Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Blitzkrieg mod. This mod was created for the SoundRTS engine and hopes to take the game to a different arena, that of World War II. You'll find the gameplay quite different from vanilla SoundRTS, which is based around the Warcraft RTS series. Hopefully you'll find it a good fit and will enjoy playing the game as much as I've enjoyed seeing it come to fruition.

What this mod is and is not

This mod intends to be a total conversion of SoundRTS. The economy, many sounds and all units and structures have been taken out of the original game and replaced with ones fitting of the era. It intends to be a fun and immersive game based around an era that was definitely not fun, World War II.

This total conversion is not intended as a glorification of war, genocide, Nazism or any of the actions perpetrated by any side during this conflict. Any representation of Nazis, the SS and similar is for historical purposes only. To quote from the original Blitzkrieg manual:

Denying something existed or repressing the knowledge that it existed doesn’t make it disappear.

This mod, like the engine, is distributed as open-source freeware.

Before we get started

Before we begin, it is important for me to point out that I don't own the copyright to any of the sounds, nations, units, concept, backstory or engine of this mod.

The original mod that this mod was based off of was for a game called Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and its expansion pack, Yuri's Revenge. Which is owned by Westwood Studios (and subsequently now by Electronic Arts). The mod itself, Blitzkrieg, was created and owned by Derelict Studios. The sounds used for this mod come from Command & Conquer: Generals, which is also created and owned by Electronic Arts. A lot of the inspiration for this mod also comes from such Command & Conquer titles and mods.

What I'm essentially saying is... EA, Derelict Studios. I love you. And thanks for not suing me.

Historical context

Ttensions in Europe following World War I began to reach a critical point towards the end of the 1930s. The Anschluss (reunification) between Austria and Germany, the Spanish civil war, the Berlin-Rome Axis, the Anti-Comintern pact between Germany and Japan and the failure of the League of Nations to prevent several conflicts and international intervention all laid the groundwork for another large scale conflict in Europe, though no one could have predicted the scale.

Note: The following is taken directly (for reasons of expediency) directly from the literature accompanying the Blitzkrieg mod to Command & Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge

During the early 1930’s, Germany, under the dictatorial leadership of Adolf Hitler, began a ‘peaceful’ expansion campaign. While building up his military and creating the “Anschluss”, a union between Austria and Germany (against the rules set down by the Treaty of Versailles), Hitler militarized the Rhineland, made a non-aggression pact with Russia, and captured Czechoslovakia. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain decided not to interfere and risk causing another war so soon after the “War to End All Wars”, and instituted a policy of appeasement and pacifism. Emboldened by the rest of Europe’s lack of response to his aggression, Hitler decided the time was right to invade the rest of Europe. On September 1, 1939, Germany unleashed a blitzkrieg (lightning war) attack on an unprepared Poland. German Panzers and mechanized infantry roared past the futile defenses, and Poland fell in 26 days.

Britain and France declared war on Germany, but did nothing for seven months. The next April, Germany invaded and conquered Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Again, the blitzkrieg tactics proved unstoppable. By early May, Germany had swept around France’s poorly placed Maginot defensive line and had begun a blitz deep into the French homeland. Hitler’s conquest of Europe was completed by the end of May, where what was left of the French army and the British Expeditionary Force was hastily evacuated from Dunkirk.

The four month long Battle of Britain was the next step, in which Hermann Goering attempted to smash British morale by daily and nightly bombing raids. Though many British cities were devastated, the Luftwaffe was also nearly destroyed by the brave pilots of the RAF, and by the early warning given by the newly invented RADAR system. It was of these pilots that the new Prime Minister Winston Churchill said “Never in the field of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few”.

From then until June of 1944, no real ground action took place in the west. During the meantime, the Battle of the Atlantic pitted the German navy against the combined naval forces of England and America, which had joined the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan, a German ally.

Nothing important happened in Western Europe until June 6, 1944. On D-Day, American, British, Free French, and Canadian forces under the command of Dwight D Eisenhower landed on the beaches of Normandy on the northern coast of France. Though heavy casualties were taken, the Allies punched through Hitler’s heavily fortified “Atlantic Wall”, and established a toehold that would eventually lead to Germany’s defeat.

On the Eastern front, Hitler had decided to break his non-aggression pact with Stalin on August 23, 1941. The Germans again used blitz tactics to push deep into Russia. However, supply lines were stretched dangerously and vulnerably long, and a fierce winter dealt severe damage to the German army. The battle of Stalingrad was the worst fighting on the Eastern front, and both sides took horrible casualties. The soviets alone took over 500,000 dead or wounded. During the battle of Kursk, the greatest tank battle in history, the Soviets lost over 5000 tanks.

Knowing he was being squeezed from both sides, Hitler decided to make a final last-gasp counterattack to stop the Allied advance from France. In December 1944, the Germans started the Battle of the Bulge. Though the Allied lines fell back, they never broke, and all territory was regained by January 1945 as the German tanks literally ran out of gas.

With his forces retreating on all sides, and Russian and Allied troops knocking on Berlin’s door, Hitler committed suicide with his new wife on April 30. The war in Europe ended on May 7, bringing to a close the greatest conflict in European history.

Economy differences from unmodified SoundRTS (or Warcraft)

The economy of Blitzkrieg in many ways is a lot simpler than that of Warcraft and SoundRTS. There are only two types of resource, one of which is found in deposits on the map and the other which you must have a sufficient supply of through buildings.

Credits

Credits represent money in the various currencies used in this era. All buildings, infantry and vehicles cost some amount of credits. Credits are obtained by sending labourers and workers to retrieve supplies from the supply stashes on the map. These supply stashes will yield 50 credits per every 2 supplies taken from them by default.

Oil

Oil behaves the same as food in vanilla SoundRTS, with the exception that it is only needed for vehicles and aircraft. To obtain more oil, you must build oil depots, which are not cheap. These oil depots will hold 8 units of oil. Most smaller vehicles will only cost 1 unit of oil, with the more fuel hungry vehicles taking a progressively larger amount of oil to fuel them. Air and Bomber command centers cost 4 oil each, too.

Faction similarities

The mod is mostly made up of a few different types of unit, with factional differences providing for a larger variety in gameplay. There are a few exceptions to this rule, which will be explained under each faction's differences section.

Shared units

Labourers

Labourers are cheap, weak and relatively expendable. Their primary function is that of resource gatherers for maps where you do not have enough credits to afford workers from the off. Labourers are like peasants from vanilla SoundRTS, except that they cannot build buildings.

Workman

Workman are more expensive than labourers, but also function as your base builders. They can build everything from a command center upwards. They are slightly more hardy than labourers, so might survive an encounter with an incoming enemy.

Rifleman

Cheap and buildable almost instantly, rifleman are good for early game rushes. Their bolt action rifles work well against enemy infantry, but don't pack enough punch to dent armour tougher than a scout.

Anti-tank Infantry

Significantly pricier than the rifleman, anti-tank infantry have bigger, more explosive guns. The Allies have P I A T infantry, who launch small bombs at their targets. The Germans use Panzerfaust (bazuka) infantry. The Soviet Union do not have real anti-tank infantry.

Scout vehicles

Scout vehicles are fast, lightly armoured and lightly armed, typically with a machine gun. They are pretty effective infantry killers and they themselves can carry 3 infantry, racing them behind enemy lines. They are pretty easily dispatched by heavier fire, however.

Light tank

Light tanks carry significant armour compared to earlier units. They are fast, durable and pack a punch. They are also relatively cheap and effective as an early game rush.

Medium tank

Medium tanks are bigger and slower than a light tank, having quite possibly the best "bang" for your buck in terms of credits and oil. In later game, they are probably best used to swarm heavier tanks.

Heavy tank

Heavy tanks are the most powerful basic unit available in the Blitzkrieg mod. Expensive, very slow and unavailable until you at least have a tech center and factory, these won't typically make an appearance until late game. When they do, your opponents will undoubtedly be fleeing in fear, as barely anything short of another heavy tank or large calibur supporting fire will penetrate their massive armour. Typically comes in two flavours for each side.

Artillery

These slow but pricey support guns can be moved into position to rain down fire from afar on concentrations of enemy units and structures. The Allies and German armies favour howitzer style guns, whilst the Soviets use Katiusha trucks to fire streams of rockets at a target.

Mobile anti-aircraft gun

As you'd expect, these vehicles have a primary role of staving off enemy air raids on your mobilized forces. Typically either armed with flak cannons or machineguns, these can put an end to bombing raids on your advancing forces. They are lightly armoured and move reasonably well.

Shared buildings

Command Center

This is your main base structure. From here, you may recruit labourers or workman, who may then drop off supplies at the Command Center. It is expensive and slow to build, so try not to lose your starting command center.

Barracks

This trains all of your faction's infantryman. Build several if you plan on an infantry based assault.

Supply Center

A very useful structure that increases your economy significantly. Built near supply stashes, labourers and workman will drop supplies off here instead of at the command center. Supplies dropped off at the supply center earn 70 credits per load instead of 50.

Oil Depot

These buildings serve the simple purpose of providing oil to your mobilized forces. Each oil depot grants you 8 oil. Build more to increase the size of your armour divisions or air force.

Factory

Factories produce your factions various vehicles. Build more to build more armour units in a shorter time.

Air Command Center

Air command centers grant you access to later technology, as well as having the ability to see adjacent tiles. They also have the ability to periodically call in the support of fighters. They cost oil to maintain.

Bomber Command

Bomber command centers allow you access to call in bombing raids periodically on your opponents. They cost oil to maintain.

Tech Center

Tech centers store the various plans for more advanced weaponry for you to use. They grant access to the best technology each side has to offer.

Guardtower

Guardtowers are lightly armed and armoured base defences. They are armed with a machinegun and have a good range, making them good for dispatching infantry. They can also detect cloaked units if they come into range.

Cannontower

Cannontowers are slightly tougher and more expensive than guardtowers, but are armed with an anti-tank cannon. These slow firing weapons deal more damage, allowing them to pose a threat to larger targets in sufficient number.

Flak Cannon

These anti-aircraft guns fire an exploding shell into the air, that causes damage to massed bombers which can potentially hit several targets at once. They do not fire at ground targets, however.

Shared abilities

Call in support bombers

This ability, used from the bomber command, calls in a squad of your faction's support bombers to cause damage to ground forces or buildings. This ability lasts for a short time, after which the bombers will disappear.

Call in fighter planes

This ability, accessed from the air command center, calls in a squad of your faction's fighters to either harrass ground units or provide protection from enemy bombing raids.

The Allies

Backstory

The Allied powers consisted of mainly Britain and later, the United States. Though the Free French helped, they were not their own army. After France had fallen, England was the only European nation left free from Hitler’s domination. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor prompted the Americans to take up the fight as an Allied power, and with American help, the British were able to free France and eventually crush the German war machine.

Faction differences

Nuclear Command Bunker

After constructing a tech center, the Allies have the ability to upgrade their regular command center (at a considerable cost) to a nuclear command bunker. From here, the commander has theability to launch nuclear strikes on an opponent. Nuclear strikes devistate everything in a target square and leave the square irradiated for a considerable amount of time, making it a hazard to any infantry passing through.

Germany

Backstory

Germany, under the leadership of Hitler’s Third Reich, rapidly became a powerful military nation near the end of the Great Depression. After stressing Britain’s pacifism to the breaking point by blitzing Poland, Hitler’s armies and air forces were able to easily overrun all of Europe within a year. After the disastrous Battle of Britain and the failed invasion of Russia, Germany went on the defensive. When Operation Overlord was successfully carried out on Normandy in 1944, Germany knew it was doomed. However, the Fuhrer refused to surrender and the war lasted for almost another year. Though the most technologically advanced nation at the time, German factories had been bombed and resources captured. Germany surrendered on April 7, 1945, and Nazism was abolished.

Faction differences

V2 Rocket Launcher

Upon unlocking the Third Reich's most powerful technology with the construction of a tech center, German commanders may construct V2 Rocket Launchers on the field. These expensive launch platforms may periodically launch massive rockets at foes anywhere on the map. V2 rockets will cause massive damage to anything within a given square. They also fire more quickly than nuclear strikes.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Backstory

The Soviet Union first entered the war as a German ‘ally’ by helping capture Poland as per the Non-aggression pact. However, during the late summer of 1941, German tanks and planes roared into the Russian heartland breaking the treaty and forcing the Soviet Union to ‘switch sides’. Though Russian technology, workmanship, and morale were inferior to the Germans, they had a huge wealth of manpower and production facilities set up by Stalin before the war started. In an incredible show, the Russian were actually able to “pack up” their factories and move them to the Urals; out of range of German bombers and closer to natural resources. These factories then began producing incredible numbers of tanks to be used on the front. The most famous of these tanks, the T-34 was almost a match for a German Tiger tank, and a dozen could be built in the time it took to build a single German heavy. With the massive army it built, Russia was able to overrun the German forces in the bitter winter of 1943 and became unstoppable as it raced towards Berlin.

Faction differences

Partisan

The motherland can rely on its army of ready to fight partisans, hoping to push out the German invaders and do their bit for their country. These saboteurs are invisible and move fast. Once they get up to a target, they can set off a bomb to cause significant damage. They are pretty weak and will not stand up to any kind of attack.

Advanced barracks

Once the finest of Soviet engineering has been applied to a battle with the construction of a tech center, Soviet commanders may choose to upgrade their barrackss to advanced barracks. These barracks harness the power of the Soviet people by allowing production of military soldiers at twice the speed and half the cost.

Conclusion

Firstly, my thanks must go out to SoundMud and the open-source community supporting him/her/them to make SoundRTS. Without them and their continued support of my requests for features, this mod would not be possible.

Secondly, I must thank Derelict Studios for making these excellent mods to Command & Conquer, which I chose to port over to a community who wouldn't have otherwise had access to such good work.

Thirdly, to Westwood Studios, for making Command & Conquer, to allow mods such as this to be made for your games, fuelling ideas for mods in other games. And for sound design as well. I would not be permitted to make the requisite level of bang in my own country without serious repercussions.

Finally, to you, for playing this mod and hopefully enjoying it. Without people to play and enjoy it, my time is wasted.

Enjoy, and I hope to see you online on the battlefield!