Starcraft II multiplayer is now FREE TO PLAY for everyone!

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,078
996
126
Big news released this morning:

Official News

Discussion at Reddit

It seems Blizzard is also releasing a Steam-like client for their games. This is good because:

1. In the current trend of Free-to-Play games making massive success, they gotta adapt or die a stubborn death.

2. Starcraft 2's success is considered a 'failure' when you compare it to Starcraft 1 or today's big competitive gaming giants (League of Legends, Dota 2, other free MMOs). This is sad compared to Blizzard's BIG plans for SC2- it never really took off. The pro scene was just moderate at best after about 1-2 years after the initial release. Making them free is a wise move to attract more players.

3. Their Steam-like client is a good way to finally streamline all their products. It took them so long. Before they had to launch ONE game and stay inside just to chat and connect with others.
 

CalebRockeT

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2003
1,143
13
81
Wow, this is crazy.

Edit: It doesn't look like it's straight up free to play, though. They're just incorporating "spawning," and they'll have to be in a party with someone who actually owns the game. That's still quite a change. I'll be interested to see how this works out.
 
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Snock514

Golden Member
Jul 20, 2009
1,071
2
81
Weird title, you could always play multiplayer for free, but now you can 'spawn' and play multiplayer with more features now.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
I never really liked SCII as much as the first, im one of the LoL converts now. Good that they're making multiplayer free though.
 

blastingcap

Diamond Member
Sep 16, 2010
6,654
5
76
It's not fully F2P as I heard it. I think they missed the boat already. LOL and DoTA ate Blizzard's SC2 lunch, and furthermore SC2 is still a huge clickfest (actions per minute should not impact skill THAT much... wtf... strategy should matter more than amazing micro due to rabbit reflexes imho) that is too difficult to get into for most people who don't want to get carpal tunnel.

And you know what? Screw Blizz, they sold out after literally selling out to Activision anyway; there is no such thing as Blizzard as an independent entity anymore as you can see with Diablo III's RMAH and their resorting to cartoon pandas in WoW. They only got so big when they had less competition; now that there is much more competition in RTS and MMORPG games, we see how they are not the gods some of us thought they were.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
It's not fully F2P as I heard it. I think they missed the boat already. LOL and DoTA ate Blizzard's SC2 lunch, and furthermore SC2 is still a huge clickfest (actions per minute should not impact skill THAT much... wtf... strategy should matter more than amazing micro due to rabbit reflexes imho) that is too difficult to get into for most people who don't want to get carpal tunnel.

I've played a little bit of MOBAs and watched people play, and they also have a ridiculous amount of clicking. What makes them worse is that most of the clicking just involves moving back and forth in a tiny, tiny area waiting for an enemy that's in vision to come closer. I find MOBAs interesting, but the action-hardy fool in me gets so bored watching people click around and do nothing like that. :|

their resorting to cartoon pandas in WoW.

Oh, for the love of Elune, have you never seen Chen Stormstout in WarCraft III!?
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
I bet their decision to break SC2 up into 3 games hurt it as well. I know a lot of people that passed on it simply due to that. Most are like I'll wait till they are all out in a bundle now.
 

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,078
996
126
I've played a little bit of MOBAs and watched people play, and they also have a ridiculous amount of clicking. What makes them worse is that most of the clicking just involves moving back and forth in a tiny, tiny area waiting for an enemy that's in vision to come closer. I find MOBAs interesting, but the action-hardy fool in me gets so bored watching people click around and do nothing like that. :|

MOBAs have NOTHING on SC1/2 for requiring razor sharp APMs for managing bases, scouting, raising an army, microing.

MOBAs are far more relaxing to play. You control ONE unit most of the time- which is why Dota became popular in the first place. It was a Warcraft 3 mod where people just wanted to play 1 hero minus base management & army micro.

I can play Dota 2 forever. SC2, after few games, I find myself mentally exhausted & drained. I stopped playing SC2 altogether now.
 
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Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,078
996
126
I bet their decision to break SC2 up into 3 games hurt it as well. I know a lot of people that passed on it simply due to that. Most are like I'll wait till they are all out in a bundle now.

At the time it made sense to squeeze money into 3 parts rather than making one game out of that one engine they spent eternity on.

It was smart at the time and still not bad for sticking with a now-defunct P2P model.
 

blastingcap

Diamond Member
Sep 16, 2010
6,654
5
76
I've played a little bit of MOBAs and watched people play, and they also have a ridiculous amount of clicking. What makes them worse is that most of the clicking just involves moving back and forth in a tiny, tiny area waiting for an enemy that's in vision to come closer. I find MOBAs interesting, but the action-hardy fool in me gets so bored watching people click around and do nothing like that. :|



Oh, for the love of Elune, have you never seen Chen Stormstout in WarCraft III!?

Didn't play wc3 much...

I will admit though that I'm a fan of watching SC2 shoutcasts like Husky's on youtube. But the problem is that I enjoy watching more than playing, and I'm not a bad player either, I just don't enjoy playing the game that much.
 
Oct 25, 2006
11,036
11
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Eh, its a shame SC2 never reached SC1 status, but with the direction of the game went I can see why.

Though I still play still boot up Sc1 now and then with friends and truthfully, I think it is MUCH more fun than Sc2. Something about it was so amazing. And SC3 custom maps never approached the sheer awesomenss of SC1 customs games. Tarpit D will always be a personal favorite.
 

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,078
996
126
Eh, its a shame SC2 never reached SC1 status, but with the direction of the game went I can see why.

Though I still play still boot up Sc1 now and then with friends and truthfully, I think it is MUCH more fun than Sc2. Something about it was so amazing. And SC3 custom maps never approached the sheer awesomenss of SC1 customs games. Tarpit D will always be a personal favorite.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure Blizz themselves are quite disappointed.
 

clok1966

Golden Member
Jul 6, 2004
1,395
13
76
Blizzard is the new Id, iD ruled with great game after game, great engine after engine.. now they still make good stuff, but its not ground breaking like it was.. its just good, in a sea of Good.. they are almost no shows now, other then Carmack being a great gauge on creativity in game engines.. they are just one of the masses now. Bliz never made an original game in its life, they where Kings of taking other peoples new ideas and fine tuning them into awesome.. Nothing to sneeze at, they do it with extreme skill.. but its still far easier to take a good idea and make it better then it is to come up with a good idea on your own. Besides the golden age of bliz, all the people who worked and where creative are all gone as far as i know. its just a cash machine now living off the greatness of the past. Where is Warcraft 4?.. Heck I'm surprised there was time to make Starcraft II.. Wow was (and still is) a licence to print money.. much as most of us will say we don't play it.. 8 million people still do...or at least subscribe.. who cares if they play.. 8 X $15 a month is just a sick amount of cash.. Blizzz want WoW to keep generating cash, all other concerns are.. ehhh.. they will buy it, its blizz!

oh well "steam like client" bah.. just like netflix, etc.. i dont need 10.. i need one good one (Steam).. last think i need is 10 extra always on programs in my task bar. Guess it dont matter to me.. my reflex are no where near what they where. I cant out twitch a 14 year old on 6 cans of coke and no job so he can play 24/7..

signed -i bit@h all the time :)

starcraft was one of the greatest RTS ever!!!!
 

blastingcap

Diamond Member
Sep 16, 2010
6,654
5
76
Blizzard is the new Id, iD ruled with great game after game, great engine after engine.. now they still make good stuff, but its not ground breaking like it was.. its just good, in a sea of Good.. they are almost no shows now, other then Carmack being a great gauge on creativity in game engines.. they are just one of the masses now. Bliz never made an original game in its life, they where Kings of taking other peoples new ideas and fine tuning them into awesome.. Nothing to sneeze at, they do it with extreme skill.. but its still far easier to take a good idea and make it better then it is to come up with a good idea on your own. Besides the golden age of bliz, all the people who worked and where creative are all gone as far as i know. its just a cash machine now living off the greatness of the past. Where is Warcraft 4?.. Heck I'm surprised there was time to make Starcraft II.. Wow was (and still is) a licence to print money.. much as most of us will say we don't play it.. 8 million people still do...or at least subscribe.. who cares if they play.. 8 X $15 a month is just a sick amount of cash.. Blizzz want WoW to keep generating cash, all other concerns are.. ehhh.. they will buy it, its blizz!

oh well "steam like client" bah.. just like netflix, etc.. i dont need 10.. i need one good one (Steam).. last think i need is 10 extra always on programs in my task bar. Guess it dont matter to me.. my reflex are no where near what they where. I cant out twitch a 14 year old on 6 cans of coke and no job so he can play 24/7..

signed -i bit@h all the time :)

starcraft was one of the greatest RTS ever!!!!

Although I agree with you, you left out something: both of them sold out to bigger companies around the same time they lost their creative edge.

Also, I'm playing Rage for the first time right now. I don't know why people say it's a bad game. It's actually a pretty good game. The only "bad" I can see is the nondestructible/interactable environment, much worse than most modern FPSs, and linearity which some people dislike. But it's actually fun to play. Perhaps it got bad reviews because it was hyped so much and then came out and was, like you said, just another good game among a sea of good.

I guess it's easier to stand out when you're the first major, true 3D FPS game (Quake). It's a lot harder when you have competition. ;)

Also give Blizz some credit for SC; most RTS games to that point were more or less symmetric (i.e., both sides have similar unit choices), but Blizz wanted to get away from that.

Edit: Man, Rage really IS that bad. The ending was just inexcusable.
 
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Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,078
996
126
Also give Blizz some credit for SC; most RTS games to that point were more or less symmetric (i.e., both sides have similar unit choices), but Blizz wanted to get away from that.

Starcraft 1 will always be the gaming industry's perfection to me. Blizz devised truly unique races that are opposites from each other and tweaked it into a competitive perfection.
 

Grooveriding

Diamond Member
Dec 25, 2008
9,107
1,260
126
Blizzard is the new Id, iD ruled with great game after game, great engine after engine.. now they still make good stuff, but its not ground breaking like it was.. its just good, in a sea of Good.. they are almost no shows now, other then Carmack being a great gauge on creativity in game engines.. they are just one of the masses now. Bliz never made an original game in its life, they where Kings of taking other peoples new ideas and fine tuning them into awesome.. Nothing to sneeze at, they do it with extreme skill.. but its still far easier to take a good idea and make it better then it is to come up with a good idea on your own. Besides the golden age of bliz, all the people who worked and where creative are all gone as far as i know. its just a cash machine now living off the greatness of the past. Where is Warcraft 4?.. Heck I'm surprised there was time to make Starcraft II.. Wow was (and still is) a licence to print money.. much as most of us will say we don't play it.. 8 million people still do...or at least subscribe.. who cares if they play.. 8 X $15 a month is just a sick amount of cash.. Blizzz want WoW to keep generating cash, all other concerns are.. ehhh.. they will buy it, its blizz!

oh well "steam like client" bah.. just like netflix, etc.. i dont need 10.. i need one good one (Steam).. last think i need is 10 extra always on programs in my task bar. Guess it dont matter to me.. my reflex are no where near what they where. I cant out twitch a 14 year old on 6 cans of coke and no job so he can play 24/7..

signed -i bit@h all the time :)

starcraft was one of the greatest RTS ever!!!!

Agree with most of this but want to point out the bolded error, as it get tossed around a lot.

Only NA and EU players are paying a $15 monthly sub fee. The bulk of the WoW sub base is based in Asia where they pay significantly less than the rest of the world to play. They pay a few cents per hour, rather than a flat $15 fee. They are not taking in 8mill x $15 a month, it's actually a lot less than that.
 

blastingcap

Diamond Member
Sep 16, 2010
6,654
5
76
Starcraft 1 will always be the gaming industry's perfection to me. Blizz devised truly unique races that are opposites from each other and tweaked it into a competitive perfection.

SC1 is definitely a game that has aged well.

It strikes me how badly and well various games have aged.

For instance, Doom 3 I never played, but check out how it went from 9/10 to 5/10 - http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_doom3_pc

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-19-doom-3-bfg-edition-review

Half-Life 1 hasn't aged that badly in comparison, even without any updated graphics; ditto Half-Life 2.

Imho, games that rely heavily on graphics don't age well (for obvious reasons), but games that have good mechanics and storyline age better.
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,603
9
81
Eh, its a shame SC2 never reached SC1 status, but with the direction of the game went I can see why.

Though I still play still boot up Sc1 now and then with friends and truthfully, I think it is MUCH more fun than Sc2. Something about it was so amazing. And SC3 custom maps never approached the sheer awesomenss of SC1 customs games. Tarpit D will always be a personal favorite.

Yup, this guy basically nailed why SC2 failed to live up to BW:

http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/11m21k/starcraft_2_will_be_dead_before_legacy_of_the/

Ignoring the casual playerbase (UMS crowd) and focusing too much on the 1v1 hardcore crowd. Antisocial bnet 2.0 didn't help retain any casual players either.
 

slpnshot

Senior member
Dec 1, 2011
305
2
81
Yup, this guy basically nailed why SC2 failed to live up to BW:

http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/11m21k/starcraft_2_will_be_dead_before_legacy_of_the/

Ignoring the casual playerbase (UMS crowd) and focusing too much on the 1v1 hardcore crowd. Antisocial bnet 2.0 didn't help retain any casual players either.

So true. Casual players are the meat of any competitive game. Even in LoL, one of the greatest things(imo) Riot has done this season was introduce a formal q for Aram. I've seen friends who haven't logged for months log on again to play arams. Sure it might be because it's still the honeymoon phase, and in a couple of weeks they'll get bored of it, but I think it really just highlights where the interest for the everyday gamer lies.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
0
I think Blizzard shot themselves in the foot when the essentially stripped LAN play from SC2 and required Bnet connections to play the game in any aspect.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
136
The only reason they'd do this is cuz sales are slumping. Actually as long as its been out that may just be normal. Not necessarily a bad thing.
 

blastingcap

Diamond Member
Sep 16, 2010
6,654
5
76
The only reason they'd do this is cuz sales are slumping. Actually as long as its been out that may just be normal. Not necessarily a bad thing.

I agree. Gamers have voted with their wallets. So remember to vote with your wallet if you disagree with a company. That's the only thing they pay attention to.
 
Oct 25, 2006
11,036
11
91
Oh man, I wonder how HotS did. I remember it coming out ( I actually thought for a while there it still hadn't come out) like a month or two ago, but it dropped off so fast, I actually forgot it was actually ever released.