How I spent MY day...

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

...I made this unassigned base graphic.

To replace the Wrestlers' Believer base while working on my custom factions, I'd somewhat randomly chosen a pyramid-design base from the Network Node factions. From the Cult of Isis, specifically.

It's a nice, simple design, but the thing is, it didn't look right in the game-- too vividly-colored; no shading. Looked like a cartoon image. I lightened it on one side, and generally did what I could to fix it before I gave it up as a bad job and went with something else.

This morning I decided to have another go, starting from scratch with what I've learned about PhotoShop in the interim. The happy result is in the screenshot below. If enough interest is expressed, I'll post the base graphic file to my custom factions page.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Sorry about the double post

I made a couple of variants, with the blue-glowy bits changed to yellow and back to the original orange.

...If I'd known how to do that three weeks ago, Ric Flair would be living in a pyramid now.

I pasted examples into the previous screenshot, below, as well as the effort I abandoned, bottom, and the Isis Cult original, top.

Favorites?

Give a newb some encouragement, willya?

[Illuminatus]

What's up with Heart of Chiron base graphic?

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

I made graphics for the Eighth, or Mindworms with Minds, faction. The Gaian default images suggested a background to me where a Gaian experiment got out of control and resulted in mindworms with no link to the planetmind possessing Gaians, (or possibly clones of Gaians.)

Thus, the base is all crusted with fungus and has a fungal tower growing out of the top. You can see more of the graphics at my custom factions page.

http://alphacentauri2.info/My%20Custom%20Factions/Custom%20Factions.htm

-Also, screenshots and file downloads of my original faction and the others I've worked over.

[Darsnan]

You can see a little more of the graphics at my custom factions page.
http://www.hickorychessclub.org/custom%20factions.htm

Nice to see someone new dabbling with the graphics sets.

Do you have any ideas of getting into the other graphics sets such as units.pcx, ter1wreck.pcx, or even the opening screens (openinga.pcx and xopeninga.pcx)?

Oh yeah "Sid wasn't really here": nice.

D

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Where's the love?

I think I figured out why I've not been getting more response. After days, I only removed the hyperlink borders from the custom faction portraits this morning, and suddenly I've gotten a remark about the page. I suspect that years ago SOMEthing gave a lot of you guys a traumatic aversion to things surrounded by blue boxes.

"Sid wasn't really here": nice.

Yeah. I like to hide jokes in mouse-over text. There's also my speculation about which celebrities inspired which official faction portraits.

Do you have any ideas of getting into the other graphics sets such as units.pcx, ter1wreck.pcx, or even the opening screens (openinga.pcx and xopeninga.pcx)?

I'm working on an alternate Borg set right now. I'll probably have a zip posted tonight. I had the idea of working through the SManiAC factions, like I did the Bree yesterday, then moving on to make sets for various graphics-less factions I've downloaded.

(For the Texan faction, Foreman Domai [the unaltered Drones are the graphics included in the zip] needs a cowboy hat and a Lone Star sorta logo, and they're good to go. Oh- and a picture of Southfork for the diplomacy landscape. Maybe a pistol if I can figure out how to work it in- and beer-- it wouldn't represent Texas right without beer and guns.

Hmmm. Maybe change the background so he's in a pickup truck with a rifle rack... Yeah! With a beer can on the dash! Now to figure out how to do that... How to find pictures of what I need? A bar with a gunbelt hanging on the wall behind him would be simpler and easier, if not nearly as funny...)

...But I'm open to suggestion. What do you have in mind?


General question, but especially for the Moderators: Would it be better if I posted my .zips here too, or since my page is already made, keep doing what I'm doing and spare the forum the bandwidth? If so, how kosher would it be for me to double (triple, ect.) post to announce when I've put up a new file?

[Darsnan]

I think I figured out why I've not been getting more response. After days, I only removed the hyperlink borders from the custom faction portraits this morning, and suddenly I've gotten a remark about the page. I suspect that years ago SOMEthing gave a lot of you guys a traumatic aversion to things surrounded by blue boxes.

Honestly, we're not afraid of Hive Blue....

Seriously, if you look at the post history in this forum you'll see its not that active these days.

...But I'm open to suggestion. What do you have in mind?

Oh, different graphics for monoliths, the Manifold Nexus, and the Unity Wreckage: one of the things I've always enjoyed about SMAC is the sense of exploration and what you find in random maps. By adding new and different graphics sets (such as what your already doing with the Faction pics), this would then enhance this aspect of the game.

A little more ambitious project might be to come up with new Holobook sayings and pics.

General question, but especially for the Moderators: Would it be better if I posted my .zips here too, or since my page is already made, keep doing what I'm doing and spare the forum the bandwidth? If so, how kosher would it be for me to double (triple, ect.) post to announce when I've put up a new file?

I can't speak for the mods, but 'poly is one of the best sites for SMAC(X) (the other being Civgaming with its SMAC Academyhttp://www.civgaming.net/smac/academy.shtml ). I think there would be no problem with you posting your zips here.


D

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Honestly, we're not afraid of Hive Blue.... ]

...I was thinking of back in the "All your custom bases are belong to blue box surrounding" days.

Oh, different graphics for monoliths, the Manifold Nexus, and the Unity Wreckage: one of the things I've always enjoyed about SMAC is the sense of exploration and what you find in random maps. By adding new and different graphics sets (such as what your already doing with the Faction pics), this would then enhance this aspect of the game.

Hmmm. I've already got a few ideas. We'll see.

A little more ambitious project might be to come up with new Holobook sayings and pics.

Now that really needs doing. Mostly they're poorly drawn and weren't funny the first time. I'm definitely so inclined if enough jokes occur to me. We'll see.

---

...By the way, I've added thumbnails to go with the download links at the bottom of my factions page. You know I added some hovertext jokes in the process.

[vyeh]

General question, but especially for the Moderators: Would it be better if I posted my .zips here too, or since my page is already made, keep doing what I'm doing and spare the forum the bandwidth? If so, how kosher would it be for me to double (triple, ect.) post to announce when I've put up a new file?

I think it would be easier if you post your .zips here.

I only found out by chance that there was a new Bree zip.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Well, you guys ought to know...

Let's see if I get in trouble for this.



So, has anyone had a gander at any of my files? You like?

-Jack


[Edit: Upgraded the look of the defenses a bit and the faction color is now dark gray, as it was supposed to be. (3/17/09)


..And changed the portrait, and upgraded the defenses again. I always hope I'm done, but they keep pulling me back in. (3/19/09)

...Sighhh. And now stuck more Borg junk on her, as she wasn't borged enough.
She now has more Borg implants. (3/19/09)]

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Shields! Shields! Shields!

I noticed that when I posted a screenshot of the new base defenses I created, the faction files got 4 views overnight...

See, I haven't been able to find any bare fence files on the innerweb; only places with dead links. There's clearly a need. So I made just such a file, with both sorts I've seen in others' factions, and several I just invented.

Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present to you shields.pcx, a happy-funtime goody pack of perimeter defenses and tachyon fields for faction artists.

Enjoy.

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Here's a twofer for you

My latest graphic faction makeovers, posted for your pleasure.


Yang just cracks me up this way, and I think some shading tweaks did a lot to improve the UniCom bases.

Paging Setroc... Paging Cybergod...

Hmmm?



Naturally, the Empaths are next, as I've already got the file open and half the work is done. Texans after that- and I'm open to requests...



Any questions? (You'd be amazed how primitive my graphics software is. I know how to do scan lines with only MS Paint and Lexmark Photo Editor, for instance.)

[Edit: Scroll down for the updated New University Commonwealth.]

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Here's the Empaths- empath.pcx only. The improvement in the bases is subtle, but, I think, profound.

[Edit: scroll down for the update.]

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

How I spent MY whole night

...And here's Domai in a cowboy hat.

This ended up being a lot of work. -But I'm unusually pleased with it, even though it's not funny.

Now, to find or make a Texas logo and I'll have a faction graphic...

[Buster Crabbe's Uncle]

Both rootin' AND tootin'

Paging Candle_86...

I think I'm as proud of this as anything I've done so far.

Have a look and get back to me, please.


...Domai in a cowboy hat is kinda funny by itself.