Official Update

[Hubert Cater]

Gold announcement was planned for today but unfortunatly a certain individual has decided to take it upon himself to steal my intellectual property rights with the Beta Demo. To his credit, "Hags" has since apologized to me and I am trying my best to accept this apology, but to be completely honest, this type of behaviour is very disheartening and makes me seriously wonder about making games in the future. It really has to be appreciated just how much work and risk is involved in making games and how "hacking" can really end up ruining it for everybody. As a result today's official announcement will have to be delayed as we attempt to sort out this mess, but expect a Gold announcement with an updated Gold Demo sometime next week. For some good news I have decided to attach the official Gold Demo changes that have been added. Thank you all for your patience and your input.

Hubert

Changes for Gold Demo

*PBEM Additions*

- added play-by-email replay

- added a 'Disable Undo' option (this can be toggled at any time, but is locked in for Hotseat/PBEM)

*Sound Fix*

- added an 'SC.ini' file in the 'Strategic Command Demo' folder. This will allow gamers that were experienceing sound problems to adjust for sound interruption, should eliminate long waits during button clicks etc.

*High Refresh Rate Option*

- also in the 'SC.ini' file you will be able to set a high refresh rate if you know your system can support it

*Empty Text Box Fix*

- pop up text boxes that were showing blanks on some systems should now show their information

*Gamey Strategy Tweaks*

- abandoning allied positions in the Med may peak Italian interest into joining the war if they have not already done so

- early Axis invasion of Baltic States prior to Soviet annexation will be much riskier in terms of political fallout with Moscow. Initial political shock will be the same, but now there will be a continued increase in Soviet war readiness

- USA and Italy will start with their full income if sneak attacked and units in the capital will have an entrenchment value = 3. This does not make this strategy impossible but simply much riskier

- air attacks against rocket and naval units as well as against fortified units (i.e. Maginot) have been intellegently adjusted to limit AI baiting

- added SU unit to Riga for the start of Barbarossa

- added a few units to the 1940 SU setup

- adjusted the SU transfer of Siberian Troops to an open period instead of only when SU existence is threatened during the winter months. (This one I really thought about, but I think it would be reasonable since I don't think the original transfer was made due to weather but rather because of the demands of the military situation at the time)

*General Fixes/Tweaks*

- extended save game file names to 38 characters from 20

- fixed 'next unit' bug when France was targeting units on the Maginot

- fixed dissapearing Allied units in Vichy when France surrenders, basically a message pops up and says they surrender

- Axis units do now finally and properly move to nearest adjacent city when France surrenders, so if Italian unit was in Africa moving towards Algiers they will move back to Tripolitania if that city is still friendly etc.

- renamed 'Strausbourg' to Strasbourg

- renamed 'Massachusettes' to 'Massachusettes'

- decreased damages during naval Surprised movements in FoW

- decreased damages slightly for naval combat (a decrease by 1 point for all attack and defence table values)

- added info for saved AI games, basically so you can tell what difficulty and computer bonuses these games were set at

- increased max surface raiding in the Atlantic to 40 MPP to include the value of Liverpool

- increased individual sub raiding amount slightly in North Atlantic

- adjusted reduced spotting to now properly include Air Fleets, Bombers and Rocket Attachments when spotting subs, basically spotting value - 1

- reduced disbanding value to about 50% less

- added an updated 'resource_strength_sprite' with an indicator for when strengths are < 5, this will help to realize that some actions may be limited wrt these resources, i.e. no transporting or operations etc.

- added a 'ScoreCard' for when you either defeat or have been defeated, keeps track of total resources plunders, units destroyed as well as an early victory bonus or late victory penalty

- jet sounds now kick in at level 4 or higher

- added units to Turkey and Sweden and increased entrenchment for Swiss units

- fixed disappearing ships when you declare war on a country and have blocked their typical start locations

[Desert Dave]

WOW!

Tremendous fixes on everything, Hubert!

This will be a fabulous game.

... sorry about the other, hang in there...

Best Wishes

[Wolfe]

Originally posted by Hubert Cater:

Gold announcement was planned for today but unfortunatly ... today's official announcement will have to be delayed as we attempt to sort out this mess, but expect a Gold announcement with an updated Gold Demo sometime next week.

Waaah! Hope you get it straightened out soon, Hubert.

- renamed 'Massachusettes' to 'Massachusettes'

Erm.

BTW, I'm not sure which spelling is correct: luftlotte or luftflotte. You have the former in the game.

Also not sure if you caught this one but, the mines in France and Germany seem to be linked somehow. When I bomb one with a strategic bomber, both are damaged! But the damage to the unbombed one isn't shown until you click on it.

- Chris

[Silvercloud]

I speak German and it is definitely luftflotte....luft=air and flotte=fleet

[Barticus]

Hubert, I'll keep this simple;

Thankyou.

Thankyou for being a wargamer.

Thankyou for producing what I am sure will be a first class wargaming product.

Thankyou for taking the time and effort to keep us informed of your progress.

Thankyou for valuing our input AS wargamers.

I eagerly (and yet, calmly) await the impending announcement for the release of Strategic Command, and have my hard-earned cash ready to go.

Thanks for your time,

Bart

[Carl G. E. von Mannerheim]

So how many years will this gold demo be?

[Snoop]

Thanks Hubert for your hard work. I hope all goes well for you and that one person dont ruin it. Ill be paying for my copy like I should.

[Rediroc]

Good news for sure, cant wait till next week.

[Hubert Cater]

renamed 'Massachusettes' to 'Massachusettes'

Yeah that should read Massachusetts. Good point on the Luftflotte I'll fix that and I'll double check the mine, I think I already know why that is happening.

Thanks!

Hubert

[grimlord]

Hubert,

I wanted to add that this is an awesome game...i have heard of the comparissons being made to COS and others and i feel that in just the one year demo this game blows away all the others of this era....

i really do hope that you get iti sorted out and that this isnt to much a blow to your moral...any chump can steal...it takes true genius to create...

good luck Hubert and as others have said cannot wait for the chance to buy it and return the favor for your genius....

Joe

[Aloid]

Originally posted by Hubert Cater:

... It really has to be appreciated just how much work and risk is involved in making games and how "hacking" can really end up ruining it for everybody. ...

Hubert

Stupid hacks, think they're so cool...

They just mess it up for everybody...

Jerks...

Hubert, it's horrible that someone tries to steal your thunder, and your hard work! Please don't be discouraged, because you have a talent that many of us wish we had. You've taken a dream concept, and made it reality. Hang in there!

Besides, everyone here likes you!

Aloid

(Gold demoless for the weekend, because someone is an idiot!)

[Erik Rutins]

Hubert,

Hang in there. It's a tough job but you've created an excellent game. I was also very disappointed to see the posts from Hags, I'm glad he has realized the damage he caused. Hope you can find a way to secure the gold demo somewhat - regardless, I'll get a copy.

Regards,

- Erik

[Otto]

Hubert,

The game is great and your work is both highly anticipated and appreciated.

It's just too bad that some vermin must attempt to ruin things for others. It is bad enough that he screwed with the game, but now we all have to wait a little longer because of this moron.

-------------------------------------------------

In the meantime, I came up with a game here called "Otto's crack the enigma code" game. It works like this, you read the encoded message and then try to figure out what it actually says. Here we go:

1) Hags is a complete a55h01e

2) F**K you Hags

anyone break it?

[rleete]

Ditt what Otto has posted.

Hubert, while I appreciate the emotional impact this has had on you, don't let the inconsiderate actions of an single individual discourage you. Just getting to this stage has been a major acomplishment, and something to be extremely proud of. We all salute you.

We all eagerly wait the final release, with credit cards at the ready. Let that thought boost your morale, and help you through this.

To Hags: I hope you pull this same sort of crap later in life, when the consequences will be much more severe. Cheat on your income taxes, flaunt the traffic laws, shoplift and lie to your boss. You deserve to lose everything. You are a burden on society. If it were up to those of us waiting on SC, I'm sure you would be flogged. Go away.

[Straha]

People already have said it all, so I just add my line of support:

Thank you, Hubert, and hang on!

Straha

[Traveler]

I agree...

It has already been stated many times very well, that we suport you and will wait for your game. I can't wait to buy it.

[David Brown]

Hubert,

It may be redundant to add to the eloquent encouragement already posted here, but what the heck. I'm incredibly impressed by the SC beta, and even more so when I read that it was your work alone. I'm looking forward to the game. My $25.00 (an great price for a product like this - even in US dollars) is burning a hole in my pocket. Don't let the bastards grind you down.

I'm serious about the beer, by the way - heck, I'll make it two. Allen's on the Danforth? Great selection there.

Keep up the great work!

[Marc]

Hubert;

I am a long time lurker here, but this has caused me to register if, for no other reason, to register my indignation and offer support. I believe most of us here know that the pure strategy game, as opposed to real-time, or first person shooters, are rarer and rarer. You are to be commended for an excellent job. Not only in coding this game, but in willing to post a Beta, sure to draw flack from every side, just so gamers both had a say in the final product and a chance to really test drive this thing. I do have some quibbles, but am sure either a scenario editor included or one on a site dedicated to this game would solve that. But there is a world of difference between tinkering with setups and values once one buys the game and stealing all this hard work!

Does this person even realize how much of a bargain this game is at a mere 25 dollars? Even if you were to sell 1,000 copies immediately, your return works out to pennies per hour of time you have invested in it. He claims the game "roxs" and will be the first to say things "sux" when they arent available anymore. Of course the reason they arent available are people like him! It is one thing for him to hack and extend play. But to come here and brag on it simply shows what a loser he is and will always be. It is one thing for the registered Beta testers to come here and tell us about the later years and whet our appetite and another to learn someone has taken advantage of an honest attempt to inform gamers and get their inputs.

I can understand the pain you must feel. But understand that for the vast majority of us, the true magnitude of what you have accomplished shines through. Dont let one jerk ruin what should be a great feeling for you.

Marc

[DevilDog]

I happened to read Hags original post just before it was removed from the forum, rewritten and reposted. He shouldn't have done what he did, but he wasn't attempting to steal SC. He heaped praises on Hubert and SC and said he couldn't wait to buy it when the full game was released. I think the main difference between him and some of us is that he actually had the technical know-how to modify the length of the demo.

Maybe Hags should be thanked for showing how easy it was to modify SC with an off the shelf editor, so that now safety measures may be put in place.

This may not be the popular view on this thread, but I think many would agree if they'd seen Hags's original post. And he did apologize.

I understand Hubert's concern and outrage, but I think this incident is more a wakeup call to realize piracy CAN happen. I don't think it actually DID happen in this instance though.

[Straha]

DevilDog, I agree that maybe the incident has at least some bright side to it as it serves as what you say is a "wake up call". Now some additional safeguarding can be done before the actual release.

But how you can even consider whether hags should be THANKED for what he did is simply beyond me.

If he would have hacked the demo, and then without posting here privately sent the result to Hubert with an explanation of how it was done, THEN this would have been helpful.

But he did something else, completely... I don't know anything about any "original" post. What I have seen was that hags expressly hinted on how to hack the demo to get the full game. Something in the vain of "I didn't say that,but ..."

Straha

[ July 05, 2002, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Straha ]

[Moon]

I disagree DevilDog - I can be nice to you and steal your car, and when you find out about it, promise to give you money for it later. Not sure if you'd like it.

None of us here needs a reminder that piracy exists. We have spent days and weeks hunting down hacked versions of our software in the past, and continue to do so. But there is a line we need to draw - and that is when the regular customer would suffer because of a bunch of bad guys.

How, for example, would you have liked to have a demo with only a few limited features? What if Hubert had decided to leave out research for the demo? These are all options we are pondering right now for the Gold Demo to introduce new safety measures, and I am not sure many here would like to thank anybody for it if we'll have to take these steps (hopefully not, we're checking other methods right now).

There is NO EXCUSE for piracy. "Oh, but I really really like the game"; "Oh, I can't wait anymore"; "oh, I hacked it because the Bozos at Battlefront didn't announce a release date". NONE of these is. I really really want a Porsche - but I won't go out and steal it. Not even if it was parked, with key stuck, in front of my house and nobody was watching.

[Otto]

hear hear, Moon

[Gen.Metaxas]

Hi Hubert

Sorry to here the bad news. However, its obvious you have alot of support and anctious admirors of your hard work.

Hopefully, Hags was only impatiant and did not mean any real harm. Well that's between the two of you.

The worst thing about piracy is that it ruins a fun industry (PC Gaming) for both the creator and the buyer. The owner/creator feels exploited and is required to spend more time and resources to circumvent any future exploitaition.

In the end the game gets delayed, the creater spends time away from game development (what i asume to be the fun part of any game programing)and finaly the purchaser (the true supporter) ends up waiting longer, has less input, limited flexability in moding and generally pays a higher price to cover the cost of piracy prevention.

Huebert, In short I like what you and battlefront have done with pc war gamming. I appreciate your efforts and look forward to your full release. Unfortunately, piracy is a part of life and hackers will allways find a way to hack protective measures. On the bright side I think you have built a strong legitimate following for your game and your approache to game development.

So take the time you need to fix this glitch and dont let anybody rain on your parade.

I truly enjoyed being a tiny part of your beta testing through this forum and I and all your eager fans will be here to buy your game when it is ready. What ever you do dont stop making war games you have a talent for it!

Have a great weakend!

Gen.Metaxas

[DevilDog]

I understand where you're coming from Moon and in principle I agree with you. And if Hags came out and said "I stole SC", not only should he be banned, but prosecuted as well. But I don't think that was his intent. While I don't think there has been an over reaction to the situation, I do think there has been an over reaction to the individual in question and his motives.

What makes this whole thing fuzzy though is the amount of mod work done on games from Battlefront - with the approval of the game designers. That's what makes CM, Battlefront and will make SC so great - the community. Where is the line drawn?

I'm not saying there is no line, nor am I saying that piracy is OK - it's NOT. But what we do need apparently now is instructions in black and white from Battlefront administrators what is appropriate for mods to be done on. What if Hags had modded the German units to be unbeatable instead of the length of the demo. Whould that have been OK? I'm not trying to be arguementative, I just think you need to let everyone know what we are allowed to mod and what is "hands off".

[Hubert Cater]

This post should clarify the points raised here.

Also just wanted to say thank you to everyone for their support.

Hubert