In October 2019, the beta version 0.09c of Command & Conquer: Red Alert was discovered and made public by members of the Command & Conquer community. The beta was originally a build for the PC Gamer magazine in 1996, but was leaked and subsequently found on a bootleg CD.[1] The beta differs from the final retail release in many regards, including campaign maps, unit statistics, and cutscenes.[2]
Leftover bits of the cut mission On the Prowl, which was briefly presented in early trailers of Red Alert, was found inside the beta's mix files. Using screenshots and footage, the community was able to recreate the mission and released it as a separate download in November 2019.[3]
Differences from retail version[]
- Game balance is very different from the final game.
- No countries as subfactions; Allies and Soviets are the only playable factions in skirmish.
- Previously unseen cutscenes are present, including the shipyard FMV, and FMVs showing UN flags.
- Cut voices lines are present, such as the "Time for a little five-finger discount" line spoken by the Thief, which is only heard in the Radio 2 Remix in retail.
- Rudimentary skirmish AI, with the number of skirmish maps greatly reduced compared to retail.
- Beta build of the internal developer map editor used for mission creation with debug keys, different from EdWin.
- A sprite believed to be that of cut Allied commando Megan is present.
Videos[]
- Apache helicopters (APACHE.VQA)
- Shipyard (SHIPYARD.VQA)
- United Nations flag (UN_FLAG.VQA)
- United Nations flag to Soviet flag (UN_RED.VQA)
- Thief quotes
References[]
External links[]
- Red Alert Beta download at C&C Communications Center
Red Alert Beta Lost Mission Restoration on CnCNet Forums
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