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Difference between revisions of "Command & Conquer: Generals"

From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
(→‎D3d8to9-wrapper: Wording-fixes and note that this is not included in GenPatcher.)
(→‎GenPatcher: Wording-fixes and note about anti-virus warning)
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===GenPatcher===
 
===GenPatcher===
{{++}} Can be used to get the game in an optimal state after installation. Includes many of the essential fixes/additions listed below like Gentool, DirextX-installation, Options.ini-fixes, dbghelp.dll-removal and restoration of mod- and command-line-parameter support.  
+
{{++}} Community-made tools that can be used to get the game in an optimal state without having to apply these improvements by hand. Includes many of the essential fixes/additions listed below like Gentool, DirextX-installation, Options.ini-fixes, dbghelp.dll-removal and restoration of mod- and command-line-parameter support.  
 
{{ii}} Officially supports the CD-, The First Decade- (English) and Origin (English and German) versions of the game.
 
{{ii}} Officially supports the CD-, The First Decade- (English) and Origin (English and German) versions of the game.
 +
{{ii}} As this tool makes several changes to files of the game, installs various redistributables and makes various changes to the registry, it is often detected as a virus. This is a false positive. Add an exception to your anti-virus before running it to avoid this.
 
Genpatcher can be downloaded from the [https://legi.cc/downloads/genpatcher/ Legionnaire website].
 
Genpatcher can be downloaded from the [https://legi.cc/downloads/genpatcher/ Legionnaire website].
  

Revision as of 10:09, 3 January 2022

Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals cover
Developers
EA Pacific[1][2]
Zero Hour EA Los Angeles
macOS (OS X) i5works[3][4]
Publishers
Electronic Arts
OS X Aspyr Media
Engines
SAGE
Release dates
Windows February 10, 2003
macOS (OS X) April 14, 2004
Reception
Metacritic 84
Taxonomy
Monetization Expansion pack
Modes Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing Real-time
Perspectives Bird's-eye view
Controls Multiple select, Point and select
Genres RTS
Themes Asia, Middle East, Sci-fi
Series Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer: Generals on HowLongToBeat
Command & Conquer: Generals on IGDB
Command & Conquer: Generals guide on StrategyWiki
Command & Conquer: Generals on MobyGames
Command & Conquer: Generals on Wikipedia
Command & Conquer 1995
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1996
Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor 1997
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun 1999
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 2000
Command & Conquer: Renegade 2002
Command & Conquer: Generals 2003
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars 2007
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 2008
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Uprising 2009
Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight 2010
OpenRA (unofficial) 2010
Command & Conquer (2013) Cancelled
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection 2020
Renegade X (unofficial) EA

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
GameSpy online services have been shut down (see Network for solutions).

Key points

Small but dedicated community.
Framerate is tied to gamespeed: 30 FPS.

General information

Command & Conquer Wiki - A wiki for everything Command & Conquer-related
C&C:Online - fan-hosted multiplayer server replacement (Windows version only)
Generals section on CNC.community
Generals section on CNCNZ.com
Zero Hour section on CNCNZ.com
Zero Hour section on GameReplays.org

Availability

Source DRM Notes Keys OS
Retail
Disc check (requires the CD/DVD in the drive to play)
CD key
SafeDisc 2 DRM[Note 1] in the original releases, SafeDisc 4 DRM[Note 2] in The First Decade compilation.
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Origin
Origin
Bundled with other games in the franchise up to Tiberian Twilight.
Included with EA Play.
Windows
SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
The Deluxe Edition includes the base game and the Zero Hour expansion.

DLC and expansion packs

Name Notes
Zero Hour Comes bundled with the The First Decade and Ultimate Collection compilations.
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Essential improvements

Patches

The Origin and Mac App Store versions are already patched to the latest version.

GenPatcher

Community-made tools that can be used to get the game in an optimal state without having to apply these improvements by hand. Includes many of the essential fixes/additions listed below like Gentool, DirextX-installation, Options.ini-fixes, dbghelp.dll-removal and restoration of mod- and command-line-parameter support.
Officially supports the CD-, The First Decade- (English) and Origin (English and German) versions of the game.
As this tool makes several changes to files of the game, installs various redistributables and makes various changes to the registry, it is often detected as a virus. This is a false positive. Add an exception to your anti-virus before running it to avoid this.

Genpatcher can be downloaded from the Legionnaire website.

GenTool

Still actively supported and updates automatically.
It restores online play by linking to C&C:Online and adding cheat-detection.
Fixes several known causes of crashes and exploits.
Provides improved compatibility with modern Windows-versions, improved widescreen-support and enhanced/adjustable game controls.
GenTool is compatible with all Windows-versions of Generals and its expansion, as long as they are patched to the latest official version.
The in-game Gentool menu, where you can access all its features, can be opened by pressing the Insert-key on the keyboard.

The latest version can be downloaded from the GenTool website.

D3d8to9-wrapper

Install d3d8to9-wrapper[10]
Improves compatibility and stability of the game significantly by converting all older Direct3D 8-API calls and lowlevel shaders to more modern equivalent Direct3D 9 ones.
Compatible with Gentool and online multiplayer.
Fixes a crash when Alt-Tab out of the game for a second time. Possibly fixes various other crashes as well.
Allows the usage of ReShade, overlays and other similar tools.
Not included in GenPatcher.
  1. Download the latest version of d3d8to9 (the d3d8.dll file.)
  2. If you also use Gentool: rename the file to d3d8x.dll to make sure Gentool isn't overwritten.
  3. Place the file in <path-to-game> of both Generals and its expansion pack.
  4. Play the game.

Restore mod- and command-line-parameter support (Origin, The Ultimate Collection)

The Ultimate Collection was released with no support for command-line-parameters or mods.
These changes can be simply reverted by using the repair option in Origin for each game in The Ultimate Collection.
Replace the executables of the games[citation needed]
The executables will be replaced with original Generals and Zero Hour executables with full support for mods and command-line-parameters, but with the CD-check disabled.
Circumvents the official Generals Origin Launcher by letting you start the game directly. If desired, the game can still be started using the Origin-launcher.
Fully supported by GenTool.
  1. Go to the Gentool Executables page.
  2. Download both the Generals108EXE.zip and GeneralsZH104EXE.zip files.
  3. Extract generals.exe from Generals108EXE.zip archive and place it in <path-to-game>\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour\Command and Conquer Generals. Confirm that you want to overwrite the original generals.exe.
  4. Extract generals.exe from GeneralsZH104EXE.zip archive and place it in <path-to-game>\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour. Confirm that you want to overwrite the original generals.exe.
Use Medstar's fixed launchers (The Ultimate Collection)[11]
An unofficial patch that provides a slight enhancement to the default launchers provided with the Origin release (fixes some registry entries and allows command line arguments to function properly).
  1. Download the last released version from ModDB.
  2. Extract the file from the ZIP file.
  3. Run the installer.

Skip startup game intro

Move, delete or rename the intro-videos[12]
You need to apply this to both Generals and its expansion pack Zero Hour.
  1. Go to <path-to-game>\Data\english\Movies
  2. Move, delete or rename the following files: EA_LOGO.BIK, EA_LOGO640.BIK, sizzle_review.bik and sizzle_review640.bik.

Uncensoring the German release

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.command.conquer.generals.appstore/Data/Documents/Command & Conquer Generals/User Data/
~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.command.conquer.generals.appstore/Data/Documents/Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour/User Data/

Save game data location

System Location
Windows %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\Save\
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\Save\
macOS (OS X) ~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.command.conquer.generals.appstore/Data/Documents/Command & Conquer Generals/User Data/Save/
~/Library/Containers/com.aspyr.command.conquer.generals.appstore/Data/Documents/Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour/User Data/Save/

Save game cloud syncing

System Native Notes
Origin
OneDrive
Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.

Video

In-game options screen.
In-game options screen.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game advanced video settings.
In-game options screen for Zero Hour expansion.
In-game options screen for Zero Hour expansion.
In-game advanced video settings for Zero Hour expansion.
In-game advanced video settings for Zero Hour expansion.

Graphics feature State WSGF Notes
Widescreen resolution
See Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
See Widescreen resolution.
4K Ultra HD
See Widescreen resolution.
Field of view (FOV)
Top-down view nearly orthographic. See Camera height.
Windowed
Add -win to the shortcut target. See here how to make the Origin-version work with this command-line parameter.
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Use Borderless Gaming, GeDoSaTo or GenTool.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Edit AntiAliasing value in options.ini
Vertical sync (Vsync)
Enabled by default. Cannot be disabled.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
30 FPS cap. Game time tied to frame rate.
High dynamic range display (HDR)
See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Setting the game to a resolution that is normally not available in-game, causes the game to crash after alt-tabbing out of the game for the second time. See D3d8to9-wrapper on how to fix this.
Set widescreen-resolution in-game with Gentool[13]
GenTool allows you to set common widescreen resolution in-game and automatically adjusts camera height according to the resolution.[14]
  1. Install GenTool.
  2. Open Generals or Zero Hour.
  3. Go to the in-game Options menu.
  4. Set the game to a resolution of your liking.
Set resolution manually in Options.ini[15]
Can be used in case GenTool doesn't allow to set the specific unusual resolution you want.
  1. For Generals, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\Options.ini
  2. For Zero Hour, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\Options.ini
  3. Change the Resolution line to your liking, like this:

Resolution = 1920 1080

Camera height

Adjusted camera height only applied to replays and single-player.
Adjust camera height in-game through Gentool[citation needed]
This also sets the game to automatically draw the entire map to avoid visual glitches at high camera heights and odd camera angles.
  1. Install Gentool.
  2. Open Generals or Zero Hour.
  3. Press the Insert-key on your keyboard to open the in-game Gentool menu.
  4. Increase the camera height by a total maximum of 1000.
Adjust camera height[citation needed]
In many versions of the game, it seems to ignore the contents in this file, causing this fix not to work.
Using this in online matches could be seen as cheating and result in a ban.
This also sets the game to automatically draw the entire map to avoid visual glitches at high camera heights and odd camera angles.
  1. For Zero Hour, go to <path-to-game>\Data\INI and paste the file GameData.ini into this folder
  2. You can get a modified version of this file on Mod DB
  3. Change the height of the camera to your liking, like this:

MaxCameraHeight = 800.0 DrawEntireTerrain = Yes

Input

Keyboard and mouse State Notes
Remapping
See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Mouse acceleration
Only scroll speed can be changed
Mouse sensitivity
For scroll speed.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Controller types

Audio

Audio feature State Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound
Uses whatever your speaker layout is for the default playback device. Only tested on Win10 w/ Origin Edition. (When using Dolby Digital Live on a Sound Blaster Z)
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language UI Audio Sub Notes
English
French
German
An uncensored version of C&C Generals was shortly sold. The censored version, titled "C&C Generäle", is more widely available and known and uses separate patches.
Italian
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
[16]
Spanish
Traditional Chinese
Not available in P.R. China.
Russian
Fan translation by «DK team»

Network

Multiplayer types

Type Native Players Notes
LAN play
8
Online play
8 Official services have been shut down; use GenTool to get online play working again (Windows only).

Connection types

Ports

Protocol Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP 80, 6667, 28910, 29900, 29920
UDP 4321, 27900
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes State Notes
vorpX
G3D
User created profile, requires DGVoodoo2 v 2.55.4. For required ini tweaks see profile introdution. Note: Profile may not work with the latest wrapper, in case of issues please report to the vorpx forum.
Zero Hour has its own profile.

Issues fixed

Game does not start or is very slow (Origin)

Disable Origin in-game[citation needed]
This issue affects especially old versions of Origin. It seems that nowadays Origin in-game doesn't cause these issues anymore.
  1. Select the My Games tab in Origin.
  2. Right-click Generals/Zero Hour and select "Game Properties".
  3. Check the "Disable Origin in Game for this game" option.
  4. Click OK and launch the game.

"Technical Difficulties" error/Serious Error

This error is shown in case of many game errors. It is thus often not clear what exactly causes this error; one of the methods below should fix most common causes:
Error message
Error message
Create or edit Options.ini[17]
The install process very often fails to create Options.ini, causing this error.
  1. For Generals, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\options.ini
  2. For Zero Hour, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\options.ini
  3. Create options.ini yourself if it isn't located in that folder.
  4. 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
Set Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode[citation needed]
When using GenTool, setting compatibility mode shouldn't be needed and it is thus advised to skip this solution.
  1. Go to the properties of generals.exe or one of its shortcuts.
  2. Enable Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode.
Install d3d8to9-wrapper[citation needed]

See D3d8to9-wrapper.

Fully reinstall[18]
A full reinstallation is a last resort in case the solutions above did not work.

DirectX 8.1 error (Windows)

Full error: 'Please make sure your have DirectX 8.1 or higher installed. Also verify that your video card meets the minimum requirements'.
Install DirectX 9.0c[19]
Happens when DirectX 9.0c, DirctX 8.1 is included, is not yet installed on your Windows installation.
  1. Download the DirctX End-User Runtimes (June 2010). It contains DirectX 9.0c.
  2. Run the downloaded installer.
  3. Tell it to extract the necessary files to a folder of your choosing.
  4. Go to the folder where you extracted the files to.
  5. Run DXSETUP.exe as administrator.
  6. Install it.
  7. You can now safely remove the extracted files from step 3. They are no longer needed.
  8. Reboot your computer.
Remove dbghelp.dll[20]
Known error; sometimes the dbghelp.dll file, a debug file, gets accidentially left in the installation folder and cause problems.
  1. Go to <path-to-game>.
  2. Locate dbghelp.dll and delete it.

Serious error/crash when Alt-Tab out of the game for the second time

This is caused by the outdated engine.
Happens especially when the game is set to resolutions that it originally didn't support.
Install d3d8to9-wrapper[citation needed]

See D3d8to9-wrapper.

Shell map (menu background) is static

Set Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode[citation needed]
It is a very rare issue.
This can also be done intentionally by running the game with the -quickstart parameter to speed up initial loading.
  1. Go to the properties of generals.exe or one of its shortcuts.
  2. Enable Windows XP Service Pack 2 compatibility mode.

Other information

API

Technical specs Supported Notes
Direct3D 8.1
OpenGL
OS X only.
Shader Model support 1.4 [citation needed]
ExecutablePPC 32-bit 64-bit Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Install the version 1.0.4 patch for Intel support.
32-bit only as a planned 64-bit update was cancelled in May 2020.

Middleware

Middleware Notes
Audio Miles Sound System
Cutscenes Bink Video (Windows), QuickTime.framework (macOS)
Multiplayer GameSpy Server inaccessible since July 2014; use C&C:Online for a community server.

Officially released extra map and mission (Generals only)

For Generals, EALA released an official extra map and mission that were not included in the game.
  1. Download the single-player GLA-mission Black Sheep; an official campaign mission which was cut from the final release, but was released in 2009 by EALA
  2. Download the skirmish/multiplayer map Flash Fire for two players
  3. Extract the folders from the ZIP files
  4. Place the folders in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\Maps to be able to use them in-game
  5. Start Generals (NOT Zero Hour)
  6. Go to Solo Play -> Skirmish -> Select map -> Unofficial maps
  7. Click on either Black Sheep or Flash Fire
  8. Click on Accept to use the mission or map
  9. Click on Play game

System requirements

Windows
Minimum Recommended
Operating system (OS) 98
Processor (CPU) Intel Pentium III 800 MHz
AMD Athlon 800 MHz
System memory (RAM) 128 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 1.8 GB
Video card (GPU) Nvidia GeForce 2
ATI Radeon 7500
32 MB of VRAM
DirectX 8.1 compatible
macOS (OS X)
Minimum
Operating system (OS) 10.9.5
Processor (CPU) Intel 2.2 GHz
System memory (RAM) 4 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD) 5 GB
Video card (GPU) ATI Radeon HD 3870
Nvidia GeForce 330M
Intel HD 3000
256 MB of VRAM
OS X requirements are for the Mac App Store version


Notes

  1. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[5] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[6]
  2. SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[7] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[8]

References

  1. EA ANNOUNCES PUBLIC TEST FOR COMMAND & CONQUER GENERALS - Blue's News - last accessed on 2016-9-12
  2. GameSpy: Command & Conquer: Generals - Page 1 - last accessed on 2016-9-12
  3. Aspyr: Command & Conquer Generals hits beta - Macworld - last accessed on 2016-7-23
  4. Aspyr Media Inc. Ships Electronic Arts' `Command & Conquer Generals' for Macintosh - Business Wire - last accessed on 2016-7-23
  5. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  6. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  7. Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
  8. Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
  9. Aspyr Support Center - last accessed on 2011-08-27
  10. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-12-23
  11. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14
  12. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14
  13. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14
  14. Gentool widescreen resolution - last accessed on 2019-10-19
  15. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14
  16. Novo Milênio, 22/09/2003 (archived)
  17. https://answers.ea.com/t5/C-C-The-Ultimate-Collection/READ-FIRST-Common-Issues-and-Solutions/m-p/222060/highlight/true#M687
  18. http://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/544479-cc-generals-and-zero-hour-technical-difficulties/
  19. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14
  20. Verified by User:Plokite Wolf on 2021-10-14