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Red Alert 3 Expansion Announced

Posted by Soulskill on from the that-was-left-handed dept.

TheProphet92 writes "Electronic Arts has announced a single-player only add-on to their popular real-time strategy game, Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. The expansion features new units and more campaign levels to play. Although not a part of the expansion, 25 new multiplayer maps will be released as part of a patch. 12 of them are 1v1 maps and the remaining 13 are 2v2. Amer Ajami, an EA exec, said, 'Uprising is a game that in many ways reflects the feedback we have gotten from the Command & Conquer community. We're giving gamers more of what they want — more of the fast, fluid and fun gameplay, more of the story we began to tell in Red Alert 3 and more cutscenes featuring top-notch Hollywood talent. At the same time, we're excited we're going to be able to bring new things to the mix, including new units and the Commander's Challenge, which is a great way for players to hone their skills and get deeper into the combat.'"

41 comments

  1. Wha?? by The+Yuckinator · · Score: 2

    "Here's a bunch of new units, but you can't use them in multiplayer. Especially not with all of these shiny new maps!
    Why don't you go play by yourself, it's not as if multiplayer hasn't supported this franchise for a decade or anything."

  2. BFD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    RA3 sucked anyway, nobody cares.

    EA/Westwood, you're going to need to get your head out of your butt and recognize that there are more companies on the RTS scene than just you and Blizzard. This isn't 1995 anymore. The C&C series just doesn't stand up to what others are doing these days.

    Innovate, entertain, or get out of the way.

    1. Re:BFD by techprophet · · Score: 1

      Actually, I thought RA3 was very good.

      I am a heavy RTS player. Heavy as in pwned TA, C&C, WC, SupCom, SC, and others. I am excited about this!

  3. Activation? by Falconoffury · · Score: 1

    I wonder how many times I can activate this expansion before I have to pick up the phone, call EA, wait on hold for 60 minutes, try to explain why I need to activate again, and hope they buy my story.

    1. Re:Activation? by Boltronics · · Score: 1

      I brought C&C: The First Decade, C&C3 and the Kane's Wrath expansion - all before I was aware of DRM and activation issues with EA titles. I'm going to wait until RA3 comes down to about AU$25 - about the price of four rentals. That's basically all you're getting for your money. Hopefully, by that stage the expansions will come bundled. :)

      It's a shame, since I'm also left waiting for Crysis Warhead and Dead Space. I could purchase the X360 or PS3 versions, but I know they won't be as fun or look as nice so I generally only purchase console games when they are exclusive to consoles.

      --
      It's GNU/Linux dammit!
    2. Re:Activation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No multiplayer. Download it.

    3. Re:Activation? by HiVizDiver · · Score: 1

      It's a shame, since I'm also left waiting for Crysis Warhead and Dead Space. I could purchase the X360 or PS3 versions, but I know they won't be as fun or look as nice so I generally only purchase console games when they are exclusive to consoles.

      I have Dead Space for PS3, and I fail to see how it wouldn't be "as fun", unless you have a small TV or something. It's the same game, other than using a gamepad to play it, which actually works quite well for this game. If you're a diehard kb+mouse player, I suppose I can't help you, though. I thought it pretty stellar on PS3. As for looks as nice, I dunno - looks pretty sweet on 40 inches at 1080p.

      Before someone brings up the tired PC vs. console argument, they both have strengths. I played Crysis: Warhead on PC. It was a lot of fun. I played Dead Space on the PS3, and it was also a lot of fun.

  4. Yeah Uprising was cool by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

    I could never figure out how to order units around though, seemed to use keys like insert and such.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  5. Dear EA by caitsith01 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dear EA

    Please restore the ability to zoom out far enough to see more than 1-2 of your oversize novelty units and buildings at once on the one monitor. I will then consider purchasing your RTS games again.

    You may like to take a look at Supreme Commander or Red Alert 2 running at a decent resolution to see what I am talking about. You will note that not only can I see my own super cool units, I can also see enemy units at the same time and visually gauge what the hell is going on. This has the bonus of actually allowing me to enjoy playing the game.

    Regards

    - a one-time Red Alert junkie

    --
    Read Pynchon.
    1. Re:Dear EA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry I disagree,

      I have played C&C and Supreme commander by the in and outzoom of SC DRIVES ME NUTS !
      the game plays too fast so you have a hard time to control your units properly, if you zoom out to get them all, then they are too small to distinguish causing you units to attach that are not meant to attach etc.

      While you are trying to figure out who should do what you are being trashed by attackers that fly in and out of your screen and are so small that you do not know what is attacking yoy.

      No personally, i like the mini-map !

    2. Re:Dear EA by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      That's mostly because SupCom is badly designed though, unit ranges are huge compared to the actual units.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    3. Re:Dear EA by ShooterNeo · · Score: 1

      You're just a n00b.

      I've played SupCom for many, many hundreds of hours, and I mastered the scale and zoom within my first week.

      Among other tricks, the game intelligently switches to icons when you zoom out that quite clearly show what is going on.

    4. Re:Dear EA by techprophet · · Score: 1

      Not so. How big is the avg. US Military Artillery Unit. Now how far is its range?

      Seriously. Spring has SupCom beat because of easy SatView switching via [Tab], but other than that they are about even, besides the fact that SupCom is prettier

    5. Re:Dear EA by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      The most common mods for Spring use fairly small unit ranges (5-10x the size of the unit itself in many cases) which means you can see the whole battle while the units are still fairly large in your view. People want to see the whole battle and what exactly is fighting it, hence the units have to be pretty large compared to the ranges. Of course it's not realistic, neither are many other things about RTSes (you don't need artillery to get awfully huge range/unit size ratios). It's up there with proper camo in the things that aren't very good for the actual playing part of the game.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    6. Re:Dear EA by techprophet · · Score: 1

      That is true. But a certain plasma cannon with High Traj. is what I was thinking of. (it may not have been mobile, i don't remember)

      Still, there are some pretty huge maps out there. I have also made my own (pretty much blank slate huge) maps for play with friends.

    7. Re:Dear EA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ugh, I second this. I was an original Red Alert addict and even at 1024x768 you could see a fairly big chunk of battlefield. I'm running RA3 at 1600x1200 and it's a joke. You can't see anything. Battles are an infuriating combination of desperately scrolling around to see the entire fight and praying that my units don't get raped while I'm not looking. In RA I regularly launched two or three pronged attacks. In RA3 this is a nightmare. You can't see anything. If you roll out with 10 tanks they take up your whole freaking screen.

  6. How stupid can I be? by Spadefinger · · Score: 0

    Not only did I buy a game from EA, I bought it via Steam. Two things I have repeatedly sworn I would never do again. Steam isn't as bad as it used to be, but woe unto they who have technical support issues. If it's a third party game (like nearly everything on steam) you're SOL getting support from them. To their credit, EA support seems to respond to email within about 24 hours. The problem is, they never give you a correct answer. I feel like some kind of junkie. I just never learn. Check out my last exchange with EA support... At least they're polite.

    Customer 01/08/2009 07:40 PM
    I fixed my problem by deleting my steam copy of Warhammer Online and downloading a copy of the game via bittorrent.
    Pretty poor solution in my opinion, but nothing else worked. It's pretty bad when a paying customer must download a pirate
    copy of a game to make it work.

    Response (Chandan T.) 01/09/2009 09:29 PM
    Greetings,
    Thank you for writing to Electronic Arts.
    We apologize for any inconvenience caused to you but we never recommend you to use a pirated downloadable copy of
    the game as it may contain harmful contents for your PC. It seems that your downloadable copy had some corrupted files
    and thus you should have re-downloaded the game through Steam Client instead of any external un-official link.
    Should you require any further assistance, please visit our support knowledge base at www.support.ea.com for a quick
    reference.
    Sincerely,
    EARepCaine
    Player Relations
    Electronic Arts

    Customer 01/09/2009 11:32 PM
    At first, I was just disappointed in the product and the support received for the product. Now I'm almost beginning to get
    angry. Did anyone even bother to read the original question or the subsequent updates? I stated clearly that I reinstalled the
    game several times via Steam. Not one of the responses I have received from EA support has addressed any of my
    issues. It is more than a little irritating then when it is suggested that my "downloadable copy had some corrupted files" and
    that I "should have re-downloaded the game through Steam Client instead of any external un-official link". That was
    EXACTLY the point of my last response. I downloaded the game from Steam at least three different times, all with the same
    result. Never mind that it was an eleven gigabyte download each time. The really funny thing is, the copy I pulled from an
    "external un-official link" works just fine. I guess the joke is on me since I paid to go through all this hassle.

    --
    I don't need /. to tell me I have bad karma.
    1. Re:How stupid can I be? by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually it isn't just third party titles. Look up all the angry discussions all over the net over HL:GOTY edition. I paid $50 for that box only to be told I must be a thief because some cracker group put out a keygen. I offered to fax the receipt, even take a picture of the nice pretty box with today's paper behind it. I was treated VERY rudely, got hung up on a couple of times, and pretty much the only thing I got told was i must be passing my key all over the Internet, even though I pointed out that made absolutely NO sense. So basically I paid $50 for the privilege of being called a thief. I will never give Valve a red cent again ever. If they had the orange box for $5 at Walmart I wouldn't take it. It just isn't worth it.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:How stupid can I be? by thecalster · · Score: 1

      Your 02c worth is definitely 02c worth... Letting a hacker and poor customer service who don't know a function from a variable keep you from playing some of the best quality games ever is a sad thing to see. There are a ton of companies out there (EA for one), who create games and then forget about them. Or they create patches that don't do anything but solve a few problems but create so much more. I'd highly recommend giving Valve another shot at it. They provide quality updates for their products (TF2 and L4D receive huge in game updates a few times a year). I'd give you my 2 cents worth but I spent it on HL for $1 on steam...

    3. Re:How stupid can I be? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Well, L4D hasn't actually received any huge updates yet. There are even a number of annoyances still unpatched, both in the interface and in-game. One patch even removed some functionality (ability for the server to set the difficulty in Versus mode), then the next one removed even more (ability for the players to call a vote to change difficulty in Versus mode) for no apparent reason. The former could have been a temporary fix until they were able to change the game to let players choose versus difficulty in the lobby (like they do with campaign mode) but the latter is simple removal of functionality.

      I never used it (didn't even know you could still make the vote in vs. 'till it showed up in their changelog as having been removed) but it still bugs me that they are trimming choices out. So far there are a lot of things still wrong with it, including extremely minor and presumably very easy to fix problems with the menus and server-joining system, but they remain unfixed.

      It's Valve, so I expect them to get to most of this eventually, and I do expect the "huge game updates" you talk about, but for the record there have been zero of them so far.

    4. Re:How stupid can I be? by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      So you think that because they put out some good games that my answer to being insulted and hung up on is to give them MORE money? And that makes sense to you? I deal with customers every damned day. Some of them are nice, and some of them are asshats. Do you know how many times I've insulted or been rude to them? Zero. Zero zilch zip nada squat.

      If I was at my own shop I would point them to another shop if I didn't think I could resolve their problem, or if I was working for someone else I would hand them over to the boss. There is NEVER an excuse to insult and belittle a paying customer. EVER. If they had any kind of quality control on their customer service the rep would have been fired and I would have gotten an apology. Instead as we saw by the letter I was responding to they have let third parties treat their customers just as bad. Unacceptable. If I decide there is a Valve game I want that bad I'll wait and pick it up used on eBay just so I don't actually hand a dime of my money to Valve. Frankly I'm surprised with all the complaints on the net of bad treatment WRT HL:GOTY that they didn't end up with a class action for ripping off their customers.

      And finally for all those that talk about how wonderful Steam is, please reread my earlier post and the post I was responding to and remember, DRM is NOT about piracy. It is about control. Because we have seen time and time and time again for the past 20+ years that all their little DRM doodads do exactly zip to stop pirates, who have now gotten breaking DRM down so well that they often release BEFORE the game company does, and with a much better product. DRM will ALWAYS end up with screwed customers. Always. And by supporting it along with that "If it doesn't work then you're a pirate" attitude then eventually it will blow up in your face just like it did for me and the earlier poster. It will NEVER hurt the pirates, since they never experience it anyway. The only ones DRM hurts are the ones actually trying to hand them money. Which IMHO is just insanity.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    5. Re:How stupid can I be? by techprophet · · Score: 1

      Ever debugged huge games? I didn't think so. Try debugging S.C.O.U.R.G.E. or Spring.

    6. Re:How stupid can I be? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      I'm not talking about bugs, at least not in the interface. It's things like having no good way to access the server browser (you have to do it from console) and being dumped back to the menu if both you and another person attempt to join a game with 7/8 players at the same time via the "join a game" search function, rather than it simply re-trying the search with the same parameters. Not bugs--just lack of polish.

      The things that might take a bit longer to fix are exploits occurring as a result of flaws in level design. They've gotten some of these already, but more have been exposed since then.

      The only true bug I can think of is a freezing issue with multi-core processors. Short freezes a few seconds long. Fixed by setting processor affinity to one core. My understanding is that it's an engine problem that's existed in Source for a while.

      My point was simply that there have not yet been the huge updates that had been talked about, and that even quite a bit of minor stuff hasn't been fixed yet, which implies (to me) that the large updates aren't coming for a while. It's not really fair to credit Valve with updates that haven't happened yet. Their behavior with other games indicates that they will support this game very well, but L4D can't yet be used to back up their support record. So, that part of the statement "TF2 and L4D receive huge in game updates a few times a year" is false.

    7. Re:How stupid can I be? by techprophet · · Score: 1

      Point taken. And I agree. TF2 and L4D haven't had the huge patches that HL has.

  7. Artwork by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This link is relevant to my interests: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=199985

  8. Make your own maps... by dr_wheel · · Score: 1

    I agree with you. But I've found that you can change the default zoom level in the RA3 WorldBuilder (was released recently).

    An unfortunate limitation: Don't go out too far though, or you won't be able to hear the unit sounds. :(

  9. Why no 3v3 maps? 4v4 support? by dr_wheel · · Score: 2, Informative

    This pisses me off.

    First, they cut 4v4 play (which the red alert series used to have and which ra3 was announced to support). Then, they release the game with lobsided support of 1v1 and 2v2 over 3v3 maps.

    Now, they're going to release an expansion pack with NO 3v3 maps whatsoever?!

    Hell, I like ra3. A few friends and I enjoy playing 3v3 online (in lieu of 4v4). 25 new maps and none of them 3v3?

    Fuck you, EA. I probably would have bought this expansion if you added 4v4 support back in or atleast threw 2 or 3 3v3 maps in there.

    1. Re:Why no 3v3 maps? 4v4 support? by Fallingcow · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think it's silly that an expansion is coming out so quickly period. To me--a person who loved RA2 but who hasn't purchased RA3--this signals that they released a deliberately-incomplete game so that they could push "expansions" (i.e. things that should have been in it to begin with) out the door right after. I hate expansion treadmills, and EA is famous for them (The Sims, anyone?), so with this news I doubt I'll even buy it when it's bargain-binned down to $10.

    2. Re:Why no 3v3 maps? 4v4 support? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amen, we want 4x4 support NOW!

    3. Re:Why no 3v3 maps? 4v4 support? by SupremoMan · · Score: 1

      How quickly? EA schedule quick or Sony schedule quick?

    4. Re:Why no 3v3 maps? 4v4 support? by steveo777 · · Score: 1

      While I pine for 4v4, the new maps are part of a 'patch' and are free. So while I'm not thrilled at the complete lack of 3v3 maps, it's not like you have to pay for the maps you won't likely ever use. Though you're probably right in assuming there won't be any 3v3 maps with the expansion. (If the article is different from the summary I'll have to be forgiven. Most gaming sites are blocked at work)

      They're still not getting a penny from me unless the new units are multi player, though. No maps, I can deal with that and just build maps with the level editor. But at this point I'd rather go back to Generals and play the Red Alert 2 mod than pay for a single player RA3 expansion. I'm so underwhelmed right now.

      --
      This sig isn't original enough, it's time to come up with something witty...
  10. Any old C&C/RA fans didn't like RA3? by antdude · · Score: 1

    I loved the old C&C games (including Generals) and RA games except Tiberian Sun, but RA3 just didn't hit me. I played the multiplayer beta and single player demo, but wasn't impressed with RA3. What about the rest of you?

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    1. Re:Any old C&C/RA fans didn't like RA3? by Compholio · · Score: 1

      Personally, I thought they did a really good job with the campaigns but the multiplayer really sucked. The unit "balancing" makes countering enemy attacks insanely difficult and the pace of the game is just way too fast, it doesn't feel like there's any "strategy" - just constant countering and trying to wipe your enemy out before they counter the units you tried to produce that they don't (currently) have anything capable of stopping.

    2. Re:Any old C&C/RA fans didn't like RA3? by nevrin · · Score: 1

      The unit "balancing" makes countering enemy attacks insanely difficult and the pace of the game is just way too fast, it doesn't feel like there's any "strategy" - just constant countering and trying to wipe your enemy out before they counter the units you tried to produce that they don't (currently) have anything capable of stopping.

      I first noticed this sort of "balancing" in AoE2 (before that I was playing C&C/RA, Starcraft and Warcraft II), it was just as annoying then as it is now, for the exact reason you wrote. I think this is an extremely lazy way of balancing the units and factions, especially when it feels so artificial and arbitrary (in RA3, for example).

      The way Blizzard balances the units/factions in Starcraft is far superior. It is an entirely different paradigm really, because in it you are never punished for using the "wrong" units, instead you are strongly encouraged to use combined arms and take advantage of the strengths of each type of unit so as to minimize your loss, or in other words, to make your investment more effective. For example, if you want to take down a siege tank with marines, you can. You will suffer some losses but you can do it. However, if you use a ghost to lock down the tank first then you won't suffer *any* loss. This is how you create an innovative, fun and rewarding gameplay in an RTS title.

      Now compare this to C&C3/RA3. Ever try to take on a single APC with your infantries? They get mowed down so fast it really doesn't matter how many units you send in. So you are forced to call in heavy armor, where the aforementioned APC will suffer the same fate. Is it balanced? In a way, yes. Is it as fun? No.

      This is not to say you can't create an excellent RTS built upon the rock-scissors-paper model -- Company of Heroes immediately comes to mind. I guess there are just a lot of factors in a game that need to be carefully thought out, and frankly EA's track record doesn't inspire much confidence as far as the upcoming expansion is concerned.

      At least Starcraft 2 is coming.

    3. Re:Any old C&C/RA fans didn't like RA3? by chrisG23 · · Score: 1

      Installed and then uninstalled after 3 missions. I didn't like the controls/gameplay, seemed sorta wild.

    4. Re:Any old C&C/RA fans didn't like RA3? by FredFredrickson · · Score: 1

      Amen! I've been saying this for a while now! RA3

      --
      Belief? Hope? Preference?The Existential Vortex
  11. Secure ROM + No Internet = Crappy Chistmas Present by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I got RA3 for a christmas present. Being cheap I had decided to not get an internet connection for my house and just go online at work. Thanks to securerom, I could not install and play RA3 on my home gaming computer. Secruerom requires an internet connection to verify that you have installed 5 times or less. I had to get a version off The Pirate Bay (using a relatives DSL connection) that had secruerom stripped... and that version has a bug where the solo missions only get to a certain level before crashing.

    Yes, I know I'm cheap as hell and should get an internet connection, but still...

    I was extremely pissed with not being able to play my Christmas present thanks to the Securerom antipiracy protection, and I find it ironic that thanks to the antipiracy tools on the disk, I was forced to pirate a copy just in order to play a legally obtained game.

    Fuck RA3. I'm never buying an EA game again.

  12. nishu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that pic is of a twin headed ogre from warcraft 3. may be EA can learn something about RTS from blizzard !