[Petition] some help to create an alien

[Angelus_EV]

Hi can i ask for a tutorial to create or edit a new Alien race, only the sprite part

[Solarius Scorch]

Hi can i ask for a tutorial to create or edit a new Alien race, only the sprite part

If all you need is about sprites, just download any mod that features a new armour (like for example my own Jump Armour mod) and make the same files (basically something like 283 sprites, a corpse and a bigob corpse).

[Warboy1982]

https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=XCOM_0.PCK
https://www.ufopaedia.org/index.php?title=SECTOID.PCK

to break it down:
it's divided into 14 basic sections, with 8 frames, 1 for each direction.

1: standing frames. divided into 3 sections for left arm, right arm and legs.
2: crouching legs (unused, aliens don't crouch)
3: male torso
4-11: 8 walking frames, again divided into left arm/right arm and legs.
12: various arms for holding/firing either one or two handed weapons (these override standing/walking arm frames)
  - right arm holding a one handed weapon
  - left arm supporting a 2 handed weapon (we also use this for holding a one handed weapon in the left hand)
  - right arm cradling a 2 handed weapon
  - right arm firing a weapon
13: death animation
14: female torso (unused, aliens are genderless)

[Solarius Scorch]

14: female torso (unused, aliens are genderless)

This should be fixed.

https://rule34-data-000.paheal.net/_images/2d09b4575df3c908b89c6f2d64e6bd42/338011%20-%20Grey%20Rule_63%20Sectoid%20X-COM%20alien.jpg (NSFW if you're in the USA)

[Warboy1982]

speaking of explicit material... it explicitly states in the ufopaedia flavour text that the aliens are genderless clones

[Dioxine]

Well back on topic, there are several drawing routines of sprites, and the human one is the most difficult one by far. Might be easier to start with the Ethereal/Civilian one, which has no separate arms or legs, just 9 frames times 8 facings + 3 death frames...

[Solarius Scorch]

speaking of explicit material... it explicitly states in the ufopaedia flavour text that the aliens are genderless clones

Yes, sadly

Well back on topic, there are several drawing routines of sprites, and the human one is the most difficult one by far. Might be easier to start with the Ethereal/Civilian one, which has no separate arms or legs, just 9 frames times 8 facings + 3 death frames...

For the sake of completeness, I'll add that a much bigger challenge would be to make a 2x2 unit (like tanks and some terror units). See here for some help.

[robin]

I do spritework like this (using Photoshop).

0. Install IrfanView.

1. Open my units_template.psd file.
. . It is based on the X-Com soldier spritesheet, which is the one with the highest number of frames, so  every other spritesheet is as big or smaller than it.
. . I made "sections" for all the frames so it automatically creates all the separate frame images instead of the big image (see further).
. . (I attached it at the bottom of this post).

2. Import the spritesheet neeeded (in the template I included the CIVM.PCK as example) and make sure to have the right palette open.
. . You can find the palette for photoshop somewhere on this forum.

3. Create a new layer (or duplicate, if you just want to modify an existing unit) and draw.

4. When fished drawing, turn off all the work layers and keep only the new unit graphics.

5. Cut the image to the size of the spritesheet needed (in the CIVM.PCK example, I would cut away all the portion of the image without the green background).
. . And then delete any background color the sprite may have (in the CIVM example: the green color).

6. Activate the "frame_GRID" layer.
. . At this point what the image should look as is: the sprites of the  unit, on transparent background, "caged" inside a purple grid.
. . "Save for web"

7. IMPORTANT: make sure to have selected all the selections of the image.

8. When all is selected, set the parameters: gif, no dithering, transparency, import palette and select "Battle.act". Then save in the chosen folder.

9. Saving will create a subfolder with all the images for the frames, already divided, inside it.
. . For technical reason it creates also image files for the spaces between the frames, so you'll have a lot of files.

10.Go to the folder and select the "big thumbnail" view. Delete all the image files with the purple line inside; KEEP all the empty image files.

11.Open IrfanView. file > Batch Conversion\Rename.

12. Make sure to have selected "Batch rename" on the top left.
. . Go to the folder and select all the image files, then select "Add All".
. . Then "Sort" them "by Name (ascending, natural)".
. . Make sure to have the right name pattern, it must end with: "_###" (example: "CIVM2_###", for a new male civilian unit).
. . "Start Batch"
. . Now the ascending numeration is again smooth, starting from "_000".

And done. The rest is the ruleset.

[Angelus_EV]

wow thx!

[hszp]

I do spritework like this (using Photoshop).
...
And done. The rest is the ruleset.

Ok, I copied this one to the wiki including the template. Any objections?

[robin]

Ok, I copied this one to the wiki including the template. Any objections?

No objections.