So you just got your hands on CMCW...now what? Designers Q&A thread.

[Artkin]

1 minute ago, SovietOnion said:

I own almost every Total War title. I still can't use the Shogun 2 map in Rome 2. Not exactly the same, but close enough.

Now, did they advertise map compatibility? If no, you are are complaining about a feature they never advertised. 

Can you read my OP's before commenting first please?

[ng cavscout]

27 minutes ago, danfrodo said:

So any thoughts from smart folks here about US 50 cal vs BMPs?  Is there a range where I start to have a chance of penetration?  Just started my first fight (They Own the Night) and realized the 1980s 50 cal ammo seems less destructive than in Black Sea (or is that my imagination?). 

I'm getting partial and full penetration a from the rear and sides at about 200 meters, haven't tested further than that.

Edited May 2, 2021 by ng cavscout

[SovietOnion]

Just now, Artkin said:

Can you read my OP's before commenting first please?

What makes you think I haven't? You have said that to everyone that has replied to you, and that is rather rude. 

[Kevin2k]

7 minutes ago, Artkin said:

I own EVERYTHING CM except CM:A and previously...

Nobody appreciates CM more than I. I am thrilled to have F&R and CW out. But locking my files is a slap in the face.

Yeah, and I demand the game's source code.

I haven't seen any new sort of locking myself. Only found that CMSF2 map format is entirely noninterchangeable with everything else. Which is probably because of CMSF1 legacy compatibility. That is all.

[ng cavscout]

17 minutes ago, Artkin said:

Consider therapy?

How can I play F&R maps fine in CMBS but not in CMCW? Did you even read my posts first before replying?

I agree. But the only thing that happened was they slapped a lock on the files. Just like BP1 for CMBN- something which I will probably never touch again in my life unless upgrade 5 doubles the performance...

Everyone, as stated, uses Hexed.it... It converts all the F&R maps fine. The ONLY THING that needs to be replaced are BUILDINGS! Again! Same issue as the Nijmegan map (Which I replaced every single building on... and then it WORKED IN EVERY CMx2 GAME).

I'm not asking for a converter. We have one already.

In all seriousness, there is a map editor. You could recreate the maps to so desperately want to play using that. 

I never saw anything in the documentation or advertising for either CMCW or CMFR that maps would be cross compatible with earlier releases. I don't think BFC is giving you a "slap in the face".

[Artkin]

6 minutes ago, SovietOnion said:

What makes you think I haven't? You have said that to everyone that has replied to you, and that is rather rude. 

My issue that it is locked in CMCW.

It works fine in CMBS.

This is how we have ALWAYS done it.

Why can I play F&R maps in CMBS (Region Ukraine) but not in CMCW (Region Germany).

This has absolutely nothing to do with what they "intended" to do with the game. This is a very basic modding capability we have, and it was taken away.

[Artkin]

4 minutes ago, Kevin2k said:

Yeah, and I demand the game's source code.

I haven't seen any new sort of locking myself. Only found that CMSF2 map format is entirely noninterchangeable with everything else. Which is probably because of CMSF1 legacy compatibility. That is all.

Correct, CMSF is only directly compatible with CM:A I believe. They have different data sets....

All the new CMx2's share the same data for the most part. CMCW added a new tree, but has no effect on imported maps.

All the new CMx2's can (for the most part) share maps to make the titles vastly more interesting.

Is it unreasonable to want to add more maps to my game? CMBS's maps got stale after a year. Ive owned the title for almost five years now. There's no chance in hell you'll catch me playing standard, boring CMBS maps. Instead I actually like playing on the best maps Battlefront produces.

 

THIS is customer feedback. I am helping make this series better, not worse. Being a grog is fine, producing historically accurate games is very important. So is letting people do whatever with the content they bought.

Nobody is asking for a source code. This is fundamentally a very simple request.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Artkin

[SovietOnion]

It isn't taken away if it isn't an advertised feature. No one is saying it is unreasonable, but I am personally saying that the way you are going about this isn't polite or likely to get you friends. Your subjective opinion of the maps themselves, and how long they 'last' is just that. 

[Artkin]

1 minute ago, SovietOnion said:

It isn't taken away if it isn't an advertised feature. No one is saying it is unreasonable, but I am personally saying that the way you are going about this isn't polite or likely to get you friends. Your subjective opinion of the maps themselves, and how long they 'last' is just that. 

It's okay, I will live. I don't value online friendships as much as others. It's the internet bro.

And Battlefront is free to delete my posts after they've shed some light on this.. I understand I am quite off topic here. Originally a CMCW question though.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Artkin

[Thomm]

45 minutes ago, Artkin said:

Everyone, as stated, uses Hexed.it... It converts all the F&R maps fine. The ONLY THING that needs to be replaced are BUILDINGS! Again! Same issue as the Nijmegan map (Which I replaced every single building on... and then it WORKED IN EVERY CMx2 GAME). I'm not asking for a converter. We have one already.

Sorry, I did not know that. I am by no means a hardcore player.

So you imply that they actively block this now!? Odd, if true.

Best regards,
Thomm

[HerrTom]

I'm curious, what is that one thing that you so very much wanted to get into the title but didn't make the cut?

Additionally (and I understand if you don't want to talk about it), is there anything you would have done differently when you started the project?  I'm just curious about the design process that goes into making something like this.

[danfrodo]

maybe there's codebase changes that make other maps not work here, and those changes won't hit the other games until next patches/releases? 

[The_Capt]

1 minute ago, HerrTom said:

I'm curious, what is that one thing that you so very much wanted to get into the title but didn't make the cut?

Additionally (and I understand if you don't want to talk about it), is there anything you would have done differently when you started the project?  I'm just curious about the design process that goes into making something like this.

FASCAM (scatterable mines).  They really barely apply to a CM battle but would be so cool.  Close second would be mineplows and rollers/flails.  But all of that would have added months to dev time (it wasn‘t an easy port from elsewhere, we asked).

Done differently...hmm.  Well we definitely have a few ideas moving forward and there are some things that I will avoid.  For example it may seem simple but the US 1979 Campaign was a serious pain to make even though it was supposed to be nearly the same as the 1982 but with older kit.  Doing multiple versions of the same campaign is  something I will personally avoid if I can.  Beyond that probably a bigger team, we did a lot of the early stuff with only four of us and it was a lot.  We could have gotten farther with a few more people earlier on.  Plus we can move faster with a core team.

[Kevin2k]

29 minutes ago, Artkin said:

THIS is customer feedback. I am helping make this series better, not worse. Being a grog is fine, producing historically accurate games is very important. So is letting people do whatever with the content they bought.

Nobody is asking for a source code. This is fundamentally a very simple request.

Yeah, basically I don't disagree with request for keeping things open, and to empower the end user. But the trend with modern software is to centralize things, lock things, decrease choices. For example: I would be nagging Microsoft a lot, if I think it helped. It does not. And they set the trend of what is business as usual.

32 minutes ago, Artkin said:

Why can I play F&R maps in CMBS (Region Ukraine) but not in CMCW (Region Germany).

As a test: I managed to convert FR_Batzlow-1040x1040-Forest-Meeting-01.btt to show up in CM Cold War, just now. It needed a little more then the usual hex-edit, but not much.

[IICptMillerII]

1 hour ago, danfrodo said:

So any thoughts from smart folks here about US 50 cal vs BMPs?  Is there a range where I start to have a chance of penetration?  Just started my first fight (They Own the Night) and realized the 1980s 50 cal ammo seems less destructive than in Black Sea (or is that my imagination?). 

So it is important to know that the BMP-1 has much thinner armor (especially on the sides) than the BMP-2 does. The .50 cal can easily slice through the side armor of a BMP-1, even at combat ranges of 300m+. The BMP-2 will be a bit harder to kill at ranges beyond 300m, but it can still be done. 

Another quick note on the .50 cal. In the other two modern titles (CMBS and CMSF2) the .50 cal is firing modern SLAP rounds, which are very effective against light armor, including BMPs. Those SLAP rounds did not come out until 1990, so are outside the timeline here. 

6 minutes ago, HerrTom said:

I'm curious, what is that one thing that you so very much wanted to get into the title but didn't make the cut?

For me the biggest thing that comes readily to mind was a minor change to the way aircraft work. I wanted to implement a change for aircraft that would allow them to release multiple munitions per pass. So for example, an F-16 could fly in and drop all its cluster bombs at once on a single targeted area. Same goes for any unguided munition, like dumb bombs. 

Unfortunately there just was not enough time in development for that change to be implemented, tested, approved and shipped. Maybe at some point in the future though. 

[Sequoia]

1 minute ago, The_Capt said:

FASCAM (scatterable mines).  They really barely apply to a CM battle but would be so cool.  Close second would be mineplows and rollers/flails.  But all of that would have added months to dev time (it wasn‘t an easy port from elsewhere, we asked).

Done differently...hmm.  Well we definitely have a few ideas moving forward and there are some things that I will avoid.  For example it may seem simple but the US 1979 Campaign was a serious pain to make even though it was supposed to be nearly the same as the 1982 but with older kit.  Doing multiple versions of the same campaign is  something I will personally avoid if I can.  Beyond that probably a bigger team, we did a lot of the early stuff with only four of us and it was a lot.  We could have gotten farther with a few more people earlier on.  Plus we can move faster with a core team.

By four do you mean Steve and Charles along with you and Bil, or some other two?

[Artkin]

9 minutes ago, Kevin2k said:

Yeah, basically I don't disagree with request for keeping things open, and to empower the end user. But the trend with modern software is to centralize things, lock things, decrease choices. For example: I would be nagging Microsoft a lot, if I think it helped. It does not. And they set the trend of what is business as usual.

As a test: I managed to convert FR_Batzlow-1040x1040-Forest-Meeting-01.btt to show up in CM Cold War, just now. It needed a little more then the usual hex-edit, but not much.

Well it's safe to say Win10 is by far the biggest piece of crap I have ever used for an "OS". I can't believe how much Microsoft managed to trash Win7. Did they purge their staff? Legit. Microsoft is the worst companies on the market today. They crushed their own OS. I have been in disbelief ever since I free "upgraded" to Win10. The set the trend? I hate this kind of logic. I would dump my PC in an instant if I cared that much. I don't even own a phone right now, it broke, and I've been enjoying life for a week without one. It's great.

I wasn't able to even touch FR files in CMCW and this included QB maps... QB are actually pretty great since they contain all those precious AI plans. The master maps are sick, but every CM player goes through stages, and I'm at the stage where setting up a battalion in houses gets old fast. I'll give that one a try.

25 minutes ago, Thomm said:

Sorry, I did not know that. I am by no means a hardcore player.

So you imply that they actively block this now!? Odd, if true.

Best regards,
Thomm

Haha yeah man you can load your games up with maps from other titles. My CMBS folder is disgustingly big. I've had to make subfolders in my QB maps and my Scenarios folders just to contain all the files I have for the game now. Maps work great, scenarios work great too, but you have to remove the units because they don't convert well. In CMBS all scens that convert over have vehicles convert to M1A2's and all infantry convert to russian conscripts .

I am indeed implying they actively block these maps from going to other titles.

12 minutes ago, danfrodo said:

maybe there's codebase changes that make other maps not work here, and those changes won't hit the other games until next patches/releases? 

 

This is the slimmest glimmer of hope. I doubt this is the case, as we see the same lock on BP1 for CMBN. And CMBN maps work for every title other than CMSF 1-2 and CM:A.

I very much appreciate the comment/thinking. I had thought about the same thing but I doubt it.

 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Artkin

[The_Capt]

Just now, Sequoia said:

By four do you mean Steve and Charles along with you and Bil, or some other two?

So there is the BFC team, all the guys that make this whole place go, Steve Charles, ChrisND, BFC Elvis, MikeyD etc.

Then there was our core dev team, myself, Bil, Capt Miller +1 (who is kind of shy), we were responsible for overall game design, TO&Es and content development.   Basically BFC owns the engine, artwork/models and marketing, we were on the hook for content (with a lot of help mind you)

[Kevin2k]

4 minutes ago, Artkin said:

The set the trend? I hate this kind of logic. I would dump my PC in an instant if I cared that much. I don't even own a phone right now, it broke, and I've been enjoying life for a week without one. It's great.

I am not talking about me or you. I am just stating what it obviously going on.

7 minutes ago, Artkin said:

I am indeed implying they actively block these maps from going to other titles.

I tested the block you suggested, as stated in my previous message. It does not exist.

[Artkin]

2 minutes ago, Kevin2k said:

I tested the block you suggested, as stated in my previous message. It does not exist.

[Sequoia]

@The Captain, I'll make this question deliberately generic so you don't have to give anything away but do you have a bigger team lined up for the first module including perhaps a foreign national veteran of the nation of choice?

[Artkin]

Thanks to @Kevin2k the fix to remove this ridiculous, stupid DRM has been created.

You guys should really remove the DRM. I will be un-drm'ing everything CMF&R.

 

We now have Berlin in CMCW.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Artkin

[Kevin2k]

It is not a block or DRM, at least nothing more then it used to be, just a minor change to a format. You are misstating the intent. If they wanted to block/DRM you really, and put effort in that, it would be different.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Kevin2k

[Artkin]

It only applies to BP1 from CMBN, F&R from CMRT, and (I believe) BSBP from CMBS.

It might not be a "block" or "drm", but it certainly seems intentional to stop people from using the content in other titles.

I believe it's for a legit reason, bfc is selling maps.. but this is where the core of the problem lies imo. They are restricting the fun of their whole series by selling maps for specific titles only. Granted a whole module was built around it, but still. It works.

Edited May 2, 2021 by Artkin

[HerrTom]

39 minutes ago, IICptMillerII said:

For me the biggest thing that comes readily to mind was a minor change to the way aircraft work. I wanted to implement a change for aircraft that would allow them to release multiple munitions per pass. So for example, an F-16 could fly in and drop all its cluster bombs at once on a single targeted area. Same goes for any unguided munition, like dumb bombs. 

Unfortunately there just was not enough time in development for that change to be implemented, tested, approved and shipped. Maybe at some point in the future though. 

I didn't know this was even in the cards!  Since I'm sure it'll make a difference, I 100% support this!

One thing that would be essential for this is the ability to set linear fire missions for aircraft, so you can give the order to work the area from a particular bearing (and thus drop the stick along a specific direction and length).  Get some proper Cold War air strikes!