Alien building models

Finally, alien buildings. 

This is our progress so far on structures for the alien team. Several are in-game already, others are in-progress and will be added soon once we code new gameplay for them. Two new, non-Tremulous structures are the leech and spiker, the latter of which was partially inspired by Gloom. Models in these shots have not been shown with creep, to emphasize details on the lower parts of the models.

Overmind

After an earlier design for the overmind didn’t go the way we wanted, we went back to the drawing board and came up with a more feasible concept, shown here. Instead of smacking you with tentacles, this new overmind design is meant to emit some sort of psychic or sonic screech, causing damage in a wide area and possibly using the heat haze effect or some other means to disorient you.

Acid tube

This was one of our first models to be completed after our first release, and for the most part it resembles the original Tremulous acid tube in gameplay mechanics. We recently found higher resolution textures for it, too. It still damages humans in an area around it, but it now uses a sort of gas effect instead of liquid. We would like to rename the acid tube to something more appropriate, but we are not entirely sure of a good name.

Spiker

A new attack structure for the alien team, one that will be in-game very soon once we finish the coding portion of implementation. The spiker is a mid-level attack form that showers the area around it with highly damaging spikes that can be dodged, much like the rocket pod for the human team. Once the spikes are thrown, they need to regenerate before the next volley.

Trapper

One of our other earlier models, restored to the way it was supposed to look with the rediscovery of some higher resolution textures recently. It still fires blobs that trap humans and hold them in place, although we may reanimate the model in a less rigid way. The gameplay will probably remain stable, considering its function is not entirely up to broad interpretation.

Hive

Another new model recently finished, although we will probably play with the textures and the glow map on the eyes. Unlike the Tremulous hive, which fired off an animated sprite, the new hive actually has small, animated flying aliens that will buzz around you while dealing damage. Each one will probably act independently and will probably last longer, and once they’ve killed one human, they’ll go on to the next.

Booster

We got this model into a recent release, and gave it a new healing effect shortly after. The booster is a blobby friend that will heal you and provide you with poison gas to rub onto your claws and cause toxic damage to humans you maul. Make sure to build these on the route to the human base.

Egg

After an earlier attempt didn’t sit well with animation, we’ve redesigned the egg and are currently working on a new model. This one resolves the strange bounding box found in Tremulous, where the bulk of the egg was not damaged by attacks and could be passed through. Instead, this egg will fit its bounding box, and will spawn aliens through a growing yolk sac in the center that will erupt into a spray of particles before regenerating for the next spawn.

Barricade

We have a concept for the barricade, but we haven’t gotten to work on it just yet. It will act much like the Tremulous one did, absorbing projectiles so that other buildings can work their magic, or at least keep humans preoccupied at doors. The model will stretch up and down to accommodate aliens passing over it.

Leech

Shown above is one attempt at the model, which unfortunately ended up having some crucial problems, but the design will more or less resemble what is shown. When we remodel it, you can expect the leech to be vaguely fungal, sucking some sort of undefined resource out of the ground to power your expansion efforts.