Install and Play Red Alert 2 on Ubuntu

This article teaches you how to play Red Alert 2 on Ubuntu.

You can install, run and play the game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 on Ubuntu by using Wine.

The game has a copy-protection system which causes problems when trying to run the software through Wine. We must resort to use a hack to make the game playable.

1. Install Red Alert 2 normally, on a Windows computer (yes, you have to install it on Windows first), using your game CD. Make sure that you install the Westwood Shared Internet Components, as these provide the auto-updater.

2. Update the game to version 1.006. If the auto-updater fails, you can download a standalone patch, which you should scan with your Windows anti-virus software before running.

3. Download the groza no-CD crack and scan it with your anti-virus software. You may need to use WinRAR to extract the files from the downloaded archive.

4. Follow the instructions in the .nfo file which should have been extracted from the file you downloaded. It is important to copy the .mix files listed from both the Allied and Soviet discs to the game directory (normally C:\Westwood\RA2). Three of the .mix files are the same, so it does not matter which disc you take them from.

5. Still on Windows, try to play the game without a CD in the drive. If it does not work, you cannot continue.

6. Copy the game directory (normally C:\Westwood\RA2) to a removable drive or similar, so that it can be copied onto your Ubuntu installation. With all of the .mix files, the game directory should be around 1GB in size.

7. Copy the game directory to your Ubuntu computer.

8. Install the Wine package.

9. Open a Terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and type the following to run the game:
wine /path/to/Westwood/RA2/Ra2.exe
(Make sure that you replace /path/to/ with the path to the directory that you saved the Westwood folder in.)