Diablo 3 Officially Announced

[H]

Proof?

He's on the main stage.

[steelfiredragon]

well I guess in the end we shall see

[Musopticon?]

So far, it's everything I've hoped and then some.

 

I particularly like the new class and how they've dared to change some of the bread and butter features of the series, like the making the inventory slot-based and the combat more dynamic. My friend(lev 69 IceSorc, lev 87 FrenBarb) complained about losing the inventory Tetris, but I don't really mind. It's great that they aren't cloning their own games.

 

The art, of course, is beyond splendid. There's consistency with the earlier look of the series and they haven't tried to opt any of the saturated and comic Warcraft look. Lore remains rather good and there is a general spirit of improvement wafting over the game.

 

Triablo easily became the top game in my buy list. They really can't fubar it at this point and the only thing that might tarnish it from now on is the early net coding of Battle.net 2. I remember when Duablo came out, the servers were atrocious.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Musopticon?

[Meshugger]

Looking at those videos from the Blizzard main site made me go way back in time, back when i used dad's Pentium I to play the original Diablo. Good times

 

By judging Blizzard's rigorous ways of polishing their games, i guess that the releasedate will be 2010 the earliest.

[Starwars]

The art, of course, is beyond splendid. There's consistency with the earlier look of the series and they haven't tried to opt any of the saturated and comic Warcraft look. Lore remains rather good and there is a general spirit of improvement wafting over the game.

 

Maybe art isn't what I'm thinking of, but so far it's actually the mood and overall graphical look of the game that I don't feel jives well with the older games. I think we *do* see that cartoony look (though not to the same degree) from Warcraft 3 in the gameplay video. I think the graphics would do very well if they were a bit less colorful, and a lot darker really. More depressing basically. One of the boons of Diablo (well, Diablo 1 at least, I can't really remember Diablo 2 at the moment) was that I found it to be actually quite creepy despite the whole isometric view. That scary edge is missing completely from the gameplay video I think, even though the game still seems beautiful on its own.

I also hope it won't be *to* over-the-top. Again, Diablo is hack'n'slash action but I felt the whole atmosphere and general creepyness really raised the game to a higher level

 

Other than that, it seems like it's pretty spot-on in how it follows the older games, and the gameplay looks fun. The *addition* of more roleplaying, without taking away the heavy combat/hack'n'slash seems great. It's been mentioned elsewhere, but it's funny to see how Blizzard treats it sequels when compared to Fallout 3.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Starwars

[Humodour]

Keep in mind that this was the start of the game. Evil hasn't been around for 20 years in Sanctuary. Personally I'd prefer the start of the game to be bright and for it to get progressively more bleak and gloomy as it becomes clear Diablo is back and unleashing terror.

 

Act 2 Diablo 2 was fairly bright, as was act 5 due to the snow. I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

[Moatilliatta]

Varied environs are alright even though D2 chapter 2 sucked hard out in the desert. My problem is that it doesn't make me feel like the world is about to be eaten by demons.

Also I don't think we know if the gameplay trailer is the start of the game (do we?) but even then there are demons and undead everywhere so why aren't there any bodies chopped in two? And why is the sun up when we enter boring grasslands? I would bet that dusk or dawn would work better.

 

I'm hoping that it will change in the next two or so years to be actually relatively creepy or that they will show us that at least part of the game is like that.

 

Edit: Also, who said that D2 was in anyway good at atmosphere?

Edited June 29, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[Bos_hybrid]

I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

 

I believe it is, when I seen those pics I can see a WoW influence. But its not only that, those graphics.... NWN2, Withcher are already better then it and its released in 2010?

 

I get them wanting low hardware requirements, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R did this, while giving those with the better PC good graphics.

[newc0253]

i look forward to playing this obsessively for about 12 hours, just like i did with Diablo 2, Dungeon Seige and Titan Quest.

 

and then giving up cold turkey once i realise its just the same damn thing over and over, except in a variety of different locations.

Edited June 29, 2008 by newc0253

[Xard]

I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

 

I believe it is, when I seen those pics I can see a WoW influence. But its not only that, those graphics.... NWN2, Withcher are already better then it and its released in 2010?

 

I get them wanting low hardware requirements, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R did this, while giving those with the better PC good graphics.

 

Huh, what do you mean? Those are fantastic graphics and I certainly prefer those over NWN2, Witcher or STALKER

Edited June 29, 2008 by Xard

[Musopticon?]

So, anyone else thinking that they'll tell the Amazon to buy the farm and opt for a general "Rogue" or perhaps "Assassin" class? Since Amazon society does not train men as soldiers, making an Amazon class is out of the question. I can imagine a class that bears passing resemblance to the LoD Assassin with some abilities, mainly traps and stealth, but has bows as the main weapons and is generally outlined after the D1 rogue. So, ranged support and stealth abilities in co-op. Lockpicks doors and chests, kills an enemy champion from far away and whisks away, that sort stuff.

[Moatilliatta]

Aren't the Sanctuary rogues female only as well? I would absolutely love a rogue inspired by the D1 class as it was the one I favoured.

 

I wonder if Blizzard will decide to be awesome and try for a 2012 release to cash in on end of the world hype.

 

Also, there is very little WoW graphics to speak of and it is only present in the somewhat disturbingly light UI.

[Moatilliatta]

Replaying Diablo, it has ocured to me that one thing that truly got worse in D2 is the amount of interesting shrines. D1 had all sorts of shrines that was truly mystical in nature, and while it can be said that some of them being harmfull was a bad idea, you have to be quite strange in my opinion to say that D2 shrines were more interesting.

[Starwars]

I never got into D2 at all, I just felt it lacked that truly apocalyptic horror-ish atmosphere that Diablo 1 had in spades. I should try replaying it sometime though.

[Diogo Ribeiro]

and then giving up cold turkey once i realise its just the same damn thing over and over, except in a variety of different locations.

 

Which in fact are all the same, except rendered with different amounts of polygons, and given slightly different names.

[Starwars]

Leonard Boyarsky speaks here, together with the art director: http://www.gamespot.com/video/930659/61931...ent-art-panel-1

 

Pretty interesting stuff, and they actually adress directly what I was complaining about above. Interesting views, and I think I'm gonna replay the games and see if I find what they're speaking of is true.

 

They really do an *excellent* job of presenting the game though. How I wish more developers did it like this.

[Moatilliatta]

Quoted from memory:

The Askari gave us the rogues in the first Diablo and the amazons in Diablo 2...

I thought the rogues in D1 was supposed to be from the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye? I'm pretty sure that Kashya mentions Blood Raven as being a commander or something of the Rogues that went to Tristram.

 

Anyone that remembers anything from that?

 

Edit: Lorebooks? Thank you Boyarsky, that was another thing that was mostly missing from D2.

Edited June 29, 2008 by Moatilliatta

[Humodour]

I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

 

I believe it is, when I seen those pics I can see a WoW influence. But its not only that, those graphics.... NWN2, Withcher are already better then it and its released in 2010?

 

I get them wanting low hardware requirements, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R did this, while giving those with the better PC good graphics.

 

People said Diablo 2 had far outdated graphics for it's time, too.

 

Did anybody care, really?

 

Edit: Also, who said that D2 was in anyway good at atmosphere?

 

Lots of people. Act 1 Cathedral, Act 3 Durance of Hate.

[Slowtrain]

I think Blizzard has released more quality info about their game in two days than Bethesda has about FO3 in two years.

[Hurlshort]

Blizzard is just about the best there is at keeping projects completely under wraps until they have a near playable version of the game ready. And then they just sit and polish it for two years while folks drool.

[Moatilliatta]

Lots of people. Act 1 Cathedral, Act 3 Durance of Hate.

There is good atmosphere sure, that wasn't what I meant though. Awesome places from memory:

 

Act 1: cathedral

Act 2: Lut Gholein city, Lut Gholein palace harem, The place where the summoner were (can't remember the name).

Act 3: Kurast docks (city being overtaken by jungle = yay), Kurast, Durance of hate

Act 4: Sorta in between as much of it felt sorta hellish but it also felt lesh polished somehow.

Act 5: Mostly awesome all around, but it is an expansion pack and (from memoru) seemed to use a lot more props to convey the 'corrupted frozen wasteland' vibe.

 

Now I'm not saying that D2 too was unatmospheric as all hell, it just didn't really feel like the corruption had touched anything but the monsters. Act 2 is a good example of this, in act 2 you mostly fought corrupted versions of the native animal life and native sand dwellers, that's good. The error is when you do so in something that looks like a normal uncorrupted desert as the landscape as much as the native life should have been affected by the wanderes passing. As far as I remember, there was some props like impailed guardsmen and black-water oasis that hinted at corruption but that just wasn't really enough to convince me.

 

I'm not sure, but some of this might be related to preferences in how the 'look' should be as I see other people agreeing with me that the current D3 look (from what we've seen) doesn't satisfy and yet I see people who get "an impending sense of doom", leaving me wondering what they've been drinking as I can't see it.

 

I guess another part of it is that atmosphere is very important to me and it saddens me that people don't make it like I would. If I were to have made it, then I would have done something that emphasised D2 as being a warrior (or several warriors) fight to save the world from the madness of corruption as he (they) slowly descend into the corruption that the world has become or something like that.

 

Anyway most of this is moot until we actually know something more tangible about the relation between the areas and the story as well as seing more of the world.

[Sand]

I wonder if they will make it as boring the first two were.

[Hurlshort]

I wonder if they will make it as boring the first two were.

 

Well, if you dislike the first two shots of tequila, I've heard the third is always better.

 

But I don't think that applies when you space the shots years apart.

[Bos_hybrid]

I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

 

I believe it is, when I seen those pics I can see a WoW influence. But its not only that, those graphics.... NWN2, Withcher are already better then it and its released in 2010?

 

I get them wanting low hardware requirements, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R did this, while giving those with the better PC good graphics.

 

Huh, what do you mean? Those are fantastic graphics and I certainly prefer those over NWN2, Witcher or STALKER

 

Better than STALKER...

 

I guess Diablo fanboys are as objective as Halo ones.

 

People said Diablo 2 had far outdated graphics for it's time, too.

 

Did anybody care, really?

 

No, but that doesn't mean they weren't. Seriously, it won't have dialogue, its story will be from Blizzard, NPCs will be meh, and its graphics will be poor-average. Is it me or does that sound strange that a game like this is coming from one of the biggest development houses in the world?

Basically its like; 'Well we don't have to put much effort into this, every Diablo fan will be drooling over this and would get it even if it looked like an Amstrad game, and the non fans that look at this and laugh don't matter because we have 9 mil people in Asia playing WoW'. Then we have five classes, if Obsidian had dared to release NWN2 with five classes.... I wouldn't want to think what those boards would of been like. Then no character customisation, that was fine when Diablo 2 was released but now? And Finally no Necromancer

 

If this was EA people would be saying they're milking the series.

Edited June 30, 2008 by Bos_hybrid

[Humodour]

I'm not convinced the 'art' concern is valid simply based on what we've seen so far (not just you - I've heard it from others, too).

 

I believe it is, when I seen those pics I can see a WoW influence. But its not only that, those graphics.... NWN2, Withcher are already better then it and its released in 2010?

 

I get them wanting low hardware requirements, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R did this, while giving those with the better PC good graphics.

 

Huh, what do you mean? Those are fantastic graphics and I certainly prefer those over NWN2, Witcher or STALKER

 

Better than STALKER...

 

I guess Diablo fanboys are as objective as Halo ones.

 

People said Diablo 2 had far outdated graphics for it's time, too.

 

Did anybody care, really?

 

No, but that doesn't mean they weren't. Seriously, it won't have dialogue, its story will be from Blizzard, NPCs will be meh, and its graphics will be poor-average. Is it me or does that sound strange that a game like this is coming from one of the biggest development houses in the world?

Basically its like; 'Well we don't have to put much effort into this, every Diablo fan will be drooling over this and would get it even if it looked like an Amstrad game, and the non fans that look at this and laugh don't matter because we have 9 mil people in Asia playing WoW'. Then we have five classes, if Obsidian had dared to release NWN2 with five classes.... I wouldn't want to think what those boards would of been like. Then no character customisation, that was fine when Diablo 2 was released but now? And Finally no Necromancer

 

If this was EA people would be saying they're milking the series.

 

It seems strange that you're talking about a game you seemingly no nothing about. Each to his own.