You aren't in Kansas Anymore Captain: A look at Progress in Combat Mission
by: Keith Medlin

I thought that it might be fitting to have an article look at where we've been and where we're going in the unique world of Combat Mission. It's been a long journey from Computer Advanced Squad Leader to Combat Mission v1.1b24, but it's certainly been a fun one.

If I had to comment on the most exciting thing that has happened, in my opinion, in this development period, I'd have to say it's the awesome 3rd party mods that are constantly being made for Combat Mission. While many games are customizable, Combat Mission is really outstanding in just how greatly the mods impact the game without making it something that it wasn't intended to be.

I think that the mods being made for games like Quake, such as Team Fortress are simply beautiful, and those quirky, inventive mods for Myth II are outstanding. But, what makes the Combat Mission mods so much better is that the game is never changed internally, and the mods make such a huge difference.

I was fist involved with the Combat Mission game back in late July, when I received a gold version of the game to begin work on making an entire series of Advanced Squad Leader conversions, and getting some articles out about doing that. With school, sadly, I was unable to fulfill this task. However, the first thing I wanted to see were the mods that were being talked about on the Battlefront.com message boards. It sounded like the game was totally customizable, and I have to admit, the game looked very bright and bold for a wargame when I got it.

Five months later look at the amazing contributions that have been made to the game in terms of mods, scenarios, and operations. My original task to make Advanced Squad Leader conversions was taken over by Col Klotz and are available at his amazing website. He has provided some excellent maps, scenario conversion and also a

really excellent article about converting ASL scenarios into Combat Mission scenarios. I encourage everyone to visit his site, "ASL Maps 4 Combat Mission" and look around

DD has also provided many excellent mods for the Combat Mission game. His terrain mods are probably the most drastic,

As you can see there is quite a difference in the above pictures in terms of graphical quality. I don't think that the original terrain is bad, it just looks very artificial, as if it were taken from a golf game rather than a wargame. Clearly the contributions in terms of terrain have been huge. If you would like to get the DD terrain mod set, you will find a download link to them listed at the bottom of this article.

While I think that these are drastic differences from the original product, Battlefront.com and Big Time Software have been very responsive to consumer demands. Their timely responses to e-mails, technical issues, and the facilitation of collaboration on their Bulletin Boards has essentially opened up a new level of customer support.

This too has evolved with the game. Initially, contact with them was fairly easy, but information about the game was pretty difficult to come by. The occasional article, update to the website, and new image were common in the early stages of the game. In fact, I remember seeing the graphic showing the new style of LOS, "In Combat Mission, if you can see it, you can hit it..." I believe the phrase went.

As the launch date neared, the company stepped up consumer commitments and did an excellent job fueling their project on anticipation. I believe that their decision to surround themselves with quality individuals such as Madmatt and Fionn were key to the early success of the pre-launch anticipation. People got most of the information they needed, but not all of it.

The next stage in their customer support development came with the release of the game. Due to the overwhelming demand, they were adequately prepared to handle the costumer support issues that came with this dilemma. I think everything that happened, from the penetration charts not being included, to the handling of explaining the shortages, went a long way to bolster consumer faith in Big Time Software and Battlefront.com.

Now that the game is out, and preparations are being made for Combat Mission 2, everything is just about as perfect as it could be. Technical support issues are being handled in a timely manner, patches are being released with a lot of positive feedback, and the company has maintained an accessibility and commitment so missing from most software companies today.

When Big Time Software set out to change the way people thought about computer wargaming they were embarking down a footpath blazed by other similar smaller companies. However, as we look back, it's easy to think....Wow...We aren't in Kansas anymore are we? I think that any developments that have yet to be made, will only serve to further the enjoyment of the game. As it stands now, the company, the game, and the future are nothing like anyone would have initially suspected.