Combat Mission Final Blitzkrieg

[Boggit]

I sense that this thread will soon restore my belief in evolution as we progress through the five stages of Battlefront Combat Mission Grief and loss :)

Step one - Discussion of the new game can border on the irrational happiness meter - DENIAL of the impending flame war
Step Two - Natural occurring question organically grown from an observation in the game with spirited point and counter point - BARGANING and general showing off your grogginess
Step Three - The DEPRESSION of learning that your wife/cat/mailman and anyone within earshot is rolling their eyes at you as you stridently explain that game is wrong leading too
Step Four - Vilification of Battlefronts EDM/Customer Skills/lack of business acumen/personal hygiene and ANGER at everyone who has not agreed with everything I have typed in the manifesto around this topic (excess wearing out of CAPS key is common here).
Step Five - Finally transition to Its just a game and relax as we ACCEPT that paying the mortgage might be more of a priority than for example what is the thickness the Hetzer front glacial plate (but dont get me started on which MMG was better)

Brilliant! ;D I just love the "been there, done that" theme.

[jomni]

MD -- did you see Tim Stone refer to your discussion in RPS's latest Flare Path?  Under "U is for unbuttoning"

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/04/22/the-flare-path-topical-titbits-2/

O0

My name came out under J. :P
TacticalWargames came out as T

[sandman2575]

My name came out under J. :P
TacticalWargames came out as T

Yeah this was some great publicity. Great to see Sengoku Jidai, Final Blitzkrieg, and the new TacticalWargames blog getting some recognition.

[sandman2575]

#2:  I'm now more and more convinced of my prediction that CMFB will draw in a more regular audience than BS.  Not only this kind of discussion (which is awesome), but the first tournament at the Blitz filled up very quickly.  WWII is still the game of choice for most -- or at least it has a bigger audience.  I think this is especially true since we've returned to an AO where it's U.S.-v-Germany, full on footy war!

Hope you're right Cyrano. I've been surprised at just how much I've been enjoying Final Blitzkrieg. Especially after the release of the excellent Mius Front, I was beginning to feel that maybe the Combat Mission formula was getting irredeemably stale. I do think there's still a lot BF could do to spice things up, but overall, Final Blitzkrieg is a very worthy addition to the CM franchise, IMHO.

[Boggit]

I've found it really immersive, and am enjoying it immensely. O0

[RyanE]

I am just curious how many for how many people this is the first CM2 purchase...anyone on this forum?

[Sir Slash]

Not me. I already got all the WWII versions. I'll hold off on CMFB for awhile as I'm way behind on the games I got now.

[RyanE]

And this is kind of what I'm worried about.  Each release of the CM2 engine seems to, at best, only get purchased by the existing base and, at worst, shrinks a little over time.  It's a losing formula for BFC unless they continuously raise prices or come up with new ways to mine their loyal base.

[Tuna]

Well seeing as these are all really expansions (there is no major overhaul to the engine), this is what's going to happen.

I have CMBN.. I looked at Market Garden, then saw I had to buy the 3.0 Update in order to get it. I mean really?

No thanks.. too many good deals out there in the market.

It's an outstanding game, but they just price their way off my wishlists.

[Redwolf]

And this is kind of what I'm worried about.  Each release of the CM2 engine seems to, at best, only get purchased by the existing base and, at worst, shrinks a little over time.  It's a losing formula for BFC unless they continuously raise prices or come up with new ways to mine their loyal base.

Well, but the UI is so clunky nobody is gonna stick with it when first exposed to it.

And it looks terrible in default on a computer that can do better. There are a number of reasons including no graphics autoconfiguration (after measuring what you can), no clear UI to configure graphics (nobody who is new is gonna read hotkey lists getouttahere) and the first view at the actual battlefield is screwed up by the colored setup zone.

First impression of CMx2 is record breaking terrible.

[Elvis]

And this is kind of what I'm worried about.  Each release of the CM2 engine seems to, at best, only get purchased by the existing base and, at worst, shrinks a little over time.  It's a losing formula for BFC unless they continuously raise prices or come up with new ways to mine their loyal base.

The demise of Battlefront because of their model has been speculated for as long as I can remember. Certainly in the almost 9 years since CMSF was released. But BFC has not changed the model, with one exception that I'll get into in a minute. So, a more considered opinion is that they're just fine with the revenue that is coming in. Now, Sir Slash has a point that I've made plenty of times during conversations about the release rates of titles. I still believe that if BFC pumped out titles at the pace that they projected and announced then the product would have diminishing returns. How many times will someone go to the well in a single year?

And you're wrong about new people coming into the fold. There is a constant stream of new CM players. I have no idea how big that stream is but it exists. I have even less idea how many people "opt out", like Sir Slash. But new players arrive every day. And I always think of myself as the tip of the iceberg.

Regarding the one big change in the model is the double edged sword of being able to Upgrade a CMx2 title to the latest build of the engine. If Sir Slash has CMBN 1.x and really digs the western front, would he be more inclined to get CMFB because it's western front using the 3.x version of engine? Maybe, maybe not. Have sales of Upgrades cut into the sales of newer products? Don't know. Do sales of Upgrades offset losses in sales of newer products? Don't know. The only thing that I/we really have to go on, to answer that, is that BFC seems to be happily continuing that strategy.

[Sir Slash]

Did I hear my name? I don't begrudge Battlefront for making all the money they can off their flagship product. I believe they can because nobody else has been able to pull-off a game like Combat Mission-- some have come very close though. And maybe someday they'll have some legit competition and have to adjust their sales and customer approach. Having to pay for every upgrade, new battle module, and new version of the same engine seems like just sticking it to us every chance they can. A new game from scratch is up to what, $100 now?

The success of the game has hindered new buyers who, for whatever reason, won't pay that for any game. If I didn't go all the way back to the CM 1 demo days, I wouldn't even think about buying the game and then paying for every little new thing that BF comes-up with.

As for me, I will get CMFB at some point but why spend new money if I haven't even come close to finishing any of the old versions? Because we all know..... there's an upgrade or two coming. $$$

[Zulu1966]

Did I hear my name? I don't begrudge Battlefront for making all the money they can off their flagship product. I believe they can because nobody else has been able to pull-off a game like Combat Mission-- some have come very close though. And maybe someday they'll have some legit competition and have to adjust their sales and customer approach. Having to pay for every upgrade, new battle module, and new version of the same engine seems like just sticking it to us every chance they can. A new game from scratch is up to what, $100 now?

The success of the game has hindered new buyers who, for whatever reason, won't pay that for any game. If I didn't go all the way back to the CM 1 demo days, I wouldn't even think about buying the game and then paying for every little new thing that BF comes-up with.

As for me, I will get CMFB at some point but why spend new money if I haven't even come close to finishing any of the old versions? Because we all know..... there's an upgrade or two coming. $$$

I don't get this logic ... why are they sticking it to us ? You have a free will and a rational mind to decide whether a product is worth it to you. If its not then don't buy it. If you pay the money then obviously its  a good price point for battlefront. You seem to be criticising them for being in business and making money by applying the laws of economics that have been in operation for thousands of years ?

[Sir Slash]

Not at all. I don't care how much charge for their game-- it's their right. But I can't think of another game that charges for each upgrade and or new material. If you look at the mod site, there's tons of mods that add plenty of extra stuff for FREE. Including a Winter Mod. BF Didn't do this with CM 1 and the games came complete. I love the CM series but I'm going to tone back my buying a lot until like Matrix, Battlefront learns the words..."Sale".

[Redwolf]

I think their prices should be higher.

Of course that would require that somebody takes a step back and looks at the clunky UI, first impressions and a starting number of those ridiculous realism issues. Right now there is too many people who define realism as whatever happens to be in CM right now.