4shades Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Hi there, I am thinking about using CMx2 as a "combat resolution engine" inside a much larger persistent campaign environment (air, sea, ground). Sort of like a France 1944 environment with autogenerated CMx2 scenarios for individual battles as they occur organically in the larger campaign. Well, anyway, in order to achieve this concept I would like to write some code that generates valid .btt files (CMx2 scenario files) by injecting new unit data, locations etc. Now, as I understand it, the .btt files are in binary format so I have some questions: 1. Is there a programmatic tool available for decoding the .btt files into readable ascii, and re-encoding them again? 2. If not, can anyone tell me what the general structure is, or who to talk to in Battlefront about it? 3. Is there a way to parse the .bts files as well (I would need to gather the results of the scenario and inject them into the larger campaign environment). For info, the larger campaign environment I am referring to is SEOW. Cheers, 4Shades 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theFightingSeabee Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I think you may be looking at violating some part of the user agreement you agree to when installing the game. If you want to talk business, you'll need to contact Steve. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4shades Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Thanks. If this kind of idea is against the license rules, then I won't pursue it. For clarity, I am not proposing to make money here. My idea is for an open-source engine that uses commercial programs (like CMx2) to do the detailed simming. So that would potentially benefit Battlefront, not me. Anyway, I'll try to get in touch with the developers directly. Cheers, 4S 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simmox Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Gday mate.long time no see? a similar project was attempted for the CMx1 game,but,i think it collapsed sometime ago they probably couldve used your skill back then i dream come true would be an SEOW for CMx2 something im surprised hasnt been attempted by BFC yet this game screams out for a decent operational layer implemented 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4shades Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Simmo!!!! Nice to see you! Cheers, 4S 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 There have been various efforts to create CM files by using simulated keystrokes and mouseclicks. That's about as far as it went. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jep Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks. If this kind of idea is against the license rules, then I won't pursue it. For clarity, I am not proposing to make money here. My idea is for an open-source engine that uses commercial programs (like CMx2) to do the detailed simming. So that would potentially benefit Battlefront, not me. Anyway, I'll try to get in touch with the developers directly. Cheers, 4S Should not be that hard to implement but i understand why BF would not allow customers to write their own code. Combat Mission: Campaigns likely failed because it was too ambitious project but perhaps BF decides to create a campaign of of their own. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crushingleeek Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Anyway, I'll try to get in touch with the developers directly. Cheers, 4S when you do, give me the phone number 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJ62 Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Should not be that hard to implement but i understand why BF would not allow customers to write their own code. Combat Mission: Campaigns likely failed because it was too ambitious project but perhaps BF decides to create a campaign of of their own. The project was not too ambitious, the fellow involved simply did not have the necessary skills to pull it off. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 The project was not too ambitious, the fellow involved simply did not have the necessary skills to pull it off. Skills? More like getting carried away on secondary issues like practicing "extreme programming" as a sport and not following through on each other. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 I think most of us were hoping for a simple campaign program/system to create CM1 tactical battles - rather like the method in the "Close Combat" series. However, it appeared that the programmer(s) were attempting to create an actual standalone operational game that could be sold separately. And that was too complex and foundered. Am sure that many would be thrilled by a campaign overlay routine, look at how many are using cardboard games etc to accomplish that. It would revitalize CM1. But, of course that's not what BFC wants... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Am sure that many would be thrilled by a campaign overlay routine, look at how many are using cardboard games etc to accomplish that. It would revitalize CM1. But, of course that's not what BFC wants... Not so sure it is a question of want. If it were something they thought they could realistically pull off, I don't doubt they would do it. The value add to the game would be immense. (at least in your and my opinions) I would even settle for the old style campaigns that would maintain position on the same map (I still fondly recall an old campaign from CMx1 that attempted to do the landing at Juno including Courseulles-sur-Mer to Carpriquet) and allow you to extend a battle almost as long as you'd like. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
76mm Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 However, it appeared that the programmer(s) were attempting to create an actual standalone operational game that could be sold separately. And that was too complex and foundered. I was following CMC development quite closely, and don't think that is correct; the game was very much focused on importing/exporting data to/from CMBB, so I don't see how it could have been sold separately, or it is was, why anyone would buy it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I recall when we saw/attempted to play the alpha or beta or whatever it was, it seemed like it was trying to be a standalone game rather than an aid to enable CM1 "metagaming". 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 The source code for CMC is available, BTW. I forgot the last status, but if you search this forum for "CMC" posts under my username the location should pop up. I also posted a version modified for easier build somewhere, sometime, or somefink. Should all be in the posting history for the CMC forum. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jep Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I do not wish to discredit people who did their best with the Campaigns. It’s just MY OPINION that a projects hard to implement (considering given financial facts and available experience) are too ambitious. I believe that Hunter said that they had problems with fleeing developers and bad programming habits (?). Eventually the project failed because they were not able to root out nasty bugs. Unfortunately we do not even have a suitable documentation of the Battlefront API, which prevents new projects. Not so sure it is a question of want. If it were something they thought they could realistically pull off, I don't doubt they would do it. The value add to the game would be immense. (at least in your and my opinions) I would even settle for the old style campaigns that would maintain position on the same map (I still fondly recall an old campaign from CMx1 that attempted to do the landing at Juno including Courseulles-sur-Mer to Carpriquet) and allow you to extend a battle almost as long as you'd like. Even a campaign similar to Close Combat 2 would be enough. Should not be that difficult to extend the current campaign to allow players to buy their own units (etc). I am not that sure about CMBB. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.