9th July 2010, 2:53 PM
Blizzard killed the requirement in the forums, which is a good step, but "RealID" is still alive.
They really have a simple solution: Just don't use user's real names, make them pick a one-time nickname that's used across games. Rename it "BlizzardID", and bam, it's all the benefits minus the privacy issues.
As to the other issues, uploading maps to a public server is actually a nice thing. Sure it's limited in it's current form, but it's a lot better than the previous system, where user maps only got transferred when you played against someone that already had it. It can stand improvement for sure though. Yes, allowing free play on whatever server you like would be nice, though to be honest, I only really care about European servers, as I don't speak Korean. RAAAAIIIN! Sorry don't know where that came from. The biggest issue is the total lack of basic LAN support. I've got a friend with a really slow internet connection, but a perfectly good router. If my friends all go there, are we really expected to all sign in and use a really slow connection rather than just a direct LAN to each other? That sounds pretty dumb.
All in all, I'm really starting to see the effects that Activision is having on Blizzard, in spite of previous assurances. It doesn't help that Activision CEO is not a gamer, doesn't "get" games, and doesn't play them. If you are basically a company's boss, lacking ANY interest in the main product that company makes will inevitably lead to terrible decisions. I think it's a basic job requirement for any boss to actually care about what the company does.
Yes, this Facebook integration is idiotic. Blizzard doesn't see the writing on the wall. Countless users on Facebook are getting fed up with poor privacy policies (which get changed all the time to "opt out" without their user's knowledge), and when whatever Google's solution is called gets rolled out, it's going to kill Facebook anyway. Why bother linking up to such a specific little internet fad at all? I don't get it.
They really have a simple solution: Just don't use user's real names, make them pick a one-time nickname that's used across games. Rename it "BlizzardID", and bam, it's all the benefits minus the privacy issues.
As to the other issues, uploading maps to a public server is actually a nice thing. Sure it's limited in it's current form, but it's a lot better than the previous system, where user maps only got transferred when you played against someone that already had it. It can stand improvement for sure though. Yes, allowing free play on whatever server you like would be nice, though to be honest, I only really care about European servers, as I don't speak Korean. RAAAAIIIN! Sorry don't know where that came from. The biggest issue is the total lack of basic LAN support. I've got a friend with a really slow internet connection, but a perfectly good router. If my friends all go there, are we really expected to all sign in and use a really slow connection rather than just a direct LAN to each other? That sounds pretty dumb.
All in all, I'm really starting to see the effects that Activision is having on Blizzard, in spite of previous assurances. It doesn't help that Activision CEO is not a gamer, doesn't "get" games, and doesn't play them. If you are basically a company's boss, lacking ANY interest in the main product that company makes will inevitably lead to terrible decisions. I think it's a basic job requirement for any boss to actually care about what the company does.
Yes, this Facebook integration is idiotic. Blizzard doesn't see the writing on the wall. Countless users on Facebook are getting fed up with poor privacy policies (which get changed all the time to "opt out" without their user's knowledge), and when whatever Google's solution is called gets rolled out, it's going to kill Facebook anyway. Why bother linking up to such a specific little internet fad at all? I don't get it.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)