13 replies to this topic

[Molster]

Demon Hunter - Inferno Diablo Budget Guide
RGDiablo3 has posted a guide to defeating Inferno Diablo with 660k worth of gear from the AH. What is good about the guide is it lists what stats (and their range) to look for on cheaply priced gear. Make sure to check out his thread for more information and to leave any feedback.
 

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WoW: Mists of Pandaria Release Date and Diablo 3 Perks
Blizzard announced MoP's official release date as September 25. By buying the collectors edition, or the new deluxe digital version you will get a exclusive banner for Diablo III. We showed this banner a while ago and you can see it below along with the full announcement.
 

Originally Posted by Blizzard

Heroes of Azeroth, prepare to embark for an exotic new frontier! World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™ is launching on September 25, 2012 and you can be ready to play when the servers go live by pre-purchasing the game digitally. Plus, for the first time ever, players will have the option to upgrade a pre-purchase to the all-new Digital Deluxe Edition which comes with all of the in-game items from the retail Collector’s Edition, including a World of Warcraft pet and mount, banner sigil and accent for Diablo® III, and Battle.net® portraits for StarCraft® II.

Beginning September 25, 2012, World of Warcraft players around the world will be able to set sail for the long-lost continent of Pandaria, where they’ll explore forgotten dungeons, vanquish risen evils, and play their part in the Horde-Alliance conflict as it reaches a critical breaking point.

Whether you plan to level your existing character to 90 or start fresh with a new pandaren monk, it’s never too early to begin preparing for your adventure. Simply log in to your Battle.net® account, and then pre-purchase Mists of Pandaria. You’ll then be flagged to automatically download the expansion content prior to release so you’ll be ready to go when the game launches.

During the pre-purchase process, you’ll have the option to grab either the Mists of Pandaria Standard Edition for $39.99 USD or the all-new Digital Deluxe edition for $59.99 USD -- or, if you snag the standard edition now and decide you want to upgrade to Digital Deluxe later, you’ll have the opportunity to do so for an additional $20.

The Digital Deluxe edition includes a full digital copy of the expansion, as well as a selection of Pandaria-inspired in-game content for World of Warcraft, Diablo III, and StarCraft II. If you’re looking for even more plunder, a special Mists of Pandaria Collector’s Edition with additional bonus items will also be available exclusively at select retail locations for a suggested retail price of $79.99 USD.
 

Learn more about the Digital Deluxe Edition
Learn more about the Collector’s Edition

For more details on the September 25, 2012 release of World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, be sure to hit the official press release, or head to our new Mists of Pandaria game page to learn more about the expansion and prepurchase your digital copy.

*When you pre-purchase World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, you will be able to download an encrypted version of the game once it’s available, prior to the game’s release. This content will be unlocked and available for play when the expansion launches on September 25, 2012.

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John August on Diablo III's Story
The story of Diablo III has brought much debate around the forums with some loving it and others disliking it. Kotaku has posted an article quoting what John August (Screenwriter for Charlie's Angels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many more) had to say about Diablo III's story. What are your thoughts on the story?

 

[You can find the quote below or check out the full article on Kotaku.]

Quote

"At several points in the game, major NPCs betray you and/or die. And you shrug," August writes. "It doesn't have to be that way. Remember Raynor and Kerrigan from StarCraft? I became invested in those characters, not because of their cut scenes, but because I got to play as them. I kept them alive through zerg rushes, and watched as they made sacrifices that transformed them. So even when I wasn't playing those characters, I knew them."

August says it's not necessarily about being able to make decisions—he just wants the illusion of choice.

"Note that I'm not actually demanding choice or free will as a player. Look, I've played Diablo. I'll go kill the next thing. But I'd love to feel like my character was making the choice, rather than being a lackey."

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Diablo III - The High Heavens in Starcraft 2
TheHolyArk over on sc2mapster has remade part of the High Heavens in Starcraft 2. Though not all the assets can load perfectly in sc2, it still looks rather great.
 

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Diablo II in Starcraft 2
On a even greater scale than the first video, Egod123 is working on remaking Diablo II in starcraft 2. He has some very interesting progress going on right now, and you can watch him make the map and play it live.

Originally Posted by Blizzard

Watch this dude working on recreating D2 in the #SC2 Editor ... LIVE! It's edge-of-your-seat scripting ... LIVE! http://fr-ca.twitch.tv/egod123/ #Live! (Source)

[MCMXCIX]

I think the tiny tidbits of story and lore in those books and journal entries often were more entertaining than the main story itself. The storyline was just too cliched, and almost everything was "Oh yeah, I knew that was going to happen." Like Tyrael being the Stranger, Deckard Cain dying, everyone (Leah's mother, the kid emperor, Kulle, etc.) betraying you. "Oh hey, this person we just found out about joined us. There's no way her shady past could affect us!" "Oh hey, this little kid has magical powers. He must be a good guy." "Oh hey, this guy was a bad guy, and we resurrected him, and he ended up still being bad. Who expected that to happen?"

[Viiza]

Amazing job, pretty dam close to the High Heavens

[Saery]

MCMXCIX, on 26 July 2012 - 05:11 AM, said:

I think the tiny tidbits of story and lore in those books and journal entries often were more entertaining than the main story itself. The storyline was just too cliched, and almost everything was "Oh yeah, I knew that was going to happen." Like Tyrael being the Stranger, Deckard Cain dying, everyone (Leah's mother, the kid emperor, Kulle, etc.) betraying you. "Oh hey, this person we just found out about joined us. There's no way her shady past could affect us!" "Oh hey, this little kid has magical powers. He must be a good guy." "Oh hey, this guy was a bad guy, and we resurrected him, and he ended up still being bad. Who expected that to happen?"

Well said .. the sad part for me is, I have to remind parts of the story each time I play..

[RandomHero13]

Yeah, Charlies Angels has a better story than Diablo 3, so please take tips from him an his many story driven movies.

But he is not completely wrong, those plot "twists" seem to come up in most movies/games nowadays and quite all of them areforeseeable.

[Illich_]

um, who gives a shit what some hollywood hack thinks? lol honestly why is this front page news, he is just some random guy spouting his opinion... i expect as much from kotaku but i doubt anybody on diablofans cares what he has to say..

[KiriONE]

August isn't really a slouch and hardly a "random guy."  He's a member of AMPAS, an invitation only film professional organization, which is the governing body of the Academy Awards.  If he's commenting about a story, it's not exactly baseless.

Edit: he was also the Executive Producer on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

As technology and engines of games develop more, there's going to be more of an onus on storytelling.  I believe in the AMA or Bashiok had addressed the story at one point saying they were looking for a pulp story and they got it.  But as August has pointed out, it looked more lazy than anything else.

Edited by KiriONE, 26 July 2012 - 03:06 PM.

[Azidonis]

I agree. The story is terrible. It made me sad.

[duckwilliamson]

MCMXCIX, on 26 July 2012 - 05:11 AM, said:

I think the tiny tidbits of story and lore in those books and journal entries often were more entertaining than the main story itself. The storyline was just too cliched, and almost everything was "Oh yeah, I knew that was going to happen." Like Tyrael being the Stranger, Deckard Cain dying, everyone (Leah's mother, the kid emperor, Kulle, etc.) betraying you. "Oh hey, this person we just found out about joined us. There's no way her shady past could affect us!" "Oh hey, this little kid has magical powers. He must be a good guy." "Oh hey, this guy was a bad guy, and we resurrected him, and he ended up still being bad. Who expected that to happen?"

Pretty much this.

They could've done so many neat "story" things instead of just being lazy and introducing a character, then killing it, repeatedly.

[Xenocow]

Anybody actually going to buy MoP?
Ive canceled my Sub end of 2011, and not planning to resub anytime soon.

[suicideking89]

What does it say about D3 on a larger level, that people feel it necessary to post videos on how to beat the game without spending tons of gold? Is that the real challenge, to do it in crappy gear? Or is the real challenge in teaching people how to play the game without the AH? Is it really just another simple 600k or less video, or maybe it's a statement about how the AH is destroying D3.

[Syscrack]

Some of us actually LIKE the auction house.  I do see the disconnect however.  If you struggle with economics, you certainly wont enjoy the AH and the "fun" it brings to the table.

[Korthas]

RandomHero13, on 26 July 2012 - 08:45 AM, said:

Yeah, Charlies Angels has a better story than Diablo 3, so please take tips from him an his many story driven movies.

But he is not completely wrong, those plot "twists" seem to come up in most movies/games nowadays and quite all of them areforeseeable.

Yeah, he makes a valid point, but he is not exactly the best person to be making this point.

[Korthas]

Syscrack, on 26 July 2012 - 08:59 PM, said:

Some of us actually LIKE the auction house.  I do see the disconnect however.  If you struggle with economics, you certainly wont enjoy the AH and the "fun" it brings to the table.

I'm glad you put "fun" in quotes because using the term "fun" in regards to the AH is laughable at best.  I paid to play an action/adventure RPG, not an economics simulation.

Edited by Korthas, 30 July 2012 - 02:59 PM.