Blizzard Launches Public Test Realm for Warcraft 3

ffronw

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Oct 24, 2013
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Blizzard Launches Public Test Realm for Warcraft 3

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1421/1421842.jpgNow you can check out the public test realm for another Blizzard game - and it's Warcraft 3.

We're used to seeing announcements for the <a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/170910-Blizzard-to-Add-Deathmatch-to-Overwatch-Arcade"
target="_blank">Overwatch PTR, but how about a public test realm for another, slightly older game? Say, Warcraft 3, for example. That's what Blizzard revealed this week.

Pete Stillwell of the Blizzard Classic Games team announced in a forum post [https://us.battle.net/forums/en/bnet/topic/20758576598#post-1] that the "first official PTR" for Warcraft 3 is now available. You can download the PTR client to test out new map pools for 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 matches, as well as free-for-alls. Even better, there are a number of balance changes available to test right now. Here's a list:

Balanced creep camp difficulty progression from early to late game
Balanced creep drop tables for better item progression from early game to late game
Item diversity: Varied Level 1 though 6 charged items and Level 1 through 6 permanent items
Balanced all start locations: total amount and starting distance from lumber, equal amount of spacing, equal size choke points, et cetera
Balanced expansion distance from start locations
Decluttered points of interest to reduce visual competition during gameplay
Retextured map surfaces for better visual clarity - both on screen and mini-map
Minimized the size of trees and doodads that obstructed player view of points of interest
Added cliff lines or deep water to edges of the map - removing hard edges (aesthetic choice for immersion)
Properly placed trees and doodads on the pathing grid: full-cell Medium Grid to half-cell Medium Grid alternate
Removed the rolling shoreline waves from rolling hills to remove the noise the waves created - remains for cliff shores

Also of interest is the news that more updates are in the works. Stilwell writes that, "We are aware Warcraft III matchmaking is a bit long in the tusk; we will be improving matchmaker logic for a future patch." He also points out that automated tournaments and ladder boards are currently "not functional for PTR," and that while latency has improved with this new patch, it is "still needs work to meet modern standards."

While it might be surprising to see a new PTR for a 15-year-old game, the more optimistic among us are likely hoping that this is the first step in a remaster plan similar to the one Blizzard is using for StarCraft [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/170663-Blizzard-Announces-StarCraft-Remastered-Release-Date-Price].

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SlumlordThanatos

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Aug 25, 2014
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Fantastic!

Maybe now they'll fix the missing building summoning animations. My Night Elf and Undead armies' buildings just materialize out of thin air whenever they're being built, and I can't figure out how to fix it. It drives me insane.
 

DoPo

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Jan 30, 2012
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SlumlordThanatos said:
Fantastic!

Maybe now they'll fix the missing building summoning animations. My Night Elf and Undead armies' buildings just materialize out of thin air whenever they're being built, and I can't figure out how to fix it. It drives me insane.
Oh, it's the protoss beaming in the buildings. Hope that helps put your mind at ease.
 

Hawki

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DoPo said:
SlumlordThanatos said:
Fantastic!

Maybe now they'll fix the missing building summoning animations. My Night Elf and Undead armies' buildings just materialize out of thin air whenever they're being built, and I can't figure out how to fix it. It drives me insane.
Oh, it's the protoss beaming in the buildings. Hope that helps put your mind at ease.
Legion's already got not!battlecruisers in the sky, let's not give them any more ideas. :(

Anyway, I find it kind of ironic that StarCraft: Remastered is being released with practically the entire game and all its kinks intact (bar a Valkyrie firing bug), but Warcraft III, by virtue of not being South Korea's de facto religion, gets patch updates that alter the game's dynamic, however slightly. But, if it gets a remaster as well, not complaining. At worst, more people get exposed to Warcraft III. At best, Warcraft I/II get re-releases. In fairyland, Warcraft III Remastered becomes so popular that we get Warcraft IV.

...shadup, it can happen! :(
 

MHR

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Apr 3, 2010
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Well, that's a blast from the past.

Also, it probably wouldn't be that hard to recreate Warcraft 1 & 2 as custom campaigns in Warcraft 3. Those games were so darn simplistic it would be hard to screw up. There are just a few buildings, units, and spells that don't exist that would need art. Then the classics team would really be doing it.