I noticed the lack of reviews recently, too, especially for featured maps. In the past a feature would get you at least 500 ratings or smth like that, but now it seems to have dramatically slowed down.
On the other side though, it appears like the mapping community has become slightly more active and also I heard that the total number of Starcraft 1v1 league players has increased.
So, not sure whats going on. There arent any official numbers concerning the Arcade. I feel like Blizzard needs to do more to support it and bring it out to the people in general. Their current effords are a good start though and it feels like they are finally putting more focus on the Arcade. We will have to see if its just a temporary commitment or if they are really willing to improve it (For example by implementing the features the mapping community is asking for since years).
I know the next expansion will bring back a lot of new people in.
the point is strategic department of bliz working on heroes of the storm so you can imagine development state of LotV... This is rly bad cuz i think many mappers want to get all art assets for sc2. 4 years have passed already and we still don't have finished product, like this crap with arcade system (inventing wheel tryouts), rly obvious and descend bugs like with add health buff, which actualy heal units if applied multiple times (need to do triggering even for this simple stuff), etc (rly lots of stupid bugs). Warcraft 3 editor was much more polished and user-friendly. Besides if you look at HotS Portrait models for unit's you will see that they are lower quality than WoL portraits. You can compare warhound, oracle, tempest portraits with ultralisk, zealot, spectre portraits. They have less shader effects. Blizzard started to skive >:(
So considering this trends i'm rly anxious about LotV. It should bring descend ammount of content and finished version of the editor at last to make a blast again. Right now there is huge lack of protoss units and effect models in editor, rly no assets to work with :(
Oh god, not this again. These threads never go anywhere. It only took three replies for someone to post something uninformed and ungrounded this time...
I have to agree with Mozared, thread like this are all over the place and none achieved anything. But I'd like to add something here: For those that installed the battle.net app the game is bugged as hell. Blizzard bug forums are crowded, and the last official answer on anything bug-related has been at least 2 or 3 weeks ago. Some bugs simply break the game for some people. Things like choosing a race but playing with another, or being unable to ladder because the buttons are greyed out have been reported in the last few days.
Some of these people will probably take some time away from SC2. I can say I've been thinking about that (I'm extremely busy but I still manage to play a few games). Sometimes I need to re-launch the game just to be able to add my friends to my team.
So my issues aren't with the curret state of the arcade actually, and maybe other players think the same. If Blizzard as a company can launch a patch that breaks more things than it adds or fixes, and don't say a thing after weeks, I don't expect the number of active players to increase.
The bad about sc2 is that 1v1 need to dedication for a casual user ad the Game design is awfull for E-Sports ... Crap like death ball and low
Responsive units should be removed because now tournaments are really boring and predictable to watch... Add to this a poor
Plot and the general death of RTS genre and you will have the actual status of the situation, about arcade there is something to fix but this new support to it is nice... Also blizzard know that 3/4 of players are on the arcade and about 300k people are on the 1v1...
Other bad thing is the low support to 2v2 3v3 and 4v4 matches (also FFA)... That' my idea
And not generic whine... PS: GTFO David Kim ... Your casual gamer oriented Game design is ruining the Game ...3/4 of matches are done by camper vs camper tactics... :/
The bad about sc2 is that 1v1 need to dedication for a casual user ad the Game design is awfull for E-Sports ... Crap like death ball and low Responsive units should be removed because now tournaments are really boring and predictable to watch... Add to this a poor Plot and the general death of RTS genre and you will have the actual status of the situation, about arcade there is something to fix but this new support to it is nice... Also blizzard know that 3/4 of players are on the arcade and about 300k people are on the 1v1... Other bad thing is the low support to 2v2 3v3 and 4v4 matches (also FFA)... That' my idea And not generic whine... PS: GTFO David Kim ... Your casual gamer oriented Game design is ruining the Game ...3/4 of matches are done by camper vs camper tactics... :/
300k people playing 1v1? 3/4rds of the people are playing the arcade?
Battle.net (that is, WoW+D3+SC2+HS) hovers around 1 to 1.25 mil people.
There aren't 300k people playing 1v1. I don't have stats, but I'd honestly struggle to believe that there are 10k people playing 1v1 at any given time.
Lastly, I don't think SC2 is casual enough. If anything, the raw difficulty of the game is responsible for it's low figures. There's no doubt in my mind that if SC2 catered towards a more casual audience, it would be significantly more popular even at an e-sports level.
I would honestly love it if the arcade were shifted off SC2 and moved onto it's own platform, with it's own battle.net app icon. There is just no need for the arcade to be joined at SC2's hip anymore.
I would honestly love it if the arcade were shifted off SC2 and moved onto it's own platform, with it's own battle.net app icon. There is just no need for the arcade to be joined at SC2's hip anymore.
yeah and support for all blizzard models ever made in a huge database. being limited to one game sucks and buying a game just to have the assets rdy for modding is kinda akward if all assets are available for free playing any map.
btw starcraft II is nearly unplayable with low internet speed. i always disconnect while downloading a map lol, then the download fails...
i really miss the warcraft 3 custom games, game, everything. even though the editor is more powerful.
i cannot explain why but the whole game doesn't feel right compared to wc3. (don't blame me for this sentence, it's late here).
People could go back and forth for days about this. But here's the question: If you could get a definitive answer (which you can't), what would that accomplish? If "it's dying" are you going to quit? I'm curious to see what you intended on doing with the responses to this thread.
I agree, it is a little disappointing to see some of the really talented map makers are focused only on creating top played or something. People should make what they are passionate about instead of focusing all effort on stats. I'm OK with people doing that but I hate when someone shoots down an idea of mine because "There's no way that's even gunna make the top 10 list."
As far as the thread goes I agree with most of the others people have been making these threads for years and SC2 keeps trucking so I don't think there is anything to worry about until after LoTV comes out.
People could go back and forth for days about this. But here's the question: If you could get a definitive answer (which you can't), what would that accomplish? If "it's dying" are you going to quit? I'm curious to see what you intended on doing with the responses to this thread.
My intent was to learn if other people noticed the same thing and if it is discouraging anyone from making maps. I think it's pretty important considering the popularity of Starcraft 2 directly effects our maps.
I agree, it is a little disappointing to see some of the really talented map makers are focused only on creating top played or something. People should make what they are passionate about instead of focusing all effort on stats. I'm OK with people doing that but I hate when someone shoots down an idea of mine because "There's no way that's even gunna make the top 10 list."
As far as the thread goes I agree with most of the others people have been making these threads for years and SC2 keeps trucking so I don't think there is anything to worry about until after LoTV comes out.
Considering how much time you have to invest into making a map that will last longer than a few playthrough, and the fact that you need other players to make certain types of maps work, it's kind of silly just to make maps for yourself.
Aah, sweet nostalgia, it really takes me back to the days of old. One crowd would argue that sc2 is dying out, stating that b-nets dreadfulness and overall neglect on blizz side have made a great depression of what could have been a second golden age of map-making. Other party would say that either everything is fine (you're just bad) or that the game is not yet complete, we should wait cause the best is yet to come for in blizz we should trust. Graphs, statistics, made-up numbers, baseless assumptions, those times had it all. And it was cool.
But now, almost 4 years later, things are vastly better than they used to be, and the novelty of complaining kinda wore off. "SC2 is dying" is old and boring theme for those who were here from the start. It's like an overused joke that isn't funny anymore, just annoying and a bad taste overall, so excuse us for being grumpy.
As for the question asked - from my perspective it isn't. It's just that at the release it had a bigger interest/novelty. Now, over time it stabilized to a regular playerbase and player flow. Not as many as it should have in a perfect world, but it's certainly not dying.
I want more people to make maps they like to play themselves, and stop worrying how many others will play them. Those are the best maps.
Yea, there are people see meaning in validation from the crowd. We all map for our own reasons, I'd say best maps are the ones that fulfill makers intent. This said I have a bigger appreciation for a niche creations that are made to scratch a specific itch. Made to be a select type of awesome, not popular :>
Considering how much time you have to invest into making a map that will last longer than a few playthrough, and the fact that you need other players to make certain types of maps work, it's kind of silly just to make maps for yourself.
Well, if other players playing your map takes priority for you, do your best to make proper preparations/research on demographics, platform and its trends. You don't have to worry about popularity if you know it's gonna be popular. Having an experience/knowledge to engineer something like that is a different question though. But If all you want is to get lucky then you should be ready for all outcomes. At this point not caring is just healthier overall.
Considering how much time you have to invest into making a map that will last longer than a few playthrough, and the fact that you need other players to make certain types of maps work, it's kind of silly just to make maps for yourself.
Now, now, that' a bold statement. I believe for most of us this is a hobby in the first place. There are other 'productive' (in the sense you are actually making things) hobbies like painting, photography, model making, collecting stuff or whatever but I have yet to hear the statement that these are silly to do for yourself. Personally, I make maps that I would like to play, perhaps with friends. In your point of view this might be silly but be aware that speaking like this about something that others love can offend them easily.
Is it just me or does it feel like the reviews are coming in a lot slower on all maps?
I know the next expansion will bring back a lot of new people in. But it's just kind of depressing seeing SC2 not being as active as it should be.
I noticed the lack of reviews recently, too, especially for featured maps. In the past a feature would get you at least 500 ratings or smth like that, but now it seems to have dramatically slowed down.
On the other side though, it appears like the mapping community has become slightly more active and also I heard that the total number of Starcraft 1v1 league players has increased.
So, not sure whats going on. There arent any official numbers concerning the Arcade. I feel like Blizzard needs to do more to support it and bring it out to the people in general. Their current effords are a good start though and it feels like they are finally putting more focus on the Arcade. We will have to see if its just a temporary commitment or if they are really willing to improve it (For example by implementing the features the mapping community is asking for since years).
No, it's doing fine. Custom maps aren't as popular as in the old days though.
the point is strategic department of bliz working on heroes of the storm so you can imagine development state of LotV... This is rly bad cuz i think many mappers want to get all art assets for sc2. 4 years have passed already and we still don't have finished product, like this crap with arcade system (inventing wheel tryouts), rly obvious and descend bugs like with add health buff, which actualy heal units if applied multiple times (need to do triggering even for this simple stuff), etc (rly lots of stupid bugs). Warcraft 3 editor was much more polished and user-friendly. Besides if you look at HotS Portrait models for unit's you will see that they are lower quality than WoL portraits. You can compare warhound, oracle, tempest portraits with ultralisk, zealot, spectre portraits. They have less shader effects. Blizzard started to skive >:(
So considering this trends i'm rly anxious about LotV. It should bring descend ammount of content and finished version of the editor at last to make a blast again. Right now there is huge lack of protoss units and effect models in editor, rly no assets to work with :(
Oh god, not this again. These threads never go anywhere. It only took three replies for someone to post something uninformed and ungrounded this time...
I have to agree with Mozared, thread like this are all over the place and none achieved anything. But I'd like to add something here: For those that installed the battle.net app the game is bugged as hell. Blizzard bug forums are crowded, and the last official answer on anything bug-related has been at least 2 or 3 weeks ago. Some bugs simply break the game for some people. Things like choosing a race but playing with another, or being unable to ladder because the buttons are greyed out have been reported in the last few days.
Some of these people will probably take some time away from SC2. I can say I've been thinking about that (I'm extremely busy but I still manage to play a few games). Sometimes I need to re-launch the game just to be able to add my friends to my team.
So my issues aren't with the curret state of the arcade actually, and maybe other players think the same. If Blizzard as a company can launch a patch that breaks more things than it adds or fixes, and don't say a thing after weeks, I don't expect the number of active players to increase.
The bad about sc2 is that 1v1 need to dedication for a casual user ad the Game design is awfull for E-Sports ... Crap like death ball and low Responsive units should be removed because now tournaments are really boring and predictable to watch... Add to this a poor Plot and the general death of RTS genre and you will have the actual status of the situation, about arcade there is something to fix but this new support to it is nice... Also blizzard know that 3/4 of players are on the arcade and about 300k people are on the 1v1... Other bad thing is the low support to 2v2 3v3 and 4v4 matches (also FFA)... That' my idea And not generic whine... PS: GTFO David Kim ... Your casual gamer oriented Game design is ruining the Game ...3/4 of matches are done by camper vs camper tactics... :/
if I had unlimited time I would do some sc2...
:(
300k people playing 1v1? 3/4rds of the people are playing the arcade?
Battle.net (that is, WoW+D3+SC2+HS) hovers around 1 to 1.25 mil people.
There aren't 300k people playing 1v1. I don't have stats, but I'd honestly struggle to believe that there are 10k people playing 1v1 at any given time.
Lastly, I don't think SC2 is casual enough. If anything, the raw difficulty of the game is responsible for it's low figures. There's no doubt in my mind that if SC2 catered towards a more casual audience, it would be significantly more popular even at an e-sports level.
I would honestly love it if the arcade were shifted off SC2 and moved onto it's own platform, with it's own battle.net app icon. There is just no need for the arcade to be joined at SC2's hip anymore.
@TyaStarcraft: Go
The 300k is active per season not at any given time.
yeah and support for all blizzard models ever made in a huge database. being limited to one game sucks and buying a game just to have the assets rdy for modding is kinda akward if all assets are available for free playing any map.
btw starcraft II is nearly unplayable with low internet speed. i always disconnect while downloading a map lol, then the download fails...
i really miss the warcraft 3 custom games, game, everything. even though the editor is more powerful.
i cannot explain why but the whole game doesn't feel right compared to wc3. (don't blame me for this sentence, it's late here).
Exactly
Why make this topic? There are two options:
A) Yes, it is dying. B) No, it isn't dying.
People could go back and forth for days about this. But here's the question: If you could get a definitive answer (which you can't), what would that accomplish? If "it's dying" are you going to quit? I'm curious to see what you intended on doing with the responses to this thread.
Great to be back and part of the community again!
I want more people to make maps they like to play themselves, and stop worrying how many others will play them. Those are the best maps.
This is the truth.
@Crainy: Go
I agree, it is a little disappointing to see some of the really talented map makers are focused only on creating top played or something. People should make what they are passionate about instead of focusing all effort on stats. I'm OK with people doing that but I hate when someone shoots down an idea of mine because "There's no way that's even gunna make the top 10 list."
As far as the thread goes I agree with most of the others people have been making these threads for years and SC2 keeps trucking so I don't think there is anything to worry about until after LoTV comes out.
My intent was to learn if other people noticed the same thing and if it is discouraging anyone from making maps. I think it's pretty important considering the popularity of Starcraft 2 directly effects our maps.
With your logic, why discuss anything?
Considering how much time you have to invest into making a map that will last longer than a few playthrough, and the fact that you need other players to make certain types of maps work, it's kind of silly just to make maps for yourself.
Aah, sweet nostalgia, it really takes me back to the days of old. One crowd would argue that sc2 is dying out, stating that b-nets dreadfulness and overall neglect on blizz side have made a great depression of what could have been a second golden age of map-making. Other party would say that either everything is fine (you're just bad) or that the game is not yet complete, we should wait cause the best is yet to come for in blizz we should trust. Graphs, statistics, made-up numbers, baseless assumptions, those times had it all. And it was cool.
But now, almost 4 years later, things are vastly better than they used to be, and the novelty of complaining kinda wore off. "SC2 is dying" is old and boring theme for those who were here from the start. It's like an overused joke that isn't funny anymore, just annoying and a bad taste overall, so excuse us for being grumpy.
As for the question asked - from my perspective it isn't. It's just that at the release it had a bigger interest/novelty. Now, over time it stabilized to a regular playerbase and player flow. Not as many as it should have in a perfect world, but it's certainly not dying.
Yea, there are people see meaning in validation from the crowd. We all map for our own reasons, I'd say best maps are the ones that fulfill makers intent. This said I have a bigger appreciation for a niche creations that are made to scratch a specific itch. Made to be a select type of awesome, not popular :>
Well, if other players playing your map takes priority for you, do your best to make proper preparations/research on demographics, platform and its trends. You don't have to worry about popularity if you know it's gonna be popular. Having an experience/knowledge to engineer something like that is a different question though. But If all you want is to get lucky then you should be ready for all outcomes. At this point not caring is just healthier overall.
Now, now, that' a bold statement. I believe for most of us this is a hobby in the first place. There are other 'productive' (in the sense you are actually making things) hobbies like painting, photography, model making, collecting stuff or whatever but I have yet to hear the statement that these are silly to do for yourself. Personally, I make maps that I would like to play, perhaps with friends. In your point of view this might be silly but be aware that speaking like this about something that others love can offend them easily.
Guys you just lost the point of this thread. Just go all the way pessimistic now to get pleasant surprises in future.