Dedicated servers would just "bifurcate the community", players are key to IWNet
Modern Warfare 2 found itself mired in a sea of negativity following confirmation that the PC version of the upcoming multiplatform shooter would drop support for dedicated client-side servers and mods. To be sure, Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling acknowledged the outcry surrounding the announcements and at the very least promised that the MW2 team would be made aware of feedback and response, especially from a growing online petition now topping 100,000 signatures. Bowling further defended the introduction of IWNet in a new blog posting:
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is actually the biggest investment Infinity Ward has ever made into the PC version of our games. It’s also the most feature-rich PC version we’ve ever made. IWNET takes the benefits of dedicated servers and allows them to be utilized and accessed by every player, out of the box, while removing the barrier to entry for players unaware of how to maintain a server on their own.
Now Infinity Ward CEO Vince Zampella and CCO Jason West themselves have seen fit to give their two cents on the game-changing developments. West explains that in shifting control of MW2's servers from players to Infinity Ward, the developer intends on "prioritizing the player experience above the modders and the tuners".
The developer maintains they are addressing issues of a fractured and "insular" Modern Warfare community which arose as a result of the proliferation of client-side servers, which weren't always accomodating. IWNet was designed to create a more level and accessible playing field for as many MW2 players as possible. West further downplays the negative response by claiming much of the outrage may well have been manufactured by pragmatic players with business stakes on dedicated servers.
Both West and Zampella stress that IWNet will not be as destabilizing to the "hardcore" MW2 audience as initially feared. Though they are certainly making big strides to invite casual/moderate players in adopting an online matchmaking model made popular through consoles, Infinity Ward doesn't expect the more entrenched community to lose out on much. PC players will still be able to set up private matches complete with more specialized rules, though further customization through avenues like modding are now largely out of the question.
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At any given time there are more than 15,000 dedicated Call of Duty 4 servers online, and Infinity Ward brags of over 15 million players (both PC and Console). Myself, I'm not a console player, whereas my son is (XBOX 360). I prefer the PC experience. I enjoy the "few" hours of single player, but I'm a Multi-Player enthusiast.
What Infinity Ward is shutting out is players that appreciate modded gaming (new features, new styles of gameplay ... example there is a paintball server mod, which is great if young children play the multi-player game). I prefer the modded servers for a variety of reasons:
- Better maps, custom maps ... there are thousands of free maps for CoD4
- New gameplay styles (tactical, no run-n-gun, paintball, and others)
- Varied play (assassination, capture the flag, headquarters, search and destroy)
- Clan servers, clan matches ... join the server you want
- Bandwidth at server level, not console level
- Play against all skill levels, and players from all countries
Sure, I'm not a fan of Punkbuster anti-cheat, because it is quite ineffective, VAC may be better in some cases. But a dedicated server with active admins offers much better anti-cheat enforcement and banning of players that use cheats/exploits.
My opinion on Infinity Ward's decision to not allow dedicated servers is that they are looking for a way to bank on map and expansion sales. This is NOT about controlling the gaming experience, it is about the bank and $$$. Low experienced players learn more from higher ranked, more experienced players. You get your butt kicked for a while and develop skills ... then return the favor.
Infinity Ward's excuse to have "balanced skills" is BS. As for people complaining about unbalanced skills, or not able to join a server ... I will call that just a lie. At any given moment there are over 15,000 CoD4 servers active ... if these people cannot find a server that meets their style of play, maybe they are not smart enough to game at all anyway.
My own style, I like tactical more realistic skill sets, and on custom maps ... I stay away from Free-For-All and servers which allow ridiculous tactics and rules. Others like that style, they can have it ... it is about individuality. A person likes a Chevy, others a Ford, others a Toyota ... and others a Vespa ... should they all be forced into a Yugo?
Infinity Ward has a console clientele, that is great ... they game their way, let the PC users game their way as well. I will NOT purchase CoD: Modern Warfare 2 if dedicated servers are not allowed !!!!
If Infinity Ward wants to "combine" both dedicated ~or~ also use their server system as part of the new release ... fine! I think that is a better deal, and Infinity Ward could then decide where the players go. If some imaginary users feel they have to use the console-style play on a PC, let them ... and those users that want to connect to a dedicated server can do that as well. That would be the best compromise.
I guess at this point it depends on if Infinity Ward wants to piss on the PC gamers that helped build their franchise ... can they afford the loss, or do they even care? If you look at the various reports and news on counts of pre-order cancellations you really have to ask yourself as a business if such a change is worth it?
I will keep playing CoD4 on dedicated servers, the same way most players of America's Army have fallen back to version 2 because AA 3.0 has been such a letdown.
People play dedicated servers for their own community, I know tons of players on X-Fire, Steam and other clients that game with a tight knit group because it's comfortable for them to have people they can trust and rely on. You're never going to unite hundreds of thousands of users together to such a level, thinking such a thing is insanity.
The problem here is that players lose the reliable server connections and admins they came to trust over the years. I honestly love going into a MW game and finding that any fool spamming the mic or being a dick is kicked right off the box. Sure you have the elitists who get upset over friendly fire every now and again but it's not the majority of cases.
They're banking on a new model of the game to make more revenue and take it away from what it popular. I don't care if they spent 5 years or 10 years on IWNet, the fact is dedicated boxes have existed for even longer than that and they're the standard in PC gaming for a reason. THEY WORK.
I doubt the team will pull their head out of the clouds at this rate, thinking they've created some magical new era when the old one is superior.
Is Activision trying to make people not buy the PC product in a grander scheme to kill off PC gaming?
So far they've increased the price, stripped online play and delayed the release.
Is this not enough to agree?
Okaaaaay... So apparently, the developers over at Infinity Ward have never worked with -filters- whenever they're looking for a server to join. All you'd have to do is filter out servers with mods. I thought filters have been standard for years now. Guess not.
Looks to me like they need to get back with the times. And get back in touch with the gamers who make up their PC player base. Furthermore, surely the cost of the networking code for dedicated servers, as well as filters, would cost significantly less than the money lost to the people -not- buying the game anymore. Last I heard there were around 97,000 (digital) signatures on that petition going around. With at least $60 per copy, they may have just lost around $6 million* in sales.
*Actually comes out to $5,820,000.
I for on had about 150 to 200 player made maps for quake plus atleast 3 gigs of characters like homer beavis and butthead darth vader that you could use in game
Company’s loved it because if the game was being played after a few years then it made them look good
Fast forward to now company’s don’t want modding of any sort and why is that simple
DLC now they can create their own mods for games and make money but if the community has access to do this why are we going pay for it
Its like water you could go anywhere and ask for it for free but now that they figured out that we are stupid enough to pay for it its no longer free
"...people would buy the game and when they got tierd of it there were mods out there that would infuse new life into the game."
As you said, mods can lengthen the life of a game beyond its initial release. This can also mean that the game may last up to, or even through, their latest and, supposedly, greatest game. Companies can in turn view this as a "loss" in sales because the player isn't convinced enough to buy their latest offering. Why would they, if they don't see any reasons to fork over the cash while the last game is still good enough with mods?
Maybe this isn't an effort by Infinity Ward to kill their presence on the PC and the platform itself, as bruceleethree speculates, but an attempt to kill their -own- games so players have no choice but to buy their latest game? Effectively, they won't have to compete with themselves and "sell" their game to their established player base. Without mods, what have they got left on the last game that the new game doesn't have or doesn't do better? Doesn't matter either way, as long as you buy the next game. As well as all the rest that follow.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL , exactly.
I agree on pretty much everything what .tru.DethBeCmsU said
(yes just an example heh , but you must know that yugo was actually nothing bad here , my grandparents had it , anyways it was a great and really popular car in those times.)
I have contacted Infinity Ward and Activision ... you should do the same!
Phone numbers: (818) 386-0072 and (310) 255-2000
Also, check the various YouTube videos (none are mine) as to how upset the PC gaming community is. But I posted a message on Robert Bowling's blog (http://www.fourzerotwo.com), and have also contacted a few news agencies to consider picking this up. This is what I posted on Robert's blog (with some minor additional content):
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Forget it Rob ... I will not be purchasing the game if locked into IWNET.
I don't care how good the game will be now. If it wins game of the year it should have an asterisk. As a PC gamer I will not be forced into console style gaming. Console games have their place, but so do PC games. I'll continue to play CoD4 on the over 500 custom maps, and various mods ... then when DICE completes their latest release I'll probably move their direction. It seems DICE cares about PC gamers ... for Infinity Ward, this is a sad day.
To gamers, sign the petition, vote on the various YouTube videos that poke at Infinity Ward's ignorance. To console players ... you should be supporting our cause. If it was not for us, you'd still be playing on Atari's. I own consoles too, and some games (in MY opinion) are better played on a PC. You "kids" do not remember that console gaming used to be shitty card-based games ... now consoles try to copy PC quality on a budget for "casual gamers".
Think of this console players ... what if IWNET is a step toward intermixing game play? Imagine PC gamers with dual+ video cards, super fast processors, keyboards with hot keys and outrageous DPI laser mice competing against you and your controller and basic hardware? Do you think you might complain, fight for YOUR rights at that time when PC players start kicking your backsides to where playing a particular game is no longer fun for you?
Without dedicated servers for PC users, without the support from console players, without that petition topping 1/2 million signatures, I hope they do intermix ... then all of us "whiner" PC gamers will sit back, mute your crying asses and laugh our own asses off. We will "man up" as Eman says and slap the stupid right out of your 'console skills' you claim to have.
If IWNET is "so good" Rob, promise us these will be true:
1) NO Charges for subscriptions EVER
2) No charges for expansions, map packs, or any other fresh content EVER (unless a complete new game release)
3) Ability to join servers where WE want to join (clans, groups), and not location, ping, or rank based (we have clan members in various countries and continents)
4) Ability to BAN cheats and hacks ... anyone with knowledge of this industry knows that VAC nor Punkbuster is 100% effective, that is why admins kicked players that cheat, and gaming groups (for FREE) created ban lists a server admin could load as a script to maintain fair gameplay. If your claim to use VAC is ONLY against pirated software, you're wholly ignorant. If you think console games are cheat-free you are doubly-ignorant.
5) Reasonable sized servers (slots) of more than 24 players at one time (32 and 40 players are common on dedicated servers). What is the server size? Even my son complains about console games having to few a players and is not a fan of "matchmaking" that is done on first person shooters.
6) Limited lag ... if it even slightly exceeds normal gaming lag YOU FAIL Infinity Ward.
7) 99% Uptime ... if we get 3:00 am daily shutdowns (or whatever time) so that you can update, restart, fix IWNET, gamers will move to another game that WORKS.
Not the last word but of importance... Infinity Ward's comments about PC gamers has been reprehensible. Fanboys? Whiners? Telling your mom she has an unworthy womb would be about the same ... PC gamers helped drive the growth, sales, and development of the Call of Duty series and now you piss in our faces. WE DESERVE A WRITTEN APOLOGY.
If you never intended to support PC gamers, why did not just say "Only for Console" and not try to line your pockets with bonus cash by porting the game from console to PC. You should really be disgusted with yourselves. I questioned this long before the dedicated server news when all I saw were videos of gameplay from a console perspective. As my son would mention that a new video was out to view for CoD: MW2 I'd ask if it was PC or console ... the reply was always console.
I have to point out that while you've lined your own pockets, you have also cut the incomes of thousands of server hosts and more. Many were gearing up (with pride) to support CoD: Modern Warfare 2. No, I'm not in the server renting business ... just a gamer, but common sense tells me that you screwed up and are now nothing less than a greedy industry bitch. PC gamers are loyal, and you basically just pissed on us and we will not stand for it. Not only ignoring our loyalty, but you also lied in early reports to game functionality.
So, when do we get to play agaisnt the console players? PC and console players on same server ... BRING IT ON. Do that and I'll change my mind and purchase the game, just to drive console sales down!
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I do not do this as an attack against console gamers. Hell, I'll pick up the XBOX controller once in a while (usually to kick my adult son's butt in Madden NFL '09), but it is his forte with first person shooters on the console. I hate controllers! I've always stated that "maybe when I can connect a mouse and keyboard to it" I'd play shooters on a console, for it sure looks good on my 61" Samsung DLP.
.tru.DethBeCmsU - Site Admin
Threat Removal Unit
www.truclanlive.com
I wonder, how many people have upload pipes big enough to support more than a dozen players?
To me, this is what the concern is about.
1) IW can now charge PC gamers for map packs
2) IW can now charge PC gamers for mods
3) IW can shutdown the MW2 servers when MW3 is released
IW is spending money on IWNet. IW wants a return on their investment. These are some of the revenue streams IW management has in store for the PC gamers.
I am moving to another vender, DICE/EA here I come. Bye IW, it was fun while it lasted.
I cannot say I won't buy MW2, and I think a great deal of petitioners will buy it too, which is sad. In the long run, Infinity Ward will rake in money; guiltless.
Popular on consoles? What? Since when does something that has no alternative mean that it is popular? P2P matchmaking on console is a necessary evil that people are used to dealing with. By no means is it POPULAR. People still do not GET IT.