Alex's Freedom Fortress
The Fortress Archives - 2014 Updates
[2014-Apr-27] Spring Cleaning
I'm back after another extended break. Nothing major to report, but I have
given the site a face-lift, as I redecorate and reorganize
a bit. Updated the FAQ to be up to date with FFv3R and info
about the Steam versions of the FF games. I put the classic Suicide
Squad mod back up - I'd had it posted for a while, but never got around
to doing the link!
The Dev Diary and Mods now have
their own separate pages and I threw together some snazzy new nav buttons, just
because. Cleaned up various links and text here and there, so we're ready for
action. Hopefully, the internal site changes I am making will make it easier to update the site in the future.
I am looking at a few things I'd like to work on, so we'll see.
[2014-May-03] Mod Tools for FFv3R
 As
I started looking into what's the deal with FF nowadays, I found out certain
things don't work! ... Important things like the FFv3R Mod Tools.
Well it's not
that they don't work, it's just that the installer won't install them because it
searches your PC registry for the CD version of FFv3R. Nowadays, more and more
people are using repackaged versions of the FF games from GOG or Steam.
Since
one of those people was me (though I also have the CD versions), I decided to
make it easier to install FFv3R tools.
I have extracted the mod tools themselves and repackaged them in an installer that
should work with all flavors of FFv3R. Check it out on the
Goodies page!
[2014-May-18] Super Powers Mod is back!
 Back
in the early days of FF, we didn't have no fancy-pants FFX to spice up our mods.
We had a dozen FX maybe! And we typed in every power for every hero into FFEDIT
with our bare fingers - and we walked 5 miles in the snow to find the right mesh
- and 80% of the time the right mesh was male_basic!
Return with me now to those thrilling days of FF innovation with a
blast from the past - the legendary Super Powers Mod by
Fatal_T and The Four-Eyed Avenger!
I had this on my backup drive and after checking with The Four-Eyed one himself,
I took it upon myself to combine the various installers and patches into a
single complete package. I also fixed an issue with certain levels that needed
maps that only came with the original FF editor.
A true classic, this is one of the first DC Mods, but still among my favorites -
the "Bat's In The Cradle" episode still inspires. I remember
congratulating Fatal_T and Four-Eyed Avenger on their great achievement when it
came out. I kind of always felt this occurs in a shared universe with my own JLA
Mod as we both used a lot of the same meshes/skins and my own hero "recipes"
were used as the basis for some heroes.
I'm glad we can all once again
enjoy this great adventure! Grab it now on the Mods page.
[2014-May-20] Updated Installers
I'm currently working on a new version of EZ Hero (with a bunch
of features). Should be done soon, but I needed a break from looking at
code, so I spent a little time upgrading various mod installers. I have updated
JLA, DCU, and X with
uninstall features, some help text to give you sample install paths (if you have
CD or Steam versions of FF), and an icon shortcut that actually works without
having to fiddle with it. (The SuperPowers installer I did recently has all
these features also).
I just thought it should be easier for people new to FF mods to get things up
and running. Now I'm going to play all of these for inspiration! Get them on the
Mods page.
[2014-May-22] C6 Marvel ... 'nuff said!
After an absence of nearly 10 years, I've restored Courtnall6's Marvel skins
page. Only 15 skins are up right now, but I have a bunch more coming when I get
the time to upload them. Look for Marvel (and other unhosted skins from
Courtnall6) in the weeks ahead.
[2014-May-28] More C6 Marvel!
An additional 33 skins have been added to Courtnall6's Marvel page, bringing the
current total to 48. More in the weeks to come!
[2014-Jun-01] Even More C6 Marvel!
I start off June with another 90 Courtnall6 Marvel skins, bringing the total up
to 138! Still a bunch to go through, but can now see the finish line.
[2014-Jun-02] Bat-tastic update!
Another day, another 63 skins by Cournall6 added to his Marvel page! Hope to
wrap this update up soon.
And in today's BONUS update:
Is your Batman feeling tired from all the Danger Room action?
Crimefighting can
be very tiring, you know.
Maybe he just needs a little drive through the city to
relax. Yeah, and now he can do it in style - 1966 style! Get J_Foam's
Batmobile '66 mesh on his page!
[2014-Jun-07] Kenn-X Mega Update!
It's been about 40 days since I started updating my site again.
In that time, the Fortress has:
- Posted FFv3R Mod Tools to allow people to more easily create mods when
they have the Steam or GOG version of FFv3R.
- Compiled the classic FF mod, Super Powers, and made it available
again.
- Pretty much completed work on a major new version of EZHero with a ton
of new features (just waiting for a last beta check before release).
- Started reposting Courtnall6's Marvel skins (about 200 up already) and
will continue with his ToyBox and Champions skins.
- Posted an awesome Batmobile 66 mesh by J_Foam
Some may say that's a pretty great bit of work. At the Fortress, we say, "ok,
warm up's over".
To start getting into the next gear, here's one of KennX's
legendary mega-posts. 25 new mesh/skin/skope thingies (you know what I mean):
Argent, Blue Beetle's Bug, Cat-man & Kitten, Fastbak, Flame-On-Action Johnny
Storm, Flame-On-Action Original Torch, Flame-On-Action Toro, Flash of 2 Worlds,
GL Archon, Hawkworld Katar Hol, Hawkworld Shayera Thal, Kim Possible, Mas y
Menos, Mindgrabber Kid, Mr. Incredible, Plastic Man (updated), Scuba Guy, Shego,
Sparkler, Spitfire, Stuff, Superman (Action#1, Hermes mesh), Terra III (Atlee),
Left & Right Winger, Yank & Doodle
[2014-Jun-10] EZ Hero 3.4!
After several weeks' work, I'm happy to say the newest version of EZ
Hero (3.4) is now available for download!
This new release (the first one since 2009!) boasts a ton of new features which
should make life easier for modders and hero file fans:
- Fully supports DDS-format portraits
- Input a weight value directly into the hero file (no pulldowns)
- All FFX 3.3 Attributes are built-in by default (you can still add your
own)
- Additional materials are supported: Air, Cloth, Concrete
- Sending a hero file to DAT will now auto-generate text in your
strings.txt, great timesaver for modders
- New Smart Settings screen and Smart Paths - lets you check and set all
your paths (Hero Files, FF Meshes, FFv3R meshes, DAT files) easily.
Automatically adjusts to the right path based on what type of file you are
editing (FF or FFv3R). The pulldowns include common FF/FFv3R paths for GOG,
Steam, or CD, or type your own.
- Runs on all versions of Windows (including 7 and Win8.1) - no need for
additional COMDLG32.OCX file
Grab it on the Goodies page!
Special thanks to my volunteer beta-testers: hoss20, Cyber Burn, and
spydermann93, their efforts made it a much better product.
[2014-Jun-16] Son of Even More C6 Marvel skins!
More Courtnall6 skins posted - 29 in all! Almost caught up with all his
original Fortress Marvel work. After that, his skins that were hosted on other sites will be put
up. Enjoy!
[2014-Jun-19] New KennX Marvel skins!
Working on a few things at once, but did want to get the latest batch of KennX
mesh/skin packages out there! As you can see, we're building up the Marvel
content as KennX adds 7 new meshes (well mostly, Marvel ... there is a boy
wizard as well) Enjoy!
[2014-Jun-24] Another day, another batch of Courtnall6 skins!
Continuing with my work to make all Courtnall6 skins available by uploading 33
more. (Boy that guy did a lot, didn't he?) A few updated ones have snuck in as
I've been doing this, but I'm about to start with all his newer ones soon. I'm
also starting to create new preview pics as I go as I've just about used up all
the ones that are available. Have done about a dozen so far.
[2014-Jun-29] The next wave of Courtnall6 skins!
I enter a new phase of Courtnall6 skins. There are still some older ones which
I've unearthed, but I am now starting to include some of his newer work as well.
Thirty-six new ones uploaded for your FF gaming pleasure.
[2014-Jul-02] Two Words: Toy Box! (or is that one word?)
 The
Fortress continues its relentless march by making the work of one of the greats
easily available once more. Yes, Renegade's Toybox has a new page on this site.
I thought long and hard about this and since Renegade went on record in the
forums as saying he was OK for someone to share his stuff (and since it is
already being shared on the pain-in-the-butt Yahoo groups anyway), I setup a
page for him. His stuff is a basic requirement for FF fans!
I also did reach out to him via PM, but realize he hasn't been active for years
at this point. I used to have his email (I actually did my first skin ever for
his Ray mesh) but have lost it . In any case, the first 19 meshes are up, with
more to come.
[2014-Jul-08] OK, it's one word - Toybox!
OK it turns out it's one word (Renegade himself made it clear!) Pleased to be
able to bring you 28 additional meshes now available for downloading on the
Toybox page.
A little status report as well:
- Working on EZHero 3.5 which fixes a few glitches but also adds the
ability to override certain settings , as requested by Yellow Lantern. More
info on that when it's released (just have one bug left to crush).
- Working on EZFX 5.2 and EZFX 6.1 (may change name of 6.1 to 6.2 to make
it all line up) - which will include many new FX for both games.
- Continuing to update pages by Courtnall6, Renegade, and Johnny Patches.
- Planning to start a new DevDiary that will cover my preparations and
plans for the updated JLA Mod.
- A few other things I still need to reveal.
[2014-Jul-09] The coming of ... EZ Search !
 Did
you know there are currently 8 versions of Doctor Fate on my site? No? Neither
did I!
Until I created ... EZ Search!
Now you can easily search through the nearly 1,500 skins and meshes currently
hosted here to find what you're looking for. Right now, it does a simple check
through names, but I may expand it to do even more in the future. (I've got some
ideas).
Try it out by clicking the EZ Search link at the top of the Skins & Meshes page!
Let me know about anything not showing up in a search, I've fixed a few typos in
names as I tested this out , but there may be more.
[2014-Jul-18] Patented MEGA-UPDATE [tm]
A nice big mix of stuff for today's update. First up, two of KennX's
meshes have been updated to include FFv3R versions: Atomic
Knight and Icon! A big thank you to hoss20
for doing the conversions and, of course, KennX for creating them in the first
place!
Next, we have 13 more skins by
Courtnall6! A few notes on what I'm posting: I created the Daredevil 4Pack out of
his old 2 Pack and 2 other of his Daredevil skins that I had
but were not posted yet. I
included his 2 versions of Thunderstrike in one download. Finally, I included
both male_alpha and male_basic versions of Wolverine Leather
in the one download
as there are 2 versions of the wolverine_unmasked mesh out there.
Then, we follow it up with 7 classic meshes by The Beyonder
himself. I also created FFv3R versions when needed for these.
Thanks to hoss20 once more for converting Quicksilver
to FFv3R.
Finally, we bring it on home with 21 meshes by the skope master himself, Johnny Patches!
To get them up to Fortress-spec, I've added std skins
by daglob (thanks daglob!) and included FFv3R versions when needed. Big
thanks to hoss20 and spydermann93 for converting a couple of troublesome meshes
to FFv3R format.
 [2014-Aug-21] Enter ... DaGlob! (and a MEGA-UPDATE)
The long-awaited August update is finally here! and it's a big one ...
Let's start off with the big news. The Fortress is very happy to welcome another new artist
- DaGlob!
And he gets off to a
fantastic start with 21 impressive creations!
Next, 9 classic meshes have been added to Beyonder's page. I've
added keyframes and FFv3R conversions where needed, 'cause here at the Fortress,
we're all about making it EZ !
Then we keep it going with 4 creations from El Insensatez
And then ... just to make sure we keep our rep as the World's Mightiest FF Fan site
... 15
more meshes from Johnny Patches - almost all of them with new skins by
DaGlob! (1 by Courtnall6)
Special thanks to hoss20 for the FFv3R version of Fantasticar
which is included in the download.
[2014-Oct-07] Back in the game ...
September was extremely busy for me, so no updates, but I'm back in October to
make up for it.
First off - 9 more meshes from the Beyonder's legendary
output:
Then, a big 26 skins and meshes from DaGlob, our newest member
here at the Fortress!
And to top it off, 2 more skins from El Insensatez, 2 more
meshes from Johnny Patches, and 3 more meshes from
Renegade's Toybox!
[2014-Nov-14] Skins, Meshes, and JLA Blog
This month's update is here! We start with 43 skins and meshes:
Beyonder is back with 5 more from his archives:
Courtnall6 contributes another 18!
DaGlob adds 12 more to his rapidly increasing total!
And Johnny Patches rounds it out with 8 more, with help from
DaGlob on skins.
Special thanks to hoss20 for fixing a couple of glitchy meshes so I could
include a FFv3R version.
In other updates, I updated my menu with new buttons and icons. And the first
installment of my JLA Mod blog is finally up on the newly-renamed
Blog
page!
[2014-Dec-08] Holiday Update #1!
Have a lot brewing this month, so I'm going to split it into a couple of
updates. This first one is going to be mostly work by the various resident artists
here. It does take me a while to get things like these uploaded, as I
usually have to create new preview pics for everyone except DaGlob. I also fix minor issues like
missing glow files or create FFv3r versions when needed. Hopefully, it makes it
easier to use this stuff for the FF fans out there.
First, we start off with 5 meshes by Renegade:
Then, 4 more meshes by Johnny Patches:
El Insensatez is back with 7 of his creations:
And DaGlob keeps growing his wing of the fortress with 11 more!
And to finish up this round of skin/mesh updates, Courtnall6
adds 26 more (this guy never runs out of stuff)!
Also for this update, I've posted a new JLA Mod blog entry,
#2 Making a list, checking it twice ...!
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