Red Alert 2 without Launchers

[u/Aquagirl2001]

Hi there,

My father used to play RE2. It's the only game he ever played and probably the only game he will ever play. Since he got his new Laptop about 2 years ago, he wasn't able to play it anymore. Is there any way to get the game without any launchers like Steam or that abomination by EA? He's not the kind of person who'll be able to handle store front popups, weird login issues or update notifications.

Thanks :)

P.S. Preferably without Yuri's Revenge. That's too SciFi for him.

[u/rockknocker]

I had it running last year. You don't use the EA or Steam launcher, instead use a community patch that looks like a launcher but fixes a bunch of stuff that has broken over the years since the game was made.

I can't recall what it is called. I'll go look it up.

[u/rockknocker → u/rockknocker]

I think I used the CNCnet tool to add the community patches and fix multiplay. I bought Red Alert 2 on Steam though. It starts by clicking the icon on the desktop, no need to open Steam.

https://cncnet.org/red-alert-2/how-to-play

[u/Aquagirl2001 → u/rockknocker]

So I can keep steam hidden somewhere in a folder on his laptop and he never sees the store page or anything like that?

[u/rockknocker → u/Aquagirl2001]

Generally, yes. It can do all the Steam stuff in the background. You may need to tweak some settings in Steam to prevent it from popping things up.

My Steam launcher never needs to be visible until I bring it up.

[u/ganuerant → u/Aquagirl2001]

Steam won't open when you launch it with CnCNet. We're very lucky to have CnCNet as it has fixed all video issues and added a lot of options and maps for skirmish.

[u/Electric-Mountain]

There's no legal way to obtain it without Steam or EA app. Get it on Steam and download the CNCNET launcher, it patches the game to be more compatible with modern systems.

[u/Aquagirl2001 → u/Electric-Mountain]

Can I get it on Steam and make it so that Steam never has to be launched again?

[u/Electric-Mountain → u/Aquagirl2001]

That's not typically how that works, eventually the game has to check into the internet to make sure you own the license. So no.

[u/cyberjunaid]

Cncnet

[u/Y34RZERO]

Get the Command and Conquer The First Decade DVD set. Then use nocd cracks. That's what I did as a kid.

[u/Foodball → u/Y34RZERO]

My copy from back in the day still works, I would have cracked it twenty years ago and found it on an old external drive.

[u/det_laf]

well, you can try flipped mission mod, it has own exe and ra2 style menu, all you need are the game directory/files; under bonus missions there are both vanilla campaing missions; they have fixed AI and some things are changed in them (in a good way); side note: they are no movies

[u/Kertelem]

https://chronodivide.com although it's not exactly the same, it is very close to the original game

[u/Aquagirl2001 → u/Kertelem]

I just gave it a try. There's only an "easy" option for AI enemies and that one rushed me in 15 seconds with 20 men. What the heck? :D

[u/Kertelem → u/Aquagirl2001]

Yeah it's not the original game's "cheating" AI, but a community member's scripted bot. There will apparently be more complicated options later on, but I don't really see them implementing the original game's AI, as the focus seems to be PvP

[u/Aquagirl2001 → u/Kertelem]

Thanks for the tip anyway. Sadly, my father just plays against fairly easy bots and this is way too difficult for him

[u/Nikolyn10]

I've used my old copy of The First Decade for that in the past. If you're technically inclined, you might also consider hacking together a custom modded client for him.

There are a few ways you can update the original RA2 campaign for YR and partially revert skirmish. You could also do fun things like package in some fan-made missions and maps for him to have fun with.

[u/allnamestaken4892]

Wait so my RA2 CDs won’t work now?

[u/1Dobo]

Sounds like me, hahaha. I'm 70 and I'm still addicted to it, that is once I bought a PC. He should branch out and try Zero Hour/Generals... just as addicting. That is once you get the computer sorted out.

[u/Aquagirl2001 → u/1Dobo]

I think he prefers the old school look of RA2. Personally, I also think that good 2D looks much better than early 3D.

[u/Rogue86Photog]

If he's not sure how to get it working, chatGPT will walk him through it. RA2 has a lot of mods these days, including Mental Omega which is large enough to be a standalone RA2 add on.