Moon
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Posts posted by Moon
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When I click on the download button, it wants me to add the update to the cart for the price of one dollar. Another thread said that it was related to the cost of the DRM and providing downloads of patches.
Correct. In order to switch you from the Paradox version to our version, we need to pay license fees to eLicense. The $1 upgrade covers this cost (plus other associated cost).
If I find a solution with the redownload of games or a fast delivery, I wont have any issue though, since the information for the patch also reads that this update is not needed in case of a present module installation.You can redownload games for 365 days after your first download, for up to 10 times. Downloads expire automatically after that. But you do not need to redownload anything more than once. Unlike many other services, you can copy our games as often as you like. Which means that after downloading it once, you can make a copy to your USB stick, external HD etc. and keep the Setup file there *infinitely*. There is no need to download it again, just keep what you downloaded once and don't delete it.
Martin
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1. Will Combat Mission Battle for Normandy be distributed over other services besides the Battlefront store?
At some point, probably yes. We put most of our games into third party channels *eventually*. This may take a couple of years, though
We do it only usually when we feel that we have catered to our core market already. We like to sell to that core market directly; this ensures that the people who made the game are getting the compensation for the game.2. Will the other versions (if there are any) continue to be supported and not "dropped" like the Paradox version (whatever the reasons are, I am sure there were legitimate ones)?This isn't a question that can be answered by anybody. Paradox dropped support for the game after a dozen or so patches, nearly three years after the initial release. No game gets that much support from anyone, anyway (except ours from us)
So this isn't surprising at all. Few publishers give their customers as much free stuff as we do 
3. If I purchase a retail version, does this require an activation as well?There is no retail version planned at this point, so I can't answer that. For someone who says that he likes infinite downloads and Steam (which is an online activation system ad infinitum), you seem to have odd concerns
4. If it does require an activation, do I receive the activation code right on purchase as well (since it is mentioned that these things are stored on my account) or are they only linked to my user once I activate it by hand and the code itself is found in the jewel case?I suggest that you read our Knowledgebase at www.battlefront.com/helpdesk. All of your questions are answered there about how we work. But to answer your question: you get your key immediately after purchase for "download only" and "download&mail" delivery options, and do not have to wait for the mail to arrive. That would be... well, odd. For "mail only" purchases, of course, you have to wait for the mail.
Basically, I would like to purchase this online with infinite redownload possiblity OR purchase it as a boxed version and have it delivered as soon as possible, or both (which is available).We offer "download & mail" options. All pre-orders are "download&mail" automatically.
I prefer the digital version though and because I do not own a cd or dvd burner, it should also be in a place where it can be redownloaded infinitely or where I do not have an issue activating any other version with a legitimate key.You do not need a disc burner to make a backup copy. You can copy to a USB stick (they're a couple of bucks these days) and put that somewhere safe. We do not offer infinite download storage at the moment. We may do it at some point, but it's not planned in the near future.
Also, have you thought about offering a torrent tracker service...No torrent anything from us.
Can owners of non Battlefront version still participate in the discussion on these forums?Sure. Many Theatre of War players like yourself who bought it from Steam (where it is a subcontract from us anyway) are here.
Last but not least, is there a public beta planned for CM:BN (uncancle-able preorders maybe)?No, sorry.
Martin
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You do not need your CMSF license key (ever again) if you have a module. See our Knowledgebase here.
There is no need to hunt license keys. Keys are either printed on the product (for mail order delivered items) or stored in your online account at www.battlefront.com/store (for downloadable items).
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"CMSF beta tester" proves that they were there when it mattered, and not just joined opportunistically for a popular hit :-)
Most CMBN testers are also CMSF testers. The earlier title seems to take precedence, automatically.
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Ooops, I retract my thanks, an online version is not super helpful, I spend more than enough time at my computer as it is.
It's not meant to be helpful as such, to be honest. It's more like a teaser (and a way for us to update the manual, if needed; can't do that with a printed version
) - the useful one will be the manual included with the game (both as PDF and a printed version, if you purchase one of the delivery options including mail). -
Is the CMSF manual I linked to above viewable on your iPad? If it is, then the Normandy manual will be, too.
(I know it works in Safari, not sure if there is anything specific to the iPad that would get in the way, though...)
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Schrullenhaft is correct (as usual)
No downloadable PDF, but an online viewer version like we have up for most of our games (e.g. here is the v.1.21 manual for CMSF).Martin
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We do not accept Maestro. But you may be able to use Maestro with Paypal, and then use Paypal to make the purchase from us.
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Yes, we will publish the manual online before the release. But it is not ready yet.
Martin
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My curiosity lies in why BFC doesn't get involved with Steam!
The answer is surprisingly simple: we don't think that it would make any significant difference in our business. Just because a couple million kiddies are playing big budget FPS games on Steam doesn't mean that it's a good platform for us.
For a small publisher with a mainstream game and without an established outlet, it is probably the only option (notice I didn't say "good option")
But for us, there is as little incentive to be on there (in any more involved way than we are now) as there is to start doing full page ads in XBox magazine Martin
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Is the game going to be offered in hardcopy? Disk, printed manual, in a box etc.
Of course.
I guess basically will we be playing the demo before the game is available in full?The demo will be released around the same time when the game is released.
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$80 for an upgrade? Wow. And to think that people complained about our $1 Vista upgrades...
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Correct, unlicensing is not possible (which means, you can"t forget it, either :-))
The system will not be applied to previous games, by and large, with probably a small number of exceptions (if any).
Martin
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Well I'd be very interested to hear the specifics. As I read the article, I thought of Battlefront - because I think that Battlefront already employ many of the strategies mentioned.
Indeed we do. Other Means and Thomm just mentioned a couple... demos (which are not only rock-bottom priced, but FREE), and using multiple distribution channels (such as retail) to widen our customer base and reach people who would never dream of looking for us online.
I don't have much time to dive into specifics, but let me illustrate the logic flaws by taking the conclusions from the article and moving them to a different market. Let's say car manufacturers:
Following the advice from the article, car manufacturers should start giving away their cars for free, in the hope that people will buy their next car from them because they liked the first one so much.
Think about if for a sec, or longer. The longer you'll think about it, the more problems will become apparent.
Catering to pirates is the worst approach you can take. People who suggest this do not have to make a living off of selling software. The only differences between stealing cars and stealing software are that the latter is easier, more anonymous, and more difficult to prosecute, and socially more slightly accepted.
And don't be mistaken to think that piracy is "free". It's not. We ALL pay for piracy, including the pirates.
Martin
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`In order to finish initializing, this application must first be run by a user with administrator privileges.
Please contact your system administrator for help. 0-3`
This is a Windows UAC (User Access Control) alert, telling you that you need to "Run as admin". Right-click, select Properties, and set the games to "Run as administrator". That ought to fix the problem.
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Correct. What you purchased and downloaded, you can use indefinitely. Make a backup copy (e.g. burn to disc, USB stick, external HD or whatever), and you will be able to use it, reinstall etc. for ever. What also does not expire is the license you already activated. Once you have the game up and running on your PC, you keep it for as long as your PC is running
What expires is merely the re-download from our server. There really is no need to download more than once anyway (as long as you make a backup; or buy the download&mail option to start with), so the re-downloads are mainly for customers who had a problem to begin with (with their Internet connection etc.).
At the moment, we do not offer "digital storage" for games you buy from us. We sell games, not server clouds
Martin
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PS. The article you linked to is crap and full of logical faults.
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dakuth, you answered most of your questions yourself, actually.
Would a rock-bottom pricing structure work?The answer is no. Because:
For example, imagine it's priced at $5. Obviously anyone that reads these forums are going to buy it for that price. We're literally salivating for it now at any price.a) why sell at $5 if we can sell to the majority of our existing customer base at $50?
But consider we could say to all our friends "this is the greatest strategy game EVER, and it's only 5 bucks!" I know a chunk of my friends would pick it up for that price just to check it out.Now here's the real kicker: Most of them will not like it. Too involved. Too hardcore. But there would be SOME that would become converts.
We would need a lot more than SOME converts. Specifically, if we were to sell at $5 instead of $50, we would need 10 NEW converts for every customer we already have now. In other words, we would need to increase our customer base tenfold. That's not a lot if your customer base is 10 people ... but it becomes a LOT if it already is counting in the tens of thousands as is.Dropping the price works for mass market resellers (fancy digital or brick'n mortar, they're all the same
). It works because dropping the price creates a boost in short-term sales. (And that's all they care about because once a product is milked, they move on to the next.) And it works because the mass market games they sell appeal to a very broad customer base.None of this is true for us. Elmar summed it up:
Wargames are a very small market in the first place.Dropping the price is unlikely to translate in very much more sales as damn near everyone in this hobby is already considering a purchase.
We could be giving away copies of CMBN for free and you would still not get 99% of the kiddies out there scrambling for the latest cheat on their XBox or trying to impress their buddies on Steam to like it much. All we would do is create a short term bubble and cannibalize the product (as well as our future) in the long run.
Martin
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The download & mail option will cost $55 (instea o $45 now), yes. Plus shipping of course.
The "download only" version will cost $45. But then of course you don't get the printed manual nor the backup copy on CD (remember, downloads expire).
The "mail only" version will cost $45 also, plus shipping.
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Actually, you can already read up on the new licensing system when you check out the online SCWW1 manual. The manual contains information about how things will work (although the areas referenced in the manual are not yet actually active).
From the player perspective, not much is changing. The biggest change I guess is that there will be no need to unlicense anymore (at all). Other changes include better UAC compatibility and probably less problems with anti-virus packages (although, to be honest, some of those out there are so crazy that they will probably cause you problems as soon as you switch on your PC
I remember once NortonIS was so paranoid in its default install, it was blocking the Norton support pages where I wanted to find out how to friggin' uninstall it :-))One thing won't change (and it is the same with pretty much every DRM out there, since it's the very purpose of a DRM): the licensing system is there precisely to limit the number of installs. When you buy a game, you are really buying a "license" to use it. You do not own the game, you own a license to run it. And the license is not open end, meaning that you usually only get 1 or 2 so-called "seats" with it. If you want more, you'll have to buy an additional license (we offer discounts for that if you ask).
If you look at the End User License Agreement printed in the manual, you will see that we allow you to have one copy of the game installed and another copy as "backup". Now, obviously many people use this to have two copies of the game running at the same time, but that's ok. We're not enforcing the backup part.
The new licensing system will achieve the same end effect, but it's even less strict. You get 2 activations by default, and 2 overflow activations by default, so in theory you can have 4 concurrently. However, if you end up needing more, you will begin running into limitations. That's good for us (because it means that people cannot exploit the system and endlessly install a copy of our game without paying for additional licenses), and it's good for you (because in the short run, the system is more flexible, and in the long run, without the requirement to unlicense, it is also much more forgiving on the player).
Anyway, more details will be made public about this later this month when the game is actually released.
Martin
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Exceptional, of course (as was this incident), but really crazy stuff happens in battles.
Another advantage of engineered vs. designed for effect
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Yup, looks correct to me. You could have skipped installing the first patches, though. Marines *is* v1.10, British *is* v1.20, NATO is v1.21. The only one you needed is the v1.31 AFTER installing the modules.
Martin
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Perhaps the scenarios are for earlier versions of the game?
We do it only usually when we feel that we have catered to our core market already. We like to sell to that core market directly; this ensures that the people who made the game are getting the compensation for the game.
We would need a lot more than SOME converts. Specifically, if we were to sell at $5 instead of $50, we would need 10 NEW converts for every customer we already have now. In other words, we would need to increase our customer base tenfold. That's not a lot if your customer base is 10 people
Questions about download limit/shipping etc.
in General Discussion Forum
Posted
PS. As for "fast delivery", I'm not sure what this means exactly, but when you purchase a "download&mail" from us, you get the key (and download; unless it's a non-released pre-order) right away, and the hardgoods (printed manual, disc etc.) come in mail usually a few days later.