4 ms·

> Blizzard says it will bring “a selection” of its games to Steam, but did not specify which titles beyond Overwatch 2 will make the jump from Battle.net. List

> Blizzard says it will bring “a selection” of its games to Steam, but did not specify which titles beyond Overwatch 2 will make the jump from Battle.net. Listen unless you allow me to buy the original WC3 or SC1 I really don't care, there has been very little blizzard has built lately that is that good. Its actually interesting in a way that Blizzard singlehandedly created 3 new generes of gaming because of how flexible their WC3 editor was. A different company a different time.

peddling-brink 3y ago
I would accept Diablo 2.
milesvp 3y ago
It used to be a mecca for talent in gaming. Even activision acquiring it didn’t seem to sqaush that lure. I’ve watched numerous talks from their engineers, and the things they came up with to deal with the sheer difficulty of the problem space is utterly fascinating. I can’t imagine the best and brightest still wanting to work there, parent companies never understand what made the place special, else they’d replicate it themselves. MS is going to be further nails in the coffin
- Arrath 3y ago
  I'd be curious to see some of these talks, which ones do you think were most interesting?
  - boneitis 3y ago
    Moreso text formats, but I highly recommend the entirety of Patrick Wyatt's (major developer on Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, Guild Wars) `Code of Honor` blog, where he has written war stories of developing Blizzard's earlier hit games. (It's been a while since he last posted there.) One of the more popular posts: https://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/the-starcraft-path-finding-hack https://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/the-starcraft-path-finding-... Also, it is easy to draw parallels between David Craddock's `Stay Awhile and Listen` book and Masters of Doom. I tried to quickly whip up the Amazon link, but I'm seeing multiple versions and listings... apparently multivolume? When I first encountered it, it was a single book.
    - boneitis 3y ago
      And, past discussions here: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=codeofhonor.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=codeofhonor.com
  - milesvp 3y ago
    I really liked their talk about network prediction and server side simulation. Also talked about their entity modeling system https://youtu.be/zrIY0eIyqmI https://youtu.be/zrIY0eIyqmI
- LargeTomato 3y ago
  The gaming industry is an unmitigated disaster, an embarrassment, and a stain on software engineering. You have your pick! Sexually harass your colleagues into committing suicide (Blizzard) or get farted on by the CEO (Riot).
adamrezich 3y ago
Warcraft III is no longer officially available in any capacity. if you purchased it and attached it to your Battle.net account, it was replaced with the remastered or reforged or refucked or whatever they called it version, without notice or consent, forever. and it's not even the full version of the rezombified version, it's a gimped version of that, and you have to pay them again to unlock the full version of the replacement product that you never asked for. when they pulled that bullshit stunt I decided I was done with Blizzard, and it's just been a steady decline ever since.
duskwuff 3y ago
> Its actually interesting in a way that Blizzard singlehandedly created 3 new generes of gaming because of how flexible their WC3 editor was. Hmm, what three are you thinking of? Tower defense and MOBA come to mind, but I can't think of the third. (Also, tower defense maps really started with Starcraft -- the game engine limited what developers could do with those maps, but the concept was there.)
- homieg33 3y ago
  Tree tag :p
- bluefirebrand 3y ago
  There was a map called Aeon of Strife that was like a proto MOBA for StarCraft as well. Warcraft III map editor just had more tools to really flesh out these concepts
LegitShady 3y ago
No idea about WC3 but starcraft 1 and broodwar have been free to download for 5 or 6 years? https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-download-the-original-starcraft-for-free/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-download-the-orig... Doubt the online/network stuff still works but maybe? I think they're still playing SC1 in korea competitively.
- TheLML 3y ago
  You should still be able to play online. Only the new features such as HD graphics and ranked matchmaking are locked behind the SCR purchase.

peddling-brink 3y ago

I would accept Diablo 2.

milesvp 3y ago

It used to be a mecca for talent in gaming. Even activision acquiring it didn’t seem to sqaush that lure. I’ve watched numerous talks from their engineers, and the things they came up with to deal with the sheer difficulty of the problem space is utterly fascinating. I can’t imagine the best and brightest still wanting to work there, parent companies never understand what made the place special, else they’d replicate it themselves. MS is going to be further nails in the coffin

Arrath 3y ago
I'd be curious to see some of these talks, which ones do you think were most interesting?
- boneitis 3y ago
  Moreso text formats, but I highly recommend the entirety of Patrick Wyatt's (major developer on Diablo, StarCraft, Warcraft, Guild Wars) `Code of Honor` blog, where he has written war stories of developing Blizzard's earlier hit games. (It's been a while since he last posted there.) One of the more popular posts: https://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/the-starcraft-path-finding-hack https://www.codeofhonor.com/blog/the-starcraft-path-finding-... Also, it is easy to draw parallels between David Craddock's `Stay Awhile and Listen` book and Masters of Doom. I tried to quickly whip up the Amazon link, but I'm seeing multiple versions and listings... apparently multivolume? When I first encountered it, it was a single book.
  - boneitis 3y ago
    And, past discussions here: https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=codeofhonor.com https://news.ycombinator.com/from?site=codeofhonor.com
- milesvp 3y ago
  I really liked their talk about network prediction and server side simulation. Also talked about their entity modeling system https://youtu.be/zrIY0eIyqmI https://youtu.be/zrIY0eIyqmI
LargeTomato 3y ago
The gaming industry is an unmitigated disaster, an embarrassment, and a stain on software engineering. You have your pick! Sexually harass your colleagues into committing suicide (Blizzard) or get farted on by the CEO (Riot).

adamrezich 3y ago

Warcraft III is no longer officially available in any capacity. if you purchased it and attached it to your Battle.net account, it was replaced with the remastered or reforged or refucked or whatever they called it version, without notice or consent, forever. and it's not even the full version of the rezombified version, it's a gimped version of that, and you have to pay them again to unlock the full version of the replacement product that you never asked for. when they pulled that bullshit stunt I decided I was done with Blizzard, and it's just been a steady decline ever since.

duskwuff 3y ago

> Its actually interesting in a way that Blizzard singlehandedly created 3 new generes of gaming because of how flexible their WC3 editor was. Hmm, what three are you thinking of? Tower defense and MOBA come to mind, but I can't think of the third. (Also, tower defense maps really started with Starcraft -- the game engine limited what developers could do with those maps, but the concept was there.)

homieg33 3y ago
Tree tag :p
bluefirebrand 3y ago
There was a map called Aeon of Strife that was like a proto MOBA for StarCraft as well. Warcraft III map editor just had more tools to really flesh out these concepts

LegitShady 3y ago

No idea about WC3 but starcraft 1 and broodwar have been free to download for 5 or 6 years? https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-download-the-original-starcraft-for-free/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/how-to-download-the-orig... Doubt the online/network stuff still works but maybe? I think they're still playing SC1 in korea competitively.

TheLML 3y ago
You should still be able to play online. Only the new features such as HD graphics and ranked matchmaking are locked behind the SCR purchase.