First C&C 4 Gamplay Videos from IgroMir 2009

[Sonic 296]

Scrinoid, a member on the Official C&C Forums posted some videos from IgroMir 2009, a large gaming show held in Moscow Russia. Command & Conquer 4 was being demonstrated there and some gameplay footage was captured on video. Watch them below.

 

 

 

Something tells me these videos could be taken down soon so watch them while you can. Check this thread on the Official C&C Forums from more pictures.

[Malevolence 6]

Gee, I wish they bring back the sidebars.

 

Btw, this chick is hot.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2009 by Malevolence

[Silverthorn 0]

Me too, I prefer the sidebar to be around, after all, it is one of the key things in the C&C franchise, without it, it's just not C&C, making several veteran fans not to buy a copy or to obtain an illegal copy instead. After all, if EA insults them with whatever nonsense (including not giving them the sidebar), the fans will insult them back.

[Aaron Kaufman 0]

I can confirm we will not be bringing back the sidebar for C&C 4, but I can also confirm we haven't had a single complaint about using the horizontal UI. I do recall a certain many thousands of C&C fans who loved this awesome game called C&C Generals which was the first C&C with a horizontal UI. It worked pretty darn well. We did the sidebar with C&C 3 and RA3, that worked well to.

 

We'll explain our move back to the horizontal bar in future articles prior, but I can assure you, it works, and it works well.

 

Amazing, you get some wonky handy cam footage of gameplay for the first time and the first comments are about a hot booth babe and wanting the sidebar back, lol.

 

I still love you guys, no doubt.

 

-APOC

[Nmenth 291]

I can confirm we will not be bringing back the sidebar for C&C 4, but I can also confirm we haven't had a single complaint about using the horizontal UI. I do recall a certain many thousands of C&C fans who loved this awesome game called C&C Generals which was the first C&C with a horizontal UI.

Too bad... sidebars were nice. I don't hate bottom bars, and it works alright in Generals, but a sidebar would have been better, I think.

Not one complaint though? Obviously that's not true, the game could be perfect in every way and people would be complaining...

 

Amazing, you get some wonky handy cam footage of gameplay for the first time and the first comments are about a hot booth babe and wanting the sidebar back, lol.

The subject of discussion doesn't really matter here. This topic could have been about anything and Silverthorn would have complained about C&C4 and Malevolence would have found a scantly clad female.

[Aaron Kaufman 0]

When do I ever mind you guys complaining? =)

[Silverthorn 0]

I'm not sure if it sounds convincing why there isn't a complaint about this, usually the troll Westwoodians will do that (Don't worry, I'm friendly enough). But strangely they didn't complain anymore, maybe you already banned them, Apoc? I'm not sure, Nmenth maybe right on some parts, there are some of them complained, but they didn't complain it at a large scale just like the Generals haters.

 

But still, I prefer a real explanation behind why the sidebar isn't going to be used. Moreover, as Lion spoke, he said sidebar is much better when he use widescreen. Having a bottom bar while using the widescreen is only wasting space. Imagine Generals is played by not just 1 widescreen monitor, imagine 2 widescreen monitors mix together (Which it only works in video studios).

 

By the way, the fans who love Generals are your average fans who got themselves introduced into the franchise when the new millennium begun, they are not 100% veterans like us or myself, some of them are just casual RTS fans who play any RTS games. That's why your calculation you got may not be 100% true. If you put up a poll on the C&C site and say "what is your 1st C&C game", if the votes are Generals (plus C&C3 & other EA-made C&C games) more than the older Westwood games, definitely those voters are just casual gamers & latecomers, NOT veteran C&C & Westwood fans.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Silverthorn

[Aaron Kaufman 0]

10000000% disagree that Generals fans are not hardcore veteran C&C fans. Generals redefined 3D RTS, it was a boon for the RTS industry at the time. Every Generals fan i've ever spoken to is also a core C&C fan at heart. But i'm not going to get in deep. I think your opinion on that point is pretty thin :op. If such were the case, Generals would not have been as successful as it was. The C&C name carried a lot of its initial weight, even though it wasn't a traditional C&C universe game.

 

At any rate, I am not the right person to explain the UI design being horizontal, so rather than me venturing down that path, i'll leave it to our designers. We'll be profiling it soon.

 

-APOC

Edited November 7, 2009 by EA Apoc

[BioBen 3]

Wtf? Were those three-legged things in the third video visceriods? They looked different... I shall reserve judgement untill i see proper footage.

[Sonic 296]

Sidebar or Horizontal bar its all the same to me.

 

I do wonder if the developers ever considered to make it so you could move the interface around, like you can do with your Windows taskbar.

[ORCaLoVeR 0]

10000000% disagree that Generals fans are not hardcore veteran C&C fans. Generals redefined 3D RTS, it was a boon for the RTS industry at the time. Every Generals fan i've ever spoken to is also a core C&C fan at heart.

 

-APOC

I doubt it. People who where introduced to C&C from a generals point of view, will never appreciate C&C like people like we did with the Westwood C&C's.

 

Issent it just possible to implent both? What i loved bout C&C 3 was that you guys implented both the westwood mouse click system as the right click select system. You keep everyone satisfied with that.

 

I'm also a C&C fan from the start. And C&C4 has potential. But removing so many C&C elements and adding strange new elements issent fun for us C&C fans. Their will always be a few die hard WW fanboys who will react with FU EA you SUCK you RUINED IT ALL. Then again, they need to learn that the days of Westwood is gone. And that we may be glad that at least someone is willing to continue the franchise. Other companys would have just let it die.

 

Their is just still a diffrence between people who where introduced in C&C from the start of generals. And the guys who where introduced to C&C back in 1995-1996.

 

Issent it just possible to implent both the trusty sidebar as the also good bottombar?

Edited November 7, 2009 by ORCaLoVeR

[Renamon 0]

I do wonder if the developers ever considered to make it so you could move the interface around, like you can do with your Windows taskbar.

 

 

Or being able to break it up into segments and move them around. So if you want the radar on the bottom-right and build-queue on the left you can. And maybe give the segments some sort of 'minimize' button so if you want to get rid of everything but the radar, you can.

[Silverthorn 0]

Sidebar or Horizontal bar its all the same to me.

 

I do wonder if the developers ever considered to make it so you could move the interface around, like you can do with your Windows taskbar.

 

I can feel the same too, but the roots of having a sidebar which other RTS doesn't have is what makes C&C different. But when EA takes it away, it's just like eliminating one of the key ingredients (like yummy cream or sugar) for making the perfect birthday cake. And if future C&C games feature a different gameplay and with the bottom bar in use, one day, another RTS game made by competitors will take advantage of the sidebar and then EA cannot claim it back because of theft.

 

Like Mal would still say, it's best to combine the best of both worlds. And even so, EA did enable us to swap the left click and right click, that's best of both worlds. But for the sidebar issue, will EA listen to it & do it or rather scrap the whole sidebar thing?

 

In case of Apoc delivering the article of why the sidebar is not going to be used, I predict even after people reading it, I'm pretty sure there will still be controversies of EA still not sticking C&C to its roots.

[Johnnyxp64 20]

personally i dont care where the sidebar will be as long its responsive - easy and not Huge and covers up my battlefield.

 

i am also waiting for an official ingame movie to enjoy the graphics.

 

still those videos looks like the game back then was indeed in a pre alpha phase. there is a lot of tunning and hard polishing to be done, for the final chapter in the CnC sage.

i cant wait for my Beta Key Apoc and do some debugging.

when the beta will be out dotn forget the CnC Community Bug Database will be there to collect your feedback and filter them out for the dev team.

 

 

i have faith in the dev team not the EA bosses thought. i hope they do not rush them again. ;-)

Edited November 7, 2009 by Johnnyxp64

[Silverthorn 0]

I'm not sure if the bottom bar will take up a lot of space, personally I got the feeling it will. Imagine you're using widescreen and you have the bottom bar, it will definitely take up a lot of space and your attention span on the battlefield is a little distracted away from it. Sidebar should be better as it reduces the unnecessary attention as well as it takes up lesser space, thus makes you focus on the battlefield even more.

 

Don't forget, APOC, we also have players that uses widescreen, Lion is one of them.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Silverthorn

[Aaron Kaufman 0]

It works absolutely fine on widescreen.

 

-APOC

[Johnnyxp64 20]

It works absolutely fine on widescreen.

 

-APOC

 

good cause i love my Philips 16:10 1440x900 i am sure the final bar will be more ...slik... with sexy hi tech animations maybe too.

but remember responsive! lag free

 

@silverthorn i dont think if it will be more slik will take up much space cause as they said in the last QA the camera was moved more back so that we can see more and in zoom the angle was changed in order to see more horizon and thats amazing!

 

my only concern with those video is that the units are not easily recognized, i mean the shapes and colors doesnt make them unique so its hard for the eye during a battle to understand fast what we are dilling with in here....

maybe a more unique 3d art specially for the infantry and textures will make it more easily recognizable.

i am not sure about that negative 100% cause a video camera Shoot its not the best way to get feedback.

Edited November 7, 2009 by Johnnyxp64

[Troopzor 5]

I know when I play C&C Generals, or starcraft 1 it always seems like half my screen is taken up by the horizontal bar (I use a wide screen). But in C&C3 I loved how the sidebar worked, mainly because it didn't take up as much space as the horizontal.

 

And like everyone is saying, why not just make both? It could very easily be the best design decision you can make, hell it would make a lot of people happy that's for sure lol

[Johnnyxp64 20]

oh one more great thing i loved the new Grid Based building system that has more small squares and was very responsive when that guy tried to place down the support-crawler

 

[Jarzka 1]

It looks... almost terrible Maybe it's Tiberian Twilight, but not C&C anymore...

Edited November 7, 2009 by Jarzka

[Silverthorn 0]

Well, that's your point of view, APOC. But what about the others? So Malevolence & I suggest to combine the best of both worlds, you all did with combining the best of using left click & right click functions (Which can be selected at the Settings). So why not both the horizontal & sidebar? Or even better when each of the function windows (Radar, unit construction, unit portrait, etc..) can be like individual windows where you can drag around like in Windows itself, thus gives more freedom of movement like some people prefer their radar on the left, some prefer on the right, etc.. (Or if you're crazy & stupid enough to put a window in the middle of the screen XD )

Edited November 7, 2009 by Silverthorn

[Malovolpe 3]

I do like how the game is looking. The Interface doesn't matter, i prefer both. It looks good and fits in with the overall game.

[recover 2]

Looks like the convention was a lot of fun.

[Johnnyxp64 20]

@silverthorn its also a matter of programming and time and debuging.

 

what you ask i think too it would be really the best, but can they do it in the engine they are working on right now?

can they do it in the time left by their bosses?

can they do it and make sure it works perfectly in all kind of resolutions and maybe multiscreens?

 

there is a lot to do in order to get that UI you wish for itsnot that simple... ;-) drag and drop...

[Malevolence 6]

Well, that's your point of view, APOC. But what about the others? So Malevolence & I suggest to combine the best of both worlds, you all did with combining the best of using left click & right click functions (Which can be selected at the Settings). So why not both the horizontal & sidebar? Or even better when each of the function windows (Radar, unit construction, unit portrait, etc..) can be like individual windows where you can drag around like in Windows itself, thus gives more freedom of movement like some people prefer their radar on the left, some prefer on the right, etc.. (Or if you're crazy & stupid enough to put a window in the middle of the screen XD )

 

Second that. I hope APOC acknowledges this. I always believe this "the best of both worlds" concept will be the most ideal in such situation, and possibly the first ever new feature to sport in RTS games, aqnd I am also aware of the difficult coding. But why not spend that effort to make everyone happy eventually?