CnC Now Features Faster Paced Matches and Starter Packs

After the announcement that the popular CnC has been made free-to-play more details have now been released about the gameplay. The matches are now shorter than they were in previous titles. It has been noticed that play times have dropped from around the hour mark down to 30 - 45 minutes with gamers, so this has been changed to reflect this, but gamers can still expand them if they want to.
Also there are now starter packs being considered for the F2P game so that players won't have to start from the beginning, or be considered just a free player. These packs may contain a half dozen general item and some currency, but they won't be cheap as they will be priced around the $30-$40 mark for the privilege.
Even though the game will remain free to play and everything in the game can be unlocked through play time, gamers will still need to sign up to the premium service so that they can gain experience and more currency. Also Generals and stuff will be purchased via microtransactions. So what do you all think is this a step in the right direction for RTS games or not? Let us know.