CMBN is released

Geordie

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Although Id love to see the next Module in 6 months I just cant see it. I mean, they would have to be almost testing it now? Thats said, they already have most of the armour models and the infantry weapons at least so that should save them some time.

Elvis, are you testing the next module yet?
 

thewood

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Maybe I'm just a sucker. I keep falling for the theory that maybe they have figured it out finally. If it takes them over six months for the next module, we finally put a nail in the module every three months litany.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Thats said, they already have most of the armour models and the infantry weapons at least so that should save them some time.
I'm not sure what you mean by this. They have the stats researched from CM:BO/CM:AK, but as Rule_303(?) pointed out, they need to build wireframes/3D models for stuff like para smocks (British AND German), animations for Bren tripods (kidding), Piats (not kidding), and completely new 3D models with high poly counts for all the German stuff they left out of CM:BN - King Tigers, Stug IV, Jagdpanther, Marder II, Hornets, and whatever else they plan on including (meaning everything from at least D-Day to Arnhem that opposed the British). These are all new models, obviously, as the new 3D stuff is much higher than the low poly stuff from CM:AK.

They can't even use the SMLE from CM:A because the British went to the No. 4 Mk 1 in 1943.

And if the CMX2 engine is as they say - ground up, brand new - maybe those data tables and whatnot from the CMX1 engine are worthless anyway? Like taking armor factors from CROSS OF IRON and trying to plug them into ASL, you just end up having to rewrite them to fit in with the rest of the new system.

Even the Shermans will be different, as the British used Sherman III and Sherman V for the most part (M4A2 and M4A4), while the Americans had been using M4, M4A1 and M4A3s.
 

Redwolf

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I think the majority of time used up for module development is playtesting campaigns. If testing fails you correct it but you can basically start over. I doubt the savegame will be usable after a fix and even if what do you know whether the adjustment broke something earlier.
 

Michael Dorosh

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I think the majority of time used up for module development is playtesting campaigns. If testing fails you correct it but you can basically start over. I doubt the savegame will be usable after a fix and even if what do you know whether the adjustment broke something earlier.
Scenario development in CM:BN was clearly rushed, and I would surmise for the reason you indicate - new builds making past work on scenarios null and void. So I think you are wrong about what they are spending their time on. It would be foolish to invest testing time on detailed scenarios/campaigns knowing that a new build would scrub their work and make it useless, and worse, require them to start from scratch.

What you are correct about - though didn't say outright - is that 3D modelling etc. can go ahead without interfering with the other work, which is concurrent.
 

captskidd

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Scenarios are the last item in the schedule, because any engine change breaks them. They are never the reason for major delay. Mostly that is due to code changes. It was fortunate that code changes ran on so long, because it gave enough time to finish all the textures. For a new module, this will be the area of most delay I would say, because I suspect that most of the 3D models exist. But texturing these extremely detailed vehicle models takes a really long time. ( Unless they take the NATO module approach and go for lower quality textures. I hope not.)
 

Michael Dorosh

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http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1276648&postcount=143

No? Can you assign infantry units (such as a squad, or even half squad) to "ride" on the back of a (non-light) tank? I know I could do that in CMBB, but I sure can't figure out how to do it in CMBN. Maybe it's just me, but I've asked around & a few others can't seem to find that, and I don't see it mentioned in the manual. Am I missing something? I just can't understand why this realistic feature of previous CM games has been dropped (inadvertently????) in the new & (otherwise) wonderfully improved CMBN. Maybe this has been discussed here on the forum, but I looked & could not find it. Also could not find a "search" feature (sorry; I don't get up here as much as I used to).

I've been enjoying the game since getting downloading it, and enjoying the manual since it arrived. Wonderful graphics, nicely-done maps, great modeling. Love the artillery/air support programming, and almost everything else.

One other minor gripe: load times of maps. Tiny & small ones take 2+ minutes; a congested Medium one took over 8 minutes. Kind of a pain having to wait for maps to load, esp. when playing a lot of PBEM games, mostly. Ah well... gives me time to digest more of the manual. (oh yeah, I also don't care for the brown type on tinted pages... definitely hard to read in low light).

But, overall -- A+

Charlie Kibler
Mr. Kibler is back on the forum. :)

I knew WBRP was still in touch and playing CMX1 on occasion. I had played some CM once in awhile many years ago and had looked over a Skulpturny map he had done for CMBB. I understand he had done some more Historical ASL maps like the one he did for Red Barricades that have yet to see print. Neat to see him still around the CM scene.
 

BlitzCanuck

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over 8 minutes to load a map???
Some people need to reboot their PC's once in a while and upgrade them every decade or so.
 

Elvis

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http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1276648&postcount=143



Mr. Kibler is back on the forum. :)

I knew WBRP was still in touch and playing CMX1 on occasion. I had played some CM once in awhile many years ago and had looked over a Skulpturny map he had done for CMBB. I understand he had done some more Historical ASL maps like the one he did for Red Barricades that have yet to see print. Neat to see him still around the CM scene.
I don't know who he is. Are you saying he made the Red Barricades map? If so he is a god. Good to see he is digging the game. It does sound like he may be using the same computer he got in 1999 though.
 

thewood

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I still see CMBN loading much slower than an equivalent scenario in CMSF. The graphics actually are a little faster, but load times are very much slower than CMSF for me.
 

Michael Dorosh

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I don't know who he is. Are you saying he made the Red Barricades map? If so he is a god. Good to see he is digging the game. It does sound like he may be using the same computer he got in 1999 though.
He did the whole module, actually. And Solitaire ASL IIRC.
 

junk2drive

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He used to PBEM CMx1 with Gary Krockover a lot and he playtested at least one of my scenarios back when. He is in the credits of a few games as I recall.
 

BlitzCanuck

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The name rang a bell so i looked him up and now i know why he was familiar to me.....he used to be part of Talonsoft, the original developers of the Campaign Series games, which i was a big fan of, and i believe he was a regular on the historical wargaming newsgroup that i frequented in the late 90's. Maybe he still is....i haven't followed that forum in ages.
 

dalem

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Although Id love to see the next Module in 6 months I just cant see it. I mean, they would have to be almost testing it now? Thats said, they already have most of the armour models and the infantry weapons at least so that should save them some time.

Elvis, are you testing the next module yet?
Maybe that's why the delay was so long. I've said it before - delaying CMN so that it's not busted AND so you can release its first module on time (or early) seems like a valid strategy to me. IF BFC's thinking that way then good on them - smartest thing they'd've done in years.

-dale
 

dalem

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I don't know who he is. Are you saying he made the Red Barricades map? If so he is a god. Good to see he is digging the game. It does sound like he may be using the same computer he got in 1999 though.
Charlie Kibler IS a god in the wargaming pantheon.

-dale
 

Redwolf

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over 8 minutes to load a map???
Some people need to reboot their PC's once in a while and upgrade them every decade or so.
No, these are people who bought computers with many cores but low per-core speed. Some payed big money for them just recently.

CMBN computes LOS for the map's action spots when loading the map (and doesn't remember them), and it only uses one core.

Cleanup will do nothing here, this isn't a disk access delay.
 

BlitzCanuck

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No, these are people who bought computers with many cores but low per-core speed. Some payed big money for them just recently.

CMBN computes LOS for the map's action spots when loading the map (and doesn't remember them), and it only uses one core.

Cleanup will do nothing here, this isn't a disk access delay.
If you say so.
All i know is that all of the components of my PC are about 5 years old and none of the demo scenarios takes longer than 45 seconds to load.
 

Redwolf

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If you say so.
All i know is that all of the components of my PC are about 5 years old and none of the demo scenarios takes longer than 45 seconds to load.
That's because in 2006 they sold you processors with one or two fast cores instead of 6 lame cores like some buy now.

So what do you have?
 

Geordie

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They can't even use the SMLE from CM:A because the British went to the No. 4 Mk 1 in 1943.
As if anyone would really notice that.....
 
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