Welcome back, Commanders,

It's been over a year since the last release of the mod, but finally, Red Alert 20XX version 1.0.6b is here. It follows the trend of bigger and bigger updates by being, without any doubt, the biggest update so far. Functional multiplayer, co-op missions, a load of new and revamped units and assets, huge balance changes, and bug fixes; this update drastically changes how the mod is played. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the EU Challenge map ready for it, which is a huge bummer (for me included). No worries, it is still coming.

On that note, I'd like to point out that the mod is always open to new talents, and what I need more than ever right now are good map makers. So if, by any chance, you are interested in making custom maps for the upcoming challenge maps, if you want to contribute to the new Spec Ops co-op mission, or if you want to play with the 300+ new civilian assets added to the mod, leave me a message here or on Discord. After all, more mappers mean more single-player content.

But enough about all that, let's go for the routine: grab your freshly baked Red Alert 20XX 1.0.6b update HERE! And now, for the good stuff :

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= Version 1.0.6b Highlights =
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- 1. Mod change -
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--- 1.1 General changes ---

-Functional multiplayer. Finally;
-Upgraded the mod to Phobos Build 36;
-New Client Launcher theme and various visual edits by CatTanker;






-New skirmish option: M.A.D. Mode. In it, all SWs are buildable up to 5 times. The cost of the SW building is increased each time one of them is built. You can see it in action HERE;
-New skirmish option: Performance Mode. Activating it reduces the use of particles, animation translucency, and animated voxels. It is best suited for PVP and low-end computers;
-The unit tooltips have been reworked: they now show the weapon system used and what they are good against;
-CatTanker, Morton, and DOOMGUY added a few new maps;
-Text translations are available in Chinese (by IronShock), Russian (by FieldWolf), and Vietnamese (by Võ H?ng Huy);
-Added and removed music tracks for both sides.

--- 1.2 Spec Ops Co-op ---






-The Special Operation game mode has been added, with four unique maps. Those bite-sized missions are glorified skirmishes with special and unique configurations. Also, they are hard.



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- 2. New and revamped assets and units -
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--- 2.1 Allied side ---

First off, the new units :






-Added a new T4 infantry for the Allied: the Special Force. It replaces the Eagle Squad special mortar unit and can now be built by all factions. It uses a light sub-machinegun against infantries and timed explosives against buildings and vehicles. It can swim;
-The Allied Commando was revamped. It is now equipped with a high-tech exoskeleton that has an assisted EMP rocket launcher on its shoulder. It uses a sub-machinegun versus infantry and its rocket launcher versus vehicles. I still have C4 but can no longer swim. See it in action HERE;
-The Castello Skyshield has a new model and a reworked weapon. It can also intercept x4 missiles. It can detect stealth and subterranean units at medium range. See it in action using its old weapon system HERE;
-The Hypnos Jammer has a new Model by Crazy Bird. Now has double the radar jammer range and can disable one powered building at a time, and can only target powered buildings. See it in ation HERE;
-The Ulysses has a new model by Crazy Bird. Its cost was increased, but it is equipped with air-to-ground missiles now;
-The Hercules has a new model, by Crazy Bird. See it in action HERE;
-The Minerva's Owl has a new model by Crazy Bird. It will now detect submarines and other stealth units. See it in action HERE;
-The Allied Cargo Plane has a new model by Crazy Bird. See it in action HERE;
-The Allied Amphibious Transport has a new model, by Crazy Bird, and a new name. See it in-game HERE;
-The Eagle Squad is now a tiered Support Power: Tier 1 (Hawk Squad) is available with the Airforce Center, Tier 2 (Eagle Squad) is available with the Battle Lab, and Tier 3 (Pheonix Squad) is available with the Spy Sat. The Support power now shows a target animation for all players and will play a warning sound. See it in action HERE.

But there's also a bunch of new Allied buildings, all by Scipcion :



-The Pillbox is now a Guard Tower. It does less overall damage but slightly more to vehicles and can fire above walls;
-The Gladiator DCA has a new model;
-The Aegis Defence System has a new model;
-The Gun Turret has a new model;
-The Allied Naval Yard has a new model. See it in its natural habitat HERE;
-The Allied Walls have a new model;
-The Drone Command Center has a new model;
-The Advanced Armory has a new model;
-The Spy Sat has a new model. It is now a Tier 5 Support building. It costs 5000$, requires 200 power, and has a BuildLimit of 1. It has three abilities: 1. giving access to Tier 3 Support Power, 2. it gives the Communication Decryption passive ability (which act as a psychic sensor), and 3. It reveals the whole map. You can see it animated HERE;
-The Ore Purifier has a new model.

--- 2.2 Soviet side ---

This update introduces side-specific content for the Soviets, as well as a reworked airforce :



-The Fallout Cannon has a new model by Crazy Bird. Radiation lingers for a longer time. See it in action HERE;
-The Shagohod has a new model by Crazy Bird. It is now on par with the Mammoth Tank's stats and sports two AA flak cannons. See it in action HERE;
-The Sickle Walker is now a medium-range mine layer named the Sickle Mine Layer. It has relative inaccuracy and a very long reload time but will now lay multiple mines when its projectile hits the ground. See its nice reload animation HERE;
-The Scavenger is now the Magneto Tank. It can telekinesis smaller vehicles to itself using a magnetic beam, and when close, will use its grinder to attack and generate money on kill. It still slows nearby vehicles. See it in action HERE;
-The Apocalypse Tank has a new model and concept. It is a huge tank sporting two whole Tesla Coils and two MLRS. A new fan favorite, for sure. See it in action HERE;
-The Soviet Amphibious Transport has a new model, by Crazy Bird, and a new name;
-The MiG has a new model by Crazy Bird. Who knows, maybe it can be built somehow? See it in action HERE;
-The Kirov Airship has a new model, by Crazy Bird, and is now faster. See it in action HERE;
-The Humpback Starlifter has a new model by Crazy Bird. It is now a proper carryall. Available in mission only. See its animation HERE.
-The Doomsday Device has a new Superweapon: the Iron Vortex. It spawns a vortex that is controllable by the player, just like a unit. The first stage makes the vortex do continuous damage and gives a 66% speed debuff on a vehicle while causing a lightning storm on the whole area. Once the vortex dissipates, it creates a massive blast. The downside of this very powerful Superweapon is that launching the Iron Vortex completely kills the power output of its owner for two minutes. See it in action HERE;
-The Tactical Nuke has a new animation. See it in action HERE;
-The Industrial Plant is now a T5 Support building. It keeps its production bonuses but now allows to build all T1-T3 buildings in the combat tab as auxiliary building lines, with an increased cost and build-time. The building now costs 5000 credits.






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- 3. SFX, graphics, and sound -
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-All vehicles now leave a husk when destroyed, including civilian vehicles. See that in action HERE;
-Added 64 new unique civilian buildings (161 total) and 39 new unique civilian props (84 total). Added 20 new civilian vehicles. See some example HERE, HERE and HERE;
-Some Support Powers (EMP Strike, Athena Strike, Paradrop, Eagle Squad, Emergency Repair) will now leave a targeting animation on the ground and will play a sound to alert players of the SP being deployed. See the Eagle Squad example HERE;
-Artillery units (Damocles, Ballista, Fallout Cannon) now have an animated recoil on their turret. See it in action HERE;
-Reworked how missiles look, thanks to Crazy Bird;







-There's a low chance a burning crew will leave destroyed vehicles (idea by skyrish19);
-Thanks to Phobos, there's a visual indicator of the income received from Harvesters at the Refinery;
-New wrench animation when repairing a building;
-New load screens, by Yamaneko;
-Most cameos are now in .pcx format, allowing for more details. Thanks to Nour.

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- 4. Balance and bugfixes -
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The update introduces a lot of various balance changes (PVP-oriented) and bug fixes. For the full list, check the official changelog :

-The AI will be more aggressive in skirmishes. Reworked some attack teams for the skirmish AIs;
-Introduced some various changes to reduce lag: reworked how radiation appears, limited the bullet casing from MGs, reduced all lasertrail's length by 20%, and reduced the Jupiter Cannon's good targeting effect;
-Too many various balances and bug fixes to list here.


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= What's next? =
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Obviously, the EU Challenge map is still one of my objectives. Who knows, maybe we'll get a nice EU and Eastern Republic challenge map combo! Otherwise, I'm pretty hyped about the content I have planned for 1.0.6c. All the assets I have been hoarding (or at least, a good part of them) will finally be known to the world (perhaps I'm seeing a bit too big here). Other than that, expect a finalized Pacific Shogunate roster, some interesting unit rework, many infantry adjustments, and some other important graphical upgrades. Oh, and new maps and Spec Ops and such IF I CAN RECRUIT MAP MAKERS ;)

See you next time! (Hopefully, in less than a whole year)