[Update] Blizzard Exploring Diablo-Related Concepts for Consoles

[StriderShinryu]

Gah.. the PC elitism, it burns!

From someone who actually played Diablo 1 extensively on both the PSX and PC: The PSX version played great (though the memory card space requirements were horrendous). Inventory was certainly harder to manage on the PSX but it was more than usable, and the basic control scheme was miles beyond playing on a PC. Maybe the clicky clicky then click to move system works great for some people, but it's way more natural on a console controller to have direct control over your character.

You know what else played great? All of the other Diablo esque games that came out a bit later on during the PS2 era.

Console controllers have enough buttons and there have been enough solid complex games created to date that if a developer mucks up a console version of a game like Diablo then the fault likes squarely on the shoulders of the developer and not on the console or the game. There are certainly genres that work much better on the PC than console (RTS, deeply menu based strategy games, arguably FPS, etc.) but an action oriented hack and slash dungeon crawl like Diablo? Sorry, no.

 

[Idocreating]

ALL LIES! In reality, there going to finally finish Starcraft: Ghost.

Right Blizzard? RIGHT!?!?

 

[BENZOOKA]

Consoles. Ruining everything.

 

[Requx]

ALL LIES! In reality, there going to finally finish Starcraft: Ghost.

Right Blizzard? RIGHT!?!?

Nope, there gonna make Starcraft 64:2 for the wii.

 

[Tsaba]

ahhh I remember the last time they tried this...
sigh, it didn't work out too well if I remember right.


EDIT:

ALL LIES! In reality, there going to finally finish Starcraft: Ghost.

Right Blizzard? RIGHT!?!?

Nope, there gonna make Starcraft 64:2 for the wii.

DARN YOU!!!
Seriously though, it could work out okay with the motion sensors and crap.

 

[Tucker154]

Yay! Now I do not need to upgrade my computer!

*claps excitedly*

Same here! Hopefully...

Ah,ill probably buy it on the pc if it dont go to consoles anyway.

 

[Naheal]

Diablo already exists on a console.

 

[jamesworkshop]

Gah.. the PC elitism, it burns!

From someone who actually played Diablo 1 extensively on both the PSX and PC: The PSX version played great (though the memory card space requirements were horrendous). Inventory was certainly harder to manage on the PSX but it was more than usable, and the basic control scheme was miles beyond playing on a PC. Maybe the clicky clicky then click to move system works great for some people, but it's way more natural on a console controller to have direct control over your character.

You know what else played great? All of the other Diablo esque games that came out a bit later on during the PS2 era.

Console controllers have enough buttons and there have been enough solid complex games created to date that if a developer mucks up a console version of a game like Diablo then the fault likes squarely on the shoulders of the developer and not on the console or the game. There are certainly genres that work much better on the PC than console (RTS, deeply menu based strategy games, arguably FPS, etc.) but an action oriented hack and slash dungeon crawl like Diablo? Sorry, no.

Can't agree about the only good thing about the PSX Diablo was how easy it was to dupe items using dual memory cards, two players was always clunky.

Haven't seen a lot of PC elitism aside from the notion that Diablo is a complex game, the idea of being able to dumb down a game about click on things a lot is laughable

 

[The Imp]

Console controllers have enough buttons

Uhm...no.

On a regular ps3 gamepad i count 12(14 if you want to count start and select) buttons plus 2 sticks. On my keyboard i usually use, if i want to max out the control scheme: 1-5, tab, capslock, l.shift, ctrl, alt, space, q, w, e, r, t, z, a, s, d, f, g, y, x, c, v, b, F1, F2, F3, F4 and leftclick, rightclick, wheel click, wheel up, wheel down, 2 thumb buttons and 2 ringfinger buttons. Thats 36 keybinds without the WASD "D-pad" plus additional alt- and shift-modifiers for lots of buttons. So we are at over 40 buttons all in good reach. Not counting the keypad to the right side.

So aslong as Blizzard won't cut/merge more than half of the abilities, like Ubisoft did on Splinter Cell: Conviction, the gamepad could never handle the game as well as the mouse/keyboard combination.

 

[XT inc]

make it like baldurs gate 2, that worked well on xbox, and gimme some kinect controls.

 

[tehroc]

Pulllease! Diablo 1 played just fine on PS1, and plenty of other games in the genre have played great too. Why can't other PC users besides myself coexist with consoles?

Give it up ActiBlizz, Torchlight smokes Diablo all day long. Hell even Dungeon Siege (which the second game was the best hacknslash game by far, except treasure was a little overboard) crushes your pathetic hack and slasher.

 

[Death916]

Get your dirty, slow, unwieldy console hands off Diablo, you damn dirty apes!

No idea how they'd port a fast-paced game with a dozen or so required buttons (1-4, Tab, L-click and R-click, F1-F12 and quick keys like I for inventory or C for Character screen) and fast reaction time (can't precisely turn cursors with a pad, sorry) into consoles. FPS I understand - point, click, things explode, no need for more than 2 weapons. Here you have 2 weapon sets, at least 12-14 skills per character available, and the smoothness required to kill monsters and other players... Nope, sorry.

Just buy it on PC, Blizzard always makes games that look nice but run great on normal PCs. Probably even today's machines will be able to run D3 in high details. In 2014.

Ok, do people REALLY NOT know they can HOOK a controler to a PC and then hook the PC to a TV, via HDMI cables. I have had a friend with a XBOX come over, and it wasnt any simpler than pluging my PC ( plug cable is already too simple)

Fully OT: Well, good. Would be better if PC players could play with console players.

Lol no.

"Why didn't you hit with that spell? Come on!
Sorry, couldn't aim fast enough with my right trigger..."

No it was laaaag.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I always love it when we have a PC related thread that the admin staff start because it gives all the PC elitists a chance to ***** without fear of reprisals.

As I've always maintained, I PC gamed for years until I decided it just wasn't fun anymore, and I didn't want to have to devote large chunks of my brain and muscle memory to learning how to use forty different buttons to control actually relatively minor tasks.

Call me stupid, but I prefer having that space taken up by the seven novels I've written and the 40,000 hours aprox of guitar playing and life experience. That and I actually enjoy playing games on consoles.

I suppose I should rope this wandering steer on topic. I hated Diablo 1, thought it played fine on PS, never really played Diablo 2 and will not be getting Diablo 3. Will be watching in awe from the sidelines as PC gamers try to maintain that putting a game they don't have to buy on a console they choose not to own somehow makes a difference in their lives.

 

[darkszero]

I've played the first Diablo for the PSX a LOT. Alone and with my friend, for the awesome 2-player coop. I also played it a lot in the PC.

The controls could be better, but for the limited PS1 controller (no support for the Dual Shock controller) it was good.
You walk with the D-Pad, and could assign each of the following to a single button (X/Square/Triangle/Circle/R1/R2/L1/L2)
Attack
Cast Spell
Swap Spell (so you could have 2 memorized spells)
Use Item from Belt (you have an selection there)
Drink Health Potion (first belt, then inventory. First normal then full)
Drink Mana Potion (same as health)

Select item from belt
Open Inventory
Open Spellbook
Show Map
Open Character Status
Open SpellList

To allow for more things to binded, you could set a key as "Hold Button". So if you hold this button, all other buttons does something different. Like, X is different than R2+X

You have a cursor, but it auto-aims at the closest enemy, so no need to aim all the time.

 

[GothmogII]

I always love it when we have a PC related thread that the admin staff start because it gives all the PC elitists a chance to ***** without fear of reprisals.

As I've always maintained, I PC gamed for years until I decided it just wasn't fun anymore, and I didn't want to have to devote large chunks of my brain and muscle memory to learning how to use forty different buttons to control actually relatively minor tasks.

Call me stupid, but I prefer having that space taken up by the seven novels I've written and the 40,000 hours aprox of guitar playing and life experience. That and I actually enjoy playing games on consoles.

I suppose I should rope this wandering steer on topic. I hated Diablo 1, thought it played fine on PS, never really played Diablo 2 and will not be getting Diablo 3. Will be watching in awe from the sidelines as PC gamers try to maintain that putting a game they don't have to buy on a console they choose not to own somehow makes a difference in their lives.

I have absolutely no idea what kind of monstrously complicated device you're talking about. And you can't be talking about either a mouse or keyboard, with most PC games using around the same amount of keys as a standard controller. WASD/Up,Down,Left,Right (Movement) + Spacebar (jump etc.) + Mouse (primary and secondary fire) + Shift and Control (Sprint and Crouch respectively + Esc (to access the menus).

That's 10 separate presses!! My 360 pad has 16. (Taking into account two sticks with multiple directions, and ignoring diagonals, so four of which, one stick to move and one to look.) And that's only talking about FPSes. RTSes, RPGs and the like can easily be played with just the mouse, though of course there's hotkeys and control grouping, but, if you're the sort of person who can't navigate from numbers one to ten, then yes, maybe PC gaming is too complicated for you, bafflingly as that notion may be.

 

[John Funk]

Pulllease! Diablo 1 played just fine on PS1, and plenty of other games in the genre have played great too. Why can't other PC users besides myself coexist with consoles?

Give it up ActiBlizz, Torchlight smokes Diablo all day long. Hell even Dungeon Siege (which the second game was the best hacknslash game by far, except treasure was a little overboard) crushes your pathetic hack and slasher.

As someone who's actually played Diablo III? I loved Torchlight. I *loved* Torchlight. The Runic guys are a class act, and I'm looking forward to TL2 like whoa.

It's no Diablo 3.