Derfel

Now I know why you have the death sentence in 12 Peng threads... P.S Good link, nice to see a new generation of Geekoids D.S

Gah... So I'm not only old enough to remember the old modules but old enough to NOT know about the new ones.... now I'm REALLY depressed...

Gah... So I'm not only old enough to remember the old modules but old enough to NOT know about the new ones.... now I'm REALLY depressed...

Thanks Tom for compiling and thanks Steve for taking time to give us a few answers. A few points in favour of the ”Module” concept that has occurred to me; 1. A shorter interval between module/games is good marketing, there will allways be something new in the pipeline. Battlefront will be reviewed and commented on more often and (providing the product lives up to previous standards) this is a good thing from all kinds of perspectives. 2. Anticipation. There will be more modules to anticipate, buy, discuss and perhaps mod. I know Battlefront isn’t fond of comparisons to Squad Leader and ASL but this modular approach worked exceedingly well för Avalon Hill. I am (eeek!) old enough to remember the intense anticipation and discussions prior (and after) to a release of a new ASL module. 3. Room to maneuvre. It will be easier for Battlefront to do unexpected things or change direction if some concept or function in the game isn’t working out as expected when the next installment is months rather than years away. 4. Creativity. In my experience it is easier to put creative effort into several comperatively short and limited projects (i.e modules) than one humungus project (such as CMBB). Finally on the topic of listening to the fanbase; laudable as this is, if taken to far it can kill a project. My example would be Harpoon 2 where the developers (imho) listened too much to fans that wanted every single thing under the sun and moon and wound up with a game that was well nigh unplayable and sales reflected this. So this fan/customer is solidly behind you Steve (which is undoubtedly a great comfort to you). Good luck! P.S Of course, once the game/modules are out I’ll be there to carp and criticise with the rest of the howling mob. D.S

Thanks Tom for compiling and thanks Steve for taking time to give us a few answers. A few points in favour of the ”Module” concept that has occurred to me; 1. A shorter interval between module/games is good marketing, there will allways be something new in the pipeline. Battlefront will be reviewed and commented on more often and (providing the product lives up to previous standards) this is a good thing from all kinds of perspectives. 2. Anticipation. There will be more modules to anticipate, buy, discuss and perhaps mod. I know Battlefront isn’t fond of comparisons to Squad Leader and ASL but this modular approach worked exceedingly well för Avalon Hill. I am (eeek!) old enough to remember the intense anticipation and discussions prior (and after) to a release of a new ASL module. 3. Room to maneuvre. It will be easier for Battlefront to do unexpected things or change direction if some concept or function in the game isn’t working out as expected when the next installment is months rather than years away. 4. Creativity. In my experience it is easier to put creative effort into several comperatively short and limited projects (i.e modules) than one humungus project (such as CMBB). Finally on the topic of listening to the fanbase; laudable as this is, if taken to far it can kill a project. My example would be Harpoon 2 where the developers (imho) listened too much to fans that wanted every single thing under the sun and moon and wound up with a game that was well nigh unplayable and sales reflected this. So this fan/customer is solidly behind you Steve (which is undoubtedly a great comfort to you). Good luck! P.S Of course, once the game/modules are out I’ll be there to carp and criticise with the rest of the howling mob. D.S

Hear, Hear!

On a brighter note I expect to release the first Sealion Byte Battles this weekend, together with a few mods and instructions on how to covert CMAK to South-East England. Regards, Derfel

Thanks, j2d. Wicky; ROFLMAO!! -Derfel

Some new stuff at the Sealion page on the Byte Battler Regards, Derfel

[ January 06, 2005, 03:34 PM: Message edited by: Derfel ]

Sal; Thanks, appreciated. I have added a few more bits on the Sealion page and hopefully I'll be able to put out the first set of scenarios during next weekend. As for the mods... still no takers on my suggestion that someone make a "Sealion" mod for the early Crusier tanks... maybe I'll have a go myself, unfortunately I have the artistic skill of a brick. regards, -Derfel

Thanks for the kind words Pye. J2d; I'll do that. Regards, Derfel

Happy holidays to you all, Since some of you have requested it I've put up a little info on my Byte-Sealion project. You can find it at my secondary Byte Battler site here . Regards, Derfel

Excellent! Thanks, j2d! Regards, Derfel

Gents, I quick question from an amateur modder; Is there any way to change the color of the (for lack of a better word) map-base. In the game the color changes from a sort of brown/yellowish to a deep green when you change the settings from Afrika to late-war Italy. Can this be changed by human hand? Regards, Derfel

OK, just checked on my home computer, changing to version 1.03 fixed it right up. Good call. regards, Derfel [ December 14, 2004, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: Derfel ]

Uh... yeah... except... they ALWAYS face west even if I DO rotate the building... -regards Derfel

Juju, these are truly great, love then to death... BUT I can't get the damn things to face the right way. The tall UR buildings somehow gets turned when I use the "Tall building on pavement" tiles which is vastly annoying when you're trying to create an English city street. Could you please have a look at this and tell me if a/There is something screwy with those mods/tiles b/I'm just going nuts *later* OK, found the problem... I think. All the English buildings on pavement always face west, regardless of the facing of the tile... does that make sense? As far as I can tell it only applies to the "building on pavement tiles". Regards, Derfel [ December 14, 2004, 05:52 AM: Message edited by: Derfel ]

If you're interested the Conversion Guide created by Col. Klotz can still be found on my Website The Byte Battler Look under "Documents". Regards, Derfel

Yessss, precioussss.... we wants it... -Derfel

Juju, that sounds terrific. Expecting great things. -Derfel

Juju, these mods look stunning, can't wait to get my hands on them. A (hopefully) constructive suggestion: The buildings look a bit pristine. How about a bit of weathering? Remember this was the time of coalburners, smog and Seanachai's middle age. Things would have been dirty and worn, even then. (Note; I don't want them to look like a bad day at a Polish coal mine, just a touch of wear and dust would do.) Again, great work! -Derfel

[shameless self-promotion] If you feel CMBO nostalgic this might interest you: On the Byte Battler ] site you can now find a CMAK version of the old favorite "All or Nothing". [/shameless self-promotion] -Derfel

Aficionados of the classic CMBO Scenario "All or Nothing" may be interested to know that there is now a CMAK version of this scenario available at the Byte Battler site. Byte Battler Enjoy! -Derfel

Joachim... bah... I wave my hand at you... I have not recieved camels bearing gifts begging me to reinstate Der Kessel as a functioning member of society... of course camels rarely talk... So, if you want to be funct again (as opposed to defunct) you'd better do some sucking up. HarryInk; You're more than welcome to contribute CMAK BBs to the site. -Derfel