Blizzard Still Isn't Sure About Diablo III on Consoles
- Thread starter John Funk
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Considering how much they have altered the game to work better on consoles rather than working well on PC sort of gives away their hand.
Would you say it was a *puts on sunglasses* DREnema?dogstile said:
YEAAAAAAAAH!
Anyway, I could care less if Blizzard did it. Diablo's not that great a game. It's just a game glorifying Skinner-Box mechanics. I mean it's not like I played Diablo for its stellar writing. "Go down in maze. Kill evil with stupid Spanish name."
Maybe it's the thrilling and engaging feeling of mowing down thousands of monsters.
*Click* *Click* *Click*
Thrilling...
Skill UIEric the Orange said:
4 Player maximum
Skill Hotkey Limit
Overgenerous hitboxes
Those are just a few off the top of my head that are all downgrades from the earlier versions, but downgrades that make sense when console development is the end product.
You know, some people actually like playing games on console, not because it's cheaper, not because it's more simple, but some people like to use a game pad to play their games rather than a mouse and keyboard.Torrasque said:
A top down game doesn't feel foreign at all on a console with a game pad, and you only get to use about 6 skills at any one time anyway (7 if you include potions) so lack of buttons wouldn't be a major issue either, the only issue that I can see is making the auction house work, which to me isn't an integral part of the game anyway.
Just because it feels weird to you, doesn't mean it feels weird to everyone.
Ok, lets assume that D2's system is vastly superior and is non-casual.ravenshrike said:
With D2's system, you have a set build in mind at all times. Every time you lvl up, you must get a very specific talent, and depending on your class, you can be completely useless for huge portions of the game.
Ok, so you decide to be a Bowazon because Bowazons are awesome. That means you can do slightly effective dps up till lvl 40, but you suck hard from 40-60 due to the normal-nightmare difficulty curve. It takes a while for your talents to get up to par, but once they do, BAM Hell difficulty. You're going to be useless until you get your full set gear and max out your build, but hey, all of the builds in D2 are useless nightmare-hell until you max out with a full set of gear.
When you finally hit lvl 90 and are actually enjoying the game, all your talents are perfect, your stats are perfect, everything is just peachy and you are having fun, a friend tells you how much fun Javazons are. Now in D2 before they added the talent point reset, you have one option: MAKE A NEW AMAZON.
With D3, you collect gear for your character and change your talents on the fly to suit any situation, not because that is the "casual" approach, but because that is the much better approach to making the game entertaining. You don't have to worry about allocating your stats, allocating your talents, or doing that kind of micro-managing. All you do is kill demons and undead, collect phat loot, and enjoy the game.
I don't see how that is making the game casual, that seems to be making the game better.
As a gamer that grew up on consoles, I can say that I usually prefer games on consoles to PC. But when a game is ported from the PC to a console, it usually feels weird to me when compared to playing it on PC. It really depends on who does the porting, sometimes it gets better. RTS' are always better on PC, while I prefer shooters on console.CardinalPiggles said:
For a game like D3, I still can't shake the feeling that it would be weird to fit the controls onto a controller in a way that wouldn't create a lot of /press X button/ + /press Y button/ to use /Z skill/.
Well if were comparing to D2, then I don't see it as a step back. D2 only had 2 skills at a time and 4 players. I really can't comment on the hit boxes as I don't have a direct way of comparison. And as far as the UI it still looks to me like a PC game UI not a console.Lord_Jaroh said:
That being said if you compare to what they could have done I can see what you mean. But my guess would be they were going with simplicity to streamline the game rather than make it for consoles. If they were really making it for consoles there would be things like auto targeting instead of mouse targeting.
I could see it coming to the PS3 but not the XBOX360 as Sony would more likely be more lenient about letting Diablo 3 be MMORPG-lite.
As for the authenticity of it, I do tend to think of the Diablo series as being more married to its control scheme (ie. mouse/keyboard) than most other games. I think it can work the other way too as it would feel like completely different games if you controlled any of the isometric Legend of Zelda titles with mouse clicks and using keyboard hotkeys.
As for the authenticity of it, I do tend to think of the Diablo series as being more married to its control scheme (ie. mouse/keyboard) than most other games. I think it can work the other way too as it would feel like completely different games if you controlled any of the isometric Legend of Zelda titles with mouse clicks and using keyboard hotkeys.
Damn it thought that this was a sure thing but now I have no idea.
Even if they do port it over it's going to be a while.
Even if they do port it over it's going to be a while.
D2 had 2 skills at a time, yes, but you could hot key a large amount of them, as well as throwing that many on your scroll wheel. Thus they ended up with more than D3 currently offers. The hit boxes are rather over-generous. If you google the issue, you can find many pictures showing examples of this. The UI may "look" like a PC game, but it operates like a gamepad UI, designed for L and R buttons and D-Pad movement, not for a mouse and keyboard. It is almost as clumsy as Skyrim's in that respect.Eric the Orange said:
It is true that you have access to any skill at max level, but Blizzard discourages it. In Inferno mode, there is a buff called Nephalem Valor that gives increased magic item find and very increased magic item find on bosses. How do you lose the buff? Leaving the game or changing your skills. So the most efficient way to handle endgame is to pick a build that is well rounded, then beat the game through to the act boss rather than grind the same stretch of land over and over. The fact that it is easy to change your skills before max level is one of the reasons I LIKE Diablo 3.ravenshrike said:
The skill system is GREAT. It might be my favorite in any game of this kind. Being able to only have six skills combined with the runes that change skills gives me a huge amount of customization, and letting me seamlessly test out new builds is really nice when you pretty much get a new ability every level (sometimes several in a level). My witch Doctor plays nothing like my buddies, and I don't have to grind for ten hours to test his out.Lord_Jaroh said:
TL
R: Skill limits are great, whether for consoles or PC.
People can scoff at Blizzard all they want, the fact that they haven't published D3 on consoles yet is proof that they aren't just in it for the money; they're in it to make good games. Anyone with half a brain could tell you that D3 would sell like hotcakes on consoles, but Blizzard is passing on this cash grab because they would rather produce a game that is fun to play than to just kick something out the door half-finished because it'll make money.antipunt said:
There are too many skills that aren't simply aimed directionally.CardinalPiggles said:
Aiming the demon hunter's grenades or the wizard's arcane torrent would just be a tremendous pain in the ass.
There's just no solutions comfortable and fast enough to make gameplay not painful with a gamepad.