DiabloFans

Note: In case you don't get a BlizzCon ticket, Diablofans.com and Blizzplanet will be giving away a few free BlizzCon tickets via contests courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.

Eyonix, from the WoW Forums Moderation team, updated info about the BlizzCon ticket sales. For further updates visit the source:

Update: 9:40 PM PDT - We have appreciated everyone’s patience as we've worked to address issues with the BlizzCon ticket sales today. To avoid having people stay up into the early hours attempting to make ticket purchases, we will take ticket sales down and continue implementing optimizations through tonight and tomorrow morning.

There are still plenty of tickets available, so if you weren't able to purchase tickets today, please check back tomorrow. We'll continue to provide updates on the World of Warcraft forums here.

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Update: 8:40 PM PDT- The Blizzard Store is still undergoing maintenance. We will continue to provide updates as they become available. Your continued patience is appreciated.

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Update: 7:40 PM PDT- Maintenance continues on The Blizzard Store as we work to resolve the issues affecting the site. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.

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Update: 6:50 PM PDT- The Blizzard Store has been temporarily taken offline to address an issue that has been reported by players. We are actively working to resolve this issue while work continues on optimizing the website for faster performance. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.

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Update: 5:40 PM PDT- The Blizzard Store is now back online and players may begin purchasing BlizzCon tickets. Please be aware that the Store is currently experiencing slowdowns, however, we continue to make optimizations to handle the ongoing load of purchase requests.

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Update: 5:00 PM PDT- We are aggressively working to bring the Blizzard Store back online so that players may begin purchasing BlizzCon tickets. We will be providing 30 minute ETAs at this point, and appreciate your continued patience.

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Update: 3:15 PM PDT- The Blizzard Store has been taken down for maintenance. We do not have a current ETA but will try to provide an update as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience.

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Update: 2:15 PM PDT- The Blizzard Store is currently experiencing a high volume of traffic. Please be aware that it may take some time to get through to make your purchase. Our Web Administrators are currently working to improve access to ticket sales.

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This morning, we experienced some technical difficulties with ticket sales for BlizzCon. Please be aware that no tickets were sold during the service interruption. If you reached the confirmation screen but did not receive an email receipt, the order did not go through.

We have found and addressed the source of this morning’s issues, and ticket sales are now functioning correctly (though extremely high traffic volumes may still result in occasional delays). We’d like to apologize for the inconveniences caused by these issues, and to thank you for your patience as we resolved them.
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Tickets for BlizzCon 2008 are now available [ http://www.blizzard.com/us/press/080811.html ] for USD $100 each. BlizzCon will take place October 10-11 in Anaheim, California -- head over to the official site [ http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon ] for more information or to place your BlizzCon ticket order. [ http://www.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100000202 ] We look forward to meeting some of you at the show!


*For more information on the DIRECTV pay-per-view click here- http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/dtv/

Ready? Set! Go! -- today is gonna be reload-madness fest with thousands of fans trying to get a hold of a BlizzCon 2008 ticket. It is usual to get error messages half way through the process with so many server connections trying to enter through. That if you get to load the page at all. So, get yourself some snacks and beverages, and start camping the store. Diablofans.com staff will be at BlizzCon covering Diablo III panels, and gathering questions from you live to forward them during the public Q&As. Thus far Diablofans.com Staff planning on going to BlizzCon are: Mockery, Umaro, Medievaldragon, SilVerSurFnStud, Thasador and Zoltrix.

Tickets for BlizzCon 2008 are now available for USD $100 each. BlizzCon will take place October 10-11 in Anaheim, California -- head over to the official site for more information or to place your BlizzCon ticket order. We look forward to meeting some of you at the show!

Those who were not able to purchase a BlizzCon ticket before they got sold out, you may have a slight chance to get one. How? Diablofans.com will soon giveaway a few free BlizzCon tickets via contest, courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment. Stay tuned for more details.

Blizzard Entertainment and DirecTV have partnered to deliver fans of Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft a whooping 16 Hours live HD video coverage of BlizzCon 2008 via Pay-Per-View. This is historic. Blizzard fans for the first time have the opportunity to watch a Blizzard Event via TV.

The great news is that for those fans who subscribe to DirecTV ONLY through the BlizzCon website's special offer will watch the live coverage for free. The current DirecTV subscribers who already have the service will pay only $39.95. That beats paying airplane tickets, hotel and extra costs -- that if you ever get lucky to buy a BlizzCon ticket in the first place. Those are sold like hot bread ... very fast. The offer is not yet active, but will be soon. Keep alert for updates.

DiabloFans.com wants fans to offer feedback:
- Who is going to BlizzCon 2008 on October?
- Who is gonna watch the BlizzCon 2008 Pay-Per-View Coverage?
- Who is gonna watch live streams online?

Remember Blizzard visits Diablofans.com from time to time. Share your feedback.

Blizzcon 2008: Available on Pay Per View in HD
http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon/dtv/

Friday, October 10 and Saturday, October 11, 2008. Live from the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California

DIRECTV Package Includes:

* Over 16 hours of crystal-clear high-definition coverage

* Exclusive interviews and commentary

* Main stage presentations including opening ceremony

* Select panels featuring Blizzard Entertainment developers

* Tournament coverage and team highlights

* BlizzCon 2008 World of Warcraft in-game polar bear mount with mounted, flag-waving murloc

The official BlizzCon 2008 website has been launched revealing some of the Diablo III panels to be showcased by Blizzard developers at the event. Based on the description of the Class Design it is certain they plan to unveil more classes besides the Barbarian and the Witch Doctor.

One of the highlights of any BlizzCon is the opportunity to sit down with Blizzard Entertainment developers to discuss new game features and delve into the development process behind your favorite games. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the developer panels we’ll be hosting at BlizzCon 2008. Check back in the weeks ahead as we add more panels to the list.

Diablo III Class Design
You’ve witnessed the raw physical power of the barbarian and the terrifying alchemy and diseases of the witch doctor. Now you can learn more about these heroes -- and see if any other champions emerge to defend the mortal world.

Diablo III Game Design
Get a detailed look at the design and development process behind the visceral gameplay of Diablo III. We’ll explore the influence previous Diablo games have had, as well as the new and exciting features the upcoming sequel has to offer.

Diablo III – Lore and Art
From lore to spell effects, from creature design to quests -- sit down with our writers and artists as they discuss the creative process of building Diablo III’s rich world of Sanctuary.

Tickets for BlizzCon 2008 go on sale August 11th. Read more about BlizzCon 2008 at http://www.blizzard.com/blizzcon.

Thanks, waddlez (some cuddles & Kudos)

Tracey John, MTV Multiplayer journalist informed us of his recent interview with Diablo 3 Lead Designer Jay Wilson which focused mostly into discussing the new and revamped Secret Cow Level in Diablo 3.

No deep details were revealed, but from the little taste out of Jay Wilson's responses you can tell the Secret Cow Level is coming back but in a different way. He even criticizes the bad things about the cow level in Diablo II, and how they will be tinkering to improve it. It would be useful, but it won't replace core content by farming your levels there rather than through the game itself. There may be a few innovations and surprises to the new version of the Cow Level. Read the interview.

Bashiok has responded to a comparison between Steam and World of Warcraft achievements versus Diablo 3's. The difference between the three is clear: Diablo 3 is not an MMO. -- source

Bashiok: Steam achievements are generally based around small, situational, skill, or long-term goals in short "round" or level based FPS'. So obviously achievements in an MMO are going to be vastly different, and can cover a much wider range of goals from small and fun, to long and involved, and yes even to the impossible.

For us completionists we're going to be frustrated by not being able to have everything. But part of the system is specifically to show off where you've been, how long you've been playing, and what you've accomplished. I'm going to have to deal with the fact that I wasn't everywhere or did everything at some point in time. I'm going to have to focus on the goals I can achieve instead of those I can't. There's no point crying over milk that was spilled two years ago that I just found all dried and crusty under my refrigerator.

That's World of Warcraft though. It's a persistent world and moves and evolves and changes with patch to patch, and expansion to expansion. There's a lot more area for there to be achievements that were attainable at one time, but due to that evolution of the game - are no longer possible.

Diablo III isn't an MMO, it doesn't evolve in the same way, and so there's far less chance for there to be an achievement rendered impossible due to game updates.

DiabloFans.com recently was contacted by MTV's Diablo resident fan Tracey John. As our liaison with MTV Multiplayer, he will keep giving us heads up of any future interviews. Mockery and I knew a new interview/article was going to be released this week -- though we didn't know exactly what it was about.

Surprise! Jay Wilson may have slipped somehow that a Diablo 3 expansion might follow after the release of Diablo 3, and the Necromancer class might return in the expansion. It is not set in stone, but it is a fair hope that the Necromancer or previous classes may be brought back. Read the full article at MTV Multiplayer

... for those who are really passionate about the Necromancer, there’s still hope to see the class in a “Diablo III” expansion. In fact, Wilson thought that expansions might be a great place to bring back any of the old classes not included, particularly since the team itself had passionate debates on the topic — almost as much as the game’s art direction.

Diablo 3 Lead Designer Jay Wilson continues updating his view on the Art Direction and the online petition. This time Jay Wilson talks with Kotaku.

"Diablo is a game you play for, hopefully, hundreds of hours, and one of the rewards is a variety of different-looking environments." People looking back on old Diablo, he said, may have a selective memory. "People remember the Act I dungeons... but they kind of conveniently forget the green fields of Act I, and all of Act II... and it's palaces, its bright deserts."

Thanks, dkreger

Multiplayer on Battle.net 2.0 will be encouraged somehow from the moment you open the Diablo 3 box. Yet Blizzard said at the Invitationals in Paris that Diablo 3 wouldn't be an MMO. This could bring up a few speculations and deep thoughts from fans. What features will Diablo 3 have to encourage creating a Battle.net 2.0 Character instead of a Single player character? The boards are open for discussion.

Araya @ US East: I am torn between getting online and havin fun and playing single player...i mean i looove multiplayer, but if one of those guys has any lead time in game play he better not rush through and spoil the boss fights and areas...

I started d2 backup havent played it in like 2 years and i joined a game and some idiot just waypointed through and beat the bosses and left the rest of us stuck with nothing to do... I would tend to play with a group of friends over random people i guess... i found d2 to be irritating because whoever started the game the quests revolved around them so if they had beat some then you cant get them even though you can defeat the bosses, etc.

Bashiok: One thing that seems to be a fairly consistent experience for a lot of people when they first picked up Diablo II was their introduction to Battle.net. And it wasn't generally a positive one.

Most people, including myself, went home and installed the game and started playing. Over maybe a few weeks or months they've finished the game maybe a few times, they had a ton of fun, but they keep playing and trying to find more items.

One day while loading up the game they notice the "Battle.net" button and decide to click it... and, their characters aren't there. They have to start over. Any of us would have gladly played on Battle.net (in passworded games if necessary) just to have that online/trading option for their character available to them. It felt like a lot of wasted time to find the actual game, which was on Battle.net.

While "starting over" is something almost every Diablo II player is going to do any way, the lack of on-screen instruction or indication as to what the different systems meant left a bad taste.

To help avoid that type of situation we're going to try to find ways to encourage Battle.net character creation first and foremost

Thanks, Demolishman

Bashiok revealed interesting details about boss fights and lesser mob fights that weren't shown in the gameplay video. These events will have gradual signs to let players know each phase of the fight until a boss dies. Players will be drenched in blood if their character is too close to a dying monster.

Whipper: I think it would be cool if we could see marks on boss when a mellee character slice him with a sword or an axe etc....

We can see that the boss have sword marks and axe marks or that he look tired and he walk slower etc. till he die... I think it could add some realistic aspect to the game and more fun killing bosses

Bashiok: For boss fights we don't really want to just start throwing "damage decals" on them. It can very easily be too subtle if you're fighting a smaller boss or one that has odd geometry to it, and it can also end up that no matter the flavor, style, and cool look to a boss you just end up fighting a big gory mess.

Also we think that we can go a lot further than just simple decals and get something much cooler out of a boss fight. So what we hope to do for at least the bosses where it makes sense is to show more apparent and visually noticeable damage states. Instead of a blood splatter they may actually lose a limb, or a piece or armor, or - like the Thousand Pounder - may transform in some dramatic way changing how the fight progresses. We want to go a lot further than just showing sword slashes and instead use dramatic and noticeable (which can be difficult in a game like this) ways to indicate a boss' current state.

Speaking of battle damage though, and I don't think this came across in the gameplay video or any of the screenshots as of yet, but when an enemy dies a critical death it actually drenches your hero in blood if you're within proximity of the spray. It's awesome.

Thanks, Lagovardos

The official Diablo 3 website has been updated with new media: three new concept art images, two new gameplay screenshots and one wallpaper featuring the female from the cinematic.

Sideshow Collectibles and Blizzard Entertainment are proud to introduce the Diablo III Collectible series with this epic first release. The Barbarian Statue depicts the warrior class in fine form, wielding dual-axes in the heat of battle. Each piece is hand-cast in high quality polystone, individually finished and hand-painted to exacting standards, complete with individually assigned edition numbers on the bottom side of the base. Don't miss this opportunity to begin your Diablo III collection with the limited edition Barbarian Statue.

There will be two editions: The normal one and the Exclusive. The Sideshow Exclusive version of the Diablo III Overthrown Polystone Diorama includes a unique feature available nowhere else: Interchangeable helmeted head for alternate display!

Within the world of Sanctuary in the Kingdom of Khanduras, barbarians are an ancient class of legendary warriors. Barbarians are known for their immense size, relentless fury and two-weapon fighting techniques and dwell upon their sacred Mount Arreat. Though once misunderstood to be simple and aggressive invaders, they are a noble, proud people, upholding great tradition - protecting Mount Arreat and the mysterious artifact it holds.

License: Diablo III
Product Type: Polystone Diorama
Product Size: 18" H (457.2mm) x 12.5" W (317.5mm) x 13" D (330.2mm)*
Product Weight: 15.00 lbs (6.8 kg)*

The FLEX plan allows you to pay in three easy monthly payments. Pre-Order your Diablo III Overthrown Diorama.

This week the Diablo III Community Manager Bashiok answered a few questions from the Battle.net forum community continuing the analysis of the gameplay video shown at the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitationals.

Whether all classes will have an ability to traverse obstacles like the Barbarian did, or if they will have to use alternate routes.

Bashiok: While the crumbling bridge could be taken quite literally, it was intended to get the idea across that Diablo III will have more interactive and responsive environmental hazards. Of course if such obstacles existed in the way they were displayed every class would need some way to proceed. At this time we aren't announcing any additional class abilities though.

Is the demo dungeon really Tristram Cathedral? The screenshots are under the Tristram entry on the website, but it's got a different name in the demo. Is it really a test dungeon all around, including the name? Is is it akin to the mini dungeons of Diablo 2, same texture set, randomly generated and individually named.

Bashiok: It used the same "tile set" as the Tristram Cathedral dungeon including a specially made entry room. It was a static and specifically crafted dungeon especially for the demo, so yes it includes the look for Tristram Cathedral, but it's not a true piece of the game as you would play through it.

I've read comments from different developers that the remaining character classes will be entirely new, others indicating there are other classes that have been re-envisioned and revamped. Which is it? Fans are commonly assuming at least the pure caster like the Sorc will return. The Lore guys have also made a point of emphasizing the look and attitude of "veterans" from D2.

Bashiok: Hey, are you kind of kid who reads the last page of a mystery first? Who pesters the magician to tell you his tricks? Who sneaks downstairs to peek at his Christmas presents? Nooooo... of course you're not. That's why I'm noooot goooonna teeeeell yoooou!

Characters can use any and all types of items, barring class specific ones (if I remember an early post you made correctly.) Yet no requirements are listed on the items in the demo. Too early to see the complete package, or change in item requirements?

Bashiok: What I said was: "... we don't plan nor have any armor items at the moment that are class specific - although the bonuses and stats may be better suited to a certain class - anyone can pick up any chest/shoulder/leg/etc item and wear it. However, there are some weapons/off-hand items that are class specific."

No changes to this yet, there just weren't any drops that were class specific. We essentially "hand placed" every drop that happened in the video. We knew people were going to dissect and scrutinize every detail, and everything that drops in that video was purposefully and specifically chosen to be dropped... everything.

Fun fact: I played as the female barbarian for the recording.

The awesome biting off of heads and such...does it relate to game play in some way, or is it a visual effect?

Bashiok: Well the way we imagined the final fight going down when thinking about the flow of the presentation was to have a few heroes killed off, and thought it would be cooler to see someone get ripped in half by a giant demon than just fall down. While it was an event made for the presentation it could definitely be worked in to the actual end-product. We try not to spend time on anything that can't be incorporated in some way. If there's a mockup or some cool flavor added in somewhere to show something off, we want to build it so that it can actually be used.

Outdoor environments. Are they for the most part randomly generated like the dungeons? I've been getting the impression there are more static areas , excluding cities, in the outdoors as opposed to the dungeons.

Bashiok: They're for the most part static. With the outdoor environments we felt we could get a lot more out of them by crafting large and visually impressive scenes, which random map generation really just doesn't allow for all that well. By that same token one of the main goals with Diablo III is to flesh out Sanctuary, to make it feel more like you're in this living and breathing world. With towns shifting around everywhere you do sort of lose a sense of cohesion, and an attachment to the places you're visiting.

On a very slight technical note - for random map generation you're essentially creating a bunch of rooms that can all fit together in various ways. It works quite well for a dungeon which is essentially a series of rooms any way. For an outdoor environment though it tends to make it either fairly bland, or fairly linear just by how the edges have to line up. You're either running zig-zag patterns to find the map edges, or you're running down a narrow pathway. Neither are extremely compelling, and at the same time you're losing the visual grandness that could come from a fully hand-crafted and artistically realized environment.

That said, the outdoor areas aren't completely static.

PCG podcast #139 (entitled Bugged) has revealed that Diablo III is the next cover story of PC Gamer magazine at newsstands. Apparently there will be new art revealed in this magazine, a Q&A with the Lead Art Director, and possibly an interview with Mike Morhaime (Blizzard president). It's mentioned after 7:00 of the podcast, and they also talk about the online petition.
www.pcgamerpodcast.com

"Diablo III will be in the cover of our PC Gamer October 2008 issue, on newsstands by August 19th."

Thanks, dunhac82

Bashiok rolls his engines to answer a few concerns from the Diablo III Gameplay Video.

Q u o t e:
Here are some smaller information I gathered from watching Diablo 3's gameplay video. Some may be obvious but have not been posted, so here it goes!

Undead Comes Back for Revenge

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9872/crawlingtorsc813de9.jpg

At 8:13 of gameplay, an already dead creature comes back to life. A zombie of the undead!

Bashiok: This is the detached torso of a Walking Corpse. After death the torso of the Walking Corpse has a chance to survive, detaching itself and crawling after the hero.

Q u o t e:
Critters

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/5757/critters1409zl6.jpg

14:09 of Gameplay - Besides from there being cute bunnies in Diablo 3, critters don't die. Man, I always liked killing critters in Starcraft. This image is the Witch Doctor throwing a random fire ball which directly hits a critter, but the critter receives no effect.

Bashiok: This was unfortunately a bug that existed in the build that was being used to record the gameplay video. Those critters die, and there's nothing more satisfying than seeing a bunny corpse flung across the screen. It just wasn't working for the demo, which stinks.

Q u o t e:
Leader doesn't die until new spawns come?

http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/2990/leaderdoesntdie1525jy4.jpg

15:25 of Gameplay - That same leader of the post above this one, leads the Witch Doctor and Barbarian to the hill where it was the supposedly "nasty trap" they got caught into. But this leader was not able to get hit or damaged in any way until after the new enemy spawns came.

Frozen

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/4686/frozen1530nx5.jpg

15:30 of Gameplay - The Witch Doctor and Barbarian are frozen by the same group leader. It shows 2 red effects on the bottom left of the screen, one looking image looking like a time thing (forgot what its called lol) which may show how long the effect lasts or just slows target down, and second being ice image, which is for the completely frozen effect. Also when frozen, your whole skill bar goes red. (Frozen effect seems dangerous for Hardcore players !)

Bashiok: It was a scripted event to pretty much have a cool way to introduce the female Witch Doctor and Barbarian, so yeah, it wasn't necessarily indicative of something that would show up in the actual game.

Q u o t e:
Jumping/Dodging?

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/1478/jumping1653kl5.jpg

16:53 of Gameplay - During the end of gameplay, the Siegebreaker Assault Beast boss makes his entrance by slamming through the wall, charging against the players. They all jumped. Either its automatic jump reflexes, which seems kind of weird, or theres a jumping button.

Another part when the jumping is really seen as, what's really going on?
http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8464/dodgeagain1738rc5.jpg
The Siegebreaker charges at the Witch Doctor at 17:38 of gameplay. The Witch Doctor clearly dodges the attack somehow. I would assume, this cannot be automatic reflexes because that would make no sense. Just let him stomp on the damn player, or are the players really dodging somehow?

Bashiok: This is a knock back effect when the Siegebreaker would use its "charge" type ability. It effectively damages your character and pushes them away from the charging path.

Blackdoom: What is the point in posting ideas and suggestions on her asking for this or that to be in the game, or saying those things should or shouldn't be in it. I doubt anyone from Blizzard... at least anyone from Blizzard that matters, is reading any of the posts here, and even if they did, they most likely do not give a rat's ass about what their fans think. Hell in a post, or somewhere I read it, not sure where, they said they make the games and things in the games around what they like, and want to see in a game, not what the fans want. It would be great if they did give a $!@% though, there have been some awesome ideas on here, but they just do not seem like people who care what their fans want. They are in it for the money from what I've seen, even though they seem that way, I am not saying they suck or anything, Blizzard is still the best! Anyway, anyone have proof that blizzard (someone, or a group of people that matter and might carry some kind of decision making weight) actually cares about what we think? An e-mail, a link, past posts, ect...

Bashiok: Aw, of course we care! A large part of my job is specifically to ensure that the valid concerns, comments, and critiques are brought to the appropriate people's attention. That doesn't mean that every idea or suggestion is something we agree with, or are going to base changes on though. There's a point where, as a game designer, you have to stick to your guns and know that your choices and direction are what's best for the game and ultimately those that will be playing it. There's a point where you have to be confident that you're making the right decisions. So at the end of the day you're staying true to your vision and design, and doing what's best for the game.

A good example of us paying attention though was the concern and thread about corpses not sticking around long enough. I read that thread, brought it up, and some discussion was happening on it. Later our lead tech artist Julian was reading through the replies, and got some ideas of how we may want to keep corpses on screen a little longer. Now we're playing around with some changes that shouldn't have a huge performance hit, while still keeping the corpses on screen for variable amounts of time. Hopefully it works out.

Would any experimentation for corpse decay have happened had it not been brought up on the forums? I don't know, maybe, but we're not just dismissing good, valid, and well reasoned concerns.

As I said not every suggestion, comment, or idea is going to be considered, but we're definitely watching and reading.

Thanks, jinx_spam