Q&A-sessie Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

In juni zullen RTS-liefhebbers zich op Xbox 360 kunnen vergrijpen aan Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath, een uitbreiding op het op X-Power positief onthaalde Tiberium Wars. De exclusieve demo voor de Xbox Live Marketplace is momenteel nog niet beschikbaar, maar X-Power kreeg wel onlangs reeds de gelegenheid om de producers van deze uitbreiding 10 korte vragen voor te leggen:

1) Will there be any patches for the Xbox 360 version this time around, especially when balance fixes occur on the PC version? I remember that there was nothing of the sort on the Xbox 360 version of the previous C&C III?

We don’t have any details on this right now, but we can tell you that Kane’s Wrath will come with every single balance fix that we’ve already put into Command & Conquer 3 since launch.

2) One thing I thought was a pity, concerning the multiplayer of C&C III on the 360, was the lack of any Battlecast (an extensive spectator mode if I remember correctly) features that were present in the PC version. Will they be excluded from Kane’s Wrath on the Xbox 360 as well, or will some parts of Battlecast make it in?

Unfortunately, BattleCast will not make it into the 360 version of Kane’s Wrath. However, we are adding a lot of new content, including every map we’ve added since Tiberium Wars, bringing the total number to 50 and we’re adding a cool new gauntlet skirmish mode called Kane’s Challenge. More details to come soon!

3) Something about the graphical aspect of C&C III (Xbox 360 version again) that many people weren’t too pleased with, were the large amounts of framerate drops and screen-tearing. Especially because low-end PC’s could handle the PC version pretty well. Has the team made a bigger effort to optimize the engine’s performance on the Xbox 360 this time around (i.e. minimize the slowdown and screen-tearing)?

Of course, this is something we’re aware of and looking to improve.

4) While playing Command & Conquer III on the Xbox 360, over time I noticed that it was relatively easy to lose single, smaller units on the map. Especially if I forgot to assign them to a squad. Have any improvements been made in this regard and if so, could you tell us how exactly?

When creating new content we took this into consideration and making the squads easier to be selected. The new radial interface will be a huge help.

5) Microsoft has recently released an official ‘mini-keyboard’ that can be attached to the controller. Now I’m not sure if they have a strict policy on this, but will it be possible to use this chatpad to the extent mapping hotkeys on it for specific tasks or has the team at least considered this option for Kane’s Wrath?

No, but that’s a really great idea and something we should definitely consider in the future.

6) I remember that there were achievements in the original Command & Conquer III (360) where you had to finish the campaigns on each difficulty. The problem was: there were no indications which missions you succesfully completed (including all the side missions) on which difficulty and if you finished the campaign on Medium, you wouldn’t get the achievement for the Easy difficulty either. Will this no longer happen in Kane’s Wrath?

Kane’s Wrath will feature a full 1,000 achievement points spread throughout the game and different modes. We’re hoping to make them more clear and accessible this time around and you should be hearing more about this soon.

7) Someone from the development team mentioned during the latest episode of Command & Conquer TV that Red Alert 3’s (also due on Xbox 360) single player campaign will be entirely playable through co-op. I was wondering: will this also be the case in Kane’s Wrath and if not, could you tell us why?

Co-op is going to be a huge part of Red Alert 3 and it’s a huge undertaking. It really hasn’t been done in campaign mode in the genre before. We had always designed Kane’s Wrath to be a single player campaign where the player is really getting a lot of 1:1 interaction with Kane, co-op wouldn’t be a natural fit.

8) Will the possible formations be more useful now in Kane’s Wrath, as they weren’t all that great in Command & Conquer III on the Xbox 360? I could be wrong with this, as I wasn’t very good in the game honestly ;-)

With the new interface you’ll be better! It will give you more control, get you faster with build queues, managing units and in arranging your formations.

9) Will Kane’s Wrath revolve more around actual strategy,, as opposed to Command & Conquer III where players could (for the most part) win by repeatedly producing the strongest units?

Yes, the beauty of an expansion pack is you get the benefits of all the balance work the base game has already had. Things like one unit spam really won’t be a factor and the new subfactions and weapons really lend themselves to encouraging players to build a more diverse army.

10) Could you give us a little more insight about the difficulties the team went through in order to create a suitable control set-up for a traditional RTS on consoles and how they managed to come up with Kane’s Wrath control scheme?

We couldn’t be more excited about the radial interface. The new system allows for players to easily control their build queues, powers, and abilities by simply guiding the left-analog stick. Players can now manage unlimited production queues from anywhere on the map, so no more scrolling around the battlefield searching for that second or third War Factory. While we were happy with the control advances we made in Tiberium Wars, we feel that our new radial interface take RTS-on-console controls to another level. With the new interface, previous actions that would take a dozen clicks of the controller are now accessible with a couple clicks. You’ll be amazed by the increase in speed and accessibility, and overall it allows players to focus on the battlefield action instead of managing their base. We’re always looking for ways to improve our control systems, and we’re just privileged to be the pioneering RTS team on console.