Blog

The main site has been moved to more powerful server hardware. Later on today, the file server will also be switched over to the new hardware, this change should be seamless. If you encounter any issues with the website, be sure to Contact Us and let us know.

The server will be down for routine maintenance starting at 12:00PM EST Friday September 4th. The server is expected to be down for an hour while we perform a migration to new server hardware. The site and related services, such as the CNCNet tunnel will also be affected and will unavailable during this timeframe.

This update brings a new launcher with an improved newsfeed and update support.

Changes include:

• Updated Survival Mode mission 2
  • Mercenaries will no longer receive Deviators as part of reinforcements
  • Mercenary AI has been tweaked to build units more effectively, will no longer build engineers
  • Mercenary AI has been tweaked to prioritize attack targets more effectively, as well as defend more actively
• Game launcher has been updated, news feed is now grabbed directly from the news blog
• Removed several redundant files in game directory
• Resolved an error where empty error boxes would appear
• Updated Mission Launcher and Dune2000Config to support more missions and system configurations
• Fixed an issue where the launcher would not perform new updates

If you have version 1.6.1.9.1, you can download the update here.

Upon future investigation, it looks like the last update for the Xbox 360 changed the way external drives work significantly, the files are now stored directly on the USB and can be edited by an editing program without the need for a transfer tool like USB XTAF explorer. As such, there will not be any future updates to USB XTAF Explorer since new systems can no longer use it at all. The download page and server will still be maintained for legacy USB backups that need to be modified.

As the one with who discovered the unique behavior of the Xbox formatted drives and asked Slasherking823 to investigate, as well as the one who has been maintaining the program in his absence, Thanks for choosing USB XTAF Explorer for all these years.  I am very proud of what we accomplished and glad to be a part of such a powerful project.

I have just finished securing the site with SSL encryption. What does this mean for you? Not much, you will notice a lock icon next to the site URL whenever you visit a page. This icon lets you know that you are visiting the actual GruntMods website and not a site impersonating it. It’s becoming increasingly important in this day and age to be vigilant against phishing attempts and malware. Now everyone is another step closer to being secure.

File downloads are also being handled through the SSL connection. If you notice any issues with the site or any of the hosted content downloads, make sure to mention it through our contact page. The Dune 2000 launcher will be updated in the next few days to reflect these changes.

After a long period of quiet I am pleased to announce the release of update 1.6.1.9.1! This is a major update with a large amount of fixes and new features, the most important one being the addition of windowed mode.

Rise of the Mercenaries mission 3 is making good progress and I hope to release it soon. In the mean time, check out the new website for the mod, http://riseofthemercenaries.com/

Full change log:

• Improved Game Launcher, with added options for launching missions, support for the D2K+ toolkit and Rise Of The Mercenaries
• Temporarily removed the build queues patch by MVI, it will be added back in a future release
• Support for windowed display, as well as enhanced compatibility with Windows 8/8.1/10
• Updated game documentation (latest documentation can always be found at https://gruntmods.com/dune-2000-gruntmods-edition-manual)
• Improved uninstaller, will now thoroughly check for and terminate running processes related to the game
• Updated D2K+ to include the new Mission Editor by Klofkac
• Additional Music “Rise of the Harkonnen (Rock)” by Michael Sobin
• Improved briefing text for Rise Of The Mercenaries
• Added ingame briefings for Rise Of The Mercenaries
• Added default music for each mission in Rise Of The Mercenaries and Survival Mode
• Merged the multiplayer and single player mission folders to be stored in the original directory location(data\missions)
• Menus are now properly centered on high resolutions
• Added second survival mission, this time for House Harkonnen. It can be accessed through the new mission launcher

Note: This update will clear your CnCNet and Dune 2000 configuration files. You will need to run the configuration program again to reconfigure your settings.

If you have version 1.6.1.9, you can download the update here