Aliens: Colonial Marines: The missing manual

Overview

Aliens Colonial Marines: The Missing Manual hopes to fill many of the questions unanswered by the manual Gearbox has provided for the PC. Including: How to changes to your character & weapons, finding players by changing your server, joining groups & finding players, and new Downloadable Content like Bug Hunt, Recon and DLC weapons.

A:CM instruction manual, characters, weapons & status

If you haven’t found your instruction manual, go into library, all games, right click on A:CM and download PDF of keyboard setup. This covers PC controls for the Marine and Alien.

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If there is something I’m missing please message me.

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These default characters are Winter, a blond girl, a Mohawk guy, and a darker skinned guy without a helmet. Currently your customized character will only show up in VS. games and DLC games like Bug Hunt. New DLC will include more customizations.
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The video is primarily for the female character but you get the picture. I did this video when the game first came out because of demographics and the strong controversy of the absence of strong female leads in A:CM before 2012.

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New players will often be overwhelmed by the difficulty of killing Xenos while those with higher rank around them kill them with ease. This is because players with higher rank have upgraded their weapons, know where the enemies are hiding, and have perfected their aim. Alien gameplay is a whole different story; those that play often get better at it. I believe that you can play the Alien in single player (offline mode) and this will help you familiarize yourself with the layout and character movement. The higher your Ping is the most chances you will simply be a bullet catcher.

Upgrades include: extended magazines, scopes, and skins for your weapons. I have my weapons selection button (normally the B button as my scroll button on my mouse for easier access). As mentioned in other guides there is a strong difference between game play in single player Campaign, Multiplayer Co-op, VS., and DLC such as Bug Hunt.

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• Single player relies heavily on keeping alive , and switching between weapons when one runs out. 9 weapons are able to be selected on the fly once legendary weapons are found. The smart gun is only available on certain levels.
• Co-op relies heavily on keeping alive, and aiding fallen team members. Grenades and Firebombs can have adverse effects on other players even if not playing in Ultimate Badass which allows friendly fire (you can kill each other). Points are given for enemies killed and assists. So helping fend off Aliens or MPC’s attacking your team mates will also help your rank up.
• VS. relies heavily on keeping alive or team mates alive. When playing VS 5 load outs (weapons selections) can be fitted with the weapons of your choice. Customizations (such as laser sites) of these weapons happen in Edit Upgrades, and are chosen in edit load outs beside character customizations.

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More in: Aliens in multiplayer 101 Guide[download.cnet.com]

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Go to the top past Steam to View, right click and click Friends.

This will bring up as small friends list. It will include:

• Online
• Away
• Busy
• Looking to play
• Looking to Trade
• Offline
• Change Profile name

Even though it is subjective to interpretation, I use it like this.

Busy: means I’m hosting and can’t join. Sorry.
Away: means I’m writing in the stream threads or Gearbox threads
Looking to play: means that I am looking to join a game, or am in a game that isn’t full.
Offline: and it shows I’m in Aliens means I’m in a full game.

In offline mode you can continue to play your game and post threads in steam but you will appear offline. I’ve seen snooze or sleep and I think that this is if you have been online with no activity.

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A. Make sure that if you added a mod that you turn them off of READ ONLY.
B. On the newer version of Steam, go to Library, right click game, go to local files, and verify integrity of cache.
C. Older versions, go to steam, settings, local files, verify integrity of cache.

Groups

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Once you have joined a group, you now have access to all the people in that group that are “in game” or “online.” If they are playing Aliens you can now click on their name, and pull up their profile. From there you can click join game and you will be able to join the player without having to friend them.

The downside to groups is that the description it will say how many are online, but not how many are in Aliens Colonial Marines. This requires hitting “view all members,” and if the group has 4,000 member it may require looking over 93 pages of players. Another downside is that you don’t know what the other person is playing. I don’t know if you can send messages to them and ask what they are playing.

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Example you want to get an extermiation match going.
Go to EVENTS
[1] In description put what map you are starting in,
[2] Choose play a game, list if it is Recon, Movie or just A:CM
[3] Then pick a time to be played (Later or Now).

This usually takes 10 minutes to get alot of players. High PiING (lag) will be determined by who was the first one there and your distance from them.

• ACM 2014 [link]
• Movie Pack [link]
• A:CM Reconnaissance [link]
• Escape and Survivor Russia [link]
• Escape and Survivor US [link]
• Non DLC TDM [link]
• Aliens: Colonial Marines has 2293 members: [link]
• U.S. multiplayer and co-op [link]
• Bug Hunt has events for Saturdays and Sundays: [link]

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  The other groups that don’t let members schedual events are these.

• Aliens: Colonial Marines[The fan -club] [link]
• Aliens: Colonial Marines: [link]
• Europe Multiplayer: [link]
• Aliens : Colonial Marines COOP Group {NA} [link]
• Aliens colonial marines South Africa: [link]
• Aliens colonial marines: Lets Rock [link]
• Gearbox A:CM Players:http://steamcommunity.com/groups/gbxacmp
  GBX-Forums-ACM Players: [link]
• Willkommen bei Aliens: Colonial Marines [GER]
  [link]
• Aliens Colonial Mariens: Multiplayer Arena [link]
• Aliens colonial marines(ESP) [link]
• Aliens colonial marines: Rebirth [link]
• Aliens: Colonial Marines – RUSSIA [link]
  [link]

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  There are many video on YouTube on how to make a group in Steam, so if you are the organizational type this may be just up your alley.

  There may be more groups out there but this is all that I know of: if you find more please post in comments.

Finding players

Since the release of the game one of the most asked questions is who is still playing the game.

With this question in mind, we as international users have to ask ourselves when do people play the game? It has been said in other threads on Steam, but “they mostly come at night, mostly”.

According to a pole done on Gearbox demographics for A:CM are:

• 10-15 2%
• 16-20 7.8%
• 21-25 11.11%
• 26-30 34.44%
• 31+ 44.44%

Since the movie came out in the 80’s it is would be a good guess that most people play the game after work, or at night. Cliché sayings like “they mostly come at night, mostly” are passed around the threads, but this is a given. Most of the players of A: CM have families, jobs, and other things that take up time in their daily lives and the quicker one understands this the quicker you can use this to your advantage. Players younger than 21 will most likely become more prevalent in the game (depending on reviews) once Summer vacation starts.

Peak times in certain time zones, as described below will cause the game to have its ups and downs depending on the regional activity on the server. Peak playtime will remain ever constant, but the most common comment in the threads is “I can play on the weekend.”

Release of new Downloadable Content (DLC) will also have an effect on who is playing in Co-op, Death Match, etc. When new games such as Bug Hunt come out people will often move to that. If they are looking during a non-peak play time, in their server region they will find “no one playing” and come back, or feel cheated and simply leave the game; sometimes coming back at a later time.

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This is a converter that I have used with college classes so that my group could meet up at the same time. I’m a visual learner so this works best for me. Others may use a different format and there are many time zone converters out there.

Now that you have this basic information the next step is to change your server location to be in the region that has the most players during their time period, such as between 9 to 2am. That is when I play the most often, and yes I feel bad for not spending more time with my wife.

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To change your server do this you go to steam, before opening the game, and follow these simple settings. Not in game, but in Steam, choose Steam, settings, downloads, change server location

If you want to increase download times for updates change your settings to cable/fiber-optic . This will reduce lag and reduce ping. If your region has poor bandwidth, your system server may crash from this so think about where you live when doing this.

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For visual learners here is a video.

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The most often thing I see in the threads of steam are people looking for other players.
While randomly friend requesting people is a bit unorthodox it does provide results.

Even if you have played with a person for a long time, be wary of links given to you when chatting. Most people allow steam to bypass firewalls and security measures may not catch a malicious site sent to you.

Never give out your password, and be aware of stories where people have had their Steam accounts stolen by going to fictitious Steam sites.

There are also people that will want to be friends with you that don’t have the game. View these requests with caution.

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Finding friends from the threads is the easiest way to find players.
The main problem with threads today is that players will often skip Steam searches in favor of posting a new thread title “No one is online.”

Making friends with every new face is a good way to keep the game alive, and I encourage others to make friends this way, until the match maker is fixed. Playing Co-op with new people adds variety because you’ll end up dead in unexpected areas.

Think of Co-op like Nascar, you do the same thing over and over, because you like it, but when an accident happens you are all the more surprised.

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For visual learners:

Becoming the Crusher & Boiler!

There is a section in multiplayer that has a glowing wall covered with “infestation”. When you find that section you, click your use button such as “R” and it will allow you to become a crusher. To the untrained eye of a new player these can easily be missed because they show up as glowing stuff on a wall. There are about 2 in every map and if one has already been used a button select will not show up.

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The Boiler is also a devastating force in VS. Movement appears low while navigating it but if you are a Marine, it’s quick and deadly; able to spew its juices or explode.

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So if you find yourself on a balcony without doors don’t worry. You can press your jump button twice and it will hop over the railing. If you can’t get to a Marine on a box with the Crusher use the left click button and it will stomp, sometime knocking them down.

Downloadable Content (DLC)

To see if Steam recognizes your Downloadable Content also known as DLC,
go to your LIBRARY in Steam and right clicking on the game will show you what DLC you have.

If you would like a review of Bug Hunt, along with a description follow this link. [link]

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Surprisingly I found no official Bug Hunt reviews on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlOqOQSmcKAcc©BornStrategist
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If you want to see what this game can really do, watch this video of level 30.cc©Colt558
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There are many other videos that will help you gain a more informed decision. This one is a lengthier version, but if you but it at 1:15:10 you will get the picture.
cc©Jarekthegamingdragon
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To play Bug Hunt: one must go to Co-op, Advanced settings, and scroll the maps to Bug Hunt.

To play Bug Hunt in single player one has to go to steam, and place it in offline mode offline. There is a way to change to single player from within the game and play Bug Hunt, Survivor , Escapes, etc with an In-game option.

Go to:

You can actually grab some easy achievements this way too and kinda advance your alien and marine ranking.” (Redtachi)

There is one open thread about someone that was only able to use offline for 2 weeks at a time, but this may have been a glitch because others commented that they had family members that play offline for 6 months at a time. Only turning on the internet for updates. Steam is time limited to two weeks

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• Bug Hunt relies heavily on keeping alive, communication, teamwork, and strategy in multiplayer. BH is a money based game where cash is earned buy killing enemies. This money is then used to open doors, close windows, buy health, armor, ammo, get turrets, keep turrets running and buy back into the game if you die. Ammo points also have limits on usage, and it is sometimes better to die and come back on the next wave than spend the money on ammo.

  Communication is essential in BH and a microphone/headset is strongly recommended as typing to team members while being attacked by hordes of Aliens can be frustrating. If you die, you will reappear at the starting, and then have to run all the way back to where other team members are located. There is a small break between waves of enemies that sometimes allow you to reach your goal before the next wave starts.

  Weapons load outs customizations used for VS are used in BH.
  Once a load out is picked you are stuck with it until the completion of level 30.

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  Sharing and teamwork skills are essential in Bug Hunt,
  Being a Lone Ranger is a good way to get yourself killed, and those that are trying to save you also killed. Money can easily be given by hitting your engage/open button key. It is strongly suggested that one person become a banker (and not run off and get killed) and that other team member rack up the money and bring it back to the banker. Communicating how much money each person has is good practice, and being stingy with your money will often frustrate other team members, even if you are saving the $1000 in case you die.

  Because so long as one person stays alive and the “threat is averted” you will come back in the next wave with your money. In some cases it’s better to come back with full ammo and money than to buy ammo.

  Tactics used in single player to stay alive, when used in multiplayer can also lead to frustration.

  These include:

• Running off with turrets without giving a reason, or suggesting to move, and doing it anyway after the idea was voted against.
• Finding small locations with one door and closing the windows with the turret outside. If the location is too small a swarm will kill everyone, if someone is injured when trying to refill the turret they can’t be revived because the doors open and close instead.
• Running off alone on higher waves will cause you to be targeted by the enemy.
• Changing locations frequently. Because this usually involves running off with a turret.

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An Autocratic (dictatorship) leadership style. Where Rank and one way communication is used such as in the Armed Forces are often difficult to recreate in civilian application. Utilizing a variety of each leadership style may be more effective in Bug Hunt. If your unit can pull it off, God Speed. Leadership Styles Reference image[leadershipstyle.files.wordpress.com]

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Season Pass

The first released content has been Bug Hunt.
Many people that have reviewed Bug Hunt feel that it is better than Co-op and should have been included free in the game…. well it’s not. I have already gone into detail about what bug hunt is in my weapons load out page, if you want more information about Bug Hunt here is a review, and there are more like it elsewhere.

The problem that many find with Bug Hunt is that without dedicated servers there is no way to see who is playing it, unless you switch your server region one at a time, and hope that matchmaker finds a player before your patients wear out.

What I’ve found to be helpful is going to the Steam Store, looking up bug hunt or the season pass, and acting like I am going to buy it for a friend. To have a list of who in your friends list has the game you simply put that you would like to have Steam give it to the directly through their site to their profile. Then just righ click and drag over your friends list and past into word.

My friends with the Season pass or DLC.
[link]

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Esodus: Escape
©wedgeGTX

Nostromo: Survivor
©Woolyninja

Fury161: Extermination

Processor: TDM

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©Woolyninja
Shipwreck :TDM

Autopsy: TDM

Grief: TDM

Off the Grid: Survivor

Collectors Edition and Limited Edition DLC and more.

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PC players can now play memorable characters like: Apone, Hicks, Hudson and Drake from the Aliens movie; Ripley’s Flame Thrower is also included to finish off this collection.

[link]
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This pack includes the Sonic-Electronic-Ball-Buster, and Plasma/Phase Pulse rifle spoken of in the movie by Hudson. It also includes a firing range to test out your new toys.

I find the S.E.B.B. (ball buster) to be good long range weapons, or swarming if aimed right. They have a 3 second detonation time, which can be “cooked off” by holding down the button before thowing. Kill radius is a little biger then the firebomb, but stun/kill is at time of detonation, not after. Aliens can run threw electricity.

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The Plasma rifle is best used as a sniper weapon and has a 3 second charge time. I comes with the W-Y 2X Telescopic zoom sight used for the Battle Rifle, this is good for long range objects that aren’t moving such as Spitters, and becomes harder to aim as they get closer, or attack while you are looking in the sight. It can also be fired from the hip but because the beam is so small you can easily miss your target. Aliens can also smack your weapons and make it not charge, but you might get off a few good rounds. Also, I was able to kill a crusher with 4 rounds to the head and other small fire help.

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[link]
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• Boom stick (Sawed off) 0.99 cents. [link]
• SHARP stick (rifle) 0.99 cents [link]
  The sharp stick is a useful tool as a sniper weapon, and for surrounding yourself with bombs. Use caution around railing, and AI characters as you can blow yourself up.

Mods: graphics cards, etc.

In the beginning I couldn’t live without Adonys 1.6 mod, and I continue to check it out when I want to feel like I am playing a different game. He has since released a 1.9 mod to replace the 1.8 and I feel that it is better, because the last one was almost black in sections.

More information on this can be found on Adonys guide.
[link]
The downside is that I had to have the game on “READ ONLY” which will not let Hot Fixes affect the game. Also, since the May 7th patch I left my ini files in [read only] and fixes to the graphics took effect. No real worries. I did turn it back to read only to do some video but have now updated to 1.9.

For visual learners.
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Many of the tweaks offered in other manuals such as changing settings in your Nvidia Control panel have become obsolete. If you experience stuttering, reducing your shadows or textures even a little in your in game Video settings can have great effect on your experience.
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Athlondude uses the SweetFX mod. [link]
. . . . . . . .
When downloaded, don’t open, just extract files to: C:Program Files (x86)SteamSteamAppscommonAliens Colonial MarinesBinariesWin32
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Currently AMD graphics cards with less than 2GB are having problems because their ard spikes in textures in certain sections (level 10) and Sappire cards need new drivers.
I’ll keep you posted.

I had to use Adonys 1.9 mod, then turn the resolution to 1366×780, and everything else off (all textures, details, and shadows). The mod brings out the colors in everything and the lighting. It counteracts turning of textures and details and makes lag go away. Alines still have very smal stuttering at the barricade, but it its quick and playable. When keys blows himself up it skips still. I have to see it on level 10 where everyone says the VRAM spikes are.

If this is still to poor of graphics. You need to buy yourself a used 560 card on Amazon. Hopefully your power supply has dedicated 12v. Sorry but change is good for you.
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Such as lag when your Ping is low, and you have the recommended graphics card.
There are a few things that you can do to fix this.
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• Buy a New Processor and Motherboard, because your CPU is so…. last year.
  Kidding.

• Go back to settings in game: turn on V-Sink, turn down resolution in and adjust shading, etc.
• Also remember that Google Chrome is using up a lot of resources in the background. You can turn it off by using Cntl+Alt+Delete, Start task manager. Downloading Game Booster 3[download.cnet.com] can manage hidden programs working in the background, and Advanced System Care Fee[download.cnet.com] can help clean up your system.

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  Here are some links for a basic starter guide.

  • Health and Armor,
  • Ranks and Upgrades,
  • Challenges,
  • Playing as a Marine, and
  • Playing as a Xenomorph.
  [link]

  Here is where players that use the GearBox forums look for Players.

  [link]

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  If you are purchasing this game after May of 2013, and wondering what all the fuss was about, your on the PC version. Youtube is filled with lots of videos that show bad graphics and AI, just makes sure that you are watching a HD recording. A recording is only as good as the original copy.

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  PLease Rate this guide.

Aliens: CM has low ratings.

It should also be noted that many reviews have not made another review after the May graphics patch. I enjoy the game (wish it was better and make suggestions in the Gearbox forums) and support the community that is still playing. News on updates, and other topics related to A:CM can be found here. [link]

Links to professional reviewers, and what they have to say about the game.

[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

“The PC version doesn’t suffer from the same shoddy texture work and screen tearing as its console counterparts. However, this isn’t exactly cutting edge either in terms of being a 2013 release.” [link]

Game restarts.

This sucks, no they aren’t going to fix it because it’s a steam issue (which happened when steam was updated not the game) but steam says it’s a game issue.

Easiest way to fix this is by clicking the little X on the popup box.
Other suggestions can be found here.
[link]