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<p>EA's own <a href="http://twitter.com/EA_APOC" title="EA making intelligent use of Twitter again...">community manager Apoc</a> is spreading the word that fresh magazine scans of a new <strong><a href="http://www.commandandconquer.com/">Command & Conquer 4</a></strong> article have been put online by some eager fans at veteran fansite <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946" title="Online since 1996? That's pretty hardcore...">CnCSaga</a>. The scans are from the French magazine <strong>PC Jeux</strong> and they mostly offer new screenshots with one of them even showing the <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/screenshots/News/43029/1">new interface</a> (looks a bit like StarCraft). </p><p>CnCSaga has the <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946">scans in an insane resolution</a>, <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/news/First_screenshots_from_PC_Jeux_emerge_interface_included;43029">C&CFiles has compiled most of them in a more reasonable format</a> for your viewing pleasure. The new information from the PC Jeux preview shows that developer EALA really doesn't shy away from throwing old C&C traditions out of the window. I have taken the privilege of adapting the <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/news/First_screenshots_from_PC_Jeux_emerge_interface_included;43029">amateur translation</a> of the <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946">French source</a> to clear things up, we got standards here at TC: </p><blockquote><p>- 15 years after the events of C&C3 the earth is covered with Tiberium making life no longer possible. That's why Kane contacts GDI to band together in order to form the "Tiberium Network Control" so the Tiberium plague could be controlled and turned it into an inexpensive power source. Extremists of both GDI and NOD disagree with this newfound peace which means war!
</p><p>- The campaigns will reveal all of Kane's secrets and the story won't be as Manichaean (read: more shades of grey, less clear good vs evil) and will contain more surprises. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>- FMV cutscenes won't consist of asinine babbling in front of blue screens. The "commander" impersonated by the player also won't be passive this time around since you'll be able to impact the story more. The FMVs remain in first person though (so you probably won't see yourself). The tone of these cutscenes will be mature and serious.
</p><p>- Every fight, whether it's singleplayer or multiplayer, will net you <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/screenshots/News/43029/2" title="It's sci-fi Diablo now?">experience points</a> which you can use to improve your units. Even when you lose a game experience points can still be earned but you have to play till the end of the game session each time to receive them.</p></blockquote><blockquote>- The new mobile base unit, the Crawler, produces all your units (at least when it's deployed and thus immobile) and can be upgraded just like standard units.
</blockquote><blockquote>- Destroyed Crawlers don't mean game over as you'll instantly get a new one at a predetermined spawn point. Right when it respawns you'll have to choose between the offensive, defensive or engineer class.
</blockquote><blockquote>-Tiberium will be collected by <u>refineries which you build yourself at predetermined spots on the map.</u>
</blockquote><p>The captions on the scanned screenshots also reveal that the NOD army is being modelled in round and insectoid shapes and the GDI troops in square and metallic forms. NOD has Centurion robots with frontal electric shields which means you better attack them from behind. A Crawler's visual appearance will change with your tech level and maps will contain more art assets and details on the hotspots and less so elsewhere.
</p><p>Is this still Command & Conquer? Do we care if it isn't?</p><p><strong>*Update*:</strong> Apoc has already removed the link from his Twitter page, <a href="http://www.tacticularcancer.com/#2862" title="The beginning of the Twitter PR saga">once again</a> it seems the PR for C&C4 is more in an experimental stage than anything else. Any bets on which C&C4 story is going to be prematurely linked next time? </p>
<p>EA's own <a href="http://twitter.com/EA_APOC" title="EA making intelligent use of Twitter again...">community manager Apoc</a> is spreading the word that fresh magazine scans of a new <strong><a href="http://www.commandandconquer.com/">Command & Conquer 4</a></strong> article have been put online by some eager fans at veteran fansite <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946" title="Online since 1996? That's pretty hardcore...">CnCSaga</a>. The scans are from the French magazine <strong>PC Jeux</strong> and they mostly offer new screenshots with one of them even showing the <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/screenshots/News/43029/1">new interface</a> (looks a bit like StarCraft). </p><p>CnCSaga has the <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946">scans in an insane resolution</a>, <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/news/First_screenshots_from_PC_Jeux_emerge_interface_included;43029">C&CFiles has compiled most of them in a more reasonable format</a> for your viewing pleasure. The new information from the PC Jeux preview shows that developer EALA really doesn't shy away from throwing old C&C traditions out of the window. I have taken the privilege of adapting the <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/news/First_screenshots_from_PC_Jeux_emerge_interface_included;43029">amateur translation</a> of the <a href="http://www.cncsaga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5946">French source</a> to clear things up, we got standards here at TC: </p><blockquote><p>- 15 years after the events of C&C3 the earth is covered with Tiberium making life no longer possible. That's why Kane contacts GDI to band together in order to form the "Tiberium Network Control" so the Tiberium plague could be controlled and turned it into an inexpensive power source. Extremists of both GDI and NOD disagree with this newfound peace which means war!
</p><p>- The campaigns will reveal all of Kane's secrets and the story won't be as Manichaean (read: more shades of grey, less clear good vs evil) and will contain more surprises. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>- FMV cutscenes won't consist of asinine babbling in front of blue screens. The "commander" impersonated by the player also won't be passive this time around since you'll be able to impact the story more. The FMVs remain in first person though (so you probably won't see yourself). The tone of these cutscenes will be mature and serious.
</p><p>- Every fight, whether it's singleplayer or multiplayer, will net you <a href="http://commandandconquer.filefront.com/screenshots/News/43029/2" title="It's sci-fi Diablo now?">experience points</a> which you can use to improve your units. Even when you lose a game experience points can still be earned but you have to play till the end of the game session each time to receive them.</p></blockquote><blockquote>- The new mobile base unit, the Crawler, produces all your units (at least when it's deployed and thus immobile) and can be upgraded just like standard units.
</blockquote><blockquote>- Destroyed Crawlers don't mean game over as you'll instantly get a new one at a predetermined spawn point. Right when it respawns you'll have to choose between the offensive, defensive or engineer class.
</blockquote><blockquote>-Tiberium will be collected by <u>refineries which you build yourself at predetermined spots on the map.</u>
</blockquote><p>The captions on the scanned screenshots also reveal that the NOD army is being modelled in round and insectoid shapes and the GDI troops in square and metallic forms. NOD has Centurion robots with frontal electric shields which means you better attack them from behind. A Crawler's visual appearance will change with your tech level and maps will contain more art assets and details on the hotspots and less so elsewhere.
</p><p>Is this still Command & Conquer? Do we care if it isn't?</p><p><strong>*Update*:</strong> Apoc has already removed the link from his Twitter page, <a href="http://www.tacticularcancer.com/#2862" title="The beginning of the Twitter PR saga">once again</a> it seems the PR for C&C4 is more in an experimental stage than anything else. Any bets on which C&C4 story is going to be prematurely linked next time? </p>
