Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Developers
	EA Los Angeles
Kane's Wrath	BreakAway Games
macOS (OS X)	TransGaming Inc.
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	SAGE
Release dates
Windows	March 28, 2007
macOS (OS X) (Cider)	August 28, 2007
Reception
Metacritic	85
IGDB	85
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Expansion pack
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Multiple select, Point and select
Genres	RTS
Themes	Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America, 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).

Key points

Small but dedicated community.

Frame rate is capped at 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)

Tiberium Wars on CNC.community

Tiberium Wars section on CNCNZ.com

Kane's Wrath section on CNCNZ.com

Tiberium Wars section on GameReplays.org

Kane's Wrath section on GameReplays.org

Steam Community Discussions (Tiberium Wars)

Steam Community Discussions (Kane's Wrath)

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SecuROM 7 DRM.
Origin		Bundled with other games in the franchise up to Tiberian Twilight. Included with EA Play.
Steam		Included with EA Play (Steam).
Origin (unavailable)		Included with EA Play.

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

Steam key can be used to activate The Ultimate Collection version of the game on Origin/EA App.

Monetization

Type	Notes
Expansion pack	The expansion pack includes new factions, a new campaign and game mode, maps, and units.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Kane's Wrath	Bundled with Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection.

Essential improvements

Patches

The Steam and Origin versions are already patched to the latest version. Applying a retail patch to a digital release will reinstate the SecuROM disc check.

Retail Windows Tiberium Wars patch v1.09 can be downloaded in many languages from CNCNZ, GameFront or Patches-Scrolls.

Retail Windows Kane's Wrath expansion patch v1.02 can be downloaded in many languages from CNCNZ, GameFront or Patches-Scrolls.

Due to the expired digital certificates in the Kane's Wrath v1.02 patch executables, Windows refuses to run them. Use delcert on them to remedy this.

KWBandage

Download link

An unofficial patch for Kane's Wrath which fixes multiple gameplay and visual bugs. Balance changes are minimal, fixing only the most significant ones (e.g. Confessor Cabal drafting from Shredder Turrets).

Game data

In-game general settings.

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%APPDATA%\<Localized Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars>\Profiles\<user-id>\ %APPDATA%\<Localized Command & Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath>\Profiles\<user-id>\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24790/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\<Localized Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars>\ %USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\<Localized Command & Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath>\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/24790/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin		Only possible through The Ultimate Collection version.
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings.

Graphics feature	State	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution			For unsupported resolutions see Widescreen resolution.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD			Disable anti-aliasing if the game doesn't launch
Field of view (FOV)		Use Flawless Widescreen.
Windowed		Use -win parameter. Use -xres # -yres # for custom window resolution.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		Use Borderless Gaming Alternatively, -win -fullscreen parameters, and -xpos 0 -ypos 0 if window is off screen.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)
Vertical sync (Vsync)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Frame rate is capped at 30 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Widescreen resolution

Most resolutions are supported natively, but some (such as 1280x768) are not. If your preferred resolution is not supported natively, then you'll need to edit options.ini.

Custom resolution
For C&C3 Tiberium Wars, it is located here: %APPDATA%\Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars\Profiles\<user-id>\ For C&C3 Kane's Wrath, it is located here: %APPDATA%\Command & Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath\Profiles\<user-id>\ Open Options.ini with a text editor. Find this line: Resolution = xxxx xxx and edit it to set the desired resolution. Save the changes.

Input

In-game key map settings.

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration		No Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity		For scroll speed.
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Audio

In-game audio settings.

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		5.1
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		Fades in/out when focus changes.
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese				Retail only.
Traditional Chinese				Retail only.
Czech
Dutch
French
German				Censored and uncensored versions exist. The Tiberium Wars Kane Edition is uncensored. Digital releases are censored.
Hungarian
Italian
Polish
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Thai				Retail only.

Network

Network settings.

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
LAN play		8
Online play		8	Official GameSpy service has been shut down in 2014. The fan-run C&C:Online is currently the de facto service.

Connection types

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

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	28910, 29900-29901
UDP	13139, 27900, 65000, 8088-65535 (expansion only)

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

VR support

3D modes	Native	Notes
vorpX		G3D User created game profile, see vorpx forum profile introduction.

Issues fixed

Game crashes on startup with an "application error" when launched from executable (Steam)

Create missing file
Go to <path-to-game> Create a new file named steam_appid.txt. Open the file and insert the game's Steam application ID (24790 for Tiberium Wars, 24810 for Kane's Wrath). Save the file. The game will still require an active Steam client to run, but will no longer crash on the attempt to run directly from the executable.

Restore command-line argument and mod support (The Ultimate Collection version)

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

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.

Slow/choppy cutscenes

With the official 1.04 patch for Tiberium Wars, the default framerate in cutscene playback was reduced in the "very low" and "low" graphics presets to accomodate low-end systems which had experienced heavy artifacting. Setting to a different preset fixes this.

Note that increasing this value also restores some in-game visual effects such as the heat distortion from thruster exhaust of vehicles.

Method 1: Use higher preset from the in-game options menu
From the main menu, go to Options, then Settings. In the Video tab, choose a Graphics Preset setting to either Medium, High or UltraHigh. Possible values are UltraHigh, High, Medium, Low or VeryLow. Apply the changes, and only then change individual settings to fit your performance.

Method 2: Manual configuration file edit
Go to the configuration file location. Go into the profile name's folder and open Options.ini Find the following text: IdealStaticGameLOD = Change the value after the equal sign to either Medium, High or UltraHigh. Possible values are UltraHigh, High, Medium, Low or VeryLow. Save the file and close it.

Worldbuilder (map editor)

• The latest version for Tiberium Wars is 2.0, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs. It is designed to be compatible with the official mod SDK.
• The latest version for Kane's Wrath is 1.1, available from CNCNZ, ModDB and CnCLabs.

The Steam release has a misconfigured registry key by default, preventing the installer from proceeding.

Edit registry key for Steam release

Run the Registry Editor and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\Electronic Arts\Command & Conquer 3 (for Tiberium Wars) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Electronic Arts\Electronic Arts\Command & Conquer 3 Kanes Wrath (for Kane's Wrath). Edit the InstallPath value by adding a \ character at the very end. Close the Registry Editor and install the Worldbuilder for the appropriate game.

Restored campaign balance

Patches to improve multiplayer balance also affected the single-player campaign, unintentionally making some missions significantly harder. A mod exists to revert these changes, available from ModDB.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9.0c
OpenGL		OS X only.
Shader Model support	1.3	[citation needed]

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)			This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Speex
Cutscenes	On2 VP6
Multiplayer	GameSpy	Shut down in 2014.

Command line arguments

Command	Description
-win	Runs the game in windowed mode
-fullscreen	Runs the game in fullscreen mode. Combine with -win for borderless windowed mode.
-xres [number]	Sets resolution width
-yres [number]	Sets resolution height
-xpos [number]	Sets horizontal offset of the window
-ypos [number]	Sets vertical offset of the window
-ui	Opens the autorun feature otherwise called by inserting the game disc
-replayGame [filename]	Plays replay file
-modConfig [filename]	Runs the game with selected mod (has to point to its .skudef file)
-spectator	Runs the game in a reduced mode where only replays are accessible; the base game used to have a free official game distribution with this mode permanently enabled
-noaudio	Disables game audio
-noAudioMusic	Disables game music
-silentLogin	Forces the game to immediately log in to a multiplayer account
-startPaused	Launches the game with a "Waiting" message, possibly to delay loading assets
-getPatch	Forces check for official updates; currently useless as EA's FTP servers which hosted patches have been shut down
-runver [number]	Forces running a specified game version (1.0, 1.1, ..., 1.9); appropriate cnc3game.dat and cnc3ep1.dat files for all older versions missing from digital releases

System requirements

Windows

macOS (OS X)

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP, Vista
Processor (CPU)	2.0 GHz (XP) 2.2 GHz (Vista)
System memory (RAM)	512 MB (XP) 1 GB (Vista)
Hard disk drive (HDD)	6 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce4 Ti ATI Radeon 8500 Intel GMA 900 DirectX 9.0c compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	10.4.9
Processor (CPU)	1.83 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	2 GB
Video card (GPU)	ATI Radeon X1600 series Nvidia GeForce 7300