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Someone said something about "after a year you'd have to buy the game again" if you wanted a new d/l. IIRC, you do NOT have to buy it again, just ask BF for a new d/l code or summat...

Item #6 in the How it Works section of the download page:

"Backup the installation files you downloaded! Downloads expire automatically after 365 days or 10 downloads. We do not offer digital storage for your purchased games."

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I bought a couple of games recently and finally got around to backing them up. Get my stack of CD-Rs and... wait... the files are over 750mbs. OK lets try zip or 7zip or winrar. Nope they won't compress.

Do I go buy DVDs when rumor has it that CDs and DVDs are going away?

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Interesting news, BF. Looking forward to this development. Is there any chart showing planned update/module scheduling? Even something tentative would be helpful. I realize things tend to change over time, but it would be more informative to get the big picture on theater direction.

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As for the TCP/IP pausing. Can we set a interval for an automatic pause? Like pause every 60 seconds?

Dunno. Probably not. RT against another human doesn't much interest some of us. But....

...since they're getting around to fine-tuning this feature Battlefront should consider taking earlier advice and implement a Chess Clockâ„¢ system for H-H RT matches. Each player gets a bank of pausable minutes which he can deplete at his discretion. The precise amount mutually decided pre-game, of course.

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I bought a couple of games recently and finally got around to backing them up. Get my stack of CD-Rs and... wait... the files are over 750mbs. OK lets try zip or 7zip or winrar. Nope they won't compress.

Do I go buy DVDs when rumor has it that CDs and DVDs are going away?

I don't think DVDs are going to absolutely disappear anytime soon. After all, CD-ROMs were technically rendered obsolete by DVD-ROMs years ago, but CDs and hardware that can read CDs are still widely available. DVD drives are gradually becoming an optional external add-on for new computers (especially in the laptop form factor), rather than a basic internal piece of hardware, but I think it will be a long time before they disappear completely. At any rate, if you don't like DVDs, there are many options:

1) Buy an inexpensive external hard drive to use as extra storage for things like large install files. Hard drives are dirt cheap these days. And since hard drive life span is largely related to actual in-use time, if you only plug in and spin up this drive when you have a large file you need to back up or access, it should last a good long time. The smaller ones are not much bigger than a deck of cards; you can just leave it in the back of a drawer somewhere.

2) Just go buy a few USB thumb drives. A little more expensive on a per-GB basis than a hard drive, but USB thumb drives are still pretty cheap these days, especially if you buy them in multi-packs. There are decent ones for under $.75/GB. You don't need the newer, super-high speed read/write thumb drives if you're just going to use them for backup; older, cheaper ones will do fine.

3) Or use cloud storage. You can even get a fair bit for free these days... my GMail account comes with a fair bit of free storage, for example.

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I can answer number two as well. They are doing 4 East Front titles. One for each year of the war...plus appropriate modules.

The title/module count is starting to add up. Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty seperate module releases across the titles? Even with the accelerated production schedule we'll all have grey hairs before we see the end of their 'to do' list. Well, I already do have grey hairs, so that's a moot point. In my case I'll probably be dead before they're done. It may be best to 'live in the moment' or at least in anticipation of the next couple releases. Anticipating the fourth module of the fourth title of the fourth game engine iteration implies a loooooong wait. :)

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The title/module count is starting to add up. Four, eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty seperate module releases across the titles? Even with the accelerated production schedule we'll all have grey hairs before we see the end of their 'to do' list. Well, I already do have grey hairs, so that's a moot point. In my case I'll probably be dead before they're done. It may be best to 'live in the moment' or at least in anticipation of the next couple releases. Anticipating the fourth module of the fourth title of the fourth game engine iteration implies a loooooong wait. :)

LOL I was just answering the question (going by Steve's outline from a ways back). Hell, I don't want to anticipate all that! My brain will explode! I am still trying to finish my CMBN portrait mod. As it stands I am already obsessing about portraits for Italy, Bagration and the new Modern game...I don't wanna add more to the cluttered attic I call a mind!

Mord.

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Correct about Market Garden requiring Upgrade 2.0. While it is possible for the Upgrades to be backwards compatible with existing content, Modules/Packs are almost always going to take advantage of new features and that means the Modules themselves are not backwards compatible.

In the case of Market Garden, all 3D models and textures will use the new mapping features and lower polygon counts for better performance. All prior CMBN 3D and textures, including Commonwealth, will also be upgraded as part of Upgrade 2.0.

Astute readers will note that I mentioned the term "Packs" up above. This is a term we have not used publicly much, if at all, so far. However, you will see a lot more mention of this in the months and years to come. So let me take this moment to start the education process :)

A big bottleneck in Modules is the tight focus of the content. This means we have to fully develop the theme and also provide Campaigns and Battles to support that theme. It is very time consuming for many reasons.

You have seen me talk about the "odds and ends" concept relating to Normandy. Specifically releasing a bunch of rare/strange vehicles, formations, and perhaps even terrain. A "Pack" is just that... a collection of things which are collectively cool, but not related to each other thematically. For example, we might include British Funnies, German converted French vehicles, German Stomach/Ost Battalion TO&E, the church of St. Marie Iglesias, Rommel Asparagus, etc. See what I mean about no real common theme other than "ooo... that would be cool!"? :)

The point about Packs is we can do them faster than we can Modules. We can also price them according to how much stuff we cram into them. Maybe we do a couple of fairly small, more focused Packs ("German Normandy Defense Variety Pack" and "British Funnies and Oddities"), maybe we do a larger Pack ("Normandy Oddities"). It all depends on our schedule and what we think is worth doing.

The last part is important for us. Since we can crank out more Packs in a year than Modules, this means overall you guys will get more stuff to play with in a shorter period of time. The downside is there will be few, if any, Campaigns or Battles in the Packs. And that means you can't get in and start playing with the new stuff until people make battles with them or you like to play QBs. A Pack, however, could simply be a bunch of Campaigns and Battles. It's all very flexible and we're not going to get nailed down to anything right now, hence not making much mention of it until now.

Steve

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I don't want to overstate this, but I do get the impression that 'plan' and 'Battlefront' do not fit easily in the same sentence.

Inaccurate unless you're talking about release dates :)

We have our next year fully planned out in terms of what titles we're going to work on. The specifics within each are, however, a work in progress until well after we start development. That's because we always start with the obvious "must haves" and then go from there as we figure out what we overlooked and realize what we actually don't need (yet).

We plan on at least 1x Module for every Base Game we release. 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. As long as you guys keep playing and showing interest in adding content, we're going to be right here making that content for you. It's a great thing for everybody.

Steve

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Astute readers will note that I mentioned the term "Packs" up above. This is a term we have not used publicly much, if at all, so far. However, you will see a lot more mention of this in the months and years to come. So let me take this moment to start the education process :)...You have seen me talk about the "odds and ends" concept relating to Normandy. Specifically releasing a bunch of rare/strange vehicles, formations, and perhaps even terrain. A "Pack" is just that... a collection of things which are collectively cool, but not related to each other thematically. For example, we might include British Funnies, German converted French vehicles, German Stomach/Ost Battalion TO&E, the church of St. Marie Iglesias, Rommel Asparagus, etc. See what I mean about no real common theme other than "ooo... that would be cool!"? :)

The point about Packs is we can do them faster than we can Modules. We can also price them according to how much stuff we cram into them. Maybe we do a couple of fairly small, more focused Packs ("German Normandy Defense Variety Pack" and "British Funnies and Oddities"), maybe we do a larger Pack ("Normandy Oddities"). It all depends on our schedule and what we think is worth doing.

The last part is important for us. Since we can crank out more Packs in a year than Modules, this means overall you guys will get more stuff to play with in a shorter period of time. The downside is there will be few, if any, Campaigns or Battles in the Packs. And that means you can't get in and start playing with the new stuff until people make battles with them or you like to play QBs. A Pack, however, could simply be a bunch of Campaigns and Battles. It's all very flexible and we're not going to get nailed down to anything right now, hence not making much mention of it until now.

Steve

I love this! Reminds me of buying ASL packsnew counters, new maps, new scenarios. I'm in!

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The point about Packs is we can do them faster than we can Modules. We can also price them according to how much stuff we cram into them. Maybe we do a couple of fairly small, more focused Packs ("German Normandy Defense Variety Pack" and "British Funnies and Oddities"), maybe we do a larger Pack ("Normandy Oddities"). It all depends on our schedule and what we think is worth doing.

Tell the truth...your real name is Santa isn't it...Santa Grammont.

Man, I know some of us have been dreaming and even begging on the forums for something like this since way back in CMSF's heyday!

The last part is important for us. Since we can crank out more Packs in a year than Modules, this means overall you guys will get more stuff to play with in a shorter period of time. The downside is there will be few, if any, Campaigns or Battles in the Packs. And that means you can't get in and start playing with the new stuff until people make battles with them or you like to play QBs. A Pack, however, could simply be a bunch of Campaigns and Battles. It's all very flexible and we're not going to get nailed down to anything right now, hence not making much mention of it until now.

Steve

I'd have no problem forgoing some battles and stuff to get other content quicker. We get a pretty good amount in each module and title and the new 2.0 editor features will probably help speed up the design process for our scenario designers....so, we shouldn't have any lack of stuff to play.

I am really, really liking this idea. There is so much cool stuff that could be done. My head is spinning with ideas!

Mord.

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For example, we might include British Funnies....

....Maybe we do a couple of fairly small, more focused Packs ("German Normandy Defense Variety Pack" and "British Funnies and Oddities"), maybe we do a larger Pack ("Normandy Oddities"). It all depends on our schedule and what we think is worth doing.

Steve

Yes, yes, yes.....and DD Shermans, and Kangaroos (Priest & Ram), and Sherman Crabs....I can go on....and on....and on.....I'm in....where do I pre-purchase? :)

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Steve,

I also like the Pack strategy, sounds great. Have you considered allowing Third Parties (your customers) that have designed Scenarios and Campaigns charge for their work? This might be the way to go since you guys will be focusing on content. The existing Repository could possibly be used for this, with some modifications.

I was thinking along the lines of what Eagle Dynamics\Digital Combat Simulations is doing with their website and DCS World.

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A "Pack" is just that... a collection of things which are collectively cool, but not related to each other thematically. For example, we might include British Funnies, German converted French vehicles, German Stomach/Ost Battalion TO&E, the church of St. Marie Iglesias, Rommel Asparagus, etc. See what I mean about no real common theme other than "ooo... that would be cool!"? :)

So when do we get the "anti-aircraft weapons" pack? :)

BTW, wouldn't British Funnies require fire... ? ;)

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So when do we get the "anti-aircraft weapons" pack? :)

BTW, wouldn't British Funnies require fire... ? ;)

Not at all....the 'Funnies' encompassed more than just Crocodiles.

I would welcome the addition of Churchill Crocs, but the 79th Armd Div also contained Sherman Crabs (flail tanks...but they could act as regular Shermans when the flail wasn't engaged), Churchill AVREs, Grant CDLs, Ram Kangaroos, Buffalo LVTs, Sherman DD....lots of stuff.

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