DiabloFans

Quote from "Siaynoq" »

I think Blizzard has always had measures against piracy without resorting to the DRM stuff.

My biggest concern is that Diablo 3 (or Starcraft 2) will be Blizzard's first major modern release (since more of the world has broadband than when Diablo 2 came out) that doesn't have "natural protections". World of Warcraft connects to servers that Blizzard controls and maintains. WoW doesn't really need DRM because of the inherent nature of how it works: Blizzard offers great service (server maintenance, world creation, etc.) for the money paid.

My other fear is that stakeholders get involved and try to exert unhealthy pressure on the developers. Despite all the evidence against DRM, they shout, "Protect our investment! Use DRM!"

If anything, a no-DRM petition would be far more useful than a plea to change the artistic direction.

This issue alone will make-or-break the deal for me. If Diablo 3 (or Starcraft 2) ships with overprotective DRM, I may have to pass on this masterpiece.

For those who don't know, lemme give you a quick rundown of DRM.

DRM = Digital Rights Management. Generally, it grants control over your copy of the game to the game creators (in this case, Blizzard). DRM has varying degrees of restriction. Serial keys are a very light (and in my opinion, acceptable) form of DRM; they control who has access to online benefits. Many games today employ copy protection DRM; the original disc works, but CD-Rs do not. EA recently exerted too much control over Spore (and several games preceding it) by restricting the number of times you can install the game ever (currently, I understand the limit to be 5 installs).

I am OK with serial keys. These keys at least somewhat ensure that my copy is my own. Blizzard also uses these to enable/disable access to Battle.net (great for kicking off cheaters/spammers).

I am NOT OK with games that require online validation of my game to play SINGLE PLAYER (such as Portal or Half-Life 2); I am not always near an Internet source (particularly on my laptop), and I want to enjoy something when Internet is not available.

I am also NOT OK with games that install rootkits or other programs that are designed to watch me, watch what programs I run, and report back statistics to the mother ship. SecuROM (EA's favorite DRM choice for many of its games) is the primary offender here.

The primary problem with DRM is that it is designed to stop piracy... but it never succeeds at doing that! Spore was leaked/pirated before it was even released, and it is a very recent game. Blizzard needs to understand that Diablo 3 will be pirated. That is an unfortunate circumstance in today's world, but any precautions should not royally annihilate the paying customer's experience. Today, pirates are enjoying DRM-free (aka hassle-free) copies of Spore, while the customers who actually gave EA real money have to deal with installation limits, SecuROM, etc.

Another big problem with DRM is that big companies have to maintain DRM servers. Microsoft, Sony, Yahoo, and now Wal Mart all sold DRM-locked music until they decided to stop; they were gonna shut down the DRM servers until customers voiced their rage about being unable to transfer that music (or ever download it again); the servers were kept running a bit longer. I don't know about anyone else, but I still have moments of nostalgia where I like to take my ancient copy of Warcraft II, stick it into my computer, and play it (no matter how old they get). If they required DRM servers to be running, they wouldn't work anymore.

DRM essentially changes purchases into rentals. No one can really purchase EA's Spore; people can only rent it as long as EA permits. Meanwhile, again, pirates (the ones who DIDN'T pay for the game) continue enjoying it with no problems.

Blizzard, be gentle with DRM. Don't require the disc to be in the drive. Don't have the game phone home just to play Single Player. Here is the point: the game will get cracked; the game will get pirated... but I will still go out and purchase the game. There are more honest people in the world than EA gives us credit for. I purchased Diablo 2 despite knowing I could have downloaded it illegally. Give value to your paying fans; don't make piracy the more enticing choice.

I remember being in an 8-player game, at least 4 of whom were summon-based. My awesome computer dropped to like 3 frames-per-second.

4 players is an acceptable size. I'll miss 8-player frenzies, but I won't suffer without them.

The point behind the 1.2 players per game statistic is that, regardless of the reasons, many people just don't care to play together. Many of the reasons listed are fairly accurate. I found myself playing by myself on Battle.net simply because I grew tired of having to fight for my drops (I played a lot of Bowazons). I also grew tired of others' outright lack of cooperation. I'd start a game called "Act 3 NO RUSH", and someone would jump to Travincial and start killing; they'd message me, "You comin'? Hurry up!" So, I just quit and start another one.

All in all, there just was not enough incentive to work with people. I hope that Diablo 3 introduces some monsters that truly almost require multiplayer cooperation to take down. I'm a bit tired of the one-man show (aside from Single Player, obviously).

So, what has Blizzard done to fix this? The individual loot is a big improvement. Yes, some people liked "being first" and "feeling the rush of trying to be first", but this new system encourages groups, and I like that. I'm sure whatever the final game holds will work out great. I'm really eager to see Battle.net 2.0. The original Battle.net had so many fundamental problems (TOO MUCH COMMAND-LINE JUNK).

I thought the forced party option was only for the demo...

Quote from "fuzz" »

Diablo in core is a hacknslasher for me.

Strange. That's what Diablo 3 is.

Wow, I never thought one of the complaints would be that "others might see my uber top secret equipment formula". Give me a break.

LOL! You people would honestly just keep ONE character around (per class) because of respeccing? I highly doubt that. Personally, I will still have various builds for each class. Not only do they have to carry radically different equipment, I don't want to have to respec for every particular kind of situation.

Respeccing will only be there for tweaking.

Personally, I had no beef with the graphics style to begin with, but yes, the new areas do look darker and more ominous. I can't wait to play it.

@fuzz - So, you don't know how the rest of the world plays? You focused almost exclusively on the Barbarian? You conquered the game multiple times that way? My goodness; why are you complaining about Diablo 3 when you haven't even begun to explore the depth Diablo 2 had to offer? You have no place stating whether Diablo 3 is an improvement when you have no clue what you are comparing it to. You're upset because Diablo 3 does not conform to your very narrow-minded view of how the game "should" be played.

And for the love, stop comparing it to WoW. The game will not be WoW. The two games are nothing alike. They're both made by the same company; it's understandable when a tiny feature here or there feels "copied", but they didn't just slap on a new skin to the WoW engine like you keep implying. Open your eyes. The two games play nothing alike. The two games look nothing alike. If you don't agree, then don't buy the freakin' the game.

Personally, I am looking forward to exploring the world of sanctuary. I'm not getting hung up on "new" or "innovative" technologies. I want the game to run smoothly, not employ spankin' new features X Y and Z. This is the next iteration of Diablo. If that's a problem, go make your own since you apparently know how to make the perfect game.

Quote from "McSwitz" »

This arguing is quite petty.

If you don't like the game, simply leave and make our lives better.

NO! We will not be satisfied until someone else bows to us and inflates our ego to ridiculous proportions! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL SOMEONE'S FEELINGS HAVE BEEN HURT!

Yeah... this is pretty stupid...

Blizzard should have released HD 3D Diablo 2 to shut all these people up before announcing Diablo 3.

Quote from "fuzz" »

What big picture? All I see is taking things from WoW and using them in Diablo3 under premise of improvement. Improve what, MMORPG D3 experience?

Step by step in that direction and only thing that will remind of Diablo will be title on the box. Titan Quest has similar gameplay as seen in gameplay videos, but thats not Diablo.

And as for not buying game, I won't buy it. I will pirate it, and most likely even enjoy playing it, for a while. Doubt blizzard will care, they have gazzilion of wow subscribers for whom Diablo 3 is clearly developed in my eyes.

Apparently the game isn't so terrible if it's worth pirating.

Diablo 3 is stupid; it uses a mouse like soooooo many other games out there.

Quote from "angelmaz" »

Enjoy playing with the bunch of idiots who don't think these are reason enough not to buy the game. Maybe you'll even have a chance, like you do in WoW!

Guess what! I am not a fan of WoW. I don't have WoW. I don't play WoW. I don't like WoW.

Diablo 3 looks fine. I'll be glad to not have people like you cluttering up Battle.net. Why are you even on these forums?

Quote from "fuzz" »

More or less agree with OP.

Mostly on "RESPECT THE FRANCHISE" part. It's great that all these "new features and improvements" are in Diablo3, but most of it is straight from blizzards Warcraft franchise, not Diablo. Which saddens me. Graphics, Visual style, UI, skill systems.

It's not evolution of Diablo series, it's mating Warcraft with Diablo.

Now port it to console for extra awesomeness.



Seeing your hard erection and spraying cum on walls talking about Diablo 3 I assume you've played it and your opinion is right and worth reading 110%



True Sheep.

Honestly. Don't buy the game. Show your anger. Teach Blizzard a lesson.

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-That's what you don't realize. Blizzard are caring more for money, than pleasing life long fans. Pleasing a life long fan should be way more important than pleasing some retarded 11 year old that just wants to click away at a game.

I'm a lifelong fan. They're pleasing me. Blizzard is doing fine.

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-New machine? 200$ chipped in for a new card are hardly a lot. Start saving up.

Poor business decision. It may not seem a big deal to you, but I am a poor college student with limited funds and more important purchases than a new graphics card. Blizzard is being smart by making the game accessible to everyone. More money for them. It sounds worth it annoying people like you.

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-Tetris inventory is very fair and efficient, and very realistic, what the hell?

LOL @ 'efficient'

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-What is it to you if I want to put all my skill points in one skill? It's my build, not yours..I won't be forcing you to a specific build, and neither should you. This is a VERY ridiculous concept that a lot of you guys keep brining up.

Cry me a river.

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-Respeccing is ludicrous, since you can't unlearn something. It's also ridiculous because a player would keep respeccing to do different things, and pass the game with ease, or playing PvP with ease. It has a penalty? Players will turn finding what you need to respec, into something as idiotic as rushes to level 90. Same problem, different thing.

If it's the same problem, why are you complaining about it? Just learn to deal.

Quote from name="-Mephisto"s Lament-" »

-Stop saying go play Diablo II..we want a Diablo III that's all new, yet just as great.

But that's what people like you always seem to want. "Make these exact changes now, Blizzard. I hate your changes. Make the ones I want; otherwise, make it like Diablo 2 cuz I'm used to that." If you don't like the changes, don't play Diablo 3. That's one less annoying person I have to deal with on Battle.net.