The Command & Conquer approach (used by them and some others in the era of gold masters) was to release expansions to the game that incorporated the balance and

The Command & Conquer approach (used by them and some others in the era of gold masters) was to release expansions to the game that incorporated the balance and other fixes as part of the release cycle of the game. In those days they didn't do independent patches because of the logistical complexity. It was an entirely different ecosystem before the Internet was common-place.