Age of Tycoon

[Serpyderpy]

Using a combination of programs that allows me to edit and view .SLP and .DRS files, as well as those daunting .data files, I've managed to extract graphics straight from Age of Empires and their expansions, as well as several mod packs. As both games utilise the isometric perspective and were made using similar methods of making and animating 3D models and converting them into sprite based assets, the graphics actually lend themselves well into ZT1 and integrate lovely into the style. I have been lurking in the community ever since I was little, and now that I'm grown I'd like to give something back for all the years of amusement this game and it's user made downloads have given me.

 

The first animal I have managed to make is a 'macaw'!

Now, in the game files this bird is simply referred to as parakeet. As birds are nothing more than ambients in the game, I can excuse the vagueness of it's name and appearence. I have not been able to find a parakeet that matches the appearence of this bird in real life, nor a macaw or a parrot or any other bird. I have found budgerigars that are blue with a yellow head, but no red streak on the tail. I called it Scarlet macaw as a placeholder name, if anyone could help me choose a suitable bird for it to represent, I'd appreciate that! You'd think a game hellbent on accuracy with it's units would do the same for the animals, but one can dream.

 

I have a lot of animals to go through, but I hope you will all like them when they're gradually released!

 

[(Designer)Vondell]

That sounds promising! I've never played any of the AOE games myself, but I've seen several scenery pieces from them here that fit really nicely with ZT's isometric scale and style. And if I'm thinking right, they've got lots of domestic animals like sheep and deer and horses that would be hard to recreate any other way without modeling and animating from scratch. So I'm sure you'll find a lot of folks around here excited for that prospect!

 

It's funny, that's the same reason I ended up coming back here and doing what I do now, too. I think there's a good handful of us here who found the site when we were young and want to give something back to the community now that we can. Coming back it was inspiring to me that so many years later the community's still kicking, and still creating. You're in good company. Glad you're here and good luck on your projects!

[(Professor Emeritus)Professor Paul]

It is a scarlet macaw!

[Serpyderpy]

3 hours ago, Vondell said:

That sounds promising! I've never played any of the AOE games myself, but I've seen several scenery pieces from them here that fit really nicely with ZT's isometric scale and style. And if I'm thinking right, they've got lots of domestic animals like sheep and deer and horses that would be hard to recreate any other way without modeling and animating from scratch. So I'm sure you'll find a lot of folks around here excited for that prospect!

 

It's funny, that's the same reason I ended up coming back here and doing what I do now, too. I think there's a good handful of us here who found the site when we were young and want to give something back to the community now that we can. Coming back it was inspiring to me that so many years later the community's still kicking, and still creating. You're in good company. Glad you're here and good luck on your projects!

Yeah, it was rather surprising coming back after all this time and seeing this community alive as it is today. I hang around the ZT2 community myself but always stayed around this site to see how things were going from time to time, and to log back in after a long absence and seeing it still going is, well, awesome! You would also be right about the domestic aspect, and there's quite a few, too, since these animals are often a good source of food for the in-game economy and you find them naturally around maps, which come in a lot of different biomes! I already have a few that have had their assets extracted, like below:

It is surreal to be apart of the community after so long but, thank you! I look forward to all the other projects you come up with yourself, I have used your tortoise in nearly every zoo I've made ever since release, haha!

 

1 hour ago, Professor Paul said:

It is a scarlet macaw!

Well, that saved me time replacing everything! I thought it looked too blue to be a scarlet but I'm not complaining, haha.

[(Professor Emeritus)Professor Paul]

It looks more red to me tbh but then again, its a very small image. And we need more domestic animals

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

Great work!  I'm so excited to see these items develop.  As an old gal who was around in the beginning, it is very rewarding to see our young members return and become creative for our beloved old Zoo Tycoon.  As the other sites withered away, our little band was determined to not let that happen to Tek.  Thank you young designers for breathing new life and vitality into the community once again.

[(Designer)Z.Z.]

Oh those are going to be awesome!

:D

 

Are you making them scenery or animals?

 

[HeatherL]

I think it probably looks a bit more like a blue & gold macaw.  However, it is beautiful and I don't care what you call it, it will look great in my zoo! 

[Serpyderpy]

18 hours ago, Professor Paul said:

It looks more red to me tbh but then again, its a very small image. And we need more domestic animals

More domestic animals coming right up, then! They seem to make up most of the roster for the animals in AOE regardless. 

 

14 hours ago, savannahjan said:

Great work!  I'm so excited to see these items develop.  As an old gal who was around in the beginning, it is very rewarding to see our young members return and become creative for our beloved old Zoo Tycoon.  As the other sites withered away, our little band was determined to not let that happen to Tek.  Thank you young designers for breathing new life and vitality into the community once again.

This kind of made me tear up a bit, I'm happy that you all managed to hold on for this long. I never gave up on ZT1 and I'm glad that others didn't, also. I'll do my best to make projects that'll make you guys proud. ;__;7

 

13 hours ago, Z.Z. said:

Oh those are going to be awesome!

:D

 

Are you making them scenery or animals?

 

Animals! I think there are already some scenery objects of some of the animals I am going to import, but, I'd like to see them as actual animals. I've already made the macaw into one and just recently managed to get the sheep working, too!

 

7 hours ago, HeatherL said:

I think it probably looks a bit more like a blue & gold macaw.  However, it is beautiful and I don't care what you call it, it will look great in my zoo! 

Ahh, thank you! It should be released soon!

 

Although I do have a question, how does one get sounds to work? For example, I recently finished the sheep. I went through the behaviour list after adding my two sounds, in the .wav format, and changed all the Undefined's to either one or the other sound file, respectively. Yet nothing happens when I play the game, they're just silent, the files are there in the .ztd but I'm not sure what else to do to try and get them to work. Does anyone have any ideas? D:

 

EDIT: Nevermind, figured it out! Although it does end the sound with an obnoxious popping sound, and it is not apparent when I look at the sound in Audacity. I'll have to meddle with it some more and see if I can get it to stop doing that, but, the sheep is practically finished! I tried going through the tutorials to touch up the .UCA and I think I got it to be stable. Someone might have to look at it for me, this is the first time in years I've tried to make an animal, haha. Here's a picture!

 

[Fern]

For editing try reading this: Uca Editing Guide

That guide includes sound info in two areas. I think you want to read the second section. For more information you can post questions for Jay over at the Download Directory

If you are getting Undefined then you are using the wrong version of Ape.

There will still be some editing needed but this version gets rid of a number of issues. Make sure you read the info that comes with it.

http://www.ztcdd.org/DD/Downloads/ZTABC/APExp3-2.zip