DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

[cidbahamut]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

Ok, "single player mode that has traditionally been an offline venture because there's never been a valid reason to require an online connection for it" then.

[Taskmage]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

Well, they could've compromised, like they did in StarCraft II, so I'll conceded that point. However, going beyond that, I am confused as to what the issue really is. The game just released and they have some major hiccups caused by irrational, impatient and illogical players whining their ass off about the limits of technology.

I don't think this is a question of technological limits. This seems to me like it could have been completely averted if Blizzard had correctly anticipated the launch night load and had the servers and bandwidth ready to support that, as well as having properly stress tested their servers, which the open beta apparently did inadequately.

---------- Post added at 05:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------

Ok, "single player mode that has traditionally been an offline venture because there's never been a valid reason to require an online connection for it" then.

Yeah, that.

---------- Post added at 05:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:24 PM ----------

I'd like to add just as a rhetorical point that in a few years this whole fuss about requiring a constant internet connection will seem as silly as the fuss about the first video games that required 3D cards. The whole infrastructure isn't quite there yet for this to go over without some hangups and friction, but down the road it'll be trivial.

[Aeni]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

Ok, "single player mode that has traditionally been an offline venture because there's never been a valid reason to require an online connection for it" then.

You are right if you are talking about the state of gaming (in general) a few years back. But looking at what the gaming industry is slowly evolving into (RIAA/MPAA wannabes) and even you have to realize that in 10 years, this will be "business as usual". I don't like it either ... but that's how things are going to go.

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 PM ----------

I don't think this is a question of technological limits. This seems to me like it could have been completely averted if Blizzard had correctly anticipated the launch night load and had the servers and bandwidth ready to support that, as well as having properly stress tested their servers, which the open beta apparently did inadequately.

I don't mean for Blizzard ... their Asian servers are green and a lot of players have adjusted and are "temporarily" getting their Diablo fix over there. Remember, Blizzard has allowed for players to log into other regions ... although it's less than ideal due to the fact that you can't take your currently progressed character with you (but this is more to protect local economies) I'm guessing third party contracted services, either ISP or routing networks, are having trouble keeping the system maintained IN THIS COUNTRY.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

The other thing that bugs me about Blizzard in all this is thier aloof attitude about doing a console version, which they may or may not do and both are and are not hiring people for. They act like it would be hard to do yet how many entries in the genre do consoles have?

I think I've lost count, so what's so complicated about Diablo that hasn't stopped dozens of other developers from putting these games out there? The genre even works on handhelds and iOS, for crying out loud!

It's like Kevin Levine and motion control for FPS. There is nothing complicated about applying that scheme to the genre, it's just developers stuck on doing things the traditional way and not wanting to adapt.

[cidbahamut]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

You are right if you are talking about the state of gaming (in general) a few years back. But looking at what the gaming industry is slowly evolving into (RIAA/MPAA wannabes) and even you have to realize that in 10 years, this will be "business as usual". I don't like it either ... but that's how things are going to go.

Business as usual doesn't mean it is in any way acceptable. I don't agree with it and I feel strongly enough to withhold my money.

[djose]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

D3 is nearly DL'ed :D Now to picka name for my Character :/

EDIT: Tis named Focal

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

You are right if you are talking about the state of gaming (in general) a few years back. But looking at what the gaming industry is slowly evolving into (RIAA/MPAA wannabes) and even you have to realize that in 10 years, this will be "business as usual". I don't like it either ... but that's how things are going to go.

So you missed that part where iTunes, Redbox, Netflix and Hulu reshaped how music, TV and movies were consumed and the RIAA and MPAA were forced to get with the times?

They didn't win out for thier antiquated thinking. They lost big and got dragged into a new paradigm kicking and screaming.

This is by no means "the way it's going to be" when you have Steam, Appstore, F2P models, Minecraft, GOG and other models reshaping the industry and consumer expectations. These anti-consumer practices are going to come back to haunt big publishers. Activision, EA and Capcom only still succeed because of the gullibility of hardcore gamers and even that is fading, as Capcom and Bioware are no longer getting thier asses kissed and are starting to slip from thier pedestal of thier genres.

SFXT sold short of expectation, Bioware saw backlash greater than any studio I've seen get, DICE is about to get a bit of it. Blizzard is Blizzard in name only, the people that made it are long gone, so how much longer can they ride that name. I seriously doubt that many people will put up with that DRM in the long run, as it's the worst kind of DRM.

It only exists to justify the AH and there were tons of ways to get around needing one and mitigating the impact of RMT, I mean, I don't exactly see goldsellers making rounds in Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star or other games in the genre.

[Aeni]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

So you missed that part where iTunes, Redbox, Netflix and Hulu reshaped how music, TV and movies were consumed and the RIAA and MPAA were forced to get with the times?

You realize that all the services you've listed largely depend upon the RIAA/MPAA? Anyone with a conscious can tell you that majority of artists out there still rely on big labels. Even Justin Bieber was forced to ... you can only do so much with Youtube or iTunes before you realize that you're still not making the kind of money that you could potentially make because that is the nature of the business and culture.

This is why SOPA/PIPA was such a controversy. And why most of the large video game distribution and publishing companies, even Steam, remained silent on that issue during the whole uproar.

[Armando]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

You realize that all the services you've listed largely depend upon the RIAA/MPAA?

As much as it kills me to admit it, iTunes did make the big push for DRM-free music though. Now if only they could do the same for TV episodes.

It's only natural that most people still rely on big labels. You can't change the way the entire business works overnight. Louis CK's little experiment with selling DRM-free content and the success of the Humble Bundles still give me hope though.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

No artist, director, writer, actor or musician depends on the RIAA or MPAA. Those are creative people, they create things. Those lobbying bodies represent businessmen who don't create things, they just profit from talent and tell those people with talent they are the only path to true success.

Publishers are the same way, but for developers its becoming less true.knife quickly. If this were the only way for Diablo 3, then explain why Mojang, Runic Games and Daisuke Amaya have managed to get where they are today without an Activision or EA.

The old way isn't dead, but it's influence is weakening. Not everyone needs or wants to go mainstream and it certainly isn't needed to see big success. The way things are now is not the way it will stay for decades to come. Change for gaming will come more swiftly.

[Malacite]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

Aaaaand battle.net & the servers are down, again.

What the fuck Blizzard? So much for the Beta being a stress test.

[Taskmage]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

I am having a hell of a lot of fun with exploding charged bolts on my wizard. Run into a group of enemies, stop the damage with diamond skin or frost nova, and start a huge zappy chain reaction with bodies flying every which way. So satisfying. I hope this skill rune stays viable for a long time. When I got into act 2 I started running into the problem of starting my killing spree and then suddenly finding myself dead in under 3 seconds, which stressed me out at first, but now that the game has trained me into being very diligent with my defensive skills as well as offensive ones, I think it balances out quite nicely.

The skill and achievement interfaces are godawful though. I'm sure the skill interface is great for introducing stuff to new players one step at a time, but for example I would really like to be able to see what I've got to look forward to next level without tabbing to every single page and clicking on every single skill. Also, I have two skills from the same group assigned to 1 and 2, so I have another group that isn't represented on my skills menu at all, meaning I have no way of knowing if I got something new in that category other than to pretend to switch a skill slot to something over there periodically. Yes, I know it tells you what you get when you level, but I'm usually in the middle of a big fight when that happens and don't have time to kick back and watch the slow roll of notifications. With the achievements, I have several times gotten an achievement for I don't know what, then been unable to find it in the clunky, weirdly categorized menu to find out wtf I even did. I've also noticed, and this is probably just a bug, that in co-op games I can see the achievements my ally is getting but not my own, so we have to tell eachother about what the other person is getting.

and a minor monster spoiler from act 2

Did anybody else freak out the first time a rock worm swallowed them whole?

---------- Post added at 08:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 AM ----------

Oh, and I forgot to mention this earlier, but the flashback cinematic at the end of act 1? Freakin epic.

[Firewind]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

Blizzard were never famous for good interfaces really. I think even the most die hard purists changed something to do with the interface in WoW.

At least Mythic conceded that the players can come up with an interface that suits them best and made a fully moddable interface you can change on the fly with Warhammer Online and Star Wars: The Old Republic (yeah it was the same team).

[Taskmage]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

[Firewind]

Re: DIABLO III - J9's thread of infernal enthusiasm!

You know al the crap going wrong with Diablo 3 is exactly why I'm happy I decided to wait for a price drop.