Slitherine

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ORIGINAL: Grim.Reaper

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ORIGINAL: reverendCrast

and there is a tiny hope that if the game sells, the devs will consider some graphics/rendering engine updates

Battlefront has been around for an extremely long time and the "latest" engine since around July of 2007. It certainly is a niche game series and the followers/community isn't likely to expand greatly beyond where it is today. They have released updates to the engine, on version 4.0 right now but they don't seem in a big hurry to move to a next generation platform since they seem satisfied with what they have although it certainly has become dated. Can't imagine they will be able to move to a major new platform based on how long it takes them to even release patches and additional content. CMFS2 was supposed to come out back in May originally as an example and seems like they can only work on one game at a time. Without a serious competitor in tactical warfare (besides maybe Graviteam), they have little incentive to do so.

I still like the series, warts and all, but I have low expectations on their future....basically "it is what it is".

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ORIGINAL: reverendCrast

I bought the game few days ago, all modules. This is my first Combat Mission game, I never knew they existed until now.

Pros:
- the gameplay is great. Lots of choices of equipment, fire support, UAVs. It gives a sense of realism, the troops behave in believable way.
- UI is simple, yet powerful, it's fun to use.
- mission editor and quick battle are really good, infinite possibilities.
- sound is pretty good, creates nice atmosphere.

Cons:
- Presentation ranges from ugly to functional, I can get a really good shot sometimes from certain angles, especially when I avoid showing the terrain. While equipment models are good and nicely detailed, the terrain, shading and lighting is something from mid 90's at best. Textures get blurry, shadows flicker, the game feels like very unfinished/outdated piece. I don't expect AAA graphics here though.
- The game uses obsolete graphics rendering technology and performs really badly, even on top end hardware (running 5gz 8700k, 2080ti, 32gb of fast RAM here, everything is on M2 drives). My frame rates vary from 25 fps to 3000 fps (! - and yes, I know I can limit frames etc. but it won't change the fact that rendering "engine" this game uses doesn't perform). The game uses modern hardware poorly.
- Multiplayer is there, but again in mid 90's form. Connection by IP or PBEM (I actually like PBEM). No lobby, no community.

Notes:
I have no issues with licence system.

Overall, I think it's a very unique game with great, never seen anywhere else gameplay, but it's wider adoption is hindered by obsolete, very low level of presentation and virtually lack of accessible multiplayer which leads to very limited exposure and invisible community. I understand that the game is made by a very small team with limited resources and most of the man power goes to simulation part of the game, which shows - pure gameplay part of the game is very good. Having said that, I believe that bringing the presentation and multiplayer/community part of the game to even low end modern standards would bring more players on board and make the game much more popular.

Was it worth the price? Yes! I am having fun playing it, and there is a tiny hope that if the game sells, the devs will consider some graphics/rendering engine updates

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ORIGINAL: Red2112

Ok not CMSF2 but a great price for CMBO at GOG...
https://www.gog.com/game/combat_mission_beyond_overlord

Red