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Artificial intelligence is appearing more often in the gaming world, but it doesn't always get a warm reception. This time, however, AI was used for something that may please fans of classic games. A Google manager used the Claude model to bring the cult RTS to Apple devices. As a result, Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour runs natively on iPhones, iPads and Macs. Importantly, this is neither emulation nor streaming from the cloud.
Classic RTS runs natively on Apple devices
The project is led by Ammar Reshi, director of product and design at Google. The creator used the Claude model and earlier community work based on source code released by Electronic Arts. The result is a native version of the game compiled for the ARM64 architecture. That means Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour runs without emulation and requires no connection to cloud services. However, porting the game proved very demanding. The original engine was designed for Windows and a traditional file system. On Apple devices it was necessary to rebuild how data, configuration and cache are stored. The graphics were an equally big challenge. The old DirectX 8 renderer was adapted to run via Vulkan and Metal using the DXVK and MoltenVK layers. This lets the game retain its original visuals while running on modern Apple hardware.
AI also helped adapt the controls for touchscreens
The port also required a complete overhaul of the control system. Originally the game relied solely on mouse and keyboard, so new solutions had to be prepared for smartphones. The project added support for touch-based unit selection, dragging a selection box, two-finger scrolling, pinch-to-zoom and long-pressing the screen to trigger additional actions. According to the author, AI significantly sped up the work of adapting the code to new platforms. He also stresses that the project would not have been possible without the earlier work of the community and the source code released by EA. It's an example of using AI not to create mass-market, simple mobile games, but to preserve and refresh classic titles. For many players this may be one of the more interesting examples of practical applications of artificial intelligence in the games industry. For now the project remains a community initiative and is not an official release from Electronic Arts.
Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour has received a native port for Apple devices, and its creation was assisted by the Claude AI. The project shows that AI can help preserve classic games and make it easier to adapt them to modern hardware.
source: digitaltrends
