DeeZire's Red Alert 2 and Yuris Revenge INI Editing Guide
DeeZire's Red Alert 2 & Yuris Revenge INI Editing Guide is the correct title1 of what is primarily known as "The Guide" in the community. It is a near-comprehensive flag reference for all INIs used in Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge (except for art{md}.ini2), and features much additional information regarding RA2/YR modding, including, but not limited to, two files on map editing and the Red Alert 2 AI.INI Guide, the definite guide to RA2's and YR's AI.
The Guide is the de facto bible for RA2/YR modders at the moment, however, there are motions to replace it in that position with ModEnc - see Problems and ModEnc for further information.
Files
The Guide consists of 20 Microsoft Word files, discussing the following topics:
- AI.doc
- ai(md).ini, [TaskForces], [ScriptTypes], A Note On Structure Numbers, [TeamTypes], [AITriggerTypes], A Note On AI Pool Teams, Some Tips On Making A Better AI
- APPENDICES.doc
- Lists and conversion tables
- EVA.doc
- eva(md).ini
- INTRO.doc
- Introduction, What The Guide Covers, Time And Distance, The Parser, UINames, Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge, Extensibility, What Remains To Be Discovered, Adding Your INI Files To The Game, The Mod Writers Toolbox, Contributors, Last Updated
- KEYBOARD.doc
- keyboard(md).ini
- MAPS1.doc
- General Map File Information, Creating A Map File, Converting Maps From Red Alert (including Counterstrike And Aftermath), Converting Maps From Tiberium Dawn (including Sole Survivor And Covert Operations), Converting Maps From Tiberian Sun (including Firestorm), Starting Points, Using And Modifying The RULES.INI Settings, SED Files, MAP, MPR & YRM Files (and all sections in them), Adding Your Map Files To The Game
- MAPS2.doc
- A Note On Structure Numbers, [Events], [Actions], [Triggers], [Tags], [VariableNames], [Waypoints], [CellTags], [AITriggerTypesEnable]
- MPMODES.doc
- mpmodes(md).ini
- PKT.doc
- Explanation of .pkt files, [MultiMaps]
- RA2.doc
- ra2(md).ini, Red Alert 2 EXE Switches
- RMG.doc
- rmg(md).ini
- RULES1.doc
- rules(md).ini - [General], [JumpJetControls], [SpecialWeapons], [AudioVisual], [CrateRules], [CombatDamage], [Radiation], [ElevationModel], [WallModel]
- RULES2.doc
- rules(md).ini - [Countries], [Sides], [MultiplayerDialogSettings], [Maximums], [AI], [AIGenerals], [IQ], [Colors], [ColorAdd] (Yuri's Revenge), Difficulty Settings, [VariableNames], Mission Control, [Tiberiums], [Powerups], Land Characteristics
- RULES3.doc
- rules(md).ini - [InfantryTypes], [VehicleTypes], [AircraftTypes], [BuildingTypes] (In other words: All flags you can put on objects)
- RULES4.doc
- rules(md).ini - [VoxelAnims], [ParticleSystems], [Particles], [TerrainTypes], [SmudgeTypes], [OverlayTypes], [Animations], Weapon Statistics, Projectile Statistics, [Warheads], [SuperWeaponTypes]
- SOUND.doc
- sound(md).ini
- SUBTITLE.doc
- subtitle{md}.txt
- THEME.doc
- theme(md).ini
- TUTORIAL.doc
- tutorial(md).ini
- UI.doc
- ui(md).ini
Problems and ModEnc
There are several factual errors and omissions within The Guide, however, the by far greater problem with it is that it hasn't been updated since 2002, and therefore doesn't take many discoveries, new techniques or developements into account.
ModEnc was created with the express goal to supersede The Guide, and by now has a page corresponding to every flag explained in the Guide. It cannot be taken offline with you, and for such cases, possession of The Guide is strongly recommended - however, as long as an internet connection is available, ModEnc should always be used in favor of The Guide, as it is continuously expanded and mistakes are corrected immediately.
Note that the only things missing from ModEnc are the additional guides and explanatory texts - all flags explained in The Guide are also explained on ModEnc.
Footnotes
1 ↑ This is, sans "DeeZire's", what the download is titled. The header of INTRO.doc calls it "Red Alert 2 INI Editing Guide", and probably was just overlooked when updating The Guide for Yuri's Revenge.
2 ↑ For some reason, an art.ini guide was never released by DeeZire. XGamer, with some help from the community, later filled this gap through his Red Alert 2 ART.INI Guide.