Thewood1

So I have to use the activation keys for my CMSF 1 module? I'll try it. edit: That was it, thanks.

I bought the upgrade. Do I have to have CMSF 1 installed and activated to run. I don't and CMSF 2 asks for the activation, activates, and then hangs for a bit and eventually brings up a blank window. Anyone else seen this? I'll submit a ticket.

I saw that, but was sure anything more definitive had been spoken.

Has there been an update on CMSF 2? I looked around and didn't see anything. I know sometimes it gets buried in other threads.

Shouldn't hits be in the general discussion forum?

Well, it probably doesn't matter anyway. BFC's marketing demographic appears to be people who are continuously refreshing the forum.

Several years ago, when IBM was developing the Watson chess demo, they determined that the top chess players had one trait beyond any one else. That was rapid pattern recognition. Their thinking process allowed them to store, recall, and act on emerging patterns in play. So for every move, they can recognize the 15-20 possible next moves, and the XXXX next next moves, and so on. Combining this with playing hundreds of games a week, they see, store, and recall every possible chess scenario. In one set of tests, several top chess players were shown a board in the middle of a match. They were asked to then lay out a fresh board as closely as possible to the one they were shown. They were over 90% accurate. The weird part is that in the 10% "incorrect" ones, they had layed out the board with the next move.

I do this in Command, ARMA, and Steel Beasts. The goal is to build a plan on both sides that minimizes human intervention. This is true sandbox play. 90% of my play in CM is hotseat so I can tinker with different plans. It can teach a lot about how things work by letting you take a step back and watch it play out. I should point out that one thing these three games have in common is the powerful scripting capabilities that let an experience designer do very unique and un-AI-like things.

Its weird, I have never had an ATGM team not reload immediately. In fact, now and then, they will reload when the better action would have been to hoof it because there is a 125mm response on the way.

I would think the Steel Beast discussions are close to how it works in real life. The devs and a number of players are current or recent tanks commanders and crewmen. Most of the logistics features are there because the various MoD and DoD customers using SB for training wanted it included for large operations.

Steel beasts allows reloading and some simple repair in its scenarios. But this is on very large maps and very long scenarios. In most scenarios, realistically, there isn't time or space for logistical operations like that. Typical MP scenario is a couple hours on multi-km by multi-km maps. By the time you travel back to meet a supply truck and head back to the action, the game is basically over. On smaller maps, the trucks and AFVs are very exposed and vulnerable with enemy units always within striking distance. The other thing is , that because SB deals with all modern combat, artillery will eventually find you if you stop too long. The point is that in most CM scenarios, an AFV would most likely be traveling off map to get handled. I'm wondering if you can exit an AFV off the map and then have a duplicate reenter as a clean AFV 30 minutes later. edit: Saw that reload times for a full stock on an M1 is 15 minutes at fastest and 25 minutes for a 25mm armed LAV.

The main problem with Command is that there is a big gap between different parts of its customer base. One part is in it for the simulation aspect and they do a lot of sandboxing play. The other part is more traditional wargamers expecting everything to be neatly laid out in tables and rules, with a very specific set of goals for winning and losing. The wargamer group wants to come in and play massive 3000 unit scenarios that come close to representing an entire war. They get upset that the game can't support what they want. On the simulation side, there are rivet counters that demand every variation of every ship/plane/missile be represented, regardless if the variant is significant. There are literally people demanding every size and engine combo of civilian small craft. The third pull is the DoD side of things. They have their own demands putting strain on the devs. If you combine all three factions, its a wonder the devs have been able to meet all three. The strike planner is a great example. What started out as a simple ToT calculator mushroomed into a tool that one veteran called more complex that the real strike planners used by the US Navy. It basically forced the devs to stop working on it because it was consuming so many dev cycles. Command is a type of product we might never see again. It was not developed to make money. It was developed to make a point and as something the devs wanted to play. There is nothing out there that combines the level of simulated detail and flexibility. But I am always worried the devs have over-extended themselves trying to please all factions.

Its not coming out in September.

Again, not the date, its the comms. Just like I and others have said before.

Gee, why would anyone care about what people are saying about a game you want to succeed? Grogheads gets read by a lot of old-style wargamers. Look at the views. And that right there is the problem. Instead of trying to salvage a reputation, it just gets written off as a bunch of grumblers. If BFC is only concerned about what happens in these forums, it will die a very slow painful death as a company. BFC doesn't like Steam because of all the new people who don't understand CM. They don't like places like grogheads because they are all old cranks. That leaves a very narrow sliver of the market. Those are the people on these forums. And they aren't making many friends here it looks like.

Of course, BFC could make us look like even bigger idiots by releasing the game this weekend. You never know.

Outside this board, there is a relatively strong opinion that BFC does not like their customers. You can argue that it is an unfair perception, and in your own view you are correct. Just walk over to grogheads and you will see a pretty fair number of senior wargamers who very much dislike Steve's approach to customer communications. Even some of the people that defend BFC concede that Steve rarely helps BFC's cause. This thread is a perfect example. Not a word from anyone official from BFC. Less than five minutes is all it would take. Instead you have beta testers and and customers flailing at each other to reinforce the perception. If beta testers really cared, they would stop coming into these threads. Let them die out once people have vented. It is the most successful strategy I have seen work.

I wold also like to point again that, even though I expressly stated this is about comms, someone comes in and says its about release dates. Its some kind of obsession. The example should have been: BF: If everything works out we're looking at releasing it by the end of August... end of August comes and goes Customer: Is the game going to be released soon? BF: {silence} Customer: What's the status of the game I preordered? Beta tester, et al: Stop giving BFC a hard time for missing the date Customer: Can we just get a status on the release and patch? Beta testers, et al: Stop bringing this up or BFC will stop making games continues on for a few weeks...

Its part of business. If your customers are burning you out, you shouldn't be in business or you are in the wrong business. Most of the complaints can and should be handled fairly easily. But not addressing them just pushes the problem down the road. And it not just gaming. Go work in a car dealership service department for a while. Now that is a real crap show. I actually feel bad for the beta testers. They are left on the boards once again to keep the barbarians off the gates. I don't know if BFC has ceded their marketing and comms to them or not, but it sure seems like it, again. Business would be so much easier without customers.

I know you are just beta testers. But it is you guys that come back in and seem to try to turn the conversation about everyone picking on Steve and BFC. And you come across as semi-official. So what you say carries some weight. Instead of just saying, yeah, we know it sucks that our boss doesn't communicate, you feel the need to aggregate every slight BFC has ever faced in their 19 year history. There are a couple beta testers that generalize individual statements into all out customer-led attacks on all that is BFC. It would probably be better as a beta tester to not say anything. Let it go. By you guys coming in and trying to ride herd, you are letting Steve and BFC off the hook on their poor business practices. People will come in and complain. So what? Its not like BFC is going to suddenly change or salvage its reputation in single forum thread. You guys do more harm then good when you circle the wagons on issues that are legitimate or excuse away BFC's actions/inactions. You guys, as beta testers seem very frustrated by these conversations. So why do you involve yourselves? Let BFC address it, or not. I came to the place in my life that I recognize that BFC makes great games, but, outside a cadre of old players and beta testers, they really don't like their customers much. I still play now and then, and I poke my head in now and then, but I tend not to take stuff personally much. As long as the games are good, I'll put up with the abuse.

The most frustrating thing to me is that when someone complains about the comms blackout, it's immediately run up as a tirade about missing deadlines. There are a number of people who have specifically stated that its not about the date, its about being left in the dark. Can someone who is in any kind of "know" just address that? And its not just about this site. There are threads on other sites where the attitude is much harsher about the lack of updates. And those sites should be a marketing dream for BFC. Instead, BFC is vilified for not communicating. A simple five minutes to post an update would solve this particular point. A simple "Its taking longer than expected. Limited time, overly complex, unexpected challenges, dog ate my homework, yada yada."

Pre-order is the old school version of Early Access, only without the playing part.

Demo is out? I'm not seeing it.

Thousands of people?

Steam made direct download mainstream. And companies wanted to do direct download without the overhead or owning an online store. I do business with Walmart and Target. For a small "independent" game company, they are much more predatory than Steam. And you have to go through a couple other distribution companies to get to the shelf. Just look at what it took for BFC to just update their store. It seemed like they were working on it for years. Is building and managing your own store and DRM more profitable than using steam? A lot of game companies think so, but some, like BFC, don't.