Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

Sub-page#

Kane's Wrath

Brotherhood of Nod#

Hand Of Nod#

Lamps#

The Hand of Nod used to have two lamps in front of it. They were later moved to the Secret Shrine.

Missing entrance?#

If you ever looked at the model, you might have noticed that the entrance is… odd, to say the least. Most factories in Tiberium Wars have a moving door and some kind of simple interior to give the impression of depth, but the entrance for the HoN is just a black texture without any detail.

The concept art shows an additional arch in front of the entrance, and some sort of walkway/foundation before it:

The texture also contains unused spots for what appears to be the disk shaped objects on the concept, an arch and some brownish walkway/foundation.

Oddly enough, the Tiberium Alliance model still shows these disks above the entrance and in the back. It even has the lamps and a foundation, though it's hard to say if that is the original foundation design:

Flame effects#

While the sphere on the Hand Of Nod is just a reflective orange globe in the final game, the concept shows that it apparently was meant to have light and smoke effects.

War Factory#

Watch on YouTubeThis structure is actually called NODDropZone in the files. Now, that alone is a weird name for an underground factory, but much of Tiberium Warss initial faction design seems to be inspired by Tiberian Dawn and as Nod used airfields to deliver units back in C&C 1, there might be a connection here.

Looking at the model, it appears that the underground part of the elevator is a later addition - it has no unique textures and instead reuses parts from various other areas of the building. And the tower in the back seems kinda pointless in the final game, but it kinda looks like an air traffic control tower and pops up everytime something gets built - which would make sense if an aircraft was about to drop off a unit in the drop zone.

All things considered, it looks like the initial idea was to mirror the C&C1 airfield, using aircraft (perhaps Carryalls) to drop newly built units off at the landing zone.

A screenshot from an old french preview video shows that the coloring of the building (middle of second row) used to be different, with the outer part being much brighter than the inner circle, though that might be caused by the lighting in the render/low quality of the video.

Air Tower#

Oddly enough, the Nod Air Tower model seems to be inspired by a GDI design while the file name points to a different idea for the original design: NODHangar.xml.

Early Hangar Model?#

The civilian objects in C&C3 contain a model and texture that seems to fit the name: NBAirHangar.w3x & NBAirHangar.dds:

However, this seems to be the same GDI hangar used in multiple prerelease images, just with a different texture and a small Nod logo.

It could be an early placeholder model and maybe the inspiration for the object name, but the model lacks any bones needed to make it work as an airfield.

Possible Concepts#

While there is nothing known about possible other designs, concepts associated with the GDI Airfield show two designs (lower corners) with a noticeable dark/reddish color scheme and an underground storage for aircrafts. Nod designs perhaps?

Tech Lab#

Old concept art also shows that the main building was intended to be bigger - it is a shame that this was changed as the final model seems rather simple and boring. Some unused parts of the texture indicate that the model was altered during development, though they do not fit the concept art. Chances are the displays for the upgrades used to be different.

Speaking about the display spots: This part looks like a missile silo - there is even a black ground texture underneath the arrow objects, so they could theoretically be moved back to open the silo. However, there is not enough space around for the parts to retract, so its purpose is unknown. Personal guess: it was intended to be part of an animation and then reused when the Tech Lab needed more spaces for upgrade models. Going by the name NODTechAssemblyPlant, perhaps some assembled parts would have been raised/lowered from this hole.

Temple Of Nod#

Old model/Temple prime#

Watch on YouTubeEarlier images show a different model for the temple. Apparently, this was the initial design while the final model was intended as Temple Prime (the released game switched these around):

"Which I got to say the Temple of Nod at the Summit was incredible. My favourite Temple was Tiberian Sun’s until I saw this which was way cooler looking and more high tech then Tiberian Sun’s Temple of Nod. Unfortunately this has since been replaced by a more temple style closer to the original. Also the Temple of Nod allowed construction of advanced technology and also nullified EMP effects." 

It is worth noting that the final temple model is still called NBTPrime.w3x while the actual Temple Prime uses NB_Temple.w3x as model.

Oddly enough, this video shows the build menu for Nod with the old temple design, but lacking any Nuclear Silo. Was the silo included in the temple at that point? Or was it simply disabled for this preview to keep the superweapon hidden?

Old Leftovers?#

But this raises a question: If the original temple model was not supposed to have a missile silo (because the model was used as Temple Prime and there was a separate Nuke Silo), then what was the space in front of it used for? There are some unused parts on the UV map, but they offer no answers. Closer inspection also shows that the tail is reusing other parts of the UV map (perhaps it was altered during development) and that the texture around the entrance is oddly misaligned (so the original entrance was probably different)

Of course, if the temple was split into two buildings (temple and missile silo), then Nod would have one building more than GDI. So either a GDI techbuilding got removed or the Temple initially took the place of either the Tech Lab (just like it did in TD) or the Tiberium Chemical Plant.

"Anyway I built up my Nod Technology Centre and deployed a Nod Disruption Web which I had hoped was Nods Stealth Generator and it was.[...]Also the Temple of Nod allowed construction of advanced technology and also nullified EMP effects."

According to this quote, Nod had a Tech Center that unlocked the Disruption Tower (which requires the Secret Shrine in the final game). However, early screenshots also show the Shrine, so the Temple likely took the place of the Tiberium Chemical Plant (though that one does not unlock any technology per se, only special powers).

Also, what is this part of the temple supposed to be? It is only on one side of the building - was this perhaps some sort of statue that used to be in the center?

Tail#

I mentioned before that the final tail model seems to be a later addition as it heavily reused other buildings parts as textures.But if that is the case, how would the original one have looked? Sadly, there is no image or concept of it, so all I can do is guess. But there is another detail I noticed:

Look at this odd dark spot on top - the front part of the roof is bright white, but the end is suddenly dark as if there was an object casting a shadow on this spot of the roof, right after the last pair of "legs" of the scorpion. Which is the spot the tail occupies in the original TD design for the temple:

So, chances are there used to be some kind of tail up there, perhaps utilizing the top part of the current tail model. It probably reached from the dark spot on the roof backwards and was flanked by the spikes that mark the end of the roof. This would also have hidden the odd hole at the end of the roof. The unused parts of the texture mentioned earlier might have been used for the tail as the left one bends slightly like a scorpion tail.

Nuclear Silo#

it seems that Nod had a separate building for their nuke as reported by a visitor of the 2006 community summit:

"The Nuke Silo was a separate structure at the summit but has since been merged into the Temple of Nod as we’ve seen."

It makes sense that the Nuke Silo would be a separate model as the original temple model lacked a way to launch a nuke. However, what would that silo have looked like? The silo on the final Temple model is very simple and lacking any detail, a standalone silo would have likely looked different.

Chances are that the original silo was similar to (or maybe even based on) the one used in the campaign - in fact, the missile looks identical and the mesh name seems to indicate it was also used for the Nuke Silo: NBNMSILOMIS, which I would read as "Nod Building - Nuclear Missile Silo - Missile". However, it is unlikely to be the same silo model as in the campaign as the campaign one uses multiple textures (which are also used for a lot of campaign props).

EVA Warning#

While there is little known about the silo, an EVA warning seems to confirms its name:

Tiberium Chemical Plant#

Changed Details#

Early versions (left image) also had the Tiberium parts glow, a feature that sadly seemed to have been removed. You can also see that there is a dark layer of dirt around the foundation, which is a feature nearly all Nod buildings had early on (and for some odd reasons, it has been removed for some, but not all).

Prerelease	Final

Shredder Turret#

A prerelease image (seems like concept art) shows a different design for the Shredder Turret compared to the final design, noticeably lacking any barrels and a different design for the base:

Militants and Rocket Team#

Alternate Models#

Early on, the rocket team used the same militant model as the rifle ones. Or, considering they have a backpack and are called NUMiltnB, the rifle ones might have been conceived as rocket soldiers early on. You can see them in that role on early screenshots.

However, going by the number of militant concepts and the existing of unfinished rifle man models (NUMiltnA, NUMiltnB and NUMiltnC with A being the poncho model used for the final rocket team, B being the final rifle militant model with a backpack and C being a guy with a gas mask), chances are EA initially wanted to randomize the militant models similar to the orcs in the BFME games.

Different Weapons?#

While the early concepts for the militants show a variety of different designs, it is noticeable that they feature different weapons. And not just some different assault rifles designs, but also flamethrowers and grenade launchers. Were they perhaps intended to be more like General's Angry Mob and have a variety of weapons?

Nod Soldiers#

While there are quite a number of militant concepts, it is a possibility that they were not intended as Nods main infantry early on. If you look at concepts for Nod vehicles, they usually feature some infantry either as pilots or to give an idea of the vehicle's size. However, even though they are rough sketches it is very clear that they are supposed to be well equipped soldiers, not some civilians with guns. In fact, none of these images ever show anything resembling a Militant. Of course, this is all speculation and might just be down to the artist's preference.

Then there is a concept that shows either a Nod Soldier or an early Confessor design. Interestingly, its design is reminiscent of the famous footman concept).

Saboteur#

Early design#

The initial design for the Saboteur seemed a lot thinner and had a (torn?) cape.

The icon still shows the old model (thin arms and torn cape), though it's hardly visible.

Remnants of it can still be found in the SDK as some animations were made using the old models (there is also a slim version without the cape):

Red Shadow Strike Team#

Shadow Strike Team Icon#

What is the fourth icon in this video? It looks like a person to me, so maybe the Shadow Strike Team?

It also appears in another prerelease video - going by the position in the list, it should be the Shadow Strike Team icon and it kinda looks like the upper body of a Shadow without helmet:

Harvester#

Unloading#

While the harvester drives backwards into the refinery, the art for the IDB shows that it was intended to drive in front first (which makes the tubes on the ref actually align with the tanks on the side of the harvester):

Bike and Buggy#

The initial Nod images show GDI soldiers as drivers. As the Nod militant model is also visible on the screenshots, it's possible that the driver was supposed to get an unique model that wasn't finished at that point (both Bike and Buggy concept arts feature drivers with helmets).

Bike Size#

Also, notice anything odd about the bike in the image above? It appears a lot longer than the model we are used to as the rear wheel was positioned behind the missile launchers, just like in the concept art. The final model just replaced the middle joint with the wheel.

Buggy Laser#

Nearly all units in Tiberium Wars have a visible change when upgraded - sometimes the texture changes, sometimes a new part gets added to the model. The buggy has a visible (if slightly bugged) model for the EMP Coils upgrade, but no model for the Laser Capacitor upgrade. Was it forgotten or accidently deleted? Was the upgrade perhaps a late addition to the buggy? Speculation: As the default gun is on the right side of the buggy, maybe the upgrade was supposed to add an additional laser gun on the other side as an addition.

Scorpion Tank#

Weapon Upgrade#

Some early images and concepts hint that the Scorpion tank might have gained a laser as an additional weapon instead of replacing the default gun. Perhaps both Predator and Scorpion were intended to gain an additional weapon with upgrades (missile launcher/laser cannon). Speculation: Considering that the Buggy lacks a laser model and two out of three units affected by the upgrade use the laser as an anti infantry weapon… Was this perhaps the initial idea here too? Instead of upgrading the Buggy, maybe the Scorpion would get an anti infantry laser in addition to its main gun?

However, it's also possible that this is only an early test render made to show the whole model (though it lacks the dozer blades).

Albania

The GDI Albania mission muddles this issue even further: The parked Nod vehicles that need to be destroyed are separate objects from the units built at the War Factory (since they have lower health and always explode).They also all (excluding the Venom(yes, there are unused variants of the MCV, Venom and Vertigo)) have unique models that lack muzzle flashes and animated treads and upgrade models. Yet the Scorpion Tank model in this mission shows both guns and Dozer Blades - this could imply that this was the way a fully upgraded tank was intended to look at the time this unit was created. Except the Scorpion here uses its damaged texture by default, showing that apparently no one cared about these models, and making it impossible to guess if the two cannons here are intentional or just another accident.

Flame Tank#

One concept for the Flame Tank feature a third launcher in the middle

Beam Cannon#

A very old screenshot shows images for what might be early ideas for some sort of heavy laser cannon unit (possibly the Beam Cannon).

Early concept arts also show similar designs (see the "Beam Cannon" name in the top right):

Venom#

Anti-Air guns#

An early render shows that the Venom had a different gun layout – instead of one turret underneath the cockpit, it had a gun on each side, pointing forward. While all known images only show the guns pointing straight ahead, the concept art shows a red line on the guns base that clearly separates the turret from the main body, hinting at the possibility to aim up/down.

Even the IDB entry uses the old design as it is based on the concept art:

The model in the final game has its gun underneath its chin and two angled rudders in the back instead of a single vertical one.

There are various concepts for the Venom that showcase different designs for an upgrade on top (Scanner Suite or Signature Generator?). However, all of them showcase some kind of pod beneath the Venom's chin that is also part of an upgrade, but there is no image or icon that would explain its purpose.

The wings in the concept have a bend at the end. Its missing from the model, but the texture still shows a line where it should have been:

Vertigo#

Early Design#

C&C4 contained some images of a Nod aircraft that looked like an evolution of the C&C3 Vertigo design (far more fitting than the B2 inspired design that ended up in C&C4):

However, according to its creator Leon Gor it is actually the other way around - this is an early idea that evolved into the C&C3 Vertigo:

"This is my design for a NOD stealth air unit. I went for a F-117 Nighthawk feel. The wing "feathers" created a distinctive silhouette to help players identify the unit. It also allowed the animators something to work with as the plane flew. This design would eventually morph into the NOD Vertigo Bomber which I also modeled and textured for the game."

Concept Art#

An early design for the GDI Dropship has a very similar design, including the wing feathers.

Armageddon Bomber#

Model#

The model is based on the Carryall, just with wings and a cockpit (or maybe the Carryall is an edit of Armageddon's model?).

Carryall	Armageddon

Unknown Nod Aircraft#

There are two concept arts that show an unknown design of Nod aircraft flying and fighting GDI Orcas:

The fact that these both show the same aircraft (as opposed to exploring different designs) could be an indication that the design was more or less final (however, it is not clear if the artworks are from Tiberium Wars or TIBERIUM, so they could be completely unrelated). The unit seems to be armed with air-to-air missiles and feels rather lightly armored. The Orcas have their usual Tiberium Wars design, but are armed with their gatlings and are missing the missile racks.

As the Nod aircraft seems to be a fast and sleek design, it could be an early idea that evolved into the Venom. However, it's equally possible that this was a TIBERIUM concept with no relation to the Venom.

GDI#

Construction Yard#

Watch on YouTubeThe E3 2006 trailer shows a brief view of some early designs for GDI buildings that were replaced afterwards, including the CY:

Note that the roof is invisible when viewed from below in the last image, indicating that the camera was never meant to see it from that angle. But the really noteworthy parts are the girders - Adam Isgreen once said about Westwoods C&C3:

"Interesting is that we had a consistent theme in all GDI buildings (exposed girders) that wasn't carried through in the new versions."

Visible girders were an important GDI design element in WWs C&C3 (and appear on some GDI buildings in the final game), but the old ConYard also shows them clearly… was this perhaps an Incursion design that got used early on? But it gets weirder - look at the crane arm and compare it to the final Tiberium Wars design (the Tiberium Wars image below is mirrored): both seem identical down to the white blotches. Apparently, they reused the crane model for some reason.

If you look at the texture, the crane part in the top middle is noticeably different - it has a white background (lower left uses black background), has white dirt on it (the other crane parts are clean) and seems to have a higher contrast and some compression artifacts. It really seems they ported the crane from the old to the new model for some odd reason.

Barracks#

Early Design#

The building GDI_LabRadarBuilding that appears in both Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath campaigns actually reuses an early design concept for the GDI Barracks.

Model	Concept Art

The model that appears in the game during campaigns lacks any moveable door or interior, so it is unlikely that this model was ever used as a barracks.

War Factory#

Early Design#

Watch on YouTubeThe E3 2006 trailer briefly shows a design that seems to be based on an old concept art:

Note that there seems to be another GDI building right next to the War Factory, though it is unknown which one this is.

An early screenshot gives another perspective - comparing it to the concept, this seem to be the back of the War Factory:

A later image from the same map shows the final model for the War Factory in that same spot:

Final Design#

The concept for the final design shows a couple of elements that also appear in the final model, but it is a lot higher. It also seems to feature exposed girders (see the Adam Isgreen quote at Construction Yard).

GDI_DefensiveGridBuilding#

The GDI_DefensiveGridBuilding building that gets used during the campaigns in Tiberium Wars & Kane's Wrath is actually based on the earlier concept art, but it does not seem to be the same model used in early images (as a lot of details and shapes seem different):

Its style and colors are also completely different from the final Tiberium Wars buildings - for example, most of the light effects are just painted on the texture while all other buildings use light meshes to create effects during runtime (and disable lights during low power). The model also lacks a moveable door and an interior, making it unlikely that it was ever intended as anything but a map prop.

Airfield#

While there are more concept arts for GDI buildings in a similar style as the Barracks and War Factory above, I won't include them here as there is no indication that they were ever added to the game… with the exception of the GDI Airfield, whose internal name GDIAirTower still refers to the old design. However, it seems the concept was scrapped and reused for the Nod Air Tower.

Other concepts for the Airfield seem to be inspired by Generals and are a LOT bigger than the current model (note the Orca and Firehawk on the middle field). It also seems to feature exposed girders (see the Adam Isgreen quote at Construction Yard), indicating that it was made with the Incursion art style in mind.

It also seems the windows were initially supposed to be large windows instead of being split into smaller ones.

Command Post#

While there is no major change, earlier screenshots show a lot more light effects on the building. It is unknown why they were removed, but perhaps it seemed odd to have spotlights during the day. Maybe they were intended to be shown at night only and accidently got removed in the transition.

Armory#

Oddly enough, the armory texture is identical to the baseplate of the Warfactory, just with the usual green crates replaced with red ones (visible after the Composite Armor upgrade). Everything besides the crate is unused.

Medical Bay#

The Armory is actually called GDIMedicalBay in the files and models (GBMedBay.w3x) but uses the selection sound GDI_TechnologyCenterSelect and the icon Portrait_GDIArmory. Its original selection sound GDI_MedicalBaySelect still exists but remains unused (it is the sound of a heartbeat monitor). The concept art also seems to fit more for a Medical Bay than an Armory.

Space Command Uplink#

Despite having a circle shaped launching pad, the large missile is offset to the side. When the missile is reloaded, it appears to move through the concrete foundation. However, the GDI logo in the middle is split in two parts and has an area modeled beneath it, so the missile would make more sense in the middle.

However, the Concept Art shows it pretty much in the final spot - perhaps the GDI logo was intended for the reload animation?

GDIMultUpgradeCent#

The SDK contains a file called GDIMultUpgrC.xml with this building inside. Based on the name alone, this weird object seems to be a GDI specific version of the MultifunctionUpgradeCenter, though it is impossible to say what came first. Unlike the tech building it does not have any special coding and reuses models & sounds from both the GDI_DefensiveGridBuilding and the Nod Tech Lab as placeholders.

Terraformer#

The GDI style guide contains images for a building called Terraformer, but lacks any description about the way it would work.

It's possible that this was an early idea for the Terraforming Station or perhaps a campaign building that needed to be protected.

Walls#

Watch on YouTubeGDIs wall texture is named GBwall2, so it seems there used to be a different texture that is missing from the game. Early screenshots show a texture that matches the unused icons in the files:

An early video shows a GDI build icon that might be even older than the one used in the images above as it has a rather simple texture compared to the one used in the final game.

Button_AbilityWall#

Early on, Wall Hubs were able to build walls, similar to Battle For Middle Earth 2. The ability icon for this still exists, clearly showing the old wall texture from the screenshots above.

Watchtower#

The original Watchtower used a TS style design:

Guardian Cannon#

Golum Cannon#

Watch on YouTubeHere is a screenshot from an old preview video where the Guardian Cannon is referred to as Golum Cannon: german gameplay video c&c tiberium wars

It is a bit of an odd change as the APC seems to have used the same name at some point.

Sonic Emitter#

Terraforming Station#

Watch on YouTubeWatch on YouTubeHere is a screenshot from an old preview video: german gameplay video c&c tiberium wars

Slightly better image from another video:

In this version, the structure is called Terraforming Station (and it is still named that way in the files) and uses a different model. If it feels familiar, than that's because it seems that EA actually reused it in Kane's Wrath as Pulse Scanner in one of the missions:

This video shows its old firing effect in action - it looks kinda similar to the final, but the sonic shockwave on the ground still retains a connection to the Terraforming Station.

Destroying Tiberium#

While the manual (and the ingame backstory) imply that Sonic Emitters can destroy Tiberium, that ability has actually been disabled to prevent players from purposely destroying Tiberium fields in multiplayer..

Tiberium Silo#

Apparently these got a redesign before release. Still, the old model has the final GDI logo and the pipes on the ground around it that many of the final GDI Buildings also use.

Zone Trooper#

Early Designs#

Early Zone Troopers had only a helmet as head protection and different guns.

The SDK also shows some lights on the soldier and a laser pointer on the gun, but these are disabled. However, they appear in an earlier screenshot:

Alternate Skins#

EA made a couple of alternate textures for the zone troopers that were included in the SDK. Their purpose is unknown, maybe as random textures (or buyable skins?).

Commando#

Early designs show that the Commando was supposed to have a helmet with a much larger visor and ear muffs. This would have given it a much more unique design - the final model is pretty much a more detailed version of the GDI Rifleman with an added jetpack.

Harvester#

The GDI harvester used to have a second cockpit on the chassis (center of the concept art), the main cockpit was more angled (and seemed way better suited to overlook the harvest operations) and the back of the tracks were also covered on the concept art. The texture still features the missing sections in the lower right (even with the old GDI logo), so it's unclear why this got changed. Maybe these were part of an early upgrade and got removed when the upgrade was cut.

Pitbull#

Model#

The early Pitbull was open topped and had a gun model similar to the APC before getting the missile launcher. The wreckages also still make use of the old open topped gun model. It also seems they initially had a version with visible crew and only two missiles before expanding the launcher model and finally closing the crew department.

Name#

It seems the Pitbull once was called Rough Rider as barely visible on this concept art for various upgrades - the name ROUGHRIDER can be seen in the lower left.

Its wreckage models still have the mesh names GU_RURDR01 & GU_RURDRXX and SoundEffects.xml has an entry for GDI ROUGHRIDER, through the only sound there is an unused effect called RoughRiderMoveStart.

APC#

Hull Down#

While the APC is often referred as Guardian APC, that name is never in the game (though some xml files call it that, which is odd considering GDI also has a Guardian Cannon). Early renders call it Turtle and show an alternate hull down mode where the chassis sinks lower to the ground to make it easier for infantry to leave. While the APC has a functioning rear door and even a bit of an interior modeled, neither is used for anything in the game.

While the APC allows passengers to fire out, the model doesn't have any additional fireports - all bones are simply positioned around the cupola in the front, hinting that this ability was added after the model was done (in fact, it is not even mentioned in the tooltip). Note that this cupola is missing in the above render.

Bull Tank#

Before CNC3 was announced, a teaser image of this tank was released. However, the tank was not in the game and little is known aside from some renders.

While it was thought that the tank was related to the Tiberium FPS, the above render says it belonged to C&C3. Why was the tank cut? Hard to say, but chances are the design was made for the TIBERIUM FPS and did not work in a RTS. Maybe the h-shaped silhouette was too similar to the Mammoth or the flat design looked odd when viewed from above. It is also possible that it simply evolved into the Predator as the layout with four tracks the the turret details share some similarities.

Predator Tank#

Missile launcher#

Prerelease images show a missile launcher at the Predator Tanks turret, maybe an upgrade. The Mammoth tank missile launchers are also separate meshes, so it's possible they were part of the upgrade too or added way later. The models are included in the SDK. Early screenshot (no idea what the lights are supposed to be):

Tracks#

One of the iconic (and perhaps controversial) aspects of the Predator is its 4-track design, but an early concept shows it was intended with just two tracks.

Mammoth Tank#

Physics?#

Watch on YouTubeThis old trailer has this scene:

While the final game still has Mammoth tracks following the shape of the ground, I do not think that it is possible for the Mammoth to get airborne like this anymore.

Cinematic Model#

The initial trailer is not using the final model but fittingly the so-called cinematic model which is way more high-poly than any of the models in the final game. You can see this on the very detailed animated tracks.

Old Design#

The initial model has some minor details - like the missing cupolas on top of the turret and between the front tracks (not to mention the Missile Launcher).

Missile Launcher#

While the Predator is shown with missile launchers in early images, the Mammoth is missing its rocket pods. The high-poly model for the mammoth seems to indicate the launchers are hidden inside the turret by default and can be rotated outwards to shoot, so no idea if that was also the intention here. Could also have been intended as an upgrade.

Gatling Mammoth#

Of the the developers of Westwoods CnC3, Patrick Pannullo wrote on 10/24/2008:

All I remember of those days is a conversation with Adam...  
 "What's cooler than a mammoth tank with two barrels?"  
 "What?"  
 "A MAMMOTH TANK WITH THREE BARRELS!"  
 The barrels were going to merge when updated and rotate like a tank shell minigun (I think that's where Woolard's tank in UAW came from). Fun stuff :)
 

Adam Isgreen regarding the same topic on 06/12/2007:

"You can't see the third barrel because it's a gattling-barrel (i.e. the tank has three rotating barrels)

This new mammoth was for C&C3, not Continuum."

Why is this important? Well, because on one of the street signs in Tiberium Wars (DCPSignGraphics01) can be found this image (concept art for comparison):

It clearly shows a tank with 4 threads and seemingly 3 barrels in a rotating configuration. As such, this might be one of the very rare images that show the Gatling Mammoth design in a game setting. Thankfully, there is a second prerelease image that seems to show the same tank:

It's hard to make out, but it seems to have the same turret as the tank from the sign above (note that this is probably a render, not a screenshot).

Juggernaut#

MAP-H#

The Tiberium Wars GDI style guide for the game artists does not mention the Juggernaut, but a unit named Heavy Mobile Artillery Platform (MAP-H for short). Notice that it is armed with a Rail Gun, which might be connected to the leftover upgrade.

Interestingly, it seems to have had another name at some point as visible on the bottom:

Rig#

Landing Pads#

A bit odd, but a German article mentions that Rigs would have a landing spot for aircraft and a missile launcher. Does this perhaps mean that the sides of the Battle Base initially lacked the Guardian Cannons and instead served as landing pads to rearm Orcas and Firehawks? It would explain why they have no unique models and just reuse the Guardian Cannons.

Orca#

Cinematic Model#

A high poly model with a visible pilot and animated engines was used during the announcement trailer while early screenshots seem to feature an edited version of the same model without visible pilot. Later the model was replaced with a similar model with a significantly lower polygon count.

Very detailed models with visible pilots.

Same detailed model as above but no visible pilot

Simplified final model.

Gatling Gun#

The Orca was initially armed with a gatling gun, but it might have been deemed too similar to the Venom. The model is missing, but it is still visible on the texture. The weapon itself is called OrcaVulcanCannon and is particular interesting because it has no sound, but soundeffects.xml contains a fitting entry (OrcaMachineGunFireLoopMS) and this might be one of the most complex sounds in the whole game with multiple subsounds for wind up, shells falling and bullet zip sounds. However, it is possible this was only added for the announcement trailer and the final sound would have been a lot simpler.

While the Orca in the above image has missiles and a gatling gun, other early images clearly show an Orca with a gatling gun but no missiles:

MiniOrca#

Model#

While unconfirmed, it seems the model is very loosely based on an early Orca concept art.

Scrin#

Rift Generator#

The concept/IDB shows it shooting a beam into the sky instead of the swirl in the final game.

Corrupter#

Transparent Abdomen#

This image from the C&C Wiki shows the Corrupter with a partly transparent abdomen, an element that is also shown in concept arts and cinematics. Sadly, the exact settings are lost and even the SDK has no trace of it left.

Annihilator tripod#

While the final unit is armed with three pulse cannons, the concepts mention one pulse cannon and two auto cannons (the weapons type used by Gun walkers and Stormriders):

Its short-range EMP on the other hand is hardly mentioned and seems like a rather late addition.

Stormrider#

Early Design#

Concept Art and cinematics show the Stormrider with green highlights on the wings and some kind of Tiberium container on the bottom.

The final model lacks all these, but I do not know if that was intentional (as none of its weapons are Tiberium based) or because the model is of rather poor quality and barely resembles the cinematic design.

The Stormrider is based on an earlier harvester concept - maybe the Tiberium was removed to make the difference more noticeable, but why keep it in the cinematic model? And it is not like it would have been very visible during gameplay anyway.

Planetary Assault Carrier#

The concept art and the game cinematics show a very different model for the PAC. However, there is no indication where fighter crafts would dock, so maybe the docking mechanic was added later - maybe it was the main reason for the redesign as the visible fighters make the PAC rather unique. There are also fighter craft visible in the intro - except the Stormrider - maybe it was the initial design for the fighter. Note that the concept describes it as "heavy artillery" - perhaps the Devastator Warship did not yet exist at that point and the PAC fulfilled its role.

Mothership#

Manual#

For some reason, the icon in the manual shows two solid beams connecting the center with the outer ring. In the final game, there are no solid connections between center and outer ring by default, but four beams appear when it fires. It is hard to say if that is just an issue with the image or had some other reason (to improve visibility or give an indication of its direction), but the general design seems to be the same as in the final game. Maybe this was just a problem with the icon and hence it was changed for the released game.

Unknown Icon#

Watch on YouTubeThis video shows two icons for a Scrin unit that dont match the final game- sadly the video is heavily compressed, making it hard to decide what is actually shown here.

However, some Kane's Wrath concepts are based on prerelease Tiberium Wars stuff and luckily show the early icons in more detail: The left one seems to be a Shock Trooper while the right seems to be an Assimilator.

Combining units#

A couple of early articles mentioned that the third faction would be able to combine two units to a more powerful unit. It is unclear if this refers to the Buzzer's combine function or if it meant something else.

During a German fan interview, Mike Verdu was asked about the third faction and answered this:

"Es können jede Menge Einheiten miteinander kombiniert werden und damit neue Fähigkeiten bekommen. Auch können sie vom Nod-Flammenpanzer die Waffe abreißen und sich selber aufsetzen und diese Waffe dann gegen ihre Gegner benutzen."

"Any number of units can be combined with each other to gain new abilities. They can also tear off the weapon from the Nod flame tank and put it on themselves and then use this weapon against their opponents."

Was the Avatar's ability initially planned for the Scrin?

Neutral/Civilian stuff#

Civilian Buildings#

Watch on YouTubeThe E3 2006 trailer shows a couple of civilian buildings that seem to be taken out of C&C Generals:

Trailer	Generals
	To do: Image of this building in Generals

There is also another, unknown building. As all buildings on the maps seem to be civilian, chances are this one was a civilian building too.

Oddly enough, in one of the prerender concept images are buildings that match this shape perfectly, though it still doesn't explain their purpose. Looks kinda like elevators, ramps or bridge huts:

EMP Control Center#

An early render shows it with the same green texture used by the Tiberium Spike and Tiberium Silo - perhaps this was used for all tech buildings.

Units#

Mutant Marauders#

The original concept shows some kind of laser weapon, perhaps this idea was reused for the Rivals design.

Tiberium Lifeforms/Creatures#

Mike Verdu was asked about Tiberium Lifeforms in a German interview in 2006 and the summary mentions them:

"Auf jeden Fall wird es sowohl alte als auch neue Tiberium-Kreaturen geben, welche allesamt vom Tiberium mutiert wurden."

"In any case, there will be both old and new Tiberium creatures, all of which have been mutated by the Tiberium."

BFME 1 & 2 had tons of monsters and creatures, so it is not surprising that they wanted to add some to Tiberium Wars too. However, it seems that they abandoned this idea and removed nearly all traces of Tiberium creatures - I always assumed they ran out of time and were forced to scale down their plans.

But if this is really the case, why are there no concept arts for Tiberium lifeforms? Neither C&C 3 nor TIBERIUM seem to have any designs for them, so chances are they never were planned in the first place.

Map Props#

These vehicle props are sadly not in the final game

The textures for these models (tent, tank, garage building) are still in the game, but no models (and no damage textures).

The powerline and the C&C Generals humvee are still in Tiberium Wars, but lack the Tiberium seen in the screenshot. Maybe it was confusing people when they tried to harvest it.

These look like wreckages of GLA Scorpion Tanks.

Mechanics#

Tiberium Growth#

This early screenshot shows crystal models of different sizes (notice the one above the harvester) - perhaps different growth stages. In the final game, the crystals always stay the same size, just more crystals grow from the ground.

Scale#

Looking at this old image, the scale seems somewhat off: The Space Command Uplink (top) is huge, Watchtowers also seem bigger than normal and the carrier in the top right seems incredibly small.

Why resizing some buildings is not unusual, the scale in the announcement trailer was completely different - note how small the infantry is compared to the vehicles and how the Component Tower is even smaller than the ConYards crane:

Squad System#

The first released screenshots show Zone Troopers standing around disorderly, as if they were not assigned to any squads. As the squad mechanic was used in previous games (BFME 1 & 2), it is unlikely that this was an issue with the engine. Perhaps they initially wanted infantry to be built solo just like in previous (and following) C&C games.

Old GUI#

Special Power Counter#

The old icons for special powers show a counter underneath - the airstrike even shows "2/2". In the final game the counter is missing as you can only have one instance of every special power.

Counter Indicators#

Units used to have indicators to show what they are good/bad against.

Button Positions#

As there was no space around the unit icons, the buttons were placed next to it on the bottom of the screen. This also meant there was no hard limit on the amount of buttons.

Special Ability Buttons#

Watch on YouTubeThis (later) video shows something interesting: If you select multiple units of a different type, you only see the special abilities that both units share (or perhaps this is just a Work-In-Progress of the GUI).

The same video also shows the final button layout, but the box for the unit icon is missing its borders.

Unused Cinematics#

Unused Costumes / Deleted Scenes#

Watch on YouTubeEA apparently made some costumes for Nod and GDI soldiers that ended up mostly unused:

Only the GDI one seems to be used in the background during some scenes with Boyle:

However, the Deleted Scenes video also shows these two sequences with different designed costumes:

Ion Cannon Strike#

The famous The First Decade poster shows an Ion Cannon firing at planet earth. However, this cinematic is not used in the final game - during the attack on temple prime the Ion Cannon is never shown (only the beam) while during the Scrin Invasion, the cannon fires away from earth.

So when would this image take place? Well, the first GDI mission ends with the player using the Ion Cannon - perhaps once this was supposed to instantly end the mission and switch to a cinematic? Assuming the peninsula in the background of the image above is Delmarva/Delaware and the large blue area is the Atlantic Ocean, it would fit as the mission takes place in North Carolina (eastern United States).

Weather Effects#

Multiple articles mention weather as something that the game would focus upon. However, in the final game the weather is rather limited and has no gameplay role. Which is surprising, as BFME 1&2 had effects that could change the light and weather on the maps in real time, so a mapwide Ion Storm should have been possible. Perhaps the idea collided with their focus on multiplayer as it might be a bit random/unpredictable.

Generals/C&C3 leftovers#

Fanatics#

Among Phil's concepts are also fanatics, an idea that clearly got reused in Tiberium Wars.