EA teased a gameplay of the Command & Conquer remastered version. Unlike other games given the same treatment, the studio took development to whole another level.
You choose between appealing to your sense of nostalgia or enjoying the way the game is meant to be played. This is evident in this Reddit post, where the graphics shift from the classic mode to the ultra HD setting. The post was shared by Jim Vessella, producer for EA.
In the post, he said that the teaser for the Command & Conquer Remastered should answer the main question of fans. EA has been deluged with questions on whether the remastered would be in 2D or 3D.
So, why not both?
He said they started developing this version in the classic 320×200 style because they wanted to be authentic. Fans should also remember that the project was a remaster and not a remake. Their direction was to pay homage to the original as much as possible. The source code for the Command & Conquer’s Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn helped a lot. They were able to match the overall look, feel, signature, and gameplay of the series.
They had a choice of also updating the graphics, but they felt that 2D would best represent the game.
EA partnered with Lemon Sky Studios and Petroglyph Games for the Command & Conquer Remastered. Lemon Sky was tasked to recreate, reanimate, and remodel the gameplay assets from the ground up.
The output was then sent over for rendering and exporting into 2D. Each of the frames was lined up with the original images. It is a time-consuming process. For example, in the Grenadier, they lined up more than 600 frames for just one unit.
The source code also offered an extra benefit: real-time toggling between 2D and 4K with a push of a button. You can play on 320×200 to relive your childhood then switch to 4K to see all those glorious details. For example, they can zoom in on the smallest details in 3840 x 2160. There is nothing like it in today’s remastered games.
The developers played with the toggle switch and enjoyed that option very much. Vessella is confident that fans would also enjoy toggling between 2D and 4K. Even for veterans of the game, the smooth toggle will feel like playing the C&C for the very first time.
The Command & Conquer Remastered entered the Alpha phase in July 2019. But EA has not announced a release date yet for the game.
