Downloads
The Client
For right now, just go ahead and use the links in the upper left. If you are new to Red Alert: A Path Beyond, please use the upper-left link for
"Beta 2 Full." This will hook you up with RA:APB 1.2.0, all your start menu shortcuts, the launcher/frontend, and a copy of the manual. If you have a copy of RA:APB 1.1.0 (also known as Beta with
patch 1) then you can click the second option, for
"Beta 2 Patch."
So to sum it up, if you have never played before, get Beta 2 Full. If you were playing up to the day before the new patch, get Beta 2 Patch!
The Server
If you are interested in running your own server, first of all, realize that hosting a dedicated server requires a decent amount of power and a strong, stable connection. Your graphics card is not as important here, but a strong connection with both good upload and download, as well as a fast CPU, is very much a requirement. Don't try hosting dedicated on a 1 ghz pc with home DSL! If you're serious about hosting, download the FDS (free dedicated server).
What you are actually getting is a very old hosting package, that will require you to also have Beta 2 installed with it because it only contains the old 0.3.5 (9935-- don't ask, the old name scheme was retarded) content. You should ask on the forum for more information if you are serious about hosting! A better hosting package will be available soon, we hope, with the IRC integration and all for server management.
Game Versions
Prior to the release known as Beta, our versions were named in a retarded way-- 0.99x. Years ago, the first version was called 0.990 for some reason, and it kept incrementing arbitrarily from there: 0.991, 0.992, 0.9925, and so on.
The NEW naming convention is as follows:
Major.
Patch.
Addon
The Major version number can be represented by a letter from the Greek alphabet, indexed to zero; in other words, 0.0.0 would be "Alpha." Anything 1.0.0 is "Beta," anything 2.0.0 is "Gamma" and so on.
So version 1.2.0 is "Beta Patch 2" and 1.2.1 would be "Beta Patch 2 Addon 1."
Patches and Addons will be automatically downloaded by your launcher when available.