F2P Command and Conquer Rewires Generals With A Shorter Fuse

[IanDavis]

F2P Command and Conquer Rewires Generals With A Shorter Fuse

Shorter match times, starter packs, and suicide bombers will fuel the upcoming RTS.

A classic brand like Command and Conquer carries a certain cache. Just reading the name has a good chance to trigger [a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb-gI_pFog0]Hell March[/a] playing on repeat in your head all day (you're welcome). So, when Command and Conquer 4 [a href=http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/command-conquer-4-tiberian-twilight]tanked[/a], EA decided to take a step back and rethink the franchise. The result is the awkwardly-titled [a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/10429-Command-Conquer-Uses-Generals-to-Reinvigorate-the-Series]Command and Conquer[/a], a F2P reboot that [a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/23/4650770/command-conquer-will-have-shorter-matches-may-have-starter-packs]rewires C&C Generals[/a] with shorter match times, new units, and starter packs.

"We've been noticing since the original Generals, the preferred play session has gone done from an hour plus to 30 to 45 minutes," Victory Games General Manager Jon Van Caneghem [a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/23/4650770/command-conquer-will-have-shorter-matches-may-have-starter-packs]told Polygon[/a]. "So we've changed the pacing to deal with that." Game length isn't the only thing changing. While C&C will be heavily based off of 2003's Generals, a lot will be new. A third of the units will be brand new, a third will be carried over from the original, and the final third will be reimagined, according to Van Caneghem. Given the nature of the game, I'm also willing to bet that a third of those units explode on contact.

Of course, the largest change is the F2P model. More World of Tanks than Clash of Clans, players won't be able to purchase anything inside a match and everything can be unlocked through play. Van Caneghem said that it's experimenting around with the idea of starter packs, bundles that include unlocks and in-game currency for around "$30 to $40". EA also plans to include a premium subscription that, just as in World of Tanks, grants players extra rewards and bonus unlocks.

Expect Command and Conquer to roll out in some form later this year.

Source: [a href=http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/23/4650770/command-conquer-will-have-shorter-matches-may-have-starter-packs]Polygon[/a]

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[Glaice]

They better not have this Origin exclusive or else they will be alienating a fair number of fans, both new and old alike.

But again, still skeptical because of their colossal failure of C&C4 that forever ruined the Command and Conquer name for me.

 

[wetfart]

Wasn't one of the big complaints against C&C4 that you had to grind for better units? Sounds like this will be closer to Free-to-suck than Free-to-play.

As I've said in the past, C&C should have less talk of esports and have more Billy Dee Williams.

 

[Legion]

Generals wasn't my favourite campaign, but I think it had the best multiplayer by a long shot. Although I am not a huge fan of F2P, I think this game could work out well. I am also pleased to see that it is more World of Tanks style F2P rather than Clash of Clans. Although hopefully the stuff you can buy is actually worth it, unlike WoT where the ones you buy are normally worse than the originals.

Seeing as it is free to play I will certainly give it a shot. Although to be honest I didn't like C+C3, Red Alert 3 and never even wanted to try C+C4, so Generals was the last one I liked from the series. If they can make it as good as that, then I will probably be happy.

 

[MCerberus]

As long as I can still play the Airforce general and have a roaming band of satanic helicopters full of snipers I'll be happy.

Seriously, I used to hard-counter the infantry general by just flying a couple of helicopters over their zerg rush.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I'm going to assume this will be origin exclusive knowing EA, I'm also going to assume the multiplayer will play like it has done the past decade where people attempt to zerg rush you in the first 2 mins and that's the entire game.

Seriously I've had that experience since C&C 3 all the way to C&C red Alert 3 where people infantry rush you from the very start and if that were to fail they would simply spam engineers or tier 1 tanks.

A shorter time limit and starter pack doesn't really seem thrilling to me seeing as how Battlefield 3 and 4 will have their packs costing up to £40 so this doesn't really seem any different.

 

[Johnson McGee]

I swear the project director for this game is just a parrot that says "suck more!" non-stop.

 

[ShatteredRose]

This just makes my soul cry.

It's like they're trying to reanimate the corpse left behind by CnC4 and hoping it wont try to eat anyone.
I really hope they manage to make it not suck. But I'm expecting it to sink like the Bismarck; painfully slow, while critics bombard it until EA pulls the plug permanently.

I really should re-install Red Alert 2 again sometime...

 

[neppakyo]

This just makes my soul cry.

It's like they're trying to reanimate the corpse left behind by CnC4 and hoping it wont try to eat anyone.
I really hope they manage to make it not suck. But I'm expecting it to sink like the Bismarck; painfully slow, while critics bombard it until EA pulls the plug permanently.

I really should re-install Red Alert 2 again sometime...

This ^^

Im sick of EA ruining franchises...

 

[Hero in a half shell]

starter packs, bundles that include unlocks and in-game currency for around "$30 to $40"

Free to play! Now only $40 for a starter pack. Aren't microtransactions wonderful.

 

[TheSYLOH]

I can't even be mad with EA anymore.
They killed Command & Conquer with C&C 4.
And it was evidently terminal since Red Alert 3.

So now they're just propping up a corpse.
I'm already done mourning.

 

[kajinking]

I can't even be mad with EA anymore.
They killed Command & Conquer with C&C 4.
And it was evidently terminal since Red Alert 3.

So now they're just propping up a corpse.
I'm already done mourning.

It's worse if you're a fan of C&C as well as all the others that got dragged to hell

Series ruined for me so far

Mass Effect (Not their worst crime)
Crysis (I have never seen a game disappear as fast after release than the third title)
Simcity (AHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Sims (Want to know whats even better than Expansion Packs? DLC AND even smaller Expansion Packs!)
C&C (We want a fourth game made but we all the budget we can give you is $14.50)

 

[JemothSkarii]

and thus my favorite C&C is turned into an online F2P game and promptly curb stomped before my eyes. I didn't have high hopes when it was announced and this just sealed it.

 

[Ldude893]

I'll wait for the actual game to come out first, but I'm expecting that EA is going to botch this horribly. If it turns out good, it's a win-win for gamers and EA. If not, at least we might see EA suffer from another backlash on the same level as Sim City.

 

[hapipdalia]

More World of Tanks then Clash of Clans

i'm no grammar nazi, but, please correct that misstake!

 

[Khymerion]

Well... lets see here EA, what did most people enjoy about C&C? Got it? Now remove all that and call it C&C 4. No one liked it? Okay... lets keep doing that but make it online only and free to play. Fantastic! This will completely work!

No more large armies full of swarms of Mammoths. No more sprawling bases and massed fortifications. 'Customized' decks of units that will probably need 'booster' packs to be even remotely viable. This sounds so wonderful...

Never mind the fact that I can already play games like this.

Customized decks of units? The Wargame series (AirLand Battle and European Escalation) and they have sprawling maps and a match can go awhile.

No base building? World in Conflict, the Wargame series... both of which seem to be modern like the Generals sub-franchise and still look more grand in scale than what is being offered.

Okay... what about small unit fights? The Company of Heroes series and the Men of War series. Hell, toss Dawn of War II in if you want a sci-fi spin on this garbage.

What is wrong with giving the players a simple MCV and some cash and letting us run from there? Sure, a match between two to six players might go for a bit but... nothing I have heard about this FTP C&C sounds even remotely fun. I don't play C&C to have some super fast StarCraft 2 match, which rarely last longer than 30 or so minutes... I do it because I want to roll a mass of medium and heavy tanks or massed airstrikes, nuclear missiles, and Ion cannon firing large enough to leave my initials in their base.

Oh well... that is why we still have the old Generals, C&C3, and Red Alert 2 or 3 (depending on tastes) to play, since EA is content on just kicking the franchise in the gut repeatedly.

 

[Vrach]

As long as I can still play the Airforce general and have a roaming band of satanic helicopters full of snipers I'll be happy.

Seriously, I used to hard-counter the infantry general by just flying a couple of helicopters over their zerg rush.

Dude, Zero Hour Aurora bombers.

*drops the mic*

Seriously though, it's like having reusable nukes, I loved building several airports and just bombing the crap out of everything while surrounding my base with those ridiculously powerful towers. I suck on my own (never was good at RTSs), but as support goes, pair me up with someone decent with ground assaults and we rule the map ^^