4 replies to this topic

[Nighthawk]

Good evening everyone,
In what I can only describe as a rather bizarre move, EA have decided to make their upcoming Generals 2 title free-to-play, and have also renamed it to simply "Command & Conquer", sans suffix.

The new game will cost you nothing to download and install. It's still Generals 2, it's still in the same universe, it's just free and it's got a "new" name.

It'll also have no single player campaign. Well, I say that, their exact words are "no single player campaign at launch". So there probably will be, it'll just be released as DLC later.

Any of you who may have pre-ordered it online, you should get a refund soon for it from your respective retailers... and if you don't, go kick them until you do. If you want, you can sign up for the public beta on the EA site here.

And now that I've reported the key news facts on it, I can do a sudden genre shift to "opinion piece".

I must be honest, I'm not massively inspired. Retail models for these sorts of "free" games in the past seems to consist of providing a free rudimentary base game, then charging loads for a myriad of DLC items necessary to actually make something good and playable out of it. Whether this will be the same with Generals 2, I don't know, but I'm not waiting with bated breath. EA's exact words on the subject are that "$60 games are exploitative." I would suggest adding up the total DLC cost when they're all released.

There are advantages in that you can tailor the game to what you want to get out of it, only paying for certain components... but that all depends on a good and fair selection of components to choose from.

As for the name change... well... I don't quite see the point, unless they're wanting to make it sound like a complete reboot of the C&C franchise (which, granted, is a distinct possibility) or hope that the name will at least erase all mention of what came before.

For the sake of clarity, I'm going to keep the name of our Generals 2 discussion forum the same, otherwise it's just going to conflict with our generic C&C discussion forum. If the game does turn out to be a franchise reboot, then I'll rename any related forums to "C&C Reboot" or something.

Anyway, I appear to be rambling here. As a wise man once said, "Time will tell... time will tell."

Nighthawk.
CNC Guild Leader.

[Starkku]

From what I was able to gather from this article on IGN, this game is going to be some sort of platform for multiple, different installments of C&C games, with Generals 2 essentially being the lead product and first of them. Some sort of many-games-in-one type of deal I suppose, except we're probably going to have to purchase them as an expansion packs/DLC. This would also explain the generic title of 'Command & Conquer'.

I can't say that I exactly like this new direction. Altough I don't like to shout about it too much due to the ease of being marked as a nostalgia-fueled rabid fanboy or something to that effect, I guess I am more used to the old game distribution models where I could just buy a game and play it without having to unlock content through extra purchases, deal with requirements such as persistent internet connection and DRM bullshit. Then again I think RTS genre in general has been declining for a while already, with notably less games being released and arguably of a lesser quality. I can't say my expectations for Gen2 were high to begin with.

Also a bit skeptical towards the F2P model that many games have recently adopted. When done right, it might work. But there's so much potential for screw-ups right there, with the most notable scenario being the 'pay-to-win' one, which is exactly what it says on the tin. We're definitely going to have to purchase some of the content, otherwise EA wouldn't be making any profit. Question is, how much we will get for free, and what we're gonna have to pay for? Oh well, time will tell.

Edited by Starkku, 15 August 2012 - 09:35 PM.

[Beowulf]

I don't mind the new direction honestly. It's a chance for EA to redeem themselves by delivering a truly great series of games or DLCs. If they keep the game from being "pay to win," the game and idea will be even better. Long as they deliver the first three factions in their entiriety and it's a robust online experience, everything else is basically a moot point. I wouldn't even mind paying some cash for new armies or factions, or even a single player component. It would be the same as buying a full product then DLC afterwards.

[Apollo]

Well, if it sucks, atleast you won't have to pay for the experience unlike C&C4...

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

I don't see this game having cosmetic features typically used in F2P models so my guess you'll have to pay for factions and add ons similar Age of Empires Online.
AOEO had each faction for around $15-$20 with a limited faction available for free except Persia.
The online ranked multiplayer is also a unlockable so this probably going to be the fate for Generals 2.
The big limitation being that they probably won't produce too much content once the factions are released.