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I Have No Idea What to Buy


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Erwin,

Don't know whether you idea will fly with BFC, but I like your suggestion and am quite concerned about the ever worsening Forum dilution, if you will. Since there are, unfortunately, not all that many CM players (something we urgently need to find a fix for--Michael Emrys probably won't equal Methuselah's longevity, so we'll need new blood), as new games are released, those players are spread ever more thinly across the steadily growing Forums. I think it's a shame that CMFB seems to have had an active Forum half life of almost nothing compared to its ancestors. Have CMFB myself, but I have yet to play it, so haven't generated any actual discourse on that Forum about the game itself. That said, my level of CM functionality has generally, for reasons you know, generally hovered near zero.

Regards,

John Kettler

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1 hour ago, Erwin said:

Couldn't agree more.  Having so many products with separate forums is making each forum very sparse.  Back in CM1 days, the forums were very active and were only divided between CMBO, CMBB and CMAK.  Today re CM2, there are currently only a couple dozen of us posting most of the messages on all the forums.  It's starting to seem like BF forums are dying on its feet like the ones at the once very active WeBOB - with only one or two active areas.  Right now, most of the CMBS chatter is about politics and technical weapons systems issues - hardly anything about playing the game itself. 

I hope this isn't affecting the customer base.  But, that may be an increasing concern.  I wonder if having separate forums is a good idea any longer.  After all, it's the same game and engine, just different eras or geographic areas.  Perhaps the forums should be consolidated a la CM1 to West Front, East Front and Southern Front.

Not being an extreme regular  player of CM. And having fallen trap to owning ALL CMx2 except CMA... it's true - that keeping tabs in all sub fora becomes daunting.

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3 hours ago, Erwin said:

<Snip>  Right now, most of the CMBS chatter is about politics and technical weapons systems issues - hardly anything about playing the game itself.  <Snip>

While some of the chatter can be interesting this is very true.  Not sure if it hurts anything ........... but a true statement. 

 

3 hours ago, Erwin said:

<Snip> I wonder if having separate forums is a good idea any longer.  After all, it's the same game and engine, just different eras or geographic areas.  Perhaps the forums should be consolidated a la CM1 to West Front, East Front and Southern Front.

Or a modern and a WWII forum.  

I am hoping most of the posters are just out enjoying the summer weather.  Since winter is coming to the northern hemisphere (where I assume most of the customer base is) maybe they will return to indoor activities like CM and this forum. 

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8 minutes ago, MOS:96B2P said:

While some of the chatter can be interesting this is very true.  Not sure if it hurts anything ........... but a true statement. 

 

Or a modern and a WWII forum.  

I am hoping most of the posters are just out enjoying the summer weather.  Since winter is coming to the northern hemisphere (where I assume most of the customer base is) maybe they will return to indoor activities like CM and this forum. 

I wouldn't take chatter as a factor in who is or isn't playing it. Posting activity is not a particularly good indicator. For example I play it quite a bit, but I haven't done any screenshots in a while. Part of it is there are just so many choices of titles to play. For me Red Thunder is the one I have visited with the least frequency. 

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Thanks for the additional replies everyone, maybe you guys should lobby Battlefront to put everything back under one general forum for the 3.x series and bring everyone back together, although I suspect that would be hard to swallow for some.   Yes I can tell you as someone fairly new to this series when you go to the forums and you don't see a lot going on it put a tick in the negative columns when deciding to buy a game. 

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6 hours ago, sburke said:

Hah what gave it away?   Couldn't have been the avatar could it? :D

Yeah, I was waiting for the genie to come out of the bottle as soon as I saw that avatar.

6 hours ago, sburke said:

I wouldn't take chatter as a factor in who is or isn't playing it. Posting activity is not a particularly good indicator. For example I play it quite a bit, but I haven't done any screenshots in a while. Part of it is there are just so many choices of titles to play. For me Red Thunder is the one I have visited with the least frequency. 

I would agree that forum post traffic should not be viewed as an indicator of how much the game is actualy being played. As people have mentioned, there is just so much CM out there now that people are likely just using what time they have to enjoy whatever aspect of CM they are into. I know I am!

It's funny that so many people seem to play RT the least, as I play it the most these days. I'm just now feeling my batteries recharged for the Western Front after having taken quite a long break from it. I'm not into modern, so CMBS is by far the one I play the least.

Edited by Macisle
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I think it maybe best if say the forums came together. So maybe a West Front WW2 Games forum, An East Front WW2 (should grow over time) CMx2 Forum and finally a Modern CMx2 Game forum. As long as the mod forums are separate I see no real issue doing this. 

 

However I will say this, I hardly ever post but I do play regularly and will always be getting future releases. So forum traffic isn't really that good away in seeing how much a game is being played. Especially with CMx2 as I suspect most things have been discussed at some point or other about the CMx2 game engine..

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2 hours ago, Wodin said:

I think it maybe best if say the forums came together. So maybe a West Front WW2 Games forum, An East Front WW2 (should grow over time) CMx2 Forum and finally a Modern CMx2 Game forum. As long as the mod forums are separate I see no real issue doing this. 

 

 

+1 to this.  With the engine upgrade, there shouldn't be any reason to have the forums as split as they are now.

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9 hours ago, Wodin said:

I think it maybe best if say the forums came together. So maybe a West Front WW2 Games forum, An East Front WW2 (should grow over time) CMx2 Forum and finally a Modern CMx2 Game forum. As long as the mod forums are separate I see no real issue doing this. 

 

However I will say this, I hardly ever post but I do play regularly and will always be getting future releases. So forum traffic isn't really that good away in seeing how much a game is being played. Especially with CMx2 as I suspect most things have been discussed at some point or other about the CMx2 game engine..

That would in a way, make things easier for newcomers. 

 

+1 I support this! 

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This game has no presence.

 

It's never mentioned on reddit (except for by one notable user, now banned... I know who you are :D). And reddit is the biggest website on the internet. It doesn't have its own subreddit, and everything has a subreddit. There are only a few dozen CM videos on youtube with over 1,000 views.

It's not mentioned on gaming websites- Rock Paper Shotgun is pretty much the only one, and even then it's in the "niche wargaming for old dudes" column. Hell, the only reason I bought CMBS or even knew about it was because I remembered the Combat Mission name from its connection to Close Combat, way back when CM was turn based. I used to post on the old SSI boards a lot.

 

Despite what the higher-ups say, I'll still harp that not migrating to Steam is a HUGE mistake.  Christ, a game about driving tractors and planting corn sold 8 million copies on the PC.

Edited by rooibos
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It's probably a generational thing but us older dudes value our privacy and can't stand having intrusive programs like STEAM on our clean machines as we don't know what info is being taken from us in order to sell to marketers so that they can send us more spam. 

Same reason I don't partake in "anti-social media" where you invite ID thieves and burglars to steal your stuff when you tell everyone about yourself (who the hell cares?) and when you are on vacation etc. I suppose I may be xtreme, but security was always an issue in my world.  As I said to Putin last time, "You aint hacking my computer, pal".

Hell, I still have an old flip cell phone as I detest texting and actually like talking to people using full words in the elfish language!  It's so degenerate, I know.

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If you can only buy 1 game now then my advice would be Red Thunder, at least you'll get a whole new army and style of warfare to play with. A lot of the OOB's in CMFB/CMBN(MG) and CMFI are quite similar, okay you get the flip-flopping Italians in CMFI - but believe me the Red Army is in a different class in 1944!

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On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 7:22 AM, Erwin said:

 Perhaps the forums should be consolidated a la CM1 to West Front, East Front and Southern Front.

With regards to the modern titles, perhaps CMSF and CMA can be consolidated.  There are some differences but IIRC they are minor.

The CM2 modern game CMBS and any future ones would need their own forum as they are significantly different from the older CMSF and CMA.

Hope this idea actually makes sense to BFC and we can get consensus.

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6 hours ago, Erwin said:

It's probably a generational thing but us older dudes value our privacy and can't stand having intrusive programs like STEAM on our clean machines as we don't know what info is being taken from us in order to sell to marketers so that they can send us more spam. 

Same reason I don't partake in "anti-social media" where you invite ID thieves and burglars to steal your stuff when you tell everyone about yourself (who the hell cares?) and when you are on vacation etc. I suppose I may be xtreme, but security was always an issue in my world.  As I said to Putin last time, "You aint hacking my computer, pal".

Hell, I still have an old flip cell phone as I detest texting and actually like talking to people using full words in the elfish language!  It's so degenerate, I know.

that's what steam offline mode is for.

the issue isn't pandering to you, you've already bought it. the issue is the 8 million people who bought a game about driving a tractor or that CM's spiritual ancestor actually sat on steam's TOP 10 best seller list. 

Edited by rooibos
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I've mentioned before that some people seem to fret over purchasing the game like it was a car purchase. Or a heart valve. Relax! Its just a game! Meant for having fun! If you buy one title you'll have loads of fun, if you buy another title you'll have loads of fun. That's the big choice to make. ^_^

The biggest selling point is that one title is different from the next (without going into particulars). So whichever one you purchase the other will have been different. Ideally I'd suggest you purchase TWO titles together so you'll have a choice of gameplay. With the advantage that once you've mastered the controls for one you've also mastered the controls for the other.

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17 hours ago, rooibos said:

This game has no presence.

 

It's never mentioned on reddit (except for by one notable user, now banned... I know who you are :D). And reddit is the biggest website on the internet. It doesn't have its own subreddit, and everything has a subreddit. There are only a few dozen CM videos on youtube with over 1,000 views.

It's not mentioned on gaming websites- Rock Paper Shotgun is pretty much the only one, and even then it's in the "niche wargaming for old dudes" column. Hell, the only reason I bought CMBS or even knew about it was because I remembered the Combat Mission name from its connection to Close Combat, way back when CM was turn based. I used to post on the old SSI boards a lot.

 

Despite what the higher-ups say, I'll still harp that not migrating to Steam is a HUGE mistake.  Christ, a game about driving tractors and planting corn sold 8 million copies on the PC.

There is one professional review on the Metacritic site for CMBS. One review from a magazine in Finland for one of the finest tactical modern combat simulators ever created? I find that quite shocking. A general web search isn't bringing up many reviews either - just very niche website reviews from the usual suspects.

Viability is non-existent for Combat Mission for the general gaming public. It's even hard to see for it's niche core audience - wargamers - in my opinion.

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20 hours ago, rooibos said:

This game has no presence.

 

It's never mentioned on reddit (except for by one notable user, now banned... I know who you are :D). And reddit is the biggest website on the internet. It doesn't have its own subreddit, and everything has a subreddit. There are only a few dozen CM videos on youtube with over 1,000 views.

It's not mentioned on gaming websites- Rock Paper Shotgun is pretty much the only one, and even then it's in the "niche wargaming for old dudes" column. Hell, the only reason I bought CMBS or even knew about it was because I remembered the Combat Mission name from its connection to Close Combat, way back when CM was turn based. I used to post on the old SSI boards a lot.

 

Despite what the higher-ups say, I'll still harp that not migrating to Steam is a HUGE mistake.  Christ, a game about driving tractors and planting corn sold 8 million copies on the PC.

Don't forget my blog:) Happy to except any AARs or articles etc to e published:)

http://www.awargamersneedfulthings.co.uk/

 

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23 hours ago, Erwin said:

It's probably a generational thing but us older dudes value our privacy and can't stand having intrusive programs like STEAM on our clean machines as we don't know what info is being taken from us in order to sell to marketers so that they can send us more spam. 

Same reason I don't partake in "anti-social media" where you invite ID thieves and burglars to steal your stuff when you tell everyone about yourself (who the hell cares?) and when you are on vacation etc. I suppose I may be xtreme, but security was always an issue in my world.  As I said to Putin last time, "You aint hacking my computer, pal".

Hell, I still have an old flip cell phone as I detest texting and actually like talking to people using full words in the elfish language!  It's so degenerate, I know.

+1 Erwin (and I suspect BFC have a similar disposition).

But on the other hand, if the Grim Reaper has us highlighted in his manifest with fluorescent yellow marker, who is going to buy  these games in the future?

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Has anyone though about doing a CM Tumblr/s? Seems to me it would be perfect for such, since Tumblr format consists of stills, GIFs and video clips, with room for remarks if desired. Indeed, I've seen some Tumblrs with great whopping text passages, sometimes running several screens worth, so there's plenty of room for exposition, as well as taking and answering questions, if so chosen. A few followers can beget multitudes if there's any interest at all, and it's been my experience that people see one person's interest and excitement as social validation for their own involvement. Everyone I know of has some sort of  standard  social circle, and so do gamers!

I played dozens I never would have but for exactly that kind of thing. A friend knew this guy with gaming night at his house. Next thing I knew, I was doing SPI's horse and musket in the 1600s,also Kadesh;  AH's Kingmaker (War of the Roses), Napoleonic cavalry skirmishes with 54 mm Historex figures AND got involved in play testing H-Hour by Balboa Games. Partial list! Another guy got me from AH's Tactics II into Midway, Gettysburg, WaS, ViTP, Russian Campaign and more. Still another got me into Circus Maximus, F1 Racing, Gladiators. He got Ed into Chain Mail, which then evolved into D&D, and somewhere in there was Tractics, CoI, SL and Up Front . This list is by no means complete, but it is illustrative.

Exposure begets curiosity and can easily lead to interest, interest to excitement, excitement to BFC for demos or purchase or to us first for advice. BFC owns high positions on Google 1st pages in a bunch of keywords. It is an authority site! All of the above resources needed to make CM Tumblr fly are readily available and in enormous quantity. Not only could we have internal tags, but we could also link to other pertinent sites, such as BFC's, Wodin's, AFGM, Kohlenklau's, etc. It would be helpful, too, if existing sites were made aware of CM Tumblr and therefore listed us in Links, potentially putting a lot more eyeballs on our CM doings.

What we need is/are an excited CM newbie/s, say, Gen Two CMer, to start tweeting, FBing or any number of other SM activities. We are so stealthy right now that a strong sneeze could dramatically raise our online profile. That would benefit all of us. Here's another reality. We need to grow the population--by teaching the game to others. That's how I got sucked into PE, and PE was the gateway, via the  famous (to us) CMBO Beta Demo "The enemy is attacking!" animated banner which I saw will on the PE DEVGRU board. I've had some success in sparking the CM flame with two of my nephews, and brother George already has a 6 y.o. granddaughter learning the bare bones of wargaming with miniatures. She loves what grandpa has down in his basement!  While CM lacks the combined visual and tactile excitement of painting figures, building equipment and buildings buildings, setting up terrain and pushing real minis into battle (all of which I seen done at game cons), there's no reason some CMers couldn't go to a con, set up a HDTV or two, and play RT in front of the usual horde of attendees. If we get creative, I believe we have every reason to expect to grow our hobby/obsession/addiction!

Regards,

John Kettler

Edited by John Kettler
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Following a substantial nap, it occurred to me that an even easier solution for game cons and, for that matter, gaming groups, would be to skip the HDTVs and use digital projectors against a wall, a fixed or portable whiteboard or old style movie screen AV trained types (no, not that kind!) used to bring into classrooms. Also, there are already quite active game groups on FB. Brother George is a regular participant on the naval warfare one and another one for BA. These are great opportunities to expose CM to a larger audience.

Regards,

John Kettler

 

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