Blizzard will probably have an online repository for maps. The first registered map on the repository is the original creator, anything after that would be considered a fraud (like how copyrights work). So even if you manage to crack a map open, changing it and uploading it as the same game wouldn't be possible.

As for Blizz's melees.. They were actually pretty high polished pieces of maps, but didn't undergo lots of testing for balance, not to mention the people started off a lot of what melee maps have today. I guarantee SC2's default maps are going to be pretty damn good since they know what to do. They weren't expecting SC to become so competitively popular.

Yeah I am a bit iffy on this whole premium thing too. I mean yes I will not complain about getting money but at the same time it would restrict the amount of people who actually get to play my map (which is not what I want). Honestly don't see the system working its just a concept at the moment anyway and I reckon its going to be scrapped before implementation.

Not to mention this puts Bnet one step further from free to play, it may be premium maps now, but yearly subscriptions won't be further down the road.

EDIT: Just at IhateClans, I don't think we need to be worried about Premium map quality. If they ARE going to implement this, they're going to do a good job. Remember Blizzard has come along way since Starcraft. If low quality maps start getting sold their sales will plummet.

I'm going to ask you to back this up with reasoning plz.

Blizzard won't care about the quality of the premium maps that people want to be sold. All they will care about is how the maps sell. If some maps sell better than others, they'll still keep the sucky ones up. No reason not to.

I'd laugh if like 99% of the maps on Bnet2 end up being premium and so damned shitty, that no1 ever plays any maps, or the Join list is 100% SEN maps. Also it'd be funny if everyone quit sc2 because all of the decent maps get crouded out by the Shitopolis maps. Would be a lulz fest. I see bad things a'comin for sc2.

Must not laugh if the game we have been waiting for for so many years becomes a Warcraft 3-ish fail...

The chances of (most of the people in) SEN being the best mapping community in SC2 isn't actually that high, because only a few people here have the art skills to make custom models etc. So while some good maps may come from here, they may not be as good as other people's maps because they will use the standard units. Perhaps the status quo will change, we'll see.

If and when these three things happen, I will sell my computer, and vow never to play Starcraft or Starcraft 2 again.

1 - DotA on Starcraft 2.
2 - 95% of custom games list is filled with DotA games.
3 - Every map publicly hosted but DotA is crap.

Don't be silly ;o
It'll be 45 percent DOTA, 40 percent TEMPLE SIEGE.

Yes, you are right. WE MUST MAKE TEMPLE SIEGE BEFORE DOTA COMES OUT ON STARCRAFT 2!

Well we got a couple of years befor release, probably. ;o

But seriously, TS won't have a chance against DOTA unless two things happen:

A) Dota becomes premium and a large amount of people decide not to pay for it, and

B) TS is made with new grafix. It hasn't got a chance if it uses default media. Oh, there'll be a few people playing it anyway, but nowhere near the scale of DOTA.

not to mention it's lack of hero's and items.

Obviously it would get a lot more heroes added as time goes on. I dunno about items though.

How many people play TS? 100-200 I estimate. How many people play DOTA? I'd say a couple thousand. If you look at it like that, TS has no chance.

But think of it this way. How many people tried to play DOTA, but never got into it either due to the community, or its steep steep learning curve. I'm pretty sure that number is higher than the thousands of dota players that have stuck with dota.
Let's say TS and DOTA are both ported to SC2. Let's also say their respective player base has followed them to sc2, so the count is 5,000 for DOTA, and 150 for TS. Now let's also say that 1/5 of the new sc2 population that tries dota will actually go through the DAYS of practice required to simply be competent at the game, but 3/5 of the same demographic can put up with the hour or 2 to learn TS.

I think we can see that over time TS can establish itself even in the presence of DOTA, given that it stays to its tenet of "easy to learn, difficult to master"

The problem remains that it can't compete with regards to graphics. Someone with decent art skills needs to come on board for that. I would but I haven't got time.

Most of DOTA's graphics are units that came with the game. No issue with graphics.

O.o i didn't know that...

1) This is SC2. Not WC. Although many WC3 players will try it, including DOTA players, not all will. WC3 came out after SC, yet many people prefer SC to WC3. Same will happen with SC2. The majority of SC players will move over, and the majority of WC3 players will stick with WC3.

2) Just how TS and HS were made, a similar game will be made in SC2. The key to getting the map to be the most popular AoS is how well you sell it. Just like any consumer product, a map must be treated the same. First, hype must be made, and rumors about it scattered before SC2 starts. When SC2 is released, OPEN TESTING must commence. This allows all players, good or bad, to get used to the name. It becomes familiar, and eventually popular.

3) DOTA for SC2 will appear; some p**** is going to do it. Get a group of people (kinda like SEN...) and gather ideas. Do not copy DOTA by changing names/appearances/spells names. Create new everything. Have contests to "submit a hero" for the appearance. Winners get to have their Hero in the game. It saves time/work, and some guy can feel proud that he contributed to a popular game. Essentially, turn this game into an open source project, but still have a group of moderators (experienced map makers), so the map doesn't turn to shit.

4) As for fake maps appearing, I'm sure blizzard will make it so you have a game "name" and a "version number". Every time you log onto b-net, your maps will update (hopefully the player won't have the choice to not update/host older versions).

To the verrry first post) Don't think blizzard is stupid. Hack makers are smart enough to come here to find any anti hacks, blizzard surely checks this site for information on the SC community. The majority of popular maps/map makers on west, east, and Europe have a SEN account. If a better alternative is found (and posted) for anything, blizzard may just adopt the idea.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 20 2010, 3:57 am by fat_flying_pigs.

"Blizzard announces another 6month delay on SC2, because they are stealing a new twist on pay-for-play idea from the nerds at Staredit.net."

Well if low quality maps start creeping into Premium, then the whole system looses credibility, and users become hesitant to spend money on what could well be a "shit map". Thus sales plummet.

Of course what we at SEN call shit and what bnet call shit are entirely different, and like someone else said, Blizzards just gonna look at the numbers. I just pray to my Starcraft God that they will scrap this idea.