Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge: Editing FAQ (English)

Rules.ini Editing FAQ

Written by: Kenny "Kenshi" Tam

Chimplord@hotmail.com



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Version History

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Version 1.0

January 2, 2002

Everything.



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Table of Contents

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I. Introduction

II. Layout of Rules.ini

III. Editing Units

IV. Editing Buildings

V. Editing Weapons

VI. Miscellany

VII. Notes and Credits



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I. Introduction

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As many people who have played Red Alert Games know, each game contains

a file named "rules.ini" which basically governs how the game works.

Players can edit how units behave and which units are available, as well

as the universal laws of physics within the game.



This FAQ will give some help on how to decrypt the file, although most

of it is quite intuitive. There are many excellent modification packs

out, such as the famous (and brilliant) Deezire.



Do keep in mind that when you edit the file, the entire game is changed,

including the campaigns. You can use the edited rules.ini in a multiplayer

game, but you need to ensure that the other players have the exact same

version of the rules.ini as you do.



To get a hold of this program, you can either extract it (I have no clue

how) or simply download it from any good Red Alert 2 site.



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II. Basic Layout of file

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The .ini file is basically a giant text file. The file can be divided

into several sections:



i. Universal Laws

ii. Infantry Unit Statistics

iii. Vehicle Unit Statistics

iv. Building Statistics

v. Weapon Statistics

vi. Projectile Statistics

vii. Warhead Statistics

viii. Terrain Objects

ix. Land Characteristics

x. Crate Bonuses

xi. Tiberium Varieties

xii. Mission Control

xiii. Voxel Debris Type

xiv. Special Weapons Types

xv. Global Variable Names



Each section contains may smaller subsections, such as Russian and Allied

Unit divisions. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory.



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III. Section I: Editing Units

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This is the meat of the rules.ini and one of the most commonly edited

features. Here is an example of a unit:



[GHOST]

UIName=Name:GHOST

Name=SEAL

Image=SEAL

Category=Soldier

Prerequisite=Barracks

Primary=MP5

Secondary=Sapper

CanPassiveAquire=yes

NavalTargeting=4

LeadershipRating=8

AlternateArcticArt=yes ; ie SEALA for arctic maps

C4=yes

Assaulter=no ; I clear out UC buildings

CrushSound=InfantrySquish

Crushable=yes

TiberiumProof=yes

Strength=125

Armor=flak

TechLevel=-1

Pip=red

Sight=5

Speed=5

Owner=British,French,Germans,Americans,Alliance

AllowedToStartInMultiplayer=no

Cost=500

Soylent=1000;1500

Points=50

IsSelectableCombatant=yes

VoiceSelect=SealSelect

VoiceMove=SealMove

VoiceAttack=SealAttackCommand

VoiceFeedback=

VoiceSpecialAttack=SealSpecialAttack

DieSound=SealDie

EnterWaterSound=TanyaEntersWater

LeaveWaterSound=TanyaLeavesWater

Locomotor={4A582744-9839-11d1-B709-00A024DDAFD1}

PhysicalSize=1

SpeedType=Amphibious

MovementZone=AmphibiousDestroyer ; I am the only one with this zone,

because it is now tied with being an infantry (part of seal stuck on tree

bug)

ThreatPosed=25 ; This value MUST be 0 for all building addons

SpecialThreatValue=1

ImmuneToVeins=yes

VeteranAbilities=STRONGER,FIREPOWER,ROF,SIGHT,SCATTER,FASTER

EliteAbilities=SELF_HEAL,STRONGER,FIREPOWER,ROF,FASTER

Size=1

DetectDisguise=no

ElitePrimary=MP5E

IFVMode=4



Given is the basic information for the Navy SEALS unit. Most of the

statistics and functions are self-explanatory and detailed in the file

itself.



Enabling Hidden Units

---------------------



However, as you may know, this unit is only available in campaign mode,

in which Tanya replaces it in skirmish or multiplayer modes. As such,

it is easy to enable the SEALs unit.



Refer to the Tag "Techlevel." Notice how it is Level -1, where as other

buildable units are at a positive integer. Change the value to any number

between 1 to 9. This allows the unit to be buildable. Now you need to

define what prerequisite buildings are required to build it.

Suppose you want to make the required buildings the Allied barracks and

Tech-center. Use the find function and copy down the name in brackets,

so that means the barracks is referred to as "[GAPILE]" and Tech center

is called "[GATECH]."



You can do this with many other units. For example you can enable unit

such as the howitzer or even the T-Rex (in expansion set.) However many

of the hidden units do not have an in-game cameo on the build bar. You

will need to edit other files to game a representative cameo.



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IV. Section II: Editing Buildings

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Similar to the units, you can build otherwise unbuildable units, such as

the hospital. Unlike units, there maybe some graphical glitches since

they may not have a building animation. Nonetheless, the Eiffel tower

for example, can be set to "capturable=yes" so it becomes the giant tesla

coil like in the campaign. Or you could have nuclear silos disguised as

a small tent.



However, as a word of caution, the buildings are much more sensitive to

editing, as they dictate how other buildings and units are built and behave.

Be sure to back up your file often.



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V. Section III: Editing Weapons

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This section actually is more open to abuse than editing the units.

Although you could have a 9999 HP Tanya running around, you could also

have a 5 HP Boris rapid firing nuclear missiles from infinite range. As

always, be careful when editing to make sure it is balanced.



Taking the SEALs weapon, the MP5:



[MP5]

Damage=125

ROF=10

Range=18

Projectile=InvisibleLow

Speed=100

Warhead=HollowPoint

Report=SealAttack

AssaultAnim=UCBLOOD;the anim to play when a UC building is cleared

(assaulters need this on their primary weapon)



The main factor for deciding how much damage each weapon does it the Warhead

and damage tag. It is somewhat un-intuitive however that the warhead tag

is the main factor as opposed to "damage" itself. The warhead "hollowPoint"

is used by the sniper, Tanya, and SEAL units, which are the main infantry

killers. As many players know, they are useless against vehicles. This

is due to the warhead property;



; anti-infantry rifle bullet (single shot -- very effective verses

infantry)

[HollowPoint]

Verses=200%,100%,100%,1%,1%,1%,1%,1%,1%,1%,100% ; see note in comments

above about 1%

InfDeath=1

AnimList=PIFF

ProneDamage=100%

Bullets=yes



For expansion on Verses, from the file;



Verses = damage value verses various armor types (as percentage of full

damage)...

-vs- None, Flak, Plate //infantry

Light, Medium, Heavy //units

Wood, Steel, Concrete //buildings

Special_1, Special_2 //

Special_1 is the Shock Trooper's electric armor.

Special_1 is now the Terror Drone's "I'm a unit with infantry

vulnerabilities" armor

5-11 Special_2 is now spawn rockets' armor to keep them from blowing each

other up when shot



It does high damage against infantry but does 1% (meaning it will not

auto-target) against tanks etc. In other words, although it does 125

damage, it is negligible against vehicles.



Looking at another weapon, one from a tank:



; large anti-armor cannon (two shooter)

[120mmxE]

Damage=100

ROF=80

Range=15

Projectile=Cannon

Speed=40

Warhead=ApocAPE

Report=ApocalypseAttackGround

Anim=VTMUZZLE

Burst=4

Bright=yes



The weapon for a tank is somewhat different than that of the machine gun.

The Range tag specifies its range in cells. A Range of -2 defines infinite

range, so use your imagination.



The Burst Feature defines how many times to fire per attack. The elite

mammoth cannon fires 4 shots in a single attack. This can be added to

almost any weapon, but keep in mind some units will stop and cannot move

until all bursts are fired.



More to come Later...



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VII. Notes and Credits:

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-Gamefaqs.com for (hopefully) posting this FAQ



-Deezire by ? (email me for credit...I have no idea who it is by!)



-For N.H. Yeah you won't read this and especially on a Game FAQ.



This document Copyright 2002 by Kenny "kenshi" Tam, and may not be

duplicated or reproduced (in part or in full) for profit without the

explicit permission of the author. Chances are it will be rare if anyone

would want to use this crappy FAQ.