Returning After 10 Years: My New Project, BFME 3!

Hello again everyone after a 10-year break! I am back, and this time I come with huge, concrete news that will excite you all... (just like i always have)

Yes, you heard that right. However, let me clarify an important detail right away: To respect legal boundaries and avoid any copyright issues, I must state that this is not a standalone commercial game. It is a massive, highly comprehensive modification (mod) project built directly on top of the original *The Battle for Middle-earth 1 (BFME 1)* game engine.

Most importantly: This project is a gift to the BFME community. It has absolutely no commercial purpose and will remain **COMPLETELY FREE** for everyone, forever.

Furthermore, since it has been over 20 years since the original release, I wanted to accommodate players who have lost their physical CDs or are struggling with installations on modern systems. Therefore, I have provided a clean installation process that bypasses the CD requirement. My intention here is not to encourage piracy, but simply to offer technical convenience for veteran players who want to revisit this legend. Players who still own their original copies and wish to use their legal CD Keys can easily integrate them into the game using various community tools available online.

To elevate *The Battle for Middle-earth* experience to an entirely new level, here are the enhancements I have completed so far through my work on the core game engine:

A- COMPLETED SO FAR (These were the hardest to pull off) 

"All of this was achieved directly at the core engine level. This means players will absolutely never need to install any third-party apps to play online"

1- Smoother Online gameplay.

2- More responsive commands and smoother offhost gameplay. (meaning offhost delay fixed)

3- Smoothness improvements tested on GameRanger and L n AN carried over to Online.

4- An independent server accessible through the game’s built-in Online menu. (meaning the game has its online server now)

5- Account login, player lists, lobbies and in-game chat.

6- Working Custom Match hosting, game browsing and joining.

7- Password-protected rooms, ready status and host kick controls.

8- Connect and play across different internet connections without port forwarding. (no more NAT error)

9- Working 1v1 Quick Match on Fords of Isen, with automatic matchmaking and match launch.

10- The game keeps running in the background while Alt-Tabbed. (no more cheat in the games by using alt+tab)

11- Automatic match logs to track smoothness and stutters.

2. PLANNED

1- A ranked QM ladder with player ratings, standings, win/loss records and match history.

2- 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 Quick Match.

3- Premade teams: queue for QM with friends.

4- More balanced, skill-based matchmaking.

5- A larger QM map pool.

6- Team-only push-to-talk voice chat.

7- Measure and further reduce offhost command delay. (its already done but I want to make it more smooth)

8- Bring QM smoothness up to the same level as Custom Match.

9- Faster Alt-Tab recovery; finish testing Online exit and re-entry.

10- Better stability on weak connections and brief dropouts; fair ladder rules for DCs.

11- Easy account creation, automatic connection, updates and a visible game version.

12- Long-match and larger-team testing before a public release.

13- Explore 60 FPS and smoother animations while keeping Online matches in sync.

14. 8× / 16× AF options for sharper terrain and distant textures.

15. Explore in-game AA support to reduce jagged edges.

16. HD unit, building and terrain textures that preserve the original designs and scale.

17. More natural running, turning, attack and cavalry animations.

18. Livelier building animations that react to unit production.

19. Improved shadows, lighting, water, smoke and battle effects.

20. Reduce FPS drops and micro-stutter during large battles.

21. Performance, Balanced and High Quality graphics presets.

22. A modern, scalable UI with 4K and ultrawide support.

23. Automatic replay saving and easy replay management.

24. Spectator mode and casting tools for live matches.

25. Customizable hotkeys and saved control profiles.

26. Friends lists, game invites and a clan system.

27. Seasonal ladders, achievement badges and tournament support.

28. Automatic error reports to help diagnose desyncs and crashes.

29. File integrity checks and stronger anti-cheat protection for ranked matches.
30. Support all languages included chinese, japanese, russian etc.

If you have any ideas or things you'd like to see added, feel free to reach out to me via e-mail (forshire@hotmail.com) I truly hope I can find the time and motivation to bring all of these to life. Until next time...