New patching applications spell the end for old Mac versions. Could this mean that patch 1.15 is soon to come?
Over the years, Blizzard has provided patches and updates that were usable by many older Mac OS versions; however, that support will be shrinking soon.
Blizzard may now adopt new applications to patch StarCraft and other Battle.net games, to include Diablo 2 and WarCraft III. The new updater will take its form from the current installer, updater, launcher and downloader that is now being utilized for World of WarCraft.
The new changes will modify the minimum system requirements for online play; which means that OS X 10.3.9 or above will be the only Mac operating systems to work on Battle.net.
Blizzard plans to include the new installer technology in any new discs being manufactured for the older games as well.
A Blizzard Representative Wrote:
After the transition, Mac players who remain on System 7, Mac OS 8 or 9, or Mac OS X 10.0-10.3.8 will be able to continue playing our Battle.net-based games on their Macs in single-player mode and on a LAN with other players running the same version of the game.
After the transition, Mac players who remain on System 7, Mac OS 8 or 9, or Mac OS X 10.0-10.3.8 will be able to continue playing our Battle.net-based games on their Macs in single-player mode and on a LAN with other players running the same version of the game.
So, older Mac versions will no longer be able to play on Battle.net. I wonder just how big, or small, of an impact that really is.
Blizzard has decided to make this move in order to release better patches that require technology only available in the later Mac OS versions.
Putting Macs aside, perhaps the real news here is that Blizzard is one step closer to releasing its very anticipated 1.15 patch for StarCraft. Does this news mean that they've only begun the process, starting from the ground up with a new installer, or does it mean that they are nearly finished with the new patch? Only time will tell.
Links
[url=http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=opensupport&t=479187&p=1�post479187]Battle.net[/url] - Source
