Following the news that Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare 2 for PC would not support dedicated servers, the studio’s creative strategist Robert Bowling tried to clarify some issues — but many PC gamers are still unhappy.
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is actually the biggest investment Infinity Ward has ever made into the PC version of our games,” Bowling wrote in a Tuesday blog. “It’s also the most feature-rich PC version we’ve ever made.”
Bowling explained in more detail how Infinity Ward’s multiplayer backend, “IWNet,” is intended to make matchmaking smoother on PC, allow for playlists and private matches, and facilitate cheat- and hack-free games.
He confirmed that there will be “no more browsing through a server list for a server with the settings/ping you want among other things,” and acknowledged that the news “sent shockwaves through the hardcore PC community.”
The community manager hoped his explanation would dispel misunderstandings about IWNet’s implementation in the PC version of Modern Warfare 2: “IWNnet adds a load of new features that the PC version of our games have never had before and allows us an infrastructure to continue to update and improve on the game post-launch,” he argued.
But comments in response to his blog indicate that PC gamers are still unsatisfied with the explanation of IWNet. For many commentators, only the option to have dedicated servers will make them happy.
“You have got to be kidding me,” one response reads. “What you’ve described above is right out of a console and doesn’t prove that the system will be better at all. I like how you try to say this is going to be better for clans, right, sure it is. … This is fail.”
With no dedicated server support for PC, gamers in the PC community will not be able to run Modern Warfare 2 on dedicated servers that they may rent, as they are able to with previous Call of Duty games. Other concerns that PC gamers have expressed on message boards and blogs regarding no dedicated servers include possible lag issues, no mod support, and unsatisfactory match-making. The community of many PC games is structured around the flexibility provided by dedicated server support, extending the life of a given game.
PC gamers objecting to Infinity Ward’s decision are signing a petition, which listed 108,000 names as of press time. Addressed to Activision-owned Infinity Ward, the online petition’s goal is to “Get Infinity Ward to review their decision not to allow fully dedicated servers for their forthcoming game release CoD:MW2. Remember that this Call of Duty was made popular by PC gamers who have supported the series throughout.”
League of Legends, the persistent online multiplayer battle arena action game based off the popular Warcraft III Defense of the Ancients mod. Players take on the role of Summoners, powerful spell casters that can invoke champions to fight for them in battle across the world of Valoran in large arenas known as Fields of Justice. More than thirty separate champions can be summoned to the battlefield, each with their own unique abilities that can be used in battle to defeat your opponents.
With the game scheduled to be released next week, we thought we’d highlight five new champions to the League of Legends universe, providing additional information on their background as well as their abilities. While four of these characters have been in the beta, we’re going to kick off this feature by exclusively reveal details about the newest character, Nasus.
Nasus, Curator of the SandsChampion Type: Fighter
Unlike some of the other fighters, the champion known as Nasus did not come from Valoran. On a distant desert world, He was the Keeper of the Great Library, a position that allowed him to become quite enlightened. However, Nasus was also a warrior, part of a race of creatures that were rulers and protectors of their people. While a war raged on his world, Nasus was summoned to the League where he discovered his talents were better served on the Fields of Justice.
Nasus wields attacks as strong and brutal as the desert he comes from. His Siphoning Strike attack does damage and if it lands the killing blow against an enemy, it is powered up further. As a way of slowing their enemies in battle, Nasus’ Wither ability decreases his target’s movement and attack speed for three seconds. A third power, Spirit Fire, allows him to set up a trap for enemies to fall into, causing damage and ruining the armor of those that cross its location. Finally, Nasus’ ultimate ability is called the Avatar of Death, which provides him with bonus health and faster attack speed. Nearby enemies have their health sucked away and turned into damage bonuses for Nasus, giving him a powerful way to destroy opponents.
Janna, Avatar of Air Champion Type: Mage
Once an orphan living on the streets of the city of Zaun, Janna tried to live her life as best she could. However, she soon discovered that she had magical ability that could protect her and raise her out of her troubled circumstances. Learning how to wield air magic and quickly mastering the element itself, Janna quickly left her city in search of a way to right the wrongs of the world, and joined up with the League of Legends to destroy evil.
As a master of Air, Janna can manipulate wind to destroy her enemies. Her first attack, Howling Gale, starts as a small storm that grows after time. By directing it at her enemies, she can cause damage and knock down her foes. Her Zephyr ability increases her movement speed, letting her pass through enemies while causing them damage and slowing them down. To help her allies, Janna’s Eye of the Storm can shield characters from damage while boosting the amount of damage they can cause. Finally, Janna’s Monsoon ability sheaths her in a storm that consistently throws enemies away. The storm also heals nearby allies
Gangplank, the Saltwater Scourge Champion Type: Fighter
Born the son of the infamous pirate captain Vincent the Shadow, Gangplank grew up in the city of Bilgewater. Becoming the most ruthless and feared child in the town because of his father’s harsh lessons, he exacted his revenge by stabbing his dad in the back and taking his ship. Discovering that the world was quickly turning against pirates, he departed the Pirate Isles and his crew to become the latest addition to the League of Legends.
Gangplank is a dangerous warrior whose pirate inspired abilities potentially give him an edge over some opponents in battle. His Parrrley ability produces a pistol, which Gangplank uses to shoot an enemy. If he kills them with this shot, he receives bonus gold. While a humorous name for an ability, Gangplank’s Remove Scurvy power lets him eliminate any crowd control effects placed on him while healing him at the same time. Gangplank has one rather strange power in the form of Raise Morale, where he kills one of the AI controlled minions. Nearby allies, as well as Gangplank himself, are inspired with faster attack and movement speed after the “volunteer’s” death. Finally, Cannon Barrage allows Gangplank to target an area with his ship’s cannons for ten seconds, causing damage to anything within the area while slowing enemy units.
Malphite, Shard of the Monolith Champion Type: Tank
A creature of rock from a distant planet, Malphite was once part of a harmonious essence known as The Monolith where everything coexisted as pieces of the entire world. As a being that tried to embody order, Malphite was angered when he was ripped away from his planet and brought to the League. However, after discovering that his new world was completely in disarray, he entered the Fields of Justice to enforce his brand of order against anyone or anything embodying chaos.
Composed entirely of rock, destroying Malphite is particularly difficult. This, coupled with his attacks, makes him particularly formidable. His Seismic Shard attack sends a shard of earth rippling through the earth to his enemies. Not only does this do damage to the target, it slows them down for six seconds on impact. Malphite also packs a powerful punch, thanks to his Brutal Strikes attack. By hitting his enemies with extra force, his blows cause damage to enemies around the target. Malphite’s Ground Slam can send out a large shockwave, slowing the attack speed of enemies for four seconds while causing two different kinds of damage upon enemies in its wake. Finally, Malphite’s ultimate attack, Unstoppable Force, allows him to charge into an area, causing damage to enemies as they’re launched into the air from the impact.
Dr. Mundo, Madman of Zaun Champion Type: Tank
The mysterious man known as Dr. Mundo was born in the city of Zaun, and from a young age wanted to inflict pain through experimentation on anything he could get his hands on. Whether animals, his parents or others, he constantly tried to conduct his experiments to gain a better understanding of pain itself. After being acquitted of 38 murder charges by the time he gained his medical license, he was recruited to fight within the League of legends, where he’d find plenty of new specimens to experiment upon.
As a devotee of pain, Dr. Mundo’s abilities revolve around dealing pain to himself or others. He wields a large cleaver, which he can throw with his Infected Cleaver ability, causing a significant amount of damage and slowing them down for a while. Dr. Mundo’s Burning Agony ability decreases any stun or slow effects that he might be suffering from, but as a side effect, he also does continual damage to nearby enemies. Mundo can trigger his Masochism ability, increasing the damage he causes for five seconds. On top of this, each percent of health that he’s lost further boosts his damage as this skill is in effect, making him rather dangerous when he’s low on health. Countering this ability is his Sadism skill, letting Mundo sacrifice some of his health for faster movement speed and increased health regeneration.
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