What the hell happened to Blizzard?

[iamthedevil]

Well...to be fair, as much as I loved Wildstar, that game had serious problems in design, balance, and bugs. The entire concept of making a game that was going to cater to only top-end players was fundamentally flawed. I don't know who pushed that idea the most: The devs or the upper management. But either way it was doomed to fail from almost the beginning.

(I would totally play a private server or a reboot of it, though, without hesitation).

Based off of an article i read a long time ago, they had serious management issues so nothing, in every department, got done properly.

And yes please, I'm still waiting lol. I wish i could get my characters back though

[SirCowdog]

It's actually really strange for me.

Sometimes I hope they are working on something so big that it justifies them cutting corners everywhere else but well...

At this point we all know Shadowlands, Diablo 4 and Overwatch 2 will be as bad.

Overwatch 2 is just a DLC that they're rebranding in order to charge more of a full box price for.

But Shadowlands and D4 have some small rays of hope.

SL has the same indicators as Legion: They cut work on the previous expansion early in order to focus all hands on the next one. Even though I think there's not much there, the hope is that the added focus and time spent developing SL will result in an overall better product.

Diablo 4 is not going to be inherently bad, I don't think. Again, the extra development time suggests to me that Blizzard wants/needs to make sure it's super high-quality in order to bring fans back in. Where they're going to run into trouble is competing with Path of Exile, who has been consistently knocking it out of the park. If Blizzard learns from what GGG has been doing with PoE, then I think Diablo 4 stands a fair chance of being good. If Blizzard succumbs to corporate influence and focuses on monetization and "live service" aspects, then it'll be bad.

The jury is still out. It's far too early to make solid judgments yet. I'm REALLY hoping Torchlight 3 does well(because their situation is remarkably similar to what I just described between Live Service vs Gameplay), and sets an example for Blizzard as to what the right thing to do is.

[Osmeric]

They lost their touch when the orginal blizzard left, the people that loved making games, great games, they were famous for "Dont release it untill it's finished".

You all need to remember that the purpose of Blizzard has NEVER been to make great games. Their purpose is to make money. Making great games is only a route to that true existential goal. To the extent it is the way to make money they will make great games, but if it's not then pressure will inexorably force them to do otherwise (possibly with replacement of those at Blizzard who aren't on board with that.) This is as inevitable as the sun rising in the east.

[SirCowdog]

Based off of an article i read a long time ago, they had serious management issues so nothing, in every department, got done properly.

And yes please, I'm still waiting lol. I wish i could get my characters back though

I'm glad I took all kinds of screenshots. I kind of wish I'd taken video footage too. The animation and art-style of that game was off the charts! My avatar here is, you may have noticed, a Chua. But my fav character was always my Draken.

I really need to look into some 3D printing services for them.

[Gref]

just a few years ago, you could see me posting on this forums saying;

"If blizzard released shit in box, I would buy it in day one knowing it is the best shit ever."

I cannot express my disappointment at this point. I am just sad and don't have the words for blizzard anymore.

[Sinyc]

nothing... why?

what happened to you?

You work for Blizzard or just trolling?

[DemonDays]

Which players, a half-dozen hysterical people on forums?
Nope. They didn't do that because of the players, they did it to CUT COSTS. That, and the fact the Chinese people don't really give a shit about how bad Reforged would be, they'll buy anything because back when the original came out most of them weren't even born and the rest were too busy half-starving in the sorgum fields.

WoW is going down the drain for the exact same reason, the Chinese will buy anything. Why do you think Shadowlands will have Chinese faces for humans? Blizzard doesn't care about the Western playerbase anymore.

This is the type of mental gymnastics that these fanboys do to try and defend Blizzard.

> Battle for Azeroth is a dumpster fire where they didn't listen to a shred of player feedback that all turned out to be true.
Fanboys: BRUH WHY WOULD THEY LISTEN TO A VOCAL MINORITY ON THE FORUMS. THEY KNOW BETTER.

> War3: Reforged apparently there is some posters on forums who say they don't want anything changed. Just new graphics.
Fanboys: LOL THEY LISTENED TO A VOCAL MINORITY ON FORUMS AND YOU COMPLAIN? FUCK YOU THEY LISTENED TO FEEDBACK.

Warcraft 3: Reforged is a direct downgrade from the original game. It is missing a plethora of features that the "Classic" version had and they FORCED people to upgrade. People that hadn't even purchased Reforged are now running on the new client.

It is still being falsely advertised on the page to buy it. Showing the new Culling of Straholme cinematic.

This is what is called false advertising and it is against the law.

They did this to cut costs. Anyone who can't see this really needs a reality check.

Fucking HILARIOUS.

[FelPlague]

Youre over simplifying. People are mad that they we charged $30 for a texture pack. Theyre mad that Blizzard is currently advertising cut features on https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/.

Yes you laid 30$ for a texture pack.

Shall we look to StarCraft remaster and how much that cost. For a literal texture pack aswell?

- - - Updated - - -

WoW is going down the drain for the exact same reason, the Chinese will buy anything. Why do you think Shadowlands will have Chinese faces for humans? Blizzard doesn't care about the Western playerbase anymore.

Wow kinda racist.
But I didn't know China was well known for its african/black men and women.

[msdos]

It's slowly and slowly becoming less of an RPG, I think this is the primary entropy people are feeling, old and new players alike.

RPGs don't need to be insanely hard and/or grindy, I think the goal for a lot of RPGs back in the day and today is immersion. They want to tell you a story and immerse you into it as you play the role of that character or hero.

WoW's gameplay has become seriously removed from RPG. What do mounts and pets and pet battles and all this garbage have to do with the story? Why is your character doing it? Think about it. Most of the crap your character does is so out of character and removed.
I remember people went into Uldir not even knowing why we, as a faction were there. That is very very bad for an "RPG" lol..

[Queen of Hamsters]

Fucking lol.

Same sort of thread, 10 years later. At some point one would expect the incessant doomspeak to actually come true... Or at least for the ones doing it to get fed up and finally move along.

"It's less of an RPG cuz these reasons"- You not caring about aspects =/= they're less of an RPG feature. WoW is not nor was it ever a single-player RPG. Cosmetics are a VERY big deal in most RPGs however. Player behaviour and feedback shaped the game, Transmogrification was and remains one of their most successful features.

"Blizz lost their passion ages ago!" = I'll take, "shit people without a clue were saying in WOTLK as well" for 600, Alex...

Seriously, nothing "happened" other than you stopped enjoying the game(s) for X reasons and now you've spent years and years trying to convince others that they simply cannot enjoy the products as a result.

I've been in the game non-stop for over a decade by now and the same things I enjoyed doing back then, I can do now. No other product I enjoy has retained that consistency. Not even Fanta...

Now, Warcraft 3 however is clearly a dumpster fire. Really glad I didn't purchase it, so I can simply stay clear of said dumpster fire.

[Daymanmb]

Yes you laid 30$ for a texture pack.

Shall we look to StarCraft remaster and how much that cost. For a literal texture pack aswell?

$15 and they werent actively lying to people. Whats your point?

And they even had more time , it was delayed was it not?

Correct.

[FelPlague]

$15 and they werent actively lying to people. Whats your point?



Correct.

Not lying but ok, it's called game development, some things change.

But hey, if you think you are so much better, why didn't you quit wow in like... Literally vanilla, or wotlk.
Why are you still here when they have been "lying to us" for 15 years. At this point. I think you are just a fool, 15 years of "lying" and you think suddenly it's going to change.

[Airlick]

The people at the top who make decisions do not care about blizzard, its fans or its games.

They only care about profit - and they decided its more profitable to burn down blizzard for a quick buck and then abandon ship while ruining its reputation and pedigree and fanbase.

Are they wrong? Blizzard created 1 (one) new IP in 20 years. Of the IPs they have, Starcraft is pretty much officially dead, Diablo got ridden into the ground and I'm not sure if D4 is going to help here. WoW is leaking subs for years, and Overwatch seems to have had a big drop-off of players, as well, who were disappointed with various things about or around the game.

I think it's a chicken vs the egg kind of discussion, but Blizzard must have had problems even before merging with Activision. Hard to imagine Activision would willingly give up long term profits from some of the most renowned and loved IPs in gaming history over going with scorched earth strategy with a company they paid a lot for without a good reason.

[Daymanmb]

Not lying but ok, it's called game development, some things change.

But hey, if you think you are so much better, why didn't you quit wow in like... Literally vanilla, or wotlk.

Theyre actively advertising a product that isnt what it says it is. Theyre lying: https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/

-"Integrating cutting-edge modeling and rendering, we’ve rebuilt every hero, unit, building, and environment in Warcraft III from the ground up. You’ve never seen Azeroth like this." -Models are simply reskins, this is a lie.
-"Updated UI and rebalanced gameplay" -Updated UI was scrapped, this is a lie.
-They have a teaser trailer of something not even in the game... that's one hell of a tease...

The second part is a non-sequitur and I dont respond to those.

[FelPlague]

Theyre actively advertising a product that isnt what it says it is. Theyre lying: https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/

-"Integrating cutting-edge modeling and rendering, we’ve rebuilt every hero, unit, building, and environment in Warcraft III from the ground up. You’ve never seen Azeroth like this." -Models are simply reskins, this is a lie.
-"Updated UI and rebalanced gameplay" -Updated UI was scrapped, this is a lie.
-They have a teaser trailer of something not even in the game... that's one hell of a tease...

The second part is a non-sequitur and I dont respond to those.

1. Models are 100% brand new. What the fuck you talking about "reskins" that is not how shit works dude. And already right away you have proven your point is utterly worthless.
2. Nah, the UI is very much updated
3. Welcome to game development. And again, why are you still here? Do you like being lied to and humiliated, as by your logic they have been lying to you for 15 years, but you still pay them.

[Queen of Hamsters]

The people at the top who make decisions do not care about blizzard, its fans or its games.

They only care about profit - and they decided its more profitable to burn down blizzard for a quick buck and then abandon ship while ruining its reputation and pedigree and fanbase.

So... when is this supposed burning going to take place?

Not to mention, can you please explain how scorched-earth tactics are good for profits long-term, if all they care about is profits...? Because they recently increased the people involved in for example, World of Warcraft, exactly because it's got potential to see growth in revenue.

You can't explain it, because it's an emotional outburst rather than anchored in the reality of business. If all they care about are profits, it is not beneficial to A) Burn Blizzard down (lol) and B) Alienate the customers that provide said profits.

The short-sighted mentality of people on these forums man... Makes one really question reality.







And just to safeguard against the usual suspects and their usual ban-bait: I am and have been extremely critical, constructively so, of Blizzard's performance as of late, and I keep sending them feedback on how they're making me as an old-timer feel about the game through BFA designs etc. So miss me with the insipid remarks about "fanboys" and equally intelligence-deprived terms. I'm not a defender of Blizzard, they have multi-billion budgets for legal people to do that for them. I am merely an opponent of the mental gymnastics on display...

[msdos]

That dude is nothing but non-sequitur bait posts, just put on block list to save yourself trouble lol.

[Daymanmb]

1. Models are 100% brand new. What the fuck you talking about "reskins" that is not how shit works dude. And already right away you have proven your point is utterly worthless.

Nope, youre wrong. Theyre reskins, on the same engine as original WC3, so that you can play with people, without Reforged, on bnet.

2. Nah, the UI is very much updated

Again this is false. Its the exact same UI as original WC3. Menu screen isnt UI and its not as advertised in the video on: https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/

[Dolus]

Wait until Shadowlands releases, lol.

[FelPlague]

Nope, youre wrong. Theyre reskins, on the same engine as original WC3, so that you can play with people, without Reforged, on bnet.



Again this is false. Its the exact same UI as original WC3. Menu screen isnt UI and its not as advertised in the video on: https://playwarcraft3.com/en-us/

That's not how a reskin works my dude. Holy fucking shit
I think I found a new signature.