Blogs - SteamsDev

Alright, time to make up for what I can only assume is long-lost time.

As I said before, the Romanov's Vengeance and Shattered Paradise Discord Servers merged recently, so I got the chance to see both mods in action at the same time. I was able to download and play both stable releases, and yesterday I reviewed the newest version of Romanov's Vengeance, so today I'm doing the second part of this two-day review run, a mini-review of Shattered Paradise!

I haven't gotten to test any TibSun mods for OpenRA yet, but so far if I had to name a mod better than the others, it's this one. Shattered Paradise exceeded my expectations greatly, from the visuals to the gameplay to the mechanics. I haven't seen anything like it in this era of OpenRA or before. It's a great way to get into the era of 2.5D games in OpenRA if you have a good computer or you have a Linux system like I do. I've also heard there will be a Singleplayer campaign in the future, which I'm excited for and hope to see it implemented. But enough of my rambling, here's what I like and don't like about the mod.

1) Gmeplay

The gameplay is, as I always like to day, fantastic. There's a lot that has been put into this mod that I think were very welcome additions. I had already known about the addition of the Forgotten and CABAL, but the Scrin was a bit of a surprise to me, and i surprised me even more when I played as it for the first time. All the sides are very competitively balanced and each is unique in its own way. Definitely the way to go when it comes to total conversion and expansions for Tiberian Sun. What more could you ask for?

2) Detail

The detail does need a bit of work but it's not nearly as bad as the RA2 mods I've seen. Most of the problems with the original mod appear to be fixed with Shattered Paradise, and the custom units actually look pretty good. The world is definitely more like the original mod but I can't say I hate it. A couple graphical glitches I noticed were with some of the custom maps, but those just seem to be map editor compatibility issues and not something that has to with the map creation itself. I'd say the level of detail is pretty solid for the mod.

Overall...

I was thoroughly surprised by the mod author's work for this mod. I can't name a better way to experiment with the formula for 2.5D games in OpenRA than this mod. An expansion on the sides for Tiberian Sun, plus the new mechanics and gameplay, and the detail improvements from other mods, make this an OpenRA mod that I'll be playing and experimenting with for a while. Not sure what else to say about other than "It's fantastic!" Try it for yourself: Github.com. And don't forget to not get taken in by Cyborgs or aliens.

One mission, one purpose.

Oh hi! It's another review for Romanov's Vengeance!

I kind of expected to do this because the devs mentioned that there was going to be a hack of a lot more coming for RV, and boy they weren't wrong. The newest stable version of RV contains a lot more than the previous version had, including new game modes, maps and a Yuri faction. I took some time to play it over the past few days so here's an up-to-date review of the mod. I'll also point to a download link 'cause this bootyhead forgot to do it.

1) Gameplay

The gameplay has improved since the last release. The biggest difference I noticed is the V3 Launcher and Dreadnought logic has been improved. They still hurl their rockets at the enemy LIKE A BOSS but they now set them up before launching them, something that has now been around since OpenRA began, and probably the reason why Dreadnoughts and V3s currently aren't available in the RA2 port for OpenRA (as of this post). I also liked the new game modes in the game. I played a 1v1 Domination match and while it took me a while to figure it out, once I did it was really fun. It'd be fun to make dedicated AIs for each game mode (given it doesn't impact the load time) but the new AI as a whole is great. The cheaters.

2) Detail

The level of detail is unfortunately the same as in previous versions. I honestly don't fault the devs for this but its still something I feel I need to nitpick. I think it has improved SLIGHTLY with the new version, bit I still noticed that some of the shadows were off and the Prism Tank has a black mirror instead of a white one - something I don't like to stare at for too long. Again I know it's not dev's fault and I wouldn't say they had any control over it, but I still don't like it.

Overall...

It's not a MASSIVE change per se, the newest version, but still one that I appreciate. The game feels pretty new with all the changes and I definitely recommend giving it another chance, if not for the looks definitely for the new game modes and subfactions. I've also heard there are multiplayer servers up and running but I haven't gotten the chance to play any of them so that's not being included in the review. Overall a great improvement over the previous version. You can find the newest release here: Github.com. Now leave me alone with my rockets and maybe one day we can take over the world together. Revenge needs to be taken, after all!

One mission, one purpose.

Remember when I said I was going to do reviews monthly? Yeah my mind works in myseterious ways.

But don't worry. I've gotten back into it (a bit) with some new releases coming up. I plan on covering a few small mods here and there and dipping my toe back into the C&C modding community to see what happens.

I'll also start doing some non-CnC related games and mods as well, like mods for NASCAR Heat and OpenTTD. I'm going to start collecting games on Steam and save them for when I get a more powerful PC and then we'll see about more and better games/mods.

Anyway, two mod reviews coming up. Tonight we'll do the newest version of Romanov's Vengeance and then tomorrow will be Shattered Paradise. The two Discord servers merged recently so if you want to join that community follow this link: Discord.gg

See you on the flipside... oh wait we're already there ;)

It's time to start reviewing again! At this point I'm finally done with school for about 40 days or so and I can get to some things I wanted to do for some time on ModDB. Today I did one of those things: Write a mini-review for Romanov's Vengeance!

I honestly haven't been a fan of OpenRA for some time because it seems too clunky - bogged down by both its default settings and by its logic in general. That doesn't mean though that there aren't some great mods for it. I've been a fan of MustaphaTR's work ever since I joined BR Studios (the makers of Yuri's Revenge: CnCD2K, one of Mustapha's old mods) and this is his current and most recent project. And I'm delighted to say: So far, I love it! Balanced gameplay coupled with some fresh new assets and command point system, this mod has it all, and I can't think of a fitting way to utilize all of OpenRA's features. Now, for the specifics.

1) Gameplay

OpenRA in general suffers from slow and clunky gameplay, both because of the defualt settings for every match and the fact that it's still being implemented with new features that seem to bog it down even more. Unfortunately RV suffers from this too, although it's not as prevailent. Once you set that aside, the gameplay's actually pretty fun. Good to see some old RA2 logic back and familiar sights like Prism logic and reworked SpySat. It's great fighting the AI as well, even if it is still flawed. My main concern is the way the AI builds, like, 4 refineries at any given time and not silos. I think it could do without that logic, but eh, what do I know. Both the Allieds and the Soviets are fun to play anyhow. Now let me hurl my rockets at the enemy's base like a TRUE boss!

2) Detail

I wish I could say the same about the detail level of the game but... it's OpenRA, and I just don't like the way RA2/RV looks (or any 2.5D OpenRA mod for that matter). The voxels just look... off, like some of the shadows went missing during implementation. I also think the beta RA2 mod for OpenRA still needs a bit of work before a proper RA2 mod can be made for it. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it's RV's fault. It ultimately falls on the OpenRA devs to make it work. For now, though, I can't agree with the lack of attention to detail. I would probably choose YR over OpenRA if I cared about detail that much, but I really don't. Just got to rant about it for 5 minutes, I guess...

Overall...

If you think I'm just peeving on the OpenRA devs for making mods look terrible, I'm not. I'm saying that the idea of "2.5D" mods for OpenRA is still high in the sky, and it needs a lot of work to be considered complete. RV just shows us the progress that was made so far, and I think that Mustapha has done very well with the resources he and his team had. Basically, the mod is great, but the platform isn't. It will some day, though, and I wish Mustapha and his team the best as they continue the development of Romanov's Vengeance.

One mission, one purpose.

Hi Covid survivor.

So we're nearing the end of the year and I'm feeling pretty good about 2021. Everything seems to be sorting themselves out society-wise and I have discovered something I can do as a regular thing here on ModDB. By the way, in case you missed it, Fun mission 7 Version 2 is out now! Lot of fixes and enhancements to the map that I did in a day, for the most part. Anyway, I decided that during things like breaks and days where I don't have much to do, I would want to see if I can do some more reviews in a shorter amount of time for mods that don't apply exactly to what I want to do for a regular mod review.

So to solve this, I am going to introduce mini-mod reviews!

Mini-mod reviews work pretty much the same way as regular mod reviews would, but they have two main differences. 1) For a standard review, I would take about a month to play it before doing a review, but for mini-mod reviews, I'll only take one to two weeks to play before doing the review, and 2) For a mini-mod review I will only judge based on gameplay and design. In a standard mod review, I'll also include a story/single-player campaign review where applicable.

Why am I doing this? Well, it's so that I have more to do on a regular basis, but there's another purpose to this: it's so that I can cover mods that don't have a singleplayer/story mode to them and are either multiplayer only or have some singleplayer content but not a fully-fledged campaign. Hopefully, everyone enjoys them as much as the regular reviews.

That's it for now. So long and good luck out there!

One mission, one purpose.

Hey, I'm actually active again!

So I had a lot of fun doing the TSTW mod review. It may not get the same reception as the TS: Another World review but it looks like people enjoy it so far, so for those of you who read it, thanks for taking the time to check it out.

Now, with some more updates and mods coming out for RA2YR I've chosen another mod to review for YR. You'll have to find out some time in December (or January) to find out what it is. Let's just say when the next update comes out, I'm going to jump on it.

For this blog though I wanted to inform you that I've dipped my toe in the water and started up the Fireports Quest again. Like I said I'm redoing Mission 1 in an attempt to clean it up and revamp it. I also started Mission 6 (Border Watch) where you assist the Allied general in defending the Chronosphere. For this one, I'm basically the enemy, so I'm going to make the AI employ tactics that I like doing when I'm playing YR Soviet Mission 2 (Deva Vu). It isn't hard to program so that one should be easier to complete than Mission 5. Speaking of which, it's making progress. I'm about halfway done with it at this point. The biggest hurdle right now is getting the triggers to work as intended, but after that, I'll start testing it.

That's about it. Get ready for some more mod reviews in the future!

One mission, one purpose.

Well... I'm not sure if it's been around a month since my last review or not, but then again what do I know. All that matters is that I'm back again and I'm ready for my second mod review ever in 2020. This time it's a mod that hasn't gotten the attention it deserves: The Second Tiberium War!

Remember the storyline from Twisted Insurrection, when Nod managed to win the first Tiberium War and GDI's partnership with another faction started up the second war? This one answers the question that was never asked by someone: What if GDI won the first Tiberium War? Yep... it's one of those mods, unfortunately, but also fortunately it does a better job at making an actually good TS story than TS itself did (well, give or take). Let's just walk through some of the aspects together and see what this mod has to entail.

1) Story

This mod does have a good story despite what I was saying a moment ago. The intro recaps you on the first Tiberium War and the events leading up to the second, and then the story begins to unfold weirdly. You start with a few basics that include GDI dealing with some terrorists, some Black Hand manslaughter, and some good old stealth and covert op style gameplay. After that, though, you once again encounter Vega, mutants, lifeforms, and the like. I don't want to go too deep into it, but overall it's not a bad story for what it is. However, the story is broken up into chapters and the mod creator takes full advantage of the INI settings by having each chapter include a balanced variety of GDI/Nod gameplay (apart from the last chapter), so if you like side-specific gameplay, this mod might not be your cup of tea.

2) Gameplay

Just like most other TS mods, you can't go wrong with the gameplay. Most of the newly remade units help give more variety to each side, and the overdose of laser and rocket blasts for Nod fit right into the TSTW universe. One thing that does peeve me a little is that the Hover MLR is far superior on the GDI front. You're able to unlock it right out of the gate after building the War Factory (at least in my experiences) and it's long-range, so it can pretty easily beat the Nod Artillery in a one-on-one. The real sweet stuff, though, is the Tier 3 arsenal for each side. The mod creator brought back the original Mammoth Tank from TD and introduced the all-powerful Inferno Tank for Nod, and I seriously love them both. The inferno Tank was my unit of choice for the final Nod mission, able to take out pretty much anything it touches. I also love just obliterating stuff with the Mammoth Tank and I can not get a (un)healthy dose of it in this. Overall, not too bad gameplay-wise.

3) Detail

This mod's detail is really good. The mod makes good use of lighting and the voxels used for tanks and aircraft were great choices for this mod. This almost feels like something from Sega, if they developed TibSun, to be honest. Some of the units fit right into the tech for both GDI and Nod, such as the GDI Badger and the Nod Raptor. I also like the level of detail in some of the missions, such as the second mission in Chapter 2, with a lot of Tiberium growth and great use of terrain objects. Overall, good on the detail front. You can never go wrong when it comes to TS modding.

Overall...

Overall, not too bad. It was a good attempt at the very least, but the mod does have its drawbacks. As I implied before it does need a few balance fixes, with the MLRs and the Inferno, and the main campaign has left a little bit to be desired. I don't fault the mod creator for most of those things, though, as the good helps to outweigh the bad. The newly revamped units and detail help make this a really good mod, and the campaign missions are good fun as well. Something I didn't mention before is that the voices were extracted straight out of TibSun, and some... just don't really match. It annoys me quite a bit honestly, but that's just me. I didn't mention it as it was only a minor inconvenience. Overall, it's fine. Just a good mod to mess around with when you have the spare time. And hey, when you do, I recommend you give it a try. Again, you can never go wrong with some old modded TS gameplay. Thanks, Ever_Valiant, for giving me the chance to play the mod, and I hope to see more from you in the future.

One mission, one purpose.

Hello again.

So my TS: Another World review has just become the most viewed blog on my profile page at just over 70 views. I just want to say thanks for the support guys. You are the reason I am able to keep up with the C&C Community and I enjoy having you. With that, it's time to announce my next move that may turn my channel around.

Yep, I'm doing more mod reviews.

I enjoyed doing the TS: Another World review and I think a lot of people enjoyed reading it. I've decided it would help me reach out to more people and expand my ModDB page if I did regular mod reviews for games such as RA2/YR, TS, among other games. Again I thank you for the support as this would not be possible without you.

Now, here's how they will work.

Every month or so I will find a mod for a game I own and play through it as much as possible within a certain time span. While I am playing it I will be taking notes on gameplay, story (if applicable) and detail, kind of like how I did my TS: Another World review. After one to two months, I will write a review addressing these three areas and my thoughts on them and then give a summary of my thoughts on the mod. I won't do a review score as it has gotten some bad reception over the years and I want to avoid that as much as possible, and I will take between 30-60 days to play the mod before I write the review. This assures I can get the most out of my playtime before reviewing. Finally I will make it clear that all of this is subject to change since this is the first time I am doing this and I want to remain flexible.

With that, my first target for another review is The Second Tiberium War for TS. This will take about 30-40 days to complete for me and once done the review will be written and released. Beforehand though I do have deadlines I need to meet so it won't come out right away.

Hope everyone can stick with me on this one. Thanks for sticking around!

One mission. One purpose.

Happy Halloween!

Quick update: It's been five days since I posted my mod review on TS: Another World and right now it is within the top 5 most viewed blogs on my channel (first is my second update on the Fireports Quest, followed by the first). The overall reception was good and it made me wonder if I should do more mod reviews in the future for all sports of games, since it would give me a chance to be more active on ModDB and PPM Forums (since I'd be over there as well with reviews on RA2 and TS mods).

A couple days ago I took the topic to PPM forums asking if I should do some more mod reviews in the future (Ppmforums.com). It got responses from G-E and Banshee as of the making of this blog, and the general consensus was that it would be a good idea due to it being a contribution to the community and that it would pique interest in more mods from the community - ones that were never heard of in some cases.

Now I want to ask you guys on my ModDB. I have access to a ton of mods thanks to ModDB, and I plan on seeking more places to find them as well. Would you be interested if I did more mod reviews, given that I have the time and can get as many mods working as possible? If I did start doing mods, what sort of reviews should I do? Should I do a review like the one from TS: Another World? Should I try doing a metascore? I'll leave it up to you.

Oh, and thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great day. :)

Been a while, hasn't it?

This isn't much of an update blog, to be sure, but I just got done with the Story Mode for the English version of the RA2YR mod, TS: Another World. I would have posted some videos on my YT but I couldn't get my recording software to work so I played blind without recording. I just finished it tonight and am ready to give my thoughts on it because, well, I figured I should let you know what I've been playing and what I think of the mod.

And first off, I have to say, THIS MOD IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! I have never imagined what a true cross between a visual novel and a C&C game would look like, and this one puts it all into perspective. This mod excels in the story aspect, maybe not as much with the missions themselves, but the cutscenes and amount of thought put into this makes this one of my favorite RA2YR mods in terms of story. I will love this for days to come.

Now before I get too overwhelmed by it, let me take you through this mod's features and what I think of them:

1) Story

There is only one word that can accurately describe my thoughts about the story: priceless. This goes far beyond what I'd expect for a spin-off of TS and it is so special to me I see it as invaluable in the C&C community. It was excellent through and through.

Without spoiling too much, here's a summary of the story itself: This takes place during the events of Tiberian Sun: Firestorm (or thereafter, probably). A young technician is working for the Brotherhood of Nod in R&D. She gets a special request one time which leads her on a trail of mystery, and risks her stance in the brotherhood to solve it. She soon would find out she is a part of something bigger and... well, I'll just leave it at that. We can't go too much further without getting into some real spoiler territory. Still, you can view the cutscenes separately if you want to view the story without the gameplay. Speaking of which...

2) Gameplay

Overall the gameplay is fantastic. I'd say it's pretty well-balanced between the two sides as well as the subfactions. And yes, there are subfactions in this mod - three for each side, to be exact. They seem to reflect the sides from C&C3: Kane's Wrath, which is to be expected and, to be honest, I quite like it. The mod itself focuses on the Brotherhood of Nod, which I would say are the best when it comes to gameplay, but I did do an AI game with GDI and they're really fun, too. If you ever get a chance, play in Skirmish Mode and try out the different subfactions. Then come back to the story because it's too good to pass up.

3) Detail

Knowing this is a TS mod, I do cut it a little bit of slack but overall the detail isn't that great. The units use RA2 normals like they're supposed to, but in some cases, it just looks... not good. The Tiberium Harvesters used a sprite which does not have an unloading variation, I'm confused as to why the creator stuck with the original TS buildings, seeing as I'm pretty sure there were some cleaner ones out there, and the terrain is literally straight out of TS, which is again to be expected. I can still forgive it, though. It is hard to make a perfectly working TS mod in RA2, but this one does it well even with a few setbacks.

Overall...

The mod overall is something that is almost too good to describe in words. My last little pet peeve is with the cutscenes themselves - having lived in the United States my entire life I can say that the localization was not as good as it could have been, however that was something I saw as a minor setback. It does not take away from the emotion, the fun, or the overall thrill of the mod at all. I did play through the entire campaign on Normal, and then just watched the other two ending cutscenes through the Cutscenes program (because I was definitely not going to be able to top that last performance... Yeesh), and thus I can say with confidence that this was absolutely brilliant. Many thanks to the people who were involved for making the mod, and I hope to see more from you in the future.

One mission, one purpose.