On 11/04/2023 23:42, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 6 Apr 2023 09:24:09 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

This popped up on Steam and caught my interest as I was a big fan of the
original Combat Mission. I then realised that it's the same game that
was released about ten years ago but the price tag is £50, you've got to
be kidding me. To make it worse the engine it uses as just an evolution
of the original CM with graphics to match. To really rub salt into the
wound they've spliced up elements (British forces for example) that were
part of the original and are selling them as DLC's.

I realise that it's a niche game and the dev's need to make a profit but
this feels more like a bit of a scam.

Mini-rant over!

the first few "Close Combat" games are also available on GOG, for significantly less money.

(Well, I assume for less, since you didn't offer a link to which game
you're talking about on Steam. I'm assuming the "Close Combat
Collection" https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/14953/Close_Combat_Collection/
which has a nominal price of ... good God, is that right? $300USD?
They're outta their flerkin' gourds!)

I remember the first few games of the series quite fondly; they were -
IIRC - some of the first wargames specifically for the Win9x platform,
and - thanks to all the resources poured into the franchise by
Microsoft - were pretty impressive games for the time. But the sequels
failed to differentiate themselves from their predecssors, and after
the horrific first-person "Close Combat: First to Fight", I gave up on
the series (fortunately, the franchise returned to its wargaming roots
after that disaster, but by then it was too late).

I've no idea as to whether the later games are worth the money, and no intention of finding out. But I still have my discs of the originals,
and the paltry sums I spent for their digital version of GOG were
money well spent.

In fact... I think I just figured out another game to install on the
Win98 PC. ;-)

Ah, different game so link below.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2297010/Combat_Mission_Battle_for_Normandy/

It's strange you should mention CC though as I feel it falls into the
same category. Another game series I played a lot when they were first
released but the remakes. When I first saw them released my first
thought was I must grab 2 & 3 and then I saw the prices. £30 a pop for
some relatively minor updates (higher resolutions and the improved
control system from the games later in the series). No worries maybe the
money has been spent on tackling some of worst issues in the originals.
Rushes to reviews to see, nope the pathfinding is still a big problem especially for vehicles.

I even had high hopes of the reboot with the Bloody First was going to
be the one that CC great again. Again nope and it should have been
called The Bloody Mess as it looked a nicer but the core gameplay was
all over the place.

Oh well, there's always the games released by Graviteam.

https://store.steampowered.com/developer/graviteam

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 12 Apr 2023 10:09:55 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 11/04/2023 23:42, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 6 Apr 2023 09:24:09 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

This popped up on Steam and caught my interest as I was a big fan of the >>> original Combat Mission. I then realised that it's the same game that
was released about ten years ago but the price tag is £50, you've got to >>> be kidding me. To make it worse the engine it uses as just an evolution
of the original CM with graphics to match. To really rub salt into the
wound they've spliced up elements (British forces for example) that were >>> part of the original and are selling them as DLC's.

I realise that it's a niche game and the dev's need to make a profit but >>> this feels more like a bit of a scam.

Mini-rant over!

the first few "Close Combat" games are also available on GOG, for
significantly less money.

Ah, different game so link below. >https://store.steampowered.com/app/2297010/Combat_Mission_Battle_for_Normandy/

Oops. Brain fart. But even knowing that, I still confuse the two games
in my head. I need to remember: the Close Combat games were the ones
that used the top-down sprites, and the Combat Mission games were the
ones that used 3D models.

I didn't stick with the Combat Mission games very long after their
release; I think I played the first, fiddled with the 2nd, bought the
3rd and after that? The series became invisible to me. Wargames were
never had a huge draw on me, and by the mid 2000s, I had my fill.

Still, I recall being quite impressed by the 3D camera at the time.
Even though mechanically it didn't work quite as well as the Close
Combat god's-eye view, it just /looked/ neat and really helped with
the immersion.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 12/04/2023 16:01, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Wed, 12 Apr 2023 10:09:55 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 11/04/2023 23:42, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 6 Apr 2023 09:24:09 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

This popped up on Steam and caught my interest as I was a big fan of the >>>> original Combat Mission. I then realised that it's the same game that
was released about ten years ago but the price tag is £50, you've got to >>>> be kidding me. To make it worse the engine it uses as just an evolution >>>> of the original CM with graphics to match. To really rub salt into the >>>> wound they've spliced up elements (British forces for example) that were >>>> part of the original and are selling them as DLC's.

I realise that it's a niche game and the dev's need to make a profit but >>>> this feels more like a bit of a scam.

Mini-rant over!

the first few "Close Combat" games are also available on GOG, for
significantly less money.

Ah, different game so link below.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2297010/Combat_Mission_Battle_for_Normandy/

Oops. Brain fart. But even knowing that, I still confuse the two games
in my head. I need to remember: the Close Combat games were the ones
that used the top-down sprites, and the Combat Mission games were the
ones that used 3D models.

I didn't stick with the Combat Mission games very long after their
release; I think I played the first, fiddled with the 2nd, bought the
3rd and after that? The series became invisible to me. Wargames were
never had a huge draw on me, and by the mid 2000s, I had my fill.

Still, I recall being quite impressed by the 3D camera at the time.
Even though mechanically it didn't work quite as well as the Close
Combat god's-eye view, it just /looked/ neat and really helped with
the immersion.

Combat Mission was a good game but I feel over the years suffered from
what a lot of wargames that try and use the power of a PC to create a
game that just isn't possible in a TT environment yet still has its
roots in a TT environment. The resources needed to create a game that
will appeal to a modern audience (think graphics) just aren't there in
what is a relatively niche space.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)