Aragorn2002

Between the troll(s) on the one hand and the fanboys on the other, there's a majority of people who are trully worried about the lack of information and the undeniably long wait. One can of course try to explore that to crucify BF or to make fun of it like a bunch of stand-up comedians. I'm not interested in Charles this or Steve that. Sucking up to BF isn't going to bring any change. Being critical about the lack of PR neither, but it is at least partly justified. Just wanted to make that clear, before the mood gets too merry.
Having said that I know that it's all a waste of time and energy. It's done when it's done. Whenever that may be.
Unfollowing this.

Baneman. Of course we know they are working on it and that 'the car is driving'. For crying out loud.   For me this is about promises about screenshots and approximate release dates that aren't being kept. Even people defending this, acknowledge that given timelines are pretty useless. And the patch is vital for releasing the modules.
Let me be more concrete. How many times did BF tell us that things were going great and that we could expect the modules at the end of a certain year or at the beginning of a certain year (but not much later) and so on and so forth? Delays are always possible. Reasons why promised screenshots can't be released are always possible, but COMMUNICATE. Tell us why you need another six months, or why you can't even tell that. Of course these guys are working hard. Of course they are under a lot of pressure. Of course we can't even stand in the shadow of their skills and dedication. Just simple and clear communication. Why is more time needed? Why no screenshots? Is it possible to name a year? 2019? 2020? Do you at least have a goal you're aiming at?
And throw in a NEW bone from time to time. Keeps us happy for months.
 

I don't mind so much about the  bugs, they will always be there in some form. I'm especially annoyed about the endless delay and vague promises. And the reactions one gets when one has the bloody nerve to comment on that. A good example is the promise of screenshots in the beginning of this year. We only recently had some new ones for CM Italy, thanks to Bud. The comments were good and grateful. According to BF screenshots always cause a hailstorm of comments and questions. Just didn't happen.
Always the same 'it's all your own fault'- defence, to explain the failing of a decent PR-policy by BF.

Between the troll(s) on the one hand and the fanboys on the other, there's a majority of people who are trully worried about the lack of information and the undeniably long wait. One can of course try to explore that to crucify BF or to make fun of it like a bunch of stand-up comedians. I'm not interested in Charles this or Steve that. Sucking up to BF isn't going to bring any change. Being critical about the lack of PR neither, but it is at least partly justified. Just wanted to make that clear, before the mood gets too merry.
Having said that I know that it's all a waste of time and energy. It's done when it's done. Whenever that may be.
Unfollowing this.

Personally, I agree with some of what Carl has to say, but his delivery and demeanor suck. The good points he might make get buried by his attitude and combative nature. He's rude and obnoxious when there is no need to be and this thread is a perfect example. There's a fairly defined demilitarized zone between rabid fanboy and bitter troll and an objective thoughtful person can usually navigate it without setting off the landmines. Unfortunately, Carl tends to break dance his way through...in clown shoes...on a pogo stick.
 
Mord.

No, we actually do not know that at the moment. For all we know they could be prepearing to file for bankruptcy and keeping low profile while doing it not to affect sales. You can't just stop communicating with customers after you've said that soemthing is nearing completion. And this has been a trend for a while. They were supposed to roll out a new store front back when Final Blitzkrieg was announced. Well they stopped talking about it as well and didn't do it. There is no evidence of them working on the patch any more and there won't be until we get an official statement about it. And as you say, it'd only take them a few seconds, just log in and post "We're sorry for the delays, but we are working on it" etc.

And so we end this thread in the same total confusion in which it was started. With thanks to all participants.

Perhaps YOU don't even exist. I don't bloody care. I most certainly don't like your malicious, paranoid comments. I just want to enjoy these great games, get some decent information from time to time from my favorite gaming company and be able to look forward to coming releases.

Perhaps YOU don't even exist. I don't bloody care. I most certainly don't like your malicious, paranoid comments. I just want to enjoy these great games, get some decent information from time to time from my favorite gaming company and be able to look forward to coming releases.

Perhaps YOU don't even exist. I don't bloody care. I most certainly don't like your malicious, paranoid comments. I just want to enjoy these great games, get some decent information from time to time from my favorite gaming company and be able to look forward to coming releases.

Perhaps YOU don't even exist. I don't bloody care. I most certainly don't like your malicious, paranoid comments. I just want to enjoy these great games, get some decent information from time to time from my favorite gaming company and be able to look forward to coming releases.

The (poor) sarcasm is doing you no favors. Jackass move.

Decent arguments on both sides here. That said... yeah, it's pretty disappointing that a fix couldn't have come our way by now. It's true that Steve didn't publicly acknowledge the AI problem until 5 or 6 months ago (IIRC), but that doesn't mean it wasn't known about well before then. Several users noted and a few mentioned it right here on these forums long before that.
And let's not forget that BFC has admitted that they knew of the issue at 4.0's release -- apparently it was pointed out by a few beta testers -- but the company didn't consider it game-breaking enough to hold the product back. I happen to disagree -- it absolutely is game-breaking, to me --  so I have several scenarios on-hold at the moment. It's just not challenging to attack anymore.
But maybe we should also remember that there are other issues that need to be (re)fixed in this patch, too. Like the one where a few soldiers will not move even while their unit is ordered all around the battlefield. That can have some pretty devastating consequences. Is it tied to the way infantry is now more spread out when moving... or how they use corners... or something else altogether? Who knows?
Well, I think the point is, after EIGHTEEN MONTHS(!!), BFC does (or should) know by now. If they need more beta-testers to check out any incremental changes, fine, I'd say it's well past the time to just go ahead and enlist a few more. Customers are obviously getting pretty upset with this delay, and -- as much as I like this product, and respect what Steve, et al., are doing -- it's becoming really difficult to say that all these obviously annoyed customers are being unreasonable.

This is rich coming from someone who just handwaves away all criticisms on the basis that "they must know what they are doing." 
Again, you have literally no evidence to back up your own assertions, yet pull out the "get more evidence card." 
 
At this point we'll likely see the major effects of climate change before we actually get the 4.0 patch or any substantial content. But personally I look forward to the forum update:
 "Hey it's Steve here reporting from the flooded ruins of Augusta Maine, 4.0 fix will be coming soon, in the meantime here are 2 random Rome to Victory Screenshots, give us money."
 
But then we get to my favourite part
 
Smart move to run away, come at me with something a bit better next time or don't come at all. 
 
 
 

This is a bad argument. They keep all relevant information (sales figures, cash flow, etc.) secret ostensibly to "protect it from competition." Just pointing to longevity is ridiculous, for all you know they could have been limping along for 20 years, it's literally impossible to know how successful they are. 
I'll tell you what's not a sign of a good company, releasing an update with a game breaking bug (I consider it game breaking because it effectively makes the single player unplayable, unless you enjoy effortlessly gunning down fleeing AI troops) and charge $10 for it. Then going over a year and a half without any sign of a fix on the way. Bonus points for the fact that the update to fix 4.0 will also likely require you to pay for it because BFC loves its customers so much that they nickle and dime them for basic bug fixes. 
But hey, I gotta give some credit to BFC, they've clearly mastered the art of building up a dedicated fanbase. Paying customers are demanding some action to fix their game, and we got @IanL throwing out terms like snowflakes, because screw them for wanting to be able to play their $60 game without using janky workarounds. 
 

Has there been any word at all from BF on the patch? 
I have supported and bought everything these guys have ever put out and now they just decide to go complete radio silence on fixing something they broke?
I hate to sound so negative but dang its hard not to feel like they really just don't care.  I have to hope that is not the case but it would be nice for them to at least let us know whats going on.
This has always been a pretty loyal fan base but I don't know if it makes good business sense to take that for granted.
Sorry for the rant but with the 4.0 issue I really don't even want to play at the moment and its been that way for quite a while now and should have been addressed by now.
Unacceptable.
 

I agree, facts are a pain in the arse. One of the facts, that incidentally also is a pain the arse, is that is has been 17 months since 4.0 was released, and still no patch.

I don't mind so much about the  bugs, they will always be there in some form. I'm especially annoyed about the endless delay and vague promises. And the reactions one gets when one has the bloody nerve to comment on that. A good example is the promise of screenshots in the beginning of this year. We only recently had some new ones for CM Italy, thanks to Bud. The comments were good and grateful. According to BF screenshots always cause a hailstorm of comments and questions. Just didn't happen.
Always the same 'it's all your own fault'- defence, to explain the failing of a decent PR-policy by BF.

And admitting that wouldn't be received well. Hence the empty promises and radio silence. And with every comment on the forum the mantra 'every moment I'm answering you guys, delays the development of the games you're waiting for'. Treat your forum like a bunch of school boys and see what happens.

I don't mind so much about the  bugs, they will always be there in some form. I'm especially annoyed about the endless delay and vague promises. And the reactions one gets when one has the bloody nerve to comment on that. A good example is the promise of screenshots in the beginning of this year. We only recently had some new ones for CM Italy, thanks to Bud. The comments were good and grateful. According to BF screenshots always cause a hailstorm of comments and questions. Just didn't happen.
Always the same 'it's all your own fault'- defence, to explain the failing of a decent PR-policy by BF.

I don't mind so much about the  bugs, they will always be there in some form. I'm especially annoyed about the endless delay and vague promises. And the reactions one gets when one has the bloody nerve to comment on that. A good example is the promise of screenshots in the beginning of this year. We only recently had some new ones for CM Italy, thanks to Bud. The comments were good and grateful. According to BF screenshots always cause a hailstorm of comments and questions. Just didn't happen.
Always the same 'it's all your own fault'- defence, to explain the failing of a decent PR-policy by BF.

+1  only to add that corrections with the patch are intrinsically critical to the success of SF2. If that game isn't functioning right on release, it will be a disaster, esp considering the expectation and the anticipated sales generated by this particular title.

In addition to this, I understand BF have been working in collaboration with NZ armed forces and the team set up and operation has changed -  I think that explains why development has been extra slow and lower priority over the past year.

I feel the frustration though, I have 3 games myself that are on ice due to the quite intolerable AI issues (albeit extreme examples).

Oh sure I get that and I am not really talking so much about release of the patch but just some communication to the community who has supported them through thick and thin.
That is what really bothers me. I love these game more than any other game I have ever owned and always had big love for these devs but just to put it into perspective.
They released a for money engine upgrade that broke the AI.  Ok that happens, its game development.  Then they say something about it being almost ready or looking good almost 6 months ago and since then not a word. Not a "hey guys we are working on it ran into some issues but we are working on it."  Just a little communication goes a long way.
Unless I totally missed some communication.  It really makes ya wonder if they just cant fix it and they don't want to say it.

Greetings! 

This is my first real attempt with the editor - which started out from this real-world Luftwaffe aerial shot I came across for the village of Golynki, west of Smolensk...



...which I stretched to fit more neatly into a CM-friendly grid, and came out with this map:





It is a 2000m x 1792m map, covering a few types of terrain: a peat bog in the northern half, a wooded area and the near-pristine village of Tregubovka to the southeast, and the larger village of Golynki to the soutwest, which has been largely demolished and abandoned under the German occupation. The map is divided in half by drainage ditch running north-south (both it and a secondary ditch on the northeast side are passable 'shallow ford' throughout), and has a major rail line running east-west in the bottom quarter of the map. 



At the moment, I have no data on any actions that took place here - all I learned is that this area was recaptured by the Soviets in October 1943 (I originally thought it was part of the CMRT timeline in 1944, but it is not so). 






It's a very detailed, handcrafted map - it may still need a bit of optimization as I went very heavy on the flavour objects (so the frame rate might drag down in certain areas, depending on your system). On the upside, it's very pretty in places





I'm trying to figure out what to do with it in terms of scenario - and since I have absolutely 0 experience with scenario building and AI programming at the moment, any help or advice would be appreciated! What would you like to see on this map?

At the moment, there is no AI and all the parameters, objectives, etc. are placeholders only. It's only really usable in the editor right now.

You may download my current WIP version of it here: 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hA9cr80cdMmHkGK8mhhbNgZz_LAefsyH

...or in the forum attachment.

If you have anything that you'd like to create on this map yourself, or use it or any part of it for your own scenarios - you're very welcome to do so (with credit for map given).

Thanks for checking it out! 
CCIP - Golynki (v01 map only).btt

I've got to admit I now have more than two games (as of this evening) on hold because of poor AI behaviour that have stopped play. When veteran troops (and +2), rested and OK are in cover behind bocage but come under pinning fire, they do not run out from the bocage into the exposed field of fire  - unless they first panic or at least become nervous. Pinned does not mean panic, it means pinned! Infuriating stuff!