Warcraft III: Reforged launched just a few days ago and the storm of complaints threatens to turn into its own Maelstrom. Most of the issues are of course related to the gameplay itself, but now, other problems are circling the eye of the storm.
Ill wind from the forums
The official Warcraft III forums have been a barrel of gunpowder ever since Warcraft III: Reforged launched. Naturally, new bugs are being reported and users are in an uproar, but that is not all. Players of the original Warcraft III game also have a reason to complain. Because the game got “merged” with Warcraft III: Reforged, any connectivity or launch issues the Reforged version has, now also apply for the original game. Creating an issue for people who haven’t even bought your game is a rather special kind of low.
For the other reports: we urge you to take these with a spoonful of salt since there is no way to verify them one way or another. Some users are reporting getting banned for explaining how to get a refund for the game.
Blizzard does not provide transparent ban justifications so we can’t know if this is true but it seems very suspicious, to say the least. In many countries, obscuring or denying the right to a refund is illegal, so we’re sure Blizzard isn’t going that far. But the timing is not good. And even when people did manage to apply for a refund, some attempts have been unsuccessful:
The failed refunds and scripted responses are automated, though, so this could all be a giant glitch in the refund system. This version appears even more plausible since not all refunds are affected; other people have gotten their money back just fine. However, if it isall just a glitch, just how many people are actually trying to get a refund for Warcraft III: Reforged? Considering the incoming negative reviews, quite a lot.
Terms of Service: fun with IP rights
While the ban hammers are swinging in the forums, a legal beast reared its ugly head. It seems that someone didn’t just blindly click “Accept” and actually read the Warcraft III: Reforged Terms of Service. What they found wasn’t very encouraging.
You see, Warcraft III was famous for its card editor. It gave birth to amazing custom modes such as Tower Defense, and the most famous one of them all – Defense of the Ancients, also known as DotA. As a consequence, Warcraft III: Reforged is equipped with a similar map editor, something players were very hopeful to try. Alas, it comes with a couple of asterisks. Blizzard appears to have learned from the past. Back in the day, they didn’t manage to properly monetize the custom DotA mode and its author gladly handed it over to Valve. Dota 2 was born and the rest is history.
Now, authors don’t get such liberties. In fact, they get no liberties with their creations.
We did some digging and according to our limited understanding, waiving or assigning moral rights means that the creator waives or assigns the right to be credited for their own creation. Legal experts will say that this is not illegal but “not illegal” doesn’t mean “not restrictive”.
The sound of silence
Throughout this, Blizzard has been ominously silent. Not a peep from PR, not a tweet, not even an apology for the state of the game. No announcements about incoming patches or fixes. One is left to wonder if the famous game development company is just waiting for it all to blow over. Whatever the reasoning, the current tune to Warcraft III: Reforged is not the Ode of Joy but the Scoff of Disappointment.
What do you think? Have you had any issues with the game at all?
