Red Alert 2 in web browser

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Project purpose & capabilities

  • Browser-based reimplementation of the Red Alert 2 engine, not a port of the original executable.
  • Aims to modernize UX, move to a client–server multiplayer model, improve mod support, and run on platforms the original doesn’t support (e.g., macOS, “just a browser”).
  • Some users say it feels smoother than the original (e.g., ship rotation), and even “better than playing on actual Windows desktop.”

Game assets & copyright constraints

  • You must supply original game assets because the project doesn’t have rights to distribute them.
  • Debate over whether including demo files or auto-downloading assets from an external URL would be legally safer; consensus is that this still risks infringement, especially with EA.
  • Later, people note the site now autopopulates an Archive.org URL, reducing friction but not resolving the underlying copyright ambiguity.
  • Discussion branches into how OpenRA handles assets and whether clean-room clones with entirely new assets would be legally distinct; comments stress gray areas around “how similar is too similar.”

Browser performance & implementation details

  • Site warns that Firefox should be avoided for performance; users speculate WebGL is the bottleneck, citing Chrome’s more aggressive GPU workarounds.
  • Others report it runs fine on Firefox for them.
  • Some question why such an old game now requires several GB of RAM and why software/WASM rendering can’t be enough.
  • UI is partly HTML (menus) with gameplay in a canvas; one person complains about low-contrast light-grey-on-white text.

Nostalgia, RTS design, and 2D vs 3D

  • Strong nostalgia for RA2’s over-the-top story, FMVs, unit “feel,” and LAN play; many still play yearly or via existing online services.
  • Broader RTS discussion: frustration that modern RTS focus on esports balance over fun campaigns, with StarCraft’s success seen as both a high bar and a genre “gravity well.”
  • Several argue classic 2D RTS and adventure games look and read better than 3D ones; 3D is seen as harder to parse visually and often less atmospheric.

Source code loss & preservation

  • Surprise and disappointment that RA2 (and possibly Tiberian Sun) source is rumored lost while other C&C titles were open-sourced.
  • Multiple industry anecdotes describe casual deletion of source and assets in the 90s/2000s, poor archiving, studio shutdowns, and missed opportunities for remasters, highlighting a broader preservation problem.

Community reaction & wishes

  • Overall reaction is very positive and emotional; many thank the team and plan to show it to friends or children.
  • Frequent requests for Yuri’s Revenge and other C&C titles (especially Generals), plus curiosity about why Chrono Divide itself isn’t open source.