Saracen

One name: Tim Schafer This is his game! Nothing Else Matters... No Pun Intended

Ahh that's it then GDI have employed Jack Bauer. No wonder it's the last one...Kane doesn't stand a chance!

You're worse than I was... Right, moving on! I noticed a rather epic sounding Multiplayer Point. 5 Vs 5! Dependant on the Unit cap, this could be nothing short of truly magnificent! The biggest thing that had me addicted to World In Conflict, and in fact had me playing at the competitive ladder level was the sheer fun that it was to kick-ass with a good group of team mates. Clan gaming in that game was something rather special... I'm not a big MP gamer, but if it's up to the quality of what WiC offered, then I'll buy this just for that feature alone... forget the storyline! The app for your mobile has me curious as well... I wonder if it's iPhone only... or are they going to cover apps for Blackberries, nokia's G1's etc. We know nothing of it other than that... But it sounds like an interesting innovation... Unless it's to track online stats for competitive gamers, then it's still a pretty neat idea... but would have to be a lot more comprehensive than some mobile apps I've used. Facebook being one of them, that's just terrible! Everything else seems a pretty standard and somewhat expectable affair. I'm not going to judge on the the canon specifics. I'm here out of curiosity for a new RTS game, not Command & Conquer

There's so much irony generated in this one thread, it may just explode! I can't complain. The more and more I see C&C 4 unfold, the more it's appealing to me. I mean, if this game can strike a cord on the Strategic level, and not make me feel like I'm playing the same heavily pop-capped Dawn of War 2 style game.... chances are, I may just buy this. Truthfully though the units are varied and some have a strong epic feel about them. It doesn't appear as if we're going to be restricted to just a handful of units. The maps look better made, and hopefully there's asymmetrical versions in the SP. If there's also a good unit cap in the mix, no arrows pointing over objectives, a decent challenge which requires a brain to overcome, then it's gonna be rather interesting to see the outcome. This appears to be a game crafted with a little more love than other EALA predecessors. I hope to god that EALA ignore the fans and do their own thing here... Because I think the Franchise as a whole will stand a better course with RTS players everywhere if it remains permanently away from fan service altogether.

The gamer's bill of rights is something that was formed between Stardock & Gas powered games last year. It was created in mind of protecting the consumer and as a roll on effect, the PC gaming market, which (to say the least) has struggled amongst the more lucrative console market. The bill is more of a certification of quality rather than a set of rules. Although both companies believe, that in order to ensure good quality control, and final fully working released product... a gamer should at all times have the rights of the following 10 points: It is a fair call though and I can understand why Stardock and GPG decided to write it up. It's basically a 10 commandments for quality... Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have similar rules for games on their latest consoles... But as it stands, the PC market is rather unchecked when it comes to certification methods. Unless of course they use Windows Live as a multiplayer backend. EDIT: OK, I just pretty much reiterated one of the linked articles... didn't notice that But still... there needs to be some form of certification process that all PC games publishers should adhere to. It would then fall in line with the rest of the industry... Then maybe we'll see larger areas dedicated to PC gaming in our stores as consumer and developer faith is regained in PC gaming... This is instead of the stupid little corner somewhere in the back of the shop, which is overshadowed by the space dedicated to the rather failed PSP handheld console!

Holy Jesus, I bet you never expected this. This is a temp visit, but one of constructive insight to the topic at hand.... Allow me to Divulge. From the Petroglyph Forums thread (yes I arrived again there) in response to hagren's post on the thread: Classical RTS is dead: Something like that is a good idea. The Imperium Galactica Franchise offered a similar idea but on planets. The difference being that these planets could be taken over... But even if it was just along the lines of Earth 2150, then there could be some interesting potential. I actually stuck my head into CNCNZ.com today out of curiosity, and found a thread in the C&C 4 forum that bases would not be included, or indeed buildable. No doubt this will cause an uproar, but the DoW2 community got over it. Anyway, should EA's arm be twisted into having to include a building mechanic... why shouldn't EA approach a similar method you've mentioned above. Have a home HQ base in which to keep (at least) a traditional area of the franchise going. In which case where a refinery would normally cost $1200, have it cost $12,000+... so as the game goes on you could unlock extra tech, and allow for the purchase of bigger and better things. You would then build units and such on which to take in a dropship, (pop capped) to your next mission. Now if you combine that with the standard unit upgrade system you've got in place, and also include missions where the base could potentially be attacked, then it would add up to a really interesting game.. Perhaps in some side missions you'd have to take harvesters with you to load up on a new type of mega Red Tiberium which add's like 10,000 credits per load, but takes ages to harvest. You'd then be tasked with protecting the harvesters until they have finished, then get them to an extraction point. Such missions of course would not be constant, and would only be usable in cases where mandatory upgrades are required for the next storyline mission. Now as far as C&C 4 stands (as I mentioned earlier) my interest is low. But should the community twist the arm of the developers... what a perfect way to deal with the issue... Sure it wouldn't be what the complainers wanted. But there's some great depth potential there, and I would say that should EA have to compromise, it wouldn't make too much of a dent in the games overall goal. If something like this was to happen... then C&C 4 will most definately get my purchase. As it stands however, I'd much really prefer to load steam and play some DoW2 instead. I would prefer C&C 4 makes a statement of being a different, and deeper experience... than just being too similar to others. Just so you know, I called it!

Nope, I'd actually be willing to pay someone to break into my place just to get rid of them! I've managed to sell my originals I got back in the late 90's. Nobody wants C&C 3 and RA3 though... no surprise really given how blantently pants they were. I may just give them to some random charity shop.. let some unfortunate mug buy them in aid of the poor kiddies in Africa. I will admit they'd get a bargin though, the charity shop sells all games at half the price of the cheapest Bargin bin game... mind you, that's all they're worth anyway!

I was going to get around to posting a thread exactly like this...Guess I'm so busy with the design and construction of the first Jet Set Community Fansite, that I haven't really thought about it. But anyway, the approach that's been taken with Jet Set is to be more console orientated. They partially feel that this should cut the "Westwood Revived" Attitude that came with the founding of Petroglyph. However, gamers can take it 2 ways. The media shouts about "former Westwood" and that's it... people expect a C&C like clone to shoot out the door sooner or later. Jet Set Games' mission statement is "To develop elegant and entertaining products which are easy for anyone to play." It's more about the casual games market, than anything else. So there's not really going to be any console RTS games coming out here. I believe they wish to remain far away from that as possible right now. Adam has said it himself... the traditional RTS on consoles doesn't work, so he couldn't give 2 monkeys about the whole genre. I personally wouldn't say I'm jumping on the bandwagon with my JetSector fansite. My mind is rather open at this point.. so if they come out with a driving game, a platformer, a simply crazy yet fun puzzle game for example, then I'm more than happy to go along with that and support the company entirely. With the iPhone issue. As it stands Jet Set are focussing on the term "Applications"... Indeed they will almost 100% be likely to be creating games. But they do have a seperate site called Jet Set Apps... which I've been told will also focus on applications to boost the iPhone's communication and Smart Phone usability. So we are likely to see a serious side to Jet Set with potential apps for business and personal use, as well as the entertainment sector. You calling me stupid in that other thread Luk3us is uncalled for really. If it was anyone else who popped in and mentioned Jet set, you'd be, "best of luck with the fansite"... Plus also, that would be like myself calling Sonic stupid for deciding to continue following C&C after my departure. It's not something I would even consider doing. All power to him for sticking by the franchise for so long... There's something called Respect. I respect Sonic for taking me on here all those years ago, and helping me find out and learn how a successful website is run... That's stuff that will stay with me. I've also learnt that things don't go right... there are gonna be failures, there are gonna be problems... so be it. If my Jet Sector site falls through, or the company does a Petroglyph... then nevermind. These things happen, you pick yourself up, move on and take the experience with you. Just because I've abandoned C&C, it doesn't make me a bad person you know. I've gone into this new community as a console gamer first, and an old Westwood supporter second. I was toying over the idea of creating a Starcraft 2 or Dawn of War 2 Fansite instead... but I'm not going to tie myself to a particular franchise and/or Genre. My goals for Jet Sector are not the same as what was planned here or at Petro-Gamers. There's a completely different ethos I wish to create while still remaining professional. Leaving CNCNZ.com has allowed me to readdress the fine line between personal opinion and professional conduct, and I intend to make use of the best of both worlds.

New Av & Sig Combo to promote the new Jet Set Community Fansite I have founded. --------------------- Trivia: Did you know that Jet Set Games Inc. is founded by a team of Westwood Veterans? Including original Westwood co-founder and RTS/C&C inventor Brett Sperry? Have I caught your attention yet!?

Since my retirement here, I've been spending the last week installing a few choice RTS games. Some are more recent, others are from 1997-99. Anyway... The more recent games I found quite normal.... campaigns of progression have been rather solid, difficulty curve starts off easy, and doesn't really get too hard. I've also played a couple of skirmishes on normal difficulty, and have found the AI to have a slight challenge to it. However, there hasn't been enough challenge to present a remote chance of being defeated. Then I decided to fire up some older games from my RTS catalog. I have to be honest, I've not had my ass handed to me on a plate so often, ever! Campaigns would start off easily enough, but soon progress with a much higher difficulty curve after just a few missions. Using modern day RTS techniques and strategies quickly mean resources run out without much being built and defeat comes faster. The AI also attacks faster and harder, and units take a lot less damage than their modern counterparts, before being destroyed. Skirmishes are the same story on Normal Difficulty. The AI is more prepared to harass, build bigger armies, and in some cases steamroll if you let your guard down. In hindsight it's amazingly easy to see why there was such a big turtle culture that relied heavily on massing units. Having to turtle at times with a strong early defence force was essential to survival back in the day. The primary example is indeed Starcraft (Shock! Yes I'm playing it!!).... I have only won a single skirmish game so far, and I'm also finding my economy suffers greatly in the campaign because I'm not using precise, well managed micro. I know the key to winning is heavy harvesting (10 SCVs for example to a field and expanding at the right moment), and spending every mineral you get. But I'm still getting owned! The original Dark Reign is also very similar, yet heavy harvesting of resources, and spending everything you have is still key.... Finding that correct balance and correct counters has proven rather tough! I have to say therefore that it seems that the modern day RTS has been somewhat dumbed down to Macro orientated games in comparison to 10+ years ago which were more Micro intensive. Not playing older games for so long may be a partial reason, but the difficulty shouldn't be as tough as this! It's proof really that in order for the genre to appeal to the mass market, these games have had to get easier so more people can enjoy them. It also seems the reason why the genre hasn't progressed as strongly as it should have. But, I've been waiting for years to find games that can provide a mighty challenge and be prepared to kick my ass. Games that really do require strategy and more micromanagement to progress through. I think I've finally found them.... they're in the past!

Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them. They can be the most beautiful species on earth. But all us men know, they're not the same species as us. They can break our hearts, and we can break theirs.... such is love, and the pursuit of happiness. However, they can also tear us apart.... As One man found found back in 2005. Old it may be, but it's doing the rounds after being buried for so long.

End of an Era you could argue. But based on a poll which I put in my blog, people here were glad to see me go, and a couple just didn't care if I retired or not. Always nice to know that you cared eh guys!? But honestly, I have to agree with those people who did say yes. This was a long time coming, and being a part of the staff here for so long has made me realise that in the last couple of years, it has been a chore to some extent. I would have continued the Articles section. But to be honest there is only so much you can say about C&C before it's all written. This is more the case today than ever before because of the shallow piece of mindless entertainment it has become. In the past, the community was all up for deciphering story plots, guessing the next big thing and finding enrichment in canon based discussion. All this has gone out the window, and with the power of Hindsight, I see that this community, much like the game it follows, is out of its depth entirely. The whole thing lacks a solid foundation, forgets its roots and thus, this is an EA community, not a C&C community. EA communities do not allow for their fansites to convey critical thought regardless if it's constructive or not. Neither do they have the interests of their communities at heart... As much as they say they do, I haven't seen it truly for years. I still see communities where fansite leaders make their opinions known publicly. Places that have a good amount of fight still within them, who have a passion to state their opinions and get their forums buzzing. Polls get set up which mean something, and as a result can sway a once singular rant into an influential opinion which benefits a certain franchise. Developers will care about community opinion, liaise with their fansites and those that choose to be a part of them so opinions count. The whole experience is about continual active engagement and communication on all levels with a good amount of firey passion thrown in. That is what makes a community great..... So what the **** happened to this one?

Just thought I'd pop in here amongst my other endevours to deliver a point concerning this. If Sega's Marketing Machine was just that bit more stronger, RA3 wouldn't get much of a look in at all on the PS3. Most PS3 gamers who enjoyed Endwar as their first console RTS fix, are buzzing more about Sega's RTS, "Stormrise". The game which is being headed up by the same studio who develops the Total War Series. Indeed the game is not a PS3 exclusive and will be heading to the 360 and PC platforms as well. But the Playstation community really hasn't embraced RA3. Those that have, already have it or do not like the idea of the old "RTS on consoles" concept. Many are indeed looking forward to the new concept which games like Endwar and Stormrise are revolutionising right now.

Earth 2140 A solid game with great gameplay Great destruction physics and explosions Great difficulty unusually deep for a 2D RTS Building mechanic was inspiration for RA3's EotRS. Economy mechanic also. 2150 Great depth - Multi-map, unit design, research, terrain deformation and sub-terrainian mechanics Interesting difficulty great night/day and weather mechanics factions different and balanced 2160 Great continuation of the franchise factions further diversified though building mechanics and economy New Alien faction still the most unique in any RTS ever developed Negetive: Pop caps rather restrictive at times Negetive: Base defense towers often too strong - never nerfed, in hand with pop cap games were often stalemates with inpenetrable bases

Doesn't bother me that much... I've been offered duties elsewhere at a different games community fan site. Although I haven't taken them up on it yet, cos I'm actually enjoying the lack of power... it's somewhat refreshing!

OK, I last did one of these when I passed my Driving test and got my first decent car a couple of years back now. Back then I had a Honda Civic 1.3. Since then, I've had a Vauxhall (GM/Opel) Astra 1.4, basic, but it's done me proud. Now I have my sights on my next definite buy.... I hope this one will last a few years. Renault Megane 1.4 So what's yours? (or if you're too young to drive) what do your parents own?

nah I'd rather not... lock this already.. stop slacking!

Ah good I'm not on the list. Don't add me in either. I don't consider myself part of the C&C community any more anyways. I'm just the pissed off angry bastard with a beard that comes into this bar, has a beer and a cigar who then disappears again back to go moan some more. Oh, and I'm getting offers from other community websites who want my experience.. how handy lol

SupCom first and foremost has a nostalgia feel to it. Once I had finished with the original Red Alert, I decided to pick up a copy of Total Annihilation. Even though the game is a spiritual successor, it retained a lot of the classic feel and gameplay, but it also added more depth. Sure the campaign's story was rather pants, and it wasn't very long.... But it was fun. The problem is that most RTS gamers these days want a non-pushy, non complicated, easy to get through campaigns. Anything that requires effort, or proves to test a player, people aren't interested. It's evident through the fact that Total Annihilation was hailed the best RTS of 1997, and the only game that year which could stand up to C&C. It was well received by most RTS gaming communities that existed at the time. Then we have SupCom, which is more of the same, but has a stronger execution, better design, plus it added extra tactical and strategic depth. But although it was somewhat easier than TA, most people shunned it!? I actually believe that C&C Generals had some interesting traits. There was something about it that saw a potential evolution of the franchise. I'm not talking about the fact the sidebar was moved, or the fact that you needed to use construction vehicles.... But the gameplay was actually more solid than C&C 3 and RA3... There was some depth to it that other SAGE Engine games have failed to replicate. A simple example was the GLA suicide bomber... putting him in a car and sending him to his death was a micromanagement treat. Things such as this were great in Generals... so it didn't matter if it had a crap story, the gameplay elements made up for that entirely. If Generals 2 is announced. I cannot honestly see EALA developing anything as clever as what Generals offered. To keep the community happy, they'll probably stick to the traditional C&C route.. or everyone will be shouting "It's Not C&C!!!"... Generals was not a staple universe in this franchise, but it was willing to try something new. It worked, yet the community cried and lost sleep over what was potentially a very good game. If it had a story to it which was well written, and a slightly stronger music score, it could have been the best C&C to date. Even if they get that right with Generals 2, the game and it's gameplay isn't going to be anything like the original.

From an AI and campaign perspective going back to Tiberian Sun is the most difficult. After being patched solidly it has become one of the toughest C&C AI's on Normal difficulty. However. The original C&C's AI has a single most crippling flaw in that it will scan for targets from left to right and from the top to the bottom of the map. Such a thing has become so easy to exploit that I will generally play the game with that in mind, and instinctively just place units as far north as I can. There are a few exceptions for example when facing GDI, the Ion cannon will always go for the most northern Nod Defence. If that is not possible, then it will usually attack the Airfield with little success. However Airstrikes, and AI attack forces will always hunt down and kill any unit which is closest to the top of the map, even if it's just a single $100 infantry.

Yeah unfortunately people like myself and Zee don't have badges. It'd be a cool idea actually if retired staff could get a badge with the number of years served. I'm just short of 11, god damn it!

Sonic will e-mail the successful applicants. It contains guidelines and around 6-8 questions. All you do is answer them as honestly, as best and as fully as you see fit. Then you send the completed e-mail back. All answers are compiled and then published. The Roundtable is a great way to air your views community-wide though. If you've got something (relating to the question) that you really feel passionate about, then tell it like it is... The only edits that are made to these answers are spelling and grammar... Everything else remains as it was intended.

That's another thing I dislike about modern games, is difficulty levels. A good gamer will make sure they adapt to the increasingly set difficulty within a particular title. A game which can be forced to adapt to you is in my mind plain stupid! At that point, when you're given an option to set how dumb or how cheat-worthy the AI should be is the moment the game fails to become what it has been set out to achieve. Indeed I do enjoy completing games, because there is a great amount of achievement within that. But I want to work for it! New games are good when they start off simple because they get you into the mechanics, but they shouldn't hold back on my account once I'm comfortable with playing. I want my ass kicked, I want to feel frustrated when losing. So at least after calming down and figuring how I can defeat the AI, can can go back and try my strategies to see how they pay off. Forget gamers with short attention spans and an unwillingness to try and better themselves. If those so-called gamers cannot take a little heat in their games then they shouldn't be playing at all. The purpose in a game is to present challenges, to put walls in front of you to climb over. Sure they should entertain as well. But why should a game all be about just entertainment? If I wish to put in 10+ hours of effortless, mindless entertainment, I'll go watch the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy!

I don't think you understand the concept behind "Classic cars". The whole point in classic restoration is to keep the car as close to its original factory standard as possible. You maintain its look, it's feel and its legacy with the features it was given during its manufacture. If you were to do up a classic Jaguar E-type so it conformed to modern day safety standards, you would effectively have to rip out the old interior trim and remove the shell to weld in a front, side and rear impact protection systems, replace the wheel so it can accommodate airbags, install a modern day electrical system and sensors so that airbag can go off. Then there's extensive chassis reinforcement, overhauling the original shell you've taken off. Then you'd have to add extra needless weight to conform to modern standards. The list can and will go on... Before long, you've destroyed the priceless classic into non-recognition! Safety features are not everything on a car Mina. Safety starts from the very person behind the wheel. Sure their are idiots around, but most crashes happen because of your own driver error. Not because someone else decided to overtake on a corner with you coming the other way.

Yeah. My biggest highlight was managing and putting together the foundations of the C&C 10th Anniversary. With CNCNZ.com as a launch pad for the event, it really moved the site and the community forward. Had I not come up with the idea to celebrate, with EA's backing, would there be a First Decade pack? Would EA have released Free versions of the original C&C and Red Alert to the community? Not for my ego to get too big here. But I like to think that myself and CNCNZ.com had a big part in making it possible. Over the years I have also given EA some big knocks. My heavy handed criticism never went un-noticed, and I always thrusted controversy into any subject. My passion for the franchise was unrivalled, and I would indeed take anyone on trying to defend that passion. However Apoc and me always saw eye to eye, and I was able to partially contribute towards C&C 3. I was actually (after a deep AIM conversation with Apoc) solely responsible for the ongoing existence of Visceroids, even if they didn't play a big part. I also wrote a strong personal argument (never seen article) for high yield blue Tiberium being in the game. This was (I was told) read by the dev team. So my passion for the franchise, helped give a lot of feedback to that game. 2007 was indeed the year I took my passion too far though, and after going to EALA for a C&C 3 pre-release community summit, I slammed the game hard for not being nothing less than perfect, and remaining dumbed down as opposed to showing an evolution of the franchise. It effectively killed my passion for the entire franchise overnight and it heavily destroyed the strong relationship myself and EA developed back in 2005. I'm not going to keep it a secret... Since that happened, I have tried many times to find that passion again. Playing all the older games and even finding Red Alert 2 enjoyable, which I didn't like previously... Even playing Generals (which I loved on Gameplay alone) could not reignite it... and despite my review on RA3, I thought the passion was rediscovered.... but it wasn't to be... The game is now uninstalled, and I don't know when another C&C title will find its way onto my PC in the future. CNCNZ needs staff who are still passionate about the franchise. Despite the offline commitments I have, a Co-webmaster who does not have that passion any more is not contributing to the best interests of the site. This is why I have had to regretfully step down on a permanent basis. It has been 11 whole years of highs and lows as a member of staff at this site. I would be lying if I said I haven't enjoyed every minute of it. But the evolution of the franchise and the community itself, has not gone the way I expected it to. I have to say though, after so many years, it's horrible not being able to moderate these forums. Looks like I may be making good use of the button while I'm still here.