Mike Huang: When I left Blizzard in '03, Blizzard North had done quite a bit of pre-production work on Diablo III, as well as some protoyping on the 3d-game engine. Today at the Blizzard Invitational in Paris, they announced the release of Diablo III. Since much of the work we had done on Diablo III was concept and prototype work, seeing the development they've done over the last 5 years was very interesting; while some of the concepts we were developing definitely looks like it made it through to the version of the game they displayed, some of the design choices they appear to have made seem counter to the decisions the original Diablo team members would have made had they remained on development of the title -- the most apparent change that I can point to is the appearance of "floating numbers" as seen in the gameplay video -- this was a feature that Blizzard Irvine continually "suggested" during development on Diablo II, which Blizzard North refused to implement -- with development now located within Irvine, the decision to add floating numbers to the game isn't one which surprises me.
One of the design choices which again shows Blizzard Irvine's hand in the changes made is the re-appearance of the Barbarian character class -- the original design documents for Diablo III included a set of all new character classes, with no reappearance of old character classes (our reasons for this was simple -- since we were enhancing and improving the skill system, we didn't want to try and adapt old skills into a new system -- we'd rather create all new skills for the new character classes. The return of the Barbarian class feels like a change that was made after development of the title was moved to Irvine 3 years ago. -- this is an excerpt only. Read the full article at
Mike Huang's blog
I don't think it would be easier to replace all the characters i think it would be harder to create all new ones. and easy to stick with characters that you already have a back story moves and look.
I take it as this Blizzard took D3 and dumb it down from what i can see, i know for sure North would have the gore stay on the floor for eye candy and not have it vanish like it does now like in lame old titan quest, im hoping this game isnt even near beta stage yet cause in my eyes its got a fair while to go few things need to be added in like 2 or more classes to play to bump it up from 5-7 or 8, add gore get rid of floating numbers ect ect etc..... I hope blizzard doesnt fck this awesome title up.
i own HGL aswell i thought it was a decent game i stoped playing it due to work issues and already payng to play wow, by saying its the best thing that they left is pfffft, they made D2 my friend and that game is just as popular as it was when it came out today.
i second this mate fricking wowheads thats all im cn in D3 atm, gore dumb down floating numbers scarce character selections.
i second this mate fricking wowheads thats all im cn in D3 atm, gore dumb down floating numbers scarce character selections.
Its not that we want D2 with a graphic update (although come on, how cool of a side project would THAT be) But we deffinatly do NOT want to play DiabloCraft. But your right, spending years and a shit load of scratch for an updated re release would be pointless, but I think you (along with alot of others) are missing the point. NOONE here is disputeing that what is going to be released is going to be a great game, what we are saying in so many words is we dont think it deserves the diablo name - Simply calling somehting diablo does not MAKE it diablo - I mean, if they called Civilization 3 StarCraft2, we would be at war with korea right now.
So, if Blizzard wants to continue the game as is, they need to call it what it is - a single player version of WoW
If they want to release Diablo3, they need to kick their art department in the nuts.
One morning, Blizzard from Irvine went to Blizzard North - and fired them all. Blizzard North did not leave them - though Blizzard said if they wanted, some could apply for a job at the main Blizzard HQ, but not all, because frankly, some were not up to par I'm guessing.
Character classes didn't sway me between Diablo I and Diablo II. I did miss the ability that the rogue in D1 had for magical skills that allowed her to cast healing spells on herself with potions as a backup. I did, however, find characters that I enjoyed immensely in the D2 character lineup even though none of the original three were there. I would have preferred that the Blizzard North team had finished D3. They managed to balance the similarities and differences between D1 and D2 quite well, and I'm certain they would have done the same with D3.
I do not, by any means, wish for another D2; but, IMHO, do not wish to see the differences heavily outweigh the similarities. By the Dragon, I do not wish to see the Balance tipped too far in either direction.
Even just when you would kill a monster and get gold from it, I hated how a +22 would float in the air. Just deposit the gold in the inventory without the floating numbers.
so yea, then 2 devs left and in comes FAILgate: London
No one cares if WoW burned you, you are just like the 1.6 kids complaining about source
evolve or become the Do Do, it isn't mine or any other persons responsibility to wipe your ass because you are too busy spewing hot pocket at the computer screen to get up and walk to your parents bathroom
In a dungeon, everything 15 yards away was dark and out of line of sight. However the outdoors didn't have this in Diablo II, so I don't mind seeing colorful outdoors in Diablo 3. Outdoor scenarios in Diablo 3 look neat in my opinion.
I am not sure if Diablo 3 should keep the light radius in dungeons however. You saw that big bunch of mobs coming at the Barbarian. I would rather see this bunch running at me from afar, allowing me to prepare to decide what to cast beforehand, than getting the @#$ scared out of me seeing them get to me within the 10-yards light radius.
I played yesterday my Barbarian again and reached the Chaos Sanctuary, and killed Diablo. I noticed the trouble I would get into with this light radius at times. I would attempt to escape a bunch of mobs by moving away just to find another group of mobs. I got surrounded and killed many times. If I could see beyond that light radius, I could prevent aggroing more mobs than I can handle.
By the way, I love the smell of toasted Diablo in the morning. And with a Barbarian.
I have to agree with you on this point. Since the light radius not only allows you to see, but also to be seen, it can be as much of a detriment as it is a benefit. I've dealt with this problem many times myself. Early on, I found myself backing off the light radius because of its potential dangers.
IMHO - If they are going to illuminate the dungeons, I would prefer that they used the pale illumination described in the Kingdom of Shadow. To light the dungeons too brightly would remove too much of the demonic posture that I find so exhilarating in the Diablo series. I like the claustrophobic, tension-ridden suspense of the dungeons, and having the wits scared out of me once in a while adds much to the exhilaration of the game. But I also do not relish being overwhelmed by a horde of demonspawn in the dark, or backing up and alerting a different horde with an overextended light radius.
My original character in the Diablo game series was the Rogue. I often found myself taking two steps forward, watching and listening carefully, then taking another two steps - a slight measure of reality. The tension grew with every step forward - not knowing for certain what lay ahead in the dungeon. After a while, I found myself referring to her as Two-step Tyrae. It doesn't seem much fun to me to just walk in and walk all over everythig in your path. I enjoy the battle.
I love your sigs picture so much!
Anyway.. hopefully Blizzard will see what the fans want and make a few changes
What'd ya think of Diablo and Diablo II? Dumbass.
You OPINIONs have been splattered all over every D3 forums like Coldworms poison. I'm tired of reading all the QQing. It's sad to think that all those signatures are of people that are mindless little kids under the age of 19 and have no real life experience and mommy and daddy holding there hand through life. Join the army kid and see what QQing does in real life. This is what happens when an immature kid doesn't get there way and just follows mindlessly after the person in front of them. When you hit about 22 you will realise what I'm saying.