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Modern Warfare 2 Won't Have Dedicated PC Servers, New Footage Emerges
by Chris Faylor, Oct 20, 2009 10:19am PDTThough Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 maker Infinity Ward recently told us that "PC [multiplayer] will be the same as it always was," the company has now revealed that the war-torn shooter will not make use of community-run dedicated servers.
"We've been building up this system on the backend called IW Net, to allow matchmaking for our PC users
just like you have on the console," Infinity Ward community manager Robert 'fourzerotwo' Bowling explained on podcast BASH 123.
"You're completely reliant on IW Net and there's no dedicated servers or server list. You rely on IW Net for your matchmaking and finding games, but then you also have the private match, much like the other platforms, where you can go in and...customize the game rules, all via private match, and invite people to the server that way."
Bowling added: "The mentality is making it much more accessible to the PC community as a whole and making it where it's a lot less cost burden for our community members."
He also noted that the PC version will make use of some integrated Steam functionality, such as Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) technology, but offered few specifics beyond clarification that "our matchmaking is not through Steam."
While Bowling says Infinity Ward is trying "looking at ways we can improve the multiplayer game on PC and make it easier for everybody," the community is not happy.
"The silence that you hear is because we've got a community right now that is structured in such a way that relied on having dedicated servers," said one of the podcast hosts. Others expressed concern regarding latency, as games will now be hosted on home internet connections and machines instead, as well as the fate of mod support.
An online petition demanding dedicated servers popped up shortly thereafter, and currently has over 100,000 signatures. Bowling later told Appetite2Kill admin Peeter that "the response will not be ignored. I'll ensure everyone at IW sees the petitions."
"Hardcore PC players lose very little to this change relative to the returns that casual to moderate fans will see," wrote Game Informer after speaking to Infinity Ward.
Citing a conversation with studio head Jason West, Game Informer explained:
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.[...]Clans can set up private matches to do their training or what have you; all they lose is the ability to customize the game on a deeper level with mods and such. Infinity Ward sees the addition of solid matchmaking and community support like IW-run tournaments to the PC as a huge win, and not something that could be done under the old system.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 hits PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 10. Expect to hear more on the game and its integrated Steam functionality before then.
In related news, a new commercial for the game has emerged via retailer GameStop:
Thanks to everyone that sent this in.
Comments
Unlike most people here, I recognize that there is no sense in the stuck up "we're smart so user friendliness doesn't matter" mentality. I have been a PC gamer for 10 years and I own zero consoles. On the other hand, I think that there are a great many things that the PC could learn from the consoles for much better user experience. PC gamers have long believed the amount of routine headache they put up with is evidence that they are somehow more sophisticated than console gamers. Does anyone actually like to sit there and stare and an installation screen? With consoles, you can begin playing as soon as you put the disk in. This has been how it was from the beginning. Does anyone actually like spending hours on end searching for workarounds to crashes and error messages? Forums all across the internet are a testament to how hard getting a PC game to work can be on occasion. One time, Cod4 MP crashed on me with some obscure error message (dont we all love those) like "IM MP54_x.mp3.dll could not be found" ... Two hours later after trying dozens of solutions, I found that it wanted me to plug in my head phones. Don't we all wish that gaming on the PC was more about playing games and less about getting said games to work? This is something that consoles, beyond a doubt, do better than PCs.
In many ways, the patronizing attitude of many PC gamers towards console gamers is very misplaced. PCs aren't necessarily better than consoles just different. Notice how many PC gamers brag about their platform's superior hardware than get mad at the developers whenever a game comes out that's actually aimed at high end hardware?
That said, I would like to see a server browser. PCs are not necessarily better than consoles, but they are different. Matchmaking is well suited to consoles but it is not the best option for the PC. The mouse's precision and speed makes it easy to browse large lists of servers in a quick and efficient, manor, making server browsers superior (on the PC to) match making. Server browsers give you a high degree of freedom when it comes to choosing your server/game. The PC should have whatever features it's differences warrant, but have you people seen the Infinity Ward boards? The list of all the random, useless crap the PC gamers over there is just astonishing. It's like they think the entire world should drop what they're doing and attend to their every need. There are over 200 things that they want.
While, this is disappointing news, i feel as if it's forecasting a broader trend with the PC adopting the consoles strengths to become a better. There is no (non absurd) reason why PC gaming needs to be more comlpex than console gaming and/or chock full of headaches. And to be honest, now that I think about it, PC gamers are a bit too obsessed with "being different for the sake of it."
Competition? When did IW say that their new IW.net system won't let leagues play MW2?
Mods? How many people played mods for cod4. The game was great. Like many "inferior" console games, you didn't need any mods. The game was already fine. This whole "release a bad game and let the fans fix it" is a terrible idea.
Let's not also forget that mods played a role in enabling cheating. Consoles don't have modding and how much cheating do you see? None?
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