Offical response from blizzard on legacy servers.

[RoninaThorstone]

Question,
Blizzard claims that it's too hard for them to run a classic server, that it would require server wizardry that they simply can not muster.
Why is it that it only takes a couple nerds in a basement to do it on their own but one of the largest gaming companies in the world can't do it?
Also, if they can't do it, why bother stopping those who can?

[Namalia]

Blizzard is hiring! Server engineer for Classic Games.
https://twitter.com/Abe_Ramos/status/725389822039187456

Yeah... For bringing D2, SC, & WC2 into the modern age.

Not legacy servers.

[JustRob]

Yeah... For bringing D2, SC, & WC2 into the modern age.

Not legacy servers.

None of these are online games, they don't require servers.

[Namalia]

Question,
Blizzard claims that it's too hard for them to run a classic server, that it would require server wizardry that they simply can not muster.
Why is it that it only takes a couple nerds in a basement to do it on their own but one of the largest gaming companies in the world can't do it?
Also, if they can't do it, why bother stopping those who can?

Answer...

Nostalrius did not have integration with Battle.net.
Nostalrius took YEARS (5+) to complete, and it still wasn't done.
Nostalrius was for Classic only and for all regions. Blizzard would also need TBC, WotLK, Cata, MoP & WoD. Also, PvE, PvP, RP, & RPPvP servers for each region.
They did not say they could not do it. They said there were EXTREME difficulties in doing so.
Legacy servers are not a viable product until WoW is no longer in active future development.
That is why they offered up the idea of pristine servers. To "capture the nostalgia" (their words.)

As far as shutting down Nost, they had to act to protect their IP or lose it. Simple as that.

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None of these are online games, they don't require servers.

D2, SC & WC3 all do to host online games. I guess it's just been so long for you. They have battle.net chat channels and all matchmaking online (other than the direct tcp/ip, modem connections, etc) is done through battle.net.

Directly from the job posting:

Compelling stories. Intense multiplayer. Endless replayability. Qualities that made StarCraft, Warcraft III, and Diablo II the titans of their day. Evolving operating systems, hardware, and online services have made them more difficult to be experienced by their loyal followers or reaching a new generation.

We’re restoring them to glory, and we need your engineering talents, your passion, and your ability to get tough jobs done.

So if you like wearing many hats, know small teams are the most effective, and look forward to challenges that will create millions of new adventures for our players: we would love to hear from you.

No World of Warcraft.

[Florena]

Vanilla levelling was substantially harder than today, despite the attempt to downplay it.

Mobs had more health, relative to you.

Mobs did more damage, relative to you.

Players had less health, relative to mobs.

Players did less damage, relative to mobs.

Mobs also had mechanics such as fleeing, snaring, fearing and debuffs that you couldn't simply ignore. Players also didn't have the raft of "I win" buttons that they have now. In short, the game was substantially harder in vanilla, by any objective measure, and there's isn't a single, plausible argument to the contrary.



I've actually experimented without heirlooms and just levelling via quest rewards. The game is still trivially easy thanks to what I mentioned above, and the fact that your quest rewards are substantially better (and in substantially higher stock) than they were during vanilla.



You neglect to converse with me because you can't even fathom a counter-argument.

That's why you're resorting to insults that will simply get you infracted, rather than trying to have a discussion from an entire post where I essentially proved every one of your dubious claims wrong.

But, yeah. I'm more dense than you thought. Keep telling yourself that, pal.

Leveling sure. Raids aren't easier. Dungeons debatable. Only dungeon at level 60 I remember being difficult was some of the tier 0.5 stuff.

[Deleted]

None of these are online games, they don't require servers.

But they need to be integrated to the *new* online servers, like Battle.Net for authentication.
Read the job ad..

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Question,
Blizzard claims that it's too hard for them to run a classic server, that it would require server wizardry that they simply can not muster.
Why is it that it only takes a couple nerds in a basement to do it on their own but one of the largest gaming companies in the world can't do it?
Also, if they can't do it, why bother stopping those who can?

Answer...

Nostalrius did not have integration with Battle.net.
Nostalrius took YEARS (5+) to complete, and it still wasn't done.
Nostalrius was for Classic only. Blizzard would also need TBC, WotLK, Cata, MoP & WoD.
They did not say they could not do it. They said there were EXTREME difficulties in doing so.
Legacy servers are not a viable product until WoW is no longer in active future development.
That is why they offered up the idea of pristine servers. To "capture the nostalgia" (their words.)

Also additionally:
The "couple of nerds in the basement" were not offering a commercial service. They didn't have to deal with multi-language support, billing, corporate 'core values' training day, timesheets or weekly status reporting. They didn't have to communicate to global infrastructure service team or to HR.
They didn't have to handle credit cards or comply to PCI-DSS and they didn't have to document their stuff, they didn't have to write disaster recovery or business continuity plans and they didn't have to attend to weekly change meetings to co-ordinate changes across the enterprise in accordance to ITIL.
Running a commercial service is much more than just buying a server and running a piece of software on it. You might be surprised.

[Deleted]

Pristine servers are a cop out no one wanted... The kind of playerbase that would thrive on such a server already is on a raid realm from the mass exodus that started mid cata.

People want to play the game when the world was fun. Where a orange level mob would rock you and a elite would plan old murder you. Back to a time of mana, threat,specs,crafting, and a rich world.

Vanilla, tbc, and even parts of wrath were made for gamers by gamers. Now outside of raiding wow is made for aunt may who logs in for ten minutes each day inbetween collecting cats and watching judge judy.

How we have fallen...

[Namalia]

Vanilla, tbc, and even parts of wrath were made for 2004 gamers by 2004 gamers. Now outside of raiding wow is made for aunt may who logs in for ten minutes each day inbetween collecting cats and watching judge judy.

How we have fallen...

The term "gamers" has a completely different meaning & demographic attached to it in 2016.

I've been a "gamer" since the late 70s, early 80s. Classic/TBC is horrible to me compared to MoP & what I've seen from Legion so far in the alpha.

Speak for yourself. 2004 wants you back. Maybe you should be trying to invent a time machine instead of trying to regress an entire genre.

[Deleted]

Leveling sure. Raids aren't easier. Dungeons debatable. Only dungeon at level 60 I remember being difficult was some of the tier 0.5 stuff.

Well, those 0.5 dungeons/raids weren't hard, problem was finding 9 different classes + 1 extra for each dungeon/raid.

[Radeghost]

Vanilla had its soul. Not Legion and its pristine realms.

[Deleted]

Vanilla had its soul. Not Legion and its pristine realms.

Still only 200K free players compared to 5 million paying players. What you're saying here is describing art, which comes to taste, but when we're talking facts, then please, state the facts. Facts are that far more people are willing to pay to play WoD than there are your "soul filled" free Classic WoW players.

If you want to find some Higher State Of Consciousness then you should probably try other things than playing video games ...

[Akka]

Ya because to point out that you are divided makes you look like selfish whiny brats who don't care about what is best, what is right, what works, only about what you want when you want it and to hell with everyone and everything else.

Wait, you're talking about the anti-Vanilla crowd here ? It just fits perfectly.

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Also additionally:
The "couple of nerds in the basement" were not offering a commercial service. They didn't have to deal with multi-language support, billing, corporate 'core values' training day, timesheets or weekly status reporting. They didn't have to communicate to global infrastructure service team or to HR.
They didn't have to handle credit cards or comply to PCI-DSS and they didn't have to document their stuff, they didn't have to write disaster recovery or business continuity plans and they didn't have to attend to weekly change meetings to co-ordinate changes across the enterprise in accordance to ITIL.
Running a commercial service is much more than just buying a server and running a piece of software on it. You might be surprised.

You mean all that are new things that Blizzard will have to start and develop for legacy realms ?
Because I'm pretty sure all this is already functional for retail WoW, so it's not like it suddendly needs to be done just because there is realm added.

[Deleted]

The term "gamers" has a completely different meaning & demographic attached to it in 2016.

I've been a "gamer" since the late 70s, early 80s. Classic/TBC is horrible to me compared to MoP & what I've seen from Legion so far in the alpha.

Speak for yourself. 2004 wants you back. Maybe you should be trying to invent a time machine instead of trying to regress an entire genre.

Its called a private server and I am enjoying it.

If you want farmville play farmville don't demand a rpg devolves like wow has. MoP was awful outside of raids what did you do all day grind valor like a skinnerbox to outgear content you already outgeared?

[Akka]

Still only 200K free players on one single server, without publicity, on an illegal realm and with the shady reputations private servers have compared to 5 million down from 12, on hundreds of servers, with an international multi-billions dollars company and all its marketing and a worldwide reputation paying players.

Here, fixed the "small" details for you.

[A dot Ham]

Wait, you're talking about the anti-Vanilla crowd here ? It just fits perfectly.

What would a live supporter have to whine about? I have a game I like to play and enjoy. What do you have?

Millions > thousands

[Radeghost]

Still only 200K free players compared to 5 million paying players. What you're saying here is describing art, which comes to taste, but when we're talking facts, then please, state the facts. Facts are that far more people are willing to pay to play WoD than there are your "soul filled" free Classic WoW players.

If you want to find some Higher State Of Consciousness then you should probably try other things than playing video games ...

200k players on a server with 0 marketing, ran by WoW fans for free vs 5 million players of highly advertised game, whose majority is from China (WoW has theme parks in China, lol), from a company that exists over 20 years.

[Deleted]

Its called a private server and I am enjoying it.

If you want farmville play farmville don't demand a rpg devolves like wow has. MoP was awful outside of raids what did you do all day grind valor like a skinnerbox to outgear content you already outgeared?

WoW still has exactly the same things it had years ago. It has quests, dungeons, raids, pvp zones, capital cities, open world, it has EVERYTHING old WoW had.

[MoanaLisa]

None of these are online games, they don't require servers.

You are mistaken Rob. All of them have online components on the old battle.net.

[Radeghost]

WoW still has exactly the same things it had years ago. It has quests, dungeons, raids, pvp zones, capital cities, open world, it has EVERYTHING old WoW had.

So why a lot of people that quit wow are eager to pay sub for legacy servers?

Because you are wrong. WoW is now linear single player action "RPG" (even MOBA games have more RPG features than WoW, for example resistances, hit chance, etc) with 0 immersion. And now - featuring garrisons in Legion!

[Akka]

What would a live supporter have to whine about? I have a game I like to play and enjoy. What do you have?

Millions > thousands

As these threads have proved, the simple existence of people preferring Vanilla and voicing their opinion is enough for you fanboys to whine very very vocally about.
Pettiness, desire to deprive others of what they have, it all fits perfectly, wanting Blizzard to ignore what could improve the game and just continue the dumbing down they like, afraid that Blizzard does anything that could bring a better design back... Yeah, it's exactly what you described !