Diablo 3 Beta [Beta withdrawal underway!]

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Nice, I was already feeling meh about this game after all the other cuts and poor decisions. But this PVP cut is the straw that breaks it for me. No purchase, until perhaps later when it all gets fixed.
 
So, after this latest patch, the content loading stutter is still there, starting to question if it really is fixed internally. More distressing though, is this patch has introduced micro stuttering like I've seen in gamebryo engine games, in certain areas. Framerate is a rock solid 60fps, but the second half of the town, dank cellar and a few other places are stuttering like mad now.
 
Release it quickly, patch all the PvP and random stuff later. I would rather be playing it in a few weeks, instead of a few more months. PvP sucks anyway. :P
 
So, after this latest patch, the content loading stutter is still there, starting to question if it really is fixed internally. More distressing though, is this patch has introduced micro stuttering like I've seen in gamebryo engine games, in certain areas. Framerate is a rock solid 60fps, but the second half of the town, dank cellar and a few other places are stuttering like mad now.

agreed, my performance is definitely worse in this patch. I hope it's all fixed come retail, but who knows why it wouldn't be in the beta after months of patching if it was "fixed internally" a while back..
 
I'm getting worse performance, too. Some kind of lag. I click to hit, and the hit comes out a half second later.

Dunno if it's due to the game itself, or the internet.
 
Eh. No PvP at launch? Fine by me, not like it's a big deal anyway... Will give me some time to get twink items for lower level chars >:O
 
Should be noted that they do plan to balance PVP too... there's been questions about the level of balance for it earlier, but they just don't plan to take it to a esport level of balance.

"Jay Wilson ‏ @Angryrobotics Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
@DJNoctis it's always been our intent to balance it, just not to a hardcore e-sports level given build diversity."
 
Should be noted that they do plan to balance PVP too... there's been questions about the level of balance for it earlier, but they just don't plan to take it to a esport level of balance.

"Jay Wilson ‏ @Angryrobotics Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
@DJNoctis it's always been our intent to balance it, just not to a hardcore e-sports level given build diversity."

I remember them saying that in one of the Blizzcon panels from long ago.
 
Either way, still good to know they're still about balancing it. Even post Blizzcon there were posts saying they didn't care about balancing it because Diablo 2 has never been balanced for PVP.

This is noted here but I guess they've been up & down about this.

http://www.arenajunkies.com/topic/207561-diablo-iii-blizzards-mentality-on-pvp/

I think they also said something about doing a cursory balancing for skills for PVP independently of how they work in PvE since somethings that are great in PvE get out of hand in PvP.

I'm not too worried about balance though, I understand that their primary concern should be the PvE game, and I agree with that. Besides, a lot of fun fighting games were terribly unbalanced, like MarvelvCapcom2, for instance, so I'm not tooooo concerned about it. In an ideal world, though, I would like it to be balanced.
 
I think they also said something about doing a cursory balancing for skills for PVP independently of how they work in PvE since somethings that are great in PvE get out of hand in PvP.

I'm not too worried about balance though, I understand that their primary concern should be the PvE game, and I agree with that. Besides, a lot of fun fighting games were terribly unbalanced, like MarvelvCapcom2, for instance, so I'm not tooooo concerned about it. In an ideal world, though, I would like it to be balanced.

Aye, very good point about MvC! =)
 
PVP cut from initial release will come in a post launch patch http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4574895

Another thing cut when will it end.



The only positive thing i can see is the release date announcement coming in days not weeks.

This is unreal. PvP was the sole attraction for replaying the game endlessly, not only for me, but for every single person I knew in various internet cafes playing during the Diablo 2 era.

Playing through once, sure, but going at it again and again, clicking against the same monsters in the same locations, if not to find better items and build a stronger character for PvP, then why?

I hope they mean that 'patch' will be up before most players are able to finish all difficulties. What is wrong with them, having such immense resources and managing to fuck up the development of the most iconic and awaited title for PC. I laughed whenever I saw someone saying that it's stuck in development hell, thinking this is Blizzard and Diablo we're talking about, but it seems there are some very real problems with it.
 
I would like it if they could just add a Dark Souls like PvP system where you could 'flag' your game as a PvP game and have other players 'invade' it. If you didn't want that you could simply flag it for PvE (which would just be a default).
 
Man, you'd expect Blizzard to have it's shit together better than this. PVP cut from release? Not that I care a whole lot about PVP, but it's astounding nonetheless.

I'm worried most about that damn UI and skill system though.
 
What is wrong with them, having such immense resources and managing to fuck up the development of the most iconic and awaited title for PC.

Firstly, the development team has as much resources as they are given. I would say Blizzard is more efficient in spending than most AAA companies out there. This whole "swimming in money" meme needs to die.

And if you really think the development is "fucked up", then you must not be in a very grounded reality. They are fucked if the game doesn't sell. Why they would leave PvP from day1 could be that want to release the game sooner than PvP is ready and balanced or they want to balance it while observing how the other parts of the game are rolling after release.
 
Firstly, the development team has as much resources as they are given. I would say Blizzard is more efficient in spending than most AAA companies out there. This whole "swimming in money" meme needs to die.

And if you really think the development is "fucked up", then you must not be in a very grounded reality. They are fucked if the game doesn't sell. Why they would leave PvP from day1 could be that want to release the game sooner than PvP is ready and balanced or they want to balance it while observing how the other parts of the game are rolling after release.

Well, when I said how could they 'fuck up' with all those resources I meant Activision-Blizzard as a whole. I'm not blaming the development team specifically since I have no idea how things work there. Could be their fault, could be management's fuck up, could be both.

But the company as a whole, having such a title under your belt, and not using a humongous part of resources to make sure it ships whole, it ships relatively on schedule and not a year later, is ridiculous as I see it.
And from what I understand by the (admittedly few) tables and articles I've seen about Activision-Blizzard's profits, yes, they do swim in money as far as gaming companies go.

As for whether the development is 'fucked up' or not, as I said before, for a company such as Blizzard, being so late, changing core mechanics at the last minute, having a senior developer quitting while saying that things are going wrong with Diablo, removing a crucial element such as PvP (which many people seem to not care about here, but thousands and thousands do care, a lot)... well I personally see this as something being fucked up there.

I'm sure the game will sell by the millions. It's Diablo.
 
But the company as a whole, having such a title under your belt, and not using a humongous part of resources to make sure it ships whole, it ships relatively on schedule and not a year later, is ridiculous as I see it.

Why would they make sure they'd ship on time or "as a whole"? The package will most likely have more content than most games our there and the PvP part will be added once it's done and balanced. If this would actually bother the majority of buyers, then PvP would be in the game day1 and that day might be even further ahead. This current method gives you the game earlier. And their first priority is to make the game so that it will hook players for years to come. So the release date is not that important for Blizzard as long as the final game has long legs.

And about the money, Valve and Blizzard wouldn't swim in it for long if they just poured it in projects "no matter the cost". I know this is hard to swallow, but it's the truth. Smart spending is one way to stay rich.
 
Well shit. Might as well just sell the game with only Act 1 and put the other acts as dlc.

Believe.

I still can't quite fathom the amount of changes/cuts that's been going on lately.
I'm beginning to question if i should pay full price for the game or just cancel the pre-order.
The beta haven't been as fun as i'd hoped anyhow. The new rune changes was a major disappointment for me.
I really enjoy choosing what type of skills i want to unlock and i enjoy relying on random drops (i actually love skill trees). I know it's been discussed to death but the customization feels somewhat dumbed down now. I mean every [insert class here] that's playing will unlock the same thing at the same time.

The game will of course sell millions, we already know that. I just don't like the practice of developers changing and promising stuffs and not deliver.
Everyone knows Peter Molyneux, right?
 
It doesn't matter if it sells millions just because it's Diablo. If it doesn't have legs like the other Blizz franchises, DIII will be the end of the series.
 
This is good news :) This means release date will be announced very soon. Plus I don´t care about PvP, so it´s no loss for me.
Hopefully the game will be released within 2 months, than I won´t care about not getting into beta anymore. I´ll just look forward to play the full game instead.
 
It doesn't matter if it sells millions just because it's Diablo. If it doesn't have legs like the other Blizz franchises, DIII will be the end of the series.

I'd be 80+ years old at the pace they moved by the time D4 shipped anyway, so whatever the case, this is the last Diablo for me, and itll do. Lol.

Okay, now that is really weird. I don't think cutting out PvP from the shipping product signals anything but an extremely troubled development.

I think it very clearly says they are being rushed. Everything about this screams "Get it out, and work the balance/polish out while the game sells".
 
Firstly, the development team has as much resources as they are given. I would say Blizzard is more efficient in spending than most AAA companies out there. This whole "swimming in money" meme needs to die.

And if you really think the development is "fucked up", then you must not be in a very grounded reality. They are fucked if the game doesn't sell. Why they would leave PvP from day1 could be that want to release the game sooner than PvP is ready and balanced or they want to balance it while observing how the other parts of the game are rolling after release.


Actually, their size, power and experience are exactly why this shouldn't have happened. Resources aren't just money. I'd expect them to have this covered down to the smallest detail. Instead, they're cutting shit left and right, changing major systems at the last minute (not for the better either), and now they're holding back fucking PVP. Not that I give a shit about PVP, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, now does it?

It seems to me that all these changes and problems are indicative of bigger issues with Diablo III.
 
I think it very clearly says they are being rushed. Everything about this screams "Get it out, and work the balance/polish out while the game sells".
What? It says the complete opposite about polish/balance. Cutting of features for release is probably to increase the polish of the release. It is how Blizzard works, if they are not satisfied with a part of a product or a product itself, they cut it.
 
Even when cutting them all the slack they need, let's not forget that this game HAS been in development for QUITE some time now, in fact so long that it makes me wonder how other devs DO manage to churn out fully featured games in a fraction of the time...

anyways at this point i guess it doesn't matter anymore if it comes out in 2 months or in 5 months except for their own sales predictions
 
Even when cutting them all the slack they need, let's not forget that this game HAS been in development for QUITE some time now, in fact so long that it makes me wonder how other devs DO manage to churn out fully featured games in a fraction of the time...

anyways at this point i guess it doesn't matter anymore if it comes out in 2 months or in 5 months except for their own sales predictions

It is easy when you do not want to:
-have equally enjoyable classes
-no coherent normal->harder->hardest new game+ modes
-no real endgame to a single player experience, or even a multiplayer one

These are the things that take time. Other developers usually do not even TRY to balance it out the way Blizzard does.
 
It is easy when you do not want to:
-have equally enjoyable classes
-no coherent normal->harder->hardest new game+ modes
-no real endgame to a single player experience, or even a multiplayer one

These are the things that take time. Other developers usually do not even TRY to balance it out the way Blizzard does.


I get that part but seriously, even then, at ONE point in time you HAVE to release your product, it will NEVER be perfect and will constantly need to get optimized anyway
 
I get that part but seriously, even then, at ONE point in time you HAVE to release your product, it will NEVER be perfect and will constantly need to get optimized anyway

And that is the time when Blizzard releases games :D They still keep balancing it after release, but they need to have a window of time where (it is at least 3+ months) players will enjoy the content if they choose to replay the whole game with all the classes. Those needs to be worked out before, not after release. Minor and medium balance changes are not problematic, imho.

I also believe that the current solution is the end of Blizzard's balancing process internally, and now they only have one step left: to set up the server infrastructure and make sure everything is fine on their end for the real D3.
 
Ok, and this is just my opinion, but I could care less about PvP in Diablo. I never liked it in D2, and I don't plan on doing it if I can help it in D3. PvP is not why I play Diablo. If I want some PvP I'll play Starcraft II or a FPS. I will be playing D3 for a cooperative loot hunting game.

If they never put PvP into D3 I'd never care one bit. IMHO of course.
 
Ok, and this is just my opinion, but I could care less about PvP in Diablo. I never liked it in D2, and I don't plan on doing it if I can help it in D3. PvP is not why I play Diablo. If I want some PvP I'll play Starcraft II or a FPS. I will be playing D3 for a cooperative loot hunting game.

If they never put PvP into D3 I'd never care one bit. IMHO of course.

I'll most likely never play it either, but touting a feature just to postpone it before launch is kinda shitty.
 
Actually, their size, power and experience are exactly why this shouldn't have happened. Resources aren't just money. I'd expect them to have this covered down to the smallest detail. Instead, they're cutting shit left and right, changing major systems at the last minute (not for the better either), and now they're holding back fucking PVP. Not that I give a shit about PVP, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, now does it?

It seems to me that all these changes and problems are indicative of bigger issues with Diablo III.

But the fact that the game is "delayed" a lot and fine tuned even this late in development means that they in fact are thinking about every single detail. Cutting shit that isn't as good or doesn't fit with the products isn't anything new or weird to game projects. Not many devs speak about those things though.

And my confidence on them is solely based on the final product and whether it is good or not.
 
But the fact that the game is "delayed" a lot and fine tuned even this late in development means that they in fact are thinking about every single detail. Cutting shit that isn't as good or doesn't fit with the products isn't anything new or weird to game projects. Not many devs speak about those things though.

And my confidence on them is solely based on the final product and whether it is good or not.

Yup, chances are every AAA game ever released has had major shit cut from it that the developers never even talked about.
 
But the fact that the game is "delayed" a lot and fine tuned even this late in development means that they in fact are thinking about every single detail. Cutting shit that isn't as good or doesn't fit with the products isn't anything new or weird to game projects. Not many devs speak about those things though.

And my confidence on them is solely based on the final product and whether it is good or not.

Yup, chances are every AAA game ever released has had major shit cut from it that the developers never even talked about.


Entirely possible, yes.

It's just a gut feeling, caused mainly by the sour taste that the skill system changes have left in my mouth. I just hope that the game picks up after the content we've seen in the beta.
 
I couldn't care less about PvP but it's worrying that they appear to be cutting features in order to rush the release. It is Blizzard though so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays when it comes out.
 
Firstly, the development team has as much resources as they are given. I would say Blizzard is more efficient in spending than most AAA companies out there. This whole "swimming in money" meme needs to die.

And if you really think the development is "fucked up", then you must not be in a very grounded reality. They are fucked if the game doesn't sell. Why they would leave PvP from day1 could be that want to release the game sooner than PvP is ready and balanced or they want to balance it while observing how the other parts of the game are rolling after release.

6 years is not efficient....that is a lot of salary and overhead.
 
Actually, their size, power and experience are exactly why this shouldn't have happened. Resources aren't just money. I'd expect them to have this covered down to the smallest detail. Instead, they're cutting shit left and right, changing major systems at the last minute (not for the better either), and now they're holding back fucking PVP. Not that I give a shit about PVP, but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence, now does it?

It seems to me that all these changes and problems are indicative of bigger issues with Diablo III.

Exactly. With the pseudo disappointed with SC2, the latest WoW content receiving a lot of criticism, and this obvious rush with D3 that honestly may NOT have the normal Blizzard polish (if they are shipping soon), points to either two things: Either all of the resources are being poured into Titan (and I mean all) or they are having some serious internal conflicts with how they go about developing content.

I think D3 is going to be very good. I'm just concerned it won't be "great." And there are a lot of developers these days that make very good titles (and don't take 6 years).
 
Finally no more login error 315300. Was worried a bit for our future "online-only" titles.

Now to destroy my mouse! Probably starting off easy with a barb, my main the retail version will probably be a sorcerer/wizard.
 
I couldn't care less about PvP but it's worrying that they appear to be cutting features in order to rush the release. It is Blizzard though so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays when it comes out.

I don't think "rush" would be the right term. Nothing is rushed about this game at all. The only thing this tells me is the PVP is not up to snuff and they do not want to delay the game any more and want to get it out the door in the next few months. Personally PVP in a Diablo game is pointless to me but maybe they will wow us when the patch is released.
 
Wow, just read about this. You'd think the game would be done by now and complete but guess not. This worries me, but I already have my copy paid in full. Hope it lives up to the memories I had playing DII with my best friend in HS.
 
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