Mac OSX version integrated into license now?

Redwolf

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Got a new mac. Can't just copy over the CM game. Since I need to redo everything, what is the state of the CMBN thing? Another for-pay patch?

Did they ever follow through with the plan of integrating mac and windows versions so that one license allows you to install on either?
 

NUTTERNAME

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Got a new mac. Can't just copy over the CM game. Since I need to redo everything, what is the state of the CMBN thing? Another for-pay patch?

Did they ever follow through with the plan of integrating mac and windows versions so that one license allows you to install on either?
No clue. Does the 'Master Installers', another Moon-tastic creation, address or solve this?

Speaking of which, I keep emailing Moon...he hasn't answered in quite awhile...Could he and Emrys have run off and eloped?????
 

Elvis

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Since I need to redo everything, what is the state of the CMBN thing? Another for-pay patch?
The most recent patch is 3.11. The activation process has changed so be careful when activating. The most recent Upgrade is 3.0. If you don'y have 3.0 then you don't need the 3.11 patch.

Did they ever follow through with the plan of integrating mac and windows versions so that one license allows you to install on either?
Submit a ticket through the Help Desk....we can give you some help. Help is our first name. :)
 

NUTTERNAME

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GOOD NEWS! Emrys has been in a car accident...Bad News...Moon hasn't...
 

Geordie

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The most recent patch is 3.11. The activation process has changed so be careful when activating. The most recent Upgrade is 3.0. If you don'y have 3.0 then you don't need the 3.11 patch.



Submit a ticket through the Help Desk....we can give you some help. Help is our first name. :)
I moved over to a mac last year and bought Red Thunder, Id love to be able to play all of the CMBN games and modules I bought but its way too expensive to buy them all again. Its sort of the reason Ive stopped playing as I no longer have a PC.
 

Redwolf

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I moved over to a mac last year and bought Red Thunder, Id love to be able to play all of the CMBN games and modules I bought but its way too expensive to buy them all again. Its sort of the reason Ive stopped playing as I no longer have a PC.
Well BFC said they want to make that a cost-neutral option. Long ago. Dunno what's the holdup but then they don't have any control over the DRM they buy.
 

Elvis

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Well BFC said they want to make that a cost-neutral option. Long ago. Dunno what's the holdup but then they don't have any control over the DRM they buy.
Do you have me blocked? Did you receive my private message that I sent a while ago?
 

Redwolf

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I prefer to have no direct contact with BFC.

They either do what they announced they do or they don't.
 

Elvis

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I prefer to have no direct contact with BFC.
Your call. Just trying to help.....it's in my job title. :)

They either do what they announced they do or they don't.
I did a quick search of the forum to see exactly what they said about it. The only thing that I could find was an old comment from Phil to a guy telling him to contact the Help Desk and that they can usually help with the cost. I don't have any insider information about where they are in the process but I would be shocked if a change like that would be back ported to existing purchases. The keys are tied to a platform, so doing something like that for games already purchased would involve new downloads for every variation of every game that they sell and the issuing of new license keys. I doubt that would happen.
 

Geordie

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I prefer to have no direct contact with BFC.

They either do what they announced they do or they don't.
I have no compulsion about contacting their customer support and over the years they have been nothing but help when I have had problems.

Try them and see.
 

Redwolf

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No. Enough is enough.

That attitude of giving paying customers what they paid for and what was promised only on direct contact (aka begging) is exactly what is wrong with BFC's approach to customer relations.

At the same time no pirate ever notices a thing.
 

Elvis

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No. Enough is enough.

That attitude of giving paying customers what they paid for and what was promised only on direct contact (aka begging) is exactly what is wrong with BFC's approach to customer relations.

At the same time no pirate ever notices a thing.

Whoa whoa whoa......enough is enough.

What did you pay for that you no longer have? You purchased a PC version of a game. You still have a PC version of a game. When you purchased the game it was not compatible with a Mac and it is still not compatible with a Mac. You have exactly what you paid for. For xmas I got a PC version of the new Dragon Age game that my wife purchased for me. It said PC version right on the box (I don't even know if they make it for Mac but that's not the point). If I get a Mac in a few years should I be angry at them because I have a Mac now and can't play the PC version that I have? If they do allow some method of getting me a Mac version, should I be twisted because I would need to let them know that I would like one? Absurd.

And while I'm at it....what exactly has been "promised". I tried a search before I posted the other day and the only thing I found was a comment by Phil from a year or 2 ago saying that Martin told him that if anyone was asking for something like that they they should submit a ticket to the Help Desk. I didn't find any "promises" or anything. I do recall something (although I couldn't find it...maybe somebody else can) that BFC would like to be able to offer their games in dual platform but nothing like a "promise" to do it. And certainly no mention of making it retroactive across all CM titles. And as I'm typing this I'm not even sure it was a public conversation.

But as I said before, suit yourself. It's your call. Not mine. If you want to sit in (not so) quite indignation then that's your choice. I was just trying to help.
 

Geordie

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id side with Elvis here as it was my decision to buy a Mac instead of a new PC. I bought RT for Mac but if I buy a PC next week I wouldn't expect them to give me a free PC copy. When you buy it it doesn't state that its multi platform.

Much as I miss playing CMBN and to some extent CMSF, I think I have had my value from them. My only problem is that its expensive to replicate what I already have. But hey, I can live with this.
 

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I suppose the only option, which might not even be possible, is to sell one version to help purchase another. People used to sell CMx1 stuff on ebay all the time. You don't see any CMBN or later products nowadays.

I would suggest the following:
Most companies have restocking fees. So, for a $10.00 fee (per title), BF deactivates and voids the PC code, and then he gets his MAC code. So, something like CMBN family, it could still add up. Something like CMRT would just be $10.00.
 
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Redwolf

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BFC has never been able to demonstrate that they can operate their own DRM properly. There was a long string of being unable to say even what you can do to your PC without disabling the license.

It is then hacked up in support at the expense of time of both customer and company.

My memory of what was said about the unification of PC and Mac licenses seems to differ from yours.


In any case, an online-only play mode should be an option. One account can have one instance of the game running in any location on any platform. That would solve a whole range of problems starting from how deeply CM anchors itself in the system. With a modern authentication system you could just copy the filesystem tree with the game around your house and not do install-from-scratch and then stack patches. That was annoying even in the 1990s.

For those people who still don't have contiguous Internet they can do the crazy DRMed offline mode.
 

Elvis

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There was a long string of being unable to say even what you can do to your PC without disabling the license.
A lot of that is intentional. The more details that you give out publicly abut how a system works, the more information you've given hackers about how to work around it.



My memory of what was said about the unification of PC and Mac licenses seems to differ from yours.
Yes, it does. And without any evidence to the contrary, it's a pretty safe bet that the information I'm giving is the correct information. I did review some private email conversations from months ago and, while I'm not going to touch the details of the emails (it's above my pay grade), I will say that there was no mention of making any dual system retroactive to all previously purchased titles. Which doesn't mean that that will never happen....just not part of the conversation and I certainly wouldn't count on it, if I were you.


In any case, an online-only play mode should be an option. One account can have one instance of the game running in any location on any platform. That would solve a whole range of problems starting from how deeply CM anchors itself in the system. With a modern authentication system you could just copy the filesystem tree with the game around your house and not do install-from-scratch and then stack patches. That was annoying even in the 1990s.

For those people who still don't have contiguous Internet they can do the crazy DRMed offline mode.
BFC has been very clear that they don't have any interest in getting hooked up with Steam or EA or a system like they use. However, there has been movement to a simplified installation/re-installation system, like the one that is already in place for CMBN with the 3.0 Upgrade.
 

Redwolf

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Look every other game I still use I just have on a network drive and can use from any random computer in the house - one at a time. That's how I roll. It's 2015. I have more than one computer.

The only reason why that doesn't work for BFC and Matrix games is the stupid DRM.
 

Redwolf

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A lot of that is intentional. The more details that you give out publicly abut how a system works, the more information you've given hackers about how to work around it.
That's ridiculous. Telling us in advance whether plugging in headphones disables the game via DRM (it did) doesn't get anybody who wants to remove the entire DRM any further. It's no help.
 
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