Command & Conquer: Generals

Command & Conquer: Generals

Developers
	EA Pacific
Zero Hour	EA Los Angeles
macOS (OS X)	i5works
macOS (OS X)	Aspyr Media
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	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack, Subscription gaming service
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

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).

Command & Conquer: Generals is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view RTS game featuring different factions battling against each other on a battlefield. It was developed by EA Pacific, published by Electronic Arts and released in 2003. The game is one of many in the Command & Conquer franchise. It makes use of the SAGE engine, which was an improved version of the Westwood 3D engine.

The game was initially released on Windows on February 10, 2003. It was ported on April 14, 2004 to Mac OS X by i5works and published by Aspyr Media, who also maintained the port over the years. Reception of the game was good, with several post-launch patches being released to fix most bugs, exploits and balancing issues. The team was subsequently merged with EA Los Angeles as its RTS division, and developed its expansion Zero Hour, which got released on September 19, 2003 on Windows and later ported to Mac OS X in February 2005. The game was re-released for macOS on the Mac App Store on March 12, 2015. The expansion added a new Generals Challenge mode, new campaigns, new units and new maps.

Post-release support included 8 patches for the base game and 4 for Zero Hour, as well as map editors (Worldbuilder) compatible with both titles. While no dedicated modding tools were released (instead, the community uses tools released for The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II or Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, both on the same engine), the game quickly received a sizable modding and mapping community, whose projects remain popular well into the 2020s.

A compilation of both the main game and its expansion got released on October 21, 2003 under the name Command & Conquer: Generals - Deluxe Edition. The game was re-released twice as part of multiple compilations of Command & Conquer games: Command & Conquer: The First Decade in February 2006 and for the first time digitally on Origin on October 2, 2012 as part of Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection.

As of May 2023, the game remains playable on modern Windows versions with some major technical hiccups that can be worked around; issues like errors when staring the game, DRM issues and serial key errors. A tool called GenPatcher was created by the community to more easily fix these issues, restore command line support for the Origin/EA app version, add modern resolution support and apply various fixes and improvements. Despite these efforts, the game is unstable and prone to crashing in many circumstances, including having to manage large amounts of objects on the map simultaneously, and unfixed pathfinding issues that are partly caused by improper use (or lack thereof) of pathing blockers in and around map obstacles such as hills and lakes.

The macOS version, however, was delisted from the Mac App Store in May 2020, although it is still playable for owners of the Mac App Store version who installed the App before it was delisted.

Official online services have been discontinued for all releases of the game, but community-run ones like C&C:Online exist. As of 2023, the game retains a small but active community, the competitive side of which is organized around GameReplays.org.

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		SafeDisc 2 DRM in the original releases, SafeDisc 4 DRM in The First Decade compilation.
Origin		Bundled as part of Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection; includes the Zero Hour expansion. Currently only visible in the EA App's Browse menu. Included with EA Play.
Mac App Store (unavailable)		Deluxe Edition. 32-bit only, delisted from stores after 64-bit update was cancelled in May 2020.

SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).

All versions include custom DRM code which can sabotage the game by destroying all units and structures owned by the player after 30 seconds, triggering an automatic defeat. It can occur on legitimate copies under certain circumstances - see Auto-defeat after 30 seconds for instructions to fix this.

A free demo version is available from GameFront and CNCNZ.com.

Version differences

The Deluxe Edition, The First Decade and The Ultimate Collection all include the base game and the Zero Hour expansion.

The Ultimate Collection version includes a new unskippable launcher, lacks mod support and lacks support for command line arguments.

The Mac App Store did not have crossplay with the Windows and original OS X releases, and online muliplayer was eventually removed entirely in the v1.1.2 update after Apple retired Game Center invite functionality. The Mac App Store version is playable with other Macs running the App Store version on Network/LAN mode.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	The expansion pack includes new factions, new campaigns and game mode, maps, and units.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via EA Play.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Zero Hour	Included with the Deluxe Edition, The First Decade and The Ultimate Collection compilations.

Essential improvements

Patches

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

• Retail Windows Generals patch v1.08: CNCNZ, Patches-Scrolls and the GenTool repository.
• Retail Windows Zero Hour expansion patch v1.04: CNCNZ, Patches-Scrolls and the GenTool repository.
• Old Mac OS X version patch v1.0.4: English, French, German

GenPatcher

GenPatcher 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, 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/EA app (English and German) versions of the game.

GenTool

GenTool provides improved compatibility with modern Windows versions, improved widescreen-support and enhanced/adjustable game controls, fixes several known causes of crashes and exploits, and restores online play by allowing the game to link to C&C:Online and adding cheat detection.

Compatible with all Windows versions of Generals and its expansion, as long as they are patched to the latest official version.

Included in GenPatcher.

Skip startup game intro

Move, delete or rename the intro videos
Needs to be applied to both Generals and its expansion pack Zero Hour separately. Go to <path-to-game>\Data\english\Movies Move, delete or rename the following files: EA_LOGO.BIK, EA_LOGO640.BIK, sizzle_review.bik and sizzle_review640.bik.

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)	$HOME/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 advanced video settings.

In-game options screen 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. The Origin/EA app version requires additional preparations.
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)		Cannot be disabled.
60 FPS		30 FPS cap. Game speed and logic tied to frame rate in singleplayer, but game logic is always tied to 30 when in multiplayer. GenTool can increase the framerate cap, but not without affecting the game speed.
120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Setting the resolution to something else than the game originally supports, the game crashes when alt-tabbing. There are several workarounds available to fix this issue.

Set widescreen-resolution in-game with GenTool
GenTool allows to set common widescreen resolution in-game and automatically adjusts camera height according to the resolution. Install GenTool. Open Generals or Zero Hour. Go to the in-game Options menu. Set the game to the desired resolution.

Set resolution manually in Options.ini
Can be used in case GenTool doesn't allow to set the specific unusual resolution that is desired. For Generals, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\Options.ini For Zero Hour, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\Options.ini Change the Resolution line to your liking, for example: Resolution = 1920 1080

Camera height

Adjusted camera height only applied to replays and singleplayer.

Adjust camera height in-game through GenTool
This also sets the game to automatically draw the entire map to avoid visual glitches at high camera heights and odd camera angles. Install GenTool. Open Generals or Zero Hour. Press Insert on the keyboard to open the in-game GenTool menu. 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. Download a pre-modified GameData.ini file. For Zero Hour, go to <path-to-game>\Data\INI Paste the downloaded GameData.ini file into this folder The height of the camera can be changed to the desired height, for example: 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 the speaker layout is for the default playback device. Only tested on Windows 10. (When using Dolby Digital Live on a Sound Blaster Z)
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Traditional Chinese				Not available in P.R. China.
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
Japanese				Base game only, up to version 1.07. Opening scene still retain in English voices.
Korean
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian				Fan translations by Siberian GRemlin, DK team
Spanish

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		8
Online play		8	Official GameSpy service has been shut down; see Online play to get online play working again.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated
Self-hosting
Direct IP

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.

Online play

Install GenTool and use C&C:Online (Windows)

This is a direct community-made replacement for the GameSpy servers, which were taken offline in 2014. Works for both Generals and its expansion pack, as long as it's patched to the latest version. GenTool is needed to redirect the login screen to the C&C:Online servers instead of the closed GameSpy ones. It also provides an anti-cheat solution for online games. Download and install GenTool. Sign up on C&C:Online. Activate the account by clicking on the activation link in the confirmation mail that was send to the email address that was used during sign up. Choose a server login and password. Start the game. Login online in the game with the e-mail address used to register, server password and a nickname of your choosing.

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

d3d8to9

Might improve compatibility and stability of the game significantly in some specific cases by converting all older Direct3D 8 API calls and low-level shaders to more modern Direct3D 9 ones.

Could lead to unstable performance and could make the game crash, especially with total conversion mods. Advised to only use this for singleplayer as it can possibly cause instability in multiplayer.

Compatible with GenTool.

Proton: already contains its own API translation layer and there is thus no need for installing d3d8to9.

Not included in GenPatcher.

Install d3d8to9:
Download the latest version of d3d8to9 (the d3d8.dll file.) If GenTool is also being used: rename the file to d3d8x.dll to make sure GenTool isn't overwritten. Place the file in <path-to-game> of both Generals and its expansion pack. Play the game.

DirectX 8.1 error

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 end-user runtime

Remove dbghelp.dll
Known issue with the game as sometimes the <path-to-game>\dbghelp.dll file, a debug file, gets accidentally left in the installation folder and sometimes causes problems.

Technical Difficulties/Serious Error

Error message

This error is shown in case of one of the many errors the game can encounter. It is thus often not clear what exactly causes this error; one of the methods below should fix most common causes:

When using Alt+Tab

The game can at times crash when using Alt+Tab ↹, in particular the second time. This happens usually when the game is set to resolutions that it originally did not support.

Install d3d8to9

Use windowed mode, see Video

Other scenarios

Create or edit Options.ini

The install process very often fails to create Options.ini, causing this error. For Generals, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\options.ini For Zero Hour, open %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Data\options.ini Create an empty options.ini if it isn't yet located in that folder. Replace its contents with the following and save the 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

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2 (only if not using GenTool)[citation needed]

Install d3d8to9[citation needed]

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

Auto-defeat after 30 seconds

Is triggered by DRM. Can even occur on legitimate installations.

Use GenPatcher
Fix for this issue is included in GenPatcher.

Use executables from GenTool's repository
Circumvents DRM causing this issue. Also incorporated in GenPatcher.

Check game's serial key registry entries
See "Serial key already in use" error when starting a match

Clean reinstall of the game as administrator
Fully re-install the game with administrator privileges in hopes the registry keys will be correctly created. Reported by the community that this fix sometimes doesn't work. Use it only as a last resort.

"Serial key already in use" error when starting a match

Check game's serial key registry entries

Reported by the community that this fix often doesn't work and even on valid installations the "-" are still missing in these registry-entries. Be warned, making the wrong registry edits can lead to issues. Please follow this guide carefully. Open the Windows Registry Editor. For Zero Hour, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour. For Generals, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\EA Games\Generals\ergc Right-click on the (Default) registry entry and click on Modify. Now add "-" at the places where it belongs in the serial code. For example, 123A5678B8CDD3D3P0P0 becomes 123A-5678-B8CD-D3D3-P0P0. Do this for both Generals and Zero Hour registry entries.

Shell map (menu background) is static

It is a very rare issue.

This can also be done intentionally by running the game with the -quickstart command line argument to speed up initial loading.

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2 (only if not using GenTool)[citation needed]

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8.1
OpenGL		OS X only.
Shader Model support	1.4	[citation needed]

Executable	PPC	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)				Install the version 1.0.4 patch for Intel support for the origin port. 32-bit only as a planned 64-bit update was cancelled in May 2020 with the MacOS-version being delisted from stores by Aspyr.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Miles Sound System
Cutscenes	Bink Video (Windows), QuickTime.framework (macOS)	Bink Video version 1.5.10.0
Multiplayer	GameSpy	Server inaccessible since July 2014; see Online play for a community server replacement.

Command line arguments

For these to work in The Ultimate Collection release, see Restore mod support.

Command	Description
-win	Runs the game in windowed mode
-mod [path to .big file]	Runs the game with the selected mod
-xres [number]	Sets resolution width
-yres [number]	Sets resolution height
-nologo	Skips the EA Games logo; when using GenTool, it skips the tool's splash stripe on startup
-noshellmap	Disables the shellmap in the main menu
-quickstart	Disables the intro and shellmap in the main menu

Official extra map and mission

For Generals, EA Los Angeles released an official extra map and mission that were not included in the game.

Download and install the extra map and mission[citation needed]

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 Download the skirmish/multiplayer map Flash Fire for two players Extract the folders from the ZIP files Place the folders in %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Command and Conquer Generals Data\Maps to be able to use them in-game Start Generals (NOT Zero Hour) Go to Solo Play -> Skirmish -> Select map -> Unofficial maps Click on either Black Sheep or Flash Fire Click on Accept to use the mission or map Click on Play game

Restore mod support

The Ultimate Collection on Origin/EA app was released with no support for mods or command line arguments.

Also incorporated in GenPatcher.

These changes can be simply reverted by using the repair option in Origin/EA app 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/EA app launcher by allowing to start the game directly. If desired, the game can still be started using the Origin/EA app launcher. Fully supported by GenTool. Go to the GenTool Executables page. Download both the Generals108EXE.zip and GeneralsZH104EXE.zip files. 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 overwriting the original generals.exe. 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 overwriting the original generals.exe.

Use Medstar's fixed launchers (The Ultimate Collection)

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). Previous fixed launchers from Bibber were not available and supported for a while at Bibber's own request, but can be downloaded again from his site. As support and availability is unknown, it is advised to remove those and replace them with Medstar's ones. Download the last released version from GitHub or alternatively from ModDB. Extract the file from the ZIP file. Run the installer.

Uncensoring the German release

• Download for base game
• Download for Zero Hour

Combat Cards

Is a singleplayer digital card game of user against AI opponent that was released in 2003 to promote Generals. The gameplay is based on the classic card game Top Trumps. The cards feature units from Generals, with each unit having the four attributes firepower, speed, cost, and build time. One of these attributes is selected at random and the player of which the value of the attribute is highest, wins the round and receives the other's players card. Whoever runs out of cards first, loses.

Thyme

Open-source community-project to use reverse-engineered code of the original Zero Hour expansion pack to completely re-implement this code, while keeping true to the original game. The intention of Thyme is to allow the fixing of bugs, implementation of new features and porting to platforms unsupported by the original.

Only supports the original disc-based 1.04 versions. If any other version is used, the executable can be patched. Make sure that the executable of the game hasn't been altered by GenTool, GenPatcher or replaced the executables by hand as it will cause patching to fail.

Still in active development and not fully reverse-engineered yet. Expect it to contain several (severe) bugs.

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	98	ME, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium III 800 MHz AMD Athlon 800 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB	256 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	Nvidia GeForce 3 DirectX 9.0c 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