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Posting anniversary posts is bittersweet these days. On one hand, I've received some feedback in the past few months from game researchers who are glad that a center of information for the Command & Conquer franchise still exists, but on the other... the community is just not there anymore. A few long-standing mods get updated, a few memes circulate here and there, but the days of Command & Conquer's peak community activity seem to be long gone, so there is little to follow in terms of news. However, the multiplayer charts on the cnc.community website still show a blip of life, meaning people continue to play the more popular titles with their friends at the very least, so it's nice to see the series itself is not forgotten - it's just not spoken about as much. The only """official""" activity we got in the past year was EA licensing the franchise out to an yet another mobile game studio, with the punching bag du jur being called Command & Conquer: Legions by Yorha Studios and Level Infinite, shown at this year's Gamescom. Except it would have been a punching bag if the community at large wasn't so used to being offered proverbial poison that is presented as a delicious cake, so hardly anyone could even bother with an angry reaction, just a quiet but firmly cold shoulder. As eyes of RTS fans turn to upcoming titles like Tempest Rising, Stormgate, Homeworld 3, ZeroSpace, DORF, Dust Front and others, and while the current RTS torch is firmly held by the resurrected Age of Empires franchise, I suppose I can't blame people for wanting to move on. I'd just like to take the opportunity to shout out all the people in the community who are still, despite the aforementioned lull, maintaining the graphics renderers, multiplayer servers, modding communities and toolsets, tournaments and the other surviving websites, as well as all of you who keep streaming, posting let's plays and making fan art/animations. The very fact you still support this very franchise instead of a more active one shows that you do it out of love for the series. I may not have shared the space with you as long as this site has, but I'm glad that I have done so regardless, and will continue to do so.
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Anniversaries have a tendency to creep up on one. It's a big one this time - this very site is 25 years online, maintaining its position as oldest English-speaking (and second-oldest in general, behind only the French CnCSaga) Command & Conquer fansite still up. Times have definitely changed for the franchise in these 25 years. Not just from the perspective of the games themselves, but the dynamics in the community as well. Since the games have been out from the zeitgeist of gaming culture for a good while, there's not a lot going on anymore - it's basically just running through the motions of several mods still being developed and community multiplayer servers still maintaining life support, but that's about it. Only a few content creators still give it the time of day, like Sybert's frequent commentaries or Direct & Dominate episodes and shorts. Sadly, gone are the days of frequent discussions on the gameplay, lore, balancing, new ideas for the series, or just general fan enthusiasm and buzz. Even as discussions have moved from forums to services like Discord and Guilded, actual C&C discussion is getting more scarce compared to what it used to be, and most of us "older" people in the community have gradually but surely moved on to other, more rewarding projects online and AFK, with few new members to pick up where we left off. Every time someone tries to wipe the dust off our projects and mutual connections, all momentum very quickly disappears as other things get in the way and they eventually realize the effort outweighs the outcome (but bless you for trying, you know who you are if you're reading this). While this site will stay online, I would really, for once, like to hear some thoughts and feedback from the few of you who are still around - is there a future at all for C&C fansites that are not focused on a single project/purpose like the community servers, is there a point to adding anything to it, and do you still browse it from time to time? On a more lighter note, how have these 25 years been for you regarding CNCNZ.com and Command & Conquer in general, are there some particular memories you'd like to share? Let us know in the forums and our Discord.
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Remember us? No? Thought so. As you may have noticed, the site has been scarcely touched since June. This only partly has to do with the usual excuses of real life stuff (professional and private), diverting attention to other and far larger projects (working on an unannounced RTS for 3D Realms/Slipgate Ironworks, maintaining and adding worrying amounts of information to MobyGames, just to name a few). For a good while now, I've been thinking hard about the usefulness of CNCNZ.com at present day, given that any news within the community already moves faster than we can report on it through the power of social media and Discord, and the relatively new CnC.Community site, God bless it, even has an automated feed for everything else. So instead of threatening a shutdown yet again, I've decided to take CNCNZ.com in a different direction in 2022. The existing content will not go anywhere, especially not the extensive set of technical info and guides on the series nor our old original content - instead, the site will expand further on its Games section (that I'm sure most don't go to at the moment). In addition to making the unit etc. pages more useful and informative for less skilled and new players to better understand the tools they have, each game will receive pages with information that is normally either scattered on more obscure sites or is only available when talking to the more knowledgeable people in the community. Parameters, hidden mechanics, known bugs, unused content, really any secret that a given game can have. As an icing on that cake, I'll be finishing the expansion of the site's scope to Dune and Battle for Middle-earth titles which are technologically and creatively related to Command & Conquer, which some of you may have noticed we have posted but haven't associated with the site navigation yet (Dune II, Dune 2000, Emperor, BFME1, BFME2, RotWK). These titles will also get the same content I mentioned above as the Command & Conquer titles. Finally, we wish happy holidays and a successful and peaceful new year to all fellow commanders!
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So it turns out that at least part of the issues we've had with the site lately have been due to apparent incompatibility of the rather old theme we'd used with newer versions of WordPress. For the time being, I've put a replacement theme, where everything you see is subject to change. What was important to me is that users can now once again use the navigation bar and view the gallery items, which I've received the most messages about. This is not a finalized design by any means, so things can and will change in the near future as alignments are fixed, colour scheme is tweaked, and button visibility is brought up to previous standards.
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The link to our Discord server has unjustly only been in the announcement for our failed first Game Night (we'll organize a new one, don't fret!). So, to all those who are not aware, we have our own Discord server here: https://discord.gg/4PN3HEa There we can talk about anything related and unrelated to the C&C series, as well as organize and coordinate during game nights. There are also channels for modding and our usual news feed. We also have a few voice chat channels. Hop in and join us!
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A streak of anniversary posts, eh? On 27 October 1997, CNCNZ.com first came online (then under the name TiberianSun.Net.NZ). While a good year for Command & Conquer, with how the Remastered Collection reinvigorated public interest in the franchise, it was another quiet one on this front. Another round of personal obligations, interests in other (often higher-level) communities and even grabbing a position in a game studio didn't reflect well on the willpower to reignite this site's activity. Also, with the C&C community being increasingly decentralized yet again, thanks to numerous topical and off-topical Discord servers which catch news and things of interest before we can, I think a proper discussion on what the site's future direction really should be is in order. This is in no way a criticism towards those servers, as they have in fact been instrumental in getting a lot of projects going, mods progressing, and even the remasters themselves patched (at least to a decent degree). We just need to find our place again. Also, I am aware of a glitch on the non-forum part of the site preventing drop-downs from appearing on mouse hover, and medium-to-large gallery pages ending up blank. IIRC there was a similar issue before but I can not remember what the solution was. I will investigate it by the end of the week.
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27 October is when CNCNZ.com observes its anniversary, this time number 22. But alas, if you have visited this site at any point over the past year or so, you will have noticed that our activity has not been what it once was. Due to private obligations and shifting focus to other projects and ways of contributing to game communities in general, combined with a lack of enthusiastic staff who would push content and news, those of us who remain have left CNCNZ.com on the backburner for a while, although we do cover official C&C remaster news and news regarding former C&C developers whenever we catch wind of them. However, once this "quiet" phase ends, I would like to announce that CNCNZ.com will change its scope in the foreseeable future to better serve the series and the community as a hub for C&C info, in which a greater stress will be the aspects that you usually need multiple clicks to reach. What that will exactly look like, we can't and won't reveal right now, but watch this space in the coming months. Until then, we're still available to talk on our Discord server and our (currently asleep) forums.
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It's 27 October 2018. The more attentive of you will know that this means that as of today, CNCNZ.com has been online for 21 years! We are still the longest-running English-speaking Command & Conquer website, and the only site that is older than us in general is the French C&C Saga (hi guys!). Boy, what a year it's been. We've had our second transfer of control in such a short time, and two server changes this year alone, and although things have been a bit turbulent behind the scenes and news hasn't always been as fresh and timely as it used to, we are here to stay. Rough times always pass, and that will be the case in this site's future, and hopefully with the future of C&C. Anyway, since it's this site's "birthday", I believe it's time for presents. We're a website so we can't receive any, so we give you one instead. That's right! It's another Dev Detector feature, and it's with none other than Joseph Kucan himself! He was nice enough to take some time off his schedule as producing director at A Public Fit and answered our questions on his prior work at Westwood, current work with A Public Fit, some lore questions that have been confusing us for a while, and more! Check it out right here!
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The fan favourite feature on CNCNZ.com, the Roundtable Discussion, is back after 3 and a half years of silence! For the thirty-seventh instalment of the discussion, we brought some of the Command & Conquer community leaders to express their opinions on the topics of: reactions and opinions on C&C Rivals, state of apathy and laziness in the community, community projects, what other RTSes we are playing, what an ideal RTS would look like, and the future for the RTS genre. Be sure to also take a look at our archive of all previous Roundtable Discussions.
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If you are reading this, this means that the DNS change has affected you and you have reached the new home of CNCNZ.com. We are now hosted at the more affordable (and more awesome) Croatian hosting company Avalon, which has, coincidentally, also been around since 1997. Yes, we are now hosted in the same country that held Nod Banshee prototype facilities, the same country your MCV got stuck in, and the same country the Scrin went to gather information on Kane from. Let's just say that GDI trash should steer clear. Expect large updates on both Command & Conquer: Rivals and the C&C community at large tomorrow.
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We would like to inform you that we will be changing our hosting again, since our current option was a rather transitional one. We do not know how long this will take, and there might be disruptions in access to the site. What we can tell you is that you can follow any and all related messages on our Facebook page, Twitter profile, and our Discord server.
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We have some site-related news to post tonight. CNCNZ.com is changing administration, in a way, but not much will actually change. Before you ask, no, we are not in any danger from shutting down again, like we were a year ago. What happens is this - Rabbit (ex-Zee Hypnotist), who took over the site from the hosting and leadership role, is taking a back seat. He is still our host, and he will still be around on our forums and Discord server from time to time, and will help out if something on the site breaks, but he is no longer the leader of the site. As of this moment, I am. This has been a decision that took a lot of discussion for a long period of time, as Rabbit never intended to fully lead the site, just save it from closure, as he leads a busy private life. On the flip side, I have been working hard on networking with core community leaders (which hasn't been done since C&C Webbies went down), communicating with EA staff, and maintaining information, tech, and gallery pages on the site, so this was another part of the reasoning. What will change in the site's direction? Probably not much for a while. There are only 3 staff members currently around, which considering the extent of our activities online and offline, doesn't allow for much in terms of new content, though we are always looking for new staff. What will continue is us bringing you both official and community news on Command & Conquer, and I also hope to bring back some neglected features (I know we kept promising a lot over the past year, but I'm trying to keep it real with the features that will be revived). Thank you all for sticking with us, and we hope that you will do so in the future as well.
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For the first time since 2010, CNCNZ.com brings you A Year in Review, a special article which sums up all the important news from the Command & Conquer community in the past year, month by month. It can also be used to silence the voices who say nothing ever happens in the community. Click here to read the full article. We've also restored the previous iterations of A Year in Review (the reasoning of their removal is still unknown to me): 2008, 2009, and 2010.
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It's Christmas Eve, and in many parts of the world, it's already Christmas Day. In the name of the CNCNZ.com staff, I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and may you celebrate it peacefully and happily with your families and friends!
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On 27 October 1997, a small fansite called TiberianSun.Net.NZ was created by @Sonic, in anticipation for the then-upcoming Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. Now, 20 years later, we are a site that aims to cover the entire Command & Conquer series and its surrounding community. Twenty years is no small feat for any website, especially one run by fans. Many other C&C fansites went down due to their owners running out of time or, worse yet, enthusiasm, and although we were in danger ourselves not too long ago, we prevailed. We are now one of the few dedicated Command & Conquer fansites running, and we have no intention of stopping. We're also the second-longest running C&C fansite in total, with only the French CnCSaga.com being older than us by about one year. What does the future hold? Who knows. We already have some things prepared to upgrade the site's content, not least of which being the currently work-in-progress Downloads section that many of you may have seen already. We intend to form the site to a source on the C&C series like it's never been before, so keep an eye out for updates. What does the present hold, though? Well, to celebrate this huge milestone, we'll be hosting a game night tonight (October 27th) at 19:00 UTC, and the game of choice will be Tiberian Sun via CnCNet (Firestorm games optional), as it was the game that led to this site's creation. The games will be casual and fun in nature, so anyone interested can join and play. Make sure you set it up properly beforehand, so check out our guide for installing and patching. Hop by on our Discord server for coordination and chit-chat. Also, if you're just joining us after some time of absence, we've launched C&C Radio earlier this month, and interviewed Frank Klepacki on his past and current work, so check that content out as well!
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Twenty years is quite a long time, especially for a video game fansite. It’s a good point to look back at what’s been accomplished and what’s been experienced in that time. With that in mind, we approached one of the key people who made our experiences with most of the Command & Conquer franchise enjoyable and memorable. Our beloved composer Frank Klepacki took some time from his busy schedule for an interview in which we asked him about his work at Westwood Studios and his current projects. Click here to read the interview.
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Throwback Thursday Throwback Thursday for 26th October
Plok posted a topic in Command & Conquer News
With the 20th anniversary of our site being mere hours away, we've decided to dedicate this week's Throwback Thursday feature to the original iteration of our site, which was initially called TiberianSun.Net.NZ, created on 27 October 1997 by @Sonic in anticipation for Westwood's intensely hyped Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. From the image shown, taken on the second anniversary in 1999, we can see how far we've come since, from expanding to the entire C&C franchise, through generating exclusive content, to becoming one of the most resilient fansites around. Remember, you can click on the preview to see a larger and more detailed image. Don't forget to check out the Throwback Thursdays archives if you've missed a week. Check back again next Thursday for another Throwback. Send in your ideas for future instalments. We also encourage you to share this on social media using the hash tags #ThrowbackThursday, #CnCTBT and #CNCNZTBT. -
I wanted to write something to have my final goodbye and officially sign off as the webmaster, founder and lead administrator of CNCNZ.com. So I decided to write an article addressing stuff such as the closure announcement, change of ownership and my final thoughts. It is short, to the point and hopefully it answers everyone's questions. You can read the entire article right here. And with that I'm done. As I wrote just under a month ago. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as webmaster of this site but now its time to step aside. Long live Command & Conquer! Long live CNCNZ.com!
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In this special month of October which marks CNCNZ.com's 20th anniversary, we will be hosting Game Nights every Friday. From the classic C&C titles to popular mods, we will be playing it all on our Discord server! If there is enough interest we can make it a contest to determine the #1 player of each Game Night, but otherwise these Game Nights will be casual gaming sessions as we chill together and enjoy games with friends. For this first Game Night of the month, there is no set time and no particular game we are focusing on. This is but an open invitation to come by our Discord server, connect within our community, and get some games going. The invite link can be found here, and we hope to see some faces old and new! I myself may be in late this evening, though if you catch me I will be down to play! Let's make these Friday nights our nights for C&C games!
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CNCNZ.com CNCNZ.com 20th Year Anniversary Announcement
FRAYDO posted a topic in Command & Conquer News
This October 27th is the 20-year anniversary for CNCNZ.com! As we progress through the month of October, we will be hosting a series of features and events. On October 1st, we'll be releasing C&C Radio, our online streaming service where you can listen to music from the C&C series and commentary from our staff. On Fridays, we'll be hosting game nights, from the classics to popular mods and using CnCNet and C&C:Online where applicable. Other features will be released or updated, so check out CNCNZ this month to see what we have in store! -
CNCNZ.com New Article: Totally Not Angry Response To Stupid Community Comments
Plok posted a topic in Command & Conquer News
In another new article, I've decided to publicly vent about quite a few misinformed and outright stupid comments I've encountered in the C&C community over the past few years on almost all sites and chat rooms I've been to. Sadly, most of these things are frequently repeated over and over. The statements I've made there are sincere mirrors of what I think and feel, so easily offended people beware. You can read the full article here. -
CNCNZ.com New Article: The Technological "Cousins" of C&C
Plok posted a topic in Command & Conquer News
While we aim to cover all things Command & Conquer, we often forget that they had two "cousin" series: Dune and The Battle for Middle-earth. In this new CNCNZ.com article, I look at each of the games in both series individually, first giving the basic information on them and core gameplay points, after which I give my subjective view on them. I've also shared links to their official and fan-made patches, as well as multiplayer servers where you can play them. Click here to see the article. -
Sonic, the founder and lead webmaster of this site, has chosen to step down. Rather than let the site disappear into the abyss, he has generously allowed me to maintain the website. What does this mean? I, Zee Hypnotist, have returned to CNCNZ.com. Sort of. I am here mostly in spirit and to ensure that CNCNZ stays alive in one way or another. Plokite_Wolf and Nmenth will remain as the admins who actually keep the site running, while I support them in any way I can. Rest assured, you do not need to worry about archiving everything just yet, we will ensure that CNCNZ remains online, though there may be a temporary period of disruption while we transfer everything to (yet another) server host. And to Sonic, we, the community, thank you for your 19 years of keeping this site alive. Should you ever wish to return, your legacy will always remain. Long live CNCNZ!
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I don't think this news needs any explanation.
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For quite a while, I've wanted to make a multiplayer event for forum members and followers of CNCNZ.com where we'd just chill and play some fun matches together without any competitive pressure unless agreed upon otherwise. And so, our first Game Night will take place on Saturday, 15 July, at 19:00 GMT, in Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge via CnCNet. Further information is available here. In other news, we have started our very own Discord server, which channels for both our regular news feed and discussions, and a channel intended for game nights, along with voice channels.