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OpenSAGE is an open source game engine that aims to be a re-implementation of SAGE, the RTS engine used in Command & Conquer: Generals and other RTS titles from EA Pacific.

OpenSAGE: a free, open source re-implementation of SAGE, the 3D real time strategy (RTS) engine used in Command & Conquer™: Generals and other RTS titles from EA Pacific.

This project is being developed with an initial focus on Command & Conquer: Generals and Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour. Support for other SAGE-based games may come later. The primary development target is Windows, with support planned for macOS at a later date.

Two days ago, version 0.2.0 was released as the first build with initial cross platform support across Windows, Linux and Mac.

It has also added support for OpenGL, Metal and Vulkan is a work in progress as well. This release also rewrote the DataViewer to use ImGui, they added a unit selection prototype and improved the in-game UI.

Find it on GitHub.

While it's extremely early days for the project (nowhere near playable yet), it's great to see another. Hopefully in time, it could become as fully featured as game engines like OpenMW, OpenRA, CorsixTH and many more that allow us to play classic games on modern systems.

As someone who never got a chance to play Command & Conquer: Generals, I shall be following this project closely with great interest.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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17 comments Subscribe

TheSHEEEP 25 Jun 2018
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Well, that's a nice surprise. I always liked Generals.
legluondunet 25 Jun 2018
But we have already OpenRA to play Command and Conquer and it does it very well, why create another project?
Liam Dawe 25 Jun 2018
But we have already OpenRA to play Command and Conquer and it does it very well, why create another project?
They're very different games. Just because they share the same name, doesn't make them that similar in reality.
Kallestofeles 25 Jun 2018
But we have already OpenRA to play Command and Conquer and it does it very well, why create another project?
Command and Conquer Generals uses a vastly different engine than the early C&C, C&C:Red Alert and Dune titles, hence it is not compatible with OpenRA to say the least - very, very loose and ugly explanation.
Kallestofeles 25 Jun 2018
I love C&C:Generals - imho it's the best one of the whole C&C series for multiplayer, however it has it's issues - mainly with very oldschool controls and inability to support decent resolutions (have to modify the ini file to get anything decent showing on a modern display). I am mainly very excited about this project due to the resolutions support... who knows, maybe I'll be eventually even able to run it in 21:9 - now that would be a sight for sore eyes. ^_^
NOX LinuX 25 Jun 2018
Awesome news C&C Generals on Linux would be a great opportunity to relive the game and nostalgia too.
Ray54 25 Jun 2018
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I still occasionally play C&C Generals using wine and my "C&C - The First Decade" disk in the drive. The highest 2 resolutions are 1152x864 and 1400x1050. I cannot get C&C Generals Zero Hour to work under wine, as it does not recognise my DVD drive. I use wine version 1.6 for all C&C games, as more recent versions crash after 10 mins of playing RA2.

I hope that OpenSage will play the single player campaigns, as I really love the cut-scenes on old C&C games. The other thing that I hope OpenSage will give, is simple asset transfers, as I don't trust a lot of the Windows no-CD hacks.
NOX LinuX 25 Jun 2018
I still occasionally play C&C Generals using wine and my "C&C - The First Decade" disk in the drive. The highest 2 resolutions are 1152x864 and 1400x1050. I cannot get C&C Generals Zero Hour to work under wine, as it does not recognise my DVD drive. I use wine version 1.6 for all C&C games, as more recent versions crash after 10 mins of playing RA2.

I hope that OpenSage will play the single player campaigns, as I really love the cut-scenes on old C&C games. The other thing that I hope OpenSage will give, is simple asset transfers, as I don't trust a lot of the Windows no-CD hacks.
I’m sure they will do.
Pompesdesky 25 Jun 2018
Guess I'm in the same boat as some others here. Recently tried C&C Generals through Wine after downloading it in Origin and there are no usable resolutions. I'd really like to play it again and I also have the C&C - The First Decade pack ready for the assets ^_^
fedotix 25 Jun 2018
Command and Conquer on linux ? Great !!! been waiting for that !


Last edited by fedotix on 25 Jun 2018 at 1:33 pm UTC
stretch611 25 Jun 2018
C&C Generals (and Zero Hour) was always one of my favorites. After I switched to exclusively linux, I still played them through WINE (even though I was forced to download "NoCD" hacks in order for them to work.)

I still remember the layout of some of my favorite maps, and in shear numbers, I have downloaded more user created maps for C&C Generals than any other game, before or after.

I have not played it in a few years, but would love to play it again. I hope that this project is fruitful in its efforts.

Edit: Note: I had the original disks for the NoCD hack... Not sure if they had a version of this hack for the first decade CDs. If I knew where those CDs were a the moment, I would probably go an install them now... (even though I now require a USB CD drive now that my last few computers don't have one built in.)


Last edited by stretch611 on 25 Jun 2018 at 1:37 pm UTC
Audi 25 Jun 2018
C&C Generals was the last good C&C game in my opinion. I completed all the campaigns back in the day when it was new and I was in college with the free time to do so. The Laser General was my favorite. I will definitely play this once it is working under Linux.
rustybroomhandle 25 Jun 2018
Can I have some shoes?
ragsu 26 Jun 2018
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Can I have some shoes?
Thank you for the new shoes! Oh wait it's in the ZH expansion only
Kuduzkehpan 28 Jun 2018
Very nice news for a rts addict as me. However my fav rts is starcraft series, having generals in the pocket is reaaly good.
DMJC 1 Jul 2018
This opens up a possibility for Emperor: Battle for Dune and Command and Conquer Renegade to get native Linux ports. Both games used the C&C Generals engine. Hell C&C3 and Red Alert 3 both used the SAGE engine after it was upgraded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAGE_(game_engine) )


Last edited by DMJC on 1 Jul 2018 at 12:49 am UTC
select 4 Apr 2019
Those who own The First Decade should download the 1.04-patch, which removes requirement for DVD - however getting Zero Hour, yet alone Generals to run isn't that straightforward, but also be sure to check winehq.org's comments. By manually editing Options.ini you can get Zero Hour to run up to 1920x1080.
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