i've been reading posts by Bashiok over a couple years. He makes some valid points about what needs to be changed or removed. Some things if removed would make Diablo 3 less Diablo and more... some other game. I'm not saying the changes are good or bad, but if D3 doesn't feel like Diablo (as in part of the Diablo series), then it's not successful in that regard. I'll likely still play D3 when it's released but i just wanted to see if other people feel as i do.
Also note that i'm not 100% certain on certain things and those are marked with a question mark. And some of these things are still undecided, by Bashiok. I'm starting to question if he is the only team member that makes all the decisions himself, and rejects all other team member's ideas.
And yes, i realize that the D3 team isn't the original team, it's a "new" team and that they are "split up" working on WoW and other stuff.
Anyway, below is a list of features that have been declared by Bashiok to be altered, removed, nerfed, or replaced.
features removed, nerfed or not included:
trading
attribute modifying
equip most items on any class
potions
weapon switching
quests given by NPCs
chat channels
traps
full 8 player parties
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons
shapeshifter class
modding support
skill tree (changed?)
gambling (?)
online content in single player (?)
pvp (?)
gold/currency (?)
Well, I simply don't agree at all that what you name has -anything- to do with the game being "Diablo" or having the Diablo feeling.
trading - still in, just less focused and you have alternatives. Trading was, imo, painful, and it has nothing to do with being Diablo like.
attribute modifying - Always hated that part of D2 for a lot for reasons. It has no real useful purpose.
equip most items on any class - So there are some items here and there that you may not be able to use. While I don't like it, doesn't mean much.
potions - Today still an horrible mechanic that was never part of my enjoyment of Diablo...
weapon switching - Again, not important for the "Diablo feel" but I hate the change.
quests given by NPCs - ...what? if that changed, I'm not aware of it.
chat channels - Again, what? Are they gone? I never saw any confirmation of that. I know they are for SC2 for -now-, if they are for D3 then thats the first point I really agree with, since its a big, gigantic knife in the back of the entire community.
traps - No comment.
full 8 player parties - Partly agree. Thats a small thing to adapt with good and bad sides.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - The necro will be missed, I agree.
shapeshifter class - I personally hate shapeshifters
modding support - D2 had no mod support, I don't see how thats relevant here
skill tree (changed?) - For the better
For my sake, I insist to say that all of this is "in my opinion".
Huck- notice i never mentioned D2. i personally like many of the things D1 had, but those were removed in D2
SFJake-
potions are almost necessary especially against bosses and any future superuniques. life and mana orbs force you to keep attacking a boss even if you are at 10% health. you no longer have the option to run away a little and recuperate with a potion.
the attribute modifying is really needed for hybrid builds or just the flexibility of builds.
i liked the concept of trading with other players. it sort of forced me to be more sociable with others and i made a lot of friends that way. if trading and chat channels are removed, we are essentially removing the ability to make friends easier. no trading and chat becomes "hey wanna do diablo runs" instead of offering the flexibility of talking about trading and generally chatting in the channels.
Here is what I think:
trading - Wait what? It's still there and in better shape then ever, BoE helps the trade system and there will be an Auction house which will make trading easier then ever. Not to mention we will have gold as a real currency, not some noob currency making lots of people use a 3rd party site for 'gold'.
Trading is better in D3.(P.S. Forced socializing for trades is not fun, especially when you have to be on at the same time and meet them in person, then bargain, and alot of times people just left without saying they liked it or not. )
attribute modifying - There still is attribute modifying, through other means. gear is the best example, skills and other systems they havn't told us yet, but confirm exist say this as well. Also 99% of builds was "enough str for gear, rest in vit" so.. no point anyways.
equip most items on any class - Weapons were nerfed and shields for monks, but otherwise buffed due to the auto-stats.(See the new announcement) I can see this, but it also makes the classes more unique. You have your advantages and disadvantages.
potions - They are still there, but on a cd.. They are necessary in D1 and D2, but they don't have to be in D3. That's a moot point.
weapon switching - I agree, I liked that.
quests given by NPCs - ?? I don't understand this one, it's better in D3 in every way possible.
chat channels - Nerfed probably, but we don't know yet. THey have been confirmed for Bnet 2.0, they arn't gone.
traps - Yet to be seen, we don't know all the classes or expansions. If you're talking traps like arrows shooting out of walls etc, they are still there.
full 8 player parties - Games were rarely 8 players unless you count baal runs, besides did you see the gameplay videos of D3? It would be ridiculous with 8 players.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - WD has 7 summons(Possibly more) that we know of and resemble the necromancer alot with his curses(but better) and poisons. The necromancer was one of my favorites too though.
shapeshifter class - We don't know that yet.
modding support - The past games didn't support it either, but they did it anyways. just like it will happen for D3.
skill tree (changed?) - Like jake said, for the better. Synergies suck and most of our skills we got in D2, we never used.
gambling (?) - Yet to be seen.
online content in single player (?) - Yet to be seen, but since there is no ladder/NL, I don't think that will be an issue.
pvp (?) - There will be pvp and they said it's a bigger focus this time around, so I'm assuming it will be better, but yet to be seen.
gold/currency (?) - They want gold as a main currency and they have many many systems to make it valuable to the player.
*trading: Trading will be much better now in D3. Much problably we will have a real in game currency, things that twisted the economy like dupes and bots will less likely happen, we will have ingame system to find and trade items better and faster (like a AH). Don't tell me BoE will kill trades because thats not true, you still can farm, sell and buy your items. Ever player WoW ? People there trade BoE items like crazy in lower levels (when BoE are good).
*attribute modifying: I agree with you. D2 fail on that area is no excuses, there are hundreds of games out there with balanced status. I can only hope they'll compensante with other features.
*equip most items on any class: They have expanded the possibilities. And i see not much reason in allow everyone to use everything if most combinations are useless. In the end i believe we will see alot more variant in D3 then in D2.
*potions: Health Orbs > Potions.
*weapon switching: This really sux. I agree.
*quests given by NPCs: ???
*chat channels: -.- ???
*traps: D3 trpas > D2 traps by FAR.
*full 8 player parties: I hated it. Imo the partys should be only 3 players. To much people allways makes the game too easy,
*necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons: Necro was my fav character in D2 but i don't miss him. Things have to change.
*shapeshifter class: Dude... There still one class to be announced AND this is only classic D3. In a game with only 5 class is more then obvious that a strange and unpopular archetype would not take a part.
*modding support: as said by SFJake, D2 had no mod support.
*skill tree (changed?): There are something like skill trees in D3, a upgraded and new version of it. When they creat the skill trees system in D2 they inovate the genre. I don't know why D3 have to be this static continuosit.
*gambling (?): All i know is that there are good ways to spend your gold with npc, wich means that at least a great gamble replace we will have.
*online content in single player (?): D2 barely have any "online content" and most can only be accesible via mods.
*pvp (?): Amongs D3 stuff, pvp is the most nebolous one.
*gold/currency (?): Sesearch a little on wikis about the advanteges of a moneraty economy/utility of currencys and learn to never again in your life trade one object for another is good.
And some of these things are still undecided, by Bashiok. I'm starting to question if he is the only team member that makes all the decisions himself, and rejects all other team member's ideas.
Just wanted to mention that Bashiok is merely a community representative. He has very little if any involvement in the development process.
trading - Made better in Diablo 3, because you'll use real gold instead of forum gold.
attribute modifying - Made better in Diablo 3 because it will be better balanced, customization will be enhanced 3 fold in D3 also.
equip most items on any class - Is better because it gives classes unique weapons that they can look for in trades or to buy. It also promotes trade.
potions - Potions are not gone, they simply have a cooldown on them, health orbs are your reward for killing enemies. Many fun boss mechanics can be made with health orbs - I.E. having the boss attack a pillar that releases orbs.
weapon switching - Diablo 2 cheese mechanic that only acted as a MF or PvP advantage, not needed to play the game.
quests given by NPCs - ... cool?
chat channels - Still in the game...
traps - What traps,? oh you mean environmental traps? there's plenty more of those in Diablo 3!
full 8 player parties - Too many people, caused lower individual contribution and exp farmers ran rampent.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - He will be missed, but may show up in an expansion, we'll see.
shapeshifter class - So? What about a Ranger class? what makes a shapeshifter any more important???
modding support - D2 never had it.. sooo?
skill tree - Is no longer a tree - get one of the 35+ abilities that you prefer to use (which is more then Diablo 2's 30 skills per class).
gambling - Will probably still be in the game, we'll have to wait and see.
online content in single player - You will have to connect online to play the game, but they will add an offline mode.
pvp - Will be better and much more balanced.
gold/currency - Once again, I'd rather spend real in-game gold, then forum gold.
Unique resource systems -increases the replayability of the game by giving you different play styles.
There are no mana potions, the witch doctor is the only class that uses mana and he has a few ways to restore his mana.
Okay, I think you are generally wrong, and I will add what I can to correct a lot of the mistakes that you are stating as fact, but I simply don't have time tonight. I will add more to the discussion tomorrow.
In the meantime I have to point on one important thing.
Quote from "Kracov" »
And yes, i realize that the D3 team isn't the original team, it's a "new" team and that they are "split up" working on WoW and other stuff.
WHAT?!?! If you're saying that the DIII team works on other projects at the same time as DIII, then no, you are wrong. The DIII team is only working on DIII.
If you mean that the DII team has been split up, then yes, sort of. It was stated a long time ago that about half (40 or so) of the Blizz North team is working on DIII. The other half was either let go, or working on other projects.
No offense but im sick of these kind of threads. I mean comon dude. Who the fuck said trading is removed? and where the fuck did you hear that chat channels are gone? just blahwerywejdfflgfr6e3ytkl
Each new game in a series should change and hopefully be improved. Changing doesn't make it less of a part of that series so long as the general look and gameplay are familiar and certain game elements are maintained. D3 may have a new art direction and small changes(hopefully improvements) but the gameplay and presentation(UI, parts of the art direction, camera placement, etc) still look to be very similar.
Also, it should be pointed out that the Diablo series is currently all of 2 games and their expansions. Some of the things you point out were only in one installment and are not indicative of the series as a whole.
trading- I'm mostly a single player/lan player anyway, but I suspect BOE for high level gear should improve the trading economy.
attribute modifying Placing stats didn't really add anything before or make your character play much different. I don't really mind this change.
equip most items on any class Well that changed in LoD. I do somewhat dislike it, but it doesn't really make a difference. Also, I think the majority of items are still able to be used by any class, but the number of exceptions has grown a bit.
potions This is the change that should have the most noticeable effect on gameplay from what I see on your list. Potion chugging was the reason enemies were so terribly balanced before. Since potions essentially meant infinite health, monsters were made challenging by being able to kill you in one or two hits instead of wearing you down. That made the game's monsters switch between being too easy to being just plain frustrating without any enjoyable middle ground. Switching to a cooldown on potions and health pickups should help that, which was one of my biggest complaints about D2.
weapon switching Just a feature of LoD, not part of the whole series. If it was a great feature then I would be disappointed to see it go, but I think it turned out fairly useless. I always just used the extra slot as storage. From what I understand, that was the case for most players.
quests given by NPCs Well I think most are still given by NPCs, but where you meet them may differ. Also, remember some quests like the Countess in D2 were given by finding items, so NPCs weren't always involved. Personally I don't really care how we get the quests so long as they feel like there is a story there rather than just a honey-do list.
chat channels I guess I'm just not informed on this topic.
traps Enviromental traps should be back, more varied and, in some cases, more useful to the player from what I understand. If you mean trap skills, well the 5th class or an expansion character could still have them, though I hope they don't. Trap skills never appealed to me, I'd rather see the remaining class go a different direction than traps.
full 8 player parties It looks like 8 would be too much since the D3 classes seem to have bigger/flashier skills than before. four should be sufficient online. But again, as long as we can have 2 player, I'm satisfied.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons I loved the necromancer class, but generally didn't go with a big army anyway. I preferred a golem as a meatshield and offensive skills. It looks like the WD is more geared towards that play style, which I'm rather happy about even if he doesn't appear to have the same charm as the necro.
shapeshifter class Again, it could be ipart of the 5th class or an expansion. And gain, it isn't indicative of the Diablo series, it was just one class in an expansion pack. Obviously they can't bring everything back and have to cut much of what they used. Personally I'm glad to get rid of the shapeshifter, it was a waste of a class in my opinion. I just don't think changing shape and thus blocking off the majority of you skills is a good gameplay mechanic in games like Diablo.
modding support As other have mentioned, it wasn't there before either. However, I would love it if they released an editor tool like many other games do.
skill tree (changed?) The skill tree in D2 was a huge change from D1. The change from D2 to D3 is comparatively minute. Hopefully the new system works well,we'll have to wait and see, though I don't see why it wouldn't.
gambling (?) I don't know anything about gambling in D3. I can't say it matters much to me. Gambling was a gold sink in D1/D2 but it wasn't a very good one in my opinion. It's a feature that can be left in, improved or removed and have practically no impact on how the game is played in my opinion.
online content in single player (?) Such as? I thought there was exclusive online content in D2 like Uber Tristram. Personally I hope all the same stuff is available in single player.
pvp (?) They haven't really said much of what is being changed, though hopefully a lot is. I thought D2 had some of the worst PvP of any game I'd played. I know a lot of people loved it, but I always thought is was nothing more than a small novelty that was fun for a couple minutes and no more.
gold/currency (?) Gold is coming back and hopefully will be more useful this time around. I would like to see gold being useful, this would be a big improvement for me.
If a series changes too much or too little it can be a bad thing. For example, the Bloody Roar series tried to change too much from 3 to 4 and it ended up failing miserably and essentially killing the series. Dynasty Warriors on the other hand changes very little from one installment to the next and is often met with tons of criticism for it. If a series doesn't change enough then it just seems to slowly decline whereas if it changes too fast it can just fall apart.
In my opinion, D3 seems to be changing enough to improve the flaws that were prevalent in D2 while maintaining enough from D2 to keep a comfortable level of familiarity and not be such a gamble that most players will be disappointed to find it wasn't what they hoped for/expected.
D3 will be awesome. Dont question stuff dont complain just wait and see
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hmm... all of you do have some valid points, but still i thought i wasn't the only one that liked many of the things D1 and D2 had. i guess i'm an oldschool old fart.
hmm... all of you do have some valid points, but still i thought i wasn't the only one that liked many of the things D1 and D2 had. i guess i'm an oldschool old fart.
Nah, you're not alone at all. There have been plenty of people that have taken issue with just about every change that's been made. It's just that most people with complaints and concerns brought them up as the announcement was made and have since either come to accept the change or got tired of talking about it.
I think the vast majority have been disappointed by some changes along the way. I was certainly unhappy about the lack of traditional, offline LAN support, but there's no sense in me complaining about it after I've voiced my opinion on the matter several times already.
Another example for me was the original video's lack of "tetris" style inventory. I didn't really like the change, felt it took away from the feel of the game a little. Luckily for myself and others that were unhappy with the change, they've since changed the inventory system a couple times and seem to have found something most people are happy with.
After all, these forums are all about sharing thoughts, questions, concerns, etc. about the game. People agreed with you on some points, not on others. That's just how things go.:)
Feedback is the best thing for a company, even more so for a gaming company.
True.
It's like people are afarid to hurt blizz feelings. Blizzard is company, it has no feelings. Imo people should voice their opnion, specially when it's not supportive (so we have a notion of the subjects populairty).
It's the next game. This happens everytime a new game comes out. Look at how Halo has progressed. Everytime a new game comes out, people cry about how it's not Halo anymore.
All of the changes that I've seen for this game have been for the better. They're just small mechanical changes that have definitely been needed. The story, soundtrack, characters, enemies, areas, gameplay, etc. are all still Diablo in my eyes. Nothing has changed. Except one thing.
The brightness. I will stand by the countless of other that have said this game is too bright. Diablo is supposed to be dark and grim. To me, it doesn't look like Diablo at all. But, that's not something I can't adjust though the game settings or my monitor. A little change of the contrast and I'm a happy camper.
Edit: The randomly generated dungeons had better be there too. It's 90% of the reason as to why the game has so much replay value. If they EVER considered removing that, I would /gquit Blizzard.
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Also note that i'm not 100% certain on certain things and those are marked with a question mark. And some of these things are still undecided, by Bashiok. I'm starting to question if he is the only team member that makes all the decisions himself, and rejects all other team member's ideas.
And yes, i realize that the D3 team isn't the original team, it's a "new" team and that they are "split up" working on WoW and other stuff.
Anyway, below is a list of features that have been declared by Bashiok to be altered, removed, nerfed, or replaced.
features removed, nerfed or not included:
trading
attribute modifying
equip most items on any class
potions
weapon switching
quests given by NPCs
chat channels
traps
full 8 player parties
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons
shapeshifter class
modding support
skill tree (changed?)
gambling (?)
online content in single player (?)
pvp (?)
gold/currency (?)
http://www.diablofans.com/gallery/album/42189/125-wallpapers/
trading - still in, just less focused and you have alternatives. Trading was, imo, painful, and it has nothing to do with being Diablo like.
attribute modifying - Always hated that part of D2 for a lot for reasons. It has no real useful purpose.
equip most items on any class - So there are some items here and there that you may not be able to use. While I don't like it, doesn't mean much.
potions - Today still an horrible mechanic that was never part of my enjoyment of Diablo...
weapon switching - Again, not important for the "Diablo feel" but I hate the change.
quests given by NPCs - ...what? if that changed, I'm not aware of it.
chat channels - Again, what? Are they gone? I never saw any confirmation of that. I know they are for SC2 for -now-, if they are for D3 then thats the first point I really agree with, since its a big, gigantic knife in the back of the entire community.
traps - No comment.
full 8 player parties - Partly agree. Thats a small thing to adapt with good and bad sides.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - The necro will be missed, I agree.
shapeshifter class - I personally hate shapeshifters
modding support - D2 had no mod support, I don't see how thats relevant here
skill tree (changed?) - For the better
For my sake, I insist to say that all of this is "in my opinion".
SFJake-
potions are almost necessary especially against bosses and any future superuniques. life and mana orbs force you to keep attacking a boss even if you are at 10% health. you no longer have the option to run away a little and recuperate with a potion.
the attribute modifying is really needed for hybrid builds or just the flexibility of builds.
i liked the concept of trading with other players. it sort of forced me to be more sociable with others and i made a lot of friends that way. if trading and chat channels are removed, we are essentially removing the ability to make friends easier. no trading and chat becomes "hey wanna do diablo runs" instead of offering the flexibility of talking about trading and generally chatting in the channels.
http://www.diablofans.com/gallery/album/42189/125-wallpapers/
trading - Wait what? It's still there and in better shape then ever, BoE helps the trade system and there will be an Auction house which will make trading easier then ever. Not to mention we will have gold as a real currency, not some noob currency making lots of people use a 3rd party site for 'gold'.
Trading is better in D3.(P.S. Forced socializing for trades is not fun, especially when you have to be on at the same time and meet them in person, then bargain, and alot of times people just left without saying they liked it or not. )
attribute modifying - There still is attribute modifying, through other means. gear is the best example, skills and other systems they havn't told us yet, but confirm exist say this as well. Also 99% of builds was "enough str for gear, rest in vit" so.. no point anyways.
equip most items on any class - Weapons were nerfed and shields for monks, but otherwise buffed due to the auto-stats.(See the new announcement) I can see this, but it also makes the classes more unique. You have your advantages and disadvantages.
potions - They are still there, but on a cd.. They are necessary in D1 and D2, but they don't have to be in D3. That's a moot point.
weapon switching - I agree, I liked that.
quests given by NPCs - ?? I don't understand this one, it's better in D3 in every way possible.
chat channels - Nerfed probably, but we don't know yet. THey have been confirmed for Bnet 2.0, they arn't gone.
traps - Yet to be seen, we don't know all the classes or expansions. If you're talking traps like arrows shooting out of walls etc, they are still there.
full 8 player parties - Games were rarely 8 players unless you count baal runs, besides did you see the gameplay videos of D3? It would be ridiculous with 8 players.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - WD has 7 summons(Possibly more) that we know of and resemble the necromancer alot with his curses(but better) and poisons. The necromancer was one of my favorites too though.
shapeshifter class - We don't know that yet.
modding support - The past games didn't support it either, but they did it anyways. just like it will happen for D3.
skill tree (changed?) - Like jake said, for the better. Synergies suck and most of our skills we got in D2, we never used.
gambling (?) - Yet to be seen.
online content in single player (?) - Yet to be seen, but since there is no ladder/NL, I don't think that will be an issue.
pvp (?) - There will be pvp and they said it's a bigger focus this time around, so I'm assuming it will be better, but yet to be seen.
gold/currency (?) - They want gold as a main currency and they have many many systems to make it valuable to the player.
*attribute modifying: I agree with you. D2 fail on that area is no excuses, there are hundreds of games out there with balanced status. I can only hope they'll compensante with other features.
*equip most items on any class: They have expanded the possibilities. And i see not much reason in allow everyone to use everything if most combinations are useless. In the end i believe we will see alot more variant in D3 then in D2.
*potions: Health Orbs > Potions.
*weapon switching: This really sux. I agree.
*quests given by NPCs: ???
*chat channels: -.- ???
*traps: D3 trpas > D2 traps by FAR.
*full 8 player parties: I hated it. Imo the partys should be only 3 players. To much people allways makes the game too easy,
*necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons: Necro was my fav character in D2 but i don't miss him. Things have to change.
*shapeshifter class: Dude... There still one class to be announced AND this is only classic D3. In a game with only 5 class is more then obvious that a strange and unpopular archetype would not take a part.
*modding support: as said by SFJake, D2 had no mod support.
*skill tree (changed?): There are something like skill trees in D3, a upgraded and new version of it. When they creat the skill trees system in D2 they inovate the genre. I don't know why D3 have to be this static continuosit.
*gambling (?): All i know is that there are good ways to spend your gold with npc, wich means that at least a great gamble replace we will have.
*online content in single player (?): D2 barely have any "online content" and most can only be accesible via mods.
*pvp (?): Amongs D3 stuff, pvp is the most nebolous one.
*gold/currency (?): Sesearch a little on wikis about the advanteges of a moneraty economy/utility of currencys and learn to never again in your life trade one object for another is good.
Just wanted to mention that Bashiok is merely a community representative. He has very little if any involvement in the development process.
attribute modifying - Made better in Diablo 3 because it will be better balanced, customization will be enhanced 3 fold in D3 also.
equip most items on any class - Is better because it gives classes unique weapons that they can look for in trades or to buy. It also promotes trade.
potions - Potions are not gone, they simply have a cooldown on them, health orbs are your reward for killing enemies. Many fun boss mechanics can be made with health orbs - I.E. having the boss attack a pillar that releases orbs.
weapon switching - Diablo 2 cheese mechanic that only acted as a MF or PvP advantage, not needed to play the game.
quests given by NPCs - ... cool?
chat channels - Still in the game...
traps - What traps,? oh you mean environmental traps? there's plenty more of those in Diablo 3!
full 8 player parties - Too many people, caused lower individual contribution and exp farmers ran rampent.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons - He will be missed, but may show up in an expansion, we'll see.
shapeshifter class - So? What about a Ranger class? what makes a shapeshifter any more important???
modding support - D2 never had it.. sooo?
skill tree - Is no longer a tree - get one of the 35+ abilities that you prefer to use (which is more then Diablo 2's 30 skills per class).
gambling - Will probably still be in the game, we'll have to wait and see.
online content in single player - You will have to connect online to play the game, but they will add an offline mode.
pvp - Will be better and much more balanced.
gold/currency - Once again, I'd rather spend real in-game gold, then forum gold.
Unique resource systems -increases the replayability of the game by giving you different play styles.
There are no mana potions, the witch doctor is the only class that uses mana and he has a few ways to restore his mana.
In the meantime I have to point on one important thing.
WHAT?!?! If you're saying that the DIII team works on other projects at the same time as DIII, then no, you are wrong. The DIII team is only working on DIII.
If you mean that the DII team has been split up, then yes, sort of. It was stated a long time ago that about half (40 or so) of the Blizz North team is working on DIII. The other half was either let go, or working on other projects.
Each new game in a series should change and hopefully be improved. Changing doesn't make it less of a part of that series so long as the general look and gameplay are familiar and certain game elements are maintained. D3 may have a new art direction and small changes(hopefully improvements) but the gameplay and presentation(UI, parts of the art direction, camera placement, etc) still look to be very similar.
Also, it should be pointed out that the Diablo series is currently all of 2 games and their expansions. Some of the things you point out were only in one installment and are not indicative of the series as a whole.
trading- I'm mostly a single player/lan player anyway, but I suspect BOE for high level gear should improve the trading economy.
attribute modifying Placing stats didn't really add anything before or make your character play much different. I don't really mind this change.
equip most items on any class Well that changed in LoD. I do somewhat dislike it, but it doesn't really make a difference. Also, I think the majority of items are still able to be used by any class, but the number of exceptions has grown a bit.
potions This is the change that should have the most noticeable effect on gameplay from what I see on your list. Potion chugging was the reason enemies were so terribly balanced before. Since potions essentially meant infinite health, monsters were made challenging by being able to kill you in one or two hits instead of wearing you down. That made the game's monsters switch between being too easy to being just plain frustrating without any enjoyable middle ground. Switching to a cooldown on potions and health pickups should help that, which was one of my biggest complaints about D2.
weapon switching Just a feature of LoD, not part of the whole series. If it was a great feature then I would be disappointed to see it go, but I think it turned out fairly useless. I always just used the extra slot as storage. From what I understand, that was the case for most players.
quests given by NPCs Well I think most are still given by NPCs, but where you meet them may differ. Also, remember some quests like the Countess in D2 were given by finding items, so NPCs weren't always involved. Personally I don't really care how we get the quests so long as they feel like there is a story there rather than just a honey-do list.
chat channels I guess I'm just not informed on this topic.
traps Enviromental traps should be back, more varied and, in some cases, more useful to the player from what I understand. If you mean trap skills, well the 5th class or an expansion character could still have them, though I hope they don't. Trap skills never appealed to me, I'd rather see the remaining class go a different direction than traps.
full 8 player parties It looks like 8 would be too much since the D3 classes seem to have bigger/flashier skills than before. four should be sufficient online. But again, as long as we can have 2 player, I'm satisfied.
necromancer and his LARGE army, or just cool summons I loved the necromancer class, but generally didn't go with a big army anyway. I preferred a golem as a meatshield and offensive skills. It looks like the WD is more geared towards that play style, which I'm rather happy about even if he doesn't appear to have the same charm as the necro.
shapeshifter class Again, it could be ipart of the 5th class or an expansion. And gain, it isn't indicative of the Diablo series, it was just one class in an expansion pack. Obviously they can't bring everything back and have to cut much of what they used. Personally I'm glad to get rid of the shapeshifter, it was a waste of a class in my opinion. I just don't think changing shape and thus blocking off the majority of you skills is a good gameplay mechanic in games like Diablo.
modding support As other have mentioned, it wasn't there before either. However, I would love it if they released an editor tool like many other games do.
skill tree (changed?) The skill tree in D2 was a huge change from D1. The change from D2 to D3 is comparatively minute. Hopefully the new system works well,we'll have to wait and see, though I don't see why it wouldn't.
gambling (?) I don't know anything about gambling in D3. I can't say it matters much to me. Gambling was a gold sink in D1/D2 but it wasn't a very good one in my opinion. It's a feature that can be left in, improved or removed and have practically no impact on how the game is played in my opinion.
online content in single player (?) Such as? I thought there was exclusive online content in D2 like Uber Tristram. Personally I hope all the same stuff is available in single player.
pvp (?) They haven't really said much of what is being changed, though hopefully a lot is. I thought D2 had some of the worst PvP of any game I'd played. I know a lot of people loved it, but I always thought is was nothing more than a small novelty that was fun for a couple minutes and no more.
gold/currency (?) Gold is coming back and hopefully will be more useful this time around. I would like to see gold being useful, this would be a big improvement for me.
If a series changes too much or too little it can be a bad thing. For example, the Bloody Roar series tried to change too much from 3 to 4 and it ended up failing miserably and essentially killing the series. Dynasty Warriors on the other hand changes very little from one installment to the next and is often met with tons of criticism for it. If a series doesn't change enough then it just seems to slowly decline whereas if it changes too fast it can just fall apart.
In my opinion, D3 seems to be changing enough to improve the flaws that were prevalent in D2 while maintaining enough from D2 to keep a comfortable level of familiarity and not be such a gamble that most players will be disappointed to find it wasn't what they hoped for/expected.
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If you want to arrange it
This world you can change it
If we could somehow make this
Christmas thing last
By helping a neighbor
Or even a stranger
And to know who needs help
You need only just ask
Well said.
Feedback is the best thing for a company, even more so for a gaming company.
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Nah, you're not alone at all. There have been plenty of people that have taken issue with just about every change that's been made. It's just that most people with complaints and concerns brought them up as the announcement was made and have since either come to accept the change or got tired of talking about it.
I think the vast majority have been disappointed by some changes along the way. I was certainly unhappy about the lack of traditional, offline LAN support, but there's no sense in me complaining about it after I've voiced my opinion on the matter several times already.
Another example for me was the original video's lack of "tetris" style inventory. I didn't really like the change, felt it took away from the feel of the game a little. Luckily for myself and others that were unhappy with the change, they've since changed the inventory system a couple times and seem to have found something most people are happy with.
After all, these forums are all about sharing thoughts, questions, concerns, etc. about the game. People agreed with you on some points, not on others. That's just how things go.:)
edit- good topic by the way.
Signature and avatar courtesy of Indestructible.
What make a game diablo is : RPG, Class, Items progression and Diablo And you will be happy because all that will be in d3
True.
It's like people are afarid to hurt blizz feelings. Blizzard is company, it has no feelings. Imo people should voice their opnion, specially when it's not supportive (so we have a notion of the subjects populairty).
Answer: Yes. But it doesn't mean it's a bad thing... i hope.
All of the changes that I've seen for this game have been for the better. They're just small mechanical changes that have definitely been needed. The story, soundtrack, characters, enemies, areas, gameplay, etc. are all still Diablo in my eyes. Nothing has changed. Except one thing.
The brightness. I will stand by the countless of other that have said this game is too bright. Diablo is supposed to be dark and grim. To me, it doesn't look like Diablo at all. But, that's not something I can't adjust though the game settings or my monitor. A little change of the contrast and I'm a happy camper.
Edit: The randomly generated dungeons had better be there too. It's 90% of the reason as to why the game has so much replay value. If they EVER considered removing that, I would /gquit Blizzard.