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Duplicate tropes and Is This An Example threads can help with the difference between 4X and Real-Time Strategy.
I've found an article that boils why Age of Empires is not an 4X, check if it applies to Command & Conquer. The 4X page may need an upgrade if these are standard requirements.
- Missions are small-scale skirmishes instead of Take Over the World.
- You can freely move and build anywhere on a landscape map instead of it being divided into grid-based regions.
- Tech tree and ages are treated more like upgrades and you are encouraged to get all of them, instead of making an exclusive-choice build unique to your play.
- You can't make alliances and map-scale war-trade rules on the run, at best you can send resources to your faction decided at the beginning of the round.
- Cities are treated like any other buildings, instead of having their own economy system and special constructions that work only for that city.
Thank you, I'll try asking in the Duplicate tropes thread. I hope this can be fixed with send it to TRS.
Already post in the discussion page, but since nobody use it... (in fact, it doesn't even show up on my Watchlist for some reason).
I think the description is missing something. By the page's definition, Command & Conquer would count as one. It has Fog of War (X-Plore), you can build new base in another location with MCV (X-Pand), you can upgrade your base with silo and such (X-Ploit), and your mission is mostly to wipe out the enemy (X-Terminate).
Look up the history, C&C was once there but removed in May 29th 2012 with "Command & Conquer: Kane's Wrath is not a 4x game just because you can loosely use each of the 'X' terms and apply them to it. If that were the case every RTS in existence would be 4X and the term would lose all meaning." as edit reason. And while I agree with the removal, it also underline the problem, by our current definition every Strategy Game with Fog of War, ability to build new base, upgrade, and "wipe out the enemy" goal would be 4X.
In my humble opinion, the problem is inclusion of Age of Empires. I remember that the creator labeled it as 4X RTS and we seem to take it as face value. But IMO, it is more of generic RTS with 4X as Framing Device, skin for various upgrade. If we accept that "Age of Empires" isn't real 4X, then the missing key would be clear, the games' structure; 4X's campaign has one persistent setting for each playthrough while other strategy games have campaign made up from string of missions. Then again, I never play any Age of Empires after the first one, so I might be wrong here.