Want to help?

[Solarius Scorch]

I am occasionally approached by modders who ask me if I could use some help. Every time I'm really happy, but I rarely am able to answer, because my working process is not really organized towards modularity. (I still managed to get help from Nord - a wonderful artist, thanks! - and waiting on some content from other people.) Therefore I have started this thread to write what resources or other help I need.

So, here's some things I would like to see added, but I don't have the time to focus on them for now due to working on critical features:

1. Space Shield. I would like to make a version of the Power Suit with a shield, but it must be suitably spacey. Anyone wants to give it a try?
2. Powered Dogs. You want power armour dogs, you make power armour dogs, because there's no way I'm going to find the time to sprite them. Also goes for other such units.
3. Machinery tilesets. I mean devices which are at least 2x2 tiles big. They are useful for all sorts of things. This includes arcane stuff like technomagical portals.
4. New faces.

This list will be edited as needed.
The participants are promised immortal fame and a nice mention in the readme!

[HelmetHair]

heh

[Solarius Scorch]

I think I may be looking at a potential XCF splash screen...

[Dr.Crowley]

I think I may be looking at a potential XCF splash screen...

...or even a joke research!

[tkzv]

Forrester + dye for pants and boots + luchador's hat (with brim cut) + sleeves = farmer.

Somehow, their absence irks me the most.

[Solarius Scorch]

Forrester + dye for pants and boots + luchador's hat (with brim cut) + sleeves = farmer.

Somehow, their absence irks me the most.

Awesome! Many thanks!

[tkzv]

Hunter is a farmer dyed green and with a bit wider sleeves.

[Solarius Scorch]

Hunter is a farmer dyed green and with a bit wider sleeves.

This will definitely do!
Many thanks for these paperdolls, they are a godsend.

[tkzv]

Resources/Armors_Compilation/Swimwear/Inventory/MAN_27F22.png has an extra swimsuit. Erased.

Resources/Armors_Compilation/JumpArmor/Inventory/man_5m14.png
and
Resources/Armors_Compilation/JumpArmor/Inventory/man_5m14 (2).png
are identical. Is this an error?

All male pictures in Resources/Armors_Compilation/Synthsuit/Inventory/ are identical. Same for female pictures. Did you plan to add faces someday?

Resources/FactionsPack/MenInBlack/inventory_MIB_STORMTROOPER.png
and
Resources/FactionsPack/MenInBlack/MIB4.png
are the same, only inventory_MIB_STORMTROOPER.png has Ufopaedia background.

How about making Black Lotus warriors and assassins visibly different? For example, assassins stay black, warriors become grey or brown. Yes, I mean recolouring Resources/FactionsPack/BlackLotus/BLACK_LOTUS_WARRIOR.png

Who else needs inventory pictures? I compiled the list of sprite animations and floor objects ("floorob_*" and "bigob*") that have no corresponding "inventory_*" file:

• ARAB, BEDUIN, BEDUIN_WARRIOR, maybe FEMALE_ARAB.
• BIKINI_BABE
• ARMY_ARMORED_CAR
• BADASS_CHRYSSALID
• BLACK_LOTUS_AVATAR
• CENTURION — never saw those; are they used?
• CEREBREAL_LARVA
• CYBERMITE
• DOCTOR — or is another picture used?
• DRONE
• FENRIR — the picture doesn't fit with the rest, but that can wait. And it's beyond my capabilities, anyway.
• Floaters, except commander and soldier: engineer, leader, navigator, medic.
• JANISSARY
• JARHEAD, JARHEAD_PRETENDER.
• LARGE_DRONE
• MAGMA_ROBOTANK
• MIBTANKS
• MYSTEK, TECHNOMAD, SPACE_TECHNOMAD.
• OBLITERATOR
• POLARNIK — I've seen at least 2 other very similar civilian characters in parkas of different colours and without inventory pictures. Who could they be? — Answer: same set of sprites recoloured by the engine.
• POLICEMAN, POLICEWOMAN.
• POSTAL0, POSTAL1, POSTAL2.
• PRIEST
• ROBOSPHERE, ROBOTURRET_LASER.
• SEEKER_DRONE
• Snakemen other than soldier: beastmaster, engineer, navigator, leader, commander.
• SUPERLASKA
• TECHNICIAN — not needed, already there as inventory_FEMALE_TECHNICIAN.png and inventory_MALE_TECHNICIAN.png.

In addition to that, some armours could be redone without helmets: BioExoSUit, HazmatArmor, PolarArmor, Synthsuit, ToxiSuit.

[Solarius Scorch]

Resources/Armors_Compilation/Swimwear/Inventory/MAN_27F22.png has an extra swimsuit. Erased.

Wow, that was sloppy of me.

Resources/Armors_Compilation/JumpArmor/Inventory/man_5m14.png
and
Resources/Armors_Compilation/JumpArmor/Inventory/man_5m14 (2).png
are identical. Is this an error?

I probably dragged the file at some point to create a copy without noticing it. It's junk.

All male pictures in Resources/Armors_Compilation/Synthsuit/Inventory/ are identical. Same for female pictures. Did you plan to add faces someday?

Eh? But these are helmets 0_0

Resources/FactionsPack/MenInBlack/inventory_MIB_STORMTROOPER.png
and
Resources/FactionsPack/MenInBlack/MIB4.png
are the same, only inventory_MIB_STORMTROOPER.png has Ufopaedia background.

This is rather convoluted... Stormtrooper inventory is inventory_MIB5.png anyway, the ones you mentioned don't seem to be relevant at all. I'll disentangle this later.

How about making Black Lotus warriors and assassins visibly different? For example, assassins stay black, warriors become grey or brown. Yes, I mean recolouring Resources/FactionsPack/BlackLotus/BLACK_LOTUS_WARRIOR.png

I could do that, but I enjoy the confusion.

Who else needs inventory pictures? I compiled the list of sprite animations and floor objects ("floorob_*" and "bigob*") that have no corresponding "inventory_*" file:

• ARAB, BEDUIN, BEDUIN_WARRIOR, maybe FEMALE_ARAB.
• BIKINI_BABE
• ARMY_ARMORED_CAR
• BADASS_CHRYSSALID
• BLACK_LOTUS_AVATAR
• CENTURION — never saw those; are they used?
• CEREBREAL_LARVA
• CYBERMITE
• DOCTOR — or is another picture used?
• DRONE
• FENRIR — the picture doesn't fit with the rest, but that can wait. And it's beyond my capabilities, anyway.
• Floaters, except commander and soldier: engineer, leader, navigator, medic.
• JANISSARY
• JARHEAD, JARHEAD_PRETENDER.
• LARGE_DRONE
• MAGMA_ROBOTANK
• MIBTANKS
• MYSTEK, TECHNOMAD, SPACE_TECHNOMAD.
• OBLITERATOR
• POLARNIK — I've seen at least 2 other very similar civilian characters in parkas of different colours and without inventory pictures. Who could they be?
• POLICEMAN, POLICEWOMAN.
• POSTAL0, POSTAL1, POSTAL2
• PRIEST
• ROBOSPHERE, ROBOTURRET_LASER.
• SEEKER_DRONE
• Snakemen other than soldier: beastmaster, engineer, navigator, leader, commander.
• SUPERLASKA
• TECHNICIAN

It's a great list. Some notes:
* Army Armored Car uses Armored Car paperdoll, so no need to do anything
* Yes, Centurions are used (or rather will be)
* Not sure what you mean by other civilians in parkas. I think I only have one male and one female in winter clothes (and of course X-Com winter gear)

Otherwise I think you are completely correct. These paperdolls do not exist.

In addition to that, some armours could be redone without helmets: BioExoSUit, HazmatArmor, PolarArmor, Synthsuit, ToxiSuit.

Sure, but I'm not doing this XD I don't really care that much myself, but if anyone wants to have helmetless versions, sure, go for it.

EDIT:fixed the Stormtrooper inventory issue.

[tkzv]

Forgot to attach the image without the swimsuit. Here it is. Attached it to the previous post.

As for differently coloured polarniks, here are two. The green one is from POLARNIK.png The brown one is the same recoloured, but I didn't find the corresponding sprites. The savefile calls them STR_MALE_CIVILIAN_POLARNIK and STR_FEMALE_CIVILIAN_POLARNIK (no idea which is which). I've also seen a dark blue one.

Both point at POLARNIK.PCK, which uses Resources/CiviliansPack/Specialists/POLARNIK.png. Can the engine recolour the sprites?

Update: Here's the blue one. It's also STR_FEMALE_CIVILIAN_POLARNIK.

Update 2: There are also red, purple, light blue...

Update 3: Even if it's possible to recolour the sprites, not sure if it would work for inventory picture. Attaching the polar suit pictures. Based on X-COM polar "armor". If you need more recolours, just ask
Note to self: Red is the starting colour, green is 73, purple is 202, light level to 32.

[tkzv]

Superlaska is MAN_28F5.png with bleached hair. The panties were the hardest part — I had to actually draw them.

Cerebreal larva was cut from Ufopaedia picture. I only removed the blue flames from under the disk (or whatever they were).

POSTAL1 — the homicidal soldier — can use Resources/CiviliansPack/Army/inventory_MALE_OFFICER_SOLDIER.png

[Solarius Scorch]

Many thanks for everything, it's going straight to the mod.

Just for clarification, yes, the engine can and does recolour units to specified alternatives at random. However, there is no way to arrange these recolours to the appropriate inventory picture (except for making whole separate units). But I think it's okay to have just one colour paperdoll for all sprite variants, it's an approximation after all.

[tkzv]

By the way, you may want to check the picture for adult Cerebreal too. For some reason they don't work for me.

[Solarius Scorch]

By the way, you may want to check the picture for adult Cerebreal too. For some reason they don't work for me.

Good point. The graphics were never added to armour. Fixed.