Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Developers
	EA Los Angeles
macOS (OS X)	TransGaming Inc.
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
Monetization	One-time game purchase
Microtransactions	None
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

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.

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

A free demo version is available from Steam, GameFront, and CNCNZ.com.

Monetization

Type	Notes
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

Essential improvements

Patches

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

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

Skip intro videos

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

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)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Red Alert 3\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/17480/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

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

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	State	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
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
Royalty free audio

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 GameSpy servers have been shut down. Replaced 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.

Restore command-line parameter and mod support (The Ultimate Collection)

The Ultimate Collection on Origin was released with no support for mods or command line arguments.

Use Medstar's fixed launchers (The Ultimate Collection)

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.

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.

Command line arguments

Command	Description
-win	Runs the game in windowed mode
-fullscreen	Runs the game in fullscreen mode
-xres [number]	Sets resolution width
-yres [number]	Sets resolution height
-xpos [number]	Sets horizontal offset of the window
-ypos [number]	Sets vertical offset of the window
-ui	Opens the autorun feature otherwise called by inserting the game disc
-replay [filename]	Plays replay file
-mod [filename] (or -modConfig [filename])	Runs the game with selected mod (has to point to its .skudef file)
-spectator	Runs the game in a reduced mode where only replays are accessible; the base game used to have a free official game distribution with this mode permanently enabled
-noaudio	Disables game audio
-noAudioMusic	Disables game music
-silentLogin	Forces the game to immediately log in to a multiplayer account
-startPaused	Launches the game with a "Waiting" message, possibly to delay loading assets
-getPatch	Forces check for official updates; currently useless as EA's FTP servers which hosted patches have been shut down
-runver [number]	Forces running a specified game version (1.0, 1.1, ..., 1.12); appropriate ra3game.dat files for several older versions missing from digital releases

Switching GPUs

Set a default graphics card in Windows 10

Red Alert 3 apparently prioritizes the integrated graphics card over the dedicated one in systems with two GPUs. If the integrated card runs the game slowly because it is not as powerful as the dedicated one, this may result in severe slowdown when running the game at Ultra Settings. Normally this fix is simply accomplished by using the Windows 10 graphical setup to select the High Performance GPU, but Red Alert 3 requires an extra step (if running the latest version, 1.12): Go to <path-to-game>\Data You will see several files with the .game extension. Rename the file ra3_1.12.game to ra3_1.12.game.exe (simply add the .exe extension). Open "Settings", select "System" and then "Display". Beneath the "Multiple displays" section, click on "Graphics settings". Choose the app via the pull-down menu, then click the "Add" button. Add ra3_1.12.game.exe to the list, left-click on it and select options, then click on "High Performance". The game will now run on the dedicated graphics card instead of the integrated one, ensuring maximum performance.

Worldbuilder (map editor)

• There is a "standard version" (2.0) for most users, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.
• A separate, significantly larger version, is meant for use with the official mod SDK, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.

Maps created with either Worldbuilder are not meant for the Uprising standalone expansion pack and may result in broken terrain.

The Origin release has a missing registry key by default, preventing custom maps from displaying.

Edit registry key for Origin release
Run the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\Electronic Arts\Red Alert 3. Add a DWORD value titled UseLocalUserMaps and leave it at 0. Close the Registry Editor.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

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