[Multiplatform] The Command & Conquer 3!! OMG! OMG! thread!

I'm pretty much psyched about this new C&C Game. Normally I am quite critical of EA and it's games, but from various interviews, previews, and stories about the game, for once I have a genuinely good feeling about something EA is doing. What brings me to this conclusion are all the stores I've been reading about how the game will be alot more like the originals. Were going back to FMV's, classic factions, and heck were getting the old Kane back, what more could you want? The screenshots look superb, though that's no surprise since EA, no matter how bad a game may be, always manages to look good if it's EA's doing. The biggest of all these factors is probably Kane. The original actor for Kane who was rehired for this sequel recently had an interview with Gamespot. The link can be found here. In it Joe Kucan, Kanes actor, makes referenecs to how devout a fan of the originals the director of this game seems to be. This certainly adds credibility to the series if one of the original guys coems out and works for the new team.

Basically, if your doubting this because it's EA you have good reason and I don't blame you. I do think that C&C 3 is probably going to be worth giving a shot though. I could of course be wrong, but I have a very good feeling about it. The only thing I am worried about is the new alien faction, the Scrin. From the Gamespot preview it seems they will wield some very powerful weapons in the late-game and I'm concerned it may be slightly off-balance. We'll have to see though, they haven't said much on potential new units for GDI and NOD to counter the Scrin.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've played the demo...

The demo includes the first GDI mission, as well as a skirmish mode that is limited to the GDI faction on a single map. Fair enough, demo and all.

I started with the campaign obviously.

Prologue Spoilers

Spoiler:

GDI has recently lowered NOD's threat level to "Low", the lowest it can be. GDI believes Kane is dead, and that the Brotherhood is falling apart internally, and so they begin decommissioning GDI outposts and turning more focus towards curtailing tiberium. Unfortunately for GDI, NOD movement is detected in North Carolina. Some crap happens, and essentially NOD disables GDI's anti-missile system on some random flying space station. NOD fires a missile and blows it up on live TV, and Kane makes his great re-emergence

The game begins you with a standard tutorial'ish first mission. You learn about how to construct things and train units and all that jazz. EA has returned C&C to it's original formula, that is there are no mobile construction dozers or whatever like in Generals. You start with an MCV and deploy that, which will then allow you to begin building structures within your build zone. You are quickly introduced to the basic infantry unit, and to engineers as you are ordered to go and destroy a small Nod outpost in the area. If you have played any C&C besides Renegade and Generals you will feel right at home by this point already. Once the Nod outpost is destroyed, you are given a view of the full map which will reveal a rather huge, well defended Nod base to the north of your base. Upon making your first futile attack, your mission coordinator will give you access to the Ion Cannon. Super weapons are interesting in C&C because they keep changing from version to version. Originally the Ion Cannon was fired and forgotten. Then in the next C&c you fired it and could guide it with your mouse. Then it went back to the old formula. What's interesting to note is that the ion cannon was always a directed beam that destroyed what it touched. In C&C 3 though, the Ion Cannon is deployed, and after 5 seconds or so of pretty graphics, blows up an entire area with ought supervision, kind of like a huge bomb. That's a tad disappointing for me, as the Ion Cannon loses a bit of uniqueness and becomes just a generic super weapon. Well have to see what they've done with Nod and the Alien super weapons and how those operate.

On any case, there are no 'generals' that will give you skills. Rather, as you build certain structures, support items are given to you. For example, building an airfield will allow you to, for a price of about $1000, deploy 4 Orcas on any target, even if you haven't built any. This can be done once every 5-10 minutes or so. Another example, once you have built these new infantry units I have forgotten the name of, you can randomly deploy them for a fee and every so often to any explored area on the map. So EA has essentially combined the Generals features into the classic formula, but tossed out the arbitrary "you need this general to do this" thing. It's all on you now to build the right stuff, and it does cost a small amount of money to launch these 'special attacks'.

The FMV's, to wrap this all up, are pretty well done it seems. The actors all seem to be giving it some effort, though I suppose no matter how hard anyone tried nothing will live up to my nostalgic memories of the original Tiberian Dawn FMV's. Who knows, those things could have been the crappiest FMV's ever, and yet it's been so long all I can remember were my impressions as a 12 year old watching them for the first time >_> Kane as I said earlier is back with the same actor as in Dawn and Sun. He appears briefly in the demo, and we can only look forward to alot more of him in the full release.

I'd say the game based on the demo was certainly not a screw up or a tried and true "milk it and dump it" strategy EA has come to been known for. It seems the developers have honestly tried to bring C&C into the modern day with impressive graphics, sound, and game play mechanics.

My only complaint as of right now is that all the infantry units blend in with one another, and it can at some times be hard to distinguish a rocket trooper from a standard infantry dude. I'm sure more playing will help develop an eye for it though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Today Evil Avatar featured a way to play as Nod in the demo withought hacking the game.

Originally Posted by http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26167&

Our very own captainstrombosis points out in our forums a nice trick to play as NOD in the recent Command and Conquer 3 demo.
Quote:
You can easily play as Nod, without modding the game in any way. However Scrin are still not playable. This was something posted on the Gamespot forums so I don't take credit for it.
Goto Skirmish:
Click the [army] selection tab, but do not select any. Move your mouse over the Nod selection and at the same time press N and click the mouse. It may take a few tries but it does work! Can also make the enemy GDI.(G + Mouse Click)

You can also use this trick to select the AI traits. Just use the first letter and click the mouse while it is highlighted.


Sweet! I absolutely loved the demo. So many good RTS games lately.

I've tried this and it works. The only thing wrong is that the computer voice lady doesn't come on for Nod (The one that gives you tidbits like "silos needed" and such.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by evilboris

The music guys, what about the music? It must not be anything short of fuckawesome megawin in a C&C game.

I think the demo is to early to base an opinion on the music. That said, what I have heard from the demo:

The main menu music features soft, sort of apocalyptic relaxing music. There is only one music track in-game for the demo. This music will speed up or slow down based on what's happening on the map. What's funny is I turned my music level all the way up and the music is still kind of quiet no matter whether it's in slow or fast mode. Unfortunately, this particular track is forgettable at best. You probably won't even really realize it's there.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I've played Easy and Medium so far, and basically:

Easy - Computer probably won't build air units, will not build superweapons. Finally, the computer will not build large tanks, such as the Nod Walker and the GDI Mammoth and Juggernaut. Computer will try and attack you every so often with light tanks and infantry though, so you do need to have some defenses. I can beat easy in under a half hour.

Medium - Computer builds air units and large tanks, and will also build superweapons, but the superweapon is built at a reasonable, not exaggerated speed. On the demo map, the computer will more than likely manage to get a second smaller base built at one of the tiberium fields before you have time to prevent it effectively, but if you play it right you can still destroy it before it get's to beefy. On the other hand, the computers main base will actually be somewhat difficult to crack, but certainly doable if you just get a squad of about 6 or so large tanks and some air support. Average time it takes me to beat medium is 30 minutes to an hour.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Xellos

I like how you can capture them afterwards though. I assume it works the same with avatars, but I've never seen them make them.

I don't think it does actually. If I remember right I was using the NOD trick and had one of my avatars blown up. I think they just disappear.

Also, yes, Kane dies. Multiple times throughout the various games. That's part of his character though, he is a god :P

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?