Command & Conquer Generals

[Veldor]

Fired it up today and boy was I suprised...

This is the most visually stunning "pseudo-strategy game" I've ever seen.

Don't even think about trying it if your system is more than about 18 months old. Even a year old system will not play it at maximum detail..

Scud Launchers, Bio-Terrorism, Carpet Bombing, this one has it all..

Russians got axed for the Chinese... The "TRUE" opponent for the US... The GLA Terrorist group is also in the mix..

At first I was very dissapointed by the game redesigned mechanics such as the now almost "forced" aggressive strategy in order to progress in the game. You can no longer play defensively as before. However there is more than enough to offset this, such as the ability to fortify buildings and "defend forward" and so on..

Overall a different and interesting C&C... Can't really render a real verdict as I've barely scratched the surface...

But I'm guessing anyone whose looking for an plethera of special effects, brilliant if not absolutely spectacular 3D graphics, and the same old dull AI is going to love this game, assuming you have an equally spectacular pc to run it on...

[Dan Bozza]

What kind of rig do you have, and how well does the game run for you?

[Veldor]

Originally posted by Dan Bozza
What kind of rig do you have, and how well does the game run for you?

Pentium 4 1.9Ghz Processor
Intel Motherboard and Chipset
512 MB DDR RAMBUS Memory (Not Dimms)
Visiontek Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti500 64MB DDR (Highest in GeForce 3 Line)
80GB 7200RPM Ultra ATA/100 HD with 8 MB Cache
Soundblaster Audigy

Ive only tried running the game at 800x600 and at Medium Detail but on my system it runs perfectly with no lag or glitches even with hordes of units. Even at medium the game looks incredibly awesome. I mostly havent tried a higher detail level because when I loaded this game on my second best computer (a P3 733mhz, 256MB, Nvidia GeForce 2) even at 800x600 and LOW detail the game was completely unplayable. Not only did it take forever to load up (like 10+ mins per scenario) but the game lagged all over and scrolling was totally choppy.

So I just have been too busy playing to mess with it.. Ill go kick it up a notch and see what happens.

I consider my system very above par for the era it was in (Approx Christmas '01) with the higher speed RIMM memory the hd cache the Ti500 and so on.. which is why Id say the average system probably isn't going to play this game if its much older than mine is.

Any fan of C&C will love Generals though, there is SO much new stuff and new strategies...its a very different game and beautiful graphics and even better effects...

[Dan Bozza]

Originally posted by Veldor
Pentium 4 1.9Ghz Processor
Intel Motherboard and Chipset
512 MB DDR RAMBUS Memory (Not Dimms)
Visiontek Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti500 64MB DDR (Highest in GeForce 3 Line)
80GB 7200RPM Ultra ATA/100 HD with 8 MB Cache
Soundblaster Audigy

Ive only tried running the game at 800x600 and at Medium Detail but on my system it runs perfectly with no lag or glitches even with hordes of units. Even at medium the game looks incredibly awesome. I mostly havent tried a higher detail level because when I loaded this game on my second best computer (a P3 733mhz, 256MB, Nvidia GeForce 2) even at 800x600 and LOW detail the game was completely unplayable. Not only did it take forever to load up (like 10+ mins per scenario) but the game lagged all over and scrolling was totally choppy.

So I just have been too busy playing to mess with it.. Ill go kick it up a notch and see what happens.

I consider my system very above par for the era it was in (Approx Christmas '01) with the higher speed RIMM memory the hd cache the Ti500 and so on.. which is why Id say the average system probably isn't going to play this game if its much older than mine is.

Any fan of C&C will love Generals though, there is SO much new stuff and new strategies...its a very different game and beautiful graphics and even better effects...

Thanks for the info - I was really looking forward to getting this game ASAP, but based on your information, it looks like my PIII 550mhz 300 MB RAM machine is not up to the task.

[Veldor]

Originally posted by Dan Bozza
Thanks for the info - I was really looking forward to getting this game ASAP, but based on your information, it looks like my PIII 550mhz 300 MB RAM machine is not up to the task.

Nope your not even close to the minimum which, from my testing, is not the minimum at all... Notice that even my 1.9 is barely over the "recommended" level and is thus why I probably can only play it at 800x600 and medium detail. I tried higher and while it worked, during peak "force confrontation and activity" it lagged miserably. At 800x600 and medium detail it still looks wonderful and never locks or lags...

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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® Athlon™ 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 DirectX™ 8.1 installation)
• 32 MB video card using the Nvidia® GeForce2™, ATI® Radeon™ 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 GeForce3™ or more recent Direct3D™ 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.