Polygon Article just went up about Future of SC2

[Jconant]

I buy skins from league of legends, digital deluxe editions, dlc from certain games (like the Alien Isolation xtra content). This is not going to be an expense im not unwilling to pay. Its only when its crap like Call of Duty or Starwars: old republic, that make it punishing to try to play the game for free that I'll object and bow out.

[The_Blade]

TL;DR - can this system be abused? No question. Does Blizzard intend to? I see no evidence of such just on the announcement alone.

This right here. Tim Mortem (Lead Game Producer) voiced a very strategic approach towards the monetizing of LotV. Missions Packs will try to sustain themselves. While micro-transactions and curator company shares will sustain the rest of the full game (multiplayer, co-op missions).

Certainly, Blizzard has been quite busy thinking about the future of SC2 for quite a while. They know the risks of paid content. They also know the risks of paid mods. A particular ability I admire from Blizzard is that they wait for someone else to take the first step and learn from competitor's mistakes.

My only fear lies within the Co-op missions. Maybe they will charge for early access to missions or commanders, but the game mode needs to be free if they really want to attract new casual players.

[ragnarok]

You'll buy it. Don't even lie.

No I won't. Not just yet.

[TheEconomist]

I get the whole ''devs gotta eat'' thing but I personally prefer DLC being all neatly packaged in one big expansion. Then again, I'm also the kind of person that buy stuff in bulk at costco so...

This is me in a nutshell.

No I won't. Not just yet.

Yes, yes you WILL.

[ragnarok]

Certainly, Blizzard has been quite busy thinking about the future of SC2 for quite a while. They know the risks of paid content. They also know the risks of paid mods. A particular ability I admire from Blizzard is that they wait for someone else to take the first step and learn from competitor's mistakes.

It's a shame the players don't seem to recognize this. Many I spoke to online said this is nothing more than Blizzard stalling simply for the hell of it.

[The_Blade]

It's a shame the players don't seem to recognize this. Many I spoke to online said this is nothing more than Blizzard stalling simply for the hell of it.

Yea, it's bad; but we can all relate to this feeling. I do not blame these players. Why would you trust a company's vote for change when they just became transparent after 5 years after the original release? Depending on who you are, you've been on the StarCraft II veteran train for 3-8 years. During that time: no core mechanic changed, the apparent focus of development was multiplayer, and the community only seemed to dilute.

"Legacy of the Void" is to SC2 as "Reaper of Souls" was for D3. The only difference is that we have been waiting for this for five years as opposed to two.

Personal Rant:

Hidden Content:

This interview hit home in a lot of ways. For me it was perfect, but full of nostalgia.

The latest engagements with the community and the forward attitude from Blizzard has been delightful. Everything can be related to the golden age of WoL theorycrafting, with the exception that now Blizzard is actively part of the discussion. David Kim's latest attitude is priceless. "We do not know nothing", became the unofficial multiplayer development motto. The fact that they openly changed everything about SC2 with LotV means a lot to an old fart like me.

I can not deny that the only thing I feel right now for the devs is respect for admitting they fucked up some things. However, it has not always been that way. I felt cheated because of WoL's and HotS executions. I felt entitled to think less of people who thought of their design. Metzen in particular was my focus for so many rants. I remember clearly blowing up after a Q&A where he said, "we love the way we write our games, and will not write them any other way". I've been hateful.

This interview opened my eyes to what a monster SC2 has been to develop. The changes in writers. When half of the team left to make Heroes of the Storm. When Rob Pardo left. The agonizing debate of sticking to the trilogy. The terrible attitude at MLG. The forced WCS seasons. We have always known, but I've never acknowledged it.

I believe in Blizzard and their ability to drive SC2 back into a prestige spot as a game, not an e-sport.

This article makes me so sad because it's what I dreamed of writing about when I joined the staff 5 years ago... I can only look back and see how many people we've lost. How many left SC2. How many left SCL... How many projects lie dead in a hard drive back at home. How many sites folded against Reddit's lack of personality. It's an echo of how hard it is to produce quality content for the most competitive game in the world.

I did not go to BlizzCon this year, but in a strange way I felt even more connected to the SC folks I barely know on chat logs or by a few words of RL conversation. I am away from my computer rig that allows me to mod and game. I am away from my usual game buddies. I still feel more connected to everyone else. Basically, I've been on a vacation of my tunnel vision, ladder anxiety, and procrastination. I can now see the whole picture, and it makes me happy.

*cries*

Damn it, Sarov! You were meant to bring the e-cookies next meeting...

TLDR: I am feeling like the Grinch. Still love SC.

[Drake Clawfang]

How many projects lie dead in a hard drive back at home.

Guilty as charged. If I had the mental capacity to understand SC2's editor, I'd have remade the Mar Sara Missions 4 years ago like I wanted to.

But it's not just SC2 driving people away. People grow up, they change, they move on. I still play SC2, I'm just not into the series as much as I was once. Happens all the time.

[ragnarok]

Guilty as charged. If I had the mental capacity to understand SC2's editor, I'd have remade the Mar Sara Missions 4 years ago like I wanted to.

But it's not just SC2 driving people away. People grow up, they change, they move on. I still play SC2, I'm just not into the series as much as I was once. Happens all the time.

It's also due to the incompetence of the developers. From what's been seen it appears there's only going to be 19 missions to LotV. That means instead of doing what the community wanted after HotS's 20 mission campaign was too short, they decided to do the OPPOSITE and make LotV even shorter.

[Visions of Khas]

From what's been seen it appears there's only going to be 19 missions to LotV.

I'm also worried about the number of missions. While Blizzard seems to perpetuate the claim that LotV will surpass WoL and HotS in terms of number of missions, we've been presented with very little proof of that.

[ragnarok]

I'm also worried about the number of missions. While Blizzard seems to perpetuate the claim that LotV will surpass WoL and HotS in terms of number of missions, we've been presented with very little proof of that.

The way I see it is like this: when they said it'd be longer than HotS, that meant including the 3 prologue missions and 3 epilogue missions. Therefore, if we do that, then the total would be 25. To me however, the prologue missions don't count.