Spy (Red Alert 2)

	For other spies, see Spy.

Spy
Unit
Internal ID	SPY
Faction	Allies
Role	Infiltrator
Armament	Make-up kit Machine gun (IFV)
Tier	3
Tech level	5
Properties
Hit points	100
Armor type	Flak
Amphibious	No
Production
Cost	$1000
Build time	0:40
Produced by	Allied barracks
Requires	Allied battle lab
Combat
Ground attack	20 (IFV) (SSA)
Speed	4
Attack range	6 (IFV)
Sight range	9
Function
Abilities	Disguise as another infantry unit Infiltration

The spy is an Allied infiltration infantry unit in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.

Official description

“

The Spy is a stealth unit used by the Allied forces to gain an advantage over their foes. Rather than attacking enemy units, the Spy targets an enemy and changes his appearance to that of the enemy unit. This allows him to sneak past enemies and into enemy structures, providing substantial benefits. The Spy’s function inside the enemy structure depends on which building he enters. Attack Dogs are never fooled by the Spy's disguise, so watch out for them. - Red Alert 2 manual(src)

”

History

Spies were deployed directly in battle by the Allies during the Second World War, though usually they were used as intelligence gathering operatives behind enemy lines or in enemy command centers and bases. The deployment of battlefield spies by the Allies continued during Third World War and its second iteration, providing Allied commanders with valuable information about plans and vulnerabilities of Soviet and Yuri bases. The spy was also used as a sabotage unit, unlike their predecessors. A spy would disguise himself as an enemy soldier to pass unnoticed to most other units and infiltrate buildings, sabotaging them or stealing enemy resources and technologies from them.

Spies were vital to the Allies' victory, especially during Operation: Dark Night, where they were a key element in sabotaging two nuclear missile silos in Soviet-controlled Poland.

Both the Soviets and the Allies were not ignorant of enemy Spies, and trained attack dogs to neutralize them. On the other hand, Yuri used his mind-control units and towers (including the psychic radar) to detect Spies. Spies are unarmed, and so rely completely on stealth and discretion.

In-game

Rather than attacking enemy units, the spy targets an enemy and changes his appearance to that of the enemy unit. They can even disguise themselves as dogs, or units that normally do not move in a regular way (Chrono legionnaire, Rocketeer). In the case of units that don't walk, this could be detrimental, as enemy players can simply recognize them.

While disguised as a unit owned by a specific player, a spy will not be attacked by most units owned by that player (or their allies). The spy owner's units will also not see the spy as a target. However, as with all "invisible" units, manually targeting a spy will change the mouse cursor to "attack" mode.

The spy's function inside the enemy structure depends on which building he enters.

The spy's infiltration effects are dependent on the targeted building:

• Power Plant/Tesla Reactor/Nuclear Reactor/Bio Reactor - Cuts off the targeted player's power (thereby disabling anything that requires it) for anywhere between 30-60 seconds. Additional power structures will not restore power during this period. Tech Civilian Power Plant cannot be infiltrated.
• Airforce Command Headquarters/Radar Tower/Psychic Radar - Resets shroud for the targeted player. Has no effect if they own a functional Spy Satellite Uplink.
• Ore Refinery/Deployed Slave Miner - Steals 20% of the targeted player's funds.
• Barracks - All combat infantry produced from the player's own Barracks gain veterancy (one rank). The bonus also applies to units summoned by Paradrop/Airborne, released by destroyed structures, or mutated by Genetic Mutator. This effect does not stack.
• War Factory - All combat vehicles and aircraft produced from the commander's own War Factories gain veterancy. Slave miners built as a structure and War miners accompanying the construction of Soviet Ore Refineries are also affected. This effect does not stack.
• Superweapon - Resets its timer.
• Battle Lab - Grants access to specific units:
  • Allied Battle Lab grants Chrono commando in Yuri's Revenge. In Red Alert 2, owning an Allied Barracks unlocks Chrono commando, and a Soviet Barracks unlocks Chrono Ivan.
  • Soviet Battle Lab grants Chrono Ivan in Yuri's Revenge. In Red Alert 2, owning an Allied Barracks unlocks Psi commando, and a Soviet Barracks unlocks Yuri Prime.
  • Yuri Battle Lab grants Psi commando in Yuri's Revenge.

• 
  Infantry veterancy gained after infiltrating a Barracks
• 
  Vehicle veterancy gained after infiltrating a War Factory
• 
  Chrono Commando gained after infiltrating an Allied Battle Lab
• 
  Chrono Ivan gained after infiltrating an Allied Battle Lab while the player owns a Soviet Barracks (RA2 only) or a Soviet Battle Lab (YR only)
• 
  Psi Commando gained after infiltrating an Allied Battle Lab while the player owns an Allied Barracks (RA2 only) or a Yuri Battle Lab (YR only)
• 
  Yuri Prime gained after infiltrating a Soviet Battle Lab while the player owns a Soviet Barracks (RA2 only)

AI behavior

Spies controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

Medium

• 1x infiltrating an Allied power plant or Soviet Tesla reactor

Medium/Hard

• 1x infiltrating a Soviet barracks

Hard

• 1x infiltrating an Allied barracks
• 1x infiltrating an Allied or Soviet war factory

Additional notes:

• The AI is known to build Spies as soon as they have built an Allied barracks.
• There is unused behavior of Spies being able to infiltrate an Allied or Soviet battle lab.

Aftermath

After Anatoly Cherdenko's trip to 1927, spies became amphibious, and could convert enemy units with bribes. While still unarmed, they could convert a Multigunner turret/Multigunner IFV's mounted weapon into an anti-infantry sniper rifle.

Quotes

When selected

• Commander?
• Mission, sir?
• Give me a plan.
• Agent ready.

When moving

• Operation underway.
• Indeed!
• On my way!
• Yes, commander.
• Under cover.

When ordered to disguise himself

• Disguise ready.

When ordered to go to the cloning vats

• Obtaining intelligence.

Unused quote

• Ready to infiltrate!

When suppressed

• They found me out!
• I've been spotted!

Gallery

• 
  SHP sprite
• 
  Manual/website render
• 
  Concept Art

Cameos

English	French	German	Korean	Chinese

Pre-release cameos, in order: alpha, beta veteran.

Trivia

• The "Operation underway" line was originally meant for infiltration, but the spy does not have an implemented voice set for that function.
• There are unused cursors for disguising and cutting base power.
• Spies being unarmed may have been an engine-limitation. It's not possible to have a disguise-maker and a pistol/knife both affect the same ArmorTypes on the same unit; that'd lead to the game only choosing the weapon set as Primary against those ArmorTypes.
  • In this case that'd mean either the Disguise-maker or the small-arm weapon against InfantryTypes, and the choice would not be possible by players.
  • The spy has no attack-frames in this sprite-file, so the decision to make him unarmed may have been made early-on during development, similar to the original spy.