I think in general going more conservative on inventory streamlining than people are now asking for was a good idea. 100% there would have been unyielding angst. This can be easily justified by arguing that the tetris system is part of the original's gameplay and changing it too much changes how we play the game.
All of this is hard to argue for when they already have our money and this isn't a subscription-based service. I want to say Blizzard wants to earn back a lot of faith after the last couple years, and they don't want the brand to sour as we approach D4, but I struggle believing in them actually supporting this game much more.
Also, honestly the server stability, login queue, and random shadow banning all need to be fixed before anything else.
However, I am definitely for everything in the thread re:storage now that I've had some time to play and stew in the revisited gameplay:
1. Infinite or drastically increased storage tabs (total space and/or number of tabs), and also nameable.
2. Allow gems and runes to be stackable.
3. An inventory search bar that searches across all your shared and personal tabs and highlights the ones that have the thing and highlights the thing once the tab is opened.
Honestly, I think stackable gems/runes would help resolve much of the storage space issue. Gems and runes are consumed like bulk craftables and are completely fungible/interchangable. Definitely still add more tabs/space, but this one change would probably make a huge difference. It would likely require a PTR as the underlying code would have to mask over how the game engine actually handles storage unless they actually hard coded the change to the engine.
It is also incredibly weird how broken the lobby UI/functionality is while still missing parts of the functionality of the original. We absolutely need:
1. game filters with a diverse array of options for creator/joiner
2. Refresh button to work ???
3. Option to disable auto-refresh
4. Refresh to not wipe what you have in the game name box
5. Options to condense parts of the lobby UI that were cool in 1999 but are now just nonfunctional screen hogs
6. working block option??? I think this worked for me like twice
7. option to block chat based on keywords
8. autocomplete game names when you leave to 1) refill box with last game name you joined (and persist this for if you log off/disconnect) AND auto increment it if it ends in a series number (002, x2, etc.)--this was an incredible feature of maphack back in the day
9. i honestly cannot figure out how to create or join personal channels--if these currently exist, they need to be more visible and would help avoid bots; also, tbh add functionality that works like chatbots of old to moderate and run channels--remember sitting in trivia and stuff back then between games, or using them to help keep channels not a mess?
10. why do we not have clan options in 2021?
In an ideal world, I'd like 1 ladder season to pass like the original, and for them to then
1. add new sets, runewords, items, etc., seasonally to change ladder meta going forward so it's not all enigma/infinity builds with a few others scattered about
2. Add vanity in-game profile pics/avatars or frames earned by getting to x level by end of ladder season, and/or special visuals for your character while in chat lobby for ladder progress
3. create new events that double down on farmability and GROUP play, as the more I play this i'm reminded how much of a single player game it is
4. approach it with a modder's mindset and add systems for new areas, either modifying/reusing assets for randomized maps with new farming goals or adding new content to existing zones (new caves, etc. with new farmables or new overworld spawns/event locations)
I don't THINK new content restricted to new ladder seasons is too out of the realm of possibility, especially since industry standard for remasters is trending toward this kind of idea (age of empires has done this and continues to, there are others).
Magistrate I didn't really reply earlier cause I simply agree. I'll quote you on this now though:
"9. i honestly cannot figure out how to create or join personal channels--if these currently exist, they need to be more visible and would help avoid bots; also, tbh add functionality that works like chatbots of old to moderate and run channels--remember sitting in trivia and stuff back then between games, or using them to help keep channels not a mess?"
You can actually create/join a channel. Type '/channel join MyChannel'. But it's very lacking. Once you're there you're OK but if you enter a game you will be sent back to lobby and you have to manually select the channel again from the drop down menu. And if you exit the game and restart D2R you have to manually type '/channel join MyChannel' again.
"10. why do we not have clan options in 2021?"
Amazingly ridiculous that this isn't a thing.
---
It's 2021. Updated graphics and all, very good. But with regards to the Lobby GUI it's like they went half way into the forest and turned back again. The lobby GUI should and could be AMAZING but yeah they simply just skipped that part and in fact made it worse. Unbelievable. It's not like an amazing lobby GUI would be game breaking or anything. Instead, and I repeat, they somehow managed to make it WORSE. /slowclap.
Edit: This is NOT on Vicarious Visions, who did an amazing job. This is 100% on Activision Blizzard.
You can actually create/join a channel. Type '/channel join MyChannel'. But it's very lacking. Once you're there you're OK but if you enter a game you will be sent back to lobby and you have to manually select the channel again from the drop down menu. And if you exit the game and restart D2R you have to manually type '/channel join MyChannel' again.
I figured this out literally right after I replied and felt so dumb XD But I honestly didn't think anyone would even reply. Site seems so dead.
This is another case where I can't believe they didn't at least preserve the original functionality. I'm pretty sure back then if you joined a game it kept you in the channel when you left a game.
On game exit it did make you leave though--I think maybe pickit or maphack might have automated rejoining a channel on closing and restarting the game but I can't be sure.
You are not dumb. And yeah, Diablofans isn't what it once was. We all know what happened, whatwith the downtime Diablofans had .. it was quite literally gone for a long time and was (pun intended) resurrected at some point. Meanwhile many, many disappeared and went to other platforms. I think many of those users don't even realize that Diablofans is back up and running. The OG Diablofans was great and it'd be good to see it gain traction again.
This'll be a crosspost. Big discussion in this thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Diablo/comments/qeqjlw/d2r_is_not_ready_for_the_first_ladder_season_yet/
I think in general going more conservative on inventory streamlining than people are now asking for was a good idea. 100% there would have been unyielding angst. This can be easily justified by arguing that the tetris system is part of the original's gameplay and changing it too much changes how we play the game.
All of this is hard to argue for when they already have our money and this isn't a subscription-based service. I want to say Blizzard wants to earn back a lot of faith after the last couple years, and they don't want the brand to sour as we approach D4, but I struggle believing in them actually supporting this game much more.
Also, honestly the server stability, login queue, and random shadow banning all need to be fixed before anything else.
However, I am definitely for everything in the thread re:storage now that I've had some time to play and stew in the revisited gameplay:
1. Infinite or drastically increased storage tabs (total space and/or number of tabs), and also nameable.
2. Allow gems and runes to be stackable.
3. An inventory search bar that searches across all your shared and personal tabs and highlights the ones that have the thing and highlights the thing once the tab is opened.
Honestly, I think stackable gems/runes would help resolve much of the storage space issue. Gems and runes are consumed like bulk craftables and are completely fungible/interchangable. Definitely still add more tabs/space, but this one change would probably make a huge difference. It would likely require a PTR as the underlying code would have to mask over how the game engine actually handles storage unless they actually hard coded the change to the engine.
It is also incredibly weird how broken the lobby UI/functionality is while still missing parts of the functionality of the original. We absolutely need:
1. game filters with a diverse array of options for creator/joiner
2. Refresh button to work ???
3. Option to disable auto-refresh
4. Refresh to not wipe what you have in the game name box
5. Options to condense parts of the lobby UI that were cool in 1999 but are now just nonfunctional screen hogs
6. working block option??? I think this worked for me like twice
7. option to block chat based on keywords
8. autocomplete game names when you leave to 1) refill box with last game name you joined (and persist this for if you log off/disconnect) AND auto increment it if it ends in a series number (002, x2, etc.)--this was an incredible feature of maphack back in the day
9. i honestly cannot figure out how to create or join personal channels--if these currently exist, they need to be more visible and would help avoid bots; also, tbh add functionality that works like chatbots of old to moderate and run channels--remember sitting in trivia and stuff back then between games, or using them to help keep channels not a mess?
10. why do we not have clan options in 2021?
In an ideal world, I'd like 1 ladder season to pass like the original, and for them to then
1. add new sets, runewords, items, etc., seasonally to change ladder meta going forward so it's not all enigma/infinity builds with a few others scattered about
2. Add vanity in-game profile pics/avatars or frames earned by getting to x level by end of ladder season, and/or special visuals for your character while in chat lobby for ladder progress
3. create new events that double down on farmability and GROUP play, as the more I play this i'm reminded how much of a single player game it is
4. approach it with a modder's mindset and add systems for new areas, either modifying/reusing assets for randomized maps with new farming goals or adding new content to existing zones (new caves, etc. with new farmables or new overworld spawns/event locations)
I don't THINK new content restricted to new ladder seasons is too out of the realm of possibility, especially since industry standard for remasters is trending toward this kind of idea (age of empires has done this and continues to, there are others).
Thanks for your reply. You should mirror it in places where it's more visible. On reddit, official forums.
Care though if you post it on official forums because it might get removed for some ridiculous reason.
That's why you would want to mirror it in several places.
Magistrate I didn't really reply earlier cause I simply agree. I'll quote you on this now though:
"9. i honestly cannot figure out how to create or join personal channels--if these currently exist, they need to be more visible and would help avoid bots; also, tbh add functionality that works like chatbots of old to moderate and run channels--remember sitting in trivia and stuff back then between games, or using them to help keep channels not a mess?"
You can actually create/join a channel. Type '/channel join MyChannel'. But it's very lacking. Once you're there you're OK but if you enter a game you will be sent back to lobby and you have to manually select the channel again from the drop down menu. And if you exit the game and restart D2R you have to manually type '/channel join MyChannel' again.
"10. why do we not have clan options in 2021?"
Amazingly ridiculous that this isn't a thing.
---
It's 2021. Updated graphics and all, very good. But with regards to the Lobby GUI it's like they went half way into the forest and turned back again. The lobby GUI should and could be AMAZING but yeah they simply just skipped that part and in fact made it worse. Unbelievable. It's not like an amazing lobby GUI would be game breaking or anything. Instead, and I repeat, they somehow managed to make it WORSE. /slowclap.
Edit: This is NOT on Vicarious Visions, who did an amazing job. This is 100% on Activision Blizzard.
You can actually create/join a channel. Type '/channel join MyChannel'. But it's very lacking. Once you're there you're OK but if you enter a game you will be sent back to lobby and you have to manually select the channel again from the drop down menu. And if you exit the game and restart D2R you have to manually type '/channel join MyChannel' again.
I figured this out literally right after I replied and felt so dumb XD But I honestly didn't think anyone would even reply. Site seems so dead.
This is another case where I can't believe they didn't at least preserve the original functionality. I'm pretty sure back then if you joined a game it kept you in the channel when you left a game.
On game exit it did make you leave though--I think maybe pickit or maphack might have automated rejoining a channel on closing and restarting the game but I can't be sure.
You are not dumb. And yeah, Diablofans isn't what it once was. We all know what happened, whatwith the downtime Diablofans had .. it was quite literally gone for a long time and was (pun intended) resurrected at some point. Meanwhile many, many disappeared and went to other platforms. I think many of those users don't even realize that Diablofans is back up and running. The OG Diablofans was great and it'd be good to see it gain traction again.