D3 Q&A from WWI

[Flux]

Elly was able to liveblog the D3 Q&A session from WWI which commenced after the initial D3 presentation. At this time the live streams had a WoW conference and a War3 demo, so our only report on the D3 Q&A is from her report. (Videos of it will show up later, with any luck.) The following is taken from a series of icqs she sent me, so it's a bit rough. You'll get the gist of it, though.

[04:20] Q&A session began
[04:21] videoing it
[04:21] brand new 3d engine
[04:21] not given it a name
[04:21] developed in house
[04:22] been in development
[04:22] for quite a number years
[04:22] about 4 years overall

[04:23] lot of changes planned for new battle.net
[04:24] lot of new features for bnet will be introduced for sc2

[04:24] not talking about any competitive gamign features at this time.
[04:24] 8 player games right now but not been nailed down yet
[04:25] will add pvp features but nothing to reveal at this time.

[04:27] loot changed
[04:27] Anything y9ou ssee on the ground is yours
[04:27] no mad dash to grab loot

[04:27] more elaborate improvements to coop
[04:27] not be revelaed yet

[04:27] mac version coming

[04:28] havent' settled on final number of classes

[04:28] any console version
[04:28] interested but no plans for d3 to be on other platforms

[04:29] did any of the subsequent D2 clones influence D3.
[04:29] just talking about d3 now

[04:29] some more more classes to be added from d2
[04:29] no porting over D2 chars to D3

[04:31] item sales
[04:32] have no defcision on aucgtion house
[04:32] ad-hoc trading like D2 wasn't the best option for gamers so they want to change thqat
[04:32] but again, no detqails.

[04:32] targeting a length of dev the same as d2
[04:32] dev team is 55 strong

[04:33] story pics up 20 years after lOD
[04:33] far enough away that the invasion is almost mythical

[04:34] no information on website display of characters

[04:40] areas - tristram
[04:40] you will travel all over sanctuary.

[04:40] evil penguin
[04:40] he doesn't know what it was

[04:41] haven't nailed down eactly what they'll do with weapons,
[04:41] sockets
[04:41] enchanting

[04:41] afraqid of losing wow fans to D3?
[04:42] no we are not afraid.
[04:42] there is not as big a cross over between the 2 communities as they thought.
[04:42] and if they do cross over, they are still playing blizzard games so they are not concerned.

[04:43] some interaction with the enviromennt
[04:43] basically if it looks as if you should be able to interact with it, you will

[04:43] plans for difficulty structure. not sure if it'll be the same or different to d2.

[04:43] hardcore
[04:43] he looks confused.
[04:44] um
[04:44] i don't see a reason why we wouldn't support it
[04:44] not something we have discussed.

[04:44] will you create physic puzzles
[04:44] don't expect it
[04:45] expect monster combat the system could handle physics puzzles so you never know.

[04:45] no decision on financial model
[04:46] will aim to simultaneous ship at the same time but can't say if that will happen in all regions.

[04:48] no decisions on end game.

[04:49] char customization at the beginning?
[04:49] No
[04:49] gender only
[04:50] no difference between genders

[04:50] no info on sys specs
[04:51] usual aim is to make games available to regular spec

[04:51] secret cow level?
[04:51] no comment

[04:51] they will probably change the transportation system
[04:52] want people to get round the world quickly
[04:52] but they don't think mounts are necessary

[04:53] 3d game, updated graphics, focussing a lot of the improvements to auction. Bit focus on making the class 'Crazy Cool'
[04:53] big focus on the feel and story.
[04:53] don't have to read quest text you can grab the text qand shoot off but you can read it, it's there and will be rich.

[04:53] seasonal events
[04:53] ?
[04:54] that's a good idea
[04:54] too far out to discuss seasonal events.
[04:55] our aim is to make it a better role playing game.


More to come....

[sbn]

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:23] lot of changes planned for new battle.net
[04:24] lot of new features for bnet will be introduced for sc2

Hopefully stable servers?

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:24] not talking about any competitive gamign features at this time.

Well if they do a ladder, it has to be actually maintained. None of this "we don't know when it will be reset, or how long it will last".

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:24] 8 player games right now but not been nailed down yet

Would be nice to see 10-12 player games, but 8....

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:25] will add pvp features but nothing to reveal at this time.

Oh goody, now level 90 Barbs can PK us low levels in enhanced 3D. Since D2 came out people have griped about this. They need to do it right this time, hostile should be mutual.

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:27] Anything y9ou ssee on the ground is yours
[04:27] no mad dash to grab loot

This actually seems exciting..no more leechers who follow you around herding creatures into you so they can grab the drops while YOU fight to keep both alive lol.

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:27] more elaborate improvements to coop

Anything to improve COOP is a plus in my book. It is the heart of the gameplay.

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:28] havent' settled on final number of classes

No Hammerdins I hope! Seriously they have to have the Paladin, Amazon, and Sorc.

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:31] item sales
[04:32] have no defcision on aucgtion house
[04:32] ad-hoc trading like D2 wasn't the best option for gamers so they want to change thqat

Hmmmm.....

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:32] targeting a length of dev the same as d2
[04:32] dev team is 55 strong

I thought D2 took 2 years. So how far along how they?

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:41] afraqid of losing wow fans to D3?
[04:42] no we are not afraid.
[04:42] there is not as big a cross over between the 2 communities as they thought.

Should this surprise anyone?

Originally Posted by Flux

[04:53] seasonal events
[04:53] ?
[04:54] that's a good idea
[04:54] too far out to discuss seasonal events.
[04:55] our aim is to make it a better role playing game.

What would make D3 absolutely phenomenal would be to have a dynamic world. Quests that are random, similar to the old Warlords2 and Heroes of Might and Magic. Enter the game, get the quest, then go out and begin the journey.

[bohe]

Mutual hostile would ruin diablo pvp. However, instant hostile is an issue. IMO, there should be a timer, to give anyone a chance to TP back before the PKer could do any damage.

[konfeta]

From what I understand, they want to include an actual PvP system this time around, not this PK-fest or duels.

Like, remember the supposed Arenas for Diablo 2? I think they want that in D3 now.

[Es Mors]

Just want to say thanks for being there and giving us all this wonderful information!

[Vertigo X]

I actually loved the dueling system in Diablo 2... My brother and I like it the best, even with the risk of being killed at lower levels by other players. I'd prefer it if the duel system remained the same. If it were to be changed, I hope it won't be by much. So many memories dueling in all of the Acts and hiding in the Den of Evil. Good times.

I also liked the item trading, but I think a few changes won't ruin this.

[mcriket002]

Thank you, Flux. Updates (and this post) are much appreciated!

[sectoid]

[04:53] big focus on the feel and story.
[04:53] ... you can read it, it's there and will be rich.

That's ALL I wanted to hear!
At first I was a bit sad by the sc2-like graphics, which are a bit cartoony, wow-like, but there's a lot of blood and if the story's good, that's more than enough for me.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

I would accept mutual hostility, but it would make me sad.
I don't PK (much) but when someone's being a douche in your game it's a great way to get them out (at least in HC) and it adds an extra thrill (again in HC) when someone else hostiles you.

[sbn]

The reality of the Hostile since this game came out has been the vast majority of use as it is implemented in D2 was for high levels to come and pick on low levels. Where I am from, we call these people losers, so why encourage it.

Fact of the matter is one of the BEST times I ever had playing D2 was ruined by one of these *#*(@. After a good 2 hours in a public game going through NM ourselves, one person left. 5 minutes later a lvl 90+ sorc comes in to PK us. Everyone just became annoyed and left...end of game.

For 8+ years now I have hardly ever seen anything positive to the way hostile was implemented. It has been nothing more than a means for anti-social and immature kiddies to take out their anger when mommy tells them to go to bed early.