Theme - Aliens: Activision
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Theme is a song in Activision's game version of the July 1986 movie Aliens.
Title
No official title is known. Filenames or source code labels may still exist at Activision or in Lieblich's estate.
For the time being, the VGMPF made up "Theme" for the recurring composition, and "Titles" and "Status" for the two arrangements, after what their respective usages have in common.
Composition
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Games
Aliens: Activision (C64)
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The instruments are two sawtooth waves, a 6% pulse wave, a low-pass filter, and in the end, a very slow vibrato that starts at a random point.
Two arrangements exist for multiple occasions:
- Every time the opening starts, and after the queen falls, the full theme fades in and plays once. This arrangement also counts its own bars, allowing the opening to synchronize the credits and logo with the music.
- Over the text screens, half the theme loops at full volume. It fades out after disk access, but stops abruptly before tape access.
For recording, the game was started:
- in VICE 3.8 with C64 NTSC and a bias of -900.
- in VICE 3.8 with C64 PAL and a bias of 0.
- in VICE 3.8 with C64C NTSC.
- on a real C64C PAL with an 8580 R5 4091.
In the rip, the arrangements are tracks 1 and 2.
Aliens (A2)
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The opening theme has been rearranged for one square wave. This single arrangement plays on three occasions:
- Opening titles: The theme plays until you press any key. The opening programmer synchronized the credits and music to each other, but was forced to pause the music while the screen changes.
- Enter mission status code: The theme loops until you press RETURN. It pauses while you hold any other key down.
- Your mission status code is: The theme plays once until you press RETURN.
Unlike in the C64 version, all other dialogue and the ending have no music. Neither do the loader and gameplay, but that's because Apple II speaker music takes too much CPU time.
If you have a real Apple IIe compatible or know which emulator is most accurate, please record 1, 2 or 3 occasions of your choice. If you include the 2nd, remember to let it play twice plus 10 seconds to fade out.
Links
- deepsid.com/?file=/MUSICIANS/L/Lieblich_Russell/Aliens.sid&tab=visuals&sundry=osc - Visualization of C64 originals.
- youtube.com/watch?v=0UikscyYno4 - Performed by classical pianist Paul Nelsen as Retro Piano Guy (till 1:19).