Starcraft II Patch Brings "LAN Play," Clan Support

Steven Bogos

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Jan 17, 2013
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Starcraft II Patch Brings "LAN Play," Clan Support



This will be the final patch for Wings Of Liberty before Heart of the Swarm's March 12th release.

Patch 2.0.4 for Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty will go live "in a few days," [http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/8718598] and will bring with it clan and group support, a UI overhaul and several new game modes, including the "Players Near You" LAN play option. While it is not a "true" LAN option, as players do still have to be connected to Blizzard servers to play the game, the Players Near You option allows players to create and play games with other people on the same local network. This will be the last patch before Heart of the Swarm is released on March 12th, and is currently available to pre-load via Blizzard's background downloader.

Clan support was detailed in a Heart of the Swarm community groups [http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/7747190].

The UI update was first announced as a new feature for Heart of the Swarm [http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/7634957], and will streamline and update many of the out-of-game UI elements. Custom games are how a majority of players enjoy Starcraft II, and the updated UI focuses especially on making finding and playing custom game modes and maps easier.

New matchmaking options include Training Mode, Vs. AI Mode, and Unranked Play, allowing players who aren't too keen on getting into ranked play some new tools to hone their skills. Several updates to the spectator UI, including the ability to "Watch With Others" and "Take Command" are also included in the patch. Watch With Others is fairly self explanatory, allowing players to watch a specific replay with friends. Take Command is a bit more interesting, allowing players to take over the game from any specific time in the replay, and play the rest of the game out by themselves.

Source: Blizzard [http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/8718598]

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microhive

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Mar 27, 2009
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Can't remember the last time I needed LAN in order to play games with my friends. But having quick access to local players is a nice addition.
 
Jan 27, 2011
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So does this mean that we can still play Wing of Liberty with our friend locally even after they kill the servers for it?

If not, I'm still going to be really freakin pissed.
 

Falterfire

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aegix drakan said:
So does this mean that we can still play Wing of Liberty with our friend locally even after they kill the servers for it?

If not, I'm still going to be really freakin pissed.
NOPE! Not as given in this article. As per the article you still need to be connected to their servers in order to play 'LAN'.

That's not LAN play, that's the dumbest matchmaking feature ever created. I don't need a special system to tell me that my buddy on the other side of the room is also playing Starcraft.
 
Jan 27, 2011
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Falterfire said:
aegix drakan said:
So does this mean that we can still play Wing of Liberty with our friend locally even after they kill the servers for it?

If not, I'm still going to be really freakin pissed.
NOPE! Not as given in this article. As per the article you still need to be connected to their servers in order to play 'LAN'.

That's not LAN play, that's the dumbest matchmaking feature ever created. I don't need a special system to tell me that my buddy on the other side of the room is also playing Starcraft.
Then WTF is the point of putting this in just as the old game is killed? -_-
 

loa

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Jan 28, 2012
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I'm impressed.
It took them almost 3 years to implement a basic feature fans have been asking for since day 1 and they still manage to half-ass it.
 

Pyrian

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Wait, are the in-game updates routing through the WAN server? If so, that's not really LAN play at all, that's just matchmaking.
 

Eruanno

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Yay, they finally figured out how to use screen space properly for a widescreen monitor. But seriously, the previous interface was pretty crap. I'm glad they redesigned it, it looks much better this time around. Hey, does anyone know if we get global play with this patch or if that comes with HOTS? Being able to play with my US friends would be neat...
 

rembrandtqeinstein

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I will never buy a single player game that is locked in to some company's servers. I will never buy a non-mmo multiplayer game that doesn't offer purely local multiplayer.

And I won't buy any game that requires phone home to start. Phone home to install is tolerable because that is a one time thing and easily bypassed anyway.

Steam DRM is grudgingly accepted due to the generous offline mode but if it requires any other accounts I'm not bothering.
 

WabbitTwacks

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aegix drakan said:
Falterfire said:
aegix drakan said:
So does this mean that we can still play Wing of Liberty with our friend locally even after they kill the servers for it?

If not, I'm still going to be really freakin pissed.
NOPE! Not as given in this article. As per the article you still need to be connected to their servers in order to play 'LAN'.

That's not LAN play, that's the dumbest matchmaking feature ever created. I don't need a special system to tell me that my buddy on the other side of the room is also playing Starcraft.
Then WTF is the point of putting this in just as the old game is killed? -_-
They are not killing WoL. Why would they release a patch and then kill the game they just released a patch for?
 

DSK-

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May 13, 2010
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RatherDull said:
Starcraft II Patch Brings "LAN Play,"


players do still have to be connected to Blizzard servers to play the game


Seriously, **** you Blizzard. This is why I boycott you. Starcraft was one of the biggest LAN games ever.

Please continue to plug your ears to the cries of your paying customers.
Hahaha this was my exact reaction to this news. It's a shame, really.
 

Crazie_Guy

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Mar 8, 2009
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LAN that isn't LAN at all. eh.


Still mourning the loss of '98-'99 Blizzard. Rest in peace, I will never forget you. If I could only go back in time and kill everyone who thought they should stop making good games and sit on a pile of WoW money for a decade.
 

Ryan Minns

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Mar 29, 2011
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Reported!!! Well of course not but you should be for the physical abuse my poor heart took actually thinking my two housemates might buy it now and BAM, "LOL JOKES, NO REAL LAN SUPPORT FOR YOU!"
 

Tanakh

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Jul 8, 2011
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Desert Punk said:
Wait you mean people other than koreans still play this?
SC 2 is the second most played/watched e-sport, and SC/SCII are currently the most complex and hard videogames bar none. Yeah, a lot of people play and care, SC 2 is actually the only reason I still like Blizz, they fuck up here and there but the game is amazing and with the HotS changes it fixed almost all the few mistakes it had.

Well, outside real LAN, but the only ones still QQing about that are the religious foundamentalist LAN worshippers (99% of the tears) and people that live here