Mod developer of old games that (almost) nobody plays anymore.

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Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 5

Things to check: 1) The .bat file (and the mod .sdf files) are all in the same directory as the game's executable ( gcii.exe ). 2) The game is patched to 1.0.0.8. 3) Will the game run without the mod? If you just start up gcii.exe with no command line options does it work? If not, the issue is with the game and not the mod in particular. You may also want to 4) Try running the game As Administrator if you haven't already. You may need to use the custom shortcuts instead of the batch files for that, and on that note make sure you're just adding the -mod *** line to the end of the Target field. Don't try to put Start into a shortcut, that's just for the batch file.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

I deliberately avoided using any assets from the other mod, partly because I didn't want to have to worry about conflict of ownership or credit and mostly because I wanted to see what I could come up with on my own.

If I'm remembering it right that paradrop was just the assault pod power with a different animation (the parachute from the sensor power). If you play in Reviron that power gives you Dragons but the pods are retextured to look Terran instead.

On one hand yeah the parachutes would definitely look better because the texture I made is amateur at best, and now that I know how it wouldn't be much work to make my own version that has a Dragon Legionnaire instead of the sensor hanging down.

On the other hand I always liked the idea of a Terran-ized assault pod based on the dialogue in the last mission so I've stuck with it.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 5

Good question actually, the patch is about the only thing I didn't package into this release. You can try the 1007 to 1008 patch on moddb which I'll link below, but let me know if that doesn't work and I'll see about uploading it. The patch file I have on my hard drive is 1006 to 1008 and it does the job just fine, but doesn't seem to be available for download on its own anymore. Anyways, here's the first one to try: Moddb.com

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 5

Thanks for the kind words! Hearing that folks have enjoyed the mod is what kept development going for all these years.

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

All I needed to do was change a couple of bytes in each file and this way I get to modify the latest (release or patch) version of each mission so I don't lose anything else in the process. If I had any more serious changes in mind I'd have to look into it though. Mission 5 in particular could use some work in the editor to fix the bugged turret and rearrange the units but that's outside the scope of this release.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Yeah sorry about that, I saw your message but just never got around to following up on it. Discord isn't something I normally use which didn't help either. I do have some long term plans about some of the more creative hacks learned while working on this mod though, hopefully I get around to sharing those before I forget too!

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Its been very specifically balanced as a ground attack unit with the Missile Strider handling AA duties in that end of the Terran arsenal. Allowing it to attack air would require me to weaken it in some other way (less damage, health, etc.) which would just make it less effective in its intended role. I admit seeing that gatling gun open up on air units would be visually impressive though!

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

All of the work on missions (and some of the models) was done through hex editing. A lot of time this release was spent figuring out the .ice and .mrb file formats so that I could make a bunch of changes that I've always wanted to, such as properly fixing the Terran dropship or adjusting mission settings. Its the sort of thing I should write a tutorial for if I can find the time.

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 4

There's no guarantees but I do have a small list of things to work on the next time I feel like doing a release, notably fixing the bug with the Terran artillery (I somehow missed splitting its splash damage up like the other factions') and reaching a decision on the whole auto-targeting artillery problem. As for when, I have no idea. Its a nightmare to change, repack and properly test the mod for a release so I generally only do it when I have enough changes to justify all of the effort. Maybe later this year, perhaps next year, we'll see. Check back in every few months if you like!

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Thanks for the kind words and for the suggestion, although I already set the parasites up that way in version 4. The damage numbers on the UI are around 75% of the actual value for the units that have falloff.

Feel free to PM me here on moddb if you like, I'm thoroughly burned out on GC2 at this point but would be happy to talk shop.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 4 Changes

Understandable. Do you use the auto targeting more in primary, secondary or both? It is possible for me to enable it for one mode but not the other, that might be a good compromise to look at if I have to do another update.

Note that the auto attack is still enabled for the Assault APC secondary and Mortar Clanguard where it works fine since the rounds don't take quite as long to reach their targets.

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 4 Changes

It would have been nice if GC2 had included a target priority table - some way to make artillery target infantry first, buildings second, and so forth, but as it stands there were too many instances of free-firing artillery dropping salvos into your own (or allied) units. Intestingly enough though, in GC1 you could give them a group attack order by ctrl band-boxing a bunch of enemies. This still works in GC2, they just never mention it anywhere. Select your arty, hold Ctrl, and box-select a group of enemies. Then move your units around however you want and they'll keep firing. Its not a perfect system and more micro intensive, but once you get the hang of it I've found it far superior to letting them auto-target. The band selection also means if you lose vision on one target they should just switch to the next without stopping.

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Glad to see you're still following it though! I've got one last round of testing to do making sure everything is ready, so expect the new version to be available for download within the next few days.

Good karma+3 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 4 Preview

Hey look, I remembered to turn the water effects up this time!

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

There might be another update for this eventually, I've been keeping a list of changes I want to make. I keep adding more to it when I get back into GC2 every now and then. There's also a couple of other things I've made that ought to be released, such as a UI fix for widescreen that makes the minimap more useable.

Good karma+6 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 3 Changes

Hey there, thanks for the kind words and suggestions!

Sadly, I wasn't able to make artillery spawn on hold fire without also disabling their ability to fire automatically. I felt having the option of letting them shoot on the move without constant micro was worth the price of having to set their stance to hold fire manually if you wanted finer control. I do agree about the friendly fire though, its probably one of the reasons why artillery was manual-only in vanilla.

It did make their mobile modes much more useful though, because now you can set them on a waypoint path around the edge of the fray and just let them shell the enemy as they appear, and not worry so much about counter-battery. Depends on your playstyle though of course.

The radar change was much more straightforward: I don't think its balanced to be able to turn an APC into a mobile scout with better sight range than the actual scouting units. This is an even bigger problem in my mod because deployable radars now have significantly larger sight range (400, as opposed to 300 in vanilla).

One of the subtler changes in the mod is how all of the units' vision, perception, stealth and weapon range values work together: Infantry can avoid detection a lot better now even out in the open, which makes up for their reduced health. Tanks rely on more fragile units to spot targets for them, etc.

Deployable radar has a perception value of 200 (it was 250 in vanilla), which means that it can detect any hostile unit closer than that regardless of how stealthy they are or what the weather is like. That's fine for something you put down to watch a point or keep an eye on the flanks, but I feel giving any vehicle force that kind of advantage is practically cheating. Even infantry setting an ambush in buildings or a forest will get detected long before either party is in weapons range.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 3 Repack

Theoretically yes, near as I can tell pretty much everything is built in Lightwave: The mesh, UV Map, animations, etc. Showbox (which is included in the SDK) then gets used to convert the model to .mrb format for the game, and configure any animation loops, particle sources and so forth that haven't been set up in Lightwave.

Showbox is a very limited utility and I've had to invent some clever workarounds because of that, but on the flip side it means if you wanted to put new models into GC2 all you really need is Lightwave because most of the process is done inside of it.

In practice though, I have no idea how much trouble it would be. I'm not much of a modeler, and I have zero experience with Lightwave or its format.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 3 Repack

Nope. The game is hard coded at two playable factions, without the source code (which has never been released) and a good programmer its unfortunately stuck that way. If you want the technical details check the FAQ section of the readme file.

You can, however, set the skirmish AI to be any of the three factions (due to some clever tricks with the AI), just not players.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 3 Changes

Click on the "Downloads" button at the top of this page and get the Repack!

Thanks for reminding me I need to edit the link in that old news post though, I thought I had made it point to the general downloads page and not to the mod file specifically. Fixed now.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 3 Repack

The .juice files with the unit data are in plain text, so Notepad works fine for those. The SDK includes the original (text) files so you can edit them. You will also need to use some of the programs in the SDK to convert them after you're done though, JuiceMaker for example turns the .juice data into binary .ice files which are what the game reads.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 3 Repack

Short answer: Creating a new faction would require you to replace one of the existing ones, besides that its just creating the entries in the unit files, new models and maybe particle effects with Lightwave (or in something that can convert to that format) and maybe some new sounds.

If you don't have it yet, grab the GC2 SDK here and see what you can do with it: Moddb.com

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

I finally got rid of that horrible launcher I made and went back to putting the mod in a .zip file. The new download should be up soon and I'd be happy if everyone deleted the launcher and forgot it ever existed, but truthfully if you already have the mod working you don't need to download it again.

Also, thanks again to everyone who has played, commented and even voted! You guys make all the effort worthwhile.

Good karma+3 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Flamecurse

Nice to hear I'm not alone. I wrote & posted that rant after days of frustration. Afterwards I regretted it because a lot more people read it than I had expected! Looking back now, it doesn't seem quite so badly written after all.

Although it speaks volumes that I haven't written a single line of code since, even months later. :P

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Flamecurse

Glad to hear it! I'm ashamed that I even made that launcher in the first place, its atrocious. I've been meaning to give it the axe for a while now, and go back to just packing stuff in a .zip file as with the previous versions. Going to go do that now; I guess late is better than never!

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Flamecurse

That's been in the Reversal mod since the very beginning; Check out the Vindicator Centruroid in the final Viron missions or Skirmish mode. ;)

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Reversal Mod 3

Ignore the launcher and use the .bat files in the game directory instead. The launcher should work for most people, but the batch files are there as a backup for the few that it doesn't.

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ How long have you been modding?

I had to look up the dates on some of my old files to answer this one; Turns out its been 8 years for me, or 12 if I count some of the things I did with Operation Flashpoint. Wow. That takes me back.

For all of you looking to get into modding, its like many forms of art: You can't learn to paint masterpieces overnight or from reading a book. Modding is something you have to work your way into and that you have to develop a passion for.

My advice is to pick a game that you really enjoy and see what kind of a modding community and tools exist for it. You will find that many older, more obscure games lack any kind of modding support, but in general for anything good enough to still be getting played months or even years after it came out there will be some form of tools available to work on it. Sometimes these tools come from the game's developers, but often they are made from scratch by the community.

As MagnumPI mentioned in the comments above, the how-to of modding is different for every game, and they all have different limitations depending on how they were designed. Start with small changes and work your way up. Many of you will find that over time, your skill set becomes much broader. You might start with programming or modeling and work your way up to texturing, level design or game balance. Trying to learn everything all at once can be a steep hill to climb, so instead work on what you're familiar with and branch out from there. Never be afraid to experiment.

In the end it really comes down to motivation. Once you have the drive to find the tools and make your first change, the second one follows and before you know it you've created a small mod. Having a clear vision for the finished product is always good, but to get started sometimes all you need is to be sitting there thinking "This thing should really be changed. I bet I could do it better." You're probably more correct than you think. :)

Good karma+5 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ Version 3 Released

Not a bug: Support powers and unit restrictions are decided by the map instead of the unit files. Since Tranquility Base is a community-made map that means whoever created it decided to disable support and helidynes. You'd see that with or without the mod active.

I'm aware that NSA in the mod can still use Recon Helidynes on that map though; Its because there's no restriction for them. It looks slightly out of place, but I don't consider it a problem.

Good karma+1 vote
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Glad to hear it. :)

Good karma+2 votes
Flamecurse
Flamecurse @ GC2 Reversal Mod

Hopefully the launcher is working for most people though. The .bat files were included as a backup and its the same method used to start the game as in previous versions of the mod.

Short of including the entire system32 folder along with the mod (and there's no way I could/would do that), there's no good way for me to make the launcher completely failure proof.

Good karma+1 vote