Throwback Thursday for 7th January

[Sonic 292]

 

Here we go with the first Throwback Thursday for 2016. And for this one we roll back the clock to the early days of C&C Generals. These were the first ever screenshots shared around the community when the game was first revealed to the public in early 2002, it could have possibly been earlier than that. Either way, everyone was blown away by how amazing the game looked. This was the first time we were seeing a C&C game in a real 3D engine. These screenshots included units that would eventually be cut from the game. But what catches your eye the most, the super awesome water effects that also got changed. Some would say it got down graded. You can view larger version of these early C&C General screenshots right here.

 

Remember, you can click on the preview to see a larger and more detailed image. Don't forget to check out the Throwback Thursdays archives if you've missed a week. Check back again next Thursday for another Throwback. Send in your ideas for future instalments. We encourage you to share this on social media using the hash tags #ThrowbackThursday, #CnCTBT and #CNCNZTBT.

[Plok 319]

Typical Westwood habit of trying to make screenshots better than the final product

[Nmenth 289]

My guess on why they downgraded the water effects would be so that they could have their changing water level gimmick they (over)used throughout the campaigns.

[Guest Stevie_K]

That photo-realistic water simply didn't fit with the bright and colorful aesthetic of the game anyway. I understand their decision on that case alone. Why changing the texture / shading would have much to do with whether or not the water level can change, I don't really see to be honest.

 

I remember being pessimistic about Generals being 3D at first, thinking it was way too different from what people were used to with C&C. I think it turned out to be a really entertaining game though.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Stevie_K

[Nmenth 289]

The water level changing would require the water to have actual mechanics rather than merely graphics. Having both mechanics and high detail would probably take a lot more resources.

[Tore 33]

Some mods re-enable some of these old units that were left over. In the editor by default you can even place a unused drone and tank from the early days of Generals.

This was the first time we were seeing a C&C game in a real 3D engine

Depending on what you define "real 3D" you have C&C for the Nintendo 64 from 1999