C&C4

[ScottishMartialArts]

Yeah but the Italian red zone in Act V of both campaigns doesn't bear much resemblence to the truly alien landscapes that you see during the brief foray into the tropics in Firestorm. Instead, you just get a barren environment with crystals and dust storms.

edit: Plus, the yellow zones seem nowhere near as bleak as the equivalent areas in TS, and something like the Blue zones simply doesn't exist, except maybe at the resettlement camps in Antarctica but the fact that people are willingly moving to Antarctica to escape the Tiberium hellscape should tell you something.

 

[Genma:TheDestroyer]

Yeah but the Italian red zone in Act V of both campaigns doesn't bear much resemblence to the truly alien landscapes that you see during the brief foray into the tropics in Firestorm. Instead, you just get a barren environment with crystals and dust storms.

edit: Plus, the yellow zones seem nowhere near as bleak as the equivalent areas in TS, and something like the Blue zones simply doesn't exist, except maybe at the resettlement camps in Antarctica but the fact that people are willingly moving to Antarctica to escape the Tiberium hellscape should tell you something.

That seems to be more a matter of game engine limitation than anything else. Some of the background cinemas showed Nod controlled Yellow Zones patrolled by unfamiliar walkers that dwarfed anything short of a Redeemer, yet I never got my hands on one of them.

As well as burnt out, degraded cities that looked like a stiff wind would turn them to dust.


But of course they didn't seem up to snuff in portraying this in the actual game engine.

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

It's really too bad that 2D game technology has been completely abandoned by the industry. Still a bunch of stuff that only 2D engines can do, or that 3D can do but is very cost prohibitive.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I agree. Tiberian Sun looked really great. A good map maker can create really beautiful stuff for that game.

A hardcore wargame with such graphics and cutscenes would be a HAEVAN.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

RTS games were apparently too difficult to learn for the common gamer, and this is the result. A fun, if mindless series got an embarassing ending that, from what I hear, is a chore to play and generally has only the worst qualities of the C&C series.

I learnt to play Red Alert when I was maybe ten, also Steel Panthers. So does that make gamers what, too stupid to put together a lego car? Nah, only designers failing at living up to the past once again and masquerading it as some great innovation.

 

[MetalCraze]

I agree. Tiberian Sun looked really great.

It looks great still. Definitely one of the most beautiful 2D games out there. C&C3 was an ugly disgrace with retarded shit-filter. Not mentioning C&C4.

 

[JarlFrank]

RTS games were apparently too difficult to learn for the common gamer, and this is the result. A fun, if mindless series got an embarassing ending that, from what I hear, is a chore to play and generally has only the worst qualities of the C&C series.

I learnt to play Red Alert when I was maybe ten, also Steel Panthers. So does that make gamers what, too stupid to put together a lego car? Nah, only designers failing at living up to the past once again and masquerading it as some great innovation.

I remember to have loved strategy games for being complex. I always wanted them to become more complex when I was a kid. Really loved Age of Empires 1 and 2, and later Cossacks. I thought it would only get better as PCs grew more powerful, and there'd be games with countless tactical options, huge fucking armies and complex town management.

What we get instead is complete removal or dumbing down of base management, rock-paper-scissors instead of tactics, and generally dumbing down of everything, espcially the removal of features that are apparently too complex for the masses.

What the fuck happened to gaming for god's sake.

 

[Joghurt]

Fuuuuuuuck now I want to replay Tiberian Sun . . .

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

Well, back in the middle of 90s RTS was known as dumbing down of wargaming, I guess the history has made a full circle.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

I remember to have loved strategy games for being complex. I always wanted them to become more complex when I was a kid. Really loved Age of Empires 1 and 2, and later Cossacks. I thought it would only get better as PCs grew more powerful, and there'd be games with countless tactical options, huge fucking armies and complex town management.

Hah, yeah, I thought like that, too, back then it seemed like everything was going up, probably for forever. And here we are, looking at the past days of glory, grumbling about the decline of things like bitter old men. Hearing kids call our games "grandfather's games", seeing in them the same excitement we used to have, from things we despise.

In this way, gaming sure sounds like a lot of things.

 

[Vibalist]

What happened to The Scrin? Did they just disappear or what?

 

[MetalCraze]

They will make a come back in C&C5 or C&C6, don't worry

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

What happened to The Scrin? Did they just disappear or what?

They don't make an appearance in C&C4. After their arrival on Earth, they discover that the planet isn't sufficiently terraformed for their purposes so they leave, but not before constructing their towers which Kane needs to achieve his "ascension". Likewise, the remaining tower is an essential part of the Tiberium Control Network which finally contains the ecological threat of Tiberium while preserving its capacity as an energy source. The exact nature of Kane's, and Nod's, ascension isn't clear but it involves passing through a portal inside the last Scrin tower.

 

[Malakal]

What happened to The Scrin? Did they just disappear or what?

Actually when playing the C&C3 Scrin campaign You are informed by Your alien overlords that the explosion which triggered the invasion was very premature and the planet is not ready yet for whatever You needed it for. So Scrin withdrawal isn't that strange, after all they have a galaxy spanning empire and need not fight for one, very resistant planet (also mentioned in Scrin campaign).

 

[MetalCraze]

Those retarded hissing bugs have a galaxy spinning empire?

...

 

[Genma:TheDestroyer]

The Scrin campaign ended with a pissed Overlord deciding that it was time to organize an invasion fleet, even though they already knew the planet's Tib deposits were premature. He was doing it because the natives showed a bit too much knowledge about Tiberium, there was evidence that Kane had mucked about in their data files long ago, and annoyance that someone had impeded their efforts at all.

Then shortly after that Kane uploaded LEGION into their network, which hijacked parts of the system.


So the explanation of 'they decided not to go for it all, because the Tiberium wasn't ready' is a bullshit retcon. Just like twenty other things in C&C4.

 

[lightbane]

The Scrin campaign ended with a pissed Overlord deciding that it was time to organize an invasion fleet, even though they already knew the planet's Tib deposits were premature. He was doing it because the natives showed a bit too much knowledge about Tiberium, there was evidence that Kane had mucked about in their data files long ago, and annoyance that someone had impeded their efforts at all.

Then shortly after that Kane uploaded LEGION into their network, which hijacked parts of the system.


So the explanation of 'they decided not to go for it all, because the Tiberium wasn't ready' is a bullshit retcon. Just like twenty other things in C&C4.

So, they were so lazy that they retconned their own bullshit and called it a day? Why I'm not surprised? Also, I read the sinopsis on the wiki, and I wish I haven't, the story looks retarded, and apparently the ending is identical no matter which side you choose (and really, if the planet FINALLY arrived peace after the Tiberium shit the LESS thing that would happen is some retarded dissident wanting to wage war 'cause they don't like how things are).

 

[ScottishMartialArts]

So the explanation of 'they decided not to go for it all, because the Tiberium wasn't ready' is a bullshit retcon. Just like twenty other things in C&C4.

The motivations and actions of the Scrin really aren't even mentioned in C&C4. The Scrin get mentioned, sure, as in "Gideon's seperatists are attacking the Scrin Tower research facility", but other than that they really don't feature into the game at all. "They decided not to go for it" was my own simplified description of their motives, partly so simplified because I haven't played the Scrin campaign since C&C3's release and I had forgotten some of the details which you've mentioned.

 

[Fez]

It's a wonder that they can go so far wrong with a C&C game. They could pretty much remake the same old games (C&C and RA) with minimal effort and some new cheesy FMV overacting and people would be reasonably happy. That's what they mostly did after Dune 2. From the reactions here it's almost like they're putting in the effort now to annoy the fans. I was a sucker for Westwood games too. Looks like I'll have to give this one a miss though.

I still miss the 2D art as it had some character and style that has been missing ever since. C&C3 looked downright ugly compared to RA2 or Tiberian Sun.

At least TS is free to download now.

 

[Awor Szurkrarz]

I wish they would change the gameplay to that of COTA or CC.

 

[Squirly]

C&C4 is a radical departure from the gameplay of the series, making Generals' significant tweaks to the formula look miniscule in comparison.

You mean the Generals game which was in no way whatsoever like any C&C before it?

That Generals game?