Vote: Diablo III’s B.net Chat Channels
Posted 3 April 2012 by FluxThe 
Diablo III chat channels interface debuted several patches ago, to general disdain and concern. Most commenters opined that the chat window was way too small, the design was ugly, the chat features were lacking, and the whole feature was generally worthy of disdain and contempt. Complaints that Bashiok promptly exacerbated by stating that no big changes to the chat interface were planned pre-release.
Check out the video if you need a refresher on what we’re talking about, or if you just want to enjoy two minutes of Elly’s golden tones.
The feature’s inauspicious debut was back in February though. Now that you guys have had six weeks to think it over and experiment with the system (if you’re in the beta), what do you think now? Still hate it? Grown to like it? Don’t care since typing to other people would just slow you down? Pick an option that reflects your opinion and we’ll see where the majority’s opinion lies.
What do you think of D3's B.net Chat Channel Interface?
- 3) Don't like it. Big changes needed. (25%, 1,318 Votes)
- 4) Awful. Ugly. Overhaul required. (20%, 1,048 Votes)
- 2) It's good, but could be better. (20%, 1,027 Votes)
- 5) Irrelevant. I won't use any chat channel system. (15%, 770 Votes)
- 6) No opinion/not sure yet. (15%, 767 Votes)
- 1) Great system. Functional and attractive. (5%, 326 Votes)
Total Voters: 5,257
Loading ...Last Vote Results
Our last vote measured the community’s reaction to the fact that no form of PvP will be present in Diablo III at launch. Surprisingly, to me at least, most of you guys didn’t want to PvP anyway, or don’t care that it’s being delayed for unknown months, or both.
How upset are you at no PvP in D3 at launch?
- 3) Mild approval. I don’t really care about PvP. (45%, 4,091 Votes)
- 4) Great news. PvP sucks and would have distracted from PvE balancing. (18%, 1,682 Votes)
- 5) I reject your reframing effort. A SOON release date is all that matters. Cut all the features! (17%, 1,603 Votes)
- 2) Angry. Was really looking forward to PvP. (17%, 1,587 Votes)
- 1) Outraged. Won’t buy until PvP is patched in. (3%, 212 Votes)
Total Voters: 9,176
It’s not clear how much of that acceptance of no PvP is due to the fact that Blizzard could add “and your left kidney” to the game’s price, without complaint from most fans, if the alternative was yet another six months delay to the release date.
Voted for irrelevant. I won’t be using the system. After all, why spend all your time hanging outside of the game just to chat if you can use that precious time to MF. Any “conversation” I need, I’ll go to the forums.
I agree.
Let the talkative ones complain about it then they can buy our items later. Then blizzard will pretty up the UI and we’ll all get what we want.
As time goes, people will lose the hype when they have done almost everything in the game. THEN you might want to Stay a While and Listen in the chat. plus, if u want a group of your preferences, the chat is a good way to start searching. It’s not irrelevant at all!
ta you
As a veteran of numerous MMOs and online games, no amount of boredom could force me to suffer through the horror of general chat, otheriwse knows as “a place where intelligent thought goes to die”.
Besides, why would I, or anyone else for that matter be bored with the game post release? I mean sure boredom will set in after years and years and years of playing D3, but I have so many activities and content played right not, that I highly doubt I’ll be anywhere near bored for at least first 4 to 6 months. Right around then is when PvP should be patched into the game, which will give me even more incentive to play.
who is talking about post release chat? people wont chose to stay and chat while they can play freakin diablo 3! no one will use it. i am talking about weeks or months after the release. once things settle down. look at the big picture, not just a few days after release.
some like chatting, some dont. (but who wouldnt like to chat in diablo 3? its diablo 3 for crying out loud!) but the important thing is that blizzard gave us that option. and you have every right NOT to use it.
Anytime past the point of release is called post. Whether it be 6 hours or 6 years.
I say it’s irrelevant for me cause what people I will talk to will be on my friends list or I will be on vent/skype. I have no desire to sit in a chat room with all the rabble.
As the poll already shows some people want a chat channel, and they have one, all be it not a very robust one. Given time it will get better. Just look at how they are improving it for SC2. Till then play the game with friends, if you don’t have friends, make some via co-op.
Besides, I think there is a Diablo website that has a lot of game info and a strong community, unfortunately the name escapes me.
Why wouldnt you just skype with the ppl you wanted to talk with??? Thats what i plan on doing… call me crazy.
fudge. i confused post-release with pre-release! thats what you get when u work during nights
I’m all meh-ed about it. No opinion, really.
Me too. I loved the idea of chat channels in D2, but the bots/spammers of course ruined them.
It is sad how many things in life are ruined by a few who think only about themselves.
There is not much difference between option 3) and 4). I went for 4) in the end, rly this is a stepback from D2.
Im even more bothered about the ingame chat window, cause thats where Ill do the majority of talking.
Definitely needs some big changes.
I was on the beta just earlier today, wanting to find a group of people who’d be willing to do a four-man run from lvl 1.
It made me realise that I would really value being able to see the names of people in the chat room and who’s there and who’s afk. The chat room would have to be bigger, though.
Would also be nice if the chat window was larger to accommodate a sidebar with that kind of information.
There’s an option to toggle the list of people in a room in the chat settings.
Flux, why are you always so sour?
After reading a few sentences from the articles, I can already tell if it is you. It is always about “potential missteps”, “potential issues”, “might be problems”, “not the best ways” – why so serious? : D
The PVP vote comment is a cherry on top of that: why do you feel the need to distort and/or disregard the majority’s views on this matter?
because there’s something bothering him when he sits down to type all that **** up
, simple really.
my vote: screw chat altogether. why on earth would I wanna chat with anyone when I got D3 fired up?
previous vote: screw PvP, there are plenty of games that have no MP and do just great, like Mass Effect 1/2. Blizzard just add coop/PvP to shut the whiners up “ZOMFGYNOCOOPPVPORLANSUPPORT”
stuff the lot of them if you ask me
he is very critical
i think he should remind us more often that he loves this game
i like flux
Almost by definition, we run votes on controversial issues, and “controversial” usually means “some people don’t like how Blizzard is handling X.” Thus in such cases there is almost always going to be some wording about why X is a bad thing. Such votes and debates are more fun anyway; when we do a vote on a nontroversial topic or something that almost everyone likes, and they tend to be kind of boring, both to write up and vote about. Examples:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-how-will-you-play-diablo-3-immediately-after-release
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-what-did-you-think-of-the-diablo-iii-intro-cinematic
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-what-kind-of-pvp-system-for-diablo-iii
Etc…
this is what i’m talking about
You just come off petty when you have the position you have and use it the way you do. It’d be nice if this great site didn’t seem to be run by what amounts to your run of the mill forum troll.
Why does it bother you he has a passion for this game? I for one am in agreement with Flux 90% of the time on most issues.
He didn’t distort any of the pvp data, if you look almost as many people are pissed or have mild disapproval that PvP isn’t going to be shipped at launch as are those that don’t really care. all you are seeing is that fact that more people voted for i don’t really care just give me the damn game then any of the others. your not looking at the total number of voters divided between each potential answer.
I don’t post here much i simply visit this site for its interesting take on various subjects, i Find Flux, Elly and the rest of the gang to be refreshing.
Well if you agree with him you probably don’t notice that the old PvP poll lacks enough options for those who don’t quite agree.
Some day I’ll set up a vote so all the people who think we should have more nuanced, precise questions can battle to the death against all the people who want fewer options and simplified yes/no votes.
Needless to say, both sides will hate the options in that vote.
One of the polls, might even have been the PvP one I asked for suggestions and no one came up with any.
One thing is for certain: 3% of the people are going to get their hineys kicked when PvP gets patched in and only then do they buy the game. Either that, or they are just blowing smoke.
I’m actually even more concerned about the in-game chat interface. The chat text is extremely small (no way to resize it), and there are no individual windows so NPC spam clutters up the chat.
The chat channels are so out of the way that I imagine they will rarely be used. It takes 5 clicks every time you log in to get into a channel and show channel members. And then even more clicks to get information about their characters.
The tragic thing is the fact we nearly have a good system. Almost all the functionality is there. It’s just so poorly realised. If Blizzard had planned it right from the start, they wouldn’t need additional development time to address the chat channels! All they had to do was look at games like Heroes of Newerth (imo the holy grail of chat channels) and Warcraft 3.
… So now when D3 is released, they’ll be looking at the chat channels and saying, “so few people are using these, guess they weren’t necessary after all!”
I think this is spot on, sadly. That players must make an effort to enter the chat, and that it’s entirely optional, rather than being the default lifeblood of communication and interaction that it was in D2 and War3 is a terrible change. Like someone else said sarcastically, why would you want strong tools for interaction an in online game?
I actually voted for 2 on this one, as I’ve cone around from my initial chat channel disdain to a mildly-approving view, but the fairly robust functions of the chat are worthless since it’s so visually unappealing and crippled by non-intuitive controls.
I’m not a fan of apple software, (I hate itunes) but Steve Jobs would have fired everyone involved in the creation of b.net 2.0, given his legendarily maniacal focus on details and user friendly controls. Which might explain why apple is the most profitable tech company on earth with a stock in teh $600+ range, while ATVI has languished around $10-12 for 5 years.
Okay, that’s probably a stretch, but if Bliz put 1/10th the effort into the b.net interface that they do into their game interfaces, we’d have a radically different chat system and far better options for joining and creating games, etc. (An argument that would have been much easier to make before the last skill/rune overhaul and the coming of the barely-tolerable “Elective Mode”.)
I completely agree with everything you said. It’s just a bit too laborious to get to it and use it’s features. Plus, you have to close it whenever you look at another players stats, BLECH. There’s a lot of tweaking to be done, but it certainly isn’t a screen wide chat or tiny avatars to make it more “functional”.
I’m glad you’ve made these more astute and refreshing observations.
No time for chat when there is loot to be had.
too many options in the poll.. how about just yes/no for once?
That’s not how Flux works. lol It’s varying levels of discord, then a I don’t care option.
Can you scroll up the page a bit and argue bitterly with MonkIsHere? Kthx.