It has been a while since I've last posted a formal update for this mod. Regardless, work on this project has continued even during silence and keeps going relatively strong, and I do have few things to share.

Website
Project Phantom website has been updated with a new layout. Many of the pages are still under construction, and I'll be sure to keep everyone updated when they go live.

Discord
For those who may have missed it, Project Phantom does have an official Discord server that can be used for discussing the modification, receiving updates regarding it first in the line and eventually it would hopefully serve as a multiplayer hub as well.

Showcases
A while back I posted an article about various UI / UX improvements in Project Phantom, be sure to check it out if you already have not.
There's also a new showcase video, showing off some units & buildings in Project Phantom. It can also be viewed on ModDB.

As mentioned prior, development has been going on relatively strong, regardless of occassional pauses and challenges. With that in mind, I have the following announcement to make.

Early access version of Project Phantom will be released during Summer 2024
Exact release date will be made known closer to launch

So what will be in this first release?
Good question. Right now, we are looking at the following set of features.

• Three new factions - Western Coalition, Eurasian Dominion and Phantom Imperative, with complete arsenals full of new units, buildings and support powers (albeit many buildings will use graphics that can be deemed as 'placeholders').
• Three 'mercenary factions' - Fist of Titans, Crimson Crown and Excelsus Group, that have capturable buildings that provide various support powers and units to players who capture them, alongside the classic set of neutral tech buildings including capturable base defences.
• A large number of new map props and other miscellaneous buildings.
• Three reworked terrain tile theaters, Temperate, Tundra & Desert, with significantly expanded tilesets from the original game, including fully integrated urban tilesets and a basic interior tileset.
• Around 160 standard skirmish/multiplayer maps, some old and some new.
• Island Combat game mode, which is constrained to maps with water-locked islands.
• Scavengers game mode, where you start with a Mobile War Factory and are required to collect powerup crates for units and funds - your factory can reverse-engineer any vehicles found (including technology trucks for aerial vehicles) to unlock them as buyable units.
• One scenario for Hold the Line game mode, where up to 4 players (human or AI) are pitted against waves of AI-controlled enemies that scale based on number players in game, with objective to protect a critical structure from the said enemies.

A preview of Crimson Crisis scenario, where players are tasked protecting an Energy Research Lab against waves of Crimson Crown units.

• Challenges game mode, where 2 players (human or AI) are pitted against three AI-controlled enemies in specific scenarios that have unique modifiers in play and odds stacked against the players. Initially Challenges mode is going to come with three scenarios, one against each of the factions.

A preview of one of the Challenges, called Thunderhill Challenge where players are challenged by the nigh-impenetrable defenses of a W.A.R.D research base.

• A single Cooperative mission, testing the waters out, where two Coalition commanders are tasked with eliminating a Dominion mining outpost.

Preview of co-op mission Motherlode, where a small squad of Coalition forces is sent on an infiltration and elimination mission to a Dominion mining base.

• Various quality of life, bugfix and other engine improvements, courtesy of Ares Expansion DLL and Phobos Engine Extension.
• Full integration with the CnCNet client, allowing easy access to multiplayer games and easy download of mod updates.
• Bundled installation of two map editors, a version of the legacy FinalAlert 2 map editor as well as Rampastring's modern World Altering Editor.
• Installer software with compatibility with all releases of Yuri's Revenge.

I hope to have some more news to share about Project Phantom's development and the upcoming early access release in near future, but for now, I'm out.