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Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed


ApexMods

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Yep, very much looking forward to the non-beta times, Rocky. :)

@Jack, something like that has been suggested now and again, but I'd really prefer to keep all of HU's content in one compact package. The add-on mods make up relatively little of the mod's total size, anyhow.

The biggest part of the size increase is due to new file/folder structure, which has become a necessity because e.g. the previous structure made the mod hit the limit of what the game is able to load properly, resulting in a variety of glitches and serious errors (the cause of which was difficult to trace, initially). After some trial and error, I've found the culprit in the file/folder structure and re-organized it in a way that should not cause any more problems in the future.

As an added bonus, the new structure allows for more modular modability, e.g. map re-texturing. Good times ahead!

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Definitely good times aged. This is looking awesome. Maybe I'll hate when I have to download 10+GB and decompress 30+GB of mod. My hard drive is definitely going to hate it. But is going to be awesome. What continues to impress me is that the "beta" versions look like complete versions. I wonder how the full version would look. BTW Apex, remember the little bug in the Legacy addons where the HK417 didn't have the correct firing sound. That is fixed for v1.0 right?

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This is great news! Long time lurker, that used to have an account way back in 2001.  I just saw Ghost Recon + expansions on sale on steam - although I still had the GR disc in my computer - I snagged the digital copies to make sure I have them for as long as steam is around.  Also remembered the last time I played (a few years ago) I used HU and loved it.  Was pleasantly surprised to stop by here and see 1.0 is coming soon!!! I'm getting GR steam version installed and I'll be ready to play once you drop 1.0!  Thanks for all your work Apex, it allows me to keep coming back to my all time favorite game with a fresh look.

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congrats apex! your mod is hands down one of the most well put together mods of any mod from any game i've played. i love the level of attention to detail on everything, that amount of polish and consistency is something I'd compare to a Rockstar developed game.  it's hard to believe beasts like b8 and b9 were only betas. 

I'm sure i can speak for the silent HU fans, the ones who may not use this site, or the ones who populate steam or youtube or any corner of the internet, or the quiet ones who simply just download and play. we thank you for this mod and the continued development. 

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Many thanks for your encouraging words, guys. Glad you enjoy HU!

Again, please don't expect too much of a change from b9. Mostly bug fixes and technical stuff.

The lion share of work still lies ahead for future versions. :)

 

PS: @Jose21Crisis, yes, the add-ons' sound issues are fixed.

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6 hours ago, ApexMods said:

The lion share of work still lies ahead for future versions. :)

What exactly do you have planned? And if you want some help, I'm more than happy to provide assistance.

As for ideas for improvement (things I'd be willing to work on btw), here is what comes to mind (Most Important IMHO):

  • Winter skins (You have winter maps but no winter skins set up AFAIK. Frostbite includes Ghosts, Russians in all white uniform, Russians with camo top and white pants, and Norwegians)
  • Increased ammo (I understand travel light, but I feel you went a bit overboard. Especially with rockets, some of them are reusable and only get a single shot)
  • Binoculars for everyone? I saw what the read me says, though I can imagine every member of a small SOF team having some. Plus the kit selection system in GR sucks as is (can't piece together every little piece you want). And it would give those people who choose low-zoom weapons an ability to aid in recon.
  • Legacy zoom add on is nice, but perhaps some differentiation on the amount of zoom based on weapon size to help represent their realistic effective range?
  • New kit restrictions (the AI backup with HU kind of sucks in terms of PvP since they all carry suppressed weapons. Could make some kit restrictions that change AI backup weapons and some PvP oriented ones like the KISS kit restrictions in Cloak. Having played a lot of MP with Cloak, I have a pretty good idea what tends to play well. Mainly limit scopes and suppressors. Overall, the regular kit restrictions limit options. This is why Cloak has around 39 new kit restrictions, to provide maximum options especially when AI backup is used)
  • Semi-auto rate of fire increase (Probably just increase it by maybe 100 for every weapon so that it doesn't feel laggy without making it incredibly high. I find this alone is a big detriment to weapon handling)
  • Flashbangs set to do no damage (had a hostage killed when the flashbang get stuck to their head. Main reason for no damage is because GR doesn't give us extreme finesse when throwing them)
  • M4A1 SOPMOD skin selection increase (Did this in Cloak. Assuming you're ok with Crane stocks, shouldn't take long to make it work for HU with your settings)
  • New Ghost skins (though the legacy add on exists, Multicam and it's variants would be nice default)

It's not a coincidence that all of these were addressed in Cloak (not trying to advertise, but making Cloak did help me delve into the inner workings of HU and gain some insight). I can go ahead and set up some of these ideas into small add ons if you want.

Looking forward to v1.0 and the destruction of the major bugs. Not looking forward to download size though (should probably upgrade my SSD at some point). While I believe that HU's gameplay is one of it's weakest points, it's amazing the amount of content and attention to detail you put into it (seems there's a reason for everything and that nothing is in there arbitrarily). I may be critical of certain aspects, but I still love HU. My inspiration to make Cloak-and-Dagger did come from HU, after all.

Keep up the great work, Apex!

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Jack, if I implemented all of the changes you suggest, there would be no need for your Cloak and Dagger add-on, and I wouldn't want to do that to you! :)

But seriously, I very much appreciate your constructive criticism, and you make a couple of valid points, but please also keep in mind that HU is strictly aimed at maximizing hardcore tactical realism in every aspect of the game, and I'm not willing to deviate even an inch from that mission statement / philosophy for the sake of e.g. what plays (subjectively) better in PvP matches. That's were add-ons like Cloak and Dagger can come in, to balance certain gameplay aspects for a specific play style.

That being said, of course there will always be room for improvements and (meticulous) feature expansion, e.g. alternative player skins and winter camos have been on my to-do list for a very long time, I just didn't get around to implementing them yet, and as the single player team in HU consists of hundreds of individual characters, this isn't going to be a trivial task.

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3 minutes ago, ApexMods said:

Jack, if I implemented all of the changes you suggest, there would be no need for your Cloak and Dagger add-on, and I wouldn't want to do that to you! :)

I probably wouldn't mind that much, actually. Would just be more reason for me to actually get working on that Blood Oil/CENTCOM combination idea I have.

7 minutes ago, ApexMods said:

please also keep in mind that HU is strictly aimed at maximizing hardcore tactical realism in every aspect of the game

A lot of what I did was based on this philosophy as well. Though there's different ways of going about it depending on what you're trying to represent.

Let's take zoom on weapons without magnifying optics. Your approach is realistic in the sense that iron sights, red dots, etc. don't provide any magnification, so you use no zoom. My approach (1.5x for compact weapons like the Mk18, 2x for medium weapons like the M4A1, and 2.5x for larger weapons like the G3) is also realistic in the sense that computer monitors create distortion with their limited FOV, meaning that some zoom provides some realism (I remember reading a forum thread several years ago about this). My method also helps to change the effective range of these weapons. You should be able to hit targets further away more consistently with a G3 than a Mk18. But legacy zoom add on exists, so all good there. I just took things a step further in Cloak.

Ammo is another. I believe you used a weight limit to figure out your ammo values, correct? I found it too low and annoying, especially since I like to tactical reload a lot (especially in CQB where I do a lot of shooting). In Cloak, I tried to find a balance that keeps things relatively light but still sufficient. Basic example is 8 rifle magazines instead of 5.

The KISS kit restrictions are meant to be very basic, not letting you rely on fancy gadgets and weaponry. PvP was a consideration when making them, but also fun for COOP. Forces you to rely on sound tactics rather than stealth killing everything with your suppressed HK416.

The game engine is limited. Trying to make it realistic means choosing what to represent and to what extent to represent it. Definitely interesting to see how different people approach this aspect in mods.

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Excellent post, Jack!

19 minutes ago, Jack Wachter said:

The game engine is limited. Trying to make it realistic means choosing what to represent and to what extent to represent it. Definitely interesting to see how different people approach this aspect in mods.

Agreed.

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17 minutes ago, Jack Wachter said:

 

Ammo is another. I believe you used a weight limit to figure out your ammo values, correct? I found it too low and annoying, especially since I like to tactical reload a lot (especially in CQB where I do a lot of shooting). In Cloak, I tried to find a balance that keeps things relatively light but still sufficient. Basic example is 8 rifle magazines instead of 5.

 

Please don't take this criticism the wrong way, and this is coming from a former infantryman. ive seen your video playthroughs and you waste ammo like a 13 year old who just figured out what full auto is. Look up what hammered and controlled pair shooting techniques are.  Yeah HU ammo count may be slightly low (personal experience i never carried less than 6 mags) but it's certainly sufficient if you maintain trigger discipline and pick your targets wisely. 

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8 minutes ago, shakealeg1212 said:

Please don't take this criticism the wrong way, and this is coming from a former infantryman. ive seen your video playthroughs and you waste ammo like a 13 year old who just figured out what full auto is. Look up what hammered and controlled pair shooting techniques are.

Thanks for the advice, something I'll have to practice. And thanks for telling me what techniques to look at, gives me something to work with.

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Just a little heads-up. Couldn't compress the download for HU 1.0 to under 10 GB. Sorry about that.

It weighs in at 11,328,650,681 bytes, so depending on who you ask, it's between 10.55 GB and 11.33 GB.

Installed size is just under 30 GB on my machine.

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Thanks, mate.

I know it's a lot of space. Will have to give the whole size thing some thought. With future feature expansion, retexturing etc. I have planned, this monster could easily double in size yet again. Some people with slow internet and data caps will probably have issues downloading, as it is.

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i'd say torrents are the way to go for the future. 

in some cases a user could mail another user a usb and download HU then send the usb back, just a thought 

 

edit and how could anyone complain about a mod that big?! just means more content for us 

Edited by shakealeg1212
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Thanks, guys. :)

Well, we'd need a seedbox to reliably provide HU as torrent, as I don't think there'd be enough people seeding after download. HU simply isn't mainstream enough.

Good thing Rocky offers the GR Mod Collection on USB as a viable alternative for people with bad internet access.

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hello guys so i have some problem getting heroes unleashed to work so i hope you can help me. i have installed the base game on steam, and i have downloded the 2 expansion isos and putted them in the ghost recon folder in steam folder. and have putted the heroes unleashed folder in mod folder, but its not working i can only play the base game. i then tried to click the setup in desert siege, but it says i must instal the base game first which i already have? so i dont know what to do now can somebody help me?

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You need to put the "Heroes Unleashed" folder, the "Mp1" folder (Desert Siege), and the "Mp2" folder (Island Thunder) in the game's "Mods" folder. For a Steam installation, that should be found here:

C:\Steam\SteamApps\Common\Ghost Recon\Mods

Then start the game and activate all three in the options menu. The correct sequence is Desert Siege > Island Thunder > Heroes Unleashed (from top to bottom).

If you only have the original installers for Desert Siege and Island Thunder, they probably won't work with the Steam release of Ghost Recon. The expansions would also need to be updated (IIRC, the final Ghost Recon 1.4 patch also changed some content in the Desert Siege / Mp1 folder). Would likely be easiest to just get the expansions from Steam, too.

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1 hour ago, matthi321 said:

oh now i have a big problem. so i could put the mp2 from island thunder in mod folder just fine. but desert siege needed to install to get the mp1 folder, so i found a program that would fool the setup to think the base game was installed and i got the mp1 folder and put it in mod folder. i then started the game and could see the 2 mods was activated in the mod option, i then quited the game and put the heroes unleashed folder in the mod folder, but when i opened the game nothing would happen and would just get the loading circle icon on the mouse. i then uinstalled the game and installed the game again with the original files but its still happening, i have tried running the game as adminstrator and tried all kompatibly modes but its still happening. how do i fix this problem?

this was the program i downloaded btw https://www.gog.com/forum/ghost_recon_tom_clancys/installing_desert_siege_and_island_thunder_for_the_gog_version_of_ghost_recon

First of all, Ghost Recon may take a whole lot longer to load with Heroes Unleashed installed, so be patient.

If it doesn't load at all, make sure that your Heroes Unleashed download is uncorrupted (watch for error messages during or after extraction). To unpack the 7z file I recommend using the original 7-zip (https://www.7-zip.org), as that works best (e.g. WinRAR and other utilities often have problems extracting files that have been created with the latest customized maximum compression settings). If 7-zip reports any errors during extraction, you will have to download Heroes Unleashed again.

For HU beta 9, the 7-zip file is 6,719,176,703 bytes (6.26 GB) in size, the extracted/installed Heroes Unleashed folder weighs 16,545,652,736 bytes (15.41 GB).

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