Dedicated servers are a staple of PC gaming, which is why it was so jarring when Modern Warfare 2 completely omitted them. Thankfully, that won't be the case with the PC version of Black Ops 2, which will make use of dedicated servers.
The news comes from Treyarch's Cesar Stastny, who tweeted over the weekend that Black Ops 2 will use dedicated servers for ranked games. This is a step up from Modern Warfare 3, which only employed them for unranked matches. Unfortunately, dedicated servers have only been confirmed for the PC version of Black Ops 2 -- sorry PS3, Xbox 360 and (possibly) Wii U players.
Dedicated servers have their drawbacks, but ultimately they provide a better connection than P2P hosting, in which the quality of a match is determined by the host's internet connection. Dedicated servers also give players much more flexibility (look at the Star Wars mod for Call of Duty 4). Treyarch's Mark Lamia expressed last month that his company was unsure about using dedicated servers for Black Ops 2, as this flexibility can sometimes lead to cheating. Ultimately, it's a risk PC gamers are willing to take, since it saves them from having to go through host migration on account of frustrated players rage quitting.
Confirmed: Ranked Dedicated Servers for #BlackOps2
– pcdev (@pcdev) June 16, 2012
In addition to that bit of good news, Stastny also revealed that players who pre-order Black Ops 2 through Steam will receive a bonus. The bonus has not been announced, but it probably won't be a physical item like those already revealed. At this time, the game's Steam page does not have any special offers advertised.
With any luck, Black Ops 2 will prove to be a breath of fresh air for the Call of Duty franchise. While the shooting looks familiar, the game's emphasis on choice, as well as its new strike force missions, should help convince some burned-out players to give Black Ops 2 a chance -- and the announcement of dedicated servers can only be seen as a good thing by the PC gaming community.
Which platform will you play Black Ops 2 on?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 releases on November 13th, 2012, for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
-
Follow me on Twitter @AnthonyMole.
Source: MP1st