Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
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Westwood Pacific |
|
Electronic Arts |
Windows |
October 25, 2000 |
Metacritic |
84 |
Monetization |
One-time game purchase, Expansion pack |
Modes |
Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing |
Real-time |
Perspectives |
Bird's-eye view, Isometric |
Controls |
Multiple select, Point and select |
Genres |
RTS |
Themes |
Europe, North America, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, Sci-fi, Space |
Series |
Command & Conquer |
|
Key points
- Small but dedicated community.
General information
- Command & Conquer Wiki - A wiki for everything Command & Conquer-related
- Project Perfect Mod - The most expansive RA2 mod site.
- CnCNet (multiplayer replacement; Yuri's Revenge expansion required)
- XWIS (legacy multiplayer replacement, default server lookup leads to this service)
- Red Alert 2 section on CNC.community
- Red Alert 2 section on C&C Communications Center
- Red Alert 2 section on CNCNZ.com
- Yuri's Revenge section on CNCNZ.com
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
|
Yuri's Revenge |
Explicitly requires the base game to be patched to v1.006. Bundled with the The First Decade and Ultimate Collection compilations. |
|
Essential improvements
Patches
- Patch 1.006 for Red Alert 2 fixes general bugs, network and exploit issues - available from CNCNZ.com, C&C Labs, Patches-Scrolls and GameFront.
- Patch 1.001 for Yuri's Revenge fixes bugs, crashes and a problem when multiple CD drives are plugged in - available from CNCNZ.com, C&C Labs, Patches-Scrolls and GameFront.
- Both patches are already included in The First Decade and The Ultimate Collection releases.
CnCNet YR Client
- Download link
- Requires the Yuri's Revenge expansion patched to version 1.001.
- Includes a variety of custom graphics renderers, each fitting different configurations: cnc-ddraw, ts-ddraw, DDrawCompat and DxWnd.
- Settings changes apply to the main executables of Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
Video
- Regardless of the settings applied, the Yuri's Revenge main menu is hardcoded to 800x600. These changes apply to the in-game resolutions of the base game and expansion, as well as the base game main menu.
Modify the configuration file, method 1
|
- Go to <path-to-game>
- Open
RA2.ini (base game) or RA2md.ini (Yuri's Revenge) with any text editor and type your resolution there:
[Video]
ScreenHeight=XXXX
ScreenWidth=XXXX
Where ScreenHeight and ScreenWidth are your desired resolution.
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Modify the configuration file, method 2
|
- Go to <path-to-game>.
- Open
RA2.ini (base game) or RA2md.ini (Yuri's Revenge).
- Under the
[Video] value, insert AllowHiResModes=yes .
- Save the file, then run the game.
- In the options screen, you can now change to any standardized resolution.
This will let you change the resolution in the game menu to any supported by your computer.
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Main menu "cheat code"
|
- When in the game's main menu, simply type
HIRES .
- In the options screen, you can now change to any standardized resolution.
|
Input
In-game key map settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Subtitles |
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The Traditional Chinese versions have forced subtitles enabled in-game due to the presence of subtitle.ini (RA2) and subtitlemd.ini (YR) which other versions do not have. |
Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Royalty free audio |
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Localizations
Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
English |
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Traditional Chinese |
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French |
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German |
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Korean |
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Ukrainian |
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Fan translation and full dubbing by TSF, download. |
Network
In-game network settings.
Multiplayer types
Type |
Native |
Players |
Notes |
LAN play |
| 8 |
Versus, Co-op Uses IPX protocol. Requires a LAN patch to be replaced with UDP (ModDB, CNCNZ.com). Alternatively, the CnCNet YR client includes its own workaround. |
Online play |
| 8 |
Versus, Co-op Lobbies point to XWIS by default since 2005 as part of an agreement with EA. CnCNet is a more popular alternative. |
Connection types
Ports
Protocol |
Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
TCP |
3840, 4005, 4808, 4810, 4995, 7000-7002 |
UDP |
1234-1237 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
String manager failed to initialize properly
- This issue manifests as an error window reading "***FATAL*** String Manager Failed to Initialize Properly".
Setting up compatibility settings[3]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>
- Right click on the
Ra2.exe (base game) or RA2MD.exe (Yuri's Revenge) file and select "Properties".
- Go to the "Compatibility" tab and enable compatibility mode for Windows 98/ME and the "Run this program as an administrator" setting.
- The options in the normal Compatibility view cannot be selected. Click "Change settings for all users" to make the modifications.
- Apply the changes and launch the game.
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"Player already has the same serial" error
- This issue most often occurs when using the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection version from Origin.
Add missing registry value
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- Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Westwood\Red Alert 2 (base game) and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Westwood\Yuri's Revenge (expansion)
- Make a new string called
Serial
- Enter a valid serial key as the string text (each player must have a unique entry). Incorrect values trigger the 30-second defeat DRM.
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Auto-defeat after 30 seconds
- Is triggered by DRM, even on legitimate installations.
Clean reinstall of the game as administrator[5]
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- Fully re-install the game with administrator privileges in hopes the registry keys will be correctly created.
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Black screen with switchable graphics
This occurs when the game engine tries to render in VRAM.
Setting up cnc-ddraw renderer
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- Disable the compatibility mode of the game's
RA2.exe and RA2MD.exe executables
- Copy the files from the .zip of cnc-ddraw custom renderer to your Red Alert 2 installation folder, replacing those present. If using the CnCNet YR client, use its options menu to select cnc-ddraw among renderer choices.
If the problem persists only in Yuri's Revenge when exiting from playing to the menu, try to set
renderer=opengl
in ddraw.ini ; auto or direct3d9 may be causing the problem.
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Setting up ddwrapper renderer
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Download Aqrit's ddwrapper and extract the ddraw.dll and aqrit.cfg files into the RA2 folder, where ra2.ini lies. Next, ensure that only these settings are set to "1" in aqrit.cfg :
FakeVsync = 1
NoVideoMemory = 1
Alternatively, simply download and extract the contents of this preconfigured fix into the RA2 folder. Also, consider using the performance fix as well.
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Game is purple/green colored and displays only on the other half of the screen
This happens sometimes on newer versions of Windows (7 and above). Use any of the renderers that come with the CnCNet client or use the manual method from above.
Some Windows elements flicker from behind the game
This happens if you have downloaded Aqrit's ddwrapper and extracted the ddraw.dll
and aqrit.cfg
files into the RA2 folder and have set the ForceDirectDrawEmulation
to "1". To fix this, set ForceDirectDrawEmulation
to "0":
ForceDirectDrawEmulation = 0
Alternatively, use any of the renderers that come with the CnCNet YR client or use the manual method from above.
Lag/low FPS
Modify the RA2(MD).ini file[6]
|
- Go to
<path-to-game>
- Open
RA2.ini for the base game and RA2MD.ini for Yuri's Revenge.
- Under the
[Video] section, add VideoBackBuffer=No to a new line.
- Save the file and launch the game.
Notes
- cnc-ddraw applies this fix
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Use Command and Conquer Graphics Patcher[7]
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Game runs too fast
- This will allow players to manually re-set game speed in missions like in the previous title.
- Make sure the in-game "Game Speed" slider is adjusted properly.
- "Normal" game speed is "Fast" 30 FPS. "Real" speed is "Slow" 15 FPS; 1 second in-game equals 1 second in real-life at 15 FPS. 60 FPS is Game Speed 5 "Faster".
Use the -SPEEDCONTROL command line argument[8]
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- The launcher provided with the Ultimate Collection (Origin release) does not support custom launch options. Install the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection Fixed Launchers before using, then apply the argument to a shortcut of the
RA2Launcher.exe file.
- Note that the CnCNet YR Client has its own game speed settings. Setting them at "MAX" may cause uncontrollably high game speed, so limiting to 60 FPS is recommended.
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Restore command-line argument support (The Ultimate Collection version)
- The Ultimate Collection on Origin was released with no support for mods or command line arguments.
Use Medstar's fixed launchers (The Ultimate Collection)[9]
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- An unofficial patch that provides a slight enhancement to the default launchers provided with the Origin release (fixes some registry entries and allows command line arguments to function properly).
- Previous fixed launchers from Bibber were not available and supported for a while at Bibber's own request, but can be downloaded again from his site. As support and availability is unknown, it is advised to remove those and replace them with Medstar's ones.
- Download the last released version from GitHub or alternatively from ModDB.
- Extract the file from the ZIP file.
- Run the installer.
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DirectDraw |
7 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Cutscenes |
Bink Video |
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Multiplayer |
Westwood Online |
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- For these to work in The Ultimate Collection release, see Restore command-line argument support (The Ultimate Collection version).
Command[10] |
Description
|
-WIN |
Runs the game in windowed mode (requires 16-bit color mode)
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-16 |
Forces 16-bit color mode
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-480 |
Forces screen resolution to 480px height
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-[width]x[height] |
Sets custom resolution
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-SPEEDCONTROL |
Enables the game speed slider in campaign mode
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-noaudio |
Disables game audio
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-nostr (or -jabber) |
Disables reading the string file (.csf ); base game only
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-record |
Saves a match replay in <path-to-game>\SESSION.IPB ; faulty function, does not track other players' correct movements in multiplayer
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-play [filename] |
Plays a replay file
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-CD [path] |
Redirects the disc check to a set path, which needs to contain YR1.dsk with at least 3 bytes of content; unknown how it relates to DRM
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-STEALTH |
Hides player names in multiplayer
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-DESTNET |
Specifies destination network IP address
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-SOCKET |
Specifies network socket number (0-16383)
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-DROP=[int] |
Enables Packet Loss Simulation mode
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-MESSAGES |
Allows incoming messages from outside the game (Westwood Online only)
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-DLINK |
Enables additional logic for D-Link LAN configurations
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-NETGEAR |
Enables additional logic for NetGear LAN configurations
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-MPDEBUG |
Enables multiplayer debug mode
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FinalAlert (map editor)
Hero units in "Hollywood and Vain" mission lack their unique lines
- Yuri's Revenge patch 1.001 replaced the voice lines of movie star characters in Allied mission 2 with those of regular GIs for unknown reasons.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, 98, NT 4.0, ME |
2000 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium II 266 MHz
| Intel Pentium II 450 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
64 MB |
128 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
350 MB additional 350 MB for expansion | |
Video card (GPU) |
2 MB of VRAM DirectX 7.0a compatible | |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
, %PROGRAMDATA%
, or %WINDIR%
might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References