C&C Red Alert Redux (Mod for C&C Generals Zero Hour)

[sgtmyers88]

EDIT: The new mod profile is live!

 

So long time no chat. lol ? Since finally completing the story campaigns for Tiberian Dawn Redux a couple years ago I have been repeatedly approached about carrying the mod over into the RA universe with a spinoff. I haven't decided if it will be a mini-mod type add-on built into TDR (think GDI/Nod vs. Allies/Soviets in skirmish) or a standalone project built off of the renovated C&C Generals SAGE engine TDR is now using. I know a lot of the assets and coding between the original TD and RA games is nearly the same so it would streamline development quite a bit. (looking into the original game files I noticed a lot of the art and audio assets are using the same filenames to confirm this) The biggest hurdles I have will be making a decent naval system, designing, coding, and animating attack dogs and then the Chronosphere stuff. I may also (as I did with TDR) consolidate the unit and structure tech tree and add unit upgrades and special abilities. (e.g. Engineers doubled as Mechanics and APC's doubled as Medics) So who wants Red Alert Redux? And I will say it will not be a 1:1 remake. As I did with TDR I aim to keep as much of the original wacky tech and atmosphere Westwood developed for TD and RA but also have a more realistic spin on it in both appearance and gameplay. I have been considering consulting with the former Cold War Crisis Mod Team and the guys behind Red Alert: A Path Beyond.

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2021 by sgtmyers88

[comanche]

i believe it would be cool to merge TD and RA into one rather than make a separate mod, would be more fun

[sgtmyers88]

I have a lot of ideas in the works. It might still happen. I may even do both. Release RA Redux as a standalone mod with custom maps and a full Ore system working while also porting the factions alone to TDR in a patch using the remaining Generals SubFaction templates.

 

Also I already got Attack Dogs working in-game that I will reveal shortly. I got a few things to sort out still. Same with Naval stuff which I haven't got coded and working yet. I have a lot of stuff I have been sitting on for quite a while behind the scenes.

Edited October 15, 2021 by sgtmyers88

[TaxOwlbear]

You may be aware of this already, but there's a mod called Red Alert 3: The Third War: https://www.moddb.com/mods/red-alert-3

It's a YR to ZH conversion and pretty rough in spots, but if its creators don't mind, it may have some useful stuff for RA1 in ZH e.g. Tesla Coils and Shock Troopers, naval combat etc.

[Chad1233]

Regarding your light tank model instead of a M48 Patton you should just make it look like the CGI version since it's quite unique and doesn't really have a real world design. It only has a Abrams like turret in similarities but it's narrower and shorter with a smaller gun. The hull doesn't match anything really and just seems like a mix design.

I already covered it in the W3D forum and you even see a good close up of it destroyed which I posted there. I also uploaded close up side shots of it seen in a cut scene assaulting a base
https://w3dhub.com/forum/topic/419141-a-proper-light-tank-for-apb/?do=findComment&comment=695154

Edited October 23, 2021 by Chad1233

[sgtmyers88]

On 10/22/2021 at 1:16 PM, Chad1233 said:

Regarding your light tank model instead of a M48 Patton you should just make it look like the CGI version since it's quite unique and doesn't really have a real world design. It only has a Abrams like turret in similarities but it's narrower and shorter with a smaller gun. The hull doesn't match anything really and just seems like a mix design.

I already covered it in the W3D forum and you even see a good close up of it destroyed which I posted there. I also uploaded close up side shots of it seen in a cut scene assaulting a base
https://w3dhub.com/forum/topic/419141-a-proper-light-tank-for-apb/?do=findComment&comment=695154

Funny I went over that thread and saw the discussion about slapping on a turret from one tank to another. I recently made a model of such a thing that was done in real life. Its the M60-2000 tank. Looks pretty good in-game. It actually resembles that render quite closely. The real tank was 20 tons lighter than the M1 but possessed the same turret and gun. https://www.moddb.com/games/cc-generals-zero-hour/addons/m60-120s-tank-model-for-cc-generalszh-public-use

I have quite a few unused models in my inventory which is the reason why I considered my Patton Tank model, but nothings finalized in the least. Also the Soviet side is getting new stuff and not a copy/paste reskin of American equipment the Allies use. (e.g. The M113 remodeled as a Minelayer and the Chinook Transport)

On 10/22/2021 at 6:26 AM, TaxOwlbear said:

You may be aware of this already, but there's a mod called Red Alert 3: The Third War: https://www.moddb.com/mods/red-alert-3

It's a YR to ZH conversion and pretty rough in spots, but if its creators don't mind, it may have some useful stuff for RA1 in ZH e.g. Tesla Coils and Shock Troopers, naval combat etc.

Yeah I played it 15 years ago when it was new. It hasn't aged well. I almost did RA Redux due to that mod back then before I settled on doing TDR instead. I might look it up again for reference material at the least. I already got a much better attack dog animated in game too. I used my actual German Shepard for the texture.

Edited October 26, 2021 by sgtmyers88

[Chad1233]

Quote

Funny I went over that thread and saw the discussion about slapping on a turret from one tank to another

I don't think I was saying slap a Abrams turret on a different hull since the turret itself looks to be narrower and not a outright copy when looking at it parked next to the Abram in the render. The design seen in cutscenes is pretty much its own thing and a model should just be accurate to how it appeared. A M60-2000 is plausible but the light tank doesn't have side skirts, or a raised engine deck and the exhaust are above the track covers rather than being hidden behind the grate. The hull itself feels more like WW2/post war design like the M41 Bulldog with its exhaust placement. ?

Edited October 28, 2021 by Chad1233

[sgtmyers88]

Been doing more research and brainstorming for ideas. Yeah looks like the above tank is supposed to be depicted as a M41 Walker Bulldog. I initially considered it being a M47 Patton as they both have a very similar profile. However the M47 has six road wheels vs five on the M41. I also enhanced a frame from the same cutscene for comparison.

And upon further thoughts, I am leaning more towards going for a more realistic tone for the game with the sides using early 1950's to early 1980's hardware. Also Soviets wont have reskins of American/Allied hardware such as the Chinook and Tanya and will instead get their own unique units.

Like I did with TDR I also added all new units such as the Ontos Tank (modernized), the Comanche & Osprey aircraft, and the T-72 tank. I plan to do that to an extent as well for RA Redux and use some obscure real life vehicles that havent been featured much in games or other media. I still would like to make use of my M48 model somewhere but I can also delete the turret and turn it into a M247 Sgt. York armored AA vehicle as the Allied answer to the Soviet Mammoth Tank and its anti-air capability.

I also plan to use some modified variant of a Soviet BMP, MTLB, or GMZ vehicle as an APC/Mine Layer to further differentiate its appearance from the Allied APC (an M113) and since the Chinese Helix in Generals is a Ka-27 in real life I don't see any issue with modifying it for the Soviets to replace their reskinned Chinook.

And while its commonly accepted that the Abrams was the Medium Tank for both GDI an Allied forces in the two games, I am considering my M60-120S model posted above to swap in for the Allies tank.

Edited December 30, 2021 by sgtmyers88

[sgtmyers88]

I got some structures put together and animated including the RA MCV and ConYard. And also I did get the naval stuff working. Still needs full AI implementation though but the next release of Tiberian Dawn Redux will have this included as Tech Buildings. The yards also automatically rebuild if destroyed after 10 minutes thanks to using the GLA Hole code from Generals.

Edited December 30, 2021 by sgtmyers88

[Chad1233]

Quote

And while its commonly accepted that the Abrams was the Medium Tank for both GDI an Allied forces in the two games, I am considering my M60-120S model posted above to swap in for the Allies tank.

Red Alert 1 was originally suppose to take place in the 70s with 1940s to 1980s tech mixed in according to a archived Q&A session nearly a year before RA1 came out. That would explain the high tech leftovers like the Apache, Hind, T-72, and M1 Abrams which some were still prototype stage at that point but it's not unfitting for the Allies to have the early XM1/M1 unlike GDI that has the M1A1. I made a post linking the source to it to.

https://w3dhub.com/forum/topic/419113-red-alert-1s-time-line/#comment-694908
 

You got some ideas rolling around but do you plan to add a "pure" mode to your Red Alert mod? In my preference I would just like the original units.

 

[sgtmyers88]

2 hours ago, Chad1233 said:

You got some ideas rolling around but do you plan to add a "pure" mode to your Red Alert mod? In my preference I would just like the original units.

 

I still got a lot to figure out but if I can get the campaigns replicated (as I am hoping to eventually do) the tech tree should remain faithful just as I did for TDR. I may still do subfactions for these other planned units too. Overall I don't wish for the mod to be a clone of The Red Alert and instead more of a hybrid of RA: A Path Beyond and C&C Renovatio (sadly the latter never released and is left unfinished) in its art style and unit design.

Edited January 3, 2022 by sgtmyers88