Situation update?

[Beagle 684]

I have one topic which hopefully will be lesson for future generations, never trust publishers and always prepare backup plan ...

Since it comes from you this words weight heavy.

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Thanks Gunther Severloh for assembling COWARMod pointing me to these excellent additions btw. 8)

Your welcome RknHarry, I seen your comment on the CoWarmodace patch download on Armaholic about CoWarModI44, i will be getting

out a patch for that possibly by or after the weekend.

srry offtopic

I have one topic which hopefully will be lesson for future generations, never trust publishers and always prepare backup plan ..

Well the game isn't a total loss, only thing we lost is the support, but trust is earned, saying never could imply that all publishers are not trustworthy,

although I have found BIS to always follow through since the beginning. So i think it depends.

[OMAC 254]

I have one topic which hopefully will be lesson for future generations, never trust publishers and always prepare backup plan ...

When I told Mlacix about the forums being down, it came as a surprise to him, so I doubt he was involved with the initial shutdown. We had a very nice chat, and he shared my concerns and disappointments about IFL44 developments over the past several months. He suggested we forget the mistakes that have been regrettably made and move on. One of these mistakes was the lack of modding support in IFL44. Such mistakes are much less likely to reoccur in the future after these experiences.

I heard from the source (not Mlacix) that it was the publisher giving X1/AWAR a bad deal several months ago that was the principal cause of the current situation, as Dwarden alluded to above. And we all know about the X1/AWAR quest for CryEngine 3 modders, so it is safe to assume that X1/AWAR are very much alive and looking for new direction. With their talent, they have a good chance to succeed in the future. But IFL44 is dead for sure, although resurrections have happened before...

As far as I know, X1/AWAR are as saddened and disappointed about the current state of affairs as we are, and perhaps much, much more.

[Beagle 684]

Your welcome RknHarry, I seen your comment on the CoWarmodace patch download on Armaholic about CoWarModI44, i will be getting

out a patch for that possibly by or after the weekend.

srry offtopic

Well the game isn't a total loss, only thing we lost is the support, but trust is earned, saying never could imply that all publishers are not trustworthy,

although I have found BIS to always follow through since the beginning. So i think it depends.

I consider the game a total loss simply because the modules I wanted do not work or were missing albeit it was promised three times to fix them. What is left is just a bad performing ArmA light with missing fractions and features. No, as you can see im not happy with it, simply because I can't do in IFL what I can do in ArmA II editor or quick mission generator. Edited March 8, 2013 by Beagle

[Joe98 90]

I consider Iron Front as Arma2 with new maps and different weapons.

I will continue to play it.

From Iron Front I learnt that a firefight where all the weapons are bolt action rifles, is a very slow affair! No wonder it was hard to advance in WW1!

I also learnt that in WW2, air support was not as accurate nor as powerful as it is today.

[ProfTournesol 956]

I'm happy of the maturity of the community, despite the common haters.

A good step forward would be :

(1) to allow porting IF assets to ArmA2, there was an official project of doing so, which were never completed ;

or / and

(2) to allow modding of IF.

[jinzor 31]

Can't somebody just find a way to bypass that key requirement (I think that that was the problem) to enable mods?

[ProfTournesol 956]

My thought is that the second solution would be complex (regarding the licensing agreement), but the first one is more simple : you own A2 and IF, you have the right to use IF as a mod in A2.

[nouty 10]

When you get those rights from the publisher, let us know.

[ProfTournesol 956]

When you get those rights from the publisher, let us know.

Smart comment ?

The publisher will obviously benefit from this, cause ArmA2 gamers will be tempted to buy IF and to mix it with ArmA2.

Edited March 8, 2013 by ProfTournesol

[sander 14]

I tried fixing a campaign and re-ifa'ing it, but it wouldn't run (in Steam), as the new ifa doesn't match the bisign.

How does it respond when you rename the file (for example adding a postfix like _omac or _fixed), so your fixed campaign has its separate .ifa filename and can be run as the custom campaign that it is?

It would be a shame if support is dropped and there will be no more additions to the game. In the v1.05 incarnation (unlike its V1.03 predecessor) I find Iron Front quite enjoyable. The maps, models and texturing are all top notch and I plan to complete a series of missions for it.

Regards,

Sander

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

I consider the game a total loss simply because the modules I wanted do not work or were missing albeit it was promised three times to fix them.

What is left is just a bad performing ArmA light with missing fractions and features. No, as you can see im not happy with it, simply because

I can't do in IFL what I can do in ArmA II editor or quick mission generator.

Thanks for pointing that out Beagle on where your at with the game in terms of what you are trying to do or dealing with personally, it is sad in that regards.

Myself am fine with the game, I'm not picky and can be lazy when it comes to editing, I just like to throw some units down and go with it, depends, but the

thing I would seriously like to see is somehow to be able to mod the game, from there we have possibilities.

Omac that is pretty informative of the situation with Awar, thank you for posting that, it really helps clear this mess on whos where in the picture.

you own A2 and IF, you have the right to use IF as a mod in A2.

You know i haven't thought of that, but the question is, is that even possible, does it work, has someone done it, and how would you do it, i mean IF has its

own exe and a separate folder, would we just move the IF directory into the Arma2 directory and then add to the shortcut like you normally would a mod?

And if that worked would now IF use the latest version of Arma2CO engine (1.62)?

And would that mean, does that mean other mods run along side IF as a mod would work with it?

[ProfTournesol 956]

You know i haven't thought of that, but the question is, is that even possible, does it work, has someone done it, and how would you do it, i mean IF has its

own exe and a separate folder, would we just move the IF directory into the Arma2 directory and then add to the shortcut like you normally would a mod?

And if that worked would now IF use the latest version of Arma2CO engine (1.62)?

And would that mean, does that mean other mods run along side IF as a mod would work with it?

In fact i didn't test it (wasn't part of the testing group), and i can't answer precisely. I don't know what features would disappear from IF, but that would give the game another life IMHO.

[tonygrunt 10]

I don't think a simple copy of the addons and renaming them to .pbo would work.

Did that and no units or maps appear in editor, so you probably have to do some sort of conversion.

[OMAC 254]

(1) to allow porting IF assets to ArmA2, there was an official project of doing so, which were never completed

^ ^ I will ask the lead developer of IF for ArmA 2 and see if there is any hope for resurrecting that effort. I don't know why that effort was dropped, but it a seems like a no-brainer to me, as it could boost sales of IF by A2 players, and even prompt some IF players to buy A2. It may even allow modding of IF, but I don't know. The thing is, the developer is very busy now on other things.......

Sander: Yes, I could try renaming the modified campaign, but that would require playing through from scratch again, which is quite an undertaking. I just wanted to fix one mission near the end and play through from there, but I guess that's not possible. If I fix one mission, perhaps I could fix them all.... If there was strong community interest, I'd consider it. The rebirth of IF for A2 could prompt such interest....

Edited March 8, 2013 by OMAC

[sander 14]

With regard to interest in a fixed campaign, I for one would play it. Despite the flaws and bugs I did like the parts of the campaigns I played through.

Regard,

Sander

[MissionCreep 12]

It would be a shame if support is dropped and there will be no more additions to the game. In the v1.05 incarnation (unlike its V1.03 predecessor) I find Iron Front quite enjoyable. The maps, models and texturing are all top notch and I plan to complete a series of missions for it.

Please do so. I've enjoyed your Arma2/OA missions. I really enjoy IF44 and I don't think it is a waste of money even with the discontinuation. I think of it in some ways as Arma 2.5. There is no point being bitter about it, but it would be great if all parties involved publishers/licensers/licencees/devs could get their asses in gear and at least allow the community some tools to maintain it.

[fkymplbo 5]

^ ^ I will ask the lead developer of IF for ArmA 2 and see if there is any hope for resurrecting that effort. I don't know why that effort was dropped, but it a seems like a no-brainer to me, as it could boost sales of IF by A2 players, and even prompt some IF players to buy A2. It may even allow modding of IF, but I don't know. The thing is, the developer is very busy now on other things.......

Sander: Yes, I could try renaming the modified campaign, but that would require playing through from scratch again, which is quite an undertaking. I just wanted to fix one mission near the end and play through from there, but I guess that's not possible. If I fix one mission, perhaps I could fix them all.... If there was strong community interest, I'd consider it. The rebirth of IF for A2 could prompt such interest....

I hope strongly to combine this game IF in the ARMA2 along with other Mods. Anybody could advise how to implent it and make it's a Mod of Arma2?

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

See on the Iron Front Unofficial Forums what we have going and it may be possible, but it has already been attempted to

combine or add IF as a mod to Arma2, IF is basically a mod, but its hidden configs within the ironfront.exe

All you would need to do and you wont see any IF in the game but you will see IF added as a mod is make a copy of the arma2oa.exe, put it into your IF directory

same place the the ironfront.exe, change your shortcut so it points to the arma2oa.exe and then launch.

After you get to the menu you will see IF on the top right, and in the expansions, but, as said there is no content because the game is locked by hidden

config that only the ironfront.exe is addressed to see, so in other words unlike Arma2OA where there is a first layer that the game goes too,

If has a hidden layer beneath it, this is what makes modding not possible, and only possible by Awar and friends cuz they know the path to this config that loads the files of IF.

So in a way raptor90 when he posted this thread with "greedy thought" was on to something, Awar and gang basically hid their "mod", game

Iron front so it cannot be accessed like a mod, or changed, but only by them. this was another reason why modding was to be done through them,

see how all this is adding up?

it was a nice tidy organized scam, I dont want to call it that but in order to make the money how else were they going to shutoff or lock modding to the RV engine

in which we all know is moddable especially since OFP.

The Dday DLC that released some months ago is basically a 2ndary mod that was released in the same fashion, its a way to get money for their work.

Now dont get me wrong AWar did make the content, they have every right to be paid and release as a full game as they did as their content was made by them,

in a way what they did was not wrong in terms of the game itself, not supporting, and not communicating is also their progative,

but I think that if they had allowed modding from the start, that the new content made by the community of the game would have attracted

more people (buyers) to the game allowing more content from Awar, and updates to be released, but to me I think they just made a wrong decision,

i think they were being ill advised by some folks in the backgrounds in partnership with them that doing what they did and only releasing a dlc,

and content would be a way to make them more money, obviously it flopped on them.

The investors pulled the plug and here we are to fend for ourselves. But we have the game so its not a total loss.

Awar should have known better, being a former mod team for OFP liberation mod 1941-1945, the seen how and where OFP, and Arma1, ect,.

went and how well BIS is doing, if they did the same thing then they would be still here.

To me a lesson could have been learned here if you want success then copy those that are successful.

With Iron front being on the RV engine, they have BIS as a good example of how to conduct, and run their game, but they partnered

with the wrong people i think, now look where their at, hiding somewhere doing we dont know what, working on a secret project about to

reveal their next plan from what i heard.

Well up to Awar, but personally we at the Unofficial Iron Front Forums where the IF community has congregated too if thats the right word, lol

Have decided to do something about Iron Front and its DLC, fi your all interested then stop on by and see whats going on.

I'm tired of bullshit and lack of support, forget the money and come help us do what should have been done in the first place.

[panzer_baron 10]

Hello, I am Panzer Baron, AWAR's art-director.

Guys, the situation is pretty sad, mostly especially for AWAR, as the main developer. The game itself as a brand belongs to Deep Silver (publisher and investor), all the main decisions are also taken only by Deep Silver, and we are not approved to say anything not-agreed with them about the situation.

Iron Front was our first project. The sales were pretty successful as far as I know, but I don't see any moves to continue it by Deep Silver.

About the greediness - guys, please, don't forget that 50% of the Iron Front was done for free, just because we were hoping to release a good game. And personally, I think we achieved it. With a small team, with no experience of any big project before, we created a game that was noticed a bit in the world.

The need for money is not because we are greedy - we just need resources to keep the team alive - we don't have any serious capital. And so, we had somehow to move on. Now we work on a new project, taking in account all the good and bad experience we gained from Iron Front developing.

[Placebo 28]

I agree, "greed" is not a fair thread title, updated.

[fkymplbo 5]

Hello, I am Panzer Baron, AWAR's art-director.

Guys, the situation is pretty sad, mostly especially for AWAR, as the main developer. The game itself as a brand belongs to Deep Silver (publisher and investor), all the main decisions are also taken only by Deep Silver, and we are not approved to say anything not-agreed with them about the situation.

Iron Front was our first project. The sales were pretty successful as far as I know, but I don't see any moves to continue it by Deep Silver.

About the greediness - guys, please, don't forget that 50% of the Iron Front was done for free, just because we were hoping to release a good game. And personally, I think we achieved it. With a small team, with no experience of any big project before, we created a game that was noticed a bit in the world.

The need for money is not because we are greedy - we just need resources to keep the team alive - we don't have any serious capital. And so, we had somehow to move on. Now we work on a new project, taking in account all the good and bad experience we gained from Iron Front developing.

Frankly, I still love this game and what amusements it brings to us. I play it every often up to now! In terms of blame of 'greedy', I take such words back and sorry for any misunderstandings about AWAR's devotion. And please also could understand our feelings and sadness of being abandoned by the game DEV which we had been trying to support.

I just wish some of you guys from AWAR could still support the game for us in any ways you could do.

- OFPCAT from IF Forum

[OMAC 254]

And personally, I think we achieved it.

I wholeheartedly agree! :)

I suggest that for your next project, get the beta product to the testers sooner to make sure that all mission and campaign content has been fully tested prior to release. The last few missions of both IFL44 campaigns were never tested, at least on Veteran and Expert difficulty in which only one save game is possible per mission.

If there is anything the community can do to get DS/Koch to consider continued support and funding for this game, please let us know.

I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavors. :cool:

[Gunter Severloh 3949]

Hi Panzer baron,

Happy to see you post and give us some details about your situation.

It is sad to read about what had happened, and your guy's relationship with Deepsilver, if it were at all possible could you guys talk them into

unlocking the game's exe so that we can at least mod and fix the game ourselves?

These guys dont know what they have, how on earth can you support a developer, and invest in their work or however it works, and not know anything

or at least very little about the potential of the game itself, and the engine that the game uses, the history and background, did they do any research?

obviously they know something, but its become apparent that their "professional" guise is to stupid to see something that could make

them more sales if modding were allowed.

As i have suggested in a previous threads and many others have also over many past months, if you guys would have enabled the community

to mod the game from the start, alot more money would be flowing in, none of this situation would have happened, yes its a learning experience I give

you guys that, but for a mod team to me at least you should know better from experience from all the years modding in OFP.

Well i wish you guys best of luck and hope that whatever you get into next do listen to the community, as we are the ones playing the game.

[NoRailgunner 0]

Well AWAR agreed and signed the contract with DeepSilver - both have their fair share on how IF ended. Guess more people would have bought the IF if the game was more polished and tested before release. Iron Front: Liberation 1944 = dead horse. RIP.