With the start of the new version cycle, I'm hiring private beta testers again. If you're interested in beta testing for this mod, then take a look at this topic. If you feel you can meet those requirements, send me a PM.

As the title said, I've not abandoned the mod. Yes, I did take a bit of an extended break over Christmas, but I've already started private beta testing with the next version cycle. And to prove I've done some work on the mod over the Christmas and New Year period, here's some screenshots of the changes to the mod:

The Soviet Battle Jeep. This replaces the Scout Tank for the Soviet countries.


A squad of Mextli Gunners. These minigun-armed units replace the Elite Corps for the Antarctic Legion.


Shift Tanks. These Neutron Cannon-armed units replace the Italian Rocket Tank.


The new background on the Battlefield Select screen. It's a bit of an edit on a file photo of Abrams Tanks in Iraq.

The mod's not dead yet.

Nighthawk.

I know I said I would release it on Sunday, but due to the recent forum inactivity, and the fact that I'm away a lot, I'm releasing it now. This is a very small update, only fixing one issue. So, to counteract the minuteness of this update, I've also included the game font I was originally going to distribute with Beta 2.1 (but forgot ). It's the YR logo font converted to a size suitable for the game. Please note, there are no Arabic, Cyrillic, Hebrew or any other foreign characters in the font, so it may not work with some games.
I wasn't able to get the weapons fixed on the F.F. Pillbox - the solution I was using made the weapon go completely haywire. I tried several other things, but no joy. So, the only unit fixed is the Soldier, which now fires in a straight line.
Again, it comes in Cumulative and Incremental versions. Download the Cumulative if you've only got one of the earlier versions. Download the Incremental if you've got Beta 2.1.
Now, as I said, this is the last bugfix version. I'll now start work on Beta 3.0, which means no more public beta testing. I will also be looking for some help graphic-wise with this version, as it'll need a bit more work, so keep an eye on the news.

Cumulative Version (download if you use Beta 2.0c or earlier): Download Link.
Incremental Version (download if you use Beta 2.1): Download Link.
RockPatch 1.10 is required. It is included in the zip files, but if for some reason it doesn't work, try getting it from here or here. The included version is 1.10 #0036, the last one released.
You may also need the Terrain Expansion. (Actually, you won't yet, but I'd advise you to download it anyway).

And, don't use the NPatch with this mod. You will get errors, and it won't work properly. Using it with a mod that clearly states it doesn't work with the NPatch is sheer idiocy. If you tell me the mod won't work and you're using NPatch version x or y, your post gets deleted. Nuff said.
Lastly, don't distribute my game font.

Nighthawk.

If no bug reports are submitted by next Sunday, public beta testing will end and I will start work on Beta 3.0. I will also need some people to help me on this one, as there's going to be a bit more work to it than the last two. More news will be revealed on that whenever work starts on Beta 3.0.

But before that happens, keep trying to find any bugs I haven't fixed in Beta 2.1, and report them so they can be fixed. I will release the last bugfix version next Sunday, as I've finally found a way to fix a long-known bug with the Future Forces weapons. Any bugs in reports submitted before Sunday will also be looked at and may be fixed in the last patch.

Nighthawk.

I've just uploaded the next update onto the server. This is the 1.10 conversion that was previously polled in the forums. Sorry about the delay for such a relatively simple update, but I've been away a lot recently.

Anyway, as before, the update comes in two flavours: cumulative and incremental. Both updates contain RockPatch 1.10 #0036, and both contain the fixes to make the mod work with 1.10.
Download the cumulative update only if you have the original Beta 2 files, and no updates.
If you've been using Beta 2.0c, download the incremental update. If you're using Beta 2.0b, I'd advise downloading the 2.0c incremental version, then the 2.1 incremental version.

Not much has been done with this update, considering most bugs so far have been to do with users not having some of the mod files. It's mostly a graphical update, containing the score screen for the Future Forces.

To install, make sure you know which version you need (cumulative or incremental), download, and unzip the files to your RA2 directory. Make sure you run the RockPatch installation file before playing the mod, especially if you're still using RPCE. If you're using the NPatch, uninstall it before installing the RockPatch.

You can grab the updates here, or head to the website and get them from the downloads page.
Cumulative Update (contains all fixes from Beta 2.0b, 2.0c and 2.1): Download
Incremental Update (only contains the Beta 2.1 fixes): Download.

Have fun.
Nighthawk.

As you can see, if you're reading this on the site, I've changed the design, again.
This time, it's using an actual design template, rather than something I cooked up in FrontPage with some tables and layers.
As well as the new site, I've uploaded the next bugfix patch to the server. There are two different versions you can download, an incremental one, and a cumulative one. If you installed the last update, then go for the incremental one, but if you haven't installed the update, go for the cumulative one - it contains 2.0b as well.
Remember, post any bugs in the topic entitled 'The Bug Thread' in the forums.
Please download and enjoy.

Nighthawk.

Later Update: There is a missing file from both the incremental and cumulative updates. Please download the file 'expandmd40.zip' from post #7 of this thread for the mod to work correctly.

This version fixes several bugs and balance issues in The Third War. It does not include the entire mod, so please download the original files from the other post before downloading this. Just overwrite the files in the YR directory with these files. You should probably also run the exe file contained within this archive.
A list of what this version fixes is included in the archive, but I may as well post it here too:

Gameplay Changes:

• Future Forces Laser Cannon sight increased by 1 (from 8 to 9)
• Names of structures altered ('Future' prefix changed to 'F.F.')
• Future Forces Stealth Miner maximum ore load decreased (from 20 to 15)
• Future Forces Stealth Miner speed increased (from 4 to 6)
• Future Forces Stealth Miner cost decreased (from 1600 to 1550)
• Future Forces SuperComet Laser Upgrade damage decreased (from 150 to 100)

Graphical Changes:

• Future Forces War Factory animations fixed
• Future Forces now have a more YR-standard loadscreen
• Future Forces have their own interface graphics now.

Beta 2 is finally up on the server for download. It's been almost a year late, but now you can play it. However, the key thing is that it is a beta version, so there will most likely be bugs that myself and the testers haven't yet ironed out. If you do come across any bugs, please contact me in some form or another, preferably not email, as I have a habit of deleting emails from people I don't know.

The mod is in three parts like the last one, so it's not all in a massive file. You can download the mod from the new Downloads page, or from the following links:
Zip 1: Core Files (Mixes)
Zip 2: Audio Files (bag/idx)
Zip 3: Music Files (optional)

To play it, just unzip the files from these mixes into the RA2 directory. I have not yet tested the mod in a LAN or online situation yet, so you may expect Reconnection Errors. You will also notice that some of the Skirmish Modes are not yet finished, that is intentional, as I wasn't planning to put them in this beta. Naval War Extreme is functional, but suffers from the NCO Bug. Space War has the terrain, but still all the ground units and structures. The Future Forces AI is rather small at the minute, partly because I have to edit the triggers by hand to make the game think they're the Fourth Side, otherwise AI Editor reverts them to Allies.

To play this you'll need RPCE Revision #0050 or later, and v2.0a of the Terrain Expansion.
The music zip is still uploading at the time of writing, so you may get a 404 if you try to download it immediately.

Thanks for your time.
Nighthawk.

President Dugan has decided to lift his 'Future Forces Information Secrecy' Act after we captured a data module located in one of their signal devices, called a Guardian Outpost. This module has data on practically all of their units and structures. For all we know some parts of this may be false, Commander and partial to change, but we have uploaded a new database containing all the data. It looks similar to the last one, but to access it you need to proceed to this page instead to access it. The online interface will be updated accordingly. The database is still being uploaded at present, so you may not get an immediate connection, or some pieces may be missing. It will all be there soon Commander.

Urgent Battlefield Report - Eyes Only
From: 'Nighthawk', Agent, Allied Intelligence
To: , Commander, Allied Defense Forces
Commander, while we've been pre-occupied trying to get as much information on the Future Forces as possible, we seem to have neglected the other threat to our peace, Yuri. We originally thought he did not pose as much of a threat as he seems to have been holed up in Antarctica all this time doing God knows what, but he appears to have re-organised his forces entirely. Today at approximately 0200 hours, Yuri troops under the name of the 'Atlantic Legion' have seized the Russian city of Novgorod. The Soviets, who only had a small garrison in the city, were forced to retreat. The city is now in Yuri's hands. One of the Soviet soldiers stationed in the garrison, a Mladshiy Leytenant Rovodinsky, managed to snap a sizable view of one of the Yuri occupation zones as he retreated from the city in a MiG bomber using the bomber's black box. Here is that picture, unfortunately with most of Novgorod's power grid in chaos there are very few light posts running in that area of the city, and Yuri's "mood lighting" doesn't help much either, so we have lightened some of the areas so you can get a clear view of the area.
.
It seems that this 'Atlantic Legion' uses different vehicular units to those normally used by Yuri, we can see several heavy-tank like vehicles driving down the main road, and one rather large double barreled unit in the centre, which was unfortunately the poorest lit of all. The Soviets believe it to be an improvisation on their Apocalypse tank, but we are unsure of its armament. We have a glimpse of one of Yuri's new Sniper Turrets. These are basically the British Sniper in turret form, though we've seen them use various types of ammo before. We can also see several civilians being kept in the base, most likely for use in Yuri's Bio Reactors, and we can also see that they are being closely guarded by one of Yuri's rumoured Special Operations infantry, a Savant. Be careful of those Commander, they are armed with high-energy railgun weapons, though until now they have been largely unseen.

More information will be brought in on this incident as we can get it Commander, but for now, Novgorod is a no-go area without clearance from Command, but the Soviets seem keen to send in a strike force to retake the city, Command's not going to risk arguing with them, but you are not to intervene until ordered.

Agent Nighthawk, Allied Intelligence
==Report Ends==

Out-of-character note: I thought I'd go back to the 'in-character' news posts again, they seemed to get the story across better than normal posts .