Thread: DIABLO 3 Baby!!!!!

Originally Posted by Macroscian

Someone on JSP (yeah, had an account since 2003 with a massive 400 posts) said Blizzard had fixed a lot of bugs in just one day.

Great! But

This made me think back on the D2 play-testing. The way these people make stand in line for beta tests goes like this, roughly: you've been a contributing member of the community (read 'any spammer of whatever made people like you, i e lolcats and stuff from fb, msn, icq') and so you get beta access. This ensures that no actual quality testing occurs.

Ten years or so since the first D3 teaser and still it launched with mass bugs. It seems rather pitiful.

Server was down 4 times on launch day, 1-2 hours each time. There were 2-3 resets yesterday, though you could log right back in since it was just the AH server that went down. But you only got a 5min warning(if you got one at all) and lost all progress on whatever you were doing since the maps reset each time you log out.

I thought it was really funny when playing TOR near launch(always been more of a Star Wars geek than a LotR geek), everyone was complaining about maintenance and downtimes and comparing the "service" to WoW - stating that you cant compare launch WoW to TOR because it wouldnt be fair. And here Blizzard goes and mucks up Diablo 3's launch when they have 6+ years of MMO server experience under their belt and if anyone could have pulled off a perfect launch for an online game, it would have been them.

What I took away from the whole situation is that its really impossible to do something perfectly when it comes to software on such a massive scale, and that having more money doesnt mean you can do something better with it.

As for the game itself at first I thought "Wow this looks like Torchlight...", but as you play through and into Act 2 you start to get the feel that it really is a Diablo game even if its doing nothing new. Which is the games biggest 'issue', is that its pretty much exactly what everyone was expecting it to be. Its like buying a new CoD game, myself being someone who enjoys them(mainly because it and Halo are the only shooters with online split-screen), you know exactly what to expect and what youll get. Difficult to get very excited for it, even if its really a good game and you have fun playing it.

The online only, while it bothers me because I do not in fact have reliable internet, does have its perks though. Its really easy to drop in and out of friends games, chat works even with my old WoW friends who arnt into Diablo, and the Auction House is a nice to have. - But I would have traded every feature of online to get offline-LAN.

Just read someone at battlenet say in exasperation:

Blizzard spent six years taking everything that was fun about D2 out of the game, added better graphics, then released it as D3.

Originally Posted by enginekid

Just read someone at battlenet say in exasperation:

Blizzard spent six years taking everything that was fun about D2 out of the game, added better graphics, then released it as D3.

Really.

I wonder what that person's definition of "fun" is. I've been having a blast with my demon hunter.

Originally Posted by enginekid

Blizzard spent six years taking everything that was fun about D2 out of the game, added better graphics, then released it as D3.

Yes, well, IMO that person is an idiot. But even idiots are entitled to their own worthless opinions.

As for all the people whining about the internet connection for a "single player" game .... apparently you people don't realize that Diablo 3 is even MORE ridiculously fun with a group of friends.

It's not "perfect," but I'm unaware of any game that is, & IMO it's head-&-shoulders better than D2.

I don't have D3 but have been reading the battlenet forums to find out how well it is being received. I see threads with people complaining the loot system is bad. They are mad about Legendaries being worse than blue rares. They say that because the loot is bad it ruins the one cool thing about diablo which is the hunt for cool gear.

Originally Posted by enginekid

I don't have D3 but have been reading the battlenet forums to find out how well it is being received. I see threads with people complaining the loot system is bad. They are mad about Legendaries being worse than blue rares. They say that because the loot is bad it ruins the one cool thing about diablo which is the hunt for cool gear.

Well, sometimes legendaries aren't as good as blue rares, that's true. But I totally disagree that this "ruins" the loot, or that the "one cool thing about Diablo" is hunting "cool" gear. The game is wicked fun, & it's even more wicked fun in groups of friends over voice chat -- & aren't those two of the things that really make a game worth playing?

As for the forums: I can think of a whole host of unpleasant things I'd rather do than spend even one minute surveying Blizzard's cesspool of a "community."

Originally Posted by enginekid

I don't have D3 but have been reading the battlenet forums to find out how well it is being received. I see threads with people complaining the loot system is bad. They are mad about Legendaries being worse than blue rares. They say that because the loot is bad it ruins the one cool thing about diablo which is the hunt for cool gear.

Do you like playing LOTRO? Because you probably wouldn't be interested in playing if you based your decision on the LOTRO forums.

Forum threads are 30% informative, 65% whinging and 5% positive, regardless of the game.

I'm having a blast playing with friends with voice chat and playing another character through solo. Having just as much fun here as I've had in the previous Diablos. It doesn't replace LOTRO but it's a nice change of pace when I'd prefer to be hugely OP and smashing through waves of enemies in seconds.

If I had the extra $$ i would buy it.

Originally Posted by CyrusElmarel

Yeah I was thinking the same thing, I was at the shop yesterday and there were 4 copies of Diablo 3 on the shelf.

I looked over the box for about 15 minutes picking it off and putting it back on the shelf and although it does look cool I just couldn't commit for $59.99 +tax.

Yeah. Its much easier to spend that am ount as digital purchase in lotro store for instance. Seriously. Lotro expansions have the same prize. And please compare the values. And if th elotro servers go offline your investment of the last years, all that precious useless mounts, all that prizy consumables and csometics, will be gone and be wasted into the ether for ever.

Dont know. Since your are deemed to be online all the time as being an MMO player. Diablo 3 for the prize of 3 lotro mounts sounds like a pretty decent deal to me.

Originally Posted by Ozeagle

Do you like playing LOTRO? Because you probably wouldn't be interested in playing if you based your decision on the LOTRO forums.

Forum threads are 30% informative, 65% whinging and 5% positive, regardless of the game.

I'm having a blast playing with friends with voice chat and playing another character through solo. Having just as much fun here as I've had in the previous Diablos. It doesn't replace LOTRO but it's a nice change of pace when I'd prefer to be hugely OP and smashing through waves of enemies in seconds.

+1 People go to the forums when they have problems or when they want to complain.

Originally Posted by Livejazz

As for the forums: I can think of a whole host of unpleasant things I'd rather do than spend even one minute surveying Blizzard's cesspool of a "community."

Oh, it's not entirely bad. I've been spending most of my forum time there in the "story" forum which is the equivalent of this forum's "J. R. R. Tolkien" forum. The discussions there are interesting and lively, even if the storyline is a bit fuzzy at times.

I played D3 on my friend's PC and it's great clicking addictive game with decent graphics and story but I'm glad I didn't buy D3..
1.) It's server-client game (like Wow or Lotro) so there are lags and connection problems
2.) They ruined skill tree, at max-lvl all chars have the same skills, you can just alter them a little with runes
3.) Auction house, you can always get too overpowered weapons and gear without effort

That's the reason I preordered Torchlight 2 for $20 (+ got free Torchlight 1 on Steam), it's more D2 style with skills and doesn't need permanent connection for single player. Yes almost everybody has internet connection these days but there are problems with connection too. So I want such no-internet game to fill gaps between playing Lotro and other online games..

this game really does look fun guys
i wish i could afford it, lol

Originally Posted by enginekid

this game really does look fun guys
i wish i could afford it, lol

I have been playing it with my family. It is rather fun but it doesn't feel all that re-playable to me. The fighting reminds me quite a bit of Dragon Age 2 (not my favorite part of that btw). Groups and groups of things to fight. Everything is really aoe dependent. I was surprised that I haven't seen many complaints about that since it was supposedly the biggest problem with DA2. But unlike DA2, all the classes are strong aoe. The downside, (for me anyway) is thats just about all they do. There doesn't seem to be much thought needed. Everything feels a bit like the "1 button WoW mage" Not really that extreme but it certainly is the idea.

I keep hearing people say it is a survival game. I would have thought it was a 'gear game.' I guess by 'survival' they mean in order to survive, (at a certain point) you need the gear. Which means the Auction House....

I gotta say, the Auction House is oddly… addicting. They have not done the 'real money' one yet (thankfully) but I guess there are a ton of issues with people being hacked. Even those who have authenticators.

It's not really my type of game though. I really prefer the ones where it is YOUR character in a strong story and there are choices. This really feels as though you are watching/playing someone else's character. Which I guess you are.... It is pretty, and the story seems fine. There is a 'huh' feeling about the ending though. The characters all seem to have good personalities and vocies. Hated the female mage although I loved the male. I really liked both the demon hunters. Only tried the female Monk but she was good. A little boring but fine otherwise. Both the Barbarians were likeable if a bit dim.

The best thing about it for me, is the RealID multi-player option. It does give the 'Public Game' option. Playing with complete strangers. I have not tried that and why people would want to is beyond me. Apparently, that is how people are getting hacked btw. (Had to learn this via Blizzard forums. Bad, bad idea. I didn't think it was possible, but they have gotten worse)

Anyway, the ability to bounce around the story with your friends is very, very nice. I hope more games implement that in the future. (Looking at you DA3)

The story is unevenly presented, which is odd when you consider how much attention has been focused on the gameworld's lore (the devs have made quite a business of this). To me the biggest issue is the decision to give the endgame bosses dialogue...BAD dialogue. Diablo himself never said a word to you in D1, and in D2 his sole line was "NOT EVEN DEATH CAN SAVE YOU FROM ME!!!"

Now he bellows "I AM LEGION" in your face and makes frequent references to "TERRAWWR" as he bounds around during your fight with him. Between that and the Evil Undead Wizard Guy who MUHAHAHAHAHAAA'd his way across Act 2, my demon hunter thought she was in an episode of Drak Pack.

Still, it's great fun. The characters seem insanely overpowered (mind you, I've only just started Nightmare difficulty), the music is fantastic, and the graphics are a tremendous improvement over the previous two games.

And it's addictive.

Originally Posted by GV-Tanith

the Evil Undead Wizard Guy who MUHAHAHAHAHAAA'd his way across Act 2

Is it anything like this

Ah, dear old Zhar...you don't see him, but a few old friends from the original Diablo game will be maa-aaa-aaking cameos. I don't want to ruin it for you.

While I do enjoy the frozen wastes, I do miss the larger jungle that was in D2. Since I just jumped in with the wife to play without oing any research, I had hoped for a much expanded jungle zone as D2 had.

We are having a blast with the game and spent a good deal of our Monday Holiday time completing the normal difficulty. Really like the full functionuality of the AH there as well. It feels strange being in a game where items are selling as you are looking at them.

The above said, it's just a brief vacation from LoTRO for us. We miss our Kin and the game.

Originally Posted by Livejazz

Well, sometimes legendaries aren't as good as blue rares, that's true. But I totally disagree that this "ruins" the loot, or that the "one cool thing about Diablo" is hunting "cool" gear. The game is wicked fun, & it's even more wicked fun in groups of friends over voice chat -- & aren't those two of the things that really make a game worth playing?

I've been playing and it is a good hack 'n slash diversion. Level 47 barb in nightmare act 3. I'm way behind.

But as to your comment about playing with friends. that's cool and all, but I disagree that that is what makes a game fun.

I'm a bit angry over the fact that pure single player games seem to have been relegated to the junk heap in favor of what seems to be what people want....MP.

Good single players are needed now more than ever in my opinion. Even Diablo fans just want SP. Even MMO players are gravitating towards solo play. MP has it's place, but not everything under the sun needs to have MP.

The current trend of MP at all costs makes me sad. You have a game genre that caught fire due to wow and now all publishers think games must have MP or they are not worth making.

Am I the only one who values a great SP experience n a game?

EDIT: and might I add, am I the only one that values a great OFFLINE SP game?

A surprising number of my kinmates (the ones who ran off to SW:TOR) are playing D3. I didn't think it would interest them, but they may have run themselves ragged on MMO's.

Hmm, I wonder how many of them I can coax onto the GW2 bandwagon...

Originally Posted by veevito

EDIT: and might I add, am I the only one that values a great OFFLINE SP game?

You can add me to this. I love OFFLINE single player games.

Originally Posted by Nymphonic

You can add me to this. I love OFFLINE single player games.

Yep. Can´t wait for XCOM to come out in a couple of months.

Just like GW2 BTW. My "Magic Amazon 8-ball" tells me it´s due end of September.

Though what I´m beginning to hear about D3 is that it´s pretty quickly consumed with next to no replay value. I wouldn't worry much about your kinmates being AWOL for that much longer.

so...it seems more then a few Korean players were upset with blizzard's DRM and the ERROR37 stuff to the point they filed complaints with the Korean FTC(fair trade commission) when blizzard refused refunds.

Blizzards offices in Korea were raided FBI style it seems and plenty of documents seized...lol

i seriously hope they find something on them and make devs think twice about putting always online DRMs on single player games.

you can read the article i found >>>HERE<<<

Originally Posted by veevito

am I the only one that values a great OFFLINE SP game?

While I do believe that playing with friends is what makes a game great, I also think that having an offline option would have made Diablo 3 nearly perfect.

Originally Posted by Flatfoot789

Though what I´m beginning to hear about D3 is that it´s pretty quickly consumed with next to no replay value. I wouldn't worry much about your kinmates being AWOL for that much longer.

Yeah, a lot of the people I know who have been playing D3 have already stopped since, like you said, its 'pretty quickly consumed'.

Originally Posted by Livejazz

While I do believe that playing with friends is what makes a game great, I also think that having an offline option would have made Diablo 3 nearly perfect.

d3 is a srpg dungeon-crawler with multiplayer options.

it shouldnt have to have an offline option.

offline should be the default mode and not the forced always on connection.

Originally Posted by megaboy

make devs think twice about putting always online DRMs on single player games.

you can read the article i found >>>HERE<<<

No.
The suits will just buy the appropriate politicians, just like RIAA is obviously doing already.
The ONLY thing that can stop DRM is YOU and whom you voluntarily give your money too.

Stop rewarding them with buying their Pooh!( cr@p is filtered? seriously?)

D2.3 is a perfect example.
Exactly the same formula as the two games before it. "Streamlined"(aka.dumbed down) gameplay, optimized to capitalize directly on pay2win and enough hype to finance small countries.

While the whole time a game(Torchlight 2) is almost finished, that´s virtually identical but superior basically on all accounts AND will cost half or less. But when it finally turns up, will probably tank because people are all grinded out on that gameplay.

Originally Posted by Flatfoot789

Though what I´m beginning to hear about D3 is that it´s pretty quickly consumed with next to no replay value

Yes, beating Diablo 3 on Normal Difficulty is fairly easily done.

To imply that the game has next to no replay value, however, is not accurate. It's a LOT more fun on Nightmare Difficulty than on Normal. I'm also finding the game very different on Normal with a different character, & of course it subtly changes again if you're playing with friends, especially if you have voice chat.

Things I don't like about D3: the maps don't really change & are fairly easily memorized; the "crafting" system is quite weak IMO; all achievements, money, crafting upgrades, & storage space are shared across all of your characters.

Things I like very much about D3: everything else

Originally Posted by Livejazz

Yes, beating Diablo 3 on Normal Difficulty is fairly easily done.

To imply that the game has next to no replay value, however, is not accurate. It's a LOT more fun on Nightmare Difficulty than on Normal. I'm also finding the game very different on Normal with a different character, & of course it subtly changes again if you're playing with friends, especially if you have voice chat.

Things I don't like about D3: the maps don't really change & are fairly easily memorized; the "crafting" system is quite weak IMO; all achievements, money, crafting upgrades, & storage space are shared across all of your characters.

Things I like very much about D3: everything else

can you elaborate on crafting? i would love to know how useful it is.

also, diablo has always been a huge success with great longevity with the PvP crowd. dedicated users played diablo 2 for ten years on the internet in pvp ladders. will the same be true for D3? does it have the same cool and fun factor making new character builds and testing them in pvp, and farming bosses for rare gear to boost your characters power?

Originally Posted by Livejazz

Things I don't like about D3: the maps don't really change & are fairly easily memorized;

So they removed one of the basic features of the roguelike genre.
K, next.

Edit:And Zeropunkt. is on the ball too.

Originally Posted by enginekid

can you elaborate on crafting? i would love to know how useful it is.

You do quests to unlock a blacksmith & a jeweler. You then spend gold (& at higher levels, pages & tomes as well) to level up these two crafters. As they level up, they're capable of making more stuff. The jeweler isn't as useful; he combines gems, & he allows you to remove a gem you've socketed without harming either the item or the gem. The blacksmith comes fairly early in Act 1, the Jeweler in Act 2. Once you unlock them & level them up with one character, they remain available to all of your characters.

The problem, IMO, is that most of the gear you can make is nowhere near as good as what you've picked up via playing, or bought on the Auction House.

also, diablo has always been a huge success with great longevity with the PvP crowd. dedicated users played diablo 2 for ten years on the internet in pvp ladders. will the same be true for D3?

PvP is currently not enabled. It will be, "soon." Personally, I have little interest in PvP. As for the "cool & fun" factor of farming bosses for good gear, yes, I think it absolutely has that.

Edit: an earlier poster mentioned some game called Torchlight 2 so I went to their web-site & took a look. I know I'm being unfair, but one look at their character & landscape art turned me off entirely. I might check it out -- though, honestly, I probably won't -- but the gameplay would have to kick the living heck out of D3's, & even then I'm not sure I can get past the graphics.

Originally Posted by Livejazz

You do quests to unlock a blacksmith & a jeweler. You then spend gold (& at higher levels, pages & tomes as well) to level up these two crafters. As they level up, they're capable of making more stuff. The jeweler isn't as useful; he combines gems, & he allows you to remove a gem you've socketed without harming either the item or the gem. The blacksmith comes fairly early in Act 1, the Jeweler in Act 2. Once you unlock them & level them up with one character, they remain available to all of your characters.

The problem, IMO, is that most of the gear you can make is nowhere near as good as what you've picked up via playing, or bought on the Auction House.



PvP is currently not enabled. It will be, "soon." Personally, I have little interest in PvP. As for the "cool & fun" factor of farming bosses for good gear, yes, I think it absolutely has that.

Edit: an earlier poster mentioned some game called Torchlight 2 so I went to their web-site & took a look. I know I'm being unfair, but one look at their character & landscape art turned me off entirely. I might check it out -- though, honestly, I probably won't -- but the gameplay would have to kick the living heck out of D3's, & even then I'm not sure I can get past the graphics.

Thanks for answering. I looked at torchlight as well and it looks bad to my eyes. To each their own though.

Originally Posted by Livejazz

Edit: an earlier poster mentioned some game called Torchlight 2 so I went to their web-site & took a look. I know I'm being unfair, but one look at their character & landscape art turned me off entirely. I might check it out -- though, honestly, I probably won't -- but the gameplay would have to kick the living heck out of D3's, & even then I'm not sure I can get past the graphics.

Torchlight is a fairly entertaining (if a bit short on depth and staying power) and totally unabashed Diablo clone. Yeah, it's cartoony, but it's a tongue-in-cheek, self-deprecating kind of cartoony rather than a "lasers and explosions and ****!" kind. I'd compare the tone of the game to what I've played of Tim Schafer's work, but my knowledge of his stuff isn't encyclopedic by any stretch. It's more of a casual timewaster than it is a hardcore twinker kind of game, though; gear is (generally) too homogenous to have much impact one way or the other (it's rather like LotRO in that regard), it's not very challenging even on the hardest difficulty setting, and, while the dungeons are randomly generated, the large "set piece" nature of the rooms makes the levels pretty much identical from one playthrough to the next.

Still, it was well worth the $20 for 10 installs, and kept myself, my wife, and my son entertained for a good month or two. If Torchlight 2 follows suit, I'll consider picking it up.

Well, Torchlight is done by members of the Diablo team that split with Blizzard, so there's no doubt that they were trying to go for the same Diablo feel to their game.

i watched this below and when i read that its like diablo i expected to see something dark like D1. but this looks all lit up, colorful and cartoonish to me. d1 style is the style i wanted.

Wondering how may folks will make the Diablo III vs $40-$70 for Rohan comparison, and end up with DIII. Thinking about buying it myself at this point...

Originally Posted by DelgonTheWise

Wondering how may folks will make the Diablo III vs $40-$70 for Rohan comparison, and end up with DIII. Thinking about buying it myself at this point...

Having purchased two copies of Diablo for the wife and I; unless it comes down to personal financial issues, I don't see it being an issue. The two games offer different types of gaming entertainment. Both offer a value if the player is engrossed in the game and plays for any extended length of time. Most gamers, as a rule, realize the value in gaming ~vs~ most forms of leisure activities.

Originally Posted by enginekid

can you elaborate on crafting? i would love to know how useful it is.

As it stands, thus far, Blacksmith is a waste of coin. In most games that I have played since Everquest I, crafting saves you money while raising a character and later allows you to create items superior than most non-raid drops in the game.

In Diablo, crafting allows you to supplement (with luck) parts of your inventory that needs an upgrade. With so many players playing the game the AH is filled with items that can replace the need to craft for a low price. Not to mention many of the Magic (casual drops?) items are superior to the crafted at the same level.

Crafting is also a RNG game. I choose the item, the outcome is RNG generated. Might be great for my class, might be more fit for another class. Imagine if you will the multi outputs and critical that we get in this game on some items. In Diablo, at least the stages that I am at now, the output is random. I might need Intelligence and Vitality and wind up with Strength and Dexterity.

Jewel Craft, on the other hand is quite handy for combining gems to socket in items drastically improving their stats and allowing more gear customization.