Thunderbird

Here is the last email I received about this issue, and this will be my last post on the subject, as I am moving on: Hi Tom! Actually it is your problem with hotmail because you have chosen them as your email provider. Our email server is working just fine and emails are being sent out as requested. It's on the receiving end where your email provider is blocking them and you will need to work out a way with them to retrieve those emails. Our email servers are not blacklisted anywhere and comply with any requirement there is. We have notified hotmail of their mistake and they have admitted a problem with their database, and we're suggesting every customer to contact them as well. This should increase the pressure the most so they provide a quick fix. If you are unable to have them resolve this within the next 10 days or so, we're going to be able to assign your account to a different email address if you provide us with one. ------------------ My only comment is that I no more chose to use hotmail than you choose to use battlefront.com. In fact following your logic, you chose my email yourself when you pulled it automatically out of my paypal account. If you had sent the product by post would you have the same attitude? We sen't it, not our fault if you didn't get it. This is a silly issue anyway. We all can agree that Hotmail is at fault re:the email, but the issue from a customer support standpoint is 1) who had foreknowledge of the problem - you guys, and 2) who is in the best position to fix it - you guys. I gave you a solution, but instead you want to play a silly game of who is at fault. Wrong Custom Support Answer - "We sent it. You should have read the page, ignored the part about a follow up email, and installed the game right there! At work? Well, you could have cut and paste it in an email to yourself. Contact the largest software company in the world's tech support and hope they fix it. If they don't in 10 days, call us back. Good luck!" Right Answer Customer Support Answer- "You know, if I was you I would think this sucks too....so, we wen't ahead and tied your account to the email you already gave us when you asked last week, and since we known this seems to be happening to a number of our customers we have changed our workflow so it doesn't stick people again." Tommy

Moon, If you are clearly saying that contacting Hotmail has resolved the problem for others (do they even keep the old blocked emails?) - in a reasonable timeframe ( a few days), then you may be right that it is a reasonable request to make of your customers. My assumption is that it hasn't, and that is why I felt stuck. In any event, keep making good games, but fix this issue somehow. Like I said, would it be that hard to send people who create a new account via hotmail an email from a different domain (I don't know, say a new hotmail account)? Anyway, like I said personally not an issue. I was happy to buy it again - I just think it is a little wrong headed to expect your customers to jump through those kinds of hoops.

I am not a troll or a whackadoodle, I almost never post in forums like this - but as an entrepreneur, I know some people at Battlefront will want/need honest feedback from their customers and I want Battlefront to keep making great games so this is offered in that context and I hope it is helpful to the owners/operators of Battlefront. Fan boys who have never had a problem, please don't post...this isn't for your benefit. The Story - I LOVED Combat Mission. I tried Shock Force when it came out and hated it - this is not a post about that. I was recently convinced to try it again...."all the bugs were fixed - it's playable now." So, I contacted tech support and tried to get my license key again as I lost it on my system while in Iraq. I was told sorry, but you can only download it for a year? Ah, ok....I was offered a $5 re-download coupon. Cool...$5 bucks is no big deal. So I downloaded the software again. Here comes the rub, I used my my Paypal account which is tied to a old Hotmail account. I had an account "automatically" created for me and sent to my Hotmail account. Now, Hotmail is blacklisting Battlefront. Not Battlefront's fault - but not MY problem. I got that - but it meant I couldn't get my license key! When I contacted help support again, asking to get this account linked to a new one I created I was basically told - sorry "not our fault". This despite me having found multiple similar problems on the forums and this being the suggested fix (contact the help desk). Over the course of several somewhat insulting emails basically saying I was a dumb @$# for not reading the screen, etc. Apparently it was my fault for not be omnipotent AND not knowing that I would have an account auto-generated for me AND that Hotmail was blocking Battlefront, AND that the screen (which I did read) and told me an email was on the way with my key would never arrive. Wow, I do feel stupid.......I gave up and just re-purchased the game at full price under a new account. Contacting Hotmail to fix the problem isn't really a solution to MY problem and is silly as it wouldn't solve MY problem anyway (i.e. you would have to resend me a key!!!!). All it would take is resetting the email to the new one I provided, but alas that seems to hard (even though this was done for others). Recommendation- I hate people that complain without a fix so here goes: 1. Remove the stupid DRM - but that's not a new recommendation - this wouldn't solve the problem directly but would make your sales funnel a lot more flexible so you could fix these problems more easily. 2. If you know Hotmail is blocking you, screen for new accounts created with a Hotmail address. Then, resend them an email from another email account (I hear hotmail has free ones ! Duh....this could even be automated or done manually by the help desk people in a proactive way. 3. For God's sakes don't make your customers feel like your problem (being blacklisted from Hotmail) is their problem. If it happens, just fix it quick! Resolution - BTW, the game is improved. However, the stupid DRM and poor customer service means I am going to have to think hard about buying another game from Battlefront. Oh, I probably will, but I won't feel good about it like I used too. I do not need a refund or anything. Please keep the money, get rid of the stupid DRM, and get the old tech support back so you can keep making great games. Thanks...... Tom Mancino

OMG, did you not read the whole review? The first part was a joke, based on his expectations of BF. Read the whole review, then look at the score (a 5 of 10) I think. In my class room that is a failing score! </font>

OMG, did you not read the whole review? The first part was a joke, based on his expectations of BF. Read the whole review, then look at the score (a 5 of 10) I think. In my class room that is a failing score!

There is no WP vehicle smoke

Ok, you know we have reached critical mass when the fan boy's can only nitpick the reviewer on his critique of the campaign

No, you don't understand. The problem is this is another hit on the WEGO system caused by the move to Real Time. More cycles = better AI. A blue bar means you can take as many cycles as you need. Real time or instant replay WEGO means you have 1 minute. Get it now?

No.

Most are not insurgents. They are Syrian regular army. Remember the 1st and 2nd "major hostilities" phases of the Gulf Wars? Units not surrendering, or reacting to morale (routing, etc.) is another giant omission....or hopefully a giant bug.

Exactly, if BF doesn't want to deal with a point system, fine...but at least let there be a way to frigging pick the units! How you are supposed to represent an asymmetrical fight without being able to customize the force as the Syrians, I will never know [ July 30, 2007, 07:49 AM: Message edited by: Thunderbird ]

Steve, You already have QB in the game, so you must balance the forces for these, right? How are you doing it currently?

I would agree if you were working within the limits of your command structure, but your not! In RT you are working within the limits of your ability to manipulate the interface.

They were flares.

Yes it can, very effectively as well.

But it does cover asymmetrical combat right? What about defense of airfields and other critical infrastructure.....I am again shocked to find a unit that represents such an iconic piece of kit left out of the game?

Even an A-10 does its work at several thousand feet You would not hear or see a thing besides maybe a jet engine But by that time it would be several miles away and the effects of its ordance probably already seen or heard </font>

No. ZSUs are designed to protect mobile columns of tanks and other armored vehicles.

For many of us (old war gamers) the answer is "yes."

Completely irrelevant here...the OP is talking about a game mechanic, not his play.

All of this complaining is completely understandable. There is a fundamental design problem with trying to make a game both RT and WEGO. Trying to do both just can't work, unless you are willing to make 2 games.

4

Neither WEGO or RT is even remotely "realistic." The question is one of game design. RT, without a VASTLY superior TACAI, trivializes C2 issues do to the inability to monitor all the action, while WEGO leads to equally unrealistic outcomes because of the inability to intervene when unrealistic actions occur. The question is, what is "FUN?" Clearly many old players do not find real time fun at all...this is not surprising, since most people that CURRENTLY play the game and are invested enough to post here, are hard core war gamers who generally (not exclusively) like more contemplative games. Clearly, Battlefront made a conscious decision to embrace RT play. A more interesting question is why did Battlefront turn toward RT gaming in the first place? To crack a much bigger market of course.....Only time will tell if this will be a commercial success for them. I respect that it is their decision, and I will continue to play the game, but can only hope that the general outcry here on the boards is heard and a return to an emphasis on the WEGO system they pioneered is implemented. I think this is inevitable, as in my personal opinion, neither traditional RT players nor traditional war gamers will be happy with the current hybrid system. The traditional RT players will not adopt the game in mass, leaving only us grogs left. [ July 28, 2007, 01:33 PM: Message edited by: Thunderbird ]

Why didn't you just play "random" games then? The point is that this was a major feature of the 1st series, and something that I bet will be put back in as quickly as it can be coded/tested... [ July 28, 2007, 11:30 AM: Message edited by: Thunderbird ]

This was in my mind one of many very poor design decisions, that I am sure will be changed. While I can respect and even empathize with having to choose between realism and ease of play/fun decisions, CMX2 seems to be almost spastic in its balancing of these issues. The current design, in my opinion tries to be too many things to too many people (hard core war gamers vs. casual/real time players) and and fails to serve either well: 1. No WEGO in TCP/IP - .....WEGO was what made CMX1. The shift to real time play is a FUN decision, in order to support non-traditional war gamers. Period. It is not "more realistic" in any way, as it is impossible to actually control any number of troops in anything resembling reality in real time. It is however fun for some, no argument...However, in shifting the design to accommodate real time play, they have crippled a critical functionality for their core demographic (traditional war gamers). 2. The inability to purchase troops is a staggering omission. It is presented as a "Realism" decision, but has a significant negative impact on "fun." Sure, random troop battles are fun, but so is being able to purchase units. Given the already highly suspect ability to balance U.S. forces verses any modern OPFOR it is understandable why it would be proposed that forces be fixed. However, I believe time will show that it is indeed the opposite, at least on the Syrian side. This is because I believe that it will quickly become apparent that there are limited force selections that will be effective/competitive on the Syrian side. Without access to those forces a game will be pretty much decided at the start based on what forces are made randomly available. Now before any total fan boys blast my post with L2P comments, etc. Please understand that I am a huge fan of Battlefront and am only offering my observations in the spirit of constructive feedback, AND with full faith and confidence that many of these issues will be addressed in the future! My advice, admittedly of limited value, to Battlefront is to take another look at who they want their core demographic to be, and tailor the design to them.....as it stands now, CMX2:Shock Force has a serious identify crisis.