Schrullenhaft

The 'old' Panzer Elite game ? Yes, though I did not play it extensively or modify it with the later mods. I'm not much of tank sim person so I can't really compare the two (other than T-72 has nicer graphics).

T-72 Balkans on Fire and T-72 Iron Warriors are the same game as far as I'm aware. Yes, there is only one 'campaign' with 18 missions. Most of the individual missions outside of the campaign are geared towards training. Crazy House is the original developer and IDDK is the original Russian distributor. Battlefront became a distributor through IDDK and became associated with the game outside of Russia. Other distributors also distribute the game, such as in your case Strategy First. Crazy House closed down, with a number of the staff going over to Graviteam. IDDK is still in business, though computer software distribution is only one of their lines.

Yes, the LOS limitations with smoke and fog are still in effect, you just can't see the 'visuals' of the fog. Smoke should still be viewable since it uses a different method to display (just moving bitmaps). Fog is no longer viewable since video drivers have dropped support for fog-tables it in Windows Vista and later Windows versions.

I'm not sure who distributed 'Iron Warriors', which is the same as T-72 Balkans on Fire (just a different distributor). There are no further patches for the game and I assume that what you have with the game is the latest. Copy-protection systems vary between distributions and a Battlefront patch for T-72 CANNOT be used for an 'Iron Warriors' version of the game. It's possible that even if the versions are different, they may be the same (this depends on how much the developer keeps distributions similarly numbered or not). There are some missions in the Repository. You'll need to create a Battlefront account in order to download from there. I assume, but don't know for certain, that these missions should work for Iron Warriors.

Where do you have CMBB installed to ? Is it in your 'Program Files (x86)' directory (assuming a 64-bit version of Windows 7) or somewhere else ? You should be able to manually tell the patch where the game is in order to patch it. There is a newer patch, 1.04, but it is NOT free. It changes the copy-protection system from the simple disc-based system to eLicense (which can have some issues with DEP - Data Execution Prevention - and security software). The 1.04 patch updated some DirectX calls to be a little more compatible with the drivers that had come from AMD and Nvidia when Windows Vista was released. Back then the games became unplayable with customers running DirectX 10 capable video cards and the drivers available for Windows Vista. A short while after the patch was released, newer drivers got rid of the problem that CMBB and CMAK users were experiencing. However the 1.04 patch does fix an issue with Radeon video cards and some corruption appearing in the 3D screen (a repeating 'glitch' that is a miniature bitmap). There are still issues with text appearing in the info boxes for Radeon users (requiring the 'Radeon Text Fix'). Also 2D screens can go 'black' and require an Alt-Tab to minimize and then remaximize the screen to refresh it. Fog graphics also don't display for both Radeon and GeForce users with Windows Vista / 7 / 8.

You can try some of the latest Intel drivers for the HD 4000 Graphics. For Windows 7/8 64-bit we've seen them work with CMBN, so I assume that they would work for CMSF too: Intel HD 4000 Graphics driver for Windows 7/8 64-bit, v. 15.31.9.64.3165, dated 5/10/2013 or Intel HD 400 Graphics driver for Windows 7/8 64-bit, v. 15.31.3.64.3071, dated 3/22/2013 It is possible though that your laptop may NOT allow you to use Intel provided drivers and you may be limited to those provided by the laptop manufacturer. If you're running Windows 8 32-bit, then I'm not sure if that driver will work or not. We have also seen that anything other than an Intel HD 4000 will NOT work, even with the latest drivers (though I don't know abou the latest 4xxx/Iris graphics chips).

I'm not sure if the ticket has been opened up or replied to regarding this issue. If this is simply a matter of an USB flight control being plugged in, then possibly unplugging it and running the game should typically work. If there was another USB device plugged in at the time of activation, then you may want that plugged in when attempting to run the game. If something else about the system has changed (beyond the USB flight control) and it is NOT easily or desirably reversed, then running the gsClean utility will probably be necessary.

As Wicky pointed out, the 'Forum' and the 'Store/Helpdesk/Repository' are different systems with different logins. If you have purchased anything directly from Battlefront.com since October 2007, then you will have an account in the store. However if you have changed email services, then you may have used an email account that you no longer use/have access to. CMSF was released in July/August 2007, which pre-dates the current store system. If you ordered a 'pre-order' of CMSF, then your license key was emailed to you along with the download link. The record of that purchase will not be in the store system since purchases before October 2007 were not incorporated into the current store system. Instead they are in an off-line sales database of license keys. If you ordered CMSF before October 2007 and you would like your license key, then open a Helpdesk ticket and provide information such as: 1) Full name used at the time of purchase. 2) Email address used at the time or order. This is crucial since this is a 'key' piece of information in finding accounts/orders. 3) Mailing/Billing address used at time of order. 4) When you placed the order (before October 2007). 5) What method of payment you may have used. For any purchases you have made since October 2007, there will be an account in the current store. You can 'reset' your password with this Lost Password form. Enter in the email address you would have used to make your purchase. If it is recognized you should get a success message an an email with the new, random character, case-sensitive password. If you get an error, then that email address wasn't used in the Battlefront Store. If you have changed email providers and no longer have access to the email account that was used to create the account, then we can possibly change the email address IF it is NOT being currently used in the Battlefront Store. The system does NOT have the capability to merge accounts. If you already have an account in use in the store, then we will need a different email address to use in order to reassign the email address. If you do get a password reset email, then near the top of the email it should list the 'User account'. The name after this text will be your 'username'. Often this is the first 25 characters of your email address, but that is not always the case. Regarding upgrading a Paradox version of CMSF. Yes, purchasing the Marines module means that you do NOT have to purchase the 1.21 Paradox/Retail upgrade. The Marines module brings your CMSF version to 1.10 and after that point you can use Battlefront patches to upgrade the game all the way to 1.32 (1.21, 1.31, 1.32). Also, with a purchase of the Marines module you would NOT need the base game's license key. The Marines module license key (once the module is installed) will activate the base game's content without activating with the base game's license key. Of course you CANNOT play the base game alone without its license key, but as soon as the Marines module is installed, then the full content of the game should work.

I'm not sure why 1.04 would be any different in this regard than previous patches... If you are running Windows Vista or later and the game is installed to your 'Program Files' or 'Program Files (x86)' directory, then the saves may be going to your 'VirtualStore' directory. This is a hidden directory that Windows will redirect writes to in order to avoid writing to the above protected directory (and some others). To avoid this and simply find your file in the directory with the rest of the game files, launch your game by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. With this privilege level the game can write to the 'protected' directories. If this works, then you can modify your shortcut so that you don't have to right-click each time. To do so, right-click on the icon and select "Properties" from the popup menu. In here go to the 'Compatibility' tab and at the bottom of this tab is a section labeled 'Privilege level'. Check mark the box next to the text that says "Run this program as an administrator". Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'.

Concerning the 'Churchill NA75', I believe the North Irish Horse (25th Tank Brigade) - the first unit to field this modification - received theirs in July '44, just outside of the time frame for 'Gustav Line'.

To my knowledge, the issue with the Fiat 626 truck's floating icon occurs when it is used as an 'Allied' vehicle. When used as an Axis vehicle the icon appears.

Launch the games by right-clicking and selecting "Run as administrator" from the popup menu. This gives the game the rights to write in the 'Program Files' (or 'Program Files (x86)') directory. The TOW series doesn't seem to work too well with Windows' UAC security and the 'VirtualStore' hidden directory. The 'Run as administrator' option gets around having to use the VirtualStore directory. You can modify your launching shortcut so that you don't have to right-click each time. To do so, right-click and select 'Properties'. In here go to the 'Compatibility' tab and at the bottom is a section labeled 'Privilege level'. Check mark the box next to the text that says "Run this program as an administrator". Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'.

The 'elicen40.dll' file is part of the eLicense copy-protection. You CANNOT use the Battlefront patch on the Gamersgate distribution because they use different copy-protection schemes. I don't know if Gamersgate will release a 1.07 patch, but it has to come from them as far as I'm aware. You may want to contact their support to see what they may know about this (or don't know). I'm not sure what to make of the 'segmentation violation' involving the Russian engineer unit. The 1.07 patch doesn't mention explicitly fixing such an issue, but it may have. Which particular campaign are you playing that gives you this error ?

No. It will be awhile before CM is coded up for AA assets to engage strafing aircraft. It was decided to add AA elements in the game because they were frequently used in engaging ground targets (especially some of the lighter caliber AA).

Yes, you can install the game on more than one computer, though the four activations aren't really intended to install on 4 different computers. The DRM for CMFI, Gustav Line and CMBN 2.x is, unfortunately, overly sensitive to changes to your system (moreso than the previous version used in CMBN and Commonwealth). This was not our intent with the DRM, but it is the situation we are in now. Regarding the DRM's response to the following: 1. Adding memory - this WILL unfortunately trip up the copy-protection system and produce an 'Error: errorcode' or 'License error' error. This will require using the gsClean utilities to delete activations and reactivate after the change. You really don't want to be changing your memory configuration often when it comes to our DRM. 2. Adding/removing USB devices - this can POTENTIALLY trip up the DRM. The DRM will make note of what USB devices are present at the time of activation. Having a different set of USB devices present or possibly missing while launching the game may result in the previously mentioned errors. Simply unplugging (or possibly plugging in) the USB device and relaunching the game should hopefully get you back to normal in regards to the DRM. I'm not sure what particular USB devices the DRM will pay attention to. A device with storage space (flash memory drive, phone, MP3 player, etc.) MAY not trip up the DRM, but I don't really know. 3. Adding/Removing HDMI (or DisplayPort) monitors - this can also POTENTIALLY trip up the DRM. We have seen customers attempt to run the game on a big-screen monitor hooked up via HDMI and that has tripped the DRM. Unplugging and going back to the previous display has allowed the game to run without deleting the current license activation. Changing configuration of displays (multi-monitor setup) may also trip the DRM. 4. Upgrading/changing device drivers - this can also trip the DRM. I'm not sure which particular drivers will trip the DRM, but video drivers and sound drivers updates may frequently do this. In each of these cases you have to determine if the device/change is something that you want active while playing CM. If it is, then you will need to contact the Helpdesk and open up a ticket requesting the gsClean/CleanMachine utilities for your platform (Mac or PC/Windows) and the specific games/modules/upgrades you have (since you may need more than one utility). These utilities delete your current activation and allow you to reactivate (since the 'Error: errorcode' and 'License Error' errors do NOT allow you to reactivate when they occur). The utilities are unique to each game/module/upgrade, so you do need specific versions sent to you. When activations are needed, we will typically add them when you open up a ticket in the Helpdesk. We will watch out for abuse of this sytem, so making too many requests will probably result in us declining to add an activation for awhile (and this would be a lot of requests, not just a few). We do try to get you running again, so there isn't an intent to rob you of your game because you made some changes. With CMFI, Gustav Line, CMBN 2.0 and all newer games, Martin is the one who will have to add the activations. There can be a bit of delay involved with that since Martin has a lot of other responsibilities. So not every request will see quick turnaround and there can be a bit of delay in getting an activation. When it comes to the configuration of your computer, you will want to decide what you really want (or the most convenient setup) while running the game. Once you settle on that, then activate the game. You will need to get the computer back to this state in order to play the game without tripping up the DRM. If you make changes/upgrades to your computer, you may want to apply multiple changes at one time if you intend on changing a number of things. The idea would be to avoid having to delete activations and reactivate multiple times for each of your changes. Instead multiple changes are applied either at once or all of the changes are performed BEFORE running the game again, deleting only one activation instead of several.

Blazing 88's is correct, delete your prefs file ('Combat Mission AK Prefs'). This should force you to go through the resolution selection process the next time you launch CMAK. The maximum resolution is 1600 x 1200. However it can support the highest refresh rates that your VIDEO CARD supports at that resolution. Only 'standard aspect ratio' 4:3 resolutions are supported. There are no true widescreen resolutions supported, so some images can look a bit 'stretched out' when the resolution fills the entire widescreen.

Actually you CAN get rid of those 'Battlefront.com.exe' files if you really want to. They are just installers for the Battlefront Toolbar for your browser. I've personally never used them myself, but I don't think they will cause any issues if they were simply left on your computer.

Actually these were fixes in the CMBN 2.01 patch that are now a part of Gustav Line (1.10). A 1.10 patch will be out in the future for CMFI users who don't have Gustav Line.

Please open a ticket in the Helpdesk. You will not be able to 'unlicense' your license keys since those activations have now been 'lost' to the reformat. However we can 'reset' your license keys to allow for another activation. Please provide each of the license keys for CMSF and its modules in order for us to do this. Regarding downloads, there is a 365 day limit to the download access. If you have already exceeded that amount of time, then the download access has expired. If that is the situation you are in, then also let us know when you purchased CMSF and each of the modules so we can determine what your options are regarding the downloads.

You will need to purchase two separate games for installing on a Mac and a PC, if you want the game to run natively on the Mac. Otherwise it may be possible to play the game on a BootCamp partition on the Mac. Of course this requires a copy of Windows and the disk space to create that BootCamp partition. I do not think that Parallels or other virtual environments would work due to copy-protection functions and possibly full 3D support. The PC version uses eLicense, while the Mac version uses our current 'Online Activation System' copy-protection. It may be possible to get a slight discount on the second game since one copy has been purchased, but it will not be a very significant discount. You can contact the Helpdesk about this and Martin can possibly offer you a small discount.

To my knowledge there is no policy on used games being resold (person-to-person, not commercially). The problems come with the licensing. With eLicense the previous customer has to unlicense their games so that they restore the original activations that came with the game. Since they are selling their game (and not just the media), they have to unlicense so that they no longer have a running game using that license key. With the 'Online Activation System' (CMBN, Commonwealth, CMFI, SC WW1, Breakthrough, TOW 3 Korea, and newer games) this gets a little more complex because there is no unlicense feature. Once you install a game on a computer, it remains activated until you either run a 'gsClean' utility to wipe out the activation or the OS is reinstalled/upgraded or new/different hardware is installed (which deactivated/invalidates the activation). A customer CANNOT restore the activations to an OAS game themselves. We can typically add activations to a license key at the Helpdesk when you submit the license key. It is possible for Martin to determine the number of activations available to a license key, but I don't think he is looking at providing this service for potential purchases. The original purchaser of an OAS protected game has to uninstall the game and possibly use the gsClean utilities if they are selling their copy of the game. In the case of downloads, we cannot facilitate the transfer of a game to another account (so that the download link and license key are listed in the used-purchaser's account). So if the seller is unethical, they can redownload the game (if it hasn't expired) and activate the game.

If you have an ATI/AMD Radeon video card, then you may want to purchase the 1.04 patch (which does use a different copy-protection system than the original release's disc-based system). There is a particular bug with the AMD Catalyst drivers and the 1.04 patch seems to indirectly solve it (by using newer DirectX calls that the previous 1.0-1.03 versions did). There is nothing else that the 1.04 patch addresses other than updating some DirectX calls so that newer video cards and their drivers might support the game a bit better. As others have mentioned the CMx1 series only supported 4:3 ratio resolutions with a maximum of 1600 x 1200, so a lot of newer widescreen monitors may stretch the image out (to display on the entire screen). As Redwolf pointed out, fog graphics are missing in Windows 7 (and Windows Vista and newer). To my knowledge the video chip developers dropped support for fog-tables in their newer drivers since it was no longer a current feature of DirectX 10 and later (developers are supposed to use different ways of displaying fog than fog-tables). The 'effect' of fog is still there, it just isn't visible and the 1.04 patch does NOT change this.

Not quite. You will probably get an error that requires running an utility. If you are only temporarily removing the memory, then when you restore the configuration back to the way it was when you license the game, it should, usually, work. If you insist on playing the game in that configuration, then you would need to run the utility, which deletes the current activation and then reactivate the game/module. Games that utilize the 'Online Activation System' (OAS) DRM have 'expendable' activations. Each game initially comes with 4 activations. This is not for the purpose of activating 4 installs. Instead it is for reactivating a game when changes are made to the system or activating the game on a new computer and other contingencies. Originally the system was also to allow for adding an activation by the user once every 365 days. However the latest version of OAS doesn't have that feature available to the end user. So 'losing an activation' isn't the end of the world and it is basically how the system functions since it doesn't have an unlicense feature like eLicense does. We can typically add activations on request via tickets submitted to the Helpdesk. Yes, it is an extra step that does involve delays, but it should get customers running again. This is somewhat answered above. Activations for OAS are somewhat expendable and losing one is not as catastrophic as eLicense (though we can 'reset' those to in order to activate again). However the over sensitivity of the latest version of OAS to certain system changes is NOT desired by us, but it seems to be what we're stuck with. Customer's aren't 'losing' anything, other than the hassle of contacting us and the potential delays in getting another activation. The eLicense DRM is introduced for customers who purchase the 1.04 patch and who owned CMBB or CMAK before 2006. For customers who purchased those games after 2006, they are already running eLicense. For customers running the Anthology (which was stripped of any DRM to my knowledge), then they are in the same boat as those who purchased the games before 2006 if they need the 1.04 patch. The 1.04 patch was released to address some issues with DirectX 10 compatible video cards and drivers under Windows Vista. The problem prevented running CMBB and CMAK. A short while after the 1.04 patch was released both AMD and Nvidia released drivers that fixed the original issue, so the 1.04 patch wasn't always necessary. However current AMD Catalyst drivers have a bug that the 1.04 patch addresses (since it uses some slightly newer DirectX calls to draw portions of the screen). Admittedly eLicense can be a hassle with security software and DEP. In the vast majority of situations we can get it working, but on occasion we can't (or it requires changes to the security software a customer doesn't want to make). I just threw that statement in there since most "discussions" on DRM seem headed in that direction. We understand the hassles involved with DRM. We have to answer questions and perform duties every day for issues involving DRM. Despite the hassles involved in using and supporting it, the decision remains to continue to use DRM for the games we sell. We don't program the DRM ourselves, but instead license it from a DRM vendor. We're limited to what is available in the market that supports both Mac and PC and works with the amount of sales we do, etc. We try to utilize the least intrusive systems we can find, but there are always changes and updates that cause us grief. The 'fingerprints' that the latest OAS version uses being one of the more annoying issues we have to deal with. Changing DRM vendors is a huge hassle and isn't practical in any sense (if we could somehow find one that served all of our needs and doesn't have the issues we currently have). The logistics of converting everyone on the old DRM to something new would be very hard and confusing for quite awhile. So I don't think that will happen any time soon (again, if there was another system that even fit our needs).

You are looking at the directory where the game was installed, correct ? That is where the 'receipt.txt' file should be located if this is a Battlefront or Excalibur Games distribution of SCGC standard. If this is Windows Vista or 7, then your 'receipt.txt' file may be located elsewhere, such as the hidden VirtualStore directory (a Microsoft security feature). This will usually be something like this (though your path will potentially be a bit different): '\Users\{your account name}\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Battlefront\Strategic Command WWII Global Conflict' The normal location for this directory is hidden and you have to set your File Manager to see hidden and system files in order to see it. Since this is a backup of your previous system, I would guess that these files would be visible without enabling the hidden file features of the File Manager.

We don't see any image that you may be referencing. Is there a specific error dialog that you're getting ? Were you able to activate the license key for AoC ?