Schrullenhaft

What security software do you have installed ? You may need to add an exception within it for the game directory and/or executable file. Typically you should get some sort of warning that the security software has interrupted the functioning of a program, but I have seen instances where there is no warning from the security software what-so-ever when it has interfered. If you have nothing in particular installed, then you may have run into an issue with Microsoft Defender that some users run into (but not all). If adding an exception in this case still doesn't get CMBN to run, then you may want to consider installing a security program (to replace Microsoft Defender) and see if that changes the behavior. If your computer is a laptop and it also has Intel integrated video along with the GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, then you may want to create a 'profile' within the Nvidia control panel for the CMBN executable. On laptops this should make the game run on the dedicated/discrete video rather than the built-in Intel video (which the CM series can have problems with some of the available Intel drivers).

This is very good news. I had seriously expected OpenGL support to be borked within Rosetta 2. I also didn't expect an ARM-based CPU to do well either compared to an Intel CISC CPU. Hopefully Apple keeps at least this level of support for OpenGL as it rolls out other M1-based (and later CPU iterations) Macs.

What security/anti-virus software are you running ? You may want to add an exception for the CMBN main game folder and/or its executables to make sure that they aren't getting interfered with. It's possible (though not common) that security software might not have any issues with some CM games, but have issues with others. I assume that you haven't gotten the opportunity to activate the license key for the game with the crashing that you're seeing, is that correct ? With that first run it should prompt you with the license activation dialog box. If necessary, you can download and reinstall the game. The download for the Windows version of CMBN is about 3GB in size for the 4.03 installer ('CM Battle for Normandy v403 Installer.rar'). Usually most issues aren't an installation problem, but sometimes re-downloading and reinstalling may work.

Yes, you will need to upgrade to the '4.0 Upgrade' for the module. I would guess that there will be a bundle of the new module ('Fire and Rubble') and the 4.0 Upgrade for those who haven't yet upgraded.

Yes, the "FULL" download has all of the modules and patching to v. 2.03.

I purchased the 'CMSF1 Big Bundle Upgrade' and for the PC download there was a folder named 'Windows FULL CM Shock Force 2' and within that was the actual file named 'CM Shock Force 2 v203 Installer.rar' that is 2GB in size. So I assume you got the correct file.

It's unknown at this point if the CM series can be played on the M1-based Mac's. There's a significant chance that OpenGL is NOT supported with Rosetta2 and the M1 ARM architecture. My guess is that CM will NOT work with the M1-based Mac's and there will be no update to make them compatible at this point; which would require 3rd party API converters (that come at a significant cost to the developer) and recompiling the code - and it would still need Rosetta2. The graphics API going forward for Apple is Metal and OpenGL has already been officially deprecated. So it would be highly unlikely (in my opinion) that Apple would put in the effort for supporting OpenGL on the M1 CPUs.

What license keys you will need depends on when you purchased the Base Game and what the Engine version was at that time. With CMFI the original Engine was 2.0. Purchases of the base game (which can be of a bundle with one of the modules) could have been 2.0, 3.0 or 4.0. So if your base game was purchased when the 4.0 Engine was current for that game, then you'll only need that Base Game license key to activate and you will be able to run the base game. If your purchase of the Base Game was when the Engine was either at 3.0 or 2.0, then you'll need both the 3.0 and 4.0 Upgrade license keys to activate the base game (to the 4.0 version). I don't believe the original Engine 2.0 base game license key is necessary if you have the 3.0 and 4.0 Upgrade license keys. Play close attention to the Green 'Successful Activation' boxes since they will tell you what you have activated. I believe the 'Base Game' will come up as one of the activation boxes, even if you don't put in the original license key (from an Engine 2.0 purchase). With 3.0 and 4.0 Engine purchases you will obviously need the Base Game license key.

I can't discern anything that is wrong with that screen shot. Going from a TV to smaller, dedicated monitor usually should be an upgrade image-wise, unless you have a very expensive TV with high-end image adjustments. Are you running at 2560x1440 in CM ? Typically this is done by selecting the 'desktop' resolution (the default) within the Options panel. The significant problem with increasing your resolution is that the user interface (UI) isn't scalable, so it gets quite a bit smaller. Looking at what you have in that screen shot suggests that you MIGHT be running at 1920 x 1080 and NOT at 2560x1440.

Yes, if you have purchased the 4.0 Upgrade, you will want the 'FULL' installer for each title. Though I believe they are not all .rar compressed files. Occasionally some people have had problems extracting the files, so you will most likely want a program to do the decompression/extraction rather than the built-in capability of Windows (for .zip files).

Assuming you have purchased the 'CMFI 4.0 Upgrade', go to that purchase (which could be a 'bundle' purchase of several 4.0 Upgrades) for the download. If you purchased a 'bundle', then open up the 'CM Fortress Italy 4 Installers' folder by clicking on it (NOT the checkmark, but on the folder to open it up). In here click on the 'Windows FULL CM Fortress Italy' folder and this will take you to the download link itself where you click the blue 'Download' button. This is a 6GB .rar compressed file that will need a program like 7Zip or WinRAR to open up and then run the installer.

Using a different AV than the built-in Microsoft Defender worked for one user, but I didn't hear of success or failure of that process with anyone else other than you (Erwin). When a game doesn't launch then I suspect either a security program interfering (and often they may not notify you that they've interfered) or a problem with the installation. There are other possibilities, but those two usually account for a number of situations. Sometimes the Event Viewer may list an Error or some other event with launching the games that might give a clue.

The original purchase (near the time of release for CMFI) would ONLY be version 2.x of the engine. I'm certain that the download link associated with a 'CMFI Upgrade 4.0' purchase would be the 'full installer' that would include R2V and the latest patches. For customers who purchased CMFI recently, their download links would be the full installer that would have the latest engine and modules. I'm not certain, but there may be a 'full installer' associated with the 'CMFI 3.0 Upgrade' purchases, but that may NOT include anything like the 4.0 Upgrade and R2V. It would only be the base game, Engine 3.0 Upgrade and possibly the Gustav Line module.

Surprising that the CMx2 games would activate in a virtualized environment. Supposedly the copy-protection system would detect that it is running in a virtualized environment and prevent execution. With Wine I don't think you're running fully virtualized (not to the extent that the copy-protection system would notice), but I don't know the copy-protection system's compatibility with the Wine environment. With VMWare Fusion I would have thought that it would be a specific instance where the copy-protection system would trip up and detect it was running in a virtual environment. For the M1-based Macs the VM OSes will need to be coded to natively support the ARM-based CPU, since what I've read suggests that Rosetta2 will not support Intel-based VM code/modes. So you'll need to wait for those M1-based versions to come out and then you'll need to have a VM with an install of a Windows OS to run the Windows version of the games (which I assume will be accessible with Battlefront's licensing, regardless of which original version you purchased - though there might be license key/activation issues). So this means that the M1 native VM software will need a Rosetta2-like emulation layer to interpret Intel code for ARM. This is likely to be a necessary feature for the majority of VM vendors since most VMs are not going to be running native ARM code.

Downloading and installing the full game would probably be the easiest solution. It should be fully patched and will have all of the modules. You'll just need to activate anything you haven't previously activated on that computer in order to access it. You may want to back up any saved games, downloaded scenarios/campaigns and any mods.

I think the issue actually might be the Windows Defender AV. I don't know if it is possible to fully disable Windows Defender if you don't have another AV program to replace it. You may want to install an AV program (Avast, etc.) and add exceptions for all of your CM games ( their folders and executable files) and see if that changes things. I have no idea why one game would run, but another would have an issue.

Are you sure about CM1 and Rosetta on an Intel CPU Mac ? By the time Apple went with Intel CPUs they were already on OS X and I don't think any of the CM1 games (CMBO, CMBB and CMAK) worked on OS X. My impression of what MAY happen is that CM2 games will NOT work with the M1-based Macs. Rosetta2 will be available (allowing Intel-based code to be run in emulation on the ARM-based M1 CPU), but I'm not sure of the support for OpenGL on that platform. While OpenGL may see a bit more life with the Intel-based Macs, it would likely require some code on the M1 and I don't know if Apple intends to do that OR if Rosetta2 will simply support OpenGL. Rosetta is mainly there for running the Intel code on an ARM-based CPU. I don't know if it will do API conversion from OpenGL to Apple's Metal API (I doubt it, but it is mildly possible). With CPU emulation there will be a noticeable drop in performance if the CM games do run.

It appears my explanation that unseen contacts 'blinking' for individually selected units isn't quite accurate since clicking in the open/unselecting an unit will show all known/suspected contacts that aren't shown at all when an individual unit is selected. So I'm unsure what the exact nature of the blinking contact/spotted icons truly suggests, but their selective nature definitely seems to indicate that this is something the game engine is doing and not some external issue (drivers, etc.).

I stand corrected... I am seeing this. I selected a QB with all-infantry that has been automatically chosen, Elite skill level/mode and in the Attack as the blue/allied player. I patched the system from 2.02 to 2.04 and there are no mods installed. The red icons only blink when a blue unit is selected. In this case all of the contacts have not been verified yet and are only 'infantry with ?'. They are in one general location on the map with no physical 3D models for these red units present as of yet. The 2.04 patch supposedly only addresses an issue with the Javelin guidance, while the 2.03 patch included some changes/fixes to certain elements of the UI. I'm currently playing with a Geforce GTX 2070 Super using the 446.14 drivers. In the case presented in the video not all of the contacts/spots are blinking, which suggest some sort of issue/feature with the game engine itself. When a friendly unit is selected only the enemy contact/spots that that particular unit should see (or possibly see/suspect) should be shown. However it appears that instead of having the contacts/spots that a particular unit CANNOT see just disappear from the map, they instead 'blink'. The ones that it can see/suspect remain unblinking. If this behavior is consistent, then I can only guess that a 'feature' has crept in somehow without being documented in the patch notes (always a possibility).

I haven't seen this myself. When you patched to 2.04, what was your previous version, 2.02 or 2.03 ? The install notes for the 2.04 patch mentioning the need to be at 2.02 or later. However I don't know what would be missing if you updated a 2.01/2.0 installation of CMSF2 since the 2.04 patch has the 2.01, 2.02 and 2.03 .brz graphics patches. DirectX 12 patches should have no influence on the game, which is actually utilizing the OpenGL API. Video drivers on the other hand could potentially affect what you're seeing. What video card and drivers do you have installed ? Possibly updating the video drivers MAY help with this issue (if there is an update). Not all updated drivers result in better performance or fixed issues (occasionally CAUSING new issues). Is the game being run in 'real time' or is this a turn-based game ? I assume the problem continues as the clock is running and not happening only in paused situations, is that correct ? What is the 'Skill Level' setting ? Do you have any mods installed, especially graphic mods ?

I don't think that CM2 in its current form may work with the new ARM-based Macs that are coming out in the future. There are libraries now (that require recompiling the games, to my knowledge) that will convert OpenGL calls to Metal API, but they cost money (MoltenGL). So any patch that adds this feature will probably need to come out as a 'paid-for upgrade'. This library would have to be ported to ARM and then it may be possible to run a patched version of CM2 on the new Macs, but there may be other issues that require recompiling and emulation of the current code to work in an ARM environment. Rosetta 2 would almost certainly be necessary and that may have potential bottlenecks and incompatibilities with CM and other games. I highly doubt that Apple is going to provide any native support for OpenGL on the ARM-based Macs. They will likely support the Metal API and nothing else. The situation similar to this in the past that comes to mind is when Apple came out with OS X (on PowerPC CPUs initially) and OS9's 3D RAVE API was initially supposed to work in some sort of emulation mode to work with OS X's OpenGL. This ended up not happening and the CM1 series had no way of working, even though there was a 'Rosetta' emulation layer for this Apple transition.

I believe this same mission caused CTDs with CMSF1 (that never truly went away with any of the patches). I don't know if there was any significant rewriting of some of these missions for CMSF2. Some campaigns have seen such rewrites (usually to take advantage of some of the AI improvements), but I'm not certain if this is the case with TF Thunder.

Unfortunately converting from OpenGL to Vulkan is NOT a straightforward, simple process. Vulkan consists of lower-level graphics calls that require very extensive rewrites of the graphics code especially if you want to see significant performance gains. I'm not sure what accounts for the 700+ FPS on Quake 3 that you see on a a RPi4, but even with a highly optimized Vulkan rewrite I doubt you would see more than double the current frame rate in CM2 games. Admittedly such a performance boost would be very welcome, but a highly optimized Vulkan rewrite would come at the cost of potentially delaying CM3 for another 2-3 years.

In my experience this is common to CM2 series games. I'm not specifically aware of any setting that minimizes the effect (I don't know if shadows get subjected to the anti-aliasing processes in the video drivers). To my understanding it is a limitation of the shadowing system in CM2. Nicer appearing shadows would have a more significant impact on framerates.

Open a ticket with the Helpdesk (click the blue, '+New Ticket' in the upper right hand corner). With some financial proof of the purchases they should be able to set things straight.