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Another reason for a centralized Forum...


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... it's a good place to post Bones so everybody sees them.  Do you doubt me?  Well, I'll prove it by tossing out some Bones!

Summer is always a slower period for us than the rest of the year, but that doesn't mean we're slacking off on some tropical island somewhere sipping brightly colored drinks with little umbrellas in them.  Currently we have in the works:

  • Rome to Victory - this project got sidetracked due to a bunch of issues, but it's getting a lot of attention these days.  When completed, CMFI will have a big list of new forces and the timeframe extended to the end of the war.  It will likely be our next release
  • Untitled Eastern Front Module - active work has been going on since the Spring and it's shaping up quite nicely.  This will take CMRT up to the end of the war, including some huge Berlin maps
  • New Zealand Defense Forces training aid - pretty much that's all there is to say about it :D And no, this will not be released for sale to the public.  Sorry, but that's just the way it works sometimes

Now let's see, is there anything else to talk about?  Well, there is the Alpha of Combat Mission Shock Force 2 we uploaded for testers yesterday.  I suppose a few of you might be interested in it, so I'll take some time to do that.

Yes, the long awaited conversion of CMSF (pre Engine 1) to Engine 4 is well under way.  It's been in the works for more than a year already and, as expected, hasn't been quick or easy to do.  Pretty much all the artwork has been overhauled, the TO&E had to be rebuilt VERY carefully, and lots of internal data was reconfigured to work with formats which have changed multiple times over the years.  Most importantly, Charles had to delicately code Engine 4 to understand the old scenario file format so everything that was made for CMSF1 works without modification in CMSF2.  Thankfully Charles figured out how to make that happen, otherwise we'd not be having this discussion right now.  Continuity with previous content was a deal maker/breaker feature.

Now that testers have the Alpha in hand they can start the lengthy process of going over all the original CMSF content to make sure it works with Engine 4.  Then they will work on playtesting to ensure advances in the game environment haven't upset the balance of play.  No doubt most scenarios will require quite a bit of tweaking.

When all is said and done CMSF2 will look and feel like all the other CM2 games, except with the unique CM2 content.  The game content, in case you are wondering, will not be updated to reflect the civil war that erupted in Syria after CMSF1's release.  We also have no plans, immediate or long term, to expand CMSF2 to other potential arid environments.

OK, so when can you get a hold of it?  Not until early 2018, which will include the Base Game and all three Modules at one time.  When can you see something from CMSF2?  Way sooner than that.  We just have to, uhm, finish rounding off some rough corners first.

You will also want to know that Battlefront appreciates the support and dedication of CMSF customers over the past 10 years.  Especially in the first year when we all worked together to make the game engine solid enough to expand upon.  Since nothing shows appreciation better than discounts, we're offering discounts :D  The specifics will be announced as we get closer to release, but for sure it will be far less than theoretical $165 it normally costs to purchase a brand new Base Game ($60) and three $35 Modules. Though I do know for sure the discount price will be a bit more than a $10 Upgrade ;)

There you go... I've officially broken in the new Forum!

Steve

P.S. another small tidbit is internally we stopped using the "x" when we're talking about the Combat Mission generations.  We never really wanted the "x" there, but when we started working on Shock Force we had retail releases of the original Combat Mission games in Europe under the titles CM1, CM2, and CM3 (CMBO, CMBB, CMAK).  We think enough time has gone by that we can drop the "x" in public as well.  Charles NEVER used it, so it's nice to be on the same page as him after all these years.

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3 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said:

A bit more on CMRT please. Predictable reaction perhaps, but this info is somewhat meagre.

There's not much more to tell at this point.  Existing TO&E expanded to April 45, Germans get access to a range of non-Heer forces, new weather stuff, and a couple new Regions.  Just what one should expect :D

Steve

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Just now, Battlefront.com said:

Yes and no.  Yes to the Region, not to Hungarian forces.  No new nationalities in this one.  Way too much for a single Module to have them plus everything else.  Also would mean not having the Module until the end of 2018.

Steve

Well, I didn't mean the Hungary forces, so I am content with the region. The only German allies I'm interested in are the Finns. But that's for another module, don't you think, Steve? :ph34r:

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Just now, Jumpete said:

CMSF 2 for early '18.

The next release will be probably Road to victory.

So, would it be possible that next italian module come any date between today and Xmas?

Possible, but "early 2018" does not mean January 1st ;)

Just now, Aragorn2002 said:

I read that all modules won't be released any sooner than early 2018.

Rome to Victory could be out sooner.  We'll know better in a few weeks, but I'm not counting any chickens before they hatch at this point.

Steve

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12 minutes ago, Battlefront.com said:

Existing TO&E expanded to April 45...

Always been curious how BF will be treating the end of the war across the three 1945 games. Though I understand TOE changes probably are not going to be anything noticeable, but will the games still allow engagements in the first week of May?

Cheers for the update.

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7 minutes ago, Ithikial_AU said:

Always been curious how BF will be treating the end of the war across the three 1945 games. Though I understand TOE changes probably are not going to be anything noticeable, but will the games still allow engagements in the first week of May?

Cheers for the update.

Yup, that's the intention for CMBN and CMRT.  Obviously not for CMFI, what with the Germans chucking in the towel a bit earlier than elsewhere ;)

Steve

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2 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

When completed, CMFI will have a big list of new forces and the timeframe extended to the end of the war.  It will likely be our next release

Looking forward to those Brazil vs Germany matches :)

Thanks for the update, very interesting. Whatever the kiwis have, the aussies want... just saying.

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19 minutes ago, BletchleyGeek said:

Looking forward to those Brazil vs Germany matches :)

Oww... That was below the belt! :)

7 minutes ago, Aragorn2002 said:

lots of interesting new vehicles like the Js-3

Unfortunately, I don't think we can take this for granted. :(

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Quote

New Zealand Defense Forces training aid - pretty much that's all there is to say about it

 

So my analysis was spot on! :P;)

But if you remember there are retail customers out there, maybe not all is lost.

The posts indicate, there will only be new content and no improvements to realism? Not even simple things to implement (like reversing AFVs when facing a deadly threat when a hide-command is activated), no reuseable maps with damage, no reinforcement triggers, no h2h campaigns?

Sorry to say that, but new scenarios with different units and textures, instead of improved realism and gameplay features will not make it for me. But I have no illusions, if there's an institutional military budgeted customer to satisfy...

Edited by CarlWAW
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