What is HanPatch? news - Rise of the Reds mod for C&C: Generals Zero Hour

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first article for the HanPatch ModDB page!

The_Hunter649 suggested making one many months ago, but we got around to it only now. Better late than never.

HP is the product of the long hiatus that Rise of the Reds experienced starting from 2018. Drawing lessons from my previous community patch, it was meant to solve a number of longstanding bugs for Version 1.87 Public Build 2.0, as well as introduce a few experimental changes. Over time, the experimental aspect changed into a more proper, formalized continuation of 1.87 development, with an increased focus on resolving bugs and balance concerns, along with introducing new mechanics that follow the spirit of original ROTR.

Three years later, it has evolved into a full-fledged addon, with recognition from The_Hunter himself, that offers its own unique content and mechanics. Some of these include:

- Exclusive units and buildings with new, high-quality models made by M.P
- A complete revamp of the ECA Deployment Zone Battlegroups, with distinctive veteran unit textures and cameos, and two unique Battlegroups
- A GLA mechanic which allows players to buy Recycler salvage of the factions they are facing, to provide an alternative, consistent access to salvaged tech
- A completely automated emergency power system for USA, replacing the manually-activated ability

Alongside numerous balance changes, we have also accommodated the more casual audience with a smattering of Easter Egg units such as the Sherman Tank, King Tiger, Smerch, Gongchen Tank. These require a separate addon.

The community Discord receives new versions, changelogs and hotfixes as soon as they are available. This may be less viable for ModDB due to bandwidth limitations and patch sizes, as well as the potential frequency of updates. Therefore, we will only upload versions which are considered stable and relatively bug-free (e.g. v31.3).

We have many plans for the future. Myself and some other HP team members are also supporting The_Hunter in the development of the official ROTR, whose next release is currently our top priority. Once that is complete, we will recreate HP from scratch on the new version to make full use of the new stable codebase and assets. This will also give us the opportunity to review some long-standing and somewhat controversial design choices that either aged poorly or lost their relevance. Based on these considerations, we will go forward with our own ideas and continue to develop HP parallel to ROTR itself, ideally in a way that benefits both projects.

This was a project long in the making, and it has grown far beyond my original intent. The team and I are excited and humbled by the reception we have received over the years and the recognition given to us by the very creator of the mod that inspired us in the first place. We hope to continue on this project with diligence and creativity and win your interest in our own interpretation of ROTR's gameplay and world. Until our next update, take care.