DiabloFans

Quote from mixer

Things like that boost metagame and metagame gives many people sense of live community on global scale that pushes them to continue playing.

This

Like in SC2 back at launch, this semi-pro player named TLO said one time he tried some crazy strategy, and dominated with it in a few ladder games one evening. He faced other people using his own strategy against him (he played random back then) only hours later on that same evening.

HOW COOL IS THAT!?

I dunno, I think I understand it pretty well, you just don't like what I'm saying. It's OK though, I'm fairly certain Blizz sees things my way and will implement inspection features.

On the another note, those kind of games that don't let you see eachother's equipment/build/whatever very well are exactly the kinds of games that have poorly developed metagames. If all information is hidden except by those who choose to share it, the metagame advances slowly. It makes the game boring. That's why SC2 is so great--all those share features mean strategies switch up in mere hours. Things spread lighting fast!

That's not straw-man, that's fact. A very small number of people come up with the builds MOST people use. The odds of you being among them are exceedingly small. You don't want to protect your build unless you think it's good. Therefore, statistically speaking, wanting to protect your build means you think a lot better of yourself than you are.

Delusion:

I am a genius and my builds will kill everyone. OMFG A NOOB STOLE MY BUILD MY SECRETS ARE OUT AND NOW EVERYONE WON'T THINK I'M A GENIUS. My e-peen is small now.

Reality:

No one cares about your build.

The handful of people who come up with the best builds will share them and won't care. Why? Because they know they're good players, and they don't give a shit if someone else uses their items. It doesn't mean anything.

Personally I hope they keep weapon effects to just the enchantments. The visual effects for these things are going to be very small on the screen, and trying to make them too complex will probably end up making them muddled.

By keeping it to just the enchantment, we always know the source (and can therefore predict the approximate strength).

Though yeah, it seems like gems might not even be providing the same types of bonuses anymore anyway.

Quote from Uldyssian

It's good to see who gets pissed from this type of thing. It helps me keep a list of folks not to play co-op with when the time comes.

Guess you'll be playing alone buddy

On a related note, now I'm dead inside. There is no love left in the world. Only cold, cruel hate. Maybe in a few years I'll get to see a new screenshot, and my tattered soul will have but a brief moment of rest from it's endless torment.

I think he said "oh, we're gonna kick the crap out of you" in regards to why everything is so smooth and streamlined--so they can make the game harder.

Screw wisdom, this was a giant bait-and-switch. I mean, wallpapers, fine. But the exact same ones we've had available for freakin' months, in some cases years? Who thought that was a good idea?

You don't have a fucking 5 month buildup for a few rehashed images that probably took one guy ten minutes in Photoshop.

Seriously, if they'd switched this one with any of the other milestones it would have been better...

Big sad face...

Oh well, beta is coming, unless that's a lie too and we're all going to die alone diablo-less in fifty years

I like the current solution, they seem like they'll add a lot of flavor for the story the first time through, but without affecting endgame balance and interest.

Since core vs non-core and developer controlled design vs feedback design keep coming up, let's be clear:

This site is mostly core fans, and this entire thread is one half disagreeing with the other half.

We aren't unified on whether removal of the talisman is good or bad. It's not like Blizzard is removing a beloved feature to the outcry of fans all over the world. They're removing a feature that a dedicated Diablo fansite newsguy had forgotten about.

Secondarily, though it's been discussed very thoroughly, I'd like to throw in that game design does not work based on popular opinion. At all.

Designers have to make decisions and test and build something, THEN get feedback on how it works and refine it. Rinse and repeat. That Henry Ford quote was spot-on. It's actually difficult to get some kids to try chocolate simply because it's unfamiliar. The exact same thing is true of entertainment. There's a reason why Hollywood produces 90% formulaic garbage. In fact, there's a reason why the GAME industry produces 90% formulaic garbage. People like the familiar, and it kills innovation.

And of course, as they should, Blizzard takes the correct route and does not implement features they think are bad, regardless of customer feedback. The fact is, between designing games for years (YOU ARE NOT A DESIGNER), and having testers playing their game and giving feedback after having actually PLAYED IT every single day, their opinion matters a lot more than yours.

Wizards can use a lot of melee weapons. There's not that many restrictions I don't think. I'm almost 100% certain they can use the majority of 1h melee weapons and shields. I *think* the restrictions for them are for big melee 2 handers, like mauls and 2h axes and stuff.

Melee wizard is far from dead.

This is Blizzard, their art department is ridonc. Monks will look awesome, just like everyone else

Probably only like 8 or 9 hours with D2 But ~15 hours with SC2 right after it came out. I too lose interest when I get sleepy. However, sessions like that for new games I pick up are not uncommon. RTSs tend to hold my interest the most, so after long-ass sessions I dream isometrically

However, on non-gaming deals I've been awake for like 60 hours... college can be so much fun. I had to finish a sketchbook and do some other drawing-related things, so my hand was cramped up like a bastard at the end, and the skin was rubbed off the inside of the last knuckle on my middle finger.

Constant placement and constant timing are good for exactly the reasons bliz said: It's not random, so you can plan for it, and it gives you incentive to move in when the globes are coming and move elsewhere otherwise ('cause it's not a great place to fight). It creates rising tension levels right before each globe timer goes off, and releases it once they've been claimed.