Blizzard re-releasing old games?

[deepstrasz]

I don't know what's going on recently but Blizzard already shoved Diablo+Hellfire to GoG:

Diablo Now Available on GOG.COM

Today, players can once again explore the original Blizzard classic as it becomes available exclusively on GOG.COM!

news.blizzard.com

Diablo + Hellfire

Now with Hellfire! Originally developed by Synergistic Software and released in 1997, Hel

www.gog.com

Now, they're selling it again on their site?

Face the Lord of Terror in Diablo, now available on Battle.net

Beneath the cathedral of Tristram, past the catacombs and deep caves, a Prime Evil grows in strength. Terror grips the townsfolk. They pray for someone to descend into the darkness, avenge their fallen friends, save Tristram, and destroy their demonic malefactor. Will you answer the call?

news.blizzard.com

Diablo - Diablo | Battle.net

Darkness stirs beneath the town of Tristram. A mad king, his missing son, and a mysterious archbishop are all pieces of the puzzle you need to hack thro...

eu.shop.battle.net

Same with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans:

Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II Battle.net Edition Now Available on GOG.COM

In anticipation of the upcoming 25th anniversary of Warcraft, we’ve partnered with GOG.COM to rerelease the classics that started it all—Warcraft: Orcs &#38 Humans and Warcraft II Battle.net Edition.

news.blizzard.com

Warcraft: Orcs and Humans

Enter the world of Warcraft, a mystical land where evil Orcs and noble Humans battle for

www.gog.com

Official site:

Fight for honor in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, now available on Battle.net

The kingdom of Stormwind lies in ruins. The greatest strategists of the Alliance and the Horde race towards a terrifying clash as war continues to rage across Azeroth. It’s up to you to defend this world and its people…or crush these pitiful weaklings and claim their realm for the Horde!

news.blizzard.com

Get Warcraft: Orcs & Humans on Battle.net now

As fearsome invaders from another world threaten the peace, Azeroth calls for a hero to lead its human defenders in battle…or conquer this realm in the name of the orcish Horde!

news.blizzard.com

They made the manual public only for Diablo though through their FTP link.

What does this mean? Future official support for newer OSs?

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

kinda funny how they are the last people to sell the games that made them what they are today

 

[Evilhog]

Those were day one purchases for me as soon as they appeared on GOG. That was four years ago and at much lower prices, though.

I wonder whether the battle.net versions have different (if any at all?) wrappers/compatibility fixes than those applied by GOG team to their releases.

 

[deepstrasz]

Those were day one purchases for me as soon as they appeared on GOG. That was four years ago and at much lower prices, though.

I wonder whether the battle.net versions have different (if any at all?) wrappers/compatibility fixes than those applied by GOG team to their releases.

Good point. Can you connect/add them to Battle.net? If not, they've did it again with having to buy the same game again (looking at your Reforged).

 

[Evilhog]

Good point. Can you connect/add them to Battle.net? If not, they've did it again with having to buy the same game again (looking at your Reforged).

I already have Warcraft II on GOG. Can I still play online?

Diablo 1’s requirements doesn’t list an internet connection either. However, it does have multiplayer on Battlenet. Just like D1, WC2’s multiplayer on Battlenet is not disabled. People have been able to connect to Battlenet with WC2, including me:

us.forums.blizzard.com

GoG and Bliz’s WC2 connect to the same Battlenet: Blizzard’s Battlenet. If you want the individual gateways, you’ll have to use the old CD install. But be warned, that will split the playerbase up which will result in very few players to play with. That’s why the “Global” gateway was created for the modern version.

Nevertheless, if you want to play WC2 online, "Combat Edition" is the way to go. 99% of the active playerbase is there.

War2Combat – Warcraft2.online

warcraft2.online

 

[deepstrasz]

 

[TheDarkGiganotosaur]

I still remember the day when "EAxis" made the full versions of the old Command & Conquer classics Freeware years ago. A pity "Blizzie" (or "Microcash"--who own them now) didn't do the same with these old classics, but I digress.

 

[deepstrasz]

I still remember the day when "EAxis" made the full versions of the old Command & Conquer classics Freeware years ago. A pity "Blizzie" (or "Microcash"--who own them now) didn't do the same with these old classics, but I digress.

Are you sure they are still free? I checked the link and it's showing the remasters which you have to buy.

 

[TheDarkGiganotosaur]

Hmm... looks like it was only temporary. Smart bastards...!

You can still access it thanks to the good ol' Wayback Machine, though I haven't tried downloading them as I've already downloaded them on the day TheDivineBoss created that thread.

EDIT: Link removed, though the old Command & Conquer classics used to be ✳legally✳ Freeware on that day... until EA decided to revoke their Freeware status. I guess EA should've thought about that before making them Freeware. I guess I was right, EA ✳did✳ go bonkers!

 

[Evilhog]

Classic Windows 95 releases of TibDawn, Red Alert, and Tiberian Sun are still free, unless EA says otherwise. By the way, the community created much better alternatives to those old installers on EAs site:

Command & Conquer Online - CnCNet

cncnet.org

 

[TheDarkGiganotosaur]

Good to know they're still free... and I hope it stays that way.

There's also OpenRA, which supports Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert, and even Dune 2000! And not to mention few interesting mods like Combined Arms (where the GDI, Nod, Allies, Soviet, and Scrin fight altogether in the battlefield) and others. However, OpenRA is best played in either Skirmish mode or Multiplayer mode.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

if you gonna speak of CNC mods then mental omega must be brought up

 

[TheDarkGiganotosaur]

Ah, I've heard about that one, too... looks interesting and cool, though I haven't given it a try yet.

Anyway, I was only referring to those that became Freeware many years ago... the Tiberian Dawn, Red Alert, and Tiberian Sun/Firestorm. Unfortunately, Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge did NOT become Freeware, and not only I felt utterly disappointed, but Red Alert 2's game engine is more or less akin to Tiberian Sun's game engine, so why the heck didn't EA made Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge free as well? Again, I must digress.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

what disappointed me the most is they have done a remaster for ra1 and tib dawn but didnt remaster ra2 and tib sun

 

[Napoqe]

Because classic games make money. People want to play the games they played in children. Sometimes the game is still good for the person. Despite the hardware limitations of the time.
And there are games that have no substitute like Twisted Metal. And others that continue to be excellent and old, like Resident Evil 1 Remake.
That's why the trend of remakes, remasters and DLCs for old and classic games.

Red Alert 2 and Yuri were part of my childhood and I hope for a remaster or adaptation for modern systems.

Last year I bought Diablo 2 Resurrected game. I had a lot of fun. I read stories from the NPCs, watched the cinematics and various lore things within the game. I tried playing the replay on the highest difficulty, I didn't find it as fun. But it was still worth buying. Blizzard translates its games well to Brazil.