BF's announcement of 'Bulge' title, is it just me...

Even if the game was more or less done in parallel with BS, then it would still be wise to have a bit of a gap between the two releases for yes business reasons. Their clients aren't made of money and releasing too many products wouldn't have as a big of an impact as releasing them separately. Think of it like going to the movies and watching a whole trilogy of films that are released literally at the same time. Most customers wouldn't be able to commit to that kind of release schedule and possibly cost.

Then there are the issues of bugs. For any release you are going to have to factor in some time for things to get fixed post release.
 
Without getting into the whole pricing model/scam they got going, I'll summarize:

I want a game that's end to end complete.
I hate paying over 150 Bucks in modules for something that shoulda been about 75-100 Max for everything CMx2 (WW2)
I am a cheap SOB and over the years have become more cautious on my gaming purchases due to the 'get a taste' shake.
I love CMx2...but I am still hesitant on spending more dough on another module that should have been in CMBN.
 
I agree, Ith. I think that if they would have slowed the releases down or spaced them further apart, their fan base would be larger and they would reap more. I do not think they gave enough time to allow word to spread about the game. As soon as people starting making decent material like mods, scenarios and such they go and release a new title and then everyone moves on.
 
+1 @mTk @eniced73 - the biggest issue here is the rapid movement from game to game. Personally, CMBN should have never split up 3x times over into modules.
 
mTk said:
Not to mention yet another upgrade that should have been included originally that screws up the game completely.
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That's a huge issue. The thing that makes it worse is that it's not really being addressed. Campaigns can be edited by anyone, it's not limited to the scenario authors. They could set aside a couple of days and fix it.
 
For me, splitting Normandy and Bulge titles into two families is more an annoyance rather than a cost problem, but yeah single with no kids so probably in the minority there. Forking out $55 every six months or so for CM products isn't a bug bear for me.

It's going to be a nightmare in a few years in terms of upgrades and logistics with so many titles using the same game engine.

CMBN
CMFI
CMRT
CM - Bulge
Then separate game families for each year of the Eastern front. Ugh... Oh and then CMBS and CMSF mk II on top of that. Double ugh...

Cluttered hard drives and a hell of a programming/bug fixing balancing act for BF. :p

Having some kind of 'shell program' which users go through to access content could make it a hell of a lot easier, especially with an incorporated H2H Helper type of application? Yeah probably dreaming.
 
Sounds like common sense to me, and probably most gamers, just not Battlefront sadly...

Plus (apologies for mentioning it again) it also means they won't be making the base engine any better, just adding on, so the game isn't improving - it stays as old technology, with extra chrome. As a business they have no incentive to redo the engine until we all stop buying, only then will it become a necessity. And all around other 'new' games will slowly chip away the fan base.
 
Ithikial said:
Having some kind of 'shell program' which users go through to access content could make it a hell of a lot easier, especially with an incorporated H2H Helper type of application? Yeah probably dreaming.
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Yup. Something similar to DCS World for CM would be great. A CM World, if you will.
 
@Ithikial we can but dream, having a system which worked along those lines would be awesome, and if BF included it with Bulge I would say fair enough asking for a full new game price is within reason. Unfortunately, I doubt it is going to happen. Given how important multi-player is to modern gaming, I struggle to fathom how BF has left the 2 player side of CM in such a poor state - it must be costing them sales. If they are not going to do something to improve the situation themselves, you'd think at the very least they could pay GaJ a little something for the right to include his CM Helper software in future CM releases.

As for Bulge, I have four big bugbears with the release of it as a new game. First, no engine upgrade. Second, the need to install yet another CM game, with the hassle of reinstalling mods and eating up hard-drive that it brings. Third, having to do without Commonwealth forces, until we pay an extra $35 in a future mod to get them back again. Fourth, the lack of new units/content. Each new CM game release up until now has included a new nation - which I don't see how could happen with Bulge. When ChrisND listed units already in CMBN as 'highlight' additions to Bulge, it just took the biscuit for me and made me re-evaluate how BF views its customer base - or should I say cash-cow base.
 
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@Bootie yeah I'm scared to buy another one, there are many hours work in reinstalling everything, mods and all, plus the risk of the games just not working on a new machine.

I had to stop using my laptop when CMFI refused to run on it (something to do with the graphics card). After weeks of trying to fix the issue without success I had to abandon ship and highjack the missus's (you can imagine how that went down :oops:). Very annoying considering CMBN worked fine on my old rig.
 
Ithikial said:
Even if the game was more or less done in parallel with BS, then it would still be wise to have a bit of a gap between the two releases for yes business reasons.
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I believe the reason for the unannounced postponement of Bulge is, that BS creates enough cashflow. But BF and their fanbois claim otherwise...

Their clients aren't made of money and releasing too many products wouldn't have as a big of an impact as releasing them separately.
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They did not hesitate to release too many modules and a vehicle pack.
Only when it comes to substantial improvements of the engine, they have the speed of a snail. And that's the problem I see: to slow the pace of releases is ok, if SUBSTANTIAL improvements are added, core customers and potential customers have been waiting for years.

If these improvements do not come then slowly one after the other will stop playing. After so many years without improvements for one player it may be the spotting system, for another it may be the impossibility to use recon vehicles according to their class, for a third it is a missing feature.

If the pace of releases is slowed down then better make sure, that the next upgrade will be more than tank riders on a few tanks. But slowing down the releases AND reducing the substance (i.e. no engine upgrade) I don't think that will work well in the long run for aquiring new players. Everyone who has tried CM only will give it a second try, if it shows substantial improvements. And these improvements are not framerates or tankriders. These improvements must include big things like a much better campaign system, play modes, close combat animations,...
 
Agree wholeheartedly with the above, but I would add, I think most people criticised the idea of so many base games and modules because they would become disjointed as games (as well as the computer logistics side, patching etc.)
As a player just starting a new reasonably sized CMBN game, the fact I still don't have the ability to carry troops on tanks is ludicrous.
And what happens when we get a joined up campaign system (it will never happen with the current regime), do we say in late 1944 games, and hold on their a moment, we will now transfer everything from CMBN MG to CMBotB... This way lies madness...
 
I guess the already small chance that Bulge could have been a substantial improvement just vanished:

Schrullenhaft:
CMRT is already using the 'version 3.0 engine'. I believe the next full game after the 'Bulge' series MIGHT be based on the 'version 4.0 engine'. When that is released, I assume most games (but possibly not ALL of them) may get an 'engine upgrade' that will have a fee associated with the upgrade. It may take awhile to upgrade all of the titles they intend to offer the 4.0 engine for.



I would guess that a 'version 4.0 engine' game is around a year and a half away and possibly around 2 years for updates to the older/previously-released titles. So as Blazing 88's said, you may want to purchase CMRT now rather than wait.

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/119856-timescale-for-eastern-front-cmx3-or-cmx4/
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18 months until substantial improvements? :eek:
 
The 18 months doesn't really bother me, but what I find interesting is that after all the big hub bub and fanfare they made about the upgrade system, meaning that the older games would stay current with the most recent release, BFC is now backpedaling and saying that it's a possibility that they won't be making upgrades for all the titles anymore.
 
Firstly let's not jump up and down. Everything is still up in the air based on that one forum post. Agree with Rambler and I've personally been a fan of the upgrade system so will be bitterly disappointed if existing titles aren't kept upgraded to the most current version of the CMx2 engine. Imagine if they introduced terrain damage to the engine (such as creeping fire etc) and then said, "Yeah we don't think CMBN needs that." Recipe for outrage. :D

Now a couple of points..
- Perhaps what the BF forum post was stating was not all titles, ie not CMSF will be upgraded. If it's simply CMBN onwards that gets upgrades then I don't think anyone will complain. It's been no secret if CMSF is done again down the line it will be a rebuild from pretty much scratch given the leap forward CMx2 Engine took to get to CMBN.
- Perhaps they are thinking of ditching the separate upgrade system for titles they plan to have additional modules/packs for in the future. Perhaps their own sales numbers show those players who purchase the upgrades 95% of the time buy the next module anyway so have decided to combine the work?
- In the same vain, perhaps the upgrades will only exist for games like say CMBN which by the looks of it is probably done for now. CMRT, CMBS etc where there's modules coming down the pipeline they hold off until committing fully to the creation of a product for that family rather than jumping back and forth between titles. Remember small company, limited labour resources so need to manage their workload/productivity effectively.

You'll noticed there's lots of 'perhaps' like words in my post, let's wait and see until there's an official announcement of what's going on. Agreed though that given the type of investment and the level of fanaticism in this community, getting an official post somewhere to appease the masses outlining BF's roadmap for work and releases would be nice. :)
 
On that one page in Odin's BFC post I counted I think 9 of those guys get the game for free. Beta testers and such. I have started thinking of several of them as the "Baforpo"... Battlefront Forum Polizei...

I am super eager and hopeful that the Bulge game will be what I have long awaited. :D Before they had stated they would not provide heer, waffen-ss and FJ all in the base game. I sent several PM's to Steve and others and posted a thread to humbly request they change their minds and they did. Because of little old me? I don't know. It doesn't matter.
 
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