Red Alert 2 in web browser

📝 Discussion Summary (Click to expand)

The discussion revolves around a browser-based implementation of the game Red Alert 2 (Chrono Divide), leading to three primary themes:

1. Legal Constraints Dictate Asset Separation

The core issue preventing a fully self-contained, browser-launchable game is the need to avoid distributing copyrighted assets that the project owners do not own. Users frequently cite copyright as the reason why players must supply their own game files.

Supporting Quote: "The point is they don’t get sued for distributing game assets they don’t own. If they could distribute them, they would." Attributed to Aurornis.
Supporting Quote: "It's a copyright thing" Attributed to shortrounddev2.

2. Nostalgia and Preference for Classic RTS/2D Graphics

Many commenters express deep fondness for the original game's aesthetic and gameplay philosophy, often contrasting it unfavorably with modern RTS design trends heavily focused on competitive balance or 3D graphics.

Supporting Quote: "I cannot describe how good it felt to play these games during school breaks, sometimes until dawn. These games were the sole reason we upgraded the RAM on our PC whenever a new one came out." Attributed to yigithan.
Supporting Quote: "Everything afterwards felt lame and was geared too much towards multiplayer balance, which does not interest me the least." Attributed to warpspin.

3. Poor State of Legacy Source Code Preservation

A significant sub-thread expresses disbelief and frustration over the rumored or confirmed loss of the original game's source code by EA/Westwood, highlighting a broader, historical problem in the gaming industry regarding archival practices.

Supporting Quote: "How the hell could they LOSE the source code to that game? All copies of it. Not arguing with you, just saying if that's true, it's insane." Attributed to Rover222.
Supporting Quote: "Video Game asset and source control retention was terrible. Hell, it's still terrible... Prior to ~2010 we were simply deleting source code and assets for finished projects..." Attributed to dleslie.

🚀 Project Ideas

Asset-Light, Engine-Only Retro Game Launcher (AERO-L)

Summary

A service/tool that handles the runtime execution of old, source-released game engines (like OpenRA or ChronoDivide) without requiring users to own or provide proprietary assets.
Core value proposition: Pure retro game execution accessibility, bypassing copyright hurdles by providing the engine but requiring users to source public domain or fully open-source asset packs, or offering a seamless integration path to legally obtained user assets.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Retro gamers, users interested in open-source game engines (like OpenRA users who want new game support), and those frustrated by asset fetching dependencies.
Core Feature	A launcher application that detects installed open-source engine ports, and provides a marketplace/directory for legally distributed asset packs (or links to official sources like Steam/GOG) for immediate "engine-only" play.
Tech Stack	Electron/Tauri (for desktop client), Backend in Go/Rust for orchestration and API integration, Simple Web Portal for asset discovery.
Difficulty	Medium
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Addresses the core friction point raised by khoury and RankingMember: "What's the point of being able to launch from a web browser if ya've gotta go dig up the game anyways?"
This product leans into the legal "engine vs. assets" discussion seen in the thread (catapart, afavour, coldpie). It supports engines that are legally separated from the original IP, like OpenRA, and provides the structure to play them instantly, referencing where users legally acquire the assets (e.g., OpenRA launcher model improved).

WebGL Performance Diagnostics & Optimization Suite (Web3D-Profiler)

Summary

A diagnostic toolset designed specifically for developers building complex, high-performance 3D applications (like games) within web browsers, with a focus on cross-browser WebGL performance anomalies.
Core value proposition: Provides granular, actionable insights into why WebGL performance differs drastically between Chrome/Firefox, helping developers stabilize UX for the widest audience.

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Developers building Wasm/WebGL intensive applications (games, complex visualizations) who notice persistent performance discrepancies between browsers.
Core Feature	Side-by-side performance analysis comparing `chrome://gpu` level data extracted via cross-browser APIs, focusing on shader compilation times, driver workarounds, and memory usage specific to rendering paths.
Tech Stack	Node.js backend for data ingestion/comparison, JavaScript/TypeScript for client-side scraping/instrumentation wrappers, potentially leveraging WebGPU standards for future compatibility.
Difficulty	High
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Directly solves the frustration expressed by dsnr and voxic11: "I wonder what’s wrong with Firefox? What is the bottleneck? The bottleneck is webgl."
This tool would generate immediate community engagement from developers facing the reality that "Web 3D never took off" (pjmlp) due to messy driver interaction and lack of API feedback visibility.

Retro RTS Game Feel Metrics Generator (RTS-Feel Analyzer)

Summary

A lightweight utility that analyzes modern RTS game source code or configuration files (like rules.ini or game assembly data) and compares its core timings, unit interaction speeds, and tech-tree progression against baseline historical data from beloved titles like RA2/AoE2.
Core value proposition: Provides quantitative metrics that capture the "magic" or "feel" of older RTS games lost in modern esports-focused design, helping subsequent engine developers avoid accidental "enshittification" (fooker) or gameplay stalemates (deaddodo).

Details

Key	Value
Target Audience	Developers of new RTS titles (`Stormgate`, `Tempest Rising`), and modders working on classic engine rewrites (`OpenRA` maintainers looking to match original balance).
Core Feature	Takes configuration files as input and outputs readability scores (unit legibility, counter density) alongside time-to-power-spike analysis (e.g., time to reach Age 3 equivalent vs. RA2 tech), benchmarked against nostalgic targets.
Tech Stack	Python (Strong analysis/data tooling), potentially C# if targeting mods for existing open-source engines.
Difficulty	Medium
Monetization	Hobby

Notes

Caters to users mourning the loss of focus on "fun sandbox" and "sorely missed fun philosophy" (jajuuka, tshaddox). It gives empirical data to the subjective feeling that "Everything afterwards felt lame and was geared too much towards multiplayer balance" (jayd16).
If the tool could analyze why RA2 unit interaction felt better than modern iterations, it would be highly appreciated by this niche.