Now I know that an extremely small number of you guys actually read these news updates, but I've got a lot to say and I might as well say it.
Not only have I received a generally small amount of feedback and interest, but I have also now become aware that there are those who even mock this mod and my work on it, and who look to ancient images from early builds of the mod to justify and further their criticism. (I am looking at you, baidu)
It will suffice to say that I was not pleased with that development.
In terms of actual progress in this mod, it has hit something of a standstill. I had been in the process of reskinning units and reworking the AI files when my workload and the nausea resulting from the lack of feedback and the discovery that my work had been made into something of a laughing stock.
No new work on the mod has been done since then. I will upload a few images from the most recent mod version to see what work was done that you all have not yet seen, which is a considerable amount of work, but whether I am willing to continue development is in the air for reasons covered here.
Problems facing continued development, other than my own personal issues and that of a real or perceived lack of positive interest in this mod, include the near-impossibility of properly representing helicopters in this game, in either their transport or attack roles, the difficulty involved in expanding the Metagame map, with all the new cities and the random map files and etc, problems with the AI not being as challenging in the late game as I have hoped, possible problems with unit balance, problems with making new buildings, and making them look good, and the sheer amount of effort involved in producing new units, and fleshing out factions with few mechanized forces to speak of. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the computer that I had done most of my mod work on has become unbearably cluttered and slow and moving the data and associated modding and modeling programs over to another computer would be a complex and time-consuming operation.
It was due to this variety of factors that I have generally focused my efforts on other mods, and on other communities. I am currently convinced this was the right decision. Convince me otherwise.
I almost forgot, I had/have also more or less given up entirely on producing a quality campaign since map creation was never a big skill of mine and I lack the time and patience to devote to making said maps.
So if I do get back into this, I'm not sure I can or could promise the availability of one unless there was some real interest in campaigns.
Well. I can wait for campaigns, hell, I can make my own scenarios in my head while I battle in the middle of the desert. I was/will always looking forward to this mod. Its been great so far. Especially for 1 guy.
well, on the bright side, people can create their own maps and post them here as add-ons. I haven't done it yet. but it's something people can do.
pretty sure that people can't attach an add-on for a new campaign inside of an existing mod folder created by somebody else.
but there's nothing to say that they can't create their own add-on page (like Simcardo did with his reskin add-on). then they can fill it up with new maps and skins and what-not. just make sure you get specific about the mod (and version) you're using to build the map.
sorry to hear that this mod won't get released. I was really looking forward to playing it.
it could be that some of the aspects of modern warfare are simply beyond the reach of this game engine. I admit that I also thought about helicopters and couldn't really come up with anything that really worked well. I applaud your efforts at expanding this game into new directions.
map-building takes a lot of time. there is a huge amount of trial-and-error testing involved. my better maps, the one with the highest replay value, frequently took 20+ hours to create. the best one probably took 100+ hours to create and went through nearly 30 revisions.
it's frustrating to have people make fun of your work. constructive criticism can be tough enough, but out ridicule makes it even harder. for a lot of younger players it seems they're only really interested in fancy graphics, epic cut scenes, and things that actually don't involve true game-play mechanics! even if you've spent years meticulously crafting game-play balance and improving the AI people can still be critical or disappointed. part of why I started modding for A&A is that I liked a lot of the mods-- but wanted to create something that met all of my hopes and expectations for the game's potential. nobody else had really done that yet.
one thing I've learned is that I can't make everybody happy. and I couldn't have made it this far without help. if theharkonnen and I hadn't started working together I don't think we would still be working on the mod stuff we've been doing. what keeps me going is the fact that I'm modding a game that I like to play-- so even if nobody else cares or likes it, I can still enjoy the end result.
for a long time, before we found ModDB, theharkonnen and I were afraid that we would be the only two people in the world who knew that "Uncommon Valor" existed! it's hard to keep working when you feel like you don't have an audience... worse still when it seems to be a hostile one.
this game is only being played by a small group of players-- and it makes sense that you want to work on modding games that have a larger community associated with them. I wish you the best of luck on any existing or future mods.
if you're convinced you've made the right decision then I'll support that. I don't think you should have to be coerced into continuing to work on something that's frustrating you. you're not getting paid for this! so if you don't enjoy it anymore there's no need to punish yourself and keep going.
I know this was long-- and I should have kept it shorter. but I want to write one last thing: thanks for the all hard work. even if we don't get to see the final product, the journey was fun and inspiring to watch. games are supposed to be fun and bring people together. keep having fun and don't let people get you down.
You have said it well.
Yeah, for helicopters, the only option I found that somewhat works is moving the unit up the z axis (So its higher). However, then everyone attacks it and it also exists behind the regiment icon. Still, it did look right, but it wasn't perfect.