so now that the games out whats the beta

[ICECOLDKILLA 0]

im getting the game when i have enough money and i want to know if i should get the big pack with the beta

and what is the beta to

if its to tiberium i would laugh

[Sonic 292]

The beta key in the RA3 Premier Edition doesn't reveal what the beta is for because the next C&C hasn't been announced.

 

And we know it would be Tiberium because that was cancelled.

[ICECOLDKILLA 0]

that was cancelled

 

i know but it would be funny

kinda like telling someone to press Alt-F4

 

[Saracen 16]

If it was a Beta to Tiberium, they would have said.

 

My money is on a new C&C franchise branch. Not C&C 4, Not Generals 2, not Red Alert 4 or even a Renegade 2. It makes me wonder really that if the PS3 version of Red Alert 3 was cancelled, the C&C teams would want to try and get their games on that console.... They say SAGE has limitations. What if they are rewriting the SAGE engine to a next generation level so it can support all formats.

 

As I said to Sonic a couple of months ago. EALA need to make their stamp on this franchise with something new and fresh. Something that can have a cult following like the Tiberium and Red Alert Universes, and something that can be called a C&C, even by the hardcore. Such a project would be no easy task, however I think it's time for the dev teams to get out of the shallow end of the pool where Westwood have been swimming all their lives, and jump into the deep end for once.

 

Command & Conquer (as RA3 reviews show) has become a run of the mill RTS. While still fun and actively engaging, it's not cutting the modern mustard. EA do need to build an RTS for the future. If they can do it with a new Franchise branch, trying new things and such, it then can be applied to existing IPs should community feedback be mostly positive.

 

We saw how EA listening too much to the hardcore community caused C&C 3 to fall flat on its face. Maybe it's about time a risk was made. The next C&C game is more than likely to come face to face with Starcraft 2, so it's going to have to be something really special.

[hagren 0]

RA3 does not have to cut the modern mustard. I strongly dislike all the new takes on RTS. Besides, they did somewhat twist the formula, and made the gameplay very, very fine. Not to mention the improvements in unit, faction, map and art design, respectively the music. The co-op campaign is kind of a new thing though, as are waterbases and a strong emphasis on amphibious units. Imho all the reviewers did not even pay attention to many of these things, but we know better. Don't let the reviewers get you down.

[Saracen 16]

As I said on the IGN Review news post a lot of reviewers haven't seemed bothered to write anything meaningful about the game. The reviewers aren't really getting me down. But in a sense they are right. The RTS genre needs a new direction and it does need some innovation. Starcraft 2 could be the most plainest "seen it all before" game in the last 16 years... But it will get high scores because of the effort put into it, and the package quality as a whole will be commended.

 

For a game like RA3 which has had a 17 month dev cycle there isn't that luxury. So if EA keep releasing titles such as RA3 despite the changes, the reviewers are only going to pick up on the core gameplay. Sooner or later we're gonna find C&C getting scores lower than its predecessors because of this inevitable fact. Nobody likes change, but maybe that's needed you know... I'm not talking about taking it to a real time tactics level or anything... But EA really need to take a look at the core gameplay and ask themselves "how can we change it?"

 

I believe there's so much more the SAGE engine can do, but indeed it is the time constraints. I strongly believe that a new Franchise is the answer in some ways though. EALA can keep making sequels to their heart's content. But I think after reading these reviews, that the reviewers want something new from C&C. If it's not the core gameplay, I think the key is making everything more atmospheric in-game... Weather systems, improved physics and a sharper attention to detail with explosion animations and even concentrating on the sound would go an awful long way.

 

What I'd like to see from C&C is a sharper, grittier, more realistic and dynamic RTS that has a real atmospheric level that you would get in First Person Shooters for example. Moving away from a cartoonish feel of RA3 and C&C 3 perhaps, and focussing more on a photo-realistic setting. Improving the zoom level too so you can get closer to the action. The sounds should mirror the setting.... a deserted Urban map for example, with an increased zoom level you could get into the heart of a town or city and hear the wind blowing around the buildings... distant gunfire and explosions, the engines from tanks chugging away. Really I think that's where RTS games need to get to now... we as players need to feel like we are there in the game instead of playing it from up high.

 

Really, reality has to kick in... C&C needs to go a stage further and embrace DX10 technology. That is the only way you're gonna get the gritty level of polish. World in Conflict's attention to detail is a good example of what atmosphere I'm talking about... but perhaps taking it a few stages further so it really looks and sounds the part.

[hagren 0]

Well I don't know, all those factors I mentioned sound fresh and great enough to me. And I'd like RA to stay that way.

 

I do like your ideas, though. Would fit CnC4 very nicely.

[Keero 0]

I thought UaW was supposed to revolutionize the RTS genre. (And where's the review at? )

 

And there's already a realistic-y CNC, and that's Generals. They dropped the ball some with that game, but that did bring in a lot fresh players, probably more than what CnC3/RA3 will. I don't believe the beta key is even for a CnC title, but some other big name game from EA.

[Saracen 16]

All UaW did was show how 3 distinct factions should be done... Outside of that it was an extremely mediocre game... and I failed to review it, mainly because once I got the game, it bored me to death and I wasn't exactly motivated to write the review

 

But no, it's been stated the Beta key is for a future C&C title. It's clear as day on the leaflet and has been marketed as such. I just hope it's going to be a C&C with a difference without taking the Generals route.

[Koen 2]

Keero, it is for a C&C title. My premier edition flyer right here says "to reserve your spot in the beta program for the future Command & Conquer game," ...

 

My premier edition is numbered (#40455 out of 100k). So there will be plenty of people in the beta. Probably it's not as exclusive as I felt it would be (does RA3 really sell in those large quantities?)

[Saracen 16]

Well given that around 1.5 million people watched the Live Battlecast Primetime tonight... I'd say there is... C&C these days is shifting around 3-4 million copies a title. It's bigger than ever

[sith_wampa 6]

#66642 represent!

 

Saracen, I believe you are correct in all of your above statements.

[Gben 20]

Zoom isn't something I'm really interested in seeing too much attention/resources placed on. The gimmick of getting that close to the unit is fun, but useless in the strategic battle which is supposed to be the genre we're talking about. It would only be useful in the stealth/interior/non-base missions.

 

For me polish is the central point of a good game experience. A game doesn't really require new dynamics for me to enjoy it, but the atmosphere is the most critical thing. Which is why I'm such a fun of RA2, and never excited about new engines.

 

For a suggested new direction, I would like to see them work on the RTS/FPS hybrid genre ie commanders building bases and players controlling individual units/squads.

 

[Inferno 22]

Well given that around 1.5 million people watched the Live Battlecast Primetime tonight... I'd say there is... C&C these days is shifting around 3-4 million copies a title. It's bigger than ever

1.5 half million people watched it live? Then that means the copies might rise higher than 3-4 million...

 

Cause people like me don't watch that stuff and still buy the game

Edited December 4, 2008 by Inferno