RELEASE 3 IS OUT!!! LINUX, PC, OSX!

[Ishmaru]

@ElimiNator: You caught me, I was hoping no one noticed that

@ProfEclipse: Yes i use 3dhack for model tweaking, but reducing keyframes causes distortion for animations especially for circular movements so i leave it on the higher side to preserve the quality. Instead I reduce texture size and model lowpoly in order to increase performance.

[Ishmaru]

Annex Development Update:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Neo_Republic_officer_AD.jpg[/img]
Republic Soldiers are famous for their devotion to their military and a thirst for combat. As such, many officers prefer to fight alongside their fellow comrades rather than sit behind a desk during an attack.

Officer's count as a sub hero unit (much like Shadow's Infiltrators). While only sporting average damage vs enemy infantry units, Their devotion to the Republic along with their combat experience, inspires nearby units to fight to their fullest potential, increasing their attack.



An officer rally his troops before an assault on an Alliance base.

A high res version good for backgrounds:

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http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Republic_Speech_Officer_AD.jpg

[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Neo_Republic_Harvester_AD.jpg[/img]
Finally Neo Republic has a dedicated Harvester unit.
The republic certainly have a lot of vehicles with treads don't they

On a side note: For balance reasons I doubled Harvester HP and increased their armor to 5. Before they were so easy to destroy and cost so much they became an easy target to cripple a player's economy.

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Neo_Republic_Mobile_Refinery_AD.jpg[/img]
Yea the republic has their very own Mobile Refinery.
Functions exactly the same as other vehicles of this type.

I really wanted this to be a wheeled vehicle instead of using treads. Its ironic how the largest vehicle in the entire faction rests on over sized tires while much smaller vehicles tend to prefer treads. The same is true for the Goliath Tank, as their heavy tank is driven on tires as well.

[titi_son]

They look great! 

Hope NEO Republic will be finished soon!

Any idea how we could get more players for multiplayer? I like playing mg/annex online more than offline.

[Ishmaru]

They look great! 

Hope NEO Republic will be finished soon!

Any idea how we could get more players for multiplayer? I like playing mg/annex online more than offline.

Thank you! The republic is coming along. Ill be takeing a break for two weeks for my honeymoon.

I would love to see more multiplayer games, if anyone has any recomendations please let me know!

[Ishmaru]

Well as I'm still unable to model due to me being far away from home, I have still worked on other things for Annex, tweaking units for balance, cleaning up data, added a few more tileset options (mostly sky and lighting changes) I also started making a side faction for fun using old beta 1 models, re skinned current models and some pretty new textures.

Alliance Renegades

(click to show/hide)

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Annex_Allance_Renagades.jpg[/img]
[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Annex_Alliance_Renagades_2_AD.jpg[/img]

Once a powerful group of Alliance elites, abandoned and left to die by their superiors due to a government cover up. Rescued and welcomed in by the Shadow Organization, they now strive to take revenge on the superiors who tried to dispose of them.

I had this idea in the back of my head for a long while now. This faction is made up of some Alliance and Shadow units, with some new original units planned as well. 

Most infantry are same as the Alliance (with model, texture, and even gender differences) with the exception of the Commando. Commandos are similar to Shadow's Infiltrator units. Up to three can be recruited and each takes 3 population slots.

As part of their alliance with the Shadow Organization they were granted control of a few facilities, and are incorporated into Shadows underground crystal market.

This faction will lack any "Heavy Tank" class unit (such as Shockwave Tank, Goliath Tank, or Tank Destroyer) and their battle tank is available much later in their tech tree than the Alliance.

The faction will have two unique ground vehicles, the Ranger and the Stalker. Each able to be customized with its own set of weapons, once the proper upgrade is researched. Currently planned:

Ranger (Jeep mounted with a machine gun)
Rocket Ranger (Jeep mounted with 3 Anti Tank Missile Launchers)
EML Ranger  (Jeep mounted with a EML Cannon)
Swatter Ranger  (Jeep mounted with two AA Gatling guns)  (unsure)

Stalker (Wheeled Assault Vehicle armed with two AT Rocket Launchers)
AA Stalker (Wheeled Assault Vehicle armed with AA Rocket Launchers)
Heavy Stalker (Wheeled Assault Vehicle armed with a Cruse Missile)
EML Stalker (Wheeled Assault Vehicle armed with a EML Cannon) unsure

Super Weapon:
Satellite Hack
Doing something unique this faction super weapon does no damage, instead it reveals the map for a few seconds. Its initiated from the Renegade's Communication Center structure.

Unlike the other 3 Factions Renegades does not have a second Super weapon planned but this can be changed later on.

Oh and like Shadow Organization there are no "Hero" Class units.

What do you guys think?

[SnEptUne]

I never liked the idea of revenge, but having a new faction and introducing variety is always nice to have in my opinion.  But I don't see how it can survive without any tank or air units, or are they fighting a guerrilla warfare?

[Ishmaru]

I never liked the idea of revenge, but having a new faction and introducing variety is always nice to have in my opinion.  But I don't see how it can survive without any tank or air units, or are they fighting a guerrilla warfare?

Yes, Renegades will be more focused on guerrilla tactics, in particular hit and run attacks, surveillance, and sabotage.

The Renegades will have other ground vehicles, though no heavy class tank, and some sort of light Gunship / Transport for its air force, but no advanced Jets like the other factions. While this used to be devastating before, recently I've made some balance changes to Infantry so they are much stronger, and made anti-aircraft weapons better to reduce aircraft dominance in games.

I plan on developing units that could be air lifted around the map for quick ground attacks, or being able to attack from an area normally inaccessible to Ground units. This is just a plan no idea if it could work in Megaglest or not.

[Ishmaru]

Annex Progress:

NEO Republic

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Neo_Republic_Command_HQ.jpg[/img]
Command HQ - Researches Upgrades, Required for many higher tier units



Sniper  Fires a single powerful shot, can kill infantry in one shot but not all shots are 100% accurate and sometimes a unit may survive a snipe attack.

Alliance Renegades



Rogue Tank Similar to the Alliance' Battle Tank but not available till later in the game for Renegades.



Rocket Rogue Similar to Alliance Rocket Grunt



EML Rogue similar to Alliance EML Grunt



Rogue Gunner similar to Alliance Mini-Gunner



Drop Zone Pelican drop purchased units / upgrades on drop zones.



Stalker Closest thing to a MBT the Renegades have. Though they have armor about the same as an Alliance IFV the fire four rockets at close range for a good amount of dammage. For their firepower they are fast and make good Hit and Run Vehicles.



Titan Rocket High Tier Siege weapon, does heavy dammage to vehicles and structures with a single long range cruze missile. Missile travels slowly so shots can be easily dodged.



Rogue Similar to Alliance Grunt



Commando Special unit similar to Shadow's Infiltrators but armed with a handheld EML Pistol. Does good amount of dammage vs Infantry + Light vehicles. Also Armed with improved C-4 explosives.

[Hagekura]

Your modding development speed is truly admirable.
Maybe We can get the new release of the Annex before long huh?

[Ishmaru]

Your modding development speed is truly admirable.
Maybe We can get the new release of the Annex before long huh?

I'm really rushing to get next version out asap. After completing factions there still need for some scenarios for each and hoping to have a few more maps. As it stands it may take a month or so more to complete. If Idont get distracted. Being maried gives me a lot less time to work it seems

^{Edit by Omega: Fixed broken quote tag}

[Ishmaru]

New Unit

Ranger

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Alliance_Renegades_Ranger_AD.jpg[/img]
Rangers are speedy recon vehicles. Cheap and versatile their equipment can be modified to fit various situations. They have less Hp than the Alliance IFV but are cheaper and faster to produce.

It cost extra to morph to all variations except the default (machine gun) which is free to revert back to. Equipment become available once proper upgrades/units are purchased. More advanced equipment require more supplies when upgraded.

Equipment include:

Ranger - Machine Gun (default) no requirements
Ranger Rocket - 4x Rocket (light siege and light anti-Air) requires Advanced Weapons
Ranger EML - EML (long range anti-tank) requires Satellite Uplink and Energy Rods Upgrade
Ranger Demo - Explosives (self destruct) requires Satellite Uplink and Ballistics Upgrade

[Ishmaru]

Its that time of year again! moddb.com is having their annual Mod of the Year Award and Annex would love to make it in the top 100 this year, and I need you to help! Please go over to

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http://www.moddb.com/mods/annex-conquer-the-world and click the button to vote! You do not need an account to vote![/size]

As a reward, here are a couple new units:

Grenadier

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Neo_Republic_Grenadeier_AD.jpg[/img]
These heavy infantry are equipped with a grenade launcher. Good for vs infantry, structures, and even lightly armored vehicles. Also equipped with heaver armor and a riot shield, to better defend themselves against small arms fire.

Karina

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/NEO_Republic_Karina_AD.jpg[/img]
Neo Republic's Hero Unit. Despite her small frame she chooses to fight with a large bazooka as her main weapon.

Much like Kestrel shes given control of the Republics Nuclear Weapons, given the republic has a Fortress available.

Also, She has an ability called "Wrath of the Republic". When activated the ability brings out the fighting spirit of all units around her. Any unit nearby (including herself) does double damage and has increased attack speed for a brief time. This "burst" of firepower, if timed properly, can easily turn the tide of combat to your favor. A Command HQ is needed to perform this ability.

[Ishmaru]

Annex Development 12-6-12:

(click to show/hide)

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Annex_Renegades_Battle_Screen_AD.jpg[/img]

Screen capture of Renegade units in battle. Titan Rackets, and both EML and Rocket variations of the Ranger. Rangers, with their ability to re-equip weapons anywhere make them extremely useful.

PS unfortunately, due to the way Attack boosts are implemented, the Demo Ranger unit was removed as it didn't work in the way I hoped for.

Titan Rockets with good micromanagement can be deviating to enemy units. Just be careful as to not have them target too close to your force as they can devastate your own units if your not careful. Also costing 40 ep per rocket (40 is max ep of unit) its a real waste if the rocket finally reaches its destination just to find the the space empty or enemy already destroyed.

(click to show/hide)

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Annex_Renagade_Dilevery_AD.jpg[/img]

As I stated before the renegades do not produce their own units, instead they purchase them and have them shipped to the battlefield via Pelican Transports. The screen shot shows two pelicans dropping off two Rogue Tanks.

(Yes this is very similar to NOD in Tiberium Dawn)

Tried my best to time the animation (plane landing+leaving) with the spawning of units, however due to the limitations of the MegaGlest engine its not perfect and there usually a second or two delay after the plane has left the Drop Zone. Personally, I don't think it ruins the effect or gameplay though.
Unfortunately, this method requires several variations of the plane landing animation (to accommodate the different build times) and each need high frames o keep such an animation looking the way it should. Lucky only 5 unit types are made at the Drop Zone (two of which share same build times).

Not sure what kind of Super Weapon/s should the Renegades get. Do anyone have ideas?

[Ishmaru]

Annex Developement 12-10-12

New Unit:  Stalker Transport Helicopter

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Renegades_Stalker_Transport_AD.jpg[/img]

[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Renegades_Striker_Transport_Pickup.jpg[/img]
Here is another little goody I've been working on. When I created the Stalker vehicle I planned it to be able to be airlifted anywhere on the map.

Good for moving stalkers to hard to reach places, quickly moving them around, flying them past defenses, or even evacuating them when in danger.

Each airlift cost 10 credits and only 6 may be airlifted at once (It would be unfair to airlift an entire army to the heart of the enemy base all at once). However once you drop them off there's nothing stopping you from picking up another 6 The Player also needs at least one hanger built to be able to use this ability. Also any damage that transport receives in transit is shared with transported unit. And loosing transport means loosing cargo.

Currently only Stalkers are able to be transported.

This is done via morphing the Stalker into the Stalker Transport and morphing it back to Stalker. Making the animation was quite difficult trying to line up animation to minimize the appearance of units popping into place. While I still pops a bit its gotten to a point to not be an issue. To complicate matters Air units and ground units are not scaled proportionately to ground units, so in order to have the transport look big enough to lift the stalker, yet still fit into a 2x2 space, scaling had to be done secretly during the transition. In the end I'm quite happy with the outcome. 

New Maps:

(click to show/hide)

3 More maps I created for Annex Conquer the World. These will be available by next release.

4 Fortress
4 player map. 4 natural "forts" Forces enemies to push through pinch points. However hiding and turtling in your "fort" is not enough as most resources are positioned in structure in center of map with a few starting resources near each starting base. Victory is dependent on player controlling center "fort" However trying to defend two forts, all while trying to destroy all your enemies may prove to be a difficult challenge.

6 Doughnut (yes I misspelled it in picture, too lazy to fix)
6 Player Free for All. Players are placed around a central lake. Due to cliffs the water is in accessible to all but air units. Outside starting resources, most crystals are stationed between each player so expect competition to be fierce. Destroy your neighbors as you circle the lake.

6 Killing Fields
6 Player Team or Free for All. Large open combat zone with no obstacles, other than the crystals. Completely open to the elements means you have nowhere to hide as attacks may come from any direction.  Resources are heavily concentrated around the dried river bed that spans across the center of the map. Taking out your neighbors quickly, especially the ones on your side of the river bed, may be crucial to your survival.

[John.d.h]

Not sure if anyone caught this already, but shouldn't it be spelled "Alliance Renegades"?

[titi_son]

Oh the new factions looks so cool

Just a hint: in the first alliance mission the text says "We have identified hostile units in the dessert." I think you meant a desert didn't you? 

[-Archmage-]

Oh the new factions looks so cool

Just a hint: in the first alliance mission the text says "We have identified hostile units in the dessert." I think you meant a desert didn't you? 

What? Comon man, defend the dessert!!

[Ishmaru]

Not sure if anyone caught this already, but shouldn't it be spelled "Alliance Renegades"?

Wow stupid mistake on my part.  I'll have to update my images when I get the chance.

Oh the new factions looks so cool

Just a hint: in the first alliance mission the text says "We have identified hostile units in the dessert." I think you meant a desert didn't you? 

Thanks! Yea I guess its yet another typo. Must have been hungry.   

[Ishmaru]

Annex Development 1/10/13  Big Update!

Sorry, I know its a lot but its necessary. Feel free to question and leave your thoughts below:

New Units:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Alliance_Renegades_Heavy_Turret_AD.jpg[/img]Renegade's base defense. Good vs ground vehicles. Unlike other Lv 2 Turrets this cannot attack air units.

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Alliance_Renegades_Guard_Tower_AD.jpg[/img]Basic Turret for Renegades. More expensive than Alliance Gun turret due to its Anti Air capabilities and higher damage output.

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Alliance_Renegades_Attack_Drone_AD.jpg[/img]Unmanned drone armed to the teeth with rockets.
Special unit, these drones are not directly producible, instead summoned using the Commando's Airstrike Ability. They stay on map for a few seconds firing an endless barrage of missiles till it retreats. They can be chased away by enemy fire.
Each Commando can spawn 1 Attack Drone each (3 Commandos per player limit)

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/18/17106/Alliance_Renegades_Acid_Ranger_AD.jpg[/img]Now Rangers can be equipped with a bio weapon. Fires a thick acidic gel that melts infantry ,lightly armored vehicles, and weaker structures. All Rangers (except demo rangers who cannot switch weapons) can switch to this weapon after purchasing Chemical Weapons Upgrade from a Satellite Uplink.

Acid Ranger in game:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Chem_Ranger_Screen_AD.jpg[/img]Screen showing the particle effects of the Chem Ranger. Glows bright green (not related to team color). Fires repeated blobs instead of a spray effect.

Acid Bomb Super Weapon

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Renegades_Acid_Bomb_AD.jpg[/img]Un like the super-weapons of the other factions, ts actually a suicide unit. It is equipped on a Demo Ranger and can be detonated either by targeting a specific unit (the ranger will then kamikaze into it) or manually detonated (self destructs on command)

When detonated the initial explosion does 750 damage to any unit with in 4 squares. The resulting blast then sprays a highly corrosive green acid into the air. The acid clouds linger around 9 squares from detonation point and any unit (even air units) caught within those clouds will take an additional 25 damage a second.

While equipped on a Ranger unit, normal rangers cannot upgrade to a Demo Ranger, Instead the Demo Ranger must be purchased separately from a dropzone. Also after unit is dropped off at the dropzone there is still a delay while the acid is prepared. Only once the demo ranger Reaches 50 EP then its attack can be used. (this is done for balance reasons) Also only 1 may be recruited at a time.

If destroyed by the enemy, the vehicle still releases the acid. However, the initial explosion is nullified. The initial explosion and the corrosive acid can damage/kill your own troops if they are caught in the blast, so handle with care.

Alliance new Colors:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Alliance_New_Cammo_v3_AD.jpg[/img]I seem to have some sort of cronic issue with how the Alliance looks, changing their textures nearly every revision of annex.
This time I re colored the Golden/Orange Alliance camo of Release 3 to a more earth toned brown and tan. Honestly I feel this is the best camo style so far.

New Tilesets:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Apocylapse_Tileset_AD.jpg[/img]New tileset with a burnt wasteland feel with red lighting and fog. Endless wars on these lands permanently scarred the land. While the land is dead the wars continue
Textures were darkened and changed to have more red. Trees, mountains, and urban objects de saturated. Added more "dead" tree variations to the tileset.

Changes to Insanity Mode:

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Insanity_Changes_AD.jpg[/img]In release 3 I introduced a techtree called Insanity, which combined both Alliance and Shadow into one faction with no prerequisites. Now Annex grew to 4 factions and like before I combined all into one faction. However, due to space constraints, i cannot combine all infantry and vehicles into single barracks/factory as I did in the past. So to combat this I divided all the faction's buildings and vehicles to their own structure, meaning separate buildings for either Alliance, Renegade,Shadow or Republic. Each of these structures are built from their own tab under the worker unit. (as seen in screenshot)
Note, All faction tab produce the same Refinery (as its the only main structure) and Silo (for super weapons) Also upgrades are no longer Available.

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[img]http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/18/17106/thumb_620x2000/Annex_Insanity_Heros_Unite_AD.jpg[/img]All Heros, Elite Units, and Super weapons were available at your disposal.
I found out it is entirely possible to build this special army, however this requires a lot of money/time to be possible, as you will need structures of all kinds to be able to build such an army, also you will not be able to have any other units, (if you see i have 19 slots left thats enough for only 3 harvesters) I wonder if Its possible to win with a strategy like this...

Units that are shown are: Kestrel and Karina, Commandos, Infiltrators,Officers, Giant Spiders, Troop crawlers, Orbital strike, Shield Generator, and Demo Rangers

Other Big Changes:

Population Cap:
-Population cap increased from 85 to 100
-Normal Vehicles take 2 slots, Infantry 1 slot, Turrets 1 slot, Harvesters 5 Slots, Heros/Super Weapons 5 Slots, and Elite units 3 Slots.
-This allows for proper turtleing tactics, and Infantry rushes, also creates more choices, do you want to spend your last 10 slots on 10 infantry or 5 vehicles (remember infantry are stronger now)

New Tech Trees
-Added Half Damage, Double Damage, and Simple Battle techtrees variations
-Half and Double Damage are simply 0.5x and 2x default values in the techtree xml
-There are a Half Damage and Double Damage variation of all main techtrees indicated by an H or a D at the end of its name (example: Pre Deployed D)
-Simple Battle and Simple Deployed are special techtrees that reduces faction units to these standard classes: Worker, Basic Infantry, Anti Tank Infantry, Harvester, Light Vehicle, Main Battle Tank, and Siege Vehicle. I choose the units closest to those types. No heros, Super weapons, or aircraft. Good for new players who may otherwise be overwhelmed by Annex's large techtrees.
-Updated Infantry Only Mode to include Republic units such as Officer, Sniper, and Grenadier. No Renegade units as they are exactly same as the Alliance Infantry, however I changed all structures to the Renegade equivalent to give them a presence in this mode.
-As of now there are a total of 33 Techtree variations in Annex!

Sound:
-As of now I removed unit Voices as they are far below the quality of the rest of the game.
-Battle sound fx like Guns, Missiles and Cannons were greatly improved, Thanks to MichaelB!

So what is left?
-"Core" (gameplay, techtrees, Factions, Maps, and Tilesets) are done and ready to go!
-Some scenarios for the new factions need to be made Ill follow the 9 Scenarios per faction system I had in Release 3
-I need to get music for the Renegade and Republic (3-4 songs each) probably get it from Newgrounds like always
-I will need to update Annex's "Starting Guide"
-I also really want an Annex Official Website up before release but no idea when a site will be ready, person who volunteered is far to swamped with personal/work life (understandably).

Whew... Thanks for reading all this! Feel free to comment question below!

[firedeathbot]

I played this years ago. It was awesome then and it looks so much better now. You've done a great job.

[Ishmaru]

I played this years ago. It was awesome then and it looks so much better now. You've done a great job.

thank you! annex has evolved a lot since its first release so there is a lot to look forward to!

[Ishmaru]

Hello a bit of news Annex old page on Moddb

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http://www.moddb.com/mods/annex-conquer-the-world has been converted to an Indie Game on Indiedb http://www.indiedb.com/games/annex-conquer-the-world. Please note the old page is no longer active.

Annex is listed as an Indie Game under Megaglest Engine.

[titi_son]

Can't wait for the new Version ... 

[Ishmaru]

Hopefully ill have the time to sit down and finish for next release.  Still loads of stuff to do -____-

[titi_son]

What do you think about Multiplayer sessions because Annex dont have much online players?
By the way. The linux Annex connects to wrong chat and i think also to the wrong masterserver. I corrected both in my ini so I can't look it up.