StarCraft II Will Have New Online Features, No LAN Though
While StarCraft II is one of the most popular eSport games out there, it is far from perfect. With no LAN support in the game, all games must be routed through Blizzard’s servers, even if both professional players are in the same room. This can cause problems, as there have been times during professional tournaments where players will be dropped during the middle of the game, forcing a do-over. At times, these do-overs seemed to have even affected the entire course of the tournament, as a player who looked to be winning will all of a sudden drop from the game, and in the rematch will end up losing.
Blizzard is looking to change this. In a future update, due to come out at or around the release of Heart of the Swarm, Blizzard is going to add a feature where a multiplayer game can resume from where the game was interrupted. That way, the game doesn’t need to be thrown out, and the player who almost had his opponent on the ropes won’t have to suddenly start back from scratch again.
That’s not the only thing Blizzard has planned for StarCraft II! They are apparently removing the region-lock, as they’ll be introducing Global Play, allowing players the chance to play against anybody in the world. Also included will be a Clan system, unranked matchmaking, and even multiplayer replay viewing. While these features aren’t exactly revolutionary, they are still a much-welcomed addition to the game, as people have been clamoring for them for years.
As these features are intended to come out around the time of the Heart of the Swarm Expansion, there’s no word yet on when they will come out. My guess is, however, that Heart of the Swarm isn’t as far off as some people may believe. I’ll say this, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it under some Christmas trees this Christmas.
