C&C Labs News Wire

You may remember a couple of weeks ago that Carl's Guides.com released a complete walkthrough for C&C Generals. We are now pleased to announce that due to Carl's generosity we have mirrored the walkthrough here at Generals World. The walkthrough is a mission-by-mission guide of the singleplayer campaign in the original Command & Conquer: Generals (without the expansion). For new owners of the game or anyone who has been stuck on a particular mission, this walkthrough will definitely help you out. Carl plans on eventually writing a similar walkthrough for the Zero Hour expansion, and when that is complete we'll be happily mirroring it here as well. Thanks Carl!

Some players of the older C&C games were noticing that they were having trouble playing online recently. DonCarlo, an XWIS server administrator, writes to tell us the issues have been cleared up:

A combination of a few things happened this weekend, all of which were beyond our control.

This is no excuse, though; we are going to be working through some things with EA to ensure greater server security, stability and a faster response from the hosts when things need to be done.

We apologise for the long delay this weekend. We are aware it was a very bad time to have such a long outage at both the weekend and end of the month.

But please be aware that it was a very frustrating time for us, too, and not a situation we would like to see repeated.

• The French Command and Conquer site Time of War has a new software package called TOW Tools, for Gen, ZH, and BFME. Don't worry, it also comes in English. It allows you to do various modding functions, including creating, extracting and editing .BIG files and CSF files. Get it here.
  
• PlanetCNC has some new fan art by LittleIroN. It's well done, so consider checking it out.
  
• CNCDEN has 12 new ZH replays, and a new ZH map.
  
• Cold War Crisis, RA: Chrono Device, and MidEast Crisis all have new renders or screens.
  
• The life of GMax has been extended for a while:

  Recently we communicated a plan to cease new development on Gmax and ramp down support on the current offering; this decision was based on multiple factors and data points, including diminished interest from games publishers. Since the announcement, more partners provided feedback that we are investigating – for this reason we are happy to announce that we will extend the previously communicated November 1, 2005 deadline and continue to make Gmax available to the active community.
  
  Our plans still include a ramp down of support on this version of Gmax – the technology does not reflect the capabilities of the current 3ds max release, nor is it ready in its current form to take advantage of pending changes to the windows operation system that will be exposed with the Vista release.
  
  We have heard your feedback and are formulating a revised transitional plan – in the interim we are again pleased to announce that we will continue to availability of Gmax for current active users.
  
  Annie Normandin
  Product Manager - Animation
  Autodesk Media & Entertainment

  Good news, no doubt.

Well here's something interesting straight off the presses. This email came in tonight from online community manager Aaran "APOC" Kaufman. Well it looks like this has the potential to liven things up! I've created a special page for the contest here.

Aaron also posted the following on CNCDEN:

FYI, the link to our Generals page for commandandconquer.ea.com will be redirected somewhere else on November 3rd.

If you don't choose to partake in this competition, you miss a chance to be a part of C&C history... forever.

My goal is 100 submissions. I challenge the community to meet that.

...

I will give a personal award to my favorite of the submissions. In fact, I will give a "prop" from C&C to that winner. Yes that's right, a prop that only I have and am willing to give up.

A challenge to the community? Something happening to commandandconquer.ea.com on next Thursday? A "prop" from C&C? Intriguing, no? Check out the Are You the Biggest Command and Conquer Fan? page for all the details about the contest!

It was five years ago today that I remember standing in an Electronics Boutique gazing at the copy of Red Alert 2 that had been placed on a display shelf just hours earlier. I didn't have a computer capabale of running the game at the time, so I settled for the next best thing: the strategy guide, which only made me want the game more.

Five years ago this week EA shipped over a million copies of one of the best RTS games ever made. Red Alert 2 was considered by many the ultimate combination of superb FMV storytelling and fast-paced gameplay (perhaps too fast for some). It is a game that, five years later, is still player online everyday, and is, according to many fans, the last true Command and Conquer game to ship.

Also, it just so happens to be our affiliate CNCSeries' fifth birthday as well! Back then, they were named "Red 2 World" and were actually hosted on Geocities. Since then, Rob and his team have brought the site a long way. Great job guys -- here's to another five!

Aaron "Apoc" Kaufman, Community Manager for Zero Hour, had the following to say about the ZH 1.05 story.

So to confirm what I said in the interview, the idea was brought up if we could produce another patch for Zero Hour in the same way we have been currently for BFME Patch 1.03. I said it was a great idea and definitely something i'd like to look in to. I did not confirm a patch is being worked on or promised a date on one, HOWEVER, given what we have accomplished with the community recently, it is certainly something I think is possible.

That said, I will make every effort to see what can be done for another patch, but it's very early research right now for me. Just know, it is a mission I definitely want to accomplish.

EA Apoc
Electronic Arts

Not entirely sure what he's referencing as accomplishments, but, hey, we now have word that it's being thought of.

In all fairness, Electronic Arts (via Aaron) has indeed put a lot more effort into the community recently, much more than it was just a few months ago. Not to say they haven't got a ways to go -- they do -- but I must give credit where credit is due, and Aaron has been doing the best he can.
  -- MicScoTho

CNC-Inside (German site) is reporting that Apoc has confirmed a 1.05 patch for ZH. We don't know much about it, but from what I understand of the German, it's in the planning stages.

I updated the poll today. It certainly was interesting to see how long it would take fans to lose hope. Perhaps needless to say, the results were not very encouraging. No doubt, EA needs to spice things up soon (no, launching the BFME II official site doesn't count), or they may well have a problem on their hands. Still, though, in the end, whenever the announcement comes, the game will probably sell well. Here are the results from last time:

How much longer without a C&C announcement will it take for you to lose almost all hope for a new, quality, C&C?
One Month Or Less	11
Three Months	9
Six Months	11
A Year	15
Two Years Or More	7
Never	14
I've already given up	15
Total Votes: 82

Cypher passed along the following release:

RenEvo Software & Designs is looking for one or two new artists to join the team of Command & Conquer Dead 6. C&C Dead 6 is a new addition to the original C&C lore, telling of the missions of the elite GDI commando squad - the Dead 6 - which appeared as Havoc's old unit in C&C Renegade.
The team is looking for one or two dedicated artist for storyboarding of the now completed and over 100 pages worth of plotline for the project. The storyboarding is instrumental in mission design and gameplay and cinematic sequence direction.

The D6 team is entering a higher gear in the production process and is in need of talented and dedicated people to join the team. Applicants should submit samples of their work and a short resume to tell us about themselves. Contact Cypher - Producer and Story Editor to apply.

The 1st place winner has been announced over at the Open Map Competition at CNC Community.



Map Name: Temple Mesa
Game: Zero Hour
Author: Bhones
Site: Derelict Studios
Players: 2

Ratings:

• Original Concept: 16.8/20
  
• Balance: 12.8/15
  
• Eye Candy: 25.8/30
  
• Fun Factor: 16/20
  
• AI Setup: 8/10
  
• Scripts: 2/5

-------------------------------
Overall Score: 81.4%
Valid Score: 85.3%

DarkAlex's Position: 1st - 88%
HeXetic's Position: 7th - 58%
spyVspy's Position: 2nd - 85%
blck's Position: 1st - 83%
flippster06's Position: 4th - 88%
-------------------------------
Final Position: 1st

The second place winner of the Open Map Competition in the Zero Hour catergory has been announced over at CNC Community.

Map Name: Jungle Canyon
Game: Zero Hour
Author: the G.o.a.T
Site: DGNF
Players: 2
Ratings:

• Original Concept:16.4/20
• Balance: 14/15
• Eye Candy: 27.8/30
• Fun Factor: 15.8/20
• AI Setup: 9.2/10
• Scripts: 2/5

Overall Score: 85.2%
Valid Score: 84.7

DarkAlex's Position: 2nd - 84%
HeXetic's Position: 1st - 85%
spyVspy's Position: 1st - 85%
blck's Position: 3rd - 81%
flippster06's Position: 1st - 92%

Final Position: 2nd

The third place winner in the Zero Hour catergory has been announced over at CNC Community.

Map Name: Golden Shores
Game: Zero Hour
Author: Piscinex
Site: DGNF
Players: 2
Ratings:

• Original Concept: 16.2/20
• Balance: 13/15
• Eye Candy: 20.4/30
• Fun Factor: 17.6/20
• AI Setup: 8.8/10
• Scripts: 1/5

Overall Score: 77%
Valid Score: 77.7%

DarkAlex's Position: 4th - 72%
HeXetic's Position: 2nd - 84%
spyVspy's Position: 3rd - 77%
blck's Position: 4th - 63%
flippster06's Position: 3rd - 89%

Final Position: 3rd

The fourth place winner in the Zero Hour catergory has been announced over at CNC Community.

Map Name: Drvena Buba
Game: Zero Hour
Author: pivac
Site: DGNF
Players: 3

Ratings:

Original Concept: 16.4/20
Balance: 12.8/15
Eye Candy: 23/30
Fun Factor: 16.6/20
AI Setup: 6.8/10
Scripts: 1/5
-------------------------------
Overall Score: 76.6%
Valid Score: 72.6%

DarkAlex's Position: 5th - 70%
HeXetic's Position: 4th - 66%
spyVspy's Position: 6th - 58%
blck's Position: 2nd - 82%
flippster06's Position: 2th - 89%
-------------------------------
Final Position: 4th

CNCNZ has two new articles. One, titled "Quality Control", is written by Mr Lee. A snip is below:

Since writing my ‘The Real Red Alert' article and noticing has appeared from the clear sky, a thunderbolt in the dark. People don't like quality anymore. We all purchased Generals and Zero Hour and then we preached about how low quality it was, the turned our eyes back to Red Alert 2 and called it the last great funeral pyre of Command and Conquer. I now say to each of you – you're hypocrites.

Well, the article has a couple good points -- he makes a good one on the lack of articles being written in the community nowadays -- but also some awful ones: portraying himself and the article writers at CNCNZ as attemping to save the community seems a bit much, a point likely undercut due to the plethora of grammatical and spelling errors throughout the piece. However, to each his own; I'm all for people saying what they have to say.

The Hypontist, a forum member at CNCNZ, apparently felt the need to contribute to the community (and, in so doing, helping Mr Lee by adding more articles), and so he wrote and submitted his own article to CNCNZ: 'C&C - The End of a Generation'. In it, he portrays the doom coming with a nostalgic tone (if with sparse evidence):

When a new game comes out, if one ever does, it will probably be the end. Sadly, it even brings tears to my eyes to admit that, but we all know it will happen. C&C has had all ideas exhausted, and we will all see an end… It will be something that happens overnight, but the end will come… Soon… And then, when it does, this will all be forgotten…

Click the links above to see the full versions of the articles.

The Open Map Competition Results for Zero Hour are up at CNC Community. Remember, we will be giving hosting space to all those placing in the top five, so the stakes are maybe a little higher ;). Here are the results and scores released thus far:

5th: rich19 :: Tournament Arena == 66.3%
6th: Derek :: Frost Fight == 61.3%
7th: thomasalan :: Mountain Lake Battle == 59.7%
8th: Starduster :: Between the Combat Lines == 59%
9th: EliteX15 :: Headlong == 51%
10th: moab_there_butt :: Urban Terrorist == 27%
11th: Silent :: The Npole_Day == 18%
12th: willietoo :: long river v1 by willietoo == 15%

Congrats to the winners.

From the official release:

EA and Steven Spielberg Team Up To Develop Three Original Videogames

October 14, 2005 – In a ground-breaking long term agreement, Electronic Arts today announced that Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg will be collaborating with the game makers at EA’s Los Angeles studio (EALA) to create three new original franchise properties. Beginning this year, with offices located on site at EALA, Spielberg will work directly with EA’s development teams to offer his signature style of storytelling to the concept, design, story and artistic visualization of the new games. EA will own the intellectual properties and the game franchises will be developed, published and distributed worldwide by EA. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"I have been playing EA games for years and have watched them master the interactive format." said Steven Spielberg. "Having watched the game industry grow from a niche into a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA's understanding of the interactive format. I'm looking forward to working closely with the team in Los Angeles." “There is no greater storyteller than Steven Spielberg,” said EA Chairman and CEO Larry Probst. “In addition to his gift for pleasing movie audiences, he has an innate understanding of games and how to immerse players into a fantastic world of action and characters.”

“It’s incredibly exciting to be collaborating with Steven Spielberg,” noted Neil Young, VP and Studio Head at EALA. “He shares our vision for the potential of the medium and has the passion and creativity to help us finally deliver on the promise that a game can not only engage and compel you with its interactivity, but can also move you emotionally.“

The mission at EALA is to be the definitive creative destination for game makers and game development in Southern California. It is home to the award-winning Medal of Honor™, Command & Conquer™ and The Lord of the Rings™ franchises. EALA drives innovation in technology, art and game design by employing a first-class studio of game-makers at its campus in Playa Vista, CA. The studio is also home to EA’s Worldwide Music and Music Marketing group and EA Mobile.

This is interesting. Many members of the community are hailing this as the best news in years, but I'm not so sure it is. Do we really want Spielberg, a movie director with no connection to and very little knowledge about C&C involved in whatever C&C is next? Maybe luckily, it's probably not going to happen. Neil Young, head of EALA, has conducted an interview with Gamespot about the Spielberg/EA deal. The snippet below indicates that he will probably be doing a next-gen title, which I sure hope is not a C&C:

GS: You mentioned that Spielberg was excited by the power of next-generation consoles. Can we presume that the first game is going to be a next-gen title?

NY: It'll certainly lead on next-gen, but I wouldn't preclude it being on other platforms. This is such an exciting time in our industry right now. We've just got such a great opportunity to deliver some really breakthrough experiences. What we're really interested in doing is not just delivering the same game experiences with new maps. We're interested in delivering new game experiences--not just the next generation of graphics, but the next generation of game design. When you have people like Steven Spielberg involved, you know, on the narrative side, and you have people like Doug Church involved on the design and technology side, I think you can start to create some pretty interesting things.

Full interview here.

CNC Reborn recently posted what is one of the biggest updates I've ever seen for any mod. It has nearly two dozen renders. If you're a fan of this mod, I recommend you check it out.

DeeZire has released v.2.5 of his mod, Pro:Gen for Zero Hour. It has a few cosmetic changes, and fixes a number of bugs in anticipation of his Director's Cut (a single player expansion for ZH), coming soon.

Banshee passed the following press release along. It concerns the recently released mod, Return of the Dawn for TS.

Hello! Project Perfect Mod is inviting everyone to play Return Of The Dawn 2.5 Beta on XWIS this weekend! It's your chance to play this great classic that brings the Tiberian Dawn universe into your Tiberian Sun online. You may play against people, co-op with AI, play custom type of games such as sole survivor and even the weird 'cap the engineer'.

Here's the details of the event:


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday October 15th, 2005
And Sunday October 16th, 2005.
Starts at 8:00PM GMT (check your timezone HERE) and it has no time to end.
XWIS IP: 195.13.63.187
Channel: GDI Comm. Center
Requires Return Of The Dawn 2.5 Beta (doesn't require Firestorm).


- More info on how to use XWIS, check HERE.
- We heavly recommend that you download the RotD Unofficial Fan Map Pack and Open Map Competition 1 & 2 Map Pack to expand the mapping options.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Very Important: Make sure your username starting with TD, TW or PPM when you get into XWIS, so we can recognize those who are playing RotD, because there might be several people online playing the original game. I.e.: My nickname there will be TDBanshee (the one I use since RotD).

AutoDesk, the company that now owns Gmax, a free 3D modelling utility used by many modders in the C&C community, had the following bad news for us, informing us of their discontinuation of Gmax:

As of October 6, 2005, Autodesk will no longer offer Gmax© software as a stand-alone product. If you are interested in other 3D animation, modeling, and rendering applications from Autodesk please check out Autodesk© 3ds Max© software. You can download a free 30-day trial, view product demonstrations, read customer success stories, and get more information about this powerful, versatile product.

PlanetCNC has a nice post with more details on this.

Carl, from Carl's Guides.com has written an excellent walkthrough of Command and Conquer Generals. It has details for every USA, China, and GLA mission, as well as tips for all three sides. It's a good guide, and pretty factually accurate, too. If anything, it seems to be geared towards the person who plays single-player a bit more than the online player, but as most people here tend to play single-player, that might be a good thing. You can get the guide here, or visit his homepage--where he has a number of other good guides, including some for C&C games such as Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge--here.

As an aside, we hope to be able to have some of his content mirrored within a week or so.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault is now out in version 1.0, a public beta. This version contains working Rebel and Imperial AI, one Rebel mission, and four new multiplayer maps. Get it at their site.

Aaron "Apoc" Kaufman, the community manager, has sent e-mails around to the webmasters of fansites informing us that at www.westwood.com you can view all the old CNC sites that were taken offline (much to the chagrin of the community at that time). The sites don't seem fully restored, and don't render very well in Firefox, but, they are, in a sense, back online.

I just wanted to call to everyone's attention the fact that we are again looking for new staff members here at Generals World. You can see full details on this page. If you have talent and time, I really do recommend that you consider applying. You will learn a lot working with us, and I can personally attest that you'll be working with some very nice, hard-working, and computer-savvy people. ;)

Available staff positions may be found in, but are not limited to, the list below:

• News Posters:
  Responsible for updating the news on the Generals World homepage, including news about other C&C fansites.
• Download Manager:
  This high-level position chiefly carries the responsibility of adding new downloads, such as fan created maps, to Generals World.
• Mappers:
  For those interested in creating high-quality Generals or Zero Hour maps for Generals World.
• Modders:
  Positions for modellers, skinners, animators, mission and map makers, UI designers, and more may be available. Please contact Blbpaws (me) at Blbpaws@cncgeneralsworld.com for all modding-related inquiries with the subject All-Stars Jobs.

If you're interested in applying for any non-modding related position, contact the webmaster at MicScoTho@cncgeneralsworld.com. Good luck to all who apply!

I (finally) updated the poll today. Below are the results from the last one. I do think it's interesting how many of you consider ZH an RTS game 'Far Superior' to others in the genre. (Editorializing by MicScoTho: We are a Generals fansite, however, so perhaps this shouldn't be so surprising?) To me, ZH is essentially what Generals should have been: a fast-paced, 3D, modern RTS game. But I can't give it the Far Superior rating because without a story, it just doesn't have that C&C feel. And to me, C&C games, especially the ones of old, are Far Superior to any other RTS game.

How would you rate Zero Hour to other RTS games?
Far Superior	60
Superior	30
Better	24
About The Same	17
Not As Good	10
Far Worse	1
Not Even Close	5
Total Votes: 147

Thanks to all 147 of you who voted! This was one of our better polls in that regard. Next up, I'm going to ask a somber question: 'How long until you lose hope?' Vote on the right sidebar!

The following update has been posted by Banshee about the third Open Map Competition at CNC Community:

I'd like to inform everyone we are still finishing the RA2 reviews and that Mastermind will post the ZH results in the next hours or days. But there was an important change recently. One of the RA2 judges, Wthigon, has been replaced with Clazzy (who also judged the TS maps).

Although Clazzy's recent activities were more focused on Tiberian Sun, he has also a great experience on modding and mapping Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge. He's the author of the mod Savage War released last year.

Sorry for any inconvenience these delays may have caused and we are working very fast sort all problems.

Aaron "Apoc" Kaufman sent the following messages around today:

Greetings from your C&C Community Manager!

To continue the ten year anniversary celebration of the widely popular Command and Conquer franchise, I am pleased to reveal EA’s partnership with XWIS (XCC WOL IRC SERVER)!

Through this partnership, all Command and Conquer games formerly supported by EA/Westwood Online will be redirected through XWIS, thus instituting XWIS as the main online game server management team. XWIS is a community driven online game server that launched in October 2003 to replace the XCC Community Ladder. The new and improved features enabled include chat, in-game ranks, matching filters, lobby monitoring, improved Quick-Match, and fully functional automatic ladders for clans and individual tournament players. The beauty of this partnership is that you won’t have to download any external programs to utilize XWIS. All the enabled features and connections to the servers are already integrated into the supported games!

I’m also excited to share with you that the Strike Team will be monitoring the banning and anti-cheat controls on a daily basis and will provide technical support as needed. The Strike Team is a website built of hardcore Command and Conquer fans and is sponsored by the EA German Community Team. Their goal is to ensure a controlled and fun online environment for all players.

XWIS will commence a two week trial period with Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 and Command & Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri’s Revenge. Once this trial is completed on Oct. 20th, XWIS will be supporting the following EA/Westwood online games:

-Command & Conquer Red Alert 2
-Command & Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri’s Revenge
-Command & Conquer Tiberian Dawn
-Command & Conquer The Covert Operations
-Command & Conquer Red Alert
-Command & Conquer Red Alert: Counterstrike
-Command & Conquer Red Alert: Aftermath
-Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun
-Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun: Firestorm
-Command & Conquer Renegade
-Dune 2000
-Nox
-Emperor: Battle for Dune

EA is 100% dedicated to the Command and Conquer franchise and wants to ensure a strong and secure online gameplay environment. Long live Command and Conquer! We hope to see resurgence in the legions of NOD and GDI followers claiming ground online.

Good luck soldier. Hit the hot keys and get online with Command and Conquer!

--Apoc
Community Manager & Marketing Liaison
Electronic Arts LA

I'll be honest; I think EA is getting worried. With no C&C product near enough to completion, they are grasping on to anything they can to please the community. This is good news, but I wish it were under better circumstances. It leads me to another message from Aaron, though, from an email conversation with C&C King of CNCNZ (original post here).

So, I fully understand the cries and pleas 100% but everyone in the community is going to have to be patient still. I cannot directly comment on the C&C franchise, but I can say that we are 100% dedicated to the franchise. I nor anyone at EALA is in a position to talk about what lies ahead for the C&C franchise, but the word franchise has strong meaning around the studio. Now, you guys can all read between the lines and I know you have all been patient.

I wonder how Warcraft fans are feeling, or what about Age of Empires before AOE3 was even announced. The last C&C game was Zero Hour, 2003. Age of Empires 2 came out in 2000! Warcraft 3 came out in 2002. Those studios are taking quite some time between their sequels. It’s been less than 2 years since ZH was officially released. It is not abnormal for major franchises to go in to hibernation for more than a couple of years. BFME and BFME 2 should not be looked at as blows to the C&C community. C&C and BFME do live under the same umbrella of passion and franchise dedication from EA, so anyone who doesn’t think that, I suggest turning that frown upside down. EA is very dedicated to both franchises.

My point is, the C&C community in general is restless and demands high expectations. Hey, cool, we understand, but at the same time, I have a level of confidentiality that I need to abide by with the studio and EA and I simply cannot talk about C&C any further than what I said above.

What I can keep doing is strong community support. I do have plans for the upcoming months, plans that I can’t talk about in depth just yet. I know I know, it’s all confidential right now, but you have my word, patience is a virtue in this industry.

The C&C community, LOTR fans or not, will more than likely be very pleased with BFME 2 as it is gunning for the hardcore taste. I’m looking forward to the reactions.

Chin up man, Petro has that old Westwood spotlight shining on them, but they still need to deliver a good game, so we’ll see how it ends up.

A few quick things here. First of all, equating Command and Conquer and BFME is a mistake of huge proportions. There is no comparison; C&C is a definer of a genre, in both story and gameplay. BFME is, at best, a mediocre game about a fantasy land, with the story done for them, and the gameplay lacking. Second, you cannot say it has been two years since the last C&C. It hasn't. At most, you can claim that RA2 was the last C&C, which came out in 2000, before the games that he bashes for taking their time. I think Aaron is doing his best, but again, everyone there is grasping at straws. Maybe there's nothing else left for them to turn to?

It's been forever, I know. I need to make this kind of thing more regular. But, for now, I do have three new screens to show you. My special thanks to MicScoTho for getting these overlayed and done overnight. In addition, the All-Stars Staff did a tremendous job of working on this mod, and we're getting close to the Beta stage where hopefully a few lucky and talented fans will be able to join our ranks and play it. Until then, though, I leave you with these (click on them for full screen images). From left to right, these are a bustling Tiberian Alliance Base, a Red Alert Coalition base preparing for an attack, and a Tiberian Alliance force taking out a group of Generals Elite derricks. Enjoy!

If you have any comments, you can post them in our this topic on our forums.

I've said it before, and I will say it again: Mods are an important part of the CNC community, and they can sustain the community for some time, but they cannot be the only component. With every day that passes, I think the community tends to ask itself again, when, or if, an announcement will come. To be honest, I don't think that save for the release of the earlier C&Cs, there is anything that can boost the community with one action as much as official word on C&C3 or RA3 would. Until then, or until I give up entirely, you can expect to see fairly regular news updates here at GW...

• Vietnam Reborn has a new render and several screenshots. The render is of the Boat Yard, and the screens showcase their napalm effect.
• CNCRenEclips has three new renders for their upcoming C&C Shockwave mod. In addition, they also have a video of the new GLA superweapon, the Soyuz Missile (yes, Soyuz is also a type of Russian spacecraft for those who think you've heard the name before).
• Red Alert 2: Road to Moscow has released two new renders. One is of the Allied Barracks and the other is of the Soviet Tesla Coil. Both are unskinned, underscoring their need for a new skinner.
• PlanetCNC has a new edition of 'Photoshop THIS!'.
• CNCDEN has 11 new ZH replays.
• One day left to enter CNCWorld's Caption Contest.