You can now download beta 4a of TibEd 2, which is now actually compatible with Zero Hour found in The First Decade and fixes numerous bugs (and a sporty new look). Generals as found in The First Decade does not work with this version of TibEd 2. Everything will appear to work, only the changes you make will not show up in the game. This issue remains under investigation. For now, edit Zero Hour instead, which works fine.
Click here to go to the download page
Generals (The First Decade edition) problem
With a fresh install of Windows XP in place, I have finally been able to install The First Decade on a PC where Generals will run. Only the results are startling. With the ordinary Generals, one can use the -mod switch to tell the game to use a BIG file as a mod. TibEd 2 can make such BIG files, and Generals Mod Selector will launch the game with the correct -mod switch.
But this does not work for The First Decade. I will readily admit that the current version of Generals Mod Selector detects the game folder wrong (it detects the The First Decade folder, and not the Generals subfolder). But I can no longer get a mod BIG file to work with the -mod switch!
This has been reported to me by numerous people during the last week, and now all I can say is: you are right. For some reason, The First Decade Generals will not pick up changes through the -mod switch, while the retail version of Generals works just fine.
I welcome all suggestions for what might be wrong, as I do not know!
Koen
Today we celebrate the 5th birthday of TibEd.net!
As you know, a birthday is never complete without a surprise, so here we go:
Notice anything new about this TibEd 2 screenshot? I'm currently in the planning stages to support Star Wars: Empire at War in TibEd 2. No ETA yet on a release :)
Koen
It has almost been 1 year since the last TibEd 2 release (in fact, had this version been released tomorrow, it would have been exactly 1 year after the previous beta).
Aside from being a very big rewrite, this version now supports The First Decade. For those confused: you need TibEd 2 if you want to edit Generals or Zero Hour. For all other games you will need TibEd 1.62, released earlier today.
What's new in beta 4:
- The First Decade support
- files are now imported on demand (when you change them) instead of importing them right away
- project can be started from a BIG file (to import an existing mod)
- comments in INI files are preserved
- BfME editor removed (will not return)
- many bugfixes
- overall a very big rewrite, but all functions from beta 3 should have been implemented again
- Generals Mod Selector now remembers custom game folders
Note: updated installer to include missing file MixHelp.dll. Please redownload if you downloaded beta 4 during the first few hours it was available.
Be sure to check back here on Sunday for a special anniversary and an announcement!
Koen
Well, what do you know. The download counter for TibEd 1 is now showing the grand number of 100,414. So somewhere in the past week, the 100,000th download of TibEd 1 took place. Cool :)
Well, next Sunday is an anniversary I do not want to miss - so be sure to check back here for an announcement then.
Koen
I have updated the TibEd 1 series again. The user interface can now be used in French thanks to translation efforts by BLKnight and various included files have been updated.
TibEd 1 can be used to edit C&C: Tiberian Dawn, Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 1 and Red Alert 2. And of course, this new version still supports the new The First Decade compilation released last month.
Click here to go to the downloads page
Koen
Over the past year a large rewrite of TibEd 2 has been taking place. It is now nearing completion, with beta 4 just around the corner. The new beta will be compatible with The First Decade.
During the rewrite a lot of changes have been made to key parts of TibEd 2. To help make the next release as solid as possible, you can now download an experimental beta 4 version. Test this version as much as possible, and report how it works for you in the TibEd support forum.
Koen
There is now a new version of the TibEd 1 series which supports the new C&C: The First Decade compilation. From this compilation TibEd 1 can edit:
- C&C: Tiberian Dawn
- C&C: Red Alert 1
- C&C: Tiberian Sun
- C&C: Red Alert 2
- C&C: Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge
Click here to download TibEd v1.61
TibEd 2 updates (for The First Decade editions of Generals and Zero Hour) are still in the works.
Koen
If you are reading this then you have reached TibEd.net on its new server. I'm still with the same hosting provider, the only difference is that this server is new and shiny.
Koen
The Free Record Shop finally carried C&C: The First Decade, so I now have this DVD in my possession. First things first: I do not share the common view that it's thrown together and easy money. Looking at the installer, significant efforts were made to repackage the MIX files and not leave out any of the good stuff. For example, the Red Alert 2 Windows theme is included, how about that?
Of course, multiplayer for the first C&C and Red Alert 1 does not work, which is a disappointment. But at least the whole package installs in an hour, while some of the old cool installers took one hour to install just one of the games. Overall, I find the DVD to be an improvement, except for the mindless entering of codes from the back of the game manual. There are now nearly 200 characters there which you need to type in by hand.
One note when EA packages the Second Decade DVD in 10 years: please distribute a few test copies to community modders and let them have a go at it. Most of the issues currently reported with missing music files and movies would have been easily caught by us (for example, I actually know straight from my memory that the Allied CD for Red Alert 1 also contains the movie for the first Soviet mission. So if you only play the first mission to see if the movies work... then you're out of luck because only after the first mission the Soviet disk is requested).
TibEd 1.6 will receive an update soon to support the First Decade. The main change in this update will be the detection of the game folders (this is needed because TFD uses different registry locations to store the game folder). I might throw in a little Windows XP compatibility for TibEd 1.6 as well, because running TibEd under an user account with limited rights does not work. Note that you will still need to install TibEd as a power user/adminstrator, but running TibEd should work. And you need write access to the C&C game folder to export your mod, which the administrator needs to give to you. Thus, it will be support limited by what Windows allows these restricted users.
Koen
Today I went to the game shop to buy C&C: The First Decade. Only they did not have it on the shelves. Instead, they had Star Wars: Empire at War (which I did not expect to arrive until next week).
So I bought Empire at War instead, and TibEd 1.x support for the new First Decade pack will have to wait (apparantly the registry keys are in different places now, so I cannot make a trivial update yet because I do not know where they went).
Well, the installer of EAW just finished so I'll have to check it out now!
Koen
I've just reverse-engineerd the MegaFiles file format used in the Star Wars: Empire at War demo. It's those big files with the extension .MEG, which contain thousands of very interesting files.
Due to lack of time, I will not create anything like FinalBIG or XCC Mixer for Empire at War. I've written a description of the file format which can be used to build such a tool and I invite everyone to build such tools.
Example code is included with the description, which can be used to extract all files from a MEG file.
Click here to read about the MEG file format
Koen
I've just played the EAW demo (first tutorial only). And I like it.
Go to our network site, Empire at War to find download links for the demo.
Unfortunately I have to go to sleep now so I can't play on.
Koen