Command & Conquer (Reboot / F2P)

**6souls** · 2013-02-25 23:00

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/...1818124-x1.jpg

Spoiler: show

I'm going to choose the Polygon article to explain in-depth of what has changed, but the tl:dr is three new factions (European Union, Global Liberation Army and Asia Pacific Alliance) to control using original tech with Red Alert & Tiberian tech to be added later. There is also 4 planned modes of play (with more coming in the future);

Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch
Solo Skirmish VS. AI
"Horde Mode-style Onslaught"

The game is built using the Frostbite (BF3) engine and is being developed by the team at Victory Games.

The next entry in EA's real-time strategy game, Command & Conquer, is a bold enough step to warrant its back-to-basics naming.

Originally a follow-up to 2003 game Command & Conquer: Generals, EA's forthcoming PC strategy game is being pitched less like a sequel and more like a evolving live service where we might play future C&C games.

It's a free-to-play game, and freed of narrative connections to the long-running Red Alert and Tiberian fiction. There are no plans for cinematic cut scenes of the B movie-quality Command & Conquer was known for in the '90s. At launch, Command & Conquer won't feature a single-player campaign, but it will include single-player content.

Command & Conquer's creators say they want to focus on "the heritage" of the series, iterating on the core gameplay of "gather resources, build a base, build an army, kick ass." They've built the new game on DICE's Frostbite engine, the tech that powers games like Battlefield 3, and new client/server architecture that developers say will curtail cheating, make the game easier to update and reduce shared lag in multiplayer games.

During a visit to Electronic Arts last month, developer Victory Games — the team briefly known as BioWare Victory — revealed its plans for Command & Conquer and gave us an opportunity to try our their free-to-play RTS in an "alpha" state.

Victory presented Command & Conquer as a strategy game that grows over time. New military factions, new generals, new game types and even "new fiction" will be added through planned updates. Developers expect to add that new content on a "regular cadence," monitoring player metrics and community feedback to keep the game evolving and thriving.

Future updates could even include content lifted from the Red Alert and Tiberian universes, with crossovers that span the Command & Conquer series' universes a possibility, Victory says.

When the game's beta launches later this year, Command & Conquer will feature three factions: European Union, Global Liberation Army and Asia Pacific Alliance.

The European Union is designed to be Command & Conquer's most accessible faction, Victory says, like "slipping into a warm bath or riding a bike" for RTS veterans. Designed for fun accessibility, the high-tech units of the EU are also "deep and flexible for advanced players," Victory says. The Asia Pacific Alliance faction is targeted at players who prefer to flood a map with units. APA places an emphasis on massive power projection, with enormous hordes of low-level units, Victory says, and high-level units that only require "one or two to change the flow of battle." The Global Liberation Army is Command & Conquer's terrorist organization, a faction that employs improvised warfare through black market units and makeshift weapons. The GLA attacks with angry mobs, suicide bombers and dirty bombs, making it the least traditional — but most interesting — faction in Command & Conquer.

Command & Conquer's three initial factions will be complemented by a handful of Generals, commanders that modify each faction with special units and powers. Generals in Command & Conquer will be themed, with specializations in air power, toxic weapons or nuclear power. They'll add personality and customization, and provide one clear example of how EA and Victory might monetize their free-to-play model with add-on Generals.

Victory plans to ship with "at least four" game modes when Command & Conquer goes into beta, offering a mix of player versus player and player versus AI game types. These include deathmatch and team deathmatch modes, solo skirmishes and other game types seemingly inspired by first- and third-person shooter games, like the Horde Mode-style Onslaught. Developers say they have "many, many more in prototype" planned for future updates.

Command & Conquer's creators seem keen to provide something both for RTS veterans and game modes for those "not comfortable going online and being absolutely annihilated" by those same players.

While factions, Generals and game types were the developer's focus, Victory Games producer Brian Farina touched on some of Command & Conquer's technical and social goals. Victory plans to "beef up the social aspects" of Command & Conquer, implementing friends lists and feeds, group and private chat, achievements and the ability for players to share their gameplay stats.

Victory has its sights set on future updates that will add tournament and clan supports, plus spectator functions through livestreaming services like Twitch TV.

Like other free-to-play games, Command & Conquer will have opportunities for players to purchase new content. Those purchases range from gameplay components, like unlockable, customizable Generals, to visual customizations that let players tweak the look of their units. Victory promises "convenience" purchases as well, like currency gain and experience point multipliers and other common boosts that trade money for time. Those paid options can be purchased with either real money or earned in-game currency, the specifics of which were not detailed during our preview of the game.

While at EA, we got a chance to spend time with two of the game's factions, the European Union and Global Liberation Army, and two of the games Generals. Even in its early state, the game felt like classic Command & Conquer, though the two playable factions — at opposite ends of the military spending spectrum — felt wildly different in their approach.

Taking out opponents employing high-tech EU units with the GLA's swarms of Angry Mobs and Insurgents was a treat, made even more enjoyable when sneaking a Nuke Truck just past enemy lines and wreaking havoc inside an opponent's base. Wrapping one's head around the strategies of the EU and its much more straightforward tech tree, was much simpler, however, and seemingly a good starting point for new C&C players.

Also enjoyable was utilizing the special skills of our Generals to call in strategic air strikes, drop nukes or launch hidden caches of anti-air flak, superpowers that help keep the pressure on and customize the way factions play.

One of the more intriguing components of Command & Conquer is its Onslaught mode, which pits players against waves of incoming attacks from an AI-controlled military force. Given a small detachment of units with the option to harvest, invest and grow, players are asked to maintain their bases for as long as possible and complete frequent tasks, like eliminating a specific target. Challenging and refreshing, Onslaught seems like one of the game's standout modes.

EA's Frostbite engine delivers impressive visuals for a real-time strategy game, with realistic destruction of the environment and a weighty sense of real-world physics to units. Command & Conquer's use of DICE's engine seems ambitious, and the game's detailed simulation adds some visual disorder to the game. There were times during our hands-on session when it was unclear just which units were ours and which were still active, confusion compounded by the game's currently unpolished interface. Given its early state, with months and potentially years of refinement to go, it's difficult to judge just how effective Command & Conquer's implementation of Frostbite will ultimately be. Even if it plays a bit rough at this alpha stage, Command & Conquer looks fantastic.

Victory Games claims 2013 is "just the beginning" for Command & Conquer, with new universes, new campaigns and a long list of new content planned for the game.

Command & Conquer is slated to go into open beta this year for Windows PC. When asked about the possibility of a Mac release, given development of Frostbite for Apple's operating system, Victory said only that such a version is "not announced."

http://www.polygon.com/2013/2/25/402...w-free-to-play

More previews:

[IGN link removed]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...s-free-to-play
http://www.pcgamer.com/previews/comm...s-rebuilt-rts/
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...ot-pay-to-win/
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/n...-comeback.html
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/02/25/na...d-and-conquer/

**myreality** · 2013-02-26 00:20

Thought i would add a video. But i am excited for this, i miss the old Command and Conquer gameplay. Even though people will break this game in a few months, that will still be a few months of badassery. That is if EA does not break the game by making players pay for upgrades and shit.

[IGN video removed]

**6souls** · 2013-02-26 00:36

[IGN stuff removed]

**Qalbert** · 2013-10-29 13:30

welp
http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/29/50...nd-and-conquer

Electronic Arts has canceled its in-development free-to-play Command & Conquer game, according to a statement posted to the game's official website today and, according to employees of the studio, laid off the development team at Los Angeles-based Victory Games.

"Your feedback from the alpha trial is clear: We are not making the game you want to play," reads a statement posted to the game's website. "That is why, after much difficult deliberation, we have decided to cease production of this version of the game. Although we deeply respect the great work done by our talented team, ultimately it's about getting you the game you expect and deserve."

The game, simply titled Command & Conquer, was originally announced at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards as Command & Conquer Generals 2. It was later rebranded as a free-to-play, multiplayer-focused real-time strategy game and positioned as a service that would add episodic content, new factions and a single-player campaign.

"We believe that Command & Conquer is a powerful franchise with huge potential and a great history, and we are determined to get the best game made as soon as possible," reads a statement. "To that end, we have already begun looking at a number of alternatives to get the game back on track. We look forward to sharing more news about the franchise as it develops. Thank you again for your participation and support."

Command & Conquer was powered by DICE's Frostbite engine and built around an economy model that relied on in-game credits and real money purchases. We played the game earlier this year, which later went into alpha test and recently made an appearance at Gamescom. It was slated for release in 2014.

"The team at Victory Games will be disbanded," an Electronic Arts spokesperson confirmed to Polygon. "Wherever possible, we are working to help these talented people find other opportunities within EA."

**Lucavi** · 2013-10-29 16:36

Stomped out of existence. I'm sure someone in former Westwood is either laughing or sighing right now. The curse continues.

**Churchill** · 2013-10-29 17:08

The Alpha was terrrrrrrble.

Company of Heroes did something similar and that game was actually a lot of fun, but it was cancelled as well.

**6souls** · 2013-10-29 18:18

I'm sure they'll find rewarding careers in the mail room. It worked for Mike & Sully after all.

**djzombie** · 2013-10-29 23:06

Really sad to what has become of c&c. The last game i played was dumbed down horse shit not even worthy of being called rts.

Really would love to see a full on reboot of the tiberium sun c&c's. or a sequel in that universe that doesn't suck terribly.

**6souls** · 2013-11-19 21:18

Un-Canceled, New Studio

Command & Conquer’s free-to-play reboot may have been labelled as cancelled, but it seems that EA is looking for a new studio to salvage the project.

We reported on the Command & Conquer cancellation back in October, along with the news that developer Victory Games had been laid off.

Now, Blue’s News has found an interesting snippet on EA’s support page, in relation to the game’s cancellation.

It explains that EA will refund any money spent in the game’s alpha, and adds, “For those of you who bought The C&C Ultimate Collection, your early access to the beta will be honored once production of this title resumes under a new studio. We would like to thank you for your time and interest in Command & Conquer, and we look forward to sharing the news with you when production resumes on this title in the future.”

http://www.vg247.com/2013/11/19/comm...tudio-says-ea/
http://www.bluesnews.com/s/146820/ne...er-development
https://help.ea.com/article/command-...on-and-refunds

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