Cnc Online Proxy

A Windows DLL library that enables Red Alert 3, Tiberium Wars, and Kane's Wrath,Command & Conquer: Generals, Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour to connect to custom multiplayer servers by proxying and redirecting game traffic.

Features

• Redirect game connections to custom server backends
• SSL/TLS interception for legacy game protocols
• DNS redirection for GameSpy endpoints
• Decryption logging for research and debugging
• Configurable via JSON or INI files

Supported Servers

Server	Description
CnC-Online	Community-run servers for C&C games
RA3 Battle.net	Community-run RA3 server (Red Alert 3 1.12 only)
Kirov Server Emulator	Self-hosted server emulator for RA3

Installation

1. Build the DLL or download from releases
2. Place winmm.dll and the other files in the appropriate folder:

• For RA3 release files go to Red Alert 3\Data\
• For KW release files go to Command Conquer 3 Kanes Wrath\RetailExe\1.3\
• For TW release files go to Command Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars\RetailExe\1.10\
• For Generals & ZH release files go in the main folder (eg. next to Generals.exe )

4. Configure config.json and place in game folder

If you currently use Tacitus from CncOnline, rename dsound.dll to dsound.dll.bkp

Configuration

Copy config.json.example to config.json and modify as needed.

Config for CnC-Online

{
    "debug": {
        "showConsole": false,
        "createLog": false,
        "logDecryption": false
    },
    "patches": {
        "SSL": true
    },
    "proxy": {
        "enable": false
    },
    "hostnames": {
        "host": "http.server.cnc-online.net",
        "login": "login.server.cnc-online.net",
        "gpcm": "gpcm.server.cnc-online.net",
        "peerchat": "peerchat.server.cnc-online.net",
        "master": "master.server.cnc-online.net",
        "natneg": "natneg.server.cnc-online.net",
        "stats": "gamestats.server.cnc-online.net",
        "sake": "sake.server.cnc-online.net",
        "server": "server.cnc-online.net"
    }
}

Config for RA3 Battle.net

Red Alert 3 1.12 only.

Copy config.ra3bn.json.example to config.json. Requires the RA3BattleNet client to be installed.

{
    "ra3bn": { "delegate": true },
    "proxy": { "enable": false }
}

RA3BN moves most GameSpy services onto its own transports, which hostname redirection cannot reach. So we load the RA3BattleNet client's NativeDll.dll and delegate connectivity to it, keeping our own logging and diagnostics.

It is loaded from its own installed path and never copied, since it resolves game assets relative to that location. We find it via the registry, falling back to %APPDATA%\RA3BattleNet\contents\NativeDll.dll. Set ra3bn.clientDll to override.

You must launch 1.12. If your install also has RA3_1.13.game, RA3.exe will start 1.13 by default and we will refuse to load their client (it only supports 1.12, and would terminate the game on any other build). Launch with:

RA3.exe -runver 1.12

Place winmm.dll and the boost DLLs in Red Alert 3\Data\, next to the game executable, and config.json in Red Alert 3\: the game's working directory is the folder above Data.

Running their launcher at the same time is safe: their entry point takes a per-process mutex, so whichever arrives second stands down instead of double-patching.

Key	Default	Description
ra3bn.delegate	false	Load the installed RA3BattleNet client
ra3bn.clientDll	""	Full path to their NativeDll.dll. Empty autodetects
ra3bn.logFolder	""	Where their DLL writes its log. Empty uses their client's logs folder
ra3bn.waitSeconds	120	How long to wait for the game window before giving up

If the game is not RA3 1.12, or their client is not installed, we log the reason and carry on without it: their address table would otherwise terminate the game on an unsupported build.

Wine / Proton / Linux

This works where the RA3BattleNet launcher does not, because it skips the part that breaks: their launcher is .NET plus WebView2 and injects with EasyHook. NativeDll.dll needs none of that, importing only system libraries, and we load it in-process from our winmm.dll override.

Their installer usually has not run, so autodetection (registry, then %APPDATA%) finds nothing. Point ra3bn.clientDll at the DLL yourself. Copy the whole RA3BattleNet folder from a Windows install, not just the DLL, since it loads maps, fonts and UI from contents\data\ relative to itself.

{
    "ra3bn": {
        "delegate": true,
        "clientDll": "Z:\\home\\you\\RA3BattleNet\\contents\\NativeDll.dll"
    },
    "proxy": { "enable": false }
}

Path notes:

• JSON needs doubled backslashes.
• Z: is Wine's mapping of the Linux root, so /home/you/x becomes Z:\\home\\you\\x.
• A path inside the prefix works too: "C:\\users\\you\\AppData\\Roaming\\RA3BattleNet\\contents\\NativeDll.dll".
• %APPDATA% and other environment variables are expanded, so "%APPDATA%\\RA3BattleNet\\contents\\NativeDll.dll" is valid.
• If you did run their installer under Wine, leave clientDll empty: the registry lookup will find it.

Launch the game with -runver 1.12 as above. On failure our log lists every path that was tried, so you can see what to set.

Untested by us on Wine: the most likely snag is their HTTPS API, since they read the Windows root certificate store (CertOpenSystemStoreW) and a Wine prefix may have no CA certificates. If login works but stats, lobbies or maps do not, check their log at <client folder>\logs\NativeDll.dll.txt for TLS errors, and install CA certs into the prefix (winetricks cacert or copy the host bundle).

Config for Kirov Server Emulator

{
    "debug": {
        "showConsole": true,
        "createLog": true,
        "logDecryption": false
    },
    "patches": {
        "SSL": true
    },
    "proxy": {
        "enable": true,
        "destinationPort": 18800,
        "secure": false
    },
    "hostnames": {
        "host": "localhost",
        "login": "localhost",
        "gpcm": "localhost",
        "peerchat": "localhost",
        "master": "localhost",
        "natneg": "localhost",
        "stats": "localhost",
        "sake": "localhost",
        "server": "localhost"
    }
}

When connecting to another PC on your network, you need to add a line to your hosts file c:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts with their IP and a name like 192.168.68.123 my_cool_pc. If you connect through VPN such as Hamachi, add the hamachi IP of the other PC. Then you need to add that to your config file as so "login": "my_cool_pc", and all the other lines.

Configuration Reference

Section	Key	Default	Description
debug	showConsole	true	Show debug console window
debug	createLog	true	Write logs to file
debug	logDecryption	false	Log decrypted peerchat/master server traffic
debug	logLevelConsole	2	Console log level (0-5)
debug	logLevelFile	1	File log level (0-5)
patches	SSL	true	Enable SSL certificate patching
patches	AuthKey	true	Bypass the GameSpy auth certificate check
ra3bn	delegate	false	RA3 Battle.net: load the installed RA3BattleNet client (RA3 1.12 only)
ra3bn	clientDll	""	Full path to their NativeDll.dll. Empty autodetects
ra3bn	logFolder	""	Where their DLL writes its log. Empty uses their client's logs folder
ra3bn	waitSeconds	120	How long to wait for the game window before giving up
proxy	enable	true	Enable the local SSL proxy (listens on port 18840)
proxy	destinationPort	18840	Port to forward traffic to on hostnames.login
proxy	listenPort	18840	Port that our proxy listens on. 18840 for RA3, 18760 for KW, 18310 for TW
proxy	secure	false	Use SSL for proxy forwarding connection
game	gameKey	""	GameSpy encryption key, only needed for logDecryption
game	peerchatPort	0	Port peerchat listens on. 0 tries 6667 then falls back to 16667

Hostname keys: host, login, gpcm, peerchat, master, natneg, stats, sake, server, register, website, tos. Servers that split the GameSpy browser roles across hosts can also set available and ms1 (both default to master) and natneg2 / natneg3 (both default to natneg).

Log levels: 0=trace, 1=debug, 2=info, 3=warning, 4=error, 5=fatal

When proxy.enable is true, the game's FESL connections are redirected to localhost:listenPort where the local proxy intercepts them and forwards to hostnames.login on proxy.destinationPort.

Research & Debugging

Enable logDecryption to inspect decrypted game traffic:

{
    "debug": {
        "logDecryption": true
    },
    "game": {
        "gameKey": "YOUR_GAME_KEY"
    }
}

This allows you to see:

• Peerchat (IRC-based) game lobby communication
• Master server list queries and responses

Building

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2019 or later
• vcpkg package manager

Dependencies

Install dependencies via vcpkg:

vcpkg install boost:x86-windows detours:x86-windows

OpenSSL 1.0.2u (Manual Build Required)

Cnc uses a legacy SSL implementation that requires OpenSSL 1.0.2u. This version is deprecated and not available in vcpkg, so it must be built manually.

1. Download OpenSSL 1.0.2u source from openssl.org/source/old
2. Build for x86 (32-bit) Windows
3. Copy the built libraries to your vcpkg_installed/x86-windows directory:
   • lib/libeay32.lib
   • lib/ssleay32.lib
   • include/openssl/*

Compile

Open ra3-proxy.sln in Visual Studio and build the solution.

Why SSL Patching & Proxy?

SSL Certificate Validation Patch

When Cnc connects to the login server, it validates the server's SSL certificate against a hardcoded public key embedded in the game executable. Other community servers solve this by patching the executable to replace the original key with their own.

This project takes a different approach: instead of modifying the game executable, we patch the certificate validation at runtime to accept any SSL certificate. This is implemented in ra3-proxy/patch/RA3/PatchSSL.cpp and is based on fesl.ea.com certificate verification remover by Aluigi.

SSL Proxy for Legacy Ciphers

Cnc games use an extremely outdated SSL implementation with cipher suites that modern servers no longer support due to security vulnerabilities. Requiring server operators to enable these insecure ciphers would be a poor solution.

Instead, this project includes a local SSL proxy (ra3-proxy/patch/RA3/ProxySSL.cpp) that:

1. Accepts connections from the game using the legacy insecure ciphers
2. Terminates the SSL locally
3. Forwards the traffic to the actual server either in plain text or over a modern secure connection

This allows the games to connect to modern server implementations without requiring those servers to support deprecated cryptography.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• xan105/CnC-Online - For a lot of the proxy code and implementation.
• Ra3-Battlenet community for being nice and helpful.