Potential Command & Conquer Chrono Game Night?

Gaming
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(inspired by derailed topics from this thread)

All this Command & Conquer talk makes me want to play it again. Anyone down for some online matches?

I would recommend playing online through the CnC-Online project or OpenRA, depending on which one you’re playing. I’d be happy to get destroyed by fellow Chrononauts in any C&C title… except 4. Gross.

VOTE HERE:

  • Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn (Unofficial 1.06 or OpenRA)
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert (OpenRA)
  • Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (no client known, please share if you have a working multiplayer solution)
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (see above)
  • Command & Conquer: Generals (CnC-Online)
  • Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - Kane’s Wrath (CnC-Online)
  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (CnC-Online)

0 voters

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How to be a proud owner of the Command & Conquer games

The easiest games to obtain are everything made after Red Alert 2. These games can be purchased from Origin under the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection. My recommended purchase methods:
Directly from Origin (hyperlink to USA store)
Amazon (have a sealed box with a code and no disc shipped to you)
(Get an online code from Amazon)
Beware, I’ve heard there are some regionlocks when buying this game. I believe they only cover purchase, but as a silly American I can’t confirm that.

This version includes all games in the series. My main complaints are the fact that C&C1 and RA1 are missing their DOS releases. This is the best vanilla way to play the originals, as the Windows 95 version is a complete mess on modern systems.

C&C Games Released for Free (C&C1, C&C:TS, RA1)

C&C1, RA1, and C&C2 were declared shareware around 2007 by EA. They can be downloaded from EA’s official FilePlanet account.

My recommendation for playing C&C1 is to download Unofficial Patch 1.06 (Moddb link). This mod makes the game far more stable on modern systems, allows for size scaling and high resolutions, and in general does its best to improve the game without messing anything up. It’s just vanilla C&C on your modern system. It includes all files (which is perfectly fine post-2008) and includes cutscenes in your choice of English, French, or German.

Red Alert unfortunately lacks this type of unofficial patch to my knowledge, but you can still get the ISOs running through DOSBox by downloading them from Moddb (again, they’re shareware as of 2008, EA’s fine with it)
Red Alert 1 (Soviet Disc, Moddb)
Red Alert 1 (Allies Disc, Moddb)

Tiberian Sun can also be downloaded as free shareware, but I forgot where the link was.

EDIT: Fraggles rolled up, and he was just like, “gotchu fam.”
Check this post to get Tiberian Sun, again, free game download and compatible with modern systems.

ANY GAME AFTER TIBERIAN SUN IS NOT FREEWARE. DO NOT TRY TO DOWNLOAD GAMES PAST THAT ONE FOR FREE. EA ONLY GAVE OUT THESE THREE.

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YES! Count me in! (If I’m not working)

I got mine through CnCNet. Will I have to download them again through your links?

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Nope, I was just pointing out the way I got them. I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be compatible, at least for C&C Classic.

I went into more detail about the original three because they’re all free, but I’d be down for some Kane’s Wrath or Red Alert 3 as well. I’m not very good at Generals, but I’d give that or Zero Hour a fair shot as well.

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I would if I wouldn’t have to learn the whole thing, I tried the n64 version once, and it was absurdly difficult for li’l young me so I drop it, I’m also allergic to rush tactics in RTS, I like to take my time.

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Heh, can’t imagine an N64 game is a good place to start with RTS’s. It’s a lot to take in already with the accuracy of a keyboard and mouse, and a controller severely limits what you can do-- it’s one particular case where a mouse truly makes a world of difference in the amount of control you have. I started playing RTS’s by playing Age of Empires in LAN (and getting destroyed), and I’ve played all sorts of RTS’s that I get destroyed in similarly.

There’s a certain mindset you need to get into, and some RTS’s are easier to begin with others. Dawn of War is a great place to start because some of the races are very straightforward, and it translates concepts such as Command Zones, base-building, and “advancing technology” into an understandable capture-the-flag/area-domination format. Speaking of which, I highly recommend Dawn of War 1 to this day. Dark Crusade in particular is great, though Soulstorm can be fun in multiplayer.

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It was one of those demos they used to put in big stores like Wall Mart and such, I can’t remember the first RTS I properly played, it was either AoE2 or Starcraft, but I have Starcraft more present than any others, I’ll still need a refresher thou.

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StarCraft as your only RTS is a real trial by fire. You’ll be fine, my dude.

At most, you may want to play one round against an easy AI to get a good picture of the CnC mechanics. It’s a series that has always been somewhat accessible at the ground level, especially in the originals. You’ll get a general idea within about ten minutes of gameplay, even if the advanced strategies completely elude you.

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I like to take my time too. I always took forever building way more than I needed.

I had the N64 game. Playing that with a stick was absurdly difficult in itself.

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I sucked at SC thou, it took me a good while to finish the campaign, I think I still have the discs somewhere here, but I may give CnC a try if I have time.

Speaking of, would you play an RTS where you don’t have direct control over your units? like you just issue the orders but your units have to figure out how to carry them out based on their training?

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I heard Starcraft was really good in the N64 all things considered.

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I’ve never played Starcraft. I haven’t played most RTS games. My friend had C&C when I was a little kid, so I got hooked on those then. I never really knew what else to play, or if anything would be as good, and now I have waaay too many games.

StarFOX on the 64 was/is one of my favorite games ever. I blame that game for inverting my Y axis forever in everything.

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Hm… I didn’t care much for Tropico, but I’d give it a fair chance. Is there any indirect RTS you specifically had in mind? By the way, there’s no need to grab the old Starcraft discs-- you can download the remaster on BattleNet for free, with the only restriction being that you can’t use the remastered graphics unless you pay for the actual “remaster.”

@GanbaRANGER

I don’t know why, but I also used to play with an inverted Y axis. Everyone I knew got so mad at me for constantly switching the axis controls that they forced me to get used to the “real way.” After a few months of painful Halo 2 matches, the “correction” process was complete.

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I relate to this so hard. With everyone I’ve ever switched off controllers with on a single player game, every time we handed it off, first thing we had to do was pause and “fix” the inversion. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to play the “real way”. Lucius was completely unplayable for me because they left that option out! :scream:

PS sorry for sortof derailing your topic.

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I didn’t have any on mind, I just kind of wanna make one where you give training to your units, deploy them and issue orders during battle like if you were watching some real-time feedback of the battlefield but they go about their business the best way the can.

Also, I never had any issues with the inverted axis, is kind of like a switch in my head that I can turn on and off whenever I want.

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I’d be up for some RTS action, it’s a long time since I played anything though so I’ll be really rusty and under all that rust I was never even really good to start with. I think I might be the most accomplished in SC2 though.

I have Oldest original copies of Red Alert 1 and 2, OpenRA, Starcraft 1 and 2, Homeworld (old and remastered), War for the Overworld, Warhammer 40k DoW and +2: retribution.
Games I have but never tried: C&C RA3-Uprising, Company Of Heroes (several), Grey goo, Offworld Trading company, Planetary Annihilation, Supreme commander 1 and 2.

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Im not good at RTS games but lets have a right old time.

call it “TIBERIUM WARS”

will my PS1 version of C&C1 fit in the PC? :thinking:

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I kind of doubt that a PSX version would actually be readable, but you’re free to download C&C1 with the Unofficial Patch or through OpenRA. It’s been free for about a decade since EA was using it to promote Red Alert 3.

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you’re right, I’ll just put it in my dreamcast instead.

jokes aside now

I have a few RTS games that aren’t C&C gonna have to look up those links for anything else needed when we decide whats being played, though I have experience in Red Alert 3 specifically and C&C 3 less so but still quite a bit.

it appears that origin only allows the collection to people who have their premium service, otherwise its 25 pounds.

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yup, but you can usually pick up the collection for a fraction of that price at a another (legit) retailer. Origin’s bs pricing scheme is exactly why i linked another (local) 3rd party when HouGuard mentioned the c&c games

once in a blue moon, origin might have a decent sale that actually makes some games a decent price, but most of the times we get served an expensive version,
if a game cost 10$ (sale or not) it’s a pretty fair bet it cost 50% more in the EU (tho the £ might vary slightly on that fixed %vs €), no idea why :thinking:, but i guess they prefer us buying those games at retailers :man_shrugging:

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