C&C 4 Unit Profile - Nod Obelisk of Light

[Luk3us 63]

A new Command & Conquer 4 unit profile has been posted on the Official C&C Site. This one gives us a look at a the infamous Nod Obelisk. As always this profile features a short in game video, concept art and extra information.

 

While Obelisks could crush any ground offensive and Venoms could safeguard them from Orcas and Firehawks, new capital ships such as the Kodiak-class cruiser could avoid the deadly laser of the Obelisk and bombard the structure from the sky. As the separatist attacks on the TCN intensified in 2070, Nod commanders, both Separatist and Loyalist, began to replace their Obelisks with the cheaper and more versatile Flame Column, and the Obelisk appeared to be headed for the scrapheap... until a Nod operative by the name of Henry Liu discovered a 40 year old GDI secret.

Click here for the full Nod Obelisk of Light.

[Nmenth 289]

The Prism Tank style is not good. Lasers do not behave like that, which is why it was fine in Red Alert. Powering up others reminiscent of Prism Towers is ok as far as the physics of lasers is concerned, although it lacks in originality as a Red Alert rip off, but the hitting multiple targets is just not right.

This is the Tiberium Universe, people, not Red Alert!

[PurpleGaga27 39]

Someone must have thought by now we have a defense structure that brings splash radius damage, similar to the RPG cannon and the Grand Cannon. It should hit only one unit, not multiples.

 

Sorry, EALA. We just don't approve that balanced idea of splash damage fired by the Obelisk of Light. Also it should be firing a red laser, not a lighter but different color.

[Luk3us 63]

I don't care so much about the splash damage, its the fact it can fire at aircraft. Kinda makes it noob friendly, but then so many units can fire at air and land units its not funny.

[G0NE2W4R 0]

The design is alright, but the Tiberian Sun Obelisk was overall my favorite. LOL at lasers powering other Obelisks...like if they were prisms. They messed around too much with the effects, now its not serious or realistic like it should have.

[sith_wampa 6]

This is the Tiberium Universe, people, not Red Alert!

Yeah, it disappoints me too. But at least it looks cool.

 

Someone must have thought by now we have a defense structure that brings splash radius damage, similar to the RPG cannon and the Grand Cannon. It should hit only one unit, not multiples.

 

Sorry, EALA. We just don't approve that balanced idea of splash damage fired by the Obelisk of Light. Also it should be firing a red laser, not a lighter but different color.

Splash damage is a good thing imo. It just doesn't need to be prism-ed.

 

so many units can fire at air and land units its not funny.

Tell me about it...

 

The design is alright, but the Tiberian Sun Obelisk was overall my favorite. LOL at lasers powering other Obelisks...like if they were prisms. They messed around too much with the effects, now its not serious or realistic like it should have.

It looked nice, but I have to say the original is my favorite. Scariest mother****ing laser in all of C&C.

[Nmenth 289]

Renegade Obelisk was best, because it actually towered over you and could blow you away in one hit. It made you gain perspective on all those poor wretches you sent to their doom all those years.

[Gben 20]

Heh - the first time a renegade obby killed me... it was ecstasy!

 

(me no like new features.)

[Saracen 16]

It looked nice, but I have to say the original is my favorite. Scariest mother****ing laser in all of C&C.

 

I have to comment here, because you're 150% correct there. The original obelisk was the best for so many reasons. The back-story gave us enough reason to believe that it was the ultimate base defense in any RTS. It's what gave Nod their menacing and apparent evil Allow me to list.

1. The sight of the thing just struck fear into any GDI player. Mimicking the design of a scorpion tail, you knew the first time one appeared, it was going to literally sting you in an attack.
2. The sound of it charging up. That no doubt stands out most. Menacing, intimidating, laughing in your face!
3. The power of its attack was another fearful thing. So much so, I'd spend more of my funds creating cheap cannon fodder so my heavier expensive units lasted the initial surge into the Nod base.

Over the course of this franchise it has lost its way. The design has become lost and no longer represents the evil eye of Nod. Neither does building or attacking one have that impact. As an attacker, it doesn't represent the terror of its original predecessor, thus doesn't give you a sense of satisfaction of taking it out, especially with a precious single Ion Cannon shot. As the defender, it has very little worth either. It doesn't feel like its going to rip your opponent a new one, neither does it feel like a worthwhile investment because money comes in so damn fast anyway (C&C 3 especially).

 

The video on it's profile is clear evidence of that. It's charge/fire rate appears way too fast, and it doesn't seem to have the over-powered blast it should be capable of. Saying it has an "Anubis" Class VII Military Laser (100kW). 100KW is way too small. Our Eurostar cross channel train powers out about 12 MegaWatts, which is 120 times more powerful than this obelisk. Or to put it into perspective. An old CD-Rom drive requires 50 times, and a DVD burner laser at 250 times the power of this obelisk.

 

I'm nit picking here, but The Obelisk is most definitely correct in its classification. But being this far into the future (and for the damage it's capable of) its power should be closer to that of at least 100 GigaWatts, running off a standard year 2070, 300 GigaWatt powerplant. or a crawler power source equal to 1 TerraWatt.... Or however the game mechanic supposedly distributes power.

[Nmenth 289]

Saying it has an "Anubis" Class VII Military Laser (100kW). 100KW is way too small. Our Eurostar cross channel train powers out about 12 MegaWatts, which is 120 times more powerful than this obelisk. Or to put it into perspective. An old CD-Rom drive requires 50 times, and a DVD burner laser at 250 times the power of this obelisk.

I think you misread whatever source you got your information from (mW=milliwatt, MW=megawatt), there is no way a computer could handle a laser requiring even one megawatt. A real 100kW laser is indeed capable of taking out a tank.

 

The Northrop laser produced a beam at more than 105 kilowatts, which is akin to focusing more than 1,000 100-watt light bulbs on a small spot. The intensity of the light would be comparable to that on the surface of the sun.

 

Nevertheless, I'd think the Obelisk would produce a bigger laser than 100kW too... like 400kW.

[ApornasPlanet 9]

Quite short firing range eh? It should be able to fire at longer distance.

[Malevolence 6]

I like the article. Nice writeup!

[spark 0]

The Obelisk of Light was my favorite Nod structure.

 

I am kinda disappointed at the direction that this design has taken off to, especially, the prism-tech rip-off. The upgrade crystal looks ridiculous in size with concerns to the whole proportion of the structure itself. Big doesn't equate menacing.

 

I really don't see why the Obelisks should have air defense capability granted that it was their main weakness. Just felt that these new Obelisks lost their original meaning and characteristic. Maybe they should have just add a new option of building the Obelisk of Darkness solely for air defense. I don't think one more structure is going to matter since there are already alot of units, structures...

[mirza044 4]

Guys, guys, calm down. Don't forget what Apoc has recently said:"You have to drop your sense of reality." LOL

I wouldn't be surprised if in the next C&C installment of the tiberium universe we see some elves, orks, medieval knights, etc.

Edited January 27, 2010 by mirza044

[Mighty BOB! 5]

I refuse to drop my sense of reality (which is NOT the same thing as suspension of disbelief). This is SCIENCE Fiction, not fantasy fiction. Light does not behave the way it was shown in that video. (See my signature.)

 

The model is okay by me although I think the crystal is a bit large in the upgrade. I don't mind Obelisks charging each other up, but the warping beam effect is just wrong, and so is the splash damage.

 

Saracen is right. It isn't as intimidating as it used to be (in fact as the series progresses since ZH everything feels devalued, not just base defenses).

 

I agree that the C&C1 Obelisk also scared me the most, especially when there was one in the shroud you didn't know about and then suddenly from the blackness you hear the charge up sound. When I heard that sound it usually resulted in a mad (as in crazy, not rage) clickfest in the opposite direction of a unit's travel and "Oh go oh god run the other way!!!" shouted at the monitor. TS comes in second in terms of scary.

[Guest Stevie_K]

Everything you just said there BOB!

[Sonic 293]

I find it funny that people are complaining about realism so much. The entire C&C storyline is so far-fetched and so unrealistic to begin with with and you guys are moaning about some laser beams.

[sith_wampa 6]

I agree that the C&C1 Obelisk also scared me the most, especially when there was one in the shroud you didn't know about and then suddenly from the blackness you hear the charge up sound. When I heard that sound it usually resulted in a mad (as in crazy, not rage) clickfest in the opposite direction of a unit's travel and "Oh go oh god run the other way!!!" shouted at the monitor. TS comes in second in terms of scary.

Haha that's exactly what I was getting at.

 

I find it funny that people are complaining about realism so much. The entire C&C storyline is so far-fetched and so unrealistic to begin with with and you guys are moaning about some laser beams.

But you're wrong. One of the things that made the original games great was their realism. Laser base defenses capable of destroying vehicles is possible. Nmenth kindly linked an article to a real world laser. Tiberium was given a real world explanation by MIT students. The Ion Cannon is something that could be done, perhaps not exactly, but effectively enough. NATO (GDI) vs Terrorism (Nod) is probably the most striking resemblance between C&C and the real world. These things are fact.

 

And like MightyBob said, realism and science fiction go hand in hand. I know you don't want to see people overreacting about a game. But it's tragic to see the science that the beloved fiction is based on slowly crumble before our eyes.

Edited January 29, 2010 by sith_wampa

[Mighty BOB! 5]

As I was saying about the size of the crystal in the upgrade, 2 times larger would have been fine, but this is suffering from the "we have to shove visual distinction in the player's face" problem that has been creeping its way in since C&C3.

 

Tiberium was given a real world explanation by MIT students.

That's when they changed it though, so I think it was better before then.

[Nmenth 289]

Here's some clarification for you all that don't get it, especially any EA devs that happen to drop by.

 

Tiberium universe = serious

Red Alert universe = far-fetched

 

Tiberium universe ≠ Red Alert universe

 

Toy tanks, wacky tech, under dressed women = far-fetched universe ≠ serious universe

 

Dark atmosphere, theoretically feasible technology (AKA science fiction), lack of sex-appeal = serious universe ≠ far-fetched universe

 

It's quite simple really...

 

Despite my showing that a 100kW laser is semi-accurate (I still say bump it to 400kW), the Obelisk as a whole is a joke and mockery of the Tiberium universe (along with 75% of the other content found in Tiberian Twilight).

[Guest Stevie_K]

Here's some clarification for you all that don't get it, especially any EA devs that happen to drop by.

 

Tiberium universe = serious

Red Alert universe = far-fetched

 

Tiberium universe ≠ Red Alert universe

 

Toy tanks, wacky tech, under dressed women = far-fetched universe ≠ serious universe

 

Dark atmosphere, theoretically feasible technology (AKA science fiction), lack of sex-appeal = serious universe ≠ far-fetched universe

 

It's quite simple really...

 

Despite my showing that a 100kW laser is semi-accurate (I still say bump it to 400kW), the Obelisk as a whole is a joke and mockery of the Tiberium universe (along with 75% of the other content found in Tiberian Twilight).

 

It couldn't have been said better and clearer Nmenth

 

Yes the first C&C might seem very childish and not serious when we look back, but back then it was as serious and "realistic" as it could get for an RTS.

Tiberian Sun also seems far from our world, but it was a dead serious sci-fi adrenaline rush back then that you couldn't compare to anything else, and they aimed for a realistic look.

 

I'm fine with some awkward units and buildings, but I wish it would have been kept on a "serious" level, if you get me.

[Wee_Ooh 0]

There is much truth in this thread.

 

As a game, Tiberian Twilight isn't bad (in my opinion ), but as a game in the Command & Conquer Tiberian universe, it's severely lacking. Sure, it's got the forgotten and the Obelisks of Light and the Mammoth Tanks, but I don't think the developers get the big picture.

 

And I feel really bad saying that, because EALA seems to be trying their hardest to appease the fans. I don't know if I've ever seen ANY game changed so much pre-release because of fan input. I'd even go so far as to say that, if it were up to them, they'd scrap this game and remake it, but, unfortunately, things don't work like that.

[sith_wampa 6]

There is much truth in this thread.

 

As a game, Tiberian Twilight isn't bad (in my opinion ), but as a game in the Command & Conquer Tiberian universe, it's severely lacking. Sure, it's got the forgotten and the Obelisks of Light and the Mammoth Tanks, but I don't think the developers get the big picture.

 

And I feel really bad saying that, because EALA seems to be trying their hardest to appease the fans. I don't know if I've ever seen ANY game changed so much pre-release because of fan input. I'd even go so far as to say that, if it were up to them, they'd scrap this game and remake it, but, unfortunately, things don't work like that.

This.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Tiberium universe = serious

Red Alert universe = far-fetched

 

Tiberium universe ≠ Red Alert universe

Until EA took over, you'd have been wrong on this one. That would have been seriously great... but oh well.