Video Game News and Miscellany

Fun Size

Fun Size

Sorry. I'm cranky and was surprised by the level of vitriol over this.

From what I've read, there's literally no right thing they could have done. They said they wouldn't announce Diablo 4, people got mad because they didn't. If they has announced it but only with a title, people would have hated that. If they pushed it out before it was ready, people would have hated that. If they had cancelled altogether, people would have hated that. So what was the correct move here?
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Fun Size said:
Sorry. I'm cranky and was surprised by the level of vitriol over this.

From what I've read, there's literally no right thing they could have done. They said they wouldn't announce Diablo 4, people got mad because they didn't. If they has announced it but only with a title, people would have hated that. If they pushed it out before it was ready, people would have hated that. If they had cancelled altogether, people would have hated that. So what was the correct move here?
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They're still worth $15 billion, they'll be fine
 
fade

fade

Staff member
I don't know if anyone else like Neverwinter, but the new mod (not my word, it's what Neverwinter devs call updates despite the other meaning) that came out yesterday improves the game in almost every way. Professions are completely different. To sell the new mod, the next five days are double XP, too. And that works with any XP booster you have on, so it's like level after level if you're into that sort of thing.
 
Tiger Tsang

Tiger Tsang

fade said:
I don't know if anyone else like Neverwinter, but the new mod (not my word, it's what Neverwinter devs call updates despite the other meaning) that came out yesterday improves the game in almost every way. Professions are completely different. To sell the new mod, the next five days are double XP, too. And that works with any XP booster you have on, so it's like level after level if you're into that sort of thing.
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How actually free is it?
 
fade

fade

Staff member
Tiger Tsang said:
How actually free is it?
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So far, I've had no issues playing free. I've heard paying helps in endgame content, but I'm not a good person to ask. I'm not a huge fan of endgame stuff in most MMOs. I much prefer the leveling part.

If you like D&D, and want to have a fun, multiplayer D&D experience in the Forgotten Realms setting, it's fun. It's 4e, though, which I know is a turn-off for some. But it works for an MMO version. I enjoy it a lot more than DDO. It's a lot less button-spamming than other MMOs to me. You can actually play PvE strategically, even at low levels. I'm playing a warlock main, and I'm having a good time.
 
Null

Null

Fun Size said:
Sorry. I'm cranky and was surprised by the level of vitriol over this.

From what I've read, there's literally no right thing they could have done. They said they wouldn't announce Diablo 4, people got mad because they didn't. If they has announced it but only with a title, people would have hated that. If they pushed it out before it was ready, people would have hated that. If they had cancelled altogether, people would have hated that. So what was the correct move here?
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure this was already gone over, but it's not just that it was announced - it was how and to whom it was announced. If they had announced it as a side-announcement, like, "Hey, in addition to everything else we're working on, we're also working on Diablo Immortal for mobile, if you're into that," I don't think the vitriol would have emerged nearly as strong. Look at how Bethesda announced Fallout Shelter for mobile: "Hey, we're working on Fallout 4, but in the meantime, here's a mobile game set in Fallout as well." No one really lost their shit over that.

What Blizzard did was they set up, to a PC gaming audience, as their major tentpole BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.... a watered down mobile version of their classic franchise. It's not only a letdown, it's kind of an insult to that audience because it is expressly not what they were there for.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Null said:
What Blizzard did was they set up, to a PC gaming audience, as their major tentpole BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.... a watered down mobile version of their classic franchise. It's not only a letdown, it's kind of an insult to that audience because it is expressly not what they were there for.
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It's more than a let down; the audience reaction at BlizzCon is Blizzard's message to investors that "yes, we know what we are doing" when they do a project. It's how they advertise to people who are financially involved with Blizzard and Activision. THAT is why the stock fell; it showed that at least some part of Blizzard (most likely their advertising division and upper management) just don't know how to do their jobs. Incompetent management = shrinking stock.
 
Null

Null

Squeenix Japan - coming this close to being perfect, then making a hard fucking right into the ditch, every fucking time.
 
Mathias

Mathias

Fun Size said:
Sorry. I'm cranky and was surprised by the level of vitriol over this.

From what I've read, there's literally no right thing they could have done. They said they wouldn't announce Diablo 4, people got mad because they didn't. If they has announced it but only with a title, people would have hated that. If they pushed it out before it was ready, people would have hated that. If they had cancelled altogether, people would have hated that. So what was the correct move here?
Click to expand...

I don't think there is a Diablo 4 in the works. I think this between 2 and 3 mobile game is it.

The correct move would have been to announce it before Blizzcon to the general press; not a goddamn civic center full of the most rabid, hardcore Blizzard franchise fans on Earth - 90% of whom play on the PC and are expecting a PC version of a sequel to one of the anchor franchise to Blizzard.

The other correct move would be to primarily develop a PC version of Diablo 4 parallel to Diablo Immortal and somehow intertwine the two.

The other correct move would be to NOT re-skin an already existing Chinese Diablo knockoff game as an official Diablo game. Blizzard used to be known for the love and quality they put into their products. The fact that they're outsourcing all their work lately is a slap to the face.

Ah well, it's bound to happen sooner or later, and other indy developers will fill the void. It's a shame to see Blizzard (one of the last 90's software companies) to finally being heading down the EA road.
 
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PatrThom

PatrThom

‘Net says that Blizzard was formed in ‘91 but lost its independence in March of ‘94, and has been owned by/been part of somebody else ever since, with Activision picking them up in mid-Summer of 2008.
The Diablo series was actually a product of Blizzard North, which formed in ‘93 and continued to enjoy its own autonomy while Blizzard proper got shuffled around until BNorth got fed up with Vivendi’s ownership and a bunch of their employees (reportedly about 30) fled to other companies or started their own projects. BNorth was shut down for good in Summer of ‘05.

—Patrick
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

PatrThom said:
‘Net says that Blizzard was formed in ‘91 but lost its independence in March of ‘94, and has been owned by/been part of somebody else ever since, with Activision picking them up in mid-Summer of 2008.
The Diablo series was actually a product of Blizzard North, which formed in ‘93 and continued to enjoy its own autonomy while Blizzard proper got shuffled around until BNorth got fed up with Vivendi’s ownership and a bunch of their employees (reportedly about 30) fled to other companies or started their own projects. BNorth was shut down for good in Summer of ‘05.

—Patrick
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Some of those Blizzard North employees went on to make stuff like Hellgate: London and other Diablo like games.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Underworld Ascendant is finally launching November 15th.



(Please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck I've been hyped for this for years please don't suck)

It's a spiritual successor to the Ultima Underworld games, made by the folks who made not only UUW but System Shock and Thief: The Dark Project. An illustrious pedigree, but as games like Rise of the Triad, Bionic Commando, Carmageddon and everything Square ever does, classic lineage doesn't always mean quality product. Here's hoping.

I really want this to be good >_<
 
Frank

Frank

A lot of not bigwigs at Obsidian definitely didn't agree with his sentiments. Some bad blood being spilled in the open.

I hate being that somewhere in the middle guy, but I doubt things are as miserable as he says while I doubt it's as rosy as all the defenders claim.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Frank said:
A lot of not bigwigs at Obsidian definitely didn't agree with his sentiments. Some bad blood being spilled in the open.

I hate being that somewhere in the middle guy, but I doubt things are as miserable as he says while I doubt it's as rosy as all the defenders claim.
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The fact that Microsoft was able to buy Obsidian is very much in line with Avellone's take that the other owners were just waiting for a paycheck and were otherwise the stewards of a broke company. Whatever though; Obsidian hasn't been the same since New Vegas.
 
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bhamv3

bhamv3

AshburnerX said:
The fact that Microsoft was able to buy Obsidian is very much in line with Avellone's take that the other owners were just waiting for a paycheck and were otherwise the stewards of a broke company. Whatever though; Obsidian hasn't been the same since New Vegas.
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A lot of people on /r/fallout are constantly raising the possibility of Bethesda giving Obsidian another crack at a Fallout game. I used to reply that there's no guarantee that Obsidian would be able to recapture the magic of New Vegas, especially since people like Avellone are no longer at the company. Now I just don't bother replying, because a new thread about it pops up like once every two or three days.
 
Frank

Frank

bhamv3 said:
A lot of people on /r/fallout are constantly raising the possibility of Bethesda giving Obsidian another crack at a Fallout game. I used to reply that there's no guarantee that Obsidian would be able to recapture the magic of New Vegas, especially since people like Avellone are no longer at the company. Now I just don't bother replying, because a new thread about it pops up like once every two or three days.
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I am a big fan of his writing, but he was one of many that made New Vegas good and a lot of those writers do still work at Obsidian.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Doesn't matter now; as a 2nd Party developer for Microsoft, getting Obsidian to make another Fallout title would require Bethesda making concessions to Microsoft and basically telling Sony to fuck off.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
The most popular level from Vermintide 1 is being updated and added as DLC to Vermintide 2.

As always, I'm always up for some Vermintide if anybody wants to play it, and I buy the DLC so you don't have to.

 
Jay

Jay

Far said:
Riot recently had their finals for League, the last best of 5 was terribly one sided and not at all enjoyable to watch.

But!

They also debut a Kpop group called K/DA made of 4 of their Champions and released a music video for it.



The music isn't typically my cup of tea but the song has been growing on me. And if nothing else the animation is great.


They also did this weird AR thing at opening cermonies.

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Damn, that's one catchy song. K-Pop us getting better and better.

The videos however are... at least to me... cringe-worthy. Watching the cat girl at the laundromat made me laugh. The stage being shared with anime was awkward as fuck. Who's the girl with the pink boots? Me likey.
 
Jay

Jay

Mathias said:
I don't think there is a Diablo 4 in the works. I think this between 2 and 3 mobile game is it.

The correct move would have been to announce it before Blizzcon to the general press; not a goddamn civic center full of the most rabid, hardcore Blizzard franchise fans on Earth - 90% of whom play on the PC and are expecting a PC version of a sequel to one of the anchor franchise to Blizzard.

The other correct move would be to primarily develop a PC version of Diablo 4 parallel to Diablo Immortal and somehow intertwine the two.

The other correct move would be to NOT re-skin an already existing Chinese Diablo knockoff game as an official Diablo game. Blizzard used to be known for the love and quality they put into their products. The fact that they're outsourcing all their work lately is a slap to the face.

Ah well, it's bound to happen sooner or later, and other indy developers will fill the void. It's a shame to see Blizzard (one of the last 90's software companies) to finally being heading down the EA road.
Click to expand...
I haven't been here awhile but damn, it's nice to see you posting this type of quality. Can't add more to this, perfectly said.

I still remember the shit Poe and I played when 3 was originally released. It was painful.
 
Jay

Jay

Frank said:
Has it improved since launch? The mission triggers not flagging properly was a constant thing.

I was also pretty mad that I didn't get any of the real cool assault mechs until after I finished the main game.
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It has been greatly improved with patches. Variety in builds on some mechs are more numerous as well.

In a way I miss the bugginess and being forged by fire.

EX: Your lance of 4 (3 mediums + 1 heavy) going against another lance of (2 medium + 2 heavies) and have the reinforcements appear on round 3 making it 8 vs 4 with an extra lance of 3 heavies + 1 medium. You KNEW there was going to be some downtime after that... and you worked for that win. You found ways to move around in the terrain and skills when your mechs are only relying on medium lasers and their fists when they run out of all missiles.

Very satisfying.
 
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