Command & Conquer: Renegade
Encyclopedia
Command & Conquer: Renegade is a first and third person shooter video game developed by Westwood Studios
and is part of the Command & Conquer
series. It is the only C&C game that uses the first person view. It was released on February 26, 2002 by EA Games
.
's story takes place during the final days of the First Tiberium War originally depicted in Command & Conquer. GDI's top three Tiberium
research specialists have been abducted by the Brotherhood of Nod. The player assumes the role of GDI commando Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker, who is assigned to rescue these experts. He conducts missions which take him all over the world in various countries and climates, both indoor and outdoor, and his actions greatly affect the current state of the war. As the game progresses it is revealed that the specialists have been forced into biochemistry
research for the Brotherhood's top secret "Project Re-Genesis," An attempt to create genetically enhanced
super-soldiers with the aid of Tiberium.
As the player plays through a mission, the in-game EVA, or Electronic Video Assistance, periodically updates with mission objectives. EVA logs and updates all objectives and their current status. Objectives are categorized into three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary. The completion of primary objectives are crucial for that mission's success. Secondary objectives are not required for mission completion, but may assist in game play. Tertiary missions, which are usually hidden, do not assist much in game play, but will affect your final "rank" at the end of each mission.
and RTS
elements, since team members receive money from tiberium harvesting and must purchase their own individual equipment.
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The game engine
, called the "Renegade engine" or "Westwood 3D", was developed in-house by Westwood. It is designed to support real world physics
and allow seamless movement from indoor to outdoor environments. The "Westwood 3D" engine was re-used as the base of the Strategy Action Game Engine
used in Command & Conquer: Generals
, Battle for Middle Earth, Battle for Middle Earth 2, and Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
.
A PlayStation 2
version was in development, however it was cancelled.
When the game missed its shipping date, Westwood made a humorous video titled Havoc Takes on Westwood in which Havoc, the game's main character and hero, goes to Westwood Studios to make sure the game doesn't miss its shipping date again.
The video can be downloaded here or seen here. Even after the video was made, the shipping date was missed once again.
The game originally featured a different commando (Logan Shephard), looking much more akin to the original Command & Conquer
unit and was much less action-oriented than its final incarnation. Also, Nod troopers looked more like their Command & Conquer equivalent, donning professional urban camouflage uniform
s rather than red jumpsuit
s easily distinguishable on the battlefield.
Renegade was re-released in at least two EA Classics boxes (one including Comanche 4
as a bonus, and the other including Freedom Force
) sometime after its initial release and was included in two Command & Conquer compilations: The Command & Conquer Collection, and Command & Conquer Collected.
On February, 2006, Renegade was shipped in the compilation, Command & Conquer: The First Decade
along with 11 other Command & Conquer
titles on a two DVD set.
The bonus DVD contains slightly less than an hour's worth of content involving all the games included. The game DVD of Command & Conquer: The First Decade
, Renegade included its latest patch (1.037) by default, has a sanctioned No-CD application on it, plus the CD components such as the movie files are now installed into its folder. Renegade, along with a few other titles had problems with its registry entry in the compilation's initial release, which has been since fixed in The First Decade's 1.02 patch.
While Westwood originally intended to make a sequel to Renegade set in the late Red Alert universe (known only as Renegade 2), the project was canceled before any official announcements were made. Concept art depicting Red Alert styled structures and vehicles can be found online, as well as a test level depicting a Soviet refinery. Active fan projects received permission from EA to release in a stand-alone fashion. This event marks a notable shift in public relations strategy for Electronic Arts, which has often been portrayed in a negative light in terms of community support and has never made such a gesture regarding its intellectual property before.
Renegade is the only game in the series which official expansion pack
s were never released for the game. However, a software development kit
(SDK) was released by Westwood Studios so that users could add their own content to the game. The studio also released a number of high-resolution models to the mod-making community, including some from the Red Alert
games, particularly the second. Many fan sites have been established to celebrate the game and allow players to download new maps and custom expansion packs.
In July, 2006, EA Games
released a software development kit
(SDK) that catered for 3DS Max software for Command & Conquer: Generals and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth games. Although Renegade used the same basic game engine as these other two games series, it was not made compatible to this new SDK. However, members from the Red Alert: A Path Beyond
community modified and re-released it to be compatible with Renegade after informing EA. An updated version was officially released, but lacked the ability to properly enable collision settings on the 3D meshes used by the game.
s, GDI elite commandos known as the "Dead Six" and Nod elites such as the Black hand, Sakura, and Mendoza.
Some of the game's missions seem to be based on some GDI missions in Command & Conquer, such as the one in which Dr. Mobius is abducted by Nod and the player is charged with rescuing him, and the final mission in Renegade inspired by the assault on Kane
's Sarajevo headquarters. In the final Renegade mission, set in the Temple of Nod, certain rooms are recognizable as those from Command & Conquer's Nod mission briefings.
In the 11th mission of the game, a downed alien ship is present near the power plant and construction yard. It is extremely similar in color and build Tiberium War's Scrin. The outside is blue while the inside maintains a dark green, also very similar to Scrin units. The ship itself might be a reference to the unknown derelict craft seen in the final GDI mission in Command & Conquer, which is considered by many to be the first appearance of Scrin in the series' history. Both crafts were downed and close to a heavily defended Temple of Nod.
average of 75% with scores ranging from 55% to 90%.
Greg Kasavin of GameSpot
awarded Renegade with 78%, stating "The game does have some noticeable problems, though C&C fans may find themselves having too much fun to care", however also criticizes the game, stating "Westwood has never made a shooter before, and you can tell."
IGN
's Steve Butts gave Renegade a 74% rating and commented on the game's repetitiveness, writing "I guess I wanted something a lot less scripted and a lot less cramped from the single player game...As it is, it's a lot like running through a hall until you get to a building, clearing the building and then running through a hallway until you get to the next building." Furthermore, he criticizes the AI, saying "More than just about anything else it's the dreadful AI that ruins the potential enjoyment of the game. Enemies possess very little sophistication and their main tactic seems to consist of running right towards you trying to empty their ammo clips as fast as possible."
Renegade has been praised for its online play. Gamers' Temple wrote "[...]Westwood continues their tradition of excellent multiplayer support with Renegade", while giving the game a 75% rating.
have been developed for Renegade, with the most popular being based on older Westwood Studios
titles, with some receiving modding community awards. CnC Reborn, inspired by Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
(1999), received the "Visual Delight" award in 2005, received the "Most Hyped Mod" award in 2006 and was nominated for the ModDB "Best Released Indies" award in 2008. Battle for Dune: War of Assassins, inspired by Emperor: Battle for Dune
(2001), was nominated for "Best Unreleased Indie" of 2008. Red Alert: A Path Beyond
, based on Command & Conquer: Red Alert
(1996), has had the greatest success, having been nominated for a Mod/Indie Of the Year award every year 2004-2009 (taking 2nd Place in 2007) in addition to other recognition.
There is also Roleplay2 which is another mod for the W3d engine, and has made several releases to date.
Another notable mod that has received widespread attention is Renegade X, an Unreal Tournament 3 modification released in 2009, that recreated the original Renegade's multiplayer on the Unreal Engine 3. It was nominated for the ModDB "Best Upcoming Mod" award in 2008, the "Best Released Mod" award in 2009, "Best Multiplayer Mod" of 2009, and it was nominated for the "Best Vehicle Set" in the 2009 "Make Something Unreal" contest. The development team has since announced that Renegade X will be a standalone game in the future.
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
and is part of the Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer, abbreviated to C&C and also known as Tiberian Dawn, is a 1995 real-time strategy computer game developed by Westwood Studios for MS-DOS and published by Virgin Interactive. It was the first of twelve games to date to be released under the Command & Conquer label, including a...
series. It is the only C&C game that uses the first person view. It was released on February 26, 2002 by EA Games
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
.
Gameplay
RenegadeTiberium
Tiberium or Ichor is a fictional substance that is central to the plot of much of the Command & Conquer series of real-time strategy video games...
research specialists have been abducted by the Brotherhood of Nod. The player assumes the role of GDI commando Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker, who is assigned to rescue these experts. He conducts missions which take him all over the world in various countries and climates, both indoor and outdoor, and his actions greatly affect the current state of the war. As the game progresses it is revealed that the specialists have been forced into biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
research for the Brotherhood's top secret "Project Re-Genesis," An attempt to create genetically enhanced
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
super-soldiers with the aid of Tiberium.
As the player plays through a mission, the in-game EVA, or Electronic Video Assistance, periodically updates with mission objectives. EVA logs and updates all objectives and their current status. Objectives are categorized into three categories: primary, secondary and tertiary. The completion of primary objectives are crucial for that mission's success. Secondary objectives are not required for mission completion, but may assist in game play. Tertiary missions, which are usually hidden, do not assist much in game play, but will affect your final "rank" at the end of each mission.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer element of this game takes the form of 'Command and Conquer Mode', in which players are divided into the two teams: GDI and Nod. Each team starts with its own base; team members can independently purchase vehicles and advanced character classes to destroy the enemy base and defend their own base. A match is won when one team destroys the other's base or when one team has more points than the other when the time limit expires. Damaging and destroying enemy units and structures earns points. Some servers allow the 'endgame beacon' option that causes a side to immediately win if that side's 'superweapon' beacon is successfully planted and detonated on a 'beacon pedestal' in the other side's base. Gameplay is a combination of FPSFirst-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
and RTS
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
elements, since team members receive money from tiberium harvesting and must purchase their own individual equipment.
Development
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, called the "Renegade engine" or "Westwood 3D", was developed in-house by Westwood. It is designed to support real world physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and allow seamless movement from indoor to outdoor environments. The "Westwood 3D" engine was re-used as the base of the Strategy Action Game Engine
SAGE engine
SAGE is a game engine used by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts for real-time strategy games.The first version of the engine was known as W3D was highly modified version of SurRender 3D engine, developed by Hybrid Graphics Ltd.Westwood used W3D for Emperor: Battle for Dune and updated for...
used in Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy game in the Command & Conquer series. Generals utilizes SAGE...
, Battle for Middle Earth, Battle for Middle Earth 2, and Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
.
A PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version was in development, however it was cancelled.
When the game missed its shipping date, Westwood made a humorous video titled Havoc Takes on Westwood in which Havoc, the game's main character and hero, goes to Westwood Studios to make sure the game doesn't miss its shipping date again.
The video can be downloaded here or seen here. Even after the video was made, the shipping date was missed once again.
The game originally featured a different commando (Logan Shephard), looking much more akin to the original Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer, abbreviated to C&C and also known as Tiberian Dawn, is a 1995 real-time strategy computer game developed by Westwood Studios for MS-DOS and published by Virgin Interactive. It was the first of twelve games to date to be released under the Command & Conquer label, including a...
unit and was much less action-oriented than its final incarnation. Also, Nod troopers looked more like their Command & Conquer equivalent, donning professional urban camouflage uniform
Military uniform
Military uniforms comprises standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and military styles have gone through great changes over the centuries from colourful and elaborate to extremely utilitarian...
s rather than red jumpsuit
Jumpsuit
Jumpsuit originally referred to the utilitarian one-piece garments used by parachuters/skydivers, but has come to be used as a common term for any one-piece garment with sleeves and legs.-Use:...
s easily distinguishable on the battlefield.
Renegade was re-released in at least two EA Classics boxes (one including Comanche 4
Comanche series
Comanche is a series of simulation games published by NovaLogic. The goal of each of these games is to fly military missions in a RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter, which was in development and prototyping at the time of release....
as a bonus, and the other including Freedom Force
Freedom Force (computer game)
Freedom Force is a real-time tactical role-playing game developed by Irrational Games and published by Electronic Arts and Crave Entertainment in 2002. The player guides a team of superheroes as they defend Patriot City from a variety of villains, monsters, and other menaces. A sequel, Freedom...
) sometime after its initial release and was included in two Command & Conquer compilations: The Command & Conquer Collection, and Command & Conquer Collected.
On February, 2006, Renegade was shipped in the compilation, Command & Conquer: The First Decade
Command & Conquer: The First Decade
Command & Conquer: The First Decade is a compilation of the Command & Conquer series' games published from 1995 to 2003, all bundled into one DVD and updated to run optimally on Windows XP. It was released on February 7, 2006 and sold for the price of one retail game...
along with 11 other Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer, abbreviated to C&C and also known as Tiberian Dawn, is a 1995 real-time strategy computer game developed by Westwood Studios for MS-DOS and published by Virgin Interactive. It was the first of twelve games to date to be released under the Command & Conquer label, including a...
titles on a two DVD set.
The bonus DVD contains slightly less than an hour's worth of content involving all the games included. The game DVD of Command & Conquer: The First Decade
Command & Conquer: The First Decade
Command & Conquer: The First Decade is a compilation of the Command & Conquer series' games published from 1995 to 2003, all bundled into one DVD and updated to run optimally on Windows XP. It was released on February 7, 2006 and sold for the price of one retail game...
, Renegade included its latest patch (1.037) by default, has a sanctioned No-CD application on it, plus the CD components such as the movie files are now installed into its folder. Renegade, along with a few other titles had problems with its registry entry in the compilation's initial release, which has been since fixed in The First Decade's 1.02 patch.
While Westwood originally intended to make a sequel to Renegade set in the late Red Alert universe (known only as Renegade 2), the project was canceled before any official announcements were made. Concept art depicting Red Alert styled structures and vehicles can be found online, as well as a test level depicting a Soviet refinery. Active fan projects received permission from EA to release in a stand-alone fashion. This event marks a notable shift in public relations strategy for Electronic Arts, which has often been portrayed in a negative light in terms of community support and has never made such a gesture regarding its intellectual property before.
Renegade is the only game in the series which official expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
s were never released for the game. However, a software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) was released by Westwood Studios so that users could add their own content to the game. The studio also released a number of high-resolution models to the mod-making community, including some from the Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
games, particularly the second. Many fan sites have been established to celebrate the game and allow players to download new maps and custom expansion packs.
In July, 2006, EA Games
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
released a software development kit
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
(SDK) that catered for 3DS Max software for Command & Conquer: Generals and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth games. Although Renegade used the same basic game engine as these other two games series, it was not made compatible to this new SDK. However, members from the Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Red Alert: A Path Beyond, , is a total conversion modification of Command & Conquer: Renegade, released by a small team in 2002, as Renegade Alert. Eventually, a larger team was assembled, and the team name was changed to Bluehell Productions...
community modified and re-released it to be compatible with Renegade after informing EA. An updated version was officially released, but lacked the ability to properly enable collision settings on the 3D meshes used by the game.
Series links
Nearly every unit and most of the structures featured in the original Command & Conquer has been re-created in the game, although with aesthetic changes. New characters include various mutantMutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
s, GDI elite commandos known as the "Dead Six" and Nod elites such as the Black hand, Sakura, and Mendoza.
Some of the game's missions seem to be based on some GDI missions in Command & Conquer, such as the one in which Dr. Mobius is abducted by Nod and the player is charged with rescuing him, and the final mission in Renegade inspired by the assault on Kane
Kane (Command & Conquer)
Kane is a fictional character in the alternate history universe of Westwood Studios' and Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games in which he is a seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society...
's Sarajevo headquarters. In the final Renegade mission, set in the Temple of Nod, certain rooms are recognizable as those from Command & Conquer's Nod mission briefings.
In the 11th mission of the game, a downed alien ship is present near the power plant and construction yard. It is extremely similar in color and build Tiberium War's Scrin. The outside is blue while the inside maintains a dark green, also very similar to Scrin units. The ship itself might be a reference to the unknown derelict craft seen in the final GDI mission in Command & Conquer, which is considered by many to be the first appearance of Scrin in the series' history. Both crafts were downed and close to a heavily defended Temple of Nod.
Reviews
Command & Conquer: Renegade received generally positive reviews from critics, attaining a MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
average of 75% with scores ranging from 55% to 90%.
Greg Kasavin of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
awarded Renegade with 78%, stating "The game does have some noticeable problems, though C&C fans may find themselves having too much fun to care", however also criticizes the game, stating "Westwood has never made a shooter before, and you can tell."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Steve Butts gave Renegade a 74% rating and commented on the game's repetitiveness, writing "I guess I wanted something a lot less scripted and a lot less cramped from the single player game...As it is, it's a lot like running through a hall until you get to a building, clearing the building and then running through a hallway until you get to the next building." Furthermore, he criticizes the AI, saying "More than just about anything else it's the dreadful AI that ruins the potential enjoyment of the game. Enemies possess very little sophistication and their main tactic seems to consist of running right towards you trying to empty their ammo clips as fast as possible."
Renegade has been praised for its online play. Gamers' Temple wrote "[...]Westwood continues their tradition of excellent multiplayer support with Renegade", while giving the game a 75% rating.
Modifications
Several successful modsMod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
have been developed for Renegade, with the most popular being based on older Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios was a computer and video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in as Westwood Associates, and renamed to Westwood Studios when it merged with Virgin Interactive in...
titles, with some receiving modding community awards. CnC Reborn, inspired by Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
(1999), received the "Visual Delight" award in 2005, received the "Most Hyped Mod" award in 2006 and was nominated for the ModDB "Best Released Indies" award in 2008. Battle for Dune: War of Assassins, inspired by Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune
Emperor: Battle for Dune is a Dune video game, released by Westwood Studios on June 12, 2001. It is based in Frank Herbert's science fiction Dune universe....
(2001), was nominated for "Best Unreleased Indie" of 2008. Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Red Alert: A Path Beyond
Red Alert: A Path Beyond, , is a total conversion modification of Command & Conquer: Renegade, released by a small team in 2002, as Renegade Alert. Eventually, a larger team was assembled, and the team name was changed to Bluehell Productions...
, based on Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
(1996), has had the greatest success, having been nominated for a Mod/Indie Of the Year award every year 2004-2009 (taking 2nd Place in 2007) in addition to other recognition.
There is also Roleplay2 which is another mod for the W3d engine, and has made several releases to date.
Another notable mod that has received widespread attention is Renegade X, an Unreal Tournament 3 modification released in 2009, that recreated the original Renegade's multiplayer on the Unreal Engine 3. It was nominated for the ModDB "Best Upcoming Mod" award in 2008, the "Best Released Mod" award in 2009, "Best Multiplayer Mod" of 2009, and it was nominated for the "Best Vehicle Set" in the 2009 "Make Something Unreal" contest. The development team has since announced that Renegade X will be a standalone game in the future.
External links
- Havoc Takes on Westwood Video
- Command and Conquer Wiki - A Guide To The Command & Conquer Universe