Battle.net 2.0

[WeAreTheBorg]

Now, I like the new bnet and everything, but I cannot comprehend why LAN, cross server play, and chat channels are not just not implemented, but explicitly stated to never be intended.

If you know people in different regions, you actually have to buy a second copy of the game to play with them. There is NO OTHER WAY.

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

It seems to me that Activision's greed is influencing Blizzard games more and more. When it was mounts for money in WoW I didn't care because it's cosmetic. Now it's striking at the heart of the gaming experience itself.

It sucks because Starcraft 2 is a brilliant game and I will enjoy playing it for years to come I'm sure, but it will be tainted by these decisions until they are reversed.

 

[darthraidr]

...LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming...

as for Activision's impact on Blizzard, i'd say there is none that is noticeable. but gaming fanboys love to look for crazy conspiracy theories...

 

[Jadzia]

Perhaps Blizzard hopes to role out some subscription services once a large proportion of it's userbase have integrated their online/social lives with the network.

If I worked for Blizzard, that's the strategy I'd be putting forward: Get people dependent on the network first, and then tempt them with subscription accounts. Some will bite. And if a couple of your friends choose to upgrade, then you'll feel you'll have to upgrade aswell, otherwise you'll be left out.

 

[Rii]

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy.

Read: everyone. Let's not kid ourselves here.

This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming

Err, no. They're not even the 'heart and soul' of hardcore PC gaming. Nowadays, we have the internet.

 

[FordSVT]

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

What is this, 1997? First of all, "casual PC gaming" and "LAN parties" don't belong in the same paragraph, let alone sentence. And they haven't been "the heart and soul" of PC gaming since people upgraded from 56k modems to DSL.

Blizzard wants you to play their games and they want you to pay for that privileged. So what? I think the new cross-game chat feature will be awesome.

 

[omegaone]

It'll still suck though if I go to a place and want to Lan SC2 but no net is there.... (It still happens)

Region locking Battle.net players to specific regions is another annoyance hopefully they'll fix it later.

 

[WeAreTheBorg]

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

What is this, 1997?

No, its 13 years later and should therefore not be regressing in terms of game features.

First of all, "casual PC gaming" and "LAN parties" don't belong in the same paragraph, let alone sentence.

That's not how I see it. Me personally, I never played Starcraft online. I never played it single player either. The only times I ever played it was for LAN parties, where usually around half the people involved didn't even have the game. I would call that casual, not playing a game except for special occasions.

Blizzard wants you to play their games and they want you to pay for that privileged. So what? I think the new cross-game chat feature will be awesome.

That's fine, but they also want you to buy 5 copies to play with everyone in the world.( I didn't mention the game being split into 3 releases for 3 campaigns at full price each either, because I trust the content will justify it.)

They also are in effect eliminating these casual LAN parties by disabling those that don't have a copy from playing. They were never going to buy one anyway, so its pointless.

For an in depth explanation of the issues from a hard core gamer watch this [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-r_uCaFxg8[/yt]

 

[darthraidr]

couldn't you still have a LAN party, except you go through the internet to connect? does it really make that much of a difference to your gameplay experience?

ah, at this point you probably bring up the "what if battle.net is down on the one day we had planned for a LAN party?" and i respond, tough luck i guess... one day down isn't the end of the world...

to which you respond, "But what if it is the last day of the world and i just wanted to get in a LAN party before we all die?" and i respond, you have a sad set of priorities and i'm sorry you won't get that last game of SC2 in.

you then respond, "Hey man, back off. all i want to do is bitch that some feature that i havent used in the last 13 years is gone." and i reply, when was the last time you had a true LAN party?

 

[Jadzia]

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

If the new game doesn't meet your needs then you don't have to buy it. It's not like there aren't other games you can play.

 

[omegaone]

when was the last time you had a true LAN party?

I was at one a Month ago actually...

 

[darthraidr]

so there was no internet connection at the LAN party?

it still shocks me that anyone cares about this. i think it's mostly nostalgia, and in a few years no one will care about not being able to have a LAN game of SC2

 

[WeAreTheBorg]

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

If the new game doesn't meet your needs then you don't have to buy it. It's not like there aren't other games you can play.

I'm not talking about the game. I'm talking about Battle.net, which is not the game. I will have the game on release date and enjoy it thoroughly make no mistake. It's just a shame they are restricting the experience through an inadequate battle.net.

I mean, no chat rooms... that's like the weirdest thing honestly.

 

[WeAreTheBorg]

couldn't you still have a LAN party, except you go through the internet to connect? does it really make that much of a difference to your gameplay experience?

As I've said a few times, a lot of the people that I used to play SC1 with didn't have the game. We only played on the LAN for these occasions. That's not possible with this system. Only my friends who care enough about the game to actually buy it will be able to play.

 

[Yoda]

couldn't you still have a LAN party, except you go through the internet to connect? does it really make that much of a difference to your gameplay experience?

As I've said a few times, a lot of the people that I used to play SC1 with didn't have the game. We only played on the LAN for these occasions. That's not possible with this system. Only my friends who care enough about the game to actually buy it will be able to play.

So, you'll lose out on the opportunity to beat up on the scrubs that haven't been put through the online ringer, so to speak?

I agree it sucks that they no longer support the share a disc with three players model of LAN multiplayer, but if your main complaint is that your friends are too cheap to buy the game, I don't know if I'm on board with you.

LAN is not enabled because they want to force everyone to buy the game... no offline LAN parties where some people don't have a copy. This is ridiculous because LAN parties are the heart and soul of casual PC gaming and many people would only play them game during those occasions and would therefore have no reason to have the game.

If the new game doesn't meet your needs then you don't have to buy it. It's not like there aren't other games you can play.

I'm not talking about the game. I'm talking about Battle.net, which is not the game. I will have the game on release date and enjoy it thoroughly make no mistake. It's just a shame they are restricting the experience through an inadequate battle.net.

I mean, no chat rooms... that's like the weirdest thing honestly.

No chat rooms? Seriously? That does seem strange... I mean, Warcraft 3 had them, and they were useful for rounding up people to fill out team matches, or play a mod, or just... whatever.

 

[ATimson]

No chat rooms? Seriously? That does seem strange... I mean, Warcraft 3 had them, and they were useful for rounding up people to fill out team matches, or play a mod, or just... whatever.

The new queue should take care of the "fill out team matches" part of that. And browsing the server list, "play a mod".

Not going to do much for "whatever", though.

 

[Yoda]

Sometimes you just want to round up someone by talking with them and making sure they're not a complete dickhead though. And 'whatever' is an excellent feature of any online gaming service

 

[WeAreTheBorg]

I thought this was pretty ironic (yes it's beta this won't happen often at all after launch I know I know)

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=129295

Hey there!
So me anda buddy of mine were planning on having a SC2 LAN (lolright) tonight but lo and behold the game won't even load for some reason. We even reinstalled all of it (oh god it took forever) and still all we're getting is a little box with the starcraft logo on starting the exe, which then proceeds to just bug out. This happening to others of just us?

BNET2.0 is undergoing maintenance.