Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsPatch 3.3.5 PTR: Battle.net Real ID system
by Gregg Reece 
May 13th 2010 at 1:00PM
After several tries at character copies, extended-extended downtime and Battle.net issues, we've been able to hop onto the public test realm and play around with the new Real ID features. We were able to grab a lot of screenshots of the new chat features.
Now, if you're not familiar with the Real ID system, I'll give you a quick summation. If you have a real-life person you know who also plays Blizzard games and you would like to keep in touch with them despite realm, faction or even game (Diablo III, StarCraft II or World of Warcraft), then you can now add them in a social media-type format with announcement, statuses and cross-realm/faction/game whispers. This is not something you want to do with someone you've only ever known in game. The reason you don't want to do this with just anybody is that you will be using your Battle.net email login.
If you happen to try out this feature on the PTR, please note that we're still in an early test realm build and there are still a lot of bugs in the system. This means you're going to get Lua errors off of the default interface, and the Battle.net server managing your friends list is often down as they're tweaking things behind the scenes. It's the test realm; it's meant to test things. So don't take its stability as a sign of what the functionality will be like when the patch hits the live realms.
Now, if you're not familiar with the Real ID system, I'll give you a quick summation. If you have a real-life person you know who also plays Blizzard games and you would like to keep in touch with them despite realm, faction or even game (Diablo III, StarCraft II or World of Warcraft), then you can now add them in a social media-type format with announcement, statuses and cross-realm/faction/game whispers. This is not something you want to do with someone you've only ever known in game. The reason you don't want to do this with just anybody is that you will be using your Battle.net email login.
If you happen to try out this feature on the PTR, please note that we're still in an early test realm build and there are still a lot of bugs in the system. This means you're going to get Lua errors off of the default interface, and the Battle.net server managing your friends list is often down as they're tweaking things behind the scenes. It's the test realm; it's meant to test things. So don't take its stability as a sign of what the functionality will be like when the patch hits the live realms.
Filed under: News items, Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 5)
Sister Christian May 13th 2010 5:18PM
@kittytrainer
An authenticator is not a cure all. An authenticator is not reason give out the rest of your login information. There are several ways to get around a person have an authenticator, true it's not as easy as someone who doesn't but it's not 100% :)
@Kay
I would phrase it a little differently... The problem with Real ID is the fact that your Real ID is the name you registered with battle.net (and no they didn't tell you they would use it for anything other than that) and your battle.net login. If it was a new unique handle I doubt anyone would have a problem with it.
Arturis May 13th 2010 5:26PM
@Kay
From a developer's point of view, the RealID/email makes perfect sense. When associating data, you need to set up a unique identifier that signifies the data record. Lets take a look at what options they had:
Character Name: Well that is right out. Character names are unique per realm, but not unique across the entire system (There are many Arturis's, for example, but only a handful of them are me) or across the other games they are integrating (Diablo/StarCraft/Whatever the new IP is).
Pre-BattleNet Account name: Prior to the BattleNet integration, we were all logging in with unique account names. However, these account names were specific per account, and there are alot of people out there that have multiple accounts. Besides, I dont believe they even retained this data after they switched to BattleNet accounts.
New BattleNet Account Aliases: In theory, they could have introduced a new BattleNet Account Alias field that would allow the players to chose a new, unique identifier name. This would set off a mad scramble, unfortunately, as people race to "claim" account names before anyone else. I, for example, would be in competition to create "Arturis" before anyone else claims the name. This would leave us with what I call the AOL Effect, where we have such convoluted account names as "Arturis5947" or "TheRealArturisXX" and very few people get the alias name they actually wanted.
This leaves us with using our actual, registered email addresses as our identifiers. They are by definition unique, and wouldn't involve creating redundant identifiers in their database system. Of all the Arturis's out there on the various realms/games, there is only one that has my email address, and thus, the only way to truly identify me from the rest of the Arturis's (Arturises? Arturi?) is by referring to me by my email address. I don't really see them as having any other option.
Jamie May 13th 2010 7:05PM
@Arturis:
Moot point, but they have retained our pre-battle.net account names, just check under your "Manage My Games" section, underneath the game box for each WoW account you have linked to your battle.net account will be your pre-battle.net account name.
---
I find the features of Real ID really useful and I would like to extend them to more people I have known for years via WoW or other online games, but not IRL, I've played with them but wouldn't give them my email freely - even after such a long period time of knowing them.
I don't think it would be so much to ask for a unique username which is my account's "Real ID", that could lead to abuse of the system by some but email addresses really does seem like a bad idea. It's just an authenticator sales drive.
Amaxe-1 May 13th 2010 7:53PM
I have an authenticator. I just don't want an email account I use solely for the official business of WoW to be made public
Saidear May 13th 2010 9:30PM
@Arturis;
I have two google email accounts, and a hotmail account on top of my paid, ISP-supplied email. Why?
1 google account for business, which has a professional sounding 'alias' attached to it so I can hand it out to whomever.
1 google account for misc. junk, signing up for forums, etc. It's my public email.
The hotmail is a throw-away account, anything I don't really care about uses that email address. It's typically full of porn-based spam, Nigerian heirs, etc so I figure let Microsoft deal with that.
My paid-for account goes only to immediate family. My two google accounts 'redirect' all incoming mail there so I don't need to check them, allowing me to read all my email from 1 location. But by compartmentalizing, I control who sees me as what and how much info I give out.
If =you= feel you can leave your WoW Account information easily readable by anyone, that's your choice. But some of us do take personal security and identity theft seriously and do our best to reduce the risk to ourselves.
Kay May 13th 2010 11:33PM
@Artruis
Might it have been slightly more complex to allow the use of handles?
Possibly.
But the more likely reality is that it would only be more complex to add the use of handles to the infrastructure they've already created.
As far as the rest of it goes...let's not fool ourselves. They're breaking convention in a massive way by allowing the use of real names, and extremely limiting the use of these new features in a way that diminishes the direct return on their dev time on the new Battle.net.
Why would they do this?
The indirect returns on their dev time that they're hoping for, aka the deal they've cut with Facebook. Taking the information direct from our billing info doesn't allow us to retain any level of anonymity if we want to use the new Battle.net features. Combined with the coming Facebook tie-ins, this is all designed to try and get the names of WoW players into the Facebook network, which they're hoping = major marketing dollars.
It's a bad, short-sighted decision when it comes to the players to require the divulging of real names to use basic features like freinds lists and chat cross-game, and it smacks of Bobby Kotick influence.
Bill May 13th 2010 1:13PM
What can I say? This is almost as great as the upgraded lfg tool.
Nooneneo May 13th 2010 1:19PM
Man ive been working 2 full time jobs for the past 3 weeks and watching that little picture with the "will heal for booze" just made my day. Now i can enjoy my only day off /sleep
Magma May 13th 2010 1:22PM
God I hope we can hide our real names...
Daedhir May 13th 2010 1:25PM
You want to hide you real name from real life friends who know your real name?
ZMES_Matt May 13th 2010 1:26PM
Hehe, I was just wondering how that worked, I don't remember putting in my real name, but I have a terrible memory and it's been a while, so I was trying to figure out of it was possible to change the display name.
Michelle Madison May 13th 2010 1:27PM
No you cannot hide your real first and last name attached to the account, which is why I won't be using it (it's in my boyfriends name anyway.) Your real name is shown to not only your friends, but also the friends of the people your friends choose to befriend (say that fast 5 times) .. there is also no way to appear offline, or hide any of your characters.
I feel this is going to be a privacy nightmare, and with all of the hacking that goes on I really don't want any further information being shared with the undesirables.
It's a shame because I was really looking forward to this, but a lot of the folks online are saying it's this way because of the new facebook integration. From what I gather if you don't have an account you will be forced to create one when opting into the real ID thing. Having to make a facebook account doesn't annoy me, but the having to reveal someones real first and last name to not only in game friends, but also the friends they choose to befriend just seems wrong.
PalominoMule May 13th 2010 1:39PM
This is integrated with Facebook too? Oh jeez. Like that place isn't a monstrous vector for malware to begin with. An integrated system of Facebook and handing around your full name and account e-mail is a delicious recipe for account theft.
Sister Christian May 13th 2010 1:41PM
To all the people who say that the system is optional or just don't use it if we have a problem with it. I'd say that Oh I'd love to use the new chat system it's perfect to chat with several RL friends, or in game friends that are altoholics.
It's very disappointing that it's attached to something as dangerous as RealID. It baffles the mind that blizzard would want users to hand out their logins, and force people to use their billing information to chat. It drastically decreases your account's security and your personal safety. It doesn't make any sense, unless there is a larger plan at work here.
Why go through all the trouble and the wave of account hacks and identity theft that are bound to follow, if blizz isn't going to get something out of it. I expect that it will be required in some form eventually and the system will be used for direct marketing. It's probably a key part of several future games. So while you don't have to use it, it's hardly optional. It's already is impossible to disable the feature if you are really concerned. Expect future game features will eventually require it's use. What if example, it was required for blizzcon attendance? Or to form a new area team, or join a guild? After we have been used to it for a while, of course. Blizzard is very good at enticing users.
RogueJedi86 May 13th 2010 1:41PM
There's no hiding your real name........ RUMPELSTILTSKIN!
Drakkenfyre May 13th 2010 3:15PM
No, you don't need a Facebook account to use it. If you want to chat across-game? You need to use Real ID. Facebook is optional.
PalominoMule May 13th 2010 1:32PM
I hadn't thought about how this would have to use your account e-mail until now; that seems like a big security risk. Even if you trust the *person*, you can't entirely trust that their account won't be compromised, giving hackers and phishers a list of account e-mails to target. For the purpose of brute-forcing an account, the account name is half the battle, isn't it? I'd be slightly better off because I have an authenticator and my account e-mail is completely fallow, never used on any site or for any form of communication, but still - makes me nervous.
So yeah. >.> I don't think I'll be using this service. People can text me or bug me on AIM/MSN if they need me.
Gregg Reece May 13th 2010 2:54PM
Once you have closed the 'Add Friend' page where you entered their email address that one time you never again see their address. At all. Anywhere in the interface.
That is the one and only time their email address is ever shown is when you type it into the box and hit submit.
If I'm a hacker and have just stolen your account, then I can see that you're friends with "Rob Sneider", but I have no idea what his email address is. I only know that he's idling in Dalaran on his gnome warrior Notacarrot and his status is set to "Doing another bad comedy". That's all. I can check his friends and see people he happens to know, but I don't get their email addresses either.
Blizzard isn't as dumb as people give them credit for.
Grimmal May 13th 2010 1:30PM
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=24702231147&sid=1
Currently a 61 page thread with pretty much nothing but negative feedback on the current limited design of this new system. Not a single blue response to it and any thread made outside of the official one is locked and redirected to it. Very disappointing to see Blizzard a company known for taking feedback from it's players and using it completely ignoring a situation.
- Having to give half of your account information to friend. (against their own EULA ffs)
- The inability to turn off showing RL names so that the feature could be useful outside of just friending RL friends.
- The inability to set a true hidden state with it being all or nothing. People always will know when you are online after you friend them. At no point after friending people will you ever be able to simply log onto a completely unknown alt.
All and all what looks like something that could be a HUGE boon to WoW and all future Blizzard games comes down to something that nobody I know is interested in using. Makes no sense at all.
Michelle Madison May 13th 2010 1:32PM
Exactly, but you also missed
* The inability to turn off the friend of friend feature. So not only do your in-game friends get your information and real first and last name, so do the people they choose to befriend.