February 24th, 2011, 21:58
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Thanks, ASM!
I found the article kind of funny, actually. Lots of worry that Activision would do to Take Two what Take Two has (supposedly) done to Firaxis: milk their franchise(s) for quick cash with some low-quality rushed releases, damaging their reputation in the process.
It is probably not a hopeful sign for Civ, but TakeTwo being on the receiving end of "what goes around comes around" would not exactly make me weep.
February 24th, 2011, 23:43
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What's wrong with with Activision? They've merged with Blizzard, which is a company I have a lot of respect for.
February 25th, 2011, 07:23
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That's more of owned partnership because Blizzard-Vivendi was so successful already they didn't want to mess with it. However, there are suspicions that not everything is koshur.
For example with Starcraft II, Blizzard was given full latitude with the game but not with everything around the game. So BattleNet2.0's functionality is largely suspected as being a product of Activision's vision of SCII's online component. They prioritized Facebook integration before even chatrooms were put in. We finally got it 5 months after release. They tried to spring the 'Real ID' that used your real name as part of you online ID but it was fortunately negatively panned out of existence except in Asia which has problems with videogame addiction. They even dropped LAN which was supported in alpha builds of the game 3 years before release so that more than $1000 tourneys were lagged out.
I mean, Blizzard's still pretty cool but there's quite a bit of frustration with them in the SCII community these days because of perceived compromises in quality and decision making of what to implement. I mean, the game is 3 expansions costing $60, $30, and $30. Heck, Activision was the one that started pricing AAA games at $60 with Modern Warfare 2 despite it being a mediocre clone of the original.
Likewise look at their on going legal case with the old Infinity Ward guys.
In Soviet Russia, Civilization Micros You!
"Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."
“I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.”
February 25th, 2011, 09:49
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antisocialmunky Wrote:For example with Starcraft II, Blizzard was given full latitude with the game but not with everything around the game. So BattleNet2.0's functionality is largely suspected as being a product of Activision's vision of SCII's online component. They prioritized Facebook integration before even chatrooms were put in. We finally got it 5 months after release. They tried to spring the 'Real ID' that used your real name as part of you online ID but it was fortunately negatively panned out of existence except in Asia which has problems with videogame addiction. They even dropped LAN which was supported in alpha builds of the game 3 years before release so that more than $1000 tourneys were lagged out.
A bit off topic, but I'd like to ask what people at RB think of Starcraft 2. I liked the original a lot and was going to buy SC2, however after reading reviews online and learning about the whole 'Real ID', restriction for LAN, having to pay separately for the other campaigns etc. I decided not to. What I would like from the game is just the normal stuff: be able to play the SP campaigns and also online both with friends and random people LoL-style.
Kalin
February 25th, 2011, 11:17
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Joined: Nov 2009
Get it if you are into high level economy based RTS multiplayer. The MP component is really fun.
In Soviet Russia, Civilization Micros You!
"Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."
“I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.”
February 25th, 2011, 23:13
Posts: 1,303
Threads: 23
Joined: May 2010
kalin Wrote:A bit off topic, but I'd like to ask what people at RB think of Starcraft 2. I liked the original a lot and was going to buy SC2, however after reading reviews online and learning about the whole 'Real ID', restriction for LAN, having to pay separately for the other campaigns etc. I decided not to. What I would like from the game is just the normal stuff: be able to play the SP campaigns and also online both with friends and random people LoL-style.
Kalin
Actually, I just installed the game Tuesday. Never played the original [or indeed any RTS at all besides AoE 2 and 3], so I have no idea what SCII is like in comparison, but so far I've enjoyed it a lot. Graphics are pretty good, there seems to be a fair bit of depth [heck, I'm still really getting to know just the Terrans], and the campaign has been enjoyable so far. However, though I haven't even touched MP yet, Battlenet has already got on my nerves a lot; for example, the required account set-up demands [among other things] your address and phone number  . I just fabricated something and it's worked out fine so far, but still.
Keep in mind though that this is from someone not terribly familiar with the whole RTS genre or live multiplayer on computers.
Played in: PBEM 4 [Formerly Jowy's Peter of Egypt] | PBEM 10 [Napoleon of the Dutch] | PBEM 11 [Shaka of France] | EitB XVI [Valledia of the Amurites] | PB7 [Darius of Rome] | Diplomacy 3 [Austria-Hungary] | PBEMm/o vs AutomatedTeller
February 26th, 2011, 09:59
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Well, if you want some indication of the market who Acti-Blizzard is targeting, Blizzard just patched out the loss indicator on their patch test BNet(Blizzard has a separate client for testing new patches) for all leagues outside of Masters(top 20% of players) so now there is no immediate way to figure losses except games played - wins.
That is... if they actually showed you games played. *roll eyes*
In Soviet Russia, Civilization Micros You!
"Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."
“I have never understood why it is "greed" to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else's money.”
February 27th, 2011, 13:12
Posts: 25
Threads: 1
Joined: Jan 2011
It's hard to see Firaxis fairing worse under Activision than Take 2; but Activision's treatment of Blizzard over the next 12 months will speak a lot either way about what a Civ 6 would be like if work started on it in the next few months.
(Remembering that Civ IV started development fairly soon after Civ III, which also received a lot of criticism when it came out.)
luddite Wrote:What's wrong with with Activision? They've merged with Blizzard, which is a company I have a lot of respect for.
February 27th, 2011, 15:51
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Joined: Oct 2009
I'm not much for multiplayer RTS play, but I enjoyed the single player campaign of Starcraft 2 a lot. Whether or not that's worth the purchase price is a matter of personal opinion to be honest. Just keep in mind that there's as many missions in this game as there were in the original, and that you can download a demo or get your hands on a guest pass if you want some first-hand experience before buying it.
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. - George Bernard Shaw
February 27th, 2011, 16:53
Posts: 1,285
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Joined: Jun 2009
SleepingMoogle Wrote:I'm not much for multiplayer RTS play, but I enjoyed the single player campaign of Starcraft 2 a lot. Whether or not that's worth the purchase price is a matter of personal opinion to be honest. Just keep in mind that there's as many missions in this game as there were in the original, and that you can download a demo or get your hands on a guest pass if you want some first-hand experience before buying it.
Thanks to all that replied to my question about SC2. I think I will wait a bit on it. What may make me more interested would be if the RB community were to get into SC2 the way it got into LoL. Maybe someone could start a thread or something.
Kalin
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