Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 announced

[Syxx_Killer]

With every passing day I want RA3 more and more! The Red Alert franchise is my favorite RTS series. I still play RA2. Red Alert 3 is looking awesome and the new technologies fantastic. The water effects I have seen look great. I have heard RA3 will only be a Vista game. Is that true? I haven't found anything that suggests it yet, but I'm still curious.

[Martok]

The unit profile for the Allied Aircraft Carrier is up. Expensive, but deadly.


Also, here's a screenshot of the game's box art, with -- no surprise -- Natasha front and center.

[Martok]

A new unit profile is up for the Soviet Twinblade, their premiere air-to-ground attack vehicle. The helicopter also boasts the ability to carry infantry platoons and ground vehicles (but not both at the same time).



Here's the big thing, though: The new trailer for the Empire of the Rising Sun!

It looks like the Empire will have some very interesting and versatile toys to play with, including the Tsunami Tank (a hybrid land/amphibious assault vehicle), the Mecha Tengu (which transforms from a land-based attack robot into a jet), and the Sea Wing/Sky Wing (which converts from an attack jet to an assault boat).

[lars573]

I think Bandai is gonna be pissed about that mecha/jet tengu. Also it's a mecha tengu so it's not a robot.

In anime terms;

mecha=vehicle with a pilot
robo=AI controlled machine

[Martok]

Digital Chumps conducted an interview with 3 members of RA3's development team. It's fairly lengthy (3 pages), so you'll want to settle in while you read it! The interview includes a decent helping of new info, as well as examining the design philosophies that went into the game. A pretty interesting read overall.

[Martok]

Another Q&A session.

1. Will engineers be able to capture fallen mechs? -evilconker

Sort of. Natasha has the ability to shoot the pilots out of most vehicles by using her secondary ability. Her steady hand can essentially kill the driver of the vehicle, while leaving the vehicle itself intact and ripe for the picking. Any nearby infantry soldier can then run over to the disabled vehicle and gain control of it.


2. What are the squares/blocks around the buildings when u build them? -lee999

That's a simple feedback system that we've improved from Red Alert 2 that's used to indicate the state of buildable areas under and around the building. White squares around the building indicate areas that are OK to place the structure onto. If a grid appears red, that means you won't be able to place that structure down on that grid (it might be impassable terrain, occupied by a pre-existing structure, etc). If the grids appear green underneath your structure, you'll be able to construct that structure.


3. Does the Dolphin have the same primary weapon as it did in RA2? -LoDoubt

Yes, the Dolphins in Red Alert 3 employ a very similar weapon as their cousins in Red Alert 2 -- amplified echolocation. As for the Dolphins' secondary ability, they're able to leap out of the water for a short period of time, in the process avoiding any torpedoes or other enemies that may be targetting them.


4. If an allied conyard packs up, does it carry its researched tech tier wherever it goes, or does it vanish when it redeploys? -dky

It depends. An Allied Conyard can pack up into an MCV and move around to a different location and still be able to grant production structures its researched Heightened and Max Clearance tiers, but only if those structures are within the build radius of that Conyard. If the MCV moves beyond this build radius, the production structures will lose those Clearance levels. Allied forces use a very powerful encryption method when transmitting those Clearance levels from the Conyard, but a noteably short range is a downside of that encryption technology.


5. Can allies use powers on each other? For example, using the Cryocopter shrink ray on your allies units, or using the iron curtain on your allies units. -chakakhan800

Absolutely. Units that are shrunken by the Cryocopter can get a significant speed boost, so you can do things like place an Engineer in a Riptide ACV and then shrink it, and then zip it across the map to capture neutral or enemy structures faster than would be otherwise possible.


6. Are we gonna see C&C3 style pics on the sidebar, or Generals/Red Alert 2 style pics? -uri

The unit and structure buttons on the sidebar in Red Alert 3 will be stylized to look like a graphic novel, so in that sense, they're closer to the look of the buttons in Commnand & Conquer 3 than those in Generals or Red Alert 2, which were more photorealistic.

[Syxx_Killer]

The Monsters of RA3 have been profiled! I think they look great (maybe a little too much color on the Apocalypse tank, though).

http://www.ea.com/redalert/factions-...pocalypse_Tank

http://www.ea.com/redalert/factions-...ault_Destroyer

[Martok]

A double feature today!


First off, we have the latest unit profile: the Allied Dolphin. It looks to serve primarily as the Allies' naval scout unit, although it possesses a powerful offensive armament. Also, they can evade enemy fire from enemy water units by leaping great distances into the air (although I suspect this latter ability will be of limited use if you have to micromanage it instead of being automated).


Secondly, there is another short Q&A session available:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. Does the mirage tanks ability cloak friendly units or does it disguise them as trees/cars/etc? Also, does it work while the mirage tank is moving? -theroflcopter

The Mirage Tank’s Gap Generator cloaks friendly units, essentially making them invisible to enemies. It does not disguise them as part of the surroundings. The Mirage Tank’s innate ability is to disguise itself into the background, but this only works when it’s stationary.



2. What units will you not be able to "bribe"? -havok2100x

Among other units, the Spy cannot use his bribe ability on aircraft, MCVs, and Imperial Cores.



3. Will T1 Defenses such as Flak Cannon, Defender-VX, Sentry Gun, Multigunner Turret, be placed on both Land and Water? How will I place infantry inside the multigunner turret on water? - irelox

Yes, you will be able to place all tier- 1 base defenses either on land or on water. You cannot place non-amphibious infantry into any Multigunner Turret that’s on water, however.



4. When deciding upon a third side for Red Alert 3, what factions were suggested? And why in the end was Empire of the Rising Sun chosen? -Unknown_fan

We went through a wide variety of candidates for the third faction, including everything from an all-oceanic faction based on the Red Alert 2 Giant Squid to a more traditional sub-faction system composed of armies from around the world, and everything in between. Ultimately, we decided on the Empire of the Rising Sun mostly because 1) creating a timeline wherein Japan rises to be a militaristic world power post-WWII fit within the fiction of Red Alert very nicely; and 2) of the team’s devotion to Japanese pop culture, and the amount of reference that can be pulled from anime, manga, and videogames that we all watch and play.



5. Do apoc tanks have anti air missiles? - RoMaNoV_007

No Apocalypse Tanks cannot target air units – they are strictly anti-ground. Most units in Red Alert 3 are extremely specialized, and excel in only one or two areas.



6. What can you get from crates in Red Alert 3? -zrooper

Among other things, crates will give affected units health and veterancy.

[Abokasee]

*Loads AK47*
...ok... who did that... own up children...

[Martok]

And a now we have a new unit: V-4 ROCKETS!

The way the first function goes is nothing special to me, the way those missile lands hasn't been used since... TA I think (Core Diplomat, the other one...) however the second anti-infantry one makes Is pretty neat with the missile launching cluster bombs in mid air.

Yep, I just got done checking out the V4. I too love their secondary multiple-warhead ability, and look forward to using it on hapless Allied infantry.


EDIT: Oops. Praxil beat me to it.