RTS Game Engine (64Bit)

This repository includes source code for Command & Conquer Generals, and its expansion pack Zero Hour. This release provides support to the Steam Workshop for both games (C&C Generals and C&C Generals - Zero Hour).

Author: SparksSkywere
Repository: electronicarts/CnC_Generals_Zero_Hour
Branch: main
Status: Active development — build in progress as of 2th Feb 2025

Dependencies (WORKING TO CLEANUP OR REMOVE)

If you wish to rebuild the source code and tools successfully you will need to find or write new replacements (or remove the code using them entirely) for the following libraries;

• DirectX SDK (Version 9.0 or higher) (expected path \Code\Libraries\DirectX\) - (DX9 64bit June 2010)
• STLport (4.5.3) - (expected path \Code\Libraries\STLport-4.5.3)
• 3DSMax 4 SDK - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Max4SDK\) - Unable to find
• NVASM - (expected path \Code\Tools\NVASM\) - Nvidia based, cannot replace
• BYTEmark - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Source\Benchmark)
• RAD Miles Sound System SDK - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Source\WWVegas\Miles6\)
• RAD Bink SDK - REMOVED. Movie playback now uses the in-repo Media Foundation backend and expects loose converted video files such as .mp4.
• SafeDisk API - (expected path \Code\GameEngine\Include\Common\SafeDisk and \Code\Tools\Launcher\SafeDisk\) - REMOVED
• Miles Sound System "Asimp3" - (expected path \Code\Libraries\WPAudio\Asimp3)
• GameSpy SDK - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Source\GameSpy\) - (DEPRECATED, due removal)
• ZLib (1.1.4) - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Source\Compression\ZLib\)
• LZH-Light (1.0) - (expected path \Code\Libraries\Source\Compression\LZHCompress\CompLibSource and CompLibHeader)

Compiling (Win64)

To use the compiled binaries, you must own the game. The C&C Ultimate Collection is available for purchase on EA App or Steam.

The quickest way to build all configurations in the project is to open rts.sln in Microsoft Visual Studio C++ 2026 Community (Zero Hour patch 1.04) and select Build -> Batch Build, then hit the “Rebuild All” button.

The Batch Build now includes WorldBuilder. To build it on x64 with VS 2026, install the Visual Studio MFC desktop component for the active MSVC toolset/architecture; otherwise the solution will fail with MSB8041 before compiling the editor project.

When the workspace has finished building, the compiled binaries will be copied to the folder called /Run/ found in the root of the game directory.

Movie Playback Replacement

The proprietary RAD Bink playback path has been removed from the runtime. Movie playback now uses Windows Media Foundation through the engine's existing VideoPlayer abstraction and looks for loose converted movie files with the same base names as the original .bik assets.

Supported replacement extensions are .wmv, .mp4, .avi, .mov, and .m4v. The runtime currently prefers .wmv before .mp4 when multiple converted files with the same base name are present.

If your installation still only contains .bik files, convert them first. A helper script is included at Tools\convert-bik-movies.ps1 and will recursively scan the selected root for .bik files and convert them to .wmv by default when ffmpeg.exe is available in PATH, found under that root, or passed explicitly. Pass -OutputFormat mp4 if you still want H.264 .mp4 output.

The helper defaults are tuned for the current replacement backend:

• wmv is the default output format because it has been the lighter path for the current Media Foundation playback integration.
• output is normalized to a constant 30 FPS stream to avoid uneven frame pacing from source files with awkward timing.
• converted files are written beside the original .bik files using the same base name.
• audio is stripped by default because the current engine-side backend still renders video frames only; add -IncludeAudio only if you want the converted container to preserve that track for future use or external playback.

Key parameters:

• -Root scans any selected game/content root recursively for .bik files.
• -FfmpegPath points at a specific ffmpeg.exe if it is not on PATH.
• -Overwrite replaces existing converted outputs.
• -IncludeAudio keeps the embedded movie audio track in the converted file.
• -OutputFormat wmv|mp4 chooses the output container.

Example:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Tools\convert-bik-movies.ps1

# Or point it at any other root that contains legacy .bik files
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Tools\convert-bik-movies.ps1 -Root "D:\Games\Zero Hour"

# Or force MP4 output instead of the WMV default
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Tools\convert-bik-movies.ps1 -OutputFormat mp4

# Or overwrite existing conversions and keep embedded audio in the output container
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\Tools\convert-bik-movies.ps1 -Overwrite -IncludeAudio

If you want the converted files to keep embedded audio tracks, add -IncludeAudio. The current engine-side replacement backend decodes video frames only, so audio in converted containers is not yet routed through the game audio system.

Known Issues

Windows has a policy where executables that contain words “version”, “update” or “install” in their filename will require UAC Elevation to run. This will affect “versionUpdate” and “buildVersionUpdate” projects from running as post-build events. Renaming the output binary name for these projects to not include these words should resolve the issue for you.

STLport

STLport will require changes to successfully compile this source code. The file stlport.diff has been provided for you so you can review and apply these changes. Please make sure you are using STLport 4.5.3 before attempting to apply the patch.

Contributing

This repository will accept contributions (pull requests, issues, etc). If you wish to create changes to the source code and encourage collaboration, please create a fork of the repository under your GitHub user/organization space.

License

This repository and its contents are licensed under the GPL v3 license, with additional terms applied. Please see LICENSE.md for details.