OpenRA

OpenRA is an open source and cross-platform multiplayer RTS (Real-Time Strategy) game engine, a libre implementation of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert game engine that runs on GNU/Linux, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

Features at a glance

Key features include the ability to play the Command & Conquer: Red Alert game (only if you own the original Red Alert files), and availability of both Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert games as mods (downloadable from the game menu).

In addition, the player will be able to create and command several types of units, build buildings, control super weapons, create and control naval units like cruisers and submarines, as well as to create and control air units like helicopters and planes.

While the main emphasis is on multiplayer gameplay, it supports single player games by selecting bots as enemy opponents. The bots come with three different AIs: easy, medium and hard.

Under the hood, requirements, availability and supported OSes

The OpenRA RTS game engine has been developed using the cross-platform .NET and Mono programming languages, using the powerful and widely used OpenGL cross-language and multi-platform library for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics.

The game requires a graphics card that features Shader Model 2.0, at least 1GB free disk space for the installation, at least 512MB of RAM, a compatible sound card, a three-button mouse, a monitor capable of at least 1024×768 resolution and an active Internet connection.

Players can download the game from the project’s official homepage (see link above) or via Softoware, or by using the Desura gaming distribution system. It is available for GNU/Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch Linux and Gentoo), Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X platforms.

Bottom line

Summing up, OpenRA is a terrific game that will entertain players for hours. If somehow you get bored playing the original C&C games, you can always create your own maps and mods with totally different gameplays.

What is new in this release:

• The server browser shows the name/faction/team of connected players
• The server browser is now also available as a tab in the server lobby
• The main menu and server browser will notify you if a new release is available
• The Global Chat has been removed from the server browser and lobby
• A chat dialog has been added to the in-game menu
• The full Harkonnen campaign in D2K
• Refinements and improvements to several campaign missions in Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn
• A fix for the AI cheating when it uses superweapons and support powers
• Several other changes that should improve the AI behaviour and performance
• New lobby options to disable bounty, build radius, and re-packing Construction Yards
• Units will no longer target enemies revealed by the Red Alert GPS Satellite
• A collection of community-driven balance changes for Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn
• Fixes for many graphical glitches and polish issues
• Fixes for several platform integration issues on Windows and macOS
• Further improvements to memory usage and performance

What is new in version :

• HiDPI font rendering for players with high resolution displays.
• Fixes for several multiplayer bugs that could stall or crash games when a player disconnects.
• The Red Alert "shell map" background is now muted.
• New behaviour for the Red Alert Gap Generator and Tiberian Dawn Obelisk.
• Fixes for asset installation on 32 bit operating systems and from the original RA95 CDs.

What is new in version 20160508:

• Fully cross-platform, just like the game itself. Finally, a map editor for OS X!
• Truly WYSIWYG. It uses the game renderer, so there are no more rendering glitches.
• Support for all mods. The legacy editor did not support Dune 2000 properly, and Tiberian Sun not at all.
• The Dune 2000 mod has gained building upgrades, and now matches the original game's tech tree.
• A total of six single-player missions have been added to the Tiberian Dawn mod. Enjoy!
• The "Team health colors" option now provides a better distinction between your own and allied units.
• Support powers can now be activated using configurable hotkeys.
• A "quick placement" mode has been added which will automatically pick up a completed building for placement when the player selects the corresponding production t

What is new in version 20150614:

• Fully cross-platform, just like the game itself. Finally, a map editor for OS X!
• Truly WYSIWYG. It uses the game renderer, so there are no more rendering glitches.
• Support for all mods. The legacy editor did not support Dune 2000 properly, and Tiberian Sun not at all.
• The Dune 2000 mod has gained building upgrades, and now matches the original game's tech tree.
• A total of six single-player missions have been added to the Tiberian Dawn mod. Enjoy!
• The "Team health colors" option now provides a better distinction between your own and allied units.
• Support powers can now be activated using configurable hotkeys.
• A "quick placement" mode has been added which will automatically pick up a completed building for placement when the player selects the corresponding production t

What is new in version 20141029:

• The most visible change in this release is the redesigned in-game UI:
• The RA mod has received a brand new sidebar.
• Improved keyboard shortcut configuration, with new defaults based on Tiberium Wars and Red Alert 3.
• The in-game menu has been completely overhauled, and now includes information on mission objectives.
• A new end-game score screen appears once a game is complete.
• The other big focus of this release was a complete overhaul of our map scripting support for creating single-player missions and multi-player minigames. Our new Lua API is faster, more robust, and provides many new features that were not available in the older API (which has now been removed).
• A large number of smaller features have also been included. A small selection from our full changelog includes:
• The lobby now prevents players from choosing "cheating" colors that are too similar to the terrain.
• Veteran units gain improved reload time and accuracy, and elite units will now heal over time.
• Planes will maintain their distance from each other in a similar fashion to helicopters.
• Servers will now drop players with unresponsive connections to unfreeze stalled games.
• Units will now properly move inside transports, instead of teleporting.
• Tank turrets will now turn to face forward after the unit has finished attacking.
• A number of small balance changes to the Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn mods.
• Many more small bug-fixes and behaviour improvements.

What is new in version 20140608:

• Gameplay changes:
• Fixed unloading passengers moving unnecessarily far from their transport.
• Fixed the unload cursor sometimes being displayed for transports even when they were unable to unload.
• Fixed units staying selected and contributing to control groups when becoming cloaked or hidden in fog.
• Fixed the game sometimes crashing when deploying and activating the guard cursor at the same time.
• Fixed unit build time calculation (accounts for the current power state, not the power state when it was queued).
• Fixed a crash when connecting to a server with an unavailable map.
• Fixed walls not updating when neighboring sections were sold or destroyed.
• Fixed a bug where a player could queue production of multiple build-limited units. [#5188]
• Fixed a number of bugs related to the tech tree. [#5233]
• Fixed a crash when dead units are unloaded from a transport. [#5324]
• Fixed a crash when aircraft are ordered to a different airfield / helipad. [#5390]
• Fixed a crash when starting to repair a building at the same time that it dies. [#5523]
• Fixed a glitch that prevented units on bridges from being targetable. [#5381]
• Fixed units retaliating against the support-power structures after being damaged by a support power. [#5329]
• Fixed Nuclear missile travel time to be independent of map size.
• Fixed units being unable to guard planes or helicopters.
• Fixed own/allied units blocking production exits.
• Fixed performance issues with units pathing to naval transports.
• Fixed unit moving to transports that have moved.
• Fixed an exploit where you could add control groups on enemy units.
• Added placeable beacons that highlight an area to allies and spectators (Hotkey: F9). [#4682, #4930, #5093]
• Added automatic beacons to support powers. [#4815, #4920, #4930, #4959]
• Added radar notifications for units or buildings under attack, and for beacon events.
• Added AttackMove and Guard abilities to Aircraft and Helicopters.
• Added cheat button to grow map resources.
• Adjusted default pause hotkey from F9 (now used for beacons) to F8.
• Adjusted husks to be damageable (use force-fire to destroy them), and appear darkened (burnt) to distinguish them.
• Adjusted Support powers to reveal their target area (only) when they strike.
• Adjusted helicopters to automatically take off and move to their rallypoint after being repaired or rearmed. [#5250]
• In-game UI changes:
• Fixed chat synchronization in replays.
• Fixed unclickable area on the right edge of the production palette.
• Fixed single resources being invisible and unharvestable. [#5571]
• Added the Abort Mission Confirmation dialog to avoid miss-clicks. [#5180]
• Added Ctrl+T shortcut for selection of all units matching the types of the currently selected ones across the screen and map.
• Added a hotkey toggle for pixel doubling (default .) [#5142]
• Added an error dialog if the server connection is lost.
• Added a combined shroud view of every player to the replay viewer and spectator mode.
• Added playback speed controls to replays.
• Added a new cursor type for attacking targets that are out of range.
• Added a warning dialog when force starting a match.
• Added support for console commands. Type /help in the chat list to see a list. [#5253]
• Improved the observer/replay view selector with teams, factions, player colors, and hotkeys.
• Improved chat scrolling behavior. [#5191]
• Adjusted the READY overlay to blink when a building is ready to place. [#5178]
• Adjusted unit order lines to display when a unit is selected.
• Removed health bars and selection boxes from walls.
• Main menu / Lobby changes:
• The UI logic has been unified between TD and RA/D2K, allowing all mods to provide the same options.
• Fixed an issue where names would reset in the lobby. [#5115]
• Fixed a bug where a bot could be automatically added to maps that don't support them. [#5143]
• Added a new mod selection window, which now appears on the first game start.
• Added a Singleplayer menu that provides direct access to the missions and skirmishes vs bots.
• Added an Extras menu for miscellaneous extras to reduce clutter from the primary menu.
• Added a community news panel. [#5279]
• Added a preference for the (mousewheel / trackpad) scroll-panel scroll speed. [#5297]
• Added filters and file management to the replay browser. [#5215]
• Added animations to the color-picker preview image.
• Added a check for unsupported maps to the lobby. [#5353]
• Added the ability for admins to disable spectators from joining a multiplayer game.
• Added support for custom map previews in the lobby. Map authors can include a map.png inside their oramap package.
• Improved support for installing custom maps via the lobby.
• Improved spawn point selection in the lobby. [#5192]
• Improved chat scrolling behavior. [#5307]
• Improved the MP server browser to fetch unknown map details from the OpenRA content site.
• Improved the asset browser file list to sort names in alphabetical order.
• Moved the MP create game and direct connect buttons to the server browser window.
• Dune 2000:
• Fixed the repair indicator positioning. [#5512]
• Added the Atreides grenadier from the 1.06 patch.
• Added randomized tiles for Sand and Rock terrain.
• Added shroud by default (can be disabled via the lobby settings).
• Added shrapnel when buildings are destroyed.
• Added active animations for all structures. [#5119, #5124, #5134, #5138, #5373, #5376, #5393]
• Added the BLOXXMAS terrain tiles from the 1.06 patch.
• Added concrete plates and building weathering.
• Adjusted Saboteur to allow demolition of vehicles, but not walls.
• Adjusted Engineers to allow capturing of unit husks (which are repaired to 25% health).
• Improved turret rendering to integrate visually with walls.
• Removed the build radius restrictions.
• Corrected Fremen's tooltip [#5488]
• Red Alert:
• Fixed Chronoshift to properly kill infantry cargo (fixed unbuildable tanya glitch).
• Fixed transparency glitches in the sniper icon.
• Fixed Spies having an enemy team-color health bar when disguised as a friendly unit.
• Fixed an issue where husks were hidden under the refinery bib. [#5306]
• Fixed ore mine artwork in the interior tileset. [#5316]
• Fixed spies not being removed from the minimap after they infiltrate a structure.
• Fixed Gem Mines having an incorrect land footprint.
• Fixed Gap generators spinning when disabled or low-power. [#5138]
• Fixed Shock Trooper tooltip having the incorrect unit name. [#5020]
• Fixed chronoshifted units not returning if the origin cell was blocked.
• Added player colors to Engineers.
• Added more player color to the bottom edge of SAM sites. [#4909]
• Added dirt patches ("mini-bibs") under bib-less buildings.
• Added door open/closing animations to the naval transport.
• Added splash effect when aircraft crash into water. [#5346]
• Added additional terrain-specific artwork for the Allied Barracks and the Missile Silo.
• Added Phase Transport, an Allied high-tech infantry transport which can cloak. [#4855]
• Added cloak detection to Attack Dogs, Snipers, Mobile Radar Jammers, Camo Pillboxes, Phase Transports, Radar Domes, and Spy Planes. [#4855]
• Added Hijacker, a Soviet infantry unit with a vehicle hijacking ability.
• Added maps: Blitzkrieg, Burlesca, Seaside 2, Singles and Synergy; balanced Doubles and Man to Man. [#5420]
• Added new mission: Intervention. [#5483]
• Adjusted Tanya to allow demolition of bridges and vehicles, but not walls.
• Adjusted Mechanics to allow capturing of unit husks (which are repaired to 25% health).
• Adjusted Allied and Soviet factions to both build general-purpose mines, instead of AT and AP mines respectively. [#4827]
• Adjusted balancing of Mobile Flak (renamed from Flak truck), Mobile Radar Jammer, Mammoth Tank, Chrono Tank, AA Gun, SAM Site. [#4407, #4766, #4810, #4855, #4960, #5020, #5070, #5086, #5219]
• Adjusted AI names "Easy AI" to "Rush AI", "Hard AI" to "Turtle AI", and "Island Map AI" to "Naval AI". [#4613]
• Improved chinook rotor animation. [#4805]
• Improved explosions for several vehicles. [#5091]
• Improved infantry death sounds. [#5236, #5242]
• Improved the corners of the dialog borders.
• Improved attack-move mouse cursor.
• Improved Chrono tank ordering: tanks can be teleported in groups by holding SHIFT or ALT while issuing a move order.
• Removed maps: Battle Lake, Crossing the River, Doughnut Hole, Ice Woods, Island Hoppers (KOTH), Mad Scramble, Nishnekolymsk, Strip Mine, Free Coasts.
• Removed redundant AI types: "Test AI", "High-Tech AI", "Long-Range AI", "Tank AI". [#4613]
• Removed the hardcoded missions. These will be later reimplemented using lua.
• Replaced the previous shellmaps with a new lua-scripted version.
• Tiberian Dawn:
• Fixed various glitches in the tilesets with passable cliffs and rocks. [#5289]
• Fixed helicopter reload behavior. [#5345]
• Fixed MCV not crushing infantry. [#5212]
• Fixed Chinook being unable to land on Tiberium, and improved rotor animation. [#4805]
• Fixed dinosaurs not being able to collect crates.
• Fixed Obelisk of Light charge animation and sound effects. [#4699, #4803]
• Fixed the cursors used for sabotaging and capturing buildings/units (they were swapped).
• Fixed tech structures counting towards victory/loss. [#5146]
• Fixed Comm. Center and Advanced Comm. Center radar dishes spinning during low power. [#5138]
• Improved infantry death sounds. [#5236, #5242]
• Improved tree footprints to allow unit movement through forests.
• Improved or replaced several mouse cursors.
• Adjusted Commando to allow demolition of bridges, but not walls.
• Adjusted Commando to no longer shoot (ineffectively) at vehicles or buildings. [#5063]
• Adjusted balance of most other units and structures to reduce the effectiveness of static defences, and more clearly define unit roles. [#4526, #4724, #5132, #5186, #5194, #5212, #5246, #5254, #5286, #5413]
• Adjusted Engineers to allow capturing of unit husks (which are repaired to 25% health).
• Renamed "Easy AI" to "Cabal", "Normal AI" to "Watson", and "Hard AI" to "HAL 9001". [#4613]
• Added dirt patches ("mini-bibs") under bib-less buildings.
• Added new maps: Letters from Lexington, Pirates and Empires, White Acres, Year 501, Pressure, Profit Over People [#5275, #5407]
• Added new missions: Nod01, Nod03a, Nod03b, GDI01, GDI02, GDI03, GDI04a GDI04b, GDI04c[#4397, #4402, #4408, #4428, #4386, #4399, #4499, #4899, #5462]
• Engine:
• Fixed the long first-startup delay on OSX. [#5244]
• Added a new lua interface for scripted maps. The previous interface is now deprecated. [#5190]
• Added, changed, or removed a number of traits (see the full traits list for the full list).
• Added custom palette overrides to many traits. [#5125, #5137, #5185, #5217, #5218, #5238, #5329, #5392]
• Added an IEffectiveOwner interface for traits/logic that temporarily alter an actor's apparent owner.
• Added a command-line parameter Launch.Replay=$FILEPATH to launch the game directly into a replay.
• Added support for tech levels as included in the original games. [#5280]
• Added support for rectangular cells with forced perspective by specifying a custom TileSize in mod.yaml
• Added initial support for the tmp(TS) tile format.
• Added load-time performance measurements to perf.log. [#5184]
• Changed platform integration to use SDL 2 everywhere (previously only supported under OSX), and remove SDL 1.2 / Cg. [#5226]
• Changed the underlying project layout, merging OpenRA.FileFormats.dll into OpenRA.Game.exe and reorganizing namespaces.
• Changed many traits properties to use world coordinates. OpenRA.Utility includes a command for automating the unit conversions (see upgrading mods to a new release).
• Improved caching of mod and map rules for significantly reduced load times. [#5234]
• Improved the internal map management and preview generation code.
• Changed OpenGL and OpenAL bindings from Tao to SDL-CS. [#5248]
• Changed the server Message of the day to share a default motd.txt gets that is created in the user directory.
• Fixed aircraft not replying with a voice when ordered to stop. [#5453]
• Map Editor and OpenRA.Utility:
• Fixed the editor flood fill tool on similar grass/snow/desert tiles.
• Fixed broken random tiles in Red Alert's snow tileset [#5447]
• Fixed a river template in Red Alert not expanding to 3x3 [#5447]
• Added support for file globs to OpenRA.Utility --shp under windows. [#5266]
• Added an --upgrade-mod feature to upgrade the yaml of mods to the latest specifications (see upgrading mods to a new release).
• Moved legacy INI/MPR map import to OpenRA.Utility
• Build system and packages:
• Fixed broken FreeType 2 dependency for Fedora RPM.
• Added HTML documentation to the Windows installer.
• Added a counterpart to the Makefile for Windows users. Run make.cmd to see options for compiling the source code.
• Changed make clean to remove intermediate files created by MonoDevelop. [#5089, #5128]
• Removed portable install option from Windows installer as the game left without write access breaks content download and error log generation.

What is new in version 20130514:

• Significantly improved AI.
• UI improvements to the menus and lobby.
• New UI for replays, spectators and defeated players.
• New construction radius limits for C&C and D2K.
• Repairable bridges.
• Desert theater for RA.
• Left-click mouse controls (beta).
• 5 new missions for RA.
• 20 new multiplayer maps across all three mods.
• Significant balance improvements across all three mods.
• More bugfixes than you can shake a tesla coil at.

What is new in version 20120504:

• spy works
• gap generator
• new capture delay
• new pillbox system
• flamethrower upgraded
• c&c balanced
• many bug fixes
• new AIs

What is new in version 20120315:

• new maps
• base under attack notifications
• bots repair and go agro
• aircraft share pads and fields
• less mines
• longbow and migs better
• tesla improved and cheaper
• fixes

Requirements:

• Mono Project
• SDL
• OpenAL