New C&C 4 Information from PCGames.de

[Sonic 295]

German gaming site, PCGames.de, have a new Command & Conquer 4 preview. For those of us not fluent in the German language, Hagren has posted a summary of information on the Official C&C Forums, in English.

• Jim Vessella is still a producer at EALA
• There are several "drop zones" where you're able to pick a crawler from a different class - you just have to possess them - previously built units will be lost after the switch however
• There also defensive upgrades for the crawler such as enforced steel
• Campaign will range from 12 to 15 hours
• No briefing officers
• Forgotten units can be purchased similar to CnC3 by capturing hovels, and they also play a minor role in the story
• Other neutral structures such as tech centres or missile silos are in the game
• No Battlecast feature
• Two known MP game modes: 1v1 deathmatch and 5v5 "Domination mode", where you have to capture and hold TCN nodes
• SDK and Editor shall be released shortly after launch
• The demonstrated FMVs were head and shoulders above TW's quality and atmosphere

The full German PCGames.de preview is available here.

[ghost_zero 0]

Are the 12 to 15 hours for the campaign for BOTH/ALL (maybe there are more than two --> e.g. Scrin) sides?

 

If so, I think that is extremely little.

 

Also: What I still don't get is: If the Crawler respawns: How exactly can you win?

Edited August 11, 2009 by ghost_zero

[Silverthorn 0]

Looks like a beautiful sight. I'll comment one by one.

 

There are several "drop zones" where you're able to pick a crawler from a different class - you just have to possess them - previously built units will be lost after the switch however

- Woo, that can be bad, it's just like switching ice faction units for fire or lightning faction units, in the end, your existing ice units just die. Oh well, it's best the gameplay demo to show around.

 

There also defensive upgrades for the crawler such as enforced steel

- Of course Enforced Steel is a defensive upgrade. What to expect? Railguns to replace cannons? That kind of upgrade is more for the offensive class.

 

Campaign will range from 12 to 15 hours

- I hope the gameplay is not just long, it is also best to increase replay value, much like Left 4 Dead's Director AI, thus keeping the replay value high to encourage players to play the game all over again. Uprising failed me though.

 

No briefing officers

- It's just a small or tertiary icon of C&C. And it's fine that there won't be any intel officers. But for GDI, I hope the EVA computer returns, C&C3 did not show up last time. And I wonder for Nod will get to hear LEGION speaks, or is it back to CABAL.

 

Forgotten units can be purchased similar to CnC3 by capturing hovels, and they also play a minor role in the story

- That's gotta hurt, especially to the fans who loves mutants quite a lot. Me, I have 40% love on them though, so it's ok to accept just as minor role. Better than having minor roles rather than not showing up at all.

 

Other neutral structures such as tech centres or missile silos are in the game

- They become neutral structures? Oh wait, the crawlers don't have those.

 

The demonstrated FMVs were head and shoulders above TW's quality and atmosphere

- Sounds like we're going to play as the characters in 1st person view rather than being yourself as the commander. Yeah, but I do have fun playing as Slavik back in TS where you play as the character but only in 3rd person or world view.

Edited August 11, 2009 by Sonic
Fixed bulleted list BBCode for readability

[Mighty BOB! 5]

Copy-paste from the DEN:

 

There are several "drop zones" where you're able to pick a crawler from a different class- you just have to possess them- previously built units will be lost after the switch however

Surely this must be a mistranslation or I'm interpreting it wrong. Your units self-destruct when you switch crawler classes? Or does it simply mean you lose them from your build queue since they're crawler-specific?

[Nmenth 290]

Your units self-destruct when you switch crawler classes?

That's the impression I got from it too, but I hope not...

[Malevolence 6]

Copy-paste from the DEN:

 

 

Surely this must be a mistranslation or I'm interpreting it wrong. Your units self-destruct when you switch crawler classes? Or does it simply mean you lose them from your build queue since they're crawler-specific?

 

Possibly. I think its pretty logical, why not. This discourage fans from randomly switching crawlers unless they are forced to.

 

The concept of TCNs really make my hair stand. Bye bye tiberium fields and infestation, and possibly to the rest of the mutated tiberium creatures, viseroids etc. Bye bye.

[Gben 20]

My first thought of self destructing units was similar to Yuri's slave miners...

 

But anyway you think you should be rewarded for micro-managing to keep your epic stank alive!

[hagren 0]

Copy-paste from the DEN:

 

 

Surely this must be a mistranslation or I'm interpreting it wrong. Your units self-destruct when you switch crawler classes? Or does it simply mean you lose them from your build queue since they're crawler-specific?

I translated the article's main points as-is, so it can be interpreted in multiple ways. But I'm pretty sure they really meant losing all previously built units.

[Mighty BOB! 5]

Well we've heard the same thing from a few more sources now so it looks like you lose your units. How awful.

[Nmenth 290]

So you build up your forces, maybe to the pop cap (you certainly can't go higher... ), and your opponent does the same. However your opponent manages to take out your crawler while the majority of your forces are preoccupied and cannot retreat fast enough because he is using a class with faster units. Crawler lost, but you can just respawn, right? Except you need to switch classes to take on his forces, but all those forces you built up will die while your opponent still has all of his. Well is it game over or not? They say no, but when your enemy can kill you two seconds after each respawn due to all of your units committing oibara seppuku upon your switch, what is the point?

 

Pop cap = restricting my freedom to kill.

Respawn = nooby.

Auto-suicide = game over.

 

Pop cap + Respawn + Auto-suicide =

[Gben 20]

I forget which one, but one of the reviews mentions that your new crawler lands in the area in a similar fashion to a meteor strike killing everything nearby. I am thinking that is the game-mechanic that causes your units to die, but I'm wondering if it really is all across the map or if it's distance related...

[Sonic 295]

I get the feeling (like a lot of stuff about C&C 4) that this has been misinterpreted or lost in translation somehow and it something that will most likely be clarified.

[Mighty BOB! 5]

I'm pretty sure it is just a radius of damage when the new crawler crashes in. But do Nod crawlers seriously get dropped from orbit too? I would hope not since it is totally and completely 100% opposite of Nod's style and their canon in fiction (GDI has always had control of near-space). Of course they haven't specified if that also applies to Nod. Maybe the Nod crawlers explode up out of the ground doing the same kind of radius damage except from beneath.

[Malevolence 6]

I am seriously concern about TCNs, respawn and the interent compulsory when playing talks. It has indeed turn off quite a number of causal gamers, not to include C&C fans yet.

[Silverthorn 0]

Protecting the TCN is more like protecting your own "landing zone" which the gameplay is similar to Petroglyph's Star Wars : Empire at War.