Diablo® III

02/23/2012 01:32 PMPosted by Bashiok

blizzard doesnt owe you anything, blizzard does things according to what THEY think is ok and imporovement to the game so drop your entitlement attitude.

We absolutely don't want that to be anyone's perception. We realize we'll make changes that not everyone will agree with right away, but our hope is that we can at least talk about them with you and over time potentially at least get you to accept it as a valid reason for it, if not make such a compelling case that you're actually happy and excited about the direction we're going.

We're also willing to be wrong. In some cases people think that means that we're caving to pressure, or whatever, but we're able to recognize when we're wrong and hopefully use community feedback to make the game better.

There's also the cases where we straight up make decisions and design things from the start with community requests in mind. Transmogrification is probably the biggest thing recently that went that way, but really everything we do is to make sure everyone is going to absolutely love the game.

To the topic, I think the OP is referring to a tweet I made saying the gem system is essentially the same as it was in Diablo II, and why fix what ain't broke. Which of course implies everything we're changing between the two games is in our minds broken. I don't think that's necessarily too far off, but plenty of things ain't broke. Randomized dungeons, the camera angle, the fast action gameplay, tons of enemies to slaughter, powerful heroes, character customization, random items, the item hunt itself, etc. etc. This is absolutely an awesome Diablo game, and changing systems for the better is not something we'll apologize for. Of course "for the better" is potentially subjective, and so hopefully we can have those discussions and at least inform, make our thoughts and intents understandable, if not downright logical and encouraging.

That said I'm sure specific concerns will crop up here now, and I'll just end by stating we'd prefer to discuss those topics in relevant threads to keep the conversation intact, and will look to being doing so.

Bashiok are you honestly saying most changes were made with the team agreeing that the mechanics were broken? Meanwhile diablo2 is still selling a high volume of copies for a ten year old game that for many is still their favorite game period, I don't get it? If the strategy was to limit the replay value and appeal only to a call of duty/casual type of gamer, then the changes would make more sense. Cash in on the diablo2 loyalist who for sure will be buying this game and make it accessible for everyone else. I have not once seen anyone representing Blizzard come out and say that diablo3 will come close to producing the same amount of replay value as its predecessor. Being told to lower my expectations is bogus because I played the formula that worked and it wasn't broken, it made the game re playable for years.

The idea being that people would be burnt out on diablo3 in less time and then resubscribe to World of Warcraft or another blizzard product. Just wouldn't make sense to make a game that could last ten years because people might not be looking for another fix with a monthly price tag. I dunno, I really hope Blizzard doesn't operate in that manner.

The World of Warcraft crowd that dominates these forums will be more forgiving, but a large part of the PC gaming community didn't lose their gaming virginity to call of duty or WoW. I am still buying multiple copy's of diablo3 and support Blizzard, but if this is the new trend to appeal only to the console/casual crowd, please just let me know so me and many others can take our broken minded business elsewhere.

02/23/2012 05:12 PMPosted by Daxxarri

Bashiok are you honestly saying most changes were made with the team agreeing that the mechanics were broken?

Are you really taking a single sentence out of the entire post out of context, and basing a large response post with an erroneous premise of your own on it?

Are you really surprised? :P

Are we done?

02/23/2012 05:12 PMPosted by Daxxarri

Are you really taking a single sentence out of the entire post out of context, and basing a large response post with an erroneous premise of your own on it?

No matter how many times it happens, it's always surprising.

For the better means unreasonably large hitboxes so you keep attacking or moving towards things you didn't even realize you had "selected".

Are you really taking a single sentence out of the entire post out of context, and basing a large response post with an erroneous premise of your own on it?

You've just described 25% of the Diablo 3 general forum in one sentence.

Have an Aiur cookie.

I'm much more interested in the implications of this:

It's not really anything new - that statement is reflected in the skill system in D3 which we've known for a while now. It is certainly interesting in general, though, as an indication of where the RPG genre is going.

i wonder why they don't respond to good threads

02/23/2012 05:17 PMPosted by Aspie

For the better means unreasonably large hitboxes so you keep attacking or moving towards things you didn't even realize you had "selected".

This hasn't happened to me at all. If anything Diablo 3 has the most intuitive enemy selection in any ARPG I've ever played. I routinely lob Firebombs into large packs and target individual enemies with pin point accuracy.

Why can't you thumb up blue posts? :(

02/23/2012 05:21 PMPosted by DarkGollumQC

For the better means unreasonably large hitboxes so you keep attacking or moving towards things you didn't even realize you had "selected".

I hope this think doesn't work as intended. It doesn't make sense to do that.

If you know how to use a mouse, you'll have no problems with targeting in Diablo 3.

i wonder why they don't respond to good threads

By that I assume you mean why they don't respond to major, more-or-less well-constructed criticisms or concerns about significant issues (such as why the chat looks the way it does, or the skill user interface).

Usually it's because CMs can only report what information they actually have. These things have been revealed only recently, and it takes time to collect feedback, process it, sit down with the relevant designers, get the relevant information on it, then return here to accurately convey that information. What doesn't take time is to point out absurd claims, horribly illogical arguments, or partake in somewhat silly threads.

To me it's a confirmation that Blizzard is knowingly and happily moving away from creating RPGs.

Sad, really. I liked their RPGs.

That just seems silly. Permanent build commitment is not a necessary component of RPGs. If you can seriously look at D3's game systems and say "this isn't an RPG" then I'm not sure what to tell you, except that you must be operating on a very strange or arbitrary understanding of what that genre is.

Its not really an RPG genre anymore is it? An RPG implies that you take a character and build it up/ During the lifespan of that character, decisions are made that will make that character unique, for better or worse. With this new skill/rune system, there are no more repercussions. Its now just choosing a "spec" before you go into dungeon/boss fight XYZ, much like the CoD world where you choose your "spec" depending on the map/game type etc.

So, playing 'correctly' wasn't really rewarded, and playing 'incorrectly' was punished, severely and without much recourse.

In the end, it wasn't really customization, it was the illusion of customization that amounted to a narrow pathway with a sheer drop off on either side.

Yes, this. This is a gaming artifact that needs to be uprooted and destroyed wherever it occurs.