[Gothos]

 Aptorius, on 19 May 2012 - 04:56 AM, said:

Okay I have reached Act 3 now. Tell me, does the story improve? Because so far the story has been absolutely atrocious, especially in Act 2. I am super underwhelmed by these "Lesser Evils". I am waiting for the story to pull a fast one on me but it seems very predictable. Act 3 seems to be picking up the pace, loved the cutscene, but I am dreading the possibility that they have stretched out the story and the really good bits and the conclusion will be found in the expansions.

Playing Diablo for the storyline is kinda like going to a brothel for a friendly hug. Just enjoy your smashing.
Also, I liked the storyline, sue me.

Near the end of Act II on Hell right now. Elite packs are giving us a tonne of trouble. Some take a dozen or so deaths from all of us to finish off, some combos are just atrociously ridiculous. Got to stack that vitality...

Also, found this the other day in Act III:

Attached File(s)

•  Screenshot000.jpg (1.01MB)
  Number of downloads: 0

This post has been edited by Gothos: 20 May 2012 - 01:13 AM

[Aptorian]

Finished the game on normal last night. My god the story was bad. I just do not understand how a game that has been in the making for 12-13 years can have such a shitty manuscript. Did they write the story immediately after finishing D2+Expansion and then just never look at it again? If you're making a game that costs 200 million or what ever it cost to develop D3 why not splurge and pay a couple of different types of story writers to design the story for you? I refuse to believe that this is the best story they could come up with. I mean, it's not as bad as when id released Rage, but come on here this story was pitiful and the characters where so horribly flat and predictable. And what the hell are they going to base the two expansions on? They left no new angles or holes really. Not unless they are going back to the creation of Sanctuary.

I sort of get where people are coming from now when they called Diablo 3 too "light", it's not the visuals that are the problem, those were great. It was the cutscenes and dialogue. They were way too cartoony, like WOW. Every time they switched to these scripted events I was pulled out of the world. And the dialogue, urgh. I think that I would have found the bosses and their minions much more intimidating and evil if they had stayed silent and you only saw them "in game". You never heard anything from the bosses of Diablo 2. You just fought your way to them, they'd say something evil or just roar and then you'd fight to the death. No cut scenes. No special game mechanics. Just fight. Ìn Diablo 3 we have these cartoon villains that are constantly running their mouth and instead of intimidating the player they just look stupid because you never get the vibe that these are demi-gods who could crush you with a whisper. Nope, they seem more like Dr. Claw in Inspector Gadget. Why they hell does a super demon need to dispatch couriers with messages to his lieutenants? Why do they keep dying so that the players can read this easily decipherable text? It completely ruins the immersion.

As bad as the story was I still enjoyed the hell out of the combat, by the time I reached the end I think I was a bit overlevelled because I absolutely destroyed every boss from act 3 and forward in a matter of 30 seconds with my Monk. I wish they'd done a bit more with the bosses and included some epic monsters that appeared randomly in the terrain. By epic I mean something like those chained skeletal giants in hell or the giant worms on the battlements, something that filled up the screen.

Now the question is, do I start over with a wizard or do I press on with my monk? Hmm.

This post has been edited by Aptorius: 20 May 2012 - 05:17 AM

[Avatar]

Quote

Playing Diablo for the storyline is kinda like going to a brothel for a friendly hug. Just enjoy your smashing.

Wanted to know if the storyline is any good. Guess that gives it away.

[Aptorian]

 Avatar, on 20 May 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

Quote

Playing Diablo for the storyline is kinda like going to a brothel for a friendly hug. Just enjoy your smashing.

Wanted to know if the storyline is any good. Guess that gives it away.

Just think of them doing the most generic sequel you could think of and picking the most predictable story turns and you will see everything coming a mile away.

Just tried out the Wizard and Demon hunter. Maybe it was because I was playing multiplayer with 3-4 players but they both seemed very weak compared to the melee characters. The demon hunter was especially annoying because the monsters weren't dropping any bows or crossbows so I was dealing next to no damage and the powers at my disposal were pretty underwhelming.

[Gothos]

Use the auction house

[Obdigore]

 Aptorius, on 20 May 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

 Avatar, on 20 May 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

Quote

Playing Diablo for the storyline is kinda like going to a brothel for a friendly hug. Just enjoy your smashing.

Wanted to know if the storyline is any good. Guess that gives it away.

Just think of them doing the most generic sequel you could think of and picking the most predictable story turns and you will see everything coming a mile away.

Just tried out the Wizard and Demon hunter. Maybe it was because I was playing multiplayer with 3-4 players but they both seemed very weak compared to the melee characters. The demon hunter was especially annoying because the monsters weren't dropping any bows or crossbows so I was dealing next to no damage and the powers at my disposal were pretty underwhelming.

I'm playing a Monk atm, but Ive done some public games with some very strong Wizards, but only after level 30. I think the Wizards need to get a bunch of spells/runes unlocked before they are as strong as the Monk, at least, is early in the game.

[Illuyankas]

Diablo 1 story: Go down a dungeon and then stick a demon possessed crystal shard in your forehead

Diablo 2 story: Be late for everything ever and kill a bunch of evil dudes after they accomplish their mission

Only on Act 3 myself but seriously the Diablo series is not known for their gripping storytelling.

[Gothos]

Running this build right now:
http://eu.battle.net...YdhV!beT!cacbYb
and loving it. aoe, crits, sick burst, stuns, self-heal, mobility.... om nom nom. Will see how it changes with further runes being unlocked (lvl 56 now)!

[Aptorian]

 Illuyankas, on 20 May 2012 - 02:32 PM, said:

Diablo 1 story: Go down a dungeon and then stick a demon possessed crystal shard in your forehead

Diablo 2 story: Be late for everything ever and kill a bunch of evil dudes after they accomplish their mission

Only on Act 3 myself but seriously the Diablo series is not known for their gripping storytelling.

Oh I agree but:

Sticking to spoilers for act 1+2

Spoiler

You would think they could come up with a better bad guy than a purple witch with wings. More salient plots than "oh look I left the other guys behind", a better death scene for one of the most memorable characters in videogames, a more surprising twist than that the evil mage would double cross you or that one of the most powerful demons in the universe has nothing better to do than hide in a palace as a bitch.

I liked the idea that Tyrial fell from Heaven though.

Videogames have come a long way since 2000. You would think with the budget and attention to detail, the story itself would get a bit more attention.

This post has been edited by Aptorius: 20 May 2012 - 03:41 PM

[Gothos]

I wasn't going to bring this up, Apt, but here goes. I hear you loved the michael bay transformers movies. And you see fit to complain about the storyline in ANYTHING IN EXISTANCE? Bullshit meter just overloaded.

This post has been edited by Gothos: 20 May 2012 - 04:35 PM

[Aptorian]

I love how every time I have a problem with a story it comes back to me liking the Transformers series. I like the Transformers films despite their bad story lines (The first one wasn't half bad manuscript wise though), they are good summer block buster movies, they have big sweeping scenes of giant metal machines bashing each other to pieces and lots of american pie cliché moments that can make you laugh or smile or maybe shed a little manly tear. That's all I want from them.

I guess I could say the same about the gameplay in the D3, it's really awesome, but...

Spoiler

When it comes to Diablo 3 I want grim dark the world is coming to an end stories. I want the bad guys to be inhuman and monstrous to the point that they become alien. I do not need a cackling witch with butterfly wings that throw cartoon lasers at people and gloat about her victory. I wanted a big mean demonic warrior instead with tentacles under his skin that had fire burning inside his skull and his every breath made the walls groan and mortal men despair. I want the deaths of characters to have significance, not what ever the fuck that scene with Deckard Cain was. I want the demon known for his trickery and schemes to not just pretend to be a boy and spend Act 2 sending message in sachels to an incompetent henchman. I at least expected the capital to burn down and Belial to use every soul and blood drop he could get for some kind of horrible cruelty. I expect the fallen Angel to do more than just stand around in camp and give you lore dumps. And I wont even begin on the last two acts.

D2 felt a lot darker than this game in my opinion. All those World of Warcraft cutscenes ruined any kind of atmosphere that the rest of the game builds up

I just don't think that "the previous games weren't too smart either", is a valid excuse for subpar story telling. I really do wonder why the videogame industry doesn't spend more money on quality storytelling. Rockstar does it really well. CD Project and the Witcher is amazing in that respect. You'd think a giant like Blizzard that is so obsessed with perfection would put more pride in their stories.

This post has been edited by Aptorius: 20 May 2012 - 05:26 PM

[JLV]

So I bought this game and I'll be playing/recording it with a friend.

Right now it's looking like I'll play the monk. I've never played a diablo game. Not once. I have no prior experience. Will I be okay with this character, or should I play something else easier/more interesting to watch?

[Gothos]

You'd probably want a barbarian

[Silencer]

Okay, threads split for everyone's sanity. New topic here: Linky.

Carry on with general Diablo 3 stuff in this thread, delve into the other one only if you want to discuss the finer points of why Blizzard are not 'perfection-obsessed devs' and/or the nature of cynicism vs realism as it pertains to game development. Or something.

[Ceda Cicero]

I'm waaaaay late on dropping in to this thread, but I've been trying to log as much time with D3 as I can since the release. Which isn't really much, I'm waaaaaay behind (level 28 wizard on normal still.) The hacking and the slashing is therapeutic and nostalgic but Apt, you were kidding when you said the story was awful. What a bathtub fart.

Anyhow, the real reason I dropped in—my BT is QuickBen#1935 for anyone who wants a little decent co-op.

[Defiance]

Diablo 3 is extremely fun, but it just doesn't have the same charm as Diablo 2. I could be a bit premature in this, but honestly, I don't think I'll pick it up much once I beat Inferno (which I'm currently progressing through). I haven't entirely put my finger on why, but here are a few reasons:

Progression ends at 60, which takes no time at all to get. Getting to max level in Diablo 2 took far, far longer, and it's actually something that I never achieved (although I did get some characters into the low 90s). Now that I'm level 60 in Diablo 3, I literally have no improved skills or anything to look forward to as I fight my way through Inferno.

Terrible itemization. Homogenization has hit WoW hard, but why'd they have to bring it to Diablo? Every class can pretty much wear/use everything, and stats are so limited. Gone are all sorts of interesting things from Diablo 2. I especially miss the skill bonuses. Sure, they exist in some rudimentary form in D3 (oh my, this skill costs less Fury!), but nowhere near as cool as in D2. It was always great to get +skill items in D2, was one of my favorite things that really encouraged me to farm Mephisto and such so much. There really isn't that motivation in Diablo 3.

Hitboxes are crap. I was really excited to make a Hardcore character, but the hitboxes in this game are ridiculous. Rather than being hit if you're in the area when an enemy's swing lands, you can be running away from an enemy and still get hit as long as they start their swing when you're by them (the exception to this is power attacks, which are meant to be run away from).

The legendary items are really disappointing too. It's usually not that hard to find a rare with better damage and more desirable stats, since their random affix stats are generally crap (yes, because every barbarian wants lots more dexterity and a small intellect boost!).

Sorry if I sound really negative. As I said, I've been having a blast playing the game, but my enjoyment isn't coming from the loot, which was what ultimately kept me coming back to Diablo 2 so many years after its release.


EDIT: Concerning the story, it was hellishly bad. I predicted 90% of it before the game was out, and the other 10% I predicted during the game. I can honestly say that there wasn't a single thing that surprised me. As for why Blizzard doesn't put more pride into their stories, they do. Chris Metzen, I believe it is, went crazy over the Diablo 3 story (and the Warcraft story). It's unfortunate, but he has this whole obsession with good vs. evil "hero factory" bullshit that has prevented him from discovering the important, subtle nuances of storytelling. I don't think people put a lot of effort into their stories because that's usually not what sells a game. After all, if a game has terrible gameplay but a great story, most people won't experience that story because they simply can't deal with the terrible controls. Contrarily, if the gameplay is fun but the story is crap, people are far more likely to continue playing. In the end, though, stories are what make me love and remember games.

This post has been edited by Defiance: 23 May 2012 - 05:25 AM

[Obdigore]

Hell is really kicking my ass as a Monk. Inferno is apparently even worse. Having to kite and used my one ranged attack for 30 minutes on an elite group is not fun when my character is meant to be played up close and personal. /sigh.

[Beezulbubba]

[Aptorian]

Diablo 3 sells 3,5 million copies the first day, 6,3 million the first week. Probably the fastest selling PC game in history.

http://www.giantbomb...day-alone/4169/

[DeuceDrizzle]

Playing through normal right now and am just making my way through act 3. I have a 27 WD and my buddy is playing a 27 barb, and that combo is a lot of fun to play together. Either of us alone can do pretty well, but together we can plow through things really quickly. I am really looking forward to the upped difficulty and different enemies in nightmare and beyond.

I have a couple questions for you guys:

1) I am playing on a mac with specs right at the recommended requirements. However, I was only getting about 10 - 20 FPS at best when playing using OSX. I had to partition, install windows, and run D3 in windows to have increased performance. Anyone else on a mac have these issues? There were a number of complaints in the blizzard forums but the threads were deleted, and I am hoping that means blizzard knows something is up and may patch in the future.

2) Does anyone get lag/dips in their FPS when a lot of enemies come on screen? For the most part the game runs much better in windows, but when there are a bunch of things going on in the game, the FPS often drops into the teens and it lags up. Anyone else have these issues or know any ways to solve them? I worry that when I move on to higher difficulties and play with 4 people that I will just be bogged down the whole time.

As a whole I am enjoying the game a lot. It isn't necessarily ground breaking or anything, but it is good fun.

This post has been edited by DeuceDrizzle: 23 May 2012 - 04:23 PM