Diablo III Options

[X-Kalibur]

$60 is the normal price here, which is the place that matters (by which I mean they're a US company). I'm sorry if it's not right for your local standards, but that's how it goes.

Who said the game doesn't sell? What are you even talking about? This is about D3, not Witcher, Heavy Rain, one-time keys, 50% performance hits, or any of the other random things you mentioned. I never said DRM was good in general, or even any specific. Now, you claimed that 'piracy is a service problem', which DRM *aggravates*. Yet your examples are only talking about DRM being the *source* of this 'service problem'. So… where did piracy come from in the first place, then? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

It's valid for media: pirated movies and music files are more convenient and more functional than legit ones. This is not the case for Diablo 3. The easiest source for it is direct paid download, and there is no additional functionality from a pirated version (i.e., if they allowed offline play—like D1 and D2—, the pirate version of that would have no benefit). You can also buy physical copies from basically everywhere, and there's no question of 'format shifting', 'sharing', FBI-warnings, menu-locking, or any of the issues with DRM-as-service-issue WRT to *media*. It's simply not like pirated media. AFAIK, the copies aren't even 'region-locked' like DVDs (you can use the Europe servers from the Americas, supposedly).

As I said, no offline single player is not ideal. I agree. I can't call it 'oppressive' with a straight face, though. #fwp? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Internet access is common enough that this basically never affects me. When I was playing D2, offline SP was a huge deal, because internet access wasn't as common. Times change.

So, if you read what I actually said: this is hardly the worst DRM we've seen. In fact, it is quite manageable. Obviously, no DRM is best, from the consumer POV. That seems at best an unreasonable expectation, and at worst, totally counter to the reality that we have.

ACTUALLY - $60 is standard for a new release PS3 or X360 game. Standard PC release is $50. I worked at a Gamestop for a while, I can assure you of this fact. Even more so for digital release which costs them less money and most companies pass that savings on by having slightly cheaper digital releases. I'm not sure if I should blame Blizzard or Activision for this nonsense.

[Yerameyahu]

Seriously Mike, that seriously sounds like a personal problem. Not having internet access isn't their issue, any more than system requirements are their issue (like, how dare they make me have a graphics card). Regional pricing is not a service problem, and the numbers you presented initially were claiming that the US prices were *higher*, not lower.

Close enough, X-Calibur. Piracy is not the result of them charging an extra $10 to come even with console prices. He cited '$20-40'.

I'm not crazy: I like paying less money as much as anyone does, and I like the idea of not needing to be online (… even though I literally wouldn't be, 99.99% of the time). It's just a little much to say that $60 is too much for Diablo III (or any AAA title, not Torchlight or something), and it's a little much to call their system 'oppressive'. People who don't like Diablo don't have to play it, and people who make an overwhelming principled stance on these issues don't either. We all have our choices.

[Thanee]

I'm not sure if I should blame Blizzard or Activision for this nonsense.

Blame the Hype! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Grinder]

So... how is the game? Does anyone actually play it yet? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Yerameyahu]

It's pretty great. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I've only had a few hours free, so I've got a level 20-some monk. I wish I had something stronger than my laptop to run it on, but it's pretty regardless. It's fast-paced and spectacular, and there's a steady flow of novel gear, skills, and monsters. The plot is hokey, but that's in keeping with D1/2. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Replay is rewarded with funny little sidequests. Overall, everything is faster and simpler (inventory, gear, crafting, skills). The skill/rune system provides lots of variety and flexibility, without (for me) encouraging 'builds'.

… No Legendary items ('Uniques') yet. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[nezumi]

I'm also in the 'can't/won't' category on this one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif) I enjoyed Diablo II, but the DRM literally bricked Starcraft II for me (it got stuck in a weird forced update/fail loop). I actually had to download a pirated copy in order to pay the game I paid for. But by that time, I was so sick of waiting 5-10 minutes for it to download and install updates because I only played once a month (and only the single player campaign), so it was a good move.

However, I have been enjoying both Tropico 3 and Stronghold lately. I love just putting the disc in and playing in ten minutes. I just don't have the stress tolerance for Blizzard any more.

[KarmaInferno]

I for one remember the massive hack problems from Diablo 1 and 2.

If nothing else, maintaining all essential data on the Blizzard servers will certainly cut down on that.

"Never put anything on the client. The client is in the hands of the enemy. Never ever ever forget this."



-k

[Tanegar]

"Never put anything on the client. The client is in the hands of the enemy. Never ever ever forget this."
-k

That's the attitude that leads to invasive DRM. I never understood why hacking was a problem that Blizzard needed to solve. If you don't want to play with hackers, then don't. Create a community of non-hackers; if you play with someone who hacks the game, publish their name so others in your group know to not play with that person. Game hacking is only a developer issue in MMOs.

[Yerameyahu]

Whatever the reason, it *was* an issue in those games that players cared about. They said, 'Blizzard, solve this problem for us'… so Blizzard did. They tried Realms and Ladder, and now they're trying secure (hosted) games.

Personally, I only ever played Open characters (and with LAN/IP-hosting coop). I don't care about PvP or anything, and I enjoyed (after dozens of characters and hundreds of play-throughs) goofing around with simple char-file-duping.

[nezumi]

Half of why I enjoyed Diablo II was so I could hack it! I got frustrated finishing the game and only exploring a third of the tree for one character type. Hacking is how I as a player get longevity out of my game (or find a way to care whatsoever about the longevity built in). It's why I love Civilization as hard as I do. I can understand hacking being an issue for multi-player games, but there are other ways around that (for example, storing MULTIPLAYER CHARACTERS on the server, and leaving my single-player experience alone!)

[Yerameyahu]

Yes, that was the Realms/Ladder solution; apparently it was inadequate? I really don't know. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I never cared about 'hacking', but I did use more polished mods (shared stash, skill respec, etc.), so I know what you mean.

However, D3 has a shared stash and instant respec…

[Thanee]

That's the attitude that leads to invasive DRM. I never understood why hacking was a problem that Blizzard needed to solve. If you don't want to play with hackers, then don't.

I vastly prefer, if I can just play with random folks and chances are good, that they don't hack. In D1 and D2, that was completely impossible.

Create a community of non-hackers; if you play with someone who hacks the game, publish their name so others in your group know to not play with that person.

It takes a lot of effort to do that. Much better, if Blizzard prevents the problem at the source.

If this means DRM (in the way that I have to be online to play), I can live with that. And I surely am no friend of DRM. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Bye
Thanee

[Wounded Ronin]

I just gave up on multiplayer years ago. The worst part about hackers, immature players, etc. was just how SAD they were. Here were people who invested so much of their self-worth into an online game. It made me feel sad and sick to watch them go on the way they did.

[Halinn]

(for example, storing MULTIPLAYER CHARACTERS on the server, and leaving my single-player experience alone!)

That's what they did in D2. It didn't work. I do not know the details of how the hacks and methods of duping items worked, but I know that they kept popping up.

[Bigity]

I can't believe D3 runs as well as it does on my crappy work laptop with NVS 3100M. Everything is on low, but it seems to not chug with 20ish baddies on the screen.

[KarmaInferno]

Well, Blizzard is pretty good about supporting low-spec computers. World of Warcraft still runs very well on my crap 6 year old laptop with the gimpy Intel integrated graphics.




-k

[Lindt]

It just hangs while trying to update the installer. None too happy.

[nezumi]

Well, Blizzard is pretty good about supporting low-spec computers. World of Warcraft still runs very well on my crap 6 year old laptop with the gimpy Intel integrated graphics.




-k

... as long as you can maintain a high-bandwidth Internet connection for 30 minutes or more at a time. Like I said, my gaming computer hiccups with the Internet regularly, and it completed broke Starcraft II just before the last mission.

IF I ever decide to play Diablo III, I'll be pirating it, because it's the only way I'll be able to get it to work.

[CanRay]

Yarr! Software off the starboard bow!!!

We of the Crimson Binome will be plundering yer files!!!

[onlyghostdancesw...]

@Canray: Arent you one of the dinosaurs? You know how to work the magical box of light with the super light weight typewriter correct? Here I was assuming you were a great dragon that had finally had trodes created that were draco-sapient compatible.

[CanRay]

@Canray: Arent you one of the dinosaurs? You know how to work the magical box of light with the super light weight typewriter correct? Here I was assuming you were a great dragon that had finally had trodes created that were draco-sapient compatible.

I'm a certified (And possibly certifiable) computer tech by training, amongst other things.

[TheFr0g]

I'm having a lot of disconnection issues, particularly while using he Enchantress companion for some reason. However when I'm not DCed it is an incredibly fun game. And since I bought the WoW annual pass it didn't cost me a dime, so I feel OK excusing some launch day and connectivity issues. The game is freakin fun.

[Dr.Rockso]

Yarr! Software off the starboard bow!!!

We of the Crimson Binome will be plundering yer files!!!

I love that I get this reference.

[Tanegar]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/vie...ways-Online-DRM
In a nutshell:

• You paid good money for a game.
• You are entitled to be able to play that game.
• Hackers, dupers, et al. are Blizzard's problem, not yours.

And you know what? He's absolutely, one hundred percent, dead-bang-on-the-money correct on every single point.

[CanRay]

With you on that one. Even Steam has an Offline mode. There's outages when you want to play something because you don't have an Internet Connection. There's people who don't live in High-Speed Internet areas. There's lots of reasons this is a BAD IDEA™.