C&C Labs News

Electronic Arts, in conjunction with Zboard, are sponsoring the Command and Conquer Generals World Series tournament championship. Hosted and organized by GameReplays.org and Clanwars.cc, the world series will pit the 32 best Clanwars players together in brutal competition over a string of tournaments.

Prizes include $50 for the best replay, 2 MERC keyboards from Zboard, 2 Reaper mice, copies of The First Decade pack, and official EALA artwork autographed by EA Apoc.

The Cold War Crisis mod team has announced that they have found a musician to do their soundtrack. Here is part of the news post:

After a very long pause and looking into an uncertain future we'd like to present you something we've been able to get into CWC which should really make this mod something special

Remy Maurin, a very talented musician, offered us some help with CWC's music and as far as we can say now, he really knows what he's talking about.

More information can be found Here.

• Planet CNC is reporting that C&C 3 will ship on a multilanguage DVD. It seems rather speculative, but will be something to keep an eye on.
  
• Predator confirmed that Zone Troopers will have helmets, a point of much contention for some people.
  
• (Thanks PCNC) Some of the cast list for C&C 3 has been announced by 1UP; Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), Josh Holloway (LOST), Michael Ironside (Splinter Cell, Top Gun), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), Ivana Bozilovic (Wedding Crashers), Shauntay Hinton (Unfinished Business) are featured.
  
• Mike Verdu has been interviewed by Gamespot about the cast. Here's a snip:
  

  GameSpot: Previously, lesser-known actors were used in Command & Conquer games. What went into the decision of blowing out the cast for Command & Conquer 3?
  Mike Verdu: We knew from the start that we needed a very talented cast to do justice to the story for Command & Conquer 3. I believe we've created a story for this game that has real depth and resonance, featuring interesting and complex characters that grow and change over time, a rich world, and some truly cool moments. We wanted actors who could bring our characters and our story to life...and we found them. In the final product, the live action will be intercut with high-end computer graphics (CG) sequences showing action on a grand scale: You'll see the destruction of the Philadelphia, a full-scale assault by Nod forces on a Blue Zone city, and a number of other scenes with an epic quality to them.

  Something to keep an eye on.

So how does our new UI work? At its core, it consists of a traditional C&C side bar interface with the contextual information and object-level control of the Generals UI. This allows players to easily control all production structures from anywhere on the map without the use of control groups, select and control any structure individually, purchase unit-level upgrades, and use tactical unit abilities. Players have an unprecedented level of control over their forces, allowing high-level strategic management and tactical-level micromanagement that's par with any modern RTS game. Additionally, and possibly most importantly, we have found this UI to be both familiar and intuitive to players, regardless of what RTS games they've played in the past.

Blitzkreig 2, which released a new version of their mod a little bit over a week ago, is asking for your help in finding a bug. On their homepage:

The bad news is, online gameplay seems to run into mismatches most of the time. We are trying very hard to find the source of this, and we require your help with this. Whoever finds the source of the mismatches, gets the following prize:

• A custom map/challenge/mission to his/her specifications.

Map should preferably be in Europe, Africa is an option as well. Asia or America are not recommended.

• Ask 2 units of his/her choice, that are not yet in Blitzkrieg II, but which were really contructed/designed, to be included on the map.

These units must have operated in Europe, or must have been intended to be used in Europe. They must have either been constructed or designed (example; the P1000 Ratte was designed. Flying saucers were not.) Units must have designs that are usable in Zero Hour, if you win the prize, you will be consulted on this. Units may include buildings.

• Become a beta tester for new Blitzkrieg2 releases.

You can find more info Here.

The new interface is a hybrid of the sidebar and more "traditional" RTS context-sensitive bottombar. You get the ability to control your factories and MCV from anywhere on the map as well as info about your currently selected buildings or units.

The MCV is, of course, back in its classic (redeployable!) form, but two new construction-related items are the "crane" and the still-being-named/still-being-tweaked "mini-mcv". The crane gives you a second structure build queue - basically you plonk it down and it lets you construct another building while your MCV constructs one. Helpful for those turtlers who like to build big bases fast. Of course, one crane can't build another, so no getting around having your Con Yard blown up that way. The "mini-mcv" can't build anything, but when you deploy it on land, you can then drop down buildings constructed at your ConYard or Crane next to it. Each one is basically half of the MCV's functionality, though neither one is as good (or as expensive) as the MCV itself.

Jason Bender gave an interesting quote about the turtle-vs-rush balance in Command & Conquer games as a whole:

Short answer is, turtling isn't really a viable strategy in Command & Conquer. It's an - it's an aggressive game - you have to get out there and kick some butt. The base defenses and the walls are speedbumps. They're not, you know, solutions. So, what you really have to do is build an army, get out there, and knock the other guy's base down. That's the only way to win.

Greg Black countered this somewhat by pointing out that the sidebar build style makes defending easier overall because you can construct your defenses in relative peace and rest assured that they'll get at least a few shots in rather than being blown up during construction.

The trio also discussed the contentious issue of squads, with Greg Black asserting that one squad of bazookaguys in C&C3 is the same as one single bazookaguy in TD/TS, in terms of cost and effectiveness. The squads system just means that there are more visual guys on-screen, not less physical units under your control. Engineers and commandos are still solo, and, in general, squads are smaller than in BFMEII and more "elite" squads come in smaller denominations. For example, the sniper squad just has two guys: the sniper, and his spotter. Infantry in squads have their own hitpoints and squads don't have BFME-style "leaders" (the guys with the flag).

With regards to game speed, Greg Black re-iterated that the Leipzig demo was horribly sped up, with stuff being built stupidly fast and blowing up just as quickly. While C&C3 is supposed to be fast, it's not going to be THAT fast. Greg's approach to balancing speed is to start off too fast and then back off to a comfortable level.

In Predator's first October Podcast for Command & Conquer 3, he sits down with lead designer Jason Bender and lead balance designer Greg Black in this riveting 40 minute interview discussing some of the hottest topics in the game!

Why did the team choose to implement the MCV system and the side-bar? What about squads? Game speed and balance? They even have some surprising info in the end discussing mech technology on GDI and Nod.

AWAKENING OF AGGRESSION ON PRE-ORDER! It's official, Frank Klepacki's newest CD Awakening of Aggression is going to print, and will be available in November! The store has been updated to now start accepting pre-orders, so you can be the first on your block to get it when it ships! Go to www.frankklepacki.com to check out the cover -- creepy stuff! Sami Silden, the talented artist who did the art for "Virtual Control," is back again with some nice horror themed art to fit the heavy tunes in this release! Check out his site, www.indigo12.com!

UFC ROCKS TO FRANK'S TUNES! The Ultimate Fighting Championship's recent fight, UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn, utilized some of Frank's tracks from the new cd for fighter walk ins and montages, including "Brain Dead, Kill, and Magnefried"!

NEW SONG OF THE MONTH! This months selection is a new custom song Frank scored, that is used in the TV commercials to promote the next upcoming UFC 64: Franklin vs. Silva on pay Per View! Enjoy!

Zero Hour mod Blitzkreig 2: The Finest Hour has released version 2.6.15 of their mod. Here are some of the new features:

Basic rifle infantry (new models for the Russian soldiers btw) will now no longer use AT grenades. Instead each side has an anti-tank weapon which disables rather than destroys the enemy tank. However their main role is to kill infantry at range, and also to shoot them out of buildings.

SMG infantry are the new addition, and are more geared towards close-ranged combat. They mow down rifle infantry at close range, and also can use smoke grenades. They have HE grenades which will clear out a building faster than riflemen can do it, but only from a closer range.

Light tanks now have a more clearly defined role in the early game as a heavy machinegun platform. Infantry will have a hard time taking one out, as they are only really vulnerable to the dedicated AT infantry. They are exceptionally nasty units to large groups of intanry, and provided they have soldiers to take out any AT men, they can clear a street very fast.

You can find more information Here.