Blogs - PurpleGaga27

Part 3 of my blog and continuing my modding adventure....

It's been several months since my last update. While taking another break from modding, I had fun playing the Battle for Middle Earth trilogy as well as replaying the 20th anniversary of C&C Red Alert. I finally finished re-editing/creating my C&C Red Alert Reloaded Campaign of 47 missions I once created back in 2009 that was partially finished.

As for the expansion mod, the AptUIs are 99% finished, leaving the main menu yet to have one more edit (pertaining to a Scrin nature) as well as making the splash logo in the main menu to be transparent. The addition of KW intel was successful in the C&C3 Intelligence Database, and I will be adding additional intel specifically for the expansion mod but that may require additional assistance from modders since I might not have the time to do those.

Also an update on terrain textures, all 3 Battle for Middle Earth games have their terrain textures integrated with my ultimate terrain texture pack for C&C3/KW. Including with selected Starcraft II terrain textures which had yet to work for the C&C3 Worldbuilder, this winds up a grand total of 2144 terrain textures and that does not include NRM textures!

Since I got the green light permission from Blbpaws of the CNCLabs team, I can import whatever assets I use from their Forgotten mod including their released source codes. Currently I am integrating Forgotten structures (not units) into the mod as well as the first Russian unit/structure assets, and I will be posting screenshots by the time you read this. New units I have yet to test will also be mentioned in the next blog update. Also currently in the works is adding the selected shurbbery/trees from RA3 and C&C4 into the expansion mods as well as roads and ambient sounds.

Since the first pre-alpha version of Tactius Revolution which was never released, the mod size has increased to a berserk 2.6 GB as of version 0.36. Soon that may become as big as Kane's Wrath (or maybe even the MP version of Renegade-X) when all of the content I wanted are integrated and done. The problem in the future by then will be the usage of RAM with the mod itself because I am all modding on a 32-bit slow PC.

Get ready for the "mental omega" of C&C3 when this expansion mod will be releasing on the 10th anniversary of C&C3.

So that's it for now....

This is part two of my blog and continuing my modding adventure.

So far I only did the AptUIs and maps successfully in only 2-3 weeks of development and stopped there for a short hiatus.

While it took me only several days on this specific part, I finally managed to modify all the AptUIs and even the in-game Tactical HUD. I did once mention to bring in a purple theme to the main menu and this is what I got even with a purple ShellEarth (this isn't final yet since I probably would want to replace this image with another image or a new modified video):


On the skirmish menu, notice the new factions seen in the list. This isn't final yet since a video is probably going to need a replacement with an image and also I still haven't found a way how to change the buttons to purple because it's hardcoded.


On the in-game Tactical HUD, taking a page out of C&C Generals and Starcraft II, I got something more interesting for a better layout of the battlefield. The main sidebars are on the bottom while the support powers are on the right of the screen. That sort of idea was used with permission from Detroy[RU] whom he's working on a C&C3 mod under mandated restrictions. I also used the FreeCam, sky textures and modified maps from C&C3 A New Experience.


The angle is still maintained as the same level as C&C3/KW at 37.5 degrees. Once zoomed in, you can see the sky. Also for the very first time in the C&C series, I managed to include something that even any Starcraft game has (and no other C&C game would have this), shown stats for a unit or a structure. No more need to look into the manual for stats of those units, and that also applies to new imported units and structures as well. The stats layout took me weeks and they are not even done yet because new units aren't imported and implemented yet into the mod. Also the support powers need to be the original ones with house colors because I don't like the white transparent images since they are barely visible.

So that's it for now and hopefully I will post a third blog soon.

This is my very first blog I ever written for my own user mod page.

As for the title I have been mentioning about, I have considered doing a C&C3; expansion mod project that started in 2008, but it took too long to wait for better resources to come ashore until everything changed in September of 2010 when I got the real package of the original KW xml pack by a retired C&C player in GameReplays.org, around 24 hours after Bibber (one of the original great C&C modders) released the very first C&C Asset Extractor tool. That is when everything changed for C&C3;/KW modding once and for all, and to this day, my KW Reloaded mod is still the only C&C3; mod to cover most working KW content involving units, neutral objects, unit abilities, upgrades and support powers. Without the original KW xml pack and Bibber's C&C Asset Extractor, this project would have been impossible.

Now comes my bigger challenge, if I have the budget and time to do so, is to create the biggest C&C3; mod of all time (possibly even the biggest C&C mod in the series of all time). Hoping to release sometime in 2017 in which it will be the 10th anniversary of C&C3;, this C&C3; expansion mod with ideas I had imagined for years might resolve the woes of C&C4; and Tiberium FPS. Why? It will feature playable mission maps covering those missing stories that EA did not mention. As for the content, all assets from KW Reloaded will be carried to this next project plus much further content from other C&C games. It will also contain additional skirmish and some new "custom game" maps.

So what will this contain: a possible 100 mission maps, dozens of new skirmish maps, some new game modes with new maps, 100+ new units and structures, 100+ new civilian/neutral objects, 14 factions, dozens of new unit abilities/upgrades/support powers, 32 in-game custom music tracks and modified UI menus.

And that ends my first blog for today. More to elaborate soon.