Diablo 3 Devs on the AH and Always Online
An interview was posted recently on Eurogamer with Game Director Josh Mosqueira and Game Designer Kevin Martens. The main point of the article is to explain why Diablo III will likely never have an offline option for its PC version, why the Auction House will not be removed and the many reasons for those two points. Here are a few excerpts, but you can read the whole article, which encompasses a lot more, over at this link.
DiabloFans Quote:
"Honestly, at the end of the day, trading is an important aspect of Diablo," Mosqueira continues. "Like it or not, there are players out there who actually attribute real world monetary value to their items. So it was really important for us to provide a safe environment in which they could trade items."
"In the territories where we do not have an Auction House the number of account compromises is completely out of whack with the rest of the world," Mosqueira says, to my surprise. "So the Auction House is serving that intended purpose of providing a safe environment for players in which to trade."
"We acknowledged early on the Auction House did have an impact on the moment to moment gameplay," Mosqueira says. "The whole motivation behind Loot 2.0 is to make sure playing the game was the most fun, the most rewarding and the most satisfying way to get items. That resulted in the philosophy of dropping fewer but better and more epic items. We want players to be in the game and playing.
"Ultimately the Auction House will still be out there, but we don't want players to feel they need to go to the Auction House. If they want to, that's their own choice. But we don't want them to feel they need to go to the Auction House."
Community Commentary: Project Nephalem
A topic over at /r/Diablo has sparked interested in Blizzard and they've decided to highlight it for their community. HonkMonk has created a thread about the upcoming Transmogrification through the Mystic in Reaper of Souls. He, among several others, have posted some interesting examples of combinations of gear that have great looking outcomes. Check out the post below for more information.
One of the services currently planned for the Mystic (a new artisan that Nephalem will encounter in Diablo III's upcoming expansion, Reaper of Souls) is transmogrification. Designed to increase to hero customization, transmogrification will give players the ability to modify the appearance of their armor and weapons without compromising any of their power or potency.
While transmogrification is still under development and many details remain pending, a number of players have already begun to plan out their transmog sets. If you're thinking about doing the same (or are just interested in the idea), then we encourage you to join HonkMonk's discussion over on /r/Diablo. It's a great brainstorm about fashion in Sanctuary, ways to theme your Nephalem's gear, and inspiration for people who just aren't totally sure what to wear.
Players are also invited to share images of what their heros will look like once transmogrification is implemented. Here are a few examples created by Joorkax, haaany, and HonkMonk himself!
So, do you already have an outfit you're planning to transmogrify? Or maybe you'd love some advice on how to achieve a specific look? Let us know in the comments below, or dive in to HonkMonk's /r/diablo thread
Mephisto Fan Art by Tamplier Painter
This absolutely stunning fan art of Mephisto has been created by Tamplier Painter. It was made for the 'Design by Human' contest, which by the way has one of the most impressive collections of Diablo art out there! Don't forget to also check out Tamplier Painter previous art in his Deviant Art gallery, where you'll certainly see some art pieces we've featured before.
StarCraft Universe Mod
Our friends over at MMO-Champion have posted an article about the much talked about StarCraft Universe mod. Since we also think this project deserves more attention we've decided to give it a shout-out as well!
StarCraft Universe is a fan created Starcraft II mod that aims to create a MMO-RPG style game within Starcraft. It tells a story set in an alternate reality, where Kerrigan wasn't able to stop the hybrid’s assault, and the protoss are overwhelmed and defeated.
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Wise ElderAn interview was posted recently on Eurogamer with Game Director Josh Mosqueira and Game Designer Kevin Martens. The main point of the article is to explain why Diablo III will likely never have an offline option for its PC version, why the Auction House will not be removed and the many reasons for those two points. Here are a few excerpts, but you can read the whole article, which encompasses a lot more, over at this link.
"Honestly, at the end of the day, trading is an important aspect of Diablo," Mosqueira continues. "Like it or not, there are players out there who actually attribute real world monetary value to their items. So it was really important for us to provide a safe environment in which they could trade items."
"In the territories where we do not have an Auction House the number of account compromises is completely out of whack with the rest of the world," Mosqueira says, to my surprise. "So the Auction House is serving that intended purpose of providing a safe environment for players in which to trade."
"We acknowledged early on the Auction House did have an impact on the moment to moment gameplay," Mosqueira says. "The whole motivation behind Loot 2.0 is to make sure playing the game was the most fun, the most rewarding and the most satisfying way to get items. That resulted in the philosophy of dropping fewer but better and more epic items. We want players to be in the game and playing.
"Ultimately the Auction House will still be out there, but we don't want players to feel they need to go to the Auction House. If they want to, that's their own choice. But we don't want them to feel they need to go to the Auction House."
Community Commentary: Project Nephalem
A topic over at /r/Diablo has sparked interested in Blizzard and they've decided to highlight it for their community. HonkMonk has created a thread about the upcoming Transmogrification through the Mystic in Reaper of Souls. He, among several others, have posted some interesting examples of combinations of gear that have great looking outcomes. Check out the post below for more information.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)
While transmogrification is still under development and many details remain pending, a number of players have already begun to plan out their transmog sets. If you're thinking about doing the same (or are just interested in the idea), then we encourage you to join HonkMonk's discussion over on /r/Diablo. It's a great brainstorm about fashion in Sanctuary, ways to theme your Nephalem's gear, and inspiration for people who just aren't totally sure what to wear.
Players are also invited to share images of what their heros will look like once transmogrification is implemented. Here are a few examples created by Joorkax, haaany, and HonkMonk himself!
So, do you already have an outfit you're planning to transmogrify? Or maybe you'd love some advice on how to achieve a specific look? Let us know in the comments below, or dive in to HonkMonk's /r/diablo thread
Mephisto Fan Art by Tamplier Painter
This absolutely stunning fan art of Mephisto has been created by Tamplier Painter. It was made for the 'Design by Human' contest, which by the way has one of the most impressive collections of Diablo art out there! Don't forget to also check out Tamplier Painter previous art in his Deviant Art gallery, where you'll certainly see some art pieces we've featured before.
StarCraft Universe Mod
Our friends over at MMO-Champion have posted an article about the much talked about StarCraft Universe mod. Since we also think this project deserves more attention we've decided to give it a shout-out as well!
StarCraft Universe is a fan created Starcraft II mod that aims to create a MMO-RPG style game within Starcraft. It tells a story set in an alternate reality, where Kerrigan wasn't able to stop the hybrid’s assault, and the protoss are overwhelmed and defeated.
The dev team is currently running a Kickstarter campaign and has released a multiplayer demo, so be sure to give it a try if you are interested!
Ha. Bagstone.