Community & Collaborate: Tiberian ROM - EA releases C&C Tiberian Dawn & Red Alert DLLs and code as Open Source

[rcmaehl]

Sources:
TNW (Quote source)

Reddit (EA statement)
The Verge (media source)

 

Summary:
EA has released Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert dlls and their corresponding source code under the GPLv3 license to enable mod support.

 

Media:

 

Quotes/Excerpts:

Quote

A today made the surprise announcement that the .dll files and corresponding source code for RTS classics Command and Conquer Red Alert and Command and Conquer Tiberian Dawn would be released into open source. The announcement came via a Reddit post related to the upcoming Command and Conquer remaster collection. This came as a surprise to most. The Command and Conquer series has been a darling for RTS afficianados and modders alike since it launched in 1995. "So, what does it mean for Mod Support within the Remastered Collection? Along with the inclusion of a new Map Editor, these open-source DLLs should assist users to design maps, create custom units, replace art, alter gameplay logic, and edit data." Command and Conquer is a nostalgic throwback from a time when 32-bit graphics were cutting edge and full motion video was a must-have for serious strategy games. EA‘s already let some modders run wild with code to answer the age old question:  “What would the Brotherhood of Nod do if they captured the Mammoth Tank?” The answer is make it shoot nukes, of course.

 

My Thoughts:
Hype. I remember being a young kid a playing Tiberian Sun for days on end. While I could never get far, I loved the actual live action video and actual story line it provided and really was a league of it's own. I'm ready for this remaster and I'm glad they've opened it up as much as they have.

[Radium_Angel]

32 minutes ago, rcmaehl said:

enable mod support.

So we can replace the people with my little ponies and the other side as furrys? 

I'm okay with this. 

[rcmaehl]

2 minutes ago, VegetableStu said:

is there a fanculture war i'm not aware of o_o

Apparently 

[LAwLz]

That reddit statement is just like a slot machine that always hands out jackpots. 

It's like EA listened to peoples' complaints and went "okay, let's give them what they want". 

 

I am pretty sure that some C&C games have issues on newer computers, so getting a compatible version is great! They are some of my favorite games of all time. 

 

They want mods? Let's just open source a bunch of stuff and give them something even better than limited mod support!

 

People have been complaining about games becoming unplayable once servers shut down? Let's add LAN support! Sadly it doesn't seem like it'll come at launch because of covid, but hopefully it will come later. 

 

People dislike Origin? Let's release it on Steam too! 

 

People dislike paid dlc? Let's make it possible for people to upload free stuff for others to download on the steam workshop! 

 

 

I hope the stuff they open source are large parts of the games. The more stuff that's open source the better. 

[paddy-stone]

Wow, this is a blast from the past, haven't played C&C since about 1994-1998 IIRC, used to play in a weekly LAN party, that and Doom were the goto games most weeks.

Ah those were the days, playing on our £1000+ PCs that we had to pay extra for a CD-ROM and sound card... and had like 4MB RAM to go with our Pentium 90 - Cyrix 166 CPUs

 

I will say that I used to enjoy games a lot more those days though.

[Trik'Stari]

17 hours ago, LAwLz said:

That reddit statement is just like a slot machine that always hands out jackpots. 

It's like EA listened to peoples' complaints and went "okay, let's give them what they want". 

 

I am pretty sure that some C&C games have issues on newer computers, so getting a compatible version is great! They are some of my favorite games of all time. 

 

They want mods? Let's just open source a bunch of stuff and give them something even better than limited mod support!

 

People have been complaining about games becoming unplayable once servers shut down? Let's add LAN support! Sadly it doesn't seem like it'll come at launch because of covid, but hopefully it will come later. 

 

People dislike Origin? Let's release it on Steam too! 

 

People dislike paid dlc? Let's make it possible for people to upload free stuff for others to download on the steam workshop! 

 

 

I hope the stuff they open source are large parts of the games. The more stuff that's open source the better. 

Modding support does seem to go hand in hand with longevity for games. I've put more time into Stardew Valley than any other game in my steam library. Not to mention Fallout 4, Skyrim, etc.

 

Nice to see EA do something "not completely-dickish" for a change?

[Results45]

Ah yes, Command & Conquer. The games when EA actually made art.

 

Would be great if we could enlarge maps and reskin all the assets with HD or 2K textures.

[leadeater]

Don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order.... Pre-ordered 

[xAcid9]

*childhood intensifies*

 

4 minutes ago, leadeater said:

Don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order, don't pre-order.... Pre-ordered 

Same.