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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: DaBrain on February 01, 2005, 11:55:27 am

Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: DaBrain on February 01, 2005, 11:55:27 am
Unlike the Valve guys who dared to screw up HL1 multiplayer by adding Steam, and multiple other creators/publishers, which do not take care of older products, Blizzard seems to care about their old games and their customers.

They are going to release a rather big patch for StarCraft, which is really old.
//www.blizzard.com

Why are there no other companies which do something like that?


I never felt ripped off after buying a Blizzard game.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Flipside on February 01, 2005, 11:57:46 am
LucasArts are pretty good as well for supporting older products, but yes, game patches/fixes and updates are like hardware patches/drivers etc. As soon as your hardware is no longer 'recent' there is no interest in keeping them up to date.

Creative are the worst hardware manufacturer for doing this btw.


Edit : Dammit! Even the forum is ignoring me now! The main page says the lats post in this thread was UT, and so does the Forum page :wtf:
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Unknown Target on February 01, 2005, 11:56:47 am
Because Blizzard only has old games. All their new ones aren't anywhere near as ground breaking.

Practically all of Blizzard's legacy is built on Starcraft.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Nuke on February 01, 2005, 11:59:38 am
indeed, probibly has to do with the fact that they are still selling copies of the game. pretty much anything blizzard does is cool. i love the cutscenes in that game. f***in halarious. i just wich theyd make starcraft 2, using the wc3 engine of course :D
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Liberator on February 01, 2005, 01:25:42 pm
Why waste time with the WC3 engine?  Licence Source or the Doom 3 engine and prove that a beautiful game can be made with it without treating you're user base like a bunch of criminals.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Unknown Target on February 01, 2005, 01:33:01 pm
Doom 3 or Source for a strategy game? :wtf:

That's a really dumb ****ing idea.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Falcon on February 01, 2005, 02:34:28 pm
:lol:
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: phatosealpha on February 01, 2005, 02:40:08 pm
I'm under the impression the sole reason they keep releasing patches for starcraft is because it's still huge in Korea.  Think they may still get  royalties or something from Korean cybercafes which have starcraft (and I get the feeling that's like, all of them).
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Taristin on February 01, 2005, 03:03:08 pm
Starcraft > all other games of it's genre.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: MatthewPapa on February 01, 2005, 03:08:09 pm
YES, I LOVE THIS GAME.

And your right, there arent many other companies that would spend money on such an old game (1998)
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: DaBrain on February 01, 2005, 03:08:40 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Nuke
indeed, probibly has to do with the fact that they are still selling copies of the game.


When did the last Diablo 1 patch come out?




I just refuse to belive that it's all about money.
If you create a great game, you just have to love it.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Taristin on February 01, 2005, 03:14:44 pm
I was playing it this morning. It's such a dynamic game. While the original story absolutely was lame, the multiplayer scene and the use map settings feature really changes the game enough to breathe new life into it, and to keep things exciting. :)
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Cyker on February 01, 2005, 03:23:42 pm
Yup. The only modern RTS I've played that even comes close to StarCraft is the WH40k game, but SC beats it senseless in terms of story, music voice acting, and general polish.

I desperately want an SC2, but I know that whatever they do it'll fall short of my expectations and therefore suck.

WC3 definitely did.

Flipside: Are we talking about the same LucasArts here? The only patches I've ever gotten from them are ones to fix really stupid bugs that people discover 2 days after launch date...!
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Janos on February 01, 2005, 03:30:16 pm
Here's a quick summary of RTS games so far:

C&C: Build and rush!
WC2: Build and rush!
SC: try to be more tactical, think oh ****, RUSH THEM and get slaughtered
WC3: Jesus Christ all those colors I can't see **** WTF WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO MY ENTIRE ARMY what is that glowing thingie argh stalemate
Empire Earth: NUCLEAR BOMBER HOLOCAUST rush
WH40k: goddamn stalemate (Haven't played this one too much yet)
AoE/AoK: pure sex trebuchet masses
Everything else: hi guyz i'm special i ride the short bus plz notice me
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Unknown Target on February 01, 2005, 03:33:10 pm
Homeworld whooped SC's ass, IMHO.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: DaBrain on February 01, 2005, 04:49:16 pm
Homeworld was nice, but way to complex.

It can't compete with StarCraft if you ask me.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Grey Wolf on February 01, 2005, 04:54:45 pm
In my opinion, Battle for Middle Earth is a better game than AoE2. Haven't really played SC, though, so no judgement there...
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: .::Tin Can::. on February 01, 2005, 05:00:30 pm
I thought Warcraft III was pretty fun, but Starcraft was just a lot better and just a lot more fun. I loved it.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Corsair on February 01, 2005, 05:01:24 pm
Homeworld is just much more involved than StarCraft. They're sort of different genres, I think.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: aldo_14 on February 01, 2005, 05:16:54 pm
Quote
Originally posted by DaBrain

I just refuse to belive that it's all about money.
If you create a great game, you just have to love it.


Someone has to pay the coders bills.......
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: phatosealpha on February 01, 2005, 05:22:24 pm
Ah, homeworld's complexity was it's strength.  Things like kami-salvaging, triwalling, bouncing battle balls, that's part of what made it great.

The other part of the attraction for me was that your fleet strenght carried over.  Gave a reason to excel, vs. typical episodic RTS's where as long as you win it doesn't matter if you crush them or just eke by.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: SKYNET-011 on February 01, 2005, 05:26:46 pm
Pandemic is still working on Battlezone 2...

Well, 2 members of pandemic.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Flaser on February 01, 2005, 05:47:11 pm
I also liked Homeworld 2 - thoug I'm also a fan of PDS since it built on its good qualities.

Though I tend to spend quite a time on the sensors managger.

What I like in HW2 - though it seemed somewhat dumbed/simpler than 1 was the new tactics.

Band Looping translates to rush in most games - here a fleet acted like one, with each unit trying to serve a role suited to its capabilities.

....and I'm glad they toned down the frigates - they are support units and should be used as such, not the freakin cavalry (which is exactly what corvettes are).
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Jal-18 on February 01, 2005, 06:02:40 pm
Homeworld really does beat StarCraft.  There only departments where it fails is lack of distinct playable races and prominenant comedic unit speech.

The WH40K game is Dawn of War, and if I had more interest in the Blizzard-type of RTS, I'd definately prefer it over SC.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: NGTM-1R on February 01, 2005, 06:59:19 pm
Cataclysm beats Starcraft. (It had comedic unit speech, actually. I really got to like the destroyer guys.)

HW1...iffy at best. They don't really compare so well.

HW2...may it rot in the deepest depths of hell for a single-player campaign that punishes you for doing well. I managed to keep my fleet fairly intact, and what happens at Thaddis Sabbah? I have two Battlecruisers to face the Vaygr's TWENTY. No, I'm not kidding, that's what happened. I literally screamed at the game for five minutes, then snapped the disc in half and threw it out.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Liberator on February 01, 2005, 07:17:57 pm
tell me about it, it's ridiculous.  Yeah, I can understand dynamically increasing the enemies strength so that the player is challenged, but that's overboard.  The enemy should never outclass you to the point where you have no chance of victory.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Swamp_Thing on February 01, 2005, 07:31:29 pm
Before i realized the game was multiplying my units for the enemy´s count, i thought cheats was the way to go, in that mission where you have to prevent the gate from destruction. So, i redid the previous mission, and added myself some 6 battleships, and full fleet of everything else. Now you can imagine what i saw when i started the next mission. The screen was all RED!!!
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Liberator on February 01, 2005, 07:40:38 pm
Rumor has it if you use Dreadnaughts to reinforce the enemy doesn't multiply.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Knight Templar on February 01, 2005, 10:02:14 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Unknown Target
Because Blizzard only has old games. All their new ones aren't anywhere near as ground breaking.

Practically all of Blizzard's legacy is built on Starcraft.


You haven't played WC3 or WoW, have you?
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: AqueousShadow on February 02, 2005, 12:57:25 am
Quote
Originally posted by Knight Templar


You haven't played WC3 or WoW, have you?


Must reiterate the question.

StarCraft was good, but it died out after awhile because of its diminished capabilities. WarCraft 3 built upon StarCraft in A LOT of ways and made the experience more enjoyable, albeit the gameplay and focus was a lot different (micromanagement vs. macromanagement). When I saw the news on the next patch, I knew Blizzard was trying to "upgrade" SC with the more accessible things that WC3 has (things like mini-map pinging). Just makes it more enjoyable.

Of course, IMHO, WC3 still beats StarCraft out because of its capabilities. Especially the custom maps. WC3 is almost entirely customizable, whereas StarCraft is a bit more limited. Dota....drool....
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Ransom on February 02, 2005, 01:08:24 am
I hate Blizzard because of WC3 and WoW. I cannot stand them. WoW is just as bad as nearly every other fantasy MMORPG, with its tiresome gameplay and awful graphics, and WC3 is just... bad. Starcraft beat the hell out of it. I don't know what it is, but I enjoy playing Starcraft, yet I can't play WC3 for five minutes without, well, not playing it anymore.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Knight Templar on February 02, 2005, 04:18:12 am
Quote
Originally posted by Ransom Arceihn
...awful graphics...


So they take a bit of artistic liscense instead of making it teh ubar reelistic!! and forcing you to buy the latest radeon 12000++ to get anything higher than 5 fps and it all the sudden has "awful graphics"?

You're one of those people who continued to whine about Zelda: Wind Waker even after the anti-artsy train left the buidling, aren't you?

EDIT: If I could spell, I'd be dangerous.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Liberator on February 02, 2005, 04:25:56 am
I actually prefer toonish proportions and design in my games.  Slightly oversized bits, nothing SD or chibi you understand, but a bit of silliness never hurts, especially with the deadly seriousness most of the games these days seem to have in what passes for stories.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Fergus on February 02, 2005, 04:27:58 am
I personally feel Blizzard kicked off with Warcraft 2, but I don't see what you seem to have against Warcraft 3, how is it bad?  Personally I have always prefered my Total Wars, yet Warcraft 3 was ground breaking...take those "Hero" characters, yes SC did include them but I usually just left them at the start (nasty tendancy of dieing).  And how can a game that has a whole class go on "strike" be bad?  (Remebers the sight of all the gnomes)
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Knight Templar on February 02, 2005, 04:29:46 am
That and the Warcraft storyline absolutely kicks ass if you read into it a bit. Not that Starcraft's doesn't either, but it's hardly been developed as much.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Ransom on February 02, 2005, 04:47:04 am
Quote
Originally posted by Knight Templar
So they take a bit of artistic liscense instead of making it teh ubar reelistic!! and forcing you to buy the latest radeon 12000++ to get anything higher than 5 fps and it all the sudden has "awful graphics"?

You're one of those people who continued to whine about Zelda: Wind Waker even after the anti-artsy train left the buidling, aren't you?

It's not the style that I hate, it's that the graphics are generally low res, not all that much better than your average MMORPG. And Wind Waker's style was the one thing I honestly liked about the game. If they had made the graphics more like Wind Waker, that is to say, stylistic while actually looking good, that would be fine.

As for the storyline, I agree, it's great. However WC3 appeared to have been jammed full with as many cliches as Blizzard could get their hands on, effectively ruining it for me. Not that the other games weren't full of them as well, but WC3 had even more than usual.

And the heroes are the reason I hate the gameplay. High level heroes unbalance the gameplay to the point of ridiculousness.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: DaBrain on February 02, 2005, 10:36:05 am
Well, I do like the StarCraft story.

So the solo mode is very good in my eyes.
And do not forget the editor which is VERY powerful (especially all that variants of it).

There is an RPG map called "Winter Glance" or something.
It's just great, you can play it for hours.



I've just started to play SC again. A rather stupid idea :(.
It's so much fun that I forget all my duties when I play.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Nico on February 02, 2005, 10:47:25 am
Quote
Originally posted by Ransom Arceihn
And the heroes are the reason I hate the gameplay. High level heroes unbalance the gameplay to the point of ridiculousness.


Hmm, no they don't. That's not an argument but it's my opinion, and since you tell us why you don't like WC3 based on personal tates, it's as good.
I've never seen a hero in WC3 single handedly win a real battle, they help, for sure, but if they didn't, well, they would be useless from the root. They achieve their purpose, so they're cool.
And I wanna add that I love frozen throne, coz it adds so many critters, so many new species, hell, even unexpected whole factions ( like those weird shadowy dudes in the old orc realm ), it makes the universe so rich, it's just cool.
Title: Why is Blizzard so good to us?
Post by: Ransom on February 02, 2005, 11:51:55 am
In multiplayer, often the one who kills the most creeps at the start has an unfair advantage, because their hero is at a much higher level. They should make a difference, yes, but not that much. Oh well. I dunno. For some reason or another, I just can't enjoy playing it. I guess there's not much point arguing when I don't even know exactly why I hate it so much.