Also Known As: banshee_revora (Steam) Joined: 15 Aug 2002 Location: Brazil
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 9:22 pm Post subject:
Ares 0.1 public beta released!
Subject description: It's better than a time machine... it controls the universe!
Greetings ladies and gentlemen!
Today is a historical day for Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge modders. It's the beggining of a new era where we'll have freedom to express our modding creativity bypassing the natural barriers set by the Westwood Studios. Ares is not the first community patch that proposes expand the modding features of the game or fix game bugs, but it is certainly the easiest to maintain, since it injects C++ code into the game.
So, the first public version is now available and it comes with a myriad of bug fixes and new features. Mods created for Rock Patch and NPatch are not compatible with Ares. Here's the changelog:
Quote:
New Features - New sides & countries (including numerous enhancements).
- Countries can be excluded from the 'random country' option, or given differing weights.
- Sides can specify their own unique UI.
- Rad beams can have custom colors, duration and amplitude.
- Electric bolts can have custom colors.
- Enabled unused IsLaser wave effect.
- Waves can have custom colors.
- Customisable wave direction.
- Customisable Ivan bomb clones.
- Weapons can apply the Iron Curtain effect for a specified number of frames (stackable).
- Permanent mind-control weapons.
- Per-weapon WarpAway animation.
- Ion Cannon ripple effect for weapons.
- Per-warhead damage multiplier against deployed infantry.
- AffectsEnemies= flag added (counterpart for AffectsAllies=).
- New InfDeaths (InfDeathAnim= any animation, auto-detect mutation).
- Additional armor types which can default to reacting like an existing armor type.
- Warhead verses special behaviours can be decoupled from Verses (ForceFire/Retaliate/PassiveAcquire).
- MakeInfantry animations (InfDeathAnim, DeathAnims, map triggers) can choose who the owner will be as killer|victim|neutral|random.
- Super Weapons:
- Building animations played correctly for new super weapons.
- Custom cursors.
- Money deductable when firing a superweapon.
- Custom animation played at target cell.
- FireIntoShroud optional.
- Custom EVA events.
- ParaDrops can include vehicles.
- SpyPlane can now specify which AircraftType, how many, and what mission to perform.
- Custom nuke siren sound.
- New super weapon type: SonarPulse (briefly reveals cloaked units).
- New super weapon type: GenericWarhead (detonate any warhead at target cell).
- New super weapon type: UnitDelivery (create unit(s) at target cell).
- Percent chance for pilots and/or passengers to emerge/parachute from destroyed vehicles/aircraft.
- Vehicles and buildings can be made to require an operator (driver) before they will function.
- Buildings can be made solid (like walls) to certain projectiles.
- Numerous features added to support trenches:
- Weapons can be made to pass through urban combat buildings to the occupants inside (including fatal chance and damage modifier).
- Unoccupied player buildings can be garrisoned by enemy infantry.
- Buildings can be converted into a different building on destruction (rubble) and back again on repair by an engineer.
- Infantry can jump from one urban combat building to an adjacent one.
- Buildings can have any size and shape of custom foundations.
Prerequisites:
- Units can require the map to be a specific theater (desert/snow/lunar/etc).
- PrerequisiteNegative makes a unit unavailable if a building on the list is owned.
- Multiple separate prerequisite lists - a unit can require any one of several sets of buildings.
- New StolenTech requirements.
- New Prerequisite Groups.
- Per-building secret lab boons.
- Hard-coded properties of Cows and Desolators can be toggled on/off for any infantry.
- Custom IFV clones.
- Custom insignia for veteran/elite units.
- Custom parachute animations.
- Custom palettes for cameos.
Spy behaviour:
- Multiple effects can be achieved on a single building.
- New effect: Reveal radar (shows you what the enemy can see).
Per-building power outage duration.
- New effect: Steal money amount (steals a set amount of money rather than a percentage).
- Per-building steal money percentage.
- New effect: Stolen tech index (multiple new stolen techs).
- New effect: Reveal production cameo (shows you what the enemy are currently building).
- [#include] section allows rulesmd.ini to be split up into separate files.
Object names can be written directly into rulesmd.ini rather than adding them to the string table.
- Several INI flag lists have been extended to allow more text to be parsed.
- expandmd##.mix can override content from langmd.mix.
- WAV files loose in the Red Alert 2 directory can now be played, without having to include them in audio.bag.
- SHP compression can be used on mouse.sha.
- Animation for InfDeath=5 can be overriden using InfantryElectrocuted= (instead of using the second animation from [Animations]).
Snowmd.ini defaults Medians=71 (this is needed by the Terrain Expansion and also prevents an IE in the Random Map Generator when Urban Ares are enabled).
- Improved Internal Error handling and debug logs to assist with debugging mods/Ares.
- Screenshots saved as BMP files rather than PCX.
- Random Map Generator enhancements:
- Place Urban Areas option.
- Bridges over rivers.
- New terrain style: Archipelago.
- New tileset: Desert.
- Map snapshot command (saves a YRM map file of the current map).
- Type data dumping command (dump type information to a log file, including AI trigger weights).
- Command line option to not require the Yuri's Revenge CD.
- Command line option to not play the EA/Westwood logo video.
- AllowHiResMods enabled by default.
- Can play single player skirmish without any computer players.
- Graphics/Surface drawing options can be configured by the user (advanced users only).
Bug Fixes
-Temporal warheads no longer gain experience when used against allies
- Prism support modifier fixed for game modes/maps.
- Stuck mutation animations are deleted (thus preventing a memory leak)
- Spying a war factory will not give you veteran build icons for naval units incorrectly.
- Secret lab boons are picked truly at random.
- Too many secret labs on a map would cause them all to be empty. Not anymore.
- AI will not use weather storms or nukes on cloaked units.
- "Enemy harvester guard mode" exploit no longer works.
- Parasites that destroy an airborne unit will fall to the ground and be destroyed too.
- Warhead verses special values (0%/1%/2%) should now apply their behavior consistently.
- Units pulled by a Magnetron will on longer play their move sound.
- Buildable secret labs will now have a boon.
- Buildable construction yards no longer cause an IE when canceled.
- Animations' warhead flag now works.
- Units that start veteran as a country-specific bonus will now have veteran build icons.
- Vehicles can overpower buildings.
- OpenTopped transports will decloak to fire when their passengers fire.
- RadBeams and waves will use the correct FLH (instead of always using PrimaryFLH).
- Sonic wave ambient damage comes from the correct weapon (instead of always Primary).
- Ivan bombs can be fired by any unit (instead of just infantry).
- Building upgrades can now be used as prerequisites.
- Units can specify a custom palette.
- Factory load sharing for factories of the same type, rather than just the same ID.
- "New construction options" no longer announced if player does not have the correct factory type for a unit.
- Special weapons (mind-control/parasite/temporal) will now work in the Secondary slot.
- DestroyAnims can use remappable colors.
- DestroyAnims don't cause reconnection errors anymore.
- Infantry and buildings can now reload ammo correctly.
- Vehicles that deploy into a building now count towards the BuildLimit of that building, and vice versa.
- Hijackers inside vehicles now count towards that hijacker's BuildLimit.
- 100-unit bug fixed for infantry, vehicles and aircraft (there's no longer a limit on these).
- Multiple loose PKT files no longer have their contents duplicated.
- Missionsmd.pkt can now be overridden by your own version inside expandmd##.mix
- Alpha lights will now move with the object they are attached too.
- Alpha lights can now have multiple facings.
- Mind-controller parasites will no longer draw the mind-control link when the the target is selected.
- SpyPlane.Count decoupled from AllyParaDropNum.
- Nuke super weapons can be overridden to use a sound other than DigSound for their siren.
- Shadows on jumpjet units will now be drawn correctly when the unit is airborne.
- Vehicles that are paradropped will now be centered correctly on the cell they land on, rather than being offset.
- Aircraft can now attack other aircraft if given a weapon with an AA=yes projectile.
- BaseUnit= can now hold more than 3 vehicles.
- "Low power" announcement used to occur only if you owned one of the first 3 buildings from BuildConst=. This now works if you have any building on the list.
- Infantry still inside a Hospital or Armory when it is destroyed/sold may go into limbo instead of emerging, meaning that they still count towards the player's units. Now they will emerge.
- If an AI is made to build multiple factories of the same type they will no longer result in cloned units/buildings (this can be turned back on if desired).
- Amphibious objects no longer sink when chronoshifted onto water.
Temporal warheads no longer affect objects that are not Warpable
Gates can be slammed onto any walls, not just GAWALL or NAWALL.
- Several performance enhancements.
- Restored Tiberian Sun Logic
- EMP weapons
- SellUnit super weapon no longer causes IEs with Tank Bunker.
- PowerToggle super weapon no longer causes IE when targetting an empty cell.
- Spotlights
- Laser Fences
- Amphibious vehicles can change their voxel when moving between water/land.
- Firestorm Wall
And here's what does it doesn't do:
- Ares does not allow users to save their matches to continue them later.
- If you have more than 16 sides or countries, you won't be able to add taunt for all of them.
And here's a list of RockPatch/NPatch features that are not implemented on Ares:
Quote:
RockPatch/NPatch Features Not (Yet) Included:
- Chrono Factory (unit is delivered by chronoshift)
- DropPod Factory (unit is delivered by drop pod)
- Paradrop Factory (unit is delivered by paradrop)
- Non-VTOL Aircraft
- Command line switch to output list of missing string table entries
- VoiceIFVRepair
- Radiation types
- Bounty
- Immunities (obsolete because of new armor types)
- Unit upgrade morphing with veterancy
- Custom laser widths
- Custom weapon cursors
- Bespoke Main Menu
- TechLevel slider
- Multi-engineer
- Third campaign button
- Disable campaign menu
- Toggle Power can replace click-repair
- Custom dropdown colors
- Super weapons:
- DropPod
- Custom Paradrop clones
- EMPulseCannon
- Autofire
- Hunterseeker
- SpySat
- IonCannon
- Upgrade
- General super weapon clones
- AI targeting types
- Lighting
It's the mother-load of modding potential! Looks like I have to return my attention to my mod since this appears to feature everything I could possibly need. QUICK_EDIT
It should be able to use any version, because Im too lazy to insert my TFD disk in, I cracked mine...well, I just use the Unofficial patch, it seems to crack the game, ZH atleast. _________________ Please, I DON'T read the signature rules of the forum. QUICK_EDIT
I doubt that they will be forgotten, you have to take in consideration of the people who made thier mods using those patches. _________________
The enemy shall be injected with toxic poison - Venom QUICK_EDIT
There's a typo there, I think...I believe you meant
"- Ares does not allow users to save their matches to continue them later. "
(Which is hopefully something we can remedy in the future.)
Sorry I didn't get around to send you stuff prior to release, Banshee, but I still didn't get to finishing the promo shots. :/
I dont know which way to go . My current mod makes use of the NPatch veteran unit changing and custom radiation logics quite a bit. But ares has features that I would L=like to use to.
What should I do
Or can these features be implemented in later versions. QUICK_EDIT
I'd still like to see deformable terrain and forest fires (proper ones), though I know those would require a lot of work and would propably slow down the game (the reason why they were removed in the first place). _________________ QUICK_EDIT
- SellUnit super weapon no longer causes IEs with Tank Bunker.
- PowerToggle super weapon no longer causes IE when targetting an empty cell.
Does this mean that the Sell Unit on repair bay and Toggle Power sidebar button can only be emulated as superweapons in RA2/YR/Ares ? _________________ QUICK_EDIT
I wait until the most of the RPatch list is on Ares, most of my mod is based on these SW's. I do love this patch and I am cerntainly going to use it! _________________ QUICK_EDIT
does this patch still can save campaign missions? _________________ Did you know that if you have 2 apples and you eat 3 you get an IE and all the universe explodes? QUICK_EDIT
i'm not impressed with ares its more for RA2 mods not TC's so no im not support just yet i have many features it deosn't support so no i'm not using it as of yet, but things may change we will see _________________ Link to a document to see what mods i have and/or working on or working with
Click QUICK_EDIT
only things i´m missing are custom mplayer-colors and multiple turrets like in ra1
other than that it is pretty P.O.D. _________________ just a simple logo by bricks @ raminator, on Flickr QUICK_EDIT
Is it really confirmed that Ares breaks the usage of savegames or is it just because most mods have a sloppy ini coding (especially [Animations]). _________________ SHP Artist of Twisted Insurrection: Nod buildings
Also Known As: evanb90 Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Location: o kawaii koto
Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 6:30 pm Post subject:
Very, very good. I got to test an early version of Ares while testing Lt. Albrecht's MV mod, and it quite excellent then.
Watching it progress via the BugTracker has been exciting (it is among the number of sites I check several times a day).
and I love the performance boosts. I'd switch to Ares just to reap the benefits of those. _________________ YR modder/artist, DOOM mapper, aka evanb90
Project Lead Developer, New-Star Strike (2014-)
Former Project Lead DeveloperStar Strike (2005-2012), Z-Mod (2006-2007), RA1.5 (2008-2013), The Cold War (2006-2007) QUICK_EDIT
Just to make sure it isnt just me, is anyone else experiencing a 2 second blackout after around 12 seconds into game using Ares? _________________
The enemy shall be injected with toxic poison - Venom QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 5:23 am Post subject:
m7 wrote:
Custom colors? You're going to stick with NPatch for custom colors?
So be it. I don't have to say anything else.
No.. im staying because of superweapon clones and many other tags that makes my factions work :/ I mentioned colors but i clearly said superweapon clones too... so it beats me how you got Im staying for just custom colors. QUICK_EDIT
Superweapon clones are scheduled for Ares development, hell they get their own version devoted to them. Not to mention that there are already 3 new types, and the abilities to add new actions in the game. QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:39 am Post subject:
m7 wrote:
Superweapon clones are scheduled for Ares development, hell they get their own version devoted to them. Not to mention that there are already 3 new types, and the abilities to add new actions in the game.
and yet this version clearly does not have them.. So why would you be suprised I wouldnt switch to Ares just quite yet?
Edit~
meh, people on xfire talked me into it. Decided to go for it to make Mercenaries work better.. Though the documentation gives me a huge headache since i dont understand any of it @_@ Last edited by wardeathfun on Fri May 21, 2010 5:23 am; edited 1 time in total QUICK_EDIT
Joined: 18 Jun 2005 Location: Dordrecht, the Netherlands
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:49 pm Post subject:
All I can say is that this patch/mod/whatever you call it is bloody great! It works like a charm, and it even fixes some of the stuff NPatch broke for my mod QUICK_EDIT
Fixes a few errors with Ares for a more stable experience. I can vouch for these fixes myself. Be aware that this is a [i]patch not an update[/] and AFAIK no new logics are included. Wait for 0.2 for more goodies. In the meantime grab the patch version for increased stability. _________________ Albrecht never dies, he just goes to the nearest bar to regroup. QUICK_EDIT
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Ares 0.1 public beta released!
*is stuck with npatch if feels like forever*
