Fred

Madmatt, I do not like you, you do not like me. Instead of attacking my position you attack me personally. I am wrong with everything I say...my god...you are so superior. Mad...its so simple...do what you do with every single customer who complains...ban. Everyone that ever has the slightest critique..ban. As you see from my member number I am here since yesterday...so ban. Fred P.s. from business school Maddy...customer is ALWAYS right...read it from my broken lips [ September 20, 2002, 07:54 PM: Message edited by: Fred ]

Kwazy, again, you are not able to read. People like me would never buy a crippled version...so they do not loose anything. So your crusade for CDV is not only rediculous, it is vs. BFC manifesto! Neither SHRAPNELL nor MATRIX did it. And, to be honest, I will get my US version or a pirated copy...and I am not alone. As Steve said, he does not like my bucks.. Fred

You really tell us, that you are not a 'printing company' (Steve) and really do not care if europeans get a manual...that is with all due respect, HYBRIS! I prefer the word arrogance... Fred

Kwazy, I do have some degrees (Hamburg City award of 1998 e.g.), and I still think, that CDV would not care about 100 customers ordering through the web. I left business school with an A+, so I guess I am not this wrong. Fred

Agua, you accept the right of free speech I guess Fred

Sure, before we had a distribution deal with CDV. But once that happened, even with CMBO I must remind you, we gave up our ability to sell directly into Europe. We gave this up willingly because, and only because, the deal CDV offered us was a fair exchange. And since this is a normal arrangement, and it precludes CDV from selling into the US (our core market), it is only fair. So to echo KwazyDog's post... what is your solution to this? We have one which will be posted shortly (when it is READY and not a second before), but I am sure you will complain about it as much as you are complaining in this thread. Why am I so sure? You have made it clear that the only way to make you happy is to kill our agreement with CDV. And that will not happen. Steve</font>

As I said before, some US friends pray water but drink wine. They would be the first to complain about a PDF file, about Waffel Grenadiere, etc. Fred

Bar, you can call me a drunk even more than twice, but I will still be here. So much for your handling of people with other opinions...(drunk)... Fred

Kwazy, 2 years ago that was not a'fantasy world'. Is your CDV contract written in stone? I ordered CMBO via the website and I got it. Fantasy? Fred

Kwazy, my solution is simple. Just allow the few europeans ( some hundred) to order the original version via the BFC website. Fred p.s. and do not get melodramatic. When CMBO was published, ordering was no problem for europeans [ September 20, 2002, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: Fred ]

But Apache, if not here, what else? I know alot of people that wanted to buy CMBB through the website! They wanted to give BFC money! 80% of them now will get a pirated copy. Hmmm, well done! Fred

I think it is stupid, yes STUPID, to not order thee game (at all) because it doesn't have a fully printed manual. Most games, good or not, don't have printed manuals. And most manuals suck really badly, printed or not. The quality of the game is what people should be buying CMBB for, not its manual. Do you understand that not buying CMBB beacuse of the manual is the same mentality of people who don't buy games which lack a pretty box. If people really think that the manual is so important have lost their ability to see these issues clearly. I can not judge these 14 people, but I would hope they think about it again and see that they aren't being rational. And yes... if I had to choose between 14 people and a couple thousand, the choice is obvious. Not because I don't care about the 14 customer's concerns, but because they are being totally unreasonable. Catering to them means limiting our income for no good reason. And that means limiting what we can do in the future for no good reason. Fred, Once again, you are being unreasonable and totally wrong. We do care about quality vs. quantity. However, if you think it is possible to run a company without compromising, then you obviously didn't learn much at business school. Being in business means having to make decisions that are in the best interest of the business as a whole. The shortcomings of the CDV version do not affect the game at all. It might affect the PERCEPTION of its quality, but the real quality is in the game. A quick check shows we are in the games business, not the printed manual business. It looks like you might have forgotten this fact. Steve</font>

That is it Apache! BFC looks for quantity, not longer for quality; those few of us added something to the game ( it was me, that proposed to give pill boxes a hide command for example) and thatis sad. Fred

No. Instead of reading about other people doing great things, I went out and did great things on my own. How about you? Wrong. A whiner is a whiner, Period. A customer, at least a valued one, is someone who understands that his value is related to his single purchase. Nothing more. Trying to get us, a small company, to do the bidding of a single voice is selfish. Trying to hit us over the head with it time and time again, and insulting us in the process, is whining. We like customer feedback, positive AND negative. What we do not like at all is whining, unreasonable demands, and insults. Such customers are NOT WORTH THE PROFIT WE RECEIVE FROM THEIR PURCHASE and we would be MORE than happy to have them go away and never purchase from us ever again. Business school has very little to do with business reality. Apparently business school did not teach you that pandering/lying to unreasonable customers only makes the problem worse. Telling them the truth makes things better, EVEN WHEN they do not want to hear it. That is what I learned from actually being in business. Perhaps I should teach at your business school, because apparently there are gaps in what they teach their students. And you think calling anybody who buys CM from CDV is a twitch customer is MORE accurate than us calling certain customers here on this Forum whiners? I put it to you that it is more accurate for me to lable people here whiners than it is to call all CDV customers twitch gamers. What a bunch of crap. You are German, correct? You live in Germany, correct? You do understand that it is the German laws and software distributers that caused this change, right? So how nice of you to be so preachy about your values when you live in the country that forced us Americans to change things. Don't target us because we are easier to yell at. It is YOUR government that caused this problem, NOT us. I don't think I am a Demigod, just someone who has busted his ass for 5 years to make the best games out there, even when everybody in the industry said I was stupid. However, I do think that some of our customers think of themselves as Demigods. The only thing that has changed about my prsentation is my tollerence for unreasonable customers. Other than that, I have not changed at all. Fred, I ask you this... have I listened to the complaints? Yes or no (ja oder nein?). A simple answer is all I request. Have I made it clear that we do not like the changes that were required of us? Another simple ja oder nein is all that I want to hear. Now, have I also explained the business perspective (which you apparently should grasp, since you went to business school) and the REAL impact to the game? Again, ja oder nein is what I am looking for. If you answered ja to these questions, then it is clear that I DO listen. Now... if you think "listening" equals me bending over kissing a customer's butt and doing WHATEVER he asks of me... well, I am proud to say that I don't listen to customers. Steve</font>

Arzi, BFC just wanted your best (your money), so do not expect them to appreciate your whining! Ok, you get no manual, ok it's Waffelgrandiere, ok the copy protection scheme ruins your DVD, BUT...be happy that you get it at all! As an european, you better be quiet... They do you a favour, to offer you a mediocre version of the game...the alternative is no game at all! Fred

That's it in a nutshell. Every one of these fellows continuing on about it in this thread are getting a US copy through me. So the actual copy they get is not the point with them. I think it is making them feel unappreciated and their feelings are hurt.</font>

I am sorry, but this is just ridiculous. It is so ridiculous that I will not even bother outlining a shred of evidence against this claim. You should listen to yourself. Battlefront turns away from the wargamers. What next? Stoiber joins the Green Party?</font>

Wise words, I appreciate it. Fred

Well, as the EXE file has encrypted censorship in it, there will be seperate files and patches. But maybe it takes only a few days to get it right, so that should not be a problem. Fred

Right on target, even if I feel, that some would not like it...but as long as only europeans are concerned, it is ok... Some of my US friends here are praying water, while they drink wine! Fred

Barrold, even if you call me names, I still hold to my opinion, that, given the same scenario, some US customers would be the first to complain. So call me a whiner or whatever, as long as I know that I am right, it does not hurt Fred

No, BFC decided to distribute CMBB and CMBO in Europe through CDV because it allows them to reach a MUCH larger audience through retail than they would normally have just doing business over the internet. Despite a few annoyance for European players who order from CDV, many more people will now be able to enjoy CMBB, and BFC makes more money that goes straight towards the engine rewrite.</font>

LOL I wondered who the first person would be to say this, LOL! While I wouldn't mind the half-PDF manual if it was the only route to go, no way I'm giving up my shiny new manual when I get it. Like someone said earlier, it's probably gonna be a collectors item, LOL! LOL, I know, I know. Just having some fun at the manual-less impaired fellows across the Atlantic. Truly BTS will find a nice common ground for their customers and this issue will go away no problemo. I'll be quiet now, I promise! [/QB]</font>

That is completely irrelevant. The bottom line is that all of us Combat Mision Fans have come to expect only the best from BFC. And in Europe it seems that these numerous "little things" are beginning to have serious affect. No one is doubting the greatness of BFC or of their product, but come on, I would seriously feel jipped if I got a sub-par manual. After all, what will I do on the pot? Alt-tab, sheesh. What I think is even more what is happening is that all of this manual stuff came as a complete SURPRISE to these long-term core customers. Only time will tell how this works out, but today for me is BFC's finest hour. Congratulations Steve and Charles and Matt and Dan and Martin!</font>