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- May 13, 2009
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On Medium (and probably Easy) difficulty the Alien is introduced with a scripted event in Chapter 2, but it actually doesn't become a gameplay element at this time (that doesn't happen until that scripted event in Medical during Chapter 5). As far as I've determined it's impossible to trigger the Alien to do anything during that scripted scene except play its part and then despawn.
On Hard difficulty however, it is possible for the Alien to appear in that area before the scripted event. It can arrive as early as the scene where you get the revolver. It can also arrive in Chapter 3 if you make too much noise while trying to get past all the Working Joes on the lower floor of Communications. There are probably other cases where the Alien crashes the scene, so to say, but I can't recall them at the moment.
This impromptu alien entrance technically breaks the flow of the game, and is very likely to mess up the Alien's first scripted event in humorous ways. I haven't tried Nightmare mode yet, so no comment on that.
Another interesting bit is the scripted scene in Chapter 5 where the Alien first becomes a gameplay element. During it's drop-and-rise-menacingly animation it's effectively blind, but not deaf. If you panic at that moment and run the fuck away from it, it will know exactly where you are and hunt you down like a bitch. If you manage to hide from it, it will stomp about in a permamently agitated state. Trying to complete Chapter 5 under these circumstances is next to impossible. But... during that scripted animation, if you casually walk towards and hide in the nearest cabinet (those low metallic closets) and are out of the Alien's sight by the time the animation ends, it'll be clueless to your location and start wandering around in a disinterested manner. This will make the next sections much easier to deal with.
Also, Chapters 5 and 6 is where you'll witness the worst of the 'rubber-band' effect that governs the Alien's proximity towards you. As these areas are effectively tiny in available areas to move about in, the Alien will be breathing down your neck right up until the moment you open the door at the Security desk close to Dr. Lingard's office - at that point the Alien will have access to that area of Medical with the circular hallways and those juicy survivors who shoot first and ask questions later, and tend to wander about some and explore and have some juicy treats while you're off somewhere else.
On Hard difficulty however, it is possible for the Alien to appear in that area before the scripted event. It can arrive as early as the scene where you get the revolver. It can also arrive in Chapter 3 if you make too much noise while trying to get past all the Working Joes on the lower floor of Communications. There are probably other cases where the Alien crashes the scene, so to say, but I can't recall them at the moment.
This impromptu alien entrance technically breaks the flow of the game, and is very likely to mess up the Alien's first scripted event in humorous ways. I haven't tried Nightmare mode yet, so no comment on that.
Another interesting bit is the scripted scene in Chapter 5 where the Alien first becomes a gameplay element. During it's drop-and-rise-menacingly animation it's effectively blind, but not deaf. If you panic at that moment and run the fuck away from it, it will know exactly where you are and hunt you down like a bitch. If you manage to hide from it, it will stomp about in a permamently agitated state. Trying to complete Chapter 5 under these circumstances is next to impossible. But... during that scripted animation, if you casually walk towards and hide in the nearest cabinet (those low metallic closets) and are out of the Alien's sight by the time the animation ends, it'll be clueless to your location and start wandering around in a disinterested manner. This will make the next sections much easier to deal with.
Also, Chapters 5 and 6 is where you'll witness the worst of the 'rubber-band' effect that governs the Alien's proximity towards you. As these areas are effectively tiny in available areas to move about in, the Alien will be breathing down your neck right up until the moment you open the door at the Security desk close to Dr. Lingard's office - at that point the Alien will have access to that area of Medical with the circular hallways and those juicy survivors who shoot first and ask questions later, and tend to wander about some and explore and have some juicy treats while you're off somewhere else.
