choppinlt

Thanks @Benpark...I thought i had edited the link, but apparently not! @IanL, GHQ is a miniature gaming company. They make microarmor, or in other words 1/285 scale lead miniatures that are used for a variety of rule sets. I used to buy (and still have) a bunch of their stuff when I was a young lad.

Vergeltungswaffe, Yep, that's me talking to a brick wall over at GHQ! Kinda similar to a real GHQ!!! Actually I do think I have a few new forumites as a result, even though there has been no response...so that's good. I am also on WWPD.net, which is big site for guys playing Flames of War. I am going to be on other sites hitting it hard the next few days as well. I'm glad you brought this up though. You and anyone else should feel free to chat me up on any/all sites you see me on to help generate some buzz. And by all means, please tell as many people about this project as you can! By the way, Combat Operations with be "premiered" on realandsimulatedwars.com in about 4 hours! -Matt

Will do on keeping you posted... Damn right its a cool name! Logo...well I am not prepared to share the logo publicly yet. We have a logo yes, but it is not quite finished. -Matt

Hey, I just wanted to give a heads-up and let you know that things are continuing to progress. Last I was told, Combat Operations is going to be premiered on realandsimulatedwars.com starting tomorrow (Monday) night, and we have prepared a small series of posts. Furthermore, our website buckeyebg.com went live yesterday! There isn't much to see at this moment as it is a major work in progress. I'm hoping it will look significantly better by tomorrow night, regardless we have web space now! For right now, my forum will be the best place for information but I am hoping that changes very soon as our website takes better shape. Last item, we currently appear to be on schedule for a Sept 1 kickoff for the kickstarter. More to come! -Matt

As promised I have some information to share: the time has come to pitch the idea to the general public via Kickstarter to produce this game. The TENTATIVE date is Sept 1 for the Kickstarter. In a few weeks we will be rolling out an advertising blitz on the internet, and we will need your help in getting the word out. Then we need to actually generate the funds with the Kickstarter campaign to make this a reality. We have assembled an impressive team with many talents, but we have come to a point where we need to generate enough money to get this game produced! This funding will go directly to paying for full-time developers cranking out the remaining game code for public release in approximately a year. To give a brief update on the evolution of this project: the initial release will be for PC/Mac will have multiplayer capability (we are shooting for up to 16 players that can participate in a given scenario) the game name is now simply Combat Operations (though we still considering a different name) because... the focus is no longer just Normandy. The base game will include scenarios from Normandy, Italy, and Eastern Front all in June 1944. Map areas, unit databases, and time scope will be expanded via DLC. Players can pick and choose if they want to focus on a particular front and time. Combat Operations will be a complete standalone game, however as discussed earlier it will give OOB's to players for engagements that develop, and allow players to resolve the engagements manually with whatever game they want (like CMx2). Remember, this is Step One to reaching the goal of an operation layer interfacing with CM. There is A LOT more information to share regarding the game features that can be found on the forum (see the link on the first post of this thread). A future goal will be to hit the mobile market as fast as possible so players can check game progress and/or have playing capability on your phone and/or tablet. More to come!!

I will confirm the existence of this project! Development has been slow, but it has been happening. The information ironsturm talks about comes from my humble forum where I try to keep most conversation regarding the project. Feel free to join, the link is on the first page! I will give you a small tidbit of info; please check here and/or my forum regularly for likely updates within the next week. There hasn't been much to officially report yet, however there are several things that are happening.

Just so no one thinks I didn't reply, this conversation continued on at the forum listed on the initial post of this thread. For those that are interested feel free to check the forum. -Matt

Hey Teddy, feel free to jump on to the COO forum on the hyperlink below and we can talk further. You can also see more about the game concept as well. https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/combat-operations-overlord-game-group -Matt

The project is still under way, so no "Trons" here...at least yet. Since this project is being completed in our spare time, development is slow. Per my agreement with BFC I don't post very often here and keep most discussion confined to my forum dedicated to the project. If you are interested in the forum, feel free to go to the first post and review the pertinent information to join. I havn't turned anyone away yet! While I am here, I will give a quick update: the latest is that we just had a meeting last week for finalizing the UI. Most of the game design algorithms are completed, we just need to have the coding framework to the point where the algorithms can be thoroughly tested. And we are starting to discuss when the alpha version may be ready. Before anyone asks the answer is "too hard to tell right now". I will say that I would be surprised if it were any sooner than this summer. I will end there for now, but feel free to come to the COO forum and browse the posted info, ask questions and/or collaborate!!! -Matt

Great Glabro, that is what I am wanting to hear! That is what we are working on. Out of curiosity, what game system do you play on tabletop? I want to be as inclusive as possible to gamers whether they are computer, tabletop, or boardgamers. Part of the beauty (at least in my opinion) will be the ability to use all 3 formats...or just use the in-game battle resolution system to quickly resolve battles. Perhaps you will join the forum and we can continue further discussion there. The forum is listed in the first post, and I hope to see you there. Thanks, Matt

While you all are anxiously awaiting CMRT, I posted a project update on the COO forum. Those that are interested come on over and check out the latest info. If you havn't applied to get in the forum, feel free to do so. -Matt

Sounds great! Keep the comments coming and feel free to look at the COO forum. We are going to need all the support we can get when the time comes. As I stated earlier coding is under way, but it is REALLY early in the process. Right now we don't need KS, and the current strategy is to wait as long as we can to do a KS campaign. The more progress we have to offer people the more interest we can get, and we will also have a better idea as to what we will need for the final goal.

Erwin me too! The initial goal is to produce a quality operational level game that will be tailored more to CM players. With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that coding is officially underway. I finally have had a breakthrough and I have 2 programmers with reinforcements on the way. Happy Holidays! -Matt

I just wanted to mention that we are still looking for developers that may want to help with this project. I have a couple of developers I am talking with at the moment, but no final deal has been reached as of yet. I am also very interested in getting some graphic designers on the team. If you are interested in being part of this game, please email me. In the mean time, game design continues. Feel free to drop by the forum and find out more. -Matt

I guess I gotta get me some of that!

benpark, sorry for the slow response. In short, it does not appear to be feasible to use what has been done for CMC for this project. -Matt

Hey I forgot to mention something in my initial post. I am of course looking for volunteers for software developers, but I forgot to mention that I can use the services of a graphic designer for COO as well. In fact I can put a graphic designer to work on a number of things right now. Just see my original post for contact information. Remember, this project is going to take a community effort to work, so feel free to keep joining the COO forum. -Matt

For those doubting my claims of BFC support, they have stickied my announcement which should add some credence to my claim. Steve will respond for BFC at some point, but he has been unavailable recently. COO is NOT the holy grail I think we ALL would like it to be. My preference has been to have this as a PC/Mac game that is fully capable of interfacing with CM. BFC said they were not ready to make that commitment. As someone mentioned earlier they want some assurance of payback on their investment...I don't blame them. So this means that if the public rallies to make COO in to a viable game that has a solid following, as businessmen BFC will be more than willing to take the step of allowing COO to interface with CM. Regarding the manual inputs, my current plan is to have COO provide output data specifically tailored to use to set up a CM battle. And allow COO to receive input data tailored to CM battles. Until COO can interface with CM, then manual inputs are going to be required...but this is a first step to the Holy Grail. Any and all of you are fully capable of helping in some way: money or labor (particularly computer programming labor). So that is why this project lives or dies by the support that we as a community can generate. Regarding the initial platform to run COO. I am being guided to a mobile app primarily because it costs less to develop. But let me be clear by saying there is no set direction yet. And based on the total support of the community, we may be able to go with a PC version first. In fact I already have a rudimentary version of COO started for both PC and Mac. In summary, COO is at a very early age of development and this is a unique opportunity for gamers to have a voice early in the game development process. As a group, us gamers are opinionated and passionate, so no game is going to make everyone completely happy. Personally I would rather have an operational level game that is working to interface with CM, and BFC tells me that nothing out there is working to interface with CM other than COO.

This is perfect! We need to keep passing the word! There are several forums that would be great to post at, but I need everyone's help to know which ones.

Great to hear! I hope there are several more out there that feel the same way!!

permanent666, that too has been my dream. However I have been in discussion with BFC for over a year and this is where we are at. We are working towards your dream, but this is a first step. I can't say this enough...if my project receives enough support/interest, then your dream will most likely become a reality.

Remember though, we need to make some noise and tell everyone else about it. Help me get the word out so this project doesn't die!

Hello, my name is Matt and I have a concept designed for an operational level WWII war game that can use tactical games (like CM) to resolve tactical battles that develop in my game called Combat Operations: Overlord (COO). I have been in contact with BFC for several months and they know I am “pimping” my project on their forum. Hopefully that gives you a certain level of confidence in what I am about to propose. BFC has no current designs on developing an operational level game, and they tell me they are not interested in taking a risk in COO till it is further developed. BFC also wants some indication that it will be a somewhat profitable venture. So if the CM community (and hopefully a greater market) desires an operational level game that can be used with tactical games, this has got to be a grass roots movement. I have a game design, but I am not a computer programmer/mobile developer. Nor do I have large amounts of personal wealth that can be spent to fund a project. That is where we all as a community will have to band together in order to make it happen. Here is what I am proposing: I am being “guided” towards developing COO as a mobile app. As the game name would imply, I will start off with June-August in Normandy ’44. If you are a computer programmer or mobile app developer and you are interested in participating in this project, please send me a list of verifiable qualifications to cmbnrocks@gmail.com. For the rest of you, we will need financial backing. At some point I will notify you all that I am going to post a project on Kickstarter to solicit funding for this project. For those of you unfamiliar I would invite you to check out more on kickstarter.com. Once the game gets developed (and if it appears to gain solid support) BFC tells me that they will strongly consider pursuing versions of the game that will be more integrated in to CM. If you are interested in seeing this project succeed, please join the forum I have set up to further discuss my project: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/combat-operations-overlord-game-group Key Game Points and Features Initially this game will be strictly independent of CM. The game will ALWAYS be a standalone game, but my eventual goal is to allow it to interface with CMBN (similar to what CMC attempted in 2005) COO players will receive data from my game that can be used to manually set up a CM battle they wish to fight out. Otherwise battles can be fought quickly using an in-game battle resolution system If battles are fought using CM, results will be entered manually back in to my game, and play will continue Players would command anywhere from Regimental size to multiple Corps or troops Unit size is primarily Battalion, with some Company sized units. Players would issue orders to their forces during a game pause using a “wego” style of play Multiplayer A fully functional Scenario Editor would be included In conclusion, please help get the word out regarding this project so we can generate enough excitement to make this project a reality. The support from the CM community will make or break this project, so I hope you will consider supporting this effort. And finally, please join my forum listed above for further discussion. Thanks, Matt

Thanks Kip! I will need all the luck I can get on my endeavor. I'm not going to tip my hand publically at the moment, but I'm hoping some programmers are intrigued as well. Thanks Again, Choppinlt

Thanks for the info, I am familiar with CMC and it's fate. I have not gone to the website however. My invitation still stands though!