Gamespy’s shutdown has cut the lights in PC gaming’s historical quarter, and it’s been left to third-party services like GameRanger to restore power. Here’s another: a community-run server for the more recent Command & Conquer games.
C&C:Online allows players to log in and continue playing Command & Conquer 3, Kane’s Wrath, Generals, Zero Hour and Red Alert 3 much as they did when Gamespy’s servers were still online.
“It’s based on our T3A:Online project for BFME,” say its makers, “adapted to work for all the Command & Conquer games affected by the GameSpy closure.”
The service is free but relies on donations, which contribute directly to server maintenance and infrastructure improvements.
You’ll just need to create a Revora forum account and install a launcher. The C&C:Online lot reckon they’ve even managed to preserve mod compatibility for all of their supported games.
They don’t plan to penalise those who’ve lost ancient CD keys – but won’t permit players running cracked games. Do you think you’ll give this a go? I imagine Generals will be the first politically-incorrect port of call, but Red Alert 3 had its fans too.
Cheers, Eurogamer.