How would them winning a lawsuit suddenly hold them accountible for nerfs?
A nerf could be officially described in in-game terms, in which case the game itself is a modifier of the item value. They can't be sued for changing their own core game, say.
They'd theoretically be accountible if items were irrecoverable after a crash, or taken away by a GM, etc. But those things could be explained as game-changes as well.
Now, if they ever wanted to take the game down permanently, I could see how this could open up a can of lawsuits... Winning the lawsuit would only mean the company has more responsibility over their items in the context of the game. Short of the game being shut-down, I don't see them being liable for any changes.
That BLizzard woudl do what most MMORPG publishers won't, and flat out say "we'll extend the free play until we set things right" is a strong showing. I appreciate a company that communicates with its players and *CUSTOMERS* rather than leaving them in the dark.
Everquest had its extended by 2 weeks in 1999. Since then, nearly all MMO companies with bad launches have been extending the trial period. It is the default behavior to expect. Traditionally, if a MMO had an awful launch and *didn't* extend it, you'd have a reason to be pissed off.
However, most could use a lesson in communication.
"My Guy Games has an interesting EverQuest II vs. World of Warcraft series that includes an interview with a level 50 EQII player and a level 60 WoW character..."
Similar to how Japanese companies release anime in the US for less than half the price in Japan, with the Japanese track included, perhaps these publishers will leave the original English language option in the Chinese versions.
I've already seen quite a few "legit" Thai versions of games on ebay for like $18 when the US retail price is still $50.
Another example of game companies peddling to the LCD:
I've been saying the EXACT same thing about World of Warcraft to people. It's the most fantastic engine I've ever seen. The graphics, music, sounds, and engine are incredible. Stormwind Keep looks like it cost them at least $1 million to construct. Yet, the game is completely watered down to the point of absurdity.
Somewhere along the line they forget they're making a GAME with two little things called "chance" and "consequence."
Dungeon Siege : Diablo:: World of Warcraft : Ultima Online ('99)
DOSbox is wonderful for old modem games. I recently played a virtual modem game of WarCraft against myself on the same PC running WinXP.
You can also play modem games with people across the Internet, by having the game "dial" their IP, which is intercepted by DOSbox and a TCP/IP connection is set up between the 2 players.
Nothing beats watching a naive old program dialing away the tones of an IP address.
I'm a 25 year old, well-played in Pong, Atari, Commodore, NES and everything since, so I consider myself an excellent video game critic. On behalf of the sanity of gamers everywhere, I can't let the parent get away with praise for "The Killing Game Show."
Honestly, I've never heard of anyone actually "liking" this game, let alone hyping it in this way. I own the Genesis version. This particular game just so happens to be my absolute *least* favorite game of all time. Rock bottom. My mini-review on ign.com which I wrote about a year ago:
"Worst. Game. Ever. Folks, this is ATARI E.T. level bad. Constantly rising lava. No way to learn the escape routes without dying endless times to rising lava. No way to save the game. The game is pure torture. Ironically, the only reason I still have it is because I couldn't manage to sell it."
I'm simply amused that someone out there actually enjoyed this game. Influential? Possibly in "how to torture your players and make them scratch their eyes out and ram their heads into the television"; But, seriously man, it was $19.95 for a reason.
"Kill all the Haitians!" flows. The creators used those words -- that is what they felt would compel the player the most in that situation. Changing a single thing due to censorship utterly destroys the creative flow of the work. And GTA:VC was another masterpiece, from what I've heard, so this is really bad news. What's next, telling them to remove black and mexican gang members form GTA3?
I never thought Take Two would cave in this fast. Here's a list of easy things they could have said to protect their creation and creativity in the future:
1) They could say "It's rated M for Mature, deal."
2) They could say "It's called the first ammendment, deal"
3) They could say "It's just a game, deal"
4) They could say "We don't even make that game anymore, it's so last year."
5) They could say "Shut up, guys. Nobody cares. Quit being a bunch of sensative pussies."
If somehow none of those things worked, they finally could have come to some kind of agreement by simply not selling the game in that city.
If they said "Kill all the Finnish-German-Americans!" I would have laughed my ass off.. Like those Haitians should have too, not spoiled it.
The guy who posted above you is a fool. There were slightly more differences between Orc and Human in Warcraft 1 than in Warcraft 2, not less. He doesn't know his Warcraft 2 well enough.
Warcraft 2 stats are exactly the same all across the board, just different spells. Warcraft 1 stats are slightly different.
Regardless, I am not buying Warcraft 3. The beta was very disappointing. I refuse to spend 49 seconds to kill a footman with another footman (as opposed to 9 seconds in Warcraft 1 and 6 seconds in Warcraft 2 on the same speed settings)
Slashdot Mirror
Sony's next-gen consoles don't have stupid names?
How long did Molyneux have to carry around the Papal Magnet?
A nerf could be officially described in in-game terms, in which case the game itself is a modifier of the item value. They can't be sued for changing their own core game, say.
They'd theoretically be accountible if items were irrecoverable after a crash, or taken away by a GM, etc. But those things could be explained as game-changes as well.
Now, if they ever wanted to take the game down permanently, I could see how this could open up a can of lawsuits... Winning the lawsuit would only mean the company has more responsibility over their items in the context of the game. Short of the game being shut-down, I don't see them being liable for any changes.
Everquest had its extended by 2 weeks in 1999. Since then, nearly all MMO companies with bad launches have been extending the trial period. It is the default behavior to expect. Traditionally, if a MMO had an awful launch and *didn't* extend it, you'd have a reason to be pissed off.
However, most could use a lesson in communication.
What ever happened to that rumored South Korean Total Annihilation II project anyway?
Interesting indeed...
So it's no longer impossible for him to work for Irrational Games? *dreams*
I've already seen quite a few "legit" Thai versions of games on ebay for like $18 when the US retail price is still $50.
I've been saying the EXACT same thing about World of Warcraft to people. It's the most fantastic engine I've ever seen. The graphics, music, sounds, and engine are incredible. Stormwind Keep looks like it cost them at least $1 million to construct. Yet, the game is completely watered down to the point of absurdity.
Somewhere along the line they forget they're making a GAME with two little things called "chance" and "consequence."
Dungeon Siege : Diablo :: World of Warcraft : Ultima Online ('99)
You can also play modem games with people across the Internet, by having the game "dial" their IP, which is intercepted by DOSbox and a TCP/IP connection is set up between the 2 players.
Nothing beats watching a naive old program dialing away the tones of an IP address.
I'm a 25 year old, well-played in Pong, Atari, Commodore, NES and everything since, so I consider myself an excellent video game critic. On behalf of the sanity of gamers everywhere, I can't let the parent get away with praise for "The Killing Game Show."
Honestly, I've never heard of anyone actually "liking" this game, let alone hyping it in this way. I own the Genesis version. This particular game just so happens to be my absolute *least* favorite game of all time. Rock bottom. My mini-review on ign.com which I wrote about a year ago:
"Worst. Game. Ever. Folks, this is ATARI E.T. level bad. Constantly rising lava. No way to learn the escape routes without dying endless times to rising lava. No way to save the game. The game is pure torture. Ironically, the only reason I still have it is because I couldn't manage to sell it."
My Ratings
I'm simply amused that someone out there actually enjoyed this game. Influential? Possibly in "how to torture your players and make them scratch their eyes out and ram their heads into the television"; But, seriously man, it was $19.95 for a reason.
"Kill all the Haitians!" flows. The creators used those words -- that is what they felt would compel the player the most in that situation. Changing a single thing due to censorship utterly destroys the creative flow of the work. And GTA:VC was another masterpiece, from what I've heard, so this is really bad news. What's next, telling them to remove black and mexican gang members form GTA3? I never thought Take Two would cave in this fast. Here's a list of easy things they could have said to protect their creation and creativity in the future: 1) They could say "It's rated M for Mature, deal." 2) They could say "It's called the first ammendment, deal" 3) They could say "It's just a game, deal" 4) They could say "We don't even make that game anymore, it's so last year." 5) They could say "Shut up, guys. Nobody cares. Quit being a bunch of sensative pussies." If somehow none of those things worked, they finally could have come to some kind of agreement by simply not selling the game in that city. If they said "Kill all the Finnish-German-Americans!" I would have laughed my ass off.. Like those Haitians should have too, not spoiled it.
The guy who posted above you is a fool. There were slightly more differences between Orc and Human in Warcraft 1 than in Warcraft 2, not less. He doesn't know his Warcraft 2 well enough. Warcraft 2 stats are exactly the same all across the board, just different spells. Warcraft 1 stats are slightly different. Regardless, I am not buying Warcraft 3. The beta was very disappointing. I refuse to spend 49 seconds to kill a footman with another footman (as opposed to 9 seconds in Warcraft 1 and 6 seconds in Warcraft 2 on the same speed settings)
Wrong. That would be Micronet with Herzog Zwei.