While Westwood Studios was an RTS pioneer, I never really got into the Command & Conquer games. I remember seeing the original Command & Conquer on display in a computer store back in the ‘90s, but I was too enthralled by the coming WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness to really take notice at the time. I really enjoyed the original WarCraft: Orcs & Humans, and C&C being the new player on the block (in my eyes) only obscured the game from my view further.
But the C&C series has evolved significantly since then, and the latest installment is taking an interesting shape. Game Informer’s most recent issue has a short article on some of the new mechanics that Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight will incorporate into its game design. These mechanics appear to be a hodgepodge of recent innovations in modern RTS games.
The first new mechanic making its way to C&C4 described by GI is the inclusion of an experience-leveling system, compared to Modern Warfare’s multiplayer by the magazine. My understanding is that the game will track every action throughout the game and award experience to the player, which will likely be used to offer some kind of advantage in the campaign.
Previous StarCraft II news has revealed a type of leveling system allowing players to upgrade and unlock units throughout the single player campaign, likely based on player performance. I’m not too surprised that C&C4 will be taking a similar route, considering that inclusion of RPG elements in almost any genre prove to be popular with players.
The next mechanic described was an all-in-one mobile base, which screams Dawn of War II and Universe at War: Earth Assault. UaW was first with the massively awesome Hierarchy walkers inspired by H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. These walkers served the faction by being mobile production factories as well as insanely destructive units in their own right.
Hierarchy walkers assault a Masari base
StarCraft deserves a special mention here, being the first RTS to have an actual mobile base (the Terran Command Center), but I feel that UaW’s walkers are likely a stronger influence because C&C4’s mobile bases will be also be stand-alone units.
But these walkers were not exactly bases, and this is where DoW2’s influence shines. Relic’s Company of Heroes had already begun the process of base slimming, but it was Dawn of War’s sequel which first offered the all-in-one base -- one structure which provided all research and production for the player.
The all-in-one base wasn’t the only mechanic from Relic games which has influenced EA Los Angeles. C&C4 will focus on 5v5 objective-based multiplayer, which seems a lot like Relic’s focus on DoW2’s 3v3 multiplayer. Furthermore, C&C4 will make use of roles (offensive/defensive/support), which was pioneered in Relic’s CoH and later applied to DoW2.
C&C4 seems to be taking all of these concepts from other games and putting them together, which could make for an interesting combination.
The GI article also ponders the question of console ports, but the developer doesn’t think any to be likely at this point. I’d rather EA LA not port the game to consoles simply because the control method just plain stinks for RTS games.
I wish I had a mouse to select all those units with ease...
A keyboard and mouse is vital to successfully navigating and commanding units in an RTS, yet only one game on any current-gen console (Unreal Tournament III for PS3 only) supports the control method. If C&C4 is ported, the only way it’d be worth any player’s time is with keyboard and mouse support.
The one stick in the mud, so to speak, is C&C4’s chosen method of copy-protection (or dig at second-hand sales – take your pick). EA plans to force players to be online all the time, even when playing the single player campaign. Forcing players to be connected to the internet in order to play a single player game could raise the ire of gamers.
I’d likely pass on this title because of the internet connection requirement to play even single player, but the combination of recent RTS game mechanic innovations looks interesting. Can EA LA pull it off?
