D3 atmosphere

[mub]

As I see it, the diablo series is so popular mainly to it's atmosphere-a contrast to, for example, WoW, which is so sweet and shiny and colourful and looks like made from melted action men. Diablo should be dark-and by that i mean D1 dark , because I feel that D2 was a little "lighter" in it's atmosphere. I mean it's still like the Exorcist compared to Scary Movie(WoW), but it missed something of this D1 feeling of danger, breathlessness and gore.

So, for D3 to be again hardcore, heavy and diabolic:) I believe the things that made the difference between D1 and D2 must come back-more gore, darker locations, eerie stuff that sent chivers down your spine(remember when you were to find Arkaines Valor, and you went up the corridor, you see it on a postument...and suddenly your eye catches some huge, dark shadows along the walls(horned demons)? Or the halls of the blind quest? Theese were dark and scary, and unfortunately I can't really compare any D2 quest to them(well, maybe the countess...).

Another thing are the quests-they shouldn't be all "designed for a shiny hero with a big sword"-apart from quests like rescue the soldiers or such there should be stuff like assasinations(maybe in another town in an act or maybe in a different act?), stealing and such. Also, no quests for free! Diablo world is mean and hard, so townsfolk perhaps should not ask everyone around for help(Radament quest in a2 was nice here, because the woman started with "I dont expect you to help me..."), they should try to buy , bribe our chars, maybe even make intrigues against other townsfolk...in a word-more conflict!!!

Also,there is this thing with items. Magical stuff is well...magical, and as I see it magic is not always100% positive as in D2. What I want to see are some items with drawbacks, like -20% res or stuff like that. Apart from variety it would bring, imagine these char building mysteries we would need to solve-You just find an axe with +350%dmg and 500%dmg to demons, but it sets your res at 1/3(just a quick example). Stuff like that was present in D1, and made some rather interesting possibilities. This could go even further, like cursed items-when worn, there is say 10% chance of misspelling, or maybe even stuff like 0.0001% chance for a ring to constrict an cut your finger off when struck,thus losing a ring slot on char(don't think it would be fun on amus though:)....possibilities are endless here.
All I want from D3, to be darker, heavier and moore spooky than D2 with maybe minor upgrades. Blizzard, you don't have to invent fire here for it to be a bestseller-just keep the atmosphere!!!

I wonder what other think about it, which way should the D3 "climate" go?

[PoiZonCraZy]

i agree with the magic thing. there should always be drawbacks to items that give you special abilities. this will make the game much more challenging.

i think they should make "light radius" more important in D3 too.

[raishi]

like better ar against monsters in lighted areas...like next to a torch...or reduced ar against monsters hiding in darkness...as if not being able to see them wasn't bad enough...

[Lyrs]

The guys that created the lore, designed the game, and finally coded it all together have mostly left Blizzard. However, given that you already have a cartoony, "fun," softcore game in WoW, i think Blizzard can definitely diversify their market by making the Diablo universe games much more sinister, cut-throat, and eventful via cooler single player storylines and more desperation type level design.

[prion]

we need some decapitations.

[Kiroptus]

The guys that created the lore, designed the game, and finally coded it all together have mostly left Blizzard. However, given that you already have a cartoony, "fun," softcore game in WoW, i think Blizzard can definitely diversify their market by making the Diablo universe games much more sinister, cut-throat, and eventful via cooler single player storylines and more desperation type level design.

Thank god they left Blizzard, look at how silly HGL turned out to be and I am not talking about the game itself but of the atmosphere. The stupid crazy NPCs and the ridiculous storyline that never takes itself seriously.

And I think that one of the great mysteries that haunt me is to why people think that WoW is kiddy. Warcraft ALWAYS had that cartoony style but the tone of the story and the ambiance was always serious(there are even hanged corpses in the church of tarren mill) unlike the joking travesty that is Hellgate London. Since they(Bill Roper and Co) handled the atmosphere in such a ridiculous way I am really glad they arent working in Diablo 3.

[Lyrs]

HGL failed due to the lack of Focus. They tried to do hack/slash, magic, and FPS all a futuristic world with an ancient history legend factor. I doubt they could lose focus with a brand like Diablo.

[stillman]

PoisonCrazy, they should definitely make some usefullness out of light radius. I would go as far to have small items (jewelry, gems) appear on the ground, and the number increases with light radius. Your chr would not notice them otherwise and so, these items remain invisible without enough light radius. Increased stamina and slower stamina drain seem rather obsolete too. What if stamina was drained on attacks?

I also agree that there should be decremental mods on items. D2 is such a big mess in this regard. Gull dagger has a -5 to damage I think, and Andy's has -30 fire res...but that's where their creativity stoped. Why did they not employ the idea much further? Did they forget?

[Kiroptus]

HGL failed due to the lack of Focus. They tried to do hack/slash, magic, and FPS all a futuristic world with an ancient history legend factor. I doubt they could lose focus with a brand like Diablo.

It failed because it was just badly designed game and a badly presented concept. There are things in HGL that are just unreal in terms of bad design (Angel Passage? The big shootdown? The robot?) and despictable in terms of presentantion (every NPC being a lunatic that spits nonsense and pop-culture references everytime they say anything, killing any atmosphere that the game could have).

It was just grotesque mistakes after mistakes, Im glad they are away from Diablo3 I had no idea that they were this insane.

[raishi]

Edit: stupid computer...i hate satilite...

[raishi]

enigma means hrs which means dupes...remove the runewords...problem solved...teleport should be slower and make it harder to just warp past everything...but still be fast enough to give an edge in a fight...being able to stay at range against even fast foes...i like the fragile effect of a sorc...insane damage and one or two hits to kill...lovely...

I think the classes should have a balance between damage, mobility, and durability...

[mince pies]

but it missed something of this D1 feeling of danger, breathlessness and gore

Completely agree. I've been wondering for six years what it was that made DI and DII different in that way and have come to the conclusion that it's the fact that you can't run in DI and that you fight all of the demons indoors, as opposed to the mostly outdoor atmosphere of DII

[uacs]

If playing singleplayer at midnight after work makes me poop myself out of sheer terror, I will thank Blizzard 10x over.

[Mestre Crjspim]

Completely agree. I've been wondering for six years what it was that made DI and DII different in that way and have come to the conclusion that it's the fact that you can't run in DI and that you fight all of the demons indoors, as opposed to the mostly outdoor atmosphere of DII

I agree. When I first start playing Diablo II I had a bit of disappointment, because it didn't have that dark aura, so the visible aspect was the big major difference I found in the game. However, as I lured deeper in the game, I realised that the run vs walk was a feature that had it's ups and downs. On one hand, it was pretty handy to run around "vanquished" areas searching for monsters and you just wouldn't get bored by the slow walking speed for your character; on the other hand, running around "kills" a lot of the ansiety that could invade you... everything would happen faster, we would run back and forth to kick monsters ***... and we could always relly on our fast pace to run from a disadvantage situation or iminent death... we controlled everything... so, we didn't fear anything and the feeling of insecurity just wans't there.

Finally, I gradully noticed that the sound ambience was much better in Diablo I. Not only the music - God, Diablo I music rocks forever - but the sound effects as well. There are some really gory sound effects in Diablo I - like the sound of Carvers dying or the Goatmen dying - and not so good sound effects in Diablo II. Even the sound of footsteps in Diablo I were much more intense and heart-stopping. And don't forget the voices, specially the Warriors and the narrator's voices. Even today I find myself, now and again, saying in loud voice The Halls of the Blind quest text or "All praises to Diablo, Lord of Terror...". These small details are the ones that really make the difference and that are forever remembered.

[stillman]

Yes...and of course, when Cain says, "His name....is Diablo." That and the war drum was very memorable.

[lumpor]

An idea with light radius items that doesn't affect gameplay much, but would be quite stylish, is that items with positive light radius mods can shine while on the ground.

I haven't played diablo 1 myself, but I've watched my friend playing it. Even though it seems fun, I just can't look past the soo slow walking and the horrific skill system.

[Malrenn]

The comments about things such as footsteps and other eerie effect reminds me how much the little things add up. You dont really notice till you are in a game that lacks them. It so easy to screw it up/overdo it (HGL), and probably pretty difficult to nail it the way the Diablo series did. I also am hoping for a sinister M rated game. I may have mentioned this in another post, I dont recall....

[Jednowlosy]

d2 is an epic failure as a sequel to D1, but a great success as a game.

Still, the atmosphere of D1, the music, the design of monsters... D1 had an epic atmosphere and I play it until today (thanks to the amazing mod that made D1 gameplay the way it should be since the very beginning - The Dark). For me, thanks to the mod, it is much more fun than D2 ever was. D2's "regular" gameplay - excluding PvP - doesn't exist, replaced by the absurd "magic finding", "baal running" and everything except good old PLAYING. It's more of a lotto draw and "who gets more stuff/levels/ladder rank/whatever, and even that is ruined by the swarm of baalbots, mfbots, sites like jsp and shopping/dupping. Don't get me wrong, I think D2 is a great game.. just totally different from the game I personally love - D1. Playing The Dark, you don't care for stupid MF, *** baalruns or anything like that. You just play. Enjoy the carnage, use different tactics against different monsters. Sure, there are good uniques awaiting, but they are a reward for your trouble, not some trash you collect with a big YAWN.

D2's fields and deserts ruined the heavy "dungeon" atmosphere. Even hell is nowhere as dark as it was in D1. Look at the death knights. In D1, they were strong, intimidating and great looking. Their death animation was amazing too, a great reward for killing them. What has happened to them in D2? They are weak, small skeletons with some pitiful excuses for swords, and a pretty ugly death animation. Blah. Those are no monsters. Those are wimps.

I really hope D3 would be less like D2, and more like D1. That means more dark labyrinths and epic music, less of the "your common hack and slash" D2 offers.

Besides that, I personally liked Dungeon Siege 2 better then Diablo 2. That game had some really cool hack and slashing, decent balance of classes (PvM wise) and a lot of cool uniques that were actually useful. It was also fun to simply kill those hordes of monsters with all those powers. Slight OT I guess, but I am surprised the game was a failure. In the simple "Hacknslashing" pleasure, it beats D2. Totally.

Slight OT, why does the language filter censor the word "***"? Lol. Since when it's a word meant to be censored. Even if it has a slightly pejorative meaning when used as an adjective, it has still other, long forgotten meanings like "happy". :| Don't get paranoid guys, it's slightly absurd.

[Wurmer]

I also really liked the dark atmosphere of D1 but I think that you can create an atmosphere that is heavy with anguish and expectation just about anywhere in the game. It does not have to be in dark dungeons even though those places are well suited for that kind of setup. The flayer jungle is a good example as to have an heavy atmosphere. You get a hint of it already, specially when the music is on. I am sure that with the leap made in graphical horse power since the original was released you can pretty much implement a tang of heaviness and gloominess pretty much everywhere in the game by playing with texture, details and shadows. Also very important, is the sound tracks. It plays a major role in conveying sentiments of whatever nature you want.

[stillman]

I agree with Jednowlosy, except for the part about the undead knights in act 4. I think the real intended comparison to the steel lords of D1 are the moon/death lords in act 5 of d2. These look like Disney cartoons to me. I mean, they're humanoids with animal heads; you may as well be fighting Mickey Mouse. I thought the act 4 undead doom knights looked good and dark with their standard issue splint armor.

Lets not forget, the duping, hacks, and baalbots are cheats commited by the players. It is the players who have partly ruined the game, not the game designers. If the cheats were gone, imagine how challenging hell mode would be. I believe Blizzard gave in to the players wishes and gave players everything they wanted: enigma, other overpowered gear, grushing, higher mf with newer patch items, etc. Spoiling the players has ruined the atmosphere of d2. The patch developments of the game have been inpired in part by players' laziness and selfishness.

Jednowlosy's post got me thinking about my friend on d2 who is always discouraged at a ladder reset, then I see him joining baal--2 followed by telebaal-7 and so on--just random baal games, whoever will accept his tagging along. He seems to completely rely on others to do the work for him, like actually playing the game is too impossible. I'm afraid too many are suffering from this attitude. It goes a bit like this: "I'm going to join trist games, then get rushed to hell mode, beg for an hour for someone to do my ancients, then join baal games, then I'm going to spend the rest of my career begging others to pleae please please rush me for forge again and again after I keep remaking characters because my old character is in hell mode with no gear. I am completely pathetic, I am lazy, I refuse to do the work myself." I don't get what their goal is. See, to get a really good chr, you are eventually going to have to do a lot of work on your own. I also agree about the mf. Basically, I hope that d3 has no mf. Then, people might be encouraged to just play the darn game normally.