This page is for the original 1995 game. For the 2020 remastered version, see Command & Conquer Remastered Collection.
Command & Conquer is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RTS game in the Command & Conquer series.
Multiple versions of the game exist. After the original DOS release from September 1995, the Macintosh release came out in December 1996 featuring a change of resolution from 320x200 to 640x400, as well as a new user interface and Westwood Online multiplayer infrastructure.
The Windows-native version (released in North America as the Special Gold Edition and in Germany as the SVGA Version) came out in March 1997, and became the definitive version of the game, featuring all improvements of the Macintosh release. This release was made freeware on August 31, 2007 by Electronic Arts for the 12th anniversary of the franchise.
The Covert Operations expansion pack was released in April 1996 for the DOS version, but is regardless compatible with the Windows-native release without modifications. The missions released for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 versions were subsequently ported to the Windows release by the community, and were officially included in the Remastered Collection version of the game in June 2020.
The Windows version has multiple issues running on modern systems without modification, ranging from installation issues due to a 16-bit installer to rendering and launch issues. The unofficial Project 1.06 fan patch alleviates some compatibility problems and long-standing gameplay bugs, but further development was continued by the developers of CnCNet, primarily for multiplayer. Homepages of both projects include modified downloads of the full game, so as to simplify installation for new users, making the official freeware ISO images obsolete.
Open-source versions with continued development are found in the Vanilla Conquer repository, based on the official source code of the Remastered Collection version of the game.
General information
- Informally known as Tiberian Dawn, which was one of its working titles.
- Command & Conquer Wiki - A wiki for everything Command & Conquer-related
- CnCNet (multiplayer replacement)
- Command & Conquer section on CNC.community
- Command & Conquer section on C&C Communications Center
- Command & Conquer section on CNCNZ.com
- v1.06 patch discussion
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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The Windows version is often called the Gold Edition and is fully patched. It's also available as part of The First Decade. |
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Official website |
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Version that has been released for free by EA. |
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Origin |
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Bundled as part of Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection; includes The Covert Operations expansion. Currently only visible in the EA App's Browse menu. Included with EA Play. |
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Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name |
Notes |
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The Covert Operations |
Retail version was only released for the DOS release, but the files work with the Windows release. Comes bundled with the The First Decade and Ultimate Collection compilations. |
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Unofficial downloads
- Nyerguds' installer is a complete fan-patched game pack which includes the singleplayer missions (including Covert Operations and PSX/N64 missions) and soundtrack. Cutscenes are available at Mod DB.
- CnCNet installer is a bare-bones version optimized for multiplayer (small size, portable). Missions, music and cutscenes are omitted. The music and map editor are downloadable inside the CnCNet settings.
- Vanilla Conquer provides native source port builds based on source code released with the remastered versions.
- OpenRA includes a modernized open-source remake with its "Tiberian Dawn" mod.
Essential improvements
1024x768 resolution with the
Command & Conquer Gold: Project 1.06 compared to earlier versions.
Windows
- Not needed for the unofficial packages.
- This patch contains:
- A large amount of fixes (changelog)
- Support for newer Windows systems (including 64-bit)
- LAN and online playability up to 6 players (includes new CnCNet lobby)
- Support for higher resolutions
- No-CD option
- Missions from PSX and N64 versions and The Covert Operations
- The site also offers Music Upgrade Pack if you installed the game through CDs/ISOs.
- Support for regular installation, The First Decade and The Ultimate Collection.
DOS
Patches
- 1.22 is the last patch for the DOS version. Note that the game's Covert Operations expansion upgrades the game to v1.20, which is not quite the same as the final v1.22. Some of the later DOS releases of the game come prepatched at v1.22.
- European versions' alternate languages, German and French, have different versioning, meaning their final versions are called v1.20. This is equivalent to the English v1.22. They can be downloaded here and here.
DOS32A is a more advanced extender and open source replacement to DOS4GW. It can improve both performance and stability of Command & Conquer.
- Command & Conquer has DOS4GW bound its executable. Use the command
sb /r game.dat
to replace it.
Allows enabling hidden options within the game. Most useful perhaps it the ability to increase the netgame player limit to 6 and allow 1v1 game with AI players. More info here.
Console levels
- Conversions of the N64 exclusive levels can be found here whilst the PlayStation versions can be found here.
Play without the CD
- Copy the CD's contents (or at least its most important files,
SCORES.MIX
and movies.mix
) to a folder inside the game's virtual C drive. Launch the game with the parameter -cd[cd contents folder]
. Merging the different files from the base game and expansion is recommended.
Miscellaneous
- scb13ea_fix solves a crash issue with the map 13ea.
- C&CToss enables the missing grenade "woosh" toss sound.
Game data
External video settings (for the
fan patch).
Configuration file(s) location
-
conquer.ini
contains normal game settings.
-
ddraw.ini
contains CnC-DDraw settings (added by the fan patch).
-
cncnet.ini
contains CnCNet settings (added by the fan patch).
Save game data location
- DOS save games not compatible with C&C Gold.
Video
External options menu (for the original release).
External video settings (for the
fan patch).
Set in ddraw.ini[citation needed]
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- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- Open
ddraw.ini .
- Set:
windowed=true , width, height = equal to computer resolution , border=false
Notes
- The resolution settings in ddraw only stretch the image; to set internal resolution, you need to run CCConfig.
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Input
Audio
External audio settings (for the
fan patch).
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Music and sound |
Surround sound |
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Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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Royalty free audio |
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The exception to the self-published music is the track "Destructible Times" by the short-lived band I AM, the usage of which was licensed only in a shortened version in the Nod credits sequence. |
- The DOS version of the game actually supports stereo sound despite not appearing as an option in the setup program. A guide explaining how to enable it can be found here.
Localizations
- C&C patch adds support for multiple languages. Download them from PCGamingWiki repository.
Network
External multiplayer settings (for the
fan patch).
Multiplayer types
Connection types
Issues unresolved
- This list assumes you've installed the patches. If you experience a new issue, please create a thread at the CnC-Comm forums.
- The game has some minor problems with missions that are smaller than the game resolution. This is nothing to be worried about, you can "fix" it by pressing Escape.
- When playing in any resolution higher than 640x400, you can't place buildings with a placement height of only one cell on the lowest row of cells on the map.
Issues fixed
- If you have problems with The First Decade or The Ultimate Collection, be sure to check this FAQ at EA forums.
General fixes
- If you have not found a fix, be sure to also check:
Check these if you haven't[citation needed]
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- If you have installed the patches properly.
- If everything in the compatibility tab is unchecked.
- If you have enabled "Back buffer in Video memory" and disabled "Allow hardware filled blits".
- If you may be able to initiate the game/lobby with administrator privileges.
- If you may be able to run it using a different renderer or enabling/disabling "singlecpu" in ddraw.ini
- If you may be able to run it by disabling cnc-ddraw (may introduce some other issues like scrambled colors).
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Crash after overheating
Enable "singlecpu" in ddraw.ini[2]
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Game is laggy after installing the patch
Change the renderer in ddraw.ini[3]
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Game speed/Map scroll rate issue
- Resolved by using frame-rate limiter in the fan patch, but this may cause an unresponsive in-game menu.[citation needed]
Set the slider in-game[citation needed]
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While in-game, press Esc to open a menu, press game controls and move the game speed slider to adjust the game speed or scroll rate slider to adjust the scroll speed.
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Mouse pointer stuck at screen edge
Check disable display scaling on High DPI settings in compatibility options[4]
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"Unable to set video mode" error
Change the resolution[citation needed]
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- There are 2 ways how to fix this error:
- Change the resolution.
- Enable windowed mode.
- If you really want to play fullscreen, you might want to check how to enable Borderless fullscreen windowed mode.
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No music in the CnCNet version
Go to CnCNet lobby and download the music in the settings[citation needed]
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Scrambled colors (without ddraw.dll)
- Ddraw.dll within the fan-patch already fixes that issue. However, if the game needs to run with ddraw.dll turned off and this appears, then this is for you.
No videos after installing the patch
Download the videos[citation needed]
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If you happen to have the game on CD, that means No-CD option is turned on. Either turn off the option, copy movies.mix from the CDs into the installation folder or just download the videos.
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Cannot Alt+Tab
Use Project 1.06
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- From Launcher settings, set
Renderer to either OpenGL or Direct3D 9 .
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Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
DirectDraw |
3 |
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DOS video modes |
MCGA, VGA |
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Executable | PPC | 16-bit |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows | | |
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Mac OS (Classic) | | | |
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Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
Audio |
Human Machine Interface (HMI) audio drivers |
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Cutscenes |
VQA |
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Multiplayer |
Westwood Online |
Only in Macintosh and Gold (Windows) versions, absent from original DOS release. |
Maps
- C&C has support for external maps, both multiplayer and singleplayer.
- CnCNet includes its own online map folder.
- An upgraded version of the map editor from of the Remastered edition is available, which can run without the Remaster, using the classic game files of the freeware game.
- The XCC Utilities pack contains a (somewhat older) map editor for the game, called "XCC Editor".
- Cnc-Comm.com - Mapping discussion
Re-implementations
- Thanks to dedicated C&C community, there are a couple of re-implementations and total conversion existing.
- OpenRA - Open Source recreation that tries to modernize the classic gameplay.
- Vanilla Conquer - faithful to the original source port
Total conversions
System requirements
DOS | Windows | Mac OS (Classic) |
DOS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
MS-DOS 5.0 | |
Processor (CPU) |
486 DX2 66 MHz
| Intel Pentium 60 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
8 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
800 MB | |
Video card (GPU) |
MCGA video card
| DirectDraw compatible video card 1 MB of VRAM |
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95, 98 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 75
| Intel Pentium 120 |
System memory (RAM) |
8 MB |
16 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
40 MB | |
Video card (GPU) |
1 MB of VRAM | |
Notes
References