Red alert 2 black screens only with cncnet

[captain_fluffy]

So I downloaded the ultimate collection from Origin, launched RA2 and got the old black screen with sound and only a mouse cursor. I then applied the ddwrapper fix by copying ddraw.dll and aqrit.cfg into the RA2 folder and changing ForceDirectDrawEmulation to "=1" and the game started to work fine. 

Then I wanted to play campaign coop with my friend, so I downloaded and installed CNCNET and it's now giving me the black screen again. I found that ddraw.dll and aqrit.cfg were both missing so I put them back in (complete with ForceDirectDrawEmulation to "=1") and it' still doesn't work.

I've tried as many settings as I can think of in CNCNET to get it to work and it still only gives the black screen of wump wump.

Can anyone help me get the game working again?

Cheers

Edited December 18, 2017 by captain_fluffy

[Grant]

Hello,

Yes CnCNet has a list of renderers you can use built in by default in the options. It's likely checking what you have saved in options. (Which might not be anything)

If you open up the CnCNet client, and click "Options", go to Display, look under renderers you have a selection to use there. 

See next post too.

 

[Grant]

Hello,

If you are experiencing slow or choppy gameplay whilst playing on CnCNet, there are a few steps you can take to troubleshoot the problem.

1. Install the CnCNet client 
2. This will look for your existing game directory.
3. Once installed run CnCNetYRLauncher.exe or the shortcut supplied.
4. Click "Options"
5. Select "Display" and under the render options, select a new renderer. Commonly, TS-DDRAW works best.
6. Click Save, and launch Skirmish. 
7. Play a game with the AI. If the gameplay is fast then this renderer will likely be the best for you.
8. If it hasn't worked, repeat from step 5 until you find a renderer that works best with your system.

Failing the above, ensure your video drivers are up-to-date. You are running a suitable resolution the game can handle.

[captain_fluffy]

I finally found the answer. For some reason the ddraw.dll file kept disappearing when CNCNET was launched. After I kept pasting it into the RA2 directory, it finally started to stay, and is now not getting deleted upon launch. Weird, but it now works.