CM3?

[Wodin]

Is CM3 something we will see in the future? Time goes by and we all get older and I expect a new game would take at least 5 years to develop minimum. 

 

So I was wondering is CM2 and some future modules the extent of CM's future or is CM3 on the drawing board as a future project?

[Erwin]

It would be hard to believe that CM3 is not on the books since CM2 is now twice as old (14 years old) as CM1 was when CM2 replaced CM1 after only 7 years. 

BF keeps its cards very close to its chest so one can only speculate.  Now that BF should be earning decent money as a defense sub-contractor one would hope that will enable BF to release something new within 3 years.  That assumes that the signifivant profits one can make from defense contracts doesn't seduce BF from their commercial entertainment products which likely produce much less money.  

 

[womble]

I'm not sure a direct comparison of CM1 and CM2 in terms of longevity is quite appropriate. ISTR that one of the reasons for getting rid of (rather than iterating upon) CM1 was its monolithic spaghetti code which was not amenable to updating without totally breaking. CM2 was designed, I get the impression, to avoid (at least to some degree) that stumbling block, and that's why we're on engine... is it 4? now.

Nevertheless, the base engine and concept is, for some values, showing its age now, and there are obviously some core tenets of the code that would be good to upgrade, in the light of experience, but which are too deeply embedded to be readily changed. A fresh start on CM3 would be good, especially if it could leverage the non-code-specific work that's been done. But then we would definitely never get to the early war setting...

[Artkin]

Add mod support and we absolutely will.

[Erwin]

31 minutes ago, Artkin said:

Add mod support and we absolutely will.

+1   And mebbe even Afrika Korps.

[Centurian52]

56 minutes ago, womble said:

But then we would definitely never get to the early war setting...

Hmmm, while CMx3 would be nice, I've gotta have that early war setting. With a specific priority to the early war campaigns that aren't covered in CMAK and CMBB, since I've been finding those games to be perfectly serviceable even today (so Poland 39, France 40 (CMAK's ability to cover actions in France 1940 is limited due to the lack of any French tanks in the game (frustratingly there are French tanks in CMBB, captured and in service with Axis forces, but no French infantry))).

Of course maybe they could start with the early war when they go to CMx3? I just thirst for campaigns that haven't already been adequately represented elsewhere. I want to play every campaign of every war in the 20th century (and 19th century, but that's probably more Scourge of War's domain (it's a little tricky figuring out who should tackle the transitional period at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th, since neither SoW nor CM are really optimized for that period)).

[Erwin]

Well... many of us have been faithfully supporting BF as they told us when CM2 was released that the plan was to work back to Early War.  We're disappointed that process seems to have been abandoned - apparently BF doesn't consider it profitable enuff as the main US market simply wants to play US forces beating up on other nationalities.  Ditto re Afrika Korps - even tho' we already have xnt desert terrain in CMSF.  However, it seems that Afrika Korps games and some Early War are staples of most cardboard wargame developers.  So, this prejudice against Early War (incl AK) could be merely a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Right now we have Koh leading the heroic work to produce both AK and EW mods.  When CMBN was released, some scenarios were produced that simulated East Front.  So, if the demand is there, you never know...

 

[Howler]

Personally, I'm fine with a CW module for FB and a UK/NATO/USMC module for CMBS (bonus if they add French forces).

Then repeat the aforementioned UK/NATO/French/USMC module for CW.

Then an early war in the east front.

But, I'm only one guy/bot...

Edited July 20, 2021 by Howler

[womble]

21 hours ago, Centurian52 said:

...maybe they could start with the early war when they go to CMx3?...

Sadly, the opinion seems to be that this period would not sell sufficient copies to be the "first and biggest" launch of a new title.

However, with some clever architecture choices, my pessimistic outlook might be unwarranted. One of the big chunks of work for any of the titles is the TO stuff, and the base data for that changes not one whit with a new game engine. All that work could be re-used. Similarly, the data behind all the armour values and such is already crunched, and could be imported. So perhaps the CM3 family would inflate with Big Bang speed (relatively speaking), rather than taking a decade and a half to get from partial '43 to mostly-ETO '45... which would mean that the AK period and first couple of years of Ger-v-Sov could come along sooner than we might think.

There's hope yet.

[Vanir Ausf B]

20 hours ago, Erwin said:

Well... many of us have been faithfully supporting BF as they told us when CM2 was released that the plan was to work back to Early War.

They told you no such thing.

This has been pointed out to you before.

 

[Vergeltungswaffe]

I wonder what they're working on now?

Steve has been unusually quiet for quite some time, which typically only happens right before something comes out.

[StieliAlpha]

On 7/19/2021 at 10:58 PM, Wodin said:

Is CM3 something we will see in the future? Time goes by and we all get older and I expect a new game would take at least 5 years to develop minimum. 

 

So I was wondering is CM2 and some future modules the extent of CM's future or is CM3 on the drawing board as a future project?

[Erwin]

7 hours ago, Vanir Ausf B said:

They told you no such thing.

This has been pointed out to you before.

 

I noticed that when one tries to check old posts everything prior to November 2018 seems to have been deleted.

However, I am sure I am not the only person here who had the definite impression when CMSF1 was released in 2007 that support for BF would eventually lead to Early War.  Hey... people and companies can change their minds.  It's just disappointing is all.

[Glubokii Boy]

8 hours ago, Erwin said:

I noticed that when one tries to check old posts everything prior to November 2018 seems to have been deleted.

However, I am sure I am not the only person here who had the definite impression when CMSF1 was released in 2007 that support for BF would eventually lead to Early War.  Hey... people and companies can change their minds.  It's just disappointing is all.

I for one shared that impression...atleast right up until the time when the previously stated goal of releasing multiple products each year failed miserabely (a few years ago)...

I did not think that the statement by BFC that they would work their way backwards year by year implied that they would stop doing so in 1943 or even 1944...but rahter go all the way to 41...or even 39.

 

[Howler]

8 hours ago, Glubokii Boy said:

I did not think that the statement by BFC that they would work their way backwards year by year implied that they would stop doing so in 1943 or even 1944...but rahter go all the way to 41...or even 39.

 

In fairness, they've been working back from 2018 Ukraine, 2008 Syria, and most recently 1979 Germany.

[Glubokii Boy]

1 hour ago, Howler said:

In fairness, they've been working back from 2018 Ukraine, 2008 Syria, and most recently 1979 Germany.

Those are nice products...yes ! But they are not early war WW2.

[kohlenklau]

So many vehicles already modelled but are in other titles, the dogs and cats, like the R-35 or the Samoa, early Panzer III, (I can send you a list if you want me to bird dog it all) CAN THEY BE JUST SHOVED INTO THE EDITOR AS SINGLE VEHICLE PURCHASABLE? Please maybe also a water cooled HMG for the axis? And some infantry team WITHOUT panzerfausts? 

"EARLY WAR SCENARIO KIT" $50, no problem.

[slippy]

14 hours ago, kohlenklau said:

So many vehicles already modelled but are in other titles, the dogs and cats, like the R-35 or the Samoa, early Panzer III, (I can send you a list if you want me to bird dog it all) CAN THEY BE JUST SHOVED INTO THE EDITOR AS SINGLE VEHICLE PURCHASABLE? Please maybe also a water cooled HMG for the axis? And some infantry team WITHOUT panzerfausts? 

"EARLY WAR SCENARIO KIT" $50, no problem.

That's a very good idea. Gets my support. Everything is there already, so just repack and distribute it

[BornGinger]

On 7/21/2021 at 7:41 PM, Vergeltungswaffe said:

wonder what they're working on now?

Steve has been unusually quiet for quite some time...

Steven mentioned in January an update, or upgrade, to the existing CM2-engine which he called engine 5 and said it should be out in the end of this year. So I guess they are busy with that update/upgrade although I suspect it won't be finished by the end of this year.