Treeburst155

M. Dorosh, That's the best idea yet! With a demo like that I would even take Doug Beman's slot at the end of the line. Pvt. Ryan, There doesn't have to be priority ordering at all. It would just be a nice gesture from BTS for them to provide such a service for the more impatient among us. We are willing to pay for this service. To Hades with Joe Shaw and his low forum number and those who expect special treatment for being loyal customers. Special treatment requires more work from the company so they should be paid for providing the special treatment. Money talks, BS walks! The reason the priority service would be appreciated by many of us is due to the fact there will be a huge number of orders to process right from the git-go. Some of these early orderers are going to wind up waiting at least several weeks for their merchandise. I will be one of these unfortunates. Some of us would rather pay more than take a chance on this happening. Why do people fly first class? Why do people want priority processing of their order? The answers to these questions are closely related. Treeburst155 out. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

M. Dorosh, They don't have to allow pre-orders at all. They just have to have a "priority order only" period after the product is ready to ship. None of the hassles you mention would have to be dealt with. Treeburst155 out.

That's great, Doug! We can move you right to the end of the list then. Thanks for stepping aside for me. Treeburst155 out.

Yes, that's right. All they need to do is get the priority orders 48 hours ahead of the rest and keep them there every step of the way. Especially important is that the shippers have nothing to ship EXCEPT the priority orders for a couple of days. If this is too difficult or expensive to do for some reason I'll just take my backseat and be happy that I'll be playing the game by July 4th I guess. If I was running BTS, I could do it. It's all a matter of willingness to put forth the extra effort, whatever it takes. That's why I don't mind paying $20 bucks for priority status. Treeburst155 out.

I fear I may have to take action concerning Rother. If you are in Section One post here, please. I would like to know when you last heard from Rother and approximately how many files you have exchanged with him so far. Thanks! Treeburst155 out.

OK, Nabla, go to your study and put that wonderful brain of yours into high gear. I'll let you out in a few days. Treeburst155 out.

EDIT: I misunderstood Shandorf's post. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

I don't follow your logic there, Priest. Instead of opening the doors to everyone for orders, they just have a short period devoted to priority orders first. It's that simple. All they have to do is get the priority people a little ahead of the rest so they don't get bogged down in the masses. It's simple. Treeburst155 out.

There would have to be a period where ONLY priority orders are accepted. This is to keep them separate from and prior to the rest. Also, shippers cannot be trusted to ship priority orders first. They can be forced to do this if they have ONLY priority orders to work on. I do not care if I actually get to pre-order or not. I just want to have a chance to order before the masses, have my stuff arrive at the shipper before the masses, and have it leave the shipper before the masses. Once I've cleared the shipper's facility they can crush the shipper with regular orders. Treeburst155 out.

That's it, Priest. Keep trying to foul up the works with your bad news. All they have to do is wait until they have 1,000 copies ready to go to the shipper. When that is the case they can open up for pre-orders and ship the goods within 48 hours. They might be limited to a maximum of 1,000 pre-orders, but that would suffice I think. Several days later they can open up for regular orders. The pre-orders are not even pre-orders in this case, but they are processed prior to and separate from all other orders. Treeburst155.

Thanks, Priest! I appreciate you explaining that to me. OK, here's how to get around all this stuff. Accept Priority Pre-orders according to my plan posted earlier beginning on the day the game goes to the duplicators. This will insure that the product reaches the customers before 30 days, barring shipping glitches that BTS is not responsible for. If this is too early then open up for pre-orders AFTER the first load is back from the duplicators. The key thing is to make sure that only people who pay the fee or order multiple copies are allowed to pre-order AND that the preorders arrive at the shipper a few days before regular orders. It does not matter WHEN we get to pre-order, just that we do, and our orders are processed before regular orders. All BTS has to do to uphold their end of the pre-order deal is get the pre-orders to the shipper separate from, and a few days prior to, the regular orders. Treeburst155 out. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

Can't customers "sign" a waiver of some sort on the 30 days shipping thing? Nobody knows how many units of CMBO were sold. They're still in business so it couldn't have been too few. Treeburst155 out.

Here's another idea. Allow pre-orders with Money Orders only. No checks, no credit cards, no hassles. Then implement the Priority Pre-order plan described in my post above. Edit: This will involve snail mail and opening hundreds of envelopes. Hmmmm.... Treeburst155 out. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

Priest, Can't the purchase be finalized, not just authorized? Why does it have to be only authorized for months. How do the credit card people know when the product is actually shipped? Why do they care? The reason I'm so interested in this thread is because I was one of the original pre-demo pre-orders of CMBO, but didn't get my copy until 3 weeks after people who didn't pre-order at all. One reason for this IIRC, was that the shippers themselves did not prioritize. My pre-order may have made it TO the shipper first, but they just stacked other orders on top of mine. This made me the last one OUT of the shipper's facility. First IN, but LAST out.

BTS, I think you guys may be passing up an opportunity to make a significant amount of extra money here. People are willing to buy extra copies or pay a fee to get priority status on the processing and shipping of their CMBB order. They don't give a hoot about having credit cards charged months in advance either. Why not provide a "priority processing service". Those interested could pay the "fee" on top of the purchase price and be guaranteed their pre- order will arrive at the shipper's facility first. By "first" I mean DAYS BEFORE non-priority orders. Otherwise the shippers will mix them all up and it will be the luck of the draw again. The shippers must be made to process the priority orders first. If they only have priority orders to work on they can't mix them up with the others. If people pre-order with cards that will expire before the game is ready then they are SOL. The customers need to take responsibility here and NOT order with a nearly expired card. There are other ways to pay if need be. Charge an extra $20 US for the priority processing pre-order service for single copies of the game, and let pre-orders for multiple copies get priority service automatically. If they don't pay the fee or order multiple copies they cannot pre-order at all. When the time comes all pre-orders go to the shipper. A few days later the first load of regular orders. Money talks, BS walks!! Treeburst155 out. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

John Kettler, My records show that all your games in this tournament are either in progress or completed. You should be currently doing battle with Tom, Mick (George), and Peter Svensson. There are no others. Perhaps you are speaking of the Invitational? To All, At Ted's current rate of play he will need two years to finish his games. This obviously won't work. I'll drop him a line and see if he's willing to pick up the pace. It could be that Real Life won't allow him to do so. In that case, we will have to replace him. Thanks, guys, for helping me out with the info. Fight On!! Treeburst155 out.

If I could be in the first 25 orders processed I'd order three copies. I kid you not. EDIT: BTS, please hold me to this statement. I await my special bulk purchase pre-order form. Treeburst155 out. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

IIRC, the stated reason for not accepting pre-orders is the fact that your credit card would be charged immediately, even though the game won't be out for months. I personally would have no problem with this as long as I knew in advance this was the case. Nobody would be forcing me to pre-order, right? I sure don't want to get caught in the crunch of orders on this one and have to listen to how great the game is for six weeks from a pack of newbies who haven't even heard of the game yet. Remember the fiasco that was CMBOs original release. Pre-order people basically got screwed in many instances. Now you can make up for that. Here's what I'd like to see. Have time periods where certain groups of people are allowed to pre-order. For example: The first bunch that would be allowed to pre-order would be those who pre-ordered CMBO before the demo came out. You would give them say a 3 day window to get their order in. These same people would be the very first to have their orders processed. The next 3 day pre-order window would be for all those who pre-ordered CMBO after the demo came out. Then, if you have the records you could create further 3 day windows based on the purchase date of people's copies of CMBO. For example June-August 2000 purchases would get the next 3 day pre-order opportunity, and so on. All pre-orders would be processed in the order they were received. If an old timer misses his window he could pre-order at any later date. All who pre-ordered would understand that their credit cards would be charged immediately. Once all the CMBO owners have had a chance to pre-order you do whatever you want. Your loyal longtime supporters will be well taken care of and quite happy. For those of you who are thinking of suggesting forum membership numbers, forget it. Many old timers lost their numbers due to forum crashes. Going by CMBO purchase date is the fairest way. I know this would involve some extra work for Battlefront; maybe too much extra work, but it's fair. Treeburst155 out.

Here be the new thread for the Nordic warriors. Fight On!! Treeburst155 out.

Do Doodads provide cover and concealment? I'm talking tombstones here, mainly. I want doodads that do something. The doodads look real nice though, even if they aren't functional. Treeburst155 out.

Thanks Wade! That still means 3 weeks have passed since anyone has heard from Ted. Have any of you Section Oners heard from him more recently? Treeburst155 out.

I understand what you mean now that I think about it. Any linear "curve" is just like any other linear "curve" in regards to the final outcome of the tourney. Players' point differences would be much closer with a low slope, but points would be more difficult to get too. IOW, overtaking somebody ahead of you would be no easier with a shallow slope than with a steep slope. It's this part I failed to realize when I brought up the idea. Let's eliminate anything that is linear in nature from the discussion. For the same reasons I understand why 1:1 is fine around the median. It's what we do before and after the median in relation to that 1:1 that matters. In fact, I believe the actual ratio around the median does not matter much. What really matters is how the ratio at the median compares with the rest of the curve on both sides. When you get a chance, give my your thoughts on my other suggestion, the one with linearity at 2:1 from -100 to +10 with the curve flattening out as victory levels increase. (Victory being defined in terms of relation to the median). EDIT: You know, Nabla, you are much more qualified to determine a curve that accurately measures a player's skill than I am. That's why we call it "The Nabla System". Let's restate our goals for the system: 1) Overwhelming victories should not be too heavily rewarded for the following reason: A) Big victories could very well be the result of extremely poor play on the part of the opponent, such as surrendering or merely playing for "fun" once the battle turned against him. 2) Players should reap noticeable benefits from a successful withdrawal. This encourages more realistic play IMO. In CM players tend to surrender just to be done with a "failed" game. 3) Related to #1 above, the curve should yield a competitive tight race. One big loss or victory should not take a player out of the running or win the tournament for him. 4) The unbalanced nature of virtually all scenarios should be accounted for. (The median does this) 5) Players who are winning a game Big Time should have sufficient incentive to get all the points they can. I think if the curve was fairly steep on the negative side of the median and shallower on the positive side, but never becoming virtually flat, we would achieve what we want. When deciding on this curve it should be kept in mind that only rarely will any portion of the curve >|40| be utilized. The vast majority of scores from both sides of a scenario will be <|30| from the median for that side. Treeburst155 out. [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ] [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: Treeburst155 ]</p>

Thanks Ari, even though you bring possibly bad news. We'll wait for others from the section to reply before I decide if we have a problem that needs to be dealt with. Thank again. Treeburst155 out.

I'm interested in the "Advance" command. Is it identical to our current "Move" command? If not, how does it differ from the new "Assault" command? Where does "Run" fit in? Treeburst155 out.

Redeker, We Can't Wait, Resolve At Ranville, and The High Cost Of Real Estate all have two or less games yet to be completed. Section One, How about a status report on Ted Sullivan. Has anybody heard from him lately? Ted, are you out there? If you're in Section One let me hear from you, PLEASE. I need to determine if Ted has been captured by the enemy or KIA so I can replace him if need be. Treeburst155 out.