One question I can't help but ask is why Blizzard ever allowed Diablo 2 to get as hacked and exploited as it did? Did they not have the resources to catch the hackers? Were they just lazy? Did they just not care? Did they actually think that it would make the game better by letting people hack it? What will be different about Diablo 3 that would encourage them to "clean up" battle.net?
The code was written sloppily. The game never planned to achieve such popularity online. The netcode was basically a modified LAN code used for B.Net. Over time, they fixed many of the potential exploits that could be fixed, but to make a hack-free game out of it, they would have had to build the whole game from ground up.
It's called Hack&Slash because of the gameplay style. Diablo 1 and especially Diablo 2 are the most representative and genre-defining titles, setting a standard of what a Hack&Slash RPG is. It's silly to deny that D3 is a hack&slash, because that's just what it is, and what is expected of it to be.
It's called hack&slash because unlike other games in the stricter scope of the RPG genre, the gameplay is 100% arcade and combat skill lies in moving around and aiming your attacks. You need to aim with your mouse and employ your reflexes. Tactics come second, and combat itself doesn't rely on any fine RPG mechanics. That's why it's an action game first, then an RPG. D3 however aims to strenghten the RPG elements, putting more emphasis on the story, quests, character development and immersion, and strategies in combat. It doesn't change the fact that the gameplay style is hack & slash, as long as you have to aim your skills and break your mouse to pwn nubs.
The game is a hack & slash like the previous two have been. Plot has nothing to do with it. D3 might delve deeper into some finer RPG aspects of the genre, but it still remains a H&S, and that's been obvious since the announcement.
Quote from "Sargeant_Warden" »
It's already more of a Hack & Slash than D2 was. I mean, they took out a lot of RPG elements and are leaning more towards a Gauntlet feel.
(To stop flamers, I'm not saying this is a bad thing)
Actually they are putting in more RPG. And it's going to be less of a mindless H&S than D2 was - you can be sure of that.
Just exampling how much of an impact on your build gear can actually have because that's the most overlooked factor by people who complain about the auto-stats system. People still have their minds set in D2 mode where gear didn't give you practically any stats. I'm just showing you how it works in a game where designers can control how much stats they put on gear so they can balance and predict things, and give you more to work with, without being affraid that you will do something stupid like put 1000 Str points on your WD or 0 Vitality on your Barb.
I was basically trying to show you on a viable example that it's completely laughable when someone considers those 500 stat points that D2 gives you 'customization', especially when half of them didn't do jack shit and you didn't need them. And the reason to that is not bad design. They had to make it like that to not empower players with means to abuse and put the game out of any sensible balance.
I didn't get that info anywhere it's just an example - it's how all games with 'auto-stats' work.
When you get to level 99 in D2, the game will have given you 490 stat points to distribute in total. A single piece of gear in WoW gives you around 200 stat points and there are much more gear slots. And in fact a single stat point in WoW makes twice or three times more difference on your character than a single stat point in D2. The item pool is so great that there is pretty much any combination of stats you might want, if you are able to obtain that item, and 15-30% of an item's power comes from the gems and ecnchant you put on it so it's totally customizable to taste whereas D2 items are more or less the same despite random modifiers. You can expect the same trend in D3.
So basically, those 5% or 10% of base stats (or however much it may be) will be just enough to make a base distinction between two different classes. (so that if for example, my WD puts on the exact same items as your Barb, I will still have less Str and Vit than you, and you will still have less Willpower than me, as the difference should be between our classes).
Yes, sounds reasonable enough. More reasonable than your constant bashing of everything D3-related to retaliate to Blizzard who suddenly became evil for releasing the most excellent game in their career that you unfortunately can't afford. So just bash the hell out of them until the pain goes away eh?
My word is based on the previous, spotless experience with Blizzard's products, and my extensive research of the information released about the game that points in the most positive direction possible.
And your word is based on an unstoppable desire to troll and assure everyone that Diablo 3 must fail.
The game is just a perfect D2 clone in 3D, with a few refinements and some new content.
Unless your idea of a new game is that they re-release D2 and call it D3, I really don't know what more you could ask for. But then, if you really thought that, you wouldn't be posting here, so I just recon you just like to troll. In that case I forgive your heresy for badmouthing Diablo 3.
And 90% of the above posts actually discuss GRAPHICS. What a sad world...
EDIT: The remaining posts discuss things such as 'WoW-style camera', 'WoW-style combat system', and 'WoW-style monthly fees', which is on one hand even more sad as it means that most people who posted in this thread are clueless enough to not have inquired about the most basic things which were already confirmed about the game and discussed countless times, but they still have time to whine about their 'depest fears' when they see a thread such as this, but on the other hand it's kind of nice that people are giving WoW credit for inventing an array of almost everything that we can see in modern gaming. At least the impression I get from reading the posts.
My greatest fear is that these people are the shiny example of the 'mature' community I will be sharing this game with once it gets out.
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It's called hack&slash because unlike other games in the stricter scope of the RPG genre, the gameplay is 100% arcade and combat skill lies in moving around and aiming your attacks. You need to aim with your mouse and employ your reflexes. Tactics come second, and combat itself doesn't rely on any fine RPG mechanics. That's why it's an action game first, then an RPG. D3 however aims to strenghten the RPG elements, putting more emphasis on the story, quests, character development and immersion, and strategies in combat. It doesn't change the fact that the gameplay style is hack & slash, as long as you have to aim your skills and break your mouse to pwn nubs.
Actually they are putting in more RPG. And it's going to be less of a mindless H&S than D2 was - you can be sure of that.
I was basically trying to show you on a viable example that it's completely laughable when someone considers those 500 stat points that D2 gives you 'customization', especially when half of them didn't do jack shit and you didn't need them. And the reason to that is not bad design. They had to make it like that to not empower players with means to abuse and put the game out of any sensible balance.
When you get to level 99 in D2, the game will have given you 490 stat points to distribute in total. A single piece of gear in WoW gives you around 200 stat points and there are much more gear slots. And in fact a single stat point in WoW makes twice or three times more difference on your character than a single stat point in D2. The item pool is so great that there is pretty much any combination of stats you might want, if you are able to obtain that item, and 15-30% of an item's power comes from the gems and ecnchant you put on it so it's totally customizable to taste whereas D2 items are more or less the same despite random modifiers. You can expect the same trend in D3.
So basically, those 5% or 10% of base stats (or however much it may be) will be just enough to make a base distinction between two different classes. (so that if for example, my WD puts on the exact same items as your Barb, I will still have less Str and Vit than you, and you will still have less Willpower than me, as the difference should be between our classes).
Base stats will make up like 5% of your total stats, at that point no one will be complaining about not being able to modify base stats.
And your word is based on an unstoppable desire to troll and assure everyone that Diablo 3 must fail.
Thankfully, I am getting a Diablo 3 instead of you getting a Diablo 2 with improvements. It's quite fair if you ask me.
Unless your idea of a new game is that they re-release D2 and call it D3, I really don't know what more you could ask for. But then, if you really thought that, you wouldn't be posting here, so I just recon you just like to troll. In that case I forgive your heresy for badmouthing Diablo 3.
And how can you still be list the possibility of monthly fees as your top fear when it was confirmed that there will be no such thing?
EDIT: The remaining posts discuss things such as 'WoW-style camera', 'WoW-style combat system', and 'WoW-style monthly fees', which is on one hand even more sad as it means that most people who posted in this thread are clueless enough to not have inquired about the most basic things which were already confirmed about the game and discussed countless times, but they still have time to whine about their 'depest fears' when they see a thread such as this, but on the other hand it's kind of nice that people are giving WoW credit for inventing an array of almost everything that we can see in modern gaming. At least the impression I get from reading the posts.
My greatest fear is that these people are the shiny example of the 'mature' community I will be sharing this game with once it gets out.