It's heartening to know when a company has the interests of gamers at heart. When we heard that some people were having trouble playing Command and Conquer 3, for example, it was definitely a disheartening moment. Luckily, CVG reports that Mike Verdu, the game's producer, is rather apologetic over these issues, promising a fix for them as soon as possible.

In a statement he gave to the public, Verdu was quoted as saying the following:

Some of you can't connect to C&C Online and others are having issues once online. This is unacceptable, especially for a product that we designed for competitive multiplayer game play. I am sorry that you are encountering problems and I want you to know that the development team is working very hard to understand the issues, fix the bugs that affect the largest numbers of people, and roll out patches as quickly as possible

He says that additional patches will be released to address problems and resolve issues as soon as possible. For now, keep trying the single-player, hone your skills, and thank the stars that there are nice people out there who want us to get the most out of our gaming experience.

Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) dropped us an email today stating that the PC version of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars has finally shipped to retail stores across North America and will be available for US$ 49.99 on March 28. The Xbox 360 version of the video game is expected to ship as well in the next couple of months.

EALA VP and Executive Producer Mike Verdu is quite proud of Tiberium Wars, and he should be. The game features a fluid gameplay, an exciting single player campaign, online battles transforming into a spectator sport, and full-motion video sequences. Even the 360 version is compatible with the console's Live Vision camera. Verdu stated,

We've taken the mix of explosive action, deep strategy, and rich storytelling that sparked a genre to the next level. Even better, the series is returning to its roots in the Tiberium universe. players can take command of the futuristic armies of the Global Defense Initiative, fight for Kane and the Brotherhood of Nod, or control the alien hordes of our third new faction, the Scrin. I can't wait for people to get their hands on this game.

Aside from Joe Kucan, who plays the the baddest bald dude ever known as Kane, a lot of other Hollywood actors and actresses will be appearing in the said live action video sequences. Some of these people came from acclaimed movies like "Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi", "Battlestar Galactica", "Starship Troopers", and even TV series "LOST".

Finally, you might want to know that there is a collector's edition for Tiberium Wars (Kane Edition) that contains a bonus DVD featuring several content like behind-the-scenes documentary, deleted scenes, blooper reel, and a series of gameplay strategy videos among others. The supply for the Kane Edition is rather limited and it will be priced for US$ 59.99.

If there's any proof that Command & Conquer is one of the most heavily modded titles around, just look at all the number of times we've messed with the Red Alert *.ini files. All those user-created "fan-xpansion" packs for RA2, Generals, and Battle for Middle-Earth. That canned HaloGen mod.

Electronic Arts Los Angeles (EALA) promises that Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars will continue the tradition. EALA Predator writes in the official forums for C&C3:

I've said this many times, modding is extremely important to me, to Mike Verdu, to Amer Ajami, and to the EALA studio. We've turned over a new leaf this past year with our first MOD SDK release and granted its not perfect, its certainly got a lot to offer.

We are absolutely committed to creating a new MOD SDK for Command & Conquer 3 and getting that in your hands in as efficient timeline as possible with our resources. Our development team is currently rotating on vacations now that the game is gold, we need some breathing room and a break after a long-hard project! But, work has already started on the SDK, and that simply means starting to analyze how we can open up the new build pipeline to you guys with something accessible and easy to understand.

The new mod SDK is required because unlike the past games, Tiberium Wars uses XML and not *.ini protocols to govern the game. The result is a faster game as the end product, but now requiring a new approach to modding. Just hang in there, he tells the community. This is not going to be an indefinite-release thing.

Predator ain't dissing the efforts of independent modders out there to create their own tools for modding C&C3; "A lot of tools modders create are not officially sanctioned and otherwise would not be created by us...BUT...that does not mean we cannot verbally support and promote them if they are viable and safe, which most often I've found them to be."

 

Electronic Arts Los Angeles gives more details to the new things being brought out by this installment to the C&C series, through an interview by FiringSquad. They were able to get hold of EALA VP Mike Verdu and Xbox 360 version senior producer Michael Glosecki to serve out what's latest in the game's developments.

First and foremost, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was supposed to be another Red Alert installment - or at least that's what was originally planned. The decision to go back to the original Tiberium universe was basically a no-brainer: they were very fond of the first C&C universe created. They have three generations of C&C fans working on the game, so it is bound to be a fan-filled production (get it? fan-filled? no? well anyway...).

So the game goes back to its roots, announcing the return of our favorite bald-headed megalomaniac Kane to renew the conflict between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod. This time around, the war revolves around either controlling Tiberium or destroying it. The game itself will also include an alien race, and this is where the real fun begins.

The aliens are called the Scrin, and they invade Earth in the middle of the 38-mission single player story. This introduces us to a whole new concept to a Cinderella story: at first the alien units are pretty weak, but when upgraded (with a fairy god mother, you know the drift), they are the most powerful in the game.

With tripod walkers with three individual beam turrets (err...Steven Spielberg might have a fit), carriers with fighters (okay, now Blizzard will have a fit) and a mothership for a superweapon (don't worry, Will Smith will take care of it), the Scrin will undoubtedly enter a whole new twist to the story, and EALA promises it will present a "tremendous third act reversal" for the story.

Perhaps you remembered that odd little ET schoolbus (read: crashed alien ship) in Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun that was identified as a "Scrin Ship." Yes, "Scrin" is their name, pain is their game. Electronic Arts LA Executive Producer Mike Verdu officially confirmed it to Gamespot, and they had a sneak peek at some of the units that comprise this new alien menace introduced to Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

And why are the Scrin here? They're here "because of the Tiberium."

Personally, as a GDI operative, I say: let them have it. And as a bonus, toss in a couple of Mammoth rail guns up their backside.

Scrin Units (note: name as given in the source; official name on release might differ):

• Annihilator tripod - those three-legged walking orbs of doom you saw in action. In case the vid doesn't work: they also bear a similar resemblance to a walking tower of terror in Half-Life 2.
  
• Devastator warship - aerial artillery for the Scrin
• Planetary assault carrier - you saw this in a screenie, remember? Say it with us: Protoss Carrier. Same principles of operation. Same results on the ground.
  
• Rift generator (superweapon): will create a tear in the fabric of space and time that will warp structures and units into outer space.
  

And...

• The Mothership, a city-sized, slow-moving ship that means "Game Over" for the player whose base it finally manages to reach. You know, like that scene from Independence Day where the aliens blast the crap out of the heart of NYC, LA, and DC with city-sized Frisbees With A Dorsal Fin of Doom. That can't be good.

More info about the other units after the Jump. Click on the "Full Article" link below!

In the latest interview which Mike Verdu has granted the press (in this case, Game Daily), he talks about the live-action cast that is assembled to flesh out the backstory to Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. It should be interesting to see how this sort of treatment holds up in the face of CGI and gameplay, as that has always been the challenge of pairing live-action cutscenes to the game.

Mike promises a fully-developed storyline with characters that grow as the game progresses. He notes that "The game is a satisfying military science fiction spectacle with a future world war as the backdrop for its story, but the story itself has layers and tackles some big themes." Quite intriguing, considering that the live-action treatment in the first C&C (Or in Red Alert, for that matter, which was very much tongue-in-cheek. I miss the Kari "Tanya"...), while it did serve to advance the story, did not really go into this deep narrative business.

For example: the ever familiar Lando Billy Dee Williams plays a politician with deep character flaws. Flaws which grind him down as the war grinds on. The ever alluring Tricia Helfer (what, you guys don't watch Galactica?), on the other hand, plays a "conflicted" Nod officer, and if she can hold up to Kane (Joe Kucan), then it's a job well done in this veteran's book. Mike says that all six principal characters will experience growth, perspective, understanding, and all the stuff that deep narratives are made of.

We'd just like to ask, though: What's Michael Ironside's role in all this? Super-secret special agent? Lemme guess: he gets to bring over a special pair of NVG goggles to the role. Wikipedia does say that he's playing the role of a GDI general (well, that rules "commando" out. At least it didn't say "GDI Navy," or we'd think he'd be bringing a special submarine along...).

I miss the Kari "Tanya."

Okay, so we've already told you of the upcoming Command & Conquer 3 Kane Edition. Now, seeing what awaits us here, it is without a doubt a "definitive collectible" for any C&C game fan.

Mike Verdu, Vice President and Executive Producer at EALA can't contain his excitement as to this goodie bag coming your way this March. He says, "The exclusive maps, strategy tutorials, special unit skins and 'making of' video provide hours of enjoyment to anyone who loves [the game]. The 'blooper reel' is just flat out funny." Simply put, he can't wait for fans to get their hands on this game.

Oh, and we've got a couple new screenshots to boot. Enjoy!

 

Command & Conquer fanatics no doubt still remember the first time Nod and GDI clashed in epic battles the world over. Almost a decade later, both factions are back and ready to take each other - as well as a mysterious new faction - on in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

CVG recently had the chance to talk to Tiberium Wars Executive Producer Mike Verdu. Read on for a few choice excerpts from the interview.

Gameplay. Asked about what Tiberium Wars has to offer over other RTS games by retaining the classic rock-paper-scissors gameplay rather than going for the 200+ units on the screen deal, Verdu pointed towards "raw fun-factor and high-level, competitive RTS gameplay."

According to Verdu, "What we're trying to do is create a game that has really good fundamentals and appeals to people that want to play RTS games competitively, either in tournaments or against each other to get onto the leaderboards or the ladders.

"At the same time we're trying to make the counters really well understood, with a predictable ruleset where you win because of how good you are and the skill you bring to the table, and we've re-engineered our pipeline and the engine to get rid of any hitches and lags and anything that gets in the way of fine control over units and speed of gameplay. So what you get is a very fluid experience where the units react when you tell them to."

Single-player. For the single-player campaign, the Tiberium Wars team came up with something that they call theaters of war. These are essentially geographical zones. Within the theatre of war players get the ability to make a call about which strategic objective you're going to go after. Of course, your choices have consequences that ripple into other missions.

Verdu says that as you play the single-player campaign, "you're really peeling back the different layers of the onion and getting a new perspective on what's going on - each campaign should give you a unique and interesting reveal on the events you've played regardless of which order that you play them in - although it's worth saying that the third faction campaign gets unlocked by the first two."

Multiplayer. "One thing that is unique is that you can broadcast your games out so that thousands of people can watch games in progress, which is just cool. And then there's a whole infrastructure to support clans, tournaments and different stats that you track for yourself."

The AI for Tiberium Wars is also one of the areas that the team wants to punch up. The game will have a variety of AI opponents that embody different play styles. Verdu says that there are shades of Zero Hour in the new AI, "but that's pretty primitive compared to what we're doing now which is a full code-based AI that makes use of multiple tactics depending on the strategy that you're picking to."

For the full interview, click on the "read" link below.

Command & Conquer 3's executive producer, Mike Verdu, sat down with Eurogamer to divulge their plans on winning over the fanbase, C & C 3's standing in the RTS genre, and just how much participation will the players actually have in influencing the course and outcome of the game.

On the question as to how they intend to win over the fanbase who just might not be too happy with the changes in this installment of the franchise, he says that they think their approach should be in such a way that they can guarantee delivery of an experience that connects them emotionally with the game. That would entail the gameplay working tightly with the story with the multiplayer.

It really needs to come together in a way that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. If we pull that off they'll forgive us for changing the way Tiberium looks and some of the other things that we've done to pull the world together a little bit, to define the look and feel of the units and the structures.

Verdu is also confident that their game will stand out in the RTS genre. And why not? After all, they do have 35 single-player missions all coming together in a seamless storyline. Apart from that, there's also the multiplayer things and a whole lot of other cool stuff.

Now, the players obviously will have a very pivotal role in the development of the game's story. Picking up the order of missions that you play, as well as the choices you make accompanying those missions will necessarily have a ripple-effect as to the train of story. "So there are definitely meaningful choices that you make."

Indeed, there's a lot to look forward to in this game. And although change may be daunting, maybe it just might be for the good, anyway.