Derelict

Derelict
Derelict
Craft:	spacecraft
Service:	Terraformers
Crew:	1
Construction:	alloy polymer, polyresin
Gravitational displacement:	1.64x10⁸kg
Life support:	nitrogen, oxygen
Dimensions:
Length:	254m
Width:	223m
Height:	61m
Environment:
Conditions:	7 decks, - flight
Temperature:	20-40°C

Name

The Derelict is an alien spacecraft used by Terraformers.
In the film Alien the spacecraft crash landed on LV426 with all it's crew dead, found aboard the Derelict by the crew of the Nostromo were a multitude of Alien Eggs.

In the game Aliens v Predator, the Derelict has had an installation built around it by Weyland-Yutani, and is now a map which features in Aliens v Predator Original, Aliens v Predator Gold and Aliens v Predator Classic.

The Derelicts in Prometheus (film) are called Juggernauts, these Derelicts have bone shaped tunnels connecting Chambers, similiar to the tunnels on LV223 where Spectagraphs were used to analyse the atmospheric conditions. They feature a Control Room, shaped like the Ampule Room in the Alien Temple with the same urns and statue but smaller in size, a Hibernation Room with 100's of stacked urns, a Sickbay and an Orrery with four Sarcophaguses, a Pilots Chair and the location of a Holo Map.

Characteristics

Reference stats table.

Appearance

Appearances in the following;
LV426
The Derelict is an alien spacecraft and a single/multiplayer map Derelict in the video games Aliens v Predator Original, Aliens v Predator Gold and Aliens v Predator Classic.

The Derelict is an alien spacecraft in the films Alien and Aliens.

The Derelict is an alien spacecraft in the video games Aliens: Infestation, Alien Trilogy and Aliens: Colonial Marines.

The Derelict featurs in the game Alien: Isolation.

LV223
The Derelict is one of many alien spacecrafts in the film Prometheus. David and Shaw use one of these spacecrafts setting a course for an unnamed Planetoid at the end of the film Prometheus.

Planetoid
As a sequel to Prometheus (film) a planet where Shaw and David set course for is though to be the Terraformers world.

Golgotha
Docked at the Colonial Marine Training Base in Alien vs Predator - Jaguar.

B54-C
Appears in orbit around B54-C in the game Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure.

Other craft

Nostromo
Narcissus
Terraformers' Craft
Escape Craft
Ejection Pod
USCSS Prometheus
USS Sulaco
USS Sephora

Interactions

LV223
After the Derelict launches from it's underground flight pad, Janek with help from the flight crew launch Prometheus and crash into the Derelict to stop it destroying Earth. This strands the surviving crew Shaw and Vickers on LV223 but Vickers dies as the Derelict starts rolling along the surface.

Later Shaw uses another Derelict also from an underground flight dock and with help from David set course for a Planetoid.

LV426
In the film Alien the crew of the Nostromo discover a Derelict as the source of the signal they received. Upon arriving Dallas, Kane and Lambert enter the Derelict through an entrance that leads into a number of corridors to the Derelict's Orrery. There they find a dead Terraformer sitting in it's Pilot's Chair, so soon after they lower Kane into a chamber of Alien Eggs beneath the chair, as he investigates the area he is attacked and incapacitated by one of the creatures from the eggs. Helped back aboard the Nostromo by Dallas and Lambert they leave the Derelict and the rest of it's cargo on LV426.

In the film Aliens, a colonist surveying family discover the same Derelict after being given a map reference to check, upon arriving they enter via a hull breach. Sometime later Newt's mother returns with a Face Hugger attached to her husbands face.

Continuity

Various
'Derelict' the spacecraft has a similiar design in production, concept, video games and the films.

In Alien Trilogy the Derelict is referred to as the Bone Ship and is played as a number of levels inside the Pilot's Chamber.

In the game Aliens: Colonial Marines the team enter the Derelict in the level Rampart the same way as they did in the film Prometheus. In the level Derelict Reclaimed they enter via a corridor and this leads into the larger research chamber (Egg Chamber), in this chamber a mist covers the floor with alien eggs, this is similiar with the film Alien. It is this level that they ascend to the Derelict's Orrery with stairs descending to the Pilot's Chair and multiple corridors leading away, this is similiar in the game Aliens v Predator. The Derelict's Orrery in the games are larger and one of the chambers (Egg Chamber) used for research is far larger meaning that there are fewer Chambers, this is comparable with the film Alien and the Alien: Engineers script for Prometheus (a Derelict made up of 8 Egg Chamber).

LV426
In Aliens: Infestation the Derelict is on LV426 and is part of the second level played, it features the Derelict's Orrery with Pilot's Chair and corridors. After the tasks at the UPP Compound are completed, Fox-Six make their way towards the Derelict in an APC killing any aliens that appear.

The Derelict is the first level in the video games Aliens v Predator Original, Aliens v Predator Gold and Aliens v Predator Classic.

The Derelict in the film Alien crash landed on LV426, in a draft script of the film the spacecraft landed on a Pyramid full of Alien Eggs, this was edited from production due to costs.

In Aliens: Colonial Marines the Derelict features in singleplayer maps Rampart, For Bella, One Bullet and Derelict Reclaimed, and in a multiplayer map Origin on LV426. Although Aliens: Colonial Marines is set after the film Aliens and is a continuing story from Aliens and Alien 3 and the detonation of the Atmosphere Processor, in the game the Derelict is nearer then in the films Alien and Aliens and is undamaged from the blast.

Alien: Isolation

H. Marlow the captain of the Anesidora in the game Alien: Isolation followed the distress signal to LV426 finding both the Derelict and eggs 15 years later.

Because he was arrested and wanted to be released he described his mission setting down on LV426 with his crew Meeks, Heyst, Foster, Lewis and himself. Having set down in the Anesidora they walked towards the signal using a detector, a few difficulties met them along the way but they discovered the Derelict spacecraft and entered inside.

Marlow found the distress beacon and deactivated it then followed into the Derelict's Orrery where the others were. There they had set up a winch and lowered themselves down into the egg chamber, soon after while examining the eggs a face hugger jumped on Foster and infected her.

Concept

Concepts for the installation, spacecrafts and living areas were made by Bradley Wright.

Production

In production lead artist Jude Bond with lead level design Iain Wright and lead environmental artists Mark Radcliffe and Paul Abbott brought these concepts to life.

Drawing influences from the film Alien these artist included as many ideas from the film as they could. Ideas included the dated terminals, input devices, equipment, doors and dark but electrical corridors. Lead lighting artist Ben Hutchings was responsible to recreate the darkness with lead UI artist Jon McKellan creating the terminal displays and access units. Extra items had been included in game that did't appear in film like the distress beacon and items not left there by the Nostromo crew who were though to be the last visitors.

In game

In game the shadows and darkness continue with Marlow's team setting on the surface of LV426 and using a tracker which leads them towards the Derelict. The conditions continue with surface movement added, spacesuits are still required and visiblility is still low. The crew adorn spacesuits similiar as used in the film Alien as Amanada wears in her missions.

LV223
Several Derelicts feature in the film Prometheus which are held underground by each Alien Temple. There were a number of temples which disappeared into the distance as the USCSS Prometheus landed, each would be equipped with a Derelict launch pad underground.

The chambers of the Derelict from the film Prometheus; Derelict's Orrery, Control Room, Analysis, Hibernation Room, Recreation, Containment Chamber and Sickbay, are not all mentioned in the film but appear in the Script Of Prometheus by Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts.

As the Jon Spaihts' script Alien: Engineers was edited, Egg Chambers, Alien Eggs and Xenomorphs were replaced with Chambers, Urns and the Deacon. Alien: Engineers was a continuing story from the film Alien and so was to be set on LV426, expanding the number of Chambers and the variation of Xenomorphs, both Face Huggers and Aliens, including an Ultramorph. In the film David goes through the urns room to get to the Orrery, with there being a different route described in the scripts.

Derelict's Chambers;
This is the configuration from the film and scripts of Prometheus, other appearances for the Derelict feature with larger Derelict Orrerys and larger but fewer chambers and configured differently.

Derelict's Orrery:

Holo Map
Sarcophaguses
Flight Controls
Cannon
Pilots Chair

Control Room:

Statue
Urns

Analysis:

Hibernation Room:

Urns

Recreation:

Containment Chamber:
Urns

Sickbay:
Sarcophaguses

Alien (film)

Concepts

Giger designed and worked on all of the alien aspects of the film, which he designed to appear organic and biomechanical in contrast to the industrial look of the Nostromo and its human element including airbrushing the entire "space jockey" set by hand. Children stood in for the regular actors to make the sets seem larger on screen, this included filming by the Nostromo's landing struts, by the surface features on set and entering the Derelict.

Production

For Alien, Art Director Les Dilley created 1/24th scale miniatures of the planetoid's surface and Derelict spacecraft based on Giger's designs, then made moulds and casts and scaled them up as diagrams for the wood and fiberglass forms of the sets.

For the interior of the Derelict spacecraft and egg chamber Giger used dried bones together with plaster to sculpt much of the scenery and elements which he said 'because they were fresh bones which had just been brought from the slaughter house had a smell after a few days'.

Saving money only one wall of the set was created, and the "space jockey" sat atop a disc that could be rotated to facilitate shots from different angles in relation to the actors, unlike filming on set in Prometheus were the set was almost complete, later the Orrery set was redressed to double as the egg chamber which appeared as the area under the cannon mechanism.

Aliens (film)

Concepts

Giger's designs and work on all of the alien aspects of the film Alien were carried through to Aliens although filming occurred with new models, weather and surface conditions stayed the same as the crew were perceived approaching the spacecraft in their ATV.

Production

In the film Aliens they used the Derelict model from the film Alien which needed to be repaired, in addition to the 7' model a smaller 3' model with scaled surface and ATV was used as minimal filming on the Derelict occurred. Using similiar production effects used before like smoke, scaled models and filming and a new technique of using a clear glass screen between the camera and model.

Prometheus (film)

Concepts

Alex Kozhanov, Ben Proctor, Julian Caldow and Steve Messing were the concept artist for the film, working on set design for the Derelict, drawing on influences from H.R.Giger's, Ron Cobbs' and Chris Foss' designs from Alien which themselves were carried through into Aliens. Alex Kozhanov and Matt Middleton at MPC digitized the concepts with Caroline Delen adding the textures which they then used as reference to built the sets.

The Ampule Room Archway concept from the Alien Temple in Prometheus also featured as the Derelict's Orrery doorway, as in the film early designs included the Derelicts stationed underground.

Production

As in the film Alien the Derelict's Orrery for Prometheus was filmed at Shepperton Studios with the exclusion of it's underground hanger and doors which were filmed in CGI and at Ciudad de la Luz audio visual complex in Alicante, Spain. Unlike Alien were small scale models of the interior and exterior were the crew entered the spacecraft and wide shots of the spacecraft on the surface were produced and scaled up to full size on set, these designs for Prometheus were mostly produced in CGI at MPC and then combined with separate filming on set against green screens. Except for part of the exit from the Derelict like in Alien was produced on set at Shepperton Studios, this was the exit that Shaw lowers David out of and a piece of the Derelict that falls on Shaw after the impact of the two spacecrafts.

Unlike the film Alien the Derelict's Orrery in Prometheus was almost complete with the corridors being constructed on set, in production Weta Digital, MPC and Fuel VFX all worked on different areas of the spacecraft. Weta Digital in the film added the rising Pilot's Chair and the Last Engineer morphing in his seat. Previsuals from MPC supervised by Charley Henley worked with Scott and Stammers on action sequences including the crash of the Prometheus and Derelict ship. Fuel VFX were tasked with the Holo Map, holographic Engineers and control desk effects inside the Derelict's Orrery.

(constructing the set from the film Prometheus can be seen in the 'Prometheus-Weyland Corp Archive App').

On location filming for Prometheus in Iceland were the Derelict impacts the surface and debris from Prometheus falls was produced in CGI by MPC with the addition of a landing effect that was produced using explosives and filmed at the volcano Helka with other scenes film at Landmannalaugar.

Timeline

The film Alien is set about 30 years after the film Prometheus, a Weyland-Yutani spacecraft the Nostromo with Dallas, Ellen Ripley, Kane, Lambert, Brett, Parker and Ash emerge from stasis around a planet where a distress signal is eminating.

The film Aliens is set after the events of the film Alien, Ellen Ripley having killed the Alien goes into stasis aboard the Narcissus only to be found drifting in space 57 years later.

The crew of Prometheus land on LV223 in 2093 after first discovering the Terraformers star map in 2089 on Earth. Prometheus (film) is set about 30 years before Alien (film).