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« NEWS ARCHIVES »
July 2005 |
| Progress Meter Online | | - MooMan65 | July 24, 2005 | Well I'm back at University starting today, so I decided to go ahead and chart up exactly how much I have left to do for YR˛ in terms of a percentage completion meter you should now see above in the header table. The varying shades of blue represent how much each beta added to the overal mod progress, so you currently can see shades for both Beta 1 and 2, with a new shade and end point marker for the upcoming Beta 3. This will continue until it reaches its final state at 100% where all major features will have been added and the mod will practically be complete with only possible small version updates after that.
Before you dispair too much at the relatively low number, be aware that 100% doesn't necessarily mean the first public release! It is at that point where the mod is finished only in the sense of all major features planned. I have yet to decide on how I will work in any public releases, but the percentage count that you see is accurate in how much you know about so far here on the site (plus Yuri's additions which will eventually be up too) compared to what's left to come. This does give you an idea of just how feature-packed the mod will be in the end, not how long it will take for a public release. Remember that. 
I finish this newspost hoping that Uni won't take up too much of my time, but you never know. This is probably the worst time to have a major commitment outside of real life, but I've stuck with it so far and I thank all of you for sticking through it as well. You're the best!  | |
| Site Updates: Gates/Spies | | - MooMan65 | July 16, 2005 | As promised I've now updated the information pages to include the entries of the recently announced Gates on all sides. As Yuri's pages have yet to come up you'll have to wait a bit longer for his versions, but at least now you are able to see the cameos of the Allied and Soviet versions.
 
Of course mirrored versions exist for the gates of the opposite direction.
Not only that, but a couple of extra balance issues with the Allied Spy's new cloaking ability have been addressed thanks to beta tester feedback, so there have been a couple of changes made in Beta 2 to some existing units in the current pages:
Attack Dogs: Were modified at the beginning to detect cloaked units (ie. the Allied Spy) but their detection range has since increased. As a side-effect you can also use them more often to detect submerged naval units (Dolphins, Subs, Divers and Squids), close to the shoreline.
Spy: The Spies themselves have been altered and their old style 'point and click' disguise on enemy infantry has been removed completely. They now rely completely on their cloaking ability to sneak around. If you're the kind who will miss that, don't worry, the Soviet Agent still uses it.
Tanya: As Tanya can now detect submerged naval units, she was also able to detect rouge Allied Spies. However as they now solely rely on their cloaking ability, Tanya can now fully reveal them as opposed to simply revealing a costume disguised Spy which still required Dogs to automatically kill them.
Chitzkoi: Like the Attack Dogs, Chitzkoi could also detect cloaked units, and as such his range has also been increased. His is larger than standard Attack Dogs but less than Tanya, and can also be used as a land-based Sub detection unit.
For more in-depth information I advise that you read over their specific entries in the information pages again. | |
| Protect Your Privacy! | | - MooMan65 | July 11, 2005 | So now that Beta 2 has been out for a bit, what am I working on now? Well I'll eventually discuss Beta 3's major feature addition, but first I want to discuss another new addition to that Beta: Gates! Buildable Gates have been on many people's wishlists since the Tiberian Sun days, and I know that many visitors here would like to see them in the game again, so that's what I've done! Unlike MooRules, these are gates with appropriate and decent graphics suitable for base defense, but you won't see no fancy designs either, just standard, tried-and-true, metallic gates which blend into each sides Walls appropriately. Screenshot? Of course! That's all you care about isn't it!? 
There you can see the Snow and Generic versions of gates for all three sides! I've done the open/close animations for them too, but I shouldn't reveal everything at once! Teehee. Once I've finished the cameos for these things I'll update the information pages, but I thought I'd just show you now anyway.
Notice that the Yuri gates don't 'meld' into their walls like the other two sides. This is due to an unfortunate limitation in the game engine. In Tiberian Sun there was only had two sides, and so only two wall types. The addition of the third wall for Yuri was fine in Yuri's Revenge, but as gates no longer existed, EA did not need to do any Yuri Wall - Gate coding. Allied and Soviet players can build their Gates directly onto existing wall pieces and they will adjust accordingly, but Yuri cannot. Sorry.
There is a valid reason as to why I incorporated these gates, not just so that your bases would look pretty!  With gates included, you are now able to wall up any structure you like from external fire, including ones which have units going in and out of them (Refineries, Service Depots, War Factories etc.) This is critical when up against the new, improved Allied Spies. Their cloaking ability gives them a massive advantage with sneaking inside enemy bases, and it's often difficult to both detect and kill them before they reach their target. You were always able to wall up structures to resist infiltrations and sabotage, but that was harder to achieve on ones that required units to go in and out of them for their standard operation. Now, you can both protect and restrict the entry/exit to and from them, making it easier for you to guard against Spies and harder for enemy players to devise a way to get in.
I guess we'll see how useful this new addition is come Beta 3. | |
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