Twisted Insurrection: Version 0.9 Released
Welcome back operations officer. Twisted Insurrection version 0.9 was unleashed at the end of last month, however the news post was delayed till now. So let's wipe away the dust and bring you up to speed. The team has been hard at work since the release of 0.8 to bring you quite possibly Twisted Insurrections biggest overhaul to date.
Click the button below to head straight for the download, or stick around to see what's new in the release and what's in store for the future.
Table of Contents
- What's New in Version 0.9
- New Multiplayer Factions
- GDI & Nod Sub-Factions
- GloboTech
- The Forsaken
- GDI & Nod Sub-Factions
- Quality of Life Updates
- Cutscene Improvements
- Music
- Graphics & Sound
- ReShade
- Cutscene Improvements
- New Multiplayer Factions
- Future Plans
- Multiplayer Tweaks
- Campaign Changes
- Multiplayer Tweaks
- Reinforcements Required
- Staff Changes
- Positions Available
- Staff Changes
What's New in Version 0.9
The long-awaited game update has been released, filled with hundreds of new additions, fixes, and changes. Most are bugfixes and minor QoL additions, but what we're most excited about are the major changes which we're highlighting below.
New Multiplayer Factions
Perhaps the most significant change in version 0.9 is the introduction of 5 new playable factions and one survival mode mini-faction.
GDI & Nod Sub-Factions
Over the years GDI and Nod have accumulated several units with overlapping roles. Knowing that several of these units are quite popular and not wanting to outright cut them, we've decided to split our two main factions into two sub-factions.
Global Defense Initiative:
- Falcon Division: A traditional task force that relies on slow but powerful units and a defensive doctrine to expand and steamroll the enemy into submission.
- Phoenix Regiment: After rejecting the UN verdict to diminish GDI's influence and power, this splinter regiment was formed specifically to fight against the Brotherhood of Nod despite overwhelming odds and lack of official support. They rely on light units and hit-and-run tactics backed by long-range support.
Brotherhood of Nod:
- Genesis Legion: Sanctioned by the Inner Circle, this faction oversees Nod's Tiberium and cybernetic projects. They are responsible for some of Nod's most sinister creations and are not afraid to use them against Nod's enemies.
- Sons of Kane: A loyalist faction that see the use of cybernetics as antithetical to Kane's true vision. The Sons rely on Nod's proven guerilla and terror tactics while employing powerful new stealth units.
Those that have played the campaign will recognize that some of these sub-factions are already featured in the story, so it only makes sense for them to finally appear in multiplayer as well.
Note that the sub-factions will replace GDI and Nod in standard multiplayer modes. If you don't care about bloat and just want to play the game as before, then fret not. The Unholy Alliance (UA) game mode has been repurposed to cater to your taste. UA lets you play with an almost full GDI or Nod arsenal, with overlapping units being removed.
(Click on the image to view in full size)
GloboTech Corporation
GloboTech is now available as a full-fledged multiplayer faction. This has been an increasingly popular request ever since the faction's inception. Now that wish has been granted, with GT available in all game modes.
Now you may ask, "But wait, what about the capturable GloboTech buildings littered across maps?" Certain GloboTech buildings like the Armoury, Hospital, and Fusion Reactor remain as capturable Tech Structures. Others have been replaced with neutral or Forsaken buildings.
The Forsaken
The Forsaken have been slightly elevated from their passive "Tech Faction" status. While they're still far too limited in numbers and resources to wage a full-scale battle against the three superpowers, you can now play as Forsaken in Survival mode. What's more fitting for a scavenger faction than fighting over precious supply crates?
Quality of Life Updates
Cutscene Improvements
Cutscenes have always been a defining feature of the Command & Conquer series. Unfortunately, the VQA video format used in Tiberian Sun has been a bane for modders to work with, both due to low video quality and painstaking encoding process.
Fortunately, the C&C community members CCHyper, tomsons26 and Rampastring have recently implemented Bink Video support for TS mods. This is the same video format used in, for example, Red Alert 2 and Renegade. Bink provides superior video and audio quality, larger video resolution, stereo sound, and more.
Here's a little graphical comparison between the two. The frame is from this new cutscene.
Music
0.9 has two new tracks by Swirekster and one by our newest composer LupusMechanicus:
- Grim Carnival
- Sanctuary
- Dark Machinations
In addition, TI's project founder and former lead developer Aro has made a guest contribution by remastering TI's legacy tracks, including one never-before-seen lost track, Repentance.
Graphics & Sound
New Structure Art:
New structure artwork by McPwny, FekLeyTarg, Crimsonum and ErastusMercy:
- Shared
- TD-era Service Depot
- TD-era Service Depot
- GDI
- TI-era War Factory
- TD-era War Factory
- TI-era War Factory
- Nod
- TD-era Airstrip
- TD-era Airstrip
- GloboTech
- Construction Yard
- Generator
- Tiberium Refinery
- Radar Facility
- Assembly Line
- Helipad
- Technology Center
- Command Center
- Force Cannon
- Construction Yard
- Map Props
- Air Traffic Control Tower
- Communications Tower
- Nod Psychic Tower
- Several misc. civilian/neutral assets.
- Air Traffic Control Tower
New Infantry & Vehicle Art:
New infantry sprites by Swirekster and Demo, a public asset by Machine, and cameos by ErastusMercy. New and/or updated vehicle graphics by martx, ErastusMercy and Demo:
- GDI
- Exo-Suit
- Valkyrie Commando
- Orca Gunship
- Deployed Phalanx Railgun
- Exo-Suit
- Nod
- Acolyte
- Infector
- Cyborg Paladin
- Eclipse
- Banshee
- Wraith
- Stinger (New turret for both mobile and deployed modes)
- Instigator
- Spectre APC
- Mosquito
- Acolyte
- GloboTech
- Peacekeeper
- Defender
- Medic
- Enforcer
- Warden Tank
- Peacekeeper
- Wildlife
- Canker
- Berserker
- Crawfish
- Bog Beast
- Canker
Misc. Improvements
New and/or updated visual effects by Apollo, Crimsonum and Demo. New terrain graphics by ErastusMercy. New voiceovers by BigHeehee and Matthew Vanston.
- New voiceovers for GDI Ranger and Nod Cyborg Reaper
- New & improved visual effects, e.g. explosions, smoke, etc.
- New sound effects
- Crater smudges
ReShade
This update comes packed with a new graphics option, ReShade. ReShade enhances the in-game graphics at runtime, allowing you to apply various visual effects such as colour correction, bloom, god rays, and more. Use the shipped presets or make your own profile with the easy-to-follow in-game tutorial.
Compatible only with the CnC-DDraw and TS-DDraw renderers.
Read more about ReShade at reshade.me.
Future Plans
We plan to continue to tweak and refine the multiplayer balance, building upon the foundation version 0.9 has provided.
As we've mentioned before, one of our main goals for the future is to revise the GDI and Nod campaigns, which have fallen behind our quality standards. In order to rebuild the campaign, we have to lay down the groundwork first. That is why in version 0.9, we've largely focused on the balance and multiplayer side of things.
We've learned the hard way that multiplayer has to be finished first before focusing on single player. For example, introducing the sub-factions alone caused every single mission to break, and fixing them took countless hours over the course of several months. Even seemingly minor things like adding or removing passenger slots from a vehicle can have major consequences for missions. Of course, we can't and shouldn't totally avoid future changes to the gameplay (especially with such promising engine extension projects as Vinifera on the horizon), but the smaller the changes, the less rework it will require for the single player campaigns.
As with all our plans, achievements and changes are subject to time and ability, however our aim for the near future is to release:
- Two new co-op missions
- Two new GDI Act 1 missions
Reinforcements Required
With the release of 0.9, I (Crimsonum) have stepped down from being a lead developer, a position I've held since 2017. I'm now taking a more advisory role so that I can focus on real-life responsibilities. ErastusMercy will continue the job in my stead.
But it's not all doom and gloom! Since the release of 0.8 we have been joined by several new members: martx, Demo, FekLeyTarg, LupusMechanicus, with contributions from McPwny and Haiheadder. They, alongside team veterans, have lent their talents towards this release.
Managing and developing a large project like TI takes a lot of commitment and time: a luxury that our small team doesn't have. That's why we're always looking for more helping hands. More contributors means we can produce content faster.
If you're good at any of the below, please consider helping us out!
- 3D animation and/or texturing
- Mission maps (scripting)
- Multiplayer maps
- Social media (content creator and/or poster)
- Sound effects (design and/or editing)
- Voice acting
In the meantime, if you'd like to see more previews and news in the future, consider joining our official Discord server, our most up-to-date social media channel.
Follow us around the web!
P.S. Thanks to Banshee for posting the news earlier on the front page.
Here's the list of new maps, taken from the changelog:
