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Today has been quite eventful for the Command & Conquer franchise. A lengthy Reddit post (available here) was written by Jim Vessella and CCHyper, which is a recommended read, but for those in a hurry, here is the abbreviated list: All games in the C&C: The Ultimate Collection package on Steam and EA App have been updated - this fixes some issues discovered since launch (e.g. broken cutscenes in Red Alert 2), adds missing PDF manual versions, adds bonus content (Tiberium Wars Kane Edition, bonus maps for Red Alert 3, etc.) Source codes are now available for Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert 1, Renegade, Generals + Zero Hour, and an additional repository for all 3D titles in the franchise that will help with developing mods (modding guidelines updated accordingly) Newer titles got a version bump - 1.09 for Generals, 1.05 for Zero Hour, 1.10 for Tiberium Wars, 1.03 for Kane's Wrath, 1.13 for Red Alert 3, 1.01 for Uprising, 1.04 for Tiberian Twilight. Steam Workshop support added for SAGE games Archived footage from the development of Renegade and Generals has been digitized and uploaded on YouTube (see above) The franchise is on sale on Steam right now! oh, and Tiberium Alliances got a Steam release Big thank you to everyone involved behind the scenes on this update, and making sure the C&C legacy is available in as accessible a package as possible.

The new version of the Mobius Map Editor has been released. This editor is an enhanced version of the C&C Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert map editor released by Electronic Arts for the Remastered collection, which has been upgraded to also support Sole Survivor. Since v1.5.0.0 it can work independently from the remaster, using the graphics of the original 90s games. This new version's main new feature is the ability to open the game's .mix archives, making it very easy to open all original missions and maps as reference material. Other improvements include a more accurate overlap detection system, much faster saving of map thumbnails, pixel fonts for all classic mode indicators, and the program no longer auto-connecting to Steam when it starts, to allowing easier map testing. The project's releases page Reddit post with a more detailed overview of the new features

Resident C&C collectors have caught wind of a promotional VHS tape for the original Command & Conquer that was shown in stores before the game's release (as evidenced by the stated May 1995 release date, which ended up being pushed to September), and features various footage and explanations from the developers themselves. The shown build is quite different from what ended up in our hands, and even the old style of misison briefings which quickly flashed at in a prior trailer is shown in full. The tape's footage is actually a few minutes long but is repeated to a full hour so store owners didn't have to rewind as often. Credits go to collector Wesley for tracking the tape down and digitizing, and TaxOwlbear for uploading!

On September 26th, 1995, after about a month's worth of distribution issues, Westwood Studios shipped the original DOS version of Command & Conquer. It was based upon their 1992 strategy Dune II, but without a book/film license to keep them chained regarding what they could and could not do. Alongside Blizzard's WarCraft and later StarCraft series, Command & Conquer would become the most formative RTS franchise. The Command & Conquer demo was one of the first games I've ever played, and being just a little less than 5 months older than the game itself, I have a special connection to it. Admittedly, I play many different games these days, but returning to a Command & Conquer title feels like coming back home after a long trip - everything's comfortable and familiar. It's also much easier to return to the mentality of C&C than for most other strategy games, and no matter how many mechanical additions later C&C titles would get, they were all relatively simple on a fundamental level. While it is nice to spend an evening thinking of advanced build orders in Age of Empires or micromanaging small-scale shootouts in Company of Heroes, the certain bluntness of Command & Conquer is satisfactory on a different level. It's kind of like eating a few exotic flavours of ice cream and then returning to plain old basic chocolate - no matter how much you love the wacky combinations on your cone, the classics never fail you. While my go-to C&C throwback games are usually Yuri's Revenge, Kane's Wrath, the original Red Alert, and even Firestorm sometimes, the recent C&C Remastered Collection release reminded me of some things that got me hooked on the original (e.g. the feeling of commanding a contemporary-ish army with a few hi-tech gadgets, the lore, the simplicity) and even removed a few flaws that would turn me away from it after a while (absence of build queues, running out of Tiberium on the map, being very careful with new mission savegames, no proper skirmish). That little bit of fresh paint and a good tech refit enabled me to get a bit of that feeling of all-round satisfaction when playing Tiberian Dawn that I simply couldn't get in that level if I'd just fired up one of the original versions on this date. I have further thoughts on C&C as a franchise and RTS as a genre, but these will have to wait for a proper article or two in the coming days. Until then, whether you prefer the original 1995 DOS discs, the fan-updated Gold edition, or the recent remaster, please give Tiberian Dawn a run or two. This birthday is one you should show up to.

An official C&C stream will go live tomorrow (Tuesday, March 10th) on YouTube at 07:00 Pacific Time (14:00 GMT). Judging by the way it's titled and Jim Vessella's not-so-cryptic hint at some sort of collector's edition, we might be looking at a pre-order window announcement at the very least.

Attention, all users of The Ultimate Collection on Origin! Bibber has uploaded version 1.20 of the fixed TUC launchers which should hopefully resolve the issue created by the most recent game updates on Origin. You can download them from his website, or here on CNCNZ.com. Make sure to follow our complete guide on properly installing and patching all games within this compilation!

Over a month ago, the team at GVMERS, who had previously covered the fate of the cancelled FPS Tiberium, created a video on the entire C&C franchise. What you are looking at above is the corrected, definitive version - certain facts about things that happened behind the scenes in Westwood Studios, EA Pacific, EA Los Angeles and Victory Games have been proofread, and each game is now presented in higher detail, in order to better describe what made Command & Conquer what it is, in both its good and bad times. The video is now 10 minutes longer in total, so be sure to check it out!

Back in February, GVMERS posted a video that looked at what happened to the cancelled Tiberium FPS. Today, they have new Command & Conquer video that dives into the entire franchise. The Command & Conquer franchise helped shape the identity of RTS games during the 1990's and would influence the designs of countless similar strategy titles in later years. Even though the franchise ended with a whimper instead of a bang, it managed to create an indelible impact on the history of videogames. Join the team from GVMERS as they take a look at the rise and fall of Command & Conquer.

Popular StarCraft II and Hearthstone player Day[9] has a "Day Off" segment where he plays games unrelated to his usual gaming habits. This time, Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations got its turn. Yes, you read it right, not the original campaign - The Covert Operations. You can watch the full gameplay on his YouTube split in three parts: part 1, part 2, part 3.