Welcome to play Red Alert 1 online! This site has all the information you need to play your favourite classic RTS online with your friends over the internet. Just download the online version of Red Alert 1 below, extract the package, start cncnet.exe and you're ready to rock!
You only need the online version to play, but downloading all three packages makes your Red Alert 1 installation complete with music and Westwood Studio's awesome cut scene videos!
Online play is provided by CnCNet. To play with fellow comrades over the internet, just launch cncnet.exe from Red Alert 1 directory and wait for it to connect you. To gather for games or if you have any questions at all, use the chat feature from the top menu.
FAQ
- What is Red Alert 1?
- Where can I get help with playing or installing Red Alert 1?
- How do I play Red Alert 1 online?
- Why my Red Alert 1 is "choppy" or slow?
- I want to play a LAN game instead of CnCNet!
- Why there are three downloads?
- Does Red Alert 1 work on Windows XP, Vista and 7?
- Can I play Red Alert 1 on Linux?
- So I bought this Mac...
- Why CnCNet instead of other online services?
- Why doesn't the Internet button work?!
- Can I get Red Alert 1 to run in higher resolution than 640x400?
- I want to play The Aftermath and Counterstrike expansion packs!
- How did my opponent get so many tanks? He must be cheating!
What is Red Alert 1?
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in 1996. The second game to bear the "C&C" title, Red Alert is the prequel to the original Command & Conquer of 1995, and takes place in the alternate early history of Command & Conquer when Allied Forces battle an aggressive Soviet Union for control over the European mainland. It was initially available for PC (MS-DOS & Windows 95 versions included in one package), and was subsequently ported to PlayStation. On August 31, 2008, Electronic Arts who acquired Westwood Studios in 2003 officially rendered Command & Conquer: Red Alert freeware. More info on Wikipedia.
Where can I get help with playing or installing Red Alert 1?
We have a lively community here at CnCNet and are always happy to help you getting Red Alert 1 running. You can join the chat or the forums to get help. Though please see this FAQ first for any questions that might be already answered.
How do I play Red Alert 1 online?
Start Red Alert 1 by clicking cncnet.exe and you'll be dropped in the CnCNet lobby. Thats it!
Why my Red Alert 1 is "choppy" or slow?
This package of Red Alert 1 comes with fixes and default values that work for most people but not everyone. If you feel the game is choppy or slow, open up ddraw.ini and go to the last line and change renderer=gdi to renderer=opengl and see if it makes any difference. Also try fiddling with maxfps.
I want to play a LAN game instead of CnCNet!
Start Red Alert 1 by clicking ra95.exe instead of cncnet.exe to play a LAN game!
Why there are three downloads?
There are many kinds of players and we want to keep them all happy! By providing the very core game in a small download we open up Red Alert 1 to wider audiences than over 700 megabyte package that takes ages to download.
The base package contains only the essential game components, complete single player and multi player missions and maps are included, only music and movies are missing which are not essential for pure online gaming.
The music package contains "scores.mix" which when extracted to Red Alert 1's directory adds all the original game music to the internal music player. We recommend it strongly.
If you want to go trough the single player campaigns we recommend the movies package which adds all cut scenes to Red Alert 1, soviet and allied.
Does Red Alert 1 work on Windows XP, Vista and 7?
YES! The game package contains all the necessary patches and fixes for full compatibility with latest systems. You might want to check the cnc-ddraw site and your local ddraw.ini for more graphics tweaks including windowed more and higher resolutions!
Can I play Red Alert 1 on Linux?
YES! The package is very well tested to work on Linux with Wine, Red Alert 1 runs without any glitches on any modern system with the tweaks included in the package.
Things that you need to do over the standard installation is to add ddraw and wsock32 to dll override list in "winecfg" to get cnc-ddraw and CnCNet working correctly.
So I bought this Mac...
We now KNOW how to install it but can't really post exact instructions at this time. If you want it badly, ask in our chat!
Why CnCNet instead of other online services?
CnCNet is open source and developed for the classic C&C community by fans for fans.
It is well supported and regardless what the current administrators or developers do the service itself can be kept online and running by anyone capable of building the server and client software and running them. Even if we all get hit by a car someone can still pick up the pieces (pun intended) and restart the service.
CnCNet is simple to install and use. The package on this site already has CnCNet installed so you just need start Red Alert 1 using cncnet.exe and you're online! No need to install any external VPN solutions or clients, it is integrated to Red Alert 1, not the other way around.
CnCNet 3.0 is compatible with VPNs and LAN when you use ra95.exe instead of cncnet.exe. This is included in the current package.
Why doesn't the Internet button work?!
The Internet button is for the Westwood Online service which is not supported by CnCNet, use the Network button instead. You should also start the game with cncnet.exe to properly connect.
Can I get Red Alert 1 to run in higher resolution than 640x400?
Yes! There are two ways of making your Red Alert 1 experience high definition and they can be used together to get the ultimate playing experience. Our Red Alert 1 package already includes a project called cnc-ddraw which enables windowed mode and stretching. What you can do with it is stretch the original 640x400 to 1280x800 which is perfect 2x scaling of Red Alert 1 and it will look nice and smooth.
For actual higher resolutions there is an abandoned project called ra95-hires. It is compatible with CnCNet.
I want to play The Aftermath and Counterstrike expansion packs!
Sorry, we are not currently providing expansion packs on the site, but if you wish to play them online, don't hesitate to join our chat for help. The Aftermath and Counterstrike can be played online on CnCNet the same way as Red Alert 1, only the game files are needed.
How did my opponent get so many tanks? He must be cheating!
No, he probably isn't cheating, you are just slow. Ask your opponents what their build order is and try to execute it. Also read the knowledge page, it has a lot of information that's required to win the game. Don't go randomly accusing people of cheating just because they are better than you. The ability to produce units fast is extremely important in RA, and whoever can produce the most, the fastest will almost always win.