ApexMods Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Current Version (Mac & PC): Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed 1.0.1 (2018-05-15) Welcome to Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed! My fellow Ghost Recon fans, It is my honor to finally be able to make a contribution to our Ghost Recon family in the form of a new mod. I have been working on this "swiftly, silently, and invisibly" for many years, and now that the time has come for my mod to see the light of day, I am overjoyed to be able to give something back at last. Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed is my tribute to the Ghost Recon community. The mod's aspiration is to honor the makers and fans of this great game, to be a token of appreciation for everyone who helped to expand the ever-growing Ghost Recon universe over the years, with their support, ideas, enthusiasm, and sociability. All of you made our beloved game the timeless classic it is today. Enjoy the mod! Apex Quote Introduction Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed offers a ruthlessly unforgiving tactical FPS experience by maximizing realism in every aspect of the game. Weapons match their real-life counterparts in accuracy, effectiveness, and handling. AI displays terrifying acumen in trying to outmaneuver you. Missions take place in open-world locations and are entirely nonlinear, with a minimum of scripted events and utmost randomization, for infinite replayability. Heroes Unleashed pushes tactical realism to the extreme, setting it light years apart from anything you are accustomed to in today’s ubiquitous action shooters. One shot can kill. There is no magical healing, fantasy gear, sci-fi enemy markers, handholding, or guide towards certain victory. It is just you and your squad, on your own behind enemy lines, with caution as your best bet to survive. Whether you choose to play online or alone, with friends or AI, Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed delivers a rivetingly realistic squad-based military combat you won’t find anywhere else. Features • Absolute focus on true hardcore tactical realism • Nonlinear gameplay, real-world physics, ultra smart AI • Huge single player and cooperative multiplayer campaign • Infinite replayability with hundreds of maps and missions • Massive arsenal of authentic weapons and equipment • Various international special forces multiplayer teams • Detailed 3D models, hi-res textures, realistic sound • Included add-on mods for personal customization • Cross-platform compatible for Mac and PC Requirements • Mac OS 9.2 – 10.x, Windows 9x/ME/2k/XP/Vista/7/8/10 (x86/64) • 1.0 GHz processor • 1 GB RAM • 128 MB graphics card • 30 GB available disk space (up to 40 GB during installation) • TCP/IP connection (for local network / online multiplayer) • Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon (2001) Spoiler KEY FEATURES • Absolute focus on hardcore tactical realism gameplay • Closer to real-world bullet penetration and wounding system • Improved overall opponent and friendly AI capabilities and behavior • More realistic weapon characteristics, handling, and ballistics • Intricate AI stealth / enemy detection and alertness routines • Overhauled realistic map environments (viewing and drawing distance) • Countless new high-resolution textures and more detailed 3D models • Boosted audio dynamics and scores of authentic new sounds • Nonlinear randomized SP / CO-OP mission and game type execution • Enhanced and extended Ghost Recon trilogy SP / CO-OP campaign • Novel random mission generator for SP / CO-OP on all maps • Dynamic mission weather change (precipitation, intensity, direction) • Comprehensive SP / CO-OP tactical score / rating system • Huge choice of 300 worldwide maps, available in all SP / MP games • Loads of authentic weapons and equipment items (more than 400 total) • Extra characters (more than 1,000 total) with many new attachments • Supplementary military and civilian vehicles (more than 100 total) • Added MP teams (Navy SEALs, SAS, Delta Force, KSK, Spetsnaz, etc.) • Many new and improved game types (100+ total for SP / MP combined) • Expanded SP team character appearance (varying character skins) • Additional marksman character for SP Ghost team and all MP teams • Innovative new weapon sight zoom effect (visible weapon scope) • Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) updated to Advanced Combat Uniform (ACU) • Reworked SP kits and MP unit and equipment restrictions setup • Revamped equipment kit selection menus (quick equipment browsing) • Cinematic mission intro & outro cutscenes for single player • Automated save game function for single player missions and games • Updated user interface (menus, HUD, command map, PDA, sounds etc.) • Optimized for current 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio HD displays • Tons of technical and gameplay fixes, adjustments, fine tuning, etc. • Customizable to personal preference via 50+ included add-on mods • Included development tools and essential modding information • Streamlined file / folder naming and structure for easier modding • Elaborate measures for compatibility and discrete modular content • Immeasurable treasure in game- and mod-related bonus content • Cross-platform compatible (same download for Mac and PC) FEATURE LISTING REALISM • Campaign missions, single missions, and game types are re-scripted to improve realism, e.g. no reinforcements spawn out of thin air right in front of you, enemy locations vary each time a mission or game is played, there are no fixed (and subsequently predictable) scripted events in order to realistically increase randomness, and so on. • Game scripts now dynamically adjust the number of AI enemies and their placement on each map, depending on a map's size and where the player's (often randomized) starting location will be, in order to avoid the unrealistic situation of having you (and your squad) infil in close proximity of hostile forces. • AI awareness of your presence now takes such things as dead bodies laying around into account, so enemies will ultimately realize that they are under attack, if they repeatedly stumble upon dead comrades. Frequently being seen (or heard) by an opponent will eventually also spread the news of your arrival, leading to increased enemy alertness. • New game type scripting allows for dynamic weather conditions, i.e. by continuously adjusting randomized precipitation intensity on maps with rain or snow (within realistic parameters for map environment). Full-scale missions allow for weather conditions to change even more drastically over time, so rain could slowly turn into a blizzard, or the weather may improve and clear up altogether, etc. • Mission environment settings (fog range, color, opacity, as well as rendering distances etc.) are systematically adjusted and fine tuned for the most realistic and thereby most immersive visual appearance. • Spotting distances for AI characters are corrected on all maps and no longer provide players or their opponents with an unfair advantage. Just as in reality - if you can see the enemy, they can see you, too. • All mission locations displayed during briefings are corrected and shown with proper coordinates on new world maps covering the entire planet. Local mission times displayed during briefings now correctly correspond to the visual environment of their respective map, namely light conditions, position of the sun, direction of shadows etc. • Textures are reviewed one-by-one for potential visual inadequacies and touched-up or, if necessary, recreated or replaced, to achieve the highest possible level of visual realism (thousands of high-resolution textures have been implemented already, but this is an ongoing process that will advance further with each update of the mod). • Visual effects like weapons' muzzle flash, tracer ammunition, bullet ricochets, sparks, blood spray, blood puddles, gunshot wounds, fire, smoke, explosions, debris, rain, water, creeks, rivers, oceans, snow, lightning, shadows, clouds, lens flare, moon glow, starlight, and so on, are refined and retextured for most realistic appearance. • AI characters are adjusted to exhibit more realistic behavior and capabilities, e.g. on the default "realism" tier there are no longer any enemies with super-human weapon accuracy to shoot the wings off a fly at a distance of hundreds of meters with a standard-issue assault rifle, and your AI team mates display much improved combat skills. • Enemies carry a much wider and more authentic range of weapons and equipment (non-player characters may now be equipped from a choice of several thousand uniquely different equipment kits). • Non-player characters will now default to firing their weapons in either full-auto or burst mode (provided that their weapon offers the corresponding trigger groups) to further alleviate their occasional display of unrealistically high shooting accuracy. • Additional new player, enemy, and noncombatant characters provide a more varied and thereby more realistic and immersive experience (in total, there are now more than 1,000 individual characters). • Every character features individual appearance (skins) including facial features, which means that you will no longer encounter two characters looking the same (over 1,000 individual faces and skins). • New weapons and vehicles are added for a broader and more realistic variety of military materiel encountered in the field (more than 400 authentic weapons and equipment items, over 100 different vehicles). • Vehicle characteristics are adjusted for more realistic behavior. Their weapons correspond to real-world armaments with realistic weapon effectiveness, and vehicle handling allows for realistic movement. • All weapons are correctly designated, adjusted using their real-life properties (weight, ammunition capacity, trigger group, rate of fire etc.), and feature authentic ballistics (range, penetration, stopping power, recoil, muzzle flash etc.) that take many technical details of each individual firearm into account (layout type, weight, dimensions, exact ammunition cartridge type incl. loading information, barrel and projectile geometry, empirical real-world external as well as terminal ballistics data), to provide players with the most realistic shooting experience (within simulation constraints). • Individual weapon handling is adjusted for realistic weapon control, e.g. smaller lighter handguns like pistols, SMG's, etc. now feel a lot more compact, allowing for much quicker target acquisition than larger and heavier firearms like e.g. assault and battle rifles. Very bulky or heavy weapons, like e.g. anti-materiel rifles and general purpose machine guns, now require the shooter to crouch or even assume a prone position for their full accuracy potential. Shooting during slow and deliberate movement is facilitated to more realistic levels, overall. • Manual (single shot) rate of fire of all handguns is now limited to slightly more authentic levels, meaning that e.g. frantically clicking the mouse button will produce a less ridiculous ROF, and AI characters can no longer shoot e.g. bolt action sniper rifles at 300 rpm. Fully realistic single shot ROF cannot be implemented, because the game ties muzzle flash duration to current ROF (hard-coded), which in turn would render its animation even more immersion-breakingly unrealistic. • Tracer ammunition is limited to realistic applications, i.e. mainly used in belt-fed or high-capacity (e.g. drum, helical) magazine-fed machine guns, and loaded four-to-one tracer (i.e. every fifth round, in e.g. ammunition belts). • The muzzle flash of each weapon more closely matches its real-life size and appearance with corresponding firearms and ammunition types. • All weapons now feature authentic firing sounds which also exactly reflect the rate of fire for each weapon. For example, when you fire an assault rifle with an effective ROF of 750 rounds per minute at full auto, you hear a staccato with intervals of exactly 0.08 seconds. • Weapon reloading sounds are reworked (within the severe limitations hard-coded in the game) to be a bit more realistic than the defaults. • Weapon models are more detailed and exhibit more authentic overall appearance. Every single weapon texture has been manually reworked and refined for a perfect finish providing realistic visual features. • Weapon scopes feature accurate magnification levels and realistic field of view. Weapons without magnifying optics provide no zoom. • Weapon optics are represented with more authentic visual appearance based on their real-life reticles. Reticle textures have been created according to the exact design of their real-world counterparts. Only weapons with iron sights retain symbolic default reticles. • Weapon scopes, night vision goggles, binoculars, rangefinders, and spotting scopes more closely match the appearance, field of view, and visual characteristics of their real-life counterparts. • HUD, command map, and compass / threat indicator are changed, with some elements removed, for a cleaner and less obtrusive look, and to allow a less restricted field of view. Direction of incoming fire and enemy positions are no longer shown to improve realism and suspense. Hostiles in close proximity (within 40 meters) are still displayed via nondirectional threat indicator (optional). • NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and vehicles are no longer shown on the command map, and sensors are removed from the equipment selection to facilitate more realistic tactical play. • Nonessential UI elements like symbolic animations representing e.g. reloading, weapon switching, or opening doors, are removed to limit distraction and to maintain a higher level of realism and immersion. • Some audio-visual feedback (e.g. on-screen text messages and voice confirmation of kills) is removed / randomized to limit diversion, raise immersion, and to improve overall suspense and realism (e.g. without kill confirmation you can never be sure whether a distant threat has been eliminated unless you confirm the kill yourself). • In-mission text chat functionality is severely limited, and other text feedback during missions is kept to a bare minimum, for a further increase in realism and immersion, through even less of those annoying superfluous visual distractions. • Rangefinders are no longer available by default to improve realism in unit equipment (in real life not every soldier carries an AN/GVS-5 laser rangefinder). The corresponding keyboard shortcut is renamed and now simply holsters your weapon. Rangefinders are still available via the equipment selection menu. • The body damage model provides more authentic wound lethality (e.g. shots to the head are more likely to kill, while hitting arms, legs or abdomen has a higher probability to result in non-lethal wounds) and body armor more closely reflects real-life NIJ Standard 0101.04 Type I, II, and IIIA armor levels, e.g. characters wearing Type IIIA ballistic resistant vests (like most support experts) enjoy at least single hit chest protection against high-velocity 9mm FMJ RN and similar threats. This may sound like relatively weak body armor for special forces, but considering that all game characters (including non-player actors like civilians, rebels, militia, regular soldiers from various more or less developed countries) share the same damage model (that allows for only three different types of body armor to be defined), its setup is bound to be a compromise, with this being the most realistic one, overall. • Body armor is adjusted for each individual in-game character, e.g. an irregular wearing a t-shirt no longer exhibits any unusual bullet resistance, while a soldier with a bulky vest and / or combat uniform is very likely to carry some body armor. In general, the bulkier the vest / uniform a character wears, the higher the type of body armor. • Combat loadout is altered to realistic levels for mission parameters and corresponds to Special Forces unit agility requirements, with TAT ABL and equipment weight approximating FORSCOM regulations to maintain total fighting load of up to 25 kg wherever possible. Real-life load distribution across squad members (e.g. chain-linked LMG ammunition, anti-materiel sniper rifle rounds etc.) is taken into account through compromising individual load to compensate for simulation limitations. • Military units present in the game use authentic materiel fielded by their real-life counterparts, meaning all NPC and player characters in both single player and multiplayer mode feature a true-to-life range of authentic weapons, vehicles, and other equipment. • Overlap in equipment kits between soldier classes is increased (e.g. anti-armor weapons can be found in non-demolitions kits etc.) for more realistic unit variety and flexibility, extending tactical options in team setup, i.e. team size and composition. • Original (and obsolete) U.S. Army BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) and DCU (Desert Camouflage Uniform) are replaced with correct contemporary ACU (Army Combat Uniform) with UCP (Universal Camouflage Pattern) of 2008, the year in which the game's campaign is taking place. However, some individual characters, e.g. several unlockable Specialists retain the classic style BDU / DCU, and the old uniforms are still available via multiplayer restrictions, as well as through add-on mods included in the "XTRAS" folder located within the mod's main folder (please see the BONUS CONTENT section of this document for details). • The sniper class now offers two different characters in distinctive roles: A sniper with ghillie suit camouflage for solitary work and rural surroundings, and a marksman with standard issue uniform for teamwork and in urban environments to avoid the unrealistic employment of ghillie-suited snipers in team roles or urban areas, and to reflect real-world distinction of sniper and designated marksman roles. • All soldier classes feature additional character skins to provide more realistic varied team selection, e.g. so not all riflemen in your team look almost exactly alike, anymore (there are now more than 1,500 different textures for over 250 individual player team characters). • Difficulty tiers and IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) settings have been renamed to underline their significant effect on simulation realism. • Many other small technical and cosmetic fixes and improvements are implemented to maximize authenticity and realism throughout. GAMEPLAY • The mod's campaign contains all missions of Ghost Recon and both official expansion packs combined into a trilogy campaign sequence, featuring all Specialists (except Desert-Siege-only Jodit Haile) as unlockable characters, each with appropriate uniforms and camouflage for all mission locations. • Every Specialist can be unlocked in more than one campaign mission, so if a player does not succeed at first try, there is still a chance to unlock the same Specialist at a later point in the campaign. • Specialists already unlocked prior to installation of the mod are unlocked within the mod as well (the mod uses the same database for unlocked characters as the original game). • Some Specialists' soldier classes are changed and adapted for a more versatile team setup, i.e. to provide a broader choice of personnel as well as weapons and equipment e.g. for demolitions objectives. • Campaign missions are re-scripted to provide a more demanding game experience with a maximum of realism and complete nonlinearity (which also means that original scripted events are removed for the sake of replayability / non-predictability and realism), as well as adjusted for unified look'n'feel, e.g. objective triggers and response messages are consistent throughout. Additionally, any errors and glitches in the game's original missions have been fixed. • Participation in campaign missions no longer results in additional combat points for individual soldiers, and no extra combat points are given out in quick missions anymore, either. All soldier stats are completely reworked for improved character abilities and AI behavior, so the combat point system would no longer have any effect. • All missions, as well as single and co-operastive multiplayer game types now feature a rating system to assess your tactical performance. Its multifaceted percentage-based score takes various aspects of your mission execution into account (completed objectives, team health and survival, stealth / detection by enemies), thus providing additional replayability through the incentive to maximize each score component. • Both missions and game types feature sequential auto-saving of game progress throughout single player gameplay, to save players from the immersion-breaking practice of spamming the quick-save key. • The in-game movie sequence is adapted for the new trilogy campaign (and the final campaign victory movie features a little bonus clip). • All in-game movies have been re-cut and re-encoded with corrected common widescreen aspect ratio for an overall more unified look. • Intro and / or outro cinematics are added to all missions depending on mission circumstances, i.e. if the briefing context calls for or allows insertion and / or extraction by e.g. boat, helicopter, etc. • In-game text is corrected with proper English title capitalization and modified for homogeneous sentence spacing, as well as a much more consistent wording style. • Difficulty tiers and IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) settings have been renamed to underline their significant effect on simulation realism. • Maps and missions are renamed and reordered for a more consistent naming convention and to provide logical sequence for single and in multiplayer mode. The map sequence is the same for all game types, both single and multiplayer, and maps have the same numbering as their corresponding missions. • Single missions outside of the campaign are in a shuffled order by default to provide varying environments for all map sequence options. • Map names feature S / M / L (Small / Medium / Large) labels as extra information during map selection. Multiplayer server setup features additional map information on the map selection screen. In addition to map size and recommended number of players, the map summary now provides a variety of combat environment information (e.g. default, desert, or jungle territory; rural or urban setting; CQB situation; day or night; time of day; weather conditions). • An abundance of new maps, missions, and game types are added for both single and multi-player to maximize variation and replayability. • All game types for both single and multi-player games are completely re-scripted for improved gameplay and replayability, and to provide ideal compatibility with the mod's wide range of map sizes - from its smallest CQB locations up to its vast long range outdoor scenarios. • Among the new game types is Black Ops, a random mission generator representing classified military operations with countless possible combinations of mission objectives. The Black Ops game type takes the game's scripting capability to its absolute limit to provide realistic random mission parameters for infinite replayability. • All missions and maps are unlocked for single player quick missions by default, to allow easy access to the full variety of the game. • All maps feature completely reworked map scripting that makes them available in all single and multiplayer game types. Every map script is also modified to allow an increased number of enemies and a greater variety of enemy locations in all game types. • Many maps feature newly created UI elements like snapshots, briefing world maps, command maps, and command map briefing images, as well as mission briefing text. • All UI elements like menus, PDA, loading screens, HUD including the command map interface, mouse pointer, credits screens, etc. are fully redesigned for a fresh game look that not only offers an updated appearance while staying close to the base game's unique visual style, but also offers several usability and functionality improvements. • The command map interface is modified to display all other human and computer team members with authentic military rank insignia next to their names. The player's character is identified as Captain, other human players as Master Sergeants, and computer players as Sergeants. • All command maps are recreated to feature a more homogeneous design and tactical grid coordinates that facilitate strategic team play. • As all Ubi.com online services have been shut down by Ubisoft, the "Play on Ubi.com" option for online multiplayer is removed from the game's interface. You can still play online multiplayer via (manual) direct IP connection or through popular third-party gaming networks like GameRanger (please see the LOCAL & ONLINE MULTIPLAYER section of this document for details). • Multiplayer server setup now allows selecting the availability of both equipment and military units through restriction sets, so the "AVAILABLE KITS" option is renamed to "CONFIGURATION" to reflect its influence on available military units as well as their equipment. • New military units are made available as multiplayer characters to improve balancing between teams through competitive camouflage on all types of map terrain. • The four standard multiplayer teams are U.S. and Russian special forces: U.S. Army, Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (5th SFG) a.k.a. "Ghost Recon" (Blue Team), Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Alpha Group, a.k.a. "Spetsgruppa Alfa" (Red Team), U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, a.k.a. "Marine Force Recon" (Gold Team), and Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Vega Group, a.k.a. "Spetsgruppa Vympel" (Green Team), each available in woodland, desert, and jungle camouflage combat uniform to even the odds of being spotted and approximately equalize body armor levels for Team-vs-Team and Player-vs-Player battles. • Further available multiplayer units are U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (1st SFOD-D) a.k.a. "Delta Force", German Bundeswehr Kommando Spezialkraefte (KSK), British Army 22nd Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment, and U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), a.k.a. "DEVGRU" or "SEAL Team Six". • All multiplayer teams feature a new marksman character in the sniper class with standard uniform (woodland, desert, and jungle) for better visual integration into teams and for urban environments. • New multiplayer restrictions / configurations feature more authentic compilations of equipment based on both individual soldier class and selected military unit, which means that e.g. Delta Force demolitions experts have a different range of weapons and equipment available than Navy SEALs of the same soldier class. • Original multiplayer restrictions are renamed and labeled "Legacy" to be easily discernible from the new restrictions system. They offer team and equipment selections more closely based on the original game, yet are significantly updated / expanded. • Several aspects of the UI are changed for ease of use and improved functionality, e.g. to fully display longer names of maps, missions, game saves, game types, multiplayer restriction sets, etc. • Many interface strings are adjusted to streamline miscellaneous UI elements and to reflect a variety of changes introduced by the mod, e.g. the existence of anti-armor weapons other than the M136 and their availability outside of the demolitions soldier class, etc. • The equipment selection screens are adjusted to correctly display up to 4-digit kit numbers and slightly longer weapon names. It is now possible to quickly browse kits by click-and-holding selector arrows. • All equipment outline textures for equipment selection screens were completely reworked to reflect weapons and their attachments with more detail. Additionally, all weapons with magnifying optics are marked with crosshairs symbols, and all grenade launchers, antitank weapons, shotguns, and demo charges are identified by corresponding symbols. • Symbolic iron sight reticle design generally differs between western (e.g. NATO) and eastern (e.g. former Warsaw Pact) weapons, as well as between (an expanded variety of) different weapon classes. Additional weapon class reticles are implemented for anti-material sniper rifles, general purpose machine guns, full-power battle rifles, designated marksman rifles, light support weapons, compact designated marksman rifles, personal defense weapons, submachine guns with high-capacity magazines, standard submachine guns, machine pistols, and shotguns. • All used files have been reviewed one-by-one for possible conflicts with any other files in the mod, the original game and both official expansion packs, and - if necessary - adjusted, to ensure the perfect compatibility of all components. • Many other small technical and cosmetic fixes and improvements are implemented to achieve the best possible gaming experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giampi Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Downloading now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat50 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I'll d/l this for sure. Thanks is not enough for the countless hours you spent creating Heroes Unleashed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingeloop Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Im also DL right now. thx a lot and congrats to you ApexMods for a great contribution. /Ingeloop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thales100 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Xmas was moved to dec 20 th ! Gonna give this a try right now !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Downloading, hope it goes well. Massive mod, sure it will be welcomed by all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Congratulations on the public release! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share Posted December 20, 2008 Congratulations on the public release! Thanks, Rocky - and all you guys - for the warm welcome! This is indeed my pleasure and I hope you all enjoy the mod! I "moved Christmas" a bit so there is plenty of time for the (admittedly massive) download, but nobody forces you to unwrap the present now - feel free to wait until the 24th. Everyone is of course invited to post any feedback here and discuss the mod in general! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake@War Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Congratulations Apex! I know you have been itching to get this out for a while now. Thanks for keeping the dream alive! The Year is 2008... Welcome to Ghost Recon: Heroes Unleashed! That's a link, BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share Posted December 20, 2008 That's a link, BTW. Snake! You are such a spoilsport! OK, for those of you who have not yet noticed it: Yes, the mod comes with its own web site www.HeroesUnleashed.net, but it still needs a LOT of work! So don't expect too much (yet)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRP 56 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Looking foward to downloading this as soon as I get home from work. Thanks ahead of time and long live GR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake@War Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Oops... lol Sorry Apex... I keep forgetting you like to hide little "?easter eggs?" everywhere. My b. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migryder Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 dld, congrats again Apex'..the presentation is nice..have not played a mission yert though just had a good look around the folder and did open the game...I like the unit stuff in the PDA...good for a Quick Mission mod.. as I'm busy with another large mod ay this time I'll have to wait awhile on playing through any for now... BTW - the dl is not bad at all.I started it and went to take care of a few minor chores, came back and it was almost finished - this at 308 Kbps.. thanks for your efforts! mig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlookian Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Thanks again Apex, (nice work on the site too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS PALADIN Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 So any reviews of the mod or details on what it contains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesterribles Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 No save of campaign or mission? Getting instant desktop... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightspeed Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 thanx buddy - love your work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingeloop Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 No save of campaign or mission? Getting instant desktop... what does your IKE.log say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 No save of campaign or mission? Getting instant desktop... lesterribles, I am unable to reproduce your issue. Every quick mission I try saves just fine - the same for the campaign missions. Quick-save and normal saving both work without any problems here, so please provide us with more information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pave Low Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 So any ~ details on what it contains?- "1990 Delta Force" by Eskwaad and Ceptico - "22nd SAS Equipment" by El Patricio - "AK47 Mini Mod" by Dekela - "Ares Shrike" by SnowFella a.k.a. Johan Olsson - "Armenia SCARed" by Cobaka, Streinger, GiWeDa a.k.a. GWDS, Janie42 - "BajaBravo's Skin Packs" by Thom "BajaBravo" MacDonald - "Black Sun" by Harntrox and DRAG Modworks - "Blue Ivan" by Phlookian a.k.a. Ian Millard - "Bravo 2-5" by Sixpence - "Canadian Operatives" by Thom "BajaBravo" MacDonald - "DAMN BL Final Map Pack" by the DAMN Development Team - "December" by Sleeper - "Deks Weps" by Dekela - "Demon Rage" by Sixpence - "DOG-ZEBRA" by DOG-ZEBRA a.k.a. Matthew A. Turner - "Eagle Claw" by Sixpence - "Even Uniforms Range" by EUR.RedDust - "Frostbite" by the Frostbite Development Team - "G8 Special Forces" by Thom "BajaBravo" MacDonald - "Geisterspaehtrupp" by DOG-ZEBRA a.k.a. Matthew A. Turner - "GRPA Mod" by Punisher, Monoman, RoeM - "HX5 Red Sun" by Harntrox and DRAG Modworks - "Ingeloop's ACOG Reticles" by Ingeloop - "KSK - Kommando Spezial Kraefte" by Sixpence - "Life in the Game" by Frank L. Fox and Fling Films - "M4 SOPMOD Mod" by Prozac and Jay - "Mission HX" by Harntrox - "MLP Map Pack" by Low Profile a.k.a. MLP - "MVD Osnaz" by Ingeloop - "Navy Seals" by Sixpence - "OPCOM" by DOG-ZEBRA a.k.a. Matthew A. Turner and Mike Oakes - "Realism Update" by V2_Bloodline - "Red Five" by Bitshot and Dead0n - "Sabre Teams" by Thom "BajaBravo" MacDonald - "Spetsgruppa Vympel" by Earl Laamanen and Andrew Mack - "Standard Upgrade" by Earl Laamanen - "SupWounds" by Sup - "Tage des Zorns (Days of Anger)" by Sixpence - "TG Map 1" by H-Hour, Sarc, and El Oso - "The Dam" by Neutron and Right-Hand a.k.a. Aaron Stone - "The General" by DOG-ZEBRA a.k.a. Matthew A. Turner - "The Mosque" by El Oso - "Trainride" by Deleyt - "Trilogy" by Rebar - "Udmurtia Spetsnaz" by Ingeloop - "Under the Blood Sun" by Sixpence - "USMC 24th MEU" by Sixpence - "White-Skull Valley" by Deleyt and Zeko / Red Sector - "Wildcat's Wrinkles" by Wildcat - "Winter Wilderness" by El Oso - "WytchDokta's CamoPack" by WytchDokta - "XM8 Armory" by SnowFella a.k.a. Johan Olsson - "Year of the Monkey" by the YOTM Development Team - "BattleBorne Ossetian Woods" by the BattleBorne Gang - "BlakOps - OpFor Vehicles" by Mike "Blakarion" Nelson - "BlakOps - US Vehicles" by Mike "Blakarion" Nelson - "De_Dust" by RipperR6 - "DS Cinematic" by GiWeDa a.k.a. GWDS a.k.a Giwex - "GR Gun Ballistics Calculator" by Don Miguel and Parabellum - "GR Symphony of Destruction" by Payback - "Great Wall" by The Worm - "GRS MapPack 1" by Iso6, Ken "The Judge", and Nami - "IG Downtown" by Nami - "Jodit Haile's Full Biography" by GiWeDa a.k.a. GWDS a.k.a Giwex - "Mike Schell's Wrinkles" by Mike Schell - "MYTOAN Sniper" by K1ller - "Operation Redlight" a.k.a. "Rocky's Birthday Mod" by Cobaka - "R02 Industrial" by Rawker - "10 mm Auto Mappack 2" by 10 mm Auto a.k.a. Franck Idelot - "7.62 mm" by Thumper1518 - "British Infantry" by Chems - "Caribbean Missile Crisis" by Ausiguy (Peter) - "Downtown" by Ausiguy (Peter) - "Enemy/General Realism" by Droopy a.k.a. Alfa FSB - "Hammer to Fall" by Alpha|Nexxus - "Mappacks S1,S2,S3" by Guignol - "Navy SEALs" by Piccolo - "NMM GR Weapon Mod" by Nishi a.k.a. Nishi@NMM - "Operation Stabilize" by AUS_Viper - "Operation: Dark Star" by Mike "Blakarion" Nelson - "Shallow Creek" by XcaL Renegade - "Sniper Armoury" by Projectile-Systems / Blade - "Swamp Maze" by TRT_BornToKill - "The Farm" by Biro / Alpha Squad - "The Park" by Jujuman - "Thumper Weapons" by Thumper1518 - "Traffic Colombie" by Tof a.k.a. Christophe Gloaguenbut it's so much more than "just a compilation": The mod makes more than 100 maps and missions available in single and multiplayer mode and offers over 200 different weapons to choose from. All additions have been carefully integrated and balanced to provide a homogeneous level of professional audio-visual and technical finish. Heroes Unleashed is aiming to improve and expand many aspects of the original game to increase its already highly addictive replayability, while remaining true to Ghost Recon's unique character and concept. It also tries to intensify the realistic feel and immersive qualities of the game, making it more challenging and emphasizing the atypical Ghost Recon game style: Tactical team play rather than the "solo, run and shoot, wanna-live-forever" style found in many other FPS games. MOD FEATURES ============ REALISM ------- - Original campaign missions are re-scripted to improve scenario realism, e.g. "No resistance remains" triggers are changed to allow mission time without enemies showing on the threat indicator, so the player realistically never knows if or when hostile reinforcements are on their way. Also, reinforcements do not spawn out of thin air in front of your eyes and the location of some enemies varies each time a mission is done. - Mission environment settings (fog range, color, and opacity, as well as overall rendering distances etc.) are adjusted for a more realistic visual appearance. - Spotting distances for AI characters are corrected on all maps - if you can see the enemy, he can see you, too. - All mission locations displayed during briefings are corrected and shown with proper coordinates on new world maps covering the entire planet. Mission times displayed during briefings correspond to visual environments in their respective maps. - All map textures have been reviewed one-by-one for potential visual inadequacies and touched-up or recreated if necessary to achieve the best possible level of visual realism. - Many visual effects like muzzle flash, tracer ammunition, ricochets, blood, gunshot wounds, fire, explosions, debris, smoke, rain, snow, lightning, shadows, clouds, lens flare etc. are retextured for a more realistic appearance. - OPFOR characters are adjusted to exhibit more realistic behavior and capabilities (e.g. there are no more enemies with super-human weapon accuracy that lets them shoot the wings off a fly at a distance of hundreds of meters with a standard-issue assault rifle). - Enemies carry a wider more authentic range of weapons and equipment. - Player and friendly AI characters' abilities are slightly increased to make them act a bit more like the elite soldiers they are supposed to represent. - New allied and OPFOR weapons and vehicles are added for a broader and more realistic variety of military materiel. - All weapons are correctly designated and adjusted using real-life properties (weights, magazine capacities, trigger groups, fire rates etc.) and ballistics (range, stopping power, recoil etc.). - Weapon handling is adjusted for more realistic weapon control, e.g. to facilitate improved shooting while moving slowly, and smaller guns like pistols, SMG's etc. "feel" more compact and allow for quicker target acquisition than larger weapons. - All weapons feature authentic sounds which also exactly reflect the rate of fire of each individual weapon. For example, when you fire an assault rifle with an effective rate of fire of 750 rounds per minute you hear a staccato with intervals of exactly 0.08 seconds. - Weapon models are more detailed and exhibit more authentic overall appearance. Every single weapon texture has been manually reworked and refined for a perfect finish providing realistic visual features, including homogeneous color saturation and optical contrast across all weapons. - Weapon scopes provide accurate magnification levels and realistic field of view (circular zoom). Weapons without magnifying optics feature a minimal full screen zoom to simulate distance-focussing of the human eye. - Weapon optics are represented with more realistic visual appearance based on their real-life reticles. All reticle textures have been completely recreated from real-life weapon optic photographs. - Night vision and binoculars more closely match the field of view and appearance of their real-life counterparts. - HUD and Threat Indicator are changed for a slightly less restricted field of view. - The body damage model provides more authentic wound lethality (e.g. shots to the head are more likely to kill, while hitting arms, legs or abdomen has a higher probability to result in non-lethal wounds) and body armor more closely reflects real-life (NIJ Standard 0101.04) Type II, III, and IV armor levels, e.g. characters wearing NIJ Type IV bullet resistant vests - like support experts - have at least single hit protection for the chest against most ammunition types. - Loads for all soldiers are re-balanced to range from 25 to 45 kg (including clothing, body armor and equipment) for the four different soldier classes, with about 10 to 30 kg TAT load for equipment to approximate FORSCOM regulations. Compromises are made to comply with mission objectives and for a more balanced gameplay. - Overlap in equipment kits between soldier classes is increased for real-life unit flexibility (e.g. the four different soldier classes share more primary weapons, anti-armor secondary weapons can be found in non-demolitions kits etc.). - Weapons originating from, or in use by, NATO and the former Soviet Union (Warsaw Pact) are presented in separate equipment kits for more authenticity and to provide a more realistic "Cold War" environment. - Due to lack of realism in the game's hard-coded system for awarding decorations, these are no longer displayed in the mission debriefing and platoon setup screens (although decorations that have been earned by a soldier more than once will still be shown in the platoon setup screen as bronze and silver pins during campaigns). GAME ---- - The mod's campaign consists of all 31 missions of Ghost Recon and both of its official expansion packs (Desert Siege and Island Thunder) combined into one trilogy sequence. It features all of the original specialists (except Jodit Haile) as unlockable characters in proper woodland, desert and jungle camouflage uniforms appropriate for all possible mission locations. Specialist models that originally did not feature all camouflage types have been completely retextured. - Every specialist can be unlocked in two different campaign missions, so if a player does not succeed at first try, there is still another chance to unlock the same specialist later on in the campaign. - Specialists of the original game that are already unlocked before installation of the mod are unlocked within the mod as well (the mod uses the same database for unlocked specialists as the original game). - Campaign missions are re-scripted to provide a more demanding game experience and increased non-linearity, and adjusted for a unified "look'n'feel", e.g. objective triggers and their response messages are more consistent. Additionally, several script errors and glitches are fixed, and hidden enemies no longer appear as shadows in multiplayer. - Movie sequences are adapted for the new campaign (and the final movie features a little special bonus). - All movie sequences are re-cut and re-encoded with corrected common widescreen aspect ratio. - Intro and/or outro cinematics are added to many missions depending on the mission circumstances, e.g. if the mission's briefing context calls for or allows insertion and/or extraction by helicopter etc. - In-game text is corrected with proper English title capitalization and modified for homogeneous sentence spacing, as well as a more consistent wording style. - Maps and missions are renamed and reordered for a more consistent naming convention and to provide logical sequence for single and multiplayer mode. The map sequence is the same for all game types in both single- and multiplayer, and maps have the same numbering as their corresponding missions. Consequently, once the "In Order" map selection option is activated in multiplayer setup, players can go through the entire campaign in correct mission sequence without the need to enter the server setup screen again. So it is not required to create a customized server scripts to play through the campaign. Single missions outside of the campaign are in a "shuffled" order by default to provide varying environments for all map sequence options. - All game types for both single and multi-player games are completely re-scripted for improved gameplay and replayability, and to provide better compatibility with a wider range of maps from very small indoor CQB locations up to huge outdoor scenarios. - Several new maps, missions and game types are added for both single and multi-player to increase the game's variation and replayability. - Menus, PDA, loading screens, HUD, command map interface, mouse pointer, credits screens etc. are redesigned for a "fresh" game look that offers an updated overall appearance while staying close to the original game's unique visual style. - The command map interface is modified to display all other human and computer team members with authentic military rank insignia next to their names. The player's character is identified as Captain, other human players as Master Sergeants, and computer players as Sergeants. - All command maps are recreated to feature a more homogeneous design and tactical grid coordinates that facilitate strategic team play. - All missions and maps are unlocked for single player quick missions by default. - All maps feature completely reworked map scripting that makes them available in all single and multiplayer game types. Every map script is also modified to allow an increased number of enemies and a greater variety of enemy locations in all game types. - Many maps feature newly created UI elements like snapshots, briefing world maps, command maps, and command map briefing images, as well as mission briefing texts. - Multiplayer server setup now allows selecting the availability of both equipment and military units through restriction sets, so the "Available Kits" option is renamed to "Units and Kits" to reflect its influence on available team units as well as their kits. - New military units are made available as multiplayer characters to improve balancing between teams through competitive camouflage on all types of map terrain. The additional military units feature character models that are retextured to fit in with the original characters as closely as possible while maintaing a high level of authenticity. - All standard multiplayer teams are represented by U.S. and Russian military special forces units in full camouflage battle dress uniforms suitable for all possible terrain types - woodland, desert and jungle. The default multiplayer teams 1 through 4 are represented by the U.S. Army Special Forces "Ghosts" (Blue Team), Russian Spetsgruppa Alfa (Red Team), U.S. Army Special Forces Delta (Green Team), and Russian Spetsgruppa Vympel (Gold Team), respectively, all in appropriate woodland, desert, and jungle camouflage for all types of terrain. - Many newly created multiplayer restriction sets provide a more adjustable kit and unit selection for all teams. For example, there are now several settings especially designed to offer a wider choice of AI Backup equipment, and some restrictions sets - mainly aimed at Co-Op and Solo games - allow simultaneous access to all available military units plus all specialists for all teams. These Co-Op and Solo game multiplayer restrictions also provide an additional military unit - the U.S. Marine Corps - to choose from, equally featuring new retextured characters with camouflage uniforms for all terrain types. - Several new multiplayer restrictions feature sorting of equipment kits based on the selected military unit, e.g. a demo expert of the U.S. Army Special Forces Delta will have a different default weapon than a U.S. Marine of the same soldier class, and all U.S. soldiers will have American equipment displayed before Russian equipment when scrolling through available kits and vice versa. - Some original multiplayer restriction sets are renamed to reflect the changes in kit and unit selection. - All equipment outline textures for equipment selection screens were completely reworked to reflect weapons and their attachments with more detail. Additionally, all weapons with magnifying optics are marked with crosshairs symbols, and all grenade launchers, anti-tank weapons, and demolition charges are identified by corresponding symbols. - All weapons and equipment are made available in single player quick missions and multiplayer games. In the single player campaign the selection of equipment is limited to military materiel that is in actual real-life use by the U.S. Army Special Forces represented in the game's campaign. - The equipment selection screens are adjusted to correctly display 3-digit kit numbers. - Interface dialog strings are adjusted to reflect the existence of anti-armor weapons other than the M136 and also their availability outside of the demolitions soldier class. - All used files have been reviewed one-by-one for possible conflicts with any other files in the mod, the original game and both official expansion packs, and - if necessary - adjusted, to ensure a perfect compatibility of all components. - Many other little technical and cosmetic fixes and improvements are implemented to achieve the best possible gaming experience. Phew, now that's a lot of GR goodness in anyone's book Should keep us going till next Christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingeloop Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Now is this great or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 [...] it's so much more than "just a compilation"[...] Phew, now that's a lot of GR goodness in anyone's book Should keep us going till next Christmas Thanks a lot, Pave Low! I have edited the opening post to include the feature overview. Please excuse me for not doing so from the beginning, but I feared it might have been too much to be tolerable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake@War Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Wow... And you did ALL this all by yourself (except modeling weapons)? Balancing hundreds of weapons, balancing MANY more kits, bug fixes, realism enhancements, optic reticles, reworked sounds, video editing, interface modification, effects reworked, new mission environments, etc. etc. etc... Wow.... I didn't realize how much work you put into this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApexMods Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 Wow... And you did ALL this all by yourself? Yep. But then again, I started working on this mod pretty much the same time I started playing Ghost Recon - almost exactly six years ago - December 24, 2002. So I had plenty of time... Of course, none of this would have been possible without the work of all the other great modders I had the privilege of implementing in Heroes Unleashed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sup Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Downloaded this last night, read the readme, this is honestly an inspiration man -- i'm as negative and whiny as hell about the gr community in general but it seems like you've really done something with merit. Almost makes me want to find time to make some real mods for Ghost Recon, seeing as it's one of my favorite games and i've never made more than a little wounds patch. You're honestly a real example of how the gaming community should show interest in a title, way to go man. The mod plays excellently, way better than any compilations i've played before it. It comes across very coherent and cohesive, as if all of this content was made originally to fit together. Weapons are all balanced great, there's none of the awkwardness normally associated with compilations where half the guns are balanced entirely differently. It's great to have a single mod full of content i can point new people i introduce to GR to, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.