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Dragotin

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Posts posted by Dragotin

    My Steelbook experience

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I made my compaints in another thread, but this response is really galling.

    Well, let's address the issues and not the rant. Rants aren't really worth addressing :D

    1. If the box arrived busted up, contact sales@battlefront.com. So far there's been 3 reported busted that I know of. ]Percentage wise it doesn't even register. The extra cost for sending out "Amazon" style would have to be borne by the 99.9% of our customers who got a perfect condition box. So, if we do this again we'll be using padded envelopes again.

    That reads like you are saying that people who got broken boxes don't matter.

    2. The thing is called a "Steelbox". It's not our name for it, it's the name of the product. We posted a video of it, but I guess we should have described it in detail too. We didn't think that was necessary. For some it appears it was. Having never worked with this product before I think we should be forgiven for not anticipating every possible source of complaint. Obviously it's in nobody's best interests, least of all ours, to have there be disappointment.

    First, it certainly is your name for it. It's on your website and you continually point to this in excusing the fact that it is mostly plastic. Still, the second part is what is insulting. This is nothing more than passive-aggressive pissiness on your part. If you worked for me I'd fire you for insulting my customers.

    Anyway, you should certainly have anticipated problems when deciding to promote an exceptional game to incredibly loyal fans by supplying them with cheap crap.

    3. We've printed dozens of different manuals over the years. The quality of the manual, in terms of the binding, paper, and cover are quite good. The general lightness of the printing itself could have been darker. In fact, it looked darker on the proofs, so we didn't expect it would come out this way. So agreed, it could have been a little better.

    You are doing better here, but this is just a proclamation of innocence. "It wasn't us, it was the printer - we had nothing to do with it!"

    4. The size of the manual is a problem for a game like CM. The manual, even with this font size, could have been another 50 pages easy. Probably another 100. But then we get into biding problems with a manual that thick. Increase the font size would explode the manual's overall page count and that would drive up the cost way beyond what it this manual cost. So much we don't think it would be viable to print because of low customer acceptance of the price.

    As a general comment about printed manuals... we're trying hard to continue offering printed manuals to the early customers who want them. But it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem with each passing year. There's already very little wiggle room for making this a commercially viable option for us in this world of every escalating costs and ever decreasing customer interest in paying for them. We're willing to stick to it as long as possible, however, since we know that theoretically the interest in printed manuals exists. When theory and reality diverge a bit more than we'll be going download only for good.

    I honestly think the manual could have been a lot better. For size issues, there are many pages of nothing that could have been left out. The installation hand-holding is ok, given activation issues, but anyone 8 years old is going to be able to figure out what quick battle, saved game, and exit means in the menu. Why do you need credits in the manual? Why do you need software license declarations? You could cut down the table of contents by 50% without losing anything; most pages have 2-3 entries as it is - it is redundant (the manual ought to explain the game, not the manual itself). You have 26 pages devoted to the tutorial missions yet you say you want to provide manuals for fans - this doesn't follow; I didn't even play the tutorial, myself. The weapons info would be better accessed in an excel file, IMO.

    I get it, though, really. It is mainly about cost. In that case, sell a good one separately, or jack the price. Or quit making them. Just don't offer one that is sub-par and then disown it.

    That is the overall tone of your post. That you are put-upon to even hear criticism of your marketing decisions, let alone have to answer them. Never once did you take any sort of responsibility. Either it is the customer's fault or the printer or, I guess, the high wages paper mill employees and miners get, damn their safety demands...

    How stupid of me to accept at face value a marketing ploy with a name designed to deceive. That's what I am taking home from your post here, Steve.

    Why don't you task someone with less invested and a normal ego to reply to your customer's complaints? Maybe say you are sorry that your product wasn't up to your customers expectations. We already know you are smarter than us because you are the one collecting the money. Try not to rub our faces in it.

    Thank you for your time.

    PS Awesome game.

    0

    Ammo Loads for Off Map Artillery?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    US

    MtrSec lt........3x60..M2...HE 135...Smk 0.....ROF 18.....H30....M20...L10

    MtrSec med....2x81...M1.......100/10.....8.....18 (35)......30......20.....10

    MtrPlt ArmInf.. 3x81..M1........150/15....12.....18 (35)......30......20.....10

    MtrPlt hvy.....2x107..M2 4.2.....60........40.......5 (1).......15........8......5

    HowBat lt......4x75....M1A1.....140........40.......3-6..........8.........5......3

    HowBat med ..4x105..M2A1.....140........40........-............6.........4......2

    SPHow med....2x105..M7.........138........20........-............6.........4......2

    HowBat hvy....4x155..M1.........120.......40.....4 (1-2).......4........3......2

    HB hvy..........4x203..M1 8"......80.........0........2...........1-2.......1.....0-1

    HB hvy..........2x240..M1..........30.........0........2...........0-1.....0-1...00-1

    CP................2x105 M3..........70........20......4 (2).........4........3.......2

    CP med..........4x114 M1 4.5"..140.........0.......4 (1)........4........3......1-2

    CB hvy...........4x155 M1A1 lt..120.......40........1.3..........2.......1-2....0-1

    CB hvy...........4x203 M1 8".......80................................1........1.....00-1

    RB lt ..............4x114 T27.........320..............................8

    RB lt...............4x114 T27E2......384.............................24

    DestB.............1x127 Navy 5"....250.............................65

    LCB................1x152 Navy 6"....300.............................96

    HCB................1x203 Navy 8"....153.............................44

    BBB.................1x305 Navy 12".....................................

    BBB.................1x356 Navy 14"....70..........................15-20

    I was looking to figure out what is best for smoke usage, and decided none of them are very good. The best bet seems to be HowitzerBattery (heavy) 4x155. You get 8 WP shells per round with thick white smoke, so it lays them all down within 5 turns. The 155mm cannons take 14 turns to do the same thing, meaning it dissipates.

    However, if you have an open country map, I would use rockets for a quick advance, or if you can afford it, navy guns. They kick up huge amounts of dust in a short time.

    0

    Help !!! "Steel Box damaged in transit"

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I read this: "The Steel (plastic really) Box "

    I read this: "it is plastic instead of steel"

    I read this: "The front and back are steel. The sides and spine are plastic"

    but somehow I thought that said the opposite - that it was the reverse of that. Of course, I haven't received it yet, but I didn't expect plastic at all.

    Why should anyone have to do research on a simple compound word? Steel and book means book made of steel, lol. If it is so that we are fools if we do not research every claim made by a trusted source, then I truly am a schmuck!

    Hey, maybe I'm wrong and I'll think quite highly of the thing when I receive it. That won't allay the feeling of being duped. I would prefer: SteelBookW/Plastic heheh

    But like I say before, Whatever.... :rolleyes:

    0

    Help !!! "Steel Box damaged in transit"

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    As someone who has some knowledge of where steel prices have gone over the past few years (for example, my steel roof on my house!) I shudder to think what a 100% steel box would cost! Thank God copper has at least come down in price some. Don't get me started on Gold and Silver prices. Thankfully I don't do home renovations with those metals :D

    Steve

    You are probably paying the same for the plastic as you would for actual metal, unless you are using really cheap plastic. Hell, shouldn't you KNOW what they would have cost you?

    Whatever, I'm a sucker, but I thought steel box meant steel box. I ought to know by now that XXX does not mean XXX or anything like XXX. If it were tin I could live with it. Plastic? I wouldn't have bothered. I was going to use it for something other than storing the game disks, but I'll go get a used cigar box now.

    Very disappointing, if true. Also very believable. Great game, horrible advertising. I'm such a schmuck. :(

    0

    Online Game ..... ????

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    There is no online matchmaking system inherent in the game. You must make friends on your own!

    EDIT: Oops, not quite right.

    Create a battle, and choose INTERNET/LAN from the dropdown menu after you choose your force side (German/American), if you are hosting.

    If someone else is hosting, choose Join a Network Gam and you will need the host's IP address, I believe.

    0

    How many Steelbox edition units?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    501

    Of course while that number may in no way resemble the actual number of steelboxes it is possible that it does.

    The actual number of steelboxes is equal to the number of steel boxes available to ground forces the day following DDay, minus those steelboxes which never made the landing or contained sandwiches and letters from Mom. @NotIntendedToBeAFactualStatement

    All I know is there needs to be one more so I can send it to my nephew.

    0

    Opps needed please (3 max atm)

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Small battles to begin with. My rate ought to be 2 per day for each battle, perhaps only one if my workload is high that day.

    I can prepare files or you can, so long as it is small force selection (map size can be whatever). I have 2 files prepared now, small force, small map, random terrain, pick your own force, meeting engagement, clear day.

    First response gets choice of side, second gets remainder, third has to make his own file and send it to dtjbass at gmail

    Not sure how proper it is to solicit here, but I don't want to wait!

    0

    Appears there's no game lobby mechanism

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    It would take less than a day or two coding and then a few days doing up a decent GUI for someone to create a MP chat lobby using Smartfox Server and Flash, or Unity, or Runtime Revolution, since all those IDEs have pre-built MP chat frameworks pre-existing. Unity especially handles all the NAT punch throughs and firewall issues etc built in and Smartfox Server has a basic MP chat client example ready to go in about 15 minutes work.

    Maybe you or the OP!

    Personally, I despise those things. The chat is so overwhelming and inane that it makes it very hard to find a nice game.

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