Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

Prerelease Info Notes Bugs Non-Functional .ini PropertiesSeveral unused keys with different properties. Unused GraphicsSeveral unused graphics. Unused ModelsUnused models from Tiberian Sun, and early models for Red Alert 2. Unused UnitsUnused units. Unused TextSeveral bits of text unused in Red Alert 2. Unused Sounds Map Related

Main Menu Commands#

The following codes can be typed on the main menu to unlock different effects, a beep will happen when correctly entered.

• HIRES - Allows selecting resolutions up to 4096x4096 in the options menu.

• THETEAM - Loads a custom tmcj4f.ini file after loading rules.ini, allowing custom rules to be used in skirmish mode. Stands for "Totally Cool Mission Just 4 Fun".

• TOGGLE - From Tiberian Sun, obsolete. "Allowing or disallowing switch between video modes".

• PENGO - From Tiberian Sun, obsolete. "Replaces Visceroid graphics with placeholder images".

Cut Debug Commands#

langmd.mix -> keyboardmd.ini contains old debug commands that developers used, the commands are no longer in the exe.

RaiseCell=106
LowerCell=109
DeleteObject=187
SuperExplosion=192
ToggleMono=333
NukeExplosion=334
CopyBlock=579
MultiplayerDebug=585
ForceLose=588
FreeMoney=589
FileNew=590
FileOpen=591
BuildCheat=593
FileSave=595
PasteBlock=598
ForceWin=599
ToggleMarbleMadness=1101

These numbers can be converted into keys:

RaiseCell=*
LowerCell=-
SuperExplosion=`
ToggleMono=Shift+M
NukeExplosion=Shift+N
CopyBlock=Ctrl+C
MultiplayerDebug=Ctrl+I
ForceLose=Ctrl+L
FreeMoney=Ctrl+M
FileNew=Ctrl+N
FileOpen=Ctrl+O
BuildCheat=Ctrl+Q
FileSave=Ctrl+S
PasteBlock=Ctrl+V
ForceWin=Ctrl+W
ToggleMarbleMadness=Alt+M

Unused Features#

• Located in ra2.mix are some leftover graphics data from older Command & Conquer games, and unused graphics made for early versions of Red Alert 2. Several graphics from Command & Conquer, Red Alert and Tiberian Sun can be found in the data. These use color palettes from the earlier games which weren't left in Red Alert 2's files, and thus can only be properly seen using palettes extracted from the earlier games.

• Setting CanDetonateTimeBomb to 'yes' in Rules.ini allows double clicking on an enemy with an Ivan bomb on them to instantly detonate it, as the comment says: "Turn this on to restore double click functionality on enemy bombs (actually easier than pulling out the Event)".

Setting CanDetonateDeathBomb to 'yes' in Rules.ini does nothing, as the comment says:

:

"and this one controls double clicking bombs on own guys; neither of these will give double click back to Ivan himself // obsolete now that deathbombs cut".

It's possible the image to the right was used for the death bomb cursor, the time bomb cursor uses the SEAL C4 cursor.

• Gap generators have an "ExtraPower" value of -9000, this means when gap generators have 9000 spare power available they can be deployed to use the SuperGapRadiusInCells as their range instead of the base GapRadiusInCells. However, this seems to have been just a quick way to disable the feature, as both radii are 10. Changing SuperGapRadius allows a functional version of the mechanic.

• Setting InitialVeteran to 'yes' allows all starting units to be elites, which is otherwise unavailable as an option in skirmish.

• Setting MutateExplosion to 'no' will turn the genetic mutator weapon from a 6x6 superweapon to a 3x3.

• AImd.ini has scripts for AI taskforces to create two Psi-Commandos, however the final AITriggerTypes for them to create them isn't defined. It also has scripts to allow brutal AI to build two chrono-commandos to attack once their enemy has an allied tech center (likely a mistake, and is meant to be when they own a tech center), however, they cannot do this because chrono-commandos require stolen allied tech, and the script for spies to enter tech centers isn't set to be used on any difficulty.

• UpgradeVeteranSound and UpgradeEliteSound allow different sounds to be played when a unit is promoted, but both use the same sound.

• CreateInfantrySound, CreateAircraftSound, and CreateUnitSound would play a sound when a unit of that type is created, but it goes unused.

rules.ini#

Red Alert 2 was developed on top of the Tiberian Sun game and engine, so a lot of graphics and programming code from the earlier game persists within Red Alert 2.

Side and Country Data#

The Allies and Soviets are referred to by the sides system as "GDI" and "Nod" - the two main factions from Tiberian Sun. Unused country data also exists for "GDI" and "Nod" countries (using the gdii.pcx and nodi.pcx files shown below), either to just test the system, or possibly to later be converted into vanilla Allied and Soviet countries.

Some of the country names were also different to those employed in the final game.

Tiberium#

Tiberium was the resource collected in Tiberian Sun, and came in two varieties - green and blue. These have been replaced by the more conventional ore and gems in Red Alert 2, in keeping with the original Red Alert. However, being built on the Tiberian Sun engine, most references to ore in rules.ini still mention "Tiberium", and control variables for the spread of ore and mining behaviour still have tag names such as "TiberiumFarScan".

In addition, ore is still referred to in code by the name of the standard green variant of Tiberium - Riparius. Gems have taken on the name of the rarer blue variant - Vinifera. Two unused Tiberium types that were present in the code of Tiberian Sun - Cruentus and Aboreus - are still present in Red Alert 2's code.

Super Weapons#

Tiberian Sun's super weapon code is still contained within rules.ini, though commented out for the most part. The Nod Multi Missile super weapon was adapted into the Soviet Nuclear Missile, and still bears the old name of MultiSpecial. The only Tiberian Sun super weapon not commented out in the code is the GDI Ion Cannon - IonCannonSpecial. Whether this was just an oversight or whether it was actually used for something is uncertain.

Re-enabling these super weapons is not possible without the use of modding extensions such as Ares, as although they remain in the INIs, much of their internal engine code has been purged.

Terrain#

Code still remains in the rules.ini, art.ini, and individual theater .ini files for ice, tunnels and railways - all of which were present in Tiberian Sun. Without external enhancements like the Terrain Expansion, it is not possible to properly re-enable them.

Obscured Graphics#

Crazy Ivan and the terrorist both have death graphics that are obscured by their death explosions.

Crazy Ivan	Terrorist

Unseen Models#

The deployed siege chopper is fully modeled but is normally only seen facing south east.

Unused Gametypes#

mpmodes.ini makes mention of a "Siege" mode that was "Removed until UI does or does not support game type.". MPsiege.ini also describes it as "Siege mode designates one player as the Defender. The Defender begins at the first starting point (map waypoint) with a conyard. The other players are allied as the Attackers. The Attacking players begin at the other starting points with an MCV".

More information from ModEnc:

The [Siege] entry is obsolete, it has not been substantiated whether or not this game mode can be made to work, although it can only be used on LAN or Internet games. In this mode, one player is designated the 'Defender' and starts at the first map waypoint with a Construction Yard. The other players are allocated as being 'Attackers' and start at the remaining waypoints with MCVs as usual. The defender cannot ally with any other player (although Attackers can, and all Attackers begin the game allied and unable to change alliances). The idea is for the Attackers to defeat the Defender or vice versa. You can enable this mode by deleting the comments ( ; ) and giving the mode a new number. Note also the spelling mistake which means the rulesOverride INI file does not get read - it states {{fn|MPSeige.INI}} when it should in fact be {{fn|MPSiege.INI}} which is in the game files. If you enable this mode, you must also add several string entries to the .CSF files to support it;-

MP:AttackerTeam should contain a string such as 'Attacker'

MP:DefenderTeam should contain a string such as 'Defender'

MP:IllegalTeam      should contain a string such as 'That team is not allowed!'

MP:NoAttackers  should contain a string such as 'No Attackers?'

MP:NoDefender       should contain a string such as 'No Defender?'

MP:OnlyOneBesieged  should contain a string such as 'Not enough attackers!'

Used gametypes have potential changes:

• Meat Grinder:
  • Prism tanks required both a war factory and radar before being made unavailable completely.
  • Black eagles required a battle lab and 2000 credits before being made unchanged.
  • Tesla tanks, desolators, and demo trucks may have been banned at one point but ultimately went unchanged.
• Naval War:
  • Telsa coils and prism towers may have been banned at one point.

Cut Sounds#

Eva.ini contains lines and text said by Sofia/Eva, some were cut.

The following sounds are commented out in sound.ini and have no sound files remaining:

• 6 ambient campfire sounds.
• 5 unique ambient move sounds for the black eagle, reuses harrier sounds instead.
• 3 death sounds for the rocketeer.
• 2 move sounds for the mummy.
• 1 death sound for Yuri clones.
• 1 attack sound for Yuri clones.
• 1 move sound for the V3.
• 1 attack sound for the tesla tank.
• 2 fear sounds for Sammy Stallion.
• 2 select sounds for Sammy Stallion.
• 2 sounds for slave being freed post slave miner destruction.
• 1 attack sound for slave miners.
• 1 select sound for Romanov.
• 1 select sound for mirage tank.
• 2 move sounds for the MiG.
• 1 attack sound for the lasher tank.
• 2 move sounds for the lasher tank.
• 4 select sounds for the lasher tank.
• 1 move sound for initiates.
• 1 select sound for initiates.
• 1 move sound for Soviet hovercraft.
• 1 sound for floating discs stealing.
• 2 move sounds for floating discs.
• 1 select sound for floating discs.
• 1 sound for Flint Westwood resisting mind control.
• 1 fear sound for Flint Westwood.
• 1 attack sound for Flint Westwood.
• 1 select sound for Flint Westwood.
• 4 airstrike sounds for Boris.
• 1 attack sound for the battle fortress.
• 1 sound for Arnie Frankenfurter resisting mind control.
• 3 move sounds for Arnie Frankenfurter.
• 1 select sound for Arnie Frankenfurter.
• 2 death sounds for RA2 Tanya.

The following sounds exist only as commented out list entries and never got as far as having sounds:

• CivAllFemaleDie
• CivSovFemaleDie
• DesolatorFear
• SealFear
• TanyaFear (RA2)
• YuriFear
• InfantrySovFeedback
• InfantryAllFeedback
• InfantryDie
• InfantrySquish2
• BlackOpsTakeOff
• BlackOpsLanding
• BlackEagleTakeOff
• BlackEagleLanding
• MCVDeploy
• PrismTankAttackFrag
• GenSmallVehicleMove
• GenCivVehicleMove
• GenLargeWaterMove
• PrismTowerSupport
• AlligatorFear
• PlayerLeft
• MenuArrive

The following sounds have valid entries, but no sounds associated and volume set to 0:

• DolphinFear
• OspreyCollision
• RobotTankPowerDown
• SquidFear
• SubFear

Oddities#

• The Patriot Missile has the NA prefix, signifying that it was once for the Soviets, as in Red Alert 1. Pre-release images also shows the Allies using the flak cannons, strengthening this.
• The prism tank's internal name is SREF, standing for its old name of "Solar Refractor".
• The sea scorpion's internal name is HRD, short for its old name of hydrofoil.
• The SEAL's internal name is GHOST.
• IFVMode 12 gives the IFV a prism weapon, which does 300 damage compared to 120 of the prism tank. Its only available by putting a cow, alligator, polar bear, monkey, camel, or the President in the IFV. However in the only level you control cows you don't have access to IFVs. And animals take up two slots in transports, meaning the only level where you get access to monkeys they don't fit in the IFV. This means the only potential unit to give this weapon is the President, who you can't control in 'Hail to the Chief', nor can you put mind controlled units in IFVs in the moment you control him in 'Fox and the Hound'.

tutorial.ini#

This .ini file contains old lines for the campaigns (and some other stuff).

Lines 1-30

It states to be reserved for generic messages (Lines 13-30 are blank).

1=Objective 1 completed!
2=Objective 2 completed!
3=Objective 3 completed!
4=Objective 4 completed!
5=NEW OBJECTIVE RECIEVED
6=REINFORCEMENTS HAVE ARRIVED
7=NEW PRODUCTION OPTION
8=MISSION FAILED
9=MISSION SUCCESSFUL
10=Objective 1:  Force a landing on the beach and set up a base.  
11=Objective 2:  Destroy American Production Facilities.  
12=Objective 3:  Destroy American Fleet. 
13=
14=
15=
16=
17=
18=
19=
20=
21=
22=
23=
24=
25=
26=
27=
28=
29=
30=

Lines 10, 11, 12 seem to be based on the second Soviet mission.

Lines 31-60

It states to be reserved for the fifth Allied mission.

31=TANYA: Shoot! The dogs got our spies!  We need help here!
32=TANYA: Man down! Darn it! We need another couple spies!
33=TANYA: Argh! Is Puppy Chow cologne standard issue for these guys? Send more Spies!
34=TANYA: BEEP, BEEP BEEEP!!! Dogs! They BEEPing ate another of our guys!
35=Nuclear Missile Silo coordinates downloaded successfully. 
36=OBJECTIVE 1: Infiltrate the Soviet Battle Lab
37=OBJECTIVE 2: Locate and Neutralize the Soviet Nuclear Missile Silos
38=SOVIET SOLDIER: Be on the look out for spies, comrades.  It seems a little too quiet tonight.
39=SOVIET SOLDIER: Ha ha ha. we don't need to worry about stupid American spies.  That's what the dogs are for. 
40=HINT: Spies can assume the form and color of any infantry unit.  To do this, select the Spy and Left-Click on a valid target.
41=HINT: Special "detector" units can see throught a Spy's disguise.  Beware of the Dogs - they are excellent detectors!
42=TANYA: Looks like we're going to need some more backup here.  Send some more Spies.
43=SPY: If you can get me into one of those Tesla Reactors, I can shut down all of the base's power for thirty seconds.  It's not much time, but maybe you can use it to sneak past the defenses.
44=BRITISH ENGINEER: Sorry we're late.  What do you need us to do?
45=SOVIET SOLDIER: Hey, you're not one of us!
46=POLISH VILLAGER: Please don't hurt me, I am just a poor cow herder.
47=POLISH VILLAGER: What took you so long, Boris?  I need your help getting these cows back to the village.
48=POLISH VILLAGER: Where are we going? This doesn't look like the way back to the village.
49=POLISH VILLAGER2: Mmmmm. Cows... Thanks for bringin' them in.
50=POLISH VILLAGER: Here's your split o' the money.  And just so you know, I heard that there's some rebels hiding up in the mountains to the east of the Soviet base.
51=POLISH REBEL: Someone's found our village!  KILL HIM!
52=POLISH REBEL: Ah, there you are, Boris.  We're ready to move out against the Soviets.  Lead us to victory, comrade!
53=TANYA: Those rebels look like bad news.  They'll probably fight us just as readily as they fight the Soviets.
54=POLISH VILLAGER: Psst. Comrade! There's a secret path up to the Soviet base behind my house.
55=NUCLEAR MISSILE DESTROYED
56=NUCLEAR MISSILE INFILTRATED
57=Soviet BattleLab destroyed - Objective Failed
58=MAP ENLARGED - New Terrain Revealed
59=
60=

Lines 31-34: Written counterpart of Tanya's censored swearing (see Unused Sounds for audio version).

Lines 38 and 39: Written counterpart of an audio file featuring a Conscript (line 38) and a Rhino Tank (line 39).

Line 44: It seems the player meant to receive engineers in some part of the mission.

Lines 61-70

It states to be reserved for the tenth Allied mission

61=Lt Eva:  When the Mirage tank is in position, select any nearby tree.  The Mirage Tank will then cloak itself as the tree you've selected and be ready to stealthily attack any enemy that comes into range.
62=ALERT!  Soviet Invasion forces have entered your AOR!  ALERT!
63=Reserved
64=Reserved
65=Reserved
66=Reserved
67=Reserved
68=Reserved
69=Reserved
70=Reserved

Lines 71-247

Leftover lines from Tiberian Sun.

Lines 300-350

It states to be reserved for the tenth Soviet mission.

300=Soviet General:     Welcome, Comrade. Enjoy these beautiful 
            tropical islands while you can...we are
            going to destroy them soon.

            But first we must find our target, da?
            The Allied dogs are hiding their super
            weapon with a powerful Gap Generator, 
            so we must destroy it before we can 
            begin. Crazy Ivan and Yuri could be 
            particularly well suited for the task at
            hand. Go now--build your base and 
            prepare your forces.
301=Soviet General: Da?

Only has 2 lines instead of 50.

Unused Weapons#

Apparently with some leftover weapons from Tiberium Sun and other RA2 exclusives that are unused.

;MultiCluster
120HE
75mm
AssaultCannon
BAZOOKA
BikeMissile
Bomb
ChemLauncher
CRAWP
CRBAZOOKA
CRM1Carbine
CRMakeupKit
CyCannon
Dragon
DredCollision
ElectricFragment
EMPulseWeapon
FiendShard
FireballLauncher
Grenade
HarpyClaw
Heal
Hellfire
HoverMissile2
HoverMissile2e
JumpCannon
LaserFire
LaserFire2
LtRail
MechRailgun
Minigun
Nukebomb
OutpostMachineGun
Proton
QuadCannon
RaiderCannon
RPGTower
SlimeAttack
Sniper
SuicideBomb
TankMakeupKit
V3Airburst
Vulcan3
VulcanTower

Unused AI Behaviour#

• There's a script for the AI to send spies into an allied battle lab, but its not set to be used on any difficulty.
• There's a script for the AI to send conscripts into their battle bunkers, but its not set to be used on any difficulty.
• There's a script for the AI to attack base defenses with two V3s on easy difficulty, but its not set to be used on any difficulty.
• There's a script for the AI to rush your conyard with an engineer in an IFV if you have one or no tesla coils or prism towers, but its not set to be used on any difficulty.
• There's a script for the AI to attack with two prism tanks on easy difficulty, but its not set to be used on any difficulty.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to attack factories with an aircraft carrier and aegis cruiser, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the allied AI to defend their base with two psi-corps troopers, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to hunt harvesters with three grizzly tanks, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to send spies into a soviet battle lab, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to hunt harvesters with two rhino tanks, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to attack units with six initiates, one virus, and three clones, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to defend their allied war factory, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to attack a soviet shipyard, but it's not referenced.
• There's partial scripts for the AI to attack any power plants, but it's not referenced.
• The following skirmish taskforces are unused:
  • 1 desolator
  • 1 Soviet engineer
  • 2 Yuri clones
  • 20 conscripts
  • 4 flak troopers, 4 tesla troopers
  • 4 grizzly tanks
  • 8 conscripts, 4 tesla troopers
  • 8 GIs.
• The allies have a duplicate copy of a soviet script to protect their refineries with dogs.

Unused Videos#

Tanya requesting more spies in Allies 05 - Dark Night. This was replaced with a voice over allowing it to be repeatable in case the player lost multiple groups of spies.

Yuri's Revenge:

Installer Differences#

The game's string system for translations also includes strings for the installer's dialogue even though no text is displayed there, this shows an earlier version of the installation dialogue.

HVA Files#

The HVA (Hierarchical Voxel Animation) files contain file paths in the first 16 bytes of each file, with this we can see some file paths:

C:\3DSMAX\MESHE
D:\BATCH SPRITE
D:\PROJECTS\SUN
D:\PROJECTS\TSU
D:\RA2X\MODELS\
D:\VOXELS\CAHEA
D:\VOXELS\YAGGU
E:\VOXELS\FINAL
E:\VOXELS\V3\V3
N:\RA2\ASSETS\C
N:\RA2\SOURCE F
U:\WIP\FERBY\C&
U:\WIP\RADE_S\V
V:\RA2\ASSETS\C

Rade_S is Rade Stojsavljevic.
Ferby is Ferby Miguel.

Anti-Piracy#

Watch on YouTubeOn pirated copies, the player's base, as well as the player's units, would explode after 30 seconds.

This anti-piracy measure sometimes results in a false positive if you install the game, expansion and patch and play one game. Relaunching the game allows normal play.

Game.exe#

An unused dialog box found in the main executable.

Revisional Differences#

Yuri's Revenge version 1.001 replaced the sounds for the Hollywood Heroes with generic GI sounds and names with "Hero". The original sounds still exist in the files. The update also went as far as renaming all the characters in the triggers too, Stallone was changed to Bodybuilder, Arnold was changed to Hero, and Eastwood/Westwood (both used in the original) was changed to Cowboy.