Announcing my mod; RA2:YR:New Horizons
In this topic I would like to discuss with you my mod (which runs with Ares), called 'New Horizons'. I have never released my mod, and since the latest version of Ares has been released with the save/load feature re-enabled, I have decided I will complete the finishing touches of my mod, and release it. At the moment I would say it is 98-99% complete, with only a few things I need to 'neaten up' before release, as well as resolve one issue of the random IE that occurs sometimes (not all the time, I'd say it's 50/50) during gameplay, which I've mentioned in my 1st thread before this. In this thread I will try to discuss the overall concept of my mod, as well as SOME of what I've done to RA2:YR. I’m happy to tell you that I have successfully run N.H. on various systems, using various Windows Operating systems up to and including Windows 10 (7 is the best). I have also run it via LAN with my girlfriend on numerous occasions.
Overall
We all know the Red Alert series as a semi-realistic light-hearted RTS game that pitches the Soviets vs the Allies (And of course, Yuri); I have attempted to keep the light-hearted spirit of the original game, while focusing as much as possible on emphasising realism. The obvious outright exception to this rule is of course the Yuri faction. In this regard, I have added a Huge arsenal of new units and weapons to the game, that reflect more real life units, while at the same time keeping some of the original units that the game is known for. Kirov airships, prism tanks anybody? The technologies range all the way from post-WW2 (maybe even inclusive), to modern day technologies. For example; the Soviet MBT's range from the Soviet-era T-55 all the way up to the most recent Russian T-14 Armata. The Allies (modelled on modern NATO) have an advantage in numbers; they are able to produce larger quantities of equipment, at a relatively cheaper cost to them, whereas the Soviets have an advantage in generally more battle-hardened units, albeit are generally slower/heavier, and relatively costlier (thus limiting the rate of production). All countries at the moment are the same countries that were in the original game.
AI
I have completely reworked the AI. In the original game, you may remember being attacked at regular intervals by the same predictable, somewhat feeble enemy 'waves'. Now the enemy is much more Unpredictable, and can sometimes reflect the behaviour of a human player:
-Their characteristics mean that they now have a tendency to eventually build HUGE bases.
-They build very large armies, that attack in various complicated ways. When attacked by multiple enemies at once this can be overwhelming-ly... Fun!
-Enemies may randomly set up a forward base; they may choose a simple outpost, they may decide to build a forward command centre to really piss you off.
-Allies will be more helpful, once they kick in.
-AI teams will react to various types of behaviours; certain actions by any team may provoke them to take drastic measures (or countermeasures).
Gameplay
There has been a huge overhaul in terms of realism. In terms of previous C&C games, where you may be used to seeing a squad of soldiers blow up a building with machineguns in under 30 seconds, you will find that you now require to bring in some serious firepower to destroy most structures. Buildings will require heavy shelling before they are destroyed; this is relative to what you bring against it, and dependant on it's size, as well as what it's made of. Units, including vehicles and infantry, behave very distinctly in terms of their mobility and firepower. For example an MBT will fire at a certain rate, and a heavy artillery unit will take considerably longer to reload. Any given vehicle has unique acceleration, speed, and ROT. Ares introduced Air to Air combat to the game; I have now made it so that planes can not only target each other, but have proper dogfights, with the chance to dodge incoming missiles. There are now a variety on non-combat units; these vehicles serve a variety of functions. Units specialising in EW for example (Not referring to EMP's), that may or may not be armed.
Units
Examples include;
• T-series tanks (Soviet faction), T-55 to T-14 Armata.
• Modern NATO tanks; Abrams, Challenger, Leopard.
• Jets including F15,16,18...
• Jets including Su-25,35,57...
• MRLS including; TOS-1/Buratino Heavy Flamethrower System, M270, Katyushas.
• Mobile Scud missile launchers.
• Artillery systems; K9 Thunder, Msta.
• Apache.
• Mi-28.
• Chinook transport.
• A massive, functional An-124 capable of transporting tanks. Or infantry inside BMP's inside an An-124
• A massive 'Zubr' transport hovercraft.
• Upgraded aircraft carriers, including Admiral Kuznetsov.
• Functional medics.
• Mortar-capable conscripts.
• Humvees.
Buildings
Examples include;
• Flamethrower towers.
• Advanced laser defence systems.
• Elite Soviet training facility.
• War hospitals.
• Expanded air bases.
• Expanded research buildings.
• Specialised buildings.
• Multiple factories – Oh wait the newer versions of Ares have made them obsolete!
I have also enhanced to a degree many of the new and old buildings.
Cameos
Needless to say I have added a Lot of new cameos.
Maps
I have improved some of the original maps, as well as made a few of my own, and collected a whole load from open sources.
Sound
I have enhanced the sounds, including adding many of the original CnC soundtracks!
Future
There is a huge amount of stuff I intend to add in the future, some of it I've nearly implemented. I may discuss this soon. At the moment, I have not added any Ares-specific tags to the game, however I intend to do so in the near future.
Let me know what you guys think so far, feel free to ask any questions, and make any suggestions. Like I said, I need to finish off a few things I haven't finished, but most importantly find out the cause of the mysterious IE that happens every second or third game (see other thread); I will get round to testing the game when I can, as I have other priorities and major projects to deal with in my life. After further testing (and encountering this IE again), I shall share the generated debugging and crashdump files; weirdly it's far more likely on some maps, whereas on other maps it pretty much Never happens.
*Latest* -After AlexB has checked a crashdump file I submitted, it would seem the random IE has been resolved. I have tested 2 lengthy games, and even saved and loaded one of them multiple times, and no IE crash has occurred so far. (I would do more testing but I’m not a timelord)
