After all, this was a game, not a history textbook. Many details were inevitably omitted during John's development of the expansion pack. Although several experts had been specially invited to assist, providing extensive copywriting, piecing together combinations of real historical events, demonstrating how a world war might erupt, exploring potential triggers, and projecting the global situation, most of this content remained behind the scenes.
When developing and researching the game's worldview, these materials helped create a setting that was more rigorous and logically consistent. However, once it was time to present the story to players, it was obvious that including all this depth in gameplay was impossible.
After all, players play games to relax. Even when a game contains educational or scientific elements, enjoyment remains the top priority. Consequently, the overall storyline was deliberately simplified. The plot mode used in the game was essentially a fusion of real-world imagery and recognizable historical impressions.
The reason for this approach was twofold: firstly, purely real-time rendered storytelling would feel somewhat crude for a game like Red Alert. Although the entire game employed a 3D modeling system from a god's-eye perspective, the level of detail was still relatively rough compared to titles such as Resident Evil Resistance or The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim.
Live-action cutscenes, on the other hand, were far more effective at immersing players. There was also a more personal reason behind this choice. John had quietly given himself special treatment, personally inviting a professional director to shoot the relevant story cutscenes. During production, John, acting as producer, consulted multiple directors on camera placement, shooting techniques, and perspective logic.
"Did you see that golden thing just now? That must be an important item!" Inside the livestream, Louis waited until the opening story finished. He then casually bragged with the scrolling chat while watching the beginner battle tutorial that appeared as soon as the game officially started.
As Louis spoke confidently, a flood of comments instantly filled the screen.
The entire black-and-white cutscene had clearly flashed past that golden sphere. Anyone paying attention could see it, if not blind, then surely aware it held special significance.
After chatting for a bit, Louis had basically figured out the core gameplay of this campaign mode. In standard multiplayer, choosing different countries made little difference. But in this specific battle mode, players couldn't control base vehicles or barracks; they could only rely on system-assigned troops to attack the enemy.
"I might not be very good at fighting real players," Louis laughed confidently, "but when it comes to fighting the computer? I'm a beast."
He selected all his troops in one go, infantry, airborne soldiers, and tanks, and grouped them before sending them forward.
As the objective emerged from the fog of war, Louis's hands left the keyboard. No micro-management, no fancy tactics, playing the game boiled down to one word: reckless.
What flanking maneuvers? What multi-line operations? None of that mattered. All units marched straight to Point A. The massive army surged ahead, and five minutes later, the target area was successfully captured.
"See that?" Louis said proudly, grinning at the camera. "I've got tons of experience with these kinds of games. The AI basically just feeds you wins. Unless you deliberately throw, you don't need tactics. Guaranteed victory."
He interacted happily with the audience, clearly pleased with himself. To be fair, he wasn't wrong, at least for now. The enemy AI's difficulty, accuracy, and stats were tuned low. Even without completing early objectives carefully, charging straight in usually secured victory. But the later missions told a different story.
After completing several tasks, Louis's confidence swelled. Watching the chat fill with comments, he began to feel invincible. Messages like "You have no shame" or "Try that on a harder difficulty," he subconsciously ignored.
When the final mission of the first chapter appeared, the commander ordered him to use the remaining forces to break through the Polish defenses.
Louis still wore a relaxed smile. "I'm not worried at all. Sure, reckless charges cost us some troops earlier, but the overall situation is still stable. And there's no time limit on this final level," he continued. "So, no rush. First, we'll send out a weak scout to clear the fog of war and see how the enemy's deployed. We've already taken some losses; we need information."
He selected a low-health infantry unit and sent it forward. The livestream remained lively until the soldier ran straight into an enemy barracks and was instantly gunned down.
"Don't panic," Louis said quickly. "Losing a scout isn't a big deal. The important thing is that we got intel. The terrain's elevated, the position is good, nothing we can't handle. If we replaced tanks with aircraft, we could just bomb them directly. Their anti-air is weak."
He paused, nodding as if convincing himself. "But even without planes, it's fine. Recon shows about 300 enemy troops. We've got 600, plus 20 tanks. Six hundred against three hundred, with armor support, that's a breeze. Tell me, how do we lose? Does our army even deserve to lose face here?"
Confidently, Louis dragged the mouse from the upper-left to the lower-right, selecting all units. He pressed 'A' and clicked the destination.
"After careful analysis, our advantage is overwhelming," he declared. "So, we'll just A-move straight through."
The audience went silent. So much analysis, yet the conclusion was still to just 'A-move'? Everyone was momentarily speechless.
Two minutes later, the mood changed entirely. Louis, calm and confident just moments before, started panicking.
"Hey! Don't get stuck!"
"Push the tanks forward! Tanks in front! Soldiers don't tank damage, let the tanks hit the watchtowers!"
"Hey! This is live, don't embarrass me like this!"
"How does 600 lose to 300 with tanks?! Hit those towers! Please, don't make this so intense! Hold on!"
Staring at the chaotic battlefield, Louis's toes curled in embarrassment.
Finally, the cold system message appeared: "YOU LOSE."
Louis looked at the game screen, then at the chat exploding beside it, and forced a stiff, awkward smile, more embarrassing than polite.