Adding units in PC

Michael Dorosh

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There are dangers of course to the moddability.

a) No two players are using the same mods - meaning you can't play scenarios H2H.

b) No two players can agree on whose Tiger stats are "correct" even if they want to play H2H and exchange files. Similarly, neither can agree on whose 3D model is the "best".

c) Operation Flashpointitis sets in - websites get created for all encompassing theatre modifications, fancy status charts go up - and they simply flounder around for months and do what Palantir describes for CM:N - show screenshots once a blue moon then dissolve.

d) Most importantly - generate zero revenue for Matrix.

I don't mean to be doom and gloom. I actually think modability is a great idea. Players will mod stuff and continue to buy from the developer because stuff with an "official stamp of approval" always gets a little more coveted, I think. This marketing model works with ASL, for example; despite there being dozens of third party products that actually exceed the quality of the "official" stuff in some ways, there are still many "official only" purchasers, and others who subsidize the official stuff out of respect, etc.

But there are certainly pitfalls. I'm looking forward to seeing what the community comes up with, and how it resolves some of these issues. It will be a true test. I did like some of the OFP stuff, just wish it got a bit more organized. Plenty of World War II Tiger mods out in the wild, even a Tyrannosaurus Rex, not many decent Shermans. There were some attempts to centralize them - good ones, too - we'll see what the PzC community comes up with. Having a strong publisher like Matrix behind it ought to help.
 

Palantir

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I'd be more likely to DL a high quality and official "Mod Pack" from Matrix (or an approved site) and pay a few bucks for it than a bunch of scattered mods here and there just to avoid that "what mod do you have?" issue.

Matrix should ask for a "Pacific Mod set" (etc.) from modders then set a 6 month deadline for them then sell the pack a few months after that. If they are reallys smart they will pay the modders for their models they use in the Mod Packs something to show appreciation for their help in keeping and adding interest for their game.
 

junk2drive

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You keep forgetting that German and Soviet are hardcoded into the game. You can mod all the crosses and stars but the text is still going to be the same. Up until recently, the Soviet increased delay was a problem but you can turn that off or switch it to German for late war.

That said, I made a simple Nomonhan scenario with the map maker and the DEM for Manchuria, used a T26 model for a Ha Go, used German 37mm ATGs and sent some BT7s to battle the Japanese.
 

Redwolf

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Of course people can never play with the unit data out of sync. Fixing it at game setup time with a md5 checksum solves that nicely. Non-wargames do that every day.
 
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