Command & Conquer: Generals

Command & Conquer: Generals

Developer(s)	Windows EA Pacific Mac OS X Wikipedia:Aspyr Media
Publisher(s)	Windows EA Games Mac OS X MacSoft
Engine	Strategy Action Game Engine (SAGE)
First release date	February 10, 2003

Command & Conquer

Command & Conquer	1995
The Covert Operations
Command & Conquer: Red Alert	1996
Counterstrike
The Aftermath
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun	1999
Firestorm
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2	2000
Yuri's Revenge
Command & Conquer: Renegade	2002
Command & Conquer: Generals	2003
Zero Hour
Command & Conquer: The First Decade	2006
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars	2007
Kane's Wrath
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3	2008
Uprising
Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight	2010
Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection	2012
Command & Conquer (2013)	2013

Key points

Small but dedicated community

General information

EA's Official Command & Conquer site

Command & Conquer Wiki - A wiki for everything Command & Conquer related

Availability

Source(s)	Store unlock	Notes
Amazon (Original)		Comes with the Zero Hour expansion bundled in.
Amazon (The First Decade)		Comes bundled in. See Command & Conquer: The First Decade for details.
Origin (The Ultimate Collection)		Comes bundled in. See Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection for details.

Game data

Game files location

	Location
Windows (Retail)	C:\Program Files (x86)\EA Games\Command and Conquer Generals
Windows (The First Decade)	C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\Command & Conquer The First Decade\Command & Conquer(tm) Generals
Windows (The Ultimate Collection)	C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
GameSave Manager		The Zero Hour expansion is also supported.

Video settings

In-game options screen.

In-game advanced video settings.

In-game options screen for Zero Hour expansion.

In-game advanced video settings for Zero Hour expansion.

Graphics option	Native	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Add -win to the shortcut target.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Edit AntiAliasing value in options.ini
Vertical sync (Vsync)

Input settings

Input Settings	Native	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		Only scroll speed can be changed
Controller support

Issues and Fixes

"Technical Difficulties" error

This problem occurs on modern systems; one of the methods below should fix it.

Error message

Set Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode • Link Go to the properties of generals.exe or one of its shortcuts. Enable Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode. Restart the game.

Fully reinstall • Link A full reinstallation appears to be the solution that works for most users. Uninstall Zero Hour (if you have it) Uninstall Generals Reboot Install Generals Patch Generals Install Zero Hour (if you have it) Patch Zero Hour (if you have it)

Edit Options.ini • Link This solution involves editing Options.ini. Set AntiAliasing = 6 (maximum) for AMD/ATI or AntiAliasing = 4 (maximum) for NVIDIA. Open options.ini if it exists, or create it if it doesn't. Replace its contents with the following and save your changes: AntiAliasing = DrawScrollAnchor = GameSpyIPAddress = 0.0.0.0 Gamma = 50 IPAddress = 0.0.0.0 IdealStaticGameLOD = High LanguageFilter = false MoveScrollAnchor = MusicVolume = 55 Resolution = 800 600 SFX3DVolume = 79 SFXVolume = 71 ScrollFactor = 50 SendDelay = no StaticGameLOD = Low UseAlternateMouse = no VoiceVolume = 70

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Windows 98	Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista/7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III/AMD Athlon 800 MHz	Intel Pentium III/AMD Athlon 800 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB	256 MB
Video card (GPU)	NVIDIA Geforce 2 or ATI Radeon 7500	NVIDIA Geforce 2 or ATI Radeon 7500
Hard disk drive (HDD)	1.8 GB	1.8 GB