Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Command & Conquer : Part 3: Operation Tiberian Sun
Original title	Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Studio	Westwood Studios
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent- lichung	August 27, 1999
platform	Windows
genre	Real-time strategy
Subject	Military science fiction
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer (Internet & LAN )
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	Windows 95 166 MHz CPU 32 MB RAM 2 MB graphics card 200 MB  HDD space 4 × CD-ROM drive
medium	2 CDs
language	u. a. German
Current version	2.03
Age rating	USK PEGI

Operation Tiberian Sun ( English for "Operation Tiberian / Tiberian Sun") is a real-time strategy game from the Command & Conquer computer game series released for Windows in 1999 . It continues the plot of Command & Conquer: The 1995 Tiberium Conflict . In Tiberian Sun , which is set in 2030, you can again choose between the Brotherhood of Nod and the GDI. In contrast to the previous games, this time the player character is not a nameless commander, but is embodied by an actor.

The game was largely referred to and marketed by the publisher as Command & Conquer: Part 3 in German-speaking countries . The first Red Alert part from 1996 was included in the count of the game series, although it has its own alternative world scenario and has nothing to do with the Tiberium series in terms of background technology. This caused some confusion when Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was released in 2007. The game has been available for free on the Internet since February 2010.

action

In the year 2030, the Brotherhood of Nod is severely weakened, splintered into smaller fractions and appears only sporadically. The reason for this is that GDI Kane's successor, General Hassan, is under their control, which guarantees some peace. But after the execution of a loyal companion of Kane (Anton Slavik), carried out under a pretext, fails and Kane is able to flee, Nod's attacks multiply and suddenly Kane reappears on the scene. However, the GDI was firmly convinced that he was killed in the destruction of the Temple of Sarajevo in the First Tiberium War. Kane then opens the Blitzkrieg and appears in undreamt-of strength. He manages to kill Hassan and reunite the brotherhood and from now on he can concentrate fully on fighting the GDI. However, things change unexpectedly when a crashed UFO is discovered. Kane reports that this UFO was recovered by the Brotherhood shortly before the end of the First Tiberium War. But before you could make use of it, the Nod-General Vega borrows it and crashes in America . Of course, both sides are trying to salvage this UFO and Nod manages to capture the Tacitus (an important artifact that supposedly houses all the secrets of Tiberium and reveals to those who can decipher it) and other technologies (which are later used in a bomber with plasma bullets open). For this, however, as the GDI commander, you need the mutant Tratos, who apart from Kane is the only one who can read Tacitus. Nod, however, tries to kill him. Only with the help of other mutants can he be rescued from Nod captivity.

There are also two endings this time, but only that of the GDI is canonical . If you lead Nod to victory, the GDI space station Philadelphia will be destroyed by ICBMs (in fact, this only happens at the beginning of Command & Conquer 3 ) and you will use a giant Tiberium rocket to transform the earth into a planet completely overgrown by Tiberium. At the end of the GDI campaign, however, Commander McNeil places the Nod leader Kane in his new temple in Cairo and apparently kills him with a sword.

So all in all there are two storylines and two perspectives at the same time. The actions overlap in some places, but are largely independent of each other. In retrospect, it is not always clear whether the GDI or the Nod view is canonical (the only clear exception is the end).

Gameplay

The game principle of the predecessor has not been changed. On the GDI side, the player embodies Commander Michael McNeil, under the direction of General Solomon. His counterpart on the side of the brotherhood is Anton Slavik, one of Kane's most loyal servants.

development

technology

For the first time, the game engine used supported an isometric perspective . A major technical innovation was also the terrain with a Z coordinate, which could now represent elevations and was partially deformable. The camera could not be rotated freely. Buildings and infantry units were still shown as sprites . Vehicles and gliders, however, were 3D models in the form of real voxel graphics. So computers without any hardware acceleration could display them.

In this game, too, the plot was pushed forward with the help of FMV sequences . Several professional film actors were hired for the performance. Monika Schnarre took over the role of Nod officer Oxanna Kristos , Anton Slavik was portrayed by Frank Zagarino , Michael Biehn played Michael McNeil and James Earl Jones played GDI General James Solomon. As in the previous games, Westwood director Joseph D. Kucan took on the role of Kane again .

Adjustments to the German version

In the German version, all infantry units are shown as cyborgs ( except for mutants ), although in the game only the brotherhood of Nod build cyborgs. Also some cutscenes in which explicit violence is suggested have been cut.

reception

reviews publication Rating GameStar 89% PC action 86% PC Games 88% single player 66% multiplayer

The publication of embellished screenshots, which probably prompted some gaming magazines to praise ahead of time, received criticism. In retrospect, this was assessed as a manipulation attempt in order to influence the advance reporting and thus the buyer behavior. As a result, some gaming magazines changed their guidelines regarding the unconditional adoption of screenshots of unpublished games.

A novelty was the fixed price of 99  DM imposed on the dealers at the start of sales . This also helped to raise expectations.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

The game is considered by some players to be the best of the Command & Conquer franchise. Others, however, feel disappointed with the game, as the release date has been postponed several times in advance and a hype has built up that the game could not do justice to. Tiberian Sun has also been criticized for the initial imbalance between the two parties in multiplayer. This has been improved with the Firestorm expansion . Tiberian Sun introduced many new technologies and a completely new game atmosphere into the Command & Conquer universe. Increasingly, science fiction and fantasy elements played a major role in the story. This was reflected, for example, in the units (high proportion of 'Mechs, hovercrafts, amphibious vehicles) and in some plot elements (Tacitus, Kodiak, Montauk, Philadelphia). The reactions to these very drastic changes compared to the predecessor were divided. In the Tiberium Wars part developed by EA Los Angeles , a large part of the changes was therefore ignored or reversed.

Firestorm (expansion)

Command & Conquer: Operation Tiberian Sun - Firestorm
Original title	Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm
Studio	Westwood Studios
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Erstveröffent- lichung	March 16, 2000
platform	Windows
genre	Real-time strategy
Subject	Military science fiction
Game mode	Single player , multiplayer (Internet & LAN )
control	Mouse , keyboard
system advantages preconditions	Windows 95 166 MHz CPU 32 MB RAM 2 MB graphics card 200 MB  HDD space 4 × CD-ROM drive
medium	CD
language	English German
Current version	2.03
Age rating	USK PEGI

In the expansion Firestorm (English: Firestorm ) makes Kane's AI , CABAL ( Computer Assisted Biologically Augmented Lifeform ), self-employed and trying to turn mankind into cyborgs. Since Nod cannot act without AI, they access the enemy EVA ( Electronic Video Agent ). GDI and Nod (excluding Kane, who was killed or disappeared) join forces to defeat CABAL's forces. CABAL is not a playable site, but in addition to the Nod technology in the final missions, it has unique units such as the Obelisk of Darkness, modeled on the Nod Obelisk, but is an anti-aircraft weapon. There is also the Core Defender , a mech similar to the Nod avatar from Tiberium Wars , but much more powerful. These units influenced the design of the units of the Scrin from Tiberium Wars.

In the opinion of editor Petra Fröhlich of the German computer game magazine PC Games , the expansion is “ A solid additional CD, yes, but while Brood War has given the Blizzard classic StarCraft a completely new feel, the firestorm is - despite new units and corrections to the Game balance - just 'more of the same' ”. It therefore awarded a fun game rating of 84%.

Web links

• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun at MobyGames (English)
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Your Command & Conquer Freeware Awaits! ( Memento from February 16, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ CEV Muniz, A. Montenegro, M. Lage, C. Nader: Polygonal Mesh Extraction From Digital Voxel Art. In: SIBGRAPI. 2013, ucsp.edu.pe (PDF).
3. ^ Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. schnittberichte.com, accessed on October 7, 2016 . 
4. ^ Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. In: GameStar . Retrieved August 11, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Alexander Geltenpoth: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberian Sun - Tradition obliges . In: PC Action . No. 10/99 . Computec Media GmbH , October 1999, p. 84-92 ( archive.org [accessed August 11, 2019]).
6. ↑ Thomas Wilke: The greatest hypes in game history, part 2. In: PC Games . April 22, 2008, accessed on August 11, 2019 : "In issue 11/99, PC Games awarded 88 percent for single player mode, but only 66 percent for multiplayer mode." 
7. ↑ Probably the greatest hypes in game history. pcgames.de, accessed on October 7, 2016 . 
8. ↑ Game review game with the firestorm . pcgames.de, March 7, 2001, accessed October 7, 2016 .