272 replies to this topic

[dojoboy]

What dose this mean?

My link

I'm assuming there's a SP campaign, but you must be connected to the net. Eh? I don't want a WOW game.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

It means that it actually gives me a reason for playing a character to LVL99 or whatever, since I can sell whatever I find for $$$.

Other than that, I don't mind the online required thing, since I'm online anyway.

[dojoboy]

Thain Esh Kelch, on 01 August 2011 - 11:34 AM, said:

It means that it actually gives me a reason for playing a character to LVL99 or whatever, since I can sell whatever I find for $$$.

Other than that, I don't mind the online required thing, since I'm online anyway.

But is there a SP campaign, or just MP RPG?

[badger2d]

You can still play single player.  But essentially they've added an authenticating internet connection requirement for that.

In the context of Diablo games, the question of single player campaign vs multiplayer has never meant anything.  The game is the same regardless of how many people are playing.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

badger2d, on 01 August 2011 - 02:20 PM, said:

You can still play single player.  But essentially they've added an authenticating internet connection requirement for that.

In the context of Diablo games, the question of single player campaign vs multiplayer has never meant anything.  The game is the same regardless of how many people are playing.

No. Many of the quests were missing in MP DI, and creep strength scale up with the number of players in MP DII.

[Janichsan]

badger2d, on 01 August 2011 - 02:20 PM, said:

You can still play single player.  But essentially they've added an authenticating internet connection requirement for that.

It basically seems to be more or less the same what's already in place in StarCraft II, which also requires a BattleNet connection to play the single player campaign.

[RGoulder]

Janichsan, on 02 August 2011 - 02:37 AM, said:

It basically seems to be more or less the same what's already in place in StarCraft II, which also requires a BattleNet connection to play the single player campaign.

Not quite, as Starcraft 2 still allowed you to continue to play the game if you lost internet, you wouldn't be able to get any of the achievements until your internet connection was restored and you signed back on to BattleNet, but you could still play. With Diablo 3 it appears as though if your internet connection is lost, in my case its not if but when, you will no longer be able to play the game.

So it appears as though I won't be getting this game.

[Janichsan]

RGoulder, on 02 August 2011 - 08:08 AM, said:

With Diablo 3 it appears as though if your internet connection is lost, in my case its not if but when, you will no longer be able to play the game.

So basically a rehash of the Ubisoft disaster? That would suck.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

Janichsan, on 02 August 2011 - 08:40 AM, said:

So basically a rehash of the Ubisoft disaster? That would suck.

Indeed. Blizzard is just wrapping it in a nice case of "Oh this is awesome! Look at these cool online features you get!".

[badger2d]

Thain Esh Kelch, on 02 August 2011 - 01:16 AM, said:

No. Many of the quests were missing in MP DI, and creep strength scale up with the number of players in MP DII.

You're correct, but I was trying to make a larger clarification than would be affected by that level of fine detail.

I'm not totally certain what dojoboy meant, but when someone asks about a "SP campaign" as opposed to multiplayer, that wording puts me in mind of the many games in which single player and multiplayer are, though related, very distinctly different animals.

It's strange wording to use when talking about Diablo. It's not as though Diablo games have ever contained a distinction between a series of single player maps used to play out the story, and a set of multiplayer maps designed to be played with other people.

[dojoboy]

badger2d, on 02 August 2011 - 05:08 PM, said:

You're correct, but I was trying to make a larger clarification than would be affected by that level of fine detail.

I'm not totally certain what dojoboy meant, but when someone asks about a "SP campaign" as opposed to multiplayer, that wording puts me in mind of the many games in which single player and multiplayer are, though related, very distinctly different animals.

It's strange wording to use when talking about Diablo. It's not as though Diablo games have ever contained a distinction between a series of single player maps used to play out the story, and a set of multiplayer maps designed to be played with other people.

It's my lack of knowledge, I'm sure. I've played Diablo 2 SP, never MP. So, I assumed, like the campaigns in StarCraft 1 and 2, that I was playing a campaign. I've no experience with how MP was in Diablo 2.

[Thain Esh Kelch]

MP in Diablo II was an exact copy of SP, except your grand son could join the game, and the creeps would get twice as strong.

[alldaveallen]

And because I am only an offline Single Player guy, I was never entirely clear about this, but I gather there are many loot items and rune/crafted items that are only available in MP/ladder games. The creep scale-up can be tweaked with the always welcome "/players8" command line.

[badger2d]

alldaveallen, on 03 August 2011 - 11:52 PM, said:

And because I am only an offline Single Player guy, I was never entirely clear about this, but I gather there are many loot items and rune/crafted items that are only available in MP/ladder games. The creep scale-up can be tweaked with the always welcome "/players8" command line.

There are a few MP-only items and runewords in D2, not many. IIRC they are all extremely high-level and rare to the degree that no lone player would have a snowball's chance in hell to get them anyway.

[DaveyJJ]

Janichsan, on 02 August 2011 - 08:40 AM, said:

So basically a rehash of the Ubisoft disaster? That would suck.

From what I've read yeah, it's an always connected Internet connection to even play SP. Always connected. No thanks. That's just silly. I'll stick with other games. Blizzard staff, who apparently have their heads stuck up their collective assignments, say it's not a big deal. Not a big deal? Sorry, I buy a game that offers a single player experience, take it home, open it, and can't play it if I don't have a net connection? That's retarded, if I may be so bold. So anyone traveling can't play it while waiting for a flight or flying somewhere? You lose your net connection at home briefly and what happens? Single player game should not require a Net connection beyond, perhaps, an initial serial number validation. Then again, so 100 peeps don't buy D3, what do Blizzard care. I compare Blizzard to, say the guys at Slitherine or Battlefront or the dozens of geat indie game debs out there and I know whose getting my next $$$ I assure you. Silly tarts.

[Sargiel]

That is not good to require you to be always online.. My phoneline died last weekend but I was still able to play Assassins Creed Brotherhood in offline mode without any problems. Possibly I'd have had an issue if I hadn't already registered the game by that point - but at least I could play

[RGoulder]

Blizzard's response to the growing thread "No internet = No Diablo III" on the battle.net diablo 3 forums:

"In addition to all the other benefits that we believe ultimately come from having everyone online such as an active, centralized community, a popular arena system, accessible character storage, etc. etc. Diablo III is built on a client/server architecture, which means not all the data for the game or mechanics reside on the client (your computer).

This is not too unlike World of Warcraft where the world itself, the art, the sounds, etc. are on your machine, but all of the NPC’s and enemies are controlled by the server. Diablo III doesn’t function in all of the exact same ways, but things like monster randomization, dungeon randomization, item drops, the outcomes of combat, among others, are all handled and verified by the client talking to the server, and vice versa.

We’ve learned a lot from this type of architecture from World of Warcraft, and the added security and oversight it provides. It allows a great deal of control over the game at all times for all players, so if we know there’s an issue or bug we can usually address it right then and there through a live hotfix. Hotfixes can’t be used for everything, we’re still going to have client patches, but we’re definitely looking forward to being able to deliver a consistently high quality experience to all players simultaneously through processes like hotfixes.

In addition there are some pretty intense security concerns. While there’s never a fool proof solution to stopping hack and cheats, we’ve found that a strict client/server architecture is a huge barrier for their development and use.

Ultimately we made the decision to make the game client/server based because of the security and quality it can provide to those playing, and as a bonus it reinforces a lot of our ideals for a thriving online community."

So no hope of playing without internet because portions of the game are stored on blizzards servers even in single player.

[Janichsan]

RGoulder, on 05 August 2011 - 07:14 PM, said:

So no hope of playing without internet because portions of the game are stored on blizzards servers even in single player.

Have they completely lost their minds??

[Diablofett]

They may take our ability to play this game in single player offline mode, but they will never take our freedom to buy something else!

[dojoboy]

Diablofett, on 06 August 2011 - 07:06 PM, said:

They may take our ability to play this game in single player offline mode, but they will never take our freedom to buy something else!

There's always Gameloft!