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Diablo twitter: "Blizzcon will be really cool this year :-)"
- Thread starter maniac-kun
- Start date
It's not done until they say it's done, you either like it or not. If new good content comes out, a lot of people will play and keep playing.
The color pallet isn't the only element to the art style. It's a direct transplant of Warcraft 3 and World of Warcraft design into Diablo 3. Gigantic shoulders and pauldrons, blocky body proprotions, and yes, designs that appear cartoony. The latter acts simply have a darker color pallet within the cartoony aesthetics.
When it used to look like:
I feel like you could have picked a better comparison to make a point about ridiculous shoulderpads in Diablo III vs Diablo II than a shot where the Necromancer has a gigantic spiked skull for a shoulderpad that is literally bigger than his head.
Bolivar687
Banned
Agree we could be in for a long marketing cycle if Diablo III is any indication.
Not to interrupt people reliving the leading debate of 2009, but Blizzard also announced that they expect to stop advancing Diablo 3 eras with every season, because there most likely won't be notable balance changes going forward, because the game is clearly finished: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/20304671/developer-chronicles-eras-9-29-2016
Harmondale
Member
Please let it be D4,a crisp ps4 neo mode and Most importantly Always online for consoles too. I stopped with d3 due to the hacked equipments, takes out all the fun and purpose of the game.
Any thoughts on possibility for Always online on consoles? Might have to get a pc instead..
Any thoughts on possibility for Always online on consoles? Might have to get a pc instead..
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
They're obviously referring to the impending Warcraft 4 announcement.
Orthogonal
Member
This, so much. The WoWification of the art direction in D3 was awful. Please take the art direction darker. (Colors are fine).
While they are at it, let's also make sure the story is a little deeper and more mature than a Saturday morning kids cartoon.
Possumowner
Member
Cmon Blizzard give us the goodies...new Diablo,Warcraft,Starcraft,WoW stuff...I can but dream
zombieshavebrains
I have not used cocaine
Hopefully it's not a diablo 2 remake. Why live in the past?
Bear Force One
Banned
Such an amazing time to be a Blizz fan.
Anoregon
The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
I'd definitely prefer the announcement of a new game than another D3 expansion. I actually think they did a great job turning D3 around with the release of Reaper and subsequent patches, but there's still only so much you can do within an existing framework. As others have said, I'd hope they can take the lessons learned from what didn't work in the design of D3 and sort of combine the best aspects of all three games into something really special.
Despite the ARPG genre being fairly healthy (or saturated, depending how you look at it) there still isn't a single game out there that gets everything right. All of the games I have played has a few great pieces but suffer in other areas that prevent them from really being amazing. I frequently find myself wishing there was a game that had, for example, parts of D3, PoE, even Marvel Heroes, among others, combined into a true GOAT.
Despite the ARPG genre being fairly healthy (or saturated, depending how you look at it) there still isn't a single game out there that gets everything right. All of the games I have played has a few great pieces but suffer in other areas that prevent them from really being amazing. I frequently find myself wishing there was a game that had, for example, parts of D3, PoE, even Marvel Heroes, among others, combined into a true GOAT.
Depending on what you define as stuff, you'll most likely be getting:
Diablo: Diablo 4
Warcraft: I assume you mean the RTS series, so nothing.
StarCraft: Microtransaction cosmetics, a new co-op commander, and a teaser of the new mission pack.
World of Warcraft: The next content patch.
Blizzard has a house art style. D4 will look like a Blizzard game. IMO that's a step up. Diablo 2 is a masterpiece but it has the art direction of a GeForce 2 retail box. I like the cartoony style. D3 featured plenty of guts and dead bodies and enemies exploding into whirlwinds of blood and viscera. It's not as dreary as D1 or D2 but it's still a fitting aesthetic for Diablo.
Fallout-NL
Member
Picking promotional artwork to make the comparison is kinda unfortunate anyway, since in the actual game, the designs are a lot less exaggerated.
I know that in discussing these matters I suppose taste is a big factor. But I'm going to have to disagree with you there. Diablo 1 and 2 had a tone that was an excellent fit for the games and their backstory. Diablo 3 did deviate from that tone in a lot of important ways that, I (and a lot of other people) feel is a step down from what the first two games special.
I feel the primary problem with Diablo 3's character models is that the graphics quality is pretty bad.
Here's the same Wizard design in Diablo 3 and Heroes of the Storm.
The ability of Blizzard Irvine to actually execute on their art direction requires an amount of detail that only really appears on Diablo 3's enemies as opposed to the player characters.
As an example of that, Azmodan looks basically the same:
Here's the same Wizard design in Diablo 3 and Heroes of the Storm.
The ability of Blizzard Irvine to actually execute on their art direction requires an amount of detail that only really appears on Diablo 3's enemies as opposed to the player characters.
As an example of that, Azmodan looks basically the same:
Diablo 1 and 2 have an aesthetic that feels like Hellraiser.
Diablo 3 feels like Zack Snyder meets Michael Bay.
I would lose my shit for D4 day and date on consoles. I wound up buying 3 copies of 3 (PC, PS3, PS4) and I have zero regrets. Just a ridiculously fun game and a perfect fit on consoles.
If D4 is more like D3, consoles might be preferable, but if they hearken back to D2, I can't see anything other than PC being the preferred platform.
Do we want something more like Gauntlet or do we want something more like Path of Exile?
I personally believe that re-embracing the series roots will allow it to chisel out a spot as the undisputed king of a genre that has become so homogenized that there are clones of it popping up on smartphones.
wapplew
Member
I'll be torn about which version to get...most likey double dip.
Bolivar687
Banned
The temptation to go for the former is probably irresistible to Blizzard.
Unknown Soldier
Member
I honestly feel like Diablo lost a lot of personality going from the sprites of D1/2 to the relatively low detail and quality 3D of D3. Hopefully with better engine and higher target hardware spec, D4 can go back to looking more like D1/2.
We might be talking past each other because I agree that the tone of D3 is real cornball and a definite downgrade from the prior games. The torture chambers below Leoric's castle look great. The ground is suitably blood soaked. Painful looking implements of torture line the walls. The corpses of doomed prisoners are piled in barrels like so much refuse. But then, there's like rotating flame throwers and walls of spikes slamming together like some very extreme version of Double Dare. It's not scary. It's almost like a satire of scary. Here is all this horrific stuff, but it doesn't evoke dread. It doesn't feel serious as the old games and I do think that's the wrong move for Diablo. I also think it's the only way modern Blizzard knows how to make games, so at least it looks good and makes an honest effort at continuing the Diablo feel.
I feel the primary problem with Diablo 3's character models is that the graphics quality is pretty bad.
Here's the same Wizard design in Diablo 3 and Heroes of the Storm.
The ability of Blizzard Irvine to actually execute on their art direction requires an amount of detail that only really appears on Diablo 3's enemies as opposed to the player characters.
As an example of that, Azmodan looks basically the same:
I'd jump back into D3 if they updated the player character models / animation. HOTS Johanna model is BAE.
D3 female crusader looks decent, but her attack animation looks off.
The job postings for Diablo 4 mention physically based rendering, so it has the potential to look even better.
Bronetta
Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
And he would have gotten away with it if it werent for those meddling nephalem!
StalkerUKCG
Banned
Full character customization and decent looking models and I'm in.
RoS Spoilers
RoS Spoilers
[Malthael was interesting both thematically and visually. He was a good villain criminally underused. I really liked his character and would have enjoyed more.
Makoto-Yuki
Banned
diablo 3 is the only one i've played and really enjoyed it. i'd be there day 1 for Diablo 4. a remastered Diablo 2 would be cool. i know you can still buy it but i'm worried it just too dated now to start playing.
what do people expect from d4, anyway?
i don't think they will make something with similar character building as d2 again. by that i mean semi-permanent skill/talent point allocation, gear that requires certain stats to equip. that is not to say that d2 was designed great, a lot of "choices" in that game were really traps.
will they create an economy/trading again?
will there be pvp? d3 promised pvp but obviously plans for it were scrapped long ago
i mean if you look at d3, they nailed how it feels to play - visually, aurally it's still the best. but the character building is absolutely boring. there is no economy since they eliminated trading. every character can use any skill or gear of their class, you just need to have reached the appropriate level. i can understand why they did this -- in these kinds of games, if you make the wrong "choices" when it comes to building a character then you might get stuck at a certain difficulty. they wanted to avoid that possibility, which is just a different philosophy, it isn't necessarily superior or inferior. finally, gear is homogenized -- pretty much every build wants the same kind of stats, with the invoker set being one big exception.
all the power is concentrated in sets, which tell you what skills to use because they prop up skills with large 500%+ modifiers. and even in the non-set slots, there are often ideal items that synergize with the sets, so every build using a particular set is kind of stuck using particular supporting gear. E.g., unhallowed essence, yang's recurve + dead man's legacy. on top of that, sets aren't even balanced to be close each other in power.
what i expect:
same great visuals/sound
same corny story
no trading/economy, no pvp, homogenized characters
i don't think they will make something with similar character building as d2 again. by that i mean semi-permanent skill/talent point allocation, gear that requires certain stats to equip. that is not to say that d2 was designed great, a lot of "choices" in that game were really traps.
will they create an economy/trading again?
will there be pvp? d3 promised pvp but obviously plans for it were scrapped long ago
i mean if you look at d3, they nailed how it feels to play - visually, aurally it's still the best. but the character building is absolutely boring. there is no economy since they eliminated trading. every character can use any skill or gear of their class, you just need to have reached the appropriate level. i can understand why they did this -- in these kinds of games, if you make the wrong "choices" when it comes to building a character then you might get stuck at a certain difficulty. they wanted to avoid that possibility, which is just a different philosophy, it isn't necessarily superior or inferior. finally, gear is homogenized -- pretty much every build wants the same kind of stats, with the invoker set being one big exception.
all the power is concentrated in sets, which tell you what skills to use because they prop up skills with large 500%+ modifiers. and even in the non-set slots, there are often ideal items that synergize with the sets, so every build using a particular set is kind of stuck using particular supporting gear. E.g., unhallowed essence, yang's recurve + dead man's legacy. on top of that, sets aren't even balanced to be close each other in power.
what i expect:
same great visuals/sound
same corny story
no trading/economy, no pvp, homogenized characters
I love Diablo 3. But content wise, it's done. They have moved on.
The traps are the point. What's the point of decision-making if every decision leads to you being awesome? It'd be like the American education system.
RPGCrazied
Member
Diablo 4 is too soon. Its either D2 HD or a new expansion for 3.
secretanchitman
Member
I wouldn't mind a new expansion for Diablo 3, Diablo 2 HD or Diablo 4. Anything Diablo is a day 1 purchase from me.
Good thing I have that day off to watch it!
Good thing I have that day off to watch it!
Vincent Grayson
Member
It kills me that Diablo 2 is easy to get and play, but Diablo 1 is nowhere to be found. Same with Warcraft 2.
Yeah I would buy any of these things so long as there's a console release. I was surprised how much I enjoyed D3 on console.
I feel like it's just too late to be another Diablo 3 expansion.
Diablo 3 was released in 2012
Reaper of Souls was announced in 2013, and released in 2014
By the time we get to Blizzcon, 2016 is almost over.
Assuming an expansion was announced at Blizzcon, we'd be looking at a likely early 2018 release date. That would be 4 years after the previous expansion and 6 after the original game. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it feels too late.
Anoregon
The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
Well, two reasons: One, because it's a video game and permanent choices that can cause your character to be garbage are rightly unappetizing to a lot of people. Especially when those choices only become appreciably bad long after you are asked to make them.
And two, it's totally meaningless to have "decision making" when there is an objectively correct path/build to take for almost every scenario, and you can just google what that build is before you even start a character.
Because that's what happens, and I don't understand the appeal of people having to cut their teeth on a shitty first build before becoming aware of online resources that tell you how to make a "good" character so they can then start over on a real build.
That's what respecs are for. Maybe they can add a way to grind them like they did with D2. This permanent choices argument never made sense to me unless you only remember D2 when it released. I'm not asking for classic D2, but I also don't want to be able to change builds willy nilly. It totally undermines the story campaign to irrelevant status since you only need to play your character once. A set normal/hard/very hard difficulty mode would also make the campaign more relevant instead of being able to change the difficulty you're comfortable with. Too much handholding these days.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
If it's Diablo 4, hopefully Blizzard can redeem themselves in my eyes. Over the last decade, I went through a progression of "Blizzard can do no wrong" to "Don't care anymore". Them and SquareEnix have probably had the largest falls from grace, for me.
Obliterator
Member
It's going to be Diablo 4. By the time it releases there will be 5+ years between it and Diablo 3 which in the modern times should be more than enough to release a high caliber RPG.
And I can't freaking wait for it
And I can't freaking wait for it
Abstrusity
Member
In before open world Diablo, Diablo card game, Diablo 1 remaster, or a new patch for Diablo 2.
Or, and this one's a kicker: Diablo team is just saying Blizzcon is going to be fun this year because this year they'll actually be able to do things instead of sit in panels all day, since they have nothing else to do.
LoweredExpectatioooooons.madtv
Or, and this one's a kicker: Diablo team is just saying Blizzcon is going to be fun this year because this year they'll actually be able to do things instead of sit in panels all day, since they have nothing else to do.
LoweredExpectatioooooons.madtv
player choices do not need to be permanent to be meaningful -- in 1.13, even D2 added respec with the token of absolution, plus akara will let you respec. in poe there are orbs of regret which let you reallocate skill points. so if i were designing a game i'd make it semi-permanent like this. if you want to make a different build there needs to be at least a minimal investment.
i would much rather not have a D3 situation where the only thing differentiating my barb from yours is gear -- all characters have access to the same skills after all
ideally, we get a well-designed system where there aren't trap choices, where choices are meaningful and characters are varied due to player choice.