Unstable build selection improved
The unstable build selector under http://
Go test already so we can kick this release out the door.
https:/
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Ares
A Yuri's Revenge Expansion DLL
What is Ares?
Ares is the next generation of binary-based Command & Conquer modding.
Following the path paved by pd's famous RockPatch, Ares fixes and enhances the Yuri's Revenge game engine in a variety of ways, allowing modders to expand the game with never before seen custom units.
However, unlike RockPatch and other exe patches, Ares does not modify the game's exe. Instead, Ares uses Syringe to inject its code into the game during runtime, leaving the original game unchanged, thus eliminating the need for backup exes or un-patchers.
Download Ares
If, for whatever reason, you wish to download Ares independently anyway, click below.
DOWNLOAD ARES
Launch Base
Ares can be downloaded to the right, however, for ease of distribution and regular updates, it is strongly recommended that all mods using Ares use Launch Base instead.
Launch Base is the next generation mod creator/launcher developed by Marshall, offering one-stop integration and management of mods, plugins and tools for Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge. It has inbuilt Syringe and Ares support including automated updates, making it the cleanest and easiest way to obtain and use Ares.
News
Need people familiar with NPatch and other Hacks and Patches
We have exported what was formerly Appendix C of the manual, the Ares <> NPatch feature comparison, into a wiki page of its own: https:/
Since we don't use NPatch or other patches ourselves, we are ill-suited to properly reflect the differences between them and Ares. We would appreciate it if community members with current experiences with multiple patches could update that wiki page with the state of affairs of patch differences.
Thank you.
The Return of the Great Documentation Dilemma
Good evening, everyone.
After months of hard work shaping our once-fledgling manual into a much more useful and complete creation, our Documentation Maintainer, SteelMirage, has decided to step down.
While his shoes will be hard to fill, they will need filled - as such, we're once again looking for a Documentation Maintainer.
So, to get to the point, here's what such a Documentation Maintainer is asked to do:
* Write new manual entries for features as they are added to Ares, using basic outlines provided by the development team.
* Update existing features' manual entries with changes or known long-term bugs as they arise.
* Ensure the manual itself is readable to the everyday modder, and is actually a useful resource.
And, as with any position in life, the job requirements are:
* A good command of English. The manual is written and published in English. Logically, therefore, a good level of competency in the English language is a necessity.
* Basic YR modding knowledge. While this isn't an absolute necessity, you're probably not going to particularly enjoy writing documentation for a modding extension DLL if you have no idea what you're writing for. Additionally, modding knowledge will only help you in being able to write successful manual entries.
* Time. This is not a show-up-
* The ability to use or start using IRC. The project team's primary method of communication and discussion is via a public IRC channel. This will allow working in real-time, and will be a much more effective way to get any questions ironed out. The job can't be done by email, PM or forum topic. If you've never used IRC before, that's not a problem, we can get you online. But you will need to use it.
tl;dr: You need to be good with English; know your rules from your art from your string files; have the time to spare and be frequently active; and be able to communicate via Internet Relay Chat.
Not only will you be making Ares more accessible to each passing customer, but you will be helping to accelerate the release timescale. As it stands, without a Documentation Maintainer, the manual is updated on-the-fly by the developers and myself. This obviously isn't a very preferable arrangement, as it takes time away from actually developing and running Ares, and if done in a hurry can [and has] result[ed] in incomplete and incorrect articles.
If you think you're up to the task, please register an account here on Launchpad, and contact me via the "Contact This User" function on my Launchpad profile.
Thanks.
Nighthawk.
Project Manager.
The Technology of Peace
Some of you may have noticed a few oddities in Ares and its related technologies in the past few weeks...a bright new message in certain builds of the game, read-only version control, and the bug tracker went down.These were the heralds of a few of the deepest changes in Ares's development- and community structure so far, a set of changes I will explain today.
[size=xx-large]Are you unstable?[/size]
Our decision to closely guard the testing builds from the public eye has probably been our most criticized; while our reasoning has not changed, it is undeniable that, no matter our good intentions, the community simply refuses to accept the system.
We stand before two choices: Continuing as before, in the hopes that the desire for a new stable release will bring about more testers to finally release Ares as stable as it needs to be, or changing our approach, to see if a new way of doing things will be more successful than the old one.
Looking at these options, an oft-cited quote from our beloved Internets comes to mind: [quote]Insanity: Repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting different results.[/quote]
To put it bluntly, if the reasonable approach were compatible with the community, it would have worked by now. Instead, we're pretty much a year late with Ares 0.2.
[b]Therefore, we have decided to change our handling of unstable builds.[/b]
If you have been playing with r1168 or newer, you will already have noticed a not-so-subtle message in the corner of your screen, clearly marking your version as unstable. Since this message ensures any and all players understand the stability rating of the version they're playing and cannot possibly (credibly) claim to have been confused about what they're dealing with, [b]from now on, we accept the publication and usage of unstable builds by the general community[/b].
We still maintain that both common players as well as normal releases of mods should stick to the stable versions, but if someone decides unstable is good enough for them, so be it.
Henceforth, unstable builds will be propagated both through Launch Base as well as [url]http://ares.strategy-x.com/unstable/[/url].
The latter location is currently in a "bare metal" state and will be upgraded in the future to include information about the branches the downloads belong to.
[size=xx-large]Neutral grounds[/size]
Another obstacle in Ares's community interaction is that people often equate Ares as a product and project with RenegadeProjects, and thus project their personal feelings regarding our quiet community and its members on Ares and its (distinct) community. This is a historically grown association, since we have been hosting Ares and its predecessors ever since DeeZire's moronic moderators tried to kill RockPatch in the womb, but nevertheless untrue and not helpful.
As a reaction, we have been working hard to move all things related to Ares development away from RenProj onto neutral grounds.
Of the many choices available to us, we have settled for [url=https://launchpad.net/ares]LaunchPad[/url] and [url=https://github.com/Ares-Developers/Ares]GitHub[/url].
If you are not familiar with LaunchPad, it is a hosting platform for open source projects, offering everything a project needs to manage itself and its code and to interact with its community:
[size=large]Bug reports[/size]
Bug reports will go through [url=https://bugs.launchpad.net/ares]Ares's bug tracker at LaunchPad[/url] from now on. Compared to our previous software, it is vastly simpler to use for end users and far better documented.
[URL=http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6379/areslpbugs.png][IMG]http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/6379/areslpbugs.th.png[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/3218/areslpbugsdetail.png][IMG]http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/3218/areslpbugsdetail.th.png[/IMG][/URL]
The bug reports of the old bug tracker have been moved and are available as before. If you were monitoring a bug, that subscription has also been transferred.
[size=large]Feature requests[/size]
Feature requests go [i]wherever the hell you want[/i].
LaunchPad has an awesome facility called [url=https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ares]"Blueprints"[/url], which are essentially static linking points for documents hosted elsewhere.
In essence, you can work out the details of your feature wherever you want - a thread at PPM, for example -, and when you're done, you simply [url=https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ares/+addspec]register a blueprint[/url] for Ares.
If you'd like to move your feature description, to a wiki, for example, you can simply update the target of the blueprint.
That way, we have a static element we can work with in the system, there is a static link for your feature request you can spread (in the likes of [tt]https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ares/+spec/acid-frogs-of-doom[/tt]), but you can still develop your feature in your own time, in your own crowd, using your own tools.
[URL=http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9723/areslpblueprints.png][IMG]http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9723/areslpblueprints.th.png[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2025/areslpblueprintsdetail.png][IMG]http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2025/areslpblueprintsdetail.th.png[/IMG][/URL]
Feature requests of the old tracker have been moved to the new bug tracker for reasons of simplicity, but using the bug tracker for feature requests is explicitly discouraged. While the old software, as an "issue tracker", was well-equipped to deal with feature requests, the new tracker is narrowly focused on being a bug tracker, and LaunchPad is geared towards Blueprints for feature development.
To underline this point, all imported (and properly filed) feature requests have been converted to blueprints with associated wiki pages. The blueprints are associated with their respective imported bug, so you can both find the original report through the blueprint as well as the blueprint through the report (right-hand side, box "Related Blueprints").
This also means if you're having a hard time finding your feature request through the search, you can go the path of old tracker [arr=r] new tracker [arr=r] blueprint.
Though that really shouldn't be necessary. The search is pretty good.
[size=large]Answers[/size]
LaunchPad's "[url=https://answers.launchpad.net/ares]Answers[/url]" section is kind of like a forum crossed with an FAQ section. If you want to ask a question about Ares or find the answer to something not in the manual, this will be the place to go.
[URL=http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/9029/areslpquestions.png][IMG]http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/9029/areslpquestions.th.png[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9611/areslpquestionsdetail.png][IMG]http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9611/areslpquestionsdetail.th.png[/IMG][/URL]
In addition, frequently asked questions as well as important answers will be available through the [url=https://answers.launchpad.net/ares/+faqs]FAQ section[/url] it provides.
[size=large]Code & Contribution[/size]
Through our move from our local Subversion repository to a [url=https://github.com/Ares-Developers/Ares]git repository on GitHub[/url], contributing to Ares has become a whole lot easier.
Anyone can fork the project, fix an issue or implement a feature and request a pull of the code, or make his own fork available to the community.
Even if you're not a C++-coder, you can do the same to help with [url=https://github.com/Ares-Developers/Ares-docs]the manual[/url], which has been rewritten to be almost code-free. You don't need to be a coder to help with the manual anymore.
Most importantly, however, all of this happens away from RenProj. Unless you specifically [i]want[/i] to visit our forums to discuss the finer details of Ares development or use it to start a blueprint, there is no need for you to visit our [s]evil lair[/s] innocent little meadow anymore.
[size=xx-large]The Manual[/size]
As mentioned above, there's been some work to the manual, both to make it easier for non-coders to contribute as well as to make it easier to use for modders.
In the future, the authoritative manual will reside at [url]http://ares.strategy-x.com/documentation/[/url]. When in doubt, that manual shall be regarded as correct, and if it's incorrect, that's a bug.
The new manual has three major advantages over the previous one:
[list=1]
[*][b]Pages.[/b]
While the original manual was appropriate for Ares 0.1, 0.2 is significantly bigger and the documentation has evolved a lot since then, making the one-page & no pre-links design cumbersome to work with and a pain to load.
The new manual has one page for each topic, in a clear, hierarchical structure, and all items can be linked to: e.g. [url]http://ares.strategy-x.com/documentation/new/urbancombattrenches.html#advanced-rubble[/url]
[*][b]Separation of content and output.[/b]
Apart from individual text markup like text links or boldness, the actual manual content is completely independent from its output, allowing us not only to update the manual's design without touching the content, but also to export the manual into a variety of other formats - depending on the results of future tests, we might, for example, provide a PDF version of the manual with the release packages, instead of the whole hundred-file HTML folder.
[*][b]Easy code.[/b]
From now on, manual content is no longer in HTML, but in [url=http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/user/rst/quickstart.html#text-styles]reStructured Text (reST)[/url], making it a lot easier for non-coders to jump in and help. Add to that the fact that all topics are in separate files [i]and[/i] that the manual has its [url=https://github.com/Ares-Developers/Ares-docs]own, independent repository[/url], and manual changes are something anyone can do.
[/list]
At this moment, the manual is still in an intermediate state, where the data is converted and imported, but not cleaned up yet. It should be usable, but it hasn't reached its full potential yet.
We will provide a complete guide to editing the manual in the already-mentioned FAQ section soon.
[size=xx-large]LaunchBase[/size]
LaunchBase will be better.
Busy with real life, Marshall was awesome enough to release LaunchBase's source under the General Public License, allowing us to patch LB on our own.
Currently, due to the big, structural changes we made, LaunchBase-Ares interconnection is broken, but we will correct this as soon as we can, and throw in a little tidbit as well.
[size=xx-large]Ares 0.2[/size]
We are still hoping to release Ares 0.2 in the very near future; in order to facilitate the stability testing of the current state, we are providing a number of testing branches that merge different combinations of the remaining feature branches, including one [i]Fat Man[/i] branch, which will include all designated 0.2 feature branches merged into trunk (i.e. it will be an unstable version of what Ares 0.2 will be).
This, combined with liberal spreading of those unstable releases, will hopefully generate enough feedback to find the remaining showstoppers and release Ares 0.2.
You can find the "Fat Man" branch binaries [url=http://ares.strategy-x.com/unstable/v02.tar.gz]here[/url].
You can find the testing criteria for the actual testing branches [url=https://github.com/Ares-Developers/Ares/wiki/0.2-test-branch-questions-to-answer]here[/url], though binaries aren't available for all branches as of the time of posting. These will be generated as code is updated.
Remember: The more you test, the quicker we can release.
[size=xx-large]Adapting & The Future[/size]
We realize that basically changing everything at once can be a tad confusing for the community, but we are confident that LaunchPad's facilities are easy enough for everyone to adapt quickly.
Through these changes, basically everything a normal player or modder needs is concentrated under [url]https://launchpad.net/ares[/url] - downloads of the stable version, bug reporting, feature requesting and questions & answers. Once the current form of the manual is uploaded with the 0.2 package, a user of the stable version generally shouldn't need to visit any page other than Ares at LaunchPad.
All code is concentrated under [url]https://github.com/Ares-Developers[/url], and the last few outliers like bleeding-edge binaries and manual are all children of [url]http://ares.strategy-x.com/[/url].
In other words: Even if you want to use the very latest Ares binaries and documentation, browse all code related to Ares, report bugs, submit feature requests, read important information [i]and[/i] discuss implementation intricacies with other Ares users, you still won't need more than three entry points at max.
Out of these three entry points, two are on independent servers managed by large-scale corporations, so even if disaster strikes and STX goes down, code, downloads, bugtracker, blueprints, FAQ and Q&A will all still be available.
Each facility is more feature-rich and easier to use than the one before, improving the user experience dramatically.
All in all, interaction with Ares as a project and with its individual aspects should be better and easier for everyone.
As for the future of the project as a whole, three months of break do help to quiet the mind, so we're not going to make predictions who will work on Ares's code in what capacity after 0.2. We can report, however, that GraionDilach has shown himself quite capable of modifying and releasing Ares on his own, so even after a mass exodus of coders, there should be enough coding prowess left to carry Ares to the next generation of coders.
And ultimately, Ares is open source, and can now be forked with the click of a button. It cannot be killed anyway.
So fear not for the future of Ares, enjoy the unstable builds, and report test results god dammit.
[size=xx-large]Epilogue[/size]
In case you were wondering: The original draft of this post was saved November 6th, 2011, and was always designed to go up after all aspects of it were deemed release-worthy. The fact that it's going up now is related to the fact that the holidays are over and we had time to code, not the recent outbreak of armchair project management on the forums.
Where the Wild Downloads Grow
Note: This document has been partially superseded by the announcements of The Technology of Peace.In particular:
- Ares has been modified to show a very clear disclaimer in unstable builds, making additional marking of unstable builds as unstable unnecessary.
- We accept the publication and usage of unstable builds by the general community.
We have expressed the sentiments of this announcement numerous times over the past few years, but since some people still seem to be unclear about them, I will explain this once more as officially and clearly as possible:
The only supported Ares versions for end-users are the publicly released stable versions.
- Any version that is not one of the publicly released stable versions is a testing version and only meant for testers.
- Anyone who is using a testing version despite not being a tester is not entitled to any support from us. If you're not a tester, you weren't supposed to use the testing version in the first place.
- Testing versions are not released or marked as stable versions because they're not fucking stable. Any particular testing version could unexpectedly and randomly be utterly broken and unplayable. They can be unstable, subtly flawed, features can randomly be broken, they can be slow due to excessive debugging code, or can be built for a very specific purpose only the testers know about. Using testing versions without being a tester is an invitation of trouble and frustration and nothing else.
- Testing versions can be outdated rapidly. In a development cycle, it's entirely possible there are multiple new versions per hour, each one fixing issues that existed in the one before, or introducing new issues. Picking one at random is akin to Russian roulette. Just because a build is the latest version released doesn't mean it's the most stable build of the past 24 hours. Educate yourself before picking an unstable version.
Any version that is not a stable version of Ares is inherently unstable.
If you use a testing version of Ares and complain about any of its properties, specifically in regards to bug counts, stability or feature completeness, you're a fucking moron. Period.
We do not support end users using the testing versions of Ares. We didn't lock them away so far because there wasn't much of a reason to, but if it comes to a point were wide-spread use of testing versions creates problems of any kind for us, we have absolutely no issue with preventing testing versions to work for anyone but testers.
As we have discussed just recently, the community had chance enough to join the testing crew and get the testing versions in advance, it had no interest in that, so it shouldn't turn around now and try to obtain the testing builds.
If you figure out where the testing builds are, good for you.
If you know how to get them, shut the fuck up. They're not for public consumption.
On the related topic of distributing mods with Ares, the following can be said:
- In any situation, adhere to the license. To put this simply, your right to redistribute Ares is founded on your acceptance and adherence to the license it is under - if you violate the license, you don't have the right to distribute Ares, legal or otherwise. Before you redistribute Ares with anything, read the goddamn license and act accordingly. It's right there in every release, so don't pretend you didn't know.
- If you're distributing a stable version:
- Always make sure your Ares is up to date. We only support the latest public release, and if anyone with an outdated version asks for support, our first and only suggestion will be to update to the latest stable release. Patches exist for a reason, we don't release them for fun. If you're distributing your mod with an outdated version and/or your mod is incompatible with the latest version, you're risking support troubles and you're risking broken games.
- If you or your users uncover Ares issues, report them to the bugtracker.
- Make sure you deliver Ares cleanly. Do not distribute a virus-infected Ares.
(Sidenote: Since a virus modifies the Ares binary, and you would not mark Ares as modified in accordance to the license, you would technically commit software piracy by distributing a virus-infected version of Ares. Just sayin'.)
- If you're distributing an unstable version:
- First of all, you're stupid. Plain and simple. Releasing your mod based on and with software that has officially not been deemed stable is in no way smart.
- If you're doing it anyway, we expect the following disclaimer in very clear view in an unmissable place:
Ares Testing Version Disclaimer Wrote:The version of Ares distributed with this mod is an unstable testing version not meant for public consumption. The Ares developers do not support the usage or distribution of testing versions with public mods. This version of Ares has a certain likelihood of being broken in various ways, including, but not limited to:
* frequent Internal Errors
* broken features
* incomplete features
* frequent Reconnection Errors in multiplayer
* broken stock functionality
* degraded performance due to debugging code
We, the authors of this mod, consider this version of Ares stable enough for general distribution, but we are required to stress that the Ares developers disagree and do not support this move. - Do not dare blaming us for your mistakes. Should it turn out that you distributed the wrong version and your mod's players are angry, don't you fucking dare blaming Ares - it was your stupid decision to include a broken testing version with your mod. We told you it was a stupid decision in the first place. It's your stupid mistake, and it's on you to take the blame.
- Do not advertise the inclusion of Ares any more than required by the license. Do not go forward and boast about all the awesome additions made possible by new and not-yet-publicly-released Ares features. If you want to include a testing build, do it quietly. (Except for the loud disclaimer, obviously.)
- Choose. fucking. wisely. As said above: Just because something is the latest build available doesn't mean it's the most stable build available. The latest version could introduce horrible bugs or even intentionally be only half-finished. If you must include a testing version, make an educated choice which build to include, and make note of known issues with that version.
tl;dr: Don't use testing versions unless you're a tester. If you know how to get the testing versions, stfu about it. If you distribute testing versions with your mod, accept the consequences.
This post is a living document and may be modified and amended at a later point in time.
Contact
For general contact, please use the forum. Guest posting is enabled, so registration is not necessary.
Alternatively, or if you need immediate contact, use chat.
If the matter you wish to discuss requires privacy, both chat and the forums offer private messaging functions (the latter requires registration for that).
Do not contact developers personally to make feature requests. Feature requests received that way will be ignored. Instead, file a proper feature request.
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