Messages

2086

Work In Progress / Re: Map Modding Questions

« on: June 17, 2014, 08:34:47 pm »

I found this long topic, an year old

https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=1321.0

and the source code is on

https://github.com/pmprog/OpenXCOM.Tools

I am modding this PCKView to convert the PCK of TFTD

I've seen this post but I haven't tried it because progress seems to have stalled.

PCKView can already convert a TFTD's palette: open a TFTD .PCK file, save the individual images as .BMPs, open a UFO .PCK file and load the .BMP files. I'm not sure exactly of the steps but I did something similar when I was converting Port to UFO.

You can also try this: Bomb Bloke's Toolkit

2087

Released Mods / Re: [ENEMY] Men in Black 3.1 | Cover Alien 1.9u | Gazer Alien 1.2u

« on: June 17, 2014, 07:31:09 pm »

Thanks, I'll had him too in the readme credits.

Actually Area51 was completely created by me, so there's no need to mention him unless you use Dawn City's tiles. I simply mentioned him as an example of a good practice regarding crediting one's work.

2088

Released Mods / Re: [ENEMY] Men in Black 3.1 | Cover Alien 1.9u | Gazer Alien 1.2u

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:56:27 pm »

Yeah, sorry. I didn't know how to get to you to ask for permission. I was modding non-stop and I just used it.

No worries, you don't need my permission to use or modify the tilesets on any way you want since this is all open source. But it is appropriate to give credit to whom it is due, for instance Nachtwolf (a UFO2000 developer) was the designer of many of Dawn City's graphics and I always include him on the credits.

The tileset is awesome, the only thin I don't like it that the external brick wall is too resistant (large rockets don't do anything, I haven't tried with blaster bombs but  personally I think a small rocket already should be capable of punching an hole in it). The internal "ufo-like" blue wall on the other hand is fine if it is as resistant as ufo's.

I will redo Area51's tileset in the future after I'm done with the other terrains so I'll keep that in mind.

2089

Released Mods / Re: [MAPS] (UPDATE v1.4) Hobbes Terrain Mods for OpenXCom

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:48:29 pm »

Hobbes, I'm thrilled to be on the same forum as the greatest member of the X-Com community! Your Unknown Menace remains one of my very favourite fanfics ever! (Especially considering most of my other favourite fanfics involve teenage girls doing cute or naughty things to each other. )

Sometimes I wonder how I was able to write something so big

Hobbes, would it be possible to make a combined terrain mod with Luke's expanded terrain? I really like his works too, and wouldn't want to have to go with just one mod. (Because only one ruleset can be active at a time - the latest on in the config file.)

Of course I could make a combined version myself, but it's more complicated than adding a new gun and maintaining such a combination (to include updates etc.) is a nightmare. Besides, I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to do it by themselves.

I haven't seen luke83's latest work (I send him a msg yesterday asking for something) since 2 years ago when he asked me to use the Dawn City tiles on his mods. Back then there was already an issue since I would update the tilesets and the changes would reflect on his maps, until I finished the updates. Now, since it is possible to use more tiles I'll definitely introduce a few more tiles, although I will do it through separate files rather than editing the existing files. In any case since there are so many terrains I really want have finished tilesets before moving to the next terrain, so that others can start using them.

The question of adding luke83's expanded terrain is something I don't have an answer yet, since I'm still considering the possibility of getting more collaborations for the terrains/craft that I never bothered with (UFOs, Desert/Forest/etc). The main issue to me is that I've learned a few basics about how to design maps for UFO through trial and error (room for the AI to move effectively, map sizes, etc.) to increase playability (IMHO) and I'd like to keep those basics on this map set.

2090

Programming / Re: openxcom mapblock new xml format for usage in tiled (modified for openxcom)

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:32:05 pm »

Can someone export real xcom tiles to png image? At least some for demo purposes

This are some of Dawn City's tiles in png format

2091

Work In Progress / Re: Map Modding Questions

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:09:31 pm »

This is a think that I could try to resolve

I will check in OCX Tools if the issues is open too

Do you see the new tools ?

I discovered the MCD editor remake, after I found out that the older version didn't work on windows anymore. Any other tools that I should know about?

2092

Released Mods / Re: [ENEMY] Men in Black 3.0u | Cover Alien 1.9u | Gazer Alien 1.2u

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:28:23 am »

The MiB base is already a custom building built with a custom tileset:


If I'll ever do maps again for the MiB mod, it would be variants to the terror village. But I'm already working on something else so I don't think it'll happen.

I think I recognize that tileset

2093

Work In Progress / Re: Map Modding Questions

« on: June 17, 2014, 06:04:21 am »

Hi Hobbes

I hope that your help the community will have a lot of new Terrains/Maps to play that you develop for UFO2000 too

From the first moment that I found OpenXCom, I wish an evolution to an hybrid game with TFTD or ,
at  least, import from TFTD some contents starting from the terror missions (Island, Port, Cruise).

My first idea is to convert the TFTD  files .PCK  to the UFO palette.
the new .PCK are total different from the original.
The maps and the other files could be xcopied from legal installation of TFTD

Some terrains on UFO2000 map sites uses the same .PCK (Slum, Railyard, and so on)

But I am a true rooky of OX and I am a newbie in game programming therefore i could get some error about it 

An other OX member named Civillian, more more skilled that me, tried to collect already some of your terrains/maps

I hope that you help us to reorganize your original works

Well, if I can help with anything just ask.

My personal advice is to get Notepad++ and read this https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=Rulesets_(OpenXcom) page before trying to edit the ruleset files. Took me a while before I managed to add Mad City due to the CTDs but I've done it following the instructions. The coding has a few kinks but the more I do it, the better I'll get

2094

Released Mods / Re: [MAPS] (UPDATE v1.4) Hobbes Terrain Mods for OpenXCom

« on: June 17, 2014, 05:28:03 am »

Version 1.5 uploaded to this post.

Changes:
- Added Mad City terrain
- Removed Area51, Hive and City terrains until they are reworked

I kept Port disabled until I can figure out the issues, so currently the mod only has Dawn City and Mad City terrains. Took me a while to figure out the exact way to create the ruleset files but no more CTDs so I think I got it. I still want to try to add extra tiles to Mad City tomorrow or so when I get the time. Then I'll focus on seeing what can be expanded in Dawn and fixing Port before adding more terrains.

2095

Released Mods / Re: [MAPS] (UPDATE v1.4) Hobbes Terrain Mods for OpenXCom

« on: June 16, 2014, 06:44:54 pm »

I've been going through my files to check how I left things when I stopped modding for XCOM a couple of years back. My latest project was to mod all of the existing terrains one way or the other, either by adding new terrains or adding map blocks to the terrains that contained UFOs. Unfortunately not much was done other than finishing the Dawn and the Port terrains to replace the Urban (Terror) maps, but with OXC now opens interesting possibilities since everything is automated.

Here's a rough idea of what I'm thinking atm:
* Urban - add Native, Mad City (complementing the original terror map blocks), Port, Polis and Dawn City. Dawn City can definitely be enlarged but not to the scale of UFO2000 since I don't want to make maps higher than 4 levels (experience tells me that battles simply get too big plus FPS skyrockets). Polis needs a bit of adaptation and work (there's no RMP files for the AI) but it has a lot of 4x4 map blocks that should make for some interesting fights. Native should be ready to go, although I'll probably set it only for Terror Sites on the Southern hemisphere. I'm still doing some changes to Mad City but they shouldn't take long and Port is also set to go. The City terrain will get dropped since I dislike its graphics and design. 
* XCom Base - here I already got one mod for the original terrain to prevent the common chokepoints. Another idea would be to set Area51 as an optional terrain: it has Hangars, Command Posts, Barracks, Radar Stations, etc. It will require work though since it has never been adapted to be a specific XCom Base terrain.
* Alien Base - a bit clueless here. Hive is too rough to be used, although it's the same setting.
* Farm - I have a Modified Farm terrain with extra map blocks that can be added, like Mad City.
* Polar/Mountain/Desert/Jungle/Forest - these should be the least changed since the UFOs & Skyranger don't leave much space left on the maps.

2096

Work In Progress / Re: Map Modding Questions

« on: June 16, 2014, 06:23:38 am »

welcome back to the fold!

1) new limit is 2,147,483,647, or 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 if you use the 64-bit builds.

This is great. The main problem right now is that MapView can only present 256 tiles while designing maps but the no MCD entries limit means that the maps with UFOs and XCOM craft can be designed using the 256 limit, which basically means the double of available tiles in the case of UFOs.

2) not via ruleset, but we can see about this.

It's not a big issue at the moment since I'm not currently planning to do the type of map generation rules that Dawn City had on UFO2000, where there could be more 2 or more parallel roads and dead end roads because that's a lot of work. But if you're thinking about porting TFTD into OXC then you'll need to deal with the different rules that are used for the Port/Island terrains.

5) sure it can, the file format isn't any different, the palette will be your only major hurdle here.

There's a converter available made by Bomb Bloke that switches the palette on terrain files from UFO to TFTD so that isn't a problem. I already had converted TFTD's Port terrain for UFO before but the main question here is copyright, specially of the images. Since you guys require a full installation of the original game you have that covered, but distributing modified versions that use the original images is always a risk, specially since you are hosting the mods.

2097

Open Feedback / Re: Congratulations

« on: June 16, 2014, 06:09:36 am »

Thanks for the support. Good to see OpenXcom has finally leaked into other XCom communities. Big fan of your modding work on the original.

Well thanks. Seeing the Dawn City terrain on the 1.0 presentation video was quite a nice surprise

It's been a while since I've done anything for the original but OXC is simply superb for adding new terrain/maps without the hassle of having to use XComUtil or be always copy/pasting everything and only being able to use one mod at a time.

2098

Open Feedback / Congratulations

« on: June 16, 2014, 05:02:34 am »

Well guys, for the past years from time to time I'd notice something mentioned on the XCom websites about OpenXcom and it looked interesting but I had never tried it until now.

Now, I've just tried it today and I only got 2 words for it: great job!

This is one of the best things ever to come out for XCom. Congratulations

2099

Work In Progress / Map Modding Questions

« on: June 16, 2014, 03:47:42 am »

Well I guess I'm back to modding XCom after finally trying OpenXcom

I already got how Rulesets work but I have a few questions regarding the original game's limits regarding maps:

1) Does the original limit of MCD entries still apply (256)? If not, what is the new limit?
2) Is it possible to create new rules for map block placement, like 2 N-S roads?
3) Related to the previous, is it possible to have 2 or more maps defined as a N-S and will the game choose randomly between both?
4) What are the height limits?
5) I supposed there's no way for the rulesets to use mapDataSets from both the UFO/TFTD games but might as well ask. Probably the best way is to convert the TFTD mapdatasets to the UFO palette.

And great work to everyone involved.

2100

Released Mods / Re: [MAPS] (UPDATE v1.4) Hobbes Terrain Mods for OpenXCom

« on: June 16, 2014, 03:05:25 am »

Hello everyone, I'm the Hobbes that designed these maps.

It was a real nice surprise to see Dawn City included on OpenXcom's video presentation since Luke83 asked me to include my mods on his site a while ago and I had completely forgotten about it until I saw the video. I never actually bothered to create rulesets or use  OpenXcom since my interest on the original X-Com has gone to a minimum since the remake came out.

It was even better coming to the forums and finding this post. Thanks a lot to civilian for converting the whole thing to OpenXcom. Seeing all those old terrains (in an easy way to use them other having to copy/paste the entire files!) was really nice

There were several questions asked about the terrains. I'll try my best to answer them.

Does the Mad City also contain the unrotated versions as possible blocks? That would be pretty good for variety, I think

No, the current file on my site does not have the unrotated versions due to copyright issues. I'd like to have both the unrotated versions and Mad City's versions so I'll look into this but from what I'm understanding from the ruleset files it should be easy.

may I use UFO2000 maps with OXP ?

Generally, no. UFO2000 did not require RMP maps for the AI to use and they also didn't had the limitations regarding the number of map blocks. I did convert a few (Dawn City, Native and Mad City) to be usable for the original game and those can be easily converted and used, and even expanded in some cases since the limit on map blocks seems to be gone on OXC so more maps can be added to both those terrains (but they still require the RMP files, which require some work).

Just the UFO2000 version of Dawn City had over 100 different map blocks, including a 9 level hotel, although many were simply repeats with a few features changed, so that the roads would fit (the UFO2000 version could have several roads being generated, including no exit roads). Adding a few of those to the current version of Dawn City is certainly possible.

As for the rest, I'd love to see Polis, Siberia and Mod Farm, but those will require quite some work since they were never converted to use for the original. The other maps might be possible (Railyard, Slums) but they mix UFO and TFTD terrains which can be a pain.

Are the Area51 tilesets ok? I just finished 2 big maps using them and if I have to scrap everything I'm going to kill myself.

Area51 was another huge project - around 90 maps on the UFO2000 version, had to be squashed to 18 for the original game. At one point it included an HWP factory building that was 40x40 but that I had to separate that into a different mod. I'd love to get back to it and fix its issues (graphics, etc.) but that is really in the back burner, plus any changes I made to the terrain files will be reflected on your maps, so I'll keep out of it. If you encounter any problems with the terrain files let me know.

The problem with the Dawn City terrain is that if you step in the roofs of the smaller row houses the game grashes. maybe because of a missing sound entry in the MCDs?

Just tried Dawn and I had 0 crashes while walking on the roofs. I checked the MCD files and that's not the problem. I don't know if Luke83 changed anything on the Dawn City MCDs while using them for his own terrain though.

With Port terrain it would help to know the exact tile that causes the crash.

I added to Tileset:UFO - Terrain a TFTD mission and MapView shows these maps , with the wrong palette, I Known, sigh.

What do you think about convert some TFTD file .PCK by a new version of  PCKView with some new function
that search in the UFO palette the color "nearest" than in  TFTD surface palette?

There's a converter that converts the palette on a TFTD terrain to UFO and vice-versa made by Bomb Bloke and available at StrategyCore, IIRC. I never tried it though since i used PCKView to redo the UFO PCK views and directly loading the TFTD separate BMP files into them while I was doing converting the Port terrain.

Great addition to OXC!! Took me awhile to learn the map, especially staying away from the factory buildings, because aliens always spawned on the second floor waiting to snipe you.