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Author Topic: Idea: Xenomorph Mod  (Read 763 times)

optimusjamie

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Idea: Xenomorph Mod
« on: December 31, 2012, 07:27:47 pm »

I recently rewatched Aliens, and I was thinking: could a Xenomorph be accurately modelled in Dwarf Fortress? This is actually a pretty difficult question, because Xenomorphs use other species for reproduction (for those who are unfamiliar: they lay eggs in the victim's chest cavity, which hatch and then burst out), and they take on aspects of the host species, so it may be that a Xenomorph which hatched from, say, a dwarf would be noticeably different from one that hatched from a kobold. The reproductive cycle could be recreated with creative uses of syndromes and reactions, for example if Urist McRedshirt gets a face full of alien wing wong, then a syndrom kicks in which means he has X hours before an alien bursts out of his chest.
Xenomorph hives would be randomly-spawning features in the cavern layers, most likely in the lower layers as appropriate to the level of Fun involved, with facehuggers in the outermost areas, some xenomorphs as you go further in and a Queen in the inner sanctum.
I can imagine Xenomorphs being extremely Fun, being fast, strong, tough creatures that have acid for blood, as well as the whole facehugger thing. A potential offset to that could be adding weapons used by the space marines in the films, although futuristic assault rifles and flamethrowers may be somewhat unbalanced against medieval weapons and armour.
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i2amroy

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Re: Idea: Xenomorph Mod
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2012, 07:35:44 pm »

You could indeed simulate the incubation and trait copying with syndromes/interactions, but it would be a pain since you would need to create a alien caste for every single creature that they could infest and an accompanying interaction/syndrome.

As for the hives, that isn't really possible right now.

The creature idea is completely possible, and I think it might have actually been done a few times in the past.
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Jacob/Lee

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Re: Idea: Xenomorph Mod
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2012, 07:47:57 pm »

Using my basic knowledge of modding, I made one a while back but I haven't improved it or my skill since then. I have a superbly basic set-up for a xenomorph right now, but I seem to have lost the facehugger interaction. The biggest problem I had was a creature's willingness, or rather, their unwillingness to use an interaction that harms themselves. This means you'll either need to do some trickery possibly involving anti-facehugger gas that spews out when they attack or make up a new way to spawn xenos, or live with facehuggers that can infinitely facehug person after person with no way to stop them. A couple of other issues with mine existed:
  • My drone, hunter, and queen caste were all the same except with some slightly different skills and sizes because I never learned how to create or work body plans beyond the basics.
  • Their chitin could be fractured by an unskilled dwarf punching it, and I never learned how to work materials. Deon's apocalypse mod has a plan for reinforced chitin somewhere in it.

Here's my file in case you want to look it over/laugh at my lack of skill. The facehugger is defined to use the interaction which I've lost, by the way.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Meph

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Re: Idea: Xenomorph Mod
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2012, 08:21:05 pm »

Wow, we just had that... literally just one page ago: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=120940.0
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Valikdu

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Re: Idea: Xenomorph Mod
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2013, 12:06:01 am »

Hives are... well, two variants:
-You make a xenomorph entity to siege you
-You give them the demon token and have Hell as the hive, while using the advanced worldgen to have no random demon types

If you choose entity, you may also give them spouse conversion! Although I have no idea what effect this would have on entity creatures.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2013, 12:07:48 am by Valikdu »
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