Here is my view on this:
Ash hastily threw the tracker together. The "micro changes in air density" explanation might have been misleading, or maybe it was correct - either way, using this tracker in an air vent was a recipe for disaster.
How did it go from that to showing the location of Dallas and the Alien through a complex network of vent shafts?
Here, you seem to imply that Lambert had the full schematics view of the shaft network. But she didn't. The tracker only had a general grid of squares, and the positions overlaid. And no, there was no way to tell which one is Dallas and which one is the alien. And there was no way to tell if there was a wall between them, etc. Also, when either of them was not moving, the signal should have disappeared, but maybe Ash built in a "last known location" function to not make it too confusing to operate. Anyways, the beeps are I think part of the dramatic licence of the scene, not something Ash included as a feature.
But even upfront, the viewer can tell this plan has a really low percentage of succeeding. The fact that Lambert is trying to navigate Dallas using a 2D screen, while Dallas is in a 3D environment, with vent shafts going not only left and right relative to him, but over and under him as well... The fact that air density changes are constantly happening, even when Dallas is breathing for example... The fact that the alien chose to hide in the vents, meaning it is moving around in them with ease and familiarity... This paints a picture of desperation and a last ditch attempt. Dallas tries to be tough and present the plan in a way that it seems calculated, meticulous and detailed, but in reality it's anything but. And that's the point of the scene. They tried their best as "space truckers" to formulate a plan and execute it, but in the end their failure is predictable and twofold: one is the alien, who cannot be beaten on home turf, the other is Ash, who might have sabotaged the tracker.
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aavfreak (2874)
3 months ago
Here, you seem to imply that Lambert had the full schematics view of the shaft network. But she didn't. The tracker only had a general grid of squares, and the positions overlaid.
My wording could have been better, but the fact remains that the device was shown to detect movement in front of it by emitting a sound based on distance/speed of the movement. That's a far cry from showing two dots and their locations on a display, 2D or otherwise. Especially when those movements are in shafts, around corners, on multiple levels.
But even upfront, the viewer can tell this plan has a really low percentage of succeeding.
This is absolutely true. Even if they had some other version of the tracker beyond what was initially demonstrated, tracking two objects in a 3D environment on a 2D screen is almost unworkable.
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sati_84 (441)
3 months ago
the device was shown to detect movement in front of it by emitting a sound based on distance/speed of the movement. That's a far cry from showing two dots and their locations on a display, 2D or otherwise
Got it now, there is a discrepancy between the capability that was shown in the scene where they are hunting for the chestburster and what was shown in the Dallas vent shaft scene. A valid observation, however I remember taking it at face value, even upon first viewing. But I can see how it kind of does not make sense on a plot level, and here comes your personal tolerance for dramatic licence. The function of showing the grid layer, the dots, the beeping does not really make sense. Case in point: when Dallas is stationary, his dot still shows up, so by that logic, Lamber's screen should be full of the dots of the others present around her and at the other exit. But those dots are not visible, and Scott needed a dramatic shot of a moving dot closing in on a stationary dot. So that's what we got.
A certain amount of dramatic licence is expected of any movie - especially science fiction ones. It's up to the personal tolerance level of the viewer what amount of slack they can cut for the filmmakers- I'll forever let this slide for Alien, since the dramatic tension, the characters, the set design, the buildup and the focused structure of the plot all counterbalance this - and the scene is effective in the way it was executed. So for me it's ok, but I can understand if this is a problem for you - and I can't really give you an in universe explanation.
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