[Submod] Stuffiez - nice cute things

[mikKoi]

Submod for X-Piratez, contains ~100 modified basic sprites, remodels and custom-made redesigns

Changelog:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Kv6HN-XiHl8W_69BKijv3hoGuoVDH-8u/view?usp=share_link

Download:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pzxqz3Ab7vnXQw2HCxzl3pAMshPFTOrW?usp=sharing

Blogger: [NSFW]
https://xpiratez-stuffiez.blogspot.com

[mikKoi]

Hi,

I come from ~5 years experience of vector 2D-animation background and these are my noobie experiments in pixel drawing. I have played tactical turn based squad leading games since the Jagged Alliance, which is still my all time favourite PC game because of the characters (and nostalgia).

I haven't got far in the XPiratez's campaign/lore but I really like the mod's variety in features, mechanics with logic, atmosphere and funny designs.

Thanks for reading, there is some more bla bla and overflowing cuteness in my blog!

[Dioxine]

Wow, really nice stuff! I like it!
Regarding the Baller - he's perfect. What I used was simply a Spaceballs mod one guy did, and recolored the helmet to red, lol. (And ofc made corpse and inv pic from other scraps to fit)

[mikKoi]

I just got out the first version of the first part of my first custom tileset study project named Nightcity69 and it's downloadable as public domain. 💪

[Finnik]

Thats a cute terrain. But how do you want to integrate it to mapscript, so it would be connected to another road blocks?

[mikKoi]

I’m not yet familiar with the OpenXcom scripting. Been hustling with game engines before and planning at some point to get know-hows about viewing maps in battlescape at day and night.

My tileset release only contains files from MCDEdit. I used those in MapView2 to build that presentation with 10x10 mapblocks in mind, assuming that there then will be different possibilities when connecting them to get bigger (random) maps.

[Finnik]

I was asking because it is pretty complicated task even if you are familiar to map scripting because of how `addLine` command works. And every script command does not know about the adjacent blocks. Can be done only with combination with 'checkBlock` command, I think ohartenstein23 uses this approach. But it makes the script very bulky, and it would not be able to scale itself to the map size. Things go even worse if you want 2x2 blocks. Sadly, `addLine` does not like blocks bigger than 1x1. I tried to change that, but I can't handle crossroads case.
I wanted to make something like this, but end up with that we do not have enough tools, this needs way more complex map generation.

[mikKoi]

👍Thanks for the info! Oh, yes it's bit of a pity, but that’s what I get when just assuming unlimited possibilities to be. I’m still in a good belief that crossroads can be built in/on a big single block.

[Finnik]

I would really like to know dev's opinion about the problem. Could there be some changes, if more or less complicated ideas are welcome here. I'm aware of this is not easy for both to design and to code, I personally made some attempts to alter map generation process, and it was pretty painful. And for now I can't see any easy solution 

I'd look into xcom2 map generation process  for inspiration, as AFAIK it solves the problem of map blocks relations.

[mikKoi]

I was thinking of a little workaround to gain some random goodness in map creation. This really isn’t what randomness is all about.. and actually is terribly manually repetitive (so very very vulnerable to humane errors), but I would do it now like this:

• Make helluva lotta of basic 10x10 maps
• Draw some kind of visual grid note out of them
• Design maps using those notes (with some topdown tilemap editor?)
• Copy/paste map blocks one by one onto bigger maps like “maptiles”
• Have a damn big set of big maps made out of smaller ones

I don’t yet even know if MapView allows this kinda operations.

[kevL]

I was thinking of a little workaround to gain some random goodness in map creation. This really isn’t what randomness is all about.. and actually is terribly manually repetitive (so very very vulnerable to humane errors), but I would do it now like this:

• Make helluva lotta of basic 10x10 maps
• Draw some kind of visual grid note out of them
• Design maps using those notes (with some topdown tilemap editor?)
• Copy/paste map blocks one by one onto bigger maps like “maptiles”
• Have a damn big set of big maps made out of smaller ones

I don’t yet even know if MapView allows this kinda operations.

yes and NO. (mostly no)

XCOM was originally designed to place 10x10 or 20x20 mapblocks randomly. The openXcom engine(s) support this and have extended things somewhat -- but only somewhat. It should be, technically, possible to build mapblocks in MapView that are ... uh, 100x100 ... and perhaps the engine can place that block and only that block, and there you get your pre-instanced Map. Then you could maybe make a bunch of those to get what you're suggesting above. But MapView will become too slow and cumbersome to use as a mapblock is increased in size ... there's no hard limit but rather than trying to build huge mapblocks in MapView i suggest rather learning the benefits and limitations of OpenXcom's map-scripts, and keep your mapblocks as small as possible to achieve what you want,

Hobbes, for example, put together some remarkable mapblocks, that fit together in very specific ways (the INDUSTRIAL tileset, iirc) using OxC/e map-scripts

[mikKoi]

Ok, yes, and I could imagine what pain in the arse it could be setting all those unit routes in big laggy maps. The problem with my creative desires seems to be a need for too much control and customization even though I knew that Xcom is all about randomness and I should just go with that (flow). I will take my time to explore mapscripts and if I find them too limited for me, I just stick with graphics and do my (more demanding) level designs somewhere else.

Thank you for your kind answer.

[Finnik]

I was thinking of a little workaround to gain some random goodness in map creation. This really isn’t what randomness is all about.. and actually is terribly manually repetitive (so very very vulnerable to humane errors), but I would do it now like this:

• Make helluva lotta of basic 10x10 maps
• Draw some kind of visual grid note out of them
• Design maps using those notes (with some topdown tilemap editor?)
• Copy/paste map blocks one by one onto bigger maps like “maptiles”
• Have a damn big set of big maps made out of smaller ones

I don’t yet even know if MapView allows this kinda operations.

You will have troubles with spawning xcom craft and ufo, as they need specific place for them, so you will have to keep holes.
I have some experience with making huge semi-fixed maps for my project, and I can share my conclusions after finishing some maps like that:
1) Sorry to say, but MapView can't really handle big map blocks. I made a block with 80x60 size, and lags were a pain. But the game itself can support it, so you can use MapEditor instead.
2) You either can't use map features, that should be connected to south or east borders of the map (like roads, for example), or you should forget about random size for your terrain, that would limit its usage.

Also, your plan looks to me like very boring work with copy-paste, the process is not super handy for both MapView and MapEditor...

[mikKoi]

What XPiratez base GUI could be if made in 512x320 pixels? I find that so intriguing that I had to check it out.

If done like in attachment, the most interesting thing is that merging hands/vessels, research/manufacture and blackmarket/fence as own tabs, there will be two unused tabs, and with tab aspect ratio 2:3, there could be five new usable tab slots.

What would they contain? Nobody knows

[Yankes]

What XPiratez base GUI could be if made in 512x320 pixels? I find that so intriguing that I had to check it out.

If done like in attachment, the most interesting thing is that merging hands/vessels, research/manufacture and blackmarket/fence as own tabs, there will be two unused tabs, and with tab aspect ratio 2:3, there could be five new usable tab slots.

What would they contain? Nobody knows

OXCE need to work in 320x200 as it was in original game, because of this there can't be new screens that do not fit this base restitution.
Of corse this is not that this is impossible to do but simply its outside of scope of OXCE.