Hell has frozen over (Diablo 3 is coming)

DesertFly · Post by **DesertFly** » 2008-06-28 07:50am

Hmm, I've been considering picking up the first two Diablos. If I do it within a couple of years I should have plenty of time to enjoy them and still catch D3 on its release date.

Okay, lame joke I know, but I can't think of anything else at 5 in the morning. Soooory.

Melchior · Post by **Melchior** » 2008-06-28 07:57am

It's polygonal, but it seems tasteful.

Pelranius · Post by **Pelranius** » 2008-06-28 10:43am

Graphics remind me of Neverwinter Nights. I can't really say why, to be honest though.

Straha · Post by **Straha** » 2008-06-28 12:07pm

The cinematic trailer looks really really nice. And the game play looks fascinating. I'm shocked that Blizzard was able to keep this under their hats for this long. With this and Starcraft II on the way out all we need is Warcraft 4: Lothar's Revenge and it'll feel like the full moon has come out and the lycanthropic pre-WoW Blizzard has returned bringing with it gaming genius.

Covenant · Post by **Covenant** » 2008-06-28 01:02pm

Pelranius wrote:Graphics remind me of Neverwinter Nights. I can't really say why, to be honest though.

Not to sound like a Broken Record, but it looks like Titan Quest to me. Watching the Barbarian play was a lot like watching my dude in TQ, with his 'dash over here and crush you' move and the slow, heavy hits that can take out a few enemies at once.

The Witchdoctor looked like a DIRECT copy of the Nature mastery in TQ, which summons dogs and casts Plague as it's first-off spells, and the Plague not only looks the same (a swirling green cloud) but it also jumps from enemy to enemy so long as they're in proximity, allowing you to swiftly take out a swarm of living units if you can keep them packed.

This is not to say that D3 is simply TQ2, but that I'm plealsed to see a lot of the stuff I thought was an improvement make it into the game (improved UI for one, via the LMB/RMB and secondary hotbar buttons via a toggle switch) and I find it somewhat funny that they stuff I've seen is so incredibly familiar, but I was especially relieved they stopped making classes gender exclusive, something I really appreciated in TQ as well. It should be fun, it seems like they did a lot of the stuff we talked about. They worked in the improved combo/skill system, they slowed down the combat some (for the most part anyway) and removed dependence on potions--at least that I can see, it's possible they've still got a potion button somewhere. Should be fun.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-06-28 01:26pm

I would say we shouldn't expect too much. Looks like they tweaked the gameplay, added fancy graphics, but at the end of the day, it's just a long delayed sequel.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-06-28 04:04pm

I hope they're not using a static camera angle (I can see that they have at least 2 angles, but only one seems useful in combat) as that was one of my minor gripes with D2. Being able to swing the camera around in order to get a better view of the action would be great.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2008-06-28 09:25pm

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

EDIT: The destructible environments looks like so much fun.

EDIT2: Apparently they're making whole new classes, no current plans to bring old classes over. That said, Witch Doctor looks like the new Necro.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-06-28 10:02pm

Shinova wrote:Apparently they're making whole new classes, no current plans to bring old classes over. That said, Witch Doctor looks like the new Necro.

Other than the Barb of course. And I would agree with your assessment of the Witch Doctor, especially with some of the comments that were made in the play demo. And actually, I think we'll also see the Sorceress come back too, as that was the only class that really couldn't mash it up close range, and relied almost exclusively on magic.

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2008-06-28 10:27pm

I've read comments about the Witch Doctor being a combination of Necro and Druid, and it kinda seems so.

I'm certain they'll have a sorceress-type pure-magic character, along with a bow/arrow character.

Oh and you can select the gender of your character. Wheee!

Ohma · Post by **Ohma** » 2008-06-29 01:24am

Well the engine they're using looks solid...but I hope they tone down the colors a bit for the final release (more towards the aesthetics of the Sin City movie than...WoW or TQ). And maybe work on making the characters and monsters a bit less WoW-esquely exaggerated too (the male barb and the cultist dudes strike me as out of place).

Other than those bits what little else was on the page seems promising from the get go. Hopefully the development team are taking what was good from the Diablo clones that have popped up since 2's release and working those bits into a suitably faux-gothyfantasyhorrory setting.

Post by **Vympel** » 2008-06-29 01:28am

Looks good. Not too Warcrafty in graphics (unlike the abysmal SC2 offering) and sufficiently gory - watching that big boss at the end eat the Barbarian was wicked.

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-06-29 02:18am

Vympel wrote:Looks good. Not too Warcrafty in graphics (unlike the abysmal SC2 offering) and sufficiently gory - watching that big boss at the end eat the Barbarian was wicked.

There was one thought that ran through my head in that instant: Did that just happen?

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-06-29 11:54am

*insert fanboy squeal here*

I spent many a long night on Diablo ii. It's going to be fun.

Check out the section they have on the skeletons, it's actually quite funny. They explain the odd propensity for skeletons to hide themselves in barrels...

Braedley · Post by **Braedley** » 2008-06-29 02:44pm

... for three hundred years only to pop out once a travelling hero breaks the barrel.

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-06-30 02:35am

Straha wrote:The cinematic trailer looks really really nice. And the game play looks fascinating. I'm shocked that Blizzard was able to keep this under their hats for this long. With this and Starcraft II on the way out all we need is Warcraft 4: Lothar's Revenge and it'll feel like the full moon has come out and the lycanthropic pre-WoW Blizzard has returned bringing with it gaming genius.

If there's anything that Blizzard can do well, it's the cinematic interludes.

I second the call to make it darker, even Act II of Diablo II was 'darker' than the gameplay trailer, and Act II was a friggin desert.

Ford Prefect · Post by **Ford Prefect** » 2008-07-01 12:29am

Look, I don't know. The interior of the temple seemed suitably dark enough, and why exactly can't it be sunny from time to time in Sanctuary? The grass looks a little like astroturf, but it's tone should be dark, not every environment.

To that end, it looks like fun. The Barbarian's skills were suitably visceral and the Witch Doctor's wall of zombies was awesome.

wautd · Post by **wautd** » 2008-07-01 01:58pm

Looks good. I see me buying this

hongi · Post by **hongi** » 2008-07-02 04:51am

Okay, okay, I know I'm harping on about this, but I was a massive Diablo fan for ages so I feel I have the right to whinge.

There's a huge debate going on with Diablo fans about the graphics quality of DIII. And I know it's in pre-Alpha, but going by interviews, it's apparently been in the works for 4 (?) years and they're pretty much happy with the art direction and are focusing on the content now. I'm not happy. It looks too much like WoW. Have a look.

The art direction of Diablo I was first and foremost one of gothic horror. Diablo II less so, but it still had a 'dark' sort of grungy, realistic look to it. I'm worried about how DIII will turn out.

Fingolfin_Noldor · Post by **Fingolfin_Noldor** » 2008-07-02 04:54am

Actually, considering that many of the Diablo 3 designers left (Did they return after the company that made Titan's Quest broke up?), it's questionable how much progress was made in the initial years of development.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2008-07-02 05:12am

Fingolfin_Noldor wrote:Actually, considering that many of the Diablo 3 designers left (Did they return after the company that made Titan's Quest broke up?), it's questionable how much progress was made in the initial years of development.

What? Blizzard still owned the IP, they could just put another team on it.

But hey, the game's made for people who think canned animations = good game. Any pile of goombas could make a Diablo game and profit.

starfury · Post by **starfury** » 2008-07-02 10:52pm

Yeah, didn't a lot of them form that studio that made Hellgate?

Yeah, that was Blizzard North, who I think was responsible largely for Diablo/Diablo II Gothic atmosphere, the current is too WOWish, but I really didn't like the addition of FPS and MMORPG Elements in Hellgate London.

Diablo III on the other hand seems to be Diablo II but 3d, but without it's cool atmosphere, really Sacred 2 seems on the one to come close to having both elements.

Elessar · Post by **Elessar** » 2008-07-02 11:31pm

hongi wrote:Okay, okay, I know I'm harping on about this, but I was a massive Diablo fan for ages so I feel I have the right to whinge.

There's a huge debate going on with Diablo fans about the graphics quality of DIII. And I know it's in pre-Alpha, but going by interviews, it's apparently been in the works for 4 (?) years and they're pretty much happy with the art direction and are focusing on the content now. I'm not happy. It looks too much like WoW. Have a look.

The art direction of Diablo I was first and foremost one of gothic horror. Diablo II less so, but it still had a 'dark' sort of grungy, realistic look to it. I'm worried about how DIII will turn out.

I don't think it's anything some artistic (and gothic) textures couldn't fix.

The actual scenery seems right. It's just that everything is shaded so cleanly.

starfury · Post by **starfury** » 2008-07-02 11:54pm

Now that I think it, this isn't really big departure from Diablo II's art style, which was already far more Lighter then the first Diablo, just some dark shading as I have gone to look at the art of Diablo II, and it was far brighter and stylized then Diablo

Shinova · Post by **Shinova** » 2008-07-03 01:37am

We've only seen two areas so far, both of which don't necessarily have to be dark. I'm with the camp that believes making the whole game grim and dark will lessen the impact of the areas later on in the game that are meant to be truly dark. This contrast is also what the devs are aiming for.