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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsCataclysm brings new launcher and patch process
by Gregg Reece 
Aug 3rd 2010 at 9:00AM
ZarhymThere are three stages of download progress:
- SETUP (RED): Core game content is being prepared. You cannot enter the game at this time.
- AVAILABLE (YELLOW): Major game content is not completely applied. You can play, but your game experience will not be ideal.
- PLAYABLE (GREEN): Final game content is almost complete. You may experience a few game issues with playing at this stage.
What does this mean for players? Once you're into the yellow part of the download, you can actually log into the game and play. Things that are missing will likely be along the lines of art, model and sound files. While this might cause lag or strange graphic issues, it will allow for players to get back onto their servers faster during patch days.
Those of you in the beta will see this relatively soon. However, it will require that you re-install the beta client from scratch.
The full blue post and instructions after the break.
ZarhymThe new Cataclysm Launcher allows you to stream game data while you play. This will reduce the time you spend downloading, installing, and patching World of Warcraft. We will be releasing this new Launcher into the Cataclysm beta soon, and we'd like to get your feedback on the toolset and gameplay experience.
To continue playing in the Cataclysm beta after the next patch, you will need to do the following:
What's changed:
Launcher
We've redesigned the Launcher to explain your installation progress. You will see a new progress bar with sections (Red, Yellow, Green) that represent the amount of data you currently have installed.
There are three stages of download progress:
- SETUP (RED): Core game content is being prepared. You cannot enter the game at this time.
- AVAILABLE (YELLOW): Major game content is not completely applied. You can play, but your game experience will not be ideal.
- PLAYABLE (GREEN): Final game content is almost complete. You may experience a few game issues with playing at this stage.
Updater and Downloader
The Updater and Downloader have been integrated closely into the Launcher, resulting in less application switching when patching and installing.
Notes:
All World of Warcraft data will continue to download and apply whether you wait in the Launcher or are playing in-game. If you find the play experience undesirable, you may exit the game and allow the Launcher to continue the download. This may improve the play experience for users with low bandwidth.
Let us know about your experience with the new Launcher. When sending feedback, let us know what your connection speed is and what stage (Red/Yellow/Green) your progress bar is showing. This will help us optimize the Launcher and get you in the game faster.
To continue playing in the Cataclysm beta after the next patch, you will need to do the following:
- Uninstall your current Cataclysm beta client
- Windows
- From your Start Menu, click Control Panel, then Add/Remove Programs
- Mac
- Select your "World of Warcraft Beta" folder and drag it to the Trash icon on the dock
- Right-click on the Trash icon and select "Empty Trash"
- Windows
- Download the latest version of the Cataclysm beta client
- Visit http://battle.net/
- Login to your Battle.net account
- Select "Account" at the top of the page, and then select "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta" from the Game Accounts list.
- From the Download Game Client box, select Windows or Mac to begin downloading the installer.
What's changed:
Launcher
We've redesigned the Launcher to explain your installation progress. You will see a new progress bar with sections (Red, Yellow, Green) that represent the amount of data you currently have installed.
There are three stages of download progress:
- SETUP (RED): Core game content is being prepared. You cannot enter the game at this time.
- AVAILABLE (YELLOW): Major game content is not completely applied. You can play, but your game experience will not be ideal.
- PLAYABLE (GREEN): Final game content is almost complete. You may experience a few game issues with playing at this stage.
Updater and Downloader
The Updater and Downloader have been integrated closely into the Launcher, resulting in less application switching when patching and installing.
Notes:
All World of Warcraft data will continue to download and apply whether you wait in the Launcher or are playing in-game. If you find the play experience undesirable, you may exit the game and allow the Launcher to continue the download. This may improve the play experience for users with low bandwidth.
Let us know about your experience with the new Launcher. When sending feedback, let us know what your connection speed is and what stage (Red/Yellow/Green) your progress bar is showing. This will help us optimize the Launcher and get you in the game faster.
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm will destroy Azeroth as we know it. Nothing will be the same. In WoW.com's Guide to Cataclysm you can find out everything you need to know about WoW's third expansion. From Goblins and Worgens to Mastery and Guild changes, it's all there for your cataclysmic enjoyment.Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Drakkenfyre Aug 3rd 2010 12:16PM
You equate this to maintanence. This isn't.
Before: It's maintanence, I can't play.
After: It's maintanence, I can't play. But if I didn't download the patch before, I can play while it downloads afterwards.
striegs Aug 3rd 2010 12:31PM
Yeah, I probably could've picked a better analogy. :\
I'm really trying to keep from spending an hour penning 1500-word diatribes on blog comments anymore.
JC_Icefox Aug 3rd 2010 1:26PM
I like cookies.
I'd say the analogy was successful.
dodgeballer2005 Aug 3rd 2010 12:48PM
This kind of thing makes me happy I am not eligible for the beta yet, but might get in soon.
Take THAT, early birds!
bluespacecow Aug 3rd 2010 12:53PM
Early adopters == Cannon Fodder
Falcom Aug 3rd 2010 12:52PM
When this goes live, it better not require a complete reinstall...that would seriously suck.
Innocente Aug 3rd 2010 1:37PM
It will require a complete re-install from the release version. The code you are running now is debug enabled, and much larger / slower than the release code will be.
Drakkenfyre Aug 3rd 2010 6:24PM
If you mean the retail version, no. There have been launcher updates before. If you mean the beta version, yes.
Ronin Aug 3rd 2010 2:11PM
I'm pretty sure people are misunderstanding this. It doesn't mean you have to try to play while the data is still downloading, you know. It just means that, should you choose to, you can log on and play even though not all the assets have been downloaded.
-------------------
I hadn't thought about it before, but with practically the entire World (of Warcraft) changing due to the Cataclysm, this will be a HUGE expansion. I assume they'll offer it in pieces, with us able to pre-download parts of the patch as Cataclysm draws near, to be applied later when Cataclysm goes live. That process should be the same as it is now (we can continue to play while it downloads, if we choose, or to have it download only while we're not playing).
Lemons Aug 3rd 2010 2:13PM
Just like when a crack addict trys smoking some unfinished crack cause he just can't wait!
Dan Aug 3rd 2010 2:46PM
Dear Blizzard,
I play a lot of WoW, but I want to play MORE WoW. How can you help me?
Sincerely,
No Life
Dear No Life,
Thanks for writing. We're currently working on a new feature that allows you to play WoW while you are loading more WoW! It's like a double-shot of Azeroth. Thanks for writing!
Sincerely,
Blizzard
Vespene -GameTrailers- Aug 3rd 2010 4:35PM
Streaming WoW... the first steps towards a console MMO?
Drakkenfyre Aug 3rd 2010 6:24PM
People don't get this.
The game is NOT streaming. This update lets you play the game while the PATCH downloads and installs itself. Not everything is patched at once. So if you are in the old world, while a zone in Outland is being patched, you can play and it will just slow you down while it's downloading/installing. If you are in an area that's being patched, you will likely encounter problems. The entire game itself is not streaming. If you want a streaming game, go check out Second Life. See how that fares. Unless you have a very fast connection, the entire game world is choppy while it's loading. The client is tiny compared to the game world.
And console MMO's have existed for years. They simply aren't as popular as pc ones.
Shrike Aug 3rd 2010 5:58PM
This looks like it'll take a complete reinstall of the beta, but it does NOT look like we'll have to repatch up again, which I'm quite comfortable with, after installing the beta, patching up, then uninstalling after a failed patch two weeks later because I ran out of disk space, and finally reinstalling and repatching on a TB hard drive. It'll also allow beta players added after this to start from this point, instead of patching everything updated in the past months.
Soulfuss Aug 5th 2010 11:27AM
I'm not sure this is working as intended. I followed the uninstall and reinstall and it keeps telling me to do it again. It takes over 3 hours to reinstall everything. At this point, I'm not willing to do it again and again and again. Is anyone else having issues with the new Launcher?
Innocente Aug 6th 2010 12:46PM
This is going to end up being a bigger FLAP than the RealID fiasco.
* During Launcher patching, the Blizzard Downloader is used.
* During WoW patching, the Blizzard Downloader shuts down, and WoW Client does the patching.
* Blizzard uses BitTorrent to distribute code from User's systems to other Users.
* This is now embedded into the WoW Client engine.
* This means that even AFTER you finish patching, WoW can continue to use your system to distribute its product to other users. Whenever you are on WoW; for as long as you are on WoW.
* Most ISPs now have bandwidth usage caps. There is currently no way to opt out of the usage of the Client to upload via BitTorrent.
This is NOT good.