The Blizzard of old who made all those wonderful games (back when they were under vivendi) is long dead. They do NOT have the same level of freedom and control as they once did and are now basically koticks #1 money making bitch.

 

They still are under Vivendi? As a matter of fact, they are the only Vivendi division that retained authonomy after the merger. People are sticking Koticks face where and when they like, without considering that Blizz still do what they and only they feel is for the best.

As for the number of players, I really fail to see the impact. The gameplay made diablo the cult game that it was, not the number of people that could play it at the same time (see APB).

 

i have been waiting for all my damn life... its pre ordered already, im getting it the next day its out

 

I don't really think you can ever say "soandso is a great developer". Most of these companies have such a high staff turnover, with employees coming and going all the time. Blizzard today is probably nothing like Blizzard of 5 years ago.

In fact Blizzard today has hardly any of the original Diablo devs left, I thought?

So you just have to judge each game on its own merit. Which is why I never, ever pre-order anything. Be prepared for the unexpected

 

Blizzard lost a lot of the Diablo Devs and WoW Devs of old. They've worked on seperate projects, Hellgate: London and Torchlight respectively.

However, like Bioware, Blizzard remain largely autonomous of the big nasty Vivendi/Activision overlords who deal mostly with distribution and promotion.

It's certainly not the same Blizzard of old (D2 btw was Blizzard North, a separate entity to the Blizzard of Starcraft fame) but they haven't been completely ruined by interfering investors.

Yet.

 

I pre ordered this for 22 quid off amazon, no doubt at release time the game will be 30 odd, get your pre orders going

 

I did that two weeks ago at £26. Nice to know its dropped further - even if it seems odd :>

 

Waiting for them to announce what collector's edition will have (no doubt something WoW related again...).

 

as for the "blizzard doesnt have the developers it used to" argument...as someone pointed out they left blizz and went on to create games like hellgate and torchlight.......

neither were a patch on Diablo 2, so wouldnt that suggest that its not them that made it what it was?

 

New feature from Gamescon, looks great.

 

^ White box here

 

Sorted

 

Nice I like that concept.

 

Caravan FAQ

Q: What is the caravan?
A: The caravan is a persistent group that follows the heroes across Sanctuary, providing a centralized hub for players to find quest givers, crafters, and other important NPCs. As your character moves through the world so too will your loyal band, setting up in specific locations to remain close by should you need them.

Q: Who are the artisans?
A: In order to access the professions in Diablo III, you'll need to gain the loyalty of various artisans through your travels in Sanctuary. The blacksmith, mystic, and jeweler will each provide unique services over the course of the game.

Q: What do the artisans offer?
A: Skilling up your artisans will unlock unique recipes, granting your character access to benefits that may not be found anywhere else in the world. The blacksmith crafts weapons and armor, and can add sockets to some items. The mystic creates scrolls, potions, magical weapons, spell runes, and charms, and can also enchant items. The jeweler crafts gems , amulets, and rings. The jeweler can also remove gems from socketed items and can combine gems to improve their quality.

Q: How do I find the artisans?
A: Finding the artisans will be part of the main quest. Each artisan has been fleshed out to include their own story and quest line.

Q: How do I use the artisans?
A: You'll collect loot as a reward for slaughtering the forces of the Burning Hells. Unwanted items can be salvaged in your inventory, converting these goods into raw crafting materials -- higher-level items are salvaged into higher-level materials. You'll then take those raw materials and hand them over to the artisans, putting them to work crafting or enchanting for you. Upon returning to the caravan after a lengthy foray, you may also find that the artisans have been hard at work plying their trade for your benefit.

Q: How do I salvage my items?
A: Players will find an item while progressing through the main quest that will allow them to convert unwanted gear into crafting materials from the inventory. This item will not take up any inventory space. This should be a more satisfying option for offloading unwanted loot than the alternative -- dropping things on the ground or making frequent trips to a vendor.

Q: Why are you including crafting professions in an action game?
A: Professions add depth to the item collection gameplay that drives the action of Diablo III. We want to provide players with an alternative way to acquire gear, potions, and other randomly found items. We also want to provide additional forms of customization for players -- adding jewels, enchants, or sockets to existing gear allows players to further tailor their characters. Many rare crafting recipes and materials are only found as world drops, enhancing the item acquisition process by increasing the diversity of items dropped by monsters.

 

Very nice, a good way to aquire new items maybe when you're in a dead spot.
I remember a few times in D1/D2 where I'd not have something useful drop for a long time.

 

To be fair, it's absolutely nobody's fault the PS1 didn't have online capabilities back then. It was a console released in 1994! This also doesn't detract from the possibility that if a modern day Diablo came out on the consoles, it would obviously have the online groups once again. Other games like Doom still did well on the console despite the lack of online capabilities that made it so famous to begin with.

As it is, the Playstation game was still a good port that did the best it could with what it had.

 

Gamescon Interview.

Main details:

- You can dye your armour/equipment.
- Waypoints are more frequent.
- New "Scroll of wealth" that allows you to sell items without the need of a vendor.
- RELEASE DATE: "When it's done!"

 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

NO TOWN PORTALS??!

 

I agree with the decision to take them out of the game after thinking about it. The devs want us to feel challenged or whatever while fighting and the scrolls provide a ridicuously easy escape route.