Red Alert: A Path Beyond

Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Red Alert: A Path Beyond Box Art "Free multiplayer experience on the W3D engine"
Developer(s)	Bluehell Productions
License	Creative Commons, Independent Game
Engine	W3D (Westwood 3D) engine
Version	1.3.1 (Known as Cold Fusion)
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date(s)	Template:Vgrelease
Genre(s)	First-person Shooter, Third-person Shooter, Vehicular Combat
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Media	Download
System requirements	Pentium III 800 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Windows 2000/XP, DirectX 9c, 32 MB DirectX 7 compatible video card, Approx. 940 MB hard disk space
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

Red Alert: A Path Beyond is a total conversion modification of Command & Conquer: Renegade in the first-person shooter and vehicular combat genres, released by Bluehell Productions in 2007. The events of Red Alert: A Path Beyond take place in an alternate history, where Allied Forces battle across Europe against an aggressive Soviet Union. The soldier and vehicle selection is drawn from the original Command & Conquer: Red Alert series' gameplay, cutscenes, and internal files, with minor modifications to differentiate certain units.

While it began production as a modification of a commercial single/multiplayer game, it is now available as a free, standalone download with no other requirements to play. However, it lacks a single player campaign, so an internet connection is required for satisfactory play. Additionally, its recommended system requirements are higher, although the graphics actually scale very well and several improvements made grant actual performance improvements over the original base engine. A Path Beyond has been widely promoted by Electronic Arts, being the only fan project of its kind that has received this sort of support.

Gameplay

Red Alert: A Path Beyond (RA:APB) consists of the storyline and battles from Westwood Studios' game Command & Conquer: Red Alert, converted to a first person shooter game. The team has tried to remain loyal to the style and feel of the 1996 classic, while integrating content from its expansions (Counterstrike & Aftermath) with a bit of updated history to add to the mix. The game is built with the W3d engine Westwood Studios designed for games such as Earth & Beyond and Command & Conquer: Renegade completed in 2001. Players assume a role as any one of a number of infantry classes, participating in team-based combat that often involves land, sea, and air combined-arms clashes. Certain maps are tailored to infantry-only combat, but most feature vehicular combat as well.

As there is no official master server for integration into the main game shell at this time, players typically join using a front-end launcher phased in with version 1.0.0, known as Beta. This provides a static server listing that requires manual updates. Xfire also supports Red Alert: A Path Beyond, which enables in-game instant messaging, logged gameplay hours, and spotting friends who are also playing[1]. Gameservers are also typically managed via IRC, which allows for communication between players and out-of-game observers/moderators. Game-in-progress information for the official server, sponsored by MP Gaming, is also displayed live on the forums and gameserver websites. The official server site also provides ranking information, dating back to December 2006. This ranking information can be displayed both as a "rank medal" and "stats box" in one of two styles for signature use at other forums.[2]

Plot

The story of Red Alert: A Path Beyond follows closely the story and settings of the original Command & Conquer: Red Alert. It plays out a "What If?" scenario, wherein World War II never started as it did in reality:

It's 1946. Mankind has just gone through the most devastating war it has yet faced. While the rest of the world is still in shock, and trying to find ways to prevent such an event from ever taking place again, a Jewish/German scientist of unmatched genius decides to ensure it never happened at all. With a device he was engineering for the US government (at a secret research center in Trinity, New Mexico - the same site where he helped develop the most devastating weapons mankind has come to know), he travels back into time to kill the person who he sees as the root of all misery: Adolf Hitler. He catches up with Hitler in 1924, just as he is released from Landsberg Prison, and 'disposes' of him: as Einstein will soon learn, he has not thought through the possible consequences...

It's now the 1950s. World War II never happened; at least, not yet. Germany is a peace-loving country with close ties to other Western European nations, who now find themselves facing increasing tensions with the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin's brutal rule... and all the while the Soviet Union grows in influence and military might. Attempting to live up to a glorious Marxist dream he has envisioned, Stalin mobilizes the forces of the USSR. His goal? The Soviet Union stretching from coast to coast after an epic communist revolution, with Russia reigning supreme. The Western European nations, form the Alliance that seeks to put an end to this madman's nightmare before he can see it through to completion. World War II has started.

Reception

Red Alert: A Path Beyond has been given much attention throughout its history, and has received several awards and commendations. Additionally, the project and staff have been reviewed and interviewed in a variety of electronic and print magazines, as well as C&C modding community news sites. Notably, as a result of its successes, RA:APB is possibly the first independent project of its kind to be promoted as it has been by Electronic Arts, including coverage at EA's booth at the Leipzig Games Convention, on the official C&C web site front page, and in EA's novel Command&Conquer TV streaming video series.Some highlights (reverse chronological):

• Mod DB Top 100, 2009
• Mod DB Top 100, 2008
• Listed in 1UP.com's Best Free Games of 2008
• Mod DB 2007 Indie Game Of The Year Second Place
• Mod DB Top 100, 2007
• Featured in Games for Windows: The Official Magazine issue in January, 2008
• PC Gamer Mod Of the Month in December 2007 issue
• Electronic Arts interview with lead producer "Chronojam"
• Featured in PC Zone issue in November, 2007
• Featured in Electronic Arts' "Command & Conquer TV" episode in October, 2007
• Featured in Game Informer in October, 2007
• Featured in eGames.de in September, 2007 (review and interview)
• Interviewed by Planet Command & Conquer [3], September, 2007
• 2006 Games Convention posters, video, and demo in cooperation with Electronic Arts (posters, trailers, demo)
• Mod DB Top 100, 2006
• Mod DB Top 100, 2005
• Mod DB Mod Of The Year, 2004 (Level Design)

External links

• Official website
• Mod DB Page