Newbie without a clue

ChocolateMilkTerrorist

Greetings!
Im an Animator/Vector artist Known as "Chocolate Milk Terrorist" but CMT/Choco/Terrorist or whatever is fine as long as i know it refers to me.
so heres why im writing:

I have been in love with RA2 ever since i was a kid and always wanted to do something with it, i only found out last year it is moddable and such.
i would be interested in making a full on mod for RA2

well of course first i would like to know how much it is possible to modify,
so id like to ask from people who might know some on this subject.
so here are a few questions:

1: is it possible to make Single player campaings like in RA2, or somewhat close to it? If yes, how/with what tools/programs?

2: is it possible to even add cutscenes/movies in to play beetween them?

3: How can i code/script in new units/tanks/weapons for them and create factions?

4:I seen some sprite sheet like/looking images on the internet of buildings broken apart/in individual parts, how is it possible to make those building animations?

5: if anyone knows where i could find tutorials on any of the listed or something close/relevant can you share or point me in a right direction?

6:maybe not that into the full conversion idea but just in case, how is it possible to replace the terrain pallete of the game?

7:What programs can i use to model in voxel for vehicles/tanks?

i want to create a mod but i know i cant do it on my very own, i hope people still come on here and hopefully those who do come by know how to do such.

ANY elp is greatly appreciated, thanks for helping if you do Very Happy

Graion Dilach · Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 9:39 am Post subject:

You're aiming for RA2 or YR? That pretty much is a question.

1) Within RA2 and YR you can only replace existing campaigns. Two tools, Ares and NPExt which expands YR's modding capabilities allows you to create new ones. (NPExt reenables the tutorial button from RA2 to YR and Ares adds 2 new buttons. Not to mentions that both also adds the possibility of Campaign Lists from TS.)

Campaigns are made of maps made with FinalAlert 2 and a battle.ini.

2) IIRC battle.ini specifies them, also some map scripts. They are possible.

3) New factions need Ares or NPExt. Rest doesn't.

4) Cut'n'paste, saving the result as SHP with OS SHP Builder.

5) There are a lot of tutorials in the Tutorials Factory subforum regarding how to add new stuff. Also, TS's engine is quite similar to RA2's so even the topics over there worths a read.

Also http://forums.revora.net/forum/258-ts-and-ra2yr-tutorials/ for more tutorials and http://modenc.renegadeprojects.com/Main_Page for checking what individual tags do.

6) Yes, that's also possible, but keep in mind that terrain is made of hundreds of images, so a simple pallette change can easily break the entire terrain.

7) OS Voxel Editor beta, get it from the C&C Editing Tools subforum from here. The 1.39 betas are better than old 1.38 IMO.

.... wait what, another Hungarian?! O_o

_________________
"If you didn't get angry and mad and frustrated, that means you don't care about the end result, and are doing something wrong." - Greg Kroah-Hartman
=======================
Past C&C projects: Attacque Supérior (2010-2019); Valiant Shades (2019-2021)
=======================
WeiDU mods: Random Graion Tweaks | Graion's Soundsets
Maintainance: Extra Expanded Enhanced Encounters! | BGEESpawn
Contributions: EE Fixpack | Enhanced Edition Trilogy | DSotSC (Trilogy) | UB_IWD | SotSC & a lot more...

ChocolateMilkTerrorist · Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:19 am Post subject:

Graion Dilach wrote:

You're aiming for RA2 or YR? That pretty much is a question.

1) Within RA2 and YR you can only replace existing campaigns. Two tools, Ares and NPExt which expands YR's modding capabilities allows you to create new ones. (NPExt reenables the tutorial button from RA2 to YR and Ares adds 2 new buttons. Not to mentions that both also adds the possibility of Campaign Lists from TS.)

Campaigns are made of maps made with FinalAlert 2 and a battle.ini.

2) IIRC battle.ini specifies them, also some map scripts. They are possible.

3) New factions need Ares or NPExt. Rest doesn't.

4) Cut'n'paste, saving the result as SHP with OS SHP Builder.

5) There are a lot of tutorials in the Tutorials Factory subforum regarding how to add new stuff. Also, TS's engine is quite similar to RA2's so even the topics over there worths a read.

Also http://forums.revora.net/forum/258-ts-and-ra2yr-tutorials/ for more tutorials and http://modenc.renegadeprojects.com/Main_Page for checking what individual tags do.

6) Yes, that's also possible, but keep in mind that terrain is made of hundreds of images, so a simple pallette change can easily break the entire terrain.

7) OS Voxel Editor beta, get it from the C&C Editing Tools subforum from here. The 1.39 betas are better than old 1.38 IMO.

.... wait what, another Hungarian?! O_o

Való igaz hogy még magyar is vagyok, de hogy mások is értsék szerintem maradjunk az angolnál #Tongue

<-hungarian

im not sure which one to aim for, but i guess YR gives more options so i probably will take that one

i will probably need to lurk around those tutorials you linked, i'll try to find that voxel editor you mentioned, hope i can use it properly

_________________
Still learning!

Graion Dilach · Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:37 am Post subject:

Can't disagree. Oh wait, OS Voxel Editor... whoops, Voxel Section Editor.

http://www.ppmsite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29119

Also here you go, SHP Builder. http://svn.ppmsite.com/filedetails.php?repname=OS+SHP+Builder&path=%2FOS+SHP+Builder+3.3x%2FSHP_Builder.exe&rev=25&peg=25

_________________
"If you didn't get angry and mad and frustrated, that means you don't care about the end result, and are doing something wrong." - Greg Kroah-Hartman
=======================
Past C&C projects: Attacque Supérior (2010-2019); Valiant Shades (2019-2021)
=======================
WeiDU mods: Random Graion Tweaks | Graion's Soundsets
Maintainance: Extra Expanded Enhanced Encounters! | BGEESpawn
Contributions: EE Fixpack | Enhanced Edition Trilogy | DSotSC (Trilogy) | UB_IWD | SotSC & a lot more...

ChocolateMilkTerrorist · Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 10:46 am Post subject:

so thats why i couldnt find it Very Happy

i'll see what i can do in voxel, got some designs in my sketchbook i might want to make.

well i think infantry sprites/animations wont be a problem, i am an animator in my free time Very Happy

_________________
Still learning!

Orac · Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 12:05 pm Post subject:

There is a render template for 3ds max in the media hut, I believe. That should make the process of rendering a little tidier if that's the software you're using. There's probably a Blender version floating about too.