Difference between revisions of "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3"

Revision as of 16:36, 19 January 2022


⤏ Go to series page
Command & Conquer	1995
Command & Conquer: Red Alert	1996
Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor	1997
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun	1999
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2	2000
Command & Conquer: Renegade	2002
Command & Conquer: Generals	2003
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars	2007
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3	2008
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising	2009
Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight	2010
OpenRA (unofficial)	2010
Command & Conquer (2013)	Cancelled
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection	2020
Renegade X (unofficial)	EA

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Key points

Small but dedicated community.

Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS.

General information

Command & Conquer Wiki - A wiki for everything Command & Conquer-related

C&C:Online - fan-hosted multiplayer server replacement (Windows version only)

Red Alert 3 on CNC.community

Red Alert 3 section on CNCNZ.com

Red Alert 3 section on GameReplays.org

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 7, SecuROM PA, and SecuROM DFA DRM. Five machine activation limit. A De-Authorization Tool is available, and an in-built option is available as of patch 1.05. Can be redeemed on Origin through the client. Disc not needed to run the game.

Humble Store
Origin		Included with EA Play.
Origin		Bundled with other games in the franchise up to Tiberian Twilight. Included with EA Play.
Steam

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Delete or rename movie files^[3]
Go to `<path-to-game>\Data\Movies\`. Delete or rename `RA3_EA_logo.vp6`, `RA3_Gameplay_720p.vp6`, and `RedAlertLogo.vp6`.

Patches

The Steam and Origin versions are already patched to the latest version.

Retail Windows Red Alert 3 patch v1.12 can be downloaded in many languages from CNCNZ or Patches-Scrolls.

Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection Fixed Launchers (Origin)

An unofficial patch that provides a slight enhancement to the default launchers provided with the Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection version (fixes registry entries and allows command line arguments to function properly).

It can be downloaded from ModDB.

Speed up loading

Use the RA3 Quickloader

Upon launch, the game attempts to look up an EA server which used to distribute relevant news for the game. Since it has been offline since the late 2010s and the timeout is relatively long, loading the game may take a while.

Go to <path-to-game>\.
Make a backup of RA3.exe.
Download the fixed version from this page and replace RA3.exe.

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\Red Alert 3\Profiles\<user-id>\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Red Alert 3\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin		Only available through The Ultimate Collection version
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		For unlisted resolutions see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor		Position affects gameplay. Disable non-primary displays to fix black screen on startup.
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)	Use Flawless Widescreen.
Windowed	Use `-win` parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)	See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS	Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Set custom resolution^[4]
Go to `%APPDATA%\Red Alert 3\Profiles\<user-id>\` Open `options.ini`. Change `Resolution xxx xxx` to your desired resolution.

Input

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		For scroll speed.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Only supports Stereo audio.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Traditional Chinese				Retail only.
Czech
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Korean				Retail only. A low quality translation. Subtitles are completely out of sync. Somewhat fixed in 1.07 patch, but issues still remain. A fan made patch is available to improve the translation.
Polish
Russian
Spanish
Thai				Retail only.

Network

In-game network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		6	Versus Regular PvP/PvE only; campaign co-op requires online.
Online play		6	Versus, Co-op Official servers have been shut down. Possible with C&C:Online.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	80, 3783, 4321, 6660-6669, 28900, 29900, 29901
UDP	6515, 6500, 13139, 27900

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Issues fixed

Game crashes on startup with an "application error" when launched from executable (Steam)

Create missing file

Go to <path-to-game>
Create a new file named steam_appid.txt.
Open the file and insert the game's Steam application ID (17480).
Save the file.

The game will still require an active Steam client to run, but will no longer crash on the attempt to run directly from the executable.

Game does not start (Origin, The Ultimate Collection)

Disable Origin In Game^{[citation needed]}
Select the My Games tab in Origin. Right-click Red Alert 3/Uprising and select "Game Properties". Check the "Disable Origin in Game for this game" option. Click OK and launch the game.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9
OpenGL		OS X only.
Shader Model support	3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work* on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.*

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Cutscenes	On2 VP6
Multiplayer	GameSpy	Shut down in 2014.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	XP	Vista
Processor (CPU)	AMD Athlon XP 2200+ Intel Pentium 4 2.2 GHz	AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Intel Pentium 4 2.6 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon X1800 Nvidia GeForce 6800 DirectX 9.0c compatible

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/17480/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (17480) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

References

↑ TransGaming to Bring EA’s Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 to Mac – The Mac Observer - last accessed on 2017-12-31
↑ Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Ships for Mac - PCWorld - last accessed on 2017-12-31
↑ Verified by User:Baronsmoki on 2019-04-12
↑ Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-09-14

[Proton_path_note-4] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/17480/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (17480) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[1] TransGaming to Bring EA’s Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 to Mac – The Mac Observer - last accessed on 2017-12-31

[2] Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Ships for Mac - PCWorld - last accessed on 2017-12-31

[baronsmoki-3] Verified by User:Baronsmoki on 2019-04-12

[5] Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-09-14

[1]

[2]

[3]

[Note 1]

[4]

@@ Line 384: / Line 384: @@
 ==Issues fixed==
+===Game crashes on startup with an "application error" when launched from executable (Steam)===
+{{Fixbox|description=Create missing file|ref=|fix=
+# Go to {{p|game}}
+# Create a new file named <code>steam_appid.txt</code>.
+# Open the file and insert the game's Steam application ID (<code>17480</code>).
+# Save the file.
+{{--}} The game will still require an active Steam client to run, but will no longer crash on the attempt to run directly from the executable.
+}}
 ===Game does not start (Origin, The Ultimate Collection)===
 {{Fixbox|description=Disable Origin In Game|ref={{cn|date=July 2016}}|fix=

Developers

	EA Los Angeles
macOS (OS X)	TransGaming Inc.^[1]^[2]
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	SAGE 2.0
Release dates
Windows	October 28, 2008
macOS (OS X) (Cider)	March 24, 2009
Reception
Metacritic	82
IGDB	75
Taxonomy
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	RTS
Themes	Asia, Europe, North America, Sci-fi
Series	Command & Conquer