BattleNet 2.0 Concerns

From the old lions at SCLegacy --this is a reminder why they remain the foremost critical commentators among the fansites. A truly in-depth piece that discusses some of BN 2.0's failings, and possible solutions. It also addresses what many perceive to be the problematic relationship between Blizzard and its fansites, specifically SC2 fansites.

Enjoy:http://sclegacy.com/articles/730-battlenet-20-concerns

I, unfortunately, did not participate in the Beta, as I was following a super-intensive teaching course. I'd like to hear what other forum members think of BN 2.0. What are its strengths, its weaknesses? What changes would YOU implement? Do you think SCLegacy's points have merit to them?

 

Many of the concerns listed on SC Legacy basically summed it up.

For me personally, the only real issue I had was the personal identity, and the custom games. Chat rooms and lan exclusions are no big deal for me (considering all my friends agreed to buy it already).

But in order to add anybody to your friends list you have to give out your email, which wouldnt be a big deal if it was a joke email, but this is my personal email (which is why i have it tied to my bnet account) so basically other than RL friends, im gonna have 0 friends on battle.net2.0. There is absolutly no reason for them to put that up there, cause give it to one person and piss them off by mistake (if you dont know them) than they spam your email, or even worse get into it.

Another thing is custom games, you cant choose a custom title at all, nor put a password on it. So any of your friends (even the ones you dont want to) can join in and harrass, and if there are different modes to a game you cant even put a title in to let them know the modes before joining. Just a pain in the ***.

As for the good things, i think it runs alot smoother, its alot easier to get custom maps. As a WC3 custom game vet, you would always get kicked w/o the latest dota or maul map, now its not hard at all to get and you can play its when ever you want with hosted system they have set up.

in summary Battle.net 2.0 has many downs and ups, but its all about your level of game. The hardcore players are pissed, the casuals wont notice a difference. I used this video to learn more, it was actually very good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-r_uCaFxg8

(also as a side note, in blizzcon they announced that you need an internet connection to link to your account even in single player. if not you will be signed in as guest, so the achievements etc will not be saved to your account)

 

The article itself was very good, although I generally skipped the suggested improvements portions.

Battle.net 2.0 didn't bother me much. This is probably because I virtually never played StarCraft I online, and have only the most basic familiarity with a lot of flashpoints (eg LAN, clans, channels, and probably some other stuff). Battle.net 2.0 beta satisfied all of my needs; all I really needed was a good AMM. (I didn't play custom games beyond basic stuff that I could have replicated through setting up parties, so I don't know if searching for custom games are as bad as some people have said.)

I'm a little leery of Real ID though, not for myself, but for people who value their privacy more.

 

Frankly, I find the concept disconcerting: it melds my gaming and personal life together far too much for me to feel comfortable with the notion.

 

I agree, they still have not given a reason why they cant use the system that worked perfectly fine in previous Blizzard RTS's (and Diablo's)