Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge -- Equivalence FAQ being updated and maintained by Jason Heyes (geoffhys@optusnet.com.au) FAQ originally written by Jason Heyes (geoffhys@optusnet.com.au) Version 1.0 === --REVISION HISTORY-- 30 November 2001 (v1.0) - First release by Jason Heyes. === (OPENING SECTION) I've written a time study on Red Alert 2 which I update regularly for the Red Alert 2 expansion pack: Yuri's Revenge. This FAQ is also written for Yuri's Revenge but those who still play Red Alert 2 will also find it interesting and beneficial. === Equivalence in the Red Alert 2 expansion: Yuri's Revenge -------------------------------------------------------- Westwood designers have done a good job in making the available sides unique and balanced at the same time. The expansion pack for Red Alert 2 includes an additional third side called Yuri which is possibly the most unique of sides ever created. Our task is to study the similarities between the Allies, Soviets and Yuri. The units and structures which constitute the three sides in Yuri's Revenge are organised into heirarchical systems called tech trees. Looking at the Allied, Soviet and Yuri tech trees we are able to draw connections between units and structures belonging to different sides. We refer to these connections as equivalencies. The following table shows equivalencies for every unit and structure in Yuri's Revenge. After that we can see how the Allies, Soviets and Yuri are all similar to one another. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Allies Soviets Yuri ------------------------------------------------------------------ (Structures) Construction Yard Construction Yard Construction Yard Power Plant Tesla Reactor Bio Reactor Ore Refinery Ore Refinery Slave Miner Barracks Barracks Barracks War Factory War Factory War Factory Air Command Radar Tower Psychic Radar Service Depot Service Depot Grinder Battle Lab Battle Lab Battle Lab Naval Shipyard Naval Shipyard Submarine Pen Ore Purifier Industrial Pla. Cloning Vats N/A Spy Plane Psychic Reveal Pill Box Sentry Gun N/A Patriot Missle Flak Cannon N/A Pill Box + Patriot Sentry + Flak Cannon Gattling Cannon Prism Tower Tesla Coil Psychic Tower N/A Battle Bunker Tank Bunker Chronosphere Iron Curtain Genetic Mutator Weather Control Nuclear Silo Psychic Dominator (Infantry) GI Conscript Initiate Engineer Engineer Engineer Rocketeer Flak Trooper N/A Guardian GI Tesla Trooper N/A Attack Dog Attack Dog Brute Sniper Desolator Virus Navy Seal Crazy Ivan Yuri Clone Tanya Boris Yuri Prime (Vehicles) Grizzly Tank Rhino Tank Lasher Tank IFV Flak Track Gattling Tank Prism + Mirage Apocalypse Master Mind Tank Destroyer Tesla Tank N/A N/A Terror Drone Chaos Drone N/A V3 Launcher Magnetron N/A Siege + Kirov Floating Disc MCV MCV MCV Chrono Miner War Miner Slave Miner Amphibious Transport Amphibious Transport Amphibious Transport Destroyer Typhoon Submarine N/A Aegis Cruiser Sea Scorpion N/A Aircraft Carrier Dread-nought N/A Dolphin Squid N/A Destroyer + Carrier Typhoon + Dread-nought Boomer ------------------------------------------------------------------- Similarities ------------ In what follows we reveal important similarities between units and structures belonging to different sides. We proceed according to the organisation of the equivalence table and select particular equivalencies for discussion. [Structures] a) Allied Ore Refinery, Soviet Ore Refinery and Yuri Slave Miner The Allied and Soviet Ore Refineries are identical. The Yuri Slave Miner on the otherhand cannot even be classified a structure. The Slave Miner is a vehicle which deploys into and out of an ore refinery type structure, much like how an MCV deploys into and out of a Construction Yard. However it's similarity with the Allied and Soviet Ore Refineries should be clear: ore is deposited into it. The Chrono Miner deposits ore into the Allied Ore Refinery, the War Miner into the Soviet Ore Refinery and the Slave into the Yuri Slave Miner. b) Allied and Soviet Service Depots and Yuri Grinder The Yuri Grinder is a very different structure to the Allied and Soviet Service Depots but their similarity is clear when we consider what they actually do. The Grinder and Service Depots do the same thing: they save money on damaged vehicles. The WAY they do this is the only difference. With the Service Depot you repair the damaged vehicle back to new again, saving money that way. With the Grinder you recycle the damaged vehicle into cash and buy a new one, saving money THAT way. Same thing. c) Allied Ore Purifier, Soviet Industrial Plant and Yuri Cloning Vats The Allied Ore Purifier and Soviet Industrial Plant do two different things but they both yield 25% greater economic efficiency. The Ore Purifier increases the value of your ore by 25% while the Industrial Plant decreases the price and build-time of vehicles by 25%. The Yuri Cloning Vats gives you a two for the price of one deal on infantry units which is like 50% off the price of infantry. Seeing as vehicles are more valuable than infantry on the whole, that 50% off infantry is equivalent to the 25% off vehicles you get from the Industrial Plant, which means the Cloning Vats is equivalent to the Industrial Plant which is in turn equivalent to the Ore Purifier. d) Pill Box + Patriot, Sentry + Flak Cannon and Yuri Gattling Cannon The Yuri Gattling Cannon performs the tasks of both the Allied Pill Box and Patriot Missle put together as well as their Soviet counterparts. e) Allied Prism Tower, Soviet Tesla Coil and Yuri Psychic Tower All three provide good base defense against ground units like tanks. The Prism Tower and Tesla Coil are obviously similar. Place a number of Prism Towers near each other and you get increased power and range. Get some Tesla Troopers charging your Tesla Coils and you get the same thing. f) Soviet Battle Bunker and Yuri Tank Bunker Both are garrisonable structures. There is no Allied structure similar to the Soviet Battle Bunker probably because their GIs are able to fortify themselves with sandbags. Bunkers can be constructed upon deployment of an MCV; no Barracks or War Factory need exist beforehand. [Infantry] a) Allied Rocketeer and Soviet Flak Trooper The Rocketeer is the only Allied air to ground infantry unit while the Flak Trooper is the only Soviet ground to air infantry unit. Both become available after construction of radar technology. b) Allied Guardian GI and Soviet Tesla Trooper The Allied Guardian GI and Soviet Tesla Trooper both have anti-infantry and anti-tank weaponry. The Guardian GI cannot be run over by tanks when deployed, nor can the Tesla Trooper when standing. c) Allied Attack Dog, Soviet Attack Dog and Yuri Brute The Allied and Soviet Attack Dogs and Yuri Brute all move quickly around the map and serve as good scouting units. They are not vulnerable to mind control. d) Allied Sniper, Soviet Desolator and Yuri Virus The Allied Sniper and Yuri Virus take out infantry units one by one with long range weapons. The Soviet Desolator uses his Radiation Eruption to disintegrate large numbers of infantry standing within its wide radius. e) Allied Navy Seal, Soviet Crazy Ivan and Yuri Clone The main similarity between the Allied Navy Seal and Soviet Crazy Ivan is in their ability to plant explosives. The Yuri Clone, however, has little in common with these infantry units. [Vehicles] a) Allied Grizzly Tank, Soviet Rhino Tank and Yuri Lasher Tank The Allied Grizzly Tank and Yuri Lasher Tank are most similar, being weaker than the Soviet Rhino Tank. The Soviet Rhino Tank, however, takes extra long to build. All three are basic assault vehicles. b) Soviet Terror Drone and Yuri Chaos Drone The Soviet Terror Drone and Yuri Chaos Drone are fast moving, lightly armored, robotic units capable of destroying isolated groups of tanks. They also do well against groups of infantry units. c) Soviet Siege Chopper + Kirov Airship and Yuri Floating Disc The Yuri Floating Disc is capable of dishing out damage to both air and ground units just like the Siege Chopper while also retaining the ability to wreak serious havoc in an enemy base just like the Kirov Airship. The Floating Disc maintains the abilities of both the Siege Chopper and Kirov Airship put together. d) Allied Aegis Cruiser and Soviet Sea Scorpion The Allied Aegis Cruiser and Soviet Sea Scorpion both cause generous proportions of anti-air destruction. They are the only anti-air naval units in Yuri's Revenge. e) Allied Dolphin and Soviet Squid The Allied Dolphin is the only antidote to a Soviet Squid attack on other naval units not submerged under water. Neither of these units can be detected on enemy radar. f) Allied Destroyer + Carrier, Soviet Typhoon + Dread-nought and Yuri Boomer The formidable Yuri Boomer performs the tasks of both the Soviet Typhoon Submarine and Dread-nought put together as well as their Allied counterparts. === --CLOSING PARAGRAPH AND LEGAL STUFF-- I'm a stratagist and my email is geoffhys@optusnet.com.au. I welcome all non-offensive e-mails. If you found a mistake, or I missed something, or you wish to offer comments, or wish for me to elaborate on something, e-mail me. I'm open to conversation about stuff in general but my interests lie in games, movies, programming, mathematics and physics. My favourite games at the moment are RA2 and YR (of course) and ThiefI/GOLD/II. My favourite movies are The Terminator, Predator and Taxi Driver. This document is copyright 2001 for Jason Heyes. If you plan to use it in part or as a whole other FAQ, you need my permission first and you must give me credit. However, if you want to post it on a website or e-mail it to someone, you may do so without my permission. I would appreciate it if you drop me an e-mail telling me where you're posting it or who you're giving it to, but you don't have to. Good luck in Yuri's Revenge! ===