Monetization of Battlenet (article inside)

[Nicol Bolas]

It's pretty safe to assume that each expansion will render any custom maps or campaigns created in Galaxy obsolete for future boxes.

Let me get this straight. You're saying that Blizzard will deliberately make it so that installing a new expansion makes your old maps non-functional.

I mean really now. This is the kind of hyperbolic nonsense that makes people knee-jerk hate anything that involves paying money.

[newcomplex]

The expansions have yet to be released so you cannot make such a claim. Let's just wait and see, and hope that Blizzard can justify each new expansion given the inconveniences we'll be faced with (splitting community and maps in 3, having to relearn strategies, leaving in-game friends who are unwilling to invest in expansions, price of entry).

Blizzard has already confirmed that subsequent expansions will offer 25-30 missions. That in itself makes it worth the price of entry to most of us on this forum.

Your second argument makes even less sense. Are you seriously complaining that expansions offer new strategic content, drastically shifting the comp metagame? Isn't that what keeps a game fresh? And if done well, like BW units, won't that just ultimately increase the games depth?

And your third argument is just bullcrap. Are you Seriously complaining that your friend will have to buy the game to play with you?. If you want to play with them, you can always log with your WoL account. Isn;t this what blizzard has been doing with every single game they have ever released? The only difference is that they are now offering two expansions instead of one.

This is like me complaining that blizzard is splitting up the community by making starcraft 2 (starcraft 1 is still a very active game). They should just give starcraft 2 to everyone for free.

[Hav0x]

Didn't Blizzard pretty much detail what they were going to do already.

Things like custom Ladders will cost money and you will be able to buy professionally created maps/mods in their store. Any map/mod that uses custom art assets will have a fee, everything else will be free.

[newcomplex]

Didn't Blizzard pretty much detail what they were going to do already.

Things like custom Ladders will cost money and you will be able to buy professionally created maps/mods in their store. Any map/mod that uses custom art assets will have a fee, everything else will be free.

Uh, they said that the mapmaker will have the option of selling their mods if they so chose, and only if it meets blizzards high quality standards. Then they said "stuff like dota probably wouldn't make it", then saying that you pretty much needed completely original art assets to have it be an original game.

[Blazur]

Let me get this straight. You're saying that Blizzard will deliberately make it so that installing a new expansion makes your old maps non-functional.

I mean really now. This is the kind of hyperbolic nonsense that makes people knee-jerk hate anything that involves paying money.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was that not the case between SC Vanilla and Brood War? A map created for either game had a different file extension, thus making it incompatible with one another.

It's completely safe to assume the same will happen between each of the 3 boxes of SC.

Uh, they said that the mapmaker will have the option of selling their mods if they so chose, and only if it meets blizzards high quality standards. Then they said "stuff like dota probably wouldn't make it", then saying that you pretty much needed completely original art assets to have it be an original game.

That is the case. But if the communities map pool is split into three, then it's very likely we'll have 3 sets of every purchasable map or else the maker has diminished profits to deal with. If you paid for a specific map a month before a new expansion is released, and suddenty when the new expansion does come out you find it difficult to get a game started with the map you purchased unless you purchase an upgraded version, wouldn't that leave you peeved? Perhaps Blizzard will allow free upgrades for the same map between boxes, provided you already purchased it?

[Triceron]

Well with the new Bnet account system, I'm sure they can set it up so once you've paid for a map, all future installations of it will be considered free. If they aren't, then it's the map creator enforcing extra payment for new editions of the map, and that's something you have to deal with them, not Blizzard.

This is mostly dependant on how much control Blizzard will allow mapmakers to price their maps/mods, and how it will be enforced through updates. It's too early to be debating this tbh.

[newcomplex]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was that not the case between SC Vanilla and Brood War? A map created for either game had a different file extension, thus making it incompatible with one another.

It's completely safe to assume the same will happen between each of the 3 boxes of SC.



That is the case. But if the communities map pool is split into three, then it's very likely we'll have 3 sets of every purchasable map or else the maker has diminished profits to deal with. If you paid for a specific map a month before a new expansion is released, and suddenty when the new expansion does come out you find it difficult to get a game started with the map you purchased unless you purchase an upgraded version, wouldn't that leave you peeved? Perhaps Blizzard will allow free upgrades for the same map between boxes, provided you already purchased it?

Or you know...blizzard could just not change map extension files...

[Pandonetho]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was that not the case between SC Vanilla and Brood War? A map created for either game had a different file extension, thus making it incompatible with one another.

Um, SC couldn't play BW maps because it had new units like the Dark Templar.

BW can still play SC maps.

Have you played WC3? There's no problem with this at all.

Splitting the community into 3? Then what happened with BW might I ask? It's called people get bored after a year or more of playing the same thing, given time most of the community will shift over to the expansion, as with all things.

[Nicol Bolas]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was that not the case between SC Vanilla and Brood War? A map created for either game had a different file extension, thus making it incompatible with one another.

No. You could play a SC map in BW just fine. You couldn't go backwards. And the only reason you couldn't was due to lack of assets; SC Vanilla doesn't have some of the tilesets, doodads, etc that BW has.

And no, having a different extension does not create incompatibility.

But if the communities map pool is split into three, then it's very likely we'll have 3 sets of every purchasable map or else the maker has diminished profits to deal with.

The only reason maps on one expansion would be unplayable on another would be due to what I said above: lack of assets. You're not allowed to sell SC2 maps unless you're using all new assets, so that won't even be a problem. You might get some issues where you use advanced code from one of the later games (like using BW-style triggers, etc). But that's about as close as you get to incompatibility.

Purchasable maps would not be something you would need a particular extension to play.

[Hamshank]

I just don't think Blizzard is going to charge for content, first off there's enough content out there on the online marketplace with so many custom maps. Secondly they're already charging us for a full game and two expansions. How much more can they charge for?