Afghanistan First

Michael Dorosh

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Order of release, based on March 31st posting:

The likely release order is:

Afghanistan
NATO
Normandy

That's based on how close to completion each is at this very moment. Afghanistan is at the stage of testing the Campaigns.
so we shouldn't expect Normandy until the Afghanistan release has actually occurred. Normandy seems further out now somehow.
 

Redwolf

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Me.......well not just me.

Plus the Russians have a bevy of their own testers.
But BFC does do some QA in there then. Not that it's a bad thing, I was just assuming the Russians are on their own.

Methinks the beta testers just wanted a new toy :D
 

Elvis

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But BFC does do some QA in there then. Not that it's a bad thing, I was just assuming the Russians are on their own.

Methinks the beta testers just wanted a new toy :D
You are right about wanting a new toy. I was very curious and had assumed it would be more similar to CMSF than it is. Turned out to be kinda between CMSF and CM:N.

Here is a description that I hope makes sense to some....From a game "look" point of view it is to CMSF what CMBB was to CMBO. Darker.
 

[hirr]Leto

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You are right about wanting a new toy. I was very curious and had assumed it would be more similar to CMSF than it is. Turned out to be kinda between CMSF and CM:N.

Here is a description that I hope makes sense to some....From a game "look" point of view it is to CMSF what CMBB was to CMBO. Darker.
I totally get that.

In other words CM: Afghanistan does not have the right to be President because it was born outside of the US.

Cheers!

Leto
 

Elvis

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[hirr]Leto;1273205 said:
I totally get that.

In other words CM: Afghanistan does not have the right to be President because it was born outside of the US.

Cheers!

Leto
Correct. And it is a Muslim too but that info is for a different forum.
 

Geordie

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How long has Afghanistan been in the play-testing stages, I seem to remember this was first mentioned about 3-4 months ago. How long does it take for the play testing of the Campaigns? Finding out this will give you an indication of how long until we see Normandy.

Also I imagine the same guys are testing everything else too (NATO?). So is the testing concurrent or consecutive?

Elvis, how much time do you spend testing each Module/Game on average per day/week/month? Also, how many testers are there?
 

Sgt_Kelly

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How long has Afghanistan been in the play-testing stages, I seem to remember this was first mentioned about 3-4 months ago. How long does it take for the play testing of the Campaigns? Finding out this will give you an indication of how long until we see Normandy.
It will only give you a lower limit for the time frame.

We only know how far along in the process the Afghanistan game is. After they finish that it's still anybody's guess how much longer it's going to take for NATO and Not Normandy.
 

Elvis

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Yes, it was Steve.
Thanks. It helped me find the thread.

The likely release order is:

Afghanistan
NATO
Normandy

That's based on how close to completion each is at this very moment. Afghanistan is at the stage of testing the Campaigns.
To use a horse betting expression.....Iwould bet this trifecta boxed not straight. Based on nothing but my gut. I could be dead wrong but is still the way I would play it.

I also liked this quote because it seems very candid and exactly matches what I am seeing.

The Normandy game is nearly complete in terms of its features, but it has a lot of development "warts" on it right now. Many of the graphical, such as not all the vehicle models are complete, many things don't have LODs yet, the UI artwork hasn't been overhauled, and not all the TO&E is done (I hope to have that finished up next week). There's also the usual list of bugs and discussions about various features needing some tweaks here and there.

Our short term goal is to wrap up all the lose ends preventing "final" map and scenario making from taking place. We're very close to that. So very close. After that is done we can get the campaign construction under way and slipstream the polish work as we get ready for a final release.
 

Elvis

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How long has Afghanistan been in the play-testing stages, I seem to remember this was first mentioned about 3-4 months ago. How long does it take for the play testing of the Campaigns? Finding out this will give you an indication of how long until we see Normandy.

Also I imagine the same guys are testing everything else too (NATO?). So is the testing concurrent or consecutive?

Elvis, how much time do you spend testing each Module/Game on average per day/week/month? Also, how many testers are there?
I think Steve has said there are either 30 or 40 people testing. Some are testing all 3 titles and some just one or 2 (to my shock there are guys with zero interest in WW2 and have only been working on NATO even though they could have access to all 3 if they wanted).

I get as much time in as I can but there is nothing regular about it. Sometimes a build has a bug that comes up making the game close to unplayable until the next build and ther eis a longish pause. Other times it is a fury of activity for weeks at a time. Just depends.....
 

Michael Dorosh

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Elvis said:
Thanks. It helped me find the thread.
I usually provide the links - no idea why I didn't this time. :hmmm:

How long has Afghanistan been in the play-testing stages, I seem to remember this was first mentioned about 3-4 months ago. How long does it take for the play testing of the Campaigns? Finding out this will give you an indication of how long until we see Normandy.

Also I imagine the same guys are testing everything else too (NATO?). So is the testing concurrent or consecutive?

Elvis, how much time do you spend testing each Module/Game on average per day/week/month? Also, how many testers are there?
Bear in mind "testing" can be something super-useful under someone hyper-organized, with specific goals and objectives, with a strong leader riding herd over the project. I'm on a couple of ASL playtesting teams and Andy Hershey is a personality like that, just to name one, who can keep people going, and on focus, and assign specific tasks and make the most of his people, even though it is all done in virtual space over thousands of miles and across time zones and continents, with people he's never met.

Then there are playtest groups that kind of just mill around, with no real leadership, where people just play a few scenarios when they want to, and if a report gets submitted, maybe someone will read it. Maybe a playtester will even get called out in front of the entire group for making critical suggestions. Those kinds of development teams take longer to produce things worthwhile, and their releases often get pilloried when they make it to press because stuff that should have got caught or discussed in all the confusion, didn't. The best part of that is when key game features get lambasted and the publisher then blames the playtesters for not bringing it up during the confusion of the testing, and when several testers point out that they did exactly that, the publisher announces that they should have objected harder, so it's all their fault despite his veto powers. All hypothetically speaking, of course.
 

dalem

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Well here we are at the end of April, May coming up fast, and June right after that. 2010 is looking like a bad bet for a game that was definitely coming out in 2009, let alone June. IN MY OPINION.

-dale
 

Geordie

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Well if Elvis can answer my question we may have a pointer to how long it takes for these games and modules to be tested before they are published.

SO Elvis, how long have you been testing Afghanistan? Or is the date NDA applicable? Have you been testing NATO and if so before or after Afghanistan? And finally is CMN at the Campaign testing stage yet?

My best guess for CMN dates is from CMSF module dates. If CMN hasn't started the Campaign testing stage yet then I dont think we will be seeing it soon. Campaigns seem to take about 3-5 months to work out. Unless CMN doesn't follow the pattern.
 
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