LAN Play
StarCraft II does not offer the ability to play directly over a local area network (LAN), as is possible with StarCraft; all network games are routed through the Internet via Blizzard's gaming servers. The latency delay between commands issued and game response when played online is greatly reduced when playing over a LAN and this allows for much finer control over in-game units; there were concerns that a professional scene would not develop as a result. Over 250,000 fans signed a petition asking Blizzard to add LAN play to StarCraft II, before the game's release. Currently, Blizzard has no plans to support LAN play. Although it does not change the routing of the game through Blizzard's servers, a Players Near You feature was added in StarCraft II patch 2.0.4, to help with organizing games with other players on the same local network.
Lack of LAN play caused problems in 2010 Major League Gaming tournament in Dallas, Texas, which experienced severe delays and problems with Battle.net 2.0.
Read more about this topic: Star Craft II: Wings Of Liberty
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