Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Template:Infobox Command & Conquer (series)
Key points
- 3.03p-Iran fan patch is highly recommended to install.
- Works very well in Mac and Linux using emulation.[1].
- France and England are still debuffed in multiplayer; England has thinner instead of thicker armor and France has a slower instead of faster rate of fire.
- In order to play online with CnCNet, start the game with cncnet.exe. To play LAN, start the game as usual.
General information
- Patch discussion thread
- CNCNZ subforum
- CnC-Comm forums
- Official subforum
- Command & Conquer Wiki
- CnCNet IRC
Availability
- Fanmade Installer #1 is currently a better installer than Fanmade Installer #2 which is better for patching existing installations and installing original CDs.
- Game is also bundled with other games in the franchise on Command & Conquer: The First Decade or newer The Ultimate Collection.
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Improvements
Patch
3.03p-Iran
- This patch contains:
- You can find the list of full changes in the changelog.
- Compatibility mode, 256 colors and 640x480 should be turned OFF in the compatibility tab[3].
- It is not recommended to install CnCNet alone as most players use 3.03 version and the patch installs CnCNet anyway.
- Support for regular Red Alert installation, The First Decade and The Ultimate Collection.
Game data
Default installation directories
Configuration files location
Save game location
Save game cloud syncing
Template:Save Game Cloud Syncing
Video settings
- These are video and input settings in the fanmade patch.
Input Settings
Network settings
There are 2 online services to choose for Red Alert: XWIS and CnCNet. XWIS is officially supported by EA and works internally by clicking the "Internet" button. On the other hand, CnCNet is supported by its community and runs by executing cncnet.exe which boosts a player into "Network" screen. CnCNet is also much more popular with over 100 players playing every day; that's why the patch and the fan download has CnCNet. Unfortunately, XWIS and CnCNet cannot coexist so CnCNet settings are presented in this section.
In order to play the game online with CnCNet, you can choose two main options: peer-to-peer or tunneled mode. Generally, peer-to-peer method is faster, but may need some network configuration. There are 2 options of doing this:
- Automatic setup by CnCNet Tester with instructions[4] below.
- Manual setup (instructions here).
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Issues unresolved
- If you haven't found an issue, head over to forums with links at the top of the page.
- Disappearing cursor on some systems[5]
Issues fixed
General fix
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The configuration tool won't run
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Game speed/Map scroll rate issue
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"Unable to set video mode" error
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No music
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Video/sound problems (delayed/choppy playback)
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No players online
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Mac/Linux Emulation
- This is an emulation guide for the fan-made packs, not for the ISOs or CDs.
- This is a guide to emulation using PlayonLinux/PlayonMac and can be also set on Wine with same configuration.
- You need to have Mono installed for the config tool to work.
- Download PlayonMac or PlayonLinux and install it.
- Open, click "Install" and then "Install a non-listed program" at the bottom.
- Choose "Install a program in a new virtual drive" and then check "Configure Wine" (Name of the virtual drive doesn't matter)
- In the libraries tab, add ddraw.dll and wsock32.dll to override list; write them and click Add (one at a time).
- After configuring Wine, run the installer.
- Add shortcuts for RA95.exe and CnCNet.exe (and Config.exe for configuration).
- Have fun!
General information
Re-implementations
OpenRA is an implementation that is multiplatform. It has a completely reimagined interface, supports high resolutions and is very well-supported. However, it's multiplayer-only and music has to be put separately into its Application Data folder.
Languages
C&C patch also supports multiple languages. They can be found here under language packs section. Currently available languages are (besides English) German, French, Spanish and Russian.
Mods
Mods for this game are scarce, but there are some that are quite neat. Command & Conquer: Classic Revolution is an Aftermath mod which pitches the USA against the Soviet Union, in a battle for the world. Gather oil from derricks, refine it and choose what weapons to obliterate your opponent with. There's also Arda, which is a project currently in development that aims to both patch the game and make it more moddable, although incompatible with CnCNet or more precisely, other players' games. There are also some total conversions of the gamelike a Red Alert 3 conversion called The Red Alert.
Maps
Red Alert has support for external maps, both multiplayer and singleplayer. Links for them is at the beginning of this article as well as at Redalert95.tk. There's even a map creator you can find here and XCC Mixer to package the maps.
System requirements
See Also