// Please note it's now 2005 and this was written way before Generals was released. As such it makes little sense now and the information is out of date, and links may no longer work. Go to this page instead. // 1. General Questions · Who is the developer of Generals? · When will Generals be released? · Will there be a generals beta? · Will a Generals demo be released? · What are the current system requirements for Generals? · Is there an official site? · Is there an official message board? · Who will be doing music for C&C: Generals? 2. Game-play questions · Why is it called Generals? · Tell me some more about these Generals · I heard there are no harvesters in Generals! Is this true? · Is there a max population/unit count? · Is there a build queue? · What is being done to ensure the team/sides are balanced? · I heard there were not going to be any Construction yards in Generals, is this true? · Will there be fog of war? · Will there be shroud, like in all previous C&C Games? · What are the differences between each side? · How many player units and structures are currently implemented? · What are the buildings for each side? · What are the units for each side? · Are there any hero/unique units? · Can you garrison buildings? · Will we see any air to air dogfights? · What will air-to-air combat be like? · Will choppers be able to fool stingers? · Will we see any wildlife or animals? · Will there be a veteran system? · I was watching an E3 movie, and I heard units reporting in, will they really do that in game? · Will there be naval units in C&C: Generals? · Will there be cheat codes? · Will there be Easter eggs? · Will there be battle formations? · Will there be attack stances? · Will there be crates? · Will elevation give units an advantage? · What kind of interface will generals have? · Can units fire while moving? · Will there be super weapons? · Will you be able to convert enemy units to your side? · Will there be any engineers? · Will players be able to 'command' their units to cheer? · Will There be any barrels, like in RA? · Will there be blood in generals? · Will there be any tech buildings like in RA2?? · What are the tech buildings like? · How do you capture buildings without engineers? · Has the propaganda blimp been scrapped? · Will I be able to upgrade my units? · How does upgrading units work? · Do supply depots run out of resources? · What kind of terrains will be in Generals? · If my General is killed, what happens? · How do you repair units? 3. Single Player Questions · How Many Single player missions are there? · Could you give me a brief description on the story line of C&C: Generals? · Will players be able to change the difficulty setting? · Will there be skirmish matches in Generals? 4. Multiplayer Questions · I heard there would be no official Generals ladder! What? · Will there be a cooperative mode? · Will Command & Conquer: Generals use Westwood Online (WOL)? · What is being done to prevent cheating? · How many players can play in one match? · Are there any details on multiplayer maps yet? · Will there be clans in Generals? · Will there be a quick match option? 5. Modification/Editing Questions · Will there be an official map editor? · When will the map editor be released? · Are there any current screenshots of the map editor? · Will the editor be easy to use? · Will there be a random map generator? · Will players be able to create their own cut scenes? · Are there any movies of the editor? · Besides the map editor, what else is available for modding? · Will I be able to create my own textures/models for Generals? · Will there be any official tutorials made by EA-P for the map editor/modifications?? 6. Engine Questions · What game engine does Generals use? · What does SAGE stand for? · Will generals have replay capability? · What does the SAGE engine have to offer? General Questions 1.1. Who is the developer of Generals? EA-Pacific, NOT Westwood Studios. 1.2. When will Generals be released? In most places, it is! Check your local stores to see if they have it in stock. 1.3. Will there be a Generals beta? There was a Generals Beta, known as the "Multiplayer Test". 3000 or so fans participated n submitting bugs, imbalances and errors. Originally posted by Mark Skaggs: Also there is going to be something different that we will be doing with this which we haven't done in the past and that is beta testing. We look forward to throwing the game out to a million people worldwide as we are smart enough to know that balance is something which we can get help with. It makes us nervous, but it should be interesting. 1.4. Will a Generals demo be released? FilePlanet subscribers got a 'Sneak Peak', but there are not any true demo's that we know of. 1.5. What are the current system requirements for Generals? These are the Official Requirements as displayed in the C&C Generals manual. SYSTEM SPECS: MINIMUM CONFIGURATION (SOLO & 2-PLAYER MULTIPLAYER) "¢ Windows® 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, or Windows XP (Windows NT and Windows 95 not supported) "¢ 800 MHz Intel® Pentium® III or AMD® Athlonâ„¢ processor "¢ 128 MB RAM "¢ 8x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive "¢ 1.8 GB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (additional space required for Windows swap-file and DirectXâ„¢ 8.1 installation) "¢ 32 MB video card using the Nvidia® GeForce2â„¢, ATI® Radeonâ„¢ 7500 AGP video card, or more recent chipset with DirectX 8.1 compatible driver "¢ DirectX 8.1 compatible 16-bit sound card "¢ Keyboard "¢ Mouse RECOMMENDED (SOLO AND 2-8 MULTIPLAYER) "¢ 1.8 GHz or faster Intel Pentium IV or AMD Athlon processor "¢ 256 MB or more RAM "¢ 1.8 GB free hard disk space plus space for saved games "¢ Nvidia GeForce3â„¢ or more recent Direct3Dâ„¢ capable video card REQUIRED FOR MULTIPLAYER GAMES "¢ 256 MB RAM required for 3- to 8-player games INTERNET (2-4 PLAYERS) "¢ 56 Kbps or faster direct Internet connection "¢ One set of game discs per player. Disc 1 and Disc 2 cannot be used simultaneously for multiplayer games. INTERNET (5-8 PLAYERS) "¢ Cable, DSL, or a faster direct Internet connection "¢ One set of game discs per player. Disc 1 and Disc 2 cannot be used simultaneously for multiplayer games. NETWORK (2-8 PLAYERS) "¢ TCP/IP compliant network "¢ One set of game discs per player. Disc 1 and Disc 2 cannot be used simultaneously for multiplayer games. Note: The game will run on 500Mhz as proven; however; expect to see something like a slideshow on it. 1.6. Is there an official Generals site? Yep, there is - click here. 1.7. Is there an official Generals message board? Yes. Click here. 1.8. Who will be doing music for C&C: Generals? Bill Brown, no Frank Klepacki. You can see Bill's credits and such here. Gameplay Questions 2.1.Why is it called "Generals?" The name is Command and Conquer: Generals because you are an army General. 2.2. Tell me some more about the Generals... You are the General. You upgrade on a star system gaining abilities and units. 2.3. Is there a max unit/population count? No, you can build as much as you wish. However, there is a limit to how many units you can move at once, but this is very high and unlikely to bother you. 2.4. I heard there are no harvesters in Generals! Is this true!? Yes. This is true. There are no harvesters in Command and Conquer: Generals. Originally posted by Mark Skaggs: We're making a big departure from the old C&Cs where you needed to collect either ore or gems. In generals we've created static supply depots and each side gets to them differently. The US sends out a Chinook helicopter, it drops a line picks it up and brings it back. The Chinese use supply trucks. The GLA, they go ahead and send workers that carry it back.But more then that we have the ability for people inside their base to generate income. The US has a supply drop. The Chinese make hackers that steal money. The GLA makes a black market. If you're halfway through the game and you cant get to the resource supply depot and you're stuck, you can use your in base resources to make money. Here are some descriptions of the units that make you money... First Source of resources America Chinook This air unit's primary function is to collect resources from the warehouses scattered across the battlefields, then return to base with them so further construction can occur. If it is armed, it will be very lightly, but a small number of infantry can be loaded inside in case any resistance is found. GLA Workers Who needs Chinooks or Trucks when you have poor slave laborers to do the work? Send them out to collect your resources then punish them for a laugh. Chinese Supply Trucks The Chinese send out supply trucks to collect resources, no armament but strongly armoured. Second source of resources America Supply drop Details: Every two minutes a plane drops some resources onto the Supply Drop structure, one plane for each constructed building. China Hackers When told to 'hack the internet' they deploy their laptop and gain 5 credits every few seconds. As they keep doing this they gain veterancy, and an elite hacker gets 10 credits every few seconds compared to the 5 of standard ones. GLA Black Market Details: Gives you 20 credits every five or so seconds, as well as opening up more technology and upgrades like 'Buggy Ammo'. 2.5. I heard there were not going to be any Construction yards in Generals, is this true? And if so, how will we construct buildings? Yes. This is true. There will be no construction yards in C&C: Generals How will this work you ask? It"™s similar to how you construct buildings in Age of Empires and War Craft 1 and 2. You send out a bulldozer, which can move anywhere on the map, assuming they make it past the enemy. This means you can build any building, anywhere on the map, without the restrictions of previous Command and Conquers. Here"™s more: We've decided to take buildings and put them on the map with the use of bulldozers. Multiple bulldozers can build multiple buildings, but multiple bulldozers cant quickly build one building. Note: This means if you use 2 bulldozer to construct 2 buildings at a time, rather than 2 for 1 twice, you"™ll have spent much less time. 2.6. Will there be fog of war in Generals? Yes. Click here for detailed information about the difference between shroud and fog of war. 2.7. Will there be shroud in generals? No, but there will be fog. Click here for detailed information about the difference between shroud and fog of war. 2.8. What are the differences between each side? Well, EA-Pacific has made it very clear that each side will be very asymmetric(not just mirrors of each other). So, each side will be unique in its own way, allowing different strategies and approaches to victory for each side, and that"™s not even adding in the generals to the equation. According to certain interviews from the development team for Generals, the unique abilities for each side is as follows: United States: The United States is big on saving lives. So, in order to spare as many lives as possible, the US, is big on technology. You can expect that the majority of US units will be twice as expensive, yet three times stronger and faster than any other unit on the battlefield. And, since this is a realistic game, the US will probably have some big fancy hunk of metal in space giving them some kind of GPS, just an idea though. China: Every 1 in 4 people on earth are Chinese, and that"™s the logic behind the Chinese strategy. So, the Chinese will be about numbers, meaning, your units will most likely be cheap, and very ineffective without backup. GLA: Tunnel rats with rags on their heads. That"™s right. They"™re sneaky, they"™re sly, and, very resourceful. They"™ll be hard to get rid of, they"™ll pop up and be gone in an instant thanks to their tunnel systems, resembling that of those in Vietnam. Each side also gets 6 unique super weapons. 2.9.How many player units and structures will be in the game? Currently, approximately 50 units and 30 buildings. . 2.10. What are the buildings for each side?? Yes. As always, Generals will still have most of the classic C&C buildings like power plants, war factories and a barracks. The current Buildings for Generals are here. 2.11. What are the units for each side? The units for each side can be seen by clicking here 2.12. Will there be any hero/unique units? Yes for more detailed information please refer to question 2.2. 2.13. Can you garrison buildings? Has the garrison system been improved? Yes and yes. Here are some more details on garrisoning: 1. All infantry units will be able to garrison buildings. 2. US Rangers will be able to root out garrisoned units from the rooftops with a 2:1 kill ratio. In other words, for every ranger that enters an garrisoned building, 2 units will be killed for every 1 ranger that enters. 3. The bigger the building, the more units you can garrison, and for every unit you garrison, firepower and fire rate is upgraded. Note: This is a rumor, but since this is how it worked in RA2, we assume this is how it will work for Generals. 2.14. Will we see any air to air dogfights? According to EA-P, air to air is now possible with specialised air units such as the F-22 Raptor & the MiG. 2.15. What will the air-to-air combat be like? Originally posted by Delphi: Planes fighting planes... The team is working on a special mode for dog fighting, once it's in a truly functional state we'll talk more about it. 2.16. Can the helicopters use decoys (chaff, etc) to fool stinger rockets? No, but there is always the future: Originally posted by Harvard Bonin: This idea occured to us. We will continue to look at it as a viable option. 2.17. Will we see any wildlife or animals? While nothing has been said officially, there has yet to be a Command and Conquer game without some type of wildlife, which includes Visceroids to Cows and polar bears, so hopefully. 2.18. Will there be a veterancy system? Yes. With each new C&C game released the Veterancy system keeps on getting better and better, expect great things from Generals when it comes to veterancy. There are now four levels - one star, two star, three star and 'hero'. 2.19. I was watching an E3 movie, and I heard units reporting in, will they really do that in game? Very good question. Unfortunatly, EA-P has said nothing about this new feature, so we can"™t be 100% sure it will be in-game. However, it seems unlikely that the video would show that if it were not infact in game. 2.20. Will there be any naval units in Command & Conquer: Generals? Other than the United States hovercraft unit, and the battleship in the single player game, no. These are not directly controllable. 2.21. Will there be any Cheat codes? No, these are removed from the code before release. 2.22. Will there be any Easter eggs (hidden secrets)? None found as yet. 2.23. Will there be battle-formations? Yes. Select the units and hit CTRL + F. 2.24. Will there be any attack stances? There are 'deployment' modes, Guard mode etc, but not stances as we know them from TA, for example. 2.25. Will there be crates? Although there are crates placeable through World Builder, none are in any Official Maps. 2.26.Will Elevation give units advantages? Yes. A higher elevation provides a longer line of sight, more range, and even helps to protect units. 2.27. What kind of interface does Generals have? With the new building type, generals now has a more convenient sidebar, only, this time, its not a side bar. The "side bar" will be on the bottom, so you can call it a "bottom bar." :D 2.28. Can units fire while moving? Yes. Units will naturally target units, no matter what direction they are headed, although infantry cannot - nor any "fixed turret" tanks like the Marauder. 2.29. Will there be super weapons? Yes. Each US general gets the Satellite weapon, the 'Particle Cannon', each GLA general gets the SCUD Storm, and each Chinese general gets the Tactical Nuke. To see the unique special units and weapons each general gets, refer to question 2.2. 2.30. Will you be able to "˜convert"™ enemy units to your side? No, as the previous schemes of doing so were removed. However, the GLA can neutralise tanks and take them, and China can hack them and make them useless for a period of time. 2.31. Will there be any engineers in Generals? Unfortunately, no. But, that doesn"™t mean you won"™t be able to take over enemy structures, but it will take much more effort this time - an upgrade that allows infantry to take over buildings is needed, and the standard infantry of each side (Rangers, Rebels & Red Guards) do the job. 2.32. Will players be able to 'command' their units to cheer? Not sure. However, as seen in the sample first mission video , units will cheer on their own, when they feel it appropriate. 2.33. Will There be any barrels, like in RA? Yes, this is likely to show off the SAGE engine's ability to create large explosions. 2.34. Will there be blood in Generals? No, however, someone out there feels your need and made a Blood Mod that, er, adds blood. 2.35. Will there be any tech structures, like the ones in RA2? Yes. 2.36. What are the tech structures like? There are currently 6 official tech structures we know about. 1. The Oil Derrick - This tech structure, like in RA2, will slowly fund your army. 2. Supply Warehouse - here you can collect supplies and heal your tanks. 3. The hospital - Obviously, like in RA2, this building serves to heal your infantrymen. 5. Oil Refinery - cuts around 10% off of the cost of units in the time you have it captured. 2.37. How do you capture tech buildings without engineers? Each side has a unit capable of capturing tech buildings - the standard infantry of each side once upgraded with the correct ability. 2.38. Has the propaganda blimp been scrapped? Yes. Don't expect to see it or hear of it again. 2.39. Will I be able to upgrade my units in Generals? Yes. In generals, your units will be "armed to the teeth." 2.40. How do upgrades work? Units have different types of upgrades, some are specific to the unit type where as others are researched for all units. 2.41. Do supply depots (the new source of credits) run out of resources? Yes. You cannot just control one supply depot and extract credits from it all game. 2.42. What kind of terrains will be in Generals? Every kind you could possibly think of. Players will have access to snow, temperate, urban and desert. Now there are variations on these tiles so you'll get more than just one type of snow tile - useful for map makers wanting unique looks for their creations. 2.43. If my general is killed, what happens? YOU are now the general. The idea of separate Generals was scrapped. 2.44. How do you repair units? There are no repair structures, all your repairs occur in your war factory or your barracks, for vehicles and infantry respectively. There are, however, abilities and upgrades that offer repair functions, such as the Speaker Tower and 'Emergency Repair'. Single Player/Campaign Questions 3.1. How many single player missions will there be in Command and Conquer: Generals? 27. 24 missions and 3 tutorials, that's 8 missions and 1 tutorial per side. 3.2. Could you give me a brief description on the storyline of C&C: Generals? For a brief description of the storyline in Generals, visit our Sides page or visit the Official Generals Preview Site 3.3. Will players be able to change the difficulty setting? Yes. 3.4. Will there be skirmish matches in Generals? Yes. Multiplayer/Internet Gameplay Questions 4.1. I heard there will be no official Generals ladder! What?! An 'Official' Ladder is run by CasesLadder, and other efforts are going ahead with the ladder kit - like the giant community venture which CNCSeries.Com is proud to be a part of. Originally posted by Harvard Bonin Actually, what we've confirmed is that we will provide a "ladder kit" that will enable individuals (fansites, gaming rooms, players in general) to set up their own personal ladders. We'll provide the ladder...err...author...to enable various rules, passwords, options, etc. They'll also get to include anyone - even if it"™s just for their closest friends. We're currently implementing the ladder kit so there will be more news to come in the near future. 4.2. Will there be a cooperative mode? No. Which is a let down... 4.3. Will Command & Conquer: Generals use Westwood Online (WOL)? It uses the WOL interface powered by Gamespy (you won't notice the Gamespy thankfully). I christen thee, "GOL". 4.4. What is being done to prevent cheating? A lot. There will be stricter measures to prevent online cheating. The following is being done to prevent online cheating: There will be a "live team" in place for Generals to fix any problems that may occur post launch An experimental possible anti-cheat system to be implemented into Generals is when you connect with someone in the game, the matchmaking service can alert you to what trainers or map hacks the opponent has installed on his or her computer certain stats that will appear in the matchmaking screens will allow the player to select opponents that have had up to a certain number of disconnects, which will in turn allow players not to play others with a higher number of disconnects 4.5. How many players will be able to play in one match? Up to 8 players will be able to play at once, however, 2-4 is recommended for speed. 4.6. Are there any details on any of the multiplayer maps? There are many maps for all occasions - mainly 2-4 players, but 6 & 8 player maps are abound too. For fan-made maps, check the section on CNCSeries and other excellent sites in the community. 4.7. Will there be Clan matches? Not as of yet - support isn't included. When it will be is unknown. 4.8. Will there be a quick match similar to that of the one in RA2? Yes. Harvard has also explained that the Quick match technology has been advanced. Modification/Editing Questions 5.1. Will EA-Pacific release a map editor for Command and Conquer: Generals? Yes. Originally posted by Delphi-EA: The editor will be the same editor the dev teams uses. You will have all the power they have to create maps, ingame movies, and scripted missions. 5.2. When will EA-Pacific release the map editor to the public? The World Builder comes with the game, look in the root directory (where you installed it) for 'WorldBuilder.exe'. 5.3. Are there any screenshots of the map editor? Yes - see this shot. 5.4. Will the editor be easy to use? Yes, even I [Ash] can put something decent out - and that's saying something. Talented mappers can do wonders. Originally posted by Mark Skaggs: Our goal is to do really heavy duty mod support, to open up as much as we can to the people. We want people to look at Generals and say "this is really easy to modify, I can do this, change the INI files, head models, change some art work, and can build great scenarios." Not just regular maps, we want them to be able to build fully scripted scenarios. We saw what people did with Red Alert 2, and we didn't help them at all. If we made some good tools for them, that should open everything up. 5.5. Will Generals have a random map generator like Tiberian Sun? No. We are unsure of the exact reasons for this, but it is likely that due to the complexity of the maps the CPU power required would be enormous. Originally posted by Mark Skaggs: No, no map generator, the worlds are pretty complex for random generation. But as we said before, this engine is the starting block for all the next generation C&C titles. So as we work on newer titles with the engine, we may put it in for later games as we discover more things about this engine. 5.6. Will players be able to create their own cut scenes? Yes. EA-Pacific has promised the ability to recreate old and even create your own cut scenes. 5.7. Is there a movie of the editor I can watch? Yes. But it"™s very short. Click here to view it. (Thanks CCU.) Offline 5.8. Besides the map editor, what else is available for modding? Or is it all included in the editor? (Unit editing, etc.) With Map Editor, from a General perspective, map makers can create their own multiplayer, skirmish, and mission maps. They will also have access to scripting features and can edit the ini files of the units and structures. 5.9. Will I be able to create my own textures/models for Generals? Yes, skinning & modding is possible - read tutorials on GE2K. 5.10. Will there be any official tutorials made by EA-P for the map editor/modifications? Yes, catch it at http://generals.ea.com Engine Questions 6.1. What Engine will Generals use? The SAGE Engine. 6.2. What does SAGE stand for? As revealed here, it stands for "Strategy Action Game Engine". 6.3. Will Generals have replay/recording capability? Yes. These are in .rep format and require C&C Generals to be viewed. Originally posted by Delphi-EA: Generals will have full replay capabilities, save them until your heart is content. 6.4. Will there be day to night transitions? No, maps are set in either day or night. 6.4. What are some of the things the SAGE engine has to offer? Everything in the game will be truely 3D, including: terrain, explosions, units and buildings. Different terrain heights will affect units' sight and speed. Stunning explosions, fire and smoke effects. Units will create dust clouds while moving. Free camera - zoom, rotate or move the camera freely. High quality shadows of every object on the screen. All kinds of enivornments, including dense urban areas, hot deserts, arctic locations and forests. Varying times of day, which will possibly change during the game. The engine also supports reflections and dynamic lighting, and according to some rumors it will be possible to enable high-level functions such as pixel-shaders (for Bumb-Mapping). Printable Version | Tell A Friend | Bookmark