User blog:Ranger-X/The reason for my Generals's Colors

Or colours for the sake of my European readers. I'm an American citizen, so I spell the word differently. Anyway, there is a reason why I gave the thirteen factions of Zero Hour - fifteen if you count Ironside and Deathstrike as playable - unique colors. Here is a list of the reasons. I also included a table of their names and their faction colors in my mods.

1. The basic United States faction is a deep blue because that is its color in the campaign missions. I always pick blue for America because it can symbolize peace and freedom, which is what they desire in the War against the GLA. Also notice that every USA faction in the table has a shade of blue or a color derived from blue and another color (like turquoise and violet). That was intentional.

2. I gave Malcolm "Ace" Granger the color sky blue, or cerulean as I call it, because he is an air force general. I wanted sky blue to be a pun.

3. I gave Alexis Alexander the color turquoise, or cyan, because I noticed that her Cold Fusion Reactors have that color of control rods when you upgrade them. I felt turquoise was an appropriate color for her.

4. I gave "Pinpoint" Townes the color violet based on my theory about colors. Violet is the hottest color in the visible spectrum and the shortest wavelength, so I assumed that violet lasers would burn the hottest.

5. I gave Ironside the color navy blue to represent his tough character. Having a darker shade of blue would also make him more mysterious, in my opinion, because it could make him a shady character (since he is normally not playable).

1. The basic Chinese faction is red because that is its color in the campaign missions. I always pick red for China because it is always referred to as the Red Army by the Red Guards and Battlemasters (so red fits). Also, red can symbolize communism. Also notice that every Chinese faction in the table has a shade of red or a color derived from red and another color (like orange and maroon). That was intentional.

2. I gave Ta Hun Kwai the color mahogany, or reddish-brown, because it reminded me of rust and I could imagine his tanks getting rusty. lol I thought it would be funny, like how his name sounds funny.

3. I gave Tsing Shi Tao the color orange because the radiation from his nukes appear orange to me in the game. I know sometimes radiation looks green and Tao's full name, when spelled correctly, means "green stones" (it was misspelled intentionally, I think). However, the GLA is wearing green, so I thought orange would be a better choice for a Chinese general.

4. I gave "Anvil" Shin Fai the color amber red because it looks like a fiery red to me. I know Fai has a short temper because I listened to his taunt files. I felt the color was appropriate to match his mood, while also being a derivative of red.

5. I gave "Tigress" Leiong Leang the color maroon, a reddish purple, because I wanted her to have a dark shade of red (similar to Ironside). I decided on maroon because I was trying to pick a feminine shade of red (sorry for sounding sexist). A dark shade of red would also mean the Tigress would be a shady character since like Ironside, she is normally not playable, but enabling her is simple. Open the ChallengeMode.INI file, look for GeneralPersona9 and change the StartsEnabled value from no to yes. Easy.

1. The basic GLA faction is green because that is its color in the campaign missions, so I always pick green for the Global Liberation Army. I also picked it because of its Middle East origin. I assumed the GLA was an Arabian stereotype. Also notice that every GLA faction in the table has a shade of green or a color derived from green and another color (like teal and olive green). That was intentional.

2. I gave Dr. Thrax the color teal, or dark bluish-green, because I saw teal as a toxic shade of green. It was appropriate for a master of toxins.

3. I gave Prince Kassad the color brown for two reasons. Brown is hard to see on most battle maps and helps his army blend into his surrounds. Also, brown is a dark color and it fit his shady character. I know the Generals Challenge gave him the color red, but red was already taken. I could have chosen black, but I decided on brown anyway for camouflage. His faction in the second GLA mission of Zero Hour had a color similar to brown, so I went with brown.

4. I gave Rodall "Demo" Juhziz the color olive for two reasons. Olive is a dark shade of yellow but could also be seen as a dark shade of green. I thought of sand and explosions when I picked it. It also helps his faction blend into his surrounds, like Kassad's faction. Since Pro:Gen made his faction olive green in the Generals Challenge, I picked that color for him. It's complicated.

5. I gave Mohmar "Deathstrike" the color dark green because I wanted him to have a dark shade of green (similar to Ironside and Leang). A dark shade of green would also mean Mohmar would be a shady character since like Ironside, he is normally not playable.