No Dedicated Servers or LAN Play in Command & Conquer 4

[Logan Westbrook]

No Dedicated Servers or LAN Play in Command & Conquer 4

It seems that dedicated servers and LAN play is fast becoming a thing of the past as C&C4 [http://www.amazon.com/Command-Conquer-4-Tiberian-Twilight-Pc/dp/B002NIP6X8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1279313735&sr=1-1] joins the ever lengthening list of PC games that won't support them.

StarCraft 2's [http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Modern-Warfare-Xbox-360/dp/B00269QLI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278694263&sr=1-1] example, won't support LAN play either.

Lead designer Sam Bass said that the features had to be sacrificed in order to implement some of the game's features: "if you go to another machine - friend's house, Internet café - whatever, you can login with your profile and all the stuff you've unlocked is accessible to you there. It all lives on a server so you can't really do dedicated servers with that."

I'm not entirely sure that the added functionality is going to wholly satisfy PC gamers who see their platform seeming to get a rough ride from developers and publishers recently, although at least the reason the features were left out was in an effort to make the game better, as illogical as that may seem. Command & Conquer 4 will be available for PC on March 16th.

Source: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/20/command-and-conquer-4-wont-have-lan-support-or-dedicated-servers/]


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[tomtom94]

I'm beginning to wonder if PC gaming should just be phased out so developers can focus on console development. Especially seeing as consoles are now becoming more and more like specialised PCs.

However, on topic this strikes me as a very stupid move as peer-to-peer matchplay services wouldn't really work for this sort of game...though the lack of LAN play may just be a space-saving measure.

 

[Syl4r]

Ugh, this sucks. One of the best things about older RTS games (like starcraft, and the other C&Cs) was that you could boot up the game, and create any game with whatever game mode and with whatever settings you wanted.

 

[Zer_]

Oh wow... Talk about developers keep slapping us in the face with their tiny cocks. What's with this new trend? This notion that matchmaking etc is a good feature? It sucks ffs! :S Dedicated and lan support works absolutely perfect. Why try to fix something that isn't broken :S I just don't get it...

Matchmaking works for an RTS to a degree. Blizzard's age old battle.net doesn't even use dedicated servers. You may still have a game list to choose off of, but they won't be dedicated servers, they`ll be P2P games I believe.

Anyways, don't jump the gun.

 

[SovietSecrets]

Sad days are ahead it seems. Why no love for dedicated servers? Heres to modders changing this.

 

[Wrann]

I'm beginning to wonder if PC gaming should just be phased out so developers can focus on console development. Especially seeing as consoles are now becoming more and more like specialized PCs.

Good lord I hope that never happens I cant stand playing on a console.

OT:This does suck expesialy if more developers go into no dedicated servers but I would rather play starcraft 2.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

And here's another game that says "Yes please" to piracy.

I'm beginning to wonder if PC gaming should just be phased out so developers can focus on console development. Especially seeing as consoles are now becoming more and more like specialised PCs.

Perhaps, some of us actually like using PCs. Especially for RTSs, which were born & grew up on PCs?

Perhaps the developers could pull their finger out of their collective assholes and actually give the public what they want, rather than deciding what they need?

 

[Ziren]

I'd really like to know why they had to cut LAN-support for the new features Bass cited. I can't see any hurdles that would make it impossible to include both.

 

[MurderousToaster]

No dedis in an RTS - I can deal with that, but the lack of LAN support is ridiculous. Soon, LAN parties will be a thing of the past and tournaments will cost loads to supply every machine with an internet connection.

 

[Woodsey]

Matchmaking doesn't work.

End of.

 

[SmugFrog]

Yet another game I won't be able to play with my friends while deployed. Thanks developers! On a plus note, I gave up interest in Command & Conquer once the story went Britney Spears.

 

[Disaster Button]

Oh come on. What is with the constant ***** slapping of PC gamers lately.

Its like they've chained the platform to a wall, stuck electric cables on its nipples and are spitting on it whilst making small cuts into its chest and pouring hot candlewax into those cuts calling me a ***** and pulling my hair while choking me.

..I'm sorry what?

 

[Quadtrix]

It's official; Infinity Ward has ruined gaming. They've proved that you don't have to put any effort whatsoever into your games for them to sell, and have convinced other developers to take several steps backwards with them.

 

[Woodsey]

I'm beginning to wonder if PC gaming should just be phased out so developers can focus on console development. Especially seeing as consoles are now becoming more and more like specialised PCs.

The difference being that if something is "specialised" you expect it to be better.

They don't need extra time to focus on console development in anyway; a 360 is an average PC in terms of hardware.

I'd imagine its harder to develop for a PS3 and 360 game, as opposed to a 360 and PC game.

Piracy is another thing, but publishers are shooting themselves in the foot with that.

 

[Tzatziki3301]

Given that there won't be a console version (to start with anyway) of this last installment of one of my most favorite gaming series, the lack of LAN support is more annoying than the lack of dedicated servers (local internet speeds (UK Channel Islands) suck, so playing any game where gameplay is severely affected if there is any lag is a no-no for me).

however, I don't wholly buy the reason as being you can't track unlocks and accolades properly. MW2 actually allows you to level up and unlock things offline with system link (on 360 anyway) and you can also use your online profile in a system link game, with the stats just updated when you boot up your profile. That being the case, surely EA can support the same thing for LAN gaming, where stats and unlocks are just temp stored until they can be uploaded to the servers?

Still, the flipside of the coin is the dedicated server community is vastly outweighed by the population of PC gamers that don't know/don't care, so from a fiscal sense, concentrating on just one option is probably a lot cheaper (and means mods and tweaks can be tighter regulated, probably charged for too). True, dedicated server supporters may be more vocal than those that don't really mind, but when you are a company like EA, where you make much more money out of games like Sims than you'll ever make out of a C&C game, it isn't too hard to see why they would cut whatever corners they can and keep their property on a tighter leash.