Free-to-Play Command and Conquer Will Revisit Tiberium and Red Alert

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Free-to-Play Command and Conquer Will Revisit Tiberium and Red Alert


Electronic Arts wants to incorporate the Tiberium and Red Alert settings into the free-to-play Command and Conquer that's coming out later this year, and it's putting some work into the single-player side of things too.

There was a time when Command and Conquer was the big dog in the real-time strategy yard, but like so many titles in the EA lineup, its glory faded and passed under the publisher's ever-more-desperate flogging, until finally, mercifully, it was put down. EA announced [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/trailers/5108-Command-Conquer-Generals-2-Announcement-Trailer] late in 2011 that it's being resurrected, not as a conventional release but as a free-to-play online game, and while that may not inspire confidence in long-time C&C fans (or anyone else, for that matter) the company has some pretty big long-term plans for the game.

"At the outset we're starting out in the Generals universe, with an initial set of three factions. I think the first things you'll see come from us will be additional maps, additional game modes and additional generals to help tailor play to your own style," Tim Morten, the senior development director at developer Victory Games, told VG247. "Longer term we're looking at revisiting other C&C universes such as Tiberium and Red Alert, and even exploring completely new fictions. The vision is expected to continue for years and even decades down the line."

Morten also told CVG that despite earlier reports, the game will support single-player action, although not likely to an extent that will give it much appeal to gamers looking for a single-player-only experience. "At launch, players will have the ability to play single player Skirmish against AI. There'll also be a co-op Onslaught mode against waves of AI," he said. "Longer term we want to start exploring mini-campaigns, perhaps even more fully-fledged campaigns. We got the message loud and clear that that is something the audience cares about so we don't want to let them down in any way."

The game was originally announced as Command and Conquer: Generals 2 but has since been rechristened with the more expansive title. Command and Conquer is currently slated to launch later this year; signups for the closed beta are now being taken at commandandconquer.com [http://www.commandandconquer.com/].

Sources: CVG [http://www.vg247.com/2013/02/25/command-conquer-will-add-red-alert-tiberium-timelines-after-launch/]


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RicoADF

Welcome back Commander
Jun 2, 2009
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I blacklisted this game when I heard there would be no campaign, since it was always the campaigns that made the game. Now that they say there will be some coop missions and campaigns then I can look into it atleast.
 

Ldude893

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Apr 2, 2010
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If EA doesn't deliver on this, I am going to burn the freaking heart out of them.
 

ShakerSilver

Professional Procrastinator
Nov 13, 2009
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This isn't Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer died with the release of Tiberian Twilight. This is just the husk of a franchise I once loved that EA decided to put over their hand and decided to use as a sock puppet.
 

Mahorfeus

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Feb 21, 2011
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Multiplayer only? No thanks. I have enough charming memories of shielded Scrin air fleets and hordes of Mammoth Tanks stampeding through my base when I am two tech levels behind my opponent.
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
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DVS BSTrD said:
What's the betting this vision will lead to an FPS?
Theres been 2 FPS's already.

The first one was actually pretty weird, being an FPS run in an modified engine originally made for RTS games, and among the first FPS's i know of to feature vehicular combat. In fact, in retrospect alot of features in that games multiplayer turned up a few years later in Planetside. Also it was a perfectly viable tactic to burn down helicopters with flamethrowers.

However, the second one got cancelled because even EA Execs thought that the thing being produced was an abomination.

Mahorfeus said:
Multiplayer only? No thanks. I have enough charming memories of shielded Scrin air fleets and hordes of Mammoth Tanks stampeding through my base when I am two tech levels behind my opponent.
Clearly you stopped reading about 3 lines in.

"At launch, players will have the ability to play single player Skirmish against AI. There'll also be a co-op Onslaught mode against waves of AI," he said. "Longer term we want to start exploring mini-campaigns, perhaps even more fully-fledged campaigns. We got the message loud and clear that that is something the audience cares about so we don't want to let them down in any way."
 

Callate

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Dec 5, 2008
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I know most people see Tiberium Twilight as the nadir of the series, but I started losing faith when C&C 3 seemed to say "No more adjusting game speed! Defenses will be all but useless, no one wants to watch turtling during e-sports! Tank rush for the win, go, go, go!"

I don't want to damn a game even before it comes out, even from EA, but it doesn't sound like they really understand what fans want, at least to the point that they're willing to sideline the "multiplayer is king" philosophy that seems to have taken ro[o]t at their core. If I just want to play skirmishes, I still have plenty of older C&C games I can do that with, thanks.
 

thisbymaster

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Sep 10, 2008
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I am still hoping against hope that they will make a better Dune game. I know EA will never create it because it is something I would buy from them.
 

Absolutionis

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Sep 18, 2008
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DVS BSTrD said:
What's the betting this vision will lead to an FPS?
Aside from the cheesy-yet-good Renegade, there was an EA FPS game called Tiberium. They aborted it because it was supposedly below their already low standards...

...and yet they still released the stillbirth that was C&C4.
 

nomaner

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May 9, 2012
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Mahorfeus said:
Multiplayer only? No thanks.
There will be single player skirmish like all the other games. It's been said multiple times. Also will have co-op like RA3 with AI as an alternative to someone else.
 

TheSapphireKnight

I hate Dire Wolves...
Dec 4, 2008
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I am starting to become more hopeful for this. Most of the news after the initial reveal was making it less and less appealing but now they are slowly winning me back. An AI skirmish was a minimum for me but the promise of potential campaigns, revisiting Red Alert and Tiberium as well as a new setting has me more excited(though that is still tempered by 'C&C' 4 and EA's handling of FTP in the past).

I have also heard about potential for cross-play between generals, red alert, and tiberium factions so that would be interesting as well. The efforts they are making to create more asymmetrical factions is also a good sign to me.

C&C was one of my childhood staples so I am always rooting for it despite EA being filled with idiots..

The nice thing is that because it is free to play it there is no risk in checking it out whether it is bad on a gameplay level or the FTP turns out to be pay to win than so be it, at least you don't have ot pay for anything up front.
 

Dr. Thrax

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Dec 5, 2011
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This makes me hopeful and worried all at the same time.

While it's wonderful to know that it'll at least have single-player skirmish vs. AI, and that there's a potential for mini-campaigns and the like...
I'm worried at how they're going to go about this.
I don't hate CnC4, but only as long as I tell myself that the similarities between names and some characters is only mere coincidence. I have to tell myself that it isn't Command and Conquer despite the name.

This news is uplifting, and since it's F2P, I will give this a chance.
I pray though that they don't end up making it Pay-to-Win (Though I'm most likely not going to bother with multiplayer, with exception to co-op missions maybe.) like they did with Tiberuim Alliance.
 

Falterfire

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Jul 9, 2012
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Well, I guess there's only one thing to do: Continue saying what I've been saying since we learned this was going to be a thing:
PleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuckPleaseDon'tSuck...
 

Nazulu

They will not take our Fluids
Jun 5, 2008
6,242
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Why can't they just go with Generals 2? Why do they feel they need to make the names even more confusing? We're probably just going to end up calling it C&C 2013 like Sonic '06.

It's wonderful they seem so honest, but annoying that they sound like they have no idea what to do with the franchise. Just follow the old fucking formula dammit! It's impossible to have any complaints about that.
 

mad825

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Mar 28, 2010
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ShakerSilver said:
This isn't Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer died with the release of Tiberian Twilight. This is just the husk of a franchise I once loved that EA decided to put over their hand and decided to use as a sock puppet.
C&C died with me around RA3, Twilight is just the antithesis of how bad things have become.
 

RyQ_TMC

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Apr 24, 2009
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It's not a true Command & Conquer game if it lacks crappy C movie-style FMV sequences. That's why I hated Generals.

To be honest, the series had been dying since RA3 and its stupid "LOOK AT DEM TITTIES!! AND WRESTLING STARS!! AND THAT ANTI-VACCINE HARPY!! AND GEORGE TAKEI SPEWING OLD MEMES!!" thing going. Red Alert universe had always been over-the-top, but that game took it too far. Twilight was just usual EA not letting the series die peacefully but forcing it to shit all over itself in a misguided attempt to "broaden the appeal".

Hell, just forcibly lengthening the planned trilogy by inserting Wars was a bad move.
 

Old Father Eternity

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Aug 6, 2010
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Yeah, C&C is long dead, a solution to the current situation ... To quote CABAL "Prepare for decimation, for you are not worthy of assimilation. Termination protocols initiated, proceeding with final sweep"


I will say this though, everything up to RA3 was still C&C, nearly on deathbed by that game but still.
Yes even Generals, despite it not having your standard fmv cutscenes and that was made up by the generals challenge in ZH, tell me you did not like the various taunts the generals you fought against said.
And even Renegade, yes it was an FPS but it was in the C&C universe and of the exploits of one of its most famous GDI commandos and was generally a decent and fun game.



Doubtful that they would bring back Dune ... there was for a while a mod project on TW called Dune Evolution but it seems to on hold or has died.
 

Legion

Were it so easy
Oct 2, 2008
7,190
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The fact that they even needed a message in the first place shows how much they know of what gamers actually want. The campaigns for C+C have always been a large part of the game.

On a side note I find it funny how everybody has their own idea of when they feel the series died. For me the last decent game was Generals and it's expansion pack.