So, just recently Red Alert 2 has had its 20th Release Anniversary! The game and its community's support has been going strong for the last two decades, so hopefully the trend continues through all the interesting projects that focus on this bizarre war between the Blues, the Reds and That Other Bald Guy. As I used to say, Long Live Red Alert 2, still the best game in the series. Given the success of the Remastered Collection, who knows, perhaps a revival of it is potentially on the table in the future. I'm sure you're just as curious to what the future of Command & Conquer holds as I am.
 

 
 Now here's the thing. The set of final 8 missions of Mental Omega is built around a single narrative, telling one story from different perspectives. This means, they can only be released together, all at once. Due to various circumstances, as of this moment 5 out of the 8 final missions are finished. This has generally been a difficult time for all of us, and in our team we only have so much of our free time that we can spend on this project. After all, studies, work, family take precedence, especially now. We are getting to the end, but I can't exactly say when we will - these last missions are rather complex and demanding to design, and we want to make sure they work just as well as we intend them to. With all that said, everything else is ready and so we are going to release this update to you as-is.
  

 
A lot has changed since the last release, the Mentalmeisters team has welcomed new members, thanks to which a major overhaul of the entire campaign was possible. All of our singleplayer and multiplayer missions have been heavily revamped, with their visuals, script and even bits of lore reworked to various extent. We have further adjusted the difficulty of the campaigns, making sure that Easy setting, now known as Casual, becomes more accessible to everyone, while Mental retains, if does not up the challenge a bit.
 
In addition to this revamped campaign, we have prepared 6 new Special Operations and 1 new Co-Op, which replaces one of the previous maps. Yes, that is the name we'll be going forward with for this set of additional missions, since sometimes there's confusion between Covert Ops and Co-Ops. Do note that these Special Operations have been designed by different mappers than the ones currently working on the remaining final missions.

• Allied Special Op Mission Digital Demon
• Allied Special Op Mission Convergence
• Allied Special Op Mission Parasomnia
• Soviet Special Op Mission Trophy Hunter
• Epsilon Special Op Mission Fallen Ashes
• Epsilon Special Op Mission Split Seconds
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission Monochromatic

This update also gives all of the previous Special Ops their proper unique loading screen.
 

  
As you could expect, new Challenge maps have been designed and added to the game, four of them.

• Aberration Challenge against all 3 Allied subfactions with a tech level switcher
• Ironwall Challenge against the armies of China with a powerful experimental weapon
• Gladiators Challenge where your enemy has advanced weapon-disabling effects in use
• Judgement Challenge where a mysterious force is capable of perishing all of your bases

The skirmish map pool expansion is the biggest one yet for a single update - over 100 new maps to fight on! Many of these maps use new terrain tiles we have prepared for this patch and some of them are designed as interior.

• '(2) Below Zero', '(2) Billy Middlewins', '(2) Bone Crusher', '(2) Dawn of Dune', '(2) Dustgarden', '(2) Enormous', '(2) Future Avenue', '(2) Grimdark', '(2) Honeypot', '(2) Kingsroad', '(2) Modern Wharfare', '(2) The Pointy End', '(2) A Quiet Mesa', '(2) Ravens Pass', '(2) Red Sun Lagoon', '(2) Rock of Egypt', '(2) Sandspring', '(2) Sekigahara', '(2) Simple', '(2) Snowpiercer', '(2) Spooky Waters', '(2) Tiger Bay', '(2) Tournament Spire', '(2) Underneath', '(2) Vector Valley', '(2) Victims', '(3) Devil's Triangle', '(3) Unjust Rising', '(4) Amazonas Chi', '(4) Amazonas Iota', '(4) Amazonas Theta', '(4) Ashes to Ashes', '(4) Baked Alaska', '(4) Billy Middletwins', '(4) Border Order', '(4) Canyon Defrost' '(4) Carville's Command', '(4) City Escape', '(4) Floral Fury', '(4) Don't Mock the Croc', '(4) Dusk Till Dawn', '(4) Dutch Highlands', '(4) Einstein's Fate', '(4) Enclosure', '(4) Fallen Empire', '(4) The Hypergate', '(4) An Icebox', '(4) In Limbo', '(4) Let Them Eat War', '(4) Modern Wharfare II', '(4) Metro Midway', '(4) Nitro-Fueled', '(4) Oil in the Center', '(4) Oingo Boingo', '(4) Pac-Man Maze', '(4) Quarter Pounder', '(4) Race Base', '(4) Ravens Ravine', '(4) Roundhouse Redux', '(4) Set on Destruction', '(4) Sierra Cleave', '(4) Snowmelt', '(4) Sole Summit', '(4) Southwest Cay', '(4) Stormy Weather II', '(4) Tournament Garden',  '(4) Tournament Tower II', '(4) A Town Blitz', '(4) Twilight Heat', '(4) Zen Bazaar, '(4) Zen Cellar', '(5) Civic Hustling', '(5) Dangerous Days', '(5) Lake Wise', '(5) Quinary Barrage', '(5) Ripper', '(6) Angel Island', '(6) Bifold Retreat', '(6) Billy's Full House', '(6) The Bloodiest Feud', '(6) Bluff Reflection', '(6) Boiling Point', '(6) Crystal Moon Cake', '(6) Dante's Inferno', '(6) Desert Descent', '(6) Einstein's Gate', '(6) Eviction Notice', '(6) Gold Experience', '(6) In Spitting Distance', '(6) Krakenhaven', '(6) Living Death Girl', '(6) Lost Inside Redux', '(6) Quicksand', '(6) Replica', '(6) Rogue Nation', '(6) Shrouded Canyon', '(6) Six-Assist', '(6) Verity's Hold', '(6) Vulkan', (6) Whiplash', '(6) Shrouded City', '(6) Wildfire Steppes', '(8) A Dusty Mesa', '(8) Knockdown Mega', '(8) Octagony Mega', '(8) Permafrost Mega'

As always, for a complete list of authors of the big everything see our Credits page.
 

 
It's been a while since the last update, so there's a whole lot of changes to talk about. There are many new additions, bugfixes, quality-of-life changes, in addition to the balance of the game being heavily revamped, to the point that I suggest you head to the complete changelog right away. In this newspost I will only highlight some of them.

• enhancements of the factions' arsenals include new additions such as: support powers Cryoshot, Cryospear, Black Widow Alpha, Elite Reserves, Regen Drugs, Wonder Drugs, Risen Monolith, Psychic Flash, Hijackers, Chaos Touch, Golden Wind, armory additions Warpnode, Ultra Dome, Cryomines, Hyperion, War Rig and units Siren Frigate, Mosquito Demoboat, Shock Trooper, Scourge, Ruiner, Hovracoon, Mobile Grinder, Orcinus Waveshaper, also including the completely redesigned Speeder Trike

• the red warning message telling you about the modified files between players and possible cheating has been fixed, so if you see one in multiplayer, do pay attention this time
• another important fix: infantry with attacks on deploy, such as Epsilon Adepts or Libra, should no longer get randomly stuck when performing the attack, this will surely help you in missions
• early game has been reworked; the vanilla factions receive a new building available after Barracks which unlocks some of the tech and new powers and some prerequisites have changed
• the worth of harvestable gems has been decreased by 25%, meaning that the actual gold-to-gems value ratio has been changed from 1:2 to 2:3, still crucial, just not as crucial
• Tech Secret Lab now always unlocks one very special unit returning from a previous version instead of doing a unit roulette - the new repair airship, Rejuvenator
• a new tech building Tech Protector increases the strength of mechanical ground and naval units stationed around it by 50% in a large radius, but requires 50 power units to work
• the new Superweapons dropdown allows you to choose to enable All, Minor or None of the superweapons in a skirmish/multiplayer match, replacing the old toggle
• the new Tech Defenses dropdown allows you to choose between All, Bunkers or None of the capturable tech defenses to be placed on map automatically
• the new Ore Growth dropdown allows you to adjust the growth and spread of the resources on the map, or even disable it completely if you feel like it
• the new No Garrisons toggle allows you to disable all of the garrisons inside of the civilian structures, but not the neutral Tech ones or the Battle Bunkers
• the new Global Soundtrack toggle allows you to enable the entirety of the standard Mental Omega ingame soundtrack regardless of the faction chosen, that's 69 themes
• Part 2 of the Mental Omega Soundtrack will be released alongside the new update, featuring old and new mission-exclusive music
• No Defenses is a new game mode, which completely disables and removes all defenses
• No Rush is a new multiplayer game mode, in which no weapon will work for the first 10 minutes
• Tournament 1v1/2v2 are new modes, which force a certain set of rules and could be used for future balance testing, possibly with experimental changes
• the client will now inform you on startup if any of the required files from vanilla games are missing
• all of the powered buildings now have an indicator whether they are online or not, usually a light
• you can left-click on a cameo while holding the Shift key to queue creation of 5 objects at once
• the client will now automatically delete all the debug log files from the game folder every 7 days
• owning a Tech Missile Bunker or a Tech Refinery in a Short Game no longer keeps you alive
• various additions to the map editor and terrain sets in the game have been included
• icon display for friends and the ability to put users on an ignore list were fixed
• you can now mark your status as always ready in multiplayer game lobbies
• it is now possible to use and design interior maps in any of the theaters
• you can now adjust the game speed in a singleplayer mission
• new visual markers for objectives in missions were added
• a new skirmish/multiplayer color has been added - Sky
• Destructible Rocks, woah

Again, you can see the complete list of new additions, changes and bugfixes under the following link:
 

Patch 3.3.5 Changelog

 
Expect this update to drop within the next few weeks. Once it's out, send us all the feedback at the usual places. The final missions will be released eventually, together, but that's all I can say for now.

Stay tuned and stay safe!

 If you'd like to help develop Mental Omega, write an e-mail to mental.omega.apyr@gmail.com
We always welcome additional Voxel Artists, 3D, SHP & Animation Artists and Mission Designers.
Single contributions are also welcome and will speed up further potential development of the mod.
 

• Allied Covert Op Mission Fullmetal
• Allied Covert Op Mission Gridlock
• Soviet Covert Op Mission Eclipse
• Soviet Covert Op Mission Dawnbreaker
• Soviet Covert Op Mission Brothers in Arms
• Epsilon Covert Op Mission Taciturn
• Epsilon Covert Op Mission Nightcrawler
• Epsilon Covert Op Mission Survivors
• Foehn Origins Mission The Great Beyond

• Firestorm Challenge against the Wings of Coronia armies with a Blasticade stronghold

• '(2) Closed Wide Open', '(2) Golden Spiral', '(2) Inferno Galore', '(3) Easter Island', '(4) Blood Feud Redux', '(4) Blue Hawaii', '(4) Dune Petrol',  '(4) Double Shredder', '(4) Goldshire', '(4) Tetris', '(4) The Well', '(4) Woody Island', '(6) Avalanche', '(6) Black's Big Bluff',  '(6) Death Stranded', '(6) Metallic Madness', '(6) Rorschach', '(6) Winter Desolation'

• 'Free for All' can be chosen again as a game mode, it blocks the ability to make alliances before and during battle with no exceptions
• the Built statistic has been added to the Statistics screen, which can now be completely cleared through a new button in the client
• players can now choose a 'Random subfaction from a specific side' option in skirmish/multiplayer
• Observers can now see a player's current production or money by clicking on their buildings
• all amphibious transports are now immune to EMP weapons (but not freezing weapons)
• several of Foehn infantry had their transport size reduced from 2 to 1 and can form IFV combos
• Allied Co-Op map 'Low Rider' fully works again

Patch 3.3.4 Changelog

• Allied Act Two Mission Insomnia
• Allied Covert Op Mission Obstinate
• Soviet Act Two Mission Meltdown
• Soviet Act Two Mission Earthrise
• Epsilon Act Two Mission Machinehead
• Epsilon Act Two Mission Unthinkable
• Epsilon Covert Op Mission Blood Rage
• Foehn Origin Mission Nobody Home
• Foehn Origin Mission Kill the Messenger
• Foehn Origin Mission Tainted Empire
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission Metaphor (replaces Cornered)

• Heroslayer Challenge against the enemies with a powerful "army of clones"

• '(2) Big Little Lake', '(2) Obsidian Knoll', '(2) Poisonous Milk', '(2) Route Sixty Six', '(3) Medusa', '(3) Don't Cross the Streams', '(4) Extra Small', '(4) BizarroGrid', '(4) Ivory Wastes', '(4) Mentalopolis', '(4) Not Without A Boat', '(4) Practice Yellow', '(4) Red Sun Canyon', '(4) Scorpion Trail', '(6) All the Fury', '(6) Alert Status Red', '(6) Ant Arctic', '(6) Blizzard Peaks', '(6) Cold Hard Crash', '(6) Frostburn', '(6) Paradise Warfare', '(8) Pacific Rim Mega', '(8) Tic Tac Toe'

• a new unit has been introduced into the Foehn navy, the Whipray: it is an anti-aircraft drone ship with a confusion rifle and a 'Golden Rocket' launcher, which requires a Cloud Piercer to be built. With its introduction, the Swordfish loses its AA capabilities, but also gets a price decrease to compensate.
  
  

  
  Foehn Whipray by Mevitar

• you can now check the game host's ping in the CnCNet lobby
• the AI has been heavily revamped, especially in the special game modes
• when starting a match or mission, you should no longer spawn into the original game's main menu and crash
• most of Co-Op maps have been updated to feature difficulty changes
• new Statistics window in the client logs your skirmish/multiplayer battles
• multiple new IFV modes have been added to the game, Mercury IFV mode has been removed, each hero now has a mode of its own
• Experimental Warpshop build limit has been increased from 1 to 2
• firepower of all capturable tech defenses increased by 10-20%
• price of all T2 defense towers decreased from $1200 to $1000
• cloaked objects no longer get uncloaked when hit with effects, which don't affect those objects
• stat buffs are now applied to objects, which are under the effect of Iron Curtain/Force Shield, most of nerfs still are not
• you will now be given a proper amount of starting cash in Epsilon Co-Op Backbitten
• choosing United States in Contagion Challenge will no longer give your MCV to the enemy instantly

Patch 3.3.3 Changelog

• Allied Act Two Mission Paranoia
• Allied Act Two Mission Relentless
• Soviet Act Two Mission Power Hunger
• Soviet Act Two Mission Thread of Dread
• Epsilon Act Two Mission Obsidian Sands
• Allied Co-Op Mission Hypothermia
• Soviet Co-Op Mission Ravages of War
• Soviet Co-Op Mission Combustion
• Soviet Co-Op Mission Cyberanatomy
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission The Cardinal
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission Mind Over Matter
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission Neuromancers
• Epsilon Co-Op Mission Backbitten

• Contagion Challenge against the Scorpion Cell
• Madness Challenge against the Haihead
• Revolution Challenge against all 3 Soviet subfactions
• Heavyobject Challenge against the defensive subfactions

• '(2) Hamlet Mirror', '(2) Hanamura', '(2) Spratly Island', '(4) Dragon Harbour', '(4) Hail Mary's Revenge', '(4) Transistor', '(4) Warhead Junction', '(4) Winterspring Redux', '(6) Gryphon Paradise', '(8) Central Quad'

• Soviet mission 'Noise Severe' has been moved, along with 'Archetype', to a new section in the mission selection screen called Covert Operations. Any additional missions that are not part of the main story in Act One and Act Two will appear there from now on. Since 'Noise Severe' does not affect the main story in a major way, I've decided to move it and make room for one more Soviet mission between 'Earthrise' and 'Death's Hand', which will be called 'Fatal Impact'.
• Stolen tech units now require infiltration of both the advanced technology building (Tech Center, Soviet Lab, Pandora Hub, Cloud Piercer) and the respective side's ConYard.
• The mod should now properly default to English to prevent launch errors if Mental Omega files were extracted to a directory with the version of the game in a different language.
• Superweapons toggle is no longer permamently set to 'yes' in Challenge mode, except for the 'Superweapons Challenge'.
• Mental AI Boost makes the AI even more difficult now.
• The CnCNet message that says 'Modified files detected! This person could be cheating!' should be more reliable now, so if you get one in 3.3.2, there's most likely something wrong with someone's Mental Omega setup and they could in fact be cheating with modified files.
• Thanks to Ares updates, units can no longer be used to block War Factory or Refinery entrances with the use of ALT key.
• Foehn MCV prerequisite has been changed from Nanofiber Loom to the Cloud Piercer.
• Haihead AI will now properly use the M.A.D.M.A.N. against you.
• EMP Mines, M.A.D. Mines and Genomines are no longer instantly active after their placement, they require a few seconds to become armed.

Patch 3.3.2 Changelog

Tech Reinforcement Pad by Nooze


Allied Paladin Tank Destroyer (mission unit) by ONEX


Allied Super Thor (mission unit) by Azri_Apoc & ONEX


United States Riot Trooper by Trans_C


Yuri's Statue (mission structure) by Donut_Arnold


Scorpion Cell Malver by Trans_C