Update on Combat Mission Fortress Italy and 4.0

[RyanE]

After a little grousing on the BFC forum, Steve finally gave an update on where the CMFI 4.0 update is at...

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/124475-any-news-about-cmfi-40-release/?do=findComment&comment=1701029

[Destraex]

Thx. Looking forward to opening this game up again.

[RyanE]

So a hidden update on CMFI and its long awaited module.  Not really good news.  I remember Steve saying Phil's departure would have no impact.  I guess he was mistaken.

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/125277-lend-lease-stuff-coming-soon/?do=findComment&comment=1717050

http://community.battlefront.com/topic/125277-lend-lease-stuff-coming-soon/?do=findComment&comment=1717193

Its too bad they hide all of this news buried in the middle of threads in other forums.  My opinion is that we might not see a game or module release this year.  And Steve's "update" doesn't even mention any new full games.  I am assuming the previously mentioned 5.0 game engine will come with one of the module releases.

edit...I am actually mistaken.  Both Phil and Chris left.  I didn't know about CHris leaving.  He as the one building CMFI content.  That is really too bad.  Chris was making a real effort to reach out in a marketing way to get people engaged in promoting releases.  Is it just Steve and Charles left again?  No wonder it has completely slowed down.

[Zulu1966]

Thanks Ryan bad news but thanks you are about my only reliable source of information on CM

[sandman2575]

It's hard to shake the impression that Combat Mission / Battlefront is in a state of terminal decline. Hate to write that, as I still spend a large percentage of my gaming time with this series. But it just feels like a dying franchise.

[Yskonyn]

If so, it will only make the series even more legendary!
How long has CMx1 been around (and still is!)?

Seriously though, it sounds like the studio is going through some tough times. I hope they persist and be able to keep creating awesome CM content.

[RyanE]

Yeah, it is kind of depressing.  I still adore (that is the only word to describe it) the CM1 series.  After the original CMSF release fiasco, I got fairly jaded on CM2.  If CM2's original release had been CMBN, I probably would have fallen in love with the CM2 engine.  But the angst and wasted time with the 1.0 release and patching of CMSF just put me off to the point that I was a reluctant buyer.  I know that Steve burned a lot of BFC bridges to me and my gaming group in that time period.  I was the only one of 7 players who made the journey beyond CMSF.

I used to play CM daily until about a year ago when the last update turned SB into a more CM-like game.  I haven't played CM2 in quite a while.  In fact, the last CM session was a CMAK scenario I remade for myself from CMFI.  I spend almost all my time with SB, Command, and a little with IL2 BOS.  Seeing what is happening over at the BFC forums and some of hardcore CM2 guys trying to paint a pretty face on everything is sad.

[IronX]

I've been a huge fan of the Combat Mission series since the first game, but my perception is that the series has been in decline for the past few years as the gap between expected and actual game releases has grown larger.

My interest in the game has waned - I used to visit the forums every day, hoping for some news on an upcoming release or mod, but now I no longer even have the site bookmarked - and, for the first time, I didn't buy their latest product (engine upgrade). I've not even played a game in six months or more.

While CM remains a very good game, and has come a long way, there's no denying the fact that the current engine is getting tired. If BFC is still around in a few years and has moved on to a new game engine, I would certainly get back into it. But I'm not sure whether another CMx2 game/module/vehicle pack, whenever that may be released, is going to be enough for me to return to the game.

[JasonPratt]

Would a best case scenario be for someone with deeper pockets to buy the Combat Mission property (or Battlefront more generally), and put a team on properly marketing, developing, and supporting that game, pronto?

C'mon, Paradox...

[Philippe]

Given their approach to pricing products, I can't imagine the owners of Battlefront coming to an agreement with an outside party about the value of their firm.

[Rayfer]

Would a best case scenario be for someone with deeper pockets to buy the Combat Mission property (or Battlefront more generally), and put a team on properly marketing, developing, and supporting that game, pronto?

C'mon, Paradox...

Agreed...and then put it on Steam to put and end to all the update/patch issues.

[mirth]

I suspect it would be very difficult for someone from the outside to jump into that code base.

[Rayfer]

I suspect it would be very difficult for someone from the outside to jump into that code base.

That's too bad. The issues with version/patches/updates is the reason I've stopped buying their products. They're as bad or worse than Graviteam Tactics was before they went to Steam.

[JudgeDredd]

Wait - I have an email (from 15 April) providing me with a link to upgrade CMFI to 4.0

Should I not use that (haven't as yet).

[RyanE]

I would upgrade.  No reason not to.