official Diablo III

[rajputwarrior]

i wanted this game, until i heard you need to be online 24/7 to play it. also, as a sidenote, the graphics of the game look like they came straight out of 2006. torchlight 1 looks better then that...

[Nerd Rage]

Diablo 3 is my game to end all games. I cannot tell you how much I played D1 and D2, or how much I want this game. I watched Gamespot's hour long beta gameplay video this morning, and it has only made me crave Diablo 3 more. I'm so excited for this game.

I was originally miffed about the art direction changes when compared to Diablo 2 too, but then I read a developer blog or interview which explained their thought process, logic, and how they came to the art style that we see now. And, I must say that I agreed with everything they said. The skill system is all new, crafting is new, companions, vendors, even multiplayer has been changed for the better from what I've read. There is no other game I want more.

That being said, Blizzard needs to light some fires under their asses and release this game already...or give me beta access.

I totally agree. This game is going to own my life for a long time to come once it hits the shelves.

[Nagisan]

i wanted this game, until i heard you need to be online 24/7 to play it. also, as a sidenote, the graphics of the game look like they came straight out of 2006. torchlight 1 looks better then that...

To be fair, the game was in development since before 2006 even (granted it has changed art styles since then)......good thing graphics have nothing to do with how fun a game is.

[Draken]

ArsTechnica Beta Hands-on

[rajputwarrior]

ArsTechnica Beta Hands-on

Why didn't I play longer? That's a good question. You see, the game requires an always-on Internet connection, and the servers seemed to set themselves on fire a few hours after I downloaded the beta, and this dumped me from the game. You not only need to be online to play, you need to connected to Blizzard at all times. So if your connection goes down, or if their servers crash, you can't play. Not even single player. At least this means I can sleep tonight! I know this is a beta and these things are bound to happen, but it's still an ill omen.

that is why the launch of the game is doing to ****ty for people who pick up it at launch, cause i promise you no way blizzard is going to be able to keep up with all the traffic that is going to hit them.

[Draken]

that is why the launch of the game is doing to ****ty for people who pick up it at launch, cause i promise you no way blizzard is going to be able to keep up with all the traffic that is going to hit them.

And people pirating it will have a hassle free experience ... that's not the right way to combat piracy (N)

[Olemus]

that is why the launch of the game is doing to ****ty for people who pick up it at launch, cause i promise you no way blizzard is going to be able to keep up with all the traffic that is going to hit them.

They handled the release of Starcraft 2 perfectly fine, I don't see Diablo being any different. Blizzard have a bad rep from years ago that says there service is totally crappy and unreliable which is simply not true nowadays.

[Elliott]

that is why the launch of the game is doing to ****ty for people who pick up it at launch, cause i promise you no way blizzard is going to be able to keep up with all the traffic that is going to hit them.

Just like Olemus said, they handled SC2 just fine. They also handled Cataclysm's launch very well.

[rajputwarrior]

They handled the release of Starcraft 2 perfectly fine, I don't see Diablo being any different. Blizzard have a bad rep from years ago that says there service is totally crappy and unreliable which is simply not true nowadays.

i could be wrong. hopefully i am. i usually feel pretty bad for people who have been waiting forever to play something, and get stomped cause their developper crapped out on servers or Q&A (effin Dice and the BC2 launch... or brink... bastheda should rot for brink...)

i tend to love blizzard, but they've dropped down a couple of notches in my book for the online thing, and also making the sequel to my all time fave RTS an MMORPG and not another RTS.

[Nagisan]

that is why the launch of the game is doing to ****ty for people who pick up it at launch, cause i promise you no way blizzard is going to be able to keep up with all the traffic that is going to hit them.

I think Blizzard will handle it just well.....they do run the largest MMO to date still, they likely have a pretty good idea of the traffic to expect at launch of D3.

And people pirating it will have a hassle free experience ... that's not the right way to combat piracy (N)

And people pirating it will be unable to play the game period.

How exactly is that a hassle-free experience?

[rajputwarrior]

I think Blizzard will handle it just well.....they do run the largest MMO to date still, they likely have a pretty good idea of the traffic to expect at launch of D3.

And people pirating it will be unable to play the game period.

How exactly is that a hassle-free experience?

how do you figure that?

[sanctified Veteran]

And people pirating it will be unable to play the game period.

How exactly is that a hassle-free experience?

I know! Because there's no way to emulate a server's signal response... oh wait.

[rajputwarrior]

I know! Because there's no way to emulate a server's signal response... oh wait.

ubisoft games are a clear example that it can be easily done.

[Nagisan]

how do you figure that?

I know! Because there's no way to emulate a server's signal response... oh wait.

ubisoft games are a clear example that it can be easily done.

Because from what I understand there is no single-player in D3, unlike Ubisoft's games and SC2. I may be misinterpreting what I have read, but you have to physically log into battle.net and play on your battle.net character to play the game at all. Basically, from what I have read (and I have double-checked this), Diablo 3 is multiplayer only, no singleplayer exists period. Therefor you cannot simply emulate the servers response signal, you would have to emulate the server in full to be able to play, which physically yes, it can be done, but it will take quite awhile, and any major updates will break it.....just like WoW private servers.

The only form of single-player that D3 will have, is the capability to play without other players while logged into your battle.net account, so until you emulate battle.net, good luck playing "singleplayer" after downloading the game.

[rajputwarrior]

Because from what I understand there is no single-player in D3, unlike Ubisoft's games and SC2. I may be misinterpreting what I have read, but you have to physically log into battle.net and play on your battle.net character to play the game at all. Basically, from what I have read (and I have double-checked this), Diablo 3 is multiplayer only, no singleplayer exists period. Therefor you cannot simply emulate the servers response signal, you would have to emulate the server in full to be able to play, which physically yes, it can be done, but it will take quite awhile, and any major updates will break it.....just like WoW private servers.

yes it does! period.

Why didn't I play longer? That's a good question. You see, the game requires an always-on Internet connection, and the servers seemed to set themselves on fire a few hours after I downloaded the beta, and this dumped me from the game. You not only need to be online to play, you need to connected to Blizzard at all times. So if your connection goes down, or if their servers crash, you can't play. Not even single player. At least this means I can sleep tonight! I know this is a beta and these things are bound to happen, but it's still an ill omen.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/hands-on-with-the-diablo-3-beta-keep-that-internet-on.ars

[Shadrack]

Where there is a will there is a way. Hell, WoW is an MMO and people still setup rogue realms so that people who don't want to pay can still play.

The game will have a single player experience but my understanding is that your character will be stored on battle.net servers much like it was in D2 if you wanted to do any of the ladders.

My internet is always on so this isn't a problem for me. If my internet is interrupted for whatever reason and I can't play I might actually go outside for a moment. God knows I'll need some actual sunshine because after Diablo 3 is released I'll likely become a cave troll.

[spedanden]

I know! Because there's no way to emulate a server's signal response... oh wait.

From what I read somewhere, being connected all the time isn't merely to "ping" the Blizzard servers. Your characters are saved server side like in WoW and the loot is not shared with your party, it is parsed by the server for your "instance" of the game, regardless if youre in a party or not.

That said, eventually someone will setup a server to emulate the Blizzard server-client setup a-la WoW cracked servers.

[Nagisan]

yes it does! period.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/09/hands-on-with-the-diablo-3-beta-keep-that-internet-on.ars

No it doesn't. When I say single-player, I mean no dedicated single-player mode. The "single-player" in Diablo 3 is a private game you create on battle.net, it is not a mode you select where the characters are stored on your computer like Diablo 2 has. Therefore no, it doesn't have a single-player. It has solo-play and multi-player. How exactly do you play with a cracked client when you don't even have access to any character data?

From what I read somewhere, being connected all the time isn't merely to "ping" the Blizzard servers. Your characters are saved server side like in WoW and the loot is not shared with your party, it is parsed by the server for your "instance" of the game, regardless if youre in a party or not.

That said, eventually someone will setup a server to emulate the Blizzard server-client setup a-la WoW cracked servers.

Exactly my point, Diablo 3 won't be a game that lets you play offline with a crack that responds to attempted pings to battle.net servers, in Diablo 3, the "single-player" is all server-side, you do not have your character files on your computer, your game client doesn't even have the code to create and run a solo game, the game itself is create on battle.net servers and your client connects to it and gives you feedback as to what your character is doing in your Blizzard-hosted solo game.

And yes, it may be cracked eventually, but not as easily, quickly, or reliably as Assassins Creed 2/Brotherhood/etc.

[rajputwarrior]

No it doesn't. When I say single-player, I mean no dedicated single-player mode. The "single-player" in Diablo 3 is a private game you create on battle.net, it is not a mode you select where the characters are stored on your computer like Diablo 2 has. Therefore no, it doesn't have a single-player. It has solo-play and multi-player. How exactly do you play with a cracked client when you don't even have access to any character data?

Exactly my point, Diablo 3 won't be a game that lets you play offline with a crack that responds to attempted pings to battle.net servers, in Diablo 3, the "single-player" is all server-side, you do not have your character files on your computer, your game client doesn't even have the code to create and run a solo game, the game itself is create on battle.net servers and your client connects to it and gives you feedback as to what your character is doing in your Blizzard-hosted solo game.

And yes, it may be cracked eventually, but not as easily, quickly, or reliably as Assassins Creed 2/Brotherhood/etc.

you're hilarious if you actually think that's true...

[Nagisan]

you're hilarious if you actually think that's true...

Then I'm a comedian. Quit talking the talk and get some proof I am wrong rather than just trying to come up with short little comments to attempt to disprove what I've said.

[Elliott]

you're hilarious if you actually think that's true...

You'd have to emulate a lot if you wanted to play without giving Blizzard your money. It's probably possible, but it won't be a quick crack.

[lalalawawawa]

It's right in the damn Wikis, and even on some of the official websites it is noted of the previous games they have worked on... It's all common knowledge.

Okay, I appologize.. apparently, they were two employees, not one.

Still the same crap, though.

[Andre S. Veteran]

I think what I liked most about Diablo 2 was the artwork. Matt Uelmen wrote the best music he ever wrote for that game, and it's a soundtrack I've been listening in and out of the game for years. It was introspective, experimental, unique and incredibly effective at creating distinct atmospheres, especially very creepy ones.

Matt Uelmen is not working for Blizzard anymore. The little I've heard of D3's music was much more orchestral, movie-like and ...generic.

On the graphical side of things, it looks a bit too colorful and cartoony, as many have said over the past years. It's actually not that bad, but I haven't seen anything remotely as sinister and gory as, say, the Monastery in D2.

Gameplay should be a lot improved though. It's going to be a great game, but definitely not the same atmosphere.

[KiHu]

You'd have to emulate a lot if you wanted to play without giving Blizzard your money. It's probably possible, but it won't be a quick crack.

We have nice WoW Servers emulators. (Antrix/Ascent/summit etc, Mangos)

I don't know if Burlex (<3) is still around, last thing I heard was that he was working on a AION emulator, but maybe he will get started on a D3 BN emu.

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

I think what I liked most about Diablo 2 was the artwork. Matt Uelmen wrote the best music he ever wrote for that game, and it's a soundtrack I've been listening in and out of the game for years. It was introspective, experimental, unique and incredibly effective at creating distinct atmospheres, especially very creepy ones.

Matt Uelmen is not working for Blizzard anymore. The little I've heard of D3's music was much more orchestral, movie-like and ...generic.

Damn.. I was so hoping he'd be involved as his score for Diablo 2 is probably the best of any video game I've ever played. The music is so memorable and it never gets boring or tiresome.. I enjoyed listening to it every time I played.

Ho hum. I've opted in for the Diablo III beta on Battle.NET - I'd guess I have zero chance of being selected but I guess we'll see what happens!