Experience Aliens: Colonial Marines how it should have been when it first released. This mod includes fixes to AI, Weapons, Graphics, balancing and more for the Main Campaign, Statis Interrupted and Bug Hunt in SP and COOP.

Report RSS The biggest BUG in the game is just one letter long

A typo found in the INI file after all this time appears to be one of the major causes for terrible AI mechanics in the game. Thankfully typo's are easy to fix!

Posted by on

A new update will be coming soon with this change included, however after getting reports back from several players on how much this effects the game, I just had to post it now

Inside your games config file (My Document\My Games\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGame\Config\PecanEngine.ini) is the following line of code :

ClassRemapping=PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachXenoToTether -> PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachPawnToTeather

Im sure you'll notice the spelling mistake

ClassRemapping=PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachXenoToTether -> PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachPawnToTether

If you fix it to look like the above and then play the game, the difference is pretty crazy!

Why is this line important? There are two reasons :
1) AttachXenoToTether doesn't do anything. Its basically empty or stripped
2) AttachPawnToTether does ALOT. It controls tactical position adjustment, patrolling and target zoning

When a Xeno is spawned, it is attached to a zone tether. This zone tells the Xeno what area is its fighting space and where different exits are. In Combat, a Xeno will be forced to switch to a new tether (such as one behind you) so as to flank, or disperse so they aren't so grouped up etc. (*disclaimer* this is inferred opinion, I cant see the actual code only bits)

Whenever the game tried to do this, nothing happened. Now it does!

Post comment Comments  (0 - 50 of 66)
Olku_
Olku_

Was this typo made by you or Gearbox?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+5 votes
jamesdickinson963 Author
jamesdickinson963

Gearbox / Sega / Timegate

It ships with the game

Reply Good karma+27 votes
Emperors_Fist
Emperors_Fist

That's hilarious...

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
Olku_
Olku_

Lmao

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
krondon57
krondon57

My god...

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
AdamantConsternation
AdamantConsternation

This is up there with the infamous Beregost crash in Baldur's Gate where a single open door was the cause.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+5 votes
TheVidmaster
TheVidmaster

So suddenly the Xenos are more aggressive and overall more swarmy?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+3 votes
jamesdickinson963 Author
jamesdickinson963

Not so much more aggressive. They are much better and approaching you without getting shot. They will move between cover more, and if you try shooting them, they flank and displace

Reply Good karma+5 votes
WackyModder[84]
WackyModder[84]

So correcting this typo, combined with the AI enhancements you've already made. Would this make the AI of both the Xenomorphs AND PMCs even better????

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
jamesdickinson963 Author
jamesdickinson963

The Xeno's are insane now. unfortunately they do still stand still at times. But its much rarer than it was.

They run around on the walls and roof alot more now and jump ontop/over tables and cabinets more making it much more difficult to deal with multiple of them.

The Humans don't benefit from the typo, but they are better than before mainly in that they have more freedom to get into cover and think faster. W.Y have very low health to make them easy to take out (except for a heavy) so most fights with them can be dealt with quickly.

In missions where its a mix of Xenos and Mercs the Xenos clearly dominate just about all encounters

Reply Good karma+3 votes
Tutarah
Tutarah

So does that mean we SHOULD fix the code while using your mod...?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
downlode
downlode

This is simply beyond belief. Your new user name should be Hawkeye.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+5 votes
Guest
Guest

This hasn't gone viral yet? Polygon, IGN, Gamespot, PC Gamer even the that AvPGalaxy hasn't even posted anything about your recent release. Sure they will all be posting this on a very slow news day. I just want to see good press for this Aliens game for once.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+8 votes
Kitsunami
Kitsunami

Still nothing...

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
TheNoire
TheNoire

PCGamer made news about it now
Pcgamer.com

Reply Good karma Bad karma+3 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

They couldn't mention the second typo though.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
InStars
InStars

This blew up on reddit and loads of other sites as well.

Link to thread: Reddit.com

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
Guest
Guest

Yeah so what happened with this, it seems like this mod fell off the radar when a version 6 was planned?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

We shall all continue supporting this Overhaul Mod see if V6 pops up.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

Alien Day 2018, the gaming media and youtubers must report this finding.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

The 40th anniversary next year might do that.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
wylles
wylles

This is Incredible, I cant believe it didnt get to the news, after all the controversy surrounding this game, maybe maybe because of how irrelevant the game became?

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

I saw another post about another typo from geoffegg so thought copy paste it here. I believe we are all still missing this second INI fix that needed still.

This typo is in the DefaultEngine.ini, in your Steam\steamapps\common\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGame\Config\ directory

Turns out the biggest bug in the game isn't just one letter long Templar, it's one letter wrong too.

I've found out ClassRemapping=PecanGame.PecanSeqAct_AttachXenoToTether also has a typo on the exact same line as the AttachPawnToTeather typo. It says ClassRemapping=PecanGAme with a capital A in Game which could potentially be causing a problem as well. (lower the A to "a" yes)

This exists in the DefaultEngine ini file, which is what serves as a default for the PecanEngine config in My Documents.

Just been testing it out quickly with both typo corrections in the Vanilla ACM and it looks to me like the Xeno Soldier's are definitely wall and ceiling climbing more, only tested No Hope in Hadley's so far.

This typo is in the DefaultEngine.ini, in your Steam\steamapps\common\Aliens Colonial Marines\PecanGame\Config\ directory

Reply Good karma Bad karma+8 votes
Olku_
Olku_

Nice! I think i will ply this game now.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
New52era
New52era

Thank you.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

As Wey-* says the other typo is when they spelled Tether as Teather

Reply Good karma Bad karma0 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

Powers of the Gaming Media still not aware that this also gives Weyland-Yutani Commandos a AI boost too. Seems no one can be playing beyond level one.... while theres 15 levels and Bug Hunt Mode to enjoy.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
outcry27
outcry27

Hey all,
My name is Sean Maio. I was one of the three Colonial Marine cosplayers (the Smartgunner, specifically) who SEGA hired to be their booth characters, mascots, etc for the A:CM booth at E3 and similar shows. The three of us are actually featured in the game in mission 9 as some of the Marines you rescue when you return to Ops - look for "A. Duplis", "C. Duplis", and "Maio", respectively. That's us. You can also find our faces in the multiplayer appearance options.

One result of the promo work we did with SEGA was that I ended up getting flown to Gearbox to do Motion Capture work for the game - their first try MoCapping the Smartgun didn't work out so well and they needed my rig. While I was there, I got to meet the devs, playtest development builds, give feedback, etc. Believe me when I say, from firsthand experience, that what I saw in development (pre-Timegate) was much closer to the E3 demos than what actually ended up shipping.

For years, I have been trying to understand the difference between what I saw and what shipped. This. Explains. So. Damn. Much.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this story with you all and tell you how much it warms my heart that there are still people who haven't given up on this title despite all the drama, and are still trying to polish it into what it could have been. The Gearbox devs who worked on this pre-outsource were so freaking passionate about "Pecan", and I know they would feel the same way. Y'all stay frosty.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+14 votes
szogyenyi
szogyenyi

Thank you for sharing this with us!

Reply Good karma Bad karma+3 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

Thank you Sean, for this positive feedback for us real legit ACM fans to read! I've been playing since day one release very underrated and awesome. I didn't care about the hate bandwagons still today after all off this reporting from PC Gamer they never will be happy!

Mission 9 really loved walking around Hadley's Hope. All three off you were all meant to be pulled into the vehicle bay area as you all had lines throughout. Both you and C.Duplis You have to force push trick you all in but can only be done in coop.

Anyways for us real ACM fans because why should we be bullied for liking this? I spoken to many online they all loved playing coop, Bug Hunt Mode and all four multiplayer modes.

Online is still very active on the PS3, 360 and Steam today on July 2018. We got to customize a male and female marine so again thanks to your efforts.

Hope everyone can keep on supporting this for a future remaster on current gen.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
outcry27
outcry27

Fun fact, my head was originally supposed to be attached to the generic Smartgunner body (the ones you occasionally see running through the docking tube in the title screen) as an homage to my actual costume. They never told us we were supposed to have lines, though.

At the end of the MoCap session, they actually asked me if I wanted to survive in the game or not, lol. We recorded three different death options - one where I got facehuggered, one where I went down shooting while getting mobbed from multiple directions, and my favorite, one where I got a tail through the back. I told them to surprise me.

There's some fun behind the scenes stuff in this YouTube vid from PAX (skip to around 8:30 or so) - Youtu.be

I've also got some pics I'd be happy to share if y'all are interested. Regardless of the outcome, getting to work on this project was a fan's dream come true and one of the best experiences of my entire life.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+7 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

You wouldn't be surprised all those death animations were all used ingame. Hey we all rescued you off that floor yeah you in a Aliens game forever. Who can that away from you.

Maybe Hiya Toys could make a figurine off you as they have the ACM licensing ah maybe not your likeness rights. They should be releasing The Crusher, Raven, Cruz, Redding and Bella figurines by now. They be at San Diego Comic Con this coming week said on there Facebook who knows until then.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
jamesdickinson963 Author
jamesdickinson963

Thankyou for the link and the information. This was amazing to hear anything insider that was truthful and not some spin.

Id love to see some pics, pm me!

Reply Good karma+2 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

What PC Gamer and the fifth person on Twitter are NOT telling you is Templargfx real research with the Overhaul Mod. The game like all games fellows scripts so the Xenos, Wey-Yu PMCs and your fellowing parents all have to fellow some script before they are "free" throughout the two campaigns.

The two INI fixs correct the AI to be able attck you from everywhere. End of the day the game isn't "unlocked". By unlocked meaning the console limitations yes the PC version was locked out to be at its fullest like you can get now with V5. As the game was only built on a 512mb RAM kit old one at that!

The Overhaul Mod unlocks pass these consoles limits then some to the heights off 4k gaming today! Yeah the cut scenes are not in 4k nor even 1080p but the ingame yes stunning! Now the old gen consoles are still stuck with the typos and yes the console limits itself.

A full support and backing would help for a current gen release. If you hate the game because wasn't what you wanted okay fine. For us who have enjoyed this well Oorah To Ashes!

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
whodatninja117
whodatninja117

Man i wish all the cutscenes were in-engine, first person only, the cinematic fmvs just look terrible.

I got the Steam collection for 3 dollars and i think it's well worth it for the ACMO mod alone! I cant wait to see the next update with the typos fixed, and how big an improvement it can make!

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

This comment is currently awaiting admin approval, join now to view.

outcry27
outcry27

By the way - as a result of learning about this AI fix I'm now planning an *IN-COSTUME* A:CM "vindication" playthrough on Twitch, lol, so if that's something y'all would be interested in, spread the word. I can message out channel info at a later time so as to avoid self-promoting on someone else's page.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

If you able to upload up to YouTube that would be great.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
outcry27
outcry27

I'm not sure if my rig can handle multicasting or streaming and recording at the same time, but I can do some tests and find out.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+4 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

Don't stress over its fine. Your voice, appearance and actual real knowledge about the real development worth the time for us Aliens fans. The e-celebritys off YouTube haven't all cashed in yet surprisingly eh.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+3 votes
outcry27
outcry27

Playthrough video can be seen here if you're interested. It'll be available for two weeks before Twitch deletes it.
M.twitch.tv

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
Chrissstrahl
Chrissstrahl

Super cool find dude!

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
Wey-YuPMC2018
Wey-YuPMC2018

Reddit here very interesting reading from real programmers are into the whole typo mistake.

Reddit.com

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
andrewraphaellukasik
andrewraphaellukasik

To be honest - it took me like 10 minutes to pinpoint this typo EVEN you explicitly showed the specific line. And I code daily. It speaks more about evils of external string literals than anything.

I'm glad post author found it but I don't think it's a prudent idea to hold this particular mistake against the developer; many games we love is full of similar ones - this one was just extra unfortunate.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+2 votes
ariochthe
ariochthe

Basically it means there non-declared function was called.

It seems it was ad hoc created as an empty do-nothing stub.

....and for 4 years that was not written to any error or warnings log. :-/

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
old_liquid
old_liquid

Game still extensively logging any things happen ingame even though DEVoptions disabled in ini files. My game log folder before deletion weights around 240mb.

Reply Good karma Bad karma+1 vote
Guest
Guest

This comment is currently awaiting admin approval, join now to view.

jamesdickinson963 Author
jamesdickinson963

Something I mentioned elsewhere. I spent 3 years working on this mod before I found the typo, every gamer/modder that played ACM messed with those INI files. No one saw it, not a single gamer for what, 4 years?

4 years of rabid Aliens fans like myself with coding knowledge missing it kind of says you can't really be too hard on the Devs for missing it too.

Reply Good karma+5 votes
ariochthe
ariochthe

The eternal holy war between compiled (mostly strongly typed with advance formal declarations) and interpreted (mostly ducktyped with no declarations required) computer languages just got a new heavy charge....

Reply Good karma Bad karma+3 votes
TheSpoons313
TheSpoons313

Hi all, was looking in the default engine INI and found that +Suppress=DevDialogue has +Suppress=DevDialog added underneath, which seemed odd to me. So I deleted the line and closed the gap, then ran my game. Suffice to say it ran fine without it.
Obviously I will replace it if it was wrong to remove, but it didn't make any sense to have two commands for the same thing...

Reply Good karma Bad karma+5 votes
Post a comment

Your comment will be anonymous unless you join the community. Or sign in with your social account: