Rongor Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) Hey there, I usually return to playing CM every half a year or so. Often this means reinstalling some stuff. As always, Battlefront's version numbering policy gets me intensely confused and I am creating this thread to not only point some attention towards this unnecessary situation but also to urge responsible staff to may be at least think about doing something about it in the long term. For example: I just found a recent installation of CMFI/Gustav Bundle on my hard drive. Obviously I only had installed but not activated it before since it asked me to insert the key for a "CM Fortress Italy - v3.0 UPGRADE". In one of my dedicated text files I found that key and after activation, the game started. Arrived in the game menu, the version number didn't show 3.0 as expected. Instead it showed v1.20. I visited all my installation backups and found a v200 installer and a CMFI v300 upgrade. I then could only guess that the numbers 2.00 and 3.00 may point at those CM engine versions. I am not sure as I can't recall it anymore after some months of absence from the forums. So I visit my Battlefront account, thinking I just should make sure and maybe download missing stuff again. In my account I find a CMFI upgrade 4. Since I just activated 3, I instantly had the idea of needing another upgrade. Opening that upgrade 4 on the download page, the installer shows no connection to anything with the number 4. Instead it is called "CMFI v200 Upgrade" in the downloadable archive. This maximizes my confusion, as I already have downloaded 2.0 and expect v3.0 to be newer. Is it really so hard to find a numbering convention which instantly tells the user what exactly he has at hand? Without visiting the forum (no central hint there found so far), I have no chance to understand what is going on. I don't think this is the way you guys at battlefront wanted it to be. It goes on since I started purchasing CM titles and isn't that much different with the other titles. If you call something CMFI v2, I expect CMFI v2 and nothing else. Stop to confuse me with engine versions, instead name them as integrated version numbers of the game and don't call them anything else so that I have a chance to find what I purchased. By the way, both the Battlefront website including the shop and the forums use unsecured connections according to firefox. Maybe it is time to switch to https in 2018? Since CM titles aren't that cheap, money shouldn't be the problem. Maybe overhaul the whole system, which in its core finally enables me to download including-everything-installers so at the same time stopping the need for me to study confusing version numbers while applying several cumulative patches in a row... Please forgive the venting character of my inquiry, but seriously, this is hard to bear. Thank you! Edited February 25, 2018 by Rongor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) yeah this has been a confusing item for a while. The problem originated from the fact that when a game is released it is 1.0 of that game, but the underlying engine is a different subject. Without breaking the two apart it became really confusing to know what was what. BF has shifted to separating the game and engine so now you see them both in your launch screen. There is no simple way past this, you have to read the notes on the various downloads as they do highlight specific info to help. For example on the CMFI version 3/4 engine update it says specifically. The Game Engine 3 and 4 Upgrade Bundle for CM Fortress Italy is not a standalone game. You need the original CMFI v1.x (Game Engine 1) in order to play. Once upgraded the version number changes to v2.x. What it is telling you is the game version will change to 2. The engine version will show 3 or 4 depending on what upgrade you purchased. As confusing as it may sound it is important to see the game version 2.0 as it reflects specific changes to the CMFI game independent of the engine version. If BF reverted to just saying version 2 of CMFI, we'd be back where we started of asking is this CMx2 engine 4 or not. I could go into the history of CMFI to explain a little more why that is, but I am afraid that would only start you to grinding your teeth. Edited February 25, 2018 by sburke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weapon2010 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 the easiest away around this confusion is to just keep your game up to date to the most current engine. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 7 minutes ago, weapon2010 said: the easiest away around this confusion is to just keep your game up to date to the most current engine. LOL to his point I think he is trying, but isn't sure what that is or how to get there. The good news is once he does it becomes a lot simpler. He just has some catching up to do. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rongor Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Well guys, thanks for the guidance. Actually what I had to realize that I have to execute an installer called "CMFI_v200_Setup.exe" after having installed "CMFI v300 Upgrade Setup.exe". The CMFI v300 Upgrade Setup.exe is in fact the CMFI v120 and should be called so or they should have named it "CMFI Engine3 upgrade" or whatever. To name it "CMFI v300" is totally weird, because there is no CMFI v300. The question comes up, if the complete "CM Fortress Italy v200 Installer" is all I need for CMFI v2 on engine v4 or for CMFI on engine v2. Let me guess: It is neither engine v3, v4 or anything, it is engine2 v4 right? What a joke! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Rongor said: Well guys, thanks for the guidance. Actually what I had to realize that I have to execute an installer called "CMFI_v200_Setup.exe" after having installed "CMFI v300 Upgrade Setup.exe". The CMFI v300 Upgrade Setup.exe is in fact the CMFI v120 and should be called so or they should have named it "CMFI Engine3 upgrade" or whatever. To name it "CMFI v300" is totally weird, because there is no CMFI v300. The question comes up, if the complete "CM Fortress Italy v200 Installer" is all I need for CMFI v2 on engine v4 or for CMFI on engine v2. Let me guess: It is neither engine v3, v4 or anything, it is engine2 v4 right? What a joke! CMFI Engine version 4- but close. This is what you want to get fully up to date. http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage_bfc&product_id=620&category_id=37&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=26 These are the instructions you want to follow. Note, if you own the original v1.x (Engine 2) version of Fortress Italy and/or Gustav Line you will need to relicense those products. After installing the Upgrade launch the game and enter your new Upgrade 3 + 4 license key. Exit and use the Activate New Products link from that game's Documents folder to launch the game again. Enter your original CMFI license key and the game should now fully load. If you have Gustav Line repeat this process and use your Gustav Line license key. This is a one time hassle resulting from making CM more cross platformable going forward. This is what you should see when launching the game. Edited February 25, 2018 by sburke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rongor Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 Thanks man, will do so! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 Version numbering is fun - not. Thankfully it is not as annoying at DRM . The single most important thing to do is pick something that makes some kind of sense and stick with it. The stick with it part is actually the most important part. Why you ask? Because everyone and their dog has an idea for a better way or the one and only right way to do version numbering. So, if you chase that you will just leave people even more confused because they have to relearn something new every time. And it will still be "wrong" Having said that I think you pointed out some unfortunate and confusing file naming that would be worth watching out for in the future. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) I agree the whole thing is very confusing I understand the Battlefront commercial model, I dont have an issue with it to be clear. I think the problem is making it easier for customers to engage with said commercial model. The amount of research a user must do is prohibitive to making an update or content purchase ... especially compared to steam DLC as an example. Not suggesting Steam is an option ( I remember a post a decade ago about BF deciding it was not for them ) but maybe some form of proprietary application to help users upgrade and purchase additional content , even automate it on validated purchases. The entire thing is a mess at the moment IMO. Thank you. Scott Edited March 4, 2018 by scottie 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 1 hour ago, scottie said: I agree the whole thing is very confusing I understand the Battlefront commercial model, I dont have an issue with it to be clear. I think the problem is making it easier for customers to engage with said commercial model. The amount of research a user must do is prohibitive to making an update or content purchase ... especially compared to steam DLC as an example. Not suggesting Steam is an option ( I remember a post a decade ago about BF deciding it was not for them ) but maybe some form of proprietary application to help users upgrade and purchase additional content , even automate it on validated purchases. The entire thing is a mess at the moment IMO. Thank you. Scott I'd agree it was a mess for sure. I don't agree that it still is. There is now a single installer and you activate the specific items you've purchased. When they release new material, you refresh the DL and apply any new material activations for stuff you purchased, If you purchase any additional modules, you just use the activation as your original full installer download has it already. I can't see it getting any simpler than that. I don't see anything prohibitive in that. If you have not gotten to the point of utilizing the full installer, yeah maybe, but it is so darn easy to do now I can't see what is stopping anyone from making the leap. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 @Steve. Thanks for the info. Its taken me a few hours of figuring out but I successfully purchased / deployed for CMBN: 3.12 4.0 battle pack vehicle pack Its easier certainly but still a lot of leg work. I do appreciate your help though. All the best. Scott 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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