Unzip the .uqm file and look in the ui subfolder for .mod files. That might be redalert.mov

Sorry, how do I unzip it?

There is an "Incoming Transmission" sound when a contact when the vessel makes contact with an artifact or a building on the surface.

First, where can I find that sound file? And second, are there any similar "human" sounds in the game? I'll gladly convert them to ringtones.

Here is one simple mod that would be very easy to add to the original UQM game without upsetting the balance or impose major development costs.

1. Among other "historical facts", Melnorme will reveal that the Alliance had a network of secret military labs developing a special ship weapon. During the war, the labs had to be abandoned as the planets were devastated by Ur-Quan bombardments. Melnorme will provide vague hints on location of three of them.

2. Locating the labs will require exploration of Ur-Quan bubble. Each planet will be guarded by 3 Kohr-Ar ships. Scanning the surface will locate an energy mark, which can be investigated for a recorded message.

3. Once all three recorded messages are obtained, the ship must visit Earth station. Two weeks later, Commander Hayes will have the exact location of the final lab. He will characterize the retrieval mission as "suicidal".

4. Upon arrival, the ship will be "greeted" by a mixed fleet of 3 Ur-Quan and 3 Kohr-Ar ships. They must be defeated - using main ship's escape pod FAILS THE QUEST.

5. The surface scan will reveal one energy object (ruins) and 30-40 bio markers. The latter will turn out to be surface war machines with moderate speed and major HP. The ruins will not react to the lander ("the entrance is blocked") until all war machines are destroyed. The battlefield is also "enhanced" with L4 seismic and L4 weather. Again, leaving the orbit results in irreversible quest failure.

6. When all war machines are destroyed and the ruin accessed, the message will contain the blueprints for a new weapon. The exact details of the weapon are subject to your imagination.

7. Declined Talana's gratitude.

Declined Talana's gratitude!?!?!  Why would you want to decline Talana???  Why in heaven's name would anyone decline Talana?!?!?

And that's why this achievement will remain secret for a VERY long time.

I would add a page of "trophy" achievements. Some of them would be practical, others purely statistical or even comical. Each goal that a player can achieve would be there, displayed as a separate trophy. Naturally, all goals are hidden until achieved once!

Here are a few examples:

1. Discover all rainbow worlds.
2. Enlisted all available races.
3. Destroyed 100 enemy ships.
4. Collected 100000 mineral units.
5. Passed Quasispace 10 times.
6. Used all available ships in Melee.
7. Declined Talana's gratitude.

And so on. I'm sure y'all could add a few more.

If they're not willing to put the time in because they're impatient, this probably isn't the right game for them. An RPG would make more sense.

I got your point. UQM is supposed to be the game for Selected Few who have reasonably good keyboard control, patience to grind, and some insider knowledge. All others, get off my lawn!

Most SC2 players are old-school grognards and forget that kids play PC games differently. My 11 year old is reasonably skilled in consoles and likes SC2 story so far, but still cannot figure which planets are worth looting and which have to be avoided due to potential lander losses. My choice is either to rob her of fun by helping, teach her to scum-save, or see her howl in frustration and eventually give up on a great game, never to return.

Also, battle-tested veterans like you could appreciate an extra challenge coming from harder settings. In fact, I would appreciate a "Real" mode, where - in addition to some other numeric tweaks - manual save is not allowed at all, game is autosaved in background after every takeoff or dialog, and failure means restarting the game.

I'd say making UQM easier would be a lot like making King's Quest easier. The game might be hard, but making it easier doesn't make a whole lot of sense. This is the type of game that you're pretty much supposed to fail at the first time.

Fist, do not forget that the number of people willing to fail in an ancient, cartoonish-looking PC game has dropped dramatically since 1992.
Second, many younger kids are willing to delve into the storyline but do not possess the demanded reflexes and keyboard control, and get frustrated fast.
And third, sometimes one desires just to follow through the story - to take a specific snapshot, for example - and doesn't want to bother with fine fingerwork.

These are the reasons I'd like to see the "Easy" mode. As for higher modes, I'll bet my last unit of radioactives that there are plenty on this forum who will gladly pick up the glove, and ask for more.

Hello fellow space travelers! I've been reading this forum for a lo-o-ong while, grasping for every bit of news about my most beloved computer game, and finally decided to post my suggestion.

I believe the game should offer a difficulty setting. While grizzled veterans like you and me could use the extra challenge, my daughter - yeah, a new generation of SC2 lovers! - still struggles with melee and planet navigation. The setting would be chosen at the beginning of the game, along with the ship & captain names, and the options offered would be Easy, Normal (default), Difficult, and Hardcore.

Easy:
  * lander sustains half the regular damage from all planetary factors
  * hitting the planet during melee causes half the damage
  * dynamo units generate energy at 150% the regular rate

Difficult:
  * enemy ships (except Sa-Matra pods) hit for random 100-200% of regular damage
  * lander sustains 150% of regular damage from all planetary factors
  * all lifeforms require 200% of stun amount to be incapacitated
  * planetary mineral deposits yield 50% of regular amount
  * debris scavenging yields 10% of regular amount

Hardcore - same as Difficult plus:
  * game saving is only allowed while in planetary orbit
  * hitting the planet destroys the ship, or leaves 1 crew (if Vindicator)
  * no crew hiring is allowed past 1000 unless Shofixti joined the Alliance

I'm sure you could come with other, more sophisticated adjustments, I just give an approximate idea.