"Best alien design." Topic

Watched ID4.

They must be the best alien design ever.

The split bio casing is unique, the interesting take on a grey inside, the silver eyes, tentacles.

Maybe Alien Xenomorph next, but it's just a guy in a suit. Probably face huggers are more unique. But the entire life cycle (whichever you choose) is very good.

Gould are a good, but just a worm parisite really.

Starship Troopers bugs are just.., bugs. The warriors are cool looking though. No 2s parisites are a fresh take.

Tyranids were great. Now, a bit dull, just animal looking, sort of skeletal dinosaurs. The originals were truly alien, the warriors were just hard to look at, what are those things? Excellent. Up there with 1D4 for me. But not the new nids, very cool, but not very alien.

Procardians. Time Trax.

Unas. SG1.

Visitors. V.

The, um.., thing. The Thing.

Ditto. The thing from another world.

Schwing. I men, Species.

Predator. Predator. Easily best costume.

Slither.

Looking at best creature design, uniqueness, interest, realistic in motion and texture and interaction.

Looking at biological Aliens, not robots, just to keep it under control.

The puppet masters. It always gives a smile when the female scientist tests for possession by showing some cleavage and if man doesn't take a peek he must be possessed.

Ack ack ack. Ack ack-ack ack ack. ACK! ACKACKACKACK! Ack! Ackack ack ack!

Not to be out done by, "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"

… so .. basically things that sound like my mother-in-law? ;)

I do like a good 50's brain monster alien. I love the classics!

But, for unique, we must not forget the web-footed space slugs

or the giant mecha-enabled goldfish of doom

Saving the best for last … G-Men!

Brain monsters should be betting quatloos on the outcome of every die roll.

Best alien is the original Geiger alien design.

Case closed

Green Slime — and bonus points for coming with a killer theme song!

YouTube link

Does the ocean from Solaris count?

Very good.

Should watch that again.

Just suffer the first half hour or so, it get really good.

"Best alien is the original Geiger alien design."

Not sure I know that one.

H R Giger designed stuff for the film Alien, but that was just a guy in a suit. Face Hugger, chest burster, better.

I was going to add to my op, but ran out of time:

***

Not including masks.

Not including people in rubber suits, or just prosphetics, like pointy or big eared chaps.

Not basic puppet.

So on.

***

That why ID4 struck me.

Not a man in a suit??

Not just a mask or stuck on bits.

I guess the face Hugger was more than just a puppet, it was also the director's hands in gloves, a tray of sea food and stuff, so on.

Still not entirely sure how ID4 was pulled off, without looking, a crane? Cables? It had a lot going on.

Daleks have a great design, but are still just a prop, essentially. Much like mechanoids or warmachines.

Brains are interesting, the ones from marinus especially, with the domes and eye stalks. Still pretty basic though.

Maybe Krang in his robot body? Throwing a temper tantrum, of course, like someone else we know.

Animal heads just aren't enough, although cool.

Slime, water, trees of Luton, effective, but hardly inspired designs.

Getting there, hopefully my clarification can push us in the right direction.

Predator is the best suit I've ever seen, original of course, but it technically is just a guy in a suit.

Like the alien head from alien, his cannon and mask and wrists have some cool stuff going on. So maybe they could sneek through??

ID4 is just alien though. Everything else here is obviously based on something, element, body part, human body. ID4 is unidentifiable. Only a very rough humanoid form for the wee chaps, to sujest a human vulnerability, and tentacles which are odd anyway.

Remember, "best alien design", not favourite.

Key word being alien, so humans with giraffe heads, while cool, aren't very alien.

Reproduction, abilities, kit, so on can all play a part. But a medical kit with clamp and syringe, isn't very alien. Heck Beverly Crusher has more alien devices.

Even my list sucks.

I think we can do a lot better.

No suits, prosthetics, puppets — so you only want computer generated or animation aliens? That's quite limited.

I mean not just one.

The more the better.

I see the confusion though.

Spock's cool, but as an Alien design, pretty boring.

The alien queen had stop motion, guys in a huge suit rig, mirror effects, miniatures, so on.

(Just had two huntsmen in a drum.

Facehuggers aren't so alien anymore.)

Really the multi effects facilitate better and more interesting design.

There's only so much you can do to a person's face.

Suits are limited.

So on.

But have a good mix and you can create more alien aliens.

Generally only one effect will be more lack luster design wise. As good as they are.

Miniatures and CG offer the most likely single effect designs that may work, but usually the better designs go hand in hand with bigger budgets and more effects.

Obviously there are exceptions to this, Daleks are one example.

I'm feeling ID4 and the Alien queen may be the top two from what I'm seeing. Tyranid older warriors and arachnoid warriors perhaps too.

At least for truly alien appearances.

Brains are good, but are just a bit simple and scream under designed.

But what's better, that's the question.

The thing is too easy, as it is just mutated bodies.

Borg, guys in suits.

Everything else seems to tick the boring box.

We need more aliens.

Actually, the kaled travel machine, is just that. So Daleks aren't really even aliens, the aliens are just blobby tentacles things, boring. Beats a clamp and syringe though, maybe.

Predator has to win the suit division, but thats the dull bit.

Species 8472 from Star Trek Voyager?
Not remotely humanoid.

Practical issues must inevitably come to the fore if you are looking at budget and how easily the alien can speak and interact with humans.
The Draconians in 70's Doctor Who were good, yes basicaly humans with makeup but they looked good and at least the actors could act.

I think Star Trek was running out of possibilities for bumps and ridges on faces!

The Daleks were originally designed with the specific desire not to look like a man in a suit. And they don't.

How alien is the idea of as species evolved into a "higher form" (Davros' concept, not mine) such that it cannot do anything, let alone just live, without a piece of technology?

The idea is so alien, that you defaulted to the Dalek as the blobby organic bit inside, but not a true biomechanical hybrid.

Likewise, the idea of an exterior brain is entirely alien to the evolutionary heritage of life on earth. Even before skeletons, nervous systems evolved on the inside of organisms.

Star Trek TOS had some non-humanoids, for the best of them:

Denuvan Neural Parasites, very creepy.

Zetarians, sparkly energy clouds.

Tholians, crystalline insectoids, more alien than your average bug. We finally got full-body CGI images come Enterprise.

Honourable Mention:
TOS Klingons, scrawny swarthy types with goatees (before they joined the Forehead of the Month Club) <3

etotheipi love your G-men I'm a big giraffe fan.
Paul

Thanks!

Be careful … the last person to compliment the G-Men got my original set gifted to him. So, if you ever come down from Canada South to the Great Political Swamp …

That said, highly recommend doing your own conversion. inlgames.com/gmen.htm This one was tons of fun to do, as well as to watch people when you field them.

"Species 8472 from Star Trek Voyager"

Good one. Had thought of it. But against ID4?

"I think Star Trek was running out of possibilities for bumps and ridges on faces!"

Correction, everyone thinks. Especially with other shows and films all pulling the same trick.

"such that it cannot do anything, let alone just live, without a piece of technology?

The idea is so alien,"

Go speak to a doctor or midwife.

There are already animals, including humans, that have become dependent on technology to survive. If there habitat is changed enough, this could easily result in species wide dependence. Examples are hermit crabs in cans, birds collecting plastic, lyre birds mimicking chainsaws, animals using artificial water reserves, such as dripping taps. And many more.

As for Brains, are they actually the Brains? Or just the thin outer coverings that we are seeing.

Go watch Hannibal. On second thoughts…

Even in aliens, if in regular environments, I doubt the actual brain tissue would be exposed.

TOS. They were designing for the time, budget and resources available. As much as I love Trek, it really doesn't fit this.

The films Borg queen? Much better.

Animal head swaps are the least designed things here. Can we let them go? As cool as they are.

Go speak to a doctor or midwife.

Sure.

Point me to the ones where the children they deliver are genetically engineered with intent to need mechanical life, mobility, and sensor support through their entire lives instead of that situation being an undesired state stemming from the result of random events.

As for the animals, it is absolutely true that life can adapt to adverse circumstances. But that is not the same as can't survive in the absence of the technology or evolved to meet it.

Your crab and bird examples aren't even adaptation to tech.

Hermit crabs look for an abandoned "home" to inhabit. It doesn't matter where it came from. Besides shells, they also inhabit seeds, barnacles, driftwood, bamboo, etc.

Same with nests. Birds will use discarded human waste to build nests if it fits the same functional slot as the other natural things they use. Lyre birds don't mimmick chainsaws; they mimic a sound they heard. Finding water where we put water instead of where it collects naturally is simply finding water. In the absence of human water collections, they would find it somewhere else.

These are not dependency examples.

In fact, the idea of a species genetically engineered to require technology as part of its natural species survival is so alien that you've just mentally forced it into a radically different context. In terms of Piaget's schema theory, this is called accomodating.

Humans have actually genetically engineered (selective breeding) some lines and breeds within species to be dependent on human interaction (e.g., livestock and pets) to survive long-term. But that's still not dependent on a specific technology.

"an undesired state stemming from the result of random events."

I'd suggest that describes the Daleks.

"But that is not the same as can't survive in the absence of the technology or evolved to meet it."

If you remove the technology and they die it is. If they exhibit things linked directly to technology it is.

"Your crab and bird examples aren't even adaptation to tech."

Yes they are.

"In the absence of human water collections, they would find it somewhere else."

As the Daleks would exist without their travel machines.

The writers would simply have them change their identity to fighting fit, with a little badge and all.

"These are not dependency examples."

Without his can, that crab is toast.

Bower birds collect blue things. Not too many in nature, but plentiful in plastic. Certainly gaining a major advantage.

There's a crab fishermen won't kill. So now all the crabs have samurai faces.

Given enough can or blue plastic, so on, animals will forget anything else.

"genetically engineered to require technology as part of its natural species survival"

And what do we call that hot mess?

Contradictory for a start.

"But that's still not dependent on a specific technology."

Veterinary practice is required for some, or they get sick and will likely die, such as some dog breeds.

I'd call a travel machine something similar and self contained.

"an undesired state stemming from the result of random events."

I'd suggest that describes the Daleks.

Absolutley not. Davros deliberately genetically engineered them to be that way.

"But that is not the same as can't survive in the absence of the technology or evolved to meet it."

If you remove the technology and they die it is. If they exhibit things linked directly to technology it is.

In none of your cases, would the animals die without the trash (not tech). In the absence of all cans thrown away in the ocean, the hermit crab would do the same thing it did for several hundred million years before humans – use something else. Same with birds and trash or birds and sounds.

None of them has adapted to be dependent on the offcastings of human activity you mention (including noise pollution). They use them the same way they use any other similar enough object.

As the Daleks would exist without their travel machines.

Absolutely not. They were grown in a lab under artificial conditions. They have no basic survival capabilities.

The tech is not just a travel machine, it is all life support and sensory input too.

Without the machine, the Dalek dies, pretty much instantly. Without a can, a hermit crab is not toast. It finds another house (just like it did several times before it was the size to live in the can), moves on and has kids.

"genetically engineered to require technology as part of its natural species survival"

And what do we call that hot mess?

Contradictory for a start.

Absolutely. That's why it is alien – very different.

Veterinary practice is required for some, or they get sick and will likely die, such as some dog breeds.

Nope. Breeds that need human care were selectively bred long before we had veterenary medicine. And yet they survived.

We can certainly extend the life of domesticated breeds with veterenary medicine.

They're not dependent on technology as a part of their minute-to-minute survival, especially not technology that did not exist for 100s of years while those animals did.

Given enough can or blue plastic, so on, animals will forget anything else.

They will not "forget" anything else. They use what is available.

You're superimposing a human categorization on the object that the animal doesn't have.

A hermit crab doesn't understand that this can was made by human activity and this piece of driftwood is not. It certainly doesn't select the can because it was made by humans. It selects it basee on size, shape, and protection.

And when it's too big for a humman-made thing, it moves on to something else and is not locked in to using trash.

There's a crab fishermen won't kill. So now all the crabs have samurai faces.

Again, this is not dependence on a technology. Its based on a human high-cognitive selective behaviour.

Also, it's crap. PDF link

The Heikegani myth was popularized by Carl Sagan in Cosmos based on a theory posed by a biologist in the 50s. There is no evidence for it. Heikegani are small crabs, and not often eaten (an extreme end of the "lots of work for little food" spectrum) … unless people are hungry.

Again, this is artificial selection by humans, not dependency on technology. In fact, in modern fisheries, Heikegani would be caught, put in a discard by size (along with other crabs that don't have faces) and probably just become bait.

PDF link

Pareidolia has nothing to do with technology. Nor does human behaviour based on it.

Daleks are mutants. If Davros had done it differently, he wouldn't have needed to make travel machines.

"Note to self: ensure my perfectly designed creations cannot climb stairs"

There appears to be no standard Dalek, going by all the different ones shown in the show over the years.

I feel Davros was more concerned with their mental state then their physical state.

"In none of your cases, would the animals die without the trash (not tech)."

The crab could be eaten. Hense the can. And the can is very much technology.

"Absolutely not. They were grown in a lab under artificial conditions."

"Without the machine, the Dalek dies, pretty much instantly."

Infact the Daleks have been shown in the show to be living, less their travel machines.

Just like humans, give then the right planet and they could survive quite happily.

"Absolutely. That's why it is alien – very different."

I meant the statement contradicts itself. Genetically engineered is not natural.

There are breeds of dogs that require sergery on airways to survive.

"They will not "forget" anything else. They use what is available."

When animals are released back into the Wild there is usually the issue of them not knowing how to survive. As they have forgotten/not learnt.

Human interference has caused the Tasmanian Tiger to become invisible and only attack people with some particular mental health issues.

The crab could be eaten.

Without the can, the crab would find another house. And when it outgrows the can, it will have to leave it. Hermit crabs are dependent on finding different houses to use as they grow for defense, but not basic survival.

Being eaten is not dying without artificial life suppport.

When animals are released back into the Wild there is usually the issue of them not knowing how to survive. As they have forgotten/not learnt.

So, that is not a response to what I was saying, since my comment was focused on hermit crabs, which are not domesticated in the way you are discussing.

However, to your point, that is a completely different issue. You are talking about individual animals, not species and their interent survival.

And this is not a species property. It is the effect of long-term actions on individuals.

Human interference has caused the Tasmanian Tiger to become invisible and only attack people with some particular mental health issues.

News to me. Also news to people who actual study them.
link
link
You should help all those poor, misguided people out.

There are breeds of dogs that require sergery on airways to survive.

Every member of the entire breed needs that from birth, their entire life? You should probably infom veterenarians of that.

Infact the Daleks have been shown in the show to be living, less their travel machines.
Just like humans, give then the right planet and they could survive quite happily.

People have been show to be surviving underwater without any breathing apparatus. Obviously that is a continuous state, too.

The machines provide basic life support to the creatures. They don't even reproduce; they are artificially grown in other machines.

If the crab loses the can, it's able to be eaten.

Houses are/use human technology.

Some species are almost extinct except for those in captivity. Their successful release is a big issue.

Are you saying invisible tigers will attack anyone?

I think vet already know about dog breeds that shouldn't exist.

The Daleks are Kaleds, who can get around and live much like humans.

Daleks are the exception, not the rule.

-Alien "Xenomorph" = #1
-Alien/ Prometheus Engineers = #2
-Alien Facehugger = #3
-All Tyranids = #4
-The Predator = #5

Really?

Alien is a tough one, is it 1 or multiple?

What was so good about the engineers?

New Tyranids look more like Alien rip offs then the older ones.

Predator only 5? As a man in a suit with human like gubbins, it's pretty dull. And just a guy in a suit. But, yes very well designed gubbins and suit.

Like the Alien, predator is most unique in its head, like so many suits.

No ID4? Wow. Please explain.

ET is more alien then engineers or perhaps even predator.

We suck at this.

There must be something that looks plausible, yet totally alien? Without tired tropes.

Evolution?

Stuff like that and the thing are too easy.

It needs a solid body shape. Just not human.

Also the aliens that were on the ark in Dr who both predate and are more alien then Aliens. Being not men in suits.

Which version of the Velantians from the Lensman do you want?
The anime version?

Or an artist interpretation of what the book described?

Never ask for the chef's recommendation at a Chinese restaurant.

Good, but I'm still seeing a snake with arms.

Definitely on that right track though.

I vote for the Star Trek Tholians!