Players Only Able to Rent Black Ops Servers

[Dr. HeatSync]

Well, this teaches me everything I have to know about the gaming demographic:: Gamers think that if they don't have something specifically their way, then they can post messages such as 'I'm saving my money for <insert a game that isn't relevant to the apparent problem>, so suck it Activision!' even though such a message is comparable to a screaming voice that is not heard.

What baffles me even more is they are actually getting better quality for us, a company that is dedicated to setting up game servers and even Treyarch are getting involved so that people can play for free... and yet the gaming demographic still complain until they can get their 'clan' to host the latest mods such as 'sheep tag', 'rocket arena' or 'realism mod' as opposed to something that designed by professional fun makers.

These are the same people that can't accept that PC gaming is not where the business concentrates on. We should be feeling lucky for Treyarch's efforts, not screaming at the developers/publishers until we get what we want like stubborn children, and yes I am a PC gamer thank you very much. I don't like mods, I want to play the game the way it was designed by a game development team.

This isn't a big deal, its practically generosity. Our platform is not as profitable as the consoles, and frankly Treyarch nor Activision didn't have to do this at all. Think about that.

 

[Ed.]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Edit:

Also, why do PC gamers have this massive sense of entitlement? Not just to dedicated servers, either.

But they feel entitled that all games MUST be better to play on PC than anything else.

Sorry but your simply wrong

We do get annoyed when devs take features out for the sole purpose of cash grabbing yes how is it a sense of entitlement we got these things 15 years ago and it worked just fine, Also devs like valve still offer all these things

Oh well another game I wont get.


Console players have never had this feature their versions have always been nerfed which is a shame now if they want it that way fine but why should we lose a feature we've always had.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Works for me. dedicated servers run out of the home suck since no1 ever has the bandwidth to support more that 6-7 ppl.

Most good dedicated servers are hosted by server farms. Hope they see there is money to made here and keep it up. Player run dedicated server (lag less) >>> match finding service (lag prone)

 

[Rewold]

Yeah I just love it where the gaming industry is going.

And also, 18 players? Where's the fun in that?

 

[Le_Lisra]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Edit:

Also, why do PC gamers have this massive sense of entitlement? Not just to dedicated servers, either.

But they feel entitled that all games MUST be better to play on PC than anything else.

Just to make sure:

Because these things were a given since the nineties. Steps away from that are bad for customers and pro companies - and guess which side we are all on.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Also, why do PC gamers have this massive sense of entitlement? Not just to dedicated servers, either.

But they feel entitled that all games MUST be better to play on PC than anything else.

Because they shell out the most cash for their systems? I recently dropped $2400 on a new gaming PC (I'm not disappointed in the least though).

Then again, the only things I really play to any great extent are DooM, DDO, and Portal. Though I will get Oblivion at some point. Possibly Morrowind too.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

This isn't about "cheaters and hackers" it is about control. Why would activision give a shit of someone cheated on a private server?

Once they establish the control they can do all sorts of fun stuff like ban people from both official and rented servers, charge a code to play online, require personal information to have an account, etc etc etc.

 

[frago roc]

This is a decision primarily based on dollars and cents. It has nothing to do with hacking, MW2 on xbox is proof that they have zero ability to fight hacking. I wasn't planing on buying this clone game and this further cements my resolve.

 

[DeadRow]

As long as the Admins can do what they like (change rules, maps, mods, etc) with the rented server I see no problem with this tbh.

 

[porschecm2]

And also, 18 players? Where's the fun in that?

This is my biggest problem with this change. Also, according to what I've read elsewhere, the max number of players on non-ranked servers is only 24. 24 is usually the minimum number of players it takes for me to join a server. And now I can only play 18, if I want to rank up at all? Why in the world would they do that? What possible reason can there be to cap the player count at 18 for ranking?

 

[veloper]

Way overpriced. This will cost Activision virtually nothing, so that's almost 15/month pure profit for a ranked server.

 

[I_am_acting]

as if i needed more reasons to hate activision -__-

 

[Meoith]

Well, this teaches me everything I have to know about the gaming demographic:: Gamers think that if they don't have something specifically their way, then they can post messages such as 'I'm saving my money for <insert a game that isn't relevant to the apparent problem>, so suck it Activision!' even though such a message is comparable to a screaming voice that is not heard.


This isn't a big deal, its practically generosity. Our platform is not as profitable as the consoles, and frankly Treyarch nor Activision didn't have to do this at all. Think about that.

They are grown adults they can refuse satisfy their customers demands any time of their choosing, im sure they have a budget and stick to it when they can't afford to implement all the things their customers ask for.

Also i beat they have a rough idea of how many of their customers complain vs these who stay happily silent, im sure they understand the concept of feedback as well providing they are mature enough to accept its their job to listen to their customers not get all emo and start slashing their wrists.

The more you expect from people the more you get thats a fact of life, business's understand that to expect customers to not practice that is double standards not to mention encouraging business's to do as little as possible to earn their money, if more pcers took up your advice we would end up with more console like games.

 

[Dr. HeatSync]

-snip.

They are grown adults they can refuse satisfy their customers demands any time of their choosing, im sure they have a budget and stick to it when they can't afford to implement all the things their customers ask for.

Also i beat they have a rough idea of how many of their customers complain vs these who stay happily silent, im sure they understand the concept of feedback as well providing they are mature enough to accept its their job to listen to their customers not get all emo and start slashing their wrists.

The more you expect from people the more you get thats a fact of life, business's understand that to expect customers to not practice that is double standards not to mention encouraging business's to do as little as possible to earn their money, if more pcers took up your advice we would end up with more console like games.

We'd get more 'console like games', remembering of course that consoles don't usually get the option of dedicated servers, but more often than not a match making service instead. You do realise that the mechanics of first person shooters changed to become 'console oriented' when Halo came out? Developers have been going this way for a long time now, so I'd like to know just how 'console like' we could possibly go. The worst part is that everyone sees that as some sort of bad thing.

So lets hope I'm interpreting this next bit correctly: PC gamers are still not satisfied with the dedicated server deal set up until they get a solution that allows for absolute control over the game, including the possibility of modding?

I have a hunch that this is what Infinity Ward wanted to avoid, users modding the content in a way that they did not intend. They did so in a much more aggressive way, removing the ded severs for match making, to make finding such mods difficult to find. This is probably because they took a leaf out of Yahtzee's book and understand that user generated content is more often than not made of bad concepts with masking tape. That and probably wanting the game to be played the same across the different platforms.

Treyarch have decided to be less limiting about that, allowing for the support of dedicated servers whilst still keeping their game as they intended it to be played. They could have just gone with match making, but they spread out the best of both worlds: more reliable servers with the game play that they have crafted. How can you do better than that?

And yet gamers still view this blasphemous, stating that the likes of counter-strike and whatever other game they can think of did better.

I think you can imagine why I am annoyed. and last time I checked, I don't remember either Treyarch or Activision getting emo or displaying a tantrum over this, especially considering the profit that they made with their tried and true formula. As I've said, they don't need the PC audience to make a sizeable profit, and they are doing a lot more than any other publisher would let them do.

The more you expect from people the more you get thats a fact of life

I'm sorry, but this is not a fact of life. You can expect the ice cream man to lower his price for you but he won't do it, just like how Treyarch have decided what they want to do: provide a completely free service with the added backing of professional dedicated servers for people who really want to rent.

 

[LightningBanks]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Edit:

Also, why do PC gamers have this massive sense of entitlement? Not just to dedicated servers, either.

But they feel entitled that all games MUST be better to play on PC than anything else.

I think its more that if it can do it, why leave it out. I payed £600 for my pc, and if they gave us the console version, without stuff which pc gaming is good for, I would feel annoyed, and possibly just buy the console version.

EDIT: Solution? Play a game better than cod

 

[shadow skill]

There would be nothing wrong with this if they let more than one company in on providing servers for the game.

 

[Meoith]

We'd get more 'console like games', remembering of course that consoles don't usually get the option of dedicated servers, but more often than not a match making service instead. You do realise that the mechanics of first person shooters changed to become 'console oriented' when Halo came out? Developers have been going this way for a long time now, so I'd like to know just how 'console like' we could possibly go. The worst part is that everyone sees that as some sort of bad thing.

Sorry when i said console like games i meant we would end up with more console like games with less features than we are used to now, if console owners pushed for a better deal more often they would stand a better chance of getting more for their money as well, i have no issue with the positive things that console games have that the pc could benfit from if implemented, im not trynig to have a console vs pc debat here(or even a anti Activison/Trey(who i like) debate).

So lets hope I'm interpreting this next bit correctly: PC gamers are still not satisfied with the dedicated server deal set up until they get a solution that allows for absolute control over the game, including the possibility of modding?

Some pc gamers do care, some pc gamers dont care, some dont even know what they want. All the power to the pc gamer group who want more control over the game even if what they are asking for seems a bit greedy its their job as a customer to try get the best deal possible to suit their needs.

I have a hunch that this is what Infinity Ward wanted to avoid, users modding the content in a way that they did not intend. They did so in a much more aggressive way, removing the ded severs for match making, to make finding such mods difficult to find. This is probably because they took a leaf out of Yahtzee's book and understand that user generated content is more often than not made of bad concepts with masking tape. That and probably wanting the game to be played the same across the different platforms.

Its about profit/cost cutting/controlling the medium as far as im concerned, they gain from it the customers mostly lose from it.

Treyarch have decided to be less limiting about that, allowing for the support of dedicated servers whilst still keeping their game as they intended it to be played. They could have just gone with match making, but they spread out the best of both worlds: more reliable servers with the game play that they have crafted. How can you do better than that?

Theres always room for improvement and theres always someone asking for it hehe

And yet gamers still view this blasphemous, stating that the likes of counter-strike and whatever other game they can think of did better.

I think you can imagine why I am annoyed. and last time I checked, I don't remember either Treyarch or Activision getting emo or displaying a tantrum over this, especially considering the profit that they made with their tried and true formula. As I've said, they don't need the PC audience to make a sizeable profit, and they are doing a lot more than any other publisher would let them do.

Some gamers.. some gamers.., It doesn't faze me or annoy me, I think Trey and Activison know the majority of pc gamers dont all think alike, the stuff you see on the internet forums is hardly a fair representation of all pc gamers mindsets, theres a huge group out there who dont even both getting engaged in discussions about the game they play.

I'm sorry, but this is not a fact of life. You can expect the ice cream man to lower his price for you but he won't do it, just like how Treyarch have decided what they want to do: provide a completely free service with the added backing of professional dedicated servers for people who really want to rent.

That is so wrong, It is a fact of life the less you expect from people the less you get like wise the more you expect from people the more you get it goes both for relationships and business.

(back to the ice cream analogy lol )

Of course not, if a sole person expected a ice cream salesman to lower his price he wouldn't but if a decent sized group of rabid vocal group of ice cream fanboys threated to switch to a better alternative if their demands were not met then he would drop his prices if he could afford to, he certainly wouldn't drop the prices out of the kindness of his heart unless he was trying to dump stock for another reason.


If Trey didnt care about what people expect from them then they most likely wouldn't spend money doing this, when they do stuff like that they are doing it for PRelations to help win over the skeptics/fanboys.

 

[Dr. HeatSync]

Sorry when i said console like games i meant we would end up with more console like games with less features than we are used to now, if console owners pushed for a better deal more often they would stand a better chance of getting more for their money as well, i have no issue with the positive things that console games have that the pc could benfit from if implemented, im not trynig to have a console vs pc debat here(or even a anti Activison/Trey(who i like) debate).

Ok lets try and see how we can actually improve this. The console area hasn't got anything that makes dedicated servers impossible to implement, its just that they've been designed with services like Xbox Live and Playstation Network in mind, which to my knowledge is mostly P2P. It requires full integration of dedicated servers hosted by professional companies and the community if Microsoft allows it. There's also the question of cross-platforming, which I'm not sure if its really taking off, but it would be nice for PC users and Xbox LIVE (or PS3 users if Sony would want to try with non Windows Live Games) users to be playing on the same dedicated server together. That would probably mean modding wouldn't be possible to implement besides regular game functions like respawn time.

Some pc gamers do care, some pc gamers dont care, some dont even know what they want. All the power to the pc gamer group who want more control over the game even if what they are asking for seems a bit greedy its their job as a customer to try get the best deal possible to suit their needs.

My perspective is affected by my slight pity for developers. As far as I know, if Treyarch wanted to keep their game theirs, then this is the best solution. Perhaps dealing with other GameServer-like companies can give a range of services and prices.

Its about profit/cost cutting/controlling the medium as far as im concerned, they gain from it the customers mostly lose from it.

I suppose theres that as well, I can't really argue with that.

Theres always room for improvement and theres always someone asking for it hehe

I suppose you have me there, but then Trey would have to ask themselves 'does this make our game better, or is this just what the community wants because other FPS's have it?' Like how someones dream is another's nightmare the option of modding might not appeal to Treyarch. I don't know, but I feel that the choice of public modification is up to the developer. It is not an improvement to have or not have it, but I do find the idea of having it purely because some other FPS's do is not really a good choice. If it has it it is because it wants the game to be a modifiable platform for the more experienced consumer. If not, then they see it as a work of art to be enjoyed.

Some gamers.. some gamers.., It doesn't faze me or annoy me, I think Trey and Activison know the majority of pc gamers dont all think alike, the stuff you see on the internet forums is hardly a fair representation of all pc gamers mindsets, theres a huge group out there who dont even both getting engaged in discussions about the game they play.

You're definitely right, for a while I did actually start thinking that the 'PC Elitist' stereotype was starting to become true. There are non idiots in a group, its just that idiots shout louder lol.

That is so wrong, It is a fact of life the less you expect from people the less you get like wise the more you expect from people the more you get it goes both for relationships and business.

(back to the ice cream analogy lol )

Of course not, if a sole person expected a ice cream salesman to lower his price he wouldn't but if a decent sized group of rabid vocal group of ice cream fanboys threated to switch to a better alternative if their demands were not met then he would drop his prices if he could afford to, he certainly wouldn't drop the prices out of the kindness of his heart unless he was trying to dump stock for another reason.


If Trey didnt care about what people expect from them then they most likely wouldn't spend money doing this, when they do stuff like that they are doing it for PRelations to help win over the skeptics/fanboys.

That made me lol, my ice cream analogy was fairly flawed. I saw it as Treyarch/Activision investing the money they gained into something thats theoretically better. I suppose they might not win over the hardcore guys who like to host their own servers, but for those like me who want dedicated servers for free, it satisfies completely. Thank you for this post of yours, it was quite enlightening.