DIABLO 3

[James]

I've only done single-player so far, it has been very enjoyable.

[James]

Open beta:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4963739 ... _2012#blog

Let's party (up)!

[Psychotic]

The open beta annoy's me that it's this weekend, only because my data allowance is about to run out and won't get reset for like two weeks. >.>

[James]

WE'LL PLAY IT FOR YOU

[Psychotic]

I'm sure you will.

Oh well, I'ma play Skyrim all weekend and make my "Choose My Adventure" blog posts. >.>

[James]

ERROR 37 OPEN BETA HAS BEEN CLOSED

Also guys I was wrong, the betas show the actual progress of the retail. Welp.

Bashiok on customisability:

http://www.d3sanc.com/blue-tracker/3190 ... ity-story/

[Psychotic]

I'll be honest and say I agree that Diablo 3 has evolved past the original design concepts of Diablo II. I haven't played the game however, so this is just a feeling brought on by watching gameplay videos and looking at how mechanics have changed.

The game changing isn't inherently a bad thing, however. It can a very good thing but nobody actually knows if it is past level 13 and anyone saying they don't need to get past level 13 is extremely naive. Just because you see mechanics, graphics and general gameplay changes doesn't mean that the game is going to be bad or boring. Just because the game is not exactly like Diablo 2 does not mean it's going to a bad game.

Frankly, if you want a game like Diablo 2 then play Diablo 2. Honestly though, arguing the point with people who make these complaints is futile. They're avid Diablo 2 fanboys, always will be and nothing you say will ever change that. They're content to live with in their self-created delusions and I'm content to rant about their ignorance.

[Kaiden]

Played the first 20 mins or so, sorcerer, was fun. Ice beam is pretty satisfying.

[UT]

I wanted to play it a bit in PVP. PVP isn't in the release yet. Bye D3 xD.

Well, I played it few weeks ago and it was cool in MP but boring as hell in SP.

[ynnaD]

Not enough mad skillz going around?

[UT]

Mad skillz xD, lol Danny. Since, there isn't PvP mode, I won't pay attention about skill, so all is okies xD.

But i've heard, it will be added later, hope so^^

[Kaiden]

Yeah they've only been developing it for several years it's not like it should have PvP in the game. Oh well, Blizzards RPGs are always PvE-biased anyway (see WoW), so it's no real surprise they've sidetracked PvP for now.

[James]

Correct, Arena PVP will be added in at a later date. Originally meant to be a fun addition but it seems with new philosophy they want it to be a viable competitive MP. I just wanna play the core game without delay.

(Chloe do you have SSF4AE for PC? We should play sometime. x)

edit:

http://www.d3sanc.com/blue-tracker/3200-pvp-in-d3/

[James]

Alrighty, caught up on the online short stories.

I highly recommend the Monk's short story Unyielding, it is the most original of the current 4 of the total 5 released to the public. Unyielding was a good enough read that I was very invested into the plot and mindset of the protagonist. It is very culture heavy and I was disappointed that it wasn't longer because I was enjoying it so much.

Hatred and Discipline is a story that is almost certainly following one of the characters from the videogame itself. This tale is nothing original compared to witch/vampire hunting literature, but regardless is a fun read with an interesting narrative which is worth your time. [spoiler]Despite ending with some weak cliché mind battles.[/spoiler]

The Wayfarer story follows two perspectives, one being from a barbarian belonging to a tribe that defended Arreat. I found myself enjoying this tale because of the decently detailed action and it personally read to me like Fist of the North Star meets Oregon trail.

I believe the weakest to be the Witch Doctor tale; Doubtwalker. I found that it was barely any different to Hatred and Discipline. I was indifferent and could easily see this in another setting that wasn't Diablo - this isn't necessary a bad thing but I simply had zero interest.

[Baleout]

The Wayfarer story follows two perspectives, one being from a barbarian belonging to a tribe that defended Arreat.

What other perspective is there? The woodcutter? Hardly. The barbarian is inarguably the main character.


All the stories are very successful in their purpose - to give new information about the cultures of each class, and some small extra detail about the canon player characters. The narratives were all equally engaging.

I can see events and characters in the stories being part of the game's journey.

[James]

What other perspective is there? The woodcutter? Hardly. The barbarian is inarguably the main character.

Sort of a brain fart, I was going to mention mainly. The woodcutter's third party perspective of the combat was great.

Also, I'm only believing Valla to be (possibly) the canon Demon Hunter female. There's no evidence in the other stories, and unless they've changed it since 2008 Wayfarer's Barbarian isn't the D2/D3 Barbarian.

[Baleout]

What are you talking about. The identity of the player character is STATED in the stories.

Valla is the player character.

"I've heard whisperings..." she said. "Premonitions from those gifted with precognitive ability... that a star will fall in Tristram seven days from now."

Josen's eyes took Valla's measure. "You heard true. The falling star is believed to be a sign of the Prophecy. The others have asked that I send our best hunter to investigate."
[...]
"Where do you think you're going?" Josen asked flatly.

"Tristram. The others asked you to send the best. I am the best. I'm going, and you have less than a few heartbeats to try and stop me."

The heretic from witch doctor story is the player character.

The one you call heretic knew this. That is why he defied law.

Images swirled and flashed before Benu like smoke and lightning. He glimpsed the so-called heretic wandering through strange lands the young witch doctor did not know. A falling star blazed in the night sky, and Benu followed it to where it crashed on the earth—a small town beset by evil.

"If he knew, then why did he leave? Why did he not teach his kin?"

All umbaru walk their own paths. No two are the same. He will teach in his own way, and you will teach in another.

The player character is mentioned in the monk story.

There were dozens of different names and explanations for the comet, but what all of them shared in common were tidings of ill times ahead. Nowhere was the shadow as pervasive as it was in the leagues of dense mountain woodlands that surrounded him. Discovering what the phenomenon truly meant was not Zhota's responsibility. Another member of his order, a peerless monk whom he had always held in high regard, had been sent out to learn more concerning the heavenly fire.

Kehr is obviously not the player barbarian, since he decided his new duty is to protect the iron road. The player barbarian's chosen duty is to find the star and fight the evil or whatever.

[James]

Fair play, but I've gotta quote this.

Valla is the player character.

I'm reluctantly going to settle on stuff like names for the characters. Diablo series (and in turn Blizzard) has a habbit for retcons. I'd rather just refer to her as Demon Hunter.

[Psychotic]

Yeah they've only been developing it for several years it's not like it should have PvP in the game. Oh well, Blizzards RPGs are always PvE-biased anyway (see WoW), so it's no real surprise they've sidetracked PvP for now.

I don't mind PvP sometimes but I'd rather developers decide where they want their game to do: PvP, or PvE, as opposed to both.

MMOs are sufficient proof that trying to incorporate both into your game leads to massive balance issues. For singleplayer games this is fine, but for multiplayer games this becomes a painful process for those who have to balance both gametypes.

[James]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjYRVbjq1eg[/youtube]

[spoiler]TV spot, contains spoilers through clips like most trailers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-ZA7NLSRhg[/spoiler]

[Kaiden]

I stopped watching those after "Shut up PvP guy".

[James]

[James]

"We will be unlocking the game's installer at 8:01 a.m. PDT on May 14. This will allow you to begin installing the game, troubleshoot any issues you run into, download and install the launch day 1.0.1 patch, and be ready to play as soon as the servers come online."

Avoid the internet if you care.

Also, 6 days 15 hours 54 minutes.

[James]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEAPxgMCEA8[/youtube]

5 days 17 hours 5 minutes.

[James]

2 days 10 hours 58 minutes.

http://desmond.yfrog.com/Himg740/scaled ... &ysize=640

[Siva]

I put the disc in like 12 fucking times shit won't install

gg blizzard

[Psychotic]

Mine's on backorder. Sucks. :<

[Kaiden]

Hearing server issues too due to overload, gonna try and play it today maybe.

[James]

I've played it through normal and it rules except for this part.

http://www.imagocentre.com/images/99/SI ... ME_120.jpg

[Psychotic]

Hearing server issues too due to overload, gonna try and play it today maybe.

This is the reason people are bitching about D3 on Metacritic.

"Always on" DRM for a single-player game was one of the most retarded decisions (amongst others) that Blizzard's ever made. And it was a decision. I refuse to believe Morhaim's bullshit that they "didn't think about it".