| This article is a stub. Why don't you help out by expanding it? |
Tiberium is a mysterious crystalline material that arrived on Earth in 1995 and is the focus of the Tiberium universe.
It is the main resource in the Tiberium universe, having enough value when processed to directly fund armies. Tiberium comes in many different varieties and its effects on carbon-based organic matter has led to the creation of Tiberium wildlife.
Overview
In Twisted Insurrection, Tiberium is the primary means of earning money on the battlefield. Tiberium that can be harvested comes in four different varieties, listed from least to most valuable: Riparius, Vinifera, Cruentus, and Arboreus.
Fields of the green Riparius are abundant, and more Tiberium can be generated every minute by an indestructible blossom tree found in the middle of a Riparius field. Vinifera, Cruentus, and Arboreus are generated every minute by an indestructible large crystal in the middle of their fields. Essentially, Tiberium is an infinite resource. However, not all Tiberium fields have a blossom tree or a central crystal. Note that if "Unlimited Tiberium" is set in the Game Options, then each individual isolated patches of Tiberium can grow more Tiberium, albeit slower than those around a blossom tree or a large crystal.
Tiberium can only be gathered by special vehicles called Harvesters. Producing more of these vehicles is critical to building a strong economy and getting more money, whether by producing them in War Factories or building a Tiberium Refinery, as each refinery comes with a harvester. Harvesters of each faction differ by the amount of Tiberium they can carry:
| Cameo | Name | Riparius | Vinifera | Cruentus | Arboreus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 GDI Harvester
|
$875 | $1575 | $2275 | $2975 |
 |
 Nod Harvester
|
$625 | $1125 | $1625 | $2125 |
 |
 GloboTech Harvester
|
$750 | $1350 | $1950 | $2550 |
 |
 GDI Harvester (Twisted Dawn)
|
$750 | $1350 | $1950 | $2550 |
 |
 Nod Harvester (Twisted Dawn)
|
$750 | $1350 | $1950 | $2550 |
Once their storage is full, or ordered by their commander, the harvester returns to the nearest Tiberium Refinery (if one exists) to unload the Tiberium and process it immediately to fund the commander's war efforts.
If a harvester containing a Tiberium load is destroyed, a cloud of toxic Tiberium gas and a small patch of Riparius will be released, regardless of the original type of Tiberium that was harvested.
Lastly, wheeled vehicles will have their speed reduced when travelling through an Tiberium field.
Types
Riparius
Riparius is the most basic form of Tiberium. Its crystals are small and green in appearance, thus it is commonly referred to as "green Tiberium". Because it has a low level of leeched minerals, Riparius is considered to be the least valuable strain of Tiberium, albeit the most abundant and available. Riparius grows and spreads very fast.
The most common proliferator of the Riparius was the "blossom tree", which launched Tiberium spores (microscopic crystals) that eventually mature into Tiberium pods.
Its name comes from the Latin word rīpārius, meaning growing near a river, as this was the first type of Tiberium which arrived in the meteorite at the Tiber river.
Vinifera
After some time, developed Riparius crystals mature into Tiberium Vinifera, a more valuable, though volatile, strain of Tiberium. Although its crystals are about the same size as Riparius, Vinifera is also called "blue Tiberium" because of its crystals' blue coloration.
Since it has a much higher concentrated mineral density than the Riparius, it has greater economic value but is highly combustible and unstable. It detonates violently when brought into contact with fire or explosives.
Cruentus
Cruentus is a rare strain of Tiberium, being even more economically valued and volatile than Riparius and Vinifera. Cruentus fields are usually seen in the more desolate and uninhabitable parts of the world.
Traversing through and harvesting from a Cruentus field must handled with extreme caution, as any incendiary or explosive material can set off a very violent chain reaction even more devastating than that of a Vinifera field.
The word cruentus is Latin for "blood-red", fitting as its crystals are dark red in appearance.
Arboreus
The rarest form of Tiberium, Arboreus is noted for its high economic value and its purple-violet appearance. Because of the high value of its crystals, a field of Arboreus is often contested between rivalling commanders, as controlling the resource guarantees an economic advantage.
Most Arboreus fields are teeming with various hostile Tiberium lifeforms, as if guarding the crystals from easily being harvested.