Gundam 1.1 released! news

Gundam RTS 1.1

THE REPORTS OF GUNDAM'S DEATH ARE LARGELY EXAGERATED!

Gundam 1.0 marked the removal of OTA content such as sounds, graphics and many script pieces. It also marked the completion of my original design that was limited to the total annihilation game constraints. Gundam version 1.1 is my first step away from the Total annihilation game head lock.

Part of this change was removing annihilation as this game is not total annihilation, so I renamed the modification to Gundam RTS. Another step was to begin adding things that were only available in spring. Things like: s3o units, custom explosions, giant commander units, limited arcs, unit limits and several others I am sure I forgot. There are more and the change log is eleven pages and that is where I stopped recording changes.

Short version of what is new:
Epic commander mutator, unified cost system!, New units, unit limits, new S3Oed models, ground decals, new effects!

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New Units!

Epic Commanders:

Instead of no weapons or a passive commander, gundam features "epic commanders," Large slow moving hulks that travel slowly. Gundam always features a story revolving around a main base that is often a large mobile ship. In Total Annihilation I was not able to represent this, large units have major issues in that game. Spring allows me to use these large commanders.

White base
Federation "Epic" Commander
weapons: frontal anti air missiles, 2 large cannons on it's sides and a large one located on the top of the ships front!
Strength: Frontal anti-air missiles
Weakness: slow turn rate and has lower hit-points then the gaw

GAW
Zeon "Epic" Commander
weapons: 2 large cannons stowed in the wings and a large one located on the top of the ships front!
Strength: higher hit-points and a fast turn rate
Weakness: all weapons are located in the front of the ship.

There are a few things to know:

They are slow moving:
which means that once you commit your commander to an attack, it will either be lost or victorious. If you lose your commander you lose a great defensive asset. Commanders provide great protection against early rushes and in general, can be one of the hardest things to kill when an enemy makes a final attack on you.

They are repairable:
This has a high cost, it is best to never allow your commander to suffer damage when you do not have to.

They are vulnerable:
Getting behind or directly under an enemy commander can be a way to destroy it with impunity. The same goes for your commander.

They are huge:
"NO DUH!" Yeah, well it bears repeating, the commanders are HUGE LIKE PS3! Which means for small maps you will still need the "tiny" commander mutator. Maps that are 16X16 or large can house these monsters, otherwise stick to the "tiny commander." Most people never go back to him though.

New Zeon units:
Zeon has expanded their level one factory build selection:

Zaku high mobility
This mech flies around on jets giving it a hover type movement. This means it can traverse water and it packs a powerful machine gun!

zakuII Rocket plus
This is the zaku2 rocket launcher version with extra missiles for some extra damage!

zakuII machinegun plus
This zaku carries a spiked sheild that it can punch enemy mechs with. It is quite powerful!

Federation:
Jet core booster
This aircraft is powerful with two large cannons mounted in it's frame, it can be quite devastating!

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NEW S3O MODELS!

The following units have been converted to S3O:
White base(new unit!)
GAW(new unit!)
ACGUY
JetBooster
Gunperry
Jetcorebooster
T61 tank
Federation machine shop

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New effects!

In the interest of continuing the visual development of the mod I created many new special fx!

Muzzle flashes, custom explosions, dust trails and thruster flares are all awaiting you!

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Unit limits!

I have also begun the process of giving each side units which can be produced in limited quantity! These units are more powerful then most other units at their level. However, as strong as they are, they are not unbeatable.

The following units are now limited to 1 in number:

The units listed as limit: 1 unts are hero units, meant to serve as a power house unit in a certain aspect of the mod:

Kampfer:
Description: Heavy rusher, it's shotgun tears buildings and squads of units to pieces. Turn the unit off for a missile launcher that is great for taking out single obstacles!
Weakness: low hit points means this unit is not great for front-line combat.
Strengths: It is a base destroying monster with high maneuverability!
Built in: Zeon bunker

Goufb
Description: Squad destruction specialist. Norris Packard is an ace of the Zeon forces, his gouf has been upgraded for extreme levels of destruction!
Weakness: Moderate hit-points, it is easy to get in over your head!
Strengths: GIANT MINIGUN, think a-10 warthog strapped on the arm of a mech!
Built in: Zeon bunker

NT-1(alex)
Description: Heavily armored assault mech, powerful, armored and a beast to see greeting you with the front of it's gun. Once it's armor is shatter, beat a hasty retreat while it is at half of it's life!
Weakness: LARGE SQUADS
Strengths: This is a monster, high hit points, high damage!
Built in: Anaheim Electronics

RX-78(gundam)
Description: Heavy assault mech, exceptionally powerful, able to defeat squads of five mechs with ease!
Weakness: slow fire rate
Strengths: high damage beam rifle with long range and head vulcans for medium range
Built in: Anaheim Electronics

Ez-8
Description: Early game fast attack unit, Shiro Amada always put his squad above himself dashing headlong into battle. This unit is no different!
Weakness: Low fire power and moderate hit-points make this glorified rx79 a favorite target as stands out solid white is a sea of grey!
Strengths: It has both head and chest vulcans, a beam rifle and is highly mobile.
Built in: hanger

The following units are now limited to six in number:
Xamel
Built in: Zeon experimental factory

GMSniper
Built in: Light mech hanger

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Unified Cost system!

In order to reduce the learning curve of gundam, I have made each item built by a construction unit or factory have a set energy and metal cost per second. For example, construction units use 12 metal and 12 energy per second when they build. Now, this can be overridden if you con assist, at which point things begin to raise the amount of metal and energy they consume a second to build. However, what this means is that at a glance you can tell what amount of resource output you will need.

Workers use: 12 energy 12 metal
Commanders use: 24 energy 24 metal

Exceptions, these cost less then the factory or work unified cost:
Walls, gouf

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Aquatic units that GO FASTER IN WATER!!

The aquaGM, ACguy and zgok all move faster when in water. Thanks to the setmaxspeed code..

Finaly aquatic units that do not suck!

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A brief note about gameplay and economy:

Thoughts on TA-styled mods:
This mod is not TA, it will not be TA. To a TA based mod player this mod will feel very spam fest. In TA the resource system severely slows the players ability to produce significant numbers of units by making resources hard to get. That was not my goal in gundam, the base is easy to build and easy to destroy. In the time I played TA I noticed that many things played slow and it all culminated in a large final push that either wins or loses the match. This gave the game a very black and white play style as for the most part it is just who can build enough of the right unitX to win.

What I thought about:
I did not feel this was a good way to handle battles, we have infinite resources and drawn out battles were always more fun to me. So I created many counters to many units. Each unit has an individual strength and there is no single unit that will win a game for you. In reality, the game needs a variety of units in use for a player to win. This sort of balance means that unless a player thinks on a tactical and strategic level, the match will never end. You have to understand your units and how to use them. Unit spam will have little value as players can quickly rebuild and counter attack.

Different thoughts on economy:
Building levelX unit requires levelX resource structure always felt hokey to me. Instead, I felt this would be a bit better. For war you need many things, raw material, refined parts and power for all your production. So I decided the metal extractors did not need to be the main point of focus. Instead I wanted the players to use the metal extractors as a beginning game boost. Now at the moment, I cannot execute the system as I want but I did the closest thing I could to it. What you as a player need to do is build the "machine shops" which are in essence metal makers. As a player your main economy concern is balancing the amount of power your base needs to produce materials(metal) and machines(units). So why is this not very easily spammable? In short form answer, all buildings in your base are destroyed with relative ease, some buildings being stronger then others.

So how do you win?
Answer, attack their troops and economy at the same time. You will need large fleets of bombers and other aircraft to drive in the enemy base and destroy their economy. This is the best way to crush another player. What is to keep me from just crushing them with tanks? In two words, the epic commander. It is powerful, resilient and above all else can rebuild a base in a short time. Without a commander the enemy player is dead in the water. So in short, take out that commander, get rid of the enemy resources and you will easily crush them. If only that was so easy.

All the units look and play the same!
As some of you may say, at a glance many units look and seem to function in a similar manner, they do not. They each have a niche to fill and all are necessary for certain specific situations. The mod requires a bit of learning as many of the units are quirky and all have weaknesses. A level 2 unit IS NOT always better then a level 1 unit and you will need to use all levels, level 1, 2, experimental and special operations to win!

What about commander rushing?
It will happen. However, it takes a substantial amount of time to move a commander. They are weak against anti-air turrets and many units can destroy them IF they can get directly under a commander.

As a final note:
The animations are not perfect, the game-play is not perfect, there is always something to improve and some players will never be happy with anything. However, I think if people open their minds to this mod they will find it very fun. In general many beginning players have a difficult time and may feel that the game is too spam oriented.

HAVE FUN AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! Get the mod here