Diablo 3 production plans

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. A good idea is listening to the Blizzard's investor call conference and figure out where the overlap is.

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.

Diablo 3 upcoming release

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.

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Get into the Diablo 3 beta!

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

Diablo 3 hero customization

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??

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.

Diablo 3 new art

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?

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

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!

Blizzcon 2009

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.

Uber Diablo a taste of things to come?

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

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

More Diablo 3 rumors

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

Wiimote for Diablo 3

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

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?

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.