[ALIENS] The Dalek Invasion of XCom

[Cirius]

(This project has now been rolled into the U.N.I.T. Operations project, located https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php/topic,5666.0.html)




Based on the Mk 1 dalek travel machine, I've had to make a few compromises with respect to accuracy due to pixel limitations. However, I am quite pleased with the result. It's been tried in-game in Xcom 2000, and whilst I'm no artist, it doesn't look too out of place.

Dalek Variants


UNIT Service Revolver



I originally made this to be used for the XCOM 2000 project, but it appears to have been dead for quite a long time, and I'd hate to see it sit and rot.

Out of respect for the open-source nature of openxcom, this work is completely free for anyone to use and adapt for whatever purpose they see fit. There are far better artists than me out there, and if anyone feels like they could improve it, knock yourselves out.

Oh, also hi everybody. I'm Cirius.

[luke83]

HaHa , i was thinking about doing some Daleks the other week , good to know there already done

[redrat9595]

Here ya go.

I really need to do stuff for OXC more, but I have so little time.

[darkestaxe]

ROFL Daleks in X-COM!

exterminate all xcom soldiers. Exterminate! Kill! DESTROY X-COM BASE! DESTROY LARGE RADAR FACILITY!

[luke83]

Has anyone tried adding these yet?

[Cirius]

Not yet. I was waiting for the next update, where the ruleset changes would mean a little more flexibility.

Feel free to do what you want with them - However, you'll find the palette's completely off, as I didn't need to stick to XCom colours when I first made them. I'll try and find time this week for a recolour.

I'm hoping we'll reach a point in the future where we don't need to worry about a restricted palette - then I'll go nuts.

[Volutar]

that reminded me this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0Wc_MxHWhc#t=100s

[papamaanbeer]

great stuff, would be even better with sound effects, maybe while fireing exterminate!!!

[Cirius]

Original post updated with a first pass at the Dalek Supreme.

I've got sounds aplenty. Are there any guides around for sound file types/sizes when it comes to adding them to Xcom? it's not something I've really looked into.

Additional question, to what degree is it possible to add new aliens to the current build of openxcom? Are we talking full replacements, or solely palette swaps at present? Does the current ruleset modifier allow you to change what aliens/ how many of them are aboard each ship type?

Also, are commander/pilot/engineer etc roles new creatures, or merely stat altered? ie would it be possible to have a red dalek engineer aboard a ship of grey daleks? Forgive my incessant questions.

[Warboy1982]

sound files: currently we're pulling raw WAV data from the catalog files provided with XCom. while it is theoretically possible to add more sound effects to this file, the appropriate tool for it no longer exists, the closest you'll find was built for a later revision of the cat file format, and as such progress can be... challenging.

as for the additional questions...

new races can be easily added via the ruleset.
replacers are lame, make an addon instead. (unless you're doing a total conversion, in which case, replacers are GREAT)
the current ruleset allows you to change/add damn near anything, including crew numbers and composition.
commander/soldier/engineer are technically seperate creatures, just with a lot in common.
so if you wanted to make a "starfleet" alien race, you could have all the navigators and medics in blue, engineers and soldiers in yellow, and the leaders and commanders in red (assuming you're using a Picard-era uniform) and all with different heads.

[Cirius]

Thanks for the quick response.

Ultimately, I'd love to do a UNIT inspired total conversion,  where you command UNIT forces against a plethora of whovian aliens, but one step at a time as they say.

[redrat9595]

Hey there again. Just did the same thing again, let me know if I messed anything up.

-Redrat

[Cirius]

Hey there again. Just did the same thing again, let me know if I messed anything up.

-Redrat

Yes, I noticed this morning I used the wrong, unfixed version as the template for the new variants. Already fixed, but thanks for your help anyway.

The currently planned roster for the dalek race consists of the following. Considering it's pretty much just a simple colour switching job to produce most of them, it shouldn't take too long to get them all completed. After that, I just need to start figuring out how to get them in game.

grey soldier
red navigator
blue engineer
white medic
black leader
gold commander
special weapons dalek

I have a problem. I've just acquired PCKVIEW from the mod site, and it loads ok. However, as soon as I hit file-open, the whole thing just keels over and dies. Anyone else hit this problem? I've tried running it in Admin mode and compatability mode for all versions of Win, but it always has the same problem. Should the file be in a speciific place to function?

I'm running Win Vista, (and yes, I know I shouldn't be), & I'm also hitting exactly the same problem with a Win 8 machine.

EDIT: I'VE FIXED IT! For anyone who hits the same problem, the solution was to run in compatibility mode for XP service pack 3, and reduced 256 colour mode. Why? No idea, but it works, and that's the main thing.

Also, first post updated with further variants.

[papamaanbeer]

now the daleks opend the door,... will we seen things like "the predator" and "alien" (including facehuggers!!!!!!) comming to the xcom universe?,...

[Cirius]

now the daleks opend the door,... will we seen things like "the predator" and "alien" (including facehuggers!!!!!!) comming to the xcom universe?,...

Once I've got the hang of this, it's more going to be a question of stopping me...

My current plan, however, is to work through the main Dr Who villains:

Daleks
Cybermen
Sontarans

Once they're out the way, I'll be looking at adding some more 'flavour' races, that'll come from either my fevered imagination, or wherever the hell I feel like pulling them from...

OK. On with today's problem:

The daleks are now in the game. (WOOHOO!) but I've hit a bit of a snag. (BOO!)

I'm using PCKView to replace the PCK sprites. Now I've figured out how to get the palette right, the colours all look fine in game.

However, here's the problem - I'm placing the sprites in the appropriate slots in PCKView, ie putting 'dalek facing north' in 'alien facing north' box, but when I go to test them in game, the PCK view seems to have shuffled itself.  'Dalek facing north' is now 'alien's left hand', and 'alien facing east' is now 'alien facing north' etc. I'm more than a little confused as to why it's choosing to do this, and am curious if anyone else had hit similar problems in the past?