Blizzard's decision not to support LAN multiplayer in StarCraft 2 has caused a significant outcry from the game's fans. As a compromise, the company is considering allowing players to play through LAN after authenticating online through Battle.net.
"That's certainly something we're discussing," lead designer Dustin Browder said.
"Maintaining a connection with Battle.net," Battle.net lead Greg Canessa explained. "I don't know if it's once or periodically, but then also having a peer-to-peer connection between players to facilitate a very low-ping, high-bandwidth connection... those are the things that we're working on."
"We really wanted to have a very integrated experience for our players," Blizzard lead designer Browder said in a separate interview. "A lot of games these days require an internet connection to play."
"We really wanted to bring all these players together and keep them in the same pool, and make everything work, so your achievements work, your friends list works, everything just works correctly, as opposed to having two separated ways to play."
Blizzard confirmed that players will be able to play StarCraft 2's single player campaign offline, but they'll have to us a "guest account".