C&c3 August Roundup

[Smurf Bizkit 0]

EA just released an orgy of C&C3 media showing off Nod, Kane, and more ingame videos.

 

Gamespot has an article about Nod up, as well as some Nod concept art and screenshots. Click here to check it out.

 

IGN has a couple different screenshots up as well as several ingame videos showcasing the sidebar, and building construction, etc. Click here to check that out.

 

EA also launched the C&C3 website, check it out here.

The Good

One of the IGN screens shows off what seems to be a redesigned Zone trooper, this time with a helmet.

 

The new nod logo, and it being white paint on the vehicles is very cool.

 

MCV's, base building, sidebar, and hell...even engineers are back in their classic form.

 

The Bad

Looking at the screen showing the Nod cycle, next to infantry it is apparent that Nod is hiring midgets and young children for their recon force.

 

On the whole, Nod's art direction feels like it is the goblin faction from BFME2 (specifically the buildings). While some units (their air unit and cycle) are very cool, the other, more insect-like designs feel out of place.

 

A few of the Nod unit textures are too cartoony (that air unit of theirs in particular).

 

The "Shit Hot"

Joe back as Kane.

 

The gamespot article mentions the Nod avatar unit, which I am praying looks similar to this old concept of theirs.

[weston 0]

Hmmmm.... I really like what I see on GDI, but the Nod light tank looks.... odd? I don't know, but overall pretty sweet.

[BlckWyerve 0]

Argh, I can't believe they gave the Stealth Tank a cannon.

[Rattuskid 0]

Hey, there's a new GDI unit there too. Looks a bit too thin to be an APC, must be a stealth detector.

 

Nod looks awesome, I actually like the militants concept and the flame tank. Although the new light tank (assuming that's what it is) looks a bit too fragile for even engagements on infantry.

 

GDI is starting to get pretty unit-laden, but I guess that's to be expected. It's not like too terribly much is new. Basically you have the CnC '95 units with a few exceptions and new graphics. I guess the aircraft is a harpy style one, seeing as it's armed with guns.

 

What I don't like is the new garrison. The 'gun ports' are designed to look improvised but all are exactly the same. Unless you get the ability to snipe the occupants out one at a time, there's no need. You could just have the Ra2 effect with the whole model changing. It must be a comprimise for what they can do with the logic in sage. Anything will be better than the grey toilet paper tubes the stuck out of the buildings in generals.

Edited August 23, 2006 by Rattuskid

[Kaiser_Smeghead 0]

Finally! Nod's infantry look pretty cool, so does that aircraft. And Kane's back! (unusually he hasnt aged a bit :huh: )

[Nox 0]

(unusually he hasnt aged a bit :huh:)

 

That's unusual for a guy who didn't age between 1955 and 1995, and between 1995 and 2030?

Edited August 23, 2006 by Nox

[Smurf Bizkit 0]

Hey, there's a new GDI unit there too. Looks a bit too thin to be an APC, must be a stealth detector.

No, thats the APC.

[From Norway 0]

I hope they don't fuck up the artillery units with stuff like hovering MLRS (Tib Sun style)

 

I wish Nod will be given the SSM launcher.

[Rattuskid 0]

See ,but this is the kind of stuff that annoys me. Experimenting with how the factions operated on the battlefield is what Westwood had been all about, yeah, maybe sometimes things like TibSun would come from that, but at least it wasn't the same thing OVER and OVER again. What's the point for creative sessions if it ends up with GDI getting: the Medium Tank, the Mammoth Tank, the APC, the Orca and the Humvee? You might as well just play TD.

 

I at least expected Nod to fair a bit better than all this and yes, it has some new novel stuff, and yeah, the new unit designs rock, but... it's still all the same dynamics from TD at the core. You'd figure at least one subterranean unit from TS or something.

 

It does look great and all, but I just don't want to see this franchise go the way of 'Madden'.

[Vinifera7 0]

The colors look fantastic. I just wish that they would make their models a little more plausable. If that GDI vehicle is indeed an APC.. it looks a little too small.

 

Those Nod Light Tanks (or whatever they are) look odd, but the Flame Tanks rock!

[flyby 0]

I can't hide a disappointment on the conceptual aspect of the Nod units, buildings look fine...

I find most of their units very poorly designed. The only unit I like from a design point of view is the Nod heli (or whatever it is).

That tricycle thing is horrible and the flamethrower bizarre at best. The nod buggy concept is familiar but is rather poorly modelled.

 

On the bright side, the poor designs open the possibility to make better looking ones ourselves, no? ;)

[BlckWyerve 0]

There is nothing wrong with the flame tank. -_-

[PsiSoldier28 0]

I bet they were modeled from the original C&C unit concepts, just 'cause it's in 2d you couldn't see it back then. The trike is the stealth tank from what the videos show.

[Korona 0]

I actuaslly love the flame tank, the bits where they sent inf against it to show off its effects really cracked me up :P

 

The dissapointing unit for me is the mamoth tank. It zips around so fast it makes me think more of a pumped up technical than a massive ponderous AFV. Its turret turn rate and move/turn speed should be turned right down.

 

The Nod buildings need something around them, because black shiny buildings look totally out of place in a bleached desert. They just dont sit well, unlike GDIs more muted gunmetal and tan.

[Rattuskid 0]

These new screens, which we can assume come from the same build, seem to show two different rocket launchers for Nod infantry, the combat ones getting two 'prong' lauchers, and the base loitering ones getting only one on an RPG-like stick.

 

Although I'm always glad to see Nod rocketmen (Renegade dissapointed me here), it seems like they have an upgrade already implimented. The art could be better though, or at least make sense. If you need the long tube for the blowback, how could the underslung one work?

 

If my eyes don't fool me, it seems like the infantry are grouped into squads now, or at least automatically form formations rather than just mushing about like in Generals. A nice touch, really.

 

I like the new nod designs, and the flame tank is very inventive. It could use longer barrels for the dispensers, but I guess they wanted to avoid minimum range issues on it. This may be a good sign some infantry will have close range attacks for vehics (C4, Hijack) or I could just be reading way to into that.

 

The only design I really can't stand is the new stealth tank, considering it's hull is way too much of contrast to it's boxy trike-like base. That and if it's a stealth tank you'd expect more external indicators like the TD/TS blue balls or whatnot. Then again, it doesn't ever seem to cloak, so maybe they just mean it doesn't show up on the radar screen.

Edited August 24, 2006 by Rattuskid

[Korona 0]

oh and this

http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/823/823989/img_3777450.html

is piss poor texture work. That cracked ground is cool, but it looks lame as hell as a cliff texture.

It looks like a massive snake just died.

[Smurf Bizkit 0]

@PsiSoldier28, all of the concepts are new for CNC3...they arn't reusing old ones. Even when they are only marginally updating things they are having new concepts drawn (such as the juggernaut).

 

@Korona, I really love the new mammoth tank...its more of a mbt than the superheavy tank it was in previous games. And regarding that red zone map, all of that stuff is outdated now that Blue Tiberium is back (and it is a good guess that it'll mostly be prevelant in red zones, and possibly appear in limited numbers in yellow zones as well)

[BlckWyerve 0]

I do hope they fix the bike thing though. At least make it enclosed like TD so it isn't as blatently obvious.

[weston 0]

I don't know, regarding the mammoth tank, I've always enjoyed the feeling of HOSHIT A MAMMOTH! FUCK! and you scramble your forces and run like a little bitch. But maybe thats just me.

[Smurf Bizkit 0]

Yes, but now you'll be going "hoshit a ___!" for whichever unit is GDI's new uber unit. My bet is either a revamped mammoth mark 2, or a kodiac styled airship...to counter the Nod avatar unit.

[BlckWyerve 0]

But maybe thats just me.

 

Yeah, you're the one that runs like a little bitch. :P

[Korona 0]

@Korona, I really love the new mammoth tank...its more of a mbt than the superheavy tank it was in previous games. And regarding that red zone map, all of that stuff is outdated now that Blue Tiberium is back (and it is a good guess that it'll mostly be prevelant in red zones, and possibly appear in limited numbers in yellow zones as well)

sweet, I was truly hoping the red zones were kinda "early concepts"...

 

The mamoth is way wrong though. GDI's heavy tank is also for fast attack? No way!

[PsiSoldier28 0]

Next thing you know, GDI is attacking civilians! Oh wait... They already are, EA already fucked this up. >_<

[Rattuskid 0]

They may have too. The militants seem more like minutemen style terrorists than regular infantry. I'm sure it'll be a plot point in the GDI missions to try to win public favor while flushing out garrisons.

[maskawaih 0]

Maybe they can disguise as civilians.