No Dedicated Server Support for CoD: Modern Warfare 2

Aye i know we have a CoD4 topic, but i thoguht this was a big enough event to make a new topic, so bite me.

Taken from Bashandslash.com:
"Rob Bowling, community manager (Gamer / Geek / Creative Strategist at Infinity Ward…as he says on his Twitter page) at Infinity Ward was kind enough to join our panel on BASH today. He let us in on the news that IW was taking Modern Warfare in a new direction. The online game on PC has changed. Dedicated servers are out. IW.net is in.

This is a game changer and many of you may not be too happy. I for one will be willing to listen and try it out. It's all I can do.

For the folks in our community that mod and map, the future does not look as bright as the past."

Hmm?

More than 60,000 supporters thus far have shown up to petition for dedicated "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" servers following Infinity Ward's confirmation over the weekend that it would use a player-to-player matchmaking system, much like what's used for Xbox Live and PSN play. The program, called IWnet, provoked responses from PC server supporters, eventually resulting in the petition directed toward Infinity Ward.

"Get Infinity Ward to review their decision not to allow fully dedicated servers for their forthcoming game release 'CoD:MW2," the petition, titled "Dedicated Servers for CoD:MW2," reads. "Remember that this 'Call of Duty' was made popular by PC Gamers who have supported the series throughout."

Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling confirmed for the BASH podcast that "Modern Warfare 2″ would opt for a more console-like experience during online PC play with their IWnet direction.

"We've been building up this system on the backend called IWNet to allow matchmaking for our PC users as well, just like you have on the console that's built in on Xbox Live and PSN, but PC never had it, so we're building in our own, you know, matchmaking so you can get in there and play with players your same rank," Bowling explained. "You're completely reliant on IWNet, and there's no dedicated server or server list, so you rely on IWNet for your matchmaking on your games, but then you also have the private match, much like the other platforms, where you can go in and customise and, you know, turn off air support, turn off this, turn off that, customise the game rules all via private match, and invite people to the server that way."

ou know, matchmaking so you can get in there and play with players your same rank

Annoys me. I always disliked rank based matchmaking simply because not alot / everyone is ever going to be near the same level. Maybe have ay, 3 brackets, but i was doing fine when i started playing cod after a few days i was still hitting the top 3 on random rank games on Pc.. which could well mean it was bad high rankers, but that just proves the point more so. No sure.

Why try and bring a \'console like experience\' when most non bias gamers would agree that PC online is better, not to mention more stable. Seriously, I can\'t begin to complain at the number of laggy matches i\'ve had on Gears 2.

This is honestly making me consider saying screw it, and waiting for the 2 new Battlefield games.

So yeah, opinions?

( Edited 20.10.2009 14:37 by TaoFire )

They never did because Activision touch themselves at night. I never expected it to so not so much of a shock to me.

Im not a pc gamer so i couldnt say, the ranking system on COD is flawed anyway, you have the power geeks (usually americans) who have no life and rank up and up and up simply because they play it all day and night (and yet still suck arse). I've got the previous two on PS3 so its no different for me, i dont like how it is at the minute anyway i would prefer a server im so sick of the game ending due to some muppet getting his arse kicked and then leaving.

Pain. I much prefer dedicated serveres which come with some cool mods. e.g. I play COD2 online and there is a server (Extreme Lag DM) that allows you to fire, reload and run twice as fast for some brilliant fun (Me in trenches with a trench gun ) and all that kind of thing will be lost.
Servers are always good because it allows for quick drop in/drop out gameplay without having to wait for a match which will be quick, but is still a pain.

Dedicated servers are also a hell of alot more stable. In gears or gears 2 (Which is kinda the worst i\'ve played, dispite being a great game) if you get the \'randomly asigned host\' to a player who hasn\'t got a top end connection, you\'re screwed. If a few laggy players join, your connection gets a bit wobbly. And then theres the entire conversation about Host Advantage, which haunted Gears 1. (Due to the host being pretty much lag free, and everyone else lagging)

On some games like Diablo 2 (Which i think uses p2p?) it works because you\'re playing against NPC\'s, and its not entirely based on reaction speed, but it wont work well at all on A FPS that is bound to have a huge competitive following.

( Edited 23.10.2009 21:15 by TaoFire )

Its the End for call of duty games for all the PC users

every one i know has stoped there order for this game

cod games for 4 years but no longer

Tbh, I don't see the big deal, I prefer to play CoD4 on the PS3, that has the same server system right?

WTF is a guest user?

@ Cloudyl
CoD games on consoles uses P2P for online matchmaking

( Edited 22.10.2009 09:58 by Simez )

Clouddyl said:
Tbh, I don't see the big deal, I prefer to play CoD4 on the PS3, that has the same server system right?

Wrong.

Consoles use P2P servers as in, someone in the game hosts. This provides 2 constant problems. 1. If the host (especially if its randomly asigned, like gears) has a below high end connection, the more players you get in, the worse the quality of the game is. And 2. The host gets a clear advantage due to everyone connecting to him, and thus, he is much less 'lag struck' as it were. In simple terms anyway, i dont know the very technical side of it. But to help verify

Home broadband Internet connections rarely provide the necessary upstream bandwidth to host dedicated game servers with more than 4-10 clients.

Im sure some people have had little problems with P2P gaming, because it can work if you're lucky enoguhto get good games. Also, on games like Gears 1, if the host quits, the game shuts down. I can't remember if it happens in gears 2 or not (I havent played it for quite some time) but if it does, the host doesen't even know he's ruining the game.

So dedicated servers are far more stable, because you're paying (Yes, theres a cost to buy dedicated servers. But generally its amongst a clan, and thus costs very little. And most players don't buy.) for a machine that pretty much just works to run your server, and maybe a few others (Im not sure on the technicallities of it all.) and as such runs smoothly, and at a constant rate.

"We're just prioritizing the player experience above the modders and the tuners," says West. He points toward the mounting feedback IW has received from PC fans of Modern Warfare who couldn't find a decent server to play on between all of the cheaters, the insular communities, and huge skill level disparities that the original game's community fractured into. "We thought maybe it would be cool if the fans could play the game," he laughs.

Now, let me poke this quickly. Its a quote from an IW worker on the response. Firstly, i've only met one hacker on CoD4 online. One. And while im sure theres plenty of them, people generally leave games with them in from my experience. The skill level problems i said about above, etc, etc etc. And on other forums i've looked most people agree, while they have seen those problems, its extremely rare.

Also, feel free to correct me if im wrong (But i saw this alot on other forums i read up on.) Is that you're pretty much stopped from modding, custom maps, etc, meaning IW will charge for DLC rather than letting people make t heir own levels etc.

Also, As an example. I play team Fortress 2 on a custom map server all the tie, its my 'local roost' as it were. I know the people who play there, we all go on around the same time due to server location. We all know each other, we all joke about, etc, etc, etc. But with no dedicated servers, its extremely hard to create a 'community' around your server. Players wont get to know each other as much as before.

There's also alot of mentions of Game Piracy theories flying around. But as far as i can tell , if anything, it'll probably make it more so pirated. Because while i bought the first game because i liked it, (And it was cheap!) I know some people who bought it simply because if they pirated it, the MP Wouldn't be as good. Less modderated, etc, etc etc. But now, you're taking away that stable MP. And people are going to download more so, just so they can play through the SP. (Or, so the theories of the Gametrailers forums goes!)

I'm pretty sure im going to pass on it if it has a P2p system, i honestly spent too many years getting disconnected, or lagged out on random Xbox live games. Saying that, i dont think IW are going to change it because of people not liking it. But we can hope.. right?

=]

TaoFire said:

Clouddyl said:
Tbh, I don't see the big deal, I prefer to play CoD4 on the PS3, that has the same server system right?

Wrong.

Consoles use P2P servers as in, someone in the game hosts.

With the exception of all those games which use dedicated servers of course. Although I think it's more of a PS3 thing, and mostly on the 1st party games. I think a few EA games use dedicated on both platforms

I've never played PC Call of Duty, I've always played it on console. If the PC user-base hates this announcement, then Infinity Ward should change it. Simple as.