Development:Command & Conquer: Generals/Build 98 Alpha/Models

This is a sub-page of Development:Command & Conquer: Generals/Build 98 Alpha.

These models are from a very old iteration of the game which had different factions predecessors. For the sake of convenience and simplicity, faction names of the final game will be used here (China instead of Asian Empire, GLA instead of Fundamentalists, etc.)

USA

Airfield

This is an old design of the airfield, matching the concept art. The track marks on the runway look quite interesting, but they are strange since they are not expected when an airfield is built from anew.

Aurora

The old model for the Aurora with the gold skin. Its design is sleeker compared to that of the final game, as it matches the concept art.

Barracks

The old barracks design. Actually, it doesn't really look like a barracks, but more like a high school or something...

Battle Drone

An early battle drone model with the characteristic gold skin.

Battle Lab

There are no clues what this would do. This is a building which does not have a counterpart in the final game, but perhaps it evolved into the Strategy Center since a render of it calls it "Strategy Center" rather than "Battle Lab".

Comanche

An early Comanche model with the characteristic gold skin.

Command Center

An interesting concept of a Command Center. It matches the one found in the concept arts and looks rather bright.

Crusader

This is the original Crusader model, based off its concept art. It was planed for it to be upgraded with a hover drive. One of the selection images for the War Factory in the final game still shows this model. It was also called the Leopard tank at some point.

Dozer

This early Dozer model can be seen in some prerelease screenshots as well as the victory screen in the original game.

Mammoth Tank

The developer team intended for the Mammoth Tank from the original Command and Conquer to appear in the game at some point. However, the idea was scrapped very early on. It's faithfully modelled after its concept art and can be seen in some pre-release screenshots. Strangely however, its model name, "GXMammothFX", doesn't match the rest of the American model names.

Medic Drone

A model of a cut drone, which was probably replaced by the Ambulance.

Patriot Battery

The major difference here, other than the old textures, is that the missile launcher is mounted at the side rather than at the bottom. But that's it already.

Power Plant

This is another building drawn by concept art; it was to be called the Fusion Reactor. It looks quite interesting, almost futuristic, and it's sad that it didn't make it.

Ranger

An old model of the ranger with a different texture, which can be seen in some prerelease screenshots. This early Ranger model also has some unique, fancy looking animations not used by the Ranger in the final game.

SDI Uplink

The SDI Uplink was the original American superweapon, its armament a missile of sorts. It was replaced with the Particle Cannon in the final game. The Particle Cannon model files in the final game still refer to it as the SDI Uplink, interestingly.

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  The SDI Uplink

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  Its missile model

Scout Drone

This old model of Scout Drone matches its concept art, and was going to be used as an upgrade for the Rangers.

Security Wall

Unlike the cut walls from the final game, this Security Wall is not divided into sections and corners. It can be seen in some prerelease screenshots.

Sentry Drone

This old model of the sentry drone matches its concept art.

Starlifter

Evidence of a Starlifter vehicle lies in the text in the final game alongside its texture, but the prototype contains the model itself. It does not look too much like the real-life Starlifter, but much more like the V-22 Osprey.

Supply Center

The old Supply Center was designed to fit the "truck" system used at that time, where every faction used a truck for collecting supplies.

Supply Truck

The old USA supply truck was faithfully modeled to its concept art. Originally all factions used supply trucks for gathering resources, but when the factions were redesigned this supply truck was scrapped.

Tomahawk Launcher

This is the old model of the Tomahawk Launcher with the gold skin, it's also seen in many prerelease screenshots. The selection images for the Tomahawk Launcher in the final game still show it with the gold texture.

China

Buggy

The Buggy was a Chinese unit. It appears alongside the Chinese Scorpion in many pre-release screenshots. It was given to the GLA when China was redesigned.

Command Center

The Chinese Command Center looks quite odd, more like a wheat silo.

Iron Dragon

This is the Iron Dragon, which you have to capture in the Iron Dragon mission. The model exists in Zero Hour as well, but since the texture is missing there, it looks plain white.

Power Plant

A Chinese Power Plant made of bricks and wood. Presumably this faction at this stage of development had a heat-powered Power Plant instead of nuclear-powered, like in the retail version.

Predator

This tank doesn't have a counterpart in the final game, and was removed after China was redesigned. It can be seen in the oldest prerelease screenshots of the game, probably as the main battle tank of China. The USA also has a tank named Predator that uses the exact same model but retextured to fit the old USA aesthetic.

Scorpion

Like the Buggy, the Scorpion originally used to be a Chinese tank. Note its design, with double barrels and a tail which makes it look quite a lot like an actual Scorpion, nothing like the Scorpion Tank you see in the final game. Again like the Buggy, It was given to the GLA when China was redesigned.

War Factory

This building shows the faction logo, which looks completely different from the logo in the final game. Otherwise, it shares the odd look with the Command Center.

Weapons Factory

No idea at all what this is, perhaps a tech building. One interesting aspect is that there's a model in the game that at first looks like just a ground plane, but has an animation that shows it building up to form this Weapons Factory. This is actually quite cool, if you keep in mind that in the final game, constructing a building is nothing more than pulling the finished building through the ground.

GLA

Angry Mob

The fat angry mob has exposed butt cheeks in this build; the texture was changed in the final game. The angry mob member that wears a red bandana in the final game looks completely different in this build. The most notable difference is the yellow cross on his gray vest, which doesn't fit considering what the GLA are supposed to be.

Barracks

The Barracks in the prototype doesn't have the GLA logo on it, there's no significant differences other than that.

Command Center

A quite interesting design for a Command Center. Actually, it's based off the concept art for the GLA Command Center. It appears in the first trailer for the game, moments before getting destroyed by an air bomb.

Jarmen Kell

The build contains some early Jarmen Kell models with old textures, one of which seems to duel wield knifes with his sniper rifle on the back. Both models lack animations, however.

Quad Cannon

This is the old Quad Cannon, which can be seen in some prerelease screenshots. It, alongside most other models, were probably changed so the GLA could have a consistent artstyle.

Rebel and Tunnel Defender

Originally, both the rebels and the tunnel defenders looked the same, save for their weapons, obviously. They were probably changed so the players could tell them apart easily, though this change seems to have come pretty late since they are still shown like this in many screenshots, the intro of the original game and even the game's packaging.

Rocket Buggy

This model was made for the rocket buggy when it was redesigned from a Chinese unit into a GLA unit, though it still looks similar to its predecessor.

Scorpion

Same with the Buggy, when the Scorpion became a GLA unit it was given this model. However, it's just a lazy recoloring of the original Chinese Scorpion.

Technicals

These are the old Technicals models; only the first variant can be seen in a prerelease screenshot. They were probably changed so the GLA could have a consistent artstyle.

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Toxin Truck

This Toxin Truck looks much bigger and heavier than in the final game. On the other hand, it does not look too much like a tractor, though it may not have been intended to. This old version of the Toxin Truck is based off a concept art drawn by TJ Frame. The final game model is based off concept art drawn by Phil Robb.

Miscellaneous

Buildings

The prototype also contains some interesting civilian models. The models for the buildings appear to be from a very old stage of development since they don't have snow, damaged, or garrisoned models. Two of these buildings appear in the first prerelease screenshots of the game.

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Civilians

The prototype has some of the civilian models that appear in the final game, but also untextured preliminary civilian models with no animations.

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  A male with a skateboard

Street Vendor

A model of a street vendor with a very barebones texture. This model is also found in Zero Hour.

"CX" models

The prototype contains six strange models all prefixed with "CX". While "C" could stand for civilian, it's unknown what the X means. These models can be found in Zero Hour too, but they're missing their temporary textures there.
The model named CXPowrPlnt, which stands for Power Plant, was used in the GDF files for the factions' Power Plants.
The model named CXSupAirs could stand for Supply Air Strip. Its runway was used in the Iron Dragon mission.
The other four models CXSupAirp, CXSupCent, CXSupChpr and CXSupTruck could potentially stand for Supply Air Plane, Supply Center, Supply Chopper and Supply Truck, respectively.

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  CXPowrPlnt

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  CXSupAirp

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  CXSupAirs

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  CXSupCent

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  CXSupChpr

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  CXSupTruck