Diablo III Options

[almost normal]

Are you referring to my initial statement and later reasoning? Because I don't understand your objection if you are referring to me and not someone else. In case you are referring to me, here is what I mean:
In a perfect world a company's game will be bought by everyone. But in the real world, they'll weigh the amount of sales they'll lose over inconvenience vs the advantages to having more control. In Diablo 3's case, it is abundantly apparent that plenty of people are willing to play it anyway.

I just don't agree with your conclusion. I don't think many people expected the internet requirement to be so intrusive and, for lack of a better word, bad. I've died 3 or 4 times due to server lag. My general latency hovers in the 250+ range, but I get around 60-80 playing shooters with 63 other people.

In other words, the downsides weren't clear and obvious before purchase. To Blizzard's credit, they've been pretty good with refunds.

[nezumi]

nezumi, you clearly have a strong, emotional position based on your experience (esp. SC2). However, it does sound like a pretty rare experience (and I don't understand why you can't just reinstall?). Automatic updates are a pretty common feature, though. It doesn't seem at all sinister.

I'm sure I could have. But at that point, I'd sunk a ridiculous amount of time into the install (because I can't just point and click, like with normal games. I had to go through installing Battle.net, setting up a Battle.net account, checking my Internet connectivity as patches download, waiting for it to prompt me about some stupid thing, download Starcraft, install, configure, download patches, wait for stupid prompts). Then, once I got it installed, every time I wanted to play (which was, admitedly, around once a month) I had to wait for my cruddy wireless modem to boot up and connect, then to spend 5-15 minutes downloading and installing patches.

And that's what it came down to. I'll play a game at most once a month, for as little as thirty minutes. That's all the time I've got. If I've got 30 minutes to play, and I'm spending 20% of that time just doing program maintenance, it's not fun any more. I'll go play another game.

Funny enough, after sinking $60 for a game I thought would be fun, but was a mess of frustration, the hacked version worked just as expected -- first try it installed with no fuss. When I wanted to play, I clicked the icon, and within five seconds I was in. It was ... nice (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

(And again, I actually enjoy the hacking part. Being able to hack a game is a bonus, because it gives it replayability beyond what the designers intended. I LOVED playing Fallout2 with a Strength 20 character or with a million goofy mods. So for me, Blizzard broke their game in order to remove features.)

And no, I don't think Blizzard did it to be mean or because their idiots. I'm not personally upset with the corporation any more than I'm upset with Toyota because a prius isn't competitive on a race track. Like I said, Blizzard is clearly catering to an audience that does not include me. So going forward I won't buy Blizzard products, and if someone asks for game recommendations, current Blizzard games will not be on that list.

[Yerameyahu]

Oh, I see that you were making a different point then. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It's true, they failed to design the game with non-constant, non-fast internet in mind. There is indeed something to be said for games that update rarely, run quietly offline, etc.

[Adarael]

I just don't agree with your conclusion. I don't think many people expected the internet requirement to be so intrusive and, for lack of a better word, bad. I've died 3 or 4 times due to server lag. My general latency hovers in the 250+ range, but I get around 60-80 playing shooters with 63 other people.

In other words, the downsides weren't clear and obvious before purchase. To Blizzard's credit, they've been pretty good with refunds.

That's fine, but that's orthothonal to what I'm saying. I'm saying that if 3.5 million people bought it on launch day, and people are continuing to buy it (they are) and that the problems at launch were embarassing but not crippling to the game's sales (they weren't), then it doesn't matter if you've died 3 or 4 times, or your latency is 250, or the downsides weren't clear. Because Blizzard correctly weighed the drawbacks of their decision, and said, "Hey, you know what? We will still make crazy dollars off of this."

Did they make as much as they could have? I don't know. But the ire of Dumpshockers aside, they have made crazy money *already*, so mission accomplished.

[KarmaInferno]

Different game, but possibly relevant.




-k

[CanRay]

Yeah, after they got your money, all out of f***s.

[Tanegar]

Yeah, after they got your money, all out of f***s.

See, this is why I'm rooting for the Horrors. Yes, they're evil planet-devouring monstrosities from beyond time and space, but at least they're fucking honest about it.

[CanRay]

See, this is why I'm rooting for the Horrors. Yes, they're evil planet-devouring monstrosities from beyond time and space, but at least they're fucking honest about it.

Insect Spirits. During the Cold War, I was rooting for the Cockroaches.

[Adarael]

I just wanna say, as a game designer...

You buy my game? I'm not all out of fucks.

Just 99% out.

[CanRay]

I just wanna say, as a game designer...

You buy my game? I'm not all out of fucks.

Just 99% out.

I'm going to say as a author, you buy my book, I want to know what you think and give a whole lot of fucks about it.

And want people to punch holes and think about what I wrote. That's the purpose of art after all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It's all a matter of perception.

[Shortstraw]

I'm going to say as a author, you buy my book, I want to know what you think and give a whole lot of fucks about it.

And want people to punch holes and think about what I wrote. That's the purpose of art after all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It's all a matter of perception.

You stopped my characters from living in vehicles (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

[CanRay]

You stopped my characters from living in vehicles (IMG:style_emoticons/default/frown.gif)

How? I included rules for living in vehicles.

[Shortstraw]

If I pay 10k for a nice bed and such in my motorhome/zepplin/yacht plus the cost of the vehicle itself and then I'm stuck with 12 lifestyle points? Originally when you invested money into buying lifestyle your costs went down.

[CanRay]

If I pay 10k for a nice bed and such in my motorhome/zepplin/yacht plus the cost of the vehicle itself and then I'm stuck with 12 lifestyle points? Originally when you invested money into buying lifestyle your costs went down.

It's called "Maintenance", you don't do upkeep, things start to go to hell.

And a nice bed does not a Squat make. Food is also important. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[nezumi]

I'm going to say as a author, you buy my book, I want to know whatyou think and give a whole lot of fucks about it.

And want people to punch holes and think about what I wrote. That's the purpose of art after all. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It's all a matter of perception.

Indeed, but there's a difference between 'art for art' (which, not coincidentally, encompasses most fields of art you couldn't buy a house off of, most RPG-writing included) and 'art for cash'.

Keep on being an artist, you make the world a better place (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[CanRay]

Keep on being an artist, you make the world a better place (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That remains to be seen...

[Seriously Mike]

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.

Now, after everything that's been said here, I can add only one more thing:
TOLD YA.

[Yerameyahu]

Told what? This thread started when the game was released, there were no predictions. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Seriously Mike]

That this always-online DRM is the dumbest thing ever conceived in the video game industry - it's intrusive, useless and nobody wanted it anyway. And not only this, because Ubisoft did exactly the same thing and only the customers' complaints made them pretend they're rethinking it (note: looking at M&M: Heroes 6 they actually don't).

[Yerameyahu]

Ah. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Just checking, because it sounded like you had warned us ahead of time about something that later happened.

[almost normal]

Finally beat the game on normal last week. Spent some weekend hours playing it on nightmare, and *man*. The skills they give you on the harder difficulties are head and shoulders more fun then the regular skills.

Fun.

Don't get me wrong, the online only thing blows, and I'm afraid to start a hardcore character, because I know ill die from a blizz lag spike (that officially, can't ever happen from their end. right...) but yeah. Its fun.

[CanRay]

Fun ain't going to sell me on stupid DRM that should die in a fire. With some second-degree burns to the guy who thought it would be a good idea.

[almost normal]

Okay?

I hate the DRM too. I'm not so savvy on burning the guy who thought it'd be a good idea, but I'm for some public humiliation. Tar and feathering, stocks, that sort of thing.

I'm just saying that the game, when it works, is fun.

[Yerameyahu]

Fun is the point. Politics, meh.

[CanRay]

I hate the DRM too. I'm not so savvy on burning the guy who thought it'd be a good idea, but I'm for some public humiliation. Tar and feathering, stocks, that sort of thing.

Second Degree Burns are like a really bad sunburn. Blistering at worst. I've gotten that from working in the kitchen for Ontario Minimum Wage. Any more than that, and yeah, I'm with you.

Stocks is a better idea, all right.

...

Now, where are those rotten tomatoes???