The ultimate Command & Conquer community event

Assassin aka David Thompson from CnC Source reporting in again! I promised a detailed report of CommandCOM after my initial summarized report and now here it is. I've posted up the most indepth report of CommandCOM yet weighing in at 9,574 words and 280 photos in our galleries from CommandCOM & GameCOM. This report will you up to speed on everything that happened at CommandCOM and everything revealed about Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight. Click the image below to read CnC Source's coverage of CommandCOM now!

Or click here to read it,  I went into juicy detail on both my single player and multiplayer experience's with C&C4 at CommandCOM, so for those who couldnt be at CommandCOM i bring the event to you. I'd once again like to give a special thanks to Apoc and everyone at EALA for organizing  such an amazing event, and also thanks to the sponsors for helping make CommandCOM such a hit! For those who perfer to read my summarized report of the event you can get that here.

Ladies and Gentlemen I am proud to announce the release of my CommandCOM report. At 2,700 words it is the most detailed report from a community event I have written this far, it's full of juicy C&C information! Here's just a tease:

* In-game transmissions are no longer played over the minimap, but project up from the UI. This is to allow them to describe objectives and show their location.
* New highly detailed damage models have been introduced to the larger units. We saw pieces fall off the Crawler, inner workings exposed and the EVA voice becomes distorted when health is low. We saw the damaged Masterdon limping and lurching slowly back for repairs – very impressive!
* The Titan MKII now wields a laser weapon instead of a cannon from previous wars.
* The Flame Tank's lethality has been increased even further as it now sets units on fire for a few seconds, causing continual damage even after it has stopped firing!

Click here to find out everything that happened at CommandCOM

Before talking about the Gameplay and my impressions on Command and Conquer 4; I think that it is important to remind you how my passion for Command & Conquer started.

Like many guests of CommandCOM, I am a fan of Command and Conquer since the beginning. I was 13 years old when the first game came out. One year after, in 1996, I launched a small website which then became the well-known CNCSAGA.COM. (We’ll celebrate its 13th birthday in 3 weeks!)

Some says that many community leaders are not very good at multi-player mode. I muss confess that I’m no exception! However, the story and universes of Command and Conquer have always appealed to me and, even after all those years, they are still captivating me.

Like many of you I have experienced the dark hours of the end of Westwood and the long wait between Zero Hour and Tiberium Wars.

But unlike other fans who have followed CnC from the beginning, I prefer the new CnC: the evolution and the implemented changes better suit my state of mind.

I literally love each and all the games: CNC1 as CNC3, Red Alert 3 as Red Alert 1. I like the fact that there is movement and that things evolve. I also like the novelty and especially challenges.

As always, Aaron and his team have laid on a first-rate meal and the event was just huge! By the way, I want to use the opportunity to stress out that I appreciate a lot this guy (Aaron), the fact that he gives his time so that everything takes place well and is always there to help us realize our plans.

The most amazing instant of the event was the presence of Jo Kucan ak Kane. Kane, the character whom I dreamt of in my youth, just there right in front of my own eyes!!!

The other big moment for me was the presentation of the scenario and the video shots by Sam Bass. Like many I have been waiting for the end of the Tiberian series for a long time, wondering if it’ll be huge or not. I still do no have the answer but I know that Sam Bass really wants to give us something good: at least videos are ambitious. The whole thing is all the more incredible that I used to think back in 2004 that Tiberian Sun would never have a sequel.

The solo game seems interesting. The crawlers make the game very dynamic because the enemy base is never in the same location. I find that the crawler is a very good idea. I love the mobile weapon factory in "Tiberian Sun Firestorm"!

Multi mode 5vs5 reminds me of the fun of Sole Survivor Online and Renegade: Fast and Fun.

However, I am not convinced by the classic multi-players mode: where is the fun in fighting against one single enemy? This new economic system is really strange and I am not sure that this can work. (by the way, this opinion has been shared by many other guests).

That been said, I can’t wait to test the beta version!

Thanks to all the EA Los Angeles, EA Germany, Community Team, and EA France teams for this event.

http://www.cncsaga.com for all our reports in french

I know CommandCom ended since a while, anyway I want to thank for this awesome event! This weekend was really a great experience for me and I had the first time of my live the chance to meet the developers of C&C. Furthermore I could talk with different people from the Community who came from all over the world.

Sadly I cannot say much about C&C4 until now. The presentations were very informative, nevertheless the game did not persuade me completely, because the singleplayer did not impress me. The Multiplayer on the other hand was very funny. Probably it was the intense Match between my teammate (Dynamic), me and our two enemies (yep it was 2vs2). Eventually I promise myself very much from the Beta and will test these very intensive.

Now, I shortly get back to the CommandCom and want to thank again all people who have made this event possible. Mainly I would like to thank the developers who came here especially to present us the game. Also, thanks to the sponsors Acer and Logitech who equipped us with the necessary hardware. Finally, many thanks to our community managers Apoc and FiX. You guys were really great!

PS: Apoc and Raj, Rock Band was very funny even if we were not quite sober any more . Maybe I have the chance to rock with you again anytime, but then I will play drums on expert mode ;)

The interview for CNCczech.com at CommandCom. At approximetly 10:30pm in EA Sports bar (EA germany cologne). But I can't embed the video to WP admin, don't works. So, this is the URL.

Interview with APOC on YouTube

Questions:

1) What's been the driving force behind creating such a massive comunity event?

2) C&C 4 gameplay mechanics are quite different compared to previous C&C games. Why such a big change?

3) Is there any reason why C&C 4 must be the conclusion of the whole saga?

4) Any words for Czech fans?

- Jakub Weber alias KUba from CNCczech.com

Follow me on Twitter.com

Become a fan of CNCczech.com on Facebook.com

Here is the CNC Spain report on CommandCOM event. Thank you EA for invite us :)

Diary (spanish): http://www.cncspain.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=2457

C&C4 report (spanish): http://www.cncspain.com/foro/viewtopic.php?t=2456
¡Saludos!

Some reports about Command & Conquer 4 Tiberian Twilight:

Singleplayer: http://www.generals-zocker.de/news?id=272 (German)

Multiplayer: http://www.generals-zocker.de/news?id=277 (German)

And I want just to say: Thank you very much EA LA, EA Germany, Apoc and his Community-Management and sponsors http://www.generals-zocker.de/news?id=283

Want to know the real story about how Joe Kucan got the role of Kane? Find out in this video from CommandCom. Also included are some extra bonus clips. If its not already selected, I highly recommend that you click the HQ button for best playback.

Here is a real special treat for all C&C fans. This is only presentation from CommandCom that we are allowed to show you. Relive the history of the Command & Conquer franchise with one the original creators, Louis Castle. All of the games beginning with the classic Command & Conquer, the Red Alert series and Generals are all covered. Louis even recalls funny and interesting facts from the years at Westwood and more. The video is in 3 parts, you can watch part 1 below. If its not already selected, click the HQ button for best playback. You will find the other parts here on CNCNZ.

Here are the reports of the guys who have been on the CommandCom for CnCHQ.

Nasomators Report

Fabisch Report 1: Facts

Fabisch Report 2: Gameplay

This is my last post here and I want to thank again EALA, EA Germany, the german EA-Community Team, Apoc, the developers of C&C 4 the sponsors: Acer and Logitech, and everybody alse who made this event possible and so impressive.

-Fabisch-

The new gamedesign behind C&C 4 causes hardcore C&C fans to be highly confused. With CommandCOM 100 commanders from all around the globe had the opportunity to understand why the developers decided to change the game mechanics behind C&C. After this great event, we are able to share our information on that. If you understand German and are one of those confused C&C fans: I've written an article on C&C 4 gamedesign and the reasons behind it.

If you are interested in my personal thoughts of the game you can get a comprehensive German version here. In short, I like the idea of bringing new elements into C&C. There are some great thoughts the developers have for getting more casual gamers into the game. Anyway, even a casual gamer should have the option of being long-term motivated by the game and therefore it needs more depth in map design and multi-player game modes. EALA has never before been that close to the community inviting that many commanders, asking that many questions and gathering this huge amount of feedback so I really anticipate them to bring more classic C&C feeling (remember: it IS fun to destroy an opponent's base ;)) into C&C 4 by the next months and I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, I want to thank Apoc and all the other people for their work to make this event possible, not to forget the two main sponsors Acer and Logitech.

I took some time out of my week to think about what we saw at CommandCom, over one of the most fun weeks in my life.  It took even longer to write down, and ended up to be 7,500 words describing everything from Louis Castle's presentation to the gameplay overview and even a bit of Kane on the boat.  Also, I've got 110 pictures to view as well.

Read the article here

Enjoy!

Well, i have to admit, the headline is a contradiction in itself. However, i'm not posting this cause i share this believe. It's just that i'm extremly annoyed by the fact that half the "community leaders" state in their reviews that Command & Conquer 4 is not a Command & Conquer game. And this statement is based on what? This time it is no basebuilding. When CCGenerals was released it was the worker system. Back then it did split the community in half. Wake up, you do not hurt EA with those statements, you hurt the community. And by the way, neither CnC:Renegade nor CnC:Sole Survivor do have basebuilding. If you do think that it shouldn't be called RTS, then say so, but please stop this "not a Command and Conquer" nonsense.

For me CnC4 played like a Command and Conquer game. It is fast, fluid and fun. Something which was called the cnc-formula not this long ago. Tank/Unit micromanagement still felt the same as in the games before, hence it still has SAGE under the hood. And storywise it's still GDI, Nod, Kane and Tiberium.

If you don't like the game say so. If you miss something which the old games had say so. But please don't exaggerate your feelings into that ridiculous catchphrase "not a cnc".

German version, in case you want to flame me (higher chance of me reading your reply there :P ): www.united-forum.de

The CommandCOM was an AWESOME experience. Cool people, cool devs, cool APOC and indeed a cool game called C&C4. Yes, it's different. Yes, it does need further enhancements. Still, it really felt quite good in my opinion. If you're capable of reading German, check out my hands-on experience, which I posted here. I especially enjoyed the objective-based 5v5 multiplayer - this could become a very fun part of the game, also allowing casuals and new players finding their way online.

That said, C&C4 is lacking some depth of gameplay at the moment. I'm hoping the devs will get enough time and don't have to rush the game - we could really notice that they were taking our concerns serious and I'm sure they'll be getting TONS of further feedback, as soon as the beta starts. If they are allowed enough time to listen to this feedback, C&C4 definitely has the potential to be one hell of a game - in case they don't get the time they need, we might have a problem though.

Eventually, we'll have to see and wait, but I'm feeling positive. I can only encourage everyone to give this game a try, as soon as you can. It won't be too long before the "very very early pre-alpha-beta" (love it) kicks off.

Apart from that: THANK YOU for CommandCOM. It was great having all of you guys in Germany - thanks especially to everyone who stayed in Riehl , you were amazing. When I cleared out, the lady at the reception told me that she had never had such a big group without ANY problems or disturbances. Last but not least, you'll find some memorable pictures here pretty soon.

Edit: Damn this blog software ^^ The picture should have a caption, but it's not working. It shows myself thinking about the great CommandCOM sponsors: acer, Logitech and all those other guys!

- FiX

Hello everyone :O

Did you know the coolest thing about C&C4 pathfinding already? No? Here I have a nice animated picture which makes you understand EVERYTHING!

Simple, isn't it?  At least the Devs explained it that way :O

For those who didn't understand: In C&C3 and RA3 the Art Layer, on which all the objectives (buildings, units) were moving,  had a different angle than the pathfinding layer (45° difference). Because of that every unit had to move around the sharp edges in their path, which often caused problems next to buildings. Here is a graphic that explains this issue in RA3: