Updates: The Scorpion's Sting Part 2 news - C&C Generals Zero Hour: Enhanced mod for C&C: Generals Zero Hour

Hello again, it's time for another update. This time featuring a special mini series called "Why Did It take Me So God Damn Long To Finish GIN Vehicles Part I"

As you can see, in order to make a more authentic GIN-esque vehicles, one would need to include the weapon crews to man those turrets. Inanimated crews might be fine at RTS camera height level but it looks kinda awkward as hell if you zoom in and you basically see Madame Tussauds statues manning those guns and fire at pinpoint accuracy.

In vZH, this was already done to the Technical to an extent although the model quality is inadequate to ZHE's new standard. It also didn't include anti-air firing for the machine gun but did include a unique handling of the anti-tank missile launcher that would give you a fast track ticket to the underworld so I guess I had to make a new one.

The ones for the Technical weren't so bad to animate when you have to model and animate the AZP-23 autocannons which gives me the same Nam flashbacks when I was creating the M119 LFH.

Originally, the Quad Cannon just uses a turret from the PGZ-95 which is kind of a weird choice for GIN-esque vehicles. Although not uncommon for something similar to happen irl, I don't think I've ever seen a version with Chinese turrets before. Therefore, now it looks like the actual stuff including the gunner and the observer and everything. So yall owe me free pizzas.

Unfortunately for me but fortunately for you, these are not the last of animated crews just yet. To be continued in the self-acclaimed highly anticipated part 2 in the next update.

Now for the lore filled word salad of the day:

The concept of Technical technically dated back to WW1, with the concept of "Tachanka" or mobile machine gun platforms propelled by horses. It was later also used in some British units in WW2 with Jeeps but it wasn't iconic enough so nobody really talked about it.

In modern times, one bright head went "hey, wouldn't it cool if we like replace the horse machine gun with like Toyota and shit." and hence the concept of Technical was born. The legends say that the originator of this concept is part of the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, the armed force of the Polisario Front, a liberation organisation in which the GIN funded and affiliated with, when they fought for the liberation of Western Sahara because I guess the cringe Spanish also couldn't draw good lines on a map or something idk.

Anyway, so with the ingenuity of this concept, GIN has integrated the Technical into its core combatant fighting doctrine allowing for mobile hit and run maneuver. The Technical is also very versatile in weapon loadout including and not limited to heavy machine guns, anti-tank missile launchers, autocannons, rocket launchers, recoiless rifles, etc.

But let's not not get ahead of ourselves just yet. The budget is not limitless even if the potential is limitless. At the moment, the Technical can either be fitted with heavy machine guns and anti-tank missile launchers. And that is not via salvage operation, that can be fitted any time. That is because due to each weapon set offers different advantages in various situations that is best decided by the commander and not by RNG. Salvage operations however offer the Technical extra armour protection and Mad Max looks.

The Technical concept is later improved further into the improvisation of the various Ural Trucks available in the armoury. Hence the Argun was born, ZSU-23-2 anti-air gun platform on a truck. Despite being able to be carried on a Toyota, it's not very good because one, the recoil is a bit too much for it and two, there's so little space for storage and maneuver.

The Argun is however, slower than Technical and not being able to carry troops to the battlefield. Although, it offers more protection from general enemy fire and fixes issues with carrying the ZSU-23-2 on a Toyota.
With salvage operations, the Argun's armour is boosted along with its guns being upgraded from 2x 23mm to 4x 25mm. Basically, it's upgraded up to modern standard used by various nations for FREE if they survive for long enough that is. It's also a lot more cool looking, wouldn't you say?

Now to keep up with all this mobility meta shit, GIN has also requisite the use of BM-21 "Grad" SPMRLs. Grad is basically modern form of the Katyusha, cheap and mobile, a harmonious piece of military equipment that performs well along side the Technical and the Argun. It's used by various nations of the world usually in the Soviet bloc and your local 3rd worlders. So almost everyone except the westoids.

The Grad is now also locally produced in various GIN dispersed underground industries thanks to its rather cheap production cost. With the fact that the Grad is basically Ural Trucks with rockets, the Grad can be fitted with the same set of improvised armour as the Argun. Talking about two birds with one stone except it's two trucks one armour?

*check notes* Not sure if there's anything else I could add so I guess that's it.

GIN T-1 'Tachanka' Light Improvised Fighting Vehicle is GIN's first generation long-range desert combat vehicle.

Due to the lack of locally produced light combat vehicles and the abundance of Toyotas, an improvisation was made resulting in such an iconic combat vehicle, the Technical.

Pioneered by an unknown individual in the Sahrawi People's Liberation Army, the Technical now is the staple of the GIN armed forces by the virtue of its effectiveness and efficiency.

Capable of performing various roles such as mass transportation, reconnaissance, raiding operations or hit & run anti-tank missions.

Although rudimentary in design, the Technical has proven itself on the battlefield to be able to withstand the harsh environment of the Western Sahara desert.

Armaments: DshkM 12.7mm air-defense machine gun or (upgradable) 9K115-2 'Metis-M' 94mm anti-tank missile launcher

GIN ZSU-23-2 'Argun' Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun is GIN's second generation long-range desert anti-personnel and anti-aircraft vehicle.

Built on the same principle as the Technical, the Argun, however, sacrifices its mobility while being more sturdy in its build.

Being able to withstand more firepower, the Argun is better equipped to combat enemy infantry and vehicle head on than the Technical.

The Argun can fire at both ground targets and low-flying airborne targets, making it a fairly capable anti-air vehicle.

Armaments: 2x 23mm AZP-23 autocannons (salvaged: 4x 25mm AZP-23 autocannons)

GIN BM-21 'Grad' Self-propelled Multiple Rocket Launcher is the GIN's ubiquitous mobile long-range fire support.

Adept at destroying enemy soft targets, the Grad can disrupt or take out enemy formation with ease.

Fully loaded with 40 rocket launchers, the Grad can unleash intense amount of firepower in such a short period of time.

Made in the Soviet Union, the Grad is the choice of SPMRL of many operators around the world. While it is not the best, it is better to be Red than Dead.

The Grad is now locally produced in various GIN workshops.

It produce lots of smoke when firing, giving away its position, but also very agile that it can easily dodge enemy's counter batteries.

Armaments: Self-propelled 122mm multiple rocket launcher

Now it's time for the extra content: Covid 2023 review

So I caught Covid and couldn't really work on anything mod related for like a week. It really took strength out of you so all I really could do was to stay in bed.

Worst part of it was probably that I couldn't really eat anything well. Everything tasted kinda shit so yeah, no good energy from eating 4 u. Not fun at all, felt like I was hit by a truck while got the vaccine for the first time except I took like 2 times the amount.

Not sure if I have any long Covid symptoms just yet. So just a kindly reminder that the pandemic is still ongoing despite it not being an "emergency" anymore.

I give it 7.5/10 in terms of pain factor at this time. I guess I'm grateful that it was not 9 or 10 and then the mod would definitely be dead for real for real.

That's pretty much it, really. End the segment.