[CRAFT] Mi-24 Hind Craft

[Alex_D]

EDIT: Version 1.00 of the Mi-24 Hind is available for download at the end of this post. The ruleset integrates with XCF. Screenshots are attached.

So, while I kill some personal time, I'm trying to learn to create craft maps, using MapView and MCEdit. I'm also learning how to use SketchUp.

Then I decided, as usual "go big or go broke" and pick my favorite attack helicopter: The Mil Mi-24.

Luckly some fantastic modeller created a Mi-24 model in SketchUp, which I further modified to suit the game needs.

So, before I begin the tedious process of extracting the sprites, I ask which camouflage pattern or overall paint is the most popular for an X-Com mod. The options are attached. Other options can be considered by acclamation. The selected option was Camo Polish.

(Thanks to Solarius and BulletDesigner for these fantastic tips.)

Please also somebody confirm the correct palette is being used.

[Nord]

Look also at this

[efrenespartano]

I like a lot camo polish!

If you made this, I'll definitely use it on my mods. 7u7

Enviado desde mi Blade A510 mediante Tapatalk

[Alex_D]

Look also at this

Nice one. Is that an actual model?
I tried to load the Sprite palette and got weird colours matches. I'm afraid these RGBs are not on the palette.

[Nord]

Nice one. Is that an actual model?
I tried to load the Sprite palette and got weird colours matches. I'm afraid these RGBs are not on the palette.

No, it is a pixel-art from internet.

[niculinux]

I voted for camo green, but the polish one is really original, so go polish i guess 

[Alex_D]

Polish camo it is. Let's see if our Polish forum members do approve of it.

I'm also adding the X-Com logo and some nose art, because how dare you not having a craft without nose art! 

The transformation is slower than I expected. Assembling the PCK parts is a real puzzle.

[Solarius Scorch]

Whoa, good luck man. And thanks for your dedication. This shit is hard.

[Alex_D]

Whoa, good luck man. And thanks for your dedication. This shit is hard.

Yes. It's. It's hard to assemble the puzzle of the PCKs to give the illusion to the player that there is such vehicle.
There is also the issue of X-Com units not being proportional. Thus if I make the craft 2x4, so it can carry 8 troops, the if keeping the proportions the craft is unrealistically large (it's not the Mi-8 !  The downside is soldiers in huge armors kind of poke through the walls.

The floor tile is still an issue. Also some sprites need to be reworked to allow for a better interior rendering and looks. The plan view still looks ugly. But at least it plays (doesn't crash).
See the WIP screenshots.

Feedback is appreciated.

[Stoddard]

How very cool!

 - minimap needs some work obviously
 - UB-32 are typically of light metal color, not dark/black
 - Four of them are too much I think. A pair should maybe be swapped for fuel tanks, see here
 - a logo, if any, is I think best placed in front of the door (or behind the wing as was usually done)

all in all, great work.


edit: it also never had aerial refueling. the thing that sticks out of the nose is the pitot tube

edit2: also while it is theoretically possible to press 8 people into Mi-24 cabin, in practice that was never done.
so just make it 6.  and maybe make the walls a bit fluffier, they look too flat and this might help with armors poking out

edit3: this reminds me of Monster Hunter International and their deranged goblin Mi-24 pilot

[Nord]

By the way, someone knows about transport helicopter, suitable for 12-14 people?
I have thinked about mi-26, but it is too large to fit 10x10 or even 20x10.

[Alex_D]

- minimap needs some work obviously
 - UB-32 are typically of light metal color, not dark/black
 - Four of them are too much I think. A pair should maybe be swapped for fuel tanks, see here
 - a logo, if any, is I think best placed in front of the door (or behind the wing as was usually done)
edit: it also never had aerial refueling. the thing that sticks out of the nose is the pitot tube
edit2: also while it is theoretically possible to press 8 people into Mi-24 cabin, in practice that was never done.
so just make it 6.  and maybe make the walls a bit fluffier, they look too flat and this might help with armors poking out

Thanks for the feedback!
- Yes the minimap is still a very WIP. The objects placement, I realized, were not in perfect symmetry. I may need to add "fake" walkable objects just to fix that. 
- The pod rocket color and fuel tank. Good observation. I didn't modify that from the original SketchUp model. I'll check later if it isn't too late to change it.
- There is a logo where the left door is, which doesn't show as the door is in the open position. The previous post shows the whole thing rendered as imported into my Image Editor.
- It was a Pitot tube. LOL. I thought it was an extendable fuel probe. Indeed it's too small for this. I certainly don't know enough about the Mi-24. I only flew as a passenger in a Mi-8 way back. I can rework the UFOPaedia entry to avoid this and just saying that "... can land to refuel anywhere".
- Yes, the interior walls still need work. I could make two spots on the outside for the two pilots to be "exposed", as they access the craft from a door or hatch on the side (front left and rear right) and not through the cabin.

By the way, someone knows about transport helicopter, suitable for 12-14 people?
I have thinked about mi-26, but it is too large to fit 10x10 or even 20x10.

This map is on a 20 long x 10 wide. The blades barely fit. I had to skip a couple of tiles for the west-most rotor blade. If you find a model, you may need to make the craft map 20x20.

[Solarius Scorch]

There is nothing inherently wrong with a 20x20 craft. Just make sure that all maps can accommodate it.

[Stoddard]

By the way, someone knows about transport helicopter, suitable for 12-14 people?
I have thinked about mi-26, but it is too large to fit 10x10 or even 20x10.

They say one can stuff 26 passengers into a Mi-8MT. I am sceptical, but 14 should fit okay. It was designed to carry UAZ-469 jeeps after all, rear clamshell doors and all. Maybe a 3x5 inside space could work.

Mi-24 was in fact developed from Mi-8, so they are more or less the same size, Mi-8 being fatter, Mi-24 having painted teeth, both lifting about 4 tons of niceties.


Mi-26 on the other hand can carry 80+ people, it'd be the size of a battleship

[Alex_D]

The XCOM voxel is (2x16)x24 (or x40 if the whole height is considered). The ISO view is 1/2 V/H incline. Thus the side of the tile is sqrt ( (2x16/2)^2 + (1/2 x 2x16/2)^2 ) = sqrt ( 16^2+8^2 ) = sqrt(320) = 17.89 "pixels".

So in real world, roughly, what is the size of a battlescape tile? I estimated it to be around 1.2 m, or about 17.89 pixels wide. This means the height is 24/17.89x1.2 = 1.342x1.2 = 1.61 m. A bit too short.

This is so the SketchUp model I'm using can be escalated properly. I'm considering re-doing the Mi-24 to better accommodate the units inside, now I can do it faster. But then the soldiers look like midgets next to the craft. Completely different when compared to real life photos of people and the craft.

Then there is the issue of the ground starting tile that if offset (for realism), would leave an empty black diamond on the ground. In my previews, I masked them with white, for now. I'm thinking into just putting the classic green glowing tiles so to indicate these are starting tiles. I hope the player doesn't mind.