Players Only Able to Rent Black Ops Servers

[Logan Westbrook]

Players Only Able to Rent Black Ops Servers

Dedicated servers are in for Call of Duty: Black Ops. But sadly, hosting them yourself is out.

Unlike its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops will allow PC gamers to play on dedicated servers, but if they want to actually run one, it starts to get a little complicated. PC gamers will not be able to actually set up their own servers, instead they'll have to rent them from a third party.

Activision has made GameServers the exclusive server provider for the game and players can pre-order [http://www.gameservers.com/blackops/?curr_type=usd] a server now that will go live when the game launches in November. Ranked servers with room for 18 players cost $14.95 a month, with unranked servers costing $0.99 per player, per month. Support for voice chat carries an additional fee, costing anywhere from $2 for ten players, to $30 for 250 players. Discounts are available if the rental fees are paid in advance.

Treyarch's Josh Olin says that no one will need to rent a server in order to play online, as Treyarch will be hosting servers that players will be able to connect to for free, but he believes that the partnership will make it easier to handle cheaters and hackers. GameServers CEO David Aninowsky said that his company is committed to providing the best service it can, and that it is putting itself under a lot of pressure so that it exceeds all expectations.

While it's still a step up from the complete lack of dedicated severs in Modern Warfare 2, this news will undoubtedly be disappointing to those who were hoping to host their own. Interestingly, EA used a similar solution for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.151875-DICE-Posts-Bad-Company-2-Dedicated-Server-FAQ], and it's not outside the realms of possibility that this could become the new standard when it comes to dedicated servers for PC games.

Call of Duty: Black Ops will be released for PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on November 9th.

Source: IGN [http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/111/1119736p1.html]

Permalink

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Edit:

Also, why do PC gamers have this massive sense of entitlement? Not just to dedicated servers, either.

But they feel entitled that all games MUST be better to play on PC than anything else.

 

[Coach Morrison]

so were not going to get those cool mods and custom maps from COD4?

 

[Buizel91]

I can see a lot of haters coming here and hating the idea.

Personally i welcome it, get a few mates together to all chip in, then you can play with your friends...and only your friends, and it is optional.

i see no problem here really.

 

[Buizel91]

The situation went from an original "Fuck your fees" to a "Meh" feeling.

Mission accomplished?

It does state that you do not have to do this, you can use Treyarchs servers.

this will most likely be for clans really

 

[theComposer]

Disappointing, but I never heard any fuss over it in Bad Company 2. Anyways, it's better than no dedicated servers at all.

 

[The Lost Big Boss]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Me "You got me a PSP!"
You "Close, it's actually a PoP Station. Its almost a PSP"
Me "Does it play UMD's or get content off of PSN?"
You "No, it doesn't play anything but sprite games, but it looks like a PSP. Close enough right?"

OT: I already made my choice to not purchase any Activision games, let alone CoD. This is only making me happier about my decision.

 

[Pandalisk]

You could've made it free, you know this game will sell millions not to mention the DLC, it would've been nice if this was free

 

[Roboto]

You probably get FTP access to the server you rent and can mod it as such. That would be the way that makes sense.

Still, I'll miss those rankup servers

You could've made it free, you know this game will sell millions not to mention the DLC, it would've been nice if this was free

Servers set up by players are rarely free, most are rented by the hosts themselves and incur the same if not greater fees. If you've ever been to a server's website (pwnfrags.com I just made up off the top of my heads) will undoubtably ask for donations to keep the servers running. Even hosting one off the box in your basement may cost if you have to run a faster line to the house or pay for power consumption and parts to let it host many players. Those in the know will likely "meh" at this development, but it does dig into freedom a little bit. If FTP access is granted via the service, then almost all fears can be put to bed.

 

[runedeadthA]

I am curious, can someone tell me How and What the benefits of these servers are supposed to be over normal dedicated?

I don't see why they can't just stick with freakin' normal dedicated servers! -sarcasm- Is it because of all the hackers and cheaters you hear about on Valves servers? -/sarcasm-

*sigh* It's to hard to form community's in games anymore

 

[vallorn]

ipredict PC gamers whining over this in 3...2... oh wait Furburt got here first...

and it's not outside the realms of possibility that this could become the new standard when it comes to dedicated servers for PC games.

I will fucking kill somebody if this happens. Most likely Kotick.

I don't host servers myself, but I've always preferred player hosted servers. They build up a nice community, and it's easy to find a bunch of people you have things in common with.

Rented servers, while better than nothing, are still far from proper player freedom. Fine as an option, but very restrictive as a sole choice.

I grow ever sadder at the state of mainstream gaming.

ok while its not realy whining its the thinly veiled threats and attack on "Mainstream" gaming that made me wince at it.

 

[Buizel91]

Treyarch's Josh Olin says that no one will need to rent a server in order to play online, as Treyarch will be hosting servers that players will be able to connect to for free, but he believes that the partnership will make it easier to handle cheaters and hackers. GameServers CEO David Aninowsky said that his company is committed to providing the best service it can, and that it is putting itself under a lot of pressure so that it exceeds all expectations.

Is everyone missing this paragraph?

 

[TheSkaAssassin]

This is not the compromise I hoped for.

 

[Typhusoid]

Well, it's better than nothing, right?

Its that sort of attitude Activision are trying to encourage. Sure, its better than nothing but just remember that a few years ago this service was expected of every game. For free.

If Activision can successfully get people used to subscription fees in an FPS for things like this, god only knows what MW3 will be like.

 

[SomeBoredGuy]

I'm more or less fine with this since the only server I've ever played on in any game that's been more than just a nice lag-free place to play a multiplayer game is the Escapist TF2 server. As long as the Unranked server still allows mods, I don't mind as long as the servers are dedicated.

On a different note, why is it I always see exactly the same tattooed guy with a scoped M16 in every Black Ops-related news article?