Credit transfer is a feature in the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert that allows players to transfer credits between missions. The feature is utilized in Command & Conquer, but not mentioned in the game's manual and generally poorly documented.
Conditions[]
Every Command & Conquer mission map file has a parameter called CarryOverMoney in the map file's [BASIC] section. This parameter defines the percentage of cash that is transferred from the previous mission. Thus, a player having $1,000 by the end of one mission can transfer $500 to the next one if this parameter is to 50. For all missions that do not feature base building, this number is set to 0. One exception is Nod mission 6c, Extract the Detonator, which provides the player with Engineers. These can be used to capture a GDI Refinery, which then allows the player to earn money. Nevertheless, no money can be transferred to mission 7, neither Sick and Dying nor Orca Heist.
A second parameter, CarryOverCap, determines the total amount of money that can be transferred, regardless of what percentage carries over. When set to -1, the amount of money is not capped. This is the case with all official maps, rendering this parameter de facto unused.
At the start of a mission to which credits have transferred, the full amount of money the player had at the end of the last mission plus the money start that mission with in any case is displayed, but is swiftly reduced to the amount the player actually has access to. While the money is being counted down, it cannot be used; players never actually have the full amount of cash they saved up.
Cash versus stored Tiberium[]
Only cash can be transferred, not stored Tiberium. Stored Tiberium refers to money gained by a Harvester dropping off Tiberium at a Refinery, or by capturing a Refinery or Tiberium Silo. Cash, on the other hand, refers to money that a player is provided with at the start of a mission, that is found in crates, or that is gained by selling units and structures, or cancelling the training or construction of a unit or structure.
An easy way to convert stored Tiberium into cash is to build a structure and then cancel the construction. Structures that come with an added unit, like the Refinery and Helipad, are especially suited for this, since the cost of the unit is included in the full construction cost, but is not a part of the structure's actual value, which determines the construction time. This means they build a lot faster than structures with a comparable cost but without an added unit.
The original Command & Conquer always displays cash and stored Tiberium as a single number. In the Remastered Collection, cash and stored Tiberium can be distinguished by hovering the mouse cursor over the interface's credit indicator.
Credit transfer in Red Alert and the Remastered Collection[]
Credit transfer is not utilized in Red Alert, as the CarryOverMoney value for all official maps is set to 0. However, the feature can be used just as it works in Command & Conquer. Furthermore, money is still counting down at the start of missions, visually indicating the feature.
In the Remastered Collection, due to the complete overhaul of the transition between missions, the credit transfer system does not work.
Credit transfer in later games[]
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 2, and their expansions still mention parameters such as CarryOverMoney in their map files. However, these are no longer functional. Tiberian Sun did introduce a system to transfer information between missions; it is not used to transfer credits, and instead tracks whether or not the player has completed optional missions.
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