For a period in the mid 2000s, Red Alert was on its knees. There was a splinter of players on Kali and Tunngle, among other servers. The game was in terminal decline and it was completely dying out. It was literally on life support. Fortunately there was one man who had a vision. Myg wanted people to be able to play the classic games online which he loved as a child. He wanted this to be free and open for all in a growing democratic community. Without Myg's vision, hard work and selfless input it's a fact that none of us would be playing this game today. Myg literally saved classic C&C titles including Red Alert from extinction. One could argue that for this very reason Myg is the most important person in the last 2 decades of our game. Hence follows a very insightful, in-depth interview in which we learn about the early days of CnCNet and the influence of key individuals in making Red Alert what it is today. I think you will thoroughly enjoy reading this!
[Myg answers in bold]
1) In which year was CnCNet formed and what gave you the idea/motivation?
CnCNet was formed probably in the late 00s. It was online systems like Mplayer/Kali/TEN/HEAT.NET which inspired me to make it. I was too young to make sense of those online systems of my youth so I missed out and wanted to make up for it.
2) Who helped you in the early days and what was the feeling like when you got the first game running?
At the start it was me and "Nyerguds" who played around with many different ways to play online and then "Godly Cheese", "Tore", "Netrunner" and "Pichorra" came along after we started the official program. "Tore" provided hosting for the project. I also kept in contact with planetcnc to make sure people were aware of how our project was going. The first revision was supported and updated by "Irony". The second revision was done by "hifi" which was the biggest step we took. The project then moved on to "FunkyFresh" who laid the foundations for the current day client and backend. It was a feeling of elation and pride when we got it to work the first time. Most of my design theories were just that; theories, so to see it work in reality was a very relieving experience.
3) Did CnCNet initially focus on Tiberian Dawn exclusively? When did Red Alert get added?
Yes, CnCNet was a baby of Tiberian Dawn and not intended for RA or other games at the time. Red Alert was added when "hifi" took the reigns.
4) What was the ultimate goal of creating CnCNet?
My ultimate goal of CnCNet was to have 6 player Tiberian Dawn games online with playable experiences.
5) Which other platforms did you play C&C games on prior to creating CnCNet?
I would mess around with WOL sometimes but first we tried TCP/COM which used the serial port functionality in the games to play. Then we tried VPN systems like Hamachi or OpenVPN with a mixture of a chat client for front-end (which I still think is a good idea to this day, if not insecure).
6) You are best known as a Tiberian Dawn player would that be correct? Who do you recall as being the best player you ever faced?
Yes, my only reputation in the games would be Tiberian Dawn, though it has been so long people have forgotten me and I have forgotten how to play. Back in my day "Lovehandles" was my greatest adversary, we had a respectful rivalry and would try to avoid playing eachother.
7) Can you tell us a little about yourself and what are your hobbies outside of the C&C universe?
I can say a little... I have a hobby of nostalgia; making communities dedicated to games I like or games of my youth that I wish to preserve or allow others to re-experience.
8) How active do you remain as part of CnCNet in 2021?
I currently only have a role as a discord moderator. In this community it is all about programming talent, free time and passion. With those things you can raise up to the top and direct the project as you wish. You only get respect here with those things.
9) What are you most proud of with the success of CnCNet and what are your hopes for the future and its longevity?
I am most proud of the fact that I actually started something that grew into an amazing platform it is today. I cherish the people I have met and the friends I have made over the years. My hopes were partly fulfilled when EA came back to remaster C&C. I had hoped that EA would take the reigns of C&C and remove the burden for the CnCNet staff. Don't get me wrong, CnCNet is amazing but it requires dedicated volunteers with free time and money and that is a very scarce resource. I just wanted people at CnCNet have to do less work and still enjoy the games. Its longevity is quite certain at this point since EA open sourced Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert: So some of our dreams have come true and it is thanks to EA and those who worked with them.
10) Is there anyone you would like to give a shout out/thanks to or any other final comments?
Shout outs: "Nyerguds", "Godly Cheese", "Tore", "Netrunner", "Pichorra", "Irony", "hifi", "FunkyFresh", "ehy", the CnCNet developers/modders and the CnCNet discord staff and anyone else my spotty memory can't remember.
A huge thanks to Myg for the interview. Please let know in private if you would like to be interviewed next. Regards.