Diablo 3

Last batch of Diablo beta keys

2011-12-06T23:46:00.000-08:00

It seems that the rules have changed a bit when it comes to the Diablo 3 beta sweepstakes. It seems that instead of sending 2000 beta keys on December 12, they will be sending 200 keys each Monday (until December 12).

If you are already playing the Diablo 3 beta, congratulations! If not, maybe today is your lucky day. The beta invites will be sent out today, so keep your fingers crossed.

Diablo 3 official release date - 2012

2011-10-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

Blizzard’s Ron Pardo has been spinning the truth for the last few months. They really wanted to release in 2011 but… (fill in the blank).

It’s now official: Diablo 3 is postponed for early 2012:

HELL FREEZES OVER — DIABLO® III TO SHIP IN EARLY 2012
Despite a sterling record of always hitting its release targets, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that the expected launch window for Diablo® III, the next title in the company’s critically acclaimed series of action role-playing games, will be moving into early 2012.

That’s the BAD news. Is there any good news? Well, the beta test has been extended and additional beta invites will be sent out. In addition, I expect that the open beta will last A BIT LONGER as well, Blizzard needs more playtesting as balancing the 5 classes is a lengthy process.

Diablo 3 beta leaked

2011-09-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

There’s a leaked video from the Diablo 3 beta! There isn’t much to see apart from the classes in Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 is probably on track for a 2011 release - nothing short of AMAZING!

Diablo 3 official beta

2011-08-23T05:45:00.001-07:00

Gamescom attracts quite a few game journalists, so it’s the logical place for all kinds of official announcements: from DOTA2 to … Diablo 3 beta.

Reports Kotaku:

Diablo III’s beta will hit by September, hopefully before, Blizzard game director Jay Wilson said during a Gamescom press conference today.
When’s the game coming out? “When it’s ready.”

Not surprisingly, Jay’s consistent with Blizzard’s “when it’s ready” party line. So it remains to be seen if they are going to hit the 2011 release date.

Diablo 3 beta release

2011-08-15T01:13:00.001-07:00

Diablo 3 beta is probably just a few weeks away.

Blizzard has already finalized the box art for Diablo 3 beta, so that you can select it in your Battle.net account as part of the beta selection process.

Btw, if you still haven’t signed up for the beta, go to your Battle.net account now.

In addition to the Diablo 3 box art, Blizzard’s PR machine has roared to life, announcing a press tour starting August 1.

According to MMO Champion, it’s the same pattern as with Cataclysm – the beta release date is probably 2 weeks away... the greatest day for all game sites about Diablo.

Diablo coming in 2012? No way!

2011-02-16T02:01:00.001-08:00

Have you been reading blogs in the last couple of days? Then you must be alarmed. No, Diablo is coming out in 2011. Or so says none other than Rob Pardo:

“We really, really hope so. That’s our goal,” Pardo said. “Our goal is to get there. But you know, at the end of the day, we are going to get it right. That’s more important. We’re going to promise, we’re going to get it out there when the game is awesome. And, we’re crossing our fingers, maybe it will be this year.”

Now, there... and forget about Joystiq and their drivel.

Diablo beta

2011-02-08T00:28:00.000-08:00

Check out Blizzard’s leaked schedule. According to it, Diablo 3 will be released sometime before Christmas. So when can we expect the beta?

First of all, make sure you have OPTED IN for the Diablo 3 beta. Here’s the steps:

If you have a Battle.net account, login here.

You’ll see a link Beta Profile Settings

You might have to download an app that will upload your system specs

You’re done

OK, so back to the question of WHEN. Using Starcraft’s beta, it should be about 6 months before the official release date. So that means summer 2011 will be the summer of Diablo 3.

Diablo 3 production plans

2011-01-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

You’ve probably heard that Blizzard’s production schedule was leaked (source: MMO Champion). It’s rumored to have been leaked by an anonymous, yet authoritative source.

Looking at past releases, the schedule is spot on: Battle.net 2.0, Starcraft 2, WoW mobile, Cataclysm.

What does that mean for Diablo 3 and its release date? First, we confirm that 2011 remains the target date. On the negative side, it seems they are targeting the holiday season, so November or Decemeber 2011.

Some of you have attended Blizzcon 2010 and 1000 beta keys will go to Blizzcon attendees.

Remember to fill in your email in the form below and you’ll get an immediate notification when Blizzard announces the beta. There will be beta invites too, so join now:

Get into the Diablo 3 beta!

Note: You only get ONE email, when Blizzard announces the Diablo 3 beta.

Diablo 3 upcoming release

2010-12-18T11:52:00.000-08:00

Since I first started writing this blog some 4 years ago, I had days when I thought Blizzard has totally forgotten the http://www.maxfreak.com/diablo2/“>Diablo 2 success, high on their WoW profits.

As 2010 draws to an end, Diablo 3 finally looks close enough for us Diablo fans to have a reason for celebration. In just a few weeks, it will be 2011 – the year that Diablo 3 will finally be released. With Starcraft 2 and their new mmo in the works, Blizzard’s marketing will be able to focus on their step-child franchise.

Get into the Diablo 3 beta!

Note: You only get ONE email, when Blizzard announces the Diablo 3 beta.

Diablo 3 hero customization

2010-10-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Now, Diablo is officially an RPG, so some degree of character personalization is expected. Not so, if you ask Bashiok, your (not so) favorite Blizzard community manager:

Official Blizzard Quote:
We’re focusing on customization through items as they can be seen better from how far away the camera is from the character.

OK, so no character customization except for items. I guess I can live with that, just promise me this will speed up development, so you’re ready for 2011 release!

700 Diablo 3 Skills??

2010-10-18T23:08:00.000-07:00

I remember a game designer who said that a great fantasy game has a few mechanics (skills) that result in infinite combinations, like chess for example.

Diablo 3 is obviously taking the opposite approach: an infinite number of skills that accomplish the same thing – reduce mob’s HP.

Official Blizzard Quote:

Amount of skills in Diablo III, with all player runestone variants included, is currently topping 700…

It’s staggering really, even to me still. Those are all unique in their visuals too, which is important to note. Sure some of them may be simple color shifts but most of them are unique mechanics with completely unique visual effects. It’s crazy. Big up to our effects guys.

A Diablo 3 demo will be playable at Blizzcon 2010, so we’ll see if ALL 700 skills make sense.

New MMORPG Riftforge Announced

2009-11-24T01:12:00.000-08:00

Riftforge Entertainment Ltd. today announced the development of Riftforge, an ambitious fantasy online role-playing game. It challenges massively multiplayer online game conventions with deep, tactical combat, adding a significant element of player skill. Hundreds of thousands of players will be able to cooperate and compete on an unprecedented scale, thanks to a new web technology platform.

PRWEB: Upstart MMORPG Riftforge To Challenge Genre Conventions

Diablo 3 item management

2009-10-17T05:44:00.000-07:00

Blizzard is hard at work figuring out the inventory management. If you compare the screenshots from the initial announcement to the current version, you’ll see plenty of differences.

Yet, they aren’t happy with it. Blizzard states:

Inventory management and the systems that surround it are something we’re obviously interested in, but not something that can really be tuned until we have more of the item game fleshed out and tuned itself. It’s hard to know exactly the best way to handle inventory management when the items, types, pickup frequency, and removal frequency can’t really be measured with any real accuracy.

I hope this doesn’t mean we get to play item tetris – as it was in Diablo 2 with different items taking different number of slots.

At the same time, Blizzard obviously don’t want to copy WoW’s inventory system. Or, Warhammer Online’s system of different bags filtering different item types. They want to make us THINK about which items we put in the inventory.

Diablo 3 new art

2009-10-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

Remember the big discussion about Diablo 3 getting TOO SUNNY for a dark fantasy game? The fans had to re-do screenshots in Photoshop just to make their point that a darker Diablo is called for – no green fields.

In public Blizzard remained adamant about the art direction but since then they have let the Art Director go and lo and behold – the updated screenshots look very much LIKE Diablo 2!

Check out the desert screenshot below – I did some minor sharpening in Photoshop but I must say it looks like Act II (Lut Gholein). Mercifully, the green grass has been removed and the characters look dark and desperate!

Diablo 3 release – 2011?

2009-10-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

My worst fears are being confirmed… Diablo 3 is again on the backburner when it comes to its release.

Blizzard have stated that TWO titles will be released in 2010. One of course, is Starcraft 2. Fair enough, it was announced a long time ago.

The other title due in 2010 is WoW Cataclysm. Blizzard needs to keep the money machine printing. I did freeze my account months ago and I suspect I’m not the only one.

Here’s the confirmation from Shacknews: “Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime has confirmed that just-revealed World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm and StarCraft II are the two titles the company expects to hit in 2010″.

Diablo 3 map

2009-06-30T23:41:00.000-07:00

For those of us impatient enough (isn't that everyone?), a Diablo III custom map has been released.

You need Warcraft III in order to play it and the map is still in beta. However, I'm really amazed at the graphics - the editor is indeed powerful enough to change the game completely. It does look like Diablo III.

Download Diablo 3 beta map

P.S. Maybe it was my bad luck with skill selection as a Wizard but even the first wave of zombies proved insurmountable for me!

Free Battle.net 2.0

2009-06-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

According to BlizzPlanet, Blizzard has not stated officially that Battle.net 2.0 is going to be free to play.

However, Blizzard is known for its vague comments when it comes to monetization:

Are there any plans to monetize Battle.net 2.0 service? Mike Morhaime limited to answer: “I’m not ready to talk about that today”. Mike Morhaime confirmed that Battle.net 2.0 will be free to those who buy StarCraft 2 retail.

Of course, you need to remember that Starcraft 2 is coming out not in one but in THREE retails boxes (for a total of around $100). So even one measly box gets you into Battle.net 2.0 for life? I’ll take it.

Blizzcon 2009

2009-06-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Remember past Blizzcons when we wondered if that horn is Diablo’s? Or anything else that looked like a clue that Diablo 3 will be announced?

Well, Diablo 3 takes center stage at this Blizzcon! The Barbarian is displayed prominently on the homepage (next to something green looking like a Starcraft II ghost).

OK, a few bullet points about Blizzcon 2009!

Tickets will go on sale worldwide on Saturday, May 16 for $125 each
Blizzcon 2009 will be held on August 21 and 22 in Anaheim, California
You get a unique WoW (non-combat) pet - Grunty the murloc marine
Global finals for the 2009 Warcraft III and WoW Arena will be held - finalists get top prize of $25,000 per player

If you’re not able to attend, there’s the poor man’s Blizzcon - live Directv coverage for just $39.95. You do the murloc marine pet, so if you need a green/blue blob around you at all times, make sure you give your hard-earned cash to Blizzard.

Is Diablo 3 like Micky Mouse?

2009-05-06T09:55:00.001-07:00

It’s not just the fans anymore. Bill Roper is complaining that Diablo 3 isn’t Diablo enough.

Bill Roper is the producer of the original Diablo and Diablo II and he thinks that Diablo is a Gothic fantasy. He thinks the CLOWNs at Blizzard have took the game over and have repainted the graphics in their favorite cartoony colors.

I think that one of the things that we always tried to get across was that Diablo was Gothic fantasy and I think there was just a need that was put in there from the visuals that I didn’t necessarily get. I got it from the architecture and to a degree from the character design but not the feeling of the world. I can’t say that I dislike it. I didn’t look at it and go, oh my God that’s horrible. But I looked at it and went, it’s not really… to me as a player it just didn’t really ring with Diablo.

Admittedly, it could be that Bill Roper is bitter about the dismal failure of the Hellgate: London project. Frankly, though, I agree with him - we need MORE blood and guts and dark horrors, not LESS.

Blizzard theme park

2009-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

Blizzard has just announced a theme park contest. If you’ve ever imagined taking a Diablo ride, this is your chance to get acknowledgment for your imagination.

Diablo 3 skill runes

2009-02-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

The runes (thought not runewords) make a return to Diablo 3. They’ll still drop from monsters, however, they will be used in a way that’s VERY different from Diablo 2.

OK, let’s go over how runes worked in Diablo 2. There are 33 runes that drop from monsters. Note that some runes drop often while others drop extremely (e.g. Zod rune). Also, there are items with sockets that are able to take runes (or jewels). Some rune combinations (called runewords) create Runic Items, which are among the most powerful items in the game.

For example, socketing the runes Hel + Ohm + Um + Lo + Cham gives your axe or hammer a whole bunch of additional stats and it also adds the label “Doom”.

OK, so what are the changes to the runes in Diablo 3? Runes will still be used to CUSTOMIZE your character, however, runes no longer modify ITEMS. Instead they’ll be added to skills (each skill has a single rune slot).

Also, to make runes easier to use, rune names will be changed to reflect their effect, e.g. Rune of Multistriking. How does this affect gameplay?

For example, a Minor Multistrike Rune attached to the Skull of Flame will make projectile skip along the ground once , but higher quality Runes like the Major Multistrike Rune may raise the amount of bounces and the distance traveled by the projectile.

Jay Wilson, Diablo 3 Lead designer, expressed his strong desire to make each skill customizable while at the same time retaining the uniqueness of each class. In other words, he doesn’t want the Barbarian to be able to mimic the Wizard by adding certain runes to skills.

Diablo 3 art update

2009-01-31T05:14:00.000-08:00

Blizzard has uploaded some new art and a couple of screenshots. I must confess I’m a little underwhelmed.

The barbarian character looks fine when reduced five times but zoom in and you see brush strokes - it looks like the artist had an hour or less.

It does carry the message that barbarian armor is crude and rugged but I’d love to see a bit more details. Other AAA titles have MUCH, MUCH superior art.

Update: I see a few Blizzard fanboys commenting how I don’t appreciate Blizzard brushstroke genius. I simply said “I’d love to see a bit more details“. Here’s what I mean - compare Warhammer concept art to Diablo 3 concept art. Now, tell me Blizzard are not taking shortcuts when it comes to concept art. They do and you’ll be blind as a bat if you don’t see a difference in the level of “finish”.

Diablo 3 released on 09/09/09?

2009-01-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Diablo 3 release date has been a hot topic and we’ve all heard the usual Blizzard rhetoric that Diablo 3 will come out WHEN the game is ready.

First, some background: a guy who played Diablo 2 for years got a DOL rune and experimented with it until it crushed the game. He got an error message … a series of meaningless numbers. Or are they?

64 69 61 62 6c 6f 20 33 20 20 30 39 2f 30 39 2f 30 39.

So why is this significant in ANY way? OK, this is the geek part: 64 69 61 62 6c 6f 20 33 20 20 30 39 2f 30 39 2f 30 39 is hex for : Diablo 3 09/09/09. That means that if you translate the hexadecimal code, it gives you Diablo 3’s release date.

Now, the critical part. How likely is that Diablo 2 developers knew in advance when Diablo 3 will be released? NOT LIKELY. At the same time, if I were head of development at Blizzard and I was a bit of a numerology freak… I’d pick EXACTLY this date. Why?

Well, it’s pretty obvious. 09-09-09 represents 666 if you turn it upside down. The number of the beast! (cue the Iron Maiden song here)

Starcraft 2 review

2008-11-11T08:09:00.000-08:00

The guys at Joystiq are going over their first Diablo 3 multiplayer experience during Blizzcon.

The quality of the video is way better that most I’ve seen. You need to wait a bit for the multiplayer gameplay to start (at 3:08). The party is complete with all three Diablo 3 classes: Barbarian, Witch Doctor and Wizard.

The only complaint was that the screen was a bit overwhelmed with all the special effects, however, playing the game feels amazing.

Diablo 3 class - Wizard

2008-10-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

Blizzard have finally revealed the third Diablo 3 character - a Wizard. As far as I can tell from the gameplay video and the class description, it looks like a copy&paste of the good ole Diablo 2 Sorceress.

The Wizard skills revealed thus far are:

Disintegrate - constant ray of energy going through multiple enemies
Electrocute - chain lightning
Teleport - blink about half a screen away
Magic Missile - single target damage spell
Slow Time - creates a sphere that slows down projectiles (very similar to the Protoss Mothership skill)

You can watch the Wizard in action at Blizzard’s site here.

Diablo 3 random dungeons

2008-09-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

Jay Wilson stated in an interview that dungeons will be randomly generated - in true Diablo tradition. Btw, Jay is Diablo 3 lead designer.

Outdoors will be persistent, however, and will not change from game to game. In other words, you can use landmarks in multiplayer as meeting places. I.e. Meet me by the river ford.

CG: Are the dungeons still going to be randomly generated?

JW: All the dungeons’ layouts are randomly generated. The exteriors are not. We have a new system of adventures that allows us to cut sections out of the terrain to put random — whatever — in there. We can put random terrain, we can put in scripted events — we wanted to add a lot more scripted events into the game.

So expect that outdoor monsters could be heavily scripted (as the terrain stays constant). They could run to a chest, get a bigger axe and come back.

The other thing I’d like to see in Diablo 3 is getting better, bigger “rogue camps”. Come on, Jay, you can make a city that’s more than 3 houses. Let’s hope that Caldium (picture right) is that city.

Barbarian character

2008-09-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

If you’re the kind of guy, who always goes for a macho character, you might ignore the screenshot below.

It’s not Bruce Dickinson fighting Eddie, it’s a female barbarian fighting a Siege Breaker. If you ask me, she’s pretty cool. Favorite skill? Whirlwind!

I’m partial though - my favorite Diablo 2 character was an Ice Sorceress (before they nerfed Blizzard it kicked butt).

Diablo 3 art design

2008-09-03T02:38:00.000-07:00

Adam Sessler from G4TV is speaking against the guys who re-did the Diablo 3 screenshots to make them darker and gothic.

Even some Flash RPGs have a better design than the cartoony feel of Diablo.

Diablo 2 cheap cd keys

2008-09-03T02:35:00.000-07:00

A week ago I posted that Diablo 2 is back on the sales chart. I also posted that if you want a copy, you don’t need to purchase a retail copy for $55 (for the Battle chest) or $35 (for Diablo 2 and LoD).

You can purchase a Diablo 2 CD key for just $5 online. Once you have your CD KEY, you go to Blizzard’s online store, you register and then proceed to DOWNLOAD your copies of Diablo 2 and LoD.

Blizzard seeks an Art Director

2008-08-25T00:19:00.001-07:00

After Diablo 3’s previous Art Director left, Blizzard started looking for a new Art Director for Diablo 3. So I guess the screenshots done by the fans do have some weight when it comes to the art direction. Here’s the ad:

Blizzard Entertainment is currently looking for a talented, motivated, and experienced art director to lead the Diablo III art team. For this position, you must be highly organized with outstanding communication skills and proven experience in management. We’re looking for a proven track record of shipping AAA products in an art director role. Experience modeling and texturing assets for a diverse visual range of environments and a solid grasp of form, color, and light for both 2D and 3D art assets are also essential. You must be experienced at mentoring a team, able to work well in an environment of artists who are passionate about making great games, skilled in another art task (illustration, modeling, texturing, animation, or concept drawing), and well-versed in related tools (Maya, Photoshop, etc.).

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that whoever they choose will not be an arrogant bastard and will actually listen to fans when they express their concerns about Diablo 3’s art direction (check out the screenshots redone by the fans).

Diablo 2 back on the sales chart

2008-08-25T00:17:00.000-07:00

Diablo 2 is enjoying a Renaissance of sorts on the back of the Diablo 3 announcement. The classic game is back in the sales chart at number 6!

I gave my copy of Diablo II to my cousin a few years ago, so now I’m beating my head against the wall. If you’re like me and would like to replay Diablo 2 with friends on Battle.net, I suggest you find yourself $5.

Why $5? Because that’s how much a Diablo 2 CD key costs. That’s an original key (not some keygen thing) and it works like a charm. You download Diablo II, you enter the key and you’re ready to roll.

Here, I just saved you $55 (the Diablo Battlechest retails for 59.99).

Update: Here’s a direct link to one site offering it at $5 - link.

Differences between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3

2008-07-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

A while back we examined the top 5 differences between Starcraft 2 and Warcraft 3. Now, it’s time to examine the Diablo 3 announcement, the demo and the trailer, as well as all the additional info that has been released by Blizzard.

Here’s the top 5 differences!

1) More color, less darkness
According to lead producer, Keith Lee, Diablo 3 is going to feature more outdoor environments with a lot more colors. Instead of pleasing the core audience though, this move has so outraged gamers that they started an online petition. They want good, old darkness back and the colors out the door!

2) Less monsters, more varied killing
Jay Wilson, lead designer on Diablo 3, states that instead of hack-and-slash through throngs of monster, Diablo 3 players will have to focus on killing fewer but tougher monsters. Things like positioning, skills, and so on will have a greater effect than they did in Diablo 2.

For example, the Berserker monster has a charged up attack that deals massive damage. If you dodge the attack though, the Berserker is left vulnerable. Similar fate awaits the Skeletal Shieldbearers when they drop their shields.

3) Epic heroes, class quests
According to Jay, the new Diablo 3 characters will be more badass than ever before. Judging by the demo, it seems likely that there could be fewer characters but with a lot less overlap than say WoW. Class-specific quests, armor, etc are also in the works.

4) COOP play - large-scale, harder battles
Judging by the demo, it could take four or more characters to kill a boss in Diablo 3. I hope these bosses can be defeated by a single player too (same as Diablo 2 ubers). The coop play will be through Battle.net - it’s not 100% clear whether that will be free (same as Diablo 2).

5) No more potions, less downtime
In order to speed up the game, the designers have removed the massive belts full of potions. Instead, each monster has a chance to drop a red sphere that replenishes health. That means that you can go into combat even when wounded and get healed that way.

There’s more than five differences? Discuss below!

Diablo 3 announced

2008-06-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational 2008 starts in half an hour in Paris. If you can check the intro image - there’s a dark shape that is more and more visible.

UPDATE: Diablo 3 is OFFICIAL! Live news from the event:

12:15 — Announcement…..!! Guy playing Diablo music on an acoustic guitar…

12:18 — Footage of large scale battles, comets streaking across the sky, demons, Diablo 3 officially announced.

12:20 — Jay Wilson, lead designer on Diablo 3 coming out. He’s going to demo the game.

12:20 — It’s apparently still an action RPG. Same interface — red
health and blue orbs. Skill bar at bottom. 3/4 overhead perspective.
Character with 2 axes hacking at demons in what appears to be a foggy
cathedral. Has a jumping attack where he smashes the two axes into the
ground.

(Watch Diablo 3 trailer here)

12:21 — The axe guy is the barbarian class. Says improvements have
been made, like the hotbar for skills. Using the mouse wheel and tab
key you can quickly switch between skills. Whoing inventory. Appears to
still have slot limits. Using enchanted axes with frost and lighting
,which stuns and freezes opponents.

12:25 -- Each piece of gear is custom designed for each class. Barbarian puts on demonic sort of garb with giant devil horns. Barbarian can hop across gaps on the map. Barbarian dislodged a rock wall and dropped it on zombies, killing them. Demoing moving whirlwind attack.

12:33 -- Witch doctor can cast out locus swarm, which spreads between targets and deals damage. Can summon mongrel things that he can cast locust swarm on, which buffs their damage. Outdoor environment now. Quite pretty in that vibrant, slightly cartoonish Blizzard graphical style. Like with StarCraft 2 and it's similarities to the original, Diablo 3 looks and sounds, at least at a glance, quite similar to previous games. Witch doctor also has a mass fear type of ability.

12:36 -- Multiplayer will work over battle.net. Heads into a final fight against some gigantic moving trees. Final boss here, called siegebreaker assault beast, is absolutely gigantic, maybe around six or seven times taller than the player characters.

12:37 -- Demo ends. The crowd roars...

Diablo 3 box

2008-02-06T11:08:00.001-08:00

I've seen plenty of BAD fake trailers for Diablo 3. I wonder who in their right might would think this is an ACTUAL box for Diablo 3!

Believe me - the discussion on some forums still rages on ...

Activision Blizzard

2008-02-06T11:05:00.001-08:00

You've probably heard it already but here's the summary:

Activision, Inc. and Vivendi have announced that they will combine Vivendi Games, Vivendi's interactive entertainment business which includes Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft, with Activision, creating the world's largest online and console game publisher, the total transaction being worth more than US$18.9 Billion.

Hmm, I wonder if this would change anything in terms of how Blizzard develops its games. I sincerely hope they don't start licensing their game "worlds" to allow Activision to create second-rate games. I want Diablo 3 but I don't want a broken game... (Vivendi already announced once that Diablo 3 is going to be an MMO).

Medusa project demystified

2007-10-10T01:24:00.000-07:00

Remember when just before Starcraft 2 was announced, there was a rumor about a Medusa demo.

Some people thought it could be something related to Diablo 3 (I wish!). The mystery is over - courtesy of Kotaku:

Sigaty, Starcraft 2’s lead producer, told me that the original codename for Starcraft 2 was “alpha”, but when the game was nearing alpha they decided to change it.

“We couldn’t say that alpha was hitting alpha, so we needed another name,” he said. They settled on Medusa.

This isn’t another Diablo 3 rumor. It’s just setting the record straight!

E3: More Diablo 3 hints?

2007-08-01T01:25:00.001-07:00

E3 has been tamer this year. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening there.

Gamasutra has an interview with Frank Pearce, founding member and senior vice president of product development for Blizzard.

Here a bit from the interview:

“Our global headcount is 2,700,” said Pearce, “And most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing.”

When pressed for details regarding the new project, Pearce was cagey. “Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome.”

All attempts to extract additional information were understandably met with looks of shock and horror from Blizzard’s director of global public relations, who also attended the meeting.

With Blizzcon just a few days away, I wonder if Blizzard are warming up to a formal announcement of this mysterious third project.

E3: More Diablo 3 hints?

2007-08-01T01:25:00.000-07:00

E3 has been tamer this year. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening there.

Gamasutra has an interview with Frank Pearce, founding member and senior vice president of product development for Blizzard.

Here a bit from the interview:

“Our global headcount is 2,700,” said Pearce, “And most of that is customer service for World of Warcraft! In terms of development staff it’s probably around 350. World of Warcraft is about 135 people, 40 for Starcraft II, 40 for team 3, our cinematics team is about 85 guys. Then there’s sound and Q/A and that sort of thing.”

When pressed for details regarding the new project, Pearce was cagey. “Team 3 is working on something really awesome. I can’t give you any hints, but it’s totally awesome.”

All attempts to extract additional information were understandably met with looks of shock and horror from Blizzard’s director of global public relations, who also attended the meeting.

With Blizzcon just a few days away, I wonder if Blizzard are warming up to a formal announcement of this mysterious third project.

Diablo the Movie

2007-07-24T03:27:00.000-07:00

Uber Diablo a taste of things to come?

2007-07-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking lately about the new content that Blizzard added to Diablo 2 with the Pandemonium Event (i.e. the Diablo 2 Ubers).

I’ve heard many arguments that it’s not REALLY new content as Blizzard have just taken a few bosses and made their uber versions. For example, they’ve used Andariel’s model to create Lilith who shares very similar spells and effects.

That is one way to look at it. However, lets turn to the year(s) preceding World of Warcraft’s launch. Blizzard created a special “custom” campaign (The Founding of Durotar) for Warcraft III that used the game engine BUT simulated WoW in terms of gameplay. The quest structure, the items (epic, legendary, etc), even the levelling.

Come to think of it, I might have enjoyed the campaign MORE than I have enjoyed WoW. You could control three heroes plus summoned creatures and henchmen, the quests made sense (i.e. not repetitive), and the items were pretty powerful.

That’s not my point though. My point is that what Blizzard has done with patch 1.11 is test the realms for the style of gameplay that their next-gen MMO (lets call it Diablo III: Heaven and Hell) will feature.

This looks a long shot now but come back in a year and we’ll see. I definitely think Blizzard’s next-gen MMO should feature top SOLO content in addition to raid content.

I do expect to kill Diablo even as a casual SOLO player. Surviving the fight might be a 10% chance and loot might be just a few greens but I’d like to see Diablo go down. Amen.

Diablo site update

2007-06-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've just updated the Diablo site, so here's the updated sitemap:

Diablo Home
Diablo Downloads
Diablo Cheats
Diablo Item Editor
Diablo Hero Editor
Diablo Hellfire expansion
Diablo Story
Diablo Heroes
Diablo Spells
Diablo Items
Unique Items
Diablo Quests
Diablo Monsters
Diablo Guides

Diablo 3 listing

2007-06-09T03:10:00.000-07:00

Just got word that the BOTW directory included a Diablo 3 blog to it's structure. Great news indeed. Also, the updated Diablo sitemap. Includes Diablo 1, Diablo 2, and Diablo 3.

More Diablo 3 rumors

2007-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

Gamespot’s coverage of Starcraft 2 has been spot on. At the same time, IGN has got it wrong before when it comes to Diablo 3, so I take these articles with a grain of salt.

In essence, Rob Pardo talks how Starcraft 2 is one of the smaller projects currently in Blizzard:

Pardo also dropped a hint at the scale of Blizzard’s future plans, saying that the 40 developers working on Starcraft II are “one of the smaller teams.” Job listings on the Blizzard site have indicated it is working on a “next-gen MMO”–which the company said will not be another World of Warcraft. Also, rumors persist that Diablo III is in development.

Now, Paul Sams also said something similar - that Blizzard is working on three projects.

Here’s how I interpret it - Diablo 3 and the next-gen MMO are probably the same thing. After all, what’s better than a MMO in the Diablo universe? You got Heaven and Hell as factions… you got an Epic conflict that’s going to dwarf everything that WoW has. Frankly, who cares about Illidan when the can go after Diablo.

Blizzard announces Starcraft 2

2007-05-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

For good or for worst, the wait is OVER.

As a die-hard Diablo fan, I’m disappointed. Yet, die-hard Diablo fans are just that - die hards. I’m not giving up hope that Diablo 3 is going to be next when Blizzard announces a major product (and not another WoW expansion).

Starcraft 2 is as good as a consolation as any! It will make the wait for Diablo 3 less painful - if not downright enjoyable.

Update: Blizzard have released a Starcraft 2 trailer and I managed to find some gameplay videos from the WWI. The game doesn’t look much different in terms of gameplay but the graphics definitely ROCK!

Diablo 3 teaser

2007-05-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

My eyes are sore from all the reloading and staring at Blizzard’s new front page!
I’m attaching a snapshot below (click to zoom) in case they decide to remove it.

I’m really hoping Blizzard will announce Diablo 3 on the 18th. It was only a few days ago that everyone was convinced they were going to announce Starcraft 2 in Korea.

Money - good, Diablo - bad

2007-05-13T02:57:00.001-07:00

Man, I’m a pissed off today!

It’s not just the rumors that Blizzard will announce Starcraft 2 in three weeks in Korea. Obviously, if Blizzard announce Starcraft 2 this puts Diablo 3 on the backburner for an year if not longer.
It’s not even Rob Pardo’s interview (that’s WoW’s game designer), where he explains how they have a commitment to keep the WoW money machine going by doing an expansion every year. No such commitment to Diablo, thank you very much!
It’s the OVERALL feeling that Blizzard have sold out. Money - good. You probably still remember that animation - Money good, Napster bad - from Camp Chaos.
Blizzard have become the gorilla in the room - catering to the millions of casual gamers (not to mention Chinese farmers!) and forgetting about the hardcore players who have built their franchises.
For God’s sake, there are tens of thousands of players who play Diablo 2 till this day and who who have been praying for a sequel since 2001! Say it ain’t so.

Diablo 2 sets update

2007-05-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

All Diablo 2 Sets
All sets contain full description of all items as well as the cumulative bonus when the complete set is worn. (Diablo info at Diablo 2 wiki)

Angelic Raiment
Arcanna's Tricks
Arctic Gear
Berserker's Garb
Cathan's Traps
Civerb's Vestments
Cleglaw's Brace
Death's Disguise
Hsarus' Trim
Infernal Tools
Iratha's Finery
Isenhart's Armory
Milabrega's Regalia
Sigon's Complete Steel
Tancred's Battlegear
Vidala's Rig

All Diablo 2 LoD Sets (Expansion Sets)
All sets contain full description of all items as well as the cumulative bonus when the complete set is worn.

Aldur's Watchtower - Druid Set
Bul-Kathos' Children - Barbarian Set
Cow King's Leathers
The Disciple
Griswold's Legacy - Paladin Set
Heaven's Brethren
Hwanin's Majesty
Immortal King - Barbarian Set
M'avina's Battle Hymn - Amazon Set
Natalya's Odium - Assassin Set
Naj's Ancient Vestige - Sorceress Set
Orphan's Call
Sander's Folly
Sazabi's Grand Tribute
Tal Rasha's Wrappings - Sorceress Set
Trang-Oul's Avatar - Necromancer Set

Diablo 3 at Blizzcon 2007?

2007-05-13T02:43:00.001-07:00

Blizzard announced today its BlizzCon event will happen in early August - about a hundred days from now.
The event itself will be held for 2 days. Make sure you reserve August 3 and 4 for a trip to Anaheim, California.
More from the press release:
Discussion panels with Blizzard developers
Artist and developer signings
Competitive and casual tournaments for players to showcase their talents
World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game tournaments and demos
Costume, machinima, and character sound-alike contests with great prizes
Commemorative merchandise and other products based on the Blizzard franchises
Here’s what caught my attention:
BlizzCon is a celebration of the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises and the players who have helped make them so popular around the world.
Now, Blizzard, if you want me to celebrate Diablo and Starcraft, just get the friggin’ games out, OK?

Blizzard interview: Rob Pardo

2007-05-13T02:37:00.000-07:00

Next Gen has an interview with Rob Pardo, Blizzard’s chief Game Designer.
He’s the guy credited with the success of World of Warcraft and the first expansion, The Burning Crusade.
I ask him if getting these expansions out on a regular basis is a matter of survival. After all, if gamers aren’t getting fresh content, they’ll start looking elsewhere and WoW’s subscriber base will dwindle to that of a regular MMO like RIFT.
“Calling it a matter of survival makes it sound grim,” he says, “It’s more a matter of entertainment. Of course we want our gamers to stay in the world for as long as we can. But I look at this from the positive angle of us trying to entertain them. We’re trying to give them new experiences. One of my favorite analogies is how much an MMO is like a TV series. We’re developing episodes just like Lost or Seinfeld. We’re always trying to come up with something that’s true to the theory; that’s true to the content that people love; but that is new. From the moment that the series starts re-treading the same ground over and over again… well, that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”
Enough about WoW, if you ask me. Let’s hear something about what else is cooking in Blizzard’s kitchen.
We have other PC projects in development and we’re already working on new stuff for World of Warcraft, like another expansion. We’ve mentioned in the past that we’d love to get a boxed expansion out every year but it’s more important to deliver really high quality content to our fans. If we can do that every year that’d be great but we’re not going to do that at the expense of the experience.
With all due respect, I’m sick of hearing how Blizzard is now ONLY working on WoW expansions. What are these PC projects in development, Rob? Spill the beans already! I’d like to know if you’re talking about Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2.

Diablo 2 info update

2007-05-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

Diablo 2 (and its expansion, Lord of Destruction) was developed by Blizzard North and released in 2000. Because of the massive amount of Diablo 2 cheats, the only version currently played is the one on Battle.net. (Diablo info at Diablo 2 wiki)

Diablo 2 Hero Skills
Diablo 2 heroes pack more power now. For a breakdown of hero skills, see the links below.

Sorceress (Sorceress skills)
Skills: Cold-Based Skills Lightning-Based Skills Fire-Based Skills

Amazon (Amazon skills)
Skills: Javelin Skills Bow/Crossbow Skills Passive and Magic

Barbarian (Barbarian skills)
Skills: War Cries Combat Skills Combat Masteries

Necromancer (Necromancer skills)
Skills: Summoning Spells Curses Poison and Bone Spells

Paladin (Paladin skills)
Skills: Combat Skills Offensive Auras Defensive Auras

Druid (Druid skills)
Skills: Elemental Skills Shapeshifting Skills Summoning Skills

Assassin (Assassin skills)
Skills: Martial Arts Skills Shadow Disciplines Skills Trap Skills

New Diablo 2 uniques
The Lord of Destruction expansion has introduced new unique items, especially in the exceptional unique and elite unique categories.

All unique armor
Unique Helms Unique Armor Unique Shields Unique Gloves Unique Boots Unique Belts Unique Rings Unique Amulets

All unique weapons
Unique Axes Unique Bows Unique Crossbows Unique Daggers Unique Maces Unique Polearms Unique Scepters Unique Spears Unique Staves Unique Swords Wands

Diablo 2 cheats & trainers
For direct download: unique items, powerful Diablo 2 sets and LoD sets - complete with stats and bonuses, the best weapons and armors.

Diablo 2 cheats (work with patch 1.11)
If you're looking for cheats, savegames, item editors, hero editors, maphacks, or rune words, click here.

Diablo Übers
Diablo 2 Ubers
Lilith
Über Diablo
Über Baal
Über Mephisto
Über Duriel
Über Izual
Über Tristram videos

Diablo 2 Quests
Quests in Act I
Quests in Act II
Quests in Act III
Quests in Act IV
Quests in Act V

Diablo Monsters
Diablo Monster FAQ
Monster Types
Monster Strategies
Monsters in Act I
Monsters in Act II
Monsters in Act III
Monsters in Act IV
Monsters in Act V

Wiimote for Diablo 3

2007-03-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

When I mention Diablo (or Diablo 2) to someone, I usually get a response like: "Oh yeah, I remember it... my mouse broke because of it."

Diablo was such a click-fest that I started wondering if we could use something like Nintendo's wiimote (that's the Wii remote/controller). Forget PS3!

Then I saw a few pics (and videos) of guys going CRAZY with the wiimote: Smashing lights, windows, and one one guy who actually hit (and destroyed) his 60" rear-projection TV!

Check out the pic on the right. This guy got lucky and skewered the side of the TV but the TV survived (as did the guy.

So what do you think? Would you like to swing your sword at Diablo while destroying half the house?

Diablo 3 and Windows Vista

2007-03-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

I still haven't "upgraded" to Vista for various reasons (hardware upgade pending). I'm on the look-out for the new generation of games that are coming for Vista that take advantage of DirectX 10.

I've seen Hellgate London's trailer as well as gameplay videos but I wasn't too impressed. The guys there were saying DirectX 10 allows them to do all kinds of character customizations.

Enter Age of Conan. See the trailer below and then download the HD versions. It's simply AMAZING to look at. If Diablo 3 looks anything close to that, I'm sold.

Note: this low-res version doesn't do it justice. You should download the high-def versions below:

DirectX 10 trailer, 720p (.wmv) - 46.5MB

DirectX 10 trailer, 480p (.wmv) - 26.4MB

On the funny side, if you machine can't play the 720p video smoothly, you probably need a hardware upgrade as well. I know mine can't.

What's next: Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2?

2007-03-07T06:52:00.000-08:00

According to IGN, Blizzard is contemplating a Starcraft sequal for real.

...another little nugget of gold dropped alongside it with the public admission that Itzik Ben Bassat, Vice President Business Development and International for Blizzard Entertainment, would be keen to see a new StarCraft before too long.

On stage in London for the game launch, Bassat stated, "I'm a StarCraft player myself and I hope it's not a decade, and we launched StarCraft in 1998, before I'm standing here again, celebrating the next game in the series."

During another previous interview, Paul Sams (Blizzard's COO) said that in 2007 they'll have 3 (three) product announcements. If we consider that the Burning Crusade has been one, we're left with two.

Could it be that our wildest dreams will become true? Both Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 will be announced soon?

Some Diablo 2 links worth noting: Diablo Downloads, Diablo Cheats, Diablo Save Games, Diablo Item Editor, Diablo Hero Editor, Diablo Rune Words, Diablo Maphack, Diablo 2 CD Keys, Diablo 2 ISO, Diablo 2 Utilities, Diablo cheat codes, and Diablo 1.11 no-CD.