Modern Warfare Two to not allow dedicated servers
Greetings HolyLand Members and Friends!
*********UPDATE***********
At this time Infinity Ward has decided to eliminate dedicated server, punkbuster, and mod support from the upcoming release of Modern Warfare 2. Instead Infinity Ward will force you to use a “matchmaking” service that pairs you with players of equal rank and experience. Each time you log on IW will decide where you play and whom you play with. You will no longer have the ability to play with your friends or clan mates except in co-op mode.
IW is also removing PunkBuster and replacing it with Valve Anti-Cheat, a system that Valve (makers of the Half Life and Counterstrike series) uses on the Steam platform. There is some debate over which system is better at detecting cheaters but in my limited experience with VAC, cheating seems to be more rampant on Steam servers. Further, the MP gaming society is already very familiar with PB so leaving it out of a very successful series like COD is a head-scratcher to be sure!
Finally removing the MOD support means no more custom mods or maps that keep the game fresh. Instead it is likely the IW could begin charging for content like patches and map packs.
What does this mean for HolyLand Clan? Unless things change no one will be able to host a MW2 server, including us. There is a petition online that you can sign to get IW to reconsider their foolish stance on this matter although its unlikely to affect IW much.
http://www.petitiononline.com/dedis4mw/petition.html
In the meantime we will shelve our plans for MW2 and decide in which direction to go. Possibly expanding the COD2 server and getting rid of COD4 altogether or some other combination. We would like to hear from you, our members and friends. If you have a comment, suggestion, or idea, please post it here in this thread. Thanks!
~frag
****UPDATE****
We've placed a poll on the left side of the screen. Please take a moment to vote. This is your clan and you have a say. Unless you don't speak up. Then I rule!! :-)
