Comparison with other YR Hacks and Patches

Comparison with other YR Hacks and Patches

This page can be used to list and explain the differences between Ares and other YR hacks and patches. Ares's own bugfix- and feature-lists are present in the manual, so this page should focus on instances where the same fundamental feature differs between two patches, or features present in other patches that Ares does not contain yet.

NPatch

Differences in similar Features

• General: Most differences in similar features are related to coding, how the tags work, how they are named etc.
• EMP and Iron Curtain for Warheads: NPatch uses the Damage= tag to control how long the affected unit will stay affected. Ares use new tags and not the damage tag to control this, allowing units to damage and use EMP/Iron Curtain at the same time. Also possibly for this reason, Ares EMP & Iron Curtain Warhead logic does not work with animation Warheads, whereas in NPatch they do. Ares can also use negative values which removes the effect. Such feature does not exist in NPatch.
• Sides:
  • Ares uses no hardcoded filenames for various country-related graphics (flags etc.) while NPatch does.
  • NPatch only allows one additional side (NPatch Special Edition) or three additional sides (NPatch Autumn Edition, according to documentation). Ares allows one to add 16 fully working sides.
• Custom armor types: Ares custom armor feature is much flexible and easier to use than NPatch equivalent, as it allows Verses= values to default to those of an another armor type, custom or not. Custom armor types can also work as an substitute to NPatch Immunity logic in most cases.
• Prerequisite lists: In NPatch, you can have maximum of three different prerequisite lists available for a TechnoTypes. Ares supports practically infinite amount of such lists on a single TechnoType.
• Customizable laser thickness: LaserThickness in Ares is very limited and does not allow lasers thicker than the Prism Tower 'big' laser. In NPatch can you extend the thickness as thick as you like, altough the laser drawing code hasn't been improved and bigger lasers look 'flat'.
• Upgrade SW: The Upgrade SW was a separate SW type in NPatch while it's a GenericWarhead SW with a permanent (AttachEffect.Duration=-1) AttachEffect on it's Warhead in Ares.
• Toggle Power: In NPatch, TogglePower could replace the UI's repair button in the sidebar. In Ares, Toggle Power is available as keyboard command and cannot replace the repair button.

Features missing from Ares

• Chrono Factory (unit is delivered by Chronoshift).
• DropPod Factory (unit is delivered by drop pod).
• Paradrop Factory (unit is delivered by paradrop).
• Non-VTOL Aircraft.
• Custom Radiation types.
• Unit upgrade morphing with veterancy.
• Bespoke Main Menu.
• TechLevel slider.
• Super weapons:
• SpySat

Bugfixes present in NPatch, but not in Ares

• Global variables work with save files.

NPatch Extended

Note: Almost everything detailed above in 'NPatch' section still applies here as well.

Differences in similar Features

• Damaging/killing occupants inside buildings: NPatch Extended offers a simplified version of this feature, where Warhead will only either kill one occupant or all of them in one hit. CellSpread is also factored in, which would mean that with larger CellSpread= values, the building is affected multiple times by the same Warhead in one shot. In Ares this feature is much more customizable, with percentage chances and multipliers determining the chance of an occupant being killed.
• Warhead ripple effect: In NPatch Extended the ripple effect radius is always same as the one displayed when using Psychic Dominator. In Ares, the radius can be specified.
• OpenTopped=yes vehicles & experience: In NPatch Extended you have a simple boolean flag on VehicleType, which makes the passengers gain all the experience from kills instead of the vehicle, unless the infantry inside are already at elite stage or have Trainable=no set. Ares offers much larger degree of control over how much experience is shared between the vehicle and passenger and under what circumstances.
• Airburst logic: In NPatch Extended the Cluster= tag controls how many AirburstWeapon= clusters the logic should create over a 3x3 area. In Ares, the spread can be customized, and each cell will be hit by one cluster.

Features missing from Ares

• Converting VehicleTypes to another via deploy function
• Ability to define up to 5 firing offsets for burst-fire weapons using AlternateFLHX=.
• Ability to force TechnoType to use their weapon ROF= as a delay between burst-fire weapon shots.
• Warhead screen shake effect can be limited to the visible portion of screen instead of the whole map.
• Screen shake effects that only apply when weapon is fired, limited to the visible portion of screen and can be used together with the normal Warhead shake effect.

Bugfixes present in NPatch Extended, but not in Ares

• Issuing stop command to an unit with a weapon that has Burst= value greater than 1 during firing no longer resets the burst counter.