| Mission | Walkthrough | Gallery | Changelog |
| “ | Due to complications during the relocation of the Japanese scientists working on the Paradox Project to Germany, the Allies have no choice but to escort the scientists to the SteinsTech Lab through the Black Forest occupied by the Russian and the Chinese forces. | ” |
| —Mission description |
Operation: Panic Cycle is the eleventh Allied Act One campaign mission.
Briefing[]
It was a close call in Japan, but at least things worked out in the end. The new Chronosphere works, and that itself is great news; even better, it isn't fatal to occupants like the original was. Though functional, it appears some glitches have to be worked out; the destination was supposed to be the SteinsTech Lab in Germany's Black Forest, Siegfried's main research installation, but it seems the shift was off by several miles. Not long ago, the Soviets, fresh with Chinese divisions, recently broke through Bohemia, took the communications hub, and set up a front line right at the forest's edge.. which is where the K.I. Scientists were sent. As if things weren't bad enough, thanks to the recently seized hub in Jizera Mountains, the PRC forces in Kyoto were able to inform their European front about who these Allied forces are. Needless to say, this is a nightmare.
The Lab itself is still safe, behind the Allied front and experimental Prism Towers. Due to this hiccup, the dynamic of the battle has changed significantly; the chrono force is now the primary target of the Comintern. Siegfried himself is with the force, along with an MCV, but it is going to be a difficult task to get them safely to the Lab. Much of the free world's temporal expertise is in this small group though; losing them likely means that the war is lost. Allied forces are aware of situation and will do anything to distract, reinforce, or otherwise get them to safety; they know our fate depends on this operation. Once at the Lab, establish a base and prepare to defend it and the Chronosphere.
Objective 1: Escort K.I. Scientists to the SteinsTech Lab.
Objective 2: Defend SteinsTech Lab and the Chronosphere.
Objective 3: Destroy the Soviet forces.
Events[]
Escorting the scientists[]
| “ | There's no way we can let these Russians have the Professor's secrets! | ” |
| —Siegfried |
While Battlefield Control was being established, the Commander was warned about Russian and Chinese forces located north west of the convoy's position. Until they reached friendly lines, they would be under fire from enemy attacks. Acknowledging the warning, he prepared his force and escorted the Battle Tortoise to the Allied base.
He soon received reinforcements in the form of Zephyr mobile artillery, which would prove useful when it came to covering fire. With these reinforcements, the Commander made his way through the Black Forest, passing checkpoints that were cleared by Russian and Chinese forces in their desperate act to annihilate the Battle Tortoise. At one point, the convoy had to take a detour after a significant amount of Soviet forces blocked the road, only to be ambushed in an abandoned town.
Luckily, the Commander was able to fight the communists off and the convoy took a second detour in order to avoid a Chinese base. They made their way to another Allied outpost, only to be warned that an attack was imminent. Eventually, after passing the outpost and dealing with more Soviet troops, the task force arrived at the Allied base and the MCV deployed into a Construction Yard while the KI Scientists made it to SteinsTech Lab, completing the first objective.
Defending the laboratory[]
Now that the scientists were safely escorted to the lab, Allied Command ordered the Commander to hold the base and destroy the Russian and Chinese bases while the Lab readied up the Chronosphere in order to safely teleport the KI Scientists elsewhere in Europe. Finally able to work with a base, he began construction of many defenses and built up a large defensive force.
The fight was hard-going for the Commander as the Soviets had time to amass a large force in the Black Forest, ready to crush the Allies into a bloody pulp. Many units were lost on both sides, the defenses of both bases were put to their max as a massive amount of troops and vehicles tried to break into each others lines.
The Commander was patient, however. Despite the losses, he was able to make it inside the Russian base first and raze the entire place to the ground, crippling their war effort in the area. Afterwards, he turned towards the Chinese base and did the same thing. He made sure that no Soviet force made it past the Allied defences and try to wreck the SteinsTech Lab.
Mission... completed?[]
Suddenly, just as the last of the Soviet attackers are eliminated an air raid alarm blares. It turns out that it was a warning about an incoming MIDAS ICBM! The MIDAS hits the Chronosphere, and shortly afterwards annihilates anything within the nuclear explosion, including the Chronosphere itself, the SteinsTech lab, all Allied forces around the area and the entire Black Forest.
Aftermath[]
| “ | We've been caught blindsided. The Soviet's nuclear capabilities were gravely underestimated, and now we've lost much of the Black Forest and the Lab. But given time, the forests will recover, as will we now that the scientists have safely chronoshifted to the UK. | ” |
| —Battlefield Report |
The Commander was surprised and shocked to have been caught off-guard by the Soviets and underestimated their nuclear capability, which cost him many soldiers on his command. He thought that the MIDAS threat had been eliminated back in the Gelendzhik region a while ago. Fortunately, he managed to survive the destruction while the scientists were successfully chronoshifted to the United Kingdom. The forests will recover over time, so all is not lost for the Allies.
Still, the destruction of the Black Forest complex had allowed the Soviets to conquer Germany and press through Europe. Now they are attempting to finish their conquest through a major invasion of England, so the Commander cannot rest on his laurels just yet.
Difficulty changes[]
Casual[]
- Starting credits: 50000
- During the skirmish phase, the enemy AI's attack intensity is the lowest and will not produce Kirov Airship attacks.
- The Apocalypse Tanks will enter the battlefield from the upper right corner of the map to attack the player 20 minutes after the player takes over the base.
- Most EMP Mines on the map will be removed.
- 2 Scud Launchers encountered during the escort phase will be removed.
- Added three Cavalier Tanks to the player's initial units.
- The first-stage escort has three healing crates along the way, and an level upgrade crate at the initial location.
Normal[]
- Starting credits: 35000
- During the skirmish phase, the enemy AI's attack intensity is medium.
- The Apocalypse Tanks will enter the battlefield from the upper right corner of the map to attack the player 15 minutes after the player takes over the base.
- More enemy ambushes will be present during the escort phase than Casual.
Mental[]
- Starting credits: 30000
- During the skirmish phase, the enemy AI's attack intensity is the highest.
- The Apocalypse Tanks will enter the battlefield from the upper right corner of the map to attack the player 10 minutes after the player takes over the base.
- The escort phase encounters more enemy ambushes than the other two difficulties, including 2 extra Desolators.
- Russian and Chinese bases have a Tech Artillery Bunker for each.
- 2 Gun Turrets and a Pillbox at the Allied outpost in the middle of the map will be removed.
- The EMP Control Station in the Chinese base will be activated during the escort phase.
- After the skirmish phase begins, the Chinese and Russian AI will each build an Iron Curtain Device and use it on the corresponding attacking team.
- After the skirmish phase begins, a Russian Stalin's Fist will enter the battlefield from the upper left corner of the map and drive to a forest on the left side of the Chinese base to deploy as a front-line war factory. This provides a new dispatch point for Russian AI.
Easter egg[]
- There are 4 hidden Mirage Tanks scattered around the map. Selecting each of them will make the selected one join the players forces.
- Locations for the Mirage Tanks can be found [here].
Behind the scenes[]
There were two major bugs in this mission as of version 3.3.4:
- On Easy and Normal difficulty, the player was incorrectly available to build some Epsilon tech when the European base is handed, and was available to all 3 Soviet subfaction tech tree once captured any Soviet bases.
- The trigger of Russian assault towards the Gradil outpost was deleted accidentally.
Trivia[]
- This mission is a remake of Mirage, the tenth Allied mission in Red Alert 2. Unlike the said mission, the Black Forest, the Lab and the Chronosphere are destroyed in the end by a MIDAS bomb.
- During the defense phase of the mission, the (uncontrollable) Chronosphere can be heard frequently activating on its own. This is due to the fact that SteinsTech is using it to mount an offensive on the Soviets, while the Allies are defending the lab.
Bugs and glitches[]
- If a Pillbox exists, introduction of Force Shield will be triggered. It's apparently inconsistent with Force Shield's unlock requirement.
