Project Raptor Militia: Units, Buildings and Tactics

The Project Raptor Militia is a new side in Project Raptor: War Commanders 9.1.27 that doesn't exist in the original Zero Hour. It has no generals and a single army: 24 units in the build menu, from a squad of four militiamen for 300 to the Spear heavy tank for 3500. The Militia plays with cheap numbers and artillery: its 150 mm howitzer deals 400 damage from range 380. The side's weak spots are just as easy to see. The Militia Tank and the Heavy Tank have only 480 health each, and the MiG has 160.

If you were looking for a Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour mod with new factions, this is one of the two sides Raptor adds. Below are the numbers from the mod's INI files, the real prototypes of the hardware and tips on how to play it.

How the Militia differs from the Zero Hour factions

In how its base works, the Militia is closest to China: a dozer builds the structures, trucks haul the money, and power plants provide power. The difference is in the prices and in where the balance has shifted.

• The Construction Dozer costs 500, half the price of the US and Chinese one.
• The Supply Center (1500) comes with one Collector Truck. It has 600 health, twice as much as the Chinese Supply Truck in Zero Hour.
• You can build three Oil Derricks. Each costs 4500 and brings in 75 per second, so it pays for itself in a minute.
• Power is needed only by the Radar Post (10), the Nuclear Missile Silo (15), the Fire Base (4) and the Scout Glider (2). One Power Plant gives 8, and the other buildings work without it.
• Until you build the Field HQ (2500), you only have militiamen, Fundamentalists, Stinger Soldiers and light vehicles: the Militia Tank, the Stalker IFV, the buggy and the Shilka. The Air Field, the derricks, artillery, heavy tanks and the superweapon all require the HQ.

The numbers show how the side plays. The Militia builds numbers cheaply and wins the long-range exchange, but loses tank-on-tank trades: the Heavy Tank for 1800 hits for 125, yet it has the same 480 health as the Militia Tank for 550. The side's only truly tough vehicle is the Spear, and it opens up only at rank 2, with a limit of six.

Militia units

Costs, build times and health are taken from the mod's 9.1.27 INI files. Damage is per shot of the main weapon, range is in game units. Units that exist in Zero Hour keep their official names, new ones are listed by their real designations or a translation of the mod name.

The Spear and the Fundamentalist Van open up at rank 2. One rank 1 general promotion unlocks the Centaur, another unlocks the MiG and the Little Bird.

Buildings and superweapon

The Nuclear Missile Silo is the side's only superweapon. It costs 10000, builds in 65 seconds and takes 15 power, so two Power Plants go to it alone. China's Nuclear Missile in Zero Hour cost half as much.

The Supply Drop Zone is unlocked by the same promotion as the Centaur. Every 140 seconds a plane drops 4 tanks by parachute, and each one's type is picked at random: a Broken Crusader, a Heavy Battlemaster or a Trojan Tank.

Real-world prototypes of Militia units

In the mod, a model's file or texture name often gives away its prototype. That's what we checked against.

• ZSU-23-4 Shilka. A Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on a tracked chassis with four 23 mm AZP-23 Amur autocannons. It was produced from 1964 to 1982. In the game the Shilka hits aircraft at 380 and ground targets at 175.
• MiG fighter. The model in the files is called MVMIG29, so this is the MiG-29. First flight in 1977, in service since 1983. In the mod it carries the same napalm missiles as the Chinese MiG.
• Little Bird helicopter. The object in the files is called Huey, like the American UH-1, but the model has the AH6J_Cayuse texture. That's the AH-6J, the attack version of the MH-6 Little Bird light helicopter, which grew out of the OH-6 Cayuse. It has served in the US Army since 1980 and is flown by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The real AH-6J carries machine guns and unguided rocket pods, as in the game.
• Attack jet. The model is UVL29, the Czechoslovak Aero L-29 Delfín trainer. First flight in 1959, and 3665 were built from 1963 to 1974. It carried gun pods and rockets under its wings, so it really did serve as a light attack aircraft.
• Sniper. The weapon in the files is called AssassinSpringfieldRifle. That's the American M1903 Springfield rifle, adopted in 1903. Its sniper version, the M1903A4, fought in World War II.
• Stinger Soldier. The FIM-92 Stinger, an American man-portable air defense system in service since 1981. The real Stinger hits air targets, while in the mod the soldier fires it at ground targets too.
• Centaur artillery. The model carries the G6Rhino texture and sits on six wheels. That's the South African 155 mm G6 Rhino self-propelled howitzer on a 6×6 wheeled chassis, in series production since 1988.
• Artillery Gun. The model of this static gun is called UVD30: the Soviet 122 mm D-30 howitzer designed by F. F. Petrov. Its three-legged carriage lets it turn through 360 degrees.
• No prototype. The Militia Tank, the Heavy Tank, the Spear, the Stalker IFV, the Farmer, the Combat Truck, the Fundamentalist Van, the buggy and the Scout Glider have no prototypes. The 150 mm howitzer's model is assembled from generic parts, so the files don't point to a specific gun.

How to play the Militia

The side's dossier sums up its tactics in a few words: massed frontal assaults. The numbers back this up. The Militia Tank builds in 5 seconds, and so does a militia squad, so you replace losses faster than your opponent. Build the Field HQ first, because without it your army stays at the light tank level. Then the derricks: at 75 per second each one pays for itself in a minute.

Keep your formation like this: cheap tanks and infantry in front, Shilkas behind them, howitzers and Centaurs at the back. Look after your Spears, you only get six.

• Against the USA. The main threat comes from the air. The F-22 hits with missiles for 600 from range 850, farther than any of your anti-aircraft guns (the Shilka reaches 380). Split your Shilkas and Stinger Soldiers into groups so one air strike doesn't wipe out all your air defense. The Abrams has 900 health, so take it apart with Heavy Tanks and artillery. The US army's numbers are on the USA in Project Raptor page.
• Against China. China wins the artillery duel: its Nuke Cannon hits for 400, and the Crusher super artillery reaches 700. Hunt it down with fast units: buggies and Stalker IFVs drive faster than Chinese tanks. The Overlord has 1200 health, so put Heavy Tanks (125 per shot) and Spears against it.
• Against the GLA. The GLA's T-80 and Heavy Tank have 950 health each and hit at 195, so your tanks lose to them head-on. The SA-11 SAM reaches 500, so it's better not to spend aircraft against the GLA. More about this opponent on the GLA army in the mod page.

Playing on a phone

Project Raptor 9.1.27 works in ZeroFront. For phones the mod is packed into .big archives, and the build is in the bot, under "Game files & mods" → Project Raptor. A regular loose install (the Data\INI and Art folders) crashes on a phone or takes minutes to load, so use the build from the bot.

On a touch screen the Militia is easiest to play through the group bar on the left:

1. Box-select your cheap tanks and infantry (press and drag) and tap the empty group "1": the group is saved.
2. Save the Shilkas to "2", so one tap moves your air defense after the army.
3. Keep howitzers and Centaurs in "3". A double tap on a group selects it and moves the camera to it.

To hit a distant target with artillery, zoom the camera out with two fingers and tap the target. The other gestures are on the touch controls page, and how to install the mod itself on a PC is covered in the Project Raptor overview.

FAQ