Command & Conquer: Red Alert (DOS, Windows)

Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Developer: Westwood Studios Publisher: Virgin Interactive Platforms: Windows, DOS Released internationally: October 31, 1996 This game has a hidden developer message. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences. This game has a prerelease article

To do: Dig into the source code.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert is the successor to the original Command & Conquer. Playing in an alternate universe, where Hitler is exterminated by means of a time machine, the Allies and the Soviets fight for world domination. Notable for playing its premise much more straight than any of the sequels.

In order to help groom mod support for Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection, the source code for this game and the original were released under GPL v3, and can be found here.

Sub-Page

Prerelease Info

Unused Text

Inside REDALERT.MIX -> LOCAL.MIX -> DEBUG.ENG, there are several ASCII tables. They were probably used as a debug readout and output to a monochrome monitor, like many other DOS games of the time.

┌Frames:─┬F/R:┬CPU:──┬F/R:──┬Cells:┬Targ:─┬S-Bar:┬Paths:────┬Sprung Triggers:─┐
│        │    │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
├G-Time:─┼────┤      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│        │    │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
├────────┘    │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│             │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│             │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│             │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│             │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│             │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
├Object Count:┤      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│   -Units    │      │      │      │      │      │          │                 │
│   -Infantry ├CPU Workload:┴──────┴──────┴──────┴──────────┴─────────────────┤
│   -Aircraft │                                                               │
│   -Ships    │                                                               │
│   -Buildings│                                                               │
│   -Terrain  │                                                               │
│   -Bullets  │                                                               │
│   -Anims    │                                                               │
│   -Teams    │                                                               │
│   -Triggers │                                                               │
│   -TrigTypes│                                                               │
│   -Factories│                                                               │
└─────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
<- F11                        Stress Tracking                            F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Coord:──┬Hgt:┬Str:┬Ace:┬Spd:┬Ammo┬Arm:┬Grp:┬Cloak:┬Price:─┐
│                  │        │    │    │    │    │    │    │    │      │       │
├Owner:────────────┼Trigger:┼TarCom:─┬STarCom:┬PFace:┼Path:────┴──┬Try:┬Delay:┤
│                  │        │        │        │      │            │    │      │
├Cargo:───┬Target:─┼Next:───┼NavCom:─┼SNavCom:┼SFace:┼PBrk:┬HeadTo:─┬Archive:─┤
│         │        │        │        │        │      │     │        │         │
├Tmr:┬St:┬Rt:┬Stage┼Radio:──┼Radio Message History:──┴─────┴────────┴─────────┤
│    │   │   │     │        │                                                 │
├Mission:┴───┴─┬Queue:──────┤                                                 │
│              │            │                                                 │
├Gems:┬Gold:┬──┴────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│     │     │                                                                 │
├─────┴─────┴┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Down     │AnimAttached│Primary     │Player Owned│Initiated   │Is Dumping  │
│To Damage   │Falling [  ]│Loaner      │Player Aware│Deploying   │Teleported  │
│To Display  │Useless     │Locked      │AI aware    │Firing      │            │
│In Limbo    │Ticked Off  │Recoil      │Lemon       │Rotating    │            │
│Selected    │Cloakable   │Tethered    │Invul [    ]│Driving     │            │
│To Look     │Unloading   │Formation   │            │            │            │
╞Team:═══╤Mmbrs:╤Qnt:╤Center:═╤Target:═╪Formation:══╪════════════╪════════════╡
│        │      │    │        │        │            │Understrngth│Moving      │
├Mission:┴──────┴────┴────────┼────────┴────────────┤FullStrength│ForcedActive│
│                             │                     │HasBeen     │Reforming   │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Vehicle                                    F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Coord:──┬Hgt:┬Str:┬Ace:┬Spd:┬Ammo┬Arm:┬Grp:┬Cloak:┬Price:─┐
│                  │        │    │    │    │    │    │    │    │      │       │
├Owner:────────────┼Trigger:┼TarCom:─┬STarCom:┬PFace:┼Path:────┴──┬Try:┬Delay:┤
│                  │        │        │        │      │            │    │      │
├Cargo:───┬Target:─┼Next:───┼NavCom:─┼SNavCom:┼SFace:┼PBrk:┬HeadTo:─┬Archive:─┤
│         │        │        │        │        │      │     │        │         │
├Tmr:┬St:┬Rt:┬Stage┼Radio:──┼Radio Message History:──┴─────┴────────┴─────────┤
│    │   │   │     │        │                                                 │
├Mission:┴───┴─┬Queue:──────┤                                                 │
│              │            │                                                 │
├Doing:┬Fear:┬─┴────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│      │     │                                                                │
├──────┴─────┼────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Down     │AnimAttached│Primary     │Player Owned│Initiated   │Technician  │
│To Damage   │Falling [  ]│Loaner      │Player Aware│Deploying   │Stoked      │
│To Display  │Useless     │Locked      │AI Aware    │Firing      │Prone       │
│In Limbo    │Ticked Off  │Recoil      │Lemon       │Rotating    │            │
│Selected    │Cloakable   │Tethered    │Invul [    ]│Driving     │            │
│To Look     │Unloading   │Formation   │            │            │            │
╞Team:═══╤Mmbrs:╤Qnt:╤Center:═╤Target:═╪Formation:══╪════════════╪════════════╡
│        │      │    │        │        │            │Understrngth│Moving      │
├Mission:┴──────┴────┴────────┼────────┴────────────┤FullStrength│ForcedActive│
│                             │                     │HasBeen     │Reforming   │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Infantry                                   F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Coord:──┬Hgt:┬Str:┬Ace:┬Spd:┬Ammo┬Arm:┬Grp:┬Cloak:┬Price:─┐
│                  │        │    │    │    │    │    │    │    │      │       │
├Owner:────────────┼Trigger:┼TarCom:─┬STarCom:┬PFace:┼Path:────┴──┬Try:┬Delay:┤
│                  │        │        │        │      │            │    │      │
├Cargo:───┬Target:─┼Next:───┼NavCom:─┼SNavCom:┼SFace:┼PBrk:┬HeadTo:─┬Archive:─┤
│         │        │        │        │        │      │     │        │         │
├Tmr:┬St:┬Rt:┬Stage┼Radio:──┼Radio Message History:──┴─────┴────────┴─────────┤
│    │   │   │     │        │                                                 │
├Mission:┴───┴─┬Queue:──────┤                                                 │
│              │            │                                                 │
├──────────────┴────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                             │
├────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Down     │AnimAttached│Primary     │Player Owned│Initiated   │Repairing   │
│To Damage   │Falling [  ]│Loaner      │Player Aware│Deploying   │ToSelfRepair│
│To Display  │Useless     │Locked      │AI Aware    │Firing      │            │
│In Limbo    │Ticked Off  │Recoil      │Lemon       │Rotating    │            │
│Selected    │Cloakable   │Tethered    │Invul [    ]│Driving     │            │
│To Look     │Unloading   │Formation   │            │            │            │
╞Team:═══╤Mmbrs:╤Qnt:╤Center:═╤Target:═╪Formation:══╪════════════╪════════════╡
│        │      │    │        │        │            │Understrngth│Moving      │
├Mission:┴──────┴────┴────────┼────────┴────────────┤FullStrength│ForcedActive│
│                             │                     │HasBeen     │Reforming   │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Ship                                       F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Coord:──┬Hgt:┬Str:┬Ace:┬Spd:┬Ammo┬Arm:┬Grp:┬Cloak:┬Price:─┐
│                  │        │    │    │    │    │    │    │    │      │       │
├Owner:────────────┼Trigger:┼TarCom:─┬STarCom:┬PFace:┼Path:────┴──┬Try:┬Delay:┤
│                  │        │        │        │      │            │    │      │
├Cargo:───┬Target:─┼Next:───┼NavCom:─┼SNavCom:┼SFace:┼PBrk:┬HeadTo:─┬Archive:─┤
│         │        │        │        │        │      │     │        │         │
├Tmr:┬St:┬Rt:┬Stage┼Radio:──┼Radio Message History:──┴─────┴────────┴─────────┤
│    │   │   │     │        │                                                 │
├Mission:┴───┴─┬Queue:──────┤                                                 │
│              │            │                                                 │
├Building:─────┼────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              │                                                              │
├────────────┬─┴──────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Down     │AnimAttached│Primary     │Player Owned│Initiated   │Reparing    │
│To Damage   │Falling [  ]│Loaner      │Player Aware│Deploying   │To Rebuild  │
│To Display  │Useless     │Locked      │AI Aware    │Firing      │To Sell     │
│In Limbo    │Ticked Off  │Recoil      │Lemon       │Rotating    │Charging    │
│Selected    │Cloakable   │Tethered    │Invul [    ]│Driving     │Charged     │
│To Look     │Unloading   │Formation   │            │            │Captured    │
├────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┤Jamming     │
│                                                                │Jammed      │
│                                                                │            │
│                                                                │            │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Building                                   F12 ->

 Game Objects│  Drawing   │System      │Map Display │            │ Game Init  │
╒Find-Path:══╪Cell:═══════╪Palette:════╪Full Process╪════════════╪RULES.INI:══╡
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Target Scan:┼Objects:────┼────────────┼Sidebar:────┼────────────┼SCENARIO.INI┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├AI:─────────┼Anims:──────┼────────────┼Radar:──────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Per-Cell-AI─┼────────────┼────────────┼Tactical:───┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Eval Object:┼────────────┼────────────┼Power Bar:──┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Eval Cell:──┼────────────┼────────────┼Shroud:─────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Eval Wall:──┼────────────┼────────────┼Tabs:───────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├Mission:────┼────────────┼────────────┼DirectX Blit┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
├────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼────────────┤
│            │            │            │            │            │            │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Performance Benchmarks                     F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Coord:──┬Hgt:┬Str:┬Ace:┬Spd:┬Ammo┬Arm:┬Grp:┬Cloak:┬Price:─┐
│                  │        │    │    │    │    │    │    │    │      │       │
├Owner:────────────┼Trigger:┼TarCom:─┬STarCom:┬PFace:┼Path:────┴──┬Try:┬Delay:┤
│                  │        │        │        │      │            │    │      │
├Cargo:───┬Target:─┼Next:───┼NavCom:─┼SNavCom:┼SFace:┼PBrk:┬HeadTo:─┬Archive:─┤
│         │        │        │        │        │      │     │        │         │
├Tmr:┬St:┬Rt:┬Stage┼Radio:──┼Radio Message History:──┴─────┴────────┴─────────┤
│    │   │   │     │        │                                                 │
├Mission:┴───┴─┬Queue:──────┤                                                 │
│              │            │                                                 │
├Attk:┬────────┴────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│     │                                                                       │
├─────┴──────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Down     │AnimAttached│Primary     │Player Owned│Initiated   │            │
│To Damage   │Falling [  ]│Loaner      │Player Aware│Deploying   │            │
│To Display  │Useless     │Locked      │AI aware    │Firing      │            │
│In Limbo    │Ticked Off  │Recoil      │Lemon       │Rotating    │            │
│Selected    │Cloakable   │Tethered    │Invul [    ]│Driving     │            │
│To Look     │Unloading   │Formation   │            │            │            │
╞Team:═══╤Mmbrs:╤Qnt:╤Center:═╤Target:═╪Formation:══╪════════════╪════════════╡
│        │      │    │        │        │            │Understrngth│Moving      │
├Mission:┴──────┴────┴────────┼────────┴────────────┤FullStrength│ForcedActive│
│                             │                     │HasBeen     │Reforming   │
└─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                        Aircraft                                   F12 ->

┌Full Name:────────┬Act Like:────────┬Tech:┬Diff:┬State:┬Block:┬IQ:──┬Repair:─┐
│                  │                 │     │     │      │      │     │        │
├AScan:──┬Air:────┬Q-Air──┬Credits:┬Power:─┼R-Spy:┬Score:───┬Team:───┼Alert:──┤
│        │        │       │        │       │      │         │        │        │
├BScan:──┼Building┼Q-Bld──┼Ore:────┼Drain:─┼P-Targ:─────────┼Trigger:┼Borrow:─┤
│        │        │       │        │       │                │        │        │
├UScan:──┼Unit:───┼Q-Unit─┼ICreds:─┼U-Lost:┼Allies:─┬───────┴────────┼Attack:─┤
│        │        │       │        │       │        │                │        │
├IScan:──┼Infantry┼Q-Inf──┼Capacity┼B-Lost:┼Radius:─┤                ├AI-Time:┤
│        │        │       │        │       │        │                │        │
├VScan:──┼Vessel:─┼Q-Ship─┼North:──┴───────┴────────┼Center Cell:────┼Damage:─┤
│        │        │       │                         │                │        │
├West:───┴────────┴───────┼Core:────────────────────┼East:───────────┴────────┤
│                         │                         │                         │
├Globals:─────────────────┼South:───────────────────┼Enemy:───────────────────┤
│                         │                         │                         │
├────────────┬────────────┼────────────┬────────────┼────────────┬────────────┤
│Is Active   │Defeated    │Visionary   │Resigned    │            │            │
│Is Human    │To Die      │Low Ore     │Gave Up     │            │            │
│Player Ctrl │To Win      │Spied       │Built Smthng│            │            │
│Autocreate  │To Lose     │Thieved     │Auto Base AI│            │            │
│Discovered  │Civ. Evac   │GPS Active  │            │            │            │
│Max Capacity│Recalc Flag │Production  │            │            │            │
└────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┴────────────┘
<- F11                           House                                   F12 ->

Other than that, there's more stuff in there:

*******************************
** Pentium CPU not detected. **
*******************************

Unsure what this was good for.

Size Map

Map editor?

Trucks drop crate when destroyed?s

Maybe a debug option?

Unused Graphics

To do: Other crate powerups likely go unused.

A four frame icon of a mine, possibly a crate powerup.

The badger bomber, used for parabombs and paradrops has its own icon that goes unused as it's not buildable.

DOS	Windows	Remastered

The helicarrier is a cut unit from The Aftermath expansion. It carries up to five helicopters and launches them when ordered to attack.

DOS	Windows	Remastered

The phase transport from The Aftermath also has an icon despite being a unique, non-buildable unit.

DOS	Windows	Remastered

The construction yard cannot be built directly (excluding its fake version), rendering its full version unused. Interestingly the DOS version uses the Tiberian Dawn graphic.

DOS	Windows	Remastered

The trucks used in the campaign are unbuildable, rendering their cameos unseen. The DOS version has an explosion but is not to be confused with the demo truck's different icon.

DOS	Windows	Remastered

The spyplane itself seems to have an icon which is a horizontally flipped version of the ability's icon, without shroud. The DOS version matches the ability's.

Ability	Unit
Remastered	Remastered

Tiberian Dawn Leftovers

Nod's flametank's graphics.

The deploy animation of the MCV.

The orca, with "HIND" superimposed.

The MLRS's graphics.

Body	Weapons

Hidden Command Line Argument

Using the command line argument FROMINSTALL allows the player to run the game as if it were freshly installed.

Developer Messages

Type FELTPLAYWORK into the network chat to show a number of developer messages:

(Source: -=CHE@TER=-, kampaster via CTPAX-X)

Regional Differences

To do: Needs to be fleshed out a bit more, preferably by someone who knows more about the game than I do.

As to be expected of the Command & Conquer series, the game was censored upon being released in Germany.

• Due to a law stating that Nazi symbolism or characters are only allowed for educational purposes, the intro had a portion cut out, specifically a flashback to 1924 where Hitler is knocked out as he's shaking hands.
• The game is reworked so that the humans become cyborgs. The soldiers become all kinds of robots, cyborgs, and androids also with robotic voices. Running over enemies results in robotic noises being played, instead of human screams.
• Blood is recolored black to make it look more like oil.
• The track Hell March was also censored to remove the marching sounds and commands that can be heard in the background of the song.
• There are a lot of censorship in the game's cinematics:
  • Allies:
    • A scene was cut out where Tanya Adams is hit in the face and knocked unconscious by the interrogator in prison.
    • The Allied failure video, which shows a soldier frozen to death in the snow, was removed completely; instead, it shows the Soviet logo.
    • Another failure video, which shows Tanya Adams' grave, was also removed; instead, it plays the video where Europe becomes part of the USSR.
    • In the video where Paris is hit by a nuclear bomb, the voices before the impact were replaced with honking horns. The screams after the impact were removed altogether.
    • The video where two soldiers barely make it out of their defensive position before they're overrun by enemy tanks was removed. Instead, it plays a video meant for the Soviet missions where tanks cross a river and destroy an enemy base.
    • The Allied ending had the last portion cut out where the commander uncovers Stalin's face, puts a towel in his mouth, covers it up with rubble again and then happily dances.
  • Soviets:
    • The scene where Stalin and friends watch a video about the effects of gas was censored. Instead of the video, they just look at a map of Europe for one second and then immediately turn back to the table.
    • The video played after completing the first mission, which shows an airplane attacking a village with children screaming in the background, was completely removed. Instead, the Soviet logo is displayed.
    • The video which shows a soldier being executed was removed and, again, replaced by the Soviet logo.
    • The famous scene where Stalin says "if you kill one human, it is a tragedy, if you kill 10 million, it is a statistic" was cut out. In the German version, the cinematic starts at the part where you are promoted.
    • The same failure video from the Allies, showing the soldier frozen to death, was removed here as well and, yet again, replaced by the Soviet logo.
    • The video where you see three soldiers through binoculars was removed. Instead, it plays a video from another mission that shows aircraft starting up.
    • The failure video which shows a military graveyard was removed; instead you get to see burning remains of Soviet armory that are already shown elsewhere.

(Source: Schnittberichte)