After repeated success on running any CnC Net variant on Ubuntu, here the workflow to make CnCNet work on your Ubuntu.

Linux Setup Guide

CnCNet RA2 / Yuri's Revenge on Linux with Wine

A simple setup guide for running Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 / Yuri's Revenge through Wine using the CnCNet OpenGL client.

Just want to play?

You can skip the technical setup below. If your CnCNet game folder is already prepared, download the launch.sh script from the bottom of this page, place it inside your CnCNet game folder, make it executable, and launch it.

The launcher automatically detects the folder where it is placed, so it works with different CnCNet folder names and locations.

Requirements

Only Wine and Winetricks are required for the basic game setup.
Wine32 is required because the game uses a 32-bit Wine prefix.

Install Wine + Winetricks

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wine wine32 winetricks

Recommended: Online / Multimedia

These packages are optional for basic launching but recommended for online functionality and multimedia support.

sudo apt install winbind 
gstreamer1.0-libav 
gstreamer1.0-plugins-good 
gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad 
gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly

Important: Never run Wine, the game, or launch.sh with sudo.

Game Folder

Replace the example path with the location of your CnCNet game folder:

/path/to/cncnet-folder

The game client used by this guide:

Resources/clientogl.exe

Black screen?
Use Resources/clientogl.exe instead of the normal launcher.

Create a Clean 32-bit Wine Prefix

If you already have a Wine prefix and want to start fresh:

cd /path/to/cncnet-folder
rm -rf .wine

Create the 32-bit prefix:

WINEARCH=win32 
WINEPREFIX=/path/to/cncnet-folder/.wine 
wineboot -u

Tip: The .wine prefix stays inside the CnCNet folder.

Install Wine Mono

Download a Wine Mono .msi package from the official releases page:

Wine Mono Releases on GitHub

Place the downloaded file in your Downloads folder, for example:

/home/your-user/Downloads/wine-mono-11.3.0-x86.msi

Install it into the CnCNet Wine prefix:

WINEPREFIX=/path/to/cncnet-folder/.wine 
wine msiexec /i "/home/your-user/Downloads/wine-mono-11.3.0-x86.msi"

Replace the filename with the version you downloaded.

Configure Wine

cd /path/to/cncnet-folder
WINEPREFIX="$PWD/.wine" winecfg

Applications

Set the Windows version to Windows 7.

Graphics

Enable Emulate a virtual desktop.

Set the desktop size to your monitor resolution, such as 1920x1080.

Libraries

If required, add:

ddraw → Native, then Builtin
wsock32 → Native, then Builtin

Click Apply → OK.

Allow Wine to Use Ping

CnCNet may require ICMP ping functionality for network features.

sudo sysctl -w net.ipv4.ping_group_range="0 2147483647"

To make it permanent:

echo 'net.ipv4.ping_group_range = 0 2147483647' | 
sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-wine-ping.conf
sudo sysctl --system

Note: sudo is only used for the Linux system setting. Do not use it to launch Wine or the game.

Create the Launcher

Go to your CnCNet folder:

cd /path/to/cncnet-folder

Create launch.sh:

cat > launch.sh <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd -- "$(dirname -- "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
export WINEARCH=win32
export WINEPREFIX="$SCRIPT_DIR/.wine"
cd "$SCRIPT_DIR"
exec wine "$SCRIPT_DIR/Resources/clientogl.exe"
EOF
chmod +x launch.sh

Done. The launcher automatically detects its own folder, so the CnCNet folder can have any name or location.

Launch the Game

Terminal

cd /path/to/cncnet-folder
./launch.sh

Double-Click

Open the CnCNet game folder.
Find launch.sh.
Make sure it is executable.
Double-click it.
Choose Run if prompted.

If your file manager opens the script in a text editor, change its preference to run executable text files.

Set Graphics Renderer

Launch the game.
Open Options → Graphics.
Set the renderer to TS-DDRAW (GDI).
Apply the setting.
Restart the game if requested.

This guide is based on TS-DDRAW using the GDI renderer.

Fullscreen

Open Options → Display / Video.
Disable Windowed.
Enable Fullscreen.
Select your monitor resolution.
Apply the settings.

Alt + Enter can also toggle windowed/fullscreen mode.

Troubleshooting

Black Screen

Make sure the launcher uses:

exec wine "$SCRIPT_DIR/Resources/clientogl.exe"

Do not use the default launcher executable if it produces a black screen.

Online / Authentication

sudo apt install winbind
which ntlm_auth

Expected:

/usr/bin/ntlm_auth

Check Ping

cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ping_group_range