Re: Command and Conquer Ultimate Collection won't launch in Origin

That worked! Awesome. Thanks heaps mate.

This didnt work for Generals and ZH at all, in fact in Origin it doesn't show that play is an option.

this was awesome and very helpful thanks heaps big fella

the solution worked for me for a brief moment then the screen went black and i only hear the audio but all i got is a black screen. i trued to re-launch the game and im back to where i came from, the game wont launch...any ideas?

this did not work at all

I just opened the game package (new) got set up with Origin and found out the game won't download or should I say none of the 17 games will download to play after I entered the product code. I guess I need to check the expiration date on the package before I open it, Oh wait there isn't one.....  Rip Off I guess....  Thought E A Games was a good company, once....

@1bigjoe Uh... entering the code doesn't automatically download all the games. You need to specifically click the game and tell it to download before you can actually play. If that's what you're doing... are you getting any error messages?

(Side note: given the fact a bunch of these 17 "games" are actually expansion packs, the bundle only adds 9 game items.)

hey i didn't find the step 4, can you post some screeshots please :D

@AzizSoul

Not sure if it's a good solution - the -w thing just makes certain games run in windowed mode as far as I know. It does nothing on C&C1 and RA1, and on TS and RA2 it requires that you make sure the game is set to run in 16 bit colours, which was only actually added to the compatibility options since Windows 10, as far as I know, meaning that on older Windows versions you need to put your entire system in 16 bit colour mode.

There's a more elegant solution for RA2, that doesn't require such drastic measures, namely the graphics system patch DDWrapper. Here are all the unofficial patches for the early generation of C&C games:

Command & Conquer 1, Red Alert 1 and Tiberian Sun have all been upgraded with community-created unofficial patches that fix a lot of their bugs and compatibility problems. For Red Alert 2 there's a more general patch that solves a lot of its graphics problems. You can find them here:

Command & Conquer 1:

• Nyerguds' C&C95 v1.06c revision 3 patch (which also adds bonus missions originally exclusive to the Playstation and Nintendo 64 versions of the game)
  Note that this patch fixes two quite common and completely fatal game crashes (top-of-map reconnaissance crash, stealth crash), so installing it is strongly advised.
• An upgrade for the patch's config tool and cnc-ddraw component have been provided by FunkyFr3sh. Apply it after installing the patch. This is now incorporated in the patch.

Red Alert 1:

• Funkyfr3sh's automatic Red Alert 1 patcher/installer
• Nyerguds' main.mix cleanup for TFD/TUC (Not really needed, but cleans up about a gigabyte of unnecessary files in the RA1 folder. Unpack in the game folder, run "patch_main.bat", let it finish, and then delete the files you extracted.)

Tiberian Sun:

• Funkyfr3sh's Tiberian Sun patch

Red Alert 2:

• The graphics system patch DDWrapper is known to solve a multitude of graphics problems, including the "black screen" issue.
  Download the zip file and extract "ddraw.dll" and "aqrit.cfg" into your game folder. Then, open the configuration file "aqrit.cfg" in Notepad, change the "ForceDirectDrawEmulation" option to 1, save the file, and try running the game again.
• If you still have problems with RA2 even after this, I advise installing the CnCNet online play installer for RA2/YR. Even if you're not interested in online play, it comes with a bunch of automatic fixes, and has a configuration tool which offers more choices in graphics fixes than just DDWrapper, so if one doesn't work you can just try if some of the other options do the trick.

Lifesaver.

running windows 7 and this did not fix the problem for me.  all that happens when I try to run the program is it opens the folder where the files are located.

@mleppelman

You're running the wrong item.

All games in the collection are separate items in your games list. The only item in there with the actual C&C Ultimate Collection cover art is not a game; if you look at the item's details you will see it is the collection's bonus material. It isn't supposed to launch anything, it just opens the folder containing that bonus material.

So just find the separate games in your games list, and install and play them separately.

this fix does not work I have tried every thing the game loads it does EA games but it does not say it the sound is gone and then it goes to the intro and that has no sound and after the intro it goes black and I have to close it down it also says that its not responding so how do  I fix that?????

@susshiman

Try looking at the other patches and solutions mentioned in this thread and others like it on the forum...

Hi everyone. I too purchased the ultimate collection on origin and also after having issues with TS i found the FunkyFresh TS Patch you mentioned. The problem i'm having is when installing the patch it says unable to close all applications, but i do not know which ones its referring to. Any advice please. Thank you.

@SuperMario6464 

When in doubt, restart your PC so you're sure nothing is running that may be using the files.

I have the same problem but with C&C RA3, I tried all provided solutions and yet it doesnt work (win10). Blocked rule in firewall, even removed all rules mentioning RA3, reinstalled RA3, repaired files, rebooted PC, rebooted origin, tried to run both as an admin, tried to run RA3 with compatibility mode (with every version there is), disabled "origin in game" and added the -w to command line - The game WONT start. There's not even slightest move, RA3 process doesnt even start (nor does it show in task mngr), most "action" with this was that after hitting "play" in origin, it minimalised it and shown again after 1sec

Any other solutions?

@W1sh_Sama and @JaaSeeM This workaround should fix the problems you are having with this known issue that the games of the Ultimate Collection won't start. This workaround will work till EA releases a permanent fix: https://answers.ea.com/t5/C-C-The-Ultimate-Collection/Can-t-launch-C-amp-C-The-Ultimate-Collection-games-after-24-01/m-p/8716040#M17504

How I could solve the issue in C&C and covert ops:

Step1:

1. Go to Control Panel (the desktop version). 
2. Clock and Region.
3. Region.
4. Click on the Administrative tab on the top.
5. Under Language for non-Unicode programs, select the button Change system locale, then select English (United States) or tick Beta: use unicode utf-8 for worldwide language support. 
6. Restart your computer.

Step2:

1. Open CONQUER.INI
2.  Change lines to this:
3. Resolution=0
   HardwareFills=1
   VideoBackBuffer=1
   Compatibility=1

what about steam?

im abit new to this but origin is now EA and the steps to make your gmes work dont apply anymore so how do i get RA2 and TW to work please

Where do you go for the second part. Can not locate it.