Battlefield 2'42: Redux

[Apache Thunder]

Yes this means I've decided to revive the BF242 mod! However I will be removing all non BF2 assets (mainly static objects used on the old maps, even the old BF2 conversions since I'm redoing the BF2 assets as well) and have removed all the maps. I'm basically rebuilding the mod. The only stuff that will remain unchanged (mostly) are vehicles. handweapons, the menu, and other global assets. I've already merged my 2 new BF2 conversions into the mod.

The main reason I decided to pick this mod back up again, is because I FINALLY found out how to merge the load screen with the Ready screen! Something the previous developer (Sting was responsible for most of the menu changes to this mod) had failed to do. I also got rid of the "white boxes" that appear on the loading screen until the map finishes loading. The team flags that used to appear on the loading screen will instead be displayed on the ready screen.


The simplest way I can explain this is that I "copied" the load screen and make it the new "Ready Screen". The screen you see immediately after the load screen vanishes. However now, I've removed all the original Ready Screen elements except for the Ready button (since had I removed that, you would be stuck on the ready screen forever. ), and replaced it with the load screen minus the loading bar.

They are still separate menu elements but I've disabled the "transitions" that cause the load screen to fade out and the ready screen to fade in. Technically the transitions are still there. I couldn't outright remove them since when I did, the Ready button stopped working and the would be stuck on the ready screen forever. However I found the float values that define the "time" it takes for the transitions to occur and simply set them to zero. I've also removed some unneeded cull nodes in my load screen duplicate and removed a few effect nodes that related to the alpha fading. So now it instantly transitions to the new ready screen with no noticeable effect to the end user. This is because the ready screen is now an exact replica of the load screen (code wise). Since the ready screen contained pretty much all the same information that Sting already added to the load screen, I just had to copy and paste the load screen nodes into the new ready screen split node. I've also added some new text and renamed the Ready button to "Join Game".

Another improvement is to the load screen it self. I solved the white boxes issue and altered how the load screen is presented. Instead of there being the static background with the minimap being the only thing that changes per map, I've altered the lay out so that the "background" that appears behind the frame is part of the same texture file as the minimap. I redid the loading screen frame so it has some alpha so that the new load screen image can appear behind it. The only part not obscured by the top loading frame will be the minimap of coarse. I saved a template of the new layout to a GIMP xcf file so that I have all the layers in the right place when I build new loading screens for new maps. So not only does the loading screen look better, I've added the "background" image that BF2 uses for each map so the background can be unique per map as well as the minimap that is shown. So overall big improvement.

As result of removing most of the old DC static objects and other non BF2 assets. The old maps WILL NOT be compatible with the new version of this mod. Due to this, I've changed the mod id from "BF242" to "BF2". The lexicon still has it localized as Battlefield 242 however. I may change the name of the mod if there is some good name suggestions. But Battlefield 242 must be part of the new name.

Ok here's a video:



I'll post more as I get stuff into the mod. There won't be a release until I get one or two additional maps into the mod. The booster pack maps don't count. I'll wait until I get some vanilla maps in before I get it released.
I haven't decided on the final name this new mod will have, so I'll just go with that.

EDIT:

Been too busy with other things right now so haven't worked on BF242 mod in nearly a month. However I did finish Strike at Karkand and tied up all the loose ends in the mod, so there's nothing incomplete in it that I know of. So I went ahead and uploaded it as it stands now. It's only got 4 or 5 maps I think, but they look really good, so have fun!


Client Archive:

BF242_Redux_v1_client.rar

Server Archive (only for use on remote dedicated servers):

BF242_Redux_v1_ServerFiles.rar

Snippet of ReadMe file:

This mod features the following maps:


Dalian Plant

Midnight Sun

Operation Harvest

Operation Road Rage

Strike at Karkand



Features:

1. Commander UAV trailer for commander assets similar to BF2.
2. Full Bot support on all available maps.
3. Fixed more bugs that were present in original BF242 mod.
4. Stripped out unused assets. Old BF242 maps will NOT be compatible with this mod!
5. Ported new stationary weapons from BF2. Stationary TOW and Stinger weapons replace the old ones.
6. Wasp Carrier object (present on Dalian Plant) now have the Anti-Aircraft minigun and missle launchers present in BF2.
7. All maps now use DDS DXT1c format textures for lightmaps. This should improve game performance on low end graphics hardware.
8. Revamp of main menu to look more like BF2.
9. Rebuilt loading screen. Now looks more like BF2.
10.Replaced the "Ready" screen at the map's round start with a copy the loading screen. There is now no transition from the load screen
and the ready screen so it's even more like BF2's load screen system.
11.Menu mods to singleplayer menu enable more then 64 bots in Instant Battle mode.
No EXE hack required! Just set the slider to something above 400% to get more bots! (exe hack still required for more bots in multiplayer)
12.Replaced meshes on Anti-Tank handweapons. Now use the BF2 weapons with matching shell ejection effects.
13.Replaced all dropped kit geometries with those from BF2.
14.Mod uses Ragdoll animations. A couple animations were redone just for this mod.
15.Maps have CTF game mode. However note that currently the capture radio prompts are all in English currently as BF2 doesn't have them
localized in the MEC/China languages.
16.Made changes to ingame HUD including the ability to have more then 6 handweapons on a kit and a revamped minimap area.
17.Many other improvements/additions I can't recall at the time of writing this document.

[buschhans]

Damned good work, More features from the BF2 you have converted to BF 1942.
That was my favourite DC Modern Warfare Mod 2010.
I am full of hope for the release.

Desert Combat 1.0 or Modern Warfare?
What do you think about these names?

[Apache Thunder]

Alright, a small update to show you. I've finalized the load screen layout. I've changed the loading bar and a few other small details to make it look more like BF2's loading screen.


Load Screen while loading:


Load Screen when at ready screen:

(the "Auto Ready On" checkbox is cosmetic, it has no functional purpose other then to make this screen more BF2 authentic. )

As before, there's no visible transition from the load screen to the ready screen, so the second image you will see immediately after the load screen finishes. When you click the "Join Game" button, you are then presented with the spawn/kit selection screen as normal.

[buschhans]

Thank you, i will add these first Pictures to the BF 242 Redux Thread in my Blog. Thank you so much!

[Apache Thunder]

Got another screen to show:



I've reworked the HUD around the minimap. I've redone the top ticket bar and moved the team flags to the bottom. I also redone how the CP capture status icons are displayed.

[buschhans]

I agree, it looks good.
I am a fan of the feature Iron sights, by your Map updates (Operation Road Rage, Midnight Sun, Dalian Plant), which you have converted with the BF 2 weapons.
By the DC Weapons i missed the Iron Sight.
the DC Realism have that feature before. But most famous it is DC 0.7.
That need a update with more and better Features, as standalone version.
DC 1.00, it offers everything features what it is in this mod.
I know, thats a dream.
To got the actually playing people, this is another sheet posted.

[Apache Thunder]

Ok. Just got done "enabling" team switching in Instant battle mode. (or Skirmish mode as it's referred to in the code)

This is a major change to the menu since I had to completely re-organize how the "tabs" are coded in the meme file in order to make it work. So I will probably release a beta for testing once I'm done and satisfied with Operation Harvest. After that I will release the first beta and then continue to work on porting more maps/improving other things in the mod.

Thus far I've done the following:

1. Ported meshes for Eryx and Predator anti tank handwepaons. The original BF242 ones didn't match BF2 very well, so I fixed that. I also fixed the reload animation of the USATP Predator while I was at it.
2. Changed HUD near minimap. See previous posts on details
3. Added some alpha to the top/back black bars in the loading screen. Now the load screen looks nearly identical to the BF2 one. The only thing not matching is a few font colors and the lack of a text status on the bottom indicating which files it's loading while it loads. But that is a engine limitation in BF1942 as you can't really display that information. There's no menu hook for it.
3. Overhaul of the Kit selection menu while in Instant Battle mode (or Skirmish mode). You can now switch teams while in Instant Battle! You no longer need to start a local COOP server for this luxury! BF2 lets you switch teams in this mode, so I saw no reason not to do this. I likely need to redesign the Instant Battle main menu to reflect this fact.
4. Make some tweaks to vehicles. I can't recall exactly which ones right now.
5. Generated a couple new ragdoll animations as I was not satisfied with a couple of them from the original set I made awhile back. The animation when shot in the back while standing was redone and also redid the one for prone. Now the soldier doesn't pop up and do a flip if he dies in prone. It was funny to watch, but I don't think even BF2 did this...
6. Added secondary MedPack that lets you place medpacks on the map like the BF2 version does.
7. Converted claymores to new AP mine triggering system. No longer uses PCOs and death bubbles.
8. Converted a few more gun fire sounds for some of the vehicles to make things more BF2 like.
9. Added supply drop handweapon to most kits. Now you can get a one time supply drop request via a special smoke grenade much like the vehicle drop weapon on the squad kits. I don't plan on placing any ammo boxes/medic lockers since BF2 did not have them (and I removed the ones I did place when I converted the new maps I made from the DesertCombat mod). The Supply drops should be a good compromise for this.
10. Added additional nodes in the Ingame HUD to allow more then 6 weapons on a kit. Mainly to make room for the supply drop handweapon and the secondary medpacks.
11. Moved some other menu elements around to fit the new minimap design. Medic/Ammo status icons moved to bottom left corner with flag capture status icons re-arranged.


I've been doing a ton of changes so I can't even recall all of them at the moment, so those are just the ones I can remember.

[Apache Thunder]

Got a new video to show you:



I just finished Operation Harvest. So thus far the mod has 3 maps done. I plan on doing Dalian Plant next. Once that's done I'll do the first public release of the mod. But for now I may do a closed beta of the mod as it is now to make sure there's no major issues.

As you can see in that map, I got the road meshes process figured out so all future maps will have something like this.

[Syth]

Having just joined the forums this all seems like a lot to take in at once, but let me say; this looks absolutely amazing. I wish you the best of luck and hope to try the mod myself.

[Apache Thunder]

Thanks.

Dalian Plant is almost done. Here's a link to the image album since I'm too lazy to make IMG tags.

http://imgur.com/a/xoyf6/embed

All that's left to do for this map is make TDM and CTF game modes. I already got bots working on the map. I took the old pathmaps from the old version of this map and edited/improved them to better match this rebuilt version. As you can see the map looks miles better then the original from years back.