Starcraft 2 - worth buying?

[weakwarrior]

Can people who have played the game give me their 2 cents about whether it is worth buying Starcraft 2?

[Zippyy]

I could write a lot, but this sums it up: If you loved Starcraft, you will love Starcraft 2.

[Thecla]

I haven't played any SC at all, just the original Warcraft II RTS a long time ago, but I figured I'd give SC2 a try. I haven't played any SC2 yet either -- but just a couple of comments.

(a) It has pretty tough online anti-piracy protection. You have to set up a batle.net account and register the key to play at all. Then when you play it is by default with an internet connection. You can play offline, but you need to re-register the game online every 30 days, so don't expect to go off to a desert island without internet access for a few years and bring along SC2 as your one computer game.

(b) The game manual gives 4 pages of installation instructions and 10 pages of the story so far...as someone who'd never played SC before, my eyes began swimming before me after even 3 pages about Raynor, Kerrigan, Raszagal, Duran doing god knows what against who knows whom and what knows what in every different possible combination of alliance and double cross. The daily summary of "As the World Turns" is a piece of cake compared with this story.

[--Pete]

Hi,

...as someone who'd never played SC before, my eyes began swimming before me after even 3 pages about Raynor, Kerrigan, Raszagal, Duran doing god knows what against who knows whom and what knows what in every different possible combination of alliance and double cross.

Yep. Even playing the original through the single player campaign I got confused. Maybe there's a Cliff Notes version -- I hate having to take lecture notes in a game.

--Pete

[Pesmerga]

Cliff Notes Version (Kinda)

http://io9.com/5589872/everything-you-ne...arcraft-ii

[kandrathe]

Is it possible to do LAN play? Or, at least can you set up games exclusively with friends?

[Thecla]

Is it possible to do LAN play? Or, at least can you set up games exclusively with friends?

No separate LAN play --- everything has to be through battle.net, which you could use provided you have internet (and I gather there is regional segregation, so you might have issues trying to play with people in different countries, though I'm not sure).

Unfortunately, anti-piracy concerns have led to a lot of the multi-player stuff getting more restricted in its options, not less.

Edir: p.s. and for the privacy-paranoid, maybe it's also to ensure that Bliz/Activision can expand their player databases.

[Zippyy]

Is it possible to do LAN play? Or, at least can you set up games exclusively with friends?

As Thecla posted, there's no LAN play. You can set up games with friends, though. Friends are added by name+code (like I posted above) or by email address. It's similar Steam's friend system.

Or, you can give Bnet your Facebook creds and it will scan your friends' email addresses and add to your friends list anyone who also has a Bnet account with that address.

[Frag]

WW, you want a guest card? Good for 7 hours of play.

~Frag

[weakwarrior]

Sure! That would be awesome! I didn't even know that was possible.

[Nystul]

(a) It has pretty tough online anti-piracy protection. You have to set up a batle.net account and register the key to play at all. Then when you play it is by default with an internet connection. You can play offline, but you need to re-register the game online every 30 days, so don't expect to go off to a desert island without internet access for a few years and bring along SC2 as your one computer game.

*Sigh* So we should rename this thread, Starcraft 2 - worth leasing? At least Blizzard isn't likely to disappear anytime soon.

I still haven't finished the Protoss campaign of SC or any of the expansion and barely started WC3, and still haven't played hardly at all C&C Generals and...

[VinnieJones]

(a) It has pretty tough online anti-piracy protection. You have to set up a batle.net account and register the key to play at all. Then when you play it is by default with an internet connection. You can play offline, but you need to re-register the game online every 30 days, so don't expect to go off to a desert island without internet access for a few years and bring along SC2 as your one computer game.

This is some of the biggest @#$%^&*( I've seen yet. The federal government needs to step up and make a ruling on behavior like this. Stuff like this, and limited reinstall really bother me. Nystul got it right, this is a lease not a purchase. Arrrrrrgh!!

[LennyLen]

The federal government needs to step up and make a ruling on behavior like this.

While I personally can't stand these sorts of practices, I don't see why your government, or any other for that matter, should have the right to tell Blizzard how to grant access to their servers. It's not like you have a right to play games. If you don't like the way they do business, then don't buy their product.

Nystul got it right, this is a lease not a purchase. Arrrrrrgh!!

So you want to make it illegal to lease software then? Why stop there? Let's make all forms of rent illegal.

[kandrathe]

The federal government needs to step up and make a ruling on behavior like this.

While I personally can't stand these sorts of practices, I don't see why your government, or any other for that matter, should have the right to tell Blizzard how to grant access to their servers. It's not like you have a right to play games. If you don't like the way they do business, then don't buy their product.

Is Blizzard trying to do it's own Steam? Another victim of cloud computing over-hype. Back in the day... we used to call it mainframe computing, or timeshare computing. The problem with bandwagons is that the often end up playing the same tired old tunes.

Now, the cynical view; How do we separate you from your money? Rather than the consumer buy a game for $30-$60 once every 3-6 months, how about we lease them access to the games library for $10 a month?

[VinnieJones]

The federal government needs to step up and make a ruling on behavior like this.

While I personally can't stand these sorts of practices, I don't see why your government, or any other for that matter, should have the right to tell Blizzard how to grant access to their servers. It's not like you have a right to play games. If you don't like the way they do business, then don't buy their product.

This isn't just about their servers though. From what I understand you have to reregisted the game periodically even if you want to play offline. That's 100% crap if you ask me.

So you want to make it illegal to lease software then? Why stop there? Let's make all forms of rent illegal.

I still can't find where I said make it illegal. I find it incredibly stupid to expect people to pay the same figure for the lease of a game though, especially when they are releasing the single player in three stages to increase profitability. I haven't bought this game, and it's looking less and less likely that I will.

[LennyLen]

From what I understand you have to reregisted the game periodically even if you want to play offline. That's 100% crap if you ask me.

So what? It's still their service that they're providing, so they get to say how it works. It isn't as if they're a health provider or someone else providing an essential service. It's just for playing games, not exactly important.

I still can't find where I said make it illegal.

What did you mean then by "The federal government needs to step up and make a ruling on behavior like this?" Since you obviously don't like the practice, you must want the government's ruling to say that they're not allowed to do it. Isn't that tantamount to saying you want it made illegal?

I haven't bought this game, and it's looking less and less likely that I will.

Exactly. And if enough people don't buy the game, they're unlikely to continue such practices. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that the majority of the moronic masses are just going to roll over and take it.

[--Pete]

Hi,

. . . majority of the moronic masses . . .

Nice alliteration.

--Pete

[Frag]

Exactly. And if enough people don't buy the game, they're unlikely to continue such practices. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that the majority of the moronic masses are just going to roll over and take it.

It's a choice, and one that I made heads-up. Nice to know that you consider that decision on my part to be moronic.

Yes, I realize you didn't mean that directly to me, but to the overall SC2 group. I do hope you can see how throwing out such judgement can come across as venomous.

~Frag

[--Pete]

Hi,

It's a choice, and one that I made heads-up. Nice to know that you consider that decision on my part to be moronic.

Since you are not (as far as I can find) one of the people complaining about Buzzard's policies, then those comments do not apply to you. However, those who do buy that product (or any product from any source) in spite of predatory practices, monopoly prices, or shoddy merchandise and then gripe about it, deserve the designation. If you want to send a message to a corporation that they will heed, just don't buy their products. If you give them both your money and your complaints, they'll bank one and ignore the other.

--Pete

[Wyrm]

You can play offline, but you need to re-register the game online every 30 days, so don't expect to go off to a desert island without internet access for a few years and bring along SC2 as your one computer game.

The recent DMCA revision allows you to bypass copy-protection as long as it doesn't infringe on the copyright. Granted, it doesn't do anything for the online play restrictions, but you'll at least be able to play on that desert island.

Really, though, if you're going to a desert island with no internet, one would think you'd have other things planned than sitting around playing Starcraft 2.

Also, don't forget about Mine Sweeper.

All that being said, I have no idea if SC2 is worth playing; my brain can't handle micromanaging, so RTS games > me.