Let's Play Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn Redux

[sgtmyers88]

Plays really well now don't it?

[TaxOwlbear]

This may very well be the most stable Generals full conversion mod. I haven't had a single CTD yet and no significant FPS drops. Shockwave and Contra have more issues, though I think at least Contra is still in development.

[X3M]

Plays really well now don't it?

 

It looks like you are making an awesome mod.

1 question though. Do I need to own Generals to play it? Or is it stand alone?

 

I also enjoy these video's a lot. The gameplay looks so fluid in contrary with my memory of Generals.

[TaxOwlbear]

1 question though. Do I need to own Generals to play it? Or is it stand alone?

It requires Generals and Zero Hour. Making it standalone would probably be legally dodgy.

 

I also enjoy these video's a lot. The gameplay looks so fluid in contrary with my memory of Generals.

Back in ye olden days, Generals required quite some GPU/RAM power. I could only run it with all the bells and whistles (and no big FPS drop) when I got a new machine a couple of years later. I'm not sure whether the Sergeant optimised it further.

[sgtmyers88]

Yeah it is a legal liability with EA unless they ever make C&C TFD and Generals freeware (which is unlikely thanks to Origin) you can get a physical copy of Generals/ZH or C&C TFD for $5-$10 USD on Amazon or eBay.

 

And yes I actually optimized the engine a bit while improving the graphics. Of course having modern hardware helps. The general gameplay is a carefully constructed hybrid of the Generals system and the classic C&C which creates an all new experience with a spin on the original. It is not a 100 percent copy and paste remake with fancy graphics.

 

Years ago I had ambitions to remake all the missions and add all new campaigns but retaining mapping staff and being the only one who knew how to script AI well was a hindrance since missions need AI programming on a per-map basis and Generals has horrid AI pathfinding which causes lag if not properly programmed onto the map.

 

I had sought out to make this project to be the most professionally presented Mod out there with the most stable and fluid gameplay for Generals as there are many out there that freeze up and crash often. (90 percent of the time it is poor AI programming)

[TaxOwlbear]

Do you have plans to include the full campaigns at one point?

[sgtmyers88]

Other missions have been laid out and most of the videos have been edited and converted to a format compatible to the game. Its just adding details to the maps and scripting them which is a tedious task when you look at the detail put into the existing maps. Then a lot of testing will have to be conducted since I am the only one who really knows how to map and script AI well. Most of the old staff and beta testers seemed to have disappeared/moved on to other things so I dunno how that will pan out. Progress will likely be slow at this point.

[TaxOwlbear]

I'd love to help, but I have never ever scripted anything for Generals.

[FekLeyrTarg]

My apologies for being absent for so long. Life hasn't been exactly kind recently.

 

Also, I don't know for how long my laptop will be able to keep going. I'll probably have to get a new one.

But once everything is sorted out, I'd be happy to help out again. I'm glad I was able to do so on 1.4.

[TaxOwlbear]

Finally, access to tanks! I'm still not over how massive that Antonov plane is.

 

Nod Mission 5

[X3M]

That was nice to watch.

 

The balance seems a bit off. Curious of what rules are used.

That medium tank was facing 6 light tanks. And waved his goodbye's for 3 seconds. I am sure you were playing at the highest speed.

 

sgtmyers88

Those silo's make the game too easy. Perhaps you can come up with something different approach?

A limit to them? Higher energy costs? Higher costs? Perhaps only one to function to every Refinery?

[TaxOwlbear]

In Generals, units always need a moment to explode properly, especially tanks. And yes, the silos are OP. They should probably generate money slower and/or be more expensive because you can get them so early (as opposed to the black market/hacker/drop zone).

[sgtmyers88]

It appears the video was made prior to the patch being applied? The Silos take longer to build and now cost the same as a SAM Site and they take twice as long to generate credits.

 

EDIT: Also the Guard Towers don't get disabled after they lose power in the patch.

[X3M]

Those are nice adjustments.

Can you also increase the energy costs? Meaning that if you go for a camping strategy. You need a lot of space for silo's and power plants.

 

But besides this solution. Down here is a total new (old) idea to use. Borrowed from Warcraft 2, the TownHall/GreatHall.

And be honest in what is possible and what is not.

 

 

Have you ever thought of making the silo's some sort of addon to the Refinery instead? Meaning that once someone builds an Refinery, a silo simply upgrades each full harvester with for example +10% resources??

 

Thus no more buildable silo's. Instead, upgrading the Refinery.

First upgrade could be 150, the second 300 and a third 450. Thus making it more valid to have one refinery with several separate builded harvesters.

The costs of a refinery would be: "600", 750, 1050, 1500.

And the refinery will provide better income. 100%, 110%, 120%, 130%.

Also allow the refinery to have more compliment health after each upgrade. Lineair to the total costs but the income bonus is substracted: 100%, 115%, 155%, 220%. (You can make round numbers of these of course)

 

I don't know. But I think players will like this more than the infinity awards.

Just shooting an idea. If you like this idea. You can still try your own value's that you think are good. You can also say, less or more silo's to add to the refinery.

 

I think, that whatever plan you use. You will have to make sure it fits on the space that the first refinery requires. The models that you have made, can you make them smaller? That way they can be added to the refinery.

 

If you still want to place the silo's as separate buildings. Then perhaps linking them to a refinery (only then they get the function), upgrading the refinery in that process. Only making the harvester load more.

[sgtmyers88]

Because this is a TC Mod that basically recycles Generals code there is limitations to what can be done. The Vanilla game has a pretty basic resource gathering system. The idea you mentioned is sound but implementing it is not so much. There is an upgrade called Supply Lines in Generals that could be used and recycled to fit your idea but it is only set to add 10 percent to your total income. Its really not worth the upgrade costs in Vanilla Generals. There is not much else that can be done with it coding wise. The original release of TDR did not have Silos but it was added in v1.1 by popular demand. It was decided to use Black Market code to award funds to give it a function and for a little added income since the original system could not be replicated.

[TaxOwlbear]

Yes, some of the videos were recorded before the patch. Higher cost and/or lower efficiency will probably do it.

[X3M]

To bad that the game is limited in options.

 

+10% only is indeed not worthwhile in the original game. But you can still add it if this upgrade is cheap. After all, I assume the tiberium fields are longer lasting than the original supply stacks.

If an upgrade costs for example 500. Then it would require the harvester to make 8 trips before it is worthwhile. How many trips does an harvester make in the entire mission? In a well balanced game, +10% is a lot.

 

But as TaxOwlbear has said. Higher costs and lower efficiency will make them only worthwhile if they are well protected.

 

That brings me to the next point. How good are you in altering AI?

Because what I never liked about Generals is that how the AI ignored, my 1000 hackers.

If you can bring the AI to targeting the silo's, all those extra required defences also add up to the silo "costs".

[sgtmyers88]

The AI is more dynamic. Depending on the difficulty setting. They can target and pick off certain units. Especially in Skirmish matches. They will often target your Harvesters Refineries and Silos. I once witnessed GDI sending in a half dozen Mammoth Tanks just to wipe out my harvesters and silos. The Silos and Power Plants and even sometimes the Helipads and Airfields are a favorite target for air strikes.

[orven]

The AI is more dynamic. Depending on the difficulty setting. They can target and pick off certain units. Especially in Skirmish matches. They will often target your Harvesters Refineries and Silos. I once witnessed GDI sending in a half dozen Mammoth Tanks just to wipe out my harvesters and silos. The Silos and Power Plants and even sometimes the Helipads and Airfields are a favorite target for air strikes.

[TaxOwlbear]

I can confirm that the AI is a proper pain. As Nod, the GDI Warthogs love to target the units I'm assembling next to my air field. Waaaay better than the Generals AI which would always use three A-10s to destroy your $500 barracks or some nonsense like that.

[sgtmyers88]

I can confirm that the AI is a proper pain. As Nod, the GDI Warthogs love to target the units I'm assembling next to my air field. Waaaay better than the Generals AI which would always use three A-10s to destroy your $500 barracks or some nonsense like that.

 

I actually had to restart Mission 7 because of this. GDI sent in a swarm of tanks and light vehicles right after they bombed my army of tanks and APC's loaded with troops for a final push. I also tried to do an APC/Engineer rush through the backdoor of their base by the ridge but they picked up on that too by sending everything they had. Wasted a lot of $$$.

 

Also the AI will do the same thing with Engineer rushes. This is first observed in the 2nd Nod campaign mission. So watch yourself.

[sgtmyers88]

When you get around to playing a skirmish match you might notice a pattern that the Nod AI players will tend to be more sporadic in their assaults and "harass" you until you rage quit. GDI simply steamrolls you. Especially on Medium and Hard settings. Some had claimed that the Medium AI is too hard as it tends to rush you a lot more preventing you from getting established early in the game while Hard AI tends to turtle and build a ridiculous amount of defenses and aircraft while amassing a huge ground army.

[TaxOwlbear]

Here comes the infamous crate-collecting mission. I remember when you had to get certain crates in certain missions to get the nuke in the final mission. Never worked for me.

 

Nod Mission 6

[X3M]

Rocket troops out ranging medium tanks. I love that.

I have been waiting many years after Warzone2100 until another game would feature this.

[TaxOwlbear]

Rocket troops out ranging medium tanks. I love that.

I have been waiting many years after Warzone2100 until another game would feature this.

This is how it should be. Infantry is often underpowered in RTS games, and no game accurately simulates combat anyway. A tank that is ambushed by several guys with rocket launchers is likely to be toast.