View Full Version : The Waiting Game: Diablo III vs. Diablo II
I'll admit it: Diablo II was the first Diablo game I played. I didn't have my first PC until summer 2000, and based on a friend's recommendation I went out and bought Diablo II.
I hadn't heard of it. I hadn't played the first one. I hadn't read anything about the game. I didn't know what classes were in it, or what to expect until I was holding the box in my hands.
I fired it up, and it blew me away.
Everything was so fresh to me that the whole experience was overwhelmingly fantastic.
...So now with Diablo III, I'm experiencing something entirely different. A long wait. Screenshots. Gameplay videos. Forums. Reading every news item that Flux posts. Expectations. All of this well in advance of the game's release.
So these questions go out to all of you that pined for Diablo II immediately after it was announced:
How long did you wait?
What expectations did you have?
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Does the wait get any easier?
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
How long did you wait?
None, didn't track it. I've played 1st, but wasn't overly impressed and didn't actually play it long enough.
What expectations did you have?
None, see above.
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Quite little, considering i was like 12 years back then and didn't track any games at all.
Does the wait get any easier?
Wait is a wait, hopefully you have other things to do, when not reading news or posting about D3.
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
Can't tell, see 1st answer.
^ that was informative :) ^
I played D1 back in the day... Waited with anticipation but not quite as avidly as I do now. I mostly just kept an eye out for news about Diablo II on the Blizzard website and PC Gamer.
Based off of the Paladin announcement before the game was released I expected him to be a bit stronger than he was in D2c.
I didn't get to play the beta, but I watched a few gameplay videos. Including one where this guy was messing around with Andariel in Hardcore mode with a level 20 beta-Barb and he accidentally died. It looked like fun, a lot more fast pased than D1.
Yes. I'm a bigger fan of the series than I once was and I'm loving the suspense and anticipation.
Mizantrop
01-08-2008, 08:24
How long did you wait?
To long ago for me to remember. But I remember it was agonizing.
What expectations did you have?
I had alot. The most obvious: more of everything! story, classes, items, levels(acts). The other thing I can think of is pace. Running really did it for me in D2.
How much did you know before starting your first game?
I was snorting every grain of cocainformation from diabloii.net. I knew that my first char will be a necro, he is kinda like my ego. Long hair, skinny, pale, meddle in weird stuff. Nowadays my favorite char is the barbarian which is kinda like my alter ego (still long hair, skinny and pale)
Does the wait get any easier?
Honestly I think that's the hardest question. I would say that wait can be hard sometimes (espacially when blizzard release info in such a tight manner) but it can also be easier when you share it with other people :heartbeat:
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
It's very different. My internet speed/skill is so much greater today than what it was while waiting for D2 that I am open to alot more information in a much higher rate. But that only leaves me yearning for more and more.
Side-Note: seems that with the info we got on D3 right now I have to choose between my old ego (witchdoctor: old, crooked, talks gibberish) and my old alter ego (barbarian: old, cranky, still raising hell like a youngster).
Onehouse
01-08-2008, 08:35
I'll admit it: Diablo II was the first Diablo game I played. I didn't have my first PC until summer 2000, and based on a friend's recommendation I went out and bought Diablo II.
I hadn't heard of it. I hadn't played the first one. I hadn't read anything about the game. I didn't know what classes were in it, or what to expect until I was holding the box in my hands.
I fired it up, and it blew me away.
Everything was so fresh to me that the whole experience was overwhelmingly fantastic.
...So now with Diablo III, I'm experiencing something entirely different. A long wait. Screenshots. Gameplay videos. Forums. Reading every news item that Flux posts. Expectations. All of this well in advance of the game's release.
So these questions go out to all of you that pined for Diablo II immediately after it was announced:
How long did you wait?
What expectations did you have?
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Does the wait get any easier?
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
1. I think it was from day one. I can't remember how long it was but I think years.
2. HUGE
3. Everything (and I won't do the same mistake with D3, some things are best unspoiled, like story, and where bosses are and how they look etc. Some things are ment to make you jump out of your chair and spoiling that sux)
4. No
5. Well, I joined a clan in the wait for D2. We discuessed the game on our clan board and made up clan rules and so on years before the game was released. This time around I will wait until the game actually is out before I do something like that.
Good thread btw...
1. How long did you wait?
i didn't wait at all.. at school, my mates were talking 'bout D1, and i went out and bought it.. didn't like it that much, but when my friend got D2 from his uncle, him and I were always playing it.
2. What expectations did you have?
never waited, therefore; none.
3. How much did you know before starting your first game?
about D2? well, i've played it with my friend, his game.. and when i went out to buy it, i knew quite a bit.
4. Does the wait get any easier?
never waited, but i've waited for some other games; Spore. i dont expect anything from Spore, but D3 is a thrilogy, and i've played the earlier games, and therefore have expectations, and the wait is therefore harder than what i've tryed before.
5. ...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
like i said, yes.
nice thread
mouseman
01-08-2008, 14:04
Lurked this site from the DII announcement to the release date. Had huge expectations. Initially I was let down before I discovered b.net. The wait just gets harder.
Apocalypse
01-08-2008, 14:21
How long did you wait?
What expectations did you have?
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Does the wait get any easier?
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
1. I waited for d2 since it was announced. i visited this site daily until the chat went live. back then the chat was always active though so there was no need for a forum for me. i cant remember how long it was from announcement to release(i didnt get to beta test) but it felt like forever
2. I had the biggest expectation i could possibly have for a game. few games have equaled what i expected with d2, very few
3. I knew alot about the game pre release. i remember i had 2 character plans for each character class written out based on all the info and the leaked skill info from beta. a few of my characters worked, some didnt, but it was fun to see how my plans worked. back then you had planners and anti planners who said it was a waste of time lol
4. The wait will get easier if you get into beta, if not it will get way way wayyyy worse. when you know people are playing it right now and you are searching every forum you know of for any new info, the wait sucks
5. The wait for D3 is different imo, so far its easier. the main reason i say that is i am older and have alot more to do with my time. back when d2 was prelaunch i had a period of time where i was jobless, so with nothing to take up my time i justy kept getting worked up over d2 lol. now i have a wife and kids and i just lack the time, which is good in this case
Sein Schatten
01-08-2008, 14:37
How long did you wait?
What expectations did you have?
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Does the wait get any easier?
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
I don't wait on games. Games don't direct my life. When it gets released, good. I had other things to worry back then (and still do).
None. I hoped it would be good and it is good. ;)
Nothing. Reading everything before the game is released or reading spoilers when the game is out makes it boring for me.
See first.
See first.
How long did you wait?
What expectations did you have?
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Does the wait get any easier?
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
I waited over a year, being one of the few on these forums at the time. I think this site was just beginning to see a lot of popularity. I recall the huge thing at the time wa preparing skill choice plans.
I don't recall what my expectations were like to tell you the truth. I recall a video they released of the barbarian (lol) and it seemed pretty awesome. One thing I will say is that the new video is a bigger departure from the diablo franchise than D2.
I knew a lot and started with a Sorceress and it was friggin' hard at the time.
The wait gets worse. I do not believe we are anywhere close to a release date.
Expectations? I just hope they stick to what made D1/D2 fun...
BTW Apoc, i vaguely remember you.
How long did you wait?
Well I played D1 a lot, and followed every bit of news when DII was in the making. I remember stuff on DiabloII.net like large pictures of the cemetary of Blood Raven, being put together by fans from different published screenshots. Maybe Flux can find them again?
The waiting took forever but all the guessing, hyping etc can be a lot of fun too. You know, like as a kid the most fun of your birthday can be the expectations, not the day intself.
And finally when it was released I was on a long holiday. I bought it on the way back...
What expectations did you have?
I expected about what DII brought to us, because I followed it so closely. Still the amount of stuff you can find and other things like the horadric cube, later added runes etc were more then I expected. I played the game almost as an addiction, having to draw myself away. A warning to all of you :nod:
How much did you know before starting your first game?
See above.
Does the wait get any easier?
I enjoy it again, the guessing, the 'excitement' over a new screenshot that's is released etc. Perhaps, when the game is out someday, we might miss the times of anticipation.
...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
A bit, as I have changed too. I am older and also now actively posting on the forums which I did not with DII.
Nice questions anyway,
greetz,
Wirt
Edit: I also got into the test with the barbarian, so that eased up the last months perhaps.
Funkopotamus
01-08-2008, 15:27
1. How long did you wait?
I don't know but it seemed like forever. I remember talking to my friends online and at school about it all the time. In retrospect, it might of been annoying, but they were into it too so who knows.
2. What expectations did you have?
Awesome. That's all I expected.
3. How much did you know before starting your first game?
I read all the information that was released beforehand so I had a rough idea of what to expect.
4. Does the wait get any easier?
It was pretty level the whole time.
5. Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
Much different. I haven't been impressed by a game in a long time so it's mostly me trying to convince myself this game will be worth playing because of the previous Diablo games and the Blizzard brand.
Apocalypse
01-08-2008, 15:37
I don't wait on games. Games don't direct my life. When it gets released, good. I had other things to worry back then (and still do).
None. I hoped it would be good and it is good. ;)
Nothing. Reading everything before the game is released or reading spoilers when the game is out makes it boring for me.
See first.
See first.
you spend alot of time talking d3 for someone who is not waiting on it. there are different "levels" of anticipation and maybe you are on the low end but i would say that everyone that actively posts here is waiting for the game
ciphernemo
01-08-2008, 18:37
How long did you wait?
I remember seeing demo videos recorded by an old-school videocam of a developer playing and describing the first Diablo. I was 22 when it was released, and I thought "finally, an overhead action-style game for role-playing fans". I specifically remember the video of a warrior fighting creatures in one of the Cave levels. I didn't really follow its release since websites in 1997 were pretty lame compared to today. I just went about my life until it was released, then picked it up at an EB store that same week (when it was known as Electronics Boutique).
When Diablo 2 was released, I never really bothered learning about it until almost a month after its release. At that time, I still enjoyed the original Diablo once in a while, but was busy with things in my professional life. I purchased it a month after release form a Fry's Electronics (I lived in California then). I was addicted to D2 after about the first hour of playing; it was truly mesmerizing.
What expectations did you have?
I went into the original Diablo game with no expectations since it was a new genre of gaming, and I knew next to nothing about it.
For D2, I had only a few expectations, which were all based upon its predecessor. I was happy that the old-school click frenzy of D1 was done away with holding down the mouse button in D2. For D1, I literally wore out a brand new mouse in months from the constant clicking. Later, I used 'DiabloClicker', a simple little utility released by a Diablo fan. D2 exceeded all of my expectations... it was utterly impressive.
How much did you know before starting your first game?
Next to nothing. I prefer to go into Diablo and similar style games with knowing little so that I can be pleasantly (or annoyingly) surprised when I discover things. I typically only research game features, tricks, strategy, etc. after I've been involved in a game for a while.
That might change with D3, though, since I'm eagerly awaiting it more than any other computer game I've played.
Does the wait get any easier?
No, it only gets worse. I didn't wait for the first Diablo. I would have waited a little for the 2nd if I had known about it before it was released. For the third, with so many months between knowing about it and it being released, the waiting is difficult.
Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
Yes. The 8+ year gap between D2 and D3 being is like waiting to be reunited with an old love. Only that old flame is now exponentially more sexy, and will tease you for months until you can get a little action.
* Does the wait get any easier?
As always, the easiest thing has and always will be, is to go back to your normal daily routine and don't think about Diablo ever (which probably also involves uninstalling it from your system completely.) Now the downside, this plan is highly likely to backfire, because of annoying friends, but if successful, you'll have forgotten all about the game, and that's a good thing, because by the time it does hit storeshelves, you'll think to yourself, "Cool I didnt even have to wait that long to get my hands on this!" However, my plan backfired.. my bastard of a friend, ruined the relative peace I had with the game, and now I'm stuck obsessively on these forums, waiting .. probably a whole year + of torture , I wish I had never known until the day of its release!! because I had uninstalled it.. and I was FREE!!!
Apocalypse
01-08-2008, 20:58
^ that was informative :) ^
Based off of the Paladin announcement before the game was released I expected him to be a bit stronger than he was in D2c.
i remeber pre launch me and my friends were talking about how an all paladin team would just own the game if all paladins took a different aura. it never really worked out like that though mainly cause no one ever stood close enough to each other to share the auras lol.
i also remember loving the paladin before the hammerdin took over, always hated that skill no matter how good it was
I played D1 so much that I didn't know about D2 'til I walked in a FutureShop one day...
... the stares that were directed my way due to a loud squeal remain vivid in my mind.
stillman
02-08-2008, 05:12
I never had internet access in the d2 release days, so I only had my friend to rely on for casual info. His main points were "The barbarian class can dual-wield" and "fire looks like fire".
My expectations were simply no-brainers: more items, more classes.
There was no wait for d2, since I was oblivious to the pre-release hype.
The wait for d3 now is, well, tragic. Like many here, I'm older now and real life is going to interfere with the fun nature of Diablo playing. I won't be able to spend all day/night playing. Think of me as a zombie: "must pay bills...grrrr". And, when it comes to breaks for eating, "grains....grrr".
Great posts - quite a variety of experiences here. I read somewhere recently(I believe it was Flux that mentioned it) that the devs used to hang out in diabloii.net chat and discuss aspects of the game during development. After years of official press releases and newer events like BlizzCon have occupied most of the announcement space, it is hard to imagine that setting. I can see how it would be easy to set up high expectations when a developer casually mentions a really cool idea that they're experimenting with that doesn't make it into the final game. How closely did Diablo II match your expectations?
Apocalypse
05-08-2008, 20:39
Great posts - quite a variety of experiences here. I read somewhere recently(I believe it was Flux that mentioned it) that the devs used to hang out in diabloii.net chat and discuss aspects of the game during development. After years of official press releases and newer events like BlizzCon have occupied most of the announcement space, it is hard to imagine that setting. I can see how it would be easy to set up high expectations when a developer casually mentions a really cool idea that they're experimenting with that doesn't make it into the final game. How closely did Diablo II match your expectations?
my expectations constantly changed with d2, mainly due the chatting with the devs. back then it really did seem like this was the only site worth a damn if you wanted new info. anyway it met alot of my expectations and it failed on only a few. some of these failures were not the fault of bliz (i wanted more team work, instead of everyone running around doing thier own thing in the same game) other things were (lag lag lag lag LAG). overall i was very happy though with what they delivered. i remember all the talk about guild halls and how it seemed like everyone was pissed when they said they scrapped the idea(i never cared myself) so i am sure others were not as happy as me and then i am sure some where even more so.
pre d2 the barb was my main char of choice, after i got the game he turned out to be my least fav. so the character expectations changed greatly for me as i listed them pre launch barb, sorc, necro, amazon, paladin then after i played the game it changed to amazon, necro, sorc, paladin, barb. anyway i have typed too much so..... yeah
* How long did you wait?
I was pretty young when D2 came out, so by the time I learned about the game it was already long out.
* What expectations did you have?
None, never played it before.
* How much did you know before starting your first game?
None
* Does the wait get any easier?
It gets much harder, I usually have to wait for the games I like to come out, but it was never agonizing, but D3 and SC2 are a different question, I'm overly hyped about it.
* ...and the big one: Is waiting for Diablo III any different?
Its much different from D2 than D2 was to D1. Even though D2 had greatly improved graphics and specific character classes, D3 has modern graphics with so many other elements in the game that I can't begin listing.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.