Nostalgia for Vanilla - Will Blizzard Give In?

SBFord

Nostalgia for Vanilla - Will Blizzard Give In?

A lot of talk has been swirling around the MMO-niverse over the past week with Blizzard’s legal action against a private World of Warcraft server that has seen many are clamoring for “official” vanilla WoW servers by way of online petitions, debates on forums and editorials by games media. Fans of vanilla WoW wish to return to what they believe is the ‘best of’ the game while Blizzard prefers to progress the game in its current state.

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koljane

Still, playing Vanilla WOW on official server would be a blast !!!!!

baphamet

IMO i think what's being overlooked is the state of the genre having an effect on people wanting classic servers, not just wow vanilla.

look at the trend of movies being released? a large number of them are reboots because everything has been done before, it's not much different with games.

until there are new mmo's that offer a new experience, the call for these "legacy servers" are only going to intensify.

blizzard can continue with their status quo but this won't go away just because they shut down the most populated private mmo server on the internet.

if anything it made more fans aware of servers like these and will ultimately make them even more popular.

knightaudit

Great article ... With the slow decline over the years of WOW's Sub numbers Going this route may be the only way to get the subs back up. Maybe it is time the focused on the Player rather than the stakeholder to get those numbers back. There are a number of servers that are near dead. Change one server to a Vanilla, BC and Wrath Legacy server. Keep the newer graphics, but restore the way it was at that time ... I may cause some to move .. or even bring the numbers up a bit more, or do nothing and let the game tank.

laserit

WoW sub numbers are in a very significant decline.

Imagine if Vanilla WoW proves to be more popular than the current version. It would be a major embarrassment for Blizzard.

All the talk about lost code and crap is just bullshit. If 30 volunteers can get a high quality Vanilla  server running, Blizzard sure in the hell could

sedatedkarma

I guess I'm happy the developers are enjoying themselves creating new content. As for myself, I won't be buying any more chapters as it's not a story I'm interested in reading anymore. If the developers don't want to spend the money, collect some royalties on it. A quick google shows me they've hardly made a dent in stopping this from happening.

baphamet

laserit said:

WoW sub numbers are in a very significant decline.

Imagine if Vanilla WoW proves to be more popular than the current version. It would be a major embarrassment for Blizzard.

All the talk about lost code and crap is just bullshit. If 30 volunteers can get a high quality Vanilla  server running, Blizzard sure in the hell could

i don't think it would be more popular than the standard servers and even if it was i think blizz would take that embarrassment well considering the truck loads of cash they would rake in because of it and that is clearly their only goal.

i think the argument that they don't want to spend all the resources on patching multiple clients is valid. that's why i think they should either allow these private servers to operate (which still promotes their brand if nothing else) or hire these volunteer nost devs on and let them do it in house (if they are willing)

Sovrath

baphamet said:

look at the trend of movies being released? a large number of them are reboots because everything has been done before, it's not much different with games.

I think there are reboots because movie studios have no imagination and they are more interested in creating films that they think will guarantee a return.

laserit

SedrynTyros said:

Well, here's my position: either Blizzard implements Legacy servers themselves or they back the fuck off when the community comes up with their own solution,[mod edit] Because when Blizzard refuses to provide the solution people are asking for but then also seeks out and destroys community-created alternatives, they're being a bunch of assholes. Plain and simple. 

[mod edit]

Public Perception and Backlash is a powerful and real thing. A Decades worth of reputation and goodwill can be destroyed in an instant.

Multibyte

I believe there is more to the story than Blizzard not thinking it is profitable to run legacy servers. First of all, Nostalrius proved that legacy servers can be profitable. We are supposed to believe that a handful WoW fans managed to create a legacy server so successful but Blizzard cannot?!?!

My guess is that the bigger and real reason is that Blizzard fears that legacy WoW might come back with a vengeance. Successful legacy servers such as Nostalrius or those run by Blizzard itself may serve to show that Blizzard dropped the ball big time with the direction they took the game.

Think about how it would reflect on Blizzard if a legacy server like Nostalrius becomes insanely successful while the original game, supposedly more advanced with better graphics and better every other thing, has been losing players, and actually lost roughly 60% of its' player population. Not good...

KeanN

Blizzard will never allow unofficial vanilla legacy server, why would they ? , they would achieve absolutely nothing for themselves by doing so.
However , everything points for blizzard to release their own legacy server. 
It will be a interesting blizzcon

laserit

Sovrath said:

baphamet said:

look at the trend of movies being released? a large number of them are reboots because everything has been done before, it's not much different with games.

I think there are reboots because movie studios have no imagination and they are more interested in creating films that they think will guarantee a return.

Not to mention how in most cases, they destroy these films with the shitty hatchet job writing. It leaves me scratching my head wondering what the hell these Producers and Directors think made these movies popular in the first place. 

baphamet

haha boogie let em have it!

Jermzy

SedrynTyros said:

Well, here's my position: either Blizzard implements Legacy servers themselves or they back the fuck off when the community comes up with their own solution,[mod edit] Because when Blizzard refuses to provide the solution people are asking for but then also seeks out and destroys community-created alternatives, they're being a bunch of assholes. Plain and simple. 

[mod edit]

I am not a wow fan. However, theft is theft. There is no grey area here, at all. Blizz has done this in the past, and will continue to go after anyone that pirates their software. Why you would condone this attests to your character, am i right?

That being said, i think the free server has shown enough interest that blizz should consider a few legacy servers.

Kahrek

I get the whole "We do not want to" argument but I will say this. If Blizzard brings back Vanilla WoW i would sign up for a 12 month sub in a heartbeat.

I also understand the issue with lost code and that it could not be exactly the same as it was but getting 90% would be good enough for me. Maybe release BC 9 months down the road and WoTLK after. A sort of progression server if you will.

Heck license the devs from private servers to run a seperate WoW client and keep it up to date if you do not want to handle it yourself. I would pay them a sub and Blizzard can get a nice cut.... win, win, win.... Ooops core hounds respawning!

Cheers,

laserit

Kahrek said:

I get the whole "We do not want to" argument but I will say this. If Blizzard brings back Vanilla WoW i would sign up for a 12 month sub in a heartbeat.

I also understand the issue with lost code and that it could not be exactly the same as it was but getting 90% would be good enough for me. Maybe release BC 9 months down the road and WoTLK after. A sort of progression server if you will.

Heck license the devs from private servers to run a seperate WoW client and keep it up to date if you do not want to handle it yourself. I would pay them a sub and Blizzard can get a nice cut.... win, win, win.... Ooops core hounds respawning!

Cheers,

Nah, I don't like the idea of progressing the individual servers to the next expac because you wind up in the same shitty place.

Just charge $15 to transfer your Toon to the next Expac legacy server.

baphamet

Sovrath said:

baphamet said:

look at the trend of movies being released? a large number of them are reboots because everything has been done before, it's not much different with games.

I think there are reboots because movie studios have no imagination and they are more interested in creating films that they think will guarantee a return.

that's the same exact things people say about mmo's. could it be that most things have already been imagined? or do people in general these days just lack imagination?

everything has been done in the entertainment world, i don't care if you are talking about games, movies, music.... whatever. notice how no new real genre of music comes out like it used to? now its just sub genres which are usually just genre hybrids mostly.

everything has been done and the team that thinks up the new next big thing if there is one, they will be quite rich.

sorry about the derail by the way.

Righteous_Rock

Official Vanilla Wow is a good idea. When the current expac fades , there is vanilla to go to. Look at the people wanting in to legion alpha .... if there was a vanilla server people would be all over it instead of burning out on the next expansion even before it launches. Heck without raid finder and dungeon finder, blizzard might rebuild a more stable foundation of players

baphamet

if you want a vanilla wow server sign the petition!

https://www.change.org/p/mike-morhaime-legacy-server-among-world-of-warcraft-community

Jermzy

SedrynTyros said:

Jermzy said:

SedrynTyros said:

Well, here's my position: either Blizzard implements Legacy servers themselves or they back the fuck off when the community comes up with their own solution,[mod edit] Because when Blizzard refuses to provide the solution people are asking for but then also seeks out and destroys community-created alternatives, they're being a bunch of assholes. Plain and simple. 

[mod edit]

I am not a wow fan. However, theft is theft. There is no grey area here, at all. Blizz has done this in the past, and will continue to go after anyone that pirates their software. Why you would condone this attests to your character, am i right?



That being said, i think the free server has shown enough interest that blizz should consider a few legacy servers.

When a vendor refuses to provide a service do I support the community providing that service for themselves?  Absolutely!  You're correct, that does attest to my character.  I believe a company should do what is morally correct rather than flexing their legal authority to kill other people's fun.  That's just a shitty thing to do and I will not support them in that.  Is it their legal right to do so?  Well sure.  But that doesn't mean they aren't dickheads for doing it.  Blizzard forfeited the moral high ground the moment they killed that vanilla server without having any plans to provide one of their own.

Piracy is bad for ANY business. If they allowed it, live servers would die. I agree 100% that blizz should have legacy servers. I also agree 100% about how they handle free servers. Shut them all down imo.

Maquiame

I'd pay for a year sub in a heartbeat, already signed the petition

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Kane72

Is there a universal definition of 'Vanilla WoW' then or would it just give 1% what they want and the remainder saying it is not what they asked for?

Are we talking removal of all maps, dungeons and other content released or are we talking about keeping all of that and changing the rules?

Unless you know what you want exactly, what chance is there if getting it?

Braindome

Part of me says too little too late, part of me says how I would totally still be playing WoW to this day had battlegrounds never been introduced. I loved WoW when I thought it had the potential to be an open world Warcraft game where the main goal would be taking over villages and open world conflicts, those days of hope are long since past and the amount of changes they would have to add would be far too extensive and just making it pure vanilla wouldn't be enough, all I had was hope and they shattered that pretty early on before it even got off the ground with me.

Sovrath

SedrynTyros said:

Well, here's my position: either Blizzard implements Legacy servers themselves or they back the fuck off when the community comes up with their own solution, like Nostalrius. Because when Blizzard refuses to provide the solution people are asking for but then also seeks out and destroys community-created alternatives, they're being a bunch of assholes. Plain and simple.

Before these recent events, I'd never once considered playing on a private WoW server. Now? That's the only place I would consider playing. I'll not pay Blizzard another subscription fee until they get their collective heads out of their asses and address this issue appropriately.

Except it's their IP, and their property. I wonder if you would have the same attitude if some were to take your work and use it for something you didn't want it used for?

I strongly suspect you would be one of the first people to rain down holy hell on someone using something of yours without permission. 

Zendai

150,000 active accounts equals a 'significant' and 'profitable' amount?

Even though WoW's total numbers have declined, aren't they still in the multi millions of subscribed monthly players? A lot of people here keep saying that the Vanilla servers would be more popular and more profitable, but clearly that is not true by just crunching basic numbers right?

I just don't get it, in comparison when I look back at Vanilla, I actually never committed to the game until Wrath/Cata. I remember just trying to quest solo in Vanilla/BC WoW and it was a frustrating experience, unless you took the right class and spec. At least by Cata, you could actually level a Fury warrior from 1 to 80 without having to Ghost walk or LFG the entire way. I still feel that Wrath/Cata/MoP had some of the strongest questing areas, rich with lore and unique quests that were fun and interesting to play. Actually, my favorite rendition was WoD (I just didn't care much for the Garrisons TBH) for story progression and fluid, fun, questing. Maybe I am just a poor player, but I still find most of that content challenging for the solo MMO player, which I often am since I am older now and most of my close friends don't play, especially not at the times I do, which is often in the later evening since I have work/school/kids and such.

What about Vanilla WoW is so appealing? Maybe I appreciate the progression of the story more than others, and like the way many of the classes and specs have evolved over the years. Keep in mind, I have been a huge Warcraft fan since I bought the Warcraft Battle Chest for $40 in 1997 when I was 9 years old, after working my ass off for my parents so they would buy it for me. I spent the next year playing and re-reading the strategy book for Orcs & Humans, Tides of Darkness, and Beyond the Dark Portal while playing in between. I remember where I was the day Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos released, and I spent so much time playing that and The Frozen Throne I lost track of how many hours I had committed. Still one of the greatest Fantasy stories ever told IMO, the rise and fall of Prince Arthas was one of the most spectacular tragedies of contemporary art, continuing with his decent into darkness and rebellion against the Legion. Thrall's pilgrimage to Kalimdor with the guidance of a redeemed Medievh, followed by the confrontation of with Archimonde at the World Tree was writing gold. It even got better in The Frozen Throne with the search for Illidan and the history of the Broken Isles (which we are revisiting in Legion, OMG HYPE). The merging of Ner'Zhul and Arthas into the Lich King and their consolidation of power, with the confrontation with Illidan at Ice Crown Citadel. The Rise of Kael'Thas and the expidition into Outland, as well as the foundation of Orgrimmar with the Orcs.

I was super hyped the first day when WoW was announced, I remember vividly the announcement trailer, and was of course blown away by the graphical detail and intensity. My first character I created was Mirethas, a Forsaken Frost Mage which I started on the Bronzebeard server with my cousin and his Forsaken Demonology Warlock, Bloodystabz. Though he has changed servers more than once, and is no longer my main, Mirethas (who is now Aximond) is still around and kicking. I remember in Outland Bloodystabz and I were in Zangarmarsh, and we were farming experience by gathering up dozens of creatures by aggroing them on our horses, hitting them all with Frost Nova, then Blizzard and Firestorm them all to death. Probably the only thing I truly miss from back then.

Maybe its because we never did World Firsts, never defeated Illidan at the end of BC, but I fell out of playing WoW for a while, and only came back in small stints, the biggest time being right before the transition between Wrath and Cata, and that was where the game really took off for me. I was actually able to level my first Fury Warrior, Barkell, solo successfully , and then I created my first Retribution Paladin, Lanindor during this time. These are still my mains to this day, and I have enjoyed my story and solo questing experience ever since the Sundering. Then SWTOR/Diablo 3/HotS came out, and I have only been off and on with WoW, because unfortunately I don't have as much time to commit to the game as I used to. Which I think is the reality of the entire player base, and one of the driving reasons for some of the more general simplifications in mechanics, solo play, and Raid Finder/ Group Finder tools. They need to cater to more casual play, since many of us do not have hundreds of hours to spend on min-maxing gear and finding consistent groups to play with. That may annoy the Hardcores, but unfortunately they are the vocal minority, and I don't think the game should just cater to them. Hate me if you wish, but I think backtracking into Vanilla is silly, is not worth the time of the developer to invest effort into, and that is their call. If you don't like it, I'm sorry there is no resolution for you, but its just the way it is. I for one amd excited for the future of the Franchise and hope they keep the good stuff rolling, even if you disagree with me its good, I don't care, I think its been great through and through. Just like I still love SWTOR, despite all the hate that game gets, and I will continue to defend it until I see actual evidence that it is worse rather than better.