Command & Conquer 3: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Brutal

Yep, these are the AI difficulty levels for EALA‘s Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC, Xbox 360), as revealed by Lead Designer Jason Bender in a development diary to Gamespot. Yes, the Brutal difficulty makes a comeback from Red Alert 2 and Command & Conquer: Generals, although this time Brutal doesn’t mean Hard, but here Brutal means Hard “with a cash bonus”.

(WARNING: No actual cash exchange involved in the bonus. Bender was just trying to make a point. Besides, we think it’s the AI that gets the cash bonus.)

These won’t be generic AI, either. Bender reveals that a long-time C&C fan and newest member of the team, Gavin Simon, “took on the task of creating smart tactics” to define the differing game styles of the AI “personalities” in the game. Gavin’s been at it since high school, when he was a Red Alert 2 tester, says Bender – so the guy should have quite the database on how we flesh-and-blood strategists crush each other in multiplayer.

Speaking of high school jobs, now why can’t we get jobs like that? *bitterness*

You may have heard whispers of these AI details from interviews with the other team members, such as Mike Verdu – but here Jason draws it in deep plank ink and sets it in stone. These are the various personalities you can set the AI to in both single-player skirmish and multiplayer-with-AI battles:

• Turtle: as its name suggests, focuses on base defense, but all the while massing a late-game attack force to teach you the age-old adage: slow but sure is pure pwnage.
• Rush: THE most cliché of the RTS strategic concepts, the computer will concentrate on creating a small early-game attack force through the use of multiple unit production buildings.
• Steamroller: slightly related to Turtle, except for the defense part, Steamrollers will concentrate on creating the largest attack force to send against you. Without worrying on defense expenditures, the AI can launch a tidal wave earlier than the Turtle.
• Guerilla: emphasizes use of small forces, stealth, and flanking maneuvers to hit you where you least expect it.

In all four cases you can also set the difficulty level of the personality: from Easy to Brutal, depending on how suicidal (or AI-cidal) you feel.

It is possible to coordinate, to an extent, with the AI. Bender says all you have to do is to drop a beacon (one of those location pings) onto the battlefield, and allied AI will rally their forces in that location. Perfect for making the mindless drones do all the dirty work.

Yep, these are the AI difficulty levels for EALA‘s Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC, Xbox 360), as revealed by Lead Designer Jason Bender in a development diary to Gamespot. Yes, the Brutal difficulty makes a comeback from Red Alert 2 and Command & Conquer: Generals, although this time Brutal doesn’t mean Hard, but here Brutal means Hard “with a cash bonus”.

(WARNING: No actual cash exchange involved in the bonus. Bender was just trying to make a point. Besides, we think it’s the AI that gets the cash bonus.)

These won’t be generic AI, either. Bender reveals that a long-time C&C fan and newest member of the team, Gavin Simon, “took on the task of creating smart tactics” to define the differing game styles of the AI “personalities” in the game. Gavin’s been at it since high school, when he was a Red Alert 2 tester, says Bender – so the guy should have quite the database on how we flesh-and-blood strategists crush each other in multiplayer.

Speaking of high school jobs, now why can’t we get jobs like that? *bitterness*

You may have heard whispers of these AI details from interviews with the other team members, such as Mike Verdu – but here Jason draws it in deep plank ink and sets it in stone. These are the various personalities you can set the AI to in both single-player skirmish and multiplayer-with-AI battles:

• Turtle: as its name suggests, focuses on base defense, but all the while massing a late-game attack force to teach you the age-old adage: slow but sure is pure pwnage.
• Rush: THE most cliché of the RTS strategic concepts, the computer will concentrate on creating a small early-game attack force through the use of multiple unit production buildings.
• Steamroller: slightly related to Turtle, except for the defense part, Steamrollers will concentrate on creating the largest attack force to send against you. Without worrying on defense expenditures, the AI can launch a tidal wave earlier than the Turtle.
• Guerilla: emphasizes use of small forces, stealth, and flanking maneuvers to hit you where you least expect it.

In all four cases you can also set the difficulty level of the personality: from Easy to Brutal, depending on how suicidal (or AI-cidal) you feel.

It is possible to coordinate, to an extent, with the AI. Bender says all you have to do is to drop a beacon (one of those location pings) onto the battlefield, and allied AI will rally their forces in that location. Perfect for making the mindless drones do all the dirty work.