Command and Conquer 4

Lots of information emerged from GamesCom/CommandCom concerning the gameplay details of Command and Conquer 4. Below is a quick list of those details, but expect to see a more in-depth hands-on impression of the game.

DISCLAIMER: ALL INFORMATION IS FROM A PRE-ALPHA BUILD. NOTHING IS SET IN STONE

Crawlers
- Crawlers can respawn, but there is a 1 minute respawn time
- Crawlers respawn by coming down in a large drop pod that destroys any units underneath it
- Can only respawn in designated areas
- Crawlers have a cargo bay that can only hold 4 units by default, but can be expanded to hold more through upgrades.
- You can build units as your crawler is moving around, and they will be stored in the cargo bay. When you deploy your crawler, those units will come out as long as they have finished building
- Crawlers can crush enemy units, but take damage as they do
- Provide a large healing/repair radius
- Can be upgraded with various weapons to enhance combat effectiveness
- Respawning as a different class/crawler will destroy all existing units produced by the previous class/crawler

Classes
- Support class isn't just support, can hold its own as a stand-alone class. Takes less damage overall
- Offense class is more micro-intensive, designed for aggressive gameplay, heavier hitting units
- Defense class can build defense structures, shield structures etc, builds infantry
- Originally 5 classes: Assault, Heavy, Raider, Defense, Support

Gameplay Modes
- Domination Mode is the default (and the only one revealed so far)
- Each map has 5 goal structures that can be controlled
- The more you control, the faster you reduce the opposing team's strategic points
- Each team starts with 1000 strategic points, first to 0 is the loser
- You cannot regain points, you only lose them
- Match length is currently limited to 60 minutes, but will be adjusted based on testing feedback

Different Ways To Play
- Player vs Player (PVP)
- Player vs Environment (i.e. online Comp stomp)
- Skirmish (offline comp stomp)
- Custom match (different settings)

Multiplayer
- Automatching is based on skill and "ladder" ranking (ELO style), not based on level
- You can form temporary parties that let you stick together when automatching
- More permanent clans can be formed
- EA can now detect who disconnects
- Disconnecting results in zero XP gain during that match, and any further action EA deems appropriate

Player Progression
- Skill impacts the game far more than levels
- Unlocking units grants you access to more specialized units, not super strong "kill everything" units
- Level 50 vs Level 0 is NOT as one-sided as one would think. Again, skill matters more.
- You can unlock everything from units, to upgrades to more structures (for defense class)
- You level up your FACTION, not individual classes. That is, when you play as GDI, you gain GDI-only XP that can be used across all three of your classes. GDI XP cannot be used to enhance your NOD profile etc.

Resources
- There is no tiberium, harvesters, gathering, or money of any shape or form
- The "resources" are the strategic command points that each team starts with. You remove these points from the opposing team by capturing and controlling the goal structures on the map
- Goal structures automatically reinforce themselves the longer you hold onto them
- You control these goal structures by keeping units near them. The more units, the faster you capture them.
- EA is experimenting with some form of separate resource gathering and spending

Misc Details
- Each class has an "epic" unit. For example, GDI Offense gets the Mastadon, which is essentially the Mammoth Mk II from Tiberian Sun
- Some units have ammo limits that require them to wait before they reload
- Flame tank causes residual burn damage over time
- Engineer can capture husks of units (for example, old GDI Mammoth Tanks), and can heal/repair units at a short range
- There are approximately 50 command points per player in 5v5, which translates to about 10 units that you can control. The fewer players there are, the more command points there are per player
- Combat lethality is very low
- Movement speed is slow-average
- There are three tech levels that you upgrade to via the crawler
- Un-upgraded crawlers are easier to kill than the epic units from Kane's Wrath, and don't do as much damage.

This post has been edited by Oreb-: Aug 22 2009, 11:48 AM

Looking good so far. Semi-epic units don't really sound nice, but we'll see how it goes. Can't wait for the first gameplay video's, that's for sure.

PS: command points sound like pop cap.

yep look good so far
I am jsut afreid of this cralwer healing radius . Afterall it is moving unit and i am worry that only fight we will see can be camp fight near crawler.

Strategic points resources system.. huh ? wat ? i think i will have to weit and see how this works in beta becouse for now it sound crazy. Intersting but i cant imagine this You know it bring so many questions. Like do i buy units for strategic points ? If i start with 1000 and dont loose any points on map do i have all time 1000 no matter what i buy , where is any economy in this eh nvm . Confusing more then crazy also becouse those are the same point i need to win, right?

thanks for info GR !
Any chanche for gameplay video or new scrins ? *egm* screens

Capturing strategic locations on the map in order to reduce your opponents Strategic points, sounds like very NOT-Cnc to me.

What is wrong with the 'I destroy your base i win' type of game?

This post has been edited by PlaTy: Aug 22 2009, 12:35 PM

Before it sounded ok, now imo it sounds completely crap.

Sounds exactly like Dawn Of War 2 with a bit of UAW added in.

Except that DOW2 has more complex econ and relatively high lethality.

what? the so-called objective based game is featuring Battlefield-gameplay whereby we hold some stations and reduce their points to 0? Hey this is not team fortress and PLEASE,

give back my harvesters and Tiberium!
'EA is experimenting with some form of separate resource gathering and spending'
they better retain tiberium or the main theme of cnc 4 is gone.

some suggestion: Instead of drop-pod the crawler after 1 minute, let there be some other moves such as "npc controlled transportation strike force that escort crawler to the battlefield from the side, or ox transport it in." random crawler moves makes game entertaining and enjoying.

I like the ammo idea, finally they take some time to reload.

Btw if the game needs more objective-based match I can suggest some,

like to hold blue zone for GDI, unrest for NOD (featuring Kane's wrath Global Conquest idea)

fight for 1 optional strategic point and hold it to get stat or unit or whatever benefit that slightly boost overall team.

hold ion cannon and nuclear missile facility =)

capturing opponents' crawler and disable their battlefield control for a period of time.

capture (in forms of engineer or hold units around) another optional strategic point to interrupt radar efficiency, bring back the tiberian sun power-down rendering radar disabled animation =)

will they do it? hahah

Hello squadless Dawn of War 2 with a bit of World in Conflict (ouch)

On second thoughts though, there probably will be squads

Game will be terrible if it can't recreate the flexible upgrade system of DoW2...

At least they are making sure that required MP features are good from the start, a game like this good online interface means just as much as the game.

So you can't destroy someone's base or even kill all of his units cause his crawler will respawn every minute anyways?

5v5 with a pop cap of 10 each???

So even if you face some noob you first have to capture all these control points and get his Point Count to zero?


That's it, I'm done...


This is not C&C, regardless of whether they got the name right for it..

True...but I liked dow2...so maybe ill like this as well

Yeh DoW2 was great, WiC was terrible, I think it only takes a little bit to go wrong to ruin games like this.

WTF HAVE THEY DONE TO CNC?!???!?!

Ea is just wussing out not even trying to compete with starcraft 2 , just like they try and act like the small amount of prize money for world championships is something more than piddly . Come on their janitors make that in a month there , least prize money after taxes they do . THey obviously dont want to add credblity any more to e sports , but then again they never really did , they just wanted to sell games period . Just hope blizzard doesnt take the cheap route like ea has all these years or we will be seeing the korean leagues stick to broodwar , theyre not about to give up millions of dolllars because blizzard wants to offer players once a year 10 k tournaments like they usta to do for sc before it got so popular .

ON gameplay guess i might as well go play dow2 it will be a better game , sad very sad .

What happened to our beloved CnC. This sounds like total crap for me but not like Command and Conquer. Put this into ur Trashcan but not on my PC.

WTF?

C&C with 10 units pop cap, no bases, no tiberium, with "player progresson" and legged monster producing units IS NOT CNC.

Please EA, change name of this game.

I expect cnc4 being total failure.



Edit:
And agree, 90% of these "new ideas" are total crap going to kill entire franchise.


EA: Do you want to know why C&C3/KW was not success like starcraft?
3 Reasons:
- Terrible game support and terrible balance (many mod makers shown that balancing this game IS possible)
- Terrible and naive story, no deph (TS was better by far)
- Game was released too early (both game and expansion), many good concepts are undone.

Instead of fixing these 3 things you are going to change (or even kill) everything making c&c series unique. No, thanks.

This post has been edited by KaneASD: Aug 22 2009, 15:06 PM

It doesn't have an MCV, it's not C&C.

Tiberium game without tiberium?

This post has been edited by atdsutm: Aug 22 2009, 15:07 PM

C&C series game without:
- collectible respawning resource
- MCV based base system available to all factions
- stationary units factories
- no unit cap
- factions with full access to multiple ground, stationary and air unit options
is not C&C.

Nothing more to say.

This post has been edited by KaneASD: Aug 22 2009, 15:11 PM

Sounds totally shit
I expected a new c&c with new units, little changed gameplay and new maps. But what does ea bring? A game called Command & Conquer but being something completely different. Fail in my eyes.