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The subject matter of this article is non-canon. |
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Direct & Dominate: Absolute Units is a 3D animated web series created by Benjamin Tay, a former animator at Lemon Sky Studios who has also worked on the Remastered Collection.[1] The series is based on the setting of the original Command & Conquer, starring cartoonized and petite or rotund versions of the game's units. The story of Direct & Dominate centers around the Global Defense Initiative trying to take out Nod forces around X-16 Y-42.
Inspiration for the design of the characters in the series came from a discussion with Nyerguds regarding the scaling issues of unit sprites and how this resulted in substantially wider looking sprites compared to the way the graphics were originally displayed on CRT monitors in 1995.
Early renders of the series characters were showcased on the r/commandandconquer subreddit in early 2019, with the first episode released on May 28, 2020. The characters are voiced by various members of the C&C community.
The Absolute Units series is also based on Direct & Dominate: Munitions Dawn, a comic flash game originally published on Newgrounds[2] on August 24, 2012. Munitions Dawn has since been reuploaded onto the official YouTube channel as a series of interactive videos.
Characters[]
Global Defense Initiative[]
- Pathfinder (voiced by Benjamin Tay): A jubilant humvee tasked with scouting the area around X-16 Y-42. He along with Packer find a Nod harvester named Paycheck, but the harvester manages to escape while the two GDI vehicles get distracted in their conversation about tumbleweeds. He later pretends to defect to Zoldo Outpost in order to capture Paycheck.
- Packer (voiced by Benjamin Tay): A humorless APC who accompanies Pathfinder in finding the Nod harvester and base around X-16 Y-42. He packs many things, including a whole computer.
- Highlander (voiced by Steven Provence): A Scottish medium tank and team leader of the Strategic Hit And Run Division (SHARD). He orders Pathfinder and Packer to keep searching for the harvester they encountered. In Episode 4, he takes part in assaulting Nod's Icarus Outpost with Highground and Highroller.
- Warthog (voiced by Hugh Tamlin): An A-10 aircraft and flight leader who aids Highlander in taking out the Obelisk of Light guarding Icarus Outpost.
- Uncle Beige (voiced by Nikolas Lloyd): An antiquated medium tank who is a veteran of the Second World War.
- Skyeye (voiced by Matt Armstrong): An Orca who hates being bullied by SAM sites. Unlike the Orca in Tiberian Dawn, he can waddle on the ground with his missile pods.
- Proton (voiced by Areoants): A brawny engineer, appreciator of good architecture. During GDI's assault on the Viktor Heavy Industries' Tiberium research facility, Proton single-handedly eliminates the entirety of the Nod guards within and defeats a stealth tank in close combat before capturing the facility for GDI. He is a joke towards how engineers in Tiberian Dawn are somehow able to capture entire enemy structures despite the personnel stationed inside.
Brotherhood of Nod[]
- Paycheck (voiced by Benjamin Tay, later Steven Provence): A Nod harvester encountered by Pathfinder and Packer. He is a simple farmer tending to his Tiberium crops in Zoldo Outpost. In Episode 3, he is tricked by Pathfinder into believing he knows where to get more Tiberium. He typically gets lost and goes the wrong way, which is a joke towards the Tiberian Dawn harvester's poor pathfinding and AI.
- Boomer (voiced by GordonWeedman): A lonely turret posted far outside of Viktor's base. When Pathfinder and Packer run into Boomer, the two hide and made the turret believe he is hearing voices in his head. He has some rather interesting experiences with massage oil and barrel fungus.
- Noddy Boi (voiced by Steven Provence): A minigunner guarding Viktor's base. He places Pathfinder and Packer under arrest after catching them encroaching near the Nod base. He later leads the two into the base after Pathfinder replies they were in fact "defecting".
- Hanseldorf (voiced by PlokiteWolf): A grunt initially stationed at Zoldo Outpost who handles all processing related to GDI defection and absconsion affairs.
- Chorizo (voiced by Matt Armstrong): A reckless light tank originally stationed at Zoldo Outpost. Pathfinder meets him while he was talking to his friend Kielbasa about how he destroyed a GDI humvee. At the Tiberium research facility, he comes up with a stealthy tank tactic for the Stealth Tank Initiative (STI), in which he just hides under a dug out hole to ambush the enemy. He fails to account that a tank can simply roll over him.
- Grunt #23 & #32 (voiced by Nivan Moodley): Two grunts stationed at Zoldo Outpost. They barely realize Paycheck's absence.
- Bulldog (voiced by Hugh Tamlin): A foreign volunteer light tank who just needs a can of Hineyken to start off his day. He dons a huge pair of red aviators.
- Jack Skelly (voiced by Hugh Tamlin): A creepy minigunner with fangs. In Episode 6, he at first believes Pathfinder and Packer to be defectors, and leads them to the underground Nod archives. He then finds out the two were in fact stealing the secrets to Tiberium refinement, and chases the duo along with two light tanks.
- Nightshadow (voiced by Benjamin Tay): A sneaky stealth tank and a sponsoree of NodVPN. He completes his missions in a quick and clandestine manner so that he is not late for Zumba class.
Videos[]
Episode 1: Scouting Party (original)
Episode 1: Scouting Party
Episode 2: Probing Party
Episode 3: Grabbing Party
Episode 4: Raiding Party
Episode 5: Escort Party
Episode 6: Welcome Party
Episode 7: Rescue Party
Episode 8: Birthday Party
The Covert Operations: Amphibious Assault
Episode 1: Scouting Party
Episode 2: Probing Party
Episode 3: Grabbing Party
Episode 4: Raiding Party
Episode 5: Escort Party
Episode 6: Welcome Party
Episode 7: Rescue Party
Episode 8: Birthday Party
The Covert Operations: Amphibious Assault
Trivia[]
- The Stealth Tank's name, "Nightshadow" is a direct reference to "NightShadow02", the old nickname under which Benjamin Tay published his C&C fan art around the community, and on DeviantArt.
References[]
- ↑ Direct & Dominate: Absolute Units Episode 3 Released. CNCNZ.com (28 June 2020). Retrieved on 4 August 2020.
- ↑ Direct and Dominate by NightShadowTWO
External links[]
Direct & Dominate on YouTube- Official website
- r/directanddominate subreddit
- Direct & Dominate Discord
- Benjamin Tay's Patreon
- Direct & Dominate: Munitions Dawn on Newgrounds
- Benjamin Tay's older Command & Conquer comics on DeviantArt
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