Category Archives: Dune Updates and Changelog

Server Updates

Only 4 years since the last major site update! I guess that says a lot of about the site stability.

We were utlizing a CDN service to serve file downloads as the bandwidth was becoming pretty intensive for our existing file server. We had a minor issue the other month that resulted in the hosted files there becoming unavailable. Rather then risk this happening again, I have taken the liberty of upgrading the server infrastructure.

The site once again has all files on one centralized server, which will allow me to better stay on top of backups and updates. As this would increase the load on the server, I have also taken the chance to upgrade the hardware which should result in significantly improved download speeds and reduced load times.

I had to migrate all the file links manually, so if anything isn’t working please let me know.

Just because I like to show off performance increases, I will continue the tradition of posting a speedtest result after the upgrade.

 

Download Gruntmods Edition 1.6.2.6

Windows 11 is here! With that we have an updated version of the configuration program from FunkyFr3sh that should fix the following issues:

  • “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000022). Click OK to close the application.” Error message appearing when trying to start the game
  •  Windowed view not working
  • Using Alt + Tab key combinations causing freezing and crashing issues.

Download the full installer from the download page.

Download Gruntmods Edition 1.6.2.5 Update

It’s that time again! Another small update to the installer to fix a few issues that have come up:

-Added updated Mission Launcher by Feda
-Fixed an Issue where music would not play in Rise of The Mercenaries Mission 2 when selected from the mission launcher
-Fixed an issue where the installer would not download the cutscenes

Download the full installer from the download page.

Download Gruntmods Edition 1.6.2.4 Update

It’s been a long time since I’ve published an update for the GruntMods Edition. This time I decided to tackle three simple problems that have been an issue for awhile:

  • Error messages appearing when the news feed is loaded
  • The built in updater not working
  • Issues with A1V1, A1V2, H1V1, H1V2, O1V1 and O1V2 having most of the events happening outside the playable area

To solve these issues with the launcher, I have updated it to a newer version. The most important change is that it no longer includes an automatic update feature. I made numerous changes to the server infrastructure that broke this feature, and since we don’t make updates to the software often this feature is largely unnecessary.

 

In regards to the mission specific issues, Cm_blast was kind enough to provide updated mission files to address the issue.

 

That’s all for this update, I haven’t forgotten about mission 3 of Rise of The Mercenaries but I will need to clear more free time for that to be completed.

New Installer Available

There is a new version of the game installer available! The changes include:

  • Support for installing the cutscenes in the additional languages of French, German and Italian
  • Support for installing when the existing version is already installed (Although it is highly recommended you uninstall any existing versions)
  • Fixed the issue with the English cutscenes not downloading correctly

Please note, the launcher has not been updated as I’m still working on reprogramming it with lots of new features. As such the update functionality will not work at this time. If you want to install this version please use the full installer.

You can download the installer form the download page: https://gruntmods.com/dune_2000_gruntmods_edition/

Dedicated Server Move Complete

Recently we completed a move to a dedicated server. Rather than sharing a virtual server (VPS) with other users, this allows us to have consistently fast connections and full access to the CPU and RAM (with copious amounts to spare). d2kplus.com has also been moved to the dedicated server, however, the downloads are still served from a separate VPS to ensure optimal download performance. If you experience any issues with the site, please let us know.

New Server Move – Downtime Explanation

On February 2nd at 3:13am EST gruntmods.com and its respective file server was the victim of a DDOS attack. Although we have measures in place to prevent automated attacks against our service there is no such thing as a perfect defense and as such the site was taken offline by our hosting provider until the attack subsided.

Several hours after service was restored at 8am, we again saw an increase in traffic matching the profile of the original DDOS attack. We have taken the following measures to ensure the server is as secure and functional as possible:

  • Increased Security: We have raised the protection level with our partners at Cloudflare, bots and other automated systems will have a significantly harder time visiting the site and utilizing any services we offer
  • New Server Instances: We have deployed additional server instances and reconfigured these with tighter security settings, to cover us against further attacks through other avenues.
  • Server Monitoring: We have implemented file level server monitoring to notify us of suspicious activity on the file server. Going forward, additional monitoring will be put into place on both servers to notify us of any issues that occur before they impact performance.
  • Server Redundancy: The Web Server is now located in a Toronto data center, and the file server is located in Montreal. This provides additional protection against issues with specific regional data centers. We are also working with our providers to establish load balancing, which will both improve speeds and availability between different regions, even during peak usage or through similar size DDOS attacks.

We are always working at providing the best possible service and apologize for any interruptions. Transparency is the best policy when it comes to these issues and I hope you continue to enjoy what GruntMods has to offer.

Dune 2000 GruntMods Edition News

We have a lot of new changes to go over! First off, we have optimized the website to load even faster then before, really taking advantage of the speed and power of the new server. Once again, I’d like to thank each of the donors, as their contribution continues to enable us to improve the site and servers.

The second change is the launch of the new CnCNet server from our New York server location. The old server will continue to operate for the time being, it will soon be rebooted and relaunched as the Montreal server to better help distinguish between the two server locations.

The final change is the addition of 3 new cutscene installers. Each installer will enable a new cutscene language to be used with the GruntMods Edition. In addition to English and French, we now offer German, Italian and Spanish. You can download these new installers here, and the next version of the game installer will have the option of downloading these as part of the install process.

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