Annual look at the year to come - 2023

[waffelmann]

10 minutes ago, wadepm said:

I have been away from the forum for a while.  Could someone catch me up briefly on what we are waiting for exactly?  I would like to participate in the waiting game.  Thanks!

That's not important...we're always waiting for something in this game!

[kohlenklau]

41 minutes ago, wadepm said:

Could someone catch me up briefly on what we are waiting for exactly? 

"I" am waiting for:

1. the announcement of WHAT will be the CMFI battle pack previously mentioned. Crickets on that.

2. Information on when we might see the CMFB module that ends the war and brings in  the Commonwealth. Will it have the Pershing? Inquiring minds want to know.

3. Engine 5 development status.

 

 

 

[Centurian52]

6 minutes ago, kohlenklau said:

Will it have the Pershing?

I hope it has the Pershing. On the one hand, it might be difficult to justify including the Pershing since so few of the things ever actually saw action. On the other hand, getting to see the extreme early side of the Patton family of tanks in action would provide a nice link between the WW2 titles and CMCW.

[ratdeath]

Waiting for Cold War modules.

West Germany vs East Germany

Other WP nations.

Winter stuff.

Scandinavian forces (Sweden/Norway)!

More Cold War stuff

And last but not least, CM Barbarossa.

With that said I am happily playing with the toys we already have while waiting.

[Centurian52]

In the short term (next year or two) mainly I'm waiting for the CMCW BAOR module, the CMFB module bringing it to the end of the war, and the CMBN Battle Pack adding Utah Beach and Carentan. In the medium term (next several years) I'm hoping to see a Cold War module adding West and East German forces, WW2 modules/base games moving the clock back to earlier in the war, and a CMBS module or new base game adding all the equipment necessary to recreate the actual fighting of the Russo-Ukraine war.

I would love to see them go straight back to the beginning of the war, with Poland 1939 and France 1940, as well as Barbarossa. But they've explained multiple time why that's not practical (too much new equipment would have to be modeled all at once), so I'm anticipating a more incremental move back. Perhaps the next game can turn the clock back as far as Tunisia 1943 for the western front titles, while either a module to Red Thunder or a new eastern front base game might roll the clock as far back as Kursk 1943.

And of course, while the CMFB module will bring all the fronts up to the end of the war, that's no reason the clock can't keep incrementally inching forward. One reason why it might be a good idea to include the Pershing in the CMFB module (keeping in mind the more features and units we demand the longer we should expect to wait), even though it barely saw any action, is that it might help pave the way for a base game set in Korea later down the line.

Ultimately what I'm really waiting for is for realistic wargames to cover every front of every real and hypothetical war from the dawn of time to the distant future. But my expectations are somewhat more modest than my ambitions.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Centurian52

[Hister]

I am mainly interested in Engine 5 development status.

[markus544]

Well, I must say that I would like to hear some news about what is going on. It does seem like it's been a while since anything has been posted by the powers that be. I am retired and have been for the last 13 years or so and as a result I figure that I have about ten to fifteen years left on the planet (God willing). So, I would like to hear something before the big adios. 

[markus544]

As far as the Pershing goes that is my favorite vehicle for years. It was in the CMBO back in the day along with the super Pershing as well. Which as far as I can remember never saw combat. BAOR would be very cool for sure.

[kohlenklau]

On 10/30/2023 at 5:04 PM, Centurian52 said:

But they've explained multiple time why that's not practical (too much new equipment would have to be modeled all at once

I have some comments about this long held BFC paradigm. This is not against your quoting it.

I am a 3rd rate apprentice amateur Blender modder. I have dabbled with the models and did some crude and rudimentary changes to cobble together various "mods" for my amusement and fun.

I think the world of 3D modeling and the supply of 3D modelers has exploded since CMBN came out. The other day I was poking my nose in some CMBS 3D flavor object models and saw the basic mesh elements were written in Russian. Flowerpot was in Russian as gorshok. Hmmmm. Maybe Brazil Cassio LIma 3D studio is scrapped and some discount modders have been found. I am not sure. I don't own CMBS and can't check the credits. Not sure where CMCW got their 3D models either.

I challenge the 2023/2024 validity of this go to "excuse" that has "back a$$warded" the entire approach to giving us the earlier parts of the war in CM.

1 hour ago, markus544 said:

I am retired and have been for the last 13 years or so and as a result I figure that I have about ten to fifteen years left on the planet (God willing).

I aint far behind you. Hang in there. Best wishes to you in Bakersfield!

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by kohlenklau

[markus544]

12 minutes ago, kohlenklau said:

I have some comments about this long held BFC paradigm. This is not against your quoting it.

I am a 3rd rate apprentice amateur Blender modder. I have dabbled with the models and did some crude and rudimentary changes to cobble together various "mods" for my amusement and fun.

I think the world of 3D modeling and the supply of 3D modelers has exploded since CMBN came out. The other day I was poking my nose in some CMBS 3D flavor object models and saw the basic mesh elements were written in Russian. Flowerpot was in Russian as gorshok. Hmmmm. Maybe Brazil Cassio LIma 3D studio is scrapped and some discount modders have been found. I am not sure. I don't own CMBS and can't check the credits. Not sure where CMCW got their 3D models either.

I challenge the 2023/2024 validity of this go to "excuse" that has "back a$$warded" the entire approach to giving us the earlier parts of the war in CM.

I aint far behind you. Hang in there. Best wishes to you in Bakersfield!

 

Well, thank you for that. 

[Centurian52]

3 hours ago, markus544 said:

Well, I must say that I would like to hear some news about what is going on.

Well the good news on that front is that the year is almost over. So we're due for another New Year's bones thread in a couple months.

[Commanderski]

3 hours ago, Centurian52 said:

Well the good news on that front is that the year is almost over. So we're due for another New Year's bones thread in a couple months.

As much as I like BattleFront it seems that the "bones" posts are much like political promises anymore.

[Vergeltungswaffe]

The timing is certainly sub-optimal sometimes, but at least they don't overpromise and underdeliver on content.

[Vacillator]

Come on guys, it'll be ready when it's ready.  Whatever 'it' is.

Until you hear otherwise, that means you can hope for anything.

[Lethaface]

On 10/29/2023 at 3:55 PM, MeatEtr said:

Yeah this sort of “omg they’re not doing anything and they don’t care” nonsense always gets kicked around when there’s been few releases. Nothing new. Just because Steve talks about the Ukraine war doesn’t mean jack squat. You’re equating two things that are completely unrelated. It’s not logical. Does he need your permission to talk to his relatives on the phone too? How about running to the grocery store for food? 

As long as he buys enough green veggies, that's allowed!  

[CarlXII]

6 minutes ago, Lethaface said:

As long as he buys enough green veggies, that's allowed!  

Forgett about the greenies...Buy sausages...

[Lethaface]

On 10/30/2023 at 3:03 PM, Centurian52 said:

I understand the impatience. I really do. We all want our new toys sooner rather than later.

But my day job is testing software, and I've dabbled in a bit of programming in the past. So please trust me when I say it's not a good idea to rush these things. Some bugs are harder to squash than others. Some features are harder to work in than expected, and will frequently cause new bugs. It's always better to wait for a good product than to get a rushed piece of garbage. There is plenty of Combat Mission already out to keep us busy in the mean time.

I believe everyone at Battlefront is probably working diligently. Battlefront releases have always been slow. In part I expect that's a result of the limited resources they've always had to work with, and in part that's just because properly developing and testing any product takes time. But the releases have always come. We will get our new toys when they're ready.

Indeed everyone wants their new toys rather earlier than later. And when one has ordered them, almost all humans can be diagnosticised with the 'when is it ready/is it there yet?' syndrom. Some jobs role is basically to perform this role (PM ;-)).

Orwell called it 'time neurosis'.

Since time is relative, 'slow' is also relative. Some companies/games might come with updates every week/month. Some people will still call that slow. Other games might come with updates on a yearly/longer basis. One can find that slow on the 'expecting' side, those on the 'producing' side might disagree.

Then we also have different preferences for news updates.

I think Steve and BFC have commented very often in the past that they are weary of communicating news, as almost any communication will create expectancy, which will then have to be managed. They could probably hire a communications manager who's job it would be to update the community about ongoing stuff.

However, that in itself wouldn't do anything in the sense of 'faster' game development or releases. Instead it would probably be slower because the communication manager would need to be informed about progress on a regular basis. It would also soup up some of the budget now allocated towards development.

Give or take, that's how I understand BFC's hussle and I'm fine with it personally. Of course it is also fine if others would desire more information or more and faster releases, and post about that. 
I don't think things will change because of that. We can also ponder about the question whether it would be a good idea for BFC to grow by a large amount, potentially increasing development capacity and more releases in shorter time. That is one option, the other option is the risk that the extra releases don't offset against the extra costs and is a real potential business risk.
I think the ones best to make that decision is people inside the business themselves, because they have the knowledge. It's also their decision.

But yeah I'd also like to see game engine 5 rather sooner than later, or CM3 for that matter. SO, WHEN IS IT READY!!???   

[Lethaface]

20 hours ago, Vergeltungswaffe said:

The timing is certainly sub-optimal sometimes, but at least they don't overpromise and underdeliver on content.

Imo there is a 'holy trinity' between quality, budget and time. You can't change one without impacting the others, so if one or two are fixed, the other need to be flexible. With BFC committing to quality (this is not necessarily mainly about bugs, but rather realism and authenticity of the game engine and depicted period/battles), them having a sort of fixed budget, the result is that time needs to be 'subject to change'. This is about the big picture, not individual releases/bugs or investing a couple of (10)thousand extra to get some things done outside the core team.

Personally I'm also happy they sacrifice 'time' over quality. They could probably dumb down the game / new games and deliver faster. But that's not how they roll, in my experience since 2007. The result is that releases come when they are ready, it is what it is; still the lesser evil imo.

Edited November 2, 2023 by Lethaface

[Centurian52]

On 11/1/2023 at 4:26 AM, kohlenklau said:

I have some comments about this long held BFC paradigm. This is not against your quoting it.

I am a 3rd rate apprentice amateur Blender modder. I have dabbled with the models and did some crude and rudimentary changes to cobble together various "mods" for my amusement and fun.

I think the world of 3D modeling and the supply of 3D modelers has exploded since CMBN came out. The other day I was poking my nose in some CMBS 3D flavor object models and saw the basic mesh elements were written in Russian. Flowerpot was in Russian as gorshok. Hmmmm. Maybe Brazil Cassio LIma 3D studio is scrapped and some discount modders have been found. I am not sure. I don't own CMBS and can't check the credits. Not sure where CMCW got their 3D models either.

I challenge the 2023/2024 validity of this go to "excuse" that has "back a$$warded" the entire approach to giving us the earlier parts of the war in CM.

So there is the 3D modeling, which I'm sure takes up a chunk of time and money. But just as important is accurately modeling all of the technical details. They need to get all of the armor characteristics just right. They need to make sure they are modeling the right kind of ammunition and giving it the right performance. Optics and subsystems need to be accurately modeled. I don't know how long it takes to plug all that information into their system even assuming they already have it, but it certainly takes time to research it (it would be nice if there was somewhere you could go to pull up the exact undisputed characteristics of an old vehicle or weapon, but unfortunately no one has made history that easy yet (or if they have, no one has told me about it yet)). It's not good enough just to get the vehicles and weapons visually correct. They need to be technically correct as well.

"Modeling" doesn't just refer to 3D modeling. In simulation lingo a "model" is the full suite of characteristics that get plugged into a simulation to represent something. When someone disputes the results of a simulation you will often hear them say things like "that wasn't modeled accurately". They aren't saying that the 3D model didn't look right. They are saying that some of the technical details that were plugged in were incorrect. In the scientific world a "model" can be entirely mathematical, without any visual characteristics at all.

[Thomm]

On 10/30/2023 at 11:04 PM, Centurian52 said:

I would love to see them go straight back to the beginning of the war, with ... France 1940, ...

The "Ardennes 1940 & 1944" DLC for Easy Red 2 was just released. You may find it interesting, even though it is a first-person shooter!

[wadepm]

On 10/30/2023 at 5:04 PM, Centurian52 said:

Perhaps the next game can turn the clock back as far as Tunisia 1943 for the western front titles, while either a module to Red Thunder or a new eastern front base game might roll the clock as far back as Kursk 1943.

1943 in general (on the East Front) would be fantastic.  I would never ask for another thing.  Seriously...

[PEB14]

17 hours ago, wadepm said:

1943 in general (on the East Front) would be fantastic.  I would never ask for another thing.  Seriously...

That's the more realistic (from an amount of design work required) option every WW2 CM fan is waiting for since… how many years?

[Artkin]

45 minutes ago, PEB14 said:

That's the more realistic (from an amount of design work required) option every WW2 CM fan is waiting for since… how many years?

I just finished a 1941 german infantry division table of organization for CMRT (requires f&r) a couple hours ago. Kursk would be easy to do given the quality of the source materials. Technically we pretty much have all the assets in the game already. The hard part is getting all the mapping done. 

I'm more than willing to pump out some 1943 flavored tables of organization if it sparked peoples interest. Even though the battles were ****ing massive, it should be a cleaner job than my previous works. 

If interested: 

 

46_Infantry_Division.btt

[PEB14]

39 minutes ago, Artkin said:

I just finished a 1941 german infantry division table of organization for CMRT (requires f&r) a couple hours ago. Kursk would be easy to do given the quality of the source materials. Technically we pretty much have all the assets in the game already. The hard part is getting all the mapping done. 

I'm more than willing to pump out some 1943 flavored tables of organization if it sparked peoples interest. Even though the battles were ****ing massive, it should be a cleaner job than my previous works. 

If interested: 

 

46_Infantry_Division.btt 74.21 kB · 0 downloads

Can you remove Panzerfausts from the units? Can you adjust the number of LMG per squad?

If I'm not mistaken, 1941 german infantry divisions fielded 37 PaK that are not available in CMRT…

Edited November 26, 2023 by PEB14

[Artkin]

7 hours ago, PEB14 said:

Can you remove Panzerfausts from the units? Can you adjust the number of LMG per squad?

If I'm not mistaken, 1941 german infantry divisions fielded 37 PaK that are not available in CMRT…

Cmrt has pak 36's hidden away. Panzerfausts have been limited to 1-2 max per platoon. Panzershreks were deleted. All squads should have (A single) mg34's with an occassional mg42.

The only real issue was not being able to incorporate a 4th squad in the platoons, I could add pioneer teams (Since they have 2/3 rifles) but then the squads would be bloated and have explosives.

Take a look

Edited November 26, 2023 by Artkin