Alien Strains

I strongly recommend adding mipmaps when you save the .dds files for the new Alien textures, so they dont flicker all the time.
Strange. They don't flicker for me and this is the first report I get of such a thing. Do the original textures even have mipmaps to begin with?
 
Of course they have. It is one of the basic staples of computer graphics since around the Half-Life era.
It is not very noticeable depending on your resolution, but it is certainly noticeable if one looks closely.
Its still the difference between a mod looking identical to dev production quality assets, and looking like a mod :)

I made a post about the same thing in an old Civ5 mod thread.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=12631856&posted=1#post12631856
 
Alright, I'll look into it once I get home from work. Maybe I hadn't noticed any issues because I always play on the standard zoom level.

EDIT: The project is in the midst of being updated for Version 4, so the change will have to wait a bit longer. Can't release an intermediate update.
 
Alright, I'll look into it once I get home from work. Maybe I hadn't noticed any issues because I always play on the standard zoom level.

EDIT: The project is in the midst of being updated for Version 4, so the change will have to wait a bit longer. Can't release an intermediate update.

It looks like you'll still need to include Vice Virtuoso's snippet (use the latest version), since Firaxis didn't update properly the code for "QuestObjectives".

I recommend using "QuestObjective" and not "QuestObjectiveAddin" as the entry tag, however, because that's what Firaxis officially decided to use.
 
It looks like you'll still need to include Vice Virtuoso's snippet (use the latest version), since Firaxis didn't update properly the code for "QuestObjectives".

I recommend using "QuestObjective" and not "QuestObjectiveAddin" as the entry tag, however, because that's what Firaxis officially decided to use.
Yeah, thanks for the tip. :)
 
Great mod! Unfortunately, it doesn't work with game version 1.0.1.607. Is there an update to the mod coming?
 
Great mod! Unfortunately, it doesn't work with game version 1.0.1.607. Is there an update to the mod coming?
Sorry, I haven't been around. How is it not working? First report I get.

Nutty's still working on the non-XML coding side of Version 4.
 
i really liked the concept of this mod, i hope i manage to make it work on my mac

the mod i watched before was about giving afinity bonus to the explorer, and finding this one just gave me an idea
what if... the aliens evolved using affinities ? you could use these models for each different affinity, and make them spawn using the affinity level of the closest civ, or something like that :)
 
Affinities are human philosophies, and wouldn't really have any meaning to pseudo-animalistic aliens.

Besides, it's not really my intent to make such fundamental changes to the mod, to the point it'd require redesigning everything.
 
Sorry, I haven't been around. How is it not working? First report I get.

Nutty's still working on the non-XML coding side of Version 4.

Well there's a big issue with the QuestSystem.lua included in your mod. I've been receiving a lot of reports of compatibility errors with my "Affinity Quest Fix" mod, and every time I can only tell them to not use "Alien Strains".

Anyway, as it is now that file is simply broken, regardless of compatibility issues, and it has been reported to prevent the Emancipation and Promised Land victory conditions to be completed at all.

I am currently using a slightly adjusted version of the file (post patched) for my True Domination mod, which should be working fine, but I'm still awaiting for feedback.

Vice Virtuoso has also been notified of the issue and he might fix it soon.
 
Well there's a big issue with the QuestSystem.lua included in your mod. I've been receiving a lot of reports of compatibility errors with my "Affinity Quest Fix" mod, and every time I can only tell them to not use "Alien Strains".

Anyway, as it is now that file is simply broken, regardless of compatibility issues, and it has been reported to prevent the Emancipation and Promised Land victory conditions to be completed at all.

I am currently using a slightly adjusted version of the file (post patched) for my True Domination mod, which should be working fine, but I'm still awaiting for feedback.

Vice Virtuoso has also been notified of the issue and he might fix it soon.
Yeah, I've been getting such reports as well, and someone noticed our mods work fine on their own but break the quests when enabled together.

Nutty and I are working on finalizing Version 4 these days, so I'll be able to look into the issues soon. If Vice's file has a fundamental problem, I might wait till that's fixed before releasing the Alien Strains update.
 
I hope this mod is still under development - absolutely fantastic work, but I'd love to be able to play an updated version. I ran a test to see how it worked without any other mods activated and here are my log results:

Database errors:
Spoiler :
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.343] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgrades.FreePerk - "UNITPERK_AST_DUMMY" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_MANTIS" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_CHAMELEON" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_SPIDER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_ALPHA" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_MYRMIDON" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_CHARGER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_FLYER_HUNTER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_FLYER_LOCUST" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_FLYER_CARRION" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_MANTICORE_BASILISK" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_MANTICORE_CHIMERA" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_SIEGE_WORM_RAVAGER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_SIEGE_WORM_MAKER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_LURKER" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_HORROR" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_KRAKEN_THANATOS" does not exist in UnitPerks
[1651139.406] Invalid Reference on UnitUpgradePerkChoices.PerkType - "UNITPERK_ALIEN_KRAKEN_LEVIATHAN" does not exist in UnitPerks

XML errors:
Spoiler :
[1651139.953] Validating UnitGameplay2DScripts
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_FLYER_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_FLYER_CARRION
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_FLYER_HUNTER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_FLYER_LOCUST
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_KRAKEN_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_KRAKEN_LEVIATHAN
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_KRAKEN_THANATOS
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_MANTICORE_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_MANTICORE_BASILISK
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_MANTICORE_CHIMERA
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_MANTICORE_SALAMANDER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_ALPHA
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_CHARGER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_RAPTOR_BUG_MYRMIDON
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_HORROR
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_LURKER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SEA_DRAGON_SERPENT
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SIEGE_WORM_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SIEGE_WORM_MAKER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_SIEGE_WORM_RAVAGER
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_BASE
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_CHAMELEON
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_MANTIS
[1651139.953] Missing Entry for UNIT_ALIEN_WOLF_BEETLE_SPIDER

Lua errors:
Spoiler :
Runtime Error: C:\Users\xxxx\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\MODS\Alien Strains (v 3)\Lua/AlienStrainsInit.lua:3: attempt to index a nil value
stack traceback:
C:\Users\xxxx\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\MODS\Alien Strains (v 3)\Lua/AlienStrainsInit.lua:3: in function '(main chunk)'
[C]: in function '(anonymous)'
Runtime Error: Error loading C:\Users\xxxx\Documents\My Games\Sid Meier's Civilization Beyond Earth\MODS\Alien Strains (v 3)\Lua/AlienStrainsInit.lua.
stack traceback:
[C]: in function '(anonymous)'

Hope the logs are helpful.
 
Hello, I downloaded your mod from direct link, but there is so many files, can you please tell me where to put them all?
 
ON THE FUTURE OF ALIEN STRAINS

With the impending release of Rising Tide, I've been pondering the future of the mod. There's major challenges ahead, which put on hold the greater plans I had for Alien Strains before the expansion was ever announced, fixing the affinity quests issue aside. There's also the fact I've had a new job for almost a year, and my free time has been substantially reduced.

The lesser challenge is having to come up with two alternative strains for each of the new aliens: the Scarab, Ripper and Makara. I'm not sure the Hydracoral would benefit from alternatives, given how it's almost terrain.

The greater challenge, however, is the mere task of adapting Alien Strains to the expansion, considering aliens now have biome-specific textures. And given there's like five biomes now, for starters that would quintuple my graphics work, and on the other hand it becomes much harder to devise properly distinctive colour combinations suitable for the strain in question and the nature of the biome. Disregarding biome-specificity is an option, but would be jarring as it would clash with the new look of the base aliens.

So embracing biome specificity seems unfeasible from both workload and conceptual standpoints. The alternative is playing around with unit sizes, amount and formations, but it's not ideal as it makes it harder to identify aliens at a glance.

Anyway, those are my thoughts at the moment. Can't be more precise without the expansion and its files in my hands.

As always, opinions are welcome.
 
ON THE FUTURE OF ALIEN STRAINS

With the impending release of Rising Tide, I've been pondering the future of the mod. There's major challenges ahead, which put on hold the greater plans I had for Alien Strains before the expansion was ever announced, fixing the affinity quests issue aside. There's also the fact I've had a new job for almost a year, and my free time has been substantially reduced.

The lesser challenge is having to come up with two alternative strains for each of the new aliens: the Scarab, Ripper and Makara. I'm not sure the Hydracoral would benefit from alternatives, given how it's almost terrain.

The greater challenge, however, is the mere task of adapting Alien Strains to the expansion, considering aliens now have biome-specific textures. And given there's like five biomes now, for starters that would quintuple my graphics work, and on the other hand it becomes much harder to devise properly distinctive colour combinations suitable for the strain in question and the nature of the biome. Disregarding biome-specificity is an option, but would be jarring as it would clash with the new look of the base aliens.

So embracing biome specificity seems unfeasible from both workload and conceptual standpoints. The alternative is playing around with unit sizes, amount and formations, but it's not ideal as it makes it harder to identify aliens at a glance.

Anyway, those are my thoughts at the moment. Can't be more precise without the expansion and its files in my hands.

As always, opinions are welcome.


My advice: Just keep using texture-swaps. You don't need a new texture for every biome, I don't think.

A little bit of unit size and formation might help in addition to texture, also. For example:

A swarm of little manticores and one big manticore for a strain of Manticore that fires twice a turn.

Another idea: A unit formation that consists of one manticore and a bunch of wolf beetles. Their ranged attack is relatively weak, but they are as strong as wolf beetles in melee combat.
 
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