It's out. Mostly steam releases, some module add ons, and upgrade 5.
https://community.battlefront.com/topic/142199-annual-look-at-the-year-to-come-2023/
Sounds pretty ambitious. I hope they're not biting off more than they can chew.
Although I appreciate and like they are moving games to steam, I just wonder how much time has been spent on it the last couple of years and whether it outweighs further advancing the games, working on a more modern engine, and such. I guess being on steam will provide them more money for the future and could help their multiplayer fans. Although their update process and licensing was a pain, the move to single installer made it better and think I could have lived with it while receiving much more stuff. This update seems similar to the update from 2022, but they did mention pausing their professional work so maybe gives them more time.
In any event, will continue to support them as I pretty much own everything they have released in the series.
Can somebody please remind me whether we can all port our old licenses over to steam for free?
This timeline looks great.
Yes, you can for free put your games onto steam. If you own shock force, Black Sea, or Cold War, those are already available on steam.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 30, 2023, 05:56:20 AMAlthough I appreciate and like they are moving games to steam, I just wonder how much time has been spent on it the last couple of years and whether it outweighs further advancing the games, working on a more modern engine, and such. I guess being on steam will provide them more money for the future and could help their multiplayer fans. Although their update process and licensing was a pain, the move to single installer made it better and think I could have lived with it while receiving much more stuff. This update seems similar to the update from 2022, but they did mention pausing their professional work so maybe gives them more time.
In any event, will continue to support them as I pretty much own everything they have released in the series.
My hunch is that being on steam doesn't really attract too many more sales and revenue for Battlefront. I think most people with an interest in these types of games already have what they want and most potential future customers would find them anyway and not base their decision to buy on steam availability.
I mean, certainly some are waiting to buy additional titles as we've seen in this thread, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule.
Personally, I'd prefer they focus on new content and improvements rather than porting over.
That is my suspicion as well, but guessing being tied to matrix has helped as well and would guess that matrix required steam.
In any event, I am in agreement.....would prefer more content and new versions by a landslide.
I really hate the thought that engine 5 has been delayed in favor of that PBEM++ system which seems to work pretty badly.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 30, 2023, 07:37:32 AMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on January 30, 2023, 05:56:20 AMAlthough I appreciate and like they are moving games to steam, I just wonder how much time has been spent on it the last couple of years and whether it outweighs further advancing the games, working on a more modern engine, and such. I guess being on steam will provide them more money for the future and could help their multiplayer fans. Although their update process and licensing was a pain, the move to single installer made it better and think I could have lived with it while receiving much more stuff. This update seems similar to the update from 2022, but they did mention pausing their professional work so maybe gives them more time.
In any event, will continue to support them as I pretty much own everything they have released in the series.
My hunch is that being on steam doesn't really attract too many more sales and revenue for Battlefront. I think most people with an interest in these types of games already have what they want and most potential future customers would find them anyway and not base their decision to buy on steam availability.
I mean, certainly some are waiting to buy additional titles as we've seen in this thread, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule.
Personally, I'd prefer they focus on new content and improvements rather than porting over.
I respectfully disagree. I think that a lot of people will not be exposed or buy outside of steam and that steam offers a huge boost in free advertisement and promotion simply by virtue of the games turning up on peoples recommended lists. The only new customers left are probably on steam. Also consider that a lot of the time I see friends playing something on my steam friends list and check the store item out just because I know they like what I like.
The younger generations are much less likely to go for stand alone download and patch style deals I would say. On steam they would probably give it a go.
Me. I just cannot be bothered rustling up my combat mission games and then installing and patching them lately. The motivation is low because once again, friends don't generally have it installed. I have even played the demo version in preference to the mucking around. Perhaps it's easier now but that is beside the point.
Me. I simply am not bothered
Quote from: Destraex on February 01, 2023, 05:48:27 AMQuote from: Jarhead0331 on January 30, 2023, 07:37:32 AMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on January 30, 2023, 05:56:20 AMAlthough I appreciate and like they are moving games to steam, I just wonder how much time has been spent on it the last couple of years and whether it outweighs further advancing the games, working on a more modern engine, and such. I guess being on steam will provide them more money for the future and could help their multiplayer fans. Although their update process and licensing was a pain, the move to single installer made it better and think I could have lived with it while receiving much more stuff. This update seems similar to the update from 2022, but they did mention pausing their professional work so maybe gives them more time.
In any event, will continue to support them as I pretty much own everything they have released in the series.
My hunch is that being on steam doesn't really attract too many more sales and revenue for Battlefront. I think most people with an interest in these types of games already have what they want and most potential future customers would find them anyway and not base their decision to buy on steam availability.
I mean, certainly some are waiting to buy additional titles as we've seen in this thread, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule.
Personally, I'd prefer they focus on new content and improvements rather than porting over.
I respectfully disagree. I think that a lot of people will not be exposed or buy outside of steam and that steam offers a huge boost in free advertisement and promotion simply by virtue of the games turning up on peoples recommended lists. The only new customers left are probably on steam. Also consider that a lot of the time I see friends playing something on my steam friends list and check the store item out just because I know they like what I like.
The younger generations are much less likely to go for stand alone download and patch style deals I would say. On steam they would probably give it a go.
Me. I just cannot be bothered rustling up my combat mission games and then installing and patching them lately. The motivation is low because once again, friends don't generally have it installed. I have even played the demo version in preference to the mucking around. Perhaps it's easier now but that is beside the point.
Me. I simply am not bothered
I respectfully think you're mistaken. Go to Steam charts and search "Combat Mission". You will see that over the last 30-day period only 22 people have played CM Shock Force 2 on steam, while only 21 have played Black Sea. Only 8 have played Cold War! ZERO have played any of the battle packs. Yes, that's some boost through free advertising. Those numbers are for the entire world by the way.
I stand by my belief that porting over to steam has generally been a total waste of time and resources, if you look at it from the point of new sales and revenue, unless battlefront received direct compensation from Slitherine/matrix, which is certainly possible. Otherwise, I think the process has clearly led to a general lack of overall new content, particularly for some of the older titles. I respect that some are happy with the steam option and prefer the convenience of it over potential new content, though. I just don't see it as generating any substantial boost to sales.
On top of that, even with the limited players being shown as playing the game, how many are actually "new" users versus previous owners of the games who got the Steam keys for free? I suspect a good portion of the reviews, comments, and such are from previous players. I am certain they have received some new sales but it would be difficult to know if those new sales are greater than what Battlefront might have achieved by churning out new content/modules for their existing customer base who buy everything on sight. Steam audience is large, but they aren't the typical users of these type of deep games and what they likely consider less than desirable graphics and performance.
Don't get me wrong, I like having a Steam option, just not at the expense of bug fixes, version upgrades, and new content/modules. With the new single install pack setup option nowadays, installing and maintaining the non-steam version is pretty easy, at least for me.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 01, 2023, 07:41:01 AMQuote from: Destraex on February 01, 2023, 05:48:27 AMQuote from: Jarhead0331 on January 30, 2023, 07:37:32 AMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on January 30, 2023, 05:56:20 AMAlthough I appreciate and like they are moving games to steam, I just wonder how much time has been spent on it the last couple of years and whether it outweighs further advancing the games, working on a more modern engine, and such. I guess being on steam will provide them more money for the future and could help their multiplayer fans. Although their update process and licensing was a pain, the move to single installer made it better and think I could have lived with it while receiving much more stuff. This update seems similar to the update from 2022, but they did mention pausing their professional work so maybe gives them more time.
In any event, will continue to support them as I pretty much own everything they have released in the series.
My hunch is that being on steam doesn't really attract too many more sales and revenue for Battlefront. I think most people with an interest in these types of games already have what they want and most potential future customers would find them anyway and not base their decision to buy on steam availability.
I mean, certainly some are waiting to buy additional titles as we've seen in this thread, but I think this is the exception rather than the rule.
Personally, I'd prefer they focus on new content and improvements rather than porting over.
I respectfully disagree. I think that a lot of people will not be exposed or buy outside of steam and that steam offers a huge boost in free advertisement and promotion simply by virtue of the games turning up on peoples recommended lists. The only new customers left are probably on steam. Also consider that a lot of the time I see friends playing something on my steam friends list and check the store item out just because I know they like what I like.
The younger generations are much less likely to go for stand alone download and patch style deals I would say. On steam they would probably give it a go.
Me. I just cannot be bothered rustling up my combat mission games and then installing and patching them lately. The motivation is low because once again, friends don't generally have it installed. I have even played the demo version in preference to the mucking around. Perhaps it's easier now but that is beside the point.
Me. I simply am not bothered
I respectfully think you're mistaken. Go to Steam charts and search "Combat Mission". You will see that over the last 30-day period only 22 people have played CM Shock Force 2 on steam, while only 21 have played Black Sea. Only 8 have played Cold War! ZERO have played any of the battle packs. Yes, that's some boost through free advertising. Those numbers are for the entire world by the way.
I stand by my belief that porting over to steam has generally been a total waste of time and resources, if you look at it from the point of new sales and revenue, unless battlefront received direct compensation from Slitherine/matrix, which is certainly possible. Otherwise, I think the process has clearly led to a general lack of overall new content, particularly for some of the older titles. I respect that some are happy with the steam option and prefer the convenience of it over potential new content, though. I just don't see it as generating any substantial boost to sales.
Understand your POV. I would say in response;
* Do we have current player figures for the non-steam version? If not how can we compare the two?
* I would say that moving to steam will make maintaining Battlefront games easier in future and if they ever drop the ball and shut up shop steam will keep supporting the games if people keep playing them I would say?
* I own none of the games you mention as I either had the previous titles and the new ones were extremely expensive or I was not interested. This was particularly the case with Black Sea and Cold War because of the claustrophobic maps in the demos that did not fit being able to manoevure and fire combined with advanced weapons that basically stopped anybody from putting their head up.
My actual point here is that we might look again once the more popular titles like Normandy etc are on steam. But without any stats to compare non-steam................
* I think most wargamers would own steam. I'd point out that DCS is an example of a game that I know people who use steam and would not have played otherwise and made the jump on steam.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AMUnderstand your POV. I would say in response;
* Do we have current player figures for the non-steam version? If not how can we compare the two?
I don't see this as bearing any relevance. A comparison is not necessary. All I'm disputing is the point that the porting over of the titles to steam resulted in a substantial boost in sales and new players that outweighed the benefits of devoting resources to engine upgrades and new content. All that is necessary to address here are Steam numbers and they are clearly extremely low by any measure.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I would say that moving to steam will make maintaining Battlefront games easier in future and if they ever drop the ball and shut up shop steam will keep supporting the games if people keep playing them I would say?
Disagree. Now instead of updating a single version of the game, Battlefront must update and service two. I would argue this will actually be a drain on resources and if low sales on steam continue, a further detriment to the company overall. If battlefront Heaven forbid goes under, Steam can't support the games. Perhaps they can still sell them and you can still play them, but steam is not in the patch development business. Otherwise, maybe the steam version is easier to update and maintain on the developer end...maybe it isn't. I simply do not know.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I own none of the games you mention as I either had the previous titles and the new ones were extremely expensive or I was not interested. This was particularly the case with Black Sea and Cold War because of the claustrophobic maps in the demos that did not fit being able to manoevure and fire combined with advanced weapons that basically stopped anybody from putting their head up.
My actual point here is that we might look again once the more popular titles like Normandy etc are on steam. But without any stats to compare non-steam................
I'm sure the release of the WWII titles will definitely bring in more sales. However, my suspicion is that the model will be much the same. Only a handful of new buyers and players. As far as the non-steam comparison, again, irrelevant in my view.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I think most wargamers would own steam. I'd point out that DCS is an example of a game that I know people who use steam and would not have played otherwise and made the jump on steam.
I still think in this genre or niche, the majority of players don't have a preference or even prefer a non-steam option. You may get some more deviation on this with battlefront only because of the nightmare updating frequently became because of their old licensing system, but as Grim noted, the system has changed and it is very easy now. Funny you mention DCS, it's one of the few titles I prefer non-steam. I refuse to transition over and continue to happily use either the desktop shortcut or skatezillas great utility.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 01, 2023, 07:41:01 AMI respectfully think you're mistaken. Go to Steam charts and search "Combat Mission". You will see that over the last 30-day period only 22 people have played CM Shock Force 2 on steam, while only 21 have played Black Sea. Only 8 have played Cold War! ZERO have played any of the battle packs. Yes, that's some boost through free advertising. Those numbers are for the entire world by the way.
That's depressing, if true.
My current favorite game, 'Easy Red 2', is played by 50 people worldwide, or so it says.
Just to cross-check: ARMA III: 17,055 current players
Amazing.
Oof. That made me go look up ARMA III on Steam Charts... it is 10 years old. How the hecko did that happen?
It does make my brother's 4000 hours in ARMA look a little less insane lol.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on February 02, 2023, 07:59:53 AMQuote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AMUnderstand your POV. I would say in response;
* Do we have current player figures for the non-steam version? If not how can we compare the two?
I don't see this as bearing any relevance. A comparison is not necessary. All I'm disputing is the point that the porting over of the titles to steam resulted in a substantial boost in sales and new players that outweighed the benefits of devoting resources to engine upgrades and new content. All that is necessary to address here are Steam numbers and they are clearly extremely low by any measure.
You are looking at how many people are playing rather than purchases, I would expect that not many people would play each month. Combat Mission is the kind of game you play when you get the itch and then drop for a long period before getting the itch again. I own a lot of Combat Mission titles I have barely touched. This is why numbers at game launch are probably much more indicative. A comparison of players active off steam would prove in addition to total sales which we do not have what percentage of players on average still play "regularly". I'd be happy to have off-steam players to compare, especially for the titles that released at the same time on both platforms.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I would say that moving to steam will make maintaining Battlefront games easier in future and if they ever drop the ball and shut up shop steam will keep supporting the games if people keep playing them I would say?
Disagree. Now instead of updating a single version of the game, Battlefront must update and service two. I would argue this will actually be a drain on resources and if low sales on steam continue, a further detriment to the company overall. If battlefront Heaven forbid goes under, Steam can't support the games. Perhaps they can still sell them and you can still play them, but steam is not in the patch development business. Otherwise, maybe the steam version is easier to update and maintain on the developer end...maybe it isn't. I simply do not know.
By support I meant if the Battlefront site goes down as they shut up shop or retire you will still be able to download them if you have them on steam.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I own none of the games you mention as I either had the previous titles and the new ones were extremely expensive or I was not interested. This was particularly the case with Black Sea and Cold War because of the claustrophobic maps in the demos that did not fit being able to manoevure and fire combined with advanced weapons that basically stopped anybody from putting their head up.
My actual point here is that we might look again once the more popular titles like Normandy etc are on steam. But without any stats to compare non-steam................
I'm sure the release of the WWII titles will definitely bring in more sales. However, my suspicion is that the model will be much the same. Only a handful of new buyers and players. As far as the non-steam comparison, again, irrelevant in my view.
At least on steam their is a "chance" especially from a social aspect of the game gaining more popularity and they are at least trying new things.
Quote from: Destraex on February 02, 2023, 02:58:23 AM* I think most wargamers would own steam. I'd point out that DCS is an example of a game that I know people who use steam and would not have played otherwise and made the jump on steam.
I still think in this genre or niche, the majority of players don't have a preference or even prefer a non-steam option. You may get some more deviation on this with battlefront only because of the nightmare updating frequently became because of their old licensing system, but as Grim noted, the system has changed and it is very easy now. Funny you mention DCS, it's one of the few titles I prefer non-steam. I refuse to transition over and continue to happily use either the desktop shortcut or skatezillas great utility.
I think that newer players of much younger age groups that will get into this sort of thing would have a preference for steam. If the old forums and communities away from the battlefront webiste still existed maybe steam would be less of a factor, but I think socially it is going to get much more exposure than the stand alone island on the internet that the battlefront webiste\forum is today could offer. This forum we are in is one of the last I know of with an active social pc wargaming community
Using one of the methods for estimating Steam sales, created the calculations below. Basically seems like a number of people believe the number of Steam reviews a game has can translate into very rough estimates of the number of sales that occur per review. Once you have the revenue, they then estimate the various expenses that reduce what the actual developer receives such as VAT, returns, regional pricing, discounts, and Steam's cut. They claim that certainly not exact as there are likely unique circumstances per game, but indicated it at least was in the ballpark, I guess it depends on the size of ballpark:)
For these calculations, the calculator used 45 sales per review as the base. I have seen other calculators suggest could be anywhere between 20-55, with the typical around 30. Therefore, these numbers might be on the high-end but just for illustration purposes we will use it.
The difficult factor for the Combat Mission series released on Steam is the fact we don't know how many reviews were from people who got FREE keys being previous Battlefront owners, testers, etc. When you do look a Steam they do break out reviews between people who have bought directly from Steam or another source. Not really sure how a FREE key counts, whether included within Steam purchase reviews or non-steam purchase reviews. I broke out the numbers between the two, although hard to really no how non-steam users factor in because that is from legit third party sellers and likely a lot of non-legit sellers. Not sure how that factors into the expenses and such. It is totally possible the base calaculation already considers all of this.
With all that said, if using the total reviews as a very high end revenue number, they have roughly made $993,000. I suspect the number is not this high because of the FREE keys given away and possibly a higher return rate after people determined not their thing (i.e. graphics, performance, complexity, etc.) but we'll use it as the ceiling for sake of argument.
This is all meaningless numbers if we don't try and compare what they could have been spending their time on with new total base games, modules, and/or content. For this, let's assume they started working on Steam conversion at the start of 2020, which then allowed them to release their first Steam game in August 2020. That means the comparison period is from January 2020 thru today, February 2023, baslically three years and a month. So what could they have released in that time period? Generally speaking of their newer games, they released a brand new complete base game every two years. It gets far too crazy to also anticipate how many modules/add-on pack, paid upgrades, etc. they might have completed, so let's just stick with a brand new base game (i.e. like normandy, italy, russia, etc.). Shockforce 2 appears to be their most sold game on Steam which suggests around 28,000 units sold for roughly $555,891 net revenue. Let's say they released a new base game and just released through their own store. No idea how many units they sale through their own store, but to be roughly even with the net revenue they got from Shock Force 2 on Steam, they would need to only sell around 10,000 units, although I don't know their expenses that might come out of it. Again, I have no idea if they sell that much through their own store but this doesn't also account for the fact beyond the one module they would likely have sold additional modules (their $34.00 variety) and miscellaneous upgrades and other add-ons. On top of that, they could have additionally be spending time on their 2nd base game and/or a major new version of the game which would have eventually resulted in more sales.
Obviously this is not scientific and could be largely off the mark, but maybe provides some form of "estimating". But I think this just goes back to the original point of the debate which there is a reasonable chance time could have been better spent making new content for the game versus converting the game to Steam in its current state. Of course nobody knows the long term impacts because maybe as new engines/versions come out that appeal to more people, certainly Steam sales could help.
(https://i.imgur.com/UYxHIxT.png)
All I know is that I've gotten SF2 and Black Sea on Steam, and I *never* would have gotten them from Battlefront with all their licensing issues. I'll be getting most of the WW2 stuff, too.
Quote from: smittyohio on February 05, 2023, 10:39:13 AMAll I know is that I've gotten SF2 and Black Sea on Steam, and I *never* would have gotten them from Battlefront with all their licensing issues. I'll be getting most of the WW2 stuff, too.
Yep, no argument that Steam will attract new users, not previously owners of the game. It's just a matter of how many new people and if "worth it" in the end. That is subjective and only people that it really needs to please is the company themselves. The licensing and update process has changed a bit since the early days so not as nearly as complex although likely can still have issues.
I don't own any of these games but will get Red Thunder when it's released on Steam.
Combat Mission Normandy (with new DLC) will be available on Slitherine & Steam on march 28th (according to the latest Tea Time).
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1760108058
:twirl:
Anyone hears when the Engine 5 upgrade is coming, currently their games are unplayable except on the lowest settings for me and in larger scenarios the mouse panning lags so bad it's frustrating to play. Really hoping the new engine upgrade at least makes the game playable.
Quote from: Pete Dero on March 09, 2023, 11:55:38 AMCombat Mission Normandy (with new DLC) will be available on Slitherine & Steam on march 28th (according to the latest Tea Time).
I already own this (not the new DLC) and I STILL reflexively jerked my head over to double-check the date under the system clock...
Quote from: rss334 on March 09, 2023, 05:00:41 PMAnyone hears when the Engine 5 upgrade is coming, currently their games are unplayable except on the lowest settings for me and in larger scenarios the mouse panning lags so bad it's frustrating to play. Really hoping the new engine upgrade at least makes the game playable.
No mention of v5 in recent BFC communications.
What hardware do you have?
Quote from: Redwolf on March 14, 2023, 07:07:19 PMQuote from: rss334 on March 09, 2023, 05:00:41 PMAnyone hears when the Engine 5 upgrade is coming, currently their games are unplayable except on the lowest settings for me and in larger scenarios the mouse panning lags so bad it's frustrating to play. Really hoping the new engine upgrade at least makes the game playable.
No mention of v5 in recent BFC communications.
What hardware do you have?
OK Thanks, gaming pc with rt3080 . All the battlefields games run like crap, stopped buying after red thunder
Quote from: rss334 on March 09, 2023, 05:00:41 PMAnyone hears when the Engine 5 upgrade is coming, currently their games are unplayable except on the lowest settings for me and in larger scenarios the mouse panning lags so bad it's frustrating to play. Really hoping the new engine upgrade at least makes the game playable.
Unplayable on a 3080? I don't think so, brother. Your problem must be related to some other aspect of your hardware.
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on March 14, 2023, 07:44:56 PMUnplayable on a 3080? I don't think so, brother. Your problem must be related to some other aspect of your hardware.
Yeah, I'm not seeing that. I have all the CM games and they ran perfectly well on my old 2080 Super and my older system with a 1st Gen Titan and a Ivy Bridge E I7 CPU.
Quote from: rss334 on March 14, 2023, 07:09:24 PMQuote from: Redwolf on March 14, 2023, 07:07:19 PMQuote from: rss334 on March 09, 2023, 05:00:41 PMAnyone hears when the Engine 5 upgrade is coming, currently their games are unplayable except on the lowest settings for me and in larger scenarios the mouse panning lags so bad it's frustrating to play. Really hoping the new engine upgrade at least makes the game playable.
No mention of v5 in recent BFC communications.
What hardware do you have?
OK Thanks, gaming pc with rt3080 . All the battlefields games run like crap, stopped buying after red thunder
I am playing unmodified Combat Mission using a CTX 1660 Ti without any problems. Right now I'm doing a battalion-sized PBEM match on a 1700x2200 meter map, without any issues. I believe your 3080 benchmarks at 30% faster. See https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-3060-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1660-Ti/4105vs4037 Based on this, I agree with JH that there is something off with your setup.
THE PROMISED TIME HAS COME!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2297010/Combat_Mission_Battle_for_Normandy/
On sale for only US$122.36! That's like 24% off on average! :Party:
More importantly, I found both my BF password and my CMx2 keys where I had the prescience to archive them in case such a day, not to be even hoped for at the time, ever came.
How to use them, exactly, I don't know yet. But I shall be researching, in accordance with links upthread!
Where by "upthread" I basically mean "here", courtesy of fellow Groghead Pete Daro: https://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?msg=723570
So, couldn't be easier! ....under the circumstances!
Step 1: find your giant hexadecimal key(s) for CMx2 Normandy. (This also works for prior CMx2 modern titles now being distributed by Matrixlitherine.) Pete says if you don't know, but DO know your BF password (and username), you can log into BF here and find them, but I didn't have to do this: https://www.battlefront.com/index.php?p=orders
Step 2: either create a (free) Matrix/Slitherine account (joint account for both sites, long since owned by the same people of course), or login to your account. Used to be, in North America that was matrixgames.com and in Europe that was slitherine.com, but locale doesn't really matter anymore, only the site color scheme. If you want to look more Ravenclaw, go to Matrix. :justice:
Step 3: after you've logged in (either way), find the tab near the top that says "My Page" and click that.
Step 4: on your personal page now! -- over to the right you see a column of tabs, starting with "My Menu" and "My page" (self-referentially). At the bottom of that tab column should be "Register Serial". Click that.
Step 5: usually this is used for putting in serial numbers for old downloads or box games (with the number printed on the disc(s)), which in that case is a set of four 4-digit numbers separated by hyphens -- which is still shown on the instructions. But it also works with (non-hyphened) hexadecimal codes from Battlefront now! Copy-paste a number into the second line, and from the first line choose the appropriate game or expansion from the drop-down menu. You can start typing Combat Mission and it'll go to those games eventually.
Note that if you have a key for a CMNormandy bundle (as I did), you can use that instead of putting in all the keys one at a time. (***BUT SEE BELOW, THIS MAY NOT CURRENTLY WORK!*** I mean it activated the game, but not the DLC. I suspect the "bundle" means bundled with the v3 paid upgrade.) Anyway, once you've selected the game and copy-pasted the key (make sure no space at the end), click the "register" button. This could take a few seconds to process.
Step 6: if everything works the site will say so. You can now go back to the main page of "My Page", and at the top-right of the game list you can search your registered games (whether bought through the site or back-registered like you just did) with the drop-down menu set to "latest bought". CMNorm should sort up to the top-left entry.
Step 7: you can ignore Steam if you want and just download an installer from Matrix / Slitherine directly by clicking "Download files". On the next screen mine was identified as "multi-setup installer", which might refer to the bundle. It also said I had 2 current loads from a max of 100, for both North America AND Europe, which I don't understand. Anyway you can proceed from there and then double-click on the installer once you've got it where you want (and/or can find it again).
Step 8: if you'd rather go through Steam, get the Steam key for your game + any DLCs, or for your bundle if you're like me (and I know I am!), back at "My Page" and the game's entry, by clicking the Steam key button (which should say it's available with "Get your key!") Follow its instructions from there to activate on Steam.
Remember, since Matrix/Slitherine has only been around umpteen-years so far, their site is still kind of amateur in many ways, so when you get your key, it will let you know by not telling you and instead reloading your "My Page" resorted top-down in alphanumeric title order. You'll have to find CMNorm again to actually find your key for copy-pasting to Steam.
Relatedly (perhaps), my bundle key did NOT unlock all, or even any, DLC on Steam. Don't know about at Matrix yet, that's unclear -- but seems unlikely, because Matrix treats DLC separately in the game list and the DLC did not show up sorted as the latest bought with the main game. (Update: this is definitely true! The DLC are not included in the "bundle" key, which probably only includes the paid v3 update to the main game.)
Fortunately, I do have my keys for the DLC also archived, but that means I'll have to enter each one separately on the registration screen as described above. Update: doing so gave them their own entries in my registered game list at Matrix, as I could have expected. From there, I get Steam keys for them separately.
Having activated all my DLC, except for the Commonwealth expansion -- which I hadn't bought yet -- Steam does sort of agree I have the DLC, but doesn't mark them as being owned (or even the game) on its main page for the game. Thus the Commonwealth expansion pack doesn't get the 24% off as a remaining part of the bundle. Yet. Perhaps if I install and run the game, which I'm trying now, Steam will notice and grant the full discount for a bundle remainder...?
Final update: yep, installing and playing the game on Steam told Steam I do own the game and the related DLC! -- so now it's giving me the 24% discount on the Commonwealth, instead of the 15% individual discount, which will save me...... about $3. But for what it's worth, bundle-remnant discount buying is confirmed!
Q
a) Do you need to link steam to matrix games?
b) Are all the little patch upgrades included in the matrix\steam versions by default these days or are these treated like separate DLC activations?
Quote from: Destraex on April 04, 2023, 08:23:07 AMQ
a) Do you need to link steam to matrix games?
b) Are all the little patch upgrades included in the matrix\steam versions by default these days or are these treated like separate DLC activations?
All the patches are in.
I'm not sure what you mean by "link". All you do is transport activation numbers, there is no other account linkage.
Thx Redwolf. By link I mean use the link button on Matrix Games website that physically links both your steam and matrix games accounts together so that they communicate with each other.
If it is literally a steam key no strings attached then that's cool.
I didn't use a link button, for what it's worth: I had forgotten that was a thing!
I activated the product on Matrix using my old BF hexidecimal key; and then Matrix generated a Steam code for me, which I entered at Steam. As far as I know, there was no link per se between my accounts.
Quote from: Destraex on April 04, 2023, 08:44:13 AMThx Redwolf. By link I mean use the link button on Matrix Games website that physically links both your steam and matrix games accounts together so that they communicate with each other.
If it is literally a steam key no strings attached then that's cool.
No link necessary (there is not even a link available at this time). You decide if you activate the game on Steam or not. And when you want it you have to enter the generated key on Steam yourself.
If I recall correctly I had to enter the BF key I received for Engine 4 to register on Matrix. So in my case all major game patches were already there.
There is talk about game engine 5 being worked on and this will most likely end up as paid DLC (on Battlefront, Matrix & Steam).
Whereas in my case, I can confirm I entered a key for the v3 engine, and got the v4.04 engine from Matrix (and thence from Steam). So the engine update was free for me.
I can't tell whether a key for an engine predating v.3 will work, of course.
Note to all. You must use your latest (I assume) engine upgrade key for CMBN when registering.
Oh, you mean if the main program key doesn't include an engine upgrade bundled with it, then that needs to be included separately?
If so, then someone who never got around to buying an upgrade will need to do so from Battlefront before activating at Matrix (and thence Steam), rather than pay full price (even if minus the release discount).
Quote from: JasonPratt on April 05, 2023, 06:59:41 AMOh, you mean if the main program key doesn't include an engine upgrade bundled with it, then that needs to be included separately?
If so, then someone who never got around to buying an upgrade will need to do so from Battlefront before activating at Matrix (and thence Steam), rather than pay full price (even if minus the release discount).
No, I think the update is free on Steam by way of keeping things simple. Steam probably doesn't have a 3.x version so what you gonna do with people who have a 3.x key? Just give them 4.x instead of excluding them from Steam .
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on January 30, 2023, 07:37:32 AMPersonally, I'd prefer they focus on new content and improvements rather than porting over.
Man, I haven't been around in a while, have ?
It should make everyone that shares this opinion feel better if I mention, Charles is the coder/programmer. The amount of time he spent porting the games over is close to zero. We had a full time 2nd coder for a while who left his "dream job" at Battlefront for his "fantasy job". He was brought in as a hired gun to integrate the PBEM ++ and Tournaments features. Charles did almost none of that. Creating builds for Steam and Matrix versions is what Charles does and takes him very little time. As an example, when I asked him for Matrix and Steam builds of Normandy for me to send to Slitherine I had them in under 2 hours. And, for all I know, he may have been out to lunch with his wife for most of that time. The point being, taking a Battlefront build and adapting that for Steam and Matrix doesn't take up a significant amount of time for him to port. Once that has been sent to Slitherine they do the rest.
So, none of the porting to Steam has slowed down production.
Elvis please say their are plans to make this game coop without the need for a community work around?
To be fair to Battlefront, I just installed CMBN's Vehicle Pack and Battle Pack #1 because they are on sale right now at the site, and it was easy and painless. :ThumbsUp:
Quote from: Sir Slash on April 07, 2023, 02:02:55 PMTo be fair to Battlefront, I just installed CMBN's Vehicle Pack and Battle Pack #1 because they are on sale right now at the site, and it was easy and painless. :ThumbsUp:
Yeah, you shouldn't have needed to install anything. If your game is up to date they are already installed and just need to be activated/unlocked.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 29, 2023, 08:38:36 PMIt's out. Mostly steam releases, some module add ons, and upgrade 5.
https://community.battlefront.com/topic/142199-annual-look-at-the-year-to-come-2023/
Completely unrelated......Someone just joined the BFC forum with the name Grumpy Reaper. I chuckled out loud.
Quote from: Elvis on April 08, 2023, 09:37:52 AMQuote from: Sir Slash on April 07, 2023, 02:02:55 PMTo be fair to Battlefront, I just installed CMBN's Vehicle Pack and Battle Pack #1 because they are on sale right now at the site, and it was easy and painless. :ThumbsUp:
Yeah, you shouldn't have needed to install anything. If your game is up to date they are already installed and just need to be activated/unlocked.
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on January 29, 2023, 08:38:36 PMIt's out. Mostly steam releases, some module add ons, and upgrade 5.
https://community.battlefront.com/topic/142199-annual-look-at-the-year-to-come-2023/
Completely unrelated......Someone just joined the BFC forum with the name Grumpy Reaper. I chuckled out loud.
Not me:)
I'm Grumpy Peeper. I meant the whole process of activating the DLC. It was easy-peasy. :Applause:
^A different guy from Grumpy Reaper??
I have many names but very little grumpiness. :grumpy:
An official co-op mode would be nice, but I kind of doubt the engine will allow it, due to the replay being locked to one person and then discarded.
Red thunder releases at matrix and steam on June 15th...as usual prior owners gets a steam key.
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10126&t=395615
{reflexively snaps a glance at date on the computer} :cool:
Have been waiting for Red Thunder forever.
The Russkies play quite a bit differently than the Allies or the Germans. Much more Mass and a lot less Quality. Takes some getting used to.
Quote from: Sir Slash on May 23, 2023, 10:18:01 PMThe Russkies play quite a bit differently than the Allies or the Germans. Much more Mass and a lot less Quality. Takes some getting used to.
Not much has changed in 75 years. Or since the Crimean War, for that matter.
In Pritt Buttar's books he explains a great deal how the Russians learned slowly how best to react offensively and defensively against the more sophisticated Germans and how through trial and error, lots of error, to make the most of their numbers advantages. I guess all that is ancient history to the modern Russian Army.
^They definitely have not learned anything from history while continuing to fight the same wars of the last 150 years. How do you say Catch 22 in Russian?
Combat Mission Italy series now available at matrix and steam
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:23:15 PMCombat Mission Italy series not available at matrix and steam
Well, it hasn't released on Steam yet, but it is still available on Matrix for me, as it has been...
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy (https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy)
Quote from: Sigwolf on September 12, 2023, 05:42:48 PMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:23:15 PMCombat Mission Italy series not available at matrix and steam
Well, it hasn't released on Steam yet, but it is still available on Matrix for me, as it has been...
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy (https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy)
I was able to redeem my game keys at Matrix and received my steam keys and was able to redeem them on Steam. Plus I do see the actual steam pages with purchase options.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2551110/Combat_Mission_Fortress_Italy/
Quote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:50:36 PMQuote from: Sigwolf on September 12, 2023, 05:42:48 PMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:23:15 PMCombat Mission Italy series not available at matrix and steam
Well, it hasn't released on Steam yet, but it is still available on Matrix for me, as it has been...
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy (https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy)
I was able to redeem my game keys at Matrix and received my steam keys and was able to redeem them on Steam. Plus I do see the actual steam pages with purchase options.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2551110/Combat_Mission_Fortress_Italy/
Ahhh, *now* available. I thought you were inferring it had been pulled from sale. :ThumbsUp:
one of these days.....I'm going to get into this series. Tried the FI demo and after an hour, went into the fetal position and cried :laugh:
Quote from: Sigwolf on September 12, 2023, 06:41:22 PMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:50:36 PMQuote from: Sigwolf on September 12, 2023, 05:42:48 PMQuote from: Grim.Reaper on September 12, 2023, 05:23:15 PMCombat Mission Italy series not available at matrix and steam
Well, it hasn't released on Steam yet, but it is still available on Matrix for me, as it has been...
https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy (https://www.matrixgames.com/game/combat-mission-fortress-italy)
I was able to redeem my game keys at Matrix and received my steam keys and was able to redeem them on Steam. Plus I do see the actual steam pages with purchase options.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2551110/Combat_Mission_Fortress_Italy/
Ahhh, *now* available. I thought you were inferring it had been pulled from sale. :ThumbsUp:
Yep, looks like I had typo
1 more to go and then all CM2 games will be on Steam. This will make my dream come true...........
Definitely migrating my keys over this afternoon!
Ahhh so. The Beast that is Combat Mission craves new meat. This game's scarier than all your ex-wives meeting with their attorneys at the same time. :HideEyes: COME ON Grogs! Who's going to finally take-on and tame this monster?
Now that I don't have to deal with that insane Battlefront copy protection scheme, I have rewarded them in a small way with an immediate purchase of the "Rome to Victory" DLC.
So what's left? Last Blitzkrieg? Afghanistan?
Wasn't Last Blitz the first WW2 CMx2 game they migrated to Steam? If not, that must be what remains.
Quote from: JasonPratt on September 14, 2023, 02:28:50 PMWasn't Last Blitz the first WW2 CMx2 game they migrated to Steam? If not, that must be what remains.
Nope, Normandy was the first WW2, Final Blitz is the last one still to come.
Unfortunately Afghanistan will likely not ever be on Steam as it was a third party project using their engine. It has not, and won't, get any of the engine upgrades that the others have had.
Quote from: JasonPratt on September 14, 2023, 12:45:48 PMDefinitely migrating my keys over this afternoon!
In honor of my success in migrating my keys first to Matrix and then to Steam, I bought "Rome to Victory" in the package discount of 23%.
(Which isridiculously generous, since I won't be playing it immediately; and I could have bought it from Matrix using my stacked super-coupons around Christmastime. But oh well, maybe Final Blitz will be out by then, and I can add any leftover DLC from it and Normandy, too.)
Why are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
Quote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
You sir have no idea of the the vitriol thread derailing door you have just opened
That's actually a good question. Will there be a workshop for these titles with User-Made scenarios like from the Battlefront site?
Quote from: Con on September 16, 2023, 12:16:35 AMQuote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
You sir have no idea of the the vitriol thread derailing door you have just opened
I'll say it.
Battlefront's copy protection and patch upgrade schemes were a nightmare for some, inconvenience for others.
I was in the nightmare category. I probably spent about five hours trying to fix some of my DLC installs, after I installed an upgrade patch. I spent that time going back and forth with a very nice and patient Battlefront support guy. Ultimately the support guy got frustrated, and I got doubly frustrated and gave up. I never got things working properly.
After that, I never, never, never bought another Battlefront product. That is until they started putting them on Steam.
On Steam I don't have to worry about such things.
MODs aren't particularly important to me either.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on September 16, 2023, 12:37:09 PMI'll say it.
Battlefront's copy protection and patch upgrade schemes were a nightmare for some, inconvenience for others.
I was in the nightmare category. I probably spent about five hours trying to fix some of my DLC installs, after I installed an upgrade patch. I spent that time going back and forth with a very nice and patient Battlefront support guy. Ultimately the support guy got frustrated, and I got doubly frustrated and gave up. I never got things working properly.
After that, I never, never, never bought another Battlefront product. That is until they started putting them on Steam.
On Steam I don't have to worry about such things.
MODs aren't particularly important to me either.
Never download and use patches for CMx2 games.
You always go to the orders page in your user account and download the full installer. For each game it comes with all DLCs. That gives you a clean install. Then you enter the serial numbers and it unlocks what you purchased.
Quote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
There actually is another option. There is a Matrix version that isn't Steam but that has Matrix' copy protection (simple serial number) and not BFCs (with an install counter).
Could be considered best of all worlds.
Strictly speaking, the Steam version is (also) the Matrix/Slitherine version.
Quote from: Con on September 16, 2023, 12:16:35 AMQuote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
You sir have no idea of the the vitriol thread derailing door you have just opened
haha, sorry I wanted to make sure I was not missing something new about the steam version. I totally get how much easier it is to manage via steam but once you have everything setup and the mods working I was not sure of the incentive to uninstall and reinstall on steam. Personally if I end up having to reinstall I would probably move to steam simply for ease of use. Waiting on the engine 5 patch to drop, that might be the time for me.
Quote from: rss334 on September 16, 2023, 03:52:13 PMQuote from: Con on September 16, 2023, 12:16:35 AMQuote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
You sir have no idea of the the vitriol thread derailing door you have just opened
haha, sorry I wanted to make sure I was not missing something new about the steam version. I totally get how much easier it is to manage via steam but once you have everything setup and the mods working I was not sure of the incentive to uninstall and reinstall on steam. Personally if I end up having to reinstall I would probably move to steam simply for ease of use. Waiting on the engine 5 patch to drop, that might be the time for me.
All my CM games are heavily modded. The Steam file structure stays the same, so copy the Z folder (found in DATA) to the new Steam location and everything should work without a hitch.
Somebody spend a lot of time collecting many mods for each CM game :
https://community.battlefront.com/topic/140143-initial-all-in-one-modpack/
One of my ongoing side projects (aimed, mostly, at the new influx of Steam Players) is to host an 'All in One' modpack for every CM game.
Quote from: Pete Dero on September 16, 2023, 05:12:06 PMQuote from: rss334 on September 16, 2023, 03:52:13 PMQuote from: Con on September 16, 2023, 12:16:35 AMQuote from: rss334 on September 15, 2023, 10:29:36 PMWhy are you guys migrating to Steam? There is no workshop support on Steam is there? Are the mods working with the steam version - is the steam version faster or something?
You sir have no idea of the the vitriol thread derailing door you have just opened
haha, sorry I wanted to make sure I was not missing something new about the steam version. I totally get how much easier it is to manage via steam but once you have everything setup and the mods working I was not sure of the incentive to uninstall and reinstall on steam. Personally if I end up having to reinstall I would probably move to steam simply for ease of use. Waiting on the engine 5 patch to drop, that might be the time for me.
All my CM games are heavily modded. The Steam file structure stays the same, so copy the Z folder (found in DATA) to the new Steam location and everything should work without a hitch.
Somebody spend a lot of time collecting many mods for each CM game :
https://community.battlefront.com/topic/140143-initial-all-in-one-modpack/
One of my ongoing side projects (aimed, mostly, at the new influx of Steam Players) is to host an 'All in One' modpack for every CM game.
Thank you
I'm gonna list his file folder here (since he does that in the thread Pete linked to), so I can find it again once he updates CMFI and CMBN.
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/izmk6muctniv5/Combat_Mission
You should of course have some VERY updated antivirus before visiting, much less downloading, anything from mediafire...
Anyone else entered the Slitherine / Matrix Combat Mission Tournaments starting on the 25th? Red Thunder, Cold War and Normandy.
https://www.slitherine.com/tournaments (https://www.slitherine.com/tournaments)