Unused Sounds

This is a sub-page of Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.

There are many unused sound files remaining in Tiberian Sun's resource library, with nearly half of all dialogue going unheard. They reveal vital insight into the development of the game, showing how mission objectives and plot points changed throughout Tiberian Sun's creation. A minority of sound files are unable to be heard due to poor design of a map's triggers.

To do: Lots of unused sounds for the Firestorm campaign in the EXPAND01.MIX files. Double-check SOUNDS.MIX.

Unused Dialogue#

General#

These lines of dialogue were intended to be used in normal gameplay but went unused completely.

These lines of dialogue refer to a cut mechanic where you could enter a Civilian Armory to upgrade their veteran status manually, without having to increase their kill count.

This one references the Chameleon Spy, a cut unit similar to the Spy from Red Alert 2 but with permanent invisibility and no disguise. The unit was also intended to steal building plans from an enemy tech tree, equivalent to capturing an enemy Construction Yard but on an individual basis.

Alternate victory and loss lines were recorded for Skirmishes, but were never used.

Some lines see use in one campaign, but see no use in the other.

Taunts#

At some point, your enemy’s battle computer could taunt you during combat. The fact GDI’S SPEECH01.MIX and Nod’s SPEECH02.MIX include both side’s taunts may indicate they were intended for Skirmishes against both GDI and Nod players. They may have primarily been used for Skirmishes against AI opponents, given how some of EVA’s taunts have an anti-human streak as seen in CABAL later in Firestorm.

GDI Campaign#

GDI 3A: Secure Crash Site and 4A: Defend Crash Site#

Dialogue that could belong to either mission are mixed chronologically, and may indicate the two missions were meant to be one. Some aspects of gameplay differ: soldiers wait on a Mobile Construction Vehicle while preparing for an incoming ion storm, commenting as waves of Nod forces approached. Airstrikes mentioned in some dialogue refer either to Orca Fighter units, or to the superweapon from Tiberian Dawn.

GDI 5B: Rescue Tratos#

These voice lines detail several different ways the events of the missions were planned. The medical facility where Tratos is held was meant to be located to the east, rather than to the west of the starting position. It also appears Umagon’s squad could also be detected by a patrol but not immediately set off the execution timer. The Orca Transport that picks up Tratos after his rescue would chatter over the radio and eventually be destroyed, leaving Umagon to find another way to extract. This method may have been via land, given that a secondary objective was to destroy all bridges leading from the facility.

GDI 6A: Destroy Vega's Dam#

Extra announcement dialogue pertaining to the destruction of General Vega’s dam.

GDI 6B: Destroy Vega's Base#

Vega's base was originally intended to be a command center. The nuclear missile launched by Nod to kill General Vega was meant to appear in the mission, possibly as a timed objective to evacuate the area.

GDI 7A: Capture Hammerfest Base#

Extra dialogue meant to be used while GDI recaptures Hammerfest Base.

GDI 8A: Retrieve Disruptor Crystals#

In the release version, the locomotive of a GDI train had to be destroyed to retrieve the Disruptor crystals. It seems originally you were meant to capture a Nod Tech Center to steal them. This dialogue also suggests alternate exfiltration methods for the crystals, including a Nod bullet train (stolen from GDI?) and Orca Carryall, which may an attempt by GDI to recover the crystals if the train was disabled.

GDI 9B: Destroy Chemical Supply#

This dialogue is odd given how it contradicts the Forgotten’s alliance with GDI. It was meant to play while the player through Umagon aids mutants in boarding a train towards the power grid. They later turn on Umagon when they realize Tratos was rescued, or rather “kidnapped”, by GDI. The fact that the sound IDs for Umagon's dialogue in 5b: Rescue Tratos numerically line up with those in this mission may indicate that the two were chronologically linked at one point in development.

GDI 10A and 10B: Destroy Prototype Facility#

Nod Chemical Missiles are referred to by their original name, "Tiberium missiles". Another mention of airstrikes are made here, either Orca Fighters or the Tiberian Dawn superweapon. Mutants make an appearance here, either as an allied or hostile force. Referring to the prototype facility as a “fighter production facility” may indicate Harpies were being manufactured instead of Banshees. The Kodiak may have made an early appearance here right before the events of 11a: Weather the Storm where they are forced by an ion storm to land.

GDI 11A: Weather the Storm#

Some minor changes to the pace of this mission are noted. The ion storm in this mission is said to have an eye like a tropical cyclone which bisects the player’s sector, allowing for radar use and air unit activity midway through. After the storm is re-entered and eventually withstood, a direct attack on Nod is suggested by EVA.

GDI 12A: Final Conflict#

EVA was meant to brief the player more specifically on the ICBM threat. One line suggests that there was a time limit to destroying the Pyramid Temple even after eliminating every ICBM launcher. The player may also have been expected to secure the civilian city to the west from Nod harassment.

Other#

This unused “Spirit Hand of Kane” dialogue can be found under Sound IDs 116 and 202, but is only used in the Nod campaign:

EVA’s “Incoming Transmission” line is listed in the MIX file despite being called automatically by its respective action:

Nod Campaign#

Nod 1A: The Messiah Returns, 2A: Retaliation, 3A: Destroy Hassan’s Temple#

A lot more tutorial dialogue is present here regarding training troops and Tiberium poisoning. CABAL is very careful to spell out the order of your objectives: first building a base, sieging Hassan’s pyramid, and capturing him after his escape. The player was expected to capture scattered radar towers instead of a lone TV station. A Star Wars reference and a smart alec soldier’s remarks also go unused.

Nod 3B: Free Rebel Commander#

In this version of the mission, the rebel commander is held in an outpost rather than a dedicated prison. Upon being freed he pledges his support for Slavik against Hassan, perhaps more dramatically than reasonably needed.

Nod 5A: Salvage Operation#

These lines relate to Nod capturing the Tacitus.

Nod 6B and 6C: Capture Umagon#

A number of voice lines exist that relate to the transportation via bullet train of a mutant, likely Umagon, and its capture. The player was expected to stay undetected while capturing the mutant, as is the case in this mission. These lines may imply that they was still not trusted by GDI and required detainment in a prison facility.

Nod 7A: Destroy GDI Research Facility#

These lines are located chronologically between Capture Umagon and Villainess in Distress. As the file prefix “38-“ denotes Nod infantry, they imply the mutants used to clear GDI patrols turn on the Brotherhood at some point (evidently the Forgotten in this version are very fickle about their alignment).

Nod 8A: Villainess in Distress#

The following voice line likely refers to this mission, as it is the only one where multiple vehicles crossing ice is crucial to progression.

Nod 9B: Protect Waste Convoys#

Chemical Missiles are referred to as Tiberium Missiles, matching the language of the mission briefing. Two versions of a “Tiberium missile ready” voice line was recorded, one with a higher and a lower intonation. The player is also explicitly warned of a mission failure if their Construction Yard is destroyed, given that it is required to build a Tiberium Waste Facility. A trigger exists which fails the mission if said building is destroyed by any faction, including your own.

Nod 11A: Capture Jake McNeil#

Mission complete and failed lines were recorded but never used. Due to Sound No. 268’s proximity to McNeal’s lines, it may have been intended to destroy the Mammoth MkII production facility while capturing the GDI commander’s brother.

Nod 12A: A New Beginning#

The player would be alerted to one of their ICBM launchers being attacked. This announcement may have been considered redundant given the disproportionate power of a GDI attack against a launcher’s low health. GDI’s Ion Cannon also took some time to be controlled by Nod after firing.

Other#

A number of voice lines spoken by Nod soldiers are recorded but never used.

An exact duplicate of the “Spirit Hand of Kane” dialogue can be found under Sound ID 116:

A much more polite version of CABAL’s establishing battlefield controls voice line was recorded but never used. The tone of voice matches that in mission briefings and the first levels’ announcements, suggesting it was recorded earlier than the original but was abandoned, possibly because it sabotaged the menacing tone that he slowly built throughout the campaign.

At one point, lightning was a hazard that challenged the progression of missions. The mechanic was likely recycled for use during Ion Storms.

Engineers were once needed to capture a GDI base as part of a mission’s objective, later being reinforced by a Subterranean APC.

At one point in a mission Nod could pre-emptively strike GDI evac locations, however this was never implemented.

These CABAL voice lines are too generic to assign to any one mission.

Bugged#

Some voice lines cannot be heard during normal gameplay. Due to a quirk in how Tiberian Sun maps handle triggers, placing a sound command (or an ‘action’) before one which plays its own hardcoded sound, such as “Mission Accomplished”, “Mission Failed” or “Reinforcements Have Arrived”, overwrites the sound action. The underlying reason for this is unknown. A minority of voice lines go unheard for other reasons.

GDI Campaign#

These lines do not trigger because the associated trigger is disabled.

Nod Campaign#

Unused Sound Effects#

Unused Unit Sounds#

The mutant hijacker has lines for hijacking a vehicle but it plays the move sounds instead.