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C&C: Red Alert 3 Uprising Guide

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Aug 25, 2013.

  • by booman, Aug 25, 2013 at 11:58 PM
  • booman

    booman Grand High Exalted Mystic Emperor of Linux Gaming Staff Member

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    The Command and Conquer RTS games started in 1995. The First title was Command & Conquer. Shortly afterwards another version Red Alert was released. Both games are God View and require base building and resource mangement. Command & Conquer are based on Sci-Fi and Red Alert is a sort of alternative history.

    Command & Conquer is the Global Defense Initiative vs. the Brotherhood of NOD.
    Both versions got updates and expansions. Up to and include Command & Conquer 4 and Red Alert 3. Also in the Command & Conquer series is Generals. Generals is a more realistic near future game played much the same way as Command & Conquer and Red Alert.
    Last release date for any of these titles was around 2010 with the exception of C&C Tiberian Alliances that was released for free in 2013.

    redalert70a.png

    Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing C&C: Red Alert Uprising in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

    Note: This guide applies to the Steam version of C&C Red Alert 3 - Uprising. Other versions may require additional steps.

    Tips & Specs

    Try SteamPlay before using this guide as Valve now uses a fork of Wine called Proton and should run most Windows games.


    To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual:
    PlayOnLinux Explained

    Mint 14 32-bit
    PlayOnLinux: 4.2.1
    Wine: 1.7

    Installing Wine

    Click Tools
    Select "Manage Wine Versions"

    Look for the Wine Version: 1.7
    Note: Try using stable Wine 1.8 and 1.8-staging

    Select it
    Click the arrow pointing to the right
    wine03.png

    Click Next

    Wine Download Wizard
    wine05.png

    PlayOnLinux will automatically download it and save it in this directory:
    /home/username/.PlayOnLinux/wine/linux-x86

    Note: username is where you put your login name

    Its a good idea to backup this directory to another computer because you won't have to keep downloading wine versions when you need them.

    Extracting
    wine06.png

    Gecko downloading
    wine07.png

    Installed
    wine08.png

    Wine 1.7 is installed and you can close this window

    Downloading Steam

    Go To: http://www.steampowered.com
    Click Install Steam
    redalert01.png

    Do not click "Install Steam Now"
    It will automatically install Linux Steam. Since Red Alert 3: Uprising isn't made for Linux, we will download the Windows Steam instead.
    click "Windows" under the green button
    redalert02.png

    Navigate to your desktop
    Click Save
    redalert03.png

    Setup PlayOnLinux

    Launch PlayOnLinux
    Click Install
    redalert04.png

    Click "install a non-listed program"
    redalert05.png

    Click Next

    Select "Install a program in a new virtual drive"
    Click Next
    redalert07.png

    Name you virtual drive: redalert3
    No spaces
    Click Next
    redalert08.png

    Select all three options:
    • Use another version of Wine
    • Configure Wine
    • Install some libraries
    Click Next
    redalert09.png

    Select Wine 1.7
    Click Next
    redalert10.png

    Note: If you are running a 64-bit system, PlayOnLinux will prompt if you want to use a 64-bit or 32-bit virtual drive.
    Always select 32-bit virtual drive.

    Configure Wine

    Applications Tab
    Windows Version: Windows XP
    Click Apply
    redalert11.png

    Graphics Tab
    Check: Automatically capture the mouse in full-screen windows
    Check: Emulate a virtual desktop
    Desktop size: 1024x768
    Click Ok
    redalert12.png

    Install Libraries

    Check the following libraries:
    • POL_Install_corefonts
    • POL_Install_d3dx9
    • POL_Install_registeredfonts
    • POL_Install_tahoma
    • POL_Install_vcrun2005
    • POL_Install_msxml3
    Click Next
    All libraries will automatically download and install
    redalert13.png

    Installing Steam

    Click Browse
    redalert15.png

    Navigate to your desktop
    Select: SteamInstall.msi
    Click Open
    redalert16.png

    Click Next

    Click Next

    Check: I accept the license...
    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Next

    Click Install

    Click Finish

    Updating Steam
    redalert24.png

    More updating, extracting and installing
    redalert25.png

    When Steam is done installing the login screen will pop up. You probably won't see any text because there is a font bug.
    Click the "X" to close Steam login

    PlayOnLinux Shortcut

    Select Steam.exe
    Click Next
    redalert31.png

    Name your shortcut: Red Alert 3 Uprising
    Click Next
    redalert32.png

    Select "I don't want to make another shortcut"
    Click Next
    redalert33.png

    More PlayOnLinux Configuration

    Back to PlayOnLinux
    Click Configure
    Select Steam virtual drive

    General Tab
    Arguments: -no-dwrite -no-cef-sandbox
    This fixes the missing font and store problem
    redalert34.png

    Note: -no-dwrite only works if you launch Steam from PlayOnLinux. Steam is automatically set to launch when Windows starts, which means if you do a "Windows Reboot" from the Wine tab -no-dwrite won't execute. Just close Steam and try again.

    Display Tab
    Direct Draw Renderer: opengl
    Video Memory Size: size of memory on your video card
    Offscreen rendering mode: fbo
    redalert35.png

    Wine Tab
    Click "Windows reboot"
    Close Steam because it will automatically launch when Windows reboots and won't execute -no-dwrite.
    redalert36.png

    Close Configure

    Launch Red Alert 3 Uprising

    Select Red Aleart 3 Uprising
    Click Run
    redalert38.png

    Login to Steam

    Select: Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising
    Click Install
    redalert39.png

    Click Next

    Click "I agree"

    Click Next

    Click Finish

    Wait for download to finish

    Click Play
    redalert45.png

    Click Play
    redalert46.png

    Wait for Microsoft VC Redist Package to install
    redalert47.png

    Create a profile name
    redalert48.png

    Optimizing Red Alert 3 Uprising

    Click Options
    redalert49.png

    Click Settings
    redalert50.png

    Select a resolution
    If your computer can't handle the same resolution of your desktop, then you will have to change the Linux desktop resolution to match the game for full screen. Or go back to Wine configuration and uncheck "virtual desktop"
    Click Confirm
    redalert51.png

    Graphics Presets
    Select a preset for all the graphical settings. I suggest starting low and working your way up. If the game has really high frames per second, then move it up one. If you are satisfied with the frame rate and visual appearance, then its a good setting for game play.
    Click Confirm
    redalert52.png

    Conclusion:
    Steam installed and work great as usual. Don't forget if you do a Wine Windows Reboot and Steam will launch without fonts. The argument -no-dwrite fixes this problem with almost any version of Wine. Red Alert 3 Uprising ran perfectly with high resolution and video settings on high.

    Screenshots:
    redalert61a.png




    redalert62a.png


    redalert63a.png


    redalert64a.png


    redalert65a.png


    redalert66a.png


    redalert67a.png


    redalert68a.png

    redalert69a.png
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2019
    danrok likes this.

Comments

Discussion in 'Guides' started by booman, Aug 25, 2013.

  1. booman
    High Res Screenshots:

    redalert60.png redalert61.png

    redalert62.png redalert63.png

    redalert64.png redalert65.png

    redalert66.png redalert67.png

    redalert68.png redalert69.png
  2. rolandttg
    I got it to run per your tutorial and the game runs good in Steam.
    But.. If I run it in the window mode the screen will not enlarge. It will run this way but too small. If I change video settings in the game it will lock up.
    I can run it without window mode in full screen. But if I change video settings the game will lock up.
    If I run the game it seems to be 800 x 600 and the detail is very good. In the non window mode after exit the desktop does not return to the original resolution.
    I backed up the game and need maybe to add more libraries? Any ideas?
    It looks as if the program wants to keep the resolution of the Steam App/browser.
  3. booman
    This is very common for Wine.
    I never use "windowed mode" for games, but you can use virtual desktop.
    Is that what you mean by "windowed"?

    The best way to handle resolutions is to change the virtual desktop resolution to match the Linux desktop. If your video card can handle it, try setting it for the exact same resolution as your desktop. This way you don't have to resize the desktop before launching your game.

    If you have an older video card or laptop, you would need to set virtual desktop to 1360x768 or something similar, then change your Linux desktop resolution before launching your game. This way it will be fullscreen.

    My GeForce 550 Ti could handle 1680x1050 so I just left the virtual desktop at 1024x768 and then changed game resolution to 1680x1050. This way the virtual desktop will automatically resize to match.

    Sometimes that won't work, which is why you have to set your virtual desktop first.

    Kinda trial-n-error. But I have stuck with virtual desktop for most games and it handles everything really well.
  4. rolandttg
    I did mean virtual desktop instead of windowed. I'm glad it works as it is. But I am going to try to figure it out.
  5. booman
    Yeah, its a common problem with Wine. I usually end up figuring out which resolution resolution works best for my card and the specific game, then just make the necessary adjustments

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