Modding of Command & Conquer

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The Command & Conquer series is one of the most modded within the real-time strategy genre. The first true modder-friendly C&C game was Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, but Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion pack Yuri's Revenge had more features to work with.

Until Command & Conquer: Generals, the games could be modded with simply by editing certain *.ini files with a text editor.

Contents

[edit] *.ini files

The games use many *.ini files which can be changed to successfully mod the game. There typically are 3 main file types for a C&C game:

  • Art(md).ini — The Art coding file
  • Ai(md).ini — The AI coding so the computer will use the certain units
  • Rules(md).ini — The main coding file for almost all things in the game

Modding Generals, for example, would require the use of a program like FinalBIG because the *.ini files are compressed into *.big files; FinalBIG uncompresses the *.big files and allows access to the *.ini files.

[edit] .art files

The .art files for Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 & Yuri's Revenge use two variations of .art files:

  • SHP: These files are 2D animated images (much like GIF files) but require palettes for use. They are mainly used for buildings, infantry and landscape tiles.
  • VXL (voxel files) & HVA: These two types of files work in unison with each other. The VXL contains the main 3D art, whilst the HVA contains information on use for the game; i.e. rotor blades, etc.

These files are stored in the "MIX" archives.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links