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Brief overview of where CM is headed


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It's been a while since we've laid out our development plans. Time to change that :)

As always we are hard at work on more than one thing at a time. The big project in our laps now is a new CM Family that takes the Western Front from October 1944 through to the end of the war. We had hoped to have Bulge out a few months ago, but there were some hiccups that caused delays. Delays don't make any of us happy, but it's better than the alternatives; releasing a game that really isn't ready or isn't as packed full of stuff as it should be. We're in the final testing stages so you'll start to hear more from us about the release quite soon.

The initial release focuses on the Battle of the Bulge, though Hürtgen, Nordwind, and other ops in the Oct-Jan timeframe are also possible within the limits of the forces available in the initial release. Those forces are American and German with an emphasis on the ones involved in the Bulge. There's a lot of new forces (Volksgrenadier and Gebirgsjäger) and vehicles (Jagdtiger, M24 Chaffee, etc.), but no Telly Savalas :D What is less obvious are the myriad of small changes to otherwise familiar forces, such as random chances of more BARs for US Rifle Squads and only one LMG for Panzergrenadiers. These seemingly "minor details" add up to rather profound differences from other games. Medium Panzer Battalions with StuGs, for example, will certainly be noted by Quick Battle players who use the Random force options. Perhaps not with joy either!

Also in the near-term mix is our first ever Battle Pack, which is a collection of Campaign/s and/or Scenarios designed to extend existing game content. The idea is that when a Family is complete, or nearly so, we should do our best to make sure there's high quality content for it. Yes, there are lots and lots of fantastic player made battles to download, however you guys have made it clear to us that that neither player nor BFC made scenarios are substitutes for each other. This is our first test of that theory! The first Battle Pack is for CMBN and ties together the content of the Modules and Vehicle Pack.

In the mid-term we will switch our development efforts over to CMFI's second Module; Gothic Line. This takes CMFI through the end of the war and introduces a bunch of new forces. It's too early to spill the beans on details at this point, but for sure you'll see such things as Waffen SS and various Commonwealth forces.

We will also soon start work on the first Module for Red Thunder. The details of this are a little fuzzy at present, though it is safe to say that it will be packed full of fun. Think winter combat and the inclusion of Waffen SS and LW forces not seen in Red Thunder.

Black Sea is definitely not being neglected! After the Bulge game is released we're focused on extending the content of the existing Families instead of venturing into new ones until we get caught up on Modules. While more are planned they aren't going to be available for a while yet.

Besides new content we are starting work on Upgrade 4.0 very soon. We aren't sure when it will be ready for release, or specifically what will be in it yet, though we do have a long list based on your suggestions, so no worries there. What I can say is we're focusing this Upgrade on long standing requests. I can think of one that was first suggested sometime around 1998.

In semi-related news we're working hard on a new website, new store, and new Repository. It's been a while since we've overhauled these aspects of Battlefront and it's definitely time we did.

Well... I think that's a pretty good view of where things are headed in the near to mid-term timeframe, therefore this is a good place to stop.

Thanks for your support!

Steve

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Hi Steve,

 

Great news.  Always good to hear what you guys are working on. 

 

Probably a dumb question but will Bulge be basically the same game engine (e.g 3.0) as the current games or will it have some 'under the hood' improvements? From what you said above - I infer game engine 4.0 which you are working on will be a separate upgrade for all base games e.g CMBN, CMFI, CMRT and CMBS. E.g it won't come standard with the new base game CMBulge?.  Sorry still a little confused

 

cheers,

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Hi Steve,

 

Great news.  Always good to hear what you guys are working on. 

 

Probably a dumb question but will Bulge be basically the same game engine (e.g 3.0) as the current games or will it have some 'under the hood' improvements? From what you said above - I infer game engine 4.0 which you are working on will be a separate upgrade for all base games e.g CMBN, CMFI, CMRT and CMBS. E.g it won't come standard with the new base game CMBulge?.  Sorry still a little confused

 

cheers,

 

I'm pretty sure from what Steve wrote above that the answer to this (my bold bit of your question) is yes ... Bulge was hoped to be finished a while ago, and is now almost ready, but BF are only "starting work on 4.0 very soon" ... so 4.0 cannot be in Bulge.

 

Some "under the hood" changes are mentioned, but they aren't "4.0".

 

Oh and BTW: thanks for the update Steve!

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Besides new content we are starting work on Upgrade 4.0 very soon. We aren't sure when it will be ready for release, or specifically what will be in it yet, though we do have a long list based on your suggestions, so no worries there. What I can say is we're focusing this Upgrade on long standing requests. I can think of one that was first suggested sometime around 1998.

Steve

But with Upgrade 4.0 still using the outdated CMx2 engine i doubt we will see much improvement in key areas.

Instead on focusing on keeping the old car driving through the addition of a new oil filter, a spoiler and new tires it would be time to move on and invest into a new car.

If money or know-how is the problem...well there is kickstarter, i think we all would support you.

Another thing i dont like is that we now have it Official, the bulge game will only include "minor" changes.

No new trench/foxhole system. No significant gameplay enhancements, no fix for long standing technical issues.

Sorry, iam disappointed !

(But thanks for the heads-up Steve)

Edited by Wiggum15
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Very nice to hear after the info drought we've had. Sounds like a lot of great stuff headed our way. And very cool to see that CMBN is still getting love even though it was basically done. The future of CM is looking very bright.

 

 

Mord.

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Besides new content we are starting work on Upgrade 4.0 very soon. We aren't sure when it will be ready for release, or specifically what will be in it yet, though we do have a long list based on your suggestions, so no worries there. What I can say is we're focusing this Upgrade on long standing requests. I can think of one that was first suggested sometime around 1998.

 

 

This sounds very promising. Not because I'm hoping you might cater to my personal preferences, but because you are actively listening to the community. With so much combined military experience on this forum, and with so many combined hours of playtesting, that can only be recipe for success.

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Hi!

 

Thanks a lot for the update plans. Especially the plan to release Battle Packs makes me full of joy and something I’ve wished for a long time. Maybe a H2H campaign with branching scenarios ;) ?

/Big Boss

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Sorry, iam disappointed !

(But thanks for the heads-up Steve)

I told you that in another thread.

 

You would not like what you would hear. (But you keep wanting to live in fantasy land as to where these guys are going.)

 

 

 

Thanks Steve for posting the update and letting us know what the present plans are for the near future.

 

I look forward to the added content and additional items to come my way - I for one know you guys are working hard. Thanks

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I told you that in another thread.

You would not like what you would hear. (But you keep wanting to live in fantasy land as to where these guys are going.

Why fantasy ?

Just because i criticize the direction they are taking ?

Do i ask for completely unrealistic improvements ?

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Good news. I have a question though: i own all CM games that there currently are and i plan on getting all that will be released. Will i have to buy the 4.0 upgrade for each game seperately or will one purchase be sufficient for all titles?

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Good news. I have a question though: i own all CM games that there currently are and i plan on getting all that will be released. Will i have to buy the 4.0 upgrade for each game seperately or will one purchase be sufficient for all titles?

when u were upgrading CMBN and FI with 3.0 upgrade, you did it with the same upgrade (same Key) or you bought 2 different v3 Keys? 

 

it should Remain the same

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when u were upgrading CMBN and FI with 3.0 upgrade, you did it with the same upgrade (same Key) or you bought 2 different v3 Keys? 

 

it should Remain the same

You will have to buy two separate keys each 10$ (remember, scenarios are not updated and are probably not working correctly).

Its insane how long it takes to get the new Repository working...maybe better just use dropbox and let people post links...

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