Red Alert 3 (Beta)!

[Janus Whitefurr]

"It is our pleasure to invite you to participate in the first wide release of the Red Alert 3 public beta test. We will continue to grow the pool of beta participants over the course of the beta, but for now you will be one of the first people outside of the development team to have the opportunity to play Red Alert 3."

---

Having installed and run a match against someone this morning, I must say I am delightfully entertained by the Soviets. Maybe it's the attack bears, the tesla troopers, the killer zeppelins... or dropping what appeared to be MIR on the opponent. So, anyone else out there manage to get their paws into the beta? Or if not, have any questions that I might shed some light on?

[nikename2]

How are the voices for the units, are they still placeholders? And have you really noticed a difference between naval and land combat? From what it looks it seems like alot of the units are amphibious.

[Stygian]

1) Mammoth tanks: Do they look like huge ladybugs now?

2) Allied Chrono-faggotry: Still around?

3) Factions: Are there only the two still? Sub-factions?

4) Spies and tech: Anything on the horizion?

[Janus Whitefurr]

How are the voices for the units, are they still placeholders? And have you really noticed a difference between naval and land combat? From what it looks it seems like alot of the units are amphibious.

The voices seem perfectly acceptable - if a little quiet, and that's with decent volume. I've only tooled about with Russia so far, and they seem to work fine. I'm fond of the Tesla Trooper mostly - his build comment is a question asking whether you want them blackened or crispy.

Naval units are kind of touch and go at the moment. Difficult to get used to using. Some have APCs that can go on land, in a reversal of the amphibious ground vehicles rule. I think my brain gave up on figuring it out when I saw Allied battleships with tank treads.

1) Mammoth tanks: Do they look like huge ladybugs now?

2) Allied Chrono-faggotry: Still around?

3) Factions: Are there only the two still? Sub-factions?

4) Spies and tech: Anything on the horizion?

1) I haven't seen the Allied/Empire variants, but the Soviets have the Apocalypse Tank, which looks like... well... an actual tank.

2) Playtested an allied user. They have the teleporting chronosphere.

3) Allies / Soviet Union / Empire Of The Rising Sun. No sub factions to speak of at the moment.

4) No spies that have been seen, (unless you count engineers) though commando units (Natasha for the Soviets) are available. There doesn't appear to be any direct unit upgrades (like better armour etc.) but a number of "earnable" special powers that fill that gap. Healing, armour, orbital space station drops...

Update #1

The Empire Of The Rising Sun (aka Japan) has transforming mecha and a killer psychic schoolgirl named Yuriko Omega. That explains everything about them from the get go.

[Cvstos]

I'm signed up but not invited yet. I had major trouble registering for a long time so it may be a bit before I'm in.  Janus: Once I get the beta, want to do some team warfare?  Fair warning - although I've played C&C since the original, I've never played competitively online.

[Janus Whitefurr]

I'm signed up but not invited yet. I had major trouble registering for a long time so it may be a bit before I'm in.  Janus: Once I get the beta, want to do some team warfare?  Fair warning - although I've played C&C since the original, I've never played competitively online.

The only matches I've been in so far have been 'gentlemanly' in that we pretty much spent our time messing around with the tech trees and fiddling with units and special abilities (and finding bugs in the process, naturally). Then after amassing small armies we threw them at each other to see who won.

I'm more than happy to tinker around with an associate as opposed to a stranger, as random play has never been my cup of tea anyway.

[Cvstos]

Awesome.  I'll contact you once they let me on. Honestly, I can't wait.  Red Alert 1 was my favorite game of all time, and RA2 is way up there, too. I wish the stupid thing has let me register when I first tried.  It took over a week to work for me.

[Mao]

I haven't played the C&C series since geeze, I can't remember when.  It was so much fun.. but my friends were more into SC and so that's what I got sucked into.  I still remember the sound of the Tanya units as I slowly blew up every building in sight, all the while gunning down several enemy units.  All to the sound of that beautiful maniacal laughter.  Or I can't remember the units name, Ivan I think... anyways... he seemed to really enjoy blowing things up.  I did so enjoy some of the things he did and even more so some of the things he said.  Anyways, those were the only things I remembered about it.

I lost track of the series.  Would I still be able to follow what's going on in these new games?  Or would I have to simply ignore the story and play the game?

[Suwako]

I '' ........ '' play the game?

I yes, I loved Red Alert too, I also liked everything in between but that is beside the point, Red Alert 2 will always be more special than generals and such to me.  I've always liked the Russians more, though the shining empire makes me... act less manly, yes. The Apocalypse tank, The Airships the old terror drones, oh such joy. Oh, and of course 'Boris' who was just cooler than Tanya, though not a chick and 'hot' sadly.

I just hope EA can right the series, what I am hearing I am liking, though.

[Stygian]

After having delved into the available information (and some that really shouldn't be available, he he he...) I can only say that I'm growing somewhat concerned. It seems to me that gameplay-wise, EA have got it down here. And that's the big part for me, since I've always been a competitive online player since I was introduced to Starcraft, and then RA2 broadened my vision even further. But stylistically... Well, I can't but worry.

The Soviets are nailed down, and what I've seen of the Allies I find better than ever (except for the 'Peacekeeper' troops: who came up with that idea?). But while there are creative elements within the 'Empire of The Rising Sun' that I just have to approve of, such as the Tsunami amphibious tank and the curious wave-force artillery, there are other things that I simply have to disapprove of. Such as the King Oni, this Yuriko Omega, and the Tengu jets, who all stand out as too ridiculous, strange and plagiaristic. Even for the Red Alert setting.

I'm not going to draw any conclusions right away though. Rather, I am going to ask you whether if you've played the Rising Sun and what your opinion of them is, Janus?

[Janus Whitefurr]

I lost track of the series.  Would I still be able to follow what's going on in these new games?  Or would I have to simply ignore the story and play the game?

"Soviets mess with time-travel to try and return to power after the events of prior games, screw up, cause an entire alternate reality to occur that turns Japan into a technological power. World War III occurs. Now you know everything you need to. "

But while there are creative elements within the 'Empire of The Rising Sun' that I just have to approve of, such as the Tsunami amphibious tank and the curious wave-force artillery, there are other things that I simply have to disapprove of. Such as the King Oni, this Yuriko Omega, and the Tengu jets, who all stand out as too ridiculous, strange and plagiaristic. Even for the Red Alert setting.

I'm not going to draw any conclusions right away though. Rather, I am going to ask you whether if you've played the Rising Sun and what your opinion of them is, Jairus?

I'm Jairus now? That's news to me! Maybe I'm slowly taking over people's lives when they're not looking. I have tinkered with the Empire of the Rising Sun (otherwise known as Japan) and I generally enjoyed what I saw. But I'm a sucker for high-end tech anyway. Especially with all the references - though as you say, some look plaigaristic - to Japanese culture.

a) King Oni: If the Soviets, with rickety old-style tech, can have three-legged drones and walker robots, the Empire can have demon-masked walking mecha. Even if they're only melee and have the crap blown out of them if you rush ranged units. It'd be far better if they at least had a ranged attack of some sort.

b) Yuriko Omega: Clearly it's not the psychic powers you worry about (if they are, you must've hated Yuri in the original series), but rather her appearance. Which didn't bother me at all, really. I mean, it's a killer psychic schoolgirl - if you don't laugh how absolutely silly it is, then maybe the Empire's not for you.

c) Tengu / Strikers / Wings: Three seperate types of units, who all share the same multiple forms - a landbased one (yes, the Tengu is essentially a Veritech fighter) and an aerial one. Whether you hate the transforming tech or not, it balances out the fact that the Empire of the Rising Sun doesn't actually have an airfield construction of its own. If you need flying units, you have your jets/choppers/seacraft that can fill the niche.

Frankly, given what I've seen of the other armies - I particularly was not amused by the allies having battleships that come with tank treads, for instance - I've no problem with the Empire. Maybe if someone else who isn't a long time fan of anime and the general mecha theme has a look at them, you might get a more grim observation. But personally? The Empire fits in well enough, making it an understandable three-way relationship: An older style (the Soviets), a modern style (the Allies), and a cutting edge style (the Empire).

Though if you just hate the whole mecha thing and the psychic schoolgirl, you're welcome to despise them for that alone. It's not for everyone, I imagine.

[Stygian]

Sorry. I had something, and subsequently someone, else in mind at the same time. Sideways, synchronized thinking is all good and well when you wish to outsmart, mostly. But sometimes it just becomes a bit jumbled.

My problem with the King Oni is three-folded. Firstly, as you say, without that beam-gaze thing it's got going (which in itself is just as silly as the statues Yuri turned into laser-turrets in Yuri's Revenge. When playing that one, I just went 'Noooo! The cheese! It burns!') it's pretty much useless. Which makes it an expensive showpiece unit, highly unfavorable when compared to a diverse arsenal that you could have invested in with all that money. Secondly, the idea of 'practical' or even useful mecha that are six stories tall is just so ridiculous that it's sad. And thirdly, the way the thing looks...

Yuriko's issue with me, mainly, is not only that she's just a less-exciting, probably more annoying continuation of the Yuri figure, but that she's merely another one of those 'elite' troops that you simply aren't going to do anything but dick around with in the campaign. Because you certainly won't get all that much use for her in multiplayer.

[Jairus]

I'm not going to draw any conclusions right away though. Rather, I am going to ask you whether if you've played the Rising Sun and what your opinion of them is, Jairus?

I'm Jairus now? That's news to me! Maybe I'm slowly taking over people's lives when they're not looking.

Sorry. I had something, and subsequently someone, else in mind at the same time. Sideways, synchronized thinking is all good and well when you wish to outsmart, mostly. But sometimes it just becomes a bit jumbled.

Stygian... is there something you want to talk to me about?

Incidentally, I may not know much about Red Alert, but all of this is just fascinating to read. Please continue.

[Janus Whitefurr]

My problem with the King Oni is three-folded. Firstly, as you say, without that beam-gaze thing it's got going (which in itself is just as silly as the statues Yuri turned into laser-turrets in Yuri's Revenge. When playing that one, I just went 'Noooo! The cheese! It burns!') it's pretty much useless. Which makes it an expensive showpiece unit, highly unfavorable when compared to a diverse arsenal that you could have invested in with all that money. Secondly, the idea of 'practical' or even useful mecha that are six stories tall is just so ridiculous that it's sad. And thirdly, the way the thing looks...

Yuriko's issue with me, mainly, is not only that she's just a less-exciting, probably more annoying continuation of the Yuri figure, but that she's merely another one of those 'elite' troops that you simply aren't going to do anything but dick around with in the campaign. Because you certainly won't get all that much use for her in multiplayer.

The saving grace of the King Oni, at least in my experiments, is the fact they are hardcore tough compared to other units. Forget meatshields - here you have a big mecha that can soak damage for a bit while everyone else lobs weapons from behind it. Maybe when they get the Bull Rush working properly it'll be more useful - then it becomes a high-speed battering ram that stomps through ground units. You seem to not like the concept of mecha in general, though.

Sounds more like you have issues with the whole 'commando' system than anything in particular about Yuriko. I've never used them much myself, to be honest. They always seemed too flimsy to me. However, if you can get Yuriko in range of enemy units, her click-power (a psionic shockwave) can level most units in her immediate surroundings. It all depends on if you enjoy the use of elite commando-style units or not.

[Dannysaysnoo]

I've never played a Red Alert game before, should i get this one?

[Cvstos]

Right now RA3 is in BETA - and the beta is only open to people who have Kane's Wrath, which is an expansion pack to C&C3. 

If you have C&C3 and Kane's Wrath, go ahead and try the beta, since if you're comfortable in C&C3 it should be a huge leap to RA3.

The only other way to get the beta is if you have a subscription to FilePlanet, and even then it's a gamble (not everyone there will get in, but everyone with KW *WILL* get in eventually).

If you want to "catch up" with the series the C&C First Decade pack is the way to go.  It normally sells for $30-$40 USD and it has every C&C game from the original through C&C Generals: Zero Hour. That's 10 years of C&C. Start with the original and work your way up.  Then, if you like the series thus far, go ahead and get C&C3 and KW, and sign up for the beta.

[Stygian]

Stygian... is there something you want to talk to me about?

I don't know? Seems to me that you responded to that one awfully fast. I'll take that into consideration, and thus I have even more knowledge of you to go on.

The saving grace of the King Oni, at least in my experiments, is the fact they are hardcore tough compared to other units. Forget meatshields - here you have a big mecha that can soak damage for a bit while everyone else lobs weapons from behind it. Maybe when they get the Bull Rush working properly it'll be more useful - then it becomes a high-speed battering ram that stomps through ground units. You seem to not like the concept of mecha in general, though.

Oh, I am fine with mecha. It's when it leaves Gasaraki-near territory and starts veering toward GaoGaiGar and Gundam that I blink and walk off.

The hardcore tough damage sponge units have been around for quite some time. My first experience with this function came from the Ultralisk which, like the King Oni also seems to, lacks firepower and thus becomes an expensive bullet-shield. It's not the kind of unit I use frequently, since I tend to favor firepower and speed highly to facilitate tactical hit-and-run strikes, something I practiced heavily in Zero Hour as the Airforce and Stealth generals. Also, in this case I would have to say that the allied Assault Destroyer seems a much more clever and well thought-out bullet magnet. And then, of course, the Apocalypse tank is still the Apocalypse tank.

You know, I'd have been fine with the King Oni if they'd just made it a little more believable, a size and a half smaller perhaps and with some more prominent armor and motors on the model, and put some actual guns on it, and not gone 'ZOMG L4Z0R 3YES BBQ!!!"!1?!?!'.

[Turnsky]

Stygian... is there something you want to talk to me about?

I don't know? Seems to me that you responded to that one awfully fast. I'll take that into consideration, and thus I have even more knowledge of you to go on.

The saving grace of the King Oni, at least in my experiments, is the fact they are hardcore tough compared to other units. Forget meatshields - here you have a big mecha that can soak damage for a bit while everyone else lobs weapons from behind it. Maybe when they get the Bull Rush working properly it'll be more useful - then it becomes a high-speed battering ram that stomps through ground units. You seem to not like the concept of mecha in general, though.

Oh, I am fine with mecha. It's when it leaves Gasaraki-near territory and starts veering toward GaoGaiGar and Gundam that I blink and walk off.

The hardcore tough damage sponge units have been around for quite some time. My first experience with this function came from the Ultralisk which, like the King Oni also seems to, lacks firepower and thus becomes an expensive bullet-shield. It's not the kind of unit I use frequently, since I tend to favor firepower and speed highly to facilitate tactical hit-and-run strikes, something I practiced heavily in Zero Hour as the Airforce and Stealth generals. Also, in this case I would have to say that the allied Assault Destroyer seems a much more clever and well thought-out bullet magnet. And then, of course, the Apocalypse tank is still the Apocalypse tank.

You know, I'd have been fine with the King Oni if they'd just made it a little more believable, a size and a half smaller perhaps and with some more prominent armor and motors on the model, and put some actual guns on it, and not gone 'ZOMG L4Z0R 3YES BBQ!!!"!1?!?!'.

you're talking about a game that's core base is time travel and alternate realities, not that bipedal mechs are believable in the first place, but yeesh.

[pyrohamster]

i have and email that tells me that the beta is out but does not give me the download, i entered the beta key the second day kanes wrath was out, why have i not gotten the download. CURSE YOU EA, CURSE YOU!!!

[Cvstos]

The beta has only been opened to the first 2,000 people who registered.  More will be let on as time goes by.

[Janus Whitefurr]

The beta has only been opened to the first 2,000 people who registered.  More will be let on as time goes by.

This is where I do the "I'm special" dance, isn't it? And upset people by being egotistical or something like that. 

Nothing new to report so far. I'm dead and buried under university required reading material for the moment.

[Cvstos]

The next 10,000 have been added.

I'm one of them!

[Janus Whitefurr]

Ladies and gentlemen, Soviet Kirovs (otherwise dubbed the killer zeppelins) look hilarious when they are bombing the living daylights out of super high tech Japan.

Sadly, Cvstos used artillery boats with obscene range to wipe me off the face of the map. Both of us agree the range on the things is expensively silly.

[Cvstos]

Yeah, they're a bit over powered.  A price bump would probably make their range and power more justified. 

[Arcalane]

Recieved my email earlier/what-should-be-yesterday-but-as-far-as-I'm-concerned-isn't and am currently downloading the beta from the miserable wreck that is failplanet*. Ugh. At least failfront* can get relatively good download speeds at this time of night.

(*Fileplanet and Filefront respectively, of course.)

Assuming this holds it'll be done in about half an hour from this post. 750mb is less than I anticipated.

Ed: Download and install complete. Patching almost done. Contact details are in profile if anyone wants to mess around.

[Azlan]

Due to significant work requirements, I can't devote enough time to this... so I've had to decline my invitation.  It looked sweet in all the pre-beta junk they sent me.   

[Cvstos]

Some general impressions:

The game is full of bugs.

OK, so it's a beta and that's expected.

Gameplay is as C&C as it's ever been. But income is more controlled so it's harder to econ boom. This also makes the game more pitched and fun in places, though.

In addition, if you both control the same # of ore nodes and you don't have a large cash surplus, you can guesstimate your relative number of units in a worst-case-scenario, which helps strategy.

Soviets:

The general bruisers and they're decent all around. Good air, land, and sea forces. (Those Dreadnoughts and Apoc tanks are still awesome!) Definitely the most familiar force from the previous games. Lots of returning units. Plus, War Bears. Colbert was right! If you know the previous games you'll feel right at home with the USSR, comrade. Their commando is a sniper, who manages to rival Tanya for hotness. EA got Gina Carano to model the Soviet commando. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnPLPbIAT2k

Japan:

Holy crap this side is weird. All those transforming units. You really need to know the units well and use them properly. A lot of RTS games these days have a micro-heavy side but this is taken to an extreme. You had better be a micromanagement master and know your forces inside and out if you want to excel with Japan. Still, they posses some awesome abilities and decent firepower, and their secondary abilities will easily frustrate any commander ill prepared for context shifts like ground units going airborne.

Their commando is fun, though. A psychic school girl that can toss Apoc tanks WITH HER MIND like they were soccer balls.

Their air game is rather weak but they have good sea units and a decent ground force.

Allies

Haven't played with them as much but they have changed. Their ground game is just OK and their sea game is weak, but their air power will let them dominate the skies. This is very different from RA1, when the Allies had no great ground and air forces but ruled the seas without question. I miss the Allied cruiser...

The Century bomber may not be as well armored as the Kirov but it's still very powerful and MUCH faster. And the Apollo will make mincemeat out of any Japanese flying unit. Only the Soviet MiG can match the Apollo. It's not exactly exotic, in fact their air power is downright C&C3 GDI conventional (mostly), but it works well. However...

The Cryo Copter. This damn thing is insane! It's secondary ability is a SHRINK RAY. I kid you not. Shrink a unit and it moves super-fast, but becomes weak (and gets a high squeaky voice). Shrink an MCV and get it to the other side of the map super-fast! But careful of enemy fire! When not wielding the very toys of Saturday morning cartoon villains it can freeze units, hence the name. When frozen, enemy units can't do anything and will shatter with but a shotgun blast.

No word yet on who will play Tanya but they'd better make her a brunette again or I'll be pissed. She's blonde in the beta.

[Arcalane]

The Century is also very useful in that it can also paradrop a bunch of infantry units, and it can carry 10 of just about any infantry unit, be it dogs, bears, tesla troopers or spies. (Spies lose their disguise when paradropping, however.)

No more pre-fab paradrops! DIY is the in thing these days. 

[Cvstos]

Janus and I recently played a game with Allies vs Japan, with me being the Allied player.

He slaughtered so many of my ships it was sad. The only reason I won was due to my economy being better. The sheer numbers I had won the day, but my unit/kill ratio was a pathetic 10%. And the lag was AWFUL because of all the Allied Carriers launching a BAJILLION PLANES at once.

[Janus Whitefurr]

Janus and I recently played a game with Allies vs Japan, with me being the Allied player.

He slaughtered so many of my ships it was sad. The only reason I won was due to the my economy being better. The sheer numbers I had won the day, but my unit/kill ratio was a pathetic 10%. And the lag was AWFUL because of all the Allied Carriers launching a BAJILLION PLANES at once.

Never question the MIGHT OF THE EMPIRE.  Ramming Speed > anything short of anti-ship artillery.

And yes, the bajillion planes of hell certainly made everything go *gaaargh*.