-fi aesthetic that limited them to not having any technology in the game couldn't have existed on-set in 1979. Achieving that took some creativity on the part of developer Creative Assembly, though. "Lo-fi didn't necessarily mean crappy," creative lead Alistair Hope tells us. "It's just that it's more of a stamp in time and an approach. We're doing sci-fi set in the future, but there's no sense that the crew on the Nostromo should be looking for a massive sci-fi gun... It's a disillusioned view of the future."
Metareview: Alien: Isolation
The good news is Alien: Isolation is far from being the disaster that was Aliens: Colonial Marines. Isolation delivers plenty of what franchise and survival series fans would hope for, with the consistent criticism brought up across reviews that it just. Keeps. Going. Our 4-star review was right on the critical average mark, with our Ludwig Kietzmann (@LudwigK) saying, "Instead of completing the game, it feels more like I've escaped it and the nightmare it put me through."
There's No Escape from the latest Alien: Isolation trailer
Alien: Isolation has officially gone gold and to celebrate this momentous occasion, publisher Sega has kicked off a new series of trailers, starting with the vignette you see above which poses the question, "How will you survive?" before demonstrating exactly how to do the opposite. [Image: Sega]
The Nostromo crew lives again in Alien: Isolation trailer
In this Alien: Isolation trailer, Sigourney Weaver, Yaphet Kotto, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright and Harry Dean Stanton return to the Nostromo to reminisce about the good ol' days, when men were men, women were women, and aliens didn't care, because human face is equally tasty. [Image: Sega]
'Alien' designer HR Giger dead at 74
Yesterday the world lost the man behind one of the most memorable movie villains of all time. HR Giger, the Swiss-born artist who designed the "Xenomorph" monster for the film Alien, passed away at age 74 after suffering injuries from a fall. While he'll be best remembered for visual effects in Ridley Scott's sci-fi masterpiece, Giger was also a prolific surrealist painter and sculptor -- one of his large-format paintings was even the inspiration behind the famous Alien character. Giger's received numerous awards throughout his career, including induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame last year. Sci-fi, cinema and art fans won't be forgetting his work any time soon, but now's a better time than ever to check out this documentary about the making of Alien. [Image credit: Cinephelia and Beyond]
Meet the xenomorph in this behind the scenes Alien: Isolation trailer
In lieu of serving up in-game footage or even pre-rendered cutscenes from the upcoming sci fi survival horror game Alien: Isolation, the developers at Creative Assembly instead offer this behind-the-scenes look at how the team is translating Hollywood-style horror for the virtual world. The focus of the clip is on the creation of the game's titular xenomorph, and specifically the artificial intelligence ruling its in-game behaviors. According to the game's designers, the alien utilizes a unique set of "senses" to actively hunt players down, leading to encounters with the creature that can last up to half an hour, depending on how cautious a player is in approaching the confrontation. The development team claims this just isn't possible with scripted cutscenes and traditional enemy behavior patterns, but the extra effort poured into the birth of the xenomorph pays off by presenting players with an enemy that is both deadly and unexpectedly cunning. Alien: Isolation is slated for release toward the end of 2014, when it will debut on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 platforms. [Image: Sega]
An android died to bring you these Alien: Isolation screenshots
Alas, poor Hyperdyne Systems model 120-A/2 Synthetic, I knew him well. Like Lance Bishop before him, this fellow met a grisly end at the claws of an extraterrestrial phallic metaphor, and while he's no longer functional, his disembowelment works wonders for the atmosphere in these new Alien: Isolation screenshots. Though not much is shown here - it looks like all of these images come from a single room - the five screenshots gathered below demonstrate the game's dark, foreboding atmosphere. Deep shadows offer perfect hiding spots for a fiend with acid blood, or more to the point, they offer worrying voids that your traitorous imagination might fill with such horrors. Alien: Isolation is currently in development at The Creative Assembly. Assuming all goes to plan, Sega will publish the survival horror game on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PC platforms toward the end of 2014. [Image: Sega]
Alien: Isolation screens burst from Creative Assembly's horror game
A set of screens confirmed to be from Creative Assembly's Alien: Isolation hit the net last night, Eurogamer reports. The game is said to a first-person stealth-and-horror fest that tells the story of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Ellen Ripley from the Alien film series. Twentieth Centry Fox Film trademarked Alien: Isolation, just as it (unfortunately) did with Aliens: Colonial Marines. An Alien game from Creative Assembly has been in production since May 2011 at least, when the studio posted a job listing and Sega confirmed the project's existence. You heard and saw it here, folks: Alien exists.
Ex-BioWare writer reveals alternate endings to Mass Effect trilogy
Potential Spoiler Warning Mass Effect fans! Toronto's AM640 did a radio interview recently with former BioWare scribe Drew Karpyshyn, in which he chatted about some of the alternate story theories and endings that BioWare tossed around for the Mass Effect series. Eurogamer has the highlights, including the theory that the Reapers were trying to stop organic life because they were somehow making use of "Dark Energy" (an element only mentioned briefly throughout the series) to bring about the end of the universe. "It's very vague and not fleshed out," says Karpyshyn, adding that "it was something we considered but we ended up going in a different direction." BioWare also played with the idea that Shepard might be an alien at one point, though eventually deemed that too close to the story of Revan in Knights of the Old Republic. Karpyshyn also says BioWare thought about turning Shepard into some combination of organic and cybernetic, a theme that did eventually get generally included in the ending of Mass Effect 3. But in the end, says Karpyshyn, these ideas were just ideas, and should be judged as such. "It's like vaporware," he says. "Vaporware is always perfect, anytime someone talks about the new greatest game. It's perfect until it comes out." Karpyshyn says that even if fans are disappointed with the story as it is, a story that included these other considered ideas, "whatever we came up with, it probably wouldn't be what people want it to be."
Captain's Log: Playing with Legacy of Romulus characters in Star Trek Online
In just over two weeks, Star Trek Online's first expansion, The Legacy of Romulus, will be released. The developers at Cryptic Studios have been working furiously, and we'll all get to see the results of all of the hard work on Tuesday, May 21st, 2013. I've had the opportunity to jump into the Star Trek Online's test server, Tribble, to catch a few glimpses of some of the character works in progress. With more material being pushed to Tribble on almost a daily basis, there should be lots to see in the next couple of weeks!
ThinkGeek's Mark VII Sonic Screwdriver universal remote pleases Whovians in time for Comic-Con
Ever wished you too could make use of the awesome powers that lie within Dr. Matt Smith's Mark VII Sonic Screwdriver? Well, it's still not exactly a reality in the way of the space-bred handyman's gadget seen on Doctor Who, but ThinkGeek and The Wand Company have you covered if an IR-packing replica universal remote sounds good enough. This BBC-licensed Mark VII remote handles up to 39 commands that are all controlled using 13 different motion gestures. Of course, if controlling the likes of TV and AV devices in an extraterrestrial fashion just isn't your thing, there's always ThinkGeek's Sonic Screwdriver flashlight, right? There's no word on price just yet, but San Diego Comic-Con attendees can try it out first-hand at the BBC America Booth (#3629) starting July 12. The Mark VII remote is set to go sale for $99 at ThinkGeek's website on August 31st, so for now we'll direct you to the press release after the break. Update: Video demo added after the break. [Thanks, Alan]
Prometheus Blu-ray extras leak reveals Second Screen app and 15 minutes of deleted scenes
While Ridley Scott's Prometheus is still in theaters, it's been available for preorder on Blu-ray 3D since before the flick debuted, and now Amazon France has exposed the full list of extras on the way. The bad news, pointed out by Movies.com and Prometheus Forum, is that those anticipating a classic Ridley Scott Director's Cut to fill in plot holes appear to be in for a disappointment -- while there are 15 minutes of extended / cut scenes, there's no indication that you'll be able to watch the movie with them reinserted. There are a lot of other extras, including a director's commentary, extensive making-of featurettes, many of the short viral videos that were posted previously and production materials, along with a Second Screen iPad app. The specific set listed includes the other Alien flicks, but since we're sure you've already snagged the Anthology with its MU-TH-UR interactive mode you'll probably be looking for a more limited release. The release date for the set remains October 9th, hit the source link for the listing or check out the full list of features and a trailer after the break.
NASA's Robonaut 2 shown pushing buttons, firing lasers on the ISS (video)
Robonaut 2 is the International Space Station's friendly 300-pound killbot android assistant. It's there to assist the team with science experiments and probably capture alien life at the expense of the crew. After being fitted with more heat-sinks to enable its delicate machinery to work for longer, it was given the job of monitoring the on-board air velocity to ensure the humans didn't choke to death. Since it doesn't have legs (they're still being built on the ground), it was only able to monitor the air in the Destiny Laboratory, but the test proved so successful that NASA hopes future robots will take over the more dangerous or mundane elements of space work -- at least until they become self-aware and unionize.
Creative Assembly's untitled Alien project aimed at next-gen too
The Creative Assembly has revealed that its Aliens game, which has been known to be in production since last year, is expected to pounce on next-generation PlayBoxes, in addition to current systems. We'd like to imagine it's kinda like the scary little mouth hiding inside of the bigger, scarier mouth."The successful applicant will be working on a AAA multi-platform title on current and future generation consoles set in the Alien universe," the job listing for a programmer read. Now, we know what you're thinking: Wii U, right? Sure, let's not rule it out, but the wording specifically calls out experience in Xbox 360, PS3 and PC development.You may best recognize The Creative Assembly from its work on Sega's Total War series of real-time strategy games.
