GOG have announced that Warcraft I and Warcraft II are going to be leaving GOG "at the publisher's request" (Blizzard).
They're set to leave GOG on December 13th, although if you have a copy you'll still be able to download it afterwards. If you want to pick them up, GOG have given a special discount code "MakeWarcraftLiveForever" but that only applies to the bundle of them together. GOG say it will knock "2 USD, 2 EUR, 1.5 GBP or 8 PLN" off the price.
Additionally, GOG announced a promise for their recently announced Preservation Program as they said "Once a game joins the Program, we pledge to maintain its compatibility even if it gets delisted from the store.". Nice to see for people who do buy it up before it vanishes.
Why are Blizzard doing this now? They recently released Warcraft I: Remastered and Warcraft II: Remastered, although they're only available on Battlenet.
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Shame there's not a standard discount on top of the discount code
Was waiting for a heavy discount but looks like I'll just have to get them with £1.50 off
Was waiting for a heavy discount but looks like I'll just have to get them with £1.50 off
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Uhmmmm... it smells like Microsoft is going to pull off another GFWL leveraging Battle.net this time.
Let's hope they do it right this time. It won't (and can't) be worse than EGS that is for sure.
Let's hope they do it right this time. It won't (and can't) be worse than EGS that is for sure.
2 Likes, Who?
Somehow, Blizzard managed the not unimpressive feat of removing the original game to replace it with their incompetent "remaster" (what's a tall pixel?) yet again, but this time cross-platform. Bravo?
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Linux_Rocks Dec 2, 2024
The remasters on Battle.net come with the originals too. So I'm not surprised that they're doing this. It's a shame, but it was a matter of when it'd happen.
3 Likes, Who?
I've been waiting forever to get them at a good discount. Seems that I won't have to wait any more, one less thing to worry about. 
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Someone should write an open-source engine for warcraft 1 and 2!
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ElamanOpiskelija Dec 2, 2024
This is a new low for Blizzard. The cease and desist letter from a while ago to that open source warcraft project compared to EA's collaboration with OpenRA to make their C&C remasters. What a weird timeline we live in.
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Someone should write an open-source engine for warcraft 1 and 2!Funny you said that because ElamanOpiskelija just mentioned about a C&D by Blizzard to an open source Warcraft project.
Last edited by ToddL on 2 December 2024 at 5:36 pm UTC
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Caldathras Dec 2, 2024
Why are Blizzard doing this now? They recently released Warcraft I: Remastered and Warcraft II: Remastered, although they're only available on Battlenet.
It's Diablo II: Resurrected all over again!
In exchange for minor quality-of-life improvements and questionable changes to the artistic style of the graphics, Blizzard has imposed an online connection check in order to launch the games -- even for those that only want to play the single player campaigns.
On top of that, the multiplayer mode has been removed from Warcraft 1, effectively crippling the game for fans of the original.
The remasters on Battle.net come with the originals too.Like Diablo II: Resurrected, they built in the ability to swap between the original or remastered graphics. You still have to endure the online requirement and all the other changes. Not quite the same thing as having copies of the original game like GOG gives you (example: buy Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition and you get access to the Neverwinter Nights Diamond installer too).
That being said, like you, I am not really surprised. Over Blizzard's lifetime, I have watched Blizzard devolve into the greedy, anti-consumer corporation it's is now. I had hoped that Microsoft buying them might signal a change in direction to Blizzard's attitude, but no such luck. This is why I no longer buy Blizzard's games.
Last edited by Caldathras on 2 December 2024 at 6:35 pm UTC
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Like Diablo II: Resurrected, they built in the ability to swap between the original or remastered graphics.
This is always a nice feature to see, a few games did that too, and it's cool.
But yeah Blizzard is doing shit, doesn't change that.
Out of curiosity, I watched some videos of comparison between the original Warcraft I & II games and the remasters, and it's just awful AI upscale...
Last edited by Cyril on 2 December 2024 at 6:28 pm UTC
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Someone should write an open-source engine for warcraft 1 and 2!
Weren;t there some engines like that in the past ?
Stratagus and Wargus ?
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Linux_Rocks Dec 2, 2024
Oh, well the way it was put on the Battle.net site it sounded like you got the installers for the originals like GOG. Cause you used to be able to get the Battle.net version of Warcraft II on there before. At least if you entered your CD key you could. That's how I got my digital copy of StarCraft and Brood War originally. I've got my StarCraft CD key eternally memorized and just entered it on the old site. lolThe remasters on Battle.net come with the originals too.Like Diablo II: Resurrected, they built in the ability to swap between the original or remastered graphics. You still have to endure the online requirement and all the other changes. Not quite the same thing as having copies of the original game like GOG gives you (example: buy Neverwinter Nights Enhanced Edition and you get access to the Neverwinter Nights Diamond installer too).
3 Likes, Who?
legluondunet Dec 2, 2024
I bought "Battle Chest® - Warcraft® Remastered" on Batlle.Net and I don't regret it, for an interesting price, you have:
Warcraft® I: Remastered
Warcraft® II: Remastered
Warcraft® III: Reforged (+ Spoils of War bonus)
Warcraft®: Orcs & Humans
Warcraft® II: Battle.net® Edition
And all are compatible out the box with Wine (I use Battle.Net on Lutris).
I advice this pack for all Warcraft fan.
Warcraft® I: Remastered
Warcraft® II: Remastered
Warcraft® III: Reforged (+ Spoils of War bonus)
Warcraft®: Orcs & Humans
Warcraft® II: Battle.net® Edition
And all are compatible out the box with Wine (I use Battle.Net on Lutris).
I advice this pack for all Warcraft fan.
4 Likes, Who?
legluondunet Dec 2, 2024
Someone should write an open-source engine for warcraft 1 and 2!
Weren;t there some engines like that in the past ?
Stratagus and Wargus ?
Stratagus is the strategy game engine, Wargus is the "Warcraft II" client and War1gus "Warcraft I" client.
There is even a Starcraft client called Stargus.
All are still in development: https://github.com/Wargus
Last edited by legluondunet on 2 December 2024 at 7:31 pm UTC
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ElamanOpiskelija Dec 2, 2024
Like Diablo II: Resurrected, they built in the ability to swap between the original or remastered graphics.
This is always a nice feature to see, a few games did that too, and it's cool.
But yeah Blizzard is doing shit, doesn't change that.
Out of curiosity, I watched some videos of comparison between the original Warcraft I & II games and the remasters, and it's just awful AI upscale...
It gets "better"... check out these "original" graphics:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Warcraft/comments/1gybmu6/warcraft_2_original_graphics_vs_remastered/
1 Likes, Who?
I had hoped that Microsoft buying them might signal a change in direction to Blizzard's attitude
I had never imagined a timeline where Microsoft was the least evil of all the evil companies.
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Let's hope they do it right this time. It won't (and can't) be worse than EGS that is for sure.
Microsoft "Hold my beer"
5 Likes, Who?
Unfortunately and as painful as it is for me to write those words, Blizzard didn't need Microsoft to start waning into the sad nonesense it is known for today.Let's hope they do it right this time. It won't (and can't) be worse than EGS that is for sure.
Microsoft "Hold my beer"
After all, it's been a decade since the Diablo 3 launch debacle, and 3 years since the harassment lawsuits.
3 Likes, Who?
The remasters on Battle.net come with the originals too. So I'm not surprised that they're doing this. It's a shame, but it was a matter of when it'd happen.Are they bundling in the DOS originals? Because if they're not those remasters do not feature the originals. The switching is limited, and what it does feature of the originals is fairly mangled.
1 Likes, Who?
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