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Has anyone tried playing ultRA over WChat?


Tyler Baker wrote:
> 
> ultRA (Ultimate RA) by Tyler Baker, ty...@infinet.com v1.1
> 
> I.   Forward
> II.  What is ultRA (Ultimate RA)
> III. RA bug fixes
> IV.  Install
> IV.  Unit Descriptioins
> V.   Disclaimer
> 
> ------------------------------------------ Forward -----------------------------------------------
> 
> If you have ever played Ultimate C&C, then you probably have an idea of
> what in the world this is, otherwise you probably have no clue.
> ultRA (Ultimate RA) is a rules.ini file that I have developed which
> addresses many of the game design flaws that I as well as many others
> feel are present in the current version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert
> (copyright Westwood Studios) as well as adding a lot of new
> functionality to old units and adding a few new ones as well.  I
> created Ultimate C&C because I felt that the NOD bikes were unbalanced
> and because of this, C&C was reduced to nothing but a bike war.  Plus
> other little things like that ridiculously weak weapons factory for GDI
> as well as having a bunch of potentially useful units being renedered
> useless due to bike/medium tank domination I also felt was a flaw.  As
> a result C&C got really boring really fast, despite the game being
> sound in its programming as well as its art work.  Simply put, I just
> felt that Westwood did not spend enough time playtesting the game.  So I
> spent a few days of my free time and created Ultimate C&C using Andrew
> Griffin's CCEDIT.  I and some friends playtested the Ultimate C&C for a
> while and did the necessary editing so that every unit would be equally
> useful as in its own way.  I also gave the player all of the units to
> choose from rather than a selected NOD or GDI arsenal so that the player
> can be creative with designing their own army for war.  Many initial
> ideas such as NOD choppers with obelisk lasers sounded cool on paper,
> but they were too dang powerful and therefore, had to be scrapped.
> So in the end (minus a few annoying bugs I could never quite figure out)
> I had Ultimate C&C completed.  Shortly after uploading UltC&C to Rajan
> Hollman's Temple Of The Conqueror (not sure of the URL these days) I
> received around 100 positive emails in the first two weeks.  Some of the
> adulation was so ridiculous as someone even quoted me as being god.
> Well everyone has their own deity I guess these days (-:
> 
> ----------------------------------------- What is ultRA -------------------------------------------
> 
> So, Westwood then releases Red Alert, and after playing for a few months
> on Case's Ladder ( http://www.igl.net ) I got all the way to number 31
> by using the same stupid strategy for the Ukrainians as well as the
> Germans.  I have beaten most of the top ladder players using the same
> stupid boring strategy which basicly centers upon whether I can create
> more tanks and grenadier/tank rush my opponent's base well.  Usually
> I can so I win.  Then my opponent usually either says that I was cheesy
> (well I have to admit it is) or else that I am awesome.  I don't know
> what everyone's definition of cheesy is but I define it as "using the
> same bread-and butter strategy that yields positively predictable
> results regardless of the strategy or skill of your opponent".  This is
> what you call just building nothing but factories, refineries, ore
> trucks and tanks.  Why even bother thinking avout building anything else
> as you will certainly lose.  Hell, I do not even build a radar dome in
> ladder games.  So after playing this horrendous strategy for the last 2
> months in addition to Counterstrike not looking too promising (though I
> have never actually played it, just my impressions from what others have
> told me as well as what is described on Westwood's site) I have in the
> last couple of days created ultRA (Ultimate RA).  BTW, ultRA is designed
> for multi-player only but feel free to use it for the single-player
> missions if you want.  In skirmish mode, I have noticed the computer
> plays much more intelligently with the arsenal in ultRA than in regular
> RA.  Not sure why the computer seems smarter, but nonetheless I actually
> lose sometimes to one computer (I know, this is embarrassing to admit).
> 
> What you will find in Ultimate RA can be best explained by the unit
> descriptions below.  But generally, what I have tried to do is get rid
> of cheese and add more firepower, explosions, units, and strategy to RA
> as it is.  As you will notice, there is no such thing as an Allied or
> Soviet unit anymore as the player has access to all of the units in RA,
> plus several new ones, I have added.  Also, I have tried to eliminate
> tank rushing (or just building tanks) by making the weapons factory,
> refiniery, and ore trucks very expensive.  Thereby, building tons of
> factories and refineries can be counter-productive to winning as it may
> actully cost you more to build up your production rate than to be
> content with staying with two factories and two refineries.  Of course,
> this all depends on the map that is played on.  Another thing I have
> done to try and eliminate tank rushing is to make base defense very
> powerful and unit structures very strong.  But most importantly I have
> tried to design the game so that a one bread and butter unit strategy
> does not exist (note: I have tried my best and cannot guarantee unit
> fairness but hopefully I have done better than the travesty that
> occurred with the design of the Soviet Heavy Tanks in regular RA).  In
> essence, you will find that a mix of light, medium, heavy, and mammoth
> tanks will be your best combo in addition to the other utility units
> such as artillery and V2's.  Air power is also essential (I really mean
> this) as well as building some of the new base structures that deliver a
> melee of punishment all over the board.  And in water boards, subs are
> no longer a joke.  They do indeed have a strategic advantage.
> 
Tim McKillican
London, Ontario, Canada
mailto:bmck...@lon.hookup.net
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4403