Jump to content

The Vehicle Pack is out!


Recommended Posts

The short of it is... this wasn't cheap for us to make, it came at the expense of other development, and we expect sales to be in a range where $20 is necessary to make it worth doing. Since this is our first Vehicle Pack it might be that our costs are too high for the interest from customers, in which case it may be the last Vehicle Pack. Hopefully that won't be the case because I think that would be a real loss to the CM concept.

Steve

Will you tell us when you've made a decision?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a sandwich for lunch today. It took an unskilled laborer 5 minutes to make. I asked her why it took so long. She called me an a**hole. I went to the register and found it cost $8. I asked why so much. They told me to leave and never come back. I asked about a license for activation when I get hungry tomorrow and they said I would have to pay all over again . . . somewhere else because they don't want me to come back. 4 hours later I have forgotten what it tasted like.

Perspective is an interesting thing

Yeah, relative value of money is a strange thing. I went out to lunch with two people today. Nice lunch in a city that isn't expensive by most standards. $56 with tax and tip. That was one 1.5 hours of "entertainment".

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we were doubtful that this Vehicle Pack concept was going to be worth it to us we'd not have tried it out. However, since we've never done anything like it before we're not dumb enough to think it can only be a smashing success. So we'll see.

It's been mentioned before that we plan on keeping pricing for Packs (Vehicle, Units, or Battles) flexible. A smaller Pack will likely be $10, a medium sized Pack likely $15, and a larger one $20.

BTW, I don't know if there will be any more Packs for Normandy simply because I don't know if there are enough vehicles to justify another Pack even at $10 price tag.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback! Here's some responses to issues raised:

The effort to make this Pack was greater than expected. We started on this thing back in Spring 2014. It consumed a lot of development time because there were a fair number of 100% "ground up" vehicles that had to be built, the Crab behavior is brand new in many ways, and even the AVRE needed some unique code. We also had to adjust TacAI behavior in some places and tailoring the new vehicles into the old TO&E in a way that worked for all combinations of game installations.

We also take into consideration the possibilities of future reuse when we invest in making new vehicle models. A fair number of the vehicles in this Pack are specific to Normandy and therefore won't be reused ever again. Which means their costs can't be spread out over other releases.

We never, ever intended to ship a Vehicle Pack with scenarios because that adds an entire new layer of work to the finished product. It also adds about 2 months to the release schedule. For a $35 product earlier in the Family's lifespan (see next point) it makes sense to do it. For $20 later in the Family's lifespan it does not.

CMBN is now 3+ years old. While we are continually pleased by the sales of CMBN follow ups, for sure they are on the decline each release. If it was anything other than that I think we'd have heart attacks :D Even when I worked for a multi-billion game company sales of follow ups always trend downward. If you don't plan for this then you get into big problems. I suspect it is one of the reasons SSI went belly up as an independent company.

Compounding this is that we only have so many hours in the day to work on things. Spending 2 months on doing scenarios means 2 months our testers aren't working on much of anything else. It means that some members of our development team are distracted, ranging from very to somewhat depending on stage of development and responsibilities.

The short of it is... this wasn't cheap for us to make, it came at the expense of other development, and we expect sales to be in a range where $20 is necessary to make it worth doing. Since this is our first Vehicle Pack it might be that our costs are too high for the interest from customers, in which case it may be the last Vehicle Pack. Hopefully that won't be the case because I think that would be a real loss to the CM concept.

Steve

Steve, thanks for the explanations. It's very helpful to understand the development process and pricing decisions. One of the best things about BF.com is that you guys communicate with your customers to explain why decisions are made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BTW, I don't know if there will be any more Packs for Normandy simply because I don't know if there are enough vehicles to justify another Pack even at $10 price tag.

Steve

I'm hoping that's not the case, as I still have a wish list.

Commonwealth vehicles alone that could still be added:

AEC III

Centaur IV

Daimler III/IV

Humber Scout Car

Lynx Scout Car

Sherman II/III/V Duplex Drive

Sherman IIa (76mm)

Staghound III

Staghound AA

Grant CDL (I think these were only used once and not in combat but would be neat)

Tetrach light tank

Plus Items that might be a little later (Oct 44 or on):

Wasp (Oct 44, I think)

Buffalo LVT 2/4 (also Oct 44)

Archer SP

Ram Kangaroo

Ram Badger

I think that covers it.

Plus British Commandos and American Rangers (please, please, please), maybe Free French forces.

I think that covers the stuff I know of (someone else would have to add American/German possibilities).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe not vehicles but agree with Darknight would be great to see the Commandos, Rangers and Free French forces added to the Normandy family. (And CMFI where applicable). Maybe an Operation Dragoon module. :D

In truth I think CMFI currently has some 'bigger holes' that could be filled compared to CMBN due to the absence of Indian, French and to a lesser extent South African forces from that title currently. Granted South Africa, probably only really relevant if a post-Rome/Gothic Line module was done for the game. At the very least you'd think the work on the French Forces would in part cover off the the work for them to be included in both games.

Anyway looking forward to testing out the new toys. Save game compatible for current WeGo SP games in progress? I'm guessing we'd get a turn of high pitched aircraft noises for a turn?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The couple guys that suggested we have a more-or-less "unlock" approach will be happy to know that we have already taken steps to make this happen. I can't say when it will come about, but it is our plan to do it at as soon as we can. We have already made a major technology shift to support this behavior.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...

All CM players of a specific Family get access to all CM content for that Family, whether they've paid for it or not. If they have not paid for it they can use the content in H2H games with other people who have purchased the content. This can be done for QuickBattle games or scenarios made in the Editor. Players who have not purchased specific content will not have it available in single player mode or against other players who haven't purchased the content. Example...

Player A has the Base Game only

Player B has the Base Game + Module 1

Player C has the Base Game + Module 1 + Module 2

Player A and Player B can go head to head using the content from Base Game and Module 1, but not Module 2. Player A and Player C, as well as Player B and Player C, can use Base, Module 1, and Module 2.

It's definitely a good way to go for you guys because someone who has invested in additional content can be assured of using it to beat the crud out of any CM player :D

Steve

Yes Steve you are in wrong job model now. You should have patched the very old cmbn base game to the latest as freely but modules and packs should have been not free off course so you have all BN buyers potentially to buy all modules and packs. Now you have not such a chance.

Secondly please release this long waited rt patch.

Regards

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vehicle Pack Order - Download + Delivery = $30

Shipping and Handling Fee = $10

The groceries I was going to buy this week = $40

Laughing maniacally while I burn an entire town to ashes with FLAMETHROWERS = Priceless!

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there's jellied gasoline.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still have a wish list.

Heh heh, I remember back in my old hobby modeling days I used to joke that people's most favorite vehicle type was "not available yet". Once it became available they'd move on to a new unavailable 'favorite'. Two days ago people were dreaming of the game someday getting Churchill Crocodile, Sherman Crab and manpack flamethrowers. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a sandwich for lunch today. It took an unskilled laborer 5 minutes to make. I asked her why it took so long. She called me an a**hole. I went to the register and found it cost $8. I asked why so much. They told me to leave and never come back. I asked about a license for activation when I get hungry tomorrow and they said I would have to pay all over again . . . somewhere else because they don't want me to come back. 4 hours later I have forgotten what it tasted like.

Perspective is an interesting thing

Best. post. ever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the Wasp flamethrower AFV is indeed missing then I find this, to say the least, somewhat perplexing. They were definitely around soon after D-Day supporting the Commonwealth infantry forces and their numbers certainly exceeded the number of Churchill Crocodiles swanning around the countryside.

Is there any reason why they were excluded from this vehicle pack, that includes a number of other flame armed AFV's that were produced in far fewer numbers than the Wasp?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The couple guys that suggested we have a more-or-less "unlock" approach will be happy to know that we have already taken steps to make this happen. I can't say when it will come about, but it is our plan to do it at as soon as we can. We have already made a major technology shift to support this behavior.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about...

All CM players of a specific Family get access to all CM content for that Family, whether they've paid for it or not. If they have not paid for it they can use the content in H2H games with other people who have purchased the content. This can be done for QuickBattle games or scenarios made in the Editor. Players who have not purchased specific content will not have it available in single player mode or against other players who haven't purchased the content.

Steve

Thanks Steve

Will make the games alot more PBM friendly

You have beaten me to the punch

I cannot say BTS please fix it or somefink lol

Well done

Happy to pay $20 for the expansion once my PBMs are finished.

I appreciate the time it takes to do this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn can't believe i missed this launch. Will be downloading tonight. My comments on pricing:

1- As long as my wife does not see me ordering it the price is not an issue for me ;)

2- I was really hoping for some more QB maps as it would have added a lot more value for me, but understand the reasoning if it would have delayed/tied up resources for another 2 months.

3- I still love playing the game but is sounds like this is it for CMBN add-ons. I am sure i will be playing for a long time so it has been well worth me paying for all the updates as it has added so much more depth from the initial release. Now roll on the Bulge title and black sea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, at least corporate commander has slammed his teeths into battlefront.com too- its a shame.

If you need money, ask for donations- YOU HAVE a very loyal clientele here, i (as a very loyal customer too) would support you- i realy want to see other CMx games in the future!!

Additional content who changes (singleplayer-) gameplay for "the" buyer, who will be satisfied with a feeling of preference against others, is a psy- marketing strategy of EA or other very unbeloved companies out there- you have absolutely no need of that sort of business!

This is the first time since the CMx1 games i´ll give a pass on buying this one-

I do take my hat on the fact, that you allow non buyers in H2H games against buyers who bought it, to be able to use the extra content for balancing reasons- but again- i am sure you know the psy- game on this very well- most people will be "forced" by YOU, to buy it anyway... or is there any other reason behind a content who "haven´t met" the release date of the base game.

Thank you for (mostly) all of the other games, the fine community and your enthusiasm on battlefront.com. I am sure, we will see a few (hopefully dozens :-) superb Cmx games in the future from you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vehicle Pack Order - Download + Delivery = $30

Shipping and Handling Fee = $10

The groceries I was going to buy this week = $40

Laughing maniacally while I burn an entire town to ashes with FLAMETHROWERS = Priceless!

There are some things money can't buy, for everything else there's jellied gasoline.

LOL. Exactly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, at least corporate commander has slammed his teeths into battlefront.com too- its a shame.

If you need money, ask for donations- YOU HAVE a very loyal clientele here, i (as a very loyal customer too) would support you- i realy want to see other CMx games in the future!!

You really don't see the irony in this statement? So, you'd rather donate money for free instead of pay money for a bunch of new content?

You guys never cease to amaze me.

Mord.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alrighty,

Vanilla FF download: 14 min flat for 1.1 GB. Check.

Install: check.

Activations: easy and no hiccups. Check.

Z folder added back in: Check.

Equipment test: everything looks good. Check.

Good to go.

Now, I'm off to attempt my first penetration with crabs!

(Wait a minute...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...