Diablo 3 Discussion

[IskatuMesk]

wow, I was right. It's a cartoon, and for that matter it looks even worse than sc2. A lot worse.

[Meta]

-_-

[IskatuMesk]

ok a more thorough analysis


- The game currently lacks bump mapping and specular mapping which I imagine (hope to god) is going to change because it will help remove the stupid cartoon feel

- Whoever they hired to do their music is going to annihilate all of their previous composers because the ingame and cinematic music are A+

- The gameplay seems to be relatively similar to d2 so far, which is good. As a huge d2 player and a very strong pvp'er prior to runewords destroying the game it's good to see they haven't devolved too far from what works. The only question is, are they going to favor botters with overpowered stupidly low drop rate shit again?

- It doesn't seem to be an MMO like we had feared.

- The game seems to be going for a Teen rating which is fucking stupid, but at least the boss rips off a guy's head which is cool

- Unanswered questions: Are the maps still random? Will it be moddable? (Yes, diablo 2 is extremely moddable)

As usual their concept art looks ten thousand times better than their ingame assets... because their modelers don't follow their concept art. :\

BLIZZARD NEEDS TO STOP USING FLASH

JUST STOP

RIGHT NOW

[Marco]

The game looks exactly like I remember during my brief playing stint, more click click loot loot.  Looks like it'll appease the fans who like the Diablo formula.  But even just watching the gameplay demo, I can definitely say its not for me.  It's basically just World of WarCraft on speed, a compressed experience of the hacking, slashing, looting, the whole 'omg its +20, but this next one is +23, but this next one is +26!  I gotta keep playing!'  It's the bread and butter of these kinds of games, and I wouldn't mind it if there were a much more enriching story.  Diablo is pretty much just a giant action movie with enough story to move to the next area.

With just a generic barbarian, witch doctor, etc... the story is just like one told in the fantasy genre many times over, except lacking any character growth and interpersonal exchanges that make a fantasy journey so appreciable.  Its just 'watch the story, do the grunt work, and we can be free again for another 20 years.'  I don't mean to offend those who do like it, I'm sure you guys have your reasons, just stating mine.  I'm sure it'll be a big hit though and a lot of fun for those who do appreciate the formula.

[IskatuMesk]

Eh, I liked diablo's story. It was the only franchise of Blizzard's that had some shred of originality to it, even though the whole hell/heaven thing has been done to death.

I played d2 for pvp. Runewords ruined pvp. So I stopped playing.

[Rocco]

yeah, I used to play d2 bnet. I remember getting stuff like shcaefers hammer ethereal and zodding it and being godly, then runewords came.....

[Marco]

yeah, I used to play d2 bnet. I remember getting stuff like shcaefers hammer ethereal and zodding it and being godly, then runewords came.....

A true Diablo formula fan, the perfect example.  Get loot, grow strong, crush others with ease.  Don't have the loot?  Keep playing.  That's pretty much the addiction part of the formula personified - just like WoW, just time compressed in a different but comparable presentation.  I can definitely see how botting would mess that up tho, but I wouldn't worry aout it honestly RCcola, Blizzard probably has something in mind to fix that already.  I'm sure they'll have Q and A sessions and that will probably be the top concern, so they'll have to address the issue.

[IskatuMesk]

Okay, I got some more info.

- Loot is now like in Mythos. What you see on the ground is yours; ie each character gets its own drop set only it can see.

- Gender will be the only customization feature of your character. Big downer.

- 8-player based games currently.

They say 4 years in development.

[Rocco]

I just hope blizzard doesn't add some ridiculously overpowered item like rune words, that really did ruin the game

[Anonymous]

Also Desler, D2's itemization was fine until runewords showed up. These items were IMPOSSIBLE to get as a legit player because their drop rate was nothing short of atrocious. We're talking farming for YEARS. Botters on the other hand have the luxury of sitting back with 30 pindlebots going and picking up whatever in a few nights. And runewords are the most stupidly unthought imbalanced garbage ever seen in an RPG of any kind.

Also it seems very likely the big demon in the cinematic is Diablo himself... just weirded up like a Warcraft monster. If I'm wrong though, I'm not sure who it would be. Probably an entirely new character.

[Marco]

Also Desler, D2's itemization was fine until runewords showed up. These items were IMPOSSIBLE to get as a legit player because their drop rate was nothing short of atrocious. We're talking farming for YEARS. Botters on the other hand have the luxury of sitting back with 30 pindlebots going and picking up whatever in a few nights. And runewords are the most stupidly unthought imbalanced garbage ever seen in an RPG of any kind.

Also it seems very likely the big demon in the cinematic is Diablo himself... just weirded up like a Warcraft monster. If I'm wrong though, I'm not sure who it would be. Probably an entirely new character.

I'll have to take your word for it, but yes, I can see where that might be a problem.  Without botting, somene finding it would be the equivilant of winning the lottery, and with just a few players having it, it would be unlikely you'd run into them in casual play - probably the original intention of Blizzard.  Something like runewords would be enough to turn some players into legendary unkillable machines, like a permanent cheat I suppose?  That about cover it?  I can understand the concept.  Definitely appealing for those looking to make the most f-d up character around, and an incentive to keep playing until your fingers are numb.

[IskatuMesk]

Well basically, due to the way d2's defense mechanics are, it's evasion and not actual damage reduction. So a player in runeword armor, for example, cannot actually be hit 99% of the time. Oh, and his 1-handed ebotd axe does more damage than the best two-handed unique in the game.

So it's basically godmode.

[Meta]

I thought it was sweet. Nothing too innovative, but it's certainly an upgrade over Diablo 2.

The pros:
- Fantastic music;
- The background;
- Skill system and gameplay similar to Diablo 2 (it is also a con, IMO);
- Interactive cutscenes, I liked the one with Cain;
- Possibility to choose gender of your character;
- Looks like it'll be a very fun multiplayer game;
- Well-written lore (within the limits of Diablo lore, that is);
- Fantastic teaser cinematic.

The cons:
- Somehow the game reminded me, more than once, of God of War. The Barbarian looked a lot like Krathos, the music was very God of War-ish and even the first boss was a giant. God of War was a fantastic game, but I think D3 looked way too similar to it;
- The gameplay is still extremely repetitive. I was getting bored of it after watching 1 minute of the same leap attack/bash sequences;
- Where's the blood?
- Most likely a personal thing, but I still can't connect much with its story (Desler also commented on this). I actually thought that Diablo 1 was more immersive than 2, and since Diablo 3 is even more epic than the second game, I don't see how I'll feel the plot as well;
- Character and monster models should have reduced saturation to match the background.

Things I hope Diablo 3 will not have:
- Botting;
- Hacking and duping;
- Runes or any item with incredibly low chance to drop. It was easier to win the lottery than to find some Diablo 2 runes, which is really ridiculous.

So far the pros outshine the cons IMO, and, although it seems like a damn fun game for multiplayer, I'm not really thrilled about it. Cool, shiny graphics don't cut it for me - it's the gameplay and immersion that matter the most to me. Desler's first comments seem to sum it up well.

[Marco]

Here is an easy fix to the botting problem.  Have the game ask you for a code similar to the CAPTCHA system when a very important loot is found.  Have it log you out in 10 minutes if you don't enter the correct code.  Make the code story related and part of the game so it doesn't appear so obvious.  Just thinking here, I'm sure it could be implemented easily enough, relatively speaking.

[imgwh 572x405]http://www.bestshareware.net/download/i ... or-big.gif[/imgwh]

[IskatuMesk]

You seriously underestimate the kind of bots that are running around. They can very easily play the game for you and things like what you are suggesting would be trivial at best.