User:Balloonman/AfD/GDI technology of Command & Conquer/article

This page lists various technologies employed by the Allies in the fictional, alternate history setting of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert series real-time strategy computer games.

Conventional Weaponry

While Allied units do possess advanced technology, many of the weapons used by Allied units are also conventional in nature, particularly in the early parts of any game. As time passes and the player builds up his base, more advanced and unconventional weaponry become available, though conventional weapons remain key.

Infantry

Allied Infantry in Red Alert serve as support for armor units, and include regular riflemen equipped with M-16s, anti-air and anti-armor troopers with rocket launchers, and medics. Allied players may also train thieves and spies to infiltrate Soviet bases and capture money or view enemy production.

In Red Alert 2, standard Allied infantry consists of GIs, who carry both light machine pistols and heavier machineguns (for when they deploy), and are capable of digging in and forming a sandbag barrier around themselves, giving them a much longer range, firepower, and armor. Sturdier but slower Guardian GIs carry an assault rifle, but deploy a concrete barrier and uses a rocket launcher, rather than a machine gun. Allied players are also capable of training Navy SEALs, which have the ability to kill infantry in a single burst of their sub-machine guns, swim, and plant C4 charges on buildings as well as ships. In a multiplayer or skirmish map, a player who chooses to play Britain will have access to snipers, who can kill enemy infantry at extreme ranges. Allied players can also produce spies later on that can disguise themselves as enemy soldiers and sneak inside buildings, to steal money, power down defenses, or capture enemy technology.

The hero unit of the Allies is special agent Tanya Adams. Tanya has the same capabilities in Red Alert 2 as the Navy SEALs in quick shooting pistol fire and C-4 charges but, in the Red Alert series she was highly vulnerable to vehicles. In Yuri's Revenge, however, she was granted the ability to C-4 Charge enemy vehicles and destroy them instantly upon contact.

Armor

In Red Alert, Allied armor is not as powerful as the much heavier Soviet tanks, though their lighter armor allows them greater speed and their cheaper price per unit as well as faster build speed allows them to be more easily massed. A good comparison of this is the Allied Medium Tank, the Allied's heaviest tank, against the Soviet Heavy Tank, the Soviet's lightest tank. The Heavy tank is only marginally more expensive than the Medium tank, but makes a mockery of the latter's firepower.

In Red Alert 2, this trend continues (with the exception of the Allied Battle Fortress); Allied Grizzly Tanks are not as heavy as Soviet units, and therefore have less health and can be more quickly destroyed by powerful Soviet tanks. However, their units are faster than Soviet weapons, allowing them to hit and run. Allied armor support also includes IFVs, which come with standard missile launchers and serve as the Allies' primary anti-air unit. These IFVs also have "transformer panels", which allow the IFV to alter its armament according to the soldier using it. Players who choose Germany in skirmish and multiplayer have access to highly effective tank destroyers.

Air Force

The Allies do not possess a powerful air force in Red Alert, with their main unit being the anti-armor Apache Longbow attack helicopter.

The Allies have a more sophisticated air force in Red Alert 2, with their main unit being the Harrier VTOL jet. The Harrier VTOL jet lands at airfields that contain 4 pads; this is called the Airforce Command, and also provides the Allies with radar. In-game the Harrier carries a single missile and is highly effective at anti-vehicle and anti-structural roles, though it is easily destroyed by anti-air defenses. Players choosing to play as Korea in multiplayer and skirmish have access to Black Eagle fighters, which are faster and more powerful than standard Harriers. In addition, the Allies employ the Nighthawk Stealth transport, which has a small machinegun on the front, and carries 5 infantry; it is invisible to radar. The Allies also deploy a permanently airborne Rocketeer.

Navy

In Red Alert, the Allied Navy was extremely powerful and versatile compared to that of the Soviets, capable of shore bombardment, anti-air, and commanding the sea. In many ways, it is a trade-off for the relative weakness of Allied ground units to their Soviet counterparts. They possess flexible gunboats which can fire projectile depth charges at submarines as well as fire a small cannon against ground targets. This progresses onto the versatile destroyer, capable of providing medium range bombardment with missile launchers, aerial defense rockets, and excels in anti-submarine warfare with its dual projectile depth charge launchers. The Allies also possess one of the most devastating units in the game, the cruiser. While it is less lethal at closer ranges against other naval units, it provides an extraordinarily long ranged and powerful attack, useful against structures and masses of enemy units. However, the further off the target, the less accurate the attacks are. Because of this notorious flaw, most players have developed a method to "trick" the cruiser. By firing close to, but not directly on, the target, the poor accurecy is compensated.

In Red Alert 2, as with Red Alert 1, the main Allied naval unit is the destroyer, which carries a powerful deck gun for ship-to-ship and shore bombardment, and an anti-submarine Osprey to destroy submerged units. The AEGIS Cruiser serves as an anti-air unit, capable of shooting down attacking fighters, rocketeers, and Soviet missiles. Allied aircraft carriers serve as heavy shore bombardment units and can launch small, powerful fighters (namely the Hornets )over long distances, and replaces them free of charge. Allied players also have the ability to train dolphins equipped with sonic weapons to battle enemy ships and as a counter to Soviet giant squids. However, the Allied Navy is now roughly on par with that of the Soviets.

Structures

The majority of Allied structures are the standard collection of war factories and barracks of the Command and Conquer series. However, the Allies do possess several specialized conventional structures. Allied players are capable of building spy satellites that reveal the entire map, and in Red Alert 2 the Allies can build an Ore Purifier to increase the amount of money brought in from each ore harvester. In Yuri's Revenge, The Allies are capable of building a Robot Control which enables them to build robotic fighters.

Allied defensive units vary, but in Red Alert, consist of anti-air cannons, anti-armor turrets, and Pillboxes. In Red Alert 2, Allied defenses include Patriot Missile Batteries, Pillboxes, and the powerful Prism Tower. Players who choose to play as France in skirmish and multiplayer can build massive Grand Cannons, which serve as extremely powerful, long-ranged defensive artillery cannons.

Chrono technology

Chrono technology serves as the primary plot device that established the parallel universe that the Command and Conquer series of games takes place within.

Background

Seeing the devastation of the Second World War, Albert Einstein designs the Chronosphere - a device which could send one person to specified place in space and time. Einstein travelled back to interfere with Adolf Hitler's release from prison after the Munich Putsch. He proceeded to erase Hitler from space and time, causing the creation of the parallel universe in which the Command and Conquer: Red Alert timeline, the same as the Command and Conquer timeline occurs. Einstein succeeded in averting World War 2, but inadvertently caused a bigger World War 2, a Soviet invasion of Europe. In the new universe, the Chronoshift technology is greatly advanced and is eventually deployable in the field, and can be used for a tactical advantage. The inspiration for the Chronoshift technology is the Philadelphia Experiment, which Einstein and Nikola Tesla were supposedly involved in.

Chronosphere

The Chronosphere is a large device housed in a building, created by Albert Einstein and featured in Command & Conquer: Red Alert and Red Alert 2. The Chronospheres available to the player are only teleportation-capable, and cannot send units through time. It allows the user to cause controlled teleportation, otherwise known as "chronoshifting." In-game, players can teleport units - however, the chronoshift process kills infantry units outside of a vehicle. A downside is that using the Chronosphere too many times results in a Rift (depicted as a lightning tornado), which destroys anything in its path. A similar Rift is also seen in Tiberium Wars used as a Scrin superweapon.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

In the first installment of the series, chrono technology is still primitive and chrono-devices can only be found housed in special facilities called Chronospheres. When fully charged, a Chronosphere can teleport a single mechanical unit to anywhere on the battlefield, though the effect (excluding the transport and deployment of MCVs) is temporary. Infantry are still not transportable, and if an APC containing infantry were to be chronoshifted, all infantry inside would mysteriously disappear. Choronospheres at this point lack the capacity to teleport multiple units. The premature application of chrono technology caused Chronospheres to be somewhat unstable: multiple chronoshifts over a short period of time can cause chrono storms. When a Chronosphere enters the "yellow" zone of its health, it suffers from a dimensional-breakdown. It will turn black and flash like a broken TV screen. This is purely cosmetic and has no effect on the game. However, if the Chronosphere is destroyed it might cause a Chrono Storm just like the one created by prolonged usage. Chrono Storms will send out a bolt of lighting at any nearby units (buildings included) and will instantaniously destroy them. If any units are unfortunate enough to be inside the storm they are also destroyed. Once a Chrono Storm is created it cannot be stopped until five units or buildings have been killed or destroyed by it. A Chrono Storm appears on the screen as a blurry morphing distortion, which may frighten or concern more unexperienced players into thinking this is a bug.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert Aftermath

The expansion pack of C&C Red Alert brought improved chrono technology in the form of chrono tanks. Equipped with a dedicated chrono-device, these vehicles can independently teleport around the battlefield, and, unlike the older technology, their teleportation is permanent. Chrono tanks are armed with dual rocket launchers capable of causing a good deal of damage to the Soviet threat. However the chrono tanks are poorly armored, even falling victim to infantry fire.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

In the second installment of the series, the Allies have drastically improved the chrono technology and deployed it in a variety of battlefield situations. The Chrono Miner, the standard ore extraction vehicle of Allies, is equipped with its own dedicated chrono-device, enabling it to teleport to the nearest refinery once it has gathered enough resources. Chronospheres have undergone modifications and can now teleport multiple units across the battlefield. New Chrono Legionnaires are elite troops equipped with personal chrono-devices and a special chrono weapon that can "undo" enemy ground units and buildings by erasing their existence from time. If the Allies are able to get a Spy inside an enemy Soviet Battle lab, they gain access to a Chrono Ivan, who is just like the Soviet unit Crazy Ivan - with the exception he can Chronoshift around the battlefield. And if the Allied player manages to get a Spy inside an enemy Allied Battle lab, he gains access to a Chrono Commando, a unit similar to SEALs, but with the capacity to Chronoshift. However, The Chrono Commando is unable to swim. Units with personal chrono devices however suffer from "phasing": they will appear on the designated location, but are unable to perform any action until a specified amount of time has passed. During this time, the unit is completely vulnerable to enemy fire. The phasing time varies depending on the distance teleported, the farther the displacement the longer phasing time, with the sole exception being the Chrono Miner.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 Yuri's Revenge

In the expansion pack of C&C Red Alert 2, some modified Chronospheres show time travel capabilities although they are exclusive to the single player campaign and cannot be built in skirmish or multiplayer games. These time machines serve as the primary means by which the player is able to battle the main antagonist of the expansion, Yuri.

Gap Generator

File:RA Gap Gen 2.jpg

A stationary Gap Generator tower from early Red Alert 2 in-game art (left) and rendered picture from Red Alert 1 (right).

Gap generators are large, fork-shaped devices with rotating bases and can be attached to either stationary towers or mobile vehicles. In either case they create a "blind spot" around themselves, obscuring the nearby area both from enemy view and radar. Even if an area covered by a gap generator is explored by enemy forces, it will be hidden from view once again as soon as enemy units leave the area. This also applies to such buildings and technologies like the Allied Spy Satellite of Red Alert 2, and the GPS Satellite of Red Alert. Stationary gap generators have high power requirements and will cease to function in case of a power shortage. Mobile variants can run on the internal power supply of the vehicle, but are less effective than their stationary counterparts in terms of both coverage area and production costs. There is an ironic flaw to the Gap Generator: if the opposing player has a spy satellite or any other method of revealing the entire map, the Gap Generator will remain shrouded as detailed above. However this instantly reveals the location of the base, along with where the generator is(the Generator creates a circle of shroud, with itself at the center. Also the Gap Generator has no effect on AI players.

Mirage Tank

Another result of advanced Allied science in C&C Red Alert 2, these tanks are lightly armored and utilize an IR cannon that is devastating against infantry and deals moderate damage to vehicles, however, it is rather ineffective against structures. The distinguishing feature of these tanks is that they carry holographic image projectors and thus disguise themselves as trees when they are stationary (hence the name). This practically renders the tank invisible when deployed on a terrain where it can blend in with the natural surroundings. The holographic projection is briefly disturbed when the tank opens fire, but will quickly revert back as long as the vehicle remains stationary. There are two main flaws with this in-game. 1. The tank only simulates a tree, so when it is over any terrain other than dirt, it is a dead givaway. 2. Even when it's a tree, all a player has to do to locate one is to moves the cursor over the "tree", by which it will turn into an attack cursor. On the other hand, when stationary, the Mirage Tank is the first unit in C&C history that cannot be detected by the computer (whereas older "stealth technology", such as the Stealth Generator in Tiberian Sun, is completely useless against the computer.)

Prism weapons

In C&C Red Alert, the Allies fully depend on conventional weapons for vehicles and stationary emplacements. By the time of C&C Red Alert 2 however, the advanced Allied science has expanded into beam weaponry and the prism type weapons are deployed both in offensive and defensive roles. Prism weapons fire a condensed beam of light that can kill any infantry with a single shot and deals considerable damage to armored units and structures. The mobile weapon platforms called prism tanks fire a beam that breaks down into thinner, weaker beams when it hits a target, creating an area-of-effect weapon. While small numbers of prism tanks are no match against conventional heavy tank designs, this "splash damage" can stack to devastating effect in larger groups. Prism weaponry is also employed as perimeter defense in the form of prism towers. These towers carry a modified prism weapon so that their beam does not multiply, but several closely built prism towers can "empower" each other to fire a single powerful beam. In the missions, the Soviets stole the Prism Technology and created prism cannons which were hidden in Mayan pyramids. The prism cannons allowed the Soviets to fire at long ranges. This technology was later recovered by a team of Navy Seals. Later, Yuri stole Prism technology himself (presumably - although this is never confirmed - through mind controlling Allied scientists) and built it into gigantic statues of himself used to defend his naval base.

Rocketeer

File:RA Rocketeer.jpg

Allied Rocketeer concept drawing.

Rocketeers are special troops equipped with jet packs and therefore act as flying units. They are armed with twin 20mm assault rifles which are integrated into their flight equipment. While capable of engaging both ground and air units, these weapons are mostly effective against infantry and lightly armored targets and vastly superior numbers are needed to engage heavier targets like Kirov Airships or buildings. Rocketeers are very fast and agile, and rely on these traits to outmaneuver enemy forces to strike at their unprotected flanks. They are highly susceptible to anti-aircraft weaponry and usually retreat when faced with such enemies, making Rocketeers surgical strike units rather than assault infantry. They are perfectly capable of overwhelming enemy positions lacking anti-aircraft capability and can make repeated hit-and-run attacks thanks to their ability to outrun any unit in the Soviet arsenal. They are also quite useful at striking at an enemy's resource collectors, or "Harvester hunting."

Weather Control

Introduced in C&C Red Alert 2, the Allies can build a weather control device and manipulate meteorological conditions. When fully charged, a weather control device can create a semi-controlled lightning storm of enormous magnitude, which is then unleashed upon a target area specified by the Allied commander. This artificial storm disrupts communications and knocks out the radar screens across the entire battlefield while lightning strikes ravage the target zone, causing considerable damage to all units and buildings. The storm inevitably dissipates once the charge of the weather control device is depleted, at which point the device will start the lengthy process of powering up for another strike.

References

Command and Conquer: Red Alert

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2