Recommended Utilities

Tools

A categorized list of programs that are used by modders. For info about each of these file types, click each header.

.MIX editing

• XCC Utilities - (by Olaf van der Spek) The most important tool for editing Command & Conquer games. A more detailed XCC tutorial

.SHP editing

• OS SHP Builder - (by Banshee & Stucuk).
• Many people prefer converting SHP files into PCX and editing them with standard, full-featured graphic programs such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro and others. IrfanView can also help in this situation.

.VXL editing

• Voxel Section Editor (VXLSE) III - (by Stucuk).
• OS Voxel Viewer - (by Stucuk).
• Cube Normalizer - (by Stucuk).

.HVA editing

• OS HVA Builder - (by Stucuk).
• DMZ's HVA Editor - (by DMZ).

.INI editing

• INI Editor 2
• XCC INI Editor (discontinued?)
• DCoder's INI Checker (can debug your INI files for errors)
• TibEd/SunEdit 2K/SunForge/etc... All these editors should not be used at all. They give modders bad habits and make them lazy. Not to mention they can't do any hacks, like the particle-trick and have bugs.

Map editing

• Final Alert 2 (YR) - the one and only Final Alert 2, by Matze. Use the latest version.

Terrain editing

• XCC TMP Editor - The one and only TMP Editor so far.

CSF String editing

• XCC Utilities - The Mixer includes a built-in CSF Editor.
• - RA2StrEdit.

Bag Audio editing

• XCC Utilities - The Mixer includes a built-in Sound Editor.

Sound related

• Playlist Modifier - modify your in-game soundtrack with ease.
• XCC AUD/IMA ADPCM WAV Writer Plug-Ins - WinAmp plugins which will convert souncds to AUD and IMA ADPCM WAV files.

Mod Launchers

• XCC Mod Creator/Launcher - XCC MC/L. Most mods released nowadays use this launcher, as it is really convenient.
• XRML Mod Launcher - Saberhawk's plugin-based mod launcher. Still in development, not publicly available.

Other

• Cleanup Program - Cleans your RA2/YR directory from mod files which can conflict woith other mods.
• Saberhawk's RA2/YR Update - game launcher executables stripped from any non-essential code. Increases game start-up speed.