Download/Reinstall Process

[DzrtFox]

I just completed a motherboard/CPU/memory upgrade in my machine and after reinstalling Windows, am attempting to re-download and install the BFC products I've purchased over the past few years.  I thought I'd share my experience doing this because it has been an exercise in frustration and it would be nice if this process was revamped at some point in the near future.

First, the good...  Red Thunder and Black Sea downloaded and installed without a hitch.  I was able to download and activate these without any issues via one Order Detail screen apiece.  It was slightly confusing as to which files I needed to download until I realized I could check the checkbox in the upper-left corner for the Windows files and download them all in one .zip file.  

 BARBAROSSA TO BERLIN -- I purchased this in 2016 and when I attempt to download it, I am told that I've exceeded the maximum number of download requests.  I only remember downloading this twice in the 3 years since I purchased it.  

BATTLE FOR NORMANDY -- I purchased this when it was still Engine 1 then later purchased the Engine 3 upgrade as well as the Commonwealth/Market Garden bundle.  I assumed I would need to download and install these in order to prevent issues.  I attempted to download Engine 1 using the link in the Order Detail, and got the message "The webpage at (url Removed) might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address."  I attempted to download the Commonwealth/Market Garden bundle and received the same message.  Using the link from the Upgrade 3 Order Detail, I was able to successfully download the installer.  For some reason it downloaded much slower than CMRT and CMBS, but at least it downloaded.  I ran the installer and noticed it defaulted to my My Documents folder for some reason (not a huge deal but just pointing it out). After installing, I attempted to activate my Engine 1 key and was told "Invalid serial number".  Used the Engine 3 upgrade key and it worked.  Entered my CW/MG key and it said that activation was successful, but when I run the game all of the CW battles are grayed out, saying I need to purchase the Commonwealth module to play those.

FORTRESS ITALY -- I purchased this at Engine 2 then later purchased the Engine 3 upgrade.  Attempting to download from the URL in either Order Detail gives the message "The webpage at (url Removed) might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address."

SHOCK FORCE -- I bought the original via GamersGate then bought the retail upgrade to 1.21 through BFC and later bought the Marines/British Force bundles (also through BFC).  Attempting to download any of the files I get my favorite message ""The webpage at (url Removed) might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address."

TL;dr -- After hours spent sifting through Order Details and trying to figure out which files to download and which keys to activate, I have 2-2/3 of the six games I bought ($341) working.  Compare this to the twelve games I bought through Matrix that I downloaded and installed via one convenient page with all of the download links and serial numbers in one place.  I love Combat Mission and think you guys make fantastic games, but this process is complete and utter garbage.

Also, I mentioned a few months ago about issues with the password reset in the forums not working.  I had to reset my password AGAIN to come make this post, then after typing it all up I hit "Submit Topic" and was told that I needed to be logged in to make a post.  Attempted to login using the password I JUST RESET, and it wouldn't work.  I had to reset it again just to come copy & paste this.

[Schrullenhaft]

If you're unable to download any of the games/mdoules, then contact the Helpdesk (click the blue '+ new ticket' button in the upper right). With the website update/revamp it's possible that some links don't point to valid downloads anymore. For CMBB, at the time there was a limit of 1 year or 10 downloads with the old download service, though I believe Battlefront moved away from this service more than 3 years ago. The Helpdesk should be able to get you a valid link to the installer files.

CMBN Engine 1 can't be activated/played in Windows 10. The copy-protection system associated with that release wasn't compatible with Windows 10. This would mean that CMBN + Commonwealth (at up to version 1.1) can't be played in Windows 10, though you purchased a CW/MG bundle, which should put the version the Engine at 2.0, which I believe is compatible with Windows 10 (not absolutely certain on that).

For CMBN just download and install the Engine 3.0 Upgrade ('Windows CMBN 3.12 Full Installer' - 4.0GB). ONLY this file is necessary to install everything for CMBN (for pre-4.0 installs). This should have all of the necessary content and I believe it should show everything activated with the keys that you previously activated. When you launch the game you should see three icons at the bottom of the main menu signifying 'base game', 'Commonwealth' and 'Market Garden'. The Commonwealth icon should be a Cromwell tank. If that isn't present, then the game isn't recognizing that the module has been activated. You can attempt to activate the CW/MG bundle license key again and/or contact the Helpdesk about the issue.

As for the location of the games, what you see is normal ('My Documents') since that was the Microsoft recommendation at the time. The later games moved the files around a bit, with only certain files appearing within the 'My Documents' folder.

CMSF no longer appears in the store (since CMSF2 has been released). The Helpdesk should be able to give you valid download links. The '1.21 Upgrade' for the Gamersgate version should be unnecessary as long as you install the Marines/British Forces bundle. With that you would need the ('Battlefront version') 1.21, 1.31 and 1.32 patches, which all appear with the link to the 'CMSF1 (v1.0 - v1.32) link on the Patches page.

I don't know about the issues with password resets and the forum. There are different logins for the Battlefront Store account and the Forum (two separate software entities).

[DzrtFox]

Thanks, Schrull. 

The installer that was linked to the Order Detail for the CMBN Engine 3 upgrade actually was the 3.12 Full Installer, so that's the one I got on the third attempt...  The Commonwealth module must not be getting recognized because there is an icon for the base game and Market Garden, but no Cromwell.

The URL for the installers for CMFI, CMSF, and CMBB all lead to dead/not working links, so I will submit a ticket for all of these issues.

I am 100% certain there is an issue with the password reset for the forums.  I was locked out twice just trying to come respond to this post.  I reset the password, have my browser save the updated password, and it immediately doesn't work whether I use the saved password or type it myself.  I get locked out, have to wait until my account unlocks, reset it again, and that buys me enough time to make a post.  I have no issue logging into my Store account.

[Schrullenhaft]

Regarding CMBN's Commonwealth modue: I can't remember if the 3.0 version has this, but look around for the 'Activate New Products - CMBN' link. It may be on the desktop or possibly in a folder in the Start Menu or in the folder for CMBN (typically at 'C:\Users\{your account name}\My Documents\Battlefront\Combat Mission Battle for Normandy\'). Launch this shortcut and put in your Commonwealth/MG license key and see if it activates the Commonwealth module, which typically should indicate that the module has been activate with it being listed in one of the green boxes on the activation results. If this doesn't work, you may want to contact the Helpdesk and tell them about your problem (and possibly provide the license key that you're using).

[DzrtFox]

Yep there was a shortcut on my desktop after installation of CMBN and I made the mistake of deleting it along with all of the other shortcuts that got installed (I like keeping my desktop clean).  I searched through the install folder and the My Documents folders for the shortcut and haven't been able to find it again.  Not sure if it matters but I changed the default install directory from My Documents to the Battlefront folder that got created by the CMRT and CMBS installs (changing the sub-folder to CMBN obviously).  I see subfolders in My Documents for CMRT and CMBS, but nothing for CMBN.  I did a quick look through the subfolders in the install directory and couldn't find anything there either.  Even though it's just one key for the bundle, you think re-activating the same key might activate the Commonwealth module?  I'll give it a shot if I can find the shortcut again...

Also not to beat a dead horse (too late I know), but I had to reset my password again to make this post.  While I was sitting here typing this, I attempted to login to the forum in another browser using the password I just set (and I'm 100% sure I'm typing it correctly), and it tells me it's wrong.  Surely I can't be the only person having this issue?  I use both Linux and Windows and can reproduce the issue in both OSes so I don't think it's any external software causing the issue.

[A Canadian Cat]

Re install directories:

Microsoft changed how they allowed access to files in the program files folder after CMBN was released so the next game started using the my documents folder for the game files. I'm not sure why but the CMBN code was not changed to match. Instead the install was changed to put the game itself into a writable location by default. I don't think that installing CMBN into the program files folder will work smoothly. Maybe it will be fine if you run under an administrator account.

Personally I have a Programs folder where I put applications that expect to write data to thier install location. I put CMBN there. Actually now I just put all the games there so I can white list a single root directory to prevent anti virus scans of the games.

Re password resetting:

Well no one else is complaining about it. Oh wait there might be a reason for that Have you reported it to the help desk? Are you having the same trouble with the help desk account too?

[DzrtFox]

Everything seems to be working fine as far as the install location for CMBN other than the Commonwealth module not activating (and not being able to find the Activate shortcut anywhere).  

I submitted tickets this morning for the download/activate issues I'm having and a separate one for the forum password reset.  It created a new Help Desk account for me when I submitted the tickets, and I've been able to login to that one fine using the password it generated.  I'm also able to login to my store account fine.  The only issue is with the forum password...  I have to reset it every time I come to make a post, and the updated password doesn't "stick" for some reason.  I tried a simple password this time with no special characters or numbers just to see if maybe that was causing an issue, but same problem...

[A Canadian Cat]

Cool. I am confident that the pros at the support desk will help. The actual forum sw is hosted by a third party so there could be some delay if the problem goes all the way back there. Hope to hear regular posts from ya soon.

[DzrtFox]

It may be that I turn UAC off on my machine that the install location for CMBN isn't an issue (it is annoying having to acknowledge every time I want to run a program so I just take my chances with it off).

Thanks Ian!  (and yes, I had to reset my password again to make this post...  the simple password I used last reset still wasn't working when I came back to post this.). Hopefully they can get it ironed out.

[A Canadian Cat]

Oh yeah turning off UAC would solve any problems that might arise from your setup.

Fingers crossed ok no the log in problems.

[DzrtFox]

Success!!

Big shout out to John at the Help Desk, who went through all of my issues and resolved each one of them within a couple of hours of me submitting the ticket (on a Saturday morning, no less!!)  I now have working copies of all six games again!!!

The forum password issue turned out to be (at least mostly mostly) my fault.  All of this time, I've been attempting to login using my email address.  On a hunch this morning while doing some troubleshooting with John, I tried using my screen name rather than my email address and it worked on the first try!  The username input says Display Name or Email Address, and for some reason it never occurred to me to even try my screen name in all the months this hasn't worked until now.  

As aggravating as this process has been at times, I've gotta say that the level and speed of tech support has made up for it.  John deserves a raise!!   

[A Canadian Cat]

Excellent news. If the field says use name or email and you used email then it's not really your fault - the instructions are wrong. I can understand kicking yourself a bit for not trying that as a solution but not to hard.

Support is awesome though.

[DzrtFox]

Yeah I'm wondering if somehow my email address didn't get tied to my forum account.  I checked my profile and don't see email address listed anywhere an an option to check/update, but it seems like I at least had to validate my email when I first signed up for the account.  Maybe it got lost somewhere it the website updates... not sure.  Either way, I'm just glad I can login without issue again.  No idea why it never occurred to me to try my screen name before this morning...