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Warcraft III: Reforged Patch 2.0 – A Disappointing Milestone

Level 10
Joined
Oct 10, 2020
Messages
290
If you have e.g. a custom peasant model with no noticeable change to the face, you can reuse the default peasant portrait without having to import one or replacing the default model, it's convenient
Is this a temporary fix you do within the World Editor in the object editor/unit/portrait? Just use the standard portrait and it fixes it? Sorry just trying to clarify since it’s been a long time since I’ve messed with the editor. I ran into the portrait issue when I fired up Chronicles of the Second War and thought if I even attempt to create my own custom melee map that I would run into this? Because of my basic knowledge of WE, Retera, GIMP I tend to abandon projects once I run into some setbacks.
 
Level 1
Joined
Dec 14, 2022
Messages
1
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"When something is broken, you fix it. When something is wrong, you make it right. And if things aren’t good enough, you make them better," - Brad Chan (Warcraft RTS team senior manager)

The recently released Patch 2.0 for Warcraft III: Reforged aimed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Warcraft franchise. However, it has reignited longstanding criticisms, particularly around false advertising, inconsistency in artistic direction, and its detrimental impact on custom map creation.

False Advertising and Expectations

Warcraft III: Reforged was heavily criticized upon launch for failing to deliver the features promised during its marketing. Patch 2.0, rather than correcting these issues, highlighted them further. Patch 2.0 introduced HD versions of classic assets, but the quality of these upgrades leaves much to be desired. While the patch added "HD" versions of classic assets and customization options between Reforged and "Classic HD," players noted that the visual updates lack actual HD graphics, cohesion, with elements appearing mismatched or poorly integrated. The use of poorly AI-assisted upscaling for assets has been a major point of contention, as it reflects a lack of effort to produce handcrafted updates that match the quality expected in modern remasters. "Classic HD" rely on poorly AI-assisted upscaling rather than artistically curated redesigns, creating a disjointed aesthetic that fails to deliver the promised quality as seen in the gameplay stills (seen in the banner above) - now renamed to "concepts".

Artistic and Graphical Inconsistencies

The patch attempted to address graphical issues by tweaking lighting and terrain. However, these changes exacerbated existing problems. Reforged terrain textures now often clash with the original artistic vision. The newly added tileset textures lack polish, with noticeable seams and inconsistent designs that disrupt immersion. Moreover, the patch removed bloom effects and altered lighting settings, which has ruined visual balance in many custom maps, leaving them either too dark or awkwardly overlit. These graphical inconsistencies further detract from the overall experience.

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Impact on Custom Maps

The custom map community, historically one of Warcraft III's strongest assets, has faced significant challenges with this update. Changes in the world editor and how the game handles assets have broken compatibility with many existing custom maps. Several modders reported that some new doodads and terrain textures are not seamless and feel incompatible with the Reforged graphics, breaking the consistency that map creators strive for. In addition, lighting adjustments in the patch have disrupted many custom maps’ visual integrity. Some environments now look either unnaturally bright or lack sufficient contrast, making them visually unappealing. These issues, combined with compatibility-breaking updates, highlight Blizzard’s failure to prioritize one of the community's most vital aspects.

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Community Reaction

Fans and modders have expressed disappointment, feeling the patch did little to address core issues or honor Warcraft III’s legacy. What was meant to honor Warcraft III’s legacy has instead underscored Blizzard’s neglect of its core audience. For a game that once set the standard for RTS excellence, this latest patch has left many players questioning Blizzard’s commitment to its iconic franchise.

In conclusion, Patch 2.0 has compounded Reforged's struggles rather than providing the redemption it sorely needed. While there are minor improvements, the patch serves as a reminder of the missed opportunities and mismanagement that have plagued this remaster from the start. The mishandling of custom map support, graphical inconsistencies, and continued reliance on AI over artistry have further alienated an already disillusioned player base. This patch has left players longing for the golden days of Blizzard's attention to detail and community care.

So I came here just to say: The last video in the OP is quite impressive, what is it, and can it be played??
 
Level 30
Joined
Jun 4, 2023
Messages
419
Merry Christmas everyone!:wcool::wthumbsup:

Besides that, I hope everyone was very happy with these amazing updates ;). People had high hopes and Blizzard delivered with a bounteous feast of improvements and additions!

Once I started tinkering with WC3 again I tried testing a map: wont work, needs update.
Okay I start the launcher manually and there's a 2gb update.. That's pretty massive isn't it?
I look at the patch notes and it doesn't sound that impressive, but I guess polys and textures are so dense now they take absurd space.

I get in and test my map. Weird, lots of stuff is broken, especially the size of units. I test "better classic graphics" and the only difference I can tell is the ground textures changes.
I load a saved game, it is really buggered up, and Druids of the Claw are massive for some reason? They're bigger than MGs!
I restart that mission, suddenly most of those issues are fixed. But the UI for menus and mission selection totally changed and somehow became worse. And graphically it looks like some clown like me made it.

Then another mini patch comes out, and it breaks all the saves! I can't load any of them anymore.
Oh well I start playing the TFT undead missions on hard, stuff is mostly working. Those Sylvanas missions are actually well done imo. Once I'm done with those I go back to ROC undead. Half way through those there's another patch and it breaks the ROC campaign. Now the balance has been updated to current (or at least TFT)?
Unarmored now exists, casters and frostwyrms do magic damage, a High Elf Archer did 9-20 one night, next morning they do 12-17. Really painfully, anti-magic shell updated to a damage shield, so undead in ROC literally have no counter to slow and polymorph anymore (and Arthas/Kel'thuzad will get chain poly'd because recent change to let it target heroes).
Necros are nerfed because longer lasting skellies was rolled into the skeleton mages upgrade, but that is disabled in ROC :sad:
Possible other glitches: holding Claws +5 (that's a recent change?) doesn't appear in Arthas' damage range. I have no idea if that's just a visual bug or the item is no longer functional.

TL;DR The updates broke saves and also campaigns to some degree. I probably won't be playing ROC missions until it's fixed. Which sucks.

leave nostalgia in the past and stop contributing to these shameless people continuing to live off of selling crap.

Regards.
Yeah, don't be a rube/mark/schmuck etc. You are being taken advantage of.
When Brad said "When something is broken, you fix it. When something is wrong, you make it right. And if things aren’t good enough, you make them better".

I think he meant us. The community. That we should fix it, make it right and make it better.

Warcraft 3: Community Edition incoming.

My issue with this is you are ultimately supporting them to some degree, by doing their work for them. I remember modders fixed a lot of bugs with Morrowind, which contribued to its accessibility. Not only was this stuff Bethesda should have done themselves, many of those same bugs ENDED UP IN LATER ITERATIONS, like Skyrim. Unpaid fans (aka suckers) had to fix them again while Beth kept releasing the same damn game to milk people with absolute bare minimum support. By doing their job for them you are enabling their bad behaviour.
I like how the icons now show hotkeys like in SC2. Can't complain about that one.
This is actually a nice addition, lol. I feel like I've become a slightly better player just by knowing more hotkeys
I only use Classic graphics, but there are a small number of improvements. Most of them don't leap out at me, though.
 
Level 30
Joined
Jun 4, 2023
Messages
419
Had to vent so dumping my whine here:

I just noticed another bug with reforged. I thought I was going crazy.
Every time I open the game, If I go Singleplayer -> Custom Game I get put into the multiplayer the first time. Then I need to backtrack to get back to main menu and select single -> custom again. THEN it works and is actually singleplayer. If I exit the game and test this again, same thing happens.
Also the single and multi interface are almost exactly the same which is confusing.
 
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