"How To Play Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 On Linux – Step by Step Guide"
36In this video, I cover how to install and play Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 and Yuri’s Revenge on Linux.
Step 1. Installation Of Red Alert 2.
Method 1 – Steam.
In most cases, to install Steam on Linux, you will be using a GUI software store such as Gnome Software, KDE Discover, Pop Shop or Pamac.
For example, on Ubuntu, to install Steam, open the App Store, search for the Steam Installer package, and then click install.
Once installation has finished, launch Steam from your application tray, apply the update and then sign into your account.
Next, we need to enable Proton, which is the compatibility layer that allows you to play Windows developed games on Linux.
To do this, navigate to Steam, Settings, Compatibility, and toggle on both Enable Steam Play for supported titles and Enable Steam Play for all other titles.
Restart Steam to apply.
From here, install the game as normal, but do not click the Play button just yet.
https://github.com/FunkyFr3sh/cnc-ddraw
Since this game originally came out in 2000, we need to use a tool called cnc-ddraw in order to play it on modern systems.
Whilst the game does come with its own version of cnc-ddraw, this does not work out of the box on Linux, so we need to update it.
First, click on the Releases page, download the latest version, and extract the archive.
Within the extracted folder, take a copy of the files inside, and then paste into game’s installation path, overwriting when prompted.
A quick way to navigate to this location is to right click on the game in Steam, navigate to Properties, Installed Files, and then click the Browse button.
Next, we need to open ddraw.ini file, and within this file, change the fixchilds value to 3, which will fix the black screen issue on the game’s main menu.
After that, open the ddrawcompat.ini file, and within this file, change the resolution value to native, as this will allow us to select in-game higher resolutions that your monitor supports.
Finally, open Steam again, right click on the game, choose Properties, General and in the LAUNCH OPTIONS field, add the following.
WINEDLLOVERRIDES="ddraw=n,b" %command%
Now the game is playable.
Method 2 – EA App.
Alternatively, if you have purchased the C&C Collection through the EA App, the process is similar, with the only real difference being that you will need to use Wine to launch the EA App directly.
https://flathub.org/apps/net.lutris.Lutris
My personal recommendation would be to use the Flatpak version of Lutris, as this bundles any dependencies that the EA App requires to run.
https://flathub.org/setup
First, install Flatpak support for your chosen distribution as per the instructions on the website.
Once done, open your distribution’s software store, which is typically Gnome Software, KDE Discover, Pop Shop or Pamac, and install the Lutris Flatpak package.
Once installation has finished, launch as normal from your application tray.
To install the EA App using Lutris, click on the + button, select the Search the Lutris website for installers option, search for EA App and then choose that option from the list.
From this point, click Install, follow the instructions and once installed, launch and sign into your EA account.
From here, install the game as normal, but close the EA App once installation has finished.
https://github.com/FunkyFr3sh/cnc-ddraw
Much like the previous Steam method, we will need to once again, replace the cnc-ddraw files.
So, click on the Releases page, download the latest version, extract the folder, take a copy of the files inside, and then paste into game’s installation path, overwriting when prompted.
In most cases, the installation path should be located at.
ea-app/drive_c/Program Files/EA Games/Command and Conquer Red Alert II
Next, we need to make the same edits to the ini files.
Open the ddraw.in file, change the fixchilds value to read 3, and the ddrawcompat.ini file's resolution value to read native.
Finally, right click on the EA App shortcut in Lutris, select Configure, Runner options, and in the DLL overrides section, add the following.
Key – ddraw
Value – n,b
Click Save once done.
The game is now playable.
Step 2. Increase In-Game Resolution.
By default, the game will run at a maximum resolution of 1024x768, however, it is possible for the game to support the maximum resolution of your monitor.
To do this, launch the game as normal, and type in the word hires at the main menu, and if you hear a beeping noise, it has worked.
Now when you navigate to Settings, you can select your required resolution from the drop-down menu.
Just bear in mind that this only applies to gameplay, as none of the menus will be scaled to this chosen resolution.
For Yuri’s Revenge, simply repeat the same process.
#redalert2 #linuxgaming #proton
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