The theory that we're trying to aggressively redefine "what's fun" has always saddened me. Our goal in designing Diablo III, and in supporting it post-launch, is to constantly iterate on its systems and content, incorporating new perspectives and feedback as we go. Each change we push is ultimately aimed at making Sanctuary more enjoyable for as many people as possible. Of course, "fun" is a pretty subjective term, so sometimes that means we'll make a change that's seen as unfavorable to a smaller group of players, but will (hopefully) be appreciated by larger portions of our player base.
We're always reevaluating our design decisions, though, and working to make improvements based off player feedback. Iteration is key.
BS BS BS TheXelnaga here from 5 years counting feedback from Diablo 3 classic forums and longer then that on Diablo 2 forums , who has participated in every Diablo podcast under the sun, ask Bashiok who is TheXelnaga, I have been giving valuable feedback for years, I was giving feedback when Bashiok was MicahW as the Tyrael Icon. You guys have not been listening, I have mounds and mounds of data backed up on the internet way back machine I have been posting for years based on player feedback.
I really dig your passion. One important thing to keep in mind, though, is even though we may not have acted on your feedback in particular, that doesn't mean we don't value it, or that we haven't made positive changes based on player input. Many of the improvements we've made since the game launched (as well as those currently planned for 1.0.8 and beyond) have been inspired, influenced, or guided by community discussion.
What is a Good Number for Coop Players
Continuing from Thursday, a bit more was added on the coop players limit.
Imagine you have 6 friends and they all wanna play in party with you, and you can only play with 5 of them
It doesn't stop there. Why not 9 instead of 8? Why not 10 instead of 9? There comes a point where designers need to make a call on that sort of thing, and it's usually not an easy one to make. You have to weigh what different players say they want along with what's best for the health of the game you've designed. Sometimes they mesh and it's awesome! Sometimes they don't, and it's frustrating, because you want what's best for your game to also make everyone happy. It's nearly impossible to please everyone all the time, though, so it's a matter of weighing the drawbacks of a system and choosing the approach that is the best overall with the least downsides.
Also, we're not saying 4 player co-op is more fun than having 5 players or 8 players. We're not saying it's less fun, either. We're saying that it's what we believe works best for Diablo III right now. That's due to a number of factors including screen noise, buff management and scaling, player contribution, and making sure certain group compositions didn't feel mandatory. We very carefully deliberated party size during development, and we continue to deliberate party size even now.
Fan Creation of the Week: David Lines Cosplay
This week's Fan Creation of the Week is David Lines' Cosplay. He's made a great Imperius costume and is also showing some of its creation process.
The Archangel Imperius is a steadfast and passionate member of the Angiris Council, and with his poise and towering presence, it takes a certain type of individual to be able to step into his immaculate armor and do justice to this iconic character.
This week’s community spotlight shines on cosplayer David Lines and his ornate cosplay of Imperius, the Archangel of Valor. This impressive costume was made by David and photographed by his brother Tom.
David was also nice enough to share an assortment of photos chronicling the creation of his intricate cosplay. You can find a few glimpses below, and there are more in his DeviantArt gallery.
Eager to see more of David’s cosplay photos? Check out the full album on his DeviantArt account!
Curse Weekly Roundup
In this week's Curse Roundup: Metal Gear Solid 5, Battlefield 4, BioShock Infinite, Terraria on PS Vita and more!
Forcing players to play in a way that's fun is what game design is all about. Every game does it, but Blizzard is open about their motivations which only serves to infuriate the people who don't agree with the decision.
I think 4 players is absolutely the right number. Any more than that and it becomes implausible for all of the players to fight in the same place at the same time, as we saw in D2. Then you have to balance the monsters on the assumption that people are going to split up, and then groups that cram themselves onto one screen can beat the system and farm too quickly, etc etc.
Forcing players to play in a way that's fun is what game design is all about. Every game does it, but Blizzard is open about their motivations which only serves to infuriate the people who don't agree with the decision.
I think 4 players is absolutely the right number. Any more than that and it becomes implausible for all of the players to fight in the same place at the same time, as we saw in D2. Then you have to balance the monsters on the assumption that people are going to split up, and then groups that cram themselves onto one screen can beat the system and farm too quickly, etc etc.
I agreed, that four players is a good choice for PVE in Diablo III. There are a lot of spell animations that is going on in the screen, and with more players it will be too crowded, imo. Like tehy said, they have to decided on a number. If someone has 5 friends and they want to play altogether but they can't. What if some one have 9 or 10 friends and they want to play together in the same game. Therefore, it has to end somewhere and I think their decision with 4 players is perfect.
They speak in certainties when they're announcing things shortly before a patch. They'd be stupid to promise specific features before they've been locked in. The alternative to this is just complete radio silence in between PTRs.
Oh, the same XelNaga who wanted Diablo 2.5, got it, and now is complaining about it? That moron? They shouldn't listen to his stupid face.
They're dead right on the 4 player set up. Even then, they need to tune down the screen garbage. They're dead wrong on lack of game names/custom games, though. It's literally impossible to do public Wimsyshire games on anything other than Inferno. Or wander around Desolate Sands trying to get every Ancient Device roll.
Yeah I do hope they add a games list sooner or later. The current matchmaking system is hilariously unsuited to endgame co-op. You have to choose a specific quest and a specific MP in advance and hope that other people did the same? 1.0.8 is supposed to be the multiplayer patch so hopefully they'll come up with something. If the games list can't be done they should at least add some multi-select options to choose the areas/MPs you want to matchmake into. Maybe some premade matchmaking pools like "Act 1 Farming", "Act 2 Farming", "PvP", etc.
Lylirra spoke again about Blizzard deciding what is fun for players.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
We're always reevaluating our design decisions, though, and working to make improvements based off player feedback. Iteration is key.
BS BS BS TheXelnaga here from 5 years counting feedback from Diablo 3 classic forums and longer then that on Diablo 2 forums , who has participated in every Diablo podcast under the sun, ask Bashiok who is TheXelnaga, I have been giving valuable feedback for years, I was giving feedback when Bashiok was MicahW as the Tyrael Icon. You guys have not been listening, I have mounds and mounds of data backed up on the internet way back machine I have been posting for years based on player feedback.
I really dig your passion. One important thing to keep in mind, though, is even though we may not have acted on your feedback in particular, that doesn't mean we don't value it, or that we haven't made positive changes based on player input. Many of the improvements we've made since the game launched (as well as those currently planned for 1.0.8 and beyond) have been inspired, influenced, or guided by community discussion.
What is a Good Number for Coop Players
Continuing from Thursday, a bit more was added on the coop players limit.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
It doesn't stop there. Why not 9 instead of 8? Why not 10 instead of 9? There comes a point where designers need to make a call on that sort of thing, and it's usually not an easy one to make. You have to weigh what different players say they want along with what's best for the health of the game you've designed. Sometimes they mesh and it's awesome! Sometimes they don't, and it's frustrating, because you want what's best for your game to also make everyone happy. It's nearly impossible to please everyone all the time, though, so it's a matter of weighing the drawbacks of a system and choosing the approach that is the best overall with the least downsides.
Also, we're not saying 4 player co-op is more fun than having 5 players or 8 players. We're not saying it's less fun, either. We're saying that it's what we believe works best for Diablo III right now. That's due to a number of factors including screen noise, buff management and scaling, player contribution, and making sure certain group compositions didn't feel mandatory. We very carefully deliberated party size during development, and we continue to deliberate party size even now.
Fan Creation of the Week: David Lines Cosplay
This week's Fan Creation of the Week is David Lines' Cosplay. He's made a great Imperius costume and is also showing some of its creation process.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
The Archangel Imperius is a steadfast and passionate member of the Angiris Council, and with his poise and towering presence, it takes a certain type of individual to be able to step into his immaculate armor and do justice to this iconic character.
This week’s community spotlight shines on cosplayer David Lines and his ornate cosplay of Imperius, the Archangel of Valor. This impressive costume was made by David and photographed by his brother Tom.
David was also nice enough to share an assortment of photos chronicling the creation of his intricate cosplay. You can find a few glimpses below, and there are more in his DeviantArt gallery.
Eager to see more of David’s cosplay photos? Check out the full album on his DeviantArt account!
Curse Weekly Roundup
In this week's Curse Roundup: Metal Gear Solid 5, Battlefield 4, BioShock Infinite, Terraria on PS Vita and more!
Ha. Bagstone.
I think 4 players is absolutely the right number. Any more than that and it becomes implausible for all of the players to fight in the same place at the same time, as we saw in D2. Then you have to balance the monsters on the assumption that people are going to split up, and then groups that cram themselves onto one screen can beat the system and farm too quickly, etc etc.
I agreed, that four players is a good choice for PVE in Diablo III. There are a lot of spell animations that is going on in the screen, and with more players it will be too crowded, imo. Like tehy said, they have to decided on a number. If someone has 5 friends and they want to play altogether but they can't. What if some one have 9 or 10 friends and they want to play together in the same game. Therefore, it has to end somewhere and I think their decision with 4 players is perfect.
"we have been considering"
"we are still deciding"
"we are unsure"
"were always reevaluating our designs"
They speak in certainties when they're announcing things shortly before a patch. They'd be stupid to promise specific features before they've been locked in. The alternative to this is just complete radio silence in between PTRs.
They're dead right on the 4 player set up. Even then, they need to tune down the screen garbage. They're dead wrong on lack of game names/custom games, though. It's literally impossible to do public Wimsyshire games on anything other than Inferno. Or wander around Desolate Sands trying to get every Ancient Device roll.
30 year olds who still act like they're 13.