Pre-orders for Combat Mission Cold War are now open.

[BFCElvis]

5 hours ago, Icechuck said:

Would you say Cold War will be released prior to the release of Fire and Rubble at this point?

Puttin me on the spot Icedude. If I were a betting man (and I am). I would bet on Fire and Rubble first but Cold War still having an April release. I would give 2:1 odds on that and 3:1 odds on both being out in April, regardless of the order.

(CYA...none of that is a promise. But it is an educated guess. Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem please call the hotline in your state http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/ga/?q=hotlines)

[danfrodo]

oh boy!!

[John Kettler]

BFCElvis,

For pre-orders, is there a physical CMCW Manual included? Hope so! Already have an Engine 4.0 Manual and the basic CM manual. What else do we get for pre-ordering in the way of things that won't be available to post-release buyers?

Regards,

John Kettler

[mbarbaric]

4 hours ago, John Kettler said:

BFCElvis,

For pre-orders, is there a physical CMCW Manual included? Hope so! Already have an Engine 4.0 Manual and the basic CM manual. What else do we get for pre-ordering in the way of things that won't be available to post-release buyers?

Regards,

John Kettler

I understood we get to play full game (minus slitherine PBEM) from (sometime in) April.

[ratdeath]

5 hours ago, John Kettler said:

BFCElvis,

For pre-orders, is there a physical CMCW Manual included? Hope so! Already have an Engine 4.0 Manual and the basic CM manual. What else do we get for pre-ordering in the way of things that won't be available to post-release buyers?

Regards,

John Kettler

No. It's only the Engine 4.0 manual.

Combat Mission Cold War is in it’s pre-order phase now. This product will be downloadable with the option to purchase a platform specific DVD and/or a general Combat Mission Game Engine Manual. Except for special promotions we do not offer game specific manuals, so if you already have a current Game Engine Manual you're all set!

[Jabble]

12 hours ago, BFCElvis said:

We figured most people would be interested in checking it out. But I'm happy that there is an "opt out" (by not installing the new builds) for those who don't

Do you think this could be the beginning of an ongoing idea, where interim builds (tweaks, bug fixes, enhancements) could be made available to interested players prior to release?  I'm guessing that would be a viable approach as everything becomes available on Steam with a growing user base there, and would be useful for wider-scale testing.

I'm comparing to the likes of Command:MO where there's a core of regulars on the forum who are always keen to try out each beta as it's posted, helping iron out the wrinkles, and contributing to that eventual official update.

[Probus]

We used that approach for years with Kerbal Space Program. Some folks loved helping out o/, some got frustrated with the process. I loved it. I can point to so many elements in the game that were my idea or I helped the small development team debug. I really feel a part of that game and have an unquavering loyalty towards it. 

There would always be an official release and a test release that was a more unstable build. We had an 'experimentals' team and a great bug reporting system. That helped a playtester go from a report of "The rocket engine doesn't work' to a report of exactly when, where, how, etc.. with screenshots or videos and a thorough description and seriousness of the problem. 

Edited April 17, 2021 by Probus

[Jabble]

3 minutes ago, Probus said:

We used that approach for years with Kerbal Space Program. Some folks loved helping out o/, some got frustrated with the process. I loved it. I can point to so many elements in the game that were my idea or I helped the small development team debug. I really feel a part of that game and have an unquavering loyalty towards it...

Exactly!  If there were also an optional "debug" window, then all sorts of internal numbers could be output to give a better idea of how behaviour corresponds to what is intended, e.g. LOS spot outcomes or hit probabilities in various circumstances.

[BFCElvis]

12 hours ago, John Kettler said:

BFCElvis,

For pre-orders, is there a physical CMCW Manual included? Hope so! Already have an Engine 4.0 Manual and the basic CM manual. What else do we get for pre-ordering in the way of things that won't be available to post-release buyers?

Regards,

John Kettler

No. There will be no printed Cold War specific manual. The only  manuals that are printed are the game engine manuals.

Pre-orders get a little bit of a head start on downloading the game when it's released.

[BFCElvis]

5 hours ago, Jabble said:

Do you think this could be the beginning of an ongoing idea, where interim builds (tweaks, bug fixes, enhancements) could be made available to interested players prior to release?  I'm guessing that would be a viable approach as everything becomes available on Steam with a growing user base there, and would be useful for wider-scale testing.

I'm comparing to the likes of Command:MO where there's a core of regulars on the forum who are always keen to try out each beta as it's posted, helping iron out the wrinkles, and contributing to that eventual official update.

No. And it has been talked about but no one in the conversation seemed interested in doing it.  Having people pay to beta test doesn't sit well with anyone. What will be released with Cold War will be a complete game that we hope will have no bugs or needed tweaks. We always strive for that.....sometimes when a game has hit the masses previously unspotted bugs appear and we pump out a hot patch. But we don't knowingly release something that has unfixed bugs and can't imagine a future where we do. And this is coming from a guy who can imagine flying cars, a Lobsters in Space game and carrying all of the world's knowledge in a small device in your pocket. ..........Oh, wait...About that last one.....

[BFCElvis]

7 hours ago, mbarbaric said:

I understood we get to play full game (minus slitherine PBEM) from (sometime in) April.

You have understood correctly.

[DuckCuckem]

Now, this was likely stated during the release of Shock Force 2 on Steam, I apologize if it was but I did not find it.

Is it possible to purchase the game from the BF website and future expansions on Steam? Or would the Steam purchased expansions only work with the Steam release itself, with no side-compatibility?

[Icechuck]

Just now, DuckCuckem said:

Now, this was likely stated during the release of Shock Force 2 on Steam, I apologize if it was but I did not find it.

Is it possible to purchase the game from the BF website and future expansions on Steam? Or would the Steam purchased expansions only work with the Steam release itself, with no side-compatibility?

If you purchase on BF you can get a Steam key courtesy of Slitherine, that was for SF2 and BS but I'm unsure if this policy will continue. 

[DuckCuckem]

Just now, Icechuck said:

If you purchase on BF you can get a Steam key courtesy of Slitherine, that was for SF2 and BS but I'm unsure if this policy will continue. 

What I meant is could you buy the expansions on Steam to work with your BF site purchase of the game.

[Harry Speakup]

11 minutes ago, DuckCuckem said:

What I meant is could you buy the expansions on Steam to work with your BF site purchase of the game.

If you buy the base game from BF, register it on Matrix site and claim your Steam key there, then any DLC you bought direct from Steam will work with the Steam version of the game, launched from within Steam. The BF version if you run it as a separate install will be unlikely to work with any Steam purchased DLC since BF installs of DLC require activation, and the Steam versions don't appear to use licence keys and activation.

[Harry Speakup]

22 minutes ago, Icechuck said:

If you purchase on BF you can get a Steam key courtesy of Slitherine, that was for SF2 and BS but I'm unsure if this policy will continue. 

I've not heard anything to the contrary. I've bought plenty of games from Matrix site, registered them and then claimed my Steam key and registered them to my Steam account. It usually costs a bit more, but it's worth it if in the distant future anything happens with Steam or your online connection goes pear shaped.

[Probus]

6 minutes ago, Harry Speakup said:

It usually costs a bit more, but it's worth it if in the distant future anything happens with Steam or your online connection goes pear shaped.

Yeah, I had built a new computer and decided to load my Steam version instead of my BF version.  My internet went out and for whatever reason it would not let me start Black Sea.  I went ahead and just installed my BF version and use it.  I'm sure this rarely happens, but that is why I play using my BF version.  But like Harry said, it may be a little more expensive, but I don't mind a few extra $$$ going to BF.

[Harry Speakup]

One thing to be aware of with Steam is updates. Sometimes updates can be unfriendly and break things. If you have an ongoing game that you would be upset about being broken by an update then back up your game folder with your current version of the game. Keep the old pre-update folder that works and run it in parallel with the current install in Steam. Start it from the game.exe in the parallel install folder and you are golden and all is right with the world. Pressing Play in the Steam launcher will give you the current version of the game or try and update the old version beforehand if you didn't rename the folder to something else to leave it untouched.

Some games on Steam allow you to roll back updates (Paradox titles, like CK2, EUIV and HOI4 spring to mind), others don't, and you can be stuck with an update that you are non too fond of in some cases.

[maxmaxmax]

it is 18th april:)

[BFCElvis]

3 hours ago, DuckCuckem said:

Now, this was likely stated during the release of Shock Force 2 on Steam, I apologize if it was but I did not find it.

Is it possible to purchase the game from the BF website and future expansions on Steam? Or would the Steam purchased expansions only work with the Steam release itself, with no side-compatibility?

The answers you have gotten at correct. The simple answer is that any purchase made through Steam will not work with a Battlefront version. And any Battlefront purchase will have Steam access at no extra charge.

As far as pricing. If the Steam version is on sale we have been offering it on our site for the same price. There may be some weird timing issues where they start before us or we offer it for a hour or 2 longer but, in general terms,  they'll match 

[Artkin]

HAHA we certainly have "problems" here. Both modules out by May, eh?

[John Kettler]

9 hours ago, BFCElvis said:

No. There will be no printed Cold War specific manual. The only  manuals that are printed are the game engine manuals.

Pre-orders get a little bit of a head start on downloading the game when it's released.

BFCElvis,

Thanks for letting me know. Since there was a specific CMBS manual for it, thought there'd be one like it for CMCW. There was also a special tin, too, and those are cool, but nothing this time. Am I correct that the pre-order includes the DVD as well as electronic activation (?) or DL?

Regards,

John Kettler

[markus544]

Just gimmie the freaking game for god sake....And I will gladly give this forum crap a rest for a time....Long time..No offense to anyone.   But for pete sake....give this whole thing a rest.

[BFCElvis]

1 hour ago, John Kettler said:

BFCElvis,

Thanks for letting me know. Since there was a specific CMBS manual for it, thought there'd be one like it for CMCW. There was also a special tin, too, and those are cool, but nothing this time. Am I correct that the pre-order includes the DVD as well as electronic activation (?) or DL?

Regards,

John Kettler

Nope. You can order a physical DVD but it does not come as part of a preorder unless purchased that way.

[Bufo]

21 hours ago, Probus said:

Yeah, I had built a new computer and decided to load my Steam version instead of my BF version.  My internet went out and for whatever reason it would not let me start Black Sea.  I went ahead and just installed my BF version and use it.  I'm sure this rarely happens, but that is why I play using my BF version.  But like Harry said, it may be a little more expensive, but I don't mind a few extra $$$ going to BF.

You have to use offline mode.

How did you activate the BF version without an internet connection?