Play Diablo III On Your iPad

[WMDogma]

Play Diablo III On Your iPad

An iPad app lets players explore Sanctuary from anywhere in the house.

One downside to Diablo III is that unless you have a beefy laptop (and a steady internet connection), it can be awfully hard to hunt down the denizens of evil from the comforts of say, your couch or that comfortable hammock swinging in the shade off of your back porch. Luckily, for those lucky few who happen to own an iPad alongside their powerful desktop computer, there's an app that'll let you play Blizzard's high-selling [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117399-Diablo-III-Sells-Like-Crazy] action RPG straight off your favorite tablet.

The app in question is desktop computer software [http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/splashtop-remote-desktop-for/id382509315?mt=8], mirrors the display of a Windows PC or Mac on your much more mobile iPad tablet. After installing Splashtop's software, you'll just need to open up the app and connect to your locally-networked desktop PC or Mac to launch Diablo III.

Once in the game, you'll just need to change Diablo III's display setting to "Fullscreen Windowed", and you'll be in business. Splashtop offers trackpad-style controls to help with the ease of controlling your in-game avater versus just tapping all over the screen, and in the event you need to type anything while killing monsters, you can bring up a keyboard with the simple press of a button.

While the iPad is hardly a hardcore gaming rig, it (along with the Splashtop app) apparently runs smoothly enough that there won't be a huge noticeable drop in framerate. Plus, playing Diablo III on your iPad also means you can crush the Prime Evils from just about anywhere in your house.

Source: TIME Techland [http://techland.time.com/2012/05/18/how-to-play-diablo-iii-on-your-ipad/?iid=tl-article-mostpop1]

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[Yopaz]

I just got a free iPad so this has got me interested. I think I'll have to read into this.

 

[Therumancer]

Very cool, sadly as a Kindle Fire owner (I don't have any "i" devices or an actual android) I can't do anything quite so awesome it appears.

That said I'd much rather someone add a way of playing offline to the game, to deal with a lot of these problems once and for all. Even on my desktop (which is rocking 6 cores and some decent hardware, combined with a strong connection, suitable for pretty much any MMO out there) I still have issues with D3 lagging and rubber banding all over the place.

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable. I've played 99 cent apps that have run better online than D3 does at times, and that's sad since it seems the game itself might be as lightweight as many apps are when you get down to it.

 

[newwiseman]

I was doing this day one,

The downside is you can't easily shift click to take out fast mobs by shooting a head of them. You best bet is a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse hooked up to your computer and then use the iPad as another display option. But, with the limit of 1024x768 for the native res of the iPad, I prefer to play it on my tv with my Razer Nostromo and Mouse; to each their own.

Edit* I will say that using the iPad and Splashtop to do some auction house trading while I'm at work is great. Blizzard really needs another portal for accessing the auction house, but they're already getting hacked enough.

 

[Waaghpowa]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone says "iPad" to refer to "tablets"? Splash top is available and highly functional on android devices too you know.

I've used this app to play Crysis just to say "Because I can".

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable.

It doesn't "run" on the iPad, Spashtop is a remote desktop streaming app. I assume you refer to something else?

 

[Therumancer]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone says "iPad" to refer to "tablets"? Splash top is available and highly functional on android devices too you know.

I've used this app to play Crysis just to say "Because I can".

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable.

It doesn't "run" on the iPad, Spashtop is a remote desktop streaming app. I assume you refer to something else?

No, I figure that if the graphics and the processor can render that, even if it's being doon "backdoor" through a stream that it means the game must be fairly light weight. I'd imagine there are a lot of games you couldn't run through an Ipad that way as the hardware just couldn't handle/render them properly even with assistance.

 

[AndyRock]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone says "iPad" to refer to "tablets"? Splash top is available and highly functional on android devices too you know.

I've used this app to play Crysis just to say "Because I can".

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable.

It doesn't "run" on the iPad, Spashtop is a remote desktop streaming app. I assume you refer to something else?

No, I figure that if the graphics and the processor can render that, even if it's being doon "backdoor" through a stream that it means the game must be fairly light weight. I'd imagine there are a lot of games you couldn't run through an Ipad that way as the hardware just couldn't handle/render them properly even with assistance.

The ipad renders nothing from the game, it just receives video from the desktop over the network, and sends commands back, this would work quite happily with most games as long as you have a suitable way of controlling said game.

 

[noahpocalypse]

Aw yeah. Killing the Lord of Destruction while sittin' on the toilet. Now that's style.

 

[wsmieszek]

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable.

It doesn't "run" on the iPad, Spashtop is a remote desktop streaming app. I assume you refer to something else?

No, I figure that if the graphics and the processor can render that, even if it's being doon "backdoor" through a stream that it means the game must be fairly light weight. I'd imagine there are a lot of games you couldn't run through an Ipad that way as the hardware just couldn't handle/render them properly even with assistance.[/quote]

Well... I guess the FX in Avengers are pretty lightweight too if the iPad processor can render the movie. Oh wait... it's a video.

The app streams a *video* feed from a computer (renderer, if you will) to an iPad/Android tablet exactly in order to utilize the power of a PC and portability of a tablet.

 

[Zerbye]

You know, its not just Diablo III you can play on your iPad...it's any game you can run on your desktop. Diablo III is in the title just because it's the hot title of the moment. A virtual desktop can run any app.

 

[Sean951]

Very cool, sadly as a Kindle Fire owner (I don't have any "i" devices or an actual android) I can't do anything quite so awesome it appears.

That said I'd much rather someone add a way of playing offline to the game, to deal with a lot of these problems once and for all. Even on my desktop (which is rocking 6 cores and some decent hardware, combined with a strong connection, suitable for pretty much any MMO out there) I still have issues with D3 lagging and rubber banding all over the place.

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable. I've played 99 cent apps that have run better online than D3 does at times, and that's sad since it seems the game itself might be as lightweight as many apps are when you get down to it.

If you have a good computer, then the problem is more than likely with your ISP.

 

[Yal]

There's like three hundred different desktop remoting apps. Do these guys do anything particularly special with regards to gaming (better responsiveness, perhaps, or an improved touch screen control scheme), or is this just an unusual advertising pitch?

 

[Weaver]

Why is this only for diablo 3? If it's a remote desktop app you should be able to run anything.
I'm confused.

 

[Redratson]

Very cool, sadly as a Kindle Fire owner (I don't have any "i" devices or an actual android) I can't do anything quite so awesome it appears.

That said I'd much rather someone add a way of playing offline to the game, to deal with a lot of these problems once and for all. Even on my desktop (which is rocking 6 cores and some decent hardware, combined with a strong connection, suitable for pretty much any MMO out there) I still have issues with D3 lagging and rubber banding all over the place.

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable. I've played 99 cent apps that have run better online than D3 does at times, and that's sad since it seems the game itself might be as lightweight as many apps are when you get down to it.

Its okay least we get some internet capabilities

 

[CoL0sS]

Part of me is screaming this is a very bad idea. When you warp into a large group of monsters because server went berserk it's much easier (and more expensive) to chuck your iPad into a wall than your computer. Guess what I'm saying is, impulse control....

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

If its anything like the last time used this app for anything more intensive than Internet browsing, then I can't wait to play Diablo 3 at ten frames a second.

 

[Dargocitfer]

Very cool, sadly as a Kindle Fire owner (I don't have any "i" devices or an actual android) I can't do anything quite so awesome it appears.

The Splashtop Remote Desktop app is available through the Amazon Appstore, so I don't see why you couldn't run in on your Kindle Fire. (I snagged it when it was the "Free app of the day.")

There's like three hundred different desktop remoting apps. Do these guys do anything particularly special with regards to gaming (better responsiveness, perhaps, or an improved touch screen control scheme), or is this just an unusual advertising pitch?

Running it automatically re-sizes your display to fit the tablet, so you don't have to scroll the screen around, like you do with other remote desktop apps. Unfortunately, it also messes up your desktop layout after you close it, especially if you are running multiple monitors.

Additionally, it cannot display anything which writes directly to the video display (bypassing Windows), which is why you have to run your games in "Windowed" mode. Which is kind of a PITA if you usually run all of your games full screen (as most people do, I imagine).

All in all it's an interesting idea, but the all of the limitations, especially the controls (try playing a game like Portal 2 with a touchscreen!) mean that I hardly ever use it. I don't know that it's worth the $10.

 

[wildpeaks]

Remote desktop software are always fun to run heavy software remotely (e.g. re-render a large scene on your home PC connected via your lightweight iPad because the client wants a yet-another-little-change-it-will-only-take-a-minute-i-swear change), so makes sense to use it for Diablo as well

 

[TK421]

Very cool, sadly as a Kindle Fire owner (I don't have any "i" devices or an actual android) I can't do anything quite so awesome it appears.

That said I'd much rather someone add a way of playing offline to the game, to deal with a lot of these problems once and for all. Even on my desktop (which is rocking 6 cores and some decent hardware, combined with a strong connection, suitable for pretty much any MMO out there) I still have issues with D3 lagging and rubber banding all over the place.

It occurs to me that if it's possible to run this game on an iPad, the actual requirements minus the connection must be pretty bloody low, which sort of makes this performances inexcusable. I've played 99 cent apps that have run better online than D3 does at times, and that's sad since it seems the game itself might be as lightweight as many apps are when you get down to it.

If you have a good computer, then the problem is more than likely with your ISP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CbGfI1qNsRI#t=40s

OT: That sounds cool, but it also sounds like playing on a tablet creates more problems than it fixes(controls, resolution, etc.).

 

[Cryo84R]

Does anyone else find it annoying when someone says "iPad" to refer to "tablets"? Splash top is available and highly functional on android devices too you know.

Let me know when there is an MP3 player market, too.