New custom submaps

[flashman]

I started by creating Soviet submaps because the tileset is so bare. I had to steal some furniture props from the town tileset and industrial.

Edited June 11, 2013 by flashman

[Ol' Stinky]

Is it still possible to get 18.3? I haven't played with the submap editor yet, although it looks a lot harder to get to grips with than the map editor. I'd like to get to grips with it, once I finish getting a few maps for each tileset done (with the default stuff we have).

[flashman]

I cheated and kept it backed up. Though my version is a bit of a piggle as i removed all the goldhawk maps to test out the custom ones and I have a lot of custom tile files everywhere to try out new ideas.

Edited May 17, 2013 by flashman

[flashman]

OK I have updated the submap pack for the soviet tileset

I have 2 new flats -1 UD and 1 LR. They are the same as the standard empty ones (only full of stuff) and could be slotted into the matching flats folders to add variation. I used furniture from the town tileset props because the soviet buildings don't have any props.

I have also added a records office which uses the civic base with a new roof and furniture inside.

I also changed the roof of my stasi building because it looked stupid. It is now a flat roof that can be accessed using the staircase.

Edited May 17, 2013 by flashman

[flashman]

Just updated and added a soviet gas station. The pumps are a little too bright but its all that is available atm.

If you want to see my submaps in action I have designed a soviet terror map 70x70 that uses all but the gas station.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4xsubwjazmlj2yf/Large%20Maps.rar?m

Edited May 17, 2013 by flashman

[flashman]

Spamming my thread again.

I have just done an alternative stasi building soviet_stasi_flash2

This one has a more open floor plan with a gaol on one side

[flashman]

Just added a KGB office based off of the Vilnius KGB HQ. I want to make the front door stand out at some point, though it is proving trickier than I thought.

It is currently 3 stories with no roof. Only 1st floor is fleshed out with props and there is no staircase.

[Mothman]

Can I request that you add a/one image of all submaps with filename which are in the package?

It would be easier to get an overview what they look like and what's inside the package without having to click on every picture in the thread.

But thanks for your effort, I take a closer look soon.

[flashman]

NP

Once I have made a couple more wooden buildings I will create the collage of all submaps. Time has been my main killer here

[flashman]

Updated KGB office roof

Updated rich house floor/walls/windows and roof layout

Edited the roof of records office to make it 2 high. Added a rear door

Fixed error with stasi2 roof tiles

2nd submap for garage using factory walls. Kept original but the tiles left a small gap on corners, looked odd.

[Sathra]

It all looks amazing! I really hope they make it into the final game too!

[flashman]

Thanks Sathra. Find it quite relaxing making the submaps.

I have fixed several issues with some maps and added alternative submaps for some of the models

Flats now have 2 storey and 3 storey version, alternative entrance version and changed the roof from black industrial to soviet civic tiles to blend better.

Rich house now has a 2nd version with a balcony

bungalows now have a joined version and a 2 storey non bungalow version

[Moxar]

impressive work!

[flashman]

Added 3 new wooden soviet buildings

7 cover props

As I use drop box the link always has the most up to date files in it.

I am going to move on from soviet stuff tomorrow as I have tripled the number of building sub maps with this pack

[Gauddlike]

I really enjoyed making submaps back when the editor first came out, I am inspired to try and find some time to get back into it when I see your creations, good job

[flashman]

With the inspiration of Stinky I have now added a soviet hospital, a 2 storey building with cool roof

[flashman]

La piece de la resistance

I have added a soviet military base and military road blockades

I will be making a map based on these pieces soon.

[Ol' Stinky]

With the inspiration of Stinky I have now added a soviet hospital, a 2 storey building with cool roof

Cool!

Well, Flash is a damn hard act to follow. I do have a few submaps going now, though. If you want to look at any of this stuff, it's all in my Stinky Maps .zip in my sig (or in the map list, which I have a post I edit when I update things worth noting).

I've been playing with the town tileset, since at the rate Flash is going, he'll have reconstructed the entire Soviet state before the week's out.

These submaps are all functional in terms of gameplay: there shouldn't be any intangible objects, impassible doors, etc. If I missed any, please let me know! There are some graphical glitches, but I know about those, and will talk about them in a bit.

First, a real basic one. A grey stone house, door on the left side. These are all one storey, since when I started putting them together, I wasn't sure whether it was kosher to play with stairs or not. (I started these before Gaud told me it was probably only hilly terrain and the like that wouldn't feature, so I won't shy away from stairs from now on.)

Stinky_L_town_greyabode_6x10_1h (2 variants):

Mapping info:

Squares in red are where doors can/will appear. If you want to use this, please be careful about placing props adjacent to the reds.

I know about the dodgy town\house\props\BedA_SE, but can't seem to consistantly fix it. On one of the submaps, Gaud's suggestion of playing with sort values/placement order on the tile seemed to work, but whatever I did, I can't seem to replicate it! Argh! It's not pretty, but I'm leaving it in there for the time being; I kind of want to create more submaps and I've spent a fair while fiddling with this, but I'm not getting further.

Next, a GP's clinic, also in grey. Door on the bottom side.

Stinky_D_town_greyGP_20x8_1h:

Door leads into reception area (the benches for waiting patients are behind the wall, you can't see them in the pic). To the right is an on-site pharmacist with its own office/stock area. The corridor to the left leads to three GP's offices and a nurse's ward.

Mapping info:

I'll probably come back and do a variant of this once I've made another town terror map. The door will be in the same place, but the spawns might change: I'll edit this post when I do that, but in the meantime, if you want to place an NPC inside, do it on the red tile. I'll keep that spot clear. I did have hospital beds in there, but the visual probs I was having annoyed me so at the moment, they're out. I'll put them back in once I know what I've done wrong/it's been resolved.

I also created random NE/SW mazda and van props to scatter on the roads, which were looking a bit bare. Rather than post the submaps themselves, which are simple 1x3/2x3s etc. using assets you've already seen around, I'll post a pic of them on a map ingame: the imaginatively titled Stinky_Town_CorvLand_60x60_1.

Stinky_mazda_NE

Stinky_mazda_SW

Stinky_van_NE

Stinky_van_SW:

(Click for bigger image)

Mapping info:

The duplicate files aren't a mistake. I figured that if the game selects from the submaps randomly, it won't check for copies, which means I can skew the odds of a bright cyan mazda appearing. As it stands, the prop has a 3/9 chance of being brown, the same for blue, 2/9 for yellow, and 1/9 for cyan. I have a perfectly rational explanation for these numbers, but I'm not going to tell you what it is.

The red van's missing from the NE prop deliberately, too - the info's not been set on the spectre properly. It's still a 1x1 tile and (I think) the pivot info's wrong. I guess I should bug report it, but in the meantime, no red van's facing NE, only SW. The other vans are fine.

Finally, a couple of pics of the building submaps ingame.

(Click for bigger image)

(Click for bigger image)

[Sathra]

Very homey. Starting to look like a real town now!

They also look like interesting places to fight in, assuming the aliens become more pro-active in using buildings. Very small, lots of props, multiple doors. Perfect for Assault troops.

[raziel1981]

that's some amazing stuff flashman!

[Moxar]

did you deal witht the layer and room properties in your submaps ? (both to avoid visual issues)

[Ol' Stinky]

I put all ground tiles on layer 0, all props/walls on layer 1. That's correct, right? Or should I put the ground on layer 0, the bed on layer 1 and the walls on layer 2, or something?

Edit: I've just gone ahead and done that anyway, and while putting the walls on layer 2 does indeed solve the prob of popup beds, it also causes the walls to take precedence over the xnauts/npcs. I'm torn as to which looks worse.

Very homey. Starting to look like a real town now!

They also look like interesting places to fight in, assuming the aliens become more pro-active in using buildings. Very small, lots of props, multiple doors. Perfect for Assault troops.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm a big fan of the close quarter combat type stuff myself. The wide open maps in OG X-Com (and this) where you can plink away from out of sight's not really to my taste. Also, in my town map, some of the aliens can spawn inside the GP's office, which seems to work alright.

Edited May 20, 2013 by Ol' Stinky

[flashman]

Thanks guys I have tried to improve and itterate the designs over time. All my creations are not screenshotted, some are hidden in the packs.

If there are any errors in my submaps then let me know. I placed a toilet on layer 3 by accident on one and had to fix it up. I also discovered a double door etc. There is only so much testing I can do.

Stinky those town layouts are looking nice.

Floors Layer 0 as you have done

Walls and props layer 1 as you have done

I have reported any known issues with the spectre properties as bugs. Yes I can fix them and include them in the packs, but it is more convenient to get them done by Chris and fixed permanently.

For soviets the biggest problem is the civic windows can all be walked through. It is only a simple toggle and I will probably include this file in my packs in the future, but I would rather it just gets sorted.

With stairs I have discovered a cool bug. They teleport you up and to the side. Depending on the facing, if you place it against the end of the submap then you cant climb them. I moved all my stair cases lastnight to try and resolve this problem. I will test them later. For now the best fix seems to have stairs in the middle of the submap.

[Gauddlike]

If you fix any then I am sure Chris would not complain about you either sending him them or posting them up so he could add them to the build without needing to repeat the fixes himself.

Have any of you tried having invisible props as one of the possible options so sometimes there is nothing present in that location?

For example on the roads with the randomly selected cars you could have a transparent prop so sometimes there is no vehicle in that location?

I did it with haybales and so on so that the layout of cover was never the same in the fields you came across.

Incidentally I would still like to see a probability modifier added to the xml spectres so you can define how likely a specific submap is to be selected from the folder.

For example having a haybale and a blank space in the folder would normally give a 50/50 chance of either appearing.

While it is possible to add duplicate haybales to the folder to influence the chance of one being generated I would like to be able to define the chance in an easier way as folders get very messy very quickly.

[flashman]

Gaudlike you read my mind. A lot of my submaps have only 1 variant atm, however I am designing cover props so that 1 cycled option will be empty space. Watch this thread It just takes time to add the variation. However, I have finally got my head around the stuff so it is wayyy quicker to do it.