[down load speeds 100kb/s]

My download just failed, unrecoverable, after getting to 60%. :mad: :mad: :(

 

Gee, that was a good use of my time and bandwidth....

[Looking for PBEM CM Black Sea]

Hi all -- looking for a longer-term PBEM game with any folks interested, CM Black Sea only.  I can only do about a turn a day, I want to set the right expectations up front.  I'm pretty kick-back here on rules or what side to play, what scenario or QB, etc. (no ego in terms of losing, I lose enough to the AI to not get mad about that), I just want to play a real person again like the old days   PM me if interested, and I can get you my e-mail address.  Still downloading the game here, so it might have a slight delay until we can get started.

[An update on the update!]

Happily downloading now after purchase.  Apologies to everyone for crapping on the mood multiple times and for my tantrums, it's for sure not the first time I have made asinine posts.  I also hope my comment about Animism will be taken tongue-in-cheek, I am also one of the mid-age crisis people myself.

[The game is out!]

Yes Chris, thanks again for your patience (especially with me in the other thread) and for the great videos you have released or streamed.  I'm anxiously awaiting the ability to purchase this game and download it.

[An update on the update!]

And we don't get why you are having a hard time wrapping your head around this. This is not a release of a video of downtown abbey preordering does not give you a date. There is absolutely no difference between an electronic preorder and ordering the day it is announced. Get over it. Pre orders are made for orders that require special effort printing and packaging. Electronic downloads require nothing so there is no pressing reason other than your angst to do so.

 

Your words -- the only point of the preorder is for materials estimates.  So why do they get to download early?  What does their download have to do with their preorder then?  Why can we not all download now, if it is indeed ready?  Even the playing field, the complaints on this issue stop.  But I'm done on this thread (I'm sure folks are happy), and for those with the personal comments, I guess I know who not to interact with here.  I find the image of all these middle age crisis men staring longingly at their "special" box copy pretty funny.  Almost like the first world version of Animism.

[An update on the update!]

I couldn't agree More. I spent a great deal of my time involved with this title. I chose to do so. So that's on me. I did manage to not allow the game to intrude on my actual life. That's on me, too. Now the last couple of minutes of my very valuable time may not have been my wisest choice....but that's on me. Hmmmm. I sense a pattern here. Hope you all enjoy the game.

 

I sense sarcasm.  Next time you quote me, do me a favor and quote the rest of the passage, which is that with a pre-order and the "early preorder" email, none of this is necessary, I can go on and not have to check a website daily/hourly to see if the game is on sale yet.  But since I don't want to waste Battlefront's time and money, I'm being penalized under a business model that is somewhat antiquated.

 

Let me put it this way -- My wife pre-ordered "Downton Abbey" and she had an actual date to expect the game.  Amazon exceeded expectations by getting it to her a day early, and she never had to check a site after making her order, etc.

 

Battlefront announces, some time ago, that this game is coming out.  Like all consuming humans, we are interested in it and when we can buy it.  Some of us are pretty busy, so we would like to pre-order and have that taken care of, and get it earlier if possible, like what is happening this very second with pre-orders.  However, a subset of us don't want extra crap in our house or stuff mailed to us that we don't need.  But if we are in that subset, we don't get to preorder.

 

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around why others are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this.  Offer pure-digital preorders.  Seems very simple.  I can think of no other company or industry that operates like this with a product they want to sell.  That is the goal, correct?  Software sales to satisfied customers?  Or is it just power trips and jerking people around?  A lot of us are getting pretty old now for that.

[An update on the update!]

...and those of us who didn't want to waste a manual, a box, and Battlefront's time....get to wait for who knows how much longer because there's no preorder for digital.  How does this make sense again?  I'm ready to pay ahead of time, more even, but because I don't like to waste people's time and resources, I have to settle for second best?  Seems like a pretty shabby way to treat a customer who has spent upwards of $300 with Battlefront and bought multiple copies of the same game (in some cases because unlike Steam, Battlefront won't "store" your generic game file for you, that's on you.) Hope I get to download it today, or I'm not going to be very happy.  I still think this model is about 10 years behind the times.

 

I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation for why this is.   Would pure-digital preorders be more work to manage?  It seems like the opposite.  Ok, so pre-orders are to manage materials cost -- but what does that have to do with taking my money early and putting me in the "Don't need materials sent" column?

 

Time is money, and I have spent a lot of time (and my time is valuable these days) checking the site and boards for the latest vs. doing other things in my life.  I can't get a courtesy e-mail for download... because I don't want to do a preorder and throw away a box, a disc, and a manual my house doesn't need taking up space.  I don't even use the optical drive on my PC anymore -- that's 90s tech.  Everyone else is pure digital.

[An update on the update!]

good point this game has some of the best modders I have seen from new textures to conversions like euroscape from shockforce the amount of usernade content is amazing

 

Agreed.  I just realized the mission designing folks need a shout out here as well -- I will be very happy to see all the new content this game will enable, made by those with a passion for the topic and a good game.  I have tried my own hand at it and realized very quickly how out of my league I was compared to the many efforts they make to design historically accurate, or just fun, missions and campaigns outside of what came with the stock game.  I know we be seeing a certain airport pop up soon in a user-created mission, as well as a certain "pocket" in the news lately over there...

[An update on the update!]

I'm just very grateful to the modders here -- I haven't thanked the many folks here who have given the games an all-new lifespan long after the charm on the originals wore off.  I still blanch at the colors in the screenshots for the upcoming game and personally will be waiting with baited breath for the first realistic colors mod, realistic tracers mod, sound mods, etc.  And thanks to Battlefront for allowing modders to do their thing, and building the game with that kind of flexibility.  To me it is proof that the team could use some help when it comes to certain design decisions, but if everyone else is happy with the base product, then I am just thankful for the flexibility we continue to have in being able to alter the game after the fact.

 

Cmon, release the game already   I'm aching to spend my money.

[An update on the update!]

Like I said, just guessing. I would think BF probably would make more profit if all they did was digital but it's their business to run, however they want. I can also understand that people who live where prohibitive postal costs and import fees are imposed are at a disadvantage. I am happy that I have the option to do either.  

 

I'm older and supposedly wiser now vs. the pre-CMBO days (yes, I have been here this long), but I am still fighting the urge to complain only semi-successfully in terms of how this product development cycle drags on and expectations continue to be somewhat not managed well.

 

I'm sure a lot of folks here on these boards work in software engineering or project management -- what is frustrating to some of us is that while some of the most exciting players in the game industry have switched to a scrum system (e.g. Early Access games on Steam) where they develop features as users request them, Battlefront still seems stuck in an older development model, waterfall.  This is ironic considering how Battlefront was among the leaders in revolutionizing the marketplace with CMBO disintermediating the brick and mortar stores that kept the games we wanted from us.

 

Scrum is pretty great in a lot of applications, and I like it in game development, because it lets folks get buy-in early and vote, as the customers actually excited about and buying the game, in terms of features they want, how things are working, etc.

 

Battlefront still seems to be stuck in the waterfall model, where they build the game they think we want, spend a lot of time doing it, and then launch it and patch as needed.  Admittedly in most cases this seems to have worked well (the CMSF issues being one where it didn't go as well initially), but I can't help but feel like at this point, given how niche this gaming product is and how enthused we all are about testing/playing it, that maybe it is time to switch to scrum development (early access) and let us help them build the best game.  There's a certain amount of hubris in thinking your team alone knows what is good for us, as paying customers.  Yes, it is they who are building it, and true enough, no serious competition has emerged, but it won't always be like this.  My bet is that if a company finally does beat Battlefront in terms of servicing this particular, specific niche, it is going to be a company that gives what they won't -- early access and buy-in.

[An update on the update!]

If I was to hazard a guess, I would think that the extra money we pay for a physical pre-order gets rewarded by a few hours early notice. DVD's, manuals, mailers etc. cost. I don't know how BF's making their money back on those, but I think this extra fund-age probably goes to cover that directly. Maybe part of the download costs do too. I just like a manual in my hands. That comes from way too many board games in years past.  I bet I have 60 out in the garage right now and no real space to keep them set up for long enough to make it worth it. 

 

I think you are further proving our point, though -- if anything, the profit margin on a pure-digital pre-order would be higher than one involving materials to be processed, sent and delivered, etc.  In fact, I would almost argue the pure-digital customers should be prioritized the highest as the ones that are going to make the most money for the company (without factoring in that those who pre-order for physical materials are probably the most fanatical of the players here and probably in fact are the most valuable in terms of evangelizing the product, etc.)

[An update on the update!]

Wish digital downloads were pre-order as well -- I have no need for a box or hard-copy of the game (what year is this?), but would love to have the courtesy e-mail....  Why doesn't Battlefront want any pre-orders (advance cash) from those of us who value the space in our houses and don't want to litter the enviro?

[CM is E-crack, but there's something worse!]

I had this problem even before the Kindle with Amazon and Barnes and Noble -- I would buy too many books, and either bite off more than I could chew, got bored, or ended up regretting some purchases.

 

The fix, for both Kindle and Steam (I buy too much there as well) is to download the free sample or demo first.  If the free sample keeps my interest, I can then justify buying it -- and ONLY that, until I am done.  If by the end of the book if I still want the other titles I was interested in before, I go on to their free samples, but no paying until the content justifies its purchase.  This has saved me a lot of time and money since I implemented this rule.

[I would say the odds of a war with iran just doubled, more or less!]

Without trying to start an argument or undermine anyone here, I would argue that we are almost at the furthest extent of any "war" we will fight with Iran - My reasoning:

1. Given some of the very significant economic sanctions we have already imposed, and are in the process of considering, we are applying a tremendous amount of "cold war" pressure to them already, similar to the position we put Japan in before WWII (and we were justified in doing so), if not more intense. Some of what we are considering has potentially catastrophic effects to the system at large, so we are really walking a fine line here.
   
   
   
2. Air strikes, naval blockades and drone wars are about as far as we will ever go. No chance of a land invasion -- Iran has the terrain of Afghanistan, 3 times the population of Iraq, much more sophisticated military equipment and training (compared to Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan), and a highly educated populace in many cities that we really wouldn't want to turn against us. Our land forces are in shambles already because of the "forever war" we're in right now, and the public will not support an invasion of Iran.
   

One has to wonder why Iran is really even going this far with the bomb. North Korea didn't even really need it for a deterrent -- they already had thousands of well-bunkered artillery pieces in the mountains ringing Seoul to the North that guaranteed that we would never invade (too many civilian casualties in the retaliatory strike). Iran has terrain, population, and our war fatigue on their side.

So I speculate here -- how much of this is them trying to taunt us into attacking to turn their internal public opinion back on their side? They are already on the brink of their own "Persian Spring" -- a bunch of foreigners invading lets them spin it into their version of Stalin's "defend the Motherland." 33+ years after the revolution, most of the people there are regretting their fundamentalist regime. Us doing anything that makes the population miserable as a whole helps the regime, not us.

As to them being crazy fundamentalists -- maybe. But why go the suicidal route now? Even the religious zealots have families, financial interests, their own corruption, etc. They know any WMD attack on Israel only increases the chances of their own doom, and are they really ready for the end (retaliatory strikes by us)? A lot of this doesn't make sense, unless you look for other motives. Iran (and most other countries) is being run by old men, not crazy young activists. What forces are really at work here, and why are they pushing for war? Let's not go blindly into whatever the military/corporate/media machine wants us to think and see. A lot of us need to step back, and look objectively at what the real motives are and why anyone would go hurtling towards "doom."

[Full circle - Awesome game, done complaining for good]

Hi --

Been here a long time -- since before CMBO. I remember well the old days, the "fix it or somefink!", etc. Sad to say, I was one of the more vocal and persistent complainers at times (I was young!).

So, fast forward through all of the great products until now -- we have CMBO (essentially) in the CMx2 engine. I'm happy as a clam, this product fully delivered on all of my expectations.

So -- with that, I'm done complaining about this line of products for good. Is it perfect yet? No, there are minor bugs, but I don't care, they will be fixed in time. I've been here long enough, and spent enough of my dollars on Battlefront products (I've bought every CM game, and bought multiple copies of some of them) to know that eventually, all bugs get ironed out, and we are left with a quality product.

Great job Battlefront, Kudos to you and your team/supporters, and I'm happy you had the patience, vision, and persistence to see this dream through to reality over the past decade. Looking forward to your future products, and please keep the good stuff coming!

[First impressions]

Back to first impressions....

I'm sure I'm in good company here in terms that I have been playing CM since CMBO came out. I've gotten great use of out all of the games, but my enthusiasm waned with CMSF. This isn't because anything was wrong with the game, so much as the industry and game landscape had changed in the intervening years, and CM had a lot more competition, but in and out of the military niche, for my gaming time.

That being said, I have bought pretty much every iteration of CM (except British, no interest there), and I am really enjoying CM Afghanistan. Last night I played the very first scenario that comes up alphabetically (I forget what it is called, but you are using airborne troops and trying to disrupt an ambush), and it really took me back in some ways to CMBO. Same dense terrain, same complex battlefield, and the same wonder at the power and proper utilization of weapons and tactics. I'm completely happy with the game thus far.

One issue -- I couldn't help but notice that it was pretty light on scenarios compared to other releases. I sure do hope more folks crank out new material like they did for CMx1. I miss the old Scenario depot -- maybe I just haven't been around for a while, but the volume for CM2 just doesn't seem to be as much as the CM1 engine in terms of folks here making scenarios.

[From the Dawn to Setting Sun-Marines Mini-Campaign RELEASED!]

Just think of it as a learning experience, and try it again. There' s a lesson in this campaign about management and reducing casualties. I also had a hard time my first time through the 2nd mission, then tried it again and saw what the solution is. It's amazing what a bit of range will do to reduce the effectiveness of enemy fire.

[From the Dawn to Setting Sun-Marines Mini-Campaign RELEASED!]

Excellent campaign (gave you a 5 on CMMODS) -- I would go so far as to say that I wish this had been included with the Marines module as a training campaign, because it really does show the advatages of:

-night vision

-Marine squad firepower

-the 4th squad with the SMAW

-using combined arms, and having your MG teams in the right places

After playing too many scenarios and campaigns (including the stock one with the USMC module) where the amount of forces are so overwhelming that you become almost blase' about your men's lives, it was great to have a series of missions that really made you conserve and treat them reastically.

It also was nice to have missions that were easy on my processor and graphics card. I'm not running an ancient system, but a lot of the recent missions and campaigns I have played have brought my PC to a slow crawl. As I understand it, CMSF was designed for company level and smaller, yet too many missions are at the battalion level and barely run, let alone run smoothly.

Anyways, great job, I hope to play more from you, and please keep up the great work!

[Battle of Wanat?]

For those of you looking for inspiration from real world events, it occurred to me the Battle of Wanat, from this Summer in Afghanistan, might be a good scenario to make. Any plans from anybody on this?

[Where are the Scenarios and Mods]

Sure wish that site would get back up -- I just purchased the USMC mod, and wouldn't you know, the site goes down. Was looking forward to trying new scenarios and reviewing them too Anyone know what the deal is?

[CMAK PBEM wanted]

Thanks -- do you know offhand if PBEMHelper works with web-based e-mails like Yahoo?

[CMAK PBEM wanted]

It was out of courtesy -- If I had started a game, I would have finished it (I was only looking for one match, period), but the window of opportunity closed, and I made other plans. I remember when you didn't have to wait 24+ hours for someone to take up a PBEM offer (as I did), and my feeling was that my conditions were apparently not acceptable to those playing now. Rather than let someone reply much later after I had a change of heart and waste their time, I closed out the opportunity. Is there a problem?

I've decided to just go back to doing Human vs. AI scenarios from the depot, sad as that is. At least I can get in some turns, express my opinion on the scenario, and have some fun with the limited time I have, rather than wait for the opponents that didn't seem to be coming forward.

[CMAK PBEM wanted]

Guess no one plays CMAK PBEM anymore. Never mind, offer closed, lost interest.

[CMAK PBEM wanted]

Looking for CMAK PBEM.

Conditions -- 1 turn per day max, longer for setup (setup is the most important turn). I may send more turns on some days, but I want to manage expectations so that we're compatible and no one is chomping at the bit.

Scenario or QB acceptable -- If QB, I would prefer Attack, me on defense. Scenarios from Scenario Depot from the past 12 months acceptable, anything older I have probably already played before. Nothing from the stock missions that came with CMAK, thanks.

No desert -- sorry, not a desert warfare fan. So either Italian campaign or faux-Normandy, which means 1943-on.

I'm open to other modifiers on QB force selection, such as rules on size arty, what tanks, etc., just please spell it out for me, as I've been out of the CM saddle for a while and forgot all of the special rules people made to even things.

Looking for one opponent only -- if you're interested, chime in here (so that others see) and e-mail me at toleran76@yahoo.com. Be sure to post here that you sent in case my spam filter gets ya.

[Games you're waiting on...]

Noticed those Lighthouse Interactive games tend to not be available in the U.S. -- how do you buy them? Ship Simulator looks pretty cool, I always did find ships to be pretty awesome and love visiting the Port of L.A. on weekends for a nice view