Upgrades Q&A

[argie]

The only I ask is the chance to turn off the music only. I'll pay for an upgrade which only do it.

[Reaper28]

you can easily mod the music out or switch it to something more of your liking.

[MikeyD]

I'll pay for an upgrade which only do it.

As a joke BFC had several early Betas of CMFI starting with a rousing operatic rendition of "O Sole Mio". I swear that tune nearly broke some people. Plus they had the UI default to Italian instead of English. Oh, what jolly pranksters.

[Steiner14]

As a joke BFC had several early Betas of CMFI starting with a rousing operatic rendition of "O Sole Mio". I swear that tune nearly broke some people.

[Mord]

The only I ask is the chance to turn off the music only. I'll pay for an upgrade which only do it.

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1116

I take checks, money orders, paypal, or human organs...

Mord.

[argie]

http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=1116

I take checks, money orders, paypal, or human organs...

Mord.

Great! I'm sending you a brain, a year 68 classic, with little to no use. Is the only organ I can spare without affecting my normal functionality.

[Michael Emrys]

I take checks, money orders, paypal, or human organs...

I'd gladly send you Shaw's intestines, but I don't think the PO would accept them.

Michael

[pazuzusmiles]

well I'm a johny-come-lately to the conversation but just let me say I've been a fan and prowler of your website and its forums for years now...The bottom line is you guys make a superior tactical game system and more than any other software developers, gaming outfits battlefront stays in the conversation with its very fan base....i've had poor staff members write me 3 to 5 emails slowly explaining and re-explaining how to update passwords...God bless em, they were always patient and proffessional..plus the staffs interaction with those of us who play with these toys is exeptional...(Look how the Total war outfit ailenated their fanbase)..the repository is the equivilant to a kids toybox and the gaming community around these series of games, whatever your poison be, is very open and accessible..I don't mind paying the extra money ...It pays for itself in years of replayability...years!! And I want these guys to be lucrative..I want them to profit and so does everybody else who really loves this series of games because I want them to have the tools that they need to comfortably keep evolving what has been so far the best tactical war game ever designed...yes I vote to pay the extra..I'm in this for the long jhaul baby...seems like a lotta folks on here can't really see past the eventual EF modules but i'm holding out for Combat Mission:KOREA Or Combat Mission: VIETNAM hahaha....keep it up guys...this isnt some profit churning playstation game...this is elogance...intelligence...this is a real war game....not a toy.....My wallets out...you guys make some coffee and keep teh conversation, as always, open......

[mjkerner]

Well stated, pazuzusmiles.

I want my local police, fire dept, EMTs, my doctor, and BFC to all be well paid!

[kulik]

A question:

As the frequency of new releases of games,modules and newly upgrades raises wouldn't it be feasible to bring more people (coders, artists...) on board?

[Reaper28]

They obviously are happy with their cost/profit ratio. If anything it be cool if they gave select individuals to help with small projects like textures etc if they dont already with free game upgrade etc. for helping out.

Guys like aris would be a prime example

[kulik]

They profit will skyrocket compared to CMSF production period. And i certainly wish them that but they could hire more people to make more games and make them quicker which in return could make their profit even higher.

[Frenchy]

Will the upgrade for CM:BN be available just prior to CM:FI's release?

[beatmasta]

Will the upgrade for CM:BN be available just prior to CM:FI's release?

If I have understood correctly it will be available after the FI release

[Reaper28]

Yeah its gonna be like a month or so after

[PJMaybe]

I would still like to see some way of watching a battle play back but able to see both sides. Like a cinematic mode.

Even just something to make each minute from a turn based game play in sequence would be okay.

[Nuggetz]

I just bought fortress Italy and was thinking of picking up the Normandy title. When upgrades to Normandy are released, will a new version of the full game be available for purchase or would I have to buy Normandy, and then pay for an upgrade?

I've only played a few hours of CM:FI and have no other CM games. Are the features in FI that much better compared to Normandy? Never seen so many people so happy to pay for additional features. Lol. From a graphics perspective i cant tell the difference. Actually The Normandy videos I've watched on YouTube look better. Maybe it's the maps and all the greenery.. Besides moveable waypoints, what does FI have over Normandy? This whole CM series confuses me :-)

This is a terrific game. I'm surprised tat I just came across this series. CM:touch on the iPad turned me on to it. I was actually searching for comparable games like CM touch for PC and was ecstatic when I realized what I've been missing.

Seems like this is a small shop but are there any plans for revamping the graphic engine? Since I play wego I'm surprised that performance isn't better since the moves are pre calculated.

[GerryCMBB]

Hello:

Here is a partial list from the CMFI announcement page:

Moveable Waypoints

Target Armor Arc Command

Expanded Floating Icon Categories

"Fog of War" Floating Icons

2D Editor Map Overlay (so you can create your maps right out of real-life satellite photos and maps)

Auto-Assemble Road/Wall/Hedge Tool (“paint” a road or wall now!)

Camera Jump to Groups

Target Briefly Command

New Rendering Shaders (check out the new screenshots!)

Bump and Normal Mapping

Improved Framerates

Pausable Realtime TCP/IP Mode

Gerry

[Mord]

I've only played a few hours of CM:FI and have no other CM games. Are the features in FI that much better compared to Normandy? Never seen so many people so happy to pay for additional features. Lol. From a graphics perspective i cant tell the difference. Actually The Normandy videos I've watched on YouTube look better. Maybe it's the maps and all the greenery.. Besides moveable waypoints, what does FI have over Normandy? This whole CM series confuses me :-)

Welcome aboard. They are a lot better because some were things we've been wanting since CMX2 came out. They are probably more noticeable to veterans because of that but yeah, they are worth it. The game is evolving and the little things and big things count. As far as videos go...I think the shaders have improved CMFI's look over Normandy as far as the vehicles and troops...some of what you are seeing on YouTube are highly modded versions and the quality from video to video (looks) stems on the talent and experience of the guys making them.

This is a terrific game. I'm surprised tat I just came across this series. CM:touch on the iPad turned me on to it. I was actually searching for comparable games like CM touch for PC and was ecstatic when I realized what I've been missing.

Sometimes gaming life can surprise you in amazing ways...you've just experienced it. It happened to me many years ago with CMX1. This is bar none the best game series I have ever played. I've been playing since CMBO and have loved everything that's come since. For historical accuracy, depth and replayablity and customer interaction these games and their company can't be touched. Some games may look prettier but they don't play as well or have the depth CM does.

There are a ton of anal, nit picky sumbastidges on this board and they help keep the game and accuracy on target...it's like a OCD laced symbiotic relationship with BFC. We argue and plead and bitch and they listen, argue and cherry pick the best of the ideas and fix problems.

Seems like this is a small shop but are there any plans for revamping the graphic engine? Since I play wego I'm surprised that performance isn't better since the moves are pre calculated.

They are a small shop...extremely small and up until a few years ago only one guy wrote the code. It's amazing what they've accomplished and the quality compared to companies 30 X their size with millions of dollars for budgets. I imagine the graphics and the way the game renders them and overall performance will evolve over time...and with these upgrades in the plans that means your favorite title will never stagnate like it would have in the old engine.

Mord.

[C'Rogers]

I don't stop by the forums as much as I used to, but I had to take the time to make a comment on this thread due to some of the best news I've ever heard.

Oh, not the news of the upgrade system. That is just really good news. The great news is that this may be my moment where I was right, and Steve wrong.

It requires me to go back over six years to when CMx2 was still a work in production and modules were a twinkle in Steve's eye. At the time, many people were confused about what exactly modules were (six years later: whew, good thing we got past that issue, no one ever gets confused anymore ). I was serving as one of the many self appointed people who tried to (repeatedly) clarify just what modules were, when this minor thread came up:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=74571

I made the suggestion that the module system would play a key component in identifying what the battlefront customers were actually interested in (instead of what we just complain about):

I think the module system is an interesting marketing idea and will change after a couple releases. It will probably give a much better idea to them of what their consumers want by what they pay for, not just what the hear from the forums.

At the time I thought I was making a pretty good observation. It made sense to me that the module system will serve as a feedback method. Then Steve replied:

It won't change The reason is we aren't doing it for marketing reasons, but for labor reasons.

Okay, no problem. BFC has a schedule and a plan and neither God nor computer malfunction shall change them from that.

However, I then see this comment from Steve in this thread a mere six years later:

Probably a minimum of 2x Packs, but perhaps as many as 4x Packs. One of the benefits of the Upgrade strategy is the number of people that Upgrade + new sales gives us a pretty good idea how many people are still playing. We can use that information to determine if it's worth continuing to make new content.

That sounds, to me, a lot like marketing research.

Victory!

Okay, I know what you might be saying. By me saying marketing and not marketing research, Steve may have misinterpreted what I was getting at. Or that I was referring to the type of content that will be produced for a game, while Steve is talking about the quantity of content. And maybe it is incredibly petty of me to bring this up over six years later.

However, it's my moment in the sun, so I'm taking it.

And, with that long and self-indulgent story laid out, I do have an actual question.

I don't play CMx2 as much as I did CMx1 due to life changes over the last ten years among myself and the people I play with. I tend to dive into the game a few times a year when time permits for really intense playing. So I tend to come to things awhile after they have been released.

So, question, what happens if two upgrades come out before I have upgraded at all? In this instance, let's say I stop playing CMBN, walk away for a year, and when I come back it is on version 3.0. Would I just buy 3.0, or would have I have to buy both upgrades to get to 3.0?

Also, sad to hear that CoPlay keeps getting pushed back. It is one of the two features yet to be implemented that I was really looking forward (the other being battle replay, which I believe was permanently cut for being impossible to implement). I understand the technical difficulties of CoPlay, and that the amount of people interested in it may be limited (like CMx1 Operations), but think that it could be a massive improvement to the few people who could get the necessary players to manage it.

[Lt Belenko]

^^^^^

SPAM DETECTION ALERT ON previous post!!