My Steelbook experience

[Volodnikov]

The infamous video of the box was released the same day as the pre-order announcement, in which it plainly says Steelbook in the video. It also says the slogan, so you know it's some kind of specific product. People mention it as a "metal case" and "metal box" in the comments despite the Steelbook name, so I think most of you who saw Steelbook were just assuming that it would be more sturdier and made of more metal, as I initially did as well.

[slysniper]

Ok, it sounds like you collectors out there that want a perfect box not damaged have a issue with damaged boxes being received. I can solve that for you, I received mine in perfect shape, will send it in a box that will protect it and get it there in one piece. all it takes is you paying for the shipping and what the box is worth to you.

Let the bids begin, I just know I will make big bucks off of this.

I

[johnsaxon64]

Shipped on 24th May. Steelbook arrived in perfect condition this morning ( June 3rd ). No extra charges. Anyone not happy with condition or extra fees should take issue with their mail company, not Battlefront as there seems to be some kind of postcode lottery at play here.

[sburke]

Is it really the case that so many of us read "SteelBox" when what was said all along was really "SteelBook"???

I find this on one hand hard to believe, and on the other hand intriguingly possible.

Of course, all the original pages and links to the original announcement seem to have disappeared, and it's now all clearly "SteelBook[TM]"

I would have sworn I read "Steel Box" somewhere. I hazily recall "this comes in an attractive and unique Steel Box". Did my mind (and many other peoples') invent that???

GaJ

I can't speak for anyone else, but I can certainly believe I did that. I never heard of Steelbook before (I don't purchase many DVDs to begin with) and could easily see my hearing what I thought it was saying. In retrospect I wonder what I was thinking. A true steel box would have been more than just a couple dollars, it would have had to have been custom made. However for myself, steel or just a metal cover isn't that important. It's still a cool looking case for my discs, which I will probably never use as I have the game saved on a USB and an external hard drive. Don't even ask me why I bought it, even the manual I read on my PC. Just excited about the game and wanting a bit of a reminder of it on the shelf. Would've been even cooler if it included a vintage WW 2 map replica of the 1st Army Area of operations to put up on the wall. Come to think of it, maybe I'll just do that myself if I can find someone to print it. :-D

[Doug Williams]

Even the manual I read on my PC.

Not me. My CMBN manual has an honored place in my bathroom, just to the left of the throne.

[StellarRat]

I think the "steel" book is actually an aluminium book, :-) but I haven't tested it to see if it rusts. Nonetheless, I'm quite happy with my purchase. Based on the picture/psychoanalysis I see of the OP's collection, I'd say he is very "detail oriented" as evidenced by his spotless and well organized gaming area, hence, a possible source of his concerns. I also notice that someone in his family was a veteran, as was my father. Salute.

[bump]

I have to agree that I was disappointed with the so called steel box. It arrived with scratches on the outside, and I was surprised by its overall lack of quality. I guess I just assumed that it would have been more impressive than it actually was. That said, I have no regrets supporting BF by pre ordering it!

[Dynaman216]

My case arrived fine, since I really bought it just to have the CD I'm OK with the plasticyness of it.

The manual however - printing wise it is horrid. Last time I saw a manual with such a bad contrast (or lack of contrast) was the 3rd edition of the Command Decision miniatures rules. If I strain my eyes I can read the manual (in really bright light) - but my eyes are starting to go and the lack of contrast really hurts.

So BF - if you read this, please in the future, be very careful with anything other then standard black text on standard white background. It may be boring, but it is the standard for a good reason.

[Barrold]

I agree about the text of the manual...it definitely could be more eye friendly...but I think BFC agrees with that.

BDH

[Narses]

OK, I admit it, this is a rant and I will probably get nothing from it other than the "feel good" of venting. I also realize that this will most likely raise the ire of many Battlefront fanboys.

First, who am I? I'm a retired computer systems analyst and multi-platform programmer. I’ve been playing PC based games, from FPS to adventure and sims, since '84, starting with MS Flight Simulator 1.0.. I currently own over 500 “boxed” games, many of which can be seen on my personal homepage at: http://leadmeister.250x.com/index.htm (click on “My Rigs”).

Combat Mission, time on the ground: My brother introduced me to CMBO several years ago. He’d been playing it for many years prior and convinced me to give it a try. I loved it! Since then we’ve played CMBB and CMSF, all via PBEM. We both like CMBB the best and continue to play it even now. I made a little movie of one of our CMBB games and posted it on You Tube (

).

The rant: I just received my CMBB “Steelbook” and, just like my Brother, was shocked at what I really got. This so called steel book was a very poorly designed inner plastic box with front and rear ultra-thin steel (?) laminates press fitted on. It was shipped to me in a thinly padded envelope and, like my Brother’s, was damaged upon receipt. His was bent and mine, even though not bent, had one of the inner (upper right) lid tab holder slots broken out which now prevents the lid from fully locking down. Further, I immediately noticed that the design of the inner plastic recess that holds the book in place was devoid of any open access indentations that would allow the manual to be lifted out with your finger or thumb. Instead, you are relegated to turning the box on its side and “dumping“ the manual out.

The manual itself was even more of a disaster. What was the BF design team thinking when they chose to use ultra small light brown (tan) text and graphics on a light tan background. It’s an eyestrain experience to say the least, and pretty much makes the manual useless on the long term. Also, the right margin is too narrow and forces you to bend the book open way too far which damages the spine (pages on the floor very soon).

Well, that’s it, I’m done. Final conclusion … I’m stunned that BF did this to a largely loyal repeat user base. It does not bode well for their future.

My box came in fine condition but I do agree the choice of colors for text and page is a little rough on Narses' old eyes.

My first PC game was Atari's "East Front" (was that the title?) and my PC tower was about the size of a standard toaster. Guess I should've kept it as a historical relic !

[LeadMeister]

. . . I also notice that someone in his family was a veteran, as was my father. Salute.

You're right StellarRat, that's my Dad's flag on the top of the left bookshelf. I come from a family of Vets. My Dad was in the Army (30's), my older brother was in the Navy (50's), I was in the Marines (60's), and my younger brother retired from the Air Force just a few years ago.

Thanks for the "Salute", sending one back at ya.

[Col Deadmarsh]

The text in the book is hard enough to read but the images in the manual are almost illegible.

Seriously guys...why would you print something in brown scale? Was there a special on sepia tone that day at the printers?

[WillLight]

Will you read my post more carefully before you make a dumb comment. I never called it fraud.I'm not even upset, just telling it like it is.

Actually, I read your post carefully, here is what you wrote:

I won't go as far as calling it fraud, but it definitely was misleading advertising. It's like having one microgram of gold in a coin,and calling it a "gold coin". Who had the brilliant idea of putting tiny tan letters on tan pages? The game itself is fine, but this sort of stuff will keep me away from future preorders and taking their word for anything.

So, you say you won't call it fraud and then go on to compare it to an example of fraudulent behaviour and conclude that you will keep from taking their word for anything. Nice semantics there but not really convincing...

[Volodnikov]

No, it's more like having one microgram of gold in a coin and calling it Goldtoken, which isn't really Battlefront's fault if you find the product name misleading. They advertised the correct name of the product and even made a video and interactive box. Perhaps Battlefront should have explained the Steelbook a little bit further, but really, it wasn't that hard to find out what a Steelbook actually is. Maybe you should take it up with the Steelbook creators for coming up with a name like Steelbook.

[Battlefront.com]

Promoting a game is really no different than making a game. You try to anticipate what the customer will do, but there's only so much you can do to outguess the many different ways many different people can look at the same thing. In CM we've often found someone reporting a bug or problem and we look at it and say "huh... never thought someone would do that" or "never thought someone would have a problem with that". AFTER someone raises the issue it's often times completely obvious. But not necessarily before.

For example, not once did any customer ask us before we shipped "hey, is this box really 100% steel"? If someone had we would have said "no" and explained the details in text. At which point the customer would have likely said "oh, thanks! Well, based on the name of the product, and what the video looked to show, I thought it was going to be 100% steel". This is where we would have said to ourselves "ahhhhh... I see your point. Well, we should clarify that".

Unfortunately, we got the feedback that we needed better clarification after the fact. And now it's obvious the clarification was needed (for some at least) before the fact. Life's a rather imperfect experience for everybody. Just ask iPhone4 users

Steve

[Aragorn2002]

I bought the steel box, but I'm not even remotely interested in it. I just did it to support these guys. Couldn't care less, even it they would've sent it in a plastic bag. Having said that, I understand people look upon it as a collector's item. Discussions like these solve little though. Just contact BF about the damage. I'm sure they are willing to do something about it.

Btw, my steel box arrived completly intact. My only complaint is that the modules aren't included...;-D

[ShiftZ]

I was fortunate enough to have received my Steelbook in perfect condition. I'm happy with the purchase and like the FM. Everything will remain in mint condition for as long as I own the sucker; I'm even keeping it in the US Postal sleeve it came in. I'll use the PDF printable version of the manual to get a nice laminated FM in coil binding.

[Vanir Ausf B]

Did people really think they were going to receive the game encased in a solid block of face-hardened armor, for just a few dollars extra? I really like the Steel Book. It's more attractive than what I expected.

But I can't read that manual for more than a few minutes before my head hurts.

[GreenAsJade]

If you read something that says

"in this special offer you get the CDs in a beautiful Steel Box"

what do you think you are supposed to expect?

I distinctly remember thinking "gee, that would be special, I wonder how they're managing that ... I'm in".

GaJ

[Vanir Ausf B]

I think it was actually called a Steel Book.

[GreenAsJade]

In reckon this is the one point that we might never ever know for sure.

It's interesting that other people than me share the same recollection that they read a sentence like the one I mentioned above.

We will never know for sure whether we just read what we expected to read, since none of us have heard of "SteelBook" before.

Now all the old links are gone and BFC sure isn't going to tell us if they mistakenly wrote Steel Box

GaJ

[Vanir Ausf B]

Well, this is an announcement of the "SteelBook Limited Collector Edition" on Worthplaying, dated March 10.

http://worthplaying.com/article/2011/3/10/news/80297/

The announcement does link to what it calls a "SteelBox" video, although the video itself is labeled "SteelBook"

I was not personally expecting a 100% metal case for my $5 extra, or whatever it was, but maybe I just had low expectations. I'm actually glad it's not all steel. DVDs are difficult enough to separate from plastic holders.

[Volodnikov]

Good find. And the official Battlefront news post remains unchanged, it still references to "SteelBox".

This was posted on some forum on March 10th, so the TM wasn't added in later.

http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?99020-CMBN-pre-order-tentative-release-date&daysprune=-1

History is being made today! Battlefront.com is thrilled to announce that pre-orders are now open for our new flagship wargame Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy. What started 11 years ago with the release of multiple Wargame of the Year "Combat Mission Beyond Overlord" (still on PC Gamer's list of Best Games of All Time) is now coming full circle, and finally returning to the beaches and bocage fields of Normandy, France, 1944.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy (CM:BN) faithfully recreates the experience of tactical land warfare in Western France during World War Two. Using the unique Turn-Based (WeGo)/Real-Time hybrid game system of our proprietary CMx2 battle engine, the first installment in this new series covers the three months after the Allied D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944, from Operation Overlord in June through the Cobra Breakout in August.

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy is now available for pre-order in a special SteelBook Limited Collector Edition! The metal SteelBook is a high-quality retail-style package, fitting up to 4 discs inside (the game disc as well as up to three future modules) as well as the full printed 200(!) page manual. If you want to find out more about this exclusive box, check out the Interactive Online Viewer (*Windows only, Internet Explorer required) courtesy of Scanavo, or the SteelBox YouTube video.

This SteelBook edition is limited, and only available as long as supplies last. Orders will be fulfilled in the order they are placed.

If you pre-order now for only $60 plus S&H, you secure your SteelBook Limited Collector Edition copy today!

But wait, there is more:

- you will be able to also download the game immediately on release day. So you get both the digital download right away AND the collector's box by mail.

- unbelievably, you even save $5 on this pre-order deal in comparison to purchasing a Download&Mail Delivery for $65 + S&H after release.

Click here to secure your copy of the SteelBook Limited Collector Edition

Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy is scheduled for release around the end of April, 2011. Once released, it will be available as a digital download ($55), via mail ($55 + S&H) and both download & mail package ($65 + S&H).

Mac users! The game will be available for both the PC platform as well as Mac OS X. Today, we are launching pre-orders for the PC version only! If you are interested in purchasing the Mac OS X version, please wait until we open pre-orders separately for it in the next weeks. The Mac OS X version is currently scheduled to be released not too long after the PC version.

And in order to shorten the wait for R(elease)-Day, here's something to oogle at: in the CM:BN media section, you'll find 5 sets of desktop wallpapers and a new in-game gallery with 8 brand new screenshots! Enjoy!

But in this way, GreenAsJade is partially correct, Battlefront did mention "SteelBox", although probably an honest mistake. However, Steelbook was mentioned way more times and SteelBox was never mentioned ever again. Pretty much everyone has been referring to it as a steel box since the pre-order announcement though.

[Vanir Ausf B]

So where is my steel BOOK, BFC!? My manual was printed on PAPER! (And from the browness of it, probably recycled paper :mad: )

[Elmar Bijlsma]

The whole Box/Book thing probably just stems from us being used to getting our software in boxes (or cases) not books. BFC's one referencing to it as a Steel Box is not what led us astray, it was just them falling in the same trap we did.

Bit of a non issue anyway.

Ah, a manual printed on steel/aluminium pages. That would rock.

Anyway, I think that BFC should team up with GHQs 1:285 line of tanks. They ought to be able to strike a very good deal for one piece of armour cheap, with a GHQ leaflet included. Wargamers are in their heart still the type to push miniature tanks across the carpet going *POW* *BLAMMO* And if they vary the type of vehicle included, they might create some forum buzz. "You got a Sherman? I found a King Tiger in my case, bitches!"