MarkEzra

This is an interesting and informative thread. My ignorance of the subject of Stryker capabilities was reduced greatly. Thanks Dave for the post

Just remember you'll have to clean after him Abbott... </font>

Igor: "un-believable"? I'm not sure I follow. BFC reminds us ALL that dissent and respect for opinion are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps your rancor about the game is clouding your thinking. Why would posters be "inflamed" by a re-stating of rules long in existence? And what connection is there between "Not a Peep in two months" and Noting the forum, recently, has not always followed established guidelines? No matter what your POV the forum rules pertain to all.

Your house rotting, your game need fixing? Where are your Priorities, man!? Don't know Adam1 NEEDED to hear from you!

Oh, I dunno. How about spending 7 years talking up the game via word of mouth whenever possible, buying multiple copies to give as gifts, forming and maintaining a thriving online and personal community with multiple national and international "nodes", creating and hosting thousands of scenarios and game mods for users on our own dimes, and engaging the developers with wish lists and suggestions? No wait, we tried all that, and got no results. So I guess the answer is "nothing". -dale </font>

Way to go Hawk!! Don't fail to look CMAK and their forum....Really nice guys...not at all like those SOB's at CMBB...;} enjoy the games and welcome to the forums.

And I certainly agree. Supporting the companies that produce game that I care about is the right way to go. Avoidance of mainstream marketing seems well advised, too. But to not be too much of a "Fan Boy" to your view, let me point out that the hugely successful Close Combat series was a MS product and to this day is ardently played and discussed. So it seems that some games CAN break through. The CM series did not. I noted earlier that BFC noted revenue slips with each release of CMx1. With a Great product, terrific reviews and an enthusiastic, loyal fan base, BFC was not able to increase revenue or market share. Really a quandary. Perhaps something all of us "Nichers" may want to consider. I have appreciated your input on a pretty dry subject. But I've touched on all the points I had on the topic... Be my guest to have the final word

Just Steve and that only from his ears...

Two corrections first: I have not blamed any customer. If blame need to be assigned it falls at the feet of the developer I have not called any customer "stupid" Certainly Low sales and high complaints will catch a companies attention. But unlike your example of GM, BFC acknowledged and set about correcting the product defects immediately. And continue to do so. BFC's Top management communicated directly with customers on a very regular basis. That is not the case at the moment. Seemingly a management decision to devote full time to their next effort to resolve customer complaints... V1.05. But certainly some customers will be angry at not having an update. let's look at the GM customer pool. Any driver, anywhere may consider a Chevy. Surely that's 100 million people. How many autos are produced by GM each year? Frankly I don't know...perhaps you do. Could we agree that 100,000 units wouldn't be too far off? If GM produces bad quality vehicles and provides bad customer support then that 100 million people WILL look elsewhere. As we know, they did. Most car sales in the US this year is from a Japanese Company. Now the case of BFC is somewhat more problematic. In a Niche market like Wargaming There only are a handful of developers, generally struggling to keep their business afloat. By enlarge I would expect a four year development of a new product would be out of the reach of most of these developers. Since realistically the price of their product can't be more than say $100 US dollars and units of sale in the thousands, not the millions, it would be Pretty tough to pour a whole lot of resources into R&D. So what can the small pool of Wargame enthusiast do to encourage more and better game developers?

That is certainly the law of market forces. Perhaps BFC stumbling a "little" with the resultant angry outcries excoriating them for even trying to expand their market appeal will actually make developers of TOW and Matrix products NOT wish to improve their products but simply play it safe and avoid losing this tiny market niche they try to eek out a living in. So the question remains: how do Niche consumers encourage Niche Developers to keep providing innovative games?

An interesting point. You know those "How old are you" threads that pop up periodically point out a glaring truth. Most guys who play wargames and read their forums are not in the "targeted demographic age" that generally purchase games. As a group we're most likely a sub class category for targeting by game publishers. If this is true than what should we do to encourage game developers to create games we want rather than what 30 million 12-18 year olds clamor for and purchase first day/full price? [ December 03, 2007, 06:11 AM: Message edited by: MarkEzra ]

Q2 Be certain to allow enough time for the vehicle to load and unload. Short pauses may not be enough...spotting or other activity may draw out time longer than you have anticipated. There was a long dissertation on the the real life training and difficulty of load and unload...apparently akin to herding cats in RL... The method I TRUST to load and un load is: Halt vehicle first (pop smoke as needed) with No movement orders. Infantry order quick move to a specific location you choose. Reverse the order for pick up. Safe and sure every time

Thanks Splinty you just cleared up something I was wondering about. Syrian forces and especially UnComs should fair better when it comes to crawling...And Splinty...Glad your home and THANKS for your service!!

In your CM:SF/Game folder you will find saved games and more

'Card: I certainly understand how you can feel that way (especially about the painting!!) Many people feel just like you (especially about dead birds in the laundry hamper...a personal favorite in my household). I have found that companies which diligently try to correct mistakes can't assume to satisfy their customers retroactively. Many times the damage done is DONE...sort of like your neighbors leaf blower in too early AM.

Thanks...didn't have a clue and was playing "figure out the Licence tag" My mind does seem to run to the obscene in these cases... Like: You Mindless Mother--Vxxcker...

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" Allistar Crowley But here's what I think: Wait...Get the Rig Running and buy the game. Screw the demo... $20 Bucks is The "Hell I'll chance it" magic number for me If a game cost more than that....I pause to think...long and hard. And generally wait til it's $20....

Sirocco: I'm curious...what does this stand for: YMMV?

The point isn't in meeting the deadline, it's putting yourself in a position where you have a deadline to begin with. </font>

Responsibility for things under my control...like meeting a deadline...Yes...and said so. Things not under my control I try NOT to be responsible for A thought on "scale": There is an old saying in banking: "when you owe to bank $100 THOUSAND you're in trouble, when you owe the Bank $100 MILLION...the banks in trouble. I wonder if a developer of a very popular game franchise (Grand theft auto comes to mind) told it's publisher it wouldn't meet it's contract deadline line and in it's current state the game was barely playable, what the response would be. When the publisher stands to make a very large percentage of it's income from this SINGLE source you'd think they'd be pretty careful. Millions of pissed off fans or in the case of Niche development 1,000's...How can they be treated the same? Let me suggest something else. My understanding of marketing is the best time to introduce a toy or game is before Christmas (in the USA) the worst time to introduce damned near anything is July or August. But Publishers still need new products to release regularly. It's a revenue stream issue.

Certainly. I think I mentioned that my playing SP made me VERY careful of Group commands. But like you if I could order Vehicles to "follow a road ONLY in Column" it would be a nice touch.

The following are Facts NOT in dispute: Did Paradox meet it's contract Obligations?..Yes Did BFC meet Their contract Obligation?..No Could Paradox have further extended the time to ensure a proper product was published... Yes Could BFC have extended the time to ensure a proper product was delivered to consumers?... No Do anyone BUT BFC and Paradox know the internal discussions that took place prior or after July release? No Does NDA allow the parties to speak? No. The Following IS subject to YOUR interpretation: Does Paradox seem Concerned about product quality? Is BFC Concerned about product quality? Is Paradox to Blame for a shoddy product release? Is BFC to Blame for a Shoddy product release? Are Both to Blame? Will Blame fix the apparent epidemic of unfinished products being published? What type of action...if any... Should consumers take? Do you think there is a relationship between small niche developers and large publishers and buggy games that does not exist in the large Game developers of "popular" games? [ December 02, 2007, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: MarkEzra ]

No you're fine...in fact have another...But Unit A has had enough...Get their keys and call 'em a cab...

Ahhhh so you caught it. That was actually sent during my PBEM with Max Molinaro (Ruhr River). He is VERY good a "photoquips" hmmm have I just invented a word? And I was responding to one of his. But while it was all in fun. The medics are one of my real favorites. A visual reminder of the cost of war. And my true ignorance of the nature of combat.... Saw a post of yours elsewhere: Here's a thought by Old Winnie: "When you are going through Hell...Keep Going!"