I have a favour to ask other Renegade players

[RainXc]

Hello, I'm Rain.

I have a favour to ask you guys .

I currently run a page on facebook about "Westwood Studios" together with some of the ex-Westwood employees

(Alright that's the Westwood Studios page right here):

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/We...29073921?ref=ts

We've almost reached our 1000 member marker which is a small milestone for the page.

For the occasion we're organizing a major update blog for the members of the page concerning all the Westwood Studios games (Nox series,Lands of Lore, the Dune games, the C&C series,ect.)

For the last year I've been on an exchange student program with a bad laptop and slow internet.

So I haven't been on Renegade for quite some time now or any other C&C game for that matter.

All I need to know is a brief summarization of how C&C Renegade is doing these days online

(the same will be done with the other C&C games. )

I would like to interview all of you and ask your opinions, but time is running out and there is a deadline.

so please post your opinions about Renegade in a reply here.

Be as honest as possible: The good , the bad and the ugly.

Perhaps it would be also interesting to know what communities are still active and what mods are in the spotlight nowadays.

Thanks,

Rain

[Demigan]

Renegade, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let's see.

The good:

Renegade's multiplayer is what it's all about. Even now, it's still unique. Leading FPS manufacturers are only now creating game-modes that are similiar, but are still a far cry from the extremely tactical gameplay offered by Renegade. Some mods, like Empires, are now actually reaching for this particular stragetic game-play. (note, I haven't played empires, it just seems that way from what I hear).

Renegade offers many interesting things: a solid economy structure, dictating most of the game, but not actually dominating it. Unless you have almost no money at all, you will not be at a unbeatable disadvantage. But having loads of money to spare will give you a great enough advantage to aspire to it.

Tactical options that can change the entire course of the game. In most ordinary servers, the game can end in 3 different ways, total destruction, high-score after timeout, beacon on the pedestal. Just destroying one building can give you victory, or lead to your own defeat. Destroying a building will change the entire tactic's of the enemy, leading usually to a more defending stratagy. Which might end up with your team losing by time-out due to a lower score. This makes the game versatile and different each time you play. There is no straight plan to follow. If a strategy works once, the next time it is likely to fail. A defending team who is prepared will almost certainly wipe out anything thrown against them.

Last but defenitely not least, the game manages to give more tactical people a great advantage. There are people who can't hit you with a flamethrower at point-blank range, still, they can contribute by infiltration and blowing up buildings. Which is a great step ahead of any other FPS I've ever seen, where the best shooter is always the best player.

The bad:

Renegade has a solid multiplayer, but there's lots of bad things in it. First of all, the bugs. There are numerous bugs which you probably know and sometimes abused: wallhugging, refhopping, having your tank destroyed outside the repairbay of the weapons-factory, falling into blue hell and simply the bad coding that caused so many lag and inconvenience all around.

What's bad more? The single player. Whereas the multiplayer is the most stragetic game I've ever seen, heard of or played, it's multiplayer is worse then most shooters alltogether. There is a little good humour, and then there's shooting, shooting, shooting and... shooting. Despite the fact that there are some surprising events during the game, like a nod technician crying for your help to lure you into a trap, it just doesn't manage to divert your attention from the masses of troopers and tanks you just have to mow down to get to the next objective.

And then the ugly:

There are some things just not bad, but simply ugly in the game. Graphix for a start. The game's lack of realism, a rocket impacting you, or C4 blowing not 2 inches fom you will not impede your progress at all, the only effect it has is your health bar dropping rapidly. A shotgun that is more a short-range sniper. The imbalance of the units: most of the cheaper units, and especially the cheapest units themselves (not the free units), are rarely if at all used. The more expencive are much more solidly used simply because they are so much better then those cheaper ones. The availability of money only makes this not an unbalancing factor in the game. And the small bugs like C4 hanging in the air from a door that has actually opened, explosions going through anything and so on.

As far as I know, the game is still solidly active today. The server I usually play in is even at what is for me in the middle of the day still quite full, while a few months ago that server is filled with 0-6 people at that time. I don't really know about other servers.

Besides this mod, I'm not really up to date of any mods or communities.

Yours sincerely,

Demigan.

[[NE]Fobby[GEN]]

Hi Rain.

I believe C&C Renegade is the most popular online C&C game in the market. There are usually about 300-400 people playing online on average during the day, as well as a few dozen servers (though only a handful of them are popular). Popular C&C Renegade server communities would include n00bstories, UNRULES, AtomiX, Jelly-Server, Renegade Community Marathon, and !St0rm.

C&C Renegade players used to use anti-cheat program RenGuard but that is no longer popular do to its failure to do its job. But generally speaking, cheating is no longer a major issue, but an issue that you may come across once in a while.

Current spotlighted mods would be this one, aka Renegade X. For W3D, we've got Red Alert: A Path Beyond (released). Unreleased mods include the Tiberian Technologies patch (though not much info on it is around), Red Alert 2: Apocalypse Rising, and C&C Reborn (which used to be very popular, but not anymore).

As for clans, C&C Renegade used to have a history of lots of clans, clan servers, and large clan wars. These days there are only a handful left with just a few members, which don't actual play in clan wars as much anymore. A lot of competitive players are into 1v1s and smaller games like that, which I think are boring, at least compared to the old school epic 8v8 clanwars.

[RainXc]

Thanks Fobby, that was very detailed!

Does anyone have anything else to add to that?

I will need a couple more replies though, to see the different points of view.

So if I get this correct

The most popular online C&C (westwood games) in following order are:

- Renegade

- followed by Red alert 2 (/ YR)

And then what?

How are the others holding it out in general: TS, RA1 regular and C&C doing ? are they all empty?

Or are there some forms of life from time to time?

[[NE]Fobby[GEN]]

TS usually has about 20 people playing, I think RA2 is double that number. As for TD and RA1 via Westwood chat, yeah, they're pretty empty, minus the couple people that come on every now and then. But I haven't checked those out in years. I think Renegade was Westwood's only multiplayer-based game, the rest of the C&C games have always had a relatively small or medium sized community.

[MightyBOB]

Pros: unique and fun multiplayer

Cons: n00bjets still suck, bugs

[TeamWolf]

Another W3D unreleased mod is Battle for Dune, a total conversion brinning Emperor: Battle for Dune to FPS. The site is http://www.battlefordune.co.uk

[RainXc]

Hi, it's me again.

As part of this topic I would also like to ask if Renegade-X would like to be mentioned in the blog? A link from the blog to this website.

(Just wanted to be sure of an official "Okay" from you)

Also for some apparent reason , not allot of mods are very forward with something like having them linked ,to help spread the word about their mod. (Which is ironic because there are so many small/large - finished/unfinished C&CRen mods out there)

For example I've made a topic on renegadeforums to ask if anyone would like to be mentioned also

(just to make it more fair for less popular mods too y'know?)

http://www.renegadeforums.com/index.php?t=...lout#msg_391617

I only get one reply.. Which is kinda depressing , really.

So then I asked Gozy if he could perhaps help me with an official announcement. He just gives me a big "No."

...

Anyway I thank all of you for the wonderful replies. You've all been really helpful.

Time to move on to the section of the blog series: RA2/YR, wish me luck!

-Rain

[[NE]Fobby[GEN]]

Go ahead and post about us

[Qbert987]

The good: multi player

The bad: single player is boring, pointless and predictable

The ugly: GRAPHICS, LAG

The servers i play on are usual VERY full; 40-50 ppl.

[BakerXc]

Hey Raaaiiin Its Baker! .

Here's the Downlow...

Renegade is one of the best online games there are, There are MODS for nearly anything from Characters to changing the signs from NOD to NAZI :D . But technically, its dying out slowly, There ARE about 400 players online on a normal day, even though as (previous) said there are only a few popular ones, Its pretty much the same as it was 3-4 months ago . G'day.

[dustzone]

(actually my first post on this forum... strange, I've been following the mod since 2007, when UT3 wasn't even released)

Anyway,

The Good:

Obviously the multiplayer experience. For some reasons the Renegade gameplay has (almost) always stayed unique. It demands teamplay among players, rewards defenders/engineers and is actually quite balanced despite the different characters.

The Bad:

The bugs and the possibilities for cheaters. The terrible support (I'm still waiting for a serial for my server after 4 years!). The cancellation (twice!) of Renegade 2. Also the single player was disappointing and since gamers ussually start off by playing the single player, I feel that many never really got to the multiplayer and thus never found out about the awesome online experience.

The Ugly:

Well, the graphics. At the time of it's release Renegade already had sub-standard graphics compared to it's peers. I personally didn't care that much about the graphics... being an older gamer (since the 80s) I know that gameplay is a 1000 times more important. I also always used the excuse: "Well, it's the first time Westwood builds a FPS-engine, they'll get better with Renegade 2."

The main problem: Weak graphics and singleplayer made many gamers disappointed and decide not to try the game any further. A missed oppertunity. (at least that's what I think is the reason for it's disappointing succes)

As for me, I started playing with the online beta/trial, so I found out about the multiplayer before the singleplayer. Renegade is the only game I really had fun with online. I love Unreal Tournament ('99, 2004 and 3) but I still play it offline. Being a real team-game gave me the chance to really get somewhere (in the erea of not-being-a-noob) without being intimidated by pro-gamers.

C&C Renegade is probably my most played C&C game, despite the fact that I went through several Red Alert discs over the years.

Still my favorite online experience!

[Patriot]

QUOTE (RainXc @ Jun 19 2009, 08:02 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello, I'm Rain.
I have a favour to ask you guys .


I currently run a page on facebook about "Westwood Studios" together with some of the ex-Westwood employees

(Alright that's the Westwood Studios page right here):

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/We...29073921?ref=ts


We've almost reached our 1000 member marker which is a small milestone for the page.
For the occasion we're organizing a major update blog for the members of the page concerning all the Westwood Studios games (Nox series,Lands of Lore, the Dune games, the C&C series,ect.)[/b]

Facebook?

For all these years I imagined the former Westwood designers were sequestered in some top secret location, like France, plotting to overthrow EA.

All my hopes and dreams have been crushed.



The Good: Westwood started it.

The Bad: EA Finished it.


Renegade's strengths are in its fast-paced, original multilayer mode- and I define a game's pace primarily by how easy it is to jump into a round and have a good time(Renegade and UT3 are similar in this regard). The single player mode was enjoyable too, but very tedious at times, and definitely not an overall strong point for Renegade.

Renegade's main weakness is that it could have been a lot better(sort of like The Force Unleashed, but that's a whole different story)- Renegade is full of bug"No walljumping, no obwalking, no hillcamping on hourglass unless base defenses are down, no vehicles in buildings unless the planets are alligned"). The graphics and sound also could've been better, even for 2002. These are issues that can be attributed to a lack of polish- Renegade was released long before it was ready, in my opinion.

[[CNC]PlagueNXC]

Great replies. Very detailed, and interesting opinions.

[Michael_sama]

I'm not a huge Renegade fan. In fact, probably the only reason I play it if I don't feel like playing APB (Red Alert: A Path Beyond). APB is a mod that took the W3D engine of Renegade, and made it based in the Red Alert series. I'm a huge APB player.

The Good:

The multiplayer aspect is what really sheds light on the game. In fact, a simple plan with teammates can turn the tide of victory. If you don't plan, you will lose.

Even a rush of Gunthers one time allowed GDI to regain victory over Nod who pretty much seemed like they were going to win. One time a guy in a APC and myself as Hotwire destroyed several buildings working together. The other team was too scattered, so we took advantage and used our teamwork to take down the base. Lots of C4 and machine gun fire for the win.

The Bad:

The bad would probably be the Chronosphere like lag. Since the game is old, smooth character movement is not something Renegade has. Weapons like flame thrower are also difficult to use because of the awkward range.

The Ugly:

The various W3D bugs since it was an old engine.

[MUDKIPS]

The Good: As always stated: Multiplayer. Renegade is a game that mixes shooter and RTS to form a wonderful teamplaying game. You need to have skill, and insight, a combination which lends for a great gaming experience. Although renegade's engine might be considered shitty by some, I myself love it. The whole way everything looks and moves, I love it. Plus it's a source of so much fun, including throwing hummers off the bridge of mesa and sending arties into blue hell, and of course, flaming sbh. The whole way everything works in multiplayer (the differences between GDI and Nod, yet still the balance, the bugs, the teamplay) just makes it so much more fun, and more addictive, than other games.

The Bad: The fact that is was rushed last-second created a lot of holes in the game, most noticeable in the armada of bugs that are present. Single-Player is also quite boring, it's just an endless repetitive stream of Nod soldiers, Nod soldiers with bigger guns, a boss with the biggest gun, and then more nod soldiers. Sometimes in vehicle is thrown in, but there's not too much you can do with them.

The Ugly: The music. Frank Klepacki could have done a way better job, as he always has.

[[CNC]PlagueNXC]

Did Frank really make the music for Renegade? I never researched who did because it wasn't that great.