Big announcement... Battlefront is now Slitherine

[Centurian52]

8 hours ago, PEB14 said:

Note sure: Steve stated somewhere on this forum that the best selling CM2 game is CMBN.

It was page 11 of the 2024 Part 1 thread. He said that the most popular setting is WW2 Normandy. Modern is the 2nd most popular setting. And WW2 Eastern Front and Southern (Italy/North Africa) Front are third and fourth respectively. He didn't say where the Cold War ranks in all this (possibly doesn't have as much data about how well the Cold War sells, since it's still a relatively recent addition to the series).

It's a given that CM3 will have both modern and WW2 settings. The only question is which will be first. It's less of a given that there will be a Cold War CM3 game, though CMCW was popular enough that I'd bet our chances are pretty good.

1 hour ago, Lieutenant Ash said:

Next game, 'Combat Mission Taiwan Showdown'

I'd love to see that! That probably won't be the first release. Taiwanese kit is pretty similar to US Cold War kit, so a lot of the work for them was already done in CMCW. But they practically need to start from scratch with researching and modeling the Chinese forces. So my guess is that we won't see Chinese forces make it into a modern CM game for quite a while. Still, adding in the Chinese is pretty much unavoidable if they want to continue representing plausible near-future conflicts. And the additional resources from Slitherine might just make all the work of adding them in feasible. So maybe someday?

Edited September 9 by Centurian52

[PEB14]

Nobody mentioned it, but a Pacific War CM3 would be great!

Steve always supported the fact that CM2 was not suited for jungle combat; maybe CM3 will?

Obvioulsy, it is as unlikely as a Combat Mission Taiwan Showdown for the same reason: all Japanese stuff must be created from scratch!

[CarlXII]

I belive that top priority for the first CM3 title need to be that the setting is well suited for both infantry and armour combat...

something like Barbarossa !! for example ...

[Lieutenant Ash]

36 minutes ago, Centurian52 said:

It was page 11 of the 2024 Part 1 thread. He said that the most popular setting is WW2 Normandy. Modern is the 2nd most popular setting. And WW2 Eastern Front and Southern (Italy/North Africa) Front are third and fourth respectively. He didn't say where the Cold War ranks in all this (possibly doesn't have as much data about how well the Cold War sells, since it's still a relatively recent addition to the series).

It's a given that CM3 will have both modern and WW2 settings. The only question is which will be first. It's less of a given that there will be a Cold War CM3 game, though CMCW was popular enough that I'd bet our chances are pretty good.

I'd love to see that! That probably won't be the first release. Taiwanese kit is pretty similar to US Cold War kit, so a lot of the work for them was already done in CMCW. But they practically need to start from scratch with researching and modeling the Chinese forces. So my guess is that we won't see Chinese forces make it into a modern CM game for quite a while. Still, adding in the Chinese is pretty much unavoidable if they want to continue representing plausible near-future conflicts. And the additional resources from Slitherine might just make all the work of adding them in feasible. So maybe someday?

Yeah, the 'Taiwan Showdown' thing was just my poor attempt at humour (considering BF's uncanny knack for choosing fictional game settings that subsequently go 'hot').

[Battlefront.com]

45 minutes ago, Centurian52 said:

It was page 11 of the 2024 Part 1 thread. He said that the most popular setting is WW2 Normandy. Modern is the 2nd most popular setting. And WW2 Eastern Front and Southern (Italy/North Africa) Front are third and fourth respectively. He didn't say where the Cold War ranks in all this (possibly doesn't have as much data about how well the Cold War sells, since it's still a relatively recent addition to the series).

Cold War is the youngest and most specialized title (aside from CM: Afghanistan) we've put out, so it is hard to be sure where to peg it.  It's definitely towards the bottom of the pack in terms of units sold, but like Eastern Front it seems to have a very loyal following.  Which is good

45 minutes ago, Centurian52 said:

It's a given that CM3 will have both modern and WW2 settings. The only question is which will be first. It's less of a given that there will be a Cold War CM3 game, though CMCW was popular enough that I'd bet our chances are pretty good.

Exactly.

Also, right now I can't say what else CM3 might be used for.  With Battlefront independent I could have guaranteed that PTO and Space Lobsters had near zero chance of happening.  With Slitherine... I don't have any way of knowing what they might decide to do in the future.  All I know is they do not do things half arsed and that means not making decisions like that at this early stage.  In or out.

This is a great example of why Slitherine's larger resources are a benefit to CM.  If they decide that X speculative and/or expensive game should be made, they can retask and/or hire people to make it happen.  Battlefront?  Well, if we tried that we would have gone out of business a very long time ago.

Steve

[Lieutenant Ash]

So, CMAK 2.0 is a 'maybe' then, good to know.

[Bannon]

I own and have enjoyed most of the WW2 era Combat Mission games but without a doubt, Cold War and Black Sea are my favorite installments. So, I’m hoping for CM3 versions of similar time period conflicts.

With all of the “tank is dead” discussions occurring in the Ukraine thread, it will be interesting to see the postulated forces in a modern era conflict.

[Andrew Kulin]

6 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

Cold War is the youngest and most specialized title (aside from CM: Afghanistan) we've put out, so it is hard to be sure where to peg it.  It's definitely towards the bottom of the pack in terms of units sold, but like Eastern Front it seems to have a very loyal following.  Which is good

For me, CMCW is my favorite of the bunch.  But that is not to say I don't love them all.

[Sakai007]

@Battlefront.com - MikeyD has been in Boston you say?? Oh dear, he will never be quite the same, will he? Hopefully some time back in the County will sort him out.

Tis odd, but I had originally left Normandy behind when late titles came out. Ever since the Utah BP I've been right back at it, almost like playing a new game after all this time. Makes me really appreciate the advances in scenario design skill since the release of Normandy over a decade ago. For a bit of perspective on that, when Normandy was released My kids were maybe walking, can't honestly remember. They just entered their first year in High School last week.....

[AlexUK]

I might have missed the news, but is Engine 5 still planned? ETA? I don’t play CMCW at the moment due to performance issues, and I would probably not get BAOR until performance improves sadly. I obviously would if it did. 

[Lieutenant Ash]

On 9/3/2024 at 10:55 PM, Battlefront.com said:

I don't have a definitive answer on Upgrade (Engine) 5 at the moment because there isn't a definitive answer

Centurian52 got the gist of it correct.  We want CM2 to live on for a few more years, but the march of technology may preclude that unless we take action.  Engine 5 was intended to make longevity more sure.  Therefore, CM3 doesn't have any bearing on that concept.  Where CM3 has some bearing is the age old dilemma of finding the line between benefit and distraction.  Put more directly... how much CM3 energy do we want to divert into CM2?  That's something we can't answer quite yet.

As was said above, Engine 5 was never, ever, ever intended to add game features because doing that definitely crosses the line I just mentioned.  There's no point adding Feature A into an old code base and then having to recreate Feature A again in the new code base.  It's not necessarily twice as much work (it could be less or MORE than that), but whatever that number is it's greater than zero.

Steve

Engine 5 upgrade is undecided at the moment.

[Probus]

8 hours ago, Sakai007 said:

@Battlefront.com - MikeyD has been in Boston you say?? Oh dear, he will never be quite the same, will he? Hopefully some time back in the County will sort him out

As long as @MikeyD doesn't have to drive in Boston, he should be ok.  If you have to drive, nothing but headaches.  My wife and her sister came and visited me when I was TDY out there.  It took them an hour to go from one hotel to the other and it was only a block away AND they drove up on the sidewalk at one point to make it there (if you've driven in Boston you'll know what I mean). 

[Andrew Kulin]

10 minutes ago, Probus said:

As long as @MikeyD doesn't have to drive in Boston, he should be ok.  If you have to drive, nothing but headaches.  My wife and her sister came and visited me when I was TDY out there.  It took them an hour to go from one hotel to the other and it was only a block away AND they drove up on the sidewalk at one point to make it there (if you've driven in Boston you'll know what I mean).

Toronto is horrible for driving.  And most drivers, myself excluded naturally, cannot drive.

We need to hear from someone who has driven in both Boston and Toronto to settle this.

[Centurian52]

6 minutes ago, Andrew Kulin said:

most drivers, myself excluded naturally, cannot drive.

That reminds me of a statistic I heard a while back. Apparently around 80% of people believe they are above average drivers. Probably a good figure to keep in your back pocket if you ever need an example of cognitive bias.

[Vacillator]

41 minutes ago, Centurian52 said:

That reminds me of a statistic I heard a while back. Apparently around 80% of people believe they are above average drivers. Probably a good figure to keep in your back pocket if you ever need an example of cognitive bias.

It's a bit like the relative speed of other drivers. 

Someone driving slowly in front of you is an idiot.  Someone coming up fast behind you is also an idiot.

[Ultradave]

3 hours ago, Probus said:

As long as @MikeyD doesn't have to drive in Boston, he should be ok.  If you have to drive, nothing but headaches.  My wife and her sister came and visited me when I was TDY out there.  It took them an hour to go from one hotel to the other and it was only a block away AND they drove up on the sidewalk at one point to make it there (if you've driven in Boston you'll know what I mean). 

One of our daughters lives in Cambridge - for those not familiar with the area, it's part of Boston, just across the Charles River on the north side, and home of MIT and Harvard. Anyway, we know the easy way to get from the Mass Pike to her apartment, park the car and leave it. 

When we fly from Logan, we take Amtrak to South Station, then the Silver Line to the Terminal. That sure beats driving and parking. Driving into Boston can be a real adventure and you have to leave SOOO early to make sure that even if (I should say WHEN) you get caught in some huge traffic mess, you can still make your flight. Amtrak is far from perfect, but it gets us there mostly on time (from Rhode Island). 

The good thing is you don't really NEED a car in Boston. Our daughter doesn't own one. There is good public transportation - T stops everywhere, and Boston is very walkable as well.

I know exactly how your relatives felt. It seems like every street is one-way in the opposite direction you want to go and before you know it you are all the way across the city

 

Dave

[Bluto]

Hate to be that guy, but I can't help myself. Cambridge is a separate city,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts

[FlammenwerferX]

The People's Republic of Cambridge

[Battlefront.com]

2 hours ago, FlammenwerferX said:

The People's Republic of Cambridge

In the 80s I thought it was mandatory that everybody in Cambridge own a Volvo

I drive in Boston all the time.  Totally comfortable with it and it got a LOT better when they put in the new bridge over the Charles River and fixed the end of Storrow Drive. 

During the lockdown I had to go into Boston frequently from my mom's place in New Hampshire.  With lockdown, 20 minutes from door to door deep in Boston.  Normally?  1 hour.  It's I-93 that slows everything down.

So I'd put myself in the 80% that are above average

Steve

[Redwolf]

6 hours ago, Probus said:

As long as @MikeyD doesn't have to drive in Boston, he should be ok.  If you have to drive, nothing but headaches.  My wife and her sister came and visited me when I was TDY out there.  It took them an hour to go from one hotel to the other and it was only a block away AND they drove up on the sidewalk at one point to make it there (if you've driven in Boston you'll know what I mean). 

The real problem with traffic in Boston is that no method of transportation actually works. The rail lines always have problems with either too hot or too cold weather, bicycling is life-threatening given the car drivers and walking is difficult because of the narrow walkways full of trashcans.

So, as you say, Boston is an hour from Boston.

[sburke]

7 hours ago, Andrew Kulin said:

Toronto is horrible for driving.  And most drivers, myself excluded naturally, cannot drive.

We need to hear from someone who has driven in both Boston and Toronto to settle this.

I've driven in both.  Vote for worst goes to Delhi or Lagos.    You ain't seen nothing yet till you've been to those two.  In Delhi I saw some woman get hit trying to cross a traffic circle (pedestrian crossings didn't seem to really exist).  Traffic would barely even slow down as a couple passerbys tried to drag her to safety. Trail of blood and all, freakin insane.

 

[Andrew Kulin]

I just saw something from Tom-Tom and it appears Boston does edge out Toronto. As does Philly (Go Birds!)

Though I question definition of "average driver".  Assuming 50 weeks going to and from work, for Toronto that works out to 1.25 hours per week, or 0.125 hours/commute (7-8 minutes).  That's total BS.

[A Canadian Cat]

On 9/8/2024 at 8:28 PM, Hulkman said:

was on the Shock Force - Scenario Listing (lesliesoftware.com) and I click the battlefront link for one of the missions and it brought me to the home page

Ack. I'm still working on fixing all that up. Shock Force links will be last - the whole SF1 and SF2 thing is a massive hair ball for me.

[Probus]

16 hours ago, Battlefront.com said:

I drive in Boston all the time.  Totally comfortable with it and it got a LOT better when they put in the new bridge over the Charles River and fixed the end of Storrow Drive. 

During the lockdown I had to go into Boston frequently from my mom's place in New Hampshire.  With lockdown, 20 minutes from door to door deep in Boston.  Normally?  1 hour.  It's I-93 that slows everything down.

So I'd put myself in the 80% that are above average

 

Dang Steve! I’m impressed! When I’d take a taxi to and from the airport (in the 90s), I’d close my eyes and pray!

[Redwolf]

On 9/10/2024 at 8:43 PM, Andrew Kulin said:

I just saw something from Tom-Tom and it appears Boston does edge out Toronto. As does Philly (Go Birds!)

Though I question definition of "average driver".  Assuming 50 weeks going to and from work, for Toronto that works out to 1.25 hours per week, or 0.125 hours/commute (7-8 minutes).  That's total BS.

Boston's problem isn't primarily time loss in traffic jams.

The primary problem is messy roads (few right angle intersections) and bad signage. And I mean really bad signage, the local gov employees seem to be unable to put themselves into the perspective of the drivers. As a result there are very confused drivers zooming around that have their head full with things other than keeping their car away from the other cars. Add a bit of "masshole" aggressiveness from the other drivers and you have to be constantly on alert. Which wears you out until you also screw up.