Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection (Steam Guide)

Author: Jeod

Contributors:

TerrorTowers
hxdr0n0s
Unstoppable
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Translations:

English

If you've already been through this guide, you might like to check out the Mods Guide below.

This guide will help you get The Ultimate Collection (TUC) running with Steam. Several third party tools are used in this guide. This guide will walk through the various modifications necessary to run TUC on a Windows 11 machine, by first modifying files included with the release, and afterwards using third party tools to fix and enhance the experience.

Wherever possible, explanations will preface or follow modification / addition steps. Please keep in mind that the Command & Conquer series is an old, classic series of games carefully and lovingly stitched together by community members around the world to keep them relevant in modern times.

Command & Conquer and The Covert Operations / Red Alert, Counterstrike and The Aftermath

These games are freeware and are made irrelevant thanks to the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection. However, they can still be played. C&C95 is shipped at version 1.04, and RA95 is shipped at version 3.03.

Download Nyerguds’ unofficial 1.06 patch and FunkyFr3sh's Red Alert Installer/Patcher.
Install the 1.06c patch and tick the option Enable No-CD mode.
Open CCConfig.exe and set game resolution as desired. Leave Renderer on automatic, but prefer Windowed mode (looks best).
Delete the installScript.vdf file to prevent Steam from overwriting the executable files.
Install the RA1Installer.exe as a patch. Rename MAIN1.MIX to MAIN.MIX.
Open RedAlertConfig.exe and set game resolution as desired. Leave Renderer on automatic, but prefer Windowed mode (looks best).
Delete the installScript.vdf file to prevent Steam from overwriting the executable files.

Tiberian Sun & Firestorm

While Tiberian Sun & Firestorm are freeware, there are many who would prefer to use the Steam release for Steam integration including playtime. Begin by downloading TSPatch by FunkyFr3sh.

Install TSPatch.
Open tsconfig.exe and set game resolution as desired. The game will look best at a max width of 1080.
Delete the installScript.vdf file to prevent Steam from overwriting the executable files.
Set the following Steam launch option: "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun\TSLauncher.exe" %COMMAND%

Integrated multiplayer works (XWIS), but there are almost no players. Use CnCNet for an active playerbase.

Red Alert II & Yuri's Revenge

XWIS multiplayer is built into the Steam release. However, CnCNet has a much larger presence and playerbase. Download CnCNet YR.

Install CnCNet YR.
Verify both game.exe and gamemd.exe are set to Windows 7 compatibility and the Run As Administrator box is ticked.
Set your desired resolution in RA2.INI by adjusting ScreenWidth= and ScreenHeight= and/or add AllowHiResModes=yes under the [Video] tag. The latter option adds higher resolutions to the ingame options menu.
Set the following Steam launch option: "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command & Conquer Red Alert II\CnCNetYRLauncher.exe" %COMMAND%.

Renegade

C&C Renegade is enhanced by the Tiberian Technologies Scripts, which fixes many bugs and allows for enhanced gameplay features, including in-game custom content downloads and a GameSpy replacement. This is effectively required to play Renegade online today. You can download the scripts from the Tiberian Technologies website, and install them to your Renegade folder (which will be PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command & Conquer Renegade). Multiplayer servers are listed and viewable in-game by selecting Multiplay Internet -> GameSpy, or via XWIS.

Alternatively, those same servers can be viewed out-of-game by downloading the W3DHub Launcher or RenList. The W3DHub launcher also enables you to download and play W3D mods such as A Path Beyond and Interim Apex.

If you are having issues with rubberbanding and being unable to move in multiplayer games or if you are trying to host a local multiplayer game and it crashes, it could be caused by a lack of a correctly set NetUpdateRate key in your registry. Go to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Westwood\Renegade\Networking\Options in regedit and set NetUpdateRate to 4b.

Community member Learonys has written a comprehensive Steam guide about C&C Renegade. As the only FPS game in the series, not including its mods, the Renegade community is a fandom in its own right. The linked guide includes details like using console commands, adding bots to multiplayer practice and multiplayer LAN servers, further known issues after applying the TT Patch, and an explanation of Renegade's subcommunities.

C&C Renegade Mods

I do want to give a special shout here to the Renegade mod community. Since around 2006, C&C Renegade has been continuously maintained, upgraded, and modded. A Path Beyond, formerly known as RenAlert, is a total conversion mod that turns C&C Red Alert into a first person shooter. Tiberian Sun Reborn, as the name implies, does the same but for a Tiberian Sun flavor. Interim Apex, possibly the most popular W3D mod, expands on Renegade by adding a larger variety of infantry and units, and further enhances gameplay with a veterancy system. Apocalypse Rising, the total conversion to Red Alert 2 flavor, recently had a public beta and looks to be closer to release than ever.

All of these mods, as well as an easy server list for C&C Renegade, are available on the W3D Hub launcher. While Renegade remains the most active, the community does host game nights--preplanned events where players fill a server for one of the mods. You can take part in these events by checking the calendar on W3DHub.com.

You can get W3D Hub Launcher to count as C&C Renegade playtime by copying steam_appid.txt from your Renegade folder into the W3D Hub folder.

Generals & Zero Hour

Generals and Zero Hour are the most involved games to fix out of The Ultimate Collection. The following guide will get you up and running using GenPatcher and C&C Online.

Run both Generals and Zero Hour once, then exit from the main menu from each. This is required!!
Download GenPatcher and run it -- you should not receive any errors about games not found; click yes to continue.
Apply all fixes and install GenTool from the GenPatcher window.
In the additional content tab, install optional things like GenLauncher and a control bar.
If you plan on using mods, you can launch GenLauncher from Steam to count playtime. In Steam launch options for each game, set like: "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command and Conquer Generals\GenLauncher.exe" %COMMAND% and "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command & Conquer Generals - Zero Hour\GenLauncher.exe" %COMMAND%.

Online play is available through GameRanger, C&C: Online / Revora, and RAdmin VPN. When playing online or in LAN, the game may throw an error about serial keys in use. In light of new information, GenPatcher will create more unique serial keys when used. If you still receive the error, you can check the following:

Open regedit
Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Generals\ergc.
Double click the (Default) string. If it is: 0000-0000-0000-0000-0000, change it to a random mix of letters A-Z and numbers 0-9.
Repeat the above steps at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour\ergc.

You should now be able to log in from the main menu in each game. If you can't, there are other common troubleshooting steps here, and of course the Discord channel is a great way to get help.

Command & Conquer: Generals and Zero Hour require ipv4 for multiplayer. If you receive a Waiting for probe response followed by Unable to connect when attempting to start a multiplayer game, you may need to use a VPN. Several free VPNs are available.

Tiberium Wars, Kane's Wrath, & Red Alert 3

These games should run out of the box. Online play is provided by C&C Online. Mods can be added to the following directories:

Documents\Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars\Mods
Documents\Red Alert 3\Mods

Mods must be in their own folder inside the Mods folder to be recognized. They will be like Mods\TiberiumEssence\files or Mods\TheRedAlert\files.

Add -ui to the Steam launch options for these games to open to the command center, and then click Game Browser to find the mod you want to launch.

NoLogo mods are available. These mods skip the EA Games startup movie. There is also a RA3 Quicklauncher that skips the call to a defunct news website, avoiding the wait for it to timeout.

These games require ipv4 for multiplayer. If you have connection problems when attempting to start a multiplayer game, you may need to use a VPN. Several free VPNs are available.

If you are struggling with the campaign in C&C3, you're not alone. The official update 1.09 reduced the value of tiberium in multiplayer--a full harvester's worth of tiberium practically split in half--and somehow this reduction carried over to the singleplayer campaign and has not been fixed since. At least not officially. The mod C&C 3 Original Campaign Balance Patch restores the campaign balance to pre-1.09 settings while leaving everything else intact.

Tiberian Twilight

Due to the influx of players, the C&C4 servers are having some problems with initial login. If you receive a General system error message, the only option is to keep trying.

You can skip the initial launcher by putting the following in your Steam launch options: cmd /c ""PATH-TO-GAMEFOLDER\Data\CNC4.game" -config "..\CNC4_English.SkuDef" %COMMAND% and change the path to match the actual path to your game, and change the English SkuDef to whatever language you're using. This option will NOT work if you do not already have an EA account--the game will boot but you will be greeted with the second login screen without a create account option.

The following files can be renamed or deleted to skip the startup logo:

CNC4Logo.vp6
ea.vp6
EALogo.snd
EALogo.vp6

Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection (Mods Guide)

WORK IN PROGRESS

Author: Jeod

Contributors:

This guide will help you set up the most popular mods for the Command & Conquer series (measured by Discord presence and Moddb popularity) and show you how to properly integrate them with Steam to count playtime for the vanilla game they represent as well as prettify them up with the Steam UI.

CnCNet Mods

The following popular mods use the CnCNet framework and are branches of Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 / Yuri's Revenge. I will use Dawn of the Tiberium Age as an example for Steam Art, but the rest will not be so image-heavy.

Dawn of the Tiberium Age

Dawn of the Tiberium Age (DTA) is a stand-alone mod that combines Tiberian Dawn (C&C 95) and Red Alert. While classic mode gets as close to the original game-play and balance as possible, Enhanced mode provides improved game balance and a lot of fun new stuff. DTA features many customization options for Skirmish and multiplayer (where you can play as GDI, Nod, Allies and Soviet on over 200 maps), challenging original singleplayer missions, as well as co-op missions. Since this is a stand-alone mod (based on the freeware Tiberian Sun), you don't require anything but the mod itself to be able to play.

Once the mod is installed where you please, make a new file in the folder named steam_appid.txt and add the contents 2229880 to the file, and save it. Next, add the executable Resources\clientdx.exe to your Steam UI as a non-steam app. Next we'll add some assets. Pick a place to save your Steam Custom Art and source three files of your choice: a grid, a banner, and a logo. As an example, I got mine from SteamGridDB. Right click in the area above the green Play button and you will have the option to set a custom background and custom logo. If you then click on the category you've placed your game in, you can right-click it in the grid area and set a custom artwork. The end result will look like the following:

The game now matches well with the other Steam games, and the steam_appid.txt file we created means that when you click the green Play button, Steam should recognize the game as Tiberian Sun and Firestorm and accrue playtime accordingly.

Mental Omega

Mental Omega is a fantastic epic retelling of Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge. Boasting over 100 campaign missions, this is the mod to play if you only choose one. Mental Omega will give even seasoned commanders a run for their money.

Setup is similar to DTA. Download and install the mod, and I recommend the excellent soundtrack addon files. Copy and paste the following files from your Steam version of RA2/Yuri's Revenge into your Mental Omega folder:

BINKW32.dll
BLOWFISH.dll
gamemd.exe*
ra2.mix
ra2md.mix
language.mix
langmd.mix

As of writing, the Steam version of gamemd.exe is not compatible with Ares.dll, a large part of this mod's backend. You can source a gamemd.exe file from the EA App or any of the original CDs as long as it's patched to v1.001.

As with DTA, you can track Steam playtime by creating a steam_appid.txt file in the Mental Omega folder and add 2229850 as its contents. Steam will accrue playtime for RA2/YR when you play Mental Omega via MentalOmegaClient.exe.

For artwork, I again recommend using SteamGridDB as they have the best selection of existing artwork appropriately sized for Steam UI's artwork requirements.

The same principles can be applied to the rest of the CNCNet mods: Reloaded, Red Resurrection, and Rise of the East.

GenLauncher Mods

GenLauncher is a "mod management utility" program for Generals (Gen) and its expansion pack, Zero Hour (ZH). It offers an easy-to-use user interface to easily download, install and maintain multiple mods for either game. Previously, users had to duplicate the entirety of a clean Gen/ZH installation and install a mod there; multiple mods would therefore require multiple separate copies of ZH for each mod. GenLauncher removes this hindrance entirely, allowing you to have multiple mods without each of them interfering with one another.

Setting it up is relatively easy. You can get GenLauncher from either its official Discord server, its ModDB page, or directly from GenPatcher. If downloading from either of the first two options, just extract GenLauncher.exe into the game folder (either Gen or ZH) that you wish to use GenLauncher with. Once done, launch GenLauncher.exe as an administrator.

Note that GenLauncher is not officially supported on non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux.

A number of popular Gen & ZH mods are already supported by GenLauncher, so you only need to click on the "Add Mod" button, then select the mod you wish to play. If you've previously downloaded a mod, you can add it manually by clicking on the "Add Mod from Files" button instead. Just navigate to where the mod was downloaded and select it. GenLauncher will automatically detect mods packaged as .big, .7z, .zip, and .rar files.

Depending on whether you're running Gen or ZH, you should have something that looks like this once you've added one or several mods.

If you used the automatic "Add Mod" method, you can view the Patches and Addons tabs on the top to install various patches and addons for that mod. If you used the manual method, you'll need to add these manually; just go to either tab and select "Add patch/addons for from files" and repeat the same process as you did when manually installing a mod; this time, add whichever patch/addon file you need for that mod.

If you decided to use Control Bar Pro for the vanilla games, GenTool will recognize your game as a Modified Game Install. You will, as a result, see different players in online lobbies.

Again, you can launch GenLauncher from Steam to count playtime. In Steam launch options for each game, set like: "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command and Conquer Generals\GenLauncher.exe" %COMMAND% and "PATH-TO-STEAM-LIBRARY\steamapps\common\Command & Conquer Generals - Zero Hour\GenLauncher.exe" %COMMAND%.

Tiberium Wars / Kane's Wrath Mods

The following mods are used with Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath.

Red Alert 3 Mods

If you are using the RA3 Quickloader, launching the game will cause a startup splash screen to briefly come into view for a short while. Click on it to open the Red Alert 3 Control Center (which you would normally access using the launch option -ui); from this Control Center, you can load the mod you wish to play from the Game Browser button.

The Generals Evolution mod for Red Alert 3 comes with its own launcher. It can of course be used with the Steam UI as a non-steam app, but since the launcher closes and loads the RA3 executable, there is no way to make it track playtime toward RA3 and the Steam Overlay will not function.

TanvirOnGH/TUC-Steam-Guide.md