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Diablo III's been attempting to battle its way out of development hell for ages, but a release is finally just around the corner, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Blizzard is, as always, non-committal, but at least this time the notoriously meticulous developer has a reason: It's in the process of playing development Operation with its game, removing and replacing key bits without touching the sides. To be sure, it's touch and go, but as game director Jay Wilson puts it “No one will remember if the game is late, only if it's great.”
“We’re changing some of the systems we’ve gotten the most feedback on both internally and from the beta test, including crafting, items, core attributes, and inventory,” he explained in a post on Diablo III's official site. “In addition we’re working on major changes to the skill and rune systems that we’re not ready to talk about, but I promise you we can’t possibly ship without a finished skill and rune system.”
“We're changing core character attributes to Strength, Dexterity, Intellect, and Vitality... We're dropping Defense, Attack, and Precision as attributes, Armor is taking over for what Defense used to provide, +Physical Resist will take over for Armor, and +Chance to Crit will fill in for Precision. Obviously these stat changes are one of the bigger systems changes we're currently working on as they have far reaching requirements to re-itemize and balance the game.”
In addition – blasphemous though it may sound – Scrolls of Identification are officially gone for good. Instead, a spell will handle the honors from now on, cutting down on clutter and convolution. The Mystic artisan's also in the unemployment line, with Wilson noting that “Enhancement was really just the socket and gem system with a different name, and it would prolong the release of the game even further to go back to the drawing board and differentiate it.”
So then, it's fairly safe to say that the game's not coming out in a few weeks. Oh well, they say waiting builds character, and Diablo III even lets those who are waiting build characters. Really, what's not to like? Oh, right: The fact that we have aged a decade since the last Diablo release. That's a bit of a thing.
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Rift2
January 22, 2012 at 11:27pm
It's Bilzzard so they can't mess up the problem is 3-D graphics it's just not the same as 2-D.
Belboz99
January 22, 2012 at 6:38pm
I can understand wanting to release a great game, but using that as justification for the amount of time this game has taken to develop is just plain BS.
D2 was released in 2000, it's only expansion LoD in 2001. They announced D3 in October of 2008, complete with videos of the game in action and said it was coming "soon" and that they were "almost done."
By comparison, Bethesda released Oblivion in 2006, gave it an expansion pack Shivering Isles around 1 year later in March of 2007, announced Skyrim in December of 2010, gave 11-11-11 as the release date during the announcement, and delivered as promised on 11-11-11 by releasing Skyrim which now holds the record for the most players on Steam (5 million), 10's of millions of sales, and has the record of the most played game (2x Team Fortress 2), all within months of release.
It took all of 4.5 years for Bethesda to develop Skyrim and release it, and it *is* by all accounts, a great game.
It's now been almost 4 years since Blizzard *announced* D3, and almost 3x as long since the previous game in the series was complete.
The type of stuff they're doing now should have been done in 2005, 2007 maybe, heck, 2008 at the latest. To announce the game and 4 fraking years later decide "well, we changed our minds about how we think this game should work" is just f'ing stupid.
The whole thing just makes me sick. I have a beta account, and I'm not even going to play it. I don't think I'll even buy the game when it comes out, though I did plan on doing so previously.
TBH, the whole "we want to release a great game" is marketing BS for "we f'ed up, and now we're hoping to fix it".
Oh, and one of the lead developers has left Blizz just recently:
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/16236/diablo-iii-producer-leaves-project-blizzard
Shalbatana
February 06, 2012 at 1:38pm
I have to disagree, just because we like (or not) a game and want a sequel does not mean a company is OBLIGATED to bring us a timely sequel, or any sequel at all. They never made any promises as to how long it would take. Therefore they can't have "F-d up".
I understand anticipation, but if gamers made the mistake of setting some sort of timeline, that's their fault, not the game company's.
bling581
February 07, 2012 at 11:37am
It's hard to make gamers happy. If you wait too long for a sequel they complain. If you release it prematurely and it's full of bugs or holes they complain that it sucks. Blizzard does take longer than your average company to develop a game but they've always been quality titles that are worth the price.
Zyx
January 20, 2012 at 3:56pm
I can't believe they are making such huge changes to the game engine this late. I'm pretty close to going and getting my pre-order money back after reading this.
Biceps
January 20, 2012 at 11:51am
When it is done, I still won't buy it. Always-on DRM is always wrong in my opinion.
bling581
January 20, 2012 at 10:37am
Blizzard always takes forever to develop games but the quality speaks for itself. I know everyone doesn't have the cash that Blizzard does but I wish other companies created fewer games but spend more time on each one in order to release a quality product. There are few developers these days that I recognize as quality devs.
illusionslayer
January 20, 2012 at 12:03pm
"The quality speaks for itself."
Is that why WoW looks like my kids designed it?
bling581
January 24, 2012 at 11:07am
Why do people feel that every game needs to be realistic looking? They were probably going for a Warcraft 3 effect so it it seemed a little familiar. Graphics aren't everything and I think they were pretty good considering the look they were going for.
leper1983
January 20, 2012 at 2:32pm
You do know it's 7 years old right? I would much rather have amazing gameplay before amazing graphics because that is what makes the game. Look at all those other "Beautiful" games that just can't survive.. Blizzard is one of the best gaming company's for a reason.
Belboz99
January 22, 2012 at 6:43pm
Ironically, Diablo II is 12 years old and looks better than WoW.
Morrowind, released in 2002 looks better than WoW.
Half Life 2 was released 8 years ago and looks phenomenally better than WoW.
I could go on, but I think my point is made.
WoW is a very successful cash cow, but is it a game that inspires? Does it have an engaging story? Is there anything about the game specifically that stands out from the crowds as unique, or innovative?
Meh.
Shalbatana
January 20, 2012 at 8:31am
I'll wait as long as it takes. I'd rather it be good. I'd hate for Diablo III to be the "alien 3", of the series.
jnwoll
January 20, 2012 at 7:19am
So you mean Best Buy's countdown to Diablo III release looks even dumber than it did before? SHOCKER
chart2006
January 20, 2012 at 7:49am
It's Best Buy! What did you expect coming from a company who charges customers to upgrade the firmware on a PS3. ;-)
