average

Steve, 
 
I'm not trying to be difficult here. I think the point for me is that across my various devices and the whole what you would call "trial attorney" lifestyle I generally have about 8-10 days a year where I can get stuck into my old hobbies. So this year for instance, I get to a break in my schedule, I dig out CMSF and try and install it on day 1 a short domestic vacation. That involves finding my windows laptop (not my Macbook Pro because not even I will buy the same program for different platforms unless its MS Office). Then I find out I've used up my three installs. So I email helpdesk. The response was super helpful but I've lost the time I had to play. A couple of years before that I repurchased the Marines module because of a key problem. 
 
Or just over Christmas, this time I didn't take my windows laptop (my Apple is better). So I touch down in Paris and I'm left to ponder should I buy CMRT for Mac or Windows. I mostly play on Windows at home, but when I've got free time I'm often away. So the solution is I defer it until I get home by not buying anything. This matches my general dissatisfaction with the weird patches, DRM and content issues I described above. I notice that the titles I do play all have the "steam-play" feature that bridges that gap for me. 
 
So I get home and I need to install CMBN and I decide to get version 3.0. So that takes me a day to download, and then I install it - which I need to do anyway since I've changed SSDs over. 
 
Then I start playing Market Garden for a couple of days. I get involved in a what-if scenario involving the counter-attack at Eerde by Von der Heeydte. Totally enjoyed it. But very hard fought. Having just re-read "It Never Snows in September" I'm somewhat surprised that the scratch force attacking my left-hand flank (made up of training troops and stragglers in reality) are all set to crack. Probably not as surprised as I am by the amount of running armor that KG Wather has. Then yesterday I managed to spend a couple of hours in the Hunner Park Nijmegen scenario. But in the back of my mind I wonder how my PC with twin GT970s and running at about 4.5ghz, with 16gbs of ram and an SSD is running the game at a slide show pace. So again, rough edges taking the shine of what is the best game in its product class. 
 
Perhaps the other thing to note is that I do frequently change components or entire computers. That has probably come about because of ever better SSD solutions, new processors and just being a little unlucky with having high end components fail early. So while I'm exaggerating to make a point, the point is a very real one for me.  
 
So unlike many of the other posters here I have some very real time constraints that mean to me, the overwhelming imperative is having something I can pick up and play at any time without having any questions as to whether the product I've paid for will work, whether it is up to date and whether every scenario or campaign is uniformly worth the investment of time.
 
I think what is literally missing from this conversation is that I am a marginal customer who used to be completely rusted on. I like CMX2 a whole lot better than CMX1. I like modern a whole lot more than WW2. I have more than enough spare money to buy everything you publish and not blink. What is making me a marginal customer is that its become cumulatively hard to find the time to keep up to date and sort through the content. There are also ease of transacting questions and some bad experiences with DRM into the bargain. What I am prepared to pay for is a seamless digital experience and a high level of curation of your content. If you can organise that then I don't mind paying for "features." Whether I have any interest in particular modules is another question, but that is exactly why you are selling modules, some of us will buy some, some of us will buy only a few. 
 
So assuming I'm not a lone time poor voice in the wilderness I think its worth investigating whether a product like CMSF could be sold digitally (at say $20 for a complete copy) and given the chance that game deserved to succeed (which in versions 1.0 through to 1.10) it never really had owing to quality control issues. If that works then it might suggest moving to a dual track system of digital distribution and the BFC web-store.  Perhaps you could do this to generate publicity for CMBS and support for its release (as you said, many customers including friends of mine could never overcome their experience with CMSF 1.0 to 1.10). 
 
Finally, I'm not sure that Baneman and Sburke et al represent the views of the majority of customers. Their forum post counts are so substantial that no doubt they are able to keep completely up to date and play on a regular basis. That said at most they will have spent $90 more (having personally purchased every CMX1 game and everything but Gustav line and CMRT) on BFC products than I have to date. So I appreciate your willingness to explore better methods to publish your products, because when your products work, with the right user made content, then they are fantastic. 
 
Regards 

Long time lurker here. I think the comments at RPS are entirely on the money about the problems with BFC. 
 
I love BFC games, but I want a more convenient and streamlined way of buying, installing and keeping them up to date. BFC is essentially asking its customers to pay more for less over time (for instance by way of paid "feature" patches, modules), while not delivering more in terms of the quality of the SP content or the customer service experience. 
 
So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play. I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content. 
 
My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way. I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform. Rise of Flight, Matrix, Eagle Dynamics etc are all on Steam and probably selling more than ever. Maybe its time to move on from 2002 on the retail front. 

Long time lurker here. I think the comments at RPS are entirely on the money about the problems with BFC. 
 
I love BFC games, but I want a more convenient and streamlined way of buying, installing and keeping them up to date. BFC is essentially asking its customers to pay more for less over time (for instance by way of paid "feature" patches, modules), while not delivering more in terms of the quality of the SP content or the customer service experience. 
 
So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play. I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content. 
 
My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way. I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform. Rise of Flight, Matrix, Eagle Dynamics etc are all on Steam and probably selling more than ever. Maybe its time to move on from 2002 on the retail front. 

Long time lurker here. I think the comments at RPS are entirely on the money about the problems with BFC. 
 
I love BFC games, but I want a more convenient and streamlined way of buying, installing and keeping them up to date. BFC is essentially asking its customers to pay more for less over time (for instance by way of paid "feature" patches, modules), while not delivering more in terms of the quality of the SP content or the customer service experience. 
 
So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play. I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content. 
 
My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way. I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform. Rise of Flight, Matrix, Eagle Dynamics etc are all on Steam and probably selling more than ever. Maybe its time to move on from 2002 on the retail front.