My dear Blizzard, I've been a good boy...and it's been 2 months!!!!!!

[Carnedge]

3 scenarios imo:

-summer 2018
-October/November 2018
-Q1 2019

If the launch happens afterwards, then the hype will be dead. It wouldn't be wise to do that.

The hype has been around before the announcement. I doubt it's going to die off even after 2+ years from now... If anything the community will start picketing outside Blizz HQ at that point.

[A dot Ham]

as they would want people to have THE vanilla experience, for better or worse.

Does that include dial-up connection speeds and frequent disconnects?

[Projectmars]

Sounds like all the bullshit excuses as to why it couldn't be done in the first place. Makes one wonder how and why so many private servers pop up given the resources required for such an undertaking.

Private servers that are nowhere near the level of quality that Blizz will be putting out.

[A dot Ham]

Private servers that are nowhere near the level of quality that Blizz will be putting out.

Perhaps. But an existing game taking the same development time as a brand new xpac? That better be the shiniest fucking turd we've ever seen. Like swirled marble with diamond chunks.

[Projectmars]

Perhaps. But an existing game taking the same development time as a brand new xpac? That better be the shiniest fucking turd we've ever seen. Like swirled marble with diamond chunks.

Expansions tend to build on existing stuff, this is going through the entire game and updating it completely. Even assuming that the WoW code isn't a tangled mess of spaghetti (which it likely is) it's still likely to be a time consuming ordeal due to how extensive it is. So yes, even though it is an existing game, it's quite possibly still as much or more work than an Expansion merely because Coding is kinda difficult like that.

[FelPlague]

Having the source code in a source code repository and backing up that regularly is normal practice for any software company.

Actually being able to build from that is a different story, it's likely that some part needed for building is missing.

And additionally they also have a lot of art and map-data and those are often a pain to handle in that so they might have lost some of that.

yes, having it for the last few.
but no company keeps source code from games 13 years old. specially one that constantly patches

[Forogil]

yes, having it for the last few.
but no company keeps source code from games 13 years old. specially one that constantly patches

Except they would normally use a version control systems and they keep track of all versions (possibly they don't know which version is which).

Going to the trouble of purging old versions would in most systems be more complicated than keeping it.

Obviously it would be better if someone confirmed that they had the source code, like http://forum.nostalrius.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44218
(from https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20759221727 )

First, they DO have the source code for Vanilla WoW. Code version control systems are not something new, as it has been a standard in the industry for a long time. With these systems, they can retrieve the code at any given previous backup date.

However, in order to generate the server (and the client), a complex build system is being used. It is not just about generating the “WoW.exe” and “Server.exe” files. The build process takes data, models, maps, etc. created by Blizzard and also generates client and server specific files. The client only has the information it needs and the server only has the information that it needs.

This means that before re-launching vanilla realms, all of the data needed for the build processes has to be gathered in one place with the code. Not all of this information was under a version control system. In the end, whichever of these parts were lost at any point, they will have to be recreated: this is likely to take a lot of resources through a long development process.

So, basically someone who have officially visited Blizzard confirming my previous speculation.

[FelPlague]

Except they would normally use a version control systems and they keep track of all versions (possibly they don't know which version is which).

Going to the trouble of purging old versions would in most systems be more complicated than keeping it.

Obviously it would be better if someone confirmed that they had the source code, like http://forum.nostalrius.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44218
(from https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20759221727 )



So, basically someone who have officially visited Blizzard confirming my previous speculation.

yes i am sure the people who did illegal acts, got a C&D got flown to meet blizzard, and even then broke the law again, most likely garunteeing them prison time if blizzard chases it, by them releasing the source code.

[oldfolk]

Hi,

I have known Daemon (founder of the 1st Nostalrius project) for years.
At first, he made the server (which was a french one, with 30 to 200 players on it) as a showcase of his skills while he was studying IT in France (he was really young when he started, under 18 years old).
Then, he met other people, with other ambitions that's when it became an international server, got fame, got shut down, the letter to Blizzard was written by the community, etc.

At this time, he did fly to the US to meet Blizzard ... and stayed there since.
I've got pretty much no news from him since, except that he was studying overseas and has found a job there.

That's also when the project was handle to the new team that made Elysium project.

Just to say, it is very likely that some of the previous members of Nostalrius project are working with/for Blizzard now
Daemon was really really good at it.
I remember when he said that he showed them how he had scripted a software to counter the DDoS/bots attacks, and even the spamming gold sellers.
They were just mouth wide open

[Forogil]

yes i am sure the people who did illegal acts, got a C&D got flown to meet blizzard, and even then broke the law again, most likely garunteeing them prison time if blizzard chases it, by them releasing the source code.

Do you have a point except to deflect?

You seem to have no idea about how software development is usually done (at least for the last 25 years), and instead invent bizarre theories - like Blizzard having to re-write the entire original game code since it was lost.

The usual idea for any software development team - including the ones developing Warcraft (and later WoW) is to use a version control system - and that automatically keeps track of all versions of any source file. However, non-source files (like maps, artwork, data-bases) are often excluded - which is consistent with the statements.

The only scenario where Blizzard lost the actual old source code for old versions would be if they switched version control system at some point and lost the old backups, but there is no indication that is the case - and that would mean that all versions before some point would be lost, not just minor versions.

[Zulatomten]

I remember when he said that he showed them how he had scripted a software to counter the DDoS/bots attacks, and even the spamming gold sellers.
They were just mouth wide open

Could see that happening since i guess Daemon is a experienced coder and the people he met most likely have either very dated coding experience or none at all.

[oldfolk]

Could see that happening since i guess Daemon is a experienced coder and the people he met most likely have either very dated coding experience or none at all.

I was talking about Blizzard staff

[Deleted]

Arm chair developer at its finest. The irony...

Marked to laugh in your face at next years Blizzcon.
PS: Nost developed nothing and btw you cant prove it was the biggest private either it was only the one most talked about (which ironically also killed it )

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You're expecting a beta? For classic servers?

ofc, you dont?

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My goodness, vanilla wow already got their announcement, what more do they want?

it opening yesterday, for free, unbalanced and buggy will probably be the most answers

[Riistov]

So much pessimism, so many people are assuming that we won't get classic until 2-3 years just because we didn't get a date. Imo it should take a year at max. The only reason they'd delay the launch more than that is to avoid competing with the new expansions (which would of course make sense)

They're still hiring for key positions on the team. I wouldn't expect to hear anything until next blizzcon.

[Tordentor]

I remember when he said that he showed them how he had scripted a software to counter the DDoS/bots attacks)

This sentence is pure gibberish. As I suspect the rest of your post is.

[Speaknoevil]

It is going to be just like it was. It is going to come in the next 1.5 years.

It will not be interesting and will be boring fast because there are 0 mysteries left.

[mugurelbuga]

It is going to be just like it was. It is going to come in the next 1.5 years.

It will not be interesting and will be boring fast because there are 0 mysteries left.

Vanilla doesn't need nostalgia to be good. If a private server can amass 100K Retail can easily get 1M.

[Zantos]

So much pessimism, so many people are assuming that we won't get classic until 2-3 years just because we didn't get a date. Imo it should take a year at max. The only reason they'd delay the launch more than that is to avoid competing with the new expansions (which would of course make sense)

One reason I can see it taking so long is simple, they don't know what they are doing. Just look at these very forums and you can see all of the people saying they want this or that in the classic servers. Some want simple improvements such as aoe looting and transmog, others want it 100% pure. Then blizzard has to figure out their road map. Does it launch with the final patch of wow, or day 1 patch and slowly release content? Do they stop at the end of vanilla, or continue to move forward into bc, wrath and further.

Prior to this announcement, they took a hard No stance to classic servers. I imagine they have a lot of things to flesh out before getting work started. Including getting a full team.

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I remember when he said that he showed them how he had scripted a software to counter the DDoS/bots attacks, and even the spamming gold sellers.

This is where you lost all credibility. Can't write a code to counter DDoS attacks. If it was that simple, DDoS attacks wouldn't be nearly as effective.

[PogChamp]

guys it will take them years to get the game done... luckily for us they started this project 18 years ago and were finished it over a decade ago...

the cucks saying it will take years are adorable, if they wanted it out it would be out less than 2 months from now, they are delaying it for a point when they think it will maximize profit since that's all they really care about.

[oldfolk]

This sentence is pure gibberish. As I suspect the rest of your post is.

This is where you lost all credibility. Can't write a code to counter DDoS attacks. If it was that simple, DDoS attacks wouldn't be nearly as effective.

Sorry if I don't manage to explain it the correct way (as a f***ing french, my english is really bad).
Basically, he managed to counter attacks that were preventing the 1st Nostalrius to run smoothly, as there was a bit of competition with other private servers (Nostalgeek/Prismatia), that in the end eventually merged with Nostalrius.
It was one of the highlights of his skills.

BTW, I don't care if you don't believe a word I'm saying