Caffeinated Xcom [Concept Only ATM]

[Wolfstarr]

How does everyone get such good quality screenshots, I am very jealous as the screenshot key doesn't work for me

What settings are you using?

Thanks in advance

[SuperCaffeineDude]

I'm afraid I'm using Print-Screen Key, which I paste into GIMP  .

Using GIMP though you can scale the sprites. I'd copy them and paste them as a layer, then go to the Layer tool-option, swap from px to percent and scale it to a figure of 100 i.e. 300%, only be sure to turn Interpolation from Cubic to None to keep the pixels crisp and unblurred.

Then you can fool around with overlays, backgrounds and such in your other layers till you get something cool. I like to use a dark background and overlay a gradient at a low opacity, but whatever floats your boat.

I'm not too sure what to say about the battlefield screenshots really, I think your best option is going to be resolving your screenshot issue, try really hammering down that key and tab out and paste the result in Paint or something. Otherwise there must be a freeware version of something like FRAPS that you can hook up the a hotkey to take in-game photos.

My game options are at 1280x800, with 2x Geoscape and Battlescape scale, in fullscreen.

Hope that helps dude

[SuperCaffeineDude]

Not really been doing much on this project, here's some finished alien paperdolls (though I  think my floater could use a chestplate as he looks like a strawberry ice-cream)

I was kind of thinking it'd be cool if the Ethereals had a gun that in someway was psionic based, and that it might be cool if they carried deadman switches as cloak brooches, I remember on one mission I attacked a large landed Ethereal ship and just stunned the 1st bugger I saw and legged it to go study psionics.

I was also thinking it'd be neat to have roided up TFDD-esk monsters present on the final mission, make it less of a victory-lap, and eat up ammo.
I also like the idea of getting-rid-of/shrinking the backpack slot, to make picking up people/aliens/artifacts more of a hindrance.
I've been kind of frustrated by what I presume is a 2x3 item size restriction concept wise, representing longer/larger weapons seems difficult, is this hard-set? I haven't taken a look through the weapon files for a while now.

I worked on human paperdoll-variants a while ago, the problem was I hadn't settled on the armor designs, so modifying everything was getting clunky. I need to come up with a better way of organising how I do this, maybe by having unarmored bodies in a folder, heads overlays in another, and armor overlays in another.

Spoiler:

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R_8LyMM4mJs/WaVg2xPz6FI/AAAAAAAADqY/ugjB9enhvqI8iCjKYj1BNUMf7vZQPPPkQCLcBGAs/s1600/Showcase4.png

Obviously haven't touched the project for a while now though so this is probably all my thoughts for this year lol. I'd like to mod in a mop, I think it'd be funny to have some janitors, maybe that'll be my goal this year.

[Golafre]

It looks great, but I don't find the download link anywhere.   
Is it available?

[SuperCaffeineDude]

I'm sorry, I'm a pretty bad procrastinator and I haven't consolidated the project into something presentable yet. Thank you for your interest though, I hopefully will get something worked out in a couple of months.

Currently it's just a uniform mod, so maybe I'll release it in parts, i.e. caffeinated: uniforms/shields/paperdolls/aliens/etc on the forum.

[Golafre]

I'm sorry, I'm a pretty bad procrastinator and I haven't consolidated the project into something presentable yet. Thank you for your interest though, I hopefully will get something worked out in a couple of months.

Currently it's just a uniform mod, so maybe I'll release it in parts, i.e. caffeinated: uniforms/shields/paperdolls/aliens/etc on the forum.

I think is a nice uniform mod anyway. I'll encourage for your work. Thanks. 

[SuperCaffeineDude]

So hi again, been more than a year it seems, I'm still really just doing paperdolls and fanfic, lost some progress after swapping computers, and there's just too many hobbies not enough time for them all  . Have been lurking though, and love seeing what everyone is doing.

So basically I'm digging through my old data trying to find my spritework, but conceptually I'd like to change a few things...

Kratonians (Mutons)
Looking for files, basically keeping them as was depicted, I like the idea of combining them with the floaters as it makes them more of an alien equivalent to your own troops, I'd probably add a few types of Kratonian, I like the idea of having a few clans of them (elite, conventional, beast-masters, berserker)

Shelled-ones (TFTD monsters)
Changing, feels bloated, I'm thinking a lobsterman would be way way cooler if he was a 4 tile beasty, with suited "sectoids" as backup, and 1 tile en masse jellyfish (perhaps hard to see)

Slogutis/Wyrm (Snakemen)
Changing, looks generic, I'm thinking they'll be depicted as blind with bat-like ears, and they are to be much weaker to sonic damage, there will be 4 types, Matriarch, Drone, Drone (Fertile), Offspring.
On death of a fertile drone (not distinguishable from a standard drone), the Wyrm will release offspring, ideally more than 1 unit. This kind of relates to the original lore of them being full of eggs and breeding so quickly.

Geminae (Sectoids)
Basically the same, I'd like to adjust the sprites to make them appear smaller, I'd like to have their bases contain eggs that trigger on proximity, they would spawn a Youngling that fights with claws, any "thinmen" agents would be alluded to being their kin rather than that of the snakemen



Defilers (Chryssalids)
A bit different, arguably less tough, I kind of feel that converting a person to a chryssalid so quickly is a bit meh, ideally I'm thinking that I'd have a 100% initial spawn ratio of fertile chryssalids and have them spawn acid spitting & popping zombies that spawn infertile chryssalids using the civilians and their enemies



Deathbugs (Creepers)
So xcom doesn't really have a suicide unit, and I thought hey how would a minecraft creeper work irl, I'm kind of on the fence how this would fit into the lore, but I like the idea of the creeper waddling towards your dudes, maybe spitting acid, before exploding into "smoke" inside which is a swarm of man-eating locusts. I guess I could have 3 units the Deathswarm, Deathwasp (conventional flying melee/acid spitter), Deathbomber (Ground based suicide unit).



Eldritch (Etherials)
Again not changing much in concept, but I would like them to be less conventional, as stated I like the idea of a live-bomb being dropped when they die, as it makes them harder to obtain, maybe even a special base facility is needed to contain them, I also like the idea of them having a shield

The Collective (Calcinite)
Calcinite is a bit of a weird alien, it's an alien ooze that seems to only exist in deep-sea-diver outfit that somehow has claws. So instead I'm thinking it has an alien-made suit that on-death releases a goo-monster, that maybe can suffer two more "deaths" where it gets smaller, or it could zombify an enemy (wearing them as its suit) killing the original unit. I'll probably change the viewing port to be more reminiscent of the old diving suit.



That's all for now, probably 2019 lol, hope everyone is having a great year

[Docent]

I want this disruptor-armor!!!

[efrenespartano]

Some really nice sprites, mate. Looking forward to see more!

I hope you make a download available soon! 

P.S. SG_Barton bring me here.  xD

[SuperCaffeineDude]

So I've had some polite inquiries about using X/Y/Z, thank you for those, as mentioned I have lost a lot the work I did (broken laptop) on specifically the xcom armor &  the armor sprite sheets.
On top of this though, I'd like really like to release something a little new (aesthetically at least) for everyone when I have it in a state I can be proud of, so to an extent I am refraining from trickling out stuff I'm working on. (for now)

Hope that's cool!



I believe someone mentioned the disruptor-armor not being bulky enough, they all kind of lack a sense of proper proportion compared to their unarmored wearers. As you can see I haven't properly shaded everything, but I'm much happier with the proportions now (though 2 of them maybe need bigger helmets), especially liking the way the bolt-armor looks now, and I'm liking having the traditional PA larger than the others.

Perhaps I'll have the traditional armor have the highest protection and strength buff, the bolt acting as an inbetween, and the disruptor as a lighter unit with an energy shield.

My Defiler Nymph is a little bloodier, maybe he'll get a light blue carapace rather than the pink flesh.

I think I may prefer the protruding head of the Calcinite prior, so I may mix those two designs. And maybe do a BIG-DADDY verient with a vibroblade.

The "creeper" I'm going to change to be a little more like the "Waspite", as funny as I found the reference, it was out of place, I will make them a little less outlandish though, perhaps they can replace the floater as the aerial force, with the ballistic resistant swarms > acid spitting waspites (shotgun) > party-popping waspites (smoke>death>swarm). The floaters as mentioned can go to the mutons.

Spoiler:

The feathered creature is a bit of an experiment, I like the idea of having them as alien-refugees that will join you post mission, but are pretty glass cannon. Perhaps there could be a few recruitment missions unlocked by a research "The Enemy of my Enemy" or something like that.

That's all for now!

[Docent]

I believe someone mentioned the disruptor-armor not being bulky enough, they all kind of lack a sense of proper proportion compared to their unarmored wearers.

I planned to make cyborgs out of it for myself, so I was completely satisfied with the proportions . It is sad that you have lost a lot of materials

[SuperCaffeineDude]

Lol, it's no worries, I should of backed them up    it gives me a chance to rethink though.

Well tbh if anyone wishes to they may take from these old paperdolls I found a while ago, including the old disruptor armor, I'm not using these designs...

Spoiler:

I think I'm going to change the disruptor to more of a motorcycle-rider style maybe have a lighter and heavier version...

Spoiler:

As mentioned I like the idea of making lobstermen 4 tiles (bit tougher, with a meaty shooter), and giving them 1 tile jellyfish (maybe (all/some??) acting like half-life's headcrabs/ rather than just another chrysalid), but it's all just conceptual atm.

Perhaps first thing I'll do is adjust the Sectoid sprites, make them a bit smaller, and after that...
I'm kind of taken by the idea of having a soldier-type of children, for civilians as well, I kind of want to capture the morbid manga style you sometimes get (AttackOnTitan/Gantz/etc), and I'd like to have them in special recruitment missions. They'll be harder to hit, train quicker, but be weaker and deal more morale damage on death (and the score).

[wcho035]

Mr CaffeineDude dude you are heck of an artist. How about doing some Stargate sprites? Like Jaffa Warriors and Death Gliders? Instead of using old stuff from TFTD?

[SuperCaffeineDude]

Mr CaffeineDude dude you are heck of an artist. How about doing some Stargate sprites? Like Jaffa Warriors and Death Gliders? Instead of using old stuff from TFTD?

Thank you, I did university based on computer-games-art, now I work as a confectionery baker   lol, so this is an outlet.

Star-gate isn't my jam but also I'm not looking to have the actual IP of other franchises. With TFTD certain units are just iconic, they can be reimagined but they'll always be a part of the Xcom franchise, the closest I'd come to Jaffa-Warriors is probably my own take on EXALT and the Advent from modern Xcom. Vaguely I would kind of like to have the mod replace all existing IP with community/my-own inspired material (perhaps in case of opexcom receiving a "cease and desist"), so that is my focus atm.

(With that said I'd like to make small references to elements of post 80's/pre-2000's pop-culture (power-rangers/TMNT/misc-cartoons, punk/glam-rock movement, arcades, blockbusters))

However, I'm not opposed to contributing assets towards other projects, if you (or anyone) are maybe alluding to a project you'd like help with, but I won't commit to much beyond the odd paperdoll  (I get distracted enough and sprite-work is a bog).

[SuperCaffeineDude]

Just moved, been without internet  , I've attached an image of more of what I'm working on,

The chosen: indoctrinated child warriors of the ethereals.

The Manti: a race of suicidal bugs, led by the Gelded, a upper class not so driven by hormones

The kratonian thrall (floater) is being modified to look less ice-cream like, I'm slowly redrawing the old images from screenshots.

Question, has anyone tried only recruiting from missions in their mods? (no soldiers can be bought) And how do you find it?

Also fatigue, is this ingame? (I saw extended has Mana. maybe I could use instead??)