Red Alert 20XX mod for C&C: Yuri's Revenge

Welcome back Commanders,

It's been over a year since the last release of the mod, but finally, Red Alert 20XX version 1.0.6b is here. It follows the trend of bigger and bigger updates by being, without any doubts, the biggest update so far. Functionnal multiplayer, co-op missions, load of new and revamped units and assets, huge balance changes and bugfixes; this update drastically change how the mod is played. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the EU Challenge map ready for it, which is a huge bummer (for me included). No worries, it is still coming.

On that note, I'd like to point out that the mod is always open to new talents, and what I need more than ever right now are good map makers. So if, by any chances, you are interested in making custom maps for the upcoming challenge maps, if you want to contribute to the new Spec Ops co-op mission or if you just want to play with the 300+ new civilian assets added to the mod, leave me a message here or on Discord. More mappers = more single player content.

But enough about all that, let's go for the routine : grab your freshly baked Red Alert 20XX 1.0.6b update HERE! And now, for the good stuff :

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= Version 1.0.6b Highlights =
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- 1. Mod change -
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--- 1.1 General changes ---

-Functionnal multiplayer. Finally;
-Upgraded the mod to Phobos Build 36;
-New Client Launcher theme and various visual edits, by CatTanker;

-New skirmish option : M.A.D. Mode. In it, all SW are buildable up to 5 times. The cost of the SW building is increased each time one is build. You can see it in action HERE;
-New skirmish option : Performance Mode. Activating it reduces the use of particles, animation translucency and animated voxels. It is best suited for pvp and low end computers;
-The unit tooltips have been reworked : they now show the weapon system used and what they are good against;
-CatTanker, Morton and DOOMGUY added a few new maps;
-Text translation are available in Chinese (by IronShock), Russian (by FieldWolf) and Vietnamese (by Võ Hồng Huy);
-Added and removed music tracks, for both sides.

--- 1.2 Spec Ops Co-op ---

-The Special Operation gamemode has been added, with 4 unique maps. Those bite-sized missions are glorified skirmishes with special and unique configuration. Also, they are hard.

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- 2. New and revamped assets and units -
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--- 2.1 Allied side ---

First off, the new units :

-Added a new T4 infantry for the Allied : the Special Force. It replaces the Eagle Squad special motar unit and can now be build by all factions. It uses a light sub-machinegun against infantries and timed explosives against buildnigs and vehicles. It can swims;
-The Allied Commando was revamped. It is now equiped with an high-tech exoskeleton which has an assisted EMP rocket launcher on its shoulder. It uses a sub-machinegun versus infantry and its rocket launcher versus vehicles. I still has C4 but can no longer swim. See it in action HERE;
-The Castello Skyshield has a new model and a reworked weapon. It can also intercept x4 missiles. It can detect stealth and subterrain units at medium range. See it in action using its old weapon system HERE;
-The Hypnos Jammer has a new Model, by Crazy Bird. Now has double the radar jammer range and can disable one powered building at a time and can only target powered buildings. See it in ation HERE;
-The Ulysses has a new model, by Crazy Bird. Its cost was increased, but it is equiped with air-to-ground missiles now;
-The Hercules has a new model, by Crazy Bird. See it in action HERE;
-The Minerva's Owl has a new model, by Crazy Bird. It will now detect submarines and other stealth units. See it in action HERE;
-The Allied Cargo Plane has a new model, by Crazy Bird. See it in action HERE;
-The Allied Amphibious Transport has a new model, by Crazy Bird and a new name. See it in-game HERE;
-The Eagle Squad is now a tiered Support Power : Tier 1 (Hawk Squad) is available with the Airforce Center, Tier 2 (Eagle Squad) is available with the Battle Lab and Tier 3 (Pheonix Squad) is available with the Spy Sat. The Support power now show a target animation for all players and will play a warning sound. See it in action HERE.

But there's also a bunch of new Allied buildings, all by Scipcion :

-The Pillbox is now a Guard Tower. It does less overall damage, but slightly more to vehicles, and can fire above walls;
-The Gladiator DCA has a new model;
-The Aegis Defence System has a new model;
-The Gun Turret has a new model;
-The Allied Naval Yard has a new model. See it in its natural habitat HERE;
-The Allied Walls have a new model;
-The Drone Command Center has a new model;
-The Advanced Armory has a new model;
-The Spy Sat has a new model. It is now a Tier 5 Support building. It cost 5000$, require 200 power and has a BuildLimit of 1. It has three abilities : 1. giving access to Tier 3 Support Power, 2. it gives the Communication Decryption passive ability (which act as a psychic sensor) and 3. Reveals the whole map. You can see it animated HERE;
-The Ore Purifier has a new model.

--- 2.2 Soviet side ---

This update introduces side specific content for the Soviets, as well as a reworked airforce :

-The Fallout Cannon has a new model, by Crazy Bird. Radiation linger for a longer time. See it in action HERE;
-The Shagohod has a new model, by Crazy Bird. It is now on part with the Mammoth Tank's stats and sports two AA flak cannons. See it in action HERE;
-The Sickle Walker is now a medium range mine layer, named the Sickle Mine Layer. It has relative innacuracy and has a very long reload time, but will now lay multiple mines when its projectile hits the ground. See its nice reload animation HERE;
-The Scavenger is now the Magneto Tank. It can telekinesis smaller vehicle to itself using a magnetic beam, and when close, will use its grinder to attack and generate money on kill. Still slows nearby vehicles. See it in action HERE;
-The Apocalypse Tank has a new model and concept. It is a huge tank sporting two whole Tesla Coils and two MLRS. A new fan favorite for sure. See it in action HERE;
-The Soviet Amphibious Transport has a new model, by Crazy Bird, and a new name;
-The MiG has a new model, by Crazy Bird. Who knows, maybe it can be build somehow? See it in action HERE;
-The Kirov Airship has a new model, by Crazy Bird, and is now faster. See it in action HERE;
-The Humpback Starlifter has a new model, by Crazy Bird. It is now a proper carryall. Available in mission only. See its animation HERE.
-The Doomsday Device has a new Superweapon : the Iron Vortex. It spawns a vortex which is controllable by the player, just like a unit. The first stage makes the vortex do continious damage and gives a 66% speed debuff on vehicle, while causing a lightning storm on the whole area. Once the vortex dissipate, it creates a massive blast. The downside of this very powerful Superweapon is that launching the Iron Vortex completely kills the power output of its owner for two minutes. See it in action HERE;
-The Tactical Nuke has a new animation. See it in action HERE;
-The Industrial Plant is now a T5 Support building. It keeps its production bonuses, but now allows to build all T1-T3 buildings in the combat tab as auxiliary building line, with an increased cost and buildtime. The building now costs 5000 credits.

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- 3. SFX, graphics and sound -
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-All vehicles now leave a husk when destroyed, including civilian vehicles. See that in action HERE;
-Added 64 new unique civilian buildings (161 total) and 39 new unique civilian props (84 total). Added 20 new civilian vehicles. See some example HERE, HERE and HERE;
-Some Support Powers (EMP Strike, Athena Strike, Paradrop, Eagle Squad, Emergency Repair) will now leave a targeting animation on the ground, and will play a sound to alert players of the SP being deployed. See the Eagle Squad example HERE;
-Artillery units (Damocles, Ballista, Fallout Cannon) now have an animated recoil on their turret. See it in action HERE;
-Reworked how missiles look, thanks to Crazy Bird;

-There's a low chance a burning crew will leave destroyed vehicles (idea by skyrish19);
-Thanks to Phobos, there's a visual indicator of the income received from Harvesters at the Refinery;
-New wrench animation when repairing a building;
-New loadscreens, by Yamaneko;
-Most cameos are now in .pcx format, allowing far more details. Thanks to Nour.

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- 4. Balance and bugfixes -
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The update introduces a lot of various balance changes (PVP oriented) and bugfixes. For the full list, check the official changelog :

-The AI will be more aggressive in skirmishes. Reworked some attack teams for the skirmish AIs;
-Introduced some various changes to reduce lag : rework how radiation appears, limit the bullet casing from MGs, reduced all lasertrail's lenght by 20% and reduced the Jupiter Cannon's bright targeting effect;
-Too many various balance and bugfixes to list here.

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= What's next? =
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Obviously, the EU Challenge map is still one of my objective. Who knows, maybe we'll get a nice EU and Eastern Republic challenge map combo! Otherwise, I'm pretty hyped myself on the content I have planned for 1.0.6c. All the assets I have been hoarding (or at least, a good part of them) will finally be known to the world (perhaps I'm seeing a bit too big here). Other than that, expect a finalized Pacific Shogunate roster, some interesting unit rework, many infantry adjustments and some other important graphical upgrade. Oh and new maps and Spec Ops and such IF I CAN RECRUIT MAP MAKERS ;)

See you next time! (Hopefully, in less than a whole year)