Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:02 am Post subject:
Mutant/Forgotten base structures
Subject description: For the over-done 3rd side
I recently started doing building SHP's for TS again after a hiatus of about... 3? 4? years. I have some Mutant structures I'd like to get feedback on, but I see the Media Hut is only for finished work (which mine definitely is not). Mind if I post here for you guys to have a look at? _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
The SHP subforums are for finished stuff.
The Media Hut itself is the perfect place to show your work and get feedback, so you know how to improve your work.
Media Hut wrote:
All kind of graphic and sound discussion goes here. You can post your works, ask questions about graphics and sounds, and admire other people's graphical and sound creations. 3ds, GMAX, Photoshop, PSP, .SHP, Voxels, aud, wav and mp3... it's all here!
That's why you should post the SHP's you have in the Media Hut, rather than here, as this is a modding forum. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Thanks, will do. Can any of the mods/admins maybe move this thread over to the Media Hut in that case? Don't want to clutter up the place with redundant threads. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Looking forward to seeing them, as I am finishing up my mutant mod and have created some mutant structures myself too. Do you plan to release them to the public or are they for a mod? I'm still missing a few structures for my mutant side. QUICK_EDIT
Still waiting for a mod to move this to the Media Hut...
...but in the meantime, here is the first of the structures. My Forgotten faction always used to have the regular Nod Power Plant as their power structure, as this fits in with the campaign bases we see for the Forgotten. However, I want to give them something more Forgotten-ish, something which would fit in better with their feel.
Hence - the Environ Plant. Once built, the Environ Plant will provide only a trickle of energy, generated by tapping into geothermal vents. To increase the power output of the Environ plant, it can be upgrade twice with increase capacity.
Upgrade #1 is the Solar Panel, pilfered from civilian arrays and linked into the Forgotten power grid. Cheap and low in energy, they can never the less be used in great numbers to generate sufficient energy for most bases.
Upgrade #2 is a Tacitus-inspired piece of engineering, and can be accessed only at higher tech levels (and once the appropriate prerequisite structures have been built). The Tiberium Extractor is a large deposit of Tiberium linked to a power-generating matrix, allowing the volatile surface energies of the crystals to be tapped and used for powering base structures.
From left to right in the picture (and I apologize for the quality, it seems somewhat lower than the actual game graphics):
- basic Environ Plat, with no upgrades
- Environ Plants with alternating Solar Panel / Tiberium Extractor upgrades
- Environ Plant with 2x Tiberium Extractors
- Environ Plant with 2x Solar Panels
My main concern at the moment is that the solar panels are too high - they tower out over a regular conyard, which seems wrong somehow. However, this is the way the civilian panels are used, so I guess it should be alright.
it's ok, but not great.
The basic Environ Plant is a quite good CnP job. Though i really dislike the very bright foundation of the upgrade places.
The upgrades are not good as they are almost 100% the original SHP.
At least you could have flipped horizontally the bigblue crystal and resized it a bit smaller so it isn't instantly visible as the bigblue crystal.
Also the color is simply wrong. Use a color that is at least a bit related to tiberium like green or blue.
The solar panel could have been cut at the half, so it is only 1 cell long and doesn't covers the whole building. Also it's height could have been easyly reduced, so it is low above the upgrade place and this way also more connected to the building. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Location: Less than 10 minutes from the internet
Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:48 am Post subject:
I love it! I think that the plant is a little odd, but the solar panel section is pretty inventive design styling. Impressive to say the least, for a c&p job.
The bright foundations of the upgrades area = the bib from GAWEAP. The perceived brightness is merely because the civilian buildings used for the rest of the structure are darker than the original base structures. I might dirty-fy them a bit to see if it changes this perception. The original legs on the solar panels were too bright as well (same colour as the panels at the moment), so I darken those by about 50%, but nothing else was changed with regards to lighting.
As for size - the building is 2x3, and each upgrade footprint is 1x2. Hence the apparent overlap of the solar panel over the plant itself.
As for the tiberium crystal - yes, it's suppose to be bigblue. The idea was that the mutants had found a way of harnassing it's destructive energies into something more useful than simply exploding spectacularly. I'm working on a non-remap version - one green, one blue - and will post pics as I get them done.
Active anims at the moment:
- there's suppose to be a small conyard fan spinning below the two smokestacks, but the anim won't show up for some reason. Still have to figure that one out.
- [WIP] a spurt of greyish gas/smoke from the two stacks.
- the solar panels have a small blinking light on the left, where the legs meet the central pipe/tube.
- the tiberium crystal runs through its anims (from bigblue), and there's a small blinking light on the tank where the pipeline from the crystal terminates.
I have a third upgrade option in mind - an upgrade that adds two of the smaller reactor towers from the Nod Advanced Power Plant - and then I have to do damaged states and a buildup of some kind.
As for the design of the Environ Plant itself, and regarding the comment that it looks weird - the base structure is where the drilling station for the geothermal vents is located; the two tanks on the left contain the pressurized water drawn from below, which is used to power a small steam turbine - this provides the basic trickle of power; the two smokestacks are there to burn off waste gases drawn from below and released by the turbines (leaky mutant tech is leaky). I'm going to be doing all my Forgotten buildings in this civilian style, so if someone has a drastic suggestion to make regarding some design principles, please make it now!
EDIT:
Have done the third upgrade, the Salvaged Reactor. Basically a small Nod reactor stolen from the Nod-aligned mutants who have access to low-level Nod tech. In terms of increasing cost and energy provided, this one would be in the middle compared to the other two.
Right, next building. It started out as something else, and then gradually morphed into a radar building. What can I say - the C&P process is a strange one...
The Forgotten are somewhat different in the radar department, suffering from a lack of EVA/CABAL assistance as well as no connection to the orbital GPS satellites. This fact is displayed in their Comm Station - it lacks the distinct MASSIVE radar dish of its GDI and Nod counterparts, and serves a much lesser role, not even providing radar coverage. It does however allow the Forgotten faction to build and deploy mobile Radar Scanner vehicles in the field, which can deploy to act as both sensor arrays and as uplinks into the Nod and/or GDI radar systems.
Due to this reduced role in the radar department, the Comm Station has been upgraded to provide alternate C3 support, and sports a single upgrade plug that can be used in a similar manner to the GDI's Upgrade station. Since the Forgotten do not have access to Ion Cannons or Drop Pods however, this upgrade plug provides only access for the Hunterseeker Node. For now...
Your radar building is good, not an entirely new graphic design, but since it's the Forgotten, it looks good: random usable technology adapted for their way of survival. QUICK_EDIT
Antennae, a radar tower, solar panels for energy, some extractor fans to get rid of the heat and tiberium fumes... What more does a mutant DJ need? Apart from the Hunterseeker Node for blowing up rival broadcasters... _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
The Flying Circus carryall! See many vehicles crammed into one! See bewildered AA units go crazy! See the most expensive crash in the history of TS when the Flying Circus is shot down!
The Tiberium crystal has a few issues. Mainly first of, Gold and other bright colors are overwhelming, I suggest you set the color and maybe make a border around the square in the upgrade SHP that is remap and set the color to a dark green or blue. The blue remap looked OK but it has a bunch of holes where the dirt used to be, I suggest filling it in someway. QUICK_EDIT
Yeah, I've been eyeballing those ex-dirt gaps around the bigblue crystal for a while now, but have been too busy sorting out the Comm Station and some of the anims to get it fixed.
As for setting the crystal to a single blue/green colour - I'm having trouble getting it to a decent shade of green/blue. The unittem.pal palette seems a bit limited when it comes to all the subtle shades of green and/or blue needed, and the fixed-colour edits I've managed thus far looked terrible. I'll continue playing with it though, maybe something will drop out.
My next idea is for a missile silo, will post pics soon (hopefully). _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
then remove the remap from the crystal upgrade and use the anim.pal instead.
Just put the key ShouldUseCellDrawer=false to the upgrade anim in art.ini and it uses anim.pal. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Hmm, never knew that. Thanks LKO, will give it a try. Btw, are you planning to do any more SHP ships like that cruiser of yours on TibWeb? It's so beautiful.... *drools*
Also, something I forgot to mention: if anyone is doing a mutant side and would be interested in using some of my buildings - or having a custom one made for your mod/project - just post in here waht your requirements are, and I'll have a look. Like I said, I only do C&P, but the results generally look better than simply cloning a Nod/GDI building *shrugs* _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Since i'm full-time SHPer for TI, i doubt i'll have time to do some public SHPs in the near future. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
The missile silo, or more accurately - the Launch Pad - as promised on Monday. It started out with the Nod Helipad catching my eye - the lines on the 'pad reminded me of the navigation lines used on concrete launch pads to move rockets around to wherever they have to go.
Hence - the Launch Pad. Consisting of a conglomeration of Nod and civilian missile tech, the Launch Pad can be used to fire off either surface-to-surface tactical weapons, or surface-to-orbit rockets with satellite payloads (perfect for e.g. establishing a GPS network).
PROBLEM: NukeSilo=yes does not seem to work for a 3x2 building like the MALNCH. It works for the 2x2 NAMISL, and for the 1x1 GAICBM - but not for a 3x2 footprint. It will either
a) show the correct image and fire the missile, but with a 2x2 footprint, or
b) show the correct image and footprint, but not launch the missile when the target is clicked.
Has anyone come across this problem before, and more importantly - a solution? If the problem persists, MALNCH could be used as a Tech Center (same footprint as GATECH and GAFIRE), but I designed it with missiles in mind, so...
NukeSilo has no problems with different foundation sizes afaik.
The problem is that NukeSilo can be used on only one building.
Only the last building in the buildingtypes that has this key can use the MultiSpecial and ChemicalSpecial superweapon. All other buildings that have this key can charge the SW, but not fire the weapon. _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
[MAMISL] ;2x2
SuperWeapon=ClusterSpecial ;new, using Action=DontUse2
NukeSilo=yes
[MAICBM] ;1x1
SuperWeapon=TibMislSpecial ;new, using Action=DontUse3
NukeSilo=yes
UndeploysInto=M_ICBM
TickTank=yes
All three of these buildings work as desired - you build them, they charge their respective superweapons, and the supers then launch from them when the weapon is fired. So everything was perfect before I added MALNCH.
Test 01:
- set MAMISL Image=MALNCH ;3x2
- result: displays 3x2 image, but with 2x2 footprint
Test 02:
- copy NAMISL, change SuperWeapon= to TibMislSpecial (one of my customs), and give it Image=MALNCH ;3x2
- result: building has 3x2 footprint and charges super, but no missile appears when the super is fired.
Test 03:
- set NAMISL Image=MALNCH ;3x2
- result: building has 2x2 footprint
I'm going to play around with creating a thrid custom super and giving it only to MALNCH, maybe that will solve the problem. Not sure where the devil the rest come in... Especially when I change the NAMISL image, that one really surprised me. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
What LKO means is that NukeSilo=yes can only be used on one structure (a hardcoded issue). If Multiple Structures have this tag the only one which will be effected by it is whatever structure is the furthest down in your BuildingTypes list. Understand now? QUICK_EDIT
Umm... I think that NukeSilo= tag works in conjunction with the SuperWeapon= tag, but I'm not quite following what you guys mean by "only the last structure on the building list will be affected by it".
I solved the problem by creating another Chemical Missile clone, LaunchPadSpecial, which I then gave to the MALNCH structure. I now have three structures:
1) MAMISL, with ClusterSpecial and NukeSilo=yes
2) MAICBM, with TibMislSpecial and NukeSilo=yes
3) MALNCH, with LaunchPadSpecial and NukeSilo=yes
...and all three of them work perfectly. NAMISL also functions exactly as it should, so I'm not sure where this 'hardcoded' error kicks in.
Meh, no worries. Am working on a mutant barracks at the moment, will post pics soon. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
They all mean, that the Superweapons may charge, but cant be fired unless from the building with the highest Number in the [BuildingList] (of al buildings which have the tag ofc) _________________
Think of me as Nordos, 'cause Banshee wouldn't rename me QUICK_EDIT
...so in plain, SIMPLE English: If superweapon XYZ is given to multiple buildings, only the last building on that list which possesses the Nukesilo=yes tags will be able to launch it.
Yes, I figured that out. What still gets me is why the default Nod Missile Silo, NAMISL, retains its 2x2 footprint even when you give it something with a 3x3 footprint, like GAFIRE (Firestorm Generator), or my Launch Pad (MALNCH). _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Alright, update time. Barracks is still a WIP, cannot find a correct remap area to include.
As for the Launch Pad, I have included a screenshot of the damaged frame compared to the normal. I'm also still having a problem with one of its animations that do not want to display - a flashing light at the top of the dark tower. I have the ZAdjust up to -150 already, but it is not showing anything.
Next - another WIP, but something more interesting than a barracks. This design was inspired by several things:
a) the larger part the Forgotten play in the FS storyline (especially the first GDI mission)
b) the added Mutated terrain, along with the strange flora
c) the realisation that the Forgotten did not have a proper Concrete Wall-equivalent in their structure list (Nod walls could work, but meh...)
So - I present the Forgotten Flora Wall (name also a WIP). The Forgotten have managed to harnass the strange new plantlife that has been developing due to the tiberium radiation, and can now grow long hedgerows of these alien growths to protect their encampments. Impenetrable to both man and machine, the only way to pass through these dense growths is to blow them apart with concentrated heavy firepower.
I chose the blue version over the green for the simple reason that the blue will fit in better on a snow map than the green growths would. I'm still debating whether to make them cheaper and weaker than concrete walls, but at the moment they function exactly the same. I still also have to add damaged frames and shadows, but I wanted to showcase the main idea to get some feedback.
MAFWALL Ingame 001.png
Description:
MAFWALL, with GAPILE and a Rocket Infantry for size comparison. The walls are a bit higher than their concrete equivalents.
Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Location: Star Kingdom of Manticore
Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:48 pm Post subject:
as for the animation, you're sending the zadjust the wrong way. it needs to be positive. _________________ "Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there." -Adam Young QUICK_EDIT
Hmm... I read a post somewhere where LKO said that a negative ZAdjust 'raises' the anim, much like the NARADR entries have their active anims at ZAdjust=-100. Will try a positive though.
And as for the walls - they are not pure tiberium. That is a mutated plant from FS... _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
I would like it more if you could vary it with different flora but unfortunatly it isn't possible and a wall is almost worthless if you can slip through the cracks. A Tiberium wall isn't a bad idea, though, that's why I said make a actually wall of stone or barbed wire with Tiberium mixed it. For instance, C&P or rather redraw Tiberium on a Nod wall, that's what I'm talking about though you may want a different wall, not a Tiberium infested GDI or Nod wall. QUICK_EDIT
What about creating a special flora, I mean, look at the normal wall. A single plant would be also like a single wall. But the middle wall of, e. g., 3 wall pieces doesnt look like one single wall -> make the plants connect... Though I dunno how you could do it with c&p :S _________________
Think of me as Nordos, 'cause Banshee wouldn't rename me QUICK_EDIT
The O's form the existing single wall segment, and the X's form a second, smaller growth - growing from the same cell - that branches off to the side and closes up the gap. Hmm. Should not be very difficult to implement, will just have to resize the smallest FONA yet smaller to fit in, and maybe move the main growth somewhat to the side.
*looks at watch and counts 22 minutes to go before the workday is done*
Will post a pic tonight (in GMT +2 time). _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
I don't see why mutants would ever be in control of Tiberium lifeforms (that includes fona). They're simply humans mutated by Tiberium, the same as fiends or floaters. QUICK_EDIT
Because they are lead by Tratos, who deciphered the Tacitus along with CABAL, and consequently gained much increased knowledge about tiberium. Moving from that, to using tiberium for their own benefit, is only a small step. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Yeah, so all the mutants all over the world suddenly have the "knowledge" to control Tiberium creatures and lifeforms.
TBH I just don't see the mutants as an organised force like GDI or Nod. They're just humans effected by Tiberium. They most likely live in warbands, moving settlements or setup towns on the edges of civilisation. I don't think theyre all following one man, they don't all have connections with each other. QUICK_EDIT
...hence the large scope for variety in making them a playable faction. You will notice that my buildings for them have much more of an improvised/salvaged look than the industrial-looking GDI structures, or the sleek Nod structures. So yes, they can fit into the 'warband' niche. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Alright, the long-delayed barracks, now know as the Mutant Den.
Converted from a subterranean shelter, the Mutant Den houses all the different infantry units available to a Forgotten warband. Due to its simple design, the Den is easily hid amongst empty civilian buildings, and can provide a valuable forward base when deployed in this fashion.
My Forgotten faction has a Mobile Den vehicle, much like the Fist of Nod, which can be used to deploy a Mutant Den some distance from the main base. Once deployed, base defenses can the also be deployed in the immediate vicinity, and a base can then quickly take root.
Alternatively, the building could also be used as a subterranean power generator, or even a tiberium silo (although it lacks filling-up anims).
Yep. All my Forgotten structures do, actually. They all use civilian buildings as stock for the cut&paste work, so they all have that civie vibe (which is what I'm aiming for).
Next building will be the Aeroport, will post tonight. _________________ Adapt or die QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 03 Dec 2008 Location: Your Mum Dragons: Lame
Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 2:36 pm Post subject:
I still don't like the walls, perosnally I think you should have sandbags mixed with concrete wall...seeing as your mutant stuff is all ramshackle and created from salvaged bits it would make a bit more sense.
If you are going with the fona idea you should at least shrink the fona to match the sizes of the other walls because they're fecking huge at the moment. Other than that I am quite fond of what you're doing, sure they're only C+P jobs but you're generating some good results. QUICK_EDIT
Alright, here is the next building - the Aeroport. I'm not sure whether it should be a Forgotten building (it looks and functions more like a GDI building at the moment), but I'm playing around with some ideas involving Dropships, ORca Transports and Carryalls.
Just a note though: the art for this building is NOT finished yet. It still needs a shadow, some dirt on the apron, a damaged frame and some active anims. However, since I was so eager to test in ingame, and since I already posted a preview in the "Clipping problem" thread, I figured I'd share early.
So, comment away. The idea for this building was a civilian aerodrome that was occupied by the Forgotten and rigged to provide a landing point for the GDI humanitarian supplies they recieved at infrequent points. Of course, any aerodrome large enough to dock a Dropship would be able to dock other large aircraft as well, so the options for this one are wide.
Alright, seeing how the previous design got exactly ZERO comments...
This design was inspired by a request SuperJoe made regarding his own Forgotten mod. A refinery for the Forgotten has never been on my agenda, as I wanted to keep the art for the shared-faction buildings - Con Yard, Refinery, EMP Cannon, etc - identical to their GDI/Nod equivalents. Just to provide some basic familiarity with the new faction, and not to have everything COMPLETELY new and strange.
So - I present the (Forgotten) Tiberium Processor. It functions as a tiberium refinery, but differs by
a) having a much larger storage capacity
b) coming without a free Harvester.
The Processor is available in addition to the regular Tiberium Refinery (PROC), but is considerably cheaper. I'm trying to work on a mobile version thereof - something that goes and deploys into a Tiberium Processor, and then cannot undeploy again - but that will still be in the pipeline for a while.
As with all my Forgotten structures, it follows the civilian White/Light Grey colour scheme, with only scattered remap areas (more due to lack of suitable remaps to C&P than by design, to be honest).
MATREF Ingame 001.png
Description:
Two Tiberium Processors, with the regular NAREFN and the Comm Station as comparison.
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Mutant/Forgotten base structures
