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What is Diablo III?
We’re developing Diablo III to be the definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of the Diablo series. Players will create a hero from one of five distinct classes, such as barbarian or witch doctor, each equipped with an array of spells and abilities. As these heroes adventure through rich and varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline and engaging in combat with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, they’ll grow in experience and ability and acquire items of incredible power.
The game takes place on Sanctuary, a world of dark fantasy. Unbeknownst to most of its inhabitants, Sanctuary was saved some twenty years ago from the demonic forces of the underworld by a few brave and powerful heroes. Most of those warriors who directly faced the armies of the Burning Hells -- and were fortunate enough to survive -- went mad from their experiences. And most of the others have buried their haunted memories and pushed the horrors from their thoughts. In Diablo III, players will return to Sanctuary to confront evil in its many forms once again.
Diablo III will be a fitting sequel to Diablo II, with the easy interface, fast-paced action, and visceral gameplay that Diablo players have come to expect and enjoy. It will also include many new features that will take the Diablo action-RPG experience to the next level. We look forward to going into much more detail on our plans for Diablo III as development on the game progresses.
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What’s new about Diablo III compared to the previous Diablo games?
Exciting new classes like the witch doctor bring new gameplay options to the table. Returning classes, like the barbarian, have been completely redone with new skills to give them a feel unique to Diablo III. New customization options will provide for an even greater level of character specialization than the previous Diablo games, allowing the player to create unique characters brimming with power.
Diablo III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful special-effects systems and Havok-powered physics allow the player to lay waste to the Hells' minions in spectacular ways.
Also, Diablo III builds on the random environments of the previous Diablo games by introducing a host of new ways to create random scripted events throughout the game. This creates a dense and exciting world alive with quests, NPCs, dynamic encounters, and viciously challenging new monsters and bosses. Diablo III's environments add a great deal of interactivity to the game, including destructible elements and environmental obstacles that can be turned against your enemies.
In addition, Diablo III will benefit from Battle.net upgrades that will provide some exciting new features for players. Cooperative online play remains a primary focus, with multiple enhancements being planned to make connecting with your friends easier and cooperative gameplay even more fun. We'll have more details on all these aspects as well as other exciting new features at a later date.
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Can you give an overview of Diablo III's storyline?
It has been twenty years since the events of Diablo II. Of those who faced the Lords of Hatred, Terror, and Destruction in the battle over the fate of Sanctuary, there are few still living who can bear to remember the horrors that the Prime Evils wrought upon the world. And of those who did not witness the terrible events firsthand, most believe the stories to be little more than myth. But something evil is stirring once again in Tristram, and it may already have claimed its first victim: Deckard Cain.
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Will there be any other familiar faces in Diablo III (other than Deckard Cain)?
Yes. Players will encounter several new characters as well as a number of characters from the previous games.
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Will players be visiting any familiar locations in Diablo III, such as Tristram?
Yes, definitely. Players will return to Tristram and certain other locations from the previous games, and they'll be exploring new areas of Sanctuary as well.
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How many character classes are included in Diablo III? What are they?
Five character classes will be included in the game, two of which, the barbarian and witch doctor, were revealed when the game was announced at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational. The other classes will be announced at a later date.
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Will players be able to choose the gender of their character, regardless of class?
Yes. Players will be able to create male and female characters for all five classes.
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Will Diablo III be playable over Battle.net? What new features can we expect?
Yes, Diablo III will be playable over Battle.net, and Battle.net will offer some exciting new features to enhance players' Diablo III experience. We'll announce specifics and go into much more detail at a later date.
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Will there be a single-player component in addition to multiplayer?
Yes. In addition to battling the hordes of the Burning Hells cooperatively with friends over Battle.net, players will be able to adventure through the world of Diablo III solo. More details on both the single-player and multiplayer experience will be revealed at a later date.
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What will questing be like in Diablo III? Will it be similar to Diablo II?
Our plans for the story and quest mechanics are still under wraps. We'll go into detail on those elements of the game at a later date. We can say, however, that we expect to have class-based quests in addition to the main story-line quests.
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TECHNICAL ASPECTS
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What engine is Diablo III running on? What graphical enhancements are included?
Diablo III runs on a custom 3D game engine for rendering full-3D characters and environments. The 3D game engine not only simulates advanced animation sequences and sound effects, but also uses a custom physics engine that allows for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation.
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What are the system requirements for Diablo III?
We'll announce specific system requirements at a later date.
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RELEASE PLANS
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When will Diablo III be released?
It's too early to estimate Diablo III's release date. As with all Blizzard Entertainment games, our goal is to create a game that is as fun, balanced, and polished as possible. We intend to take as much time developing Diablo III as is necessary to ensure the game meets our own high expectations and those of our players.
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Will the game be released in multiple countries? Will the release be simultaneous? Which countries and what languages will Diablo III be localized in?
As with all of our games, our goal with Diablo III is to release the game simultaneously in as many regions as possible, and to localize the game in several languages. We'll have more details to share about countries, languages, and specific dates as we get closer to release.
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Will Diablo III be available on Windows and Mac simultaneously?
Yes. As with all of Blizzard Entertainment's recent releases, Diablo III will ship for both Windows and Mac simultaneously.
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How much will Diablo III cost? Where can I buy this game?
Pricing and availability for Diablo III will be determined and announced closer to the release of the game.
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I never did play Titan Quest. I'm all about the Guild Wars for my fantasy needs these days anyway, maybe even more so now that I know D3 is going to look more cartoony and less dark. That doesn't mean I won't look forward to it, but I definitely wish that they'd continued along the gritty path of D2 and taken that to the next level instead of taking a step back like this. I don't mind a colorful palette, nor do I mind the move to 3D, and while ultimately I don't suspect this will have much bearing on my enjoyment of the game, it's quite disappointing at this initial stage.I do get what you mean about it missing the dark and gritty look D2 had, as the D3 game looks quite shiny and cartoony.
EDIT - And less disappointing after watching most of the 19-minute gameplay trailer. Shit, if you don't think that looks super-awesome, something is wrong with you. I still wish it looked slightly more dark and real as opposed to cartoony, but all in all, I think it's more a side effect of Blizzard going 3D with this. I don't think they really know how to do anything but cartoony in that realm, or at least that's the impression I get. Anyway, the rest of it all looked so fucking good that everything else seems irrelevant. It's a good sign that my initial annoyances were totally outweighed within 3 minutes of watching gameplay.God, the action looks incredible in this game.
Idol found this image (http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/7807/itshouldrh5.jpg) and it's exactly right. Diablo just needs to look more gritty, less clean. That image demonstrates perfectly where the misstep lies. That's some brilliant use of post-processing and highlights changes in color and lighting that suit the game much, much better and make it feel much closer to its predecessors.
I can't find my D2 cds....might have to buy it again. But yea, maybe they'll have like a gritty setting in the game, just for kicks. I find it to be amusing.$10 off the reg. price Diablo Battle Chest at GameStop, currently.
And I was just thinking what if someone made a hack and slash dungeon game with zombies..I've been reading Monster Island and it just seems like tons of fun. Different zombie classes, modern weapons lying around and dungeons could be tunnels underground that lead topside and buildings where you need to collect medicine and supplies for your ill. I think it'd be fun...in my head...and stuff.That would be a fun game action-RPG game, in the style of say Diablo and TQ.
I found Titan Quest Gold for $19.99 at a store and UT3 for $9.99 as well. Awesome
I must be the only person who simply doesn't give a rat's ass. Diablo 2 was a nice looking game and otherwise excellent from a technical perspective, but the gameplay was pretty lame.I was never a big fan of the gameplay either. Diablo (1 & 2), Titan Quest, and Dungeon Siege are games I generally put up with the tedious tasks just to progress the plot and build my characters. I've never enjoyed hordes of monsters barraging at me but in co-op it's definitely more fun!
Audience Q&AOkie dokie.
Q: Do you plan to keep the 4/5 man typical group size or will you design for much larger groups?
A: Group size isn't a technical restriction, but a gameplay one. Smaller groups are better due to the camera restriction. We haven't really decided but we'll focus on whatever gives the best experience, that'll be 4 or maybe 5 person parties.
Q: Will you increase inventory size?In my opinion, I think it would be best to split them up into categories like other games do like say Silverfall: EA, Gothic, and Oblivion do -- one inventory tab for Weapons, one tab for Armor, one for Quest Items, etc etc.
A: We haven't decided. We're improving the inventory system and it'll be easier to trade items between your characters or other players. We'll pick a size appropriate to gameplay.
Q: There are a lot of WoW players and Diablo II players, which audience are you aiming at?Yet, the Barbarian's back...
A: We haven't a particular aim. We're making the game for people who love Diablo, and there's plenty of room for both WoW and Diablo, we've no intention to play one game against the other.
Q: Will the seven classes from Diablo II be kept as well as the new classes you're introducing?
A: We have no plans to carry classes over. It's a fresh start, we haven't finalized the final classes or how many there will be. We're not trying to bring back Diablo II classes.
Q: Will there be different systems like mana, energy and rage for each class?How vague...
A: We're exploring these systems, we have no specific plans.
Q: Will there be hardcore mode in Diablo III?
A: I don't see why we wouldn't. That decision is made towards the end of development, we might not, but we probably will.
Q: With the loot system in Diablo II, the player with the fastest connection often got the loot. Will this change?Cool.
A: We're changing the drop system. Monsters will drop multiple items, each player will see loot generated for them.
Q: Will you be able to respec your player's skills?Okay.
A: We're not talking about it but I think it's a bad idea not to. I can't give you any specifics.
Q: Is the witch doctor a spiritual successor to the necromancer?I wonder if the Necromancer will be back...
A: It's not really a replacement. It's a really cool class that we liked the sound of. The witch doctor doesn't prohibit us deciding to put a necromancer class in too.
Q: How does the gear system differ from Diablo II?Okay. If it ain't broke, don't fix it too much, I guess.
A: There are new features for items planned. The core system isn't drastically changed. The loot structure is already good, we've maintained and improved on that.
Q: Will there still be the ability to cheat over Battle.net?Good.
A: I can't give you specifics, there's a new version of Battle.net with a huge focus on cheats and anti-hack. We really want to make sure it works as cheating hurts the community.
Q: Will there be secret areas and hidden levels?Makes sense. :P
A: That's a secret.
Q: Will single-player and co-operative play be balanced? Do you have to group to get the best items?Makes sense.
A: The game experience is different in co-op but items will be available in both modes, there won't be anything available in co-op you can't get in single player.
Q: You announced LoD in 2001, why is the sequel so late?Makes sense.
A: It's a development issue. We wanted to make a game worthy of being a Blizzard game, so it took this long to make it that good.
Q: Will male and female characters have different attributes?Okay.
A: There will be no differences beyond physical appearance. We don't want to get into that area.
Q: Will system requirements be high or will a WoW-capable PC run it? Will you need DirectX 10?It doesn't seem like many games seem to be adopting a DX10-Only approach. Most are supporting both DX9 (Windows XP) AND DX10 (Win Vista).
A: It's not settled but Blizzard's goal is to support a broad set of systems. We'll have as low system requirements as we can. We don't plan to use DirectX 10 at the moment.
Q: Will there be a map editor?That'd be awesome if there is a level editor for the SP portion of the game.
A: We haven't nailed specifics but the Diablo series isn't very friendly to mods, mostly due to the random nature of the game. It's not a big focus of ours. But we haven't decided.
Q: In Diablo II there was a rune system, will you keep that?Okay.
A: No comment at this time.
Want to know what else went down at this year's Worldwide Invitational? Check out WoW Insider's coverage of the event!
Yeah, I don't see how you can possibly find slaughtering endless hordes of monsters boring.Diablo series and TQ just wouldn't be so much fun, if there wasn't tons of skills to learn/master and tons of loot to get. That's a major part of its appeal, I think.
Also, don't ever fucking lump Diablo 2 in with the shit pile that is Dungeon Siege. Those games are nothing alike on any but the most basic levels.DS: Original + DS: LOA took what was great about Diablo -- ridiculous amounts of loot to get. It also took the Morrowind thing -- whatever skills you use, will improve. It also took what was great about Baldur's Gate series and Icewind Dale series -- full-party control, for big strategic battles.
But yeah, the Diablo experience isn't necessarily readily apparent. You can't play it for a few hours and expect to understand why it has the longevity that it does, and why it's so much fun. You have to give it a good shot, and once you beat it and begin another game with the same character, you start to understand the cyclical, escalating nature of it, and why the challenges are so much fun to try and overcome. From what I've read, Titan Quest is kind of fun, but it's still a Diablo knock-off that doesn't really hold the same appeal, much less for the length of time Diablo can keep you enthralled.I think TQ probably lacks the support of the MP-gamers and most importantly lacks Iron Lore supporting the MP with something like a Battle.net -- even more so, with Iron Lore gone now, obviously. I think most people play TQ to play solo, not MP. I never tried TQ's MP, b/c I want to finish SP first -- but I'm sure, I'll eventually try it out; hopefully, someone will be playing it on MP side of things! :P
I'd say that coop in these games does increase the fun factor, though. The original Diablo probably more so than Diablo 2 just because the first game wasn't as much fun in single player. A little too primitive and limited.D1's SP was just okay. The MP on Battle.net was where that game really shined, that.
I'd say that coop in these games does increase the fun factor, though.
New character, Witch Doctor. Seems to be sort of a Necromancer 2.I thought the Witchdoctor had like a Haka mask with feathers!
Idol found this image (http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/7807/itshouldrh5.jpg) and it's exactly right. Diablo just needs to look more gritty, less clean. That image demonstrates perfectly where the misstep lies. That's some brilliant use of post-processing and highlights changes in color and lighting that suit the game much, much better and make it feel much closer to its predecessors.
Unhappy Diablo Fans Start Petition
[Ure "Vader" Paul]
09:13 am EDT @ July 01st, 2008
Filed under: BLIZZARD, DIABLO, DIABLO 3, WORLD OF WARCRAFT
It appears that Blizzard's new art direction for Diablo III made certain fans of the franchise rather unhappy. (http://www.petitiononline.com/d3art/petition.html) They've decided to express their discontent with a petition that asks people to support the notion of a darker, more realistic art style, and not something that's, as they put it, so similar to World of Warcraft. Here are some of their wishes:
* A darker, gothic, cryptic and creepier environment.
* A more realistic artistic direction, more independent from the Warcraft universe art direction.
* Darker dungeons without a blue/green environment, Diablo dungeons are dark and shadowy.
You know there is some truth to this. It's obvious Blizzard moved away from the style and art of the old Diablo games. Speaking as a true-hearted Diablo fan, I must say that this new direction is a good choice. True enough, it is similar in some ways to WoW's artwork, but c'mon guys, why are you so bothered by it? It's really not something I'd start a pointless petition over. The game looks awesome at this point
Goddamn it, every time I decide I don't like these types of games I get sucked back into Titan Quest.
Diablo III: Deep in Hell with Leonard Boyarsky (PC)
We talk with Diablo III's lead world designer about creating a rich world that many gamers will never see.
By GameSpy Staff | June 29, 2008
Leonard Boyarsky has a very tough job. He's lead world designer for Diablo III, the sequel to the quintessential action-RPG notorious for appealing to players who would never read quest text in an MMO and think story is that annoying few moments between fights and the next piece of "phat loot." Boyarsky is the guy who integrates the vast background of Diablo's world of Sanctuary with its diverse civilizations and rich and storied history into a game that prides itself on blazing action. Despite this and the punishing pace of working a show as chaotic as Blizzard's World Wide Invitational in Paris, France, though, Boyarsky seems like a pretty chipper guy. The reason is that he sees the challenge of integrating a deep background and a rich story into Diablo III as less a problem than an opportunity to try out a new twist on storytelling in games.
"I wasn't a hardcore Diablo fan before joining Blizzard," Boyarsky says as we begin talking. "I played them, of course, and I really liked them, but I usually like a lot more story depth in my games." According to Boyarsky, what drew him to the project was what he sees as the franchise's untapped potential for storytelling. "A lot of people are afraid that we're going to slow the gameplay down by enriching the story parts of the game. We're not doing that at all." The idea is to use some simple cinematic techniques such as dialogue rather than monologue to convey quest information and crafting richer backstories for the main characters that will be reflected in their artwork and the way they view the central action of the story.
One of the examples of this Boyarsky likes to use is the new Witch Doctor class. Unlike the previous games in which the player's avatar was more archetype than actual character, the classes in Diablo III are designed with complete backstories including who they were before the story began, why they're interested in the events of Diablo III, and who they are as people. The Witch Doctor is angry, someone who's been broken by a life that's dealt a few too many hard knocks and not enough joy. This is someone tired of being smacked in the head, so he uses his mystical powers to get into the heads of others (and if that doesn't work, a swarm of locusts will get under their skin). Boyarsky also cites the new city of Caldeum that became the seat of government when Karast fell in Diablo II. How an open-trade city changes when its freewheeling style is co-opted by colorless government bureaucrats is something that informs everything from character development to artwork to the nature of quests.
"Working all of this stuff out is a day-to-day challenge," Boyarsky says of the continual iterative process. As he describes it, it "...bounces back-and-forth between story and art and gameplay design." While Boyarsky is responsible for the creative integrity of the storyline, the details of the world often change based on what comes out of other areas. An artist will create a really cool piece of artwork that has to be fit into the history of the world somewhere and gameplay mechanics must be invented for. A new monster is built around a really interesting combat encounter and Boyarsky's the one who must rip pieces of the world away, juggle them around and put them back together in a way that makes sense within the rules of Diablo's fictional universe.
"I do recall one idea that I was really resistant to," Boyarsky recalled. "It was going to require me to re-write a third of everything I had created and looking back, I resisted because I just didn't want to do it." In the end, however, the idea was just too good and ended up going in the game, making it an argument Boyarsky says he's glad he lost. "One of the reasons this process works is because we're all gamers. It made the game better and that's the bottom line."
"I often use other games as examples of why story is important, even in an action game," Boyarsky said. "Sadly few games really love to tell stories." He cites games like Half-Life and Half-Life 2 as examples of games that integrate stories into dialogue and environment without sacrificing any of their fast-paced action. "The word around the office is that Diablo III is 'action with a capital A'," he said. "Lately, though, it seems like people are looking for more story in genres that aren't necessarily known for being story-driven." This is what pushes Boyarsky on. "People are ready for us to take Diablo III to new places rather than make Diablo all over again.
1UP: On the subject of Diablo III being a more colorful game, there's already comments online about the color palette. Can you talk about how the team arrived at the decision for a wider color palette?
RP: Yeah, so we've probably been through, I don't know, maybe three major art direction changes on the game. And the previous two were probably a little more similar to the Diablo II look. But it just didn't feel right anymore. It didn't feel like an interesting enough environment to play in anymore. So when we finally came up with this look, what we're really trying to do is add more color to the game, and we were very careful to not want to go to WOW. We don't want the game to look like WOW. We want it to look like Diablo. But we felt that there was an opportunity to add more color to the game but still keep the game feeling dark. And I think that's something a little tougher to see in a demo. I think when you're playing the game, people will fall in love with it, and will realize, "you know what? You can have reds and blues and a more painted look and still have a very dark, gothic feel to it all."
On Diablo III's Necromancer Cut & Possible Return [August 05, 2008, 7:21 pm ET] - 5 Comments
Diablo III Designer Explains Why Necromancer Was Cut (http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/08/05/diablo-iii-necromancer/), Hints At Return on MTV Multiplayer justifies cutting the Necromancer class from the action/RPG sequel, and hints that this may not be a permanent situation: The reason it was cut was because they didn't want to rehash the characters from previous Diablos (the Barbarian returns because they thought they had a new take on the character), but lead designer Jay Wilson indicates this was not a universal opinion, even among the Diablo III developers, so the Necromancer may eventually be, yes, resurrected:
“There’s a lot of people on our team who aren’t happy with our class choices,” he admitted. “But after we’ve established ‘Diablo III’ as its own game with its own type of gameplay and experiences, I wouldn’t be opposed to looking at old classes. We are trying to design [the Witch Doctor] class so that if we did bring back the Necromancer, there’s room for him. We’re looking out ahead of time at what our expansions are going to be, so we’ve got to keep room open for some of those other classes down the road.”
Again, I don't think the game is going to be terrible. I think that no matter what direction it takes, it's going to be awesome and even people who might wish it was more in line with what came before it will still be swayed into liking it simply because it's one of Blizzard's usual pieces of greatness. Don't get me wrong. I don't think it's a huge issue, or one that will ultimately make the franchise hang in the balance or anything. Just sucks to watch a unique franchise start to look like everything else, even if only visually.I know what you mean. It's like the devs are just slaves to trends. Remember when the Bloom effect was the "in" thing?
We drafted the artistic concept [of The Witcher] at the turn of 2002 and 2003. Familiar with Andrzej Sapkowski's prose, having a clear idea of how it should look in game form, we devised the overriding visual formula within a few weeks. The Witcher would draw on the 'dark fantasy' genre and the best available example of it - Diablo 2. This was consistent with our vision of a brutal and grimy game world that would afford little room for charming illusions. It had to be a thoroughly believable world, a convincing backdrop for the contemporary social problems that would play out within it.
Wizard!!!
Posted 10th Oct 2008 05:09 PM by Elly
The new character has been revealed and, as somewhat expected, it’s a mage. A wizard, to be exact. There are a bunch of screenshots and a new gameplay movie featuring the new character. Updates to come very soon, we’re in the press room working away right now.
Here’s the press release blurb.QuoteBlizzard Quote:
During the show, Blizzard Entertainment also unveiled the game’s third playable class: the wizard. A wielder of the elements and a master manipulator of time, the wizard can hurl environment-shattering lightning bolts, channel explosive arcane energies, and create pockets of space outside the normal temporal flow. BlizzCon attendees were able to adventure as either the wizard or the previously unveiled barbarian or witch doctor, battling alone or with up to three other players through the catacombs beneath Tristram Cathedral to a final showdown with the Skeleton King.
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Blizzard on Battle.net Subscription, Diablo 3 Modding
by Nick Breckon Oct 10, 2008 7:58pm CST tags: Diablo 3
Diablo III director Jay Wilson said today that the company does not have a great desire to charge a subscription fee for the upcoming revision of its multiplayer client Battle.net. However, the developer did note that Blizzard will likely monetize unknown features of the game.
"We are going to monetize features so that we get to make them," said Wilson. "We kind of have to."
Wilson noted that whatever the content would be, it would have an appropriate value to users.
Fans of map hacking and other Diablo II modifications have little to look forward to with the sequel, as Wilson shot down any talk of mod support.
"We don't have a lot of plans to do that. It would make our lives so much harder" he said, adding that despite the fact that he and many other designers got their start in modding, the team takes a strong stance on the hacking of their games.
Wilson also used the panel to reemphasize the trading aspect of Diablo III, saying that no items outside of specific quest rewards will be bound to players.
As long as all the original MP features of Diablo are free, I am happy. But this does have me worried. What the hell sort of age are we reaching in gaming?
If they start charging for items and stuff, I just plain won't play it. The entire Diablo experience is around getting new gear and stuff, and if the best items are reserved for those who shelled out extra money, I can guarantee you I won't set foot anywhere near this.Or say you wait for a Diablo 3 Battle Chest which includes access to that stuff. :P Hopefully that'd include that stuff in one final D3 Battle Chest. :P
If it's more like Guild Wars where they make totally unnecessary perks available for hardcore users (buy extra character slots, etc.), that's fine, but there's a fine line there, and it's one I'm afraid Guild Wars 2 may even cross.I hope GW2 don't cross that route.
If they start charging for items and stuff, I just plain won't play it. The entire Diablo experience is around getting new gear and stuff, and if the best items are reserved for those who shelled out extra money, I can guarantee you I won't set foot anywhere near this. If it's more like Guild Wars where they make totally unnecessary perks available for hardcore users (buy extra character slots, etc.), that's fine, but there's a fine line there, and it's one I'm afraid Guild Wars 2 may even cross.That would be a serious deal-breaker issue for me as well.
Speaking of Guild Wars, apprently the Complete Pack has been released, it costs about $45 USD and I was seriously thinking about but I figured I ought to try a demo out first. Even though I have only ever heard great things about GW.That's a hell of a deal.
With Battle.Net we're definitely looking at possible different features that we might be able to do for additional money. We're not talking about Hellgate or anything like that. We're not going to tack things on. I think World of Warcraft is a great example to look at. We charge people if they want to switch servers or if they want name changes, things that aren't core to the game experience, they're really just optional things that some people want. It takes us some development work to do it, so it makes sense to charge for it. We would never do something like say to get the full game experience, you'll have to pay extra.
hahaha I love how they mentioned Hellgate by name.
What the fuck does that even mean?
Anyway, yeah, it definitely makes me happy to hear that from Bliz. I'll keep my chin up for now.
Wow you just got MysterD-ed.
ahaha
Dude! i didn't know you went to blizzcon! we could have totally met up
Wow you just got MysterD-ed.
Dude! i didn't know you went to blizzcon! we could have totally met up
Diablo III to Get Several Expansions
[Ure "Vader" Paul]
07:42 am EST @ November 19th, 2008
Filed under: DIABLO 3, BLIZZARD
Fan site Diii.net takes the time to speculate what's certainly a strong possibility. When Blizzard Entertainment announced its action RPG Diablo III they still haven't discussed potential expansions packs. Of course, it's obviously too early, seeing as there's a lot of work awaiting the developers for the main game.
Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime talked on the subject of WoW expansion packs recently. "I don’t think Blizzard will ever be able to do sequels of products like a 'Diablo III' or 'Diablo IV' on an annual basis, but we might be able to do expansions to those games close to annually," said Morhaime to MTV. "Hmmm, is there more profit? In an ideal scenario, I think we’d probably do [expansions] a little bit more often than we’ve been able to do. But I agree — I think putting too many expansions out too frequently, you probably get to the point where people do need to start taking a little break," he added.
When Diablo III finally hits store shelves, I would imagine that a few add-ons are Blizzard's likely course of action, as opposed to a completely new installment.
I'm really concerned about them monetizing certain aspects of the game. Very.
I know this is an old post of yours, but I thought I'd respond to it anyway. They clarified that by monetizing, they meant minor stuff like switching servers constantly and lots of extra character slots etc.
As for what D posted, I never like hearing a company talk about expansion packs when their base game is still in development. It kinda rubs me Hellgatish.
I don't trust most companies with that shit, though. I trust Bethesda because they make sure they pack in a meaty and vital game for your initial investment.That's why I bought The FO3 Collector's Ed -- I trust them with the amount of content they throw down for their newly released game. I've got ridiculous amounts of time out of both Morrowind and Oblivion alone; throw in their DLC and expansions, and the amount of time goes even further up. Crazy,.
DLC is just gravy, not buying parts of the game that should have been there to begin with.First time through FO3, I got around 50 hours out of it and wasn't bored one minute of it -- what more could I really ask for out of one play through for a brand new game at full price (especially in this day and era)?
Diablo 3's Monk Class Revealed
by Nick Breckon Aug 21, 2009 1:46pm CST tags: Diablo 3, BlizzCon 09
Diablo 3
The latest class announced for Blizzard's Diablo III is the Monk, a character first introduced in the original Diablo's 'Hellfire' expansion.
An image of the Monk leaked early on the Korean Blizzard site, beating the official announcement at BlizzCon.
"It's a class that has its roots in old school fantasy, but we believe you haven't seen it quite like this before," said Blizzard's Chris Metzen during the official unveiling. "I'm very proud to introduce to you, the new Diablo 3, with all of its open-handed, Tiger-strike packed fury, the Monk."
A cinematic using the Diablo III engine was hsown, with a bald-headed, staff-wielding Monk battling a fire-shooting demon. The beareded Monk used its bare hands near the end, finishing off the demon with an open-palmed attack.
Gameplay footage showed the Monk using quick jabs and punches to attack enemies, with several attacks that hit many monsters in quick succession.
Sounds more natural. I am all for something different if it works.Fine w/ me.
I also read that Blizzard were saying that perhaps they announce games too early.Oooh, thanks for the info, Pug.
How good of them to realize.
Wizards are pussies. I thought we all knew this already?
Blizzard has updated its Diablo III page (http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/world/systems/health.xml) with some details on the game's health system, which primarily utilizes health globes to restore the health of a player and his party without the use of potions or spells.
Major boss fights make unique use of health globes. Each boss battle includes a custom-designed means of utilizing these globes to regain health.
For example, in one fight, you might have to split your attention between weakening a dangerous boss and slaying its irritating but ultimately less-dangerous minions in order to get enough health globes to stay standing.
In another fight, the boss itself might drop health globes when it takes damage, or you might have to hunt for hidden caches of globes in the midst of battle.
This game is going to be game of the year (2014).
Taking place in carefully designed arenas--unlike Diablo 3's random dungeons--the battles will let you use "the character of your choice, with access to all of the gear and skills you've accumulated playing the game in single-player or cooperative mode."
wha
No I was complaining that they market their upcoming games far too early in the development cycle.Do you think people lose interest in an upcoming Blizz game b/c of this?
Do you think people lose interest in an upcoming Blizz game b/c of this?
EDIT:
I can't speak on your behalf, but it ain't bothering me w/ Diablo 3...yet.
Though, I can say - I'm still annoyed by Valve w/ the wait that's going on for the next Half-Life...
No, I give you permission to.
I'll be honest with you guys. I was trying to fall asleep last night, when I suddenly started thinking about this thread and the kidney thing and the wha thing, and to quote Eddie Murphy, I giggled my mutherfreakin' ass off... while trying to fall asleep. My face was on my pillow, and I was giggling, trying to stop, but I couldn't.
“One of the things that we felt was really important was that if you did play offline, if we allowed for that experience, you’d start a character, you’d get him all the way to level 20 or level 30 or level 40 or what have you, and then at that point you might decide to want to venture onto Battle.net. But you’d have to start a character from scratch, because there’d be no way for us to guarantee no cheats were involved, if we let you play on the client and then take that character online.”And...whats wrong with starting from scratch? Diablo 2 had online and offline characters and that seemed to work out just fine. Why drop offline mode?
I guess I'd 2nd what W7 said. Probably wouldn't affect me all that much, though it's bullshit, but we expect it. I think the shame of it is that we've come to expect bullshit from Blizzard. Because it used to be that they were the last group I expected bullshit from.
I did a lot of both with that game. I had characters on and offline, though I'm sure I spent a lot more time online than off. I was a major player of both games for several years, part of an informal group on Battle.net and an official guild, and really enjoyed the hell out of it all. I won't get into some of the weirder shit associated with that time. I've probably told a few of you.What did you expect, since they're with Activision?
I guess I'd 2nd what W7 said. Probably wouldn't affect me all that much, though it's bullshit, but we expect it. I think the shame of it is that we've come to expect bullshit from Blizzard. Because it used to be that they were the last group I expected bullshit from.
What did you expect, since they're with Activision?
What's next? Monthly sub-fees for Diablo 3 on Battle.net?
you will buy it one way or the other, might as well be through blizz. At least you won't have to take chances with third party sites.
Will buy in game items? For real money? I won't be doing that. I don't buy gold, I don't buy items except for with in-game currency, and 99% of the time I don't buy anything in F2P games (if I seriously get into one, I'll allow $15/month worth of item shop purchases, which is what it would cost me to play a sub based MMO). I have done realm transfers and such in WoW, but those are services that I feel might not exist normally and I don't expect my $15/mo to cover them. I've never bought any of the mounts/pets Blizz sells for real cash. I will never buy Diablo 3 items for real cash.
If I ever use the realm money AH in D3, it will be strictly to sell and attempt to make some profit. There's no other reason for me to go near it.
I think I only spent about 1% or less of my time playing Diablo II offline. Granted, not having that option is somewhat disappointing. Blizzard probably wants to streamline (re: control) the experience more, kind of like what they've done in Starcraft II by removing LAN play.
Like Xessive said, Blizzard is like the Apple of the PC Gaming market; they can probably do whatever they want and their games will still sell like mad.
Dude, when are you going to play SC2 again?
Diablo 3 requires a constant internet connection -- a decision that has caused some strong reactions from folks looking to play the game solo, or those pushing against overly demanding DRM schemes. MTV spoke with Robert Bridenbecker, the Vice President of Online Technologies at Blizzard to get the developer's side of the story.
"Internally I don't think [always-on DRM] ever actually came up when we talked about how we want connections to operate. Things that came up were always around the feature-set, the sanctity of the actual game systems like your characters," said Bridenbecker. "You're guaranteeing that there are no hacks, no dupes. All of these things were points of discussion, but the whole copy protection, piracy thing, that's not really entering into why we want to do it."
Bridenbecker goes on to mention that Diablo 2 offline characters couldn't be used online, which got messy for players and the developer, so this time they decided to "just keep everything clean." As for those looking to play alone, they don't have to interact with any other online players if they don't want to -- but they'll still need that internet connection.
Torchlight 2 is the new Diablo 3.
But D2 operated exactly in that manner...
No, D2 had a single player mode that didn't operate in that manner at all.
The bottom line is that single player mode is absent from this game. The game requires a persistent internet connection. The only method of play is by logging into Bnet, and the limitations that Idol listed above existed in Bnet D2 play. So it's a little absurd to be surprised by those limitations. That's what I'm referring to. You can't compare offline SP in D2 to D3 because there are no comparisons to be made.
I know people are pissed about the lack of offline mode, but that wasn't my point. My point is that the requirements and limitations for D3 mimic precisely the requirements and limitations for D2 (apparently right down to the random server drops).
You also said I'm part of a small minority. You can't possibly know that for a fact.
What didn't I understand. In order to cater to online folks, the company must abandon offline? That makes no sense at all.
So what? My point is that there were people who used it, myself and Cobra included. I'm sure many others did as well. And don't give me "most people", you don't have the slightest idea what the ratio of SP to MP was for users of the first two games. Likely there were people who did a fair bit of both and also people who had no interest in ever taking it online, just as there were people who played online exclusively. Regardless, my point was only that the other games offered it and this new one doesn't. That's a precedent that's being broken. You may not care, but your viewpoint doesn't speak for everyone. Yes, I'm sure the game will sell twelve bajillion copies just like every other Blizzard property, and I'm sure most people will just be fine with it and do whatever, and *I* don't even care *that* much because I no longer spend my entire life playing videogames, but it irks the fuck out of me when somebody acts as though nobody else's preference matters, that whatever they happen to think should be the norm should be the accepted standard for everyone. People have every right to be annoyed that they have to partake in a "service" just to play a fucking videogame. Generally speaking, I don't want to sign up for anything, I don't want a fucking username, I don't want to give them my email address or my credit card or tell them where I live. I just want to put the disc in the drive and play the goddamn game I just bought. Given that this is an established property which had a single-player mode that didn't require Battle.net in the last 2 games, it's entirely reasonable to be disappointed in the changes being made. If I actually bought D3 it likely wouldn't matter to me as I'd be buying it to play online with Sy, but Cobra enjoyed both of the prior games in a different way, and I think it sucks that he's being ignored by Blizzard when he's just as much a fan of the games as anyone. More than I am, even. I played a shitload of D2 online and off, but Cobra seems to have done way more in the SP than I ever did, period.
Why is it absurd to be surprised? I wasn't merely surprised by this development; I was shocked. (I mean yanking away offline SP, not just the most recent developments, which only add to the rage.) Here is an essential game series in my life which, IMHO, is getting borked up the backside, and effectively removed from my consideration--all for self-serving motives, because no one can convince me that this helps any gamer in any way. If that's not a good reason for me to be pissed, I don't know what is.I agree w/ everything Que and Cobra has said. It really sucks that previous games in Diablo franchise had offline SP portion, yet D3 doesn't.
And everything Que said above.
I agree w/ everything Que and Cobra has said. It really sucks that previous games in Diablo franchise had offline SP portion, yet D3 doesn't.
Though, there might still be a chance I'll buy D3...just, unsure of when and depends on price, of course.
I think my big worry w/ successes like Blizzard's D3 is that MORE companies will have MORE games having just a full-blown "always online" game - where the game can be played like a SP game [w/ bots instead of players] ONLY online.
It sucks to see UbiSoft even try having Assassin's Creed 2 PC, which was a SP-only game, be always online for DRM - thank God, most of PC gaming revolted and Ubi listened and pulled the DRM back a bit. I really don't want to see games that are a full-blown SP experience require the silly "always online" component.
I like that games like Sacred 2, Diablo 2, Titan Quest, Borderlands, and many other ARPG campaigns can be played OFFLINE OR ONLINE.
because torchlight 2 is the new diablo 3 right?No, not entirely - they'll both obviously be different ARPG's, in some regards.
I also meant - I'll be WAY more willing to drop money on initial release for Torchlight 2 [which will be much cheaper] than say Diablo 3.
and then never playing it, amirite?
I have spent $ on Guild Wars and all its expansions - which, might I add, is an ONLINE Only game.
B/c it's online only, you damn right that I didn't buy it at full price.
There's a pretty good chance I will buy D3, at a much cheaper price.
enlighten me, how many games do you have in your collection that you wasted money on and never playedI lost count LONG ago.
Way to troll up the thread while simultaneously missing the fucking point. Kids these days.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/ANGRYKEEBLER/fbmysterd.jpg)At least those games that I ain't gotten around to, the chances are pretty good they have a SP mode and I don't have to rely on some company's servers just to RUN and BOOT the damn game.
At least those games that I ain't gotten around to, the chances are pretty good they have a SP mode and I don't have to rely on some company's servers just to RUN and BOOT the damn game.
dude you can get the same single player experience in multi player.. and if you want to complain and moan that getting a username and needing internet is an inconvenience then i think i've heard enough first-world whining to last me the goddamn week. and seeing as how you have made it abundantly clear that YOU ARE NOT EVEN BUYING THE GAME, then why are you still bitching? it sounds like because blizzard had a single player component in diablo 2 suddenly you are entitled to one for this game.
man louis c.k was right. everything is amazing and nobody is happy
reference:
It's called a forum for a reason. I'll bitch here every time the spirit moves me. And no, you can't have a SP experience in MP. They are fundamentally different, and that includes technical requirements. The internet is not a technical requirement for SP.
If you all want to ignore Blizzard yanking away your freedoms, that's your choice. I refuse to bleat along with the crowd, and I will be vocal about it.
GameFront: While there will be no official mod tools for Diablo 3, does Blizzard condone D3 mods?Scumbag Blizzard: Makes Diablo 3 the most moddable Diablo yet; won't allow any mods.
Julian Love: There’s no direct intent to say that we don’t want D3 to be moddable. And, to be honest with you, the technology itself, on just a fundamental level, makes this the most moddable version of Diablo there’s ever been.
However, we have these other goals that supersede modding; we want to provide a safe and secure experience for players to play in and trade items in, and in order to do that, we had to make the game online play only. Once we made that decision, that effectively eliminated the possibility of having moddable games, since you’re going to have to connect to our service in order to play. So that’s a slight consequence of our online-only decision.
I’ll say that there’s never really been an intention with past Diablo games to make them moddable, either; it’s just that people found a way to make it happen. It’s not necessarily something we went out of our way to support.
This is like an internent meme. (http://www.gamefront.com/blizzcon-2011-blizzard-says-diablo-3-is-the-most-moddable-version-of-diablo-theres-ever-been-but-they-cant-allow-mods/) Scumbag Blizzard: Makes Diablo 3 the most moddable Diablo yet; won't allow any mods.WTF? :o
Sure moddable games are cool. But is it really a scumbag move for a developer to make their own game unnmoddable?I guess now the only good thing about it being easy moddable is it'll be easy for the dev's to change, rebalance, tweak, and play w/ anything they really want. [shrug]
Sure moddable games are cool. But is it really a scumbag move for a developer to make their own game unnmoddable?I used "scumbag" since thats the meme.
A few more changes have made their way in to Diablo III beta patch 10, including the removal of Scrolls of Companion and Scrolls of Reforging, and we’ll be updating the patch notes to reflect that.
In both cases these are features we felt were underdeveloped and just not quite good enough for the game in their current state. The companion pets felt like they were mandatory to maximize play efficiency and some of the pets were too cutesy for the gritty, dark world of Sanctuary. Neither of those are issues we felt like we could solve without a lot of additional work, and we’re trying to close in on a solid release date for the game, not move further away. When weighing these systems against releasing the game, we decided to cut these scrolls and stay on track for the game’s release.
We think we can make companion pets into a much cooler system (both mechanically and visually), and evolve the reforging scrolls into a more meaningful system at some point in the future. For the time being, they will not be in the initial release of the game.
Is it different from WoW/all other MMOs? In those, if you disconnect, you'll just stand there until you log back in. If you are in a hostile zone or attacked, the NPC/person will probably kill you. If you are not, you'll be fine. And it's not possible to "lose" anything because it's all on the server anyway, so there's never a time when the game needs to "save" or do anything like that, it's just synced all the time.Not exactly. In my experience with the D3 beta basically it knocks you back to the last checkpoint when you log in again, anything done between checkpoints is not saved (I think town visits count as checkpoints). It's not a huge loss but it can be pretty frustrating.
Not exactly. In my experience with the D3 beta basically it knocks you back to the last checkpoint when you log in again, anything done between checkpoints is not saved (I think town visits count as checkpoints). It's not a huge loss but it can be pretty frustrating.
I read some reports that people couldn't even install it because the installer wouldn't sync with bnet or something. This is a pretty epic clusterfuck.
NOT HELPINGOkay, I'll help Idol...
I chose the Asia region since I'm in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), because geographically the U.A.E. is in Asia. Apparently, according the FAQ they're lumping the Middle East as part of Europe.
Way to go Blizzard, like people don't have a hard enough time locating us on a map, now you tell them we're part of Europe?!
There ought to be a migration option at least to rectify the ambiguity Blizzard created by burying the Region selection in the options menu rather than making it a top-tier selection e.g. as part of the login process.
That's a bummer. You should start an Americas character anyway so you can play with us!I think I'll have a character set up in each region.
Why does the monk sound like Zangief?Haha yeah he look kinda like a skinny version of him too :P Nonetheless he is badass!
Yeah, I like that too. And I'm digging the monk.Characters I'm willing to understand, it's the MMO way. But the friend list should be universal! It should be tied to the Battle.net account! Like Steam or Origin.
And X, everything is region-based. Nothing transfers from region to region, not even achievements or anything.
GameFront -> Jim Sterling - Bitching About Diablo 3 Is Allowed. (http://www.gamefront.com/bitching-about-diablo-3-is-allowed-advertising-in-games-can-go-to-hell/)
Don’t listen to the people calling you an entitled whiner. Don’t listen to the pundits suggesting you shouldn’t complain, or that you’re an “idiot” for buying a game you wanted instead of a game they wanted you t0 buy. Last night, a chap told me he felt bad for being annoyed about the Diablo III downtime. He said it made him feel spoiled and entitled. Now, the “entitlement” argument is up for debate when you’re talking about preferences, purism, and differences of opinion. As far as I am concerned, that word has no place in a discussion about the inability to use a product that has just been purchased for a not-insignificant amount of money. It’s embarrassing enough for a real MMO, where the downtime is at least expected as part of the experience, but it’s simply not acceptable in this circumstance. Some of you will counter by saying that Diablo III is not a single-player game. Even if that’s true (it’s debatable considering co-op is still optional), here’s the thing — it isn’t an MMO either.
At the end of the day, Blizzard’s reasons and justifications don’t matter. They don’t. You can give me any number of reasons why Diablo III has to be consistently connected to the Internet. You cannot, however, give me a single solitary reason why it’s okay for paying customers to be unable to play a game they just bought. The bottom line is that loyal consumers are being given a problem that shouldn’t be theirs to deal with, and that’s all I give a shit about. That’s also why, if you are pissed off at Blizzard, you ought not feel bad about it. It’s not “entitled” to want to play Diablo III if you paid for it. You actually are entitled to that.
@Xessive
IGN compiled a whole bunch of Error 37 jokes. (http://pc.ign.com/articles/122/1224696p1.html#.T7kcUeVFSi0.twitter)
We all knew Hitler would get in on the action, too....or try to... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ATOY47iVdsc)
Servers have been bulletproof since about the end of the 2nd day.Not really.. The Asia server has been on and off frequently. In the last 3 days I've only been able to log in twice.. Once for about 20 minutes before I was kicked, and the second time was tonight, finally playing normally.
Hey guys,
We are very aware of these reports and are taking them very seriously. Please keep an eye on the General Discussion forums as Community members will be posting something soon.
If you have been hacked, please contact Customer Service as soon as you can. In addition, using an Authenticator can help secure your account even more.
“One theory suggested by players on the Battle.net forum revolves around hijacking session identifiers, which would allow hackers to take over accounts without alerting Blizzard’s authentication server. Again, this remains unconfirmed.”
Whatever the case, Blizzard authenticators don’t seem to be working properly, allowing hackers to bypass the system entirely.
For those who can't be bothered to read the article before making snarky comments:
“One theory suggested by players on the Battle.net forum revolves around hijacking session identifiers, which would allow hackers to take over accounts without alerting Blizzard’s authentication server. Again, this remains unconfirmed.”
Whatever the case, Blizzard authenticators don’t seem to be working properly, allowing hackers to bypass the system entirely.
Retail box is better than most modern boxes. The box itself is nice and has a little raised lettering along with a fold out on the front. There are some nicely printed guest passes inside for both D3 and WoW along with a manual far shorter than the old school Blizzard ones. It's full color, but the printing looks like it came off a color copier.
See, normally I wouldn't be so snarky but I have one small axe to grind here. For literally years, some people on these forums have complained about Diablo 3. From the artwork, to the online only, to the RELEASE DAY BUGS all I hear on these forums aside from a few people is bitching, bitching bitching. Look at what was written just a few posts down "Don't say thousands of us didn't tell you how full of shit you were.". Go back a few pages on this thread and yes, theres a giant argument over this game.I received it as a gift.. Does that count?
For years, just bitch, bitch bitch... Then the game is finally released. And what does some people do?
They buy the fucking game
at least SOME OTHER people who have been bitching for as long have stuck to their principles and just post any miniscule thing that goes wrong ON THE DAY THE GAME LAUNCHES. Least those people didn't buy the game they've spent years complaining about. So awesome job MysterD. You may bring up super petty issues to assuage your dislike for the game but at least you stuck to your guns. Which is something I can't say for some people around here.
anyways, i think i need a break from this place.
Whatever the case, Blizzard authenticators don’t seem to be working properly, allowing hackers to bypass the system entirely.
I can't think of any. Other than maybe my cell phone company.
Also:
If you don't want to hear people voice complaints about a product they've bought, I don't know what to tell you. Why don't you just not read the stuff that apparently pisses you off so much? Which I can't for the life of me figure out why. You don't work for Blizzard. What, do you own stock or something? I explained in detail everything that's gone on with me in terms of reactions to Diablo 3 from the beginning, including my eventual purchase of the game and my mixed response to it, and I've got as much right to complain or discuss ongoing issues as anyone. Even though I haven't done all that much complaining since purchase. My point with this last thing is simply that forcing people online forces them into issues like this, and seeing as almost every single major company has had security breaches and such these days, being forced into that for a game you never intend to play with anyone is pretty shitty. It leaves you no option to avoid that risk. I don't see that as a step forward.
I've had my bnet account hacked twice now, and there are several Wow characters on my account that aren't mine. I think 3 of them. I don't know how long someone was using it while I wasn't. It was eventually caught, but at least one of the characters was 60. I don't recall ever seeing a charge on my credit card, but clearly this shit isn't fireproof.
And I totally disagree with shock. I mean, not to say that this isn't fun with others, because it is. I've enjoyed playing with folks. But I've not really had any more or less fun based on whether I was playing with friends or followers. In fact, I love the side characters in this game, and the god-awful stupid plot is more or less saved because of them. The big twist in Act 3 is just stupid and poorly handled, but it actually ends up seeming halfway okay because of all the context the smaller characters give it. The main plot really hasn't done much for me at all, but the carrot-on-a-stick progression of the followers has done a great deal to make up for that. I like their stories, and they're gradually revealed as you play. That's pretty cool.
But yeah, I find there to be a couple glaring issues with the way the online stuff works now. Firstly, anyone can join your game at any time. I don't know if setting "busy" changes that or if there are hidden settings somewhere, but I haven't seen any. Secondly, you can't hide your online status. If you want to play but don't want anyone to know you're on, too bad. You can set busy or away, but that's not the same. And while it's cool that you can remain open to your buddies if they want to hop on and play with you, you can't be selective about it. So if you don't want to play with someone who moves really slow and explores every nook and cranny, he might join your game anyway. Or if you want to stop and smell the roses, take your time and pick up every last item, your friends who are career players and are jamming through the game can join up and more or less take over the pace of the game. Or if someone decides they want to sit in town and do nothing, like join your game and then "oh shit, brb" for twenty minutes, you're stuck with enemies that might be too tough for you to fight on your own, but you won't even be able to take a follower with you because you're in a party.
So yeah, there are problems. I see the advantages of the online system, but I don't think it's remotely perfect, or even as good as most people seem to think. And most people have been reporting that the AH totally breaks the game and ruins most of the fun in terms of the addictiveness of finding loot. I'm glad I haven't touched it. I've heard almost nothing but complaints about it so far because apparently you can get awesome stuff for way cheaper than it seems like it should be. I haven't tried it myself, but I can see that being a big problem. Which again makes me very happy that Blizzard made it so easy to ignore. I think that was a great decision.
S'all good guys. Let's all enjoy the game!
You have to buy the game to enjoy it, asshole.
The event quickly sold out and I was bummed. 3 days later I was sitting in a restaurant when I got a phone call. It was Blizzard and they saw that I tried and failed to buy tickets. They apologized for the trouble and asked if I would still like to use the card to buy up to 4 tickets.
But the best thing they ever did for me was way back when I was in 7th grade. I had an uncle who wasn't related to me by blood but was my dads best friend. I was closer to him than my own dad to be honest. He was a hero of mine. He bought my first NES when I was a kid and he also served in the Army during the first Gulf War. I have fond memories of him bringing me Saudi Coca Cola and army rations. He was awesome. He was the one who helped me convince my parents that computers weren't going away and we should get one. He would take my sister and I to the movies and Magic Mountain. He was also the first person I ever knew that died. He passed away from cancer and I was devastated.
One of my friends at school let me borrow his copy of Warcraft 2. It had been out a while but was new to me. Man, I played that game for months on end. It really helped me in a time of grief. I decided to write some fanmail to Blizzard telling them how much I liked their game and it helped me get over my uncles death. I didn't think I'd get a reply or anything but a couple months later I got a package in the mail. It was filled with Warcraft 2 swag like posters and stuff. There was also a handwritten letter saying they were glad they enjoyed the game and how sorry they were about my uncles death. It was signed "From our family to yours". At the bottom there was a hand drawn sketch of a Warcraft knight bowing his head solemnly.
A year after WoW came out, I had to get my car fixed which cost me several hundred dollars. 5 days before I would get paid again I had about $6 in my bank account and it was the day my WoW account would get charged. I petitioned a GM and asked them if they could extend my time 5 days. Not a problem he said.
When tickets for Blizzcon 2009 when on sale I waited in the online queue to try and get tickets. I made it to the front of the queue and was trying to pay with an American Express. I tried 3 times but it kept declining the card even though there was no balance on it and it clearly said they accepted AE cards. The timer to buy tickets expired and I was expelled from the queue. The event quickly sold out and I was bummed. 3 days later I was sitting in a restaurant when I got a phone call. It was Blizzard and they saw that I tried and failed to buy tickets. They apologized for the trouble and asked if I would still like to use the card to buy up to 4 tickets.
But the best thing they ever did for me was way back when I was in 7th grade. I had an uncle who wasn't related to me by blood but was my dads best friend. I was closer to him than my own dad to be honest. He was a hero of mine. He bought my first NES when I was a kid and he also served in the Army during the first Gulf War. I have fond memories of him bringing me Saudi Coca Cola and army rations. He was awesome. He was the one who helped me convince my parents that computers weren't going away and we should get one. He would take my sister and I to the movies and Magic Mountain. He was also the first person I ever knew that died. He passed away from cancer and I was devastated.
One of my friends at school let me borrow his copy of Warcraft 2. It had been out a while but was new to me. Man, I played that game for months on end. It really helped me in a time of grief. I decided to write some fanmail to Blizzard telling them how much I liked their game and it helped me get over my uncles death. I didn't think I'd get a reply or anything but a couple months later I got a package in the mail. It was filled with Warcraft 2 swag like posters and stuff. There was also a handwritten letter saying they were glad they enjoyed the game and how sorry they were about my uncles death. It was signed "From our family to yours". At the bottom there was a hand drawn sketch of a Warcraft knight bowing his head solemnly.
6.3 million sold so far. (http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/23/63-million-own-diablo-iii?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social)
Fastest selling PC game of all time [so far].
EDIT:
G4TV -> Feedback - Diablo 3 round-table discussion on DRM, the game itself, etc etc. (http://www.g4tv.com/videos/58624/feedback-blizzards-diablo-3/?quality=hd)
In spite of all the problems, I am really happy to see something like this happen for PC gaming. The Day 1 issues make sense now. I guess, even Blizzard wasn't prepared.Agreed - about being glad to see an exclusive PC game [at least for now, anyways] sell so well. That's just great. :D
Okay, I totally haven't been looking into this at all, so it might be a stupid question, but is there no SP mode at all (like you have to be online completely while playing) or do you just sign in and authenticate and then can play offline?You need to have a constant internet connection at all times. You sign in and stay in to play. The singlelpayer is basically like playing an MMO on your own. Assuming the servers are not busy and there are enough available slots, you can play but you may suffer lag and at any given time you may get kicked out for disconnection or server maintenance (which you'll get a heads-up warning for).
Because I share a house with 2 other dudes - wireless N router is on the third floor, my room with Wireless G card in the basement suite. I'll sometimes lose connection for 30 seconds to a minute and it can be a bitch with games like BF3 and such.
You know, in case I ever cave and think about buying this.
Is lag bad in this type of game? And would I lose progress if I lost the connection? Because that would happen exactly once and I'd never play the game again (and make posts about how Diablo 3 pissed me off and I hate Blizzard but can't remember why when the next Starcraft game came out).Had several instances where I died because of lag. It's not turn-based, t's real-time action so lag could be an issue if you're up against a mob.
I have now forgiven Blizzard for whatever the hell pissed me off about StarCraft 2. Anyone who treats my Keebs right is okay in my book. I still hate Keebs though.
Maybe I should buy this game.
EDIT - 6-1-2012:
Forbes -> Blizzard's offices in Seoul raided by Korea-FTC b/c of many complaints of users unable to access or play D3 for all kinds of reasons. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2012/05/31/korean-government-raids-blizzard-offices-over-diablo-3-launch/)
What are the odds that would ever happen in America? I'd say a snowball has a better chance in Diablo's final act.
Probably not gonna happen, unless enough people complain or some lawsuits get thrown around. There's petitions going around...one of them had like 25,000 signatures for wanting a D3 SP offline patch!
Really though, if Blizz implemented offline SP [like D1 and D2], this would problem is not an issue. Yeah, it'd suck you might or might not be able to hit BNet to play online, but all Blizz could say is, "Play the SP offline portion and keep checking BNet to see if the MP portion is up." You know some people just will stick w/going for the SP portion period and not even care about MP. I'm sure that would help Blizz out quite a bit, too - it'd lower the number of people playing on BNet at once and lighten that load.
All people really want to do is at least be able to play their game they dropped $60 for, in some shape or form.
You really need to shut the fuck up about this. Here it is- people who purchased Diablo 3 KNEW FULL WELL that it was battle.net only. They were what they were signing up for. Everyone knew that the launch of possibly the most eagerly awaited PC game of all time would be a little rocky. If they didn't want that they should have just REFRAINED FROM PURCHASING THE GAME. DON'T FUCKING BUY IT. HOW HARD IS THAT?!?!?!Well, you know how well boycotts go here, these days - that's right, they basically don't. See what happened (obviously) w/ D3 and when also COD series hopped onto Steam. Yeah, gamers still didn't want to deal w/ that DRM, still bought it anyways. That's how bad they want the game.
Well, you know how well boycotts go here, these days - that's right, they basically don't. See what happened (obviously) w/ D3 and when also COD series hopped onto Steam. Yeah, gamers still didn't want to deal w/ that DRM, still bought it anyways. That's how bad they want the game.
Blizz just sold record numbers for Diablo 3. And you know what? Other companies [like EA, UbiSoft, etc] are going to look at this example - and think their games, which basically have a SP-portion and decide for it to be forced to be played always online, as well. Not everybody has this kind of bandwidth. Not everybody has a consistent Internet connection. Not everybody is a hardcore gamer like us here on OWNet and knows what DRM is, unfortunately. Not everybody reads the game-box, unfortunately. Not everybody wants to be renting their game or forced by Blizz to play when Blizz lets them.
How UbiSoft and EA get slammed for doing this nonsense of forcing SP online, yet Blizz doesn't [in actual sales numbers] - it's pretty much beyond me. People complain, yet Blizz hasn't done anything to satisfy these gamers who want SP offline mode. It's not like they're asking for anything ridiculous here. I mean - UbiSoft & EA have both often changed their "always online" DRM on numerous games whether on launch or actually a bit later, due to gamer backlash. See what happened to the next SimCity game. Other games, like Darkspore and C&C4, tanked namely b/c of their ridiculous DRM - which they really should go ahead now and change for any sort of SP-portion of the game.
Forced always online games are not the future - PC and consoles. And neither is forced cloud gaming, for that matter. As an extra option, playing online and cloud gaming are actually GREAT ideas. :D
EDIT:
You know what would be a real slap in PC gaming's face? If Blizz does port D3 to the consoles and the SP can be played OFFLINE.
all i got from that is that the average consumer doesn't have any self control or principles. maybe you should rant about them.When eventually a very poor atmosphere will be created by dev's and publishers by forcing this kind of always online garbage on us and a majority of the houses use this [especially from AAA dev's and publishers], what can even gamers do? They've lost even their rights - which, who knows if the US FTC will even stick up for. At least Korea's FTC has some balls here.
General
Tooltips for the following class abilities have been updated to reflect changes made in patch 1.0.2 and previous hotfixes:
Demon Hunter
Smoke Screen (Skill Rune – Lingering Fog)
Monk
Fists of Thunder (Skill Rune – Quickening)
Mantra of Healing (Skill Rune – Boon of Inspiration)
Wizard
Energy Armor (Skill Rune – Force Armor)
Nigel Cutthroat has recently fallen on hard times and will now drop lower quality items when slain
Gold and quest experience rewards for replaying "Heart of Sin: Get the Soul of Azmodan" have been reduced
Gold and quest experience rewards for replaying "Heart of Sin: Go to the Keep" have been removed
Auction House
The maximum duration for posted auctions has been reduced from 48 hours to 36 hours
Finished on normal over the weekend. Good ways into Act 1 on Nightmare. I have to say, the game's much better when not burdened with a story. I just can't believe 12 years and this is what they came up with. Once you've seen it through and officially give zero shits about the narrative, the game gets a lot better.
Planned feature:
Changing follower AI so they don’t target invulnerable enemies and aren’t so zealous to engage things like treasure goblins before you start attacking
And the stories start rolling out. (https://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5794629534) (even if they're probably fake)
So I am having trouble deciding what class to start with. I want my classic sword and shield fighter, damnit! The only problem I see with the game is how every class is a bit freaky. You need your staple classes too Blizzard. Hopefully we will get a Paladin in the expansion.I am betting that was Blizz's plan all along - to get everybody to play D3 w/ "not-so-traditional classes" by NOT including any of the traditional classes.
The announcement – which was originally posted on the Korean Battle.net blog, and subsequently translated by the Wall Street Journal – says that players up to level 40 can apply for refunds, and those still below level 20 can also return the game.
Hey, wanna buy a new copy and are keen to digital media? Well fuck you. (http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5889089807)
I really have enjoyed my time with Diablo. I really have. I'll probably start putting more in at some point. However, there's been so much general strangeness to the game that's sometimes it's hard to separate the game from the mess in my mind. If that's something that should even be done is entirely up to you to decide, but for me I don't think history is going to look on Diablo III very kindly or, at the very least, there will be some taint always attached to the game. For me, I think everything that has gone wrong started with the decided to make the real money auction house. While it might always be right, it's not hard to see nearly all the strange decisions, gameplay or restrictive rules, were made while considering the the auction house. Even now that items are selling for hundreds of dollars in a Blizzard sanctioned part of the game makes me feel uneasy when ever I boot up the game. It's silly, yeah, but a lot of it just feels wrong.
Crazy you guys are having so many problems. I literally have not had a problem since launch day.I suspect my problem are primarily due to region-related issues (poor server connectivity etc.).
Bear in mind that as a frequent offline player I may be more sensitive to these issues because I'm not used to having to deal with them on a regular basis.
Crazy you guys are having so many problems. I literally have not had a problem since launch day.
A thread on the Diablo III forums (http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5978788079?page=1) has a complaint from a user who claims to have been charged $149.99 for an item in the Real-Money Auction House for Diablo III after bidding on an item they say was posted at $0.00. They offer evidence to support this claim as well indications that the bug they encountered is still occurring. On a semi-related note, this thread (http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5978428874) has the account from a user claiming to have lost a Battle.net balance of $200.00 after changing the region on their account, while this one (http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/5978428723) is from someone who says they called the FBI to report Blizzard for wire fraud, alleging having never received a $49.99 payment for an item they sold. These threads have attracted a lot of attention from users, but so far have received no official "blue" comments from Blizzard.
I imagine they'll fix this particular one pretty quickly.
Why not immediately invalidate the secret questions and answers that were compromised?
This was a difficult decision to make but in the end we believe that keeping the secret questions and answers in place still provides a layer of security against unauthorized users who don't have access to the compromised data. In the meantime, we are working quickly to create a mechanism for players to change the secret question and answer on their account. Our customer service staff will also know to use additional measures to verify player identities and not rely solely on secret question and answer.
The new Paragon system coming in patch 1.0.4 is designed to address Magic Find gear-swapping while providing players who’ve reached level 60 with an extended progression system.
Here’s how it works:
After you hit level 60, any further experience you earn from killing monsters will begin to count toward Paragon levels
There are 100 Paragon levels
Every Paragon level will reward you with:
--> Core stats such as Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Vitality in amounts similar to what you’d gain from a normal level
--> 3% Magic Find and 3% Gold Find
In addition, a distinctive increasingly-impressive border will surround your character portrait in the in-game party frame to denote your Paragon progression, with a new frame earned after every ten levels. Your Paragon level will also be visible to other players wherever your normal level is shown
I definitely had that problem with DIII. There were far too many areas that were predesigned. Boss rooms and towns are good, but everything else should be constantly changing. It seemed like half the world in Diablo III was always the same and the other half didn't have much variability. I understand that makes the game look a little prettier, but I don't remember not enjoying the dungeons visuals in the first two games.
Played 3 hours of Diablo 3 with MysterD.And I had a great time, too. Thanks for playing D3 w/ D. :)
That was awesome. Great fun with the D man. ;)
I was talking to my brother about this the other day. Looking back, I think I liked the level design of the original Diablo the best. It was plainer, but it was more randomized and unpredictable, and had more of a feeling of discovery. It was sort of an action based roguelike, a real dungeon crawl. If only the combat mechanics held up as well, I'd probably reinstall it and play it again.
The problem is that all of the backstory and lore are crap and not worth listening to.I don't think I've seen a ARPG in this genre even remotely try the Lore & Back-Story thing to the extent D3 aims for: lore & back-story stuff peppered everywhere that is BOTH fully written in text & voice-acted.
D,I might try to join you guys.. If at least to justify the $60 I paid for this game :P
I'll be on Steam chat same time as last. We should play if you are up for it. Coop is fun with someone you know. :)
(D gives a lot of high fives :P)
The lore is nice, but the problem for me with the helpers' back-stories is that there weren't any actual side plots related to them that you could go through later in the game.Yeah, that would've been sweet - if the followers has their own side-quests you could take care of in the game.
D,That was around 2:30pm or so my time (Eastern Time Zone), right?
I'll be on Steam chat same time as last. We should play if you are up for it. Coop is fun with someone you know. :)
(D gives a lot of high fives :P)
I might try to join you guys.. If at least to justify the $60 I paid for this game :PThat's what we did last time!
Will you guys be on the US server?
K, post when you guys are playing. I'll join you if possible.
That was really awesome! D and I had started on lvl 1 a few days ago and had gotten to level 12 each. Tonight we started and were soon joined by X and then Yuli. X by some coincidence had a level 11 char rug. I am a crazy female witch doctor with my collector's edition wings and white skull mask and clothing look like death. D was the tank while Yuli just started a new char at level 1. A female monk.Oh, and when I had blunt weapons - I was smashing and bashing, too!
Yes, D was the stud of our group.
It was funny because Yuli was 12 levels behind us but started catching up fast,, though we all died many times. It was a lot of fun. Haven't had this much fun in D3 before. I was unleashing my leaping frogs, X was firing his crossbows like a machine gun, Yuli was doing weird superfast kungfu moves, and D was just hacking and slashing. This was fun and hope to do it again soon. :)
Reaper of Souls is the first expansion for Diablo III. Blizzard revealed a whole new act, a new hero called The Crusader and the act boss: Malthael.P
What has been revealed so far, behind closed doors [Updated]:P
The expansion is called Reaper of Souls.
The new, playable, mid-range melee class is The Crusader. Focuses on flails, shields and it is inspired by Diablo II's Paladin. Uses "Wrath" as a resource.
The level cap is increased to 70. This means new runes and skills for every class. And hopefully a fresh economy on the AH.
Act V (probably Westmarch) will be dark, filled with graveyards.
The final boss will be Malthael, the angel of death.
New monsters will include some nasty fallen angels like The Seraph, The Summoner of Death, The Executioner or the Death Maiden.
New endgame feature - Loot Runs: These runs will be completely random dungeons, with several levels and a random boss at the end. Clearing them would take 15-20 minutes.
A new ally, The Mystic will appear in town. He's capable of rerolling one of the stats on rare and legendary items. Similar to World of Warcraft, he can also transmogrify (change the look of) items.
The Paragon level system will be now account wide, and no longer has a cap (you heard it right).
If nothing else, it's a very big chance to try to fix a bunch of the broken shit.
Much like World of Warcraft expansions, Reaper of Souls will be pre-empted by a huge “2.0″ patch that will overhaul Diablo III in preparation for new items, abilities and areas.So it won't be everything and the always online thing wont be going away. Sad face.
Lead content designer Kevin Martens ran us through the free features of patch 2.0. “You’re going to get all the loot, you’re going to get all the new item types, you’re going to get all the new legendary affixes, you’re going to get our new gem type – which is the diamond – and you’re going to get all the changes to the rules, the smart drop system, the targeted drop system, probably you’ll get loot runs – we haven’t figured that one out yet – probably you’ll get paragon, etc, etc.”
Blizzard are rebalancing loot drops in a big way to try and make more drops relevant to your character. There will be fewer common (white) drops, and they can be melted down into a new crafting reagent to stop them being completely useless past level 10. Rare drops will be reduced but there’s a high chance of a “smart drop.” These items will feature stats tuned to your character. More legendary items will drop, and they’ll come with new interesting new effects. Blizzard’s examples included a weapon that spawned an instant treasure goblin when equipped, and a staff that adds a chance to spawn hydras from dead bodies.It seems like smart drops and targeted drops are more or less the same thing. You will have a higher chance of getting loot that your character can actually use.
Can someone explain to me how the loot system is broken and how it worked in Diablo 2? And also what does the smart drop and the targeted drop systems do?
In Diablo 2, anything and everything had a chance to drop. it was all based on magic find percentages and character level. Gold equipment is what you strove for. Those were always the best available equipment (well, until runewords became a thing...then it was debatable). Now you have some purples and yellows with better stats than the "rare" gold equipment. I understand what blizz was trying to accomplish. They wanted more variety in equipment builds. But in doing this they've effectively rendered gold equipment pointless.
When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we've mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo's core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot. With that in mind, we want to let everyone know that we've decided to remove the gold and real-money auction house system from Diablo III.
We feel that this move along with the Loot 2.0 system being developed concurrently with Reaper of Souls™ will result in a much more rewarding game experience for our players.
We're working out the details of how the auction house system will be shut down, but we wanted to share the news as soon as we made the decision in order to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. Please note that the shutdown will occur on March 18, 2014. We will keep everyone informed as we work through this process.
So, when are we getting our offline mode??That'd be great - I do so hope so.I imagine when sales taper off to a trickle.
So I haven't been following the expansion at all. How are they changing the loot? I guess in the past you could just buy the best equipment on the AH and call it a day, but it's not like anyone forced you.
It bothers me because when the game launched there was no shortage of players looking to just start a game. Even six months ago.I'd like to play, if just to make the game worth it.
I am wondering if it is because they've divided the game into 4 difficulties, plus they've included higher level caps and it has split the community. I mean there are thousands of people online, but they are now in different subgroups. Before, it was just one difficulty level, so you had tons of people always ready for a game on normal. But even if you divide that by four, it still doesn't explain why I Blizzard couldn't match me with three other randoms within seconds like it used to.
BTW, I was completely mistaking about my chars. They are at level 30ish not 60ish. That's OK. For now they've started this bonus where anyone playing gets double experience. I am considering grinding up some chars.
Anyone on EU servers wants to play? I can also join on US servers but timezones is an issue, plus I am so busy now with writing assignments.
Yeah, the console port became the best version of the game (direct control of your character, no online DRM, good loot drops often keyed to your class, no real-money auction house) back when I got it for the 360. Then most of the improvements were retrofitted to the PC version. And now the new gen of consoles is getting it. Everyone wins. I was super-addicted to it until other stuff pulled me away. I've been meaning to get back to it. So much backlog. I love it.
PC version still has the always-online DRM though. :(
Actually right now D3 and Reaper of Souls are on sale $20 each.