Red Alert 1 Mission Converter (3.03p-Iran custom missions dialog)

[Lightning Hunter]

Yes, minus sounds, minus modified diamonds (he turned it into tiberium)

 

I guess we have to revert it back to diamonds in this case, since it would effect all missions otherwise.

[FunkyFr3sh]

Yes, minus sounds, minus modified diamonds (he turned it into tiberium)

 

I guess we have to revert it back to diamonds in this case, since it would effect all missions otherwise.

 

The converter will ignore these files and doesn't copy it over to the convertedmissions folder, so you don't have to worry about them.

 

Always take the files from that folder only

[Lightning Hunter]

Yes, minus sounds, minus modified diamonds (he turned it into tiberium)

 

I guess we have to revert it back to diamonds in this case, since it would effect all missions otherwise.

 

The converter will ignore these files and doesn't copy it over to the convertedmissions folder, so you don't have to worry about them.

 

Yes, I figured the converter would ignore them.  I was just stating the obvious that the new diamond graphic (tiberium) would not be used.

 

Always take the files from that folder only

 

Yup, I always used the converted missions folder.

[Lightning Hunter]

What is p04.tem with Flame Dancers?  I assume that "gem01.tem" and the other .tem files are the diamond replacement graphics, but I don't know what p04.tem is.

 

Edit:  Have you guys actually listened to the new audio files of Flame Dancers?  They are hilariously bad voice acting samples that replace some of the announcer stuff.  I think they can be safely removed with no consequences.  lol.

 

Edit #2: For some reason, the new build icons for the Flame Tank and SSM do not work.  I have attached my converted Flame Dancers set 2 to this post as a test.  Mission 13 allows you to build these units right away, so just load it up to see what I mean.

[FunkyFr3sh]

Not sure what it is, probably gems or ore i guess. You have that file in your .mix btw, don't forget to remove it lol

 

Yea, the sound quality is horrible

 

 

The reason why it doesn't work is that he is using some unused files that were included with red alert, I attached the missing files, just add them to your .mix

[Lightning Hunter]

Hmm, the icons still don't appear for some reason (tested on mission 13).  I attached the updated file so you can make sure everything is correct.  Oh, and I deleted the .tem file. 

[FunkyFr3sh]

Hmm, the icons still don't appear for some reason (tested on mission 13).  I attached the updated file so you can make sure everything is correct.  Oh, and I deleted the .tem file. 

 

Oh right, you need to rename them to the original filename and convert the whole missions again then it works.

 

remove the "129-"

[Lightning Hunter]

Would anybody complain if I used the icons from "spawn1.mix" instead of these plain icons that come with Flame Dancers set 2?  The icons really are boring and don't fit at all.  There is a much better icon for the flame tank and SSM in spawn1.mix.

 

Edit:  I went ahead and used them.  They look soooo much better next to the other official icons.  It makes you want to build the new units more often.  Hehe.

 

Edit #2:  Hey Funky, I have a TRUE test for your mission converter...  I am now converting some large campaigns, and have gone back to try to convert the incredibly awesome "New Era v2" campaign (which was too complex before).  On paper, this campaign should work because all of the new files are shp (no new sounds, etc.)  However, there are quite a few errors using the mission converter to read the unknown files.  Many files are not recognized.  If this mission pack won't work then I will skip it, but it really is an awesome pack and I think it could work with some tweaks to your program.

 

Get it here:

http://ra.afraid.org/download.php/campaigns/ANewEraV20.zip

[FunkyFr3sh]

Would anybody complain if I used the icons from "spawn1.mix" instead of these plain icons that come with Flame Dancers set 2?  The icons really are boring and don't fit at all.  There is a much better icon for the flame tank and SSM in spawn1.mix.

 

Edit:  I went ahead and used them.  They look soooo much better next to the other official icons.  It makes you want to build the new units more often.  Hehe.

 

Edit #2:  Hey Funky, I have a TRUE test for your mission converter...  I am now converting some large campaigns, and have gone back to try to convert the incredibly awesome "New Era v2" campaign (which was too complex before).  On paper, this campaign should work because all of the new files are shp (no new sounds, etc.)  However, there are quite a few errors using the mission converter to read the unknown files.  Many files are not recognized.  If this mission pack won't work then I will skip it, but it really is an awesome pack and I think it could work with some tweaks to your program.

 

Get it here:

http://ra.afraid.org/download.php/campaigns/ANewEraV20.zip

 

Yes, I think it's a good idea to use these icons rather than the poor ones included with the campaign.

 

 

That campaign is really hardcore, there are a lot files in it that are not used anywhere as Image= and also don't equal any existing unit/building... I don't see how these files can be used by the game, either the campaign was shipped with a custom executable or these files were never used in the campaign. Overall, it seems to be all cnc1 files. Maybe nyerguds can have a look into it.

 

I think he might have copied a whole cnc1 .mix file into the folder but he does only use a few files from it.

 

 

I updated the mission converter to 1.0, it can now detect every unit/building that exists in the game. It will also warn you now about missing files like the FTNK in flame dancers (you will have to locate the files and put them into the folder before the conversion)

[FunkyFr3sh]

Updated to 1.1

 

 

The warning about missing files will now show before the conversion and doesn't allow you to continue unless you copied the required files into the folder

 

 

 

Btw... I checked the briefings and it doesn't mention dinosaurus anywhere, that should be enough evidence for us to know that a lot of these files are not used at all

 

I think the campaign is fully convertable with version 1.1 of the converter, there should be no flaws at all

[Nyerguds]

There were no custom exes involved, as far as I could see. It just extracted and deleted those files.

 

That is, unless it tried to make hacks to the exe; I did all this in a folder without RA. Though I assume it would've given some sort of error if that had been the case. It would also have made it very version-dependent I think.

[Lightning Hunter]

Updated to 1.1

 

 

The warning about missing files will now show before the conversion and doesn't allow you to continue unless you copied the required files into the folder

 

 

 

Btw... I checked the briefings and it doesn't mention dinosaurus anywhere, that should be enough evidence for us to know that a lot of these files are not used at all

 

I think the campaign is fully convertable with version 1.1 of the converter, there should be no flaws at all

 

 

I tried converting ANewEra despite the unknown files, but I got the EXACT same error message in your post above (the same missing files and everything).  Did you actually get this error while attempting to compile ANewEra yourself?  I figured your error was an example, but I just got the same message.  If these files really are missing, then I guess I have to go searching for them in the main mix files.

[FunkyFr3sh]

Yes, these files are missing and you'll have to find them

[Lightning Hunter]

Yes, these files are missing and you'll have to find them

 

Will do; it shouldn't be that hard.  I wonder if any of these missing files are the unknown files that weren't converted though?

[FunkyFr3sh]

It checks if there is a xxxICON.shp or xxxMAKE.shp but no matching xxx.shp to prevent the bug you had on flame dancers.

 

It could be that there is a xxxICON.shp or xxxMAKE.shp that isn't even used in the campaign... That shouldn't be the case normally, but I guess in this specific campaign with all the random files it could happen. It will not break anything though, you just might have 1-2 unused files in the .mix in the worst case

[Lightning Hunter]

I found all the files and the missions appear to work now, but I noticed that Soviet Mission #1 is just the first Allied map of Red Alert slightly changed...  I sure hope all the maps aren't rip-offs like that.  There is nothing in the briefing that makes you believe you are revisiting an old area or anything, so maybe this author was lazy.  If so, I will not include this compilation.  I will do some further investigation...

 

Edit:  Can you guys browse through a few of these maps in "A New Era" in RAED.exe and tell me if you recognize them?  Based on the fact that the first Soviet map is just an official map slightly changed, I have a feeling other maps are ripped off too.  However, I am not THAT familiar with Red Alert maps, so I can't tell for sure.

[FunkyFr3sh]

You can look here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97634864@N04/albums/with/72157634183110358

 

 

Btw, some missions are duplicates, this will probably turn into a problem with many campaigns. You might have to compare the A and B versions and remove the dupes.

 

I also noticed there are a few skirmish maps included with this campaign (scm*.ini) scm01ea.ini for example lol

 

Edit:

Updated to 1.2

 

Skirmish maps and missions with identical checksums are now ignored

[Lightning Hunter]

Btw, some missions are duplicates, this will probably turn into a problem with many campaigns. You might have to compare the A and B versions and remove the dupes.

 

Yup, don't worry - I have been opening every single map in RAED.exe to compare them.  There will be no duplicates in the compilation. 

 

I have also been rewriting a lot of the mission briefings, because many of these authors don't know very good English (and also because I am kind of a grammar Nazi when it comes to in-game text).  It's also a pet peeve of mine when briefings have emotion in them, like "We have to kill this guy right away because he is going to do a bunch of bad stuff and this will hurt us!". lol.

 

I also noticed there are a few skirmish maps included with this campaign (scm*.ini) scm01ea.ini for example lol

 

Yeah, and I think I just spotted an Aftermath mission in there too.  I will see if there are any unique missions in this campaign at all.  If not, I am removing it.  Nothing angers me more than someone who rips off a bunch of content and makes no mention of it in the readme (in fact, the author acts like he created these missions himself).

 

Edit:  Ok, I am removing "A New Era" from this compilation, because I haven't found a single mission that was created from scratch yet. I have spotted 3 missions taken from Aftermath/Counterstrike Skirmish maps.  It looks like the author ripped maps from all over the place and modified them.  I mean really, how hard is it to create maps from scratch?  Red Alert is probably the easiest game to create maps for...  Oh well, at least this mission pack enabled you to test your mission converter, Funky. 

 

Edit #2:  Lots of edits, I know - but I also discovered that this guy who recently released Beginning of a New Technology also ripped official skirmish maps. I was going to include his campaign, but not anymore.  Why don't people simply MENTION the fact that these packs are converted skirmish maps?  Otherwise, I lose ALL respect for them for attempting to take the credit.

[Lightning Hunter]

Is it possible to use custom sounds that are set in rules.ini?  I tried, but the sound won't play in-game.  For example, I have this in rules.ini:

 

; rapid fire machine gun

[Vulcan]

Damage=40

ROF=40

Range=5

Projectile=Invisible

Speed=100

Warhead=SA

Report=cncmachs

Anim=MINIGUN

 

I then placed "cncmachs.aud" in sc-600-flinev10.mix (the campaign I'm working on), but nothing plays in-game.  Does the .exe only recognize official sounds or something?

[Nyerguds]

Fairly sure sound effects are a fixed internal list, yes. Just like the videos (in vanilla RA anyway; not sure if they changed that to support TLF or just added the TLF filenames). Never really understood the use of that, beyond the fact everything can be reduced to indices.

[Lightning Hunter]

I just noticed that Discovert Operations has new sound effects.  There is a section in Rules.ini with the following:

 

; *** New SoundEffects **

; This is a list of the various types of new Sound Effects available in the game

; The sound must be .aud format and pack into a .mix file. One the sound is packed

; into a .mix file and listed below you can use the sound in a Report= for a weapon.

[soundEffects]

0=SON1

1=SSMFire

2=AWP

3=CAVEMONO

4=ILASATTA

5=OBELRAY1

 

However, despite creating such a list in my own rules.ini and adding "cncmachs" to the list, it did not work...  I have the .aud file in a mix file and everything.

[FunkyFr3sh]

it might only work via rules.ini and not via the mission files. But I never tried that

[Lightning Hunter]

it might only work via rules.ini and not via the mission files. But I never tried that

 

Yeah, I was thinking about that too.  The campaign I was trying to convert, "In The Line of Fire", seems to be far too complex anyway, so I think I'll leave it out. 

 

On an unrelated topic, does the attached mission crash about 10-20 seconds after starting the first mission for anyone else?  I am getting one of those "instruction at xxxxxx referenced memory at xxxxx the memory could not be written" errors.  I tested using both the ra95.exe from the RA1Installer and the modded .exe.  Both crash every time at the start with this error.

[Lightning Hunter]

Can someone download the file in my last post and quickly test the very beginning of the mission please?  It would only take 2 minutes or less to see if the mission crashes...  I need to know if it is something on my end only, or a problem with everyone.  If everyone gets the same crash, then I need to remove the mission from the compilation.  If it is on my end only, then I need to find out what is going on with my computer!

[Lightning Hunter]

Sorry for triple post, but there is a problem with the mission converter setting the correct images to the correct units.  For example, in the Tiberian Dawn campaign, the Flame Tank at the start of mission 2 has the ant graphic.  I assume this is because the RA1Converter told me this graphic was missing, so I had to get it from another MIX file.  I then noticed there were unidentified .shp files that were supposed to replace the ant graphic (one of them being a flame tank).  I think the converter simply doesn't recognize when a graphic is supposed to replace all the graphics shown in this screenshot:

 

I actually get that error almost every time when converting campaigns with custom units...