Diablo III Beta Announced!

[king]

I'm actually kind of sad that there are multiple members who haven't even heard of Diablo...

That, or I'm getting trolled really hard.

now i never said i havn't heard of Diablo...i have just never seen of it or talked about it much tell now..mind enlitining me with some knowledge about the game?

[Chaos]

I'm pretty excited for the game, though I'm a bit nervous for Blizzard with their decision to make the game require a constant internet connection in order to play - even for single player. I know my brother would love the game, but seeing as he is overseas (and will still be when it comes out), it doesn't look like there is much hope.

I feel like this is something that people tend to make a big deal about, but in the end it generally doesn't really matter. Sure, if you are somewhere that you can't get an internet connection it sucks, but for the most part everyone has an internet connection. It only really affects a small percentage of people. I always played on Battle.net anyways, so I could really care less that they're doing this.

That is exactly how I feel. Shortly after the news about it requiring an internet connection came out, I saw all over the web people in a panic and people claiming they were done with Blizzard, had cancelled their preorders, and were never buying another product from them. I understand that it definitely adds a hindrance to players seeking solo game play in the first place, but like you said, I would believe the majority who are buying this game have a constant internet connection in the first place.

I still feel though it'd be cool if they could provide an option for those people - it seems like it would be simple to make it so you could have "singleplayer" only characters that cannot interact or deal with any part of the multiplayer experience or auction house.

Like, you know, Diablo 2 did?  :T

That's what pisses me off.  They're taking steps BACKWARDS.  They ditch LAN play, which was my favorite part of Diablo 2, they ditch reasonable support for a single player game, and all for their almighty buck.  The problem is, there is no such thing as a constant internet connection.  Connections go down ALL the time.  Laptops are portable, and thus they don't always have access to internet either.  There is NO good reason to require 'always online' systems when playing single player.

From this article: http://www.1up.com/news/diablo-3-requires-online-when-playing

Executive vice president of game design Rob Pardo notes that the wealth of improvements and features Diablo 3 brings to Battle.net necessitate the always-online requirement. Specific additions that he refers to include:

    A persistent friends list.
    Cross-game chat via the RealID system.
    Persistent characters that are stored server-side (no more having to play online once every 90 days, nor item duplication cheats).
    Persistent party system.
    Player-versus-player and public game matchmaking.
    Dynamic drop-in/out for co-op
    Larger item stash that gets shared among all of your characters (at the moment, up to 10)
    The auction house, outlined here.
    The Achievement system and detailed stat-tracking, both of which feed into the final point:
    The Banner system, a visual way to display your prowess in the game. Banners start out like emblems, where you can choose from an array of symbols, patterns, and overall shape/design. Then, you can tweak its appearance through Achievements and other accomplishments. Examples Pardo cites include whether the character is in Hardcore mode, how many Achievements have been earned, how many PVP victories, and so forth. Additionally, the Banners also have gameplay features; in-game, rather than use Town Portal, you can click on a player's Banner to instantly teleport over to said player.

Woulda look at that?  Not a single feature I give a damn about.  But that's not the funniest bit:

While Pardo recognizes that people sometimes want or need to play offline (such as internet outages, or playing on a laptop during an airplane flight), he notes that the increased security, plus benefits like the above, outweigh those other concerns. "I want to play Diablo 3 on my laptop in a plane, but, well, there are other games to play for times like that."

Indeed there are, genius, indeed there are.  So you're pretty much saying that I should play other games.  Great marketing there.


@Cactus:  It's because they're all little kids.  :T

[Meiun]

I personally think it's a smart move to require a connection to play the game. The best part of the game to me will be it's multiplayer component, and without having the accounts and what-not stored on the server end, security would be a big issue. Sure you now may not be able to play 0.5% of the time when you otherwise could have, but that's a no brainer sacrifice when you consider that the 99.5% of the time you CAN play now will be far more enjoyable of an experience when it comes to cheating and all that other BS.

And in all honesty, how often is your average person going to find themselves in a situation where they actually are situated to play, but don't have internet? It's not like you would need an at all "fast" connection simply to start the game up in single player mode (heck, I could even use my free phone tethering app for that part if I had nothing else). Even when traveling, it's very rare that you'd ever be somewhere that you were able to play but didn't have internet. I travel all the time, and all the bus's have wifi, as well as the airports, and even many airplanes.

If anything, I'm more happy about this "inconvenience" simply due to the fact that I could now access my character from anywhere, and that if my computer were to die I wouldn't lose all my progress.

[Freeforall]

@Cactus:  It's because they're all little kids.  :T

Just because I haven't heard of it doesn't make me a little kid :x
Anyways, I might get the game. My laptop should be able to run it,
but I don't know about this internet required thing. My internet is really
terrible.

[Scotty]

@Cactus:  It's because they're all little kids.  :T

... You do realize how long it's been since Diablo II was released right?  Did you even play it when it was first released in 2000, or were you too young as well as the rest of the kids here?

[Lucifer]

If anything, I'm more happy about this "inconvenience" simply due to the fact that I could now access my character from anywhere, and that if my computer were to die I wouldn't lose all my progress.

I do love that about cloud gaming, you have no idea how many 90+ Diablo 2 characters I've lost over the years...

[Cactuscat222]

@Cactus:  It's because they're all little kids.  :T

... You do realize how long it's been since Diablo II was released right?  Did you even play it when it was first released in 2000, or were you too young as well as the rest of the kids here?

I think that is the point - it was released so long ago that younger people may not have heard of it at all. Unless I'm misunderstanding something you are saying. :S

@Meiun: I, too, understand their decision and believe them when they say it is for the better. It's easy to say they are just doing it as a form of DRM and what have you, but I definitely see how it can make things more secure and easier to handle for both the user and Blizzard. That being said though, even as it is not a problem for me, I do know of people who would absolutely love to play the game but would be unable to for a good portion of time due to the need for an internet connection. That is why I still wish there was a separate component for those people.

[Chaos]

@Cactus:  Knowing Scott, he probably had been drinking when he made that post.

@Scott:  Considering I played Diablo 1 back when it came out, the answer to your question is yes.  Derp.

[11clock]

Actually, to be honest, I have heard of Diablo, but all I've heard about it is the name. I don't know anything else, other than the title.