Proto:Command & Conquer: Red Alert (DOS, Windows)/Beta v0.09c
This is a sub-page of Proto:Command & Conquer: Red Alert (DOS, Windows).
The Beta 0.09c version of Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a very early build of Red Alert that was obtained by a collector who goes by the nickname "Siberian_GRemlin". The real source of this discovery is unknown; it is quite possible this was an early QA or Playtest build for an event like E3 from 1996, or a version sent out to magazines for reviewing. It was analysed by a group of researchers and released to the Command & Conquer community in a Reddit post.[1]
A detailed analysis of the findings in the beta was released in that Reddit thread as well.[2]
Contents
Command Line Options
Options
Option | Description |
---|---|
-XH | Instant special weapon recharge. |
-XI | Disabled damage. |
-XM | Enables mono output. (Requires legacy monochrome monitor and hardware). |
-XQ | Disables sound. |
-ATTRACT | Attraction mode. Enables both playback and recording. |
-CHECKMAP | Runs check map system (does not work?) |
-SEED | Pre-seed the random number generator. |
Play Codes
These run the game in playtest mode, enabling debug keys.
- SONY
- FUNK
- SLICK
- PLAYTEST
Cheat Codes
Same effect as Play Codes
- JUPITER
- NADE
- PASSWORD
- CHEATER
- BLUB
- NUKE
- SPOON
- CARPET
Editor Codes
These launch the game into Allies 01 in scenario editor mode, and also enable the debug keys.
- BUILD
- MOBIUS
- CYCLONE
- CARPET
- EDITOR
Debug Keys
Key | Description |
---|---|
Alt + W | Instant win. |
Alt + L | Instant lose. |
Alt + Z | Toggles map boundaries (exposes the hidden map area). |
Alt + F11 | Same as above. |
⇧ Shift + M | 10,000 credits. |
⇧ Shift + Del | (with object selected) Reduces objects health. |
Ctrl + Q | Toggles the editor. NOTE: If you loaded a save game, it will not allow you to enter the editor mode. |
Ctrl + S | Toggle map shroud. |
Ctrl + F2 | Same as Ctrl + Q |
Del | Delete the object from the world. If it’s a building, game sells it. |
Insert | Copies selected object? |
← Backspace | Spawn Chrono Vortex at cursor. |
P | Grants all superweapons |
B | Spawns a Longbow. |
O | Spawns a Hind. |
C | Updates sidebar buildables? |
J | Creates motion capture sequence (cap####.pcx in game folder). |
M | Enables mono debug output (Requires legacy monochrome monitor and hardware). |
V | Cell icon debug. |
K | Takes a screenshot. |
F3 | Cell icon debug. |
F4 | Toggle map shroud. |
F7 | (with object selected) Shows sight and weapon range. |
F11 | Prev mono debug page. |
F12 | Next mono debug page. |
` (tilde/grave) | Spawns explosion anim (with damage). |
? or / | Special options. |
Editor Keys
Key | Description |
---|---|
F6 | Toggles passable cells |
Alt + [A-Z] | places waypoint with chosen letter. |
Insert | Activates placement mode, you can cycle through it with arrow keys, everything available is placeable. |
Arrow keys | Change owner of selected object. |
Shift + Home | sets Home location. |
Alt + [1-4] | sets start location. |
Shift + R | places reinforcements waypoint. |
Alt + Space | removes waypoint and/or flag at current cell. |
Video Differences
- Soviet briefing 1 shows "People’s Revolutionary Headquarters, Moscow, Present Day." The text in the final game does not include "Moscow".
- In the prologue video, Hitler has a different voice, with a rather bad accent. The original line was "Ja? Was ist los? Ich habe keine Zeit für das." ("Yes? What’s the matter? I don’t have time for that.") This was redubbed (presumably by a native German speaker), with the end changed to "Ich habe keine Zeit hier rumzustehen." ("I don’t have time to just stand around here.")
- The scenes shown in the prologue after the time travel part and the game logos are complete game cutscenes, rather than the fast-paced scene switches seen in the final game. Because of this, the video is a lot longer, but contains less diverse video material.
Files
Filename differences
- The DOS game executable is called C&C.EXE
- The Win95 game executable is called CONQUER.EXE
- The game’s configuration file is called CONQUER.INI
- The MIX archive inside MAIN.MIX that contains the videos is called MOVIES.MIX. It is not split up into MOVIES1.MIX and MOVIES2.MIX
- There are no separate voices MIX files for allies and soviet. All voices are inside SOUNDS.MIX, rather than being separated into ALLIES.MIX and RUSSIAN.MIX
- Likewise, there are no separate voices for allies and soviet. The game only contains V00/V01/V02/V03 file extensions for unit voice clips, without Soviet R00/R01/R02/R03 equivalents.
File location differences
- The RULES.INI file is inside GENERAL.MIX, inside MAIN.MIX. The final game has it inside LOCAL.MIX, inside REDALERT.MIX, meaning it is stored on hard disk, while the demo keeps it on the CD. However, an identical copy of the file appears in the CD’s "INSTALL" folder, which contains the files to be copied to hard disk by the installation.
Videos
Several videos (VQA files) are included which are not in the release version:
apache.vqa |
---|
Helicopters flying, seen from above. Seen in the game intro. |
shipyard.vqa |
---|
Blueprints of a cruiser fading to a shipyard building it. Was referenced but missing in the final game. |
snowbase.vqa |
---|
A supply truck driving towards a Soviet base in snowy terrain. Was referenced but missing in the initial release of the final game. The scene itself is used in the first Allied mission briefing video. The video was later added in the Aftermath expansion pack. |
un_flag.vqa |
---|
UN flag waving in the wind. No sound. |
un_red.vqa |
---|
UN flag changing to USSR flag. No sound. |
In NCHIRES.MIX, besides the known files, a number of new video stretch tables (VQP files) were found. While useless by themselves, the files give some insight into what other videos the game had in beta versions The four videos mentioned above all have their accompanying vqp file, and are not included in this list.
All of these have their name referenced somewhere in the game’s executables.
- ACROP.VQP - Likely the scene of the Acropolis getting bombed. (News clip in an Allied briefing)
- AGHQ.VQP - Unknown.
- AGHQNT.VQP - Unknown.
- CHRONAPR.VQP - Chrono appear? Possibly the scene with two mammoth tanks. (Soviet briefing)
- CHRONDSP.VQP - Chrono disappear? Possibly the Philadelphia Experiment scene. (Allied briefing)
- GDANSK.VQP - Unknown
- NUKEFACT.VQP - Possibly the scene with a nuclear transport driving out of a hangar. (Game intro)
- SPUTNIK.VQP - Probably a full version of the Sputnik launch. (Game intro, trailers)
Note that AGHQ, AGHQNT, GDANSK and NUKEFACT only appear in the videos list of the DOS version, inside GAME.DAT.
Other found video references:
- ONTHPROW - Seems to be an alternate name for ONTHPRWL (Soviet submarine passing between some rock formations underwater). This code is present in the internal videos list, and all missions in the beta refer to the video by this code, but neither the video nor its stretch table exist in the files. Note that ONTHPRWL itself is also present in the internal list.
Sounds
Several audio (.AUD) files are included which aren't in the release version. Among them are voice lines "It is done!" (specifially the .v01 variant) spoken by Allied infantry and "Time for a little five-finger discount!" by a Thief, both of which can be heard in a track called "Radio 2 Remix" from the Retalitation expansion pack, but they weren't present in the actual game. Only some of these sounds play in the actual beta.
Name | Sound | Transcript | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
bridge3.aud | Bridge exploding | Doesn't play in-game | |
charge2.aud | Depth charge | Doesn't play in-game | |
chrono1.aud | Chronosphere charge sound | Heard at the start of protect the Chronosphere mission through the mission script; doesn't play during the actual gameplay | |
movout1.v00.aud | "It is done!" | ||
movout1.v01.aud | |||
movout1.v02.aud | |||
movout1.v03.aud | |||
mrj7.aud | Mobile Radar Jammer sound effect | Doesn't play in-game | |
oretruk1.aud | Ore truck unloading | Doesn't play in-game | |
sattact2.aud | GPS satelitte tactical reveal | ||
scandy1.aud | "Like candy from a baby." | Don't play in-game | |
sclean1.aud | "Let's pick 'em clean." | ||
ssteal1.aud | "Time for a little five-finger discount!" |
Some sounds which are present in the retail version differ from the final ones. In most cases, the beta variants are longer and/or slower. The only exception is gun5.aud used as a firing sound for Tanya's pistols, which is a completely different sound effect.
Name | Beta version | Retail version | Transcript | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
dedman1.aud | Infantry death cry | Final retail versions seem to be sped up / truncated. | ||
dedman2.aud | ||||
dedman3.aud | ||||
dedman4.aud | ||||
dedman5.aud | ||||
dedman6.aud | ||||
dedman7.aud | ||||
dedman8.aud | ||||
dedman10.aud | ||||
gun5.aud | Tanya's pistol firing | A completely different sound, more similiar to a rifle or machine gun report | ||
radardn1 | Radar shutting down | Longer than the final version, with high-pitched beeps at the start |
Renders
There are 9 renders, CREDIT1 to CREDIT9, included both as 640×400 PCX and as Westwood's proprietary 320×200 CPS format. However, the CPS versions all seem to be corrupted, except for CREDIT7.CPS, which shows only the upper left corner of the full render in the corresponding PCX file. All the renders seem excessively dithered and are rather dark. This is probably to serve as backgrounds in the credits, where a portion of the palette would be sacrificed for common UI elements of the game, such as the credits text.
However, while the image data in the CPS files is corrupted, they are not corrupted files; the file format is correct, and the compressed data decompresses perfectly to exactly the amount of pixels needed to fill the 320×200 image. Furthermore, the files contain the images’ original un-darkened palettes, which can be used to restore the pcx versions to their normal brightness.
Name | PCX | CPS | Restored | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
CREDIT1 | Churchill class naval cruiser blueprints, as seen in SHIPYARD.VQA | |||
CREDIT2 | Chronosphere | |||
CREDIT3 | Ship half-wireframe | |||
CREDIT4 | Allied logo background | |||
CREDIT5 | Gap generator | |||
CREDIT6 | Shipyard, as seen in SHIPYARD.VQA | |||
CREDIT7 | Submarine underwater | |||
CREDIT8 | Submarine in red sunset | |||
CREDIT9 | V-2 launcher |
Scenarios
- SCG07WA.INI - Old/Alternative version of Allies 7?
- SCU01EB.INI - Map in an old map format that still relies on an external .bin file for its map terrain. Identified as being the E3 showcase map seen in several trailers. Since it has no .bin file, it only contains the populated contents and scripting of the map, without any map terrain.
Graphics
- The E7.SHP sprite inside LORES.MIX shows Tanya with red hair, probably a leftover of the scrapped "Megan" commando.
- The Cargo Truck doesn't have a shadow. Just like how the Demo Truck in The Aftermath doesn’t have one.
- The Agent Delphi sprite (both DOS and upscaled RA95 version) contains the hand-to-hand combat frames which are cut out of all infantry sprites in the final release. The game already treats it as not having these frames, though, resulting in sequence errors.
Engine / Internals
- Instead of the country "Ukraine", this version has "Italy", which is on the Allied side.
- The "RedEye" weapon is not implemented yet, leaving the Rocket Soldier with one weapon for ground and air.
Gameplay
General
- Q-move doesn’t work
- Spawn starting locations are broken in skirmish.
- "Allies" and "Soviet" are the only factions available in Skirmish.
- DOS version has remappable sidebar cameos.
- The filter put over sidebar cameos to show they are disabled or in progress is different for the two factions; blue for the allies, sepia for the Soviet. The final game only uses the sepia filter.
- Skirmish starts with player stats visible instead of faction logo.
- Chronosphere isn’t buildable due to misnamed Techlevel in RULES.INI.
- Chrono Quakes have a 20% chance of happening when chronoshifting a unit causing map wide damage to everything.
- Chronoshifting a unit can randomly create a temporary chrono vortex right under the unit.
- Mission Control settings that normally reside at the bottom of the RULES.INI are not present in the beta version’s RULES.INI
- AA guns can fire at landed aircraft.
- When starting a skirmish game with "Capture The Flag" enabled and bases disabled, the game launches in the Mobile HQ mode as seen in C&C 1. Only, because Red Alert lacks the Mobile HQ unit, the players get a supply truck instead. Being a plain normal supply truck, the unit’s death does not trigger the player’s destruction as it should.
- Flame tower explodes dealing fire damage around it
AI
- Guard function is broken, turrets will only move constantly.
- The Skirmish AI doesn’t build Advanced Power Plants or Airfields and builds walls of structures out of the base.
- The AI sees walls as enemy buildings to destroy, and in some missions are even seen destroying their own base perimeter walls.
Income and production
- BuildSpeed is .5
- GemValue is 110
- GoldValue is 35
- GrowthRate is 10
- SurvivorRate is .5
Special Weapons
- ChronoTechLevel is 4
- IronCurtain duration is .5
- ParaTech is 10
- SpyPlaneTech is 4
- RadarJamRadious is 10
- Chronosphere recharge is 3 minutes
- IronCurtain recharge is 14 minutes
- Nuke recharge is 14 minutes
- ParaTrooper recharge is 8 minutes
Vehicles
- V2 Rocket Launcher costs 600.
- Light Tank speed is 10 and cost is 600.
- Medium Tank speed is 9.
- Mammoth Tank speed is 6 and cost is 1500.
- Mobile Gap Generator tech level is 15.
- Radar jammer is available for both Soviets and Allies and tech level is 15.
- Artillery cost is 450.
- Ore Truck armor is light.
- Valuable minerals carried by an Ore Truck are blue instead of red.
- MCV tech level is 15 and cost is 5000.
- Jeep speed is 12 and cost is 400.
- APC speed is 14 and cost is 700.
- Supply Truck carries 5 passengers.
- Submarine hit points is 200, tech level is 6, and cost is 500.
- Destroyer cost is 500.
- Transport tech level is 1, and cost is 300.
- The Allied Mine Layer lays mines that are of darker colour.
- Cruisers automatically fire on buildings that aren’t base defences.
Infantry
- Attack Dog hit points is 5 and tech level is 2.
- Rocket soldier lacks the RedEye weapon, hit points is 25 and exclusive to Allies.
- Flamethrower hit points is 25 and tech level is 2.
- Thief tech level is 15.
- Tanya tech level is 15, exclusive to the Allies, and cost is 1000.
- Field Medic cost 1000.
- Engineer missing unique voice
Aircraft
- Spy Plane hit points is 60, light armor, and rate of turn is 5.
- MiG hit points is 60 and speed is 40.
- Yak tech level is 1.
- Transport Helicopter tech level is -1 and cost 1.
- Longbow hit points is 125, and tech level is 10.
- Hind hit points is 125, tech level is 10, and ammo is 20..
Buildings
- Iron Curtain tech level is 15.
- Forward Command Center’s cost is blank.
- Chronosphere tech level is 15.
- Shipyard building foundation is a cross.
- Sub Pen building foundation is a cross and a tech level of 5.
- Pillbox sight is 4 and -10 power.
- Camo Pillbox power is -15.
- Tesla Coil requires a Soviet Tech Center, has light armor, and sight is 6.
- AA Gun power is -40 and requires no power to function.
- Flame Tower tech level is 4, power is -40 and has Explodes set to yes.
- Construction Yard has wood armor and cost is 5000.
- Helipad tech level is 10.
- Radar Dome retains the foundation shape of the Communication Center from C&C 1.
- Sam Site rate of turn is 15.
- Missile Silo tech level is 15 and owned exclusively by the Soviets.
- Airstrip tech level is 4.
- Advanced Power Plant hit points is 600, and costs 700.
- Soviet Tech Center tech level is 2.
- Dog Kennel tech level is 2.
- Fake Construction Yard tech level is 15.
- Fake War Factory tech level is 15.
- Fake ShipYard tech level is 15 and has no adjacent.
- Fake Sub Pen has no adjacent.
- Fake Radar Dome tech level is 15.
- SAM Site uses C&C1 build up animation. Some of their firing animations use the sprite of the damaged SAM Site instead.
Weapons
- ZSU-23 damage is 35, rate of fire is 5 and report sound is GUN27.
- FireballLauncher range is 3.5.
- Dragon damage is 30, the rate of fire is 60 and 50 speed.
- 120mm has "Report" set twice; once to "cannon4" and once to "CANNON4" in all caps.
- TeslaZap range is 7.5.
- Nike rate of fire is 50 and speed is 30.
- 8Inch has rate of fire set to 120 and speed to 8.
- Stinger range is 6, speed is 60, and it is single-shot.
- TorpedoTube range is 16.
- DepthCharge damage is 45.
Projectiles
- Torpedo is lacking ASW=yes
- HeatSeeker arm is 4
- LaserGuided arm is 7 and rate of turn is 10
- AAMissile arm is 7 and rate of turn is 10
Text
- "Shroud regrows" is referred to as "Shadow regrows".
- The Ranger is named "Jeep", both as unit name and on the build icon.
- The Chronosphere ability is named "Time Warp" on the icon.
- The Spy Plane is named "Recon Mission" on the tooltip, but not on the icon.
Missions
General Differences
- The AI is lacking. Many pre-placed units never move, and only attack when player units come into range, or just freeze mid-animation.
- Reloading crashes the game occasionally, especially when the save game was made at the very start of a mission. Crashes upon loading can be avoided by calling up the menu immediately after loading a save game.
- Starting a mission glitches out the graphics occasionally, but leaves the gameplay unaffected.
- Allied Artillery and Rocket Infantry sometimes don’t move when told to attack a target out of range.
- When a group of units is ordered to attack a target that is out of range for one or more units in the group, the game sometimes displays the cursor indicating that the target cannot be attacked. The units will attack the target nevertheless.
- The Allies never have access to decoy structures, as all of them are set to tech level 15. Tech level 15 is not available in any campaign mission.
- Loading troops into Transports takes very long, though the troops will eventually board.
- When the AI has access to a Barracks, it often builds infantry aggressively, but only attacks with small groups of infantry.
- The AI can be bullied into selling all its structures when it is low on money and repeatedly forced to rebuild structures. This includes the AI selling structures critical for the mission to be completed.
- When a Gap Generator is present on a map, its effect remains visible on the radar even after it has been sold or destroyed.
- No maps have ore mines, limiting the funds available to the player. This is partially compensated for by ore and minerals being more valuable.
- In some missions, specifically ones with broken scripts for AI base constructions, the player can reach an economic score of 999%, or a negative score.
- Past Allies 4 and Soviets 3, the missions have no FMVs, and many have different/placeholder briefing text, or leftover text from the original Command & Conquer.
- No in-mission text is displayed to remind the player of their objectives or show dialogue.
Specific Mission Differences
Allied Missions
- Allies 1: There are no barrels to blow up the Power Plants from a distance and disable the Tesla Coils. Once the base has been entered, most units converge on the player’s units. In the DOS version of this mission, Tanya has ginger hair. It is possible that this is the sprite intended for Megan, Tanya's partner and Irish demolitions expert cut from the final version of the game.
- Allies 2: The MCV does not roll in from the north and does not automatically deploy. No Medics are among the reinforcements. If the player does not deploy their MCV right away, they will be supplied with a second MCV.
- Allies 3a: There is a Chinook in the Soviet base to the south of the starting position. Five green Allied soldiers parachute in west of the Soviet base in the southeast and run into a minefield in front of it, indicating it for the player.
- Allies 3b: This mission uses the same map as Allies 3a. There is a Chinook in the Soviet base to the south of the starting position. Five green Allied soldiers parachute in west of the Soviet base in the southeast, but remain idle and do not run into the minefield. A Heavy Tank rolls in from the War Factory in the Soviet base in the southeast, chasing Tanya. This happens even if the War factory is destroyed.
- Allies 4: The Soviets have no full base, and only start with a Construction Yard, Barracks, and Power Plant. They build a lot of Grenadiers and nothing else. A portion of the map in the northwest is cleared; the Soviet occasionally receive reinforcements from there.
- Allies 5a: The dogs behave differently and run occasionally without having targeted an enemy unit. They get stuck often. After reaching the prison (named "Technology Center"), the spy does not automatically enter it. Entering it spawns Tanya, but does not blow up the Technology Center. After Tanya spawns, five infantry and a dog from the Soviet supply base converge on Tanya, and the Soviets build a lot of Flamethrower Infantry. Entering the supply base with the reinforcements calls in a Transport with two Heavy Tanks, and causes the AI to quickly build Grenadiers. The player has access to the Soviet Tech Center, Flamethrower Infantry, the Airfield, and Yaks.
- Allies 5b: This mission uses the same map as Allies 5a, and shares all its differences. Additionally, the Soviets sell the War Factory in the supply base in the north when it reaches red health, and they have three AA sites in that base. These three AA sites do not need to be destroyed to call in the Chinook for Tanya.
- Allies 5c: This mission uses a different map, but has the same quirks as the previous two. The player receives a Technician named "Special Character" as reinforcements. This unit uses the same sprite as the Soviet Technicians in the Dark Horseman indoor section. Destroying the Soviet Command Post in the southern base destroys the Advanced Power Plants there.
- Allies 6a: There are no beaches in the east and south on the landmass the player starts on. The Soviets only attack via a single scripted attack, and otherwise stockpile Heavy Tanks in their base, making it difficult to destroy their base. The Soviet base has no Power Plants in the south exposed enough to be destroyed by Gunboats.
- Allies 6b: A bridge (as opposed to a crossing) connects the player’s starting position and the spot intended for their base to be set up. The AI only launches two scripted attacks via Transport; one in the northeast and one in the south. The AI can and does build Mammoth Tanks in addition to the ones it starts with.
- Allies 7: The player has access to the Tech Center and Spy Satellite. The Soviets primarily build V2 Rocket Launchers and Grenadiers, but don’t attack en masse unless their base or Ore Trucks are attacked. The Soviets have access to two MiGs. Unlike in the final version of this map, the Soviets have IQ=1, rendering them much less effective.
- Allies 8a: The western part of the research base ends in cliffs. There are no ore fields or beaches. The Soviets do not start with a pre-built base. They have an MCV at the northeastern edge of the map, but it will only move when attacked by the player. Even then, it will not deploy itself. The Soviets do receive offmap reinforcements, but so few that the mission poses no challenge. The mission both starts and ends with a Chronosphere sound effect being played.
- Allies 8b: As with Allies 8a, the Soviets have an MCV and a pre-scripted base, but the MCV fails to move into position and establish it. Unmodified, the mission crashes shortly after starting it due to an error related to the sound effect made by Yak planes.
- Allies 9a: The mission is largely identical to the one in the release version. The Soviets remain idle until the player lands on their landmass and attacks, after which the AI engages in its usual infantry spam tactic. Kosygin has a generic unit voice set and is called "General". After infiltrating the Soviet Command Post, the player receives two Cruisers.
- Allies 9b: The map is largely identical to Allies 9a, though the player’s MCV lands in the east of the starting island. The Soviets have two Camouflage Pillboxes to protect their southern base entrance, and two regular Pillboxes to protect their Submarine Pen. If their base is attacked, the three Mammoth Tanks move south to fill the three-tile gap in their base entrance. The Soviet base lacks the Airfield and has no Refinery, though the Soviets start with money. When their base is attacked, they only train units in their Barracks, and do so with a delay. The mission cannot be completed, as the evac Chinook for Kosygin never arrives. The player is supposed to construct a Helipad for the transport to land on to evacuate Kosygin. However, the Helipad requires tech level 10, and the player is limited to tech level 9.
- Allies 10.1: When the launch of the nuclear missiles is triggered, the announcer uses the line "napalm launch detected", which is also used in the Counterstrike expansion. The mission ends with the Soviet Command Post being captured, and has no second indoor part. The map for the indoor part exists, but has to be accessed via the developer tools to be played.
- Allies 10.2: As the mission has to be accessed via a save file instead of following Allies 10.1, no timer is present. Tanya is not present either; instead, the player gets four Riflemen that enter the motor pool area in the south upon it being approached. The Soviets get a pack of five Attack Dogs in return. They also receive other reinforcements at different points during the mission. All of these come from a corridor in the northeastern part of the map. It is possible for these reinforcements to bug out, with the player receiving a Grenadier and two Flamethrower Infantry. This Grenadier specifically and Grenadiers in general often glitch out in this mission, with their animations not being played properly or their grenades being invisible. This occasionally crashes the game. The motor pool in the south holds several Technicians named "Special 1", who use hand-to-hand combat animations. All Soviet Technicians that roam the map are simply called "Civilian". Units occasionally get stuck in walls, and sometimes glitch through them and enter the black out-of-bounds area, which can be traversed freely. Dogs can also enter walls via their lunge attack.
- Allies 11a: The mission starts the player with two MCVs and a 30-second timer. The timer running out summons the green Allied navy, which is subsequently destroyed by the Soviet navy. Thus, the timer has to be extended to make the mission playable. The Soviets have two Allied AA Guns on the island in the middle of the Volga. The player has access to Cruisers. If all Soviet structures and units are destroyed, the player simply wins without the green navy having to cross the map first.
- Allies 11b: This map appears to be 99% identical to 11a. The OverlayPack and Digest sections of the map file are slightly different.
- Allies 12: The mission is largely identical to the release version. The friendly green Cruiser generally fails to detonate the barrels in the west after detonating those on the east, as it is busy destroying every single piece of barbed wire fence. The Soviet base in the west is scripted to build a Nuclear Silo, Refinery, more Power Plants, Helipads, and more, but does so very slowly. The Forward Command Post has a nuke launch trigger attached to it, just like in the final version. However, the trigger doesn’t grant the AI a one-time use nuke, but instead uses the "Launch Nukes" trigger. This trigger, used otherwise only in Allies 10.1, merely causes silos to show the animation of nukes being launched, but does not actually launch any nukes. Thus, the AI never gets to use any nukes on this map.
- Allies 13: "Timer started" is replaced by "Mission timer initialised". The map has a slightly different layout. When transitioning from the map screen to the mission screen, the game frequently freezes for a bit, and shows only a dark grey rectangle on a black background. As with all indoor missions, units can get stuck at or in a wall.
- Allies 14: At the start, the player is joined by two friendly armies (orange/Italy and green/England), that help them to take out an army of Mammoth Tanks. These teams are named after von Esling and Stavros, indicating that they were intended to fight alongside the player directly, as indicated in the cutscene prior to the mission.
The player then receives reinforcements via three Chinooks after taking out four SAM Sites north of the starting position, and gets access to the unfinished "Parachute Saboteur". However, the Chinooks fail to land and keep hovering. The player starts with money, but does not receive an MCV, rendering the mission largely unplayable. The map is similar to the one in the release version, but has more vertical space and a huge lake in the centre. There is an additional Soviet helicopter base on a small island in the lake. The Soviet AI is dysfunctional and does almost nothing after the initial Mammoth Tank attack. It does, however, destroy a number of Soviet buildings that are assigned to the Turkish team, which is hostile to the Soviets.
Soviet Missions
- Soviets 1: The Allied troops the player faces are deep blue (distinct from the lighter Allied blue), and belong to the French team.
- Soviets 2a: This map is largely identical to the one in the release version, with some additional cell triggers being present. The Allies are also supposed to be reinforced by a Destroyer, though the trigger is missing and the Destroyer can’t reach the waypoint it is supposed to end up at anyway.
- Soviets 2b: This map is conceptually the same, but the player starts with a Barracks and a Refinery, but no Airfields nor access to them. This setup matches that of the cutscene that plays prior to the mission. As with Soviets 2a, the player starts in the east with the Allied base being in the west, and the details are different. There is only one crossing via a central island with three bridges. The difficulty of the map is much higher, with the Allies having access to more Pillboxes and APCs. This appears to be a very early map used for testing, as it contains a lot of different team types with instructions such as taking different formations, including commands that don’t work in the final version of the game.
- Soviets 3: The Allied spy fails to board the Transport after being flushed out of the village in the southwest, and can thus be killed halfway through the mission.
- Soviets 4a: The map used differs from the two used in the release version. There is a lake in the centre of the map, which the Allies use to deploy Cruisers. The player is at one point attacked by a team of the Longbows, but lacks access to any anti-air weapons unless Allied tech is captured. An Airfield can only be built if an Iron Curtain is constructed first, to which the player does not have access. Constructing the Air Field would then also give the player access to the Iron Curtain Invulnerability support power. The AI attacks rarely, but likes to do so with an APC filled with Engineers. The AI does have attack teams that include vehicles, but no War Factory to actually create them. Destroying the Allied Radar Dome does not seem to have an immediate effect. If the player builds a Barracks, the Barracks automatically spams Grenadiers, which uses up funds. If a War Factory is built, a V2 Rocket Launcher is sometimes built automatically. Other vehicles can be built parallel to this V2 Rocket Launcher.
- Soviets 4b: This map is identical to Soviets 4b, though the Allied base is less well fortified and has a slightly different layout.
- Soviets 5: The map used differs greatly from the final version. The player is alone on the landmass in the west they start on, and is only attacked by Allied troops landing via Transport, and the occasional ship. Initially, the player receives two MCVs (as shown in the introductory cutscene in the release version), and chases off three Allied Riflemen who leave via Transport. However, one of them generally fails to board the Transport, and the Transport only takes off once he has been killed. The player immediately has access to beaches and is encouraged to expand to the island in the centre of the map. As soon as they build a Submarine Pen or 150 in-game time units pass, the Allies also land an MCV on the island and establish a presence. The player has to capture the Allied Radar Dome, which is on a third landmass in the east. The player can only build Transports, no Submarines, and no anti-air whatsoever without capturing Allied tech. To win, the two bases need to be destroyed and the Radar Dome captured, but destroying the Allied navy and the other units outside the island is optional as they belong to a different house.
- Soviets 6a: The map is very similar to that used in the release version, but vertically compressed. The player starts without an MCV, but can liberate one from the Allied base in the northwest. The base is a lot smaller, and only consists of a Radar Dome, a Barracks, a War Factory, Power Plants, and some base defences. Shortly after the start of the mission, this base begins to produce units at a rapid pace, pressuring the player. However, the player does start with the five Engineers also present in the release version of this mission, which are sufficient to cripple the base. The Allies have three Cruisers, two of which are trapped on the eastern side of the bridge. The Cruisers' long range and the smaller map force the player to establish a base in the southwestern corner or risk being destroyed by the Cruisers. The Allies have no base guarding the bridge, though they do have a group of Medium Tanks, Light Tanks, and Artillery there.
- Soviets 6b: This version of the map is close to the release version; the player starts with an MCV, and the Allies have a base to guard the bridge. The western half of the map is compressed compared to the release version, which gives the player less space to build their base.
- Soviets 7: The map design is overall simpler. The dog room has two Kennels. The map requires the player to deactivate the security system, whose control console is guarded by a large concentration of Allied soldiers. Deactivating the system destroys a number of Flame Towers across the map, and liberates the Engineers and the Rifleman in the northwestern room, leaving them threatened only by a lone Rifleman in the very south of that room. No additional enemies guard the four cooling stations or the main control room. Tanya is not present. This mission's end screen is unique. It gives the player a negative score, which drops if the player performs well (due to the performance multiplier). The player cannot enter their name into the high score list; instead the game continues to the strategic map for missions 8a and 8b if any key is pressed.
- Soviets 8a: The player starts with very limited funds. The partisans in the north of the player’s starting position can apparently train Thieves.
- Soviets 8b: The player is limited to $2,000 starting funds, and building a Barracks does not chase the partisans attacking the player’s base away. This makes the mission almost impossible to win unless it is modified. The player does not start with a Submarine Pen either.
- Soviets 9: The southern eighth of the map is missing, providing the player with less starting ore. The player is not attacked by Allied troops initially. The tan/German MCV moves south, but is delayed, which makes it trivial to destroy the tan base. The lorry is guarded by a Kosygin-like unit and never tries to flee, as all the cell triggers to cause it to flee haven’t been implemented. The Allied base in the north needs to be destroyed to win the mission, but not the Allied ships for some reason, even though they both belong to Greece.
- Soviets 10: The player is only given three Heavy Tanks, two MiGs, and three Yaks. No additional MiGs can be constructed, though Yaks are available. No timer starts when the player enters the western third of the map. However, after a certain point, Allied reinforcements enter the map from the east and target the player units anyway, as they would in the release version when the timer runs out.
- Soviets 11a: This map is a modified version of the release version. The two bridges are missing, giving the player access to less ore. As the MCV does not land automatically, the player has control over its Transport, and can land on either of the two islands. This was kept in the release version, though there, only one landing spot is viable. The third island in the north that houses the Allied base is smaller, simplified, and has more beaches. The water in its back is not cut off, giving naval units access to the Allied Naval Yard. The player has access to Mammoth Tanks in this mission. No victory condition has been specified, rendering the map unwinnable unless modified.
- Soviets 11b: This map appears to be identical to Soviets 11a, and is also unwinnable without modifications. It is missing three team types (auto1, auto2, and auto3) that 11a has.
- Soviets 12: This mission is identical to the release version, with the exception of the usual ineffective campaign AI.
- Soviets 13a: The map is a hybrid between the two final maps. There is less ore for the player, and the Allied auxiliary base in the northwest has to be included (yet). The Chronosphere does not belong to a separate house, and the entire valley it is in has loose triggers. The layout of the base is slightly different, and there are more structures around the Chronosphere (such as four Gap Generators). The player starts with one Mammoth Tank, two V2 Rocket Launchers, and no money. The mission is unwinnable if unmodified.
- Soviets 13b: This map appears to be identical to Soviets 13a. However, the loose triggers around the Chronosphere are absent.
- Soviets 14: The player does not receive any units on this map, rendering it unwinnable. It is a mostly barren map, with only some Allied structures. The layout of the map is similar to that of the release version, but features more connected landmasses. The map lacks triggers and cannot be finished.
Multiplayer Maps
Coastal Influence
- Spawn order has been swapped around and moved.
- Two bridges in the middle are not in this version, making the island inaccessible except by transport.
- Contains overall less terrain and more water in the two lakes, particularly north and south.
- No bridge in the south connecting to the middle.
- Overall less ore and gems, and lacks ore mines.
Middle Mayhem
- Very minor differences; the final version just has a crossroads turning left in the middle island.
- Slightly less ore in the middle than the final, and no ore mines.
Equal Opportunity
- Was originally intended to be only a 2-player map, but two more spawns were added for optional 4 players.
- In the final version, shore lines were extended out on the bottom left, and cliffs at bottom left and top right were removed to give more room for building.
B
- Very similar to scg02ea.ini, but with some terrain differences and less ore.
- Renamed to be listed as a skirmish map, has leftover waypoints from the mission present acting as spawn points for players.
- Has extra terrain outside the left boundary that isn’t in the functional beta mission or in the final mission, implying this mission was intended to be wider.
- All scripts and teamtypes were deleted.
References
- ↑ A present tot he C&C Community - posted Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 19:07:46 GMT
- ↑ rabeta_instructions_and_notes.pdf - Research document analysing the contents of the beta
The Command & Conquer series
| |
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DOS | Command & Conquer (Demos) • Red Alert (Demo, Beta v0.09c) |
Windows | Command & Conquer (Demos) • Red Alert (Demo, Beta v0.09c) • Tiberian Sun • Red Alert 2 • Renegade • Generals • Red Alert 3 |
PlayStation | Red Alert • Commando |
Nintendo 64 | Command & Conquer |