Battlefront.com Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Just to let you know things are rolling along nicely (if all the activity from us wasn't a hint ) and we are nearly there. We don't want to jinx ourselves with an exact date, but roughly speaking here's where we are at: 1. Manuals are at the printers and should be back at the end of next week. 2. We have everything we need for the Demo, but we're still in the process of making/testing the special Demo EXE/App for the PC/Mac Demos. 3. With the next build for the testers will be officially be in the Final Candidate stage of testing. This is after Beta but before Gold Master. Final Candidate is to catch any glaring rough edges, like a missing graphic or what not. We're "done" making significant code changes so we won't risk introducing new issues into the gameplay. We're actually NEVER really "done", but if we don't think that way then you'll never get to play the darned thing So... that's where we stand. For those of you trying to project a ship date... here's a hint. It won't be this coming Friday, that's for sure. How soon could it be? Depends on how Final Candidate and Gold Master testing go, as well as the manuals being ready and other standard variables. Steve P.S. Bone -> there are three scenarios for the Demo. One attack as Germans, one attack as Americans, one Tutorial as Americans. The latter is designed to give newbies a "cake walk" scenario to learn how to play the game before diving into the other two battles. It's an adaptation from the longer Tutorial included in the game itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpie_Oz Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 ... here's a hint. It won't be this coming Friday, that's for sure. Collective Battlefront Community : aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveyJJ Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks very much for the update, Steve. So post-May 6. Hmm. I have the 10th booked off work to get my new 6x6 fence posts in the back yard, be nice if I had something to relax with that evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenris Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abrams Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 VE Day was a good guess .. I just finished a scenario of CMBB in the streets of Berlin ... ready for the Hedgerows !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks Steve, that does help. I can fire up CMSF or maybe even dig out Brothers in Arm or COD, and just get on with things rather than checking in every hour! But, not being familiar with the prep-for-release jargon, are talking more June-ish than May-ish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Balaban Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Yes, thanks for the update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 A Beta Tester word about 'Final Candidate' stuff, if I may be allowed. Don't panic! This isn't CMBO or CMSF final candidate. The game's fully mature now and as stabile as a rock. I doubt we'd be able to break it even if we wanted to. We've even double-checked the French grammar on the tombstone inscriptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schlosskirche Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thank you for the update. Next weekend is Mother's Day/7th Anniversary...releasing it next Friday could have had far reaching ramifications here on the homestead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted April 30, 2011 Author Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks Steve, that does help. I can fire up CMSF or maybe even dig out Brothers in Arm or COD, and just get on with things rather than checking in every hour! But, not being familiar with the prep-for-release jargon, are talking more June-ish than May-ish? Basically... Alpha - game is sorta playable, but extremely incomplete, unbalanced, and basically not ready to show anybody other than internal staff. Even screenshots are usually a bad idea. Beta - game is firming up, features are basically all in or at least clearly identified for near-term inclusion. Bugs, balancing, prettying, redoing, etc. happens here and that's why this is generally a very long stage. Final Candidate - this is ready for release in almost all ways, but not quite there yet. A few of these are necessary before it's ready to move onto the next stage. Gold Master - it's good to go barring any sort of installer, licensing, or other non-game related issue. It's unusual to get it right the first time, so there's several of these. In theory FC and GM only require a couple of days each, while Alpha and Beta are measured in years (for us anyway). Each FC or GM made requires usually a couple of days for testing without uncovering anything new. Obviously if something new is found then there's a new FC or GM released for testing, sometimes within minutes. GMs are tricker because it usually requires downloading the WHOLE THING. And at the size of CM:BN that itself takes many hours per tester. So are we talking May or June? June would only happen if there was a major technical issue discovered in the next week (which is unlikely). So by process of elimination... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadekster88 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for taking the time to explain and give us an idea of where stuff stands. Communicating and letting your fanbase know what is going on is always (ok most of the time) a good thing. Respect is a two way street imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks so much for leveling with us! It's always a relief to know, so I can manage the anticipation level... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpheart23 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Basically... So are we talking May or June? June would only happen if there was a major technical issue discovered in the next week (which is unlikely). So by process of elimination... Steve Mid July? Seriously though thanks for the update. I can find other ways to occupy my pc time then switching between the forums and my email account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crocky Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Hmmmm Mid July me thinks Awww well just purchased CMSF to keep me off the boards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnersman Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for the update. It's good to hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for the explanation, Steve. It takes the edge off. Two questions about the Demo: 1) Where does it fit in that sceme? 2) Do the scenarios have AI plans for both sides so we can switch? I assume not, but one can hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhand Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks!!! As always, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Was just watching the AAR videos and they really whet my whistle for the game. It's time to get back to some good old BFC hardcore craziness again. BTW will there be grass mods? I need a creative fix... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisND Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 2) Do the scenarios have AI plans for both sides so we can switch? I assume not, but one can hope! Two of the demo missions have AI plans for both sides, and are (IMO) equally fun from either side. The "training" mission should only be played from the American side, for obvious reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnersman Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 I'm probably going to play the demos about a thousand times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AstroCat Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Looking like some time in June is realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkWGriswold Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 "It won't be this coming Friday, that's for sure." Thanks for the update. It's good to hear it. Dunno if I'd call that good to hear. "Hey guys! It's ready early and we're releasing it today!" Now that would be good to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger33 Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Well at least I know I can find something else to focus on for awhile. Still have to keep my eye out for that demo. Happy to hear everything is coming together nicely for you guys, hope it's a big success! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemoN Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 Thanks for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodyBucket Posted April 30, 2011 Share Posted April 30, 2011 My refresh monkey has been unchained from the oars, and thanks you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts