If there ends up being enough interest, I'll add extra categories based on the difficulty but at the moment all runs should be using Easy.

Starting off is just New Game Any% (NG Any%) but as soon as have routing done will have a separate category for New "bOnUs" Game Any% (which is the NG+ category)

This had a EU release-

and a USA release-

with slightly different boxart and publishers. However, the actual game content appears to be the same and no noticeable difference with the languages as text/audio can be skipped straight away with mashing the mouse.

• Grabbing the first gun is easy to do as it's right there but there's honestly no reason to grab it. There's no enemies in Deepcore Platform that really need to be shot and its not worthwhile to go grab the battery pack to make it actually useful.
• The Level 2 gun can be routed in on NTI Ark on the way to Sector 2 but again without going to the effort of grabbing the battery pack in Deepcore Platform it's not useful enough to grab for the sake of being able to stun one enemy.
• The floor tiles in NTI Ark are annoying to reset if you misstep. However the third one in the current route where the secret passage is already open on the right- the floor tiles are not the solution, it's tied to the entrance door being open or closed.
• In Europa, grabbing the Containment Field Projector is definitely worthwhile for safety for Cavern 4 but it is a decent chunk of time loss to grab.
• Cavern 2 has tendency to crash the game when placing the Metal Panel to cover the gap.
• Cavern 3 without the gun requires luring the mutant away from the passageway first and then running past it. If you don't, it'll get partway into the entrance on the way back and block you.
• Cavern 4 will need you to be careful on the corridor to grab the Thermal Lichen- there's several mutants in it that can do serious damage.

Going through the game files, I pulled the higher quality .wav files off the game discs! Most of the in game music uses MIDI (and is kinda borked on the EU edition for playback). These are mostly only accessible by finding the three hidden Music CDs in the game and playing them either the Video-CD unit on MOM's terminal on the USS Sheridan or in the main lab in Zone B. Uploaded them all to YT, including some bonus tracks that don't appear to be used.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa5aQxXFhPfReey_WPm-TqWYVyhN4JblM

As far as I can tell, there are 4 versions of this game (with 3 different language releases):

• UK English Release
• USA English Release
• German Release
• French Release

There are also 2 available patches (available from PC Gaming Wiki ): https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1945-aliens-a-comic-book-adventure-patches-french-english/

• V1.02 French
• V1.03 USA

V1.0

I found a premade game config pack with the game at V1.0 (which is the version I'm using for running). The author said they tried patching it up to V1.03 but it was more buggy than V1.0 and I can confirm. I've tried patching it myself with it and it just introduces more sound emulation and subtitling errors. Most noticeable playing the Introduction. I'm not sure what release this is but I'm inclined to believe it is an EU copy. The .exe of the game on disc 1 has modification date of 12/10/95.

V1.01

I got a boxed copy earlier this year of what is definitely the UK release. I can tell by the back of the box lists the UK HQ and the warranty card has the UK address on it. Interestingly, the menu changes to show the version number as 1.01, the trademark is vastly changed to a more generic "eh, ye know who ye are". This might be due to Fox pulling the license plug. PLAY GAME has the "GAME" removed and instead of LOAD GAME it's LOAD ADVENTURE. This one's executable is time stamped just over a month later at 17/11/95.

V1.02

As this is a patch for the French language and changes chunks of text to French I haven't bothered playing too much of it. The readme however does shed some light on why this patch exists. Running it through Google Translate gets the result below-

Aliens PATCH V2

As a result of duplication issues Bugges appeared in the version Aliens Comic Book Adventure This patch resolves these. Some problems incompatibilities with sound cards may subsist and are the current lot PC games. Usage (after installing the game!): 1 - Go to A: 2 - type install (the patch installs) 3 - Launch aliensp2.exe from your hard drive to launch the game. That's all! P.S: we have seen that on some DX2/66, for reasons of speed, it is advisable to choose NONE as your MIDI card. Good game.

(Pretty sure the "Good game" is just bad slang translation for Happy Gaming)

But it notes that it's a manufacturing issue for why the game has issues, and that there's sound issues. Chosing None for MIDI is a test I already did to see if it kicks the game to use the superior .wav versions of the music tracks but instead it's just silence. The version on launch does flash as V1.02F but the main menu shows the same as my UK copy. Possible the French version just brings it in line with UK release I have in terms of bugfixes?

V1.03

Unfortunately trying to patch the two versions I have will break subtitles and cause more audio issues. Easiest way to check is the Introduction video- after a min the dialogue will loop and towards the end of the cutscene the subtitle language will show a line in another language.

The version number does change the version number to 1.03US. This is leading me to believe the patches are actually region specific as it's got the qualifier US at the end (and the French version has F). So, if I've been trying to patch EU releases with the USA patch and it's breaking... there's a possibility if I can get a copy of the USA edition I could get a more fixed (and, in theory, more polished) game. It might also explain the subtitles bugging on the intro vid if it's pulling a different localization file. The main things I'm hoping for is that the Alien Queen is patched to be an easier fight and that the music has option for using the .wav version instead.

...I bought a copy of the USA version to see if this in the slightest way true. Easiest way to tell what region you have by glancing at the box- the USA one has facehugger tendrils (although looks more like claws?) poking around the edges and the artwork shows the xenomorph's tail. Waiting on it to be delivered but this soon after Black Friday and coming internationally? Yeah... I could be waiting until Jan before I get the chance to test this theory out!

The game saves by updating the following in the game directory:

<1 to 9>AL.SAV for the 9 save slots, each one with actual save data 

ALIENS1.CFG for the save file name that is used on the menu.

By default, the game just uses the current system date and time for the file name, and "Free Save <1 to 9>" for the blank slots. Unfortunately, can't just edit the filenames in a text editor or in Hex editor- there appears to be a checksum in the last 4 characters and if it fails, sets all the display titles to "Free Save <1 to 9>" as if they were all blank. However, it doesn't matter as you can still load the file if there's the matching .SAV file with the right name of the slot present.

It's easy to softlock the game in any of the following ways:

• Destroying any puzzle item before you've used it (e.g. the pipe before you use it on the valves).
• Not picking up the Keyboard in the USS Sheridan- by the time you go to use it at the far end of the lab complex, you'll likely not have the time to get back to the ship to grab it and run all the way back without hitting against time limit.
• Picking up the pipe without having grabbed the lasergun in the USS Sheridan cargo bay as you'll trigger the fight and the enemies will kill you trading blows as they've a combined higher health than you.
• Starting a combat section that has Eggs, Aliens or the Alien Queen without enough explosives. The Aliens move too fast and do too much damage to punch/shoot and the Eggs will keep spawning Facehuggers if you get too close.
• Destroying the Green Keycard if your crew faints from hunger outside of the Lab area and respawns you back in the ship as you won't be able to enter the cargo hold to get through to the Main Base.
• Destroying the Red Keycard while on the Main Base part of the complex if you haven't collected Vaskal's hand as won't be able to get past the forcefield. The other hands you can collect won't unlock the handprint scanner.
• One of the side exits in the lab area puts you examining an alien corpse blocking the way with its acid. If you don't have the neutralizing agent in your inventory, the door behind you won't open. Can at least bypass this by saving and reloading to respawn back in the hub with inventory intact, but is technically a softlock.
• With a full inventory, use the Keyboard to open the storage unit in Church's hidden lab can trigger the cutscene where the Synthetic Alien is revealed and get the error message your inventory is full, but sometimes clearing a spot and trying again won't work.
• Not quite a softlock but will prevent you from being able to manufacture the Royal Jelly- if your inventory has 1 free slot and you open the safe in the crew quarters, you'll take the Microchips but won't take the White Keycard as both are automatically taken at the same time. Solving the safe door puzzle again won't put it in your inventory.
• Saving the game after entering the Alien Hive and trying to load before you have picked up the Blue Keycard. This removes both the Rope and the Synthetic Alien from your inventory, they don't respawn and you can't enter.
• Exploring too much when your crew members are too hungry and fainting- the time loss of getting back to where you need to go will likely cause you to take a timer death.
• Also not quite a softlock but does affect you going for Regicide% runs- killing the Queen and starting a new playthrough without exiting the game and restarting means her lair will still have her dead.

Game Setup

Surprisingly enough, this game does support multiple disc drives. Playing in DOSBox you can mount both game discs in drives and it'll autoswap discs. Recommend dumping both game discs as ISOs. If you're using a premade config for the game you can edit the DOSBox config file "dosbox.conf" in Notepad and down at the [autoexec] section you can mount disc 1 and disc 2 as D and E respectively by changing/adding the lines as below (assuming the ISOs are called ACBA_1.iso and ACBA_2.iso and <path> is where the disc images are located):

imgmount D "<path>\ACBA_1.iso" -t iso

imgmount E "<path>\ACBA_2.iso" -t iso

Gameplay Issues

• The game CAN randomly crash. Softlocks are also possible, I'll note them separately
• This game is currently ran on vanilla release V1.0. There are 2 patches available. V1.2 appears to only be for the French language port. V1.3 English seems to actively make the game worse to play. This is especially noticeable if viewing the intro cutscene- the sound will desync and the subtitles will change language. I have the UK edition physically and am waiting on a delivery of the USA version- it's possible the patch was only meant to be used on certain region of the game.
• Some cutscenes don't skip properly. As an educated guess, this seems to be an issue with the game engine where they seem to be tied to the playing audio- the video will freeze playing and the game will continue until the audio is finished THEN skip. You can see this best right at the start- going downstairs to the M.O.M. terminal window and try to skip the door raising.
• The ship alarm in Act I will cause the game to appear to hang if starts playing on screen transition
• The game music sounding poor appears to be more with DOSBox emulation for the MIDI than anything. I've played them on a dedicated MIDI player and they sound a lot better. However, for some reason the game uses MIDI even though there's actually .wav files of the same tracks on the discs that are so much better. Especially noticeable is the main theme.
• When you exit the Research Centre door and look over to the Underzone door from this screen, it's mislabelled as Entrance Zone but clicking on it brings you to the right screen
• Yes, the game really is set up where pressing the right mouse button brings up the "Quit Game" option

Routing Notes

• Technically a death counts as an ending as there's no "Game Over" but "The End" instead but I'm not adding a meme category for it
• I've gone by a walkthrough dividing the game into 3 Acts and then the Finale. Act I is getting the USS Sheridan to land safely, Act II is exploring Main Base to find a way past the forcefield to the Lab, Act III is exploring the Lab and Finale is exploring the Alien Hive and escaping
• Saving the game doesn't save your position, only your inventory:

1. Act I saves will put you back in the flight deck of the USS Sheridan
2. Act II saves will start you in the airlock of the USS Sheridan for suiting up in the mech suits
3. Act III/Finale saves depend on where you are- if you're in the Hive or anywhere in the Lab part you will start at the main Lab hub. If you have gone back to the main base you'll start in the USS Sheridan

• Act I and Act II have hidden timers running in the background, triggering a game over. According to RichardJ1978 on their GameFAQs walkthrough, this is only active when you are exploring. Dialogue, menus and cutscenes don't count towards this. Getting to the next Act puts you onto the next timer sequence. Each one has a warning cutscene.

1. Act I: After a couple of mins, cutscene will play of asteroid field approaching. After a few more mins, a further extended one will play. Final cutscene is the game over of the asteroids hitting the ship.
2. Act II: First warning plays a few mins after exploring the base of the aliens bashing against a door. Second warning shows the door starting to buckle. Final cutscene is the game over of the aliens overrunning the base.
3. Act III: After a few mins first warning cutscene shows ship approaching the planet. Another 5 mins or so later will show the ship's crew preparing to fire. Final cutscene is the ship destroying the planet.

• It might be possible to save time with using save/loads to warp back to hub areas but the downside is the unskippable "Let's Go" dialogue section before the marines gear up. Testing required to see where this might outweigh the walk back. One possible place is right after grabbing the Synthetic Alien- warping back to the main Lab hub puts you right next to the Underzone
• Escape% gets away without having to feed any characters. I think any longer category may have to take the time loss and have all characters eat food, or (if faster) made food at the lab with the chemicals
• If character does faint from hunger, triggers a short dialogue sequence of characters complaining then you are transported back to the ship. Might be good for speed tech if a category can be found that can use it and time it to where it's faster to faint in the depths of the Labs and restart back in the USS Sheridan.
• Combat encounters require all enemies to be killed. This includes Mechs, Soldiers, Aliens, Eggs, Facehuggers and Alien Queen. Eggs are vulnerable to explosions (mines and grenades)- they can be shot with the lasergun but doing so will automatically spawn a Facehugger and the Eggs take ages to shoot.
• If an enemy gets too close and you have the lasergun equipped, you'll punch instead of shooting. This is so much slower

Not speedrun related, but- figured I'd rip the game theme from the CD and upload it over the intro sequence! The PS1 version doesn't seem to have it from the longplay I flicked through, which is a shame as it's great.

Lyrics:

Let me show you what hell is

Hell is a friend with no smile

Hell is a dream that turns to a scream

A dusty road, mile after mile

Let me tell you what hell is

A place that so few have seen

A kiss from a foe, a torment you know

A stranger, it knows everything

Let me show you what hell is

Your woman, your daughter, your son

A drought and a storm, a cloak to be worn

A nightmare, from which you can't run

Can you feel what hell is?

Hell is a fear of the light

Hell is a beat from which you retreat

A chain, tied to the night

I bought a copy of this game and completed it casually. I've written a guide for GameFAQs (at the time of writing it's pending approval) and curiously I checked out the SRC entry for the PC version. I've noticed some tech for optimizing the route. I tested it and the route does work, but for execution I'd need to be more mindful of the actual route required and practise it more to get an actual good time.

Day One

Current route: enter the hotel, walking to the counter, ring the bell, say you need a room, say you're just passing through, pay $5, take the room key, go upstairs, take the chair, enter room, turn around, use chair on door to barricade, turn around, sleep on the bed, turn around, take chair, exit room, walk downstairs, walk behind counter, take gun, walk out from behind counter (and drop room key to save inventory) and leave to trigger Cain's interaction.

New version: Just walk left, enter stables, take stick, turn around, use stick on door, turn around, sleep on the hay, turn around, take stick and leave. Grab the Cleaver and Pan from the kitchen as you're already right next to it, then back out twice to trigger Cain's interaction.

Day Two

Not renting the room in the hotel for the night saves $5 (or, the $2 by not actually paying the hotel clerk to sleep in the stables)- which means you have enough money from the start to buy the 2 Ales, the Rope, the Matches, the Photograph from the Undertaker (to grab the Hammer and the Hook) and the Bullet Mould Press. This eliminates having to go upstairs in the saloon, talking to Sheila until she leaves so you can take the Loaded Die, walk back downstairs and cheat the gambler until you've gotten enough cash.

This does mean you can't sleep in Sheila's room as you won't have interacted with her to be able to climb the tree, but I think it's slightly faster to just go back to the stables and repeating the same steps for sleeping as it is for mashing through her dialogue in the saloon, going to her room and mashing through again and hiding through the Sheriff visit.

You don't need to visit the graveyard or grab the Locket from the grave to finish the game.

Leave getting the Lantern until the end of Day Two- you'll be heading back over to the stables to sleep anyways. Can grab it and then exiting puts you right next to the stable doors.

Day Three

I noticed from the current WR video that the Gloves are picked up. If you're not cursed (and you won't be as the run skips Sheila's storyline entirely) they're not needed. You can pick up the Silver directly in the mine, and you only need the Forge Tongs to remove the Melted Silver from the train's boiler.

Light the Lantern as usual, then take out another single Match which you can put into your inventory. Leave the Matchbox on the ground. As skipping the Sheriff minecart dynamite puzzle, can then light the boiler fire faster when making the Silver Bullets as you don't need to move the Matchbox to the ground a second time.

After looking at through the telescope to see the abandoned train, you can then fast travel directly to it from the map without having to visit it first. Minor time save if you grab the Robe and use the telescope before entering the mining camp as you can then fast travel straight to the train to begin making the Silver Bullets.

• What is Minus Edition?

Enemy Zero has unskippable cutscenes and an unskippable voiceover story recap on reloading saves. Minus Edition is a custom version of the official PC port of the game that removes as many cutscenes as possible, trims others down to the minimum possible and removes the voiceover story recaps on loads.

• Why is there no Standard Edition speedrun leaderboard?

Normal run on either Sega Saturn or PC standard edition would be around 2 hours due to the unskippable cutscenes. If there is enough interest the category can be introduced but, considering Minus Edition is roughly a 35 min run versus 35 mins of gameplay in a 2 hour run...

• Why is there no MinusNormal% mode leaderboard?

Easy and Normal routing is virtually identical (except for charging 1st gun in locker room- which is less than 1 min in difference). Hard mode however has a routing difference in Disc 1 alone that requires going to the Tool Room multiple times in the Duct Maze to recharge the gun so warrants its own board.

• Why is saving not allowed in MinusHard% runs?

It's a challenge, plus avoids trying to verify if save file has been swapped out for Easy/Normal mode as no readily available indicators for difficulty setting on loading on Disc 3.

• What is Gauntlet% and why does it not cover entirety of Disc 3?

Disc 3 is pure movement/combat/avoidance, has no disc swaps and no puzzles/FMVs (except the brief transition Rest Room between F3 and F4 then the stairwell transitions) and is easily the hardest section of the game. After Parker's Room, enemies are not an issue. Stopping the category at this point cuts out the run back through Winter Basement, the elevator transitions and the voice guided maze section back to the escape craft. Difficulty level is not specified as easy to swap out a Hard save file for Easy/Normal.