121
Work In Progress / Re: Colour Replaced Aliens
« on: October 16, 2013, 01:56:45 am »
Honestly, you can do whatever you want, I just meant to convey that the idea of an upgraded lobsterman is quite scary to me. 
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email? April 29, 2024, 07:15:10 pm
Did you miss your activation email? April 29, 2024, 07:15:10 pm
News: If you can't login, please contact us with your username and e-mail so we can fix it.
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
122
Work In Progress / Re: Colour Replaced Aliens
« on: October 15, 2013, 04:44:44 am »
Uh oh; does this mean we get to witness the dawn of the Blue Lobstermen?
I'm scared, guys.
I'm scared, guys.
123
Work In Progress / Re: Colour Replaced Aliens
« on: October 11, 2013, 01:57:44 am »
Thank you! I had quite some fun writing them. Hope they're of use. 
EDIT: So I was just looking over the old concept sprites, which inspired Luke's purple floater. I really liked this early Floater design; he has a really imposing, ornate look which would suit the Elder/Consul/whatever.
Luke, I'd be happy to do you a full sheet that looks like this, if you want (based off your recolor sheet, of course).
EDIT: So I was just looking over the old concept sprites, which inspired Luke's purple floater. I really liked this early Floater design; he has a really imposing, ornate look which would suit the Elder/Consul/whatever.
Luke, I'd be happy to do you a full sheet that looks like this, if you want (based off your recolor sheet, of course).
124
Work In Progress / Re: Colour Replaced Aliens
« on: October 10, 2013, 09:04:00 am »
Hi, uh, here's my attempt at the encyclopedia texts! I did my best to describe the aliens' improvements without knowing the concrete details.
FLOATER CONSUL (ol' green cape)
Live: These abominable beings constitute the elite of the Floater social heirarchy. While the exact nature of the Consuls' authority is unknown, sightings indicate that they direct the hideous human experiments aboard Floater ships and lord over the abductees. In combat, Consuls have the devil's speed and a frightening constitution above that of their lesser brethren.
Dead:
Cross-sectional analysis with common Floaters reveal that Consuls deviate little from their minions in phsiology, aside from cursory mechanical improvements to the life support and levitation systems, likely token symbols of their status. It can be assumed that the Consuls' extraordinary lethality is simply trained, an occurrence so rare in the alien military as to seem perversely admirable.
SECTOID ORION (plural: Orions) (elite sectoid)
live: A mysterious Sectoid subspecies, distinguished from their common brethren by skin color. Though physically meager, the Orions possess superior brains which manifest in the forms of supernormal cognitive and psionic ability.
dead: On closer inspection, this subspecies appears to have been cross-bred with another race entirely, inheriting a highly cultivated psionic strength and unusual tissue pigmentation. While organ and bone structures are largely unchanged, Orion brain tissue is far denser than that of a common Sectoid. Any further genetic deviations are unknown, as are the origins of the anomalous genes.
SHOCK MUTON (black muton)
Live: Whereas common Mutons move very deliberately, displaying a slow and impervious sense of power, these Shock Troops move as if there were sulpheric acid coursing through their hearts. The jump pack bestows great mobility, allowing them to plough through obstacles even more frighteningly than a common muton.
Dead: The Shock Muton's biology is identical to that of a common Muton; its one catch is a surgically implanted hormone controller, no bigger than a child's fist. This small metal box can trigger the production of a norepinephrine-like hormone in such exorbitant quantities as to drive an average human insane. The jump pack appears to have been crudely wired direct to the nervous system.
MUTON WARLORD: (red muton)
Live: Marked by regal red catsuits, these despotic overlords rule the Mutons in battle. Each the equivalent of ten Genghis Khans, they rampage mercilessly wherever they are set loose. Though physically dominant, they are clearly too savage to provide any sort of complex leadership; thus, it may be assumed that directions come mainly from a higher power, and that Warlords are, in a sense, lords in name only.
Dead: Autopsy of the Warlord reveals a terrifying network of invasive implants and drug-enhanced musculature; this is, quite literally, a Muton on steroids. The cranial cavity and vital organs are shielded by thin, flexible alloy plates which have been fused to the bone structure. A hormone controller is installed beneath the ribs, capable of flooding the specimen's body with an agonizing fury. The most striking feature, however, is a cranial "skull cap," resting just below the alloy plating. This curious brain shield seems to have the property of deflecting all psychic attacks upon the Warlord's mind, without disrupting commands from its masters. The exact mechanics of this operate far above our current understanding of psionics.
CHRYSSALID GERMINATOR (pink chryssalid)
Live: Like the common Chryssalid, the Germinator is able to inject its victims with unborn offspring. This subspecies, however, ejects its young from the mouth in an acidic discharge. The projectile spawn is concealed in a jagged shell which penetrates the victim's body on contact, breaking the skin and then inseminating the host with a burning acid payload.
Dead: The eggs in this Chryssalid subspecies are kept in a repulsive hive of gelatinous sacs, each throbbing with acidic ichor. A long "fallopian tube" connects the egg sacs to the throat, effectively allowing the Germinator to discharge its spawn at a distance with a voluntary muscle contraction.
SNAKEMAN GLYCON (dark snakeman; other optional names: Krait, Gorgon)
Live: This frightening Snakeman variant is capable of unnerving speed. The Glycon exhibits an unsophisticated aggression beyond that of common Snakemen, although it appears to be no more or less intelligent. Furthermore, the darker skin pigmentation implies an even more extreme heat tolerance.
Dead: Inspection of this variant specimen reveals a snake-like tail much more powerful and capable of quick acceleration than that of its common brethren. Curiously, this immense muscle occupies so much of the Glycon's body that it contains no eggs, and appears to be incapable of reproduction altogether. We may extrapolate that this specimen was engineered exclusively for combat, and is incapable of social or sexual interaction. Samples of the darkened tissue confirm that this specimen boasts a heat resistance beyond that of any humanoid organism we have yet encountered.
FLOATER CONSUL (ol' green cape)
Live: These abominable beings constitute the elite of the Floater social heirarchy. While the exact nature of the Consuls' authority is unknown, sightings indicate that they direct the hideous human experiments aboard Floater ships and lord over the abductees. In combat, Consuls have the devil's speed and a frightening constitution above that of their lesser brethren.
Dead:
Cross-sectional analysis with common Floaters reveal that Consuls deviate little from their minions in phsiology, aside from cursory mechanical improvements to the life support and levitation systems, likely token symbols of their status. It can be assumed that the Consuls' extraordinary lethality is simply trained, an occurrence so rare in the alien military as to seem perversely admirable.
SECTOID ORION (plural: Orions) (elite sectoid)
live: A mysterious Sectoid subspecies, distinguished from their common brethren by skin color. Though physically meager, the Orions possess superior brains which manifest in the forms of supernormal cognitive and psionic ability.
dead: On closer inspection, this subspecies appears to have been cross-bred with another race entirely, inheriting a highly cultivated psionic strength and unusual tissue pigmentation. While organ and bone structures are largely unchanged, Orion brain tissue is far denser than that of a common Sectoid. Any further genetic deviations are unknown, as are the origins of the anomalous genes.
SHOCK MUTON (black muton)
Live: Whereas common Mutons move very deliberately, displaying a slow and impervious sense of power, these Shock Troops move as if there were sulpheric acid coursing through their hearts. The jump pack bestows great mobility, allowing them to plough through obstacles even more frighteningly than a common muton.
Dead: The Shock Muton's biology is identical to that of a common Muton; its one catch is a surgically implanted hormone controller, no bigger than a child's fist. This small metal box can trigger the production of a norepinephrine-like hormone in such exorbitant quantities as to drive an average human insane. The jump pack appears to have been crudely wired direct to the nervous system.
MUTON WARLORD: (red muton)
Live: Marked by regal red catsuits, these despotic overlords rule the Mutons in battle. Each the equivalent of ten Genghis Khans, they rampage mercilessly wherever they are set loose. Though physically dominant, they are clearly too savage to provide any sort of complex leadership; thus, it may be assumed that directions come mainly from a higher power, and that Warlords are, in a sense, lords in name only.
Dead: Autopsy of the Warlord reveals a terrifying network of invasive implants and drug-enhanced musculature; this is, quite literally, a Muton on steroids. The cranial cavity and vital organs are shielded by thin, flexible alloy plates which have been fused to the bone structure. A hormone controller is installed beneath the ribs, capable of flooding the specimen's body with an agonizing fury. The most striking feature, however, is a cranial "skull cap," resting just below the alloy plating. This curious brain shield seems to have the property of deflecting all psychic attacks upon the Warlord's mind, without disrupting commands from its masters. The exact mechanics of this operate far above our current understanding of psionics.
CHRYSSALID GERMINATOR (pink chryssalid)
Live: Like the common Chryssalid, the Germinator is able to inject its victims with unborn offspring. This subspecies, however, ejects its young from the mouth in an acidic discharge. The projectile spawn is concealed in a jagged shell which penetrates the victim's body on contact, breaking the skin and then inseminating the host with a burning acid payload.
Dead: The eggs in this Chryssalid subspecies are kept in a repulsive hive of gelatinous sacs, each throbbing with acidic ichor. A long "fallopian tube" connects the egg sacs to the throat, effectively allowing the Germinator to discharge its spawn at a distance with a voluntary muscle contraction.
SNAKEMAN GLYCON (dark snakeman; other optional names: Krait, Gorgon)
Live: This frightening Snakeman variant is capable of unnerving speed. The Glycon exhibits an unsophisticated aggression beyond that of common Snakemen, although it appears to be no more or less intelligent. Furthermore, the darker skin pigmentation implies an even more extreme heat tolerance.
Dead: Inspection of this variant specimen reveals a snake-like tail much more powerful and capable of quick acceleration than that of its common brethren. Curiously, this immense muscle occupies so much of the Glycon's body that it contains no eggs, and appears to be incapable of reproduction altogether. We may extrapolate that this specimen was engineered exclusively for combat, and is incapable of social or sexual interaction. Samples of the darkened tissue confirm that this specimen boasts a heat resistance beyond that of any humanoid organism we have yet encountered.
125
Released Mods / Re: Sir, the arms dealer has arrived.
« on: October 04, 2013, 05:03:46 am »
I am digging the hell out of these. Thought I'd have a go at the UFOpedia texts.
MAGNUM
This precision magnum's mule-like kick is nothing compared to the force it delivers on the business end. It fires .44 caliber rounds in rubberized 6-slot speedloader cartridges, each literally worth their weight in gold. Don't call it a sidearm.
SUBMACHINE GUN
This lightweight, gas operated Submachine gun spits .45 ACP rounds at a blistering rate. The streamlined design grants satisfying ease of use, but crude sights and aggressive recoil inhibit long-range accuracy.
DISPOSABLE RPG
An X-Com-special take on the classic disposable RPG, capable of accurately penetrating armored targets. Its shaped charge payload is built for penetration rather than explosivity, requiring a direct hit for optimal results.
TASER PISTOL
A non-lethal weapon derived from a very recent police design, capable of incapacitating targets up to 5 meters away. While it delivers a less powerful charge than blunt-force stun weapons, its stylish pistol grip grants easy handling, and the range alone makes it a worthwhile asset.
LIGHT MACHINE GUN
A heavier variant of the custom-designed X-Com rifle. The extra weight comes from a heavier barrel and integral bipod system, capable of facilitating heavy fire on medium-to-short range targets. Powerful recoil and obtuse handling make it unsuitable for longe-range shooting.
MAGNUM
This precision magnum's mule-like kick is nothing compared to the force it delivers on the business end. It fires .44 caliber rounds in rubberized 6-slot speedloader cartridges, each literally worth their weight in gold. Don't call it a sidearm.
SUBMACHINE GUN
This lightweight, gas operated Submachine gun spits .45 ACP rounds at a blistering rate. The streamlined design grants satisfying ease of use, but crude sights and aggressive recoil inhibit long-range accuracy.
DISPOSABLE RPG
An X-Com-special take on the classic disposable RPG, capable of accurately penetrating armored targets. Its shaped charge payload is built for penetration rather than explosivity, requiring a direct hit for optimal results.
TASER PISTOL
A non-lethal weapon derived from a very recent police design, capable of incapacitating targets up to 5 meters away. While it delivers a less powerful charge than blunt-force stun weapons, its stylish pistol grip grants easy handling, and the range alone makes it a worthwhile asset.
LIGHT MACHINE GUN
A heavier variant of the custom-designed X-Com rifle. The extra weight comes from a heavier barrel and integral bipod system, capable of facilitating heavy fire on medium-to-short range targets. Powerful recoil and obtuse handling make it unsuitable for longe-range shooting.
126
Work In Progress / Re: Colour Replaced Aliens
« on: October 02, 2013, 03:37:51 am »anyone wanting to help with the ufopedia entries for these guys let me know as creative writing is not my strength,I'd be overjoyed to help with this, if you want me.
127
Suggestions / Re: Base defence - lights out
« on: September 30, 2013, 12:27:13 am »
If adding a new room/prop to facilitate this is too tricky, maybe it could be handled by general room damage? Say, when 70% of the room is busted, the lights go out? Makes you think twice about using explosives.
128
Suggestions / Re: Color of Nation Text Indicates Alien Activity?
« on: September 30, 2013, 12:23:39 am »
I can dig it! Much more useful than those silly graphs.
129
Work In Progress / Re: Brainstorming for slower technological progression
« on: September 30, 2013, 12:13:13 am »as OwenQ already said, I wouldn't tie this into psionics, more like an application of the circuitry of the mind probe, which isn't tied into the whole psionic story.
Damn, this is a good point. The mind probe angle is solid. Consider me persuaded on the thought-trigger stuff.
Quote
I would agree if it was a technology line that was being developed by humans, but since we are only reverse-engineering it, there really isn't a reason we would need plasma pistol research in order to use a heavy plasma, if we have a heavy plasma to take apart. my reasoning was: once we have a weapon plus its ammo researched, we know how it works in general. at that point we should be able to use it (which is the way the original game does it).
This is also a good point. From a story perspective I completely agree, my only misgiving is that players will simply jump straight to Heavy Plasma if given the choice, just as they do currently. I guess my point is that we can delay heavy plasma, but that doesn't make the other plasma weapons worth researching. If every plasma weapon is delayed equally, then we're back where we started with heavy plasma being the undisputed best option.
Quote
if we opt for simply adding a "manufacturing XY" step, I'd vote for making the following things the requirement for the research of "manufacturing XY":
- weapon XY clip
- weapon XY
- elerium-115
- alien alloys
- elerium-115 plasma technology (for plasma weapons) or elerium-115 fusion technology (for blaster bomb) or elerium-115 stun technology (for small launcher)
...interesting point: should you also need elerium-115 fusion technology for manufacturing of alien grenades?
This is a good idea, so long as the fluff steps are kept pretty clean and intuitive. Maybe something (roughly) like this:
Elerium 115
↓ ↓
Elerium Bombs Elerium Guns
↓ ↓
Alien Grenade Plasma Theory
↓ ↓
etc. etc.
↓ ↓
Elerium Bombs Elerium Guns
↓ ↓
Alien Grenade Plasma Theory
↓ ↓
etc. etc.
Obviously some other prerequisites would tie in along the way, like alloys for gun research and so on. If we wanted to get really nasty, we could split certain weapons between the two branches; say, stun bombs are a "bomb" technology, but the launcher is a "gun" technology, so you've got to keep up with both branches.
Later on down the road this would lead to a "fusion weapons" fluff tech, unlocking the "blaster > bomb > manufacture" bit. But besides that, I think most of the alien weapons could be nestled into the "elerium bomb/gun" ladder (minus the psi stuff). Also, I wouldn't think of alien grenades as fusion technology. They seem like a pretty basic elerium explosive.
130
Work In Progress / Re: Brainstorming for slower technological progression
« on: September 29, 2013, 01:58:44 am »
I'm still slightly skeptical about the retrofitting stuff; I don't think there's an airtight explanation as to why it's necessary. The psionics angle is smart, but half the gun-wielding aliens have no psionic ability. Mutons in particular are pretty explicitly handicapped in this area.
Gameplaywise, I also think a lot of this stuff would get unnecessarily convoluted, and hard to present clearly in-game. I still think the best way to go is to have it mirror laser research, but perhaps give each weapon a manufacturing restriction which must be unblocked by a separate tech. The resulting tree would look like this:
Plasma Theory
↓
Plasma Pistol → Clip → Manufacture
↓
Plasma Rifle → Clip → Manufacture
↓
Heavy Plasma → Clip → Manufacture
↓
etc.
Coupled with an increase in research time aross the board, this would extend plasma research while keeping it simple. The manufacture step makes you choose between mass-producing a smaller gun, or rushing to the next gun. This would work best if plasma weapons were made rarer by self-destructing when the user dies, as in the Firaxis game. This would make live captures necessary in order to get a functioning unit, and increase the importance of manufacturing your own, since there's less to be scavenged in the field. This is kind of getting into a whole other topic, though.
Gameplaywise, I also think a lot of this stuff would get unnecessarily convoluted, and hard to present clearly in-game. I still think the best way to go is to have it mirror laser research, but perhaps give each weapon a manufacturing restriction which must be unblocked by a separate tech. The resulting tree would look like this:
Plasma Theory
↓
Plasma Pistol → Clip → Manufacture
↓
Plasma Rifle → Clip → Manufacture
↓
Heavy Plasma → Clip → Manufacture
↓
etc.
Coupled with an increase in research time aross the board, this would extend plasma research while keeping it simple. The manufacture step makes you choose between mass-producing a smaller gun, or rushing to the next gun. This would work best if plasma weapons were made rarer by self-destructing when the user dies, as in the Firaxis game. This would make live captures necessary in order to get a functioning unit, and increase the importance of manufacturing your own, since there's less to be scavenged in the field. This is kind of getting into a whole other topic, though.
131
Work In Progress / Re: Brainstorming for slower technological progression
« on: September 28, 2013, 11:24:26 am »I considered getting really nasty and requiring any alien corpse research to unlock the Alien Containment facility as well, but that might be a tad much.
I actually am a big fan of this idea; create an "alien biology" tech that opens up once you recover a corpse. It'd be available after just one mission, so it really wouldn't set the player back dramatically, but it would add to that frantic feel of racing against the clock by eating up precious early-game research time, and makes very good story sense (we'd know better how to contain an alien once we've actually gotten a look at one). It is pretty nasty, though.
I'm also partial to the idea of plasma theory being required for plasma weapons; I think making plasma research more symmetrical with laser research in general is a good thing.
132
Work In Progress / Re: Brainstorming for slower technological progression
« on: September 28, 2013, 12:36:54 am »
I'm all for this, I think the game is at its most tense when you're still using puny Earth weapons, and that gets lost far too quickly. The big one from my perspective is delaying laser weapons; if you rush for them at the start of the game, you can often have laser pistols by the second or third mission, which is silly. They should take far longer to develop.
I actually don't mind the idea of requiring alien captures for certain technologies (as in the case of Navigator > Hyperwave Decoder), so long as it's not sadistically rigid or overwrought. Xenonauts uses this dynamic very well, with nearly every live capture having some sort of unique benefit, and I think that would be a good model to look at.
In any tech rebalancing discussion, there's also going to be the inevitable issue of the Heavy Plasma. There's got to be a way to make it harder to develop so it doesn't instantly overtake the standard Plasma Rifle and make it obsolete. I'd vote for increasing the research time generously, and making it a linear progression from Standard Plasma > Heavy Plasma, so you can't skip ahead.
I actually don't mind the idea of requiring alien captures for certain technologies (as in the case of Navigator > Hyperwave Decoder), so long as it's not sadistically rigid or overwrought. Xenonauts uses this dynamic very well, with nearly every live capture having some sort of unique benefit, and I think that would be a good model to look at.
In any tech rebalancing discussion, there's also going to be the inevitable issue of the Heavy Plasma. There's got to be a way to make it harder to develop so it doesn't instantly overtake the standard Plasma Rifle and make it obsolete. I'd vote for increasing the research time generously, and making it a linear progression from Standard Plasma > Heavy Plasma, so you can't skip ahead.
133
Offtopic / Re: Your X-COM base names
« on: August 26, 2013, 04:14:12 am »
I like cheesy codenames with a simple numbering.
DOGTOOTH-#
HEART-#
ALMIGHTY-# (Ala Apocalypse Now!)
DOGTOOTH-#
HEART-#
ALMIGHTY-# (Ala Apocalypse Now!)
134
Fan-Stuff / Re: All-New X-Com Soundtrack! (Sans-intro music)
« on: August 25, 2013, 03:25:41 am »Any chance you would release the ableton live project file(or as a midi). I could dust off a few old synths and try re-recording your tracks with them (once my hobby room is finished, it's under construction atm)Sorry, I meant to reply to this earlier; but yeah, of course that can be done! I'm honored that you would take such an interest.
EDIT: Here they be! Ableton 9 project files are, unfortunately, incompatible with previous versions. If that's a problem, the zip also includes basic MIDI files, which are just as good.
135
Fan-Stuff / Re: All-New X-Com Soundtrack! (Sans-intro music)
« on: August 18, 2013, 06:05:20 am »As I say a lot around these parts, "not yet"Of course! Far more important to squash bugs and the like than to be fiddling around with audio niceties at this stage.
are you planning on releasing new soundtracks as time goes on? I feel like after a while this may become permanently seared into my brainI'd like to do a similar pack for TFTD once it's supported! Before settling on the Amiga sound, I was also trying out some more modern-sounding stuff which I may eventually go back and finish, but probably only if people want it, since modern synths are tons harder.
