Diablo III

[cichlidfan]

:megalol:

Yep, 'timesink' is what one and two were for me as well. That clock is definately a good addition.

 

Going slow here as well. Level 11 but I just started another run through as well.;)

[EtherealN]

Is there really zero character customization apart from items and which skills you put on your skill bar? I was expecting, at the least, talent trees and a respec cost; I really like that system. Not sure I'm liking this all-characters-are-equal system.

 

Indeed. Though, to be honest, the whole "apart from items" and so on is actually a huge thing. That's basically a design decision they done here - they don't want people to get stuck in skills and want that to be fluid. The "business end" is when you design what types of kit you collect and how you complement that with various skills and runes. That's where the difference between a kiting wizard and a melle monster wizard happens, for example.

 

It's just different means to the same end, while keeping to a general objective of keeping it "safe" for the player to experiment. Similarly, assuming you have the kit, you don't end up as the "odd man out" if you play melee wizard in SP, and then you join a group of friends where a range wizard would work a lot better. Then you just refit to your other kit. :)

 

Anyway, if you want, PM me your bnet contact info and I'll add you :)

 

No characters on the US server yet - I play on euro. ;)

[Peyoteros]

Mad mans diary,

 

It's 0445 on Saturday morning, I'm already playing...

Yeah!:bounce:

Edited May 19, 2012 by Peyoteros

[Toxe]

over a decade and they're still stuck in isometric view. looks horrible.

Nope.

[Toxe]

I was a little worried about the skill system but I think it's fantastic. I would have expected a little respec cost, but there are enough money sinks. Anyways, it's great to experiment with skill and rune combinations and try different things.

[cichlidfan]

Mad mans diary,

 

It's 0445 on Saturday morning, I'm already playing...

Yeah!:bounce:

 

I have to make sure that I am not still playing at that time.:D

[Bricks]

Argh, by the time i'll get it, you'll be so uber-leveled-up that there won't be any point in playing it with you. :P

 

You can always start a new character and enjoy the game with a fresh start.

[leafer]

Not trying to get verbal raped or anything but what's the big deal with role playing game? I cannot, for the life of me, get into one. I did like the original Fallout but even that didn't hold my interest for very long.

[KillaALF]

Diablo 3 is not a role playing game, it's hack-n-slash. What's the big deal with simulations? FPS? Strategy games? Games in general? All just a matter of different tastes.

[leafer]

I was hoping someone would go into a little more detail about why he/she likes it, but that works too. :D

[Bricks]

Diablo 3 is not a role playing game, it's hack-n-slash. What's the big deal with simulations? FPS? Strategy games? Games in general? All just a matter of different tastes.

 

Is it not? What makes WoW, HDrO or Skyrim more of a roleplaying game than D3?

 

IMHO all PC-RPGs come down to hack and slay in reality. There are only a few quests, that really involve thinking and solving mysteries with your brainpower.

 

If you want to experience real roleplaying, you need a pen&paper-game. Anything else just comes down to fighting your problems with your sword.

[Bricks]

Not trying to get verbal raped or anything but what's the big deal with role playing game? I cannot, for the life of me, get into one. I did like the original Fallout but even that didn't hold my interest for very long.

 

Take Fallout, WoW, HDrO or [insert any RPG-name here], take away the running and playing the messenger for X and Y and add a few more opponents and there you go.

 

It's just the basic "Go out, kill dark forces and return with the loot".

 

IMHO D3 is in that regard... more honest... than most other RPGs.

[Toxe]

I was hoping someone would go into a little more detail about why he/she likes it, but that works too. :D

Well if you want to classify it then Diablo 3 would be a roguelike + dungeon crawler. :smartass:

 

It has nothing to do with classic RPGs, you don't play a character / role and don't have to do any decisions that would change the story, world or fate of your character.

 

It boils down to: Grab your weapon, kill loads of enemies, search for better items to equip your character in order to slay stronger enemies and be happy about it. It's quite simple really, but obviously simple doesn't necessarily mean bad. But in comparison to classic RPGs this very, very fast paced and, well, that's why it's called an action-RPG after all. Some people like this, some people think it's shallow.

 

Personally my D3 time has been great so far. I have finished the game now once, solo on Normal difficulty and took my time to slowly explore every zone and talk to all the NPCs and to find all the lore books. Now I am playing through it again, on the next higher difficulty. I have been playing some multiplayer now and it has been great fun so far. Last night me (Demon Hunter) and another player (Monk) were fighting our way through some levels and we had some epic battles. So many times we were close to dying but somehow we pulled through and survived (well, most of the time at least). Great fun and some great loot. :thumbup:

 

But as I said this has not that much to do with more classic single player RPGs like Ultima, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, Gothic, Risen, Mass Effect and so on. In classic RPGs you spend more time exploring the world, talking with NPCs and doing quests and puzzles. Fighting usually is only a small part of the gaming experiance.

 

Personally I love both. :)

 

Now, online-RPGs / MMOs like WoW are something else entirely again and got more in common with Diablo than with classic RPGs.

[Bricks]

In classic RPGs you spend more time exploring the world, talking with NPCs and doing quests and puzzles. Fighting usually is only a small part of the gaming experiance.

 

You can do this in D3 as well and earn a lot of sidequests and accolades. In fact, there are a few rewards you can only get for exploring and walking off the predefined path. You can spend days in various caverns and caves that have nothing to do with the plot.

 

But of course, you can play through D3 in 5 hours as well.

 

That's what I like D3 for.

[EtherealN]

over a decade and they're still stuck in isometric view. looks horrible.

 

They're not "stuck" in it. The engine is perfectly capable of doing whatever they want with it.

 

They've limited it to "isometric" because it offers an easy and painless interface that gives you the information you need without forcing extra workload on the player. The one way to destroy a game concept is to go "free camera" just because it's "cool". Soooo many games have had their gameplay completely destroyed by the view system being prohibitive, clunky and complex - especially fast-paced games like shooters and hack'n'slash are affected by this problem of chasing "features" because some marketing guy decided they're cool. :P

[EtherealN]

Regarding MMO's and the whole "what is a roleplaying game" debate; it is what you make of it. A game like Diablo 3 doesn't leave you a lot of room for playing a "character" - pretty much none, actually. But games like ME and Skyrim do. Not as much as a classic pen/paper, sure, but considering the limitations of the platform they're doing a very good job.

 

In MMO's, pretty much all bets are off. There is a lot of room to do what you want as long as you hook up with a crowd you like. I've engaged in some pretty epic wars in EVE Online, for example, that were entirely RP based. Lots of fun calling people "Imperialist Pigdogs" and stuff. :) Now of course, we roleplayers were in a minority, so sometimes we'd just roleplay "at" people. Being angry anarchists helped there, since finding someone that could fit our definition of being an "imperialist" was very very easy. :)

 

You just have to realize that the medium means that not all roles "work". You can't have a meaningful time roleplaying a pacificst in Skyrim, for example... :P

[Peyoteros]

Jesus, what happened to the Saturday? :(

[cichlidfan]

Whatever you want to call it, I enjoy it.;)

[Peyoteros]

OMG, can someone disconnect me from the internet... I need to go sleep, please :)

[cichlidfan]

Disconnection is futile.:P

[leafer]

Gotcha. The characters design are very good though.

[Bricks]

OMG, can someone disconnect me from the internet... I need to go sleep, please :)

 

Agreed. It's very addictive.

 

The story and many side-plots are lovely displayed through personal notes of the main characters, diary entries and "scientific" books. All of them are narrated to you in perfectly fitting voices and dialects. Absolutely love this part of D3 and I can only imagine how much work was put into these.

 

I also love the various smalltalks between your character and your "sidekick". Of course, the thief has so much different answers to the same questions than the holy templar. :D

 

I sometimes tend to let them stand there for a few seconds, so they start a conversation :D

 

Hint: The citizens also have a lot of information, when talking to them or just hearing what they talk about. Some of it is great to support the atmosphere, other things are really helpful and lead to some sidequests.

[cichlidfan]

Gotcha. The characters design are very good though.

 

[Toxe]

You can do this in D3 as well and earn a lot of sidequests and accolades. In fact, there are a few rewards you can only get for exploring and walking off the predefined path. You can spend days in various caverns and caves that have nothing to do with the plot.

 

But of course, you can play through D3 in 5 hours as well.

On my first (solo) playthrough on Normal difficulty I played it slow and explored everything I could and talked to everyone and tried a lot of things. It took me 30 hours to finish the game. And from what I have read in the forums looks like I have been very, very slow. But I don't care.

 

The story and many side-plots are lovely displayed through personal notes of the main characters, diary entries and "scientific" books. All of them are narrated to you in perfectly fitting voices and dialects. Absolutely love this part of D3 and I can only imagine how much work was put into these.

 

I also love the various smalltalks between your character and your "sidekick". Of course, the thief has so much different answers to the same questions than the holy templar. :D

 

I sometimes tend to let them stand there for a few seconds, so they start a conversation :D

 

Hint: The citizens also have a lot of information, when talking to them or just hearing what they talk about. Some of it is great to support the atmosphere, other things are really helpful and lead to some sidequests.

Yes that's really well done and it actually amazes me that Blizzard spend so much time and effort to add all this to the game. After all it's something that a lot of people won't ever see or read or listen to. But oh well, their loss.

 

I love the comments that your own character and your companions make throughout the game in the various zones or events. The Templar (which, as a Demon Hunter is my preferred companion anyways) has some funny lines. :)

[Peyoteros]

Diablo III looks very "Titan Quest'ish". No?