Here's the problem:
Activision says no. Their part of the agreement demands that their studios make lowest common denominator multiplayer games. What does this mean?
1-casual friendly. new players need to be able to compete. Most games do this with skill based matching or different playlists.
2-works with below average or BAD internet connections. This results in lag, and generally results in a poor experience for most players with decent internet. Why is this acceptable? Because the poor connection players still buy their games, sign up for xbox live and play their games. That's a lost revenue stream of they only cater to playable internet users. So it is quite literally bad business for them to exclude these people.
So "won't this make the players with good internet quit?" You're probably thinking. No it won't. Why? Because it's not all the time. The bad internet problem is a small percentage of overall players. And the mindset is hey it will only go down right? Fiber being laid all over the world people will get faster and more capable internet as time goes on. Why leave that money on the table?
This is an ethical dilemma for the developers and studios right? Of course it is. But consider the infinity ward debacle. Activision has a history of taking the reins and driving titles in to the gutter. But people still buy them because they know what to expect. Sales are at an all time high. So the cycle continues.
Let's hope for better with D2. Happy new year.
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also [quote]casual friendly. new players need to be able to compete. Most games do this with skill based matching or different playlists. [/quote] What does this have to do with server infrastructure or ability to opt into local only match making?
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That bullet is just to make the point that activision is not above putting out subpar titles to make more cash.
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Okay, that's a fair point.
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I Think you may have missed the point entirely. [quote]2-works with below average or BAD internet connections. [/quote]: Dedicated servers still remedy that. The excuse of "well people with poor internet connections play so we will have poor infrastructure" isn't acceptable.
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I haven't missed anything. Just explaining why it is the way it is. When destiny pvp has the draw that AAA shooters do they may consider shelling out for servers. Very likely it will be across the entire game for D2, as server time is becoming more affordable every day, but don't think because something is [i]possible[/i], that it is going to be incorporated if a game can be viewed as a financial success without it. Don't get me wrong, I agree these games should ship with dedis. I can only offer perspective on why they don't.
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Cool, Thanks for sharing your opinion. Happy new year :)
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You too man.