Given how long the game takes to load, it's really annoying to have to
launch the launcher
wait for it to load
(potentially) wait for it to update
click start
wait for the game to launch
(maybe enter login details if you didn't save them)
click essentially another start button
finally wait for the game to load
I can totally see the point of a small launcher which does version checks, downloads patches, then launches the main game.
However, it should also be the place where you configure graphics (and other) settings, enter your username and password, and basically do any interactive stuff that is required before loading the main game.
The launcher should be responsible for validating your login details and turning them into a token that is passed into the main game.
It should be capable of telling you that the servers are down, or that your password is wrong, before launching the main game.
Once you've clicked that start button on the launcher, you should be able to go and make a cup of tea!
This also has the advantage that you can never get yourself into a situation where you've set the graphics mode to something that doesn't work, but can't change it back because you can no longer actually see the preferences.
Ideally the launcher should also have an auto-login setting so that you actually only have to start the launcher and then it will (after a short, interruptible, countdown) launch the main game.
Come on guys - all these wasted seconds are precious! 😛
Given how long the game takes to load, it's really annoying to have to
I can totally see the point of a small launcher which does version checks, downloads patches, then launches the main game.
However, it should also be the place where you configure graphics (and other) settings, enter your username and password, and basically do any interactive stuff that is required before loading the main game.
The launcher should be responsible for validating your login details and turning them into a token that is passed into the main game.
It should be capable of telling you that the servers are down, or that your password is wrong, before launching the main game.
Once you've clicked that start button on the launcher, you should be able to go and make a cup of tea!
This also has the advantage that you can never get yourself into a situation where you've set the graphics mode to something that doesn't work, but can't change it back because you can no longer actually see the preferences.
Ideally the launcher should also have an auto-login setting so that you actually only have to start the launcher and then it will (after a short, interruptible, countdown) launch the main game.
Come on guys - all these wasted seconds are precious! 😛