[Submod] Alternate Starting Troops for X-Piratez

[John___Doe]

I have created a basic submod to facilitate starting X-Piratez with different troops than the standard six lunatics.
Download link: https://github.com/JoeGalt/Alt-Start

Updated to 2.5: Research cost of Guide to Catgirls corrected to match Soldier: Catgirl. Disciples of Twilight have Thin Man armor. Girl Guides have durasuits. Added Red Dawn Theurge.

This submod adds 18 Wooden Apples to the starting base inventory, and new manufacturing options for recruiting the following soldier types. These replacements will have the Escaped Lunatic condemnation.

3 Wooden Apples:
-Hero
-Girl Guide (with durasuit)
-Theban Assault Catgirl
-Freak

2 Wooden Apples:
-Assault Clone (with aqua suit)
-Wild Gnome
-Disciple of Twilight (Bugeye with Thin Man armor)
-Red Dawn Theurge (Damsel with Nun outfit)
-Ogre
-Former Commando

1 Wooden Apple:
-Catgirl
-Damsel
-Bloodhound
-Lokk'Naar

When recruiting gnomes or catgirls this way, a new item will also be produced (Guide to Gnomes/Catgirls) which when researched provides the Soldier: Gnome/Catgirl tech.
The purpose of this is to allow for some armors to be researched for these troops in a reasonable time, as it is very possible not to reach this for these units for a very long time
in normal play.

Note that there is a hardcoded transfer time of 24 hours for each trooper produced via manufacturing, so I have left the six lunatics in case a mission comes up before the replacements arrive. The lunatics will need to be dismissed manually.

I recommend hiding the manufacturing recruitment options after you have used the apples, or disabling the submod.

[Dakkon]

Would it be too much trouble to add an option for starting with freak gals in this way? I like the concept a lot personally, the main mod could really use alternate starts as the setting is rich enough where themed play-throughs could be a lot of fun.

[John___Doe]

Would it be too much trouble to add an option for starting with freak gals in this way? I like the concept a lot personally, the main mod could really use alternate starts as the setting is rich enough where themed play-throughs could be a lot of fun.

Good idea, and now I'm a little disappointed I didn't think of that myself. Added with version 2.2 among other changes.

[Dakkon]

Recently tried out the mod with the new release and got a crash when trying to view the inventory of new hands recruited with the mod. After I finished producing the items to recruit the new hands (1 freak, 1 hero, and some gnomes) and those hands arrived, the game would crash upon either viewing the inventory of those hands from the HANDS menu, or through adding them to a vessel and then trying to view their inventory in that way. The only mods I have active are the main mod, city lore, and the alternative start.

The Popup for the crash referenced a missing image in BIGOBS.PCK for ST_GNOME_GUIDE. I've included a save file below. Seems like a simple fix, but maybe the other image for the other race guides is missing too.

[wolfreal]

A quick turnaround is modifying the items.rul file, commenting the bigsprite and floorsprite attribute for the items. The drawback of this is that you lose the item graphic. I tried using some others numbers existing in the   - type: BIGOBS.PCK from piratez mod, but it does not work. It seems like there is not inheritance of the extrasprites from the master mod... but I'm not sure about that.

[John___Doe]

A quick turnaround is modifying the items.rul file, commenting the bigsprite and floorsprite attribute for the items. The drawback of this is that you lose the item graphic. I tried using some others numbers existing in the   - type: BIGOBS.PCK from piratez mod, but it does not work. It seems like there is not inheritance of the extrasprites from the master mod... but I'm not sure about that.

Thank you wolfreal, you've saved me a lot of time. I copied the numbers from the golden apple, and I see you used the same as the (regular) apple uses. Do you know why the golden apple values caused a crash but the apple values do not?

Recently tried out the mod with the new release and got a crash when trying to view the inventory of new hands recruited with the mod. After I finished producing the items to recruit the new hands (1 freak, 1 hero, and some gnomes) and those hands arrived, the game would crash upon either viewing the inventory of those hands from the HANDS menu, or through adding them to a vessel and then trying to view their inventory in that way. The only mods I have active are the main mod, city lore, and the alternative start.

The Popup for the crash referenced a missing image in BIGOBS.PCK for ST_GNOME_GUIDE. I've included a save file below. Seems like a simple fix, but maybe the other image for the other race guides is missing too.

You are correct, it was caused by the added items being set up incorrectly. wolfreals fix worked when I tested it, and I have updated the submod to include it.

[wolfreal]

Thank you wolfreal, you've saved me a lot of time. I copied the numbers from the golden apple, and I see you used the same as the (regular) apple uses. Do you know why the golden apple values caused a crash but the apple values do not?


You are correct, it was caused by the added items being set up incorrectly. wolfreals fix worked when I tested it, and I have updated the submod to include it.

Hey John___Doe

I would not call it a fix. I mean, it worked. But now the items have no graph on inventory neither in battlescape.
I just commented bigsprite and floorsprite attribute. (Meaning they're not used)
The numbers are changed but that was because I was doing a test.
Sadly, it is outside of my knowledge why using the floorsprite and bigsprite attribute from the main mod does not work.

 

[John___Doe]

Updated to 2.5. Some minor changes, and the file has been moved from the thread OP to github.
https://github.com/JoeGalt/Alt-Start

2.5: Research cost of Guide to Catgirls corrected to match Soldier: Catgirl. Disciples of Twilight have Thin Man armor. Girl Guides have durasuits. Added Red Dawn Theurge.

[Delian]

The Theban Assault Catgirl is an ultimate endgame supersoldier, it's not something you're supposed to start with.

This mod has some potential, for instance, to start with catgirls instead of ubers, but you messed up the balancing badly. It's less of a "starting with alternative units" and more of a "cheat by starting with overpowered endgame units".