GLA Update: Pushing the Button news - Rise of the Reds mod for C&C: Generals Zero Hour

Good evening everybody!
It's that time of the week again, so let's not dilly-dally and jump right on-in.

A constant within all versions of ROTR has been GLA's inherent weakness in late game environments. This is a natural inevitability for the faction and very much by design. After all, with the faction's themes being stealth, sneakiness and hit and run gameplay, light fast units can only scale so much before they get outclassed.

However it has been noted many times that within late game stalemates (especially on maps with narrow chokepoints or team games with lots of ECA players) GLA really has struggled to maintain momentum and react in a meaningful way when playing defensively, without resorting to sheer force of Rocket Buggies to overwhelm their opponents. Partly this was due to a now fixed bug with the Grad's secondary damage not working as intended, but it is also linked to a lack of other reliable anti-tank options that GLA players can use in the game environment once so many crowd control options exist to counter close range AT infantry like Angry Mobs and Tunnel Defenders. Although we intend for GLA to be a more early-game focused faction, the sheer lack of variety in GLA strategies and units we have seen because of these issues is something we do want to address with 1.9.

We decided to do a few things. Firstly, we fixed the Grads to now have correct damage calculations. This was a great first step, but still didn't really mix up the unit variety in the way we wanted. We decided two things were needed.

The first was some sort of super impactful late game unit that had the power to break through enemy defences, or destroy enemy vehicle columns with high burst potential to act as an alternative to the existing artillery roster. With the inclusion of the Helix in previous builds, we thought "why not bring back the Scud Launcher? It fits this role, and if China is getting a ZH favourite, why not give GLA the same?"

So, our beloved Scud Launcher has returned. You will note that this version of the Scud is extremely different to the ZH version, both in how it works and how it plays. It launches its missile much slower at a much higher range than before. The choice of choosing what type of warhead the Scud launches has also been removed, instead now firing the exact same Scud missile that the Scud Storm shoots - albeit a single missile instead of nine. Finally, the Scud Launcher is also limited to a maximum of four units. In practice this makes Scud Launchers very prized and limited units that have the power to turn game completely around, but only if players can keep them alive. This should make them the limited force multiplier they should be, and not make them a must-pick Generals Power every single game.

We also wanted to add a lighter more mid-game focused anti-tank alternative to Rocket Buggies that could give GLA a more reliable counter to enemy armour without needing to rely on said buggies every single time.
Thus, the Spear Team was created.

From the late 1950s to late 80s, Soviet engineers developed a series of ballistic missiles that were collectively designated as the Scud family by Western militaries. During the Cold War, these missiles were exported to all members of the Warsaw Pact as well as numerous Soviet-aligned states in Asia and Africa. Some of these states went on to develop their own derivatives of the Scud, such as the North Korean Hwasong, the Iranian Qiam or the Yemeni Burkan series of missiles. With such an extensive proliferation, it came as no surprise that many Scud missiles wound up in the arsenal of the Global Liberation Army during the War on Terror. Operating from hidden bases in Iran and the Caucasus Mountains, the forces of Dr Thrax in particular commanded a large number of these missiles and used them to devastating effect against coalition forces and population centres throughout the region. Even after the killing of Dr Thrax and the shattering of his organisation, many of the missiles remained unaccounted for. A decade later, following the re-consolidation of the GLA under the leadership of Warlord Anwar Sulaymaan, intelligence agencies found new insights into their whereabouts. All three factions of the GLA possess several hundred Scud derivatives, typically arranged on stationary launch pads known as "Scud Storms". The anarchist faction of Tahar Ibrahiim also controls several wheeled launch vehicles that allow the use of Scuds, tipped with combined high-explosive/chemical warheads, as a mobile battlefield artillery. Analysts have found out that this use of Scuds is not only rooted in tactical considerations, but also in the peculiar politics of the anarchist faction, as operational command of these mobile missiles alternates between different elected and term-limited councils, to prevent an excessive concentration of power. For this reason, only a limited number of Scud Launchers can be deployed at any given time.

Unit Description MARS2588

Despite being quite outdated in their role as anti-tank weapons in an age of guided missiles and smart munitions, recoilless rifles continue to see use in developing countries with limited military resources or absence of major armed conflicts, as well as by non-state organisations such as the Global Liberation Army. In this context, tripod-mounted rifles are frequently used by teams of more experienced fighters, whose long-honed skills in target identification and gunnery allow them to inflict serious damage to light vehicles and even tanks at long ranges by targeting their tracks, optics and other weak points. Typically these units are referred to as Spear Teams, a term whose specific origin is as enigmatic as anything else about the organisation's army culture. Some analysts suggest that the operators liken themselves to "spearmen" in their historic role against cavalry and its modern "armoured" descendants.

Unit Description MARS2588

We hope you have enjoyed this weeks update, and we hope you're all ready to welcome back an old favourite as we have been. Till next time Generals!