Command & Conquer Team Take On LoTR RTS

Thanks to GameSpy for their unveiling of a new PC real-time strategy title based on the Lord Of The Rings movies. Not to be confused with Vivendi's book-based War Of The Ring RTS we covered a couple of days back, in this title, "EA and the C&C Generals team are bringing their own brand of RTS gameplay to Tolkien's world.", and the tech demo screenshots from this large-scale, early-in-development title look intriguing, as the developers try to "capture the epic cinematic flavor of the three film's battles (including Helm's Deep, Ithilien, and Minas Tirith) by combining content from all the movies."

Comments

Looks sweet

[My name isn't Tim]

I can't wait to see the final product. Would be cool to be able to take control of a character and walk around first person in battle. Graphics look stunning. http://www.gamespy.com/asp/image.asp?platform=PC&i mage=/previews/september03/lotrbfmepc/14.jpg In game shot!

Re:I hope...

[TheFlyingGoat]

Did you read the article? The AI involved seems completely groundbreaking. In addition, the graphics engine (or logic for hiding detail while zoomed out) they're using must be a stud to be able to handle 1000+ units, each fighting and reacting uniquely. Toss in the fact that arrows actually stick in enemies, Trolls being smart enough to use Orcs as weapons, and the incredible graphics and it should be an excellent game. I normally don't get into RTS games, but I'm almost definitely going to buy this one.

Re:I hope the Helm's Deep battle scenario...

[mraymer]

(Referencing the bug in which the AI controlling the CGIed Uruk-hai, in attempting to cause the most damage with the fewest casualties, turn around and ran away from the scene on the first take. That would make for a lousy campaign.)

Eh, wrong. Just google around and you'll find several interviews with crew members of the massive dev team who explained that this is sort of a rumor that has been twisted around a bit.

What happened was that the CGI monsters did not have good enough vision to see where the enemies were. Therefore, while it looked like they were running away, they were in fact looking for people to fight. They simply couldn't see anyone to fight, so started wandering around aimlessly.

A few tweaks to the AI cleared this problem right up. While it is funny to imagine any vast army running away in fear, it's not exactly what happened with massive. I know you were just joking and it was funny, too, just not accurate. Sorry for the nitpick.