A lot of that has to do with gameplay, but what still stands out inDiablo II is the mood. The soundtrack in particular, its cascades of reverberating guitar, pounding drums and heavy, sawing strings lends Diablo II its unsettling atmosphere to a greater degree than any other aspect of the game. It's a tone of piercing loneliness, of mounting terror as you proceed step by step, map by map through increasingly bizarre, twisted and violent realms, fighting bigger, nastier enemies armed with devastating ways to kill you.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Why Diablo II Still Rules
Unmodded and running at 800 x 600 resolution, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is still my favorite action role-playing game. I've tried many other Diablo-style games since, from Titan Quest to Dungeon Siege to Torchlight (made by several of Diablo's creators) to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, some of which improved on Blizzard's design with less restrictive skill systems, better interfaces, more advanced visuals and added conveniences for travel, item storage and looting. But I've never played one and thought, without a doubt, that as a whole it established a higher standard than what Blizzard North achieved in the very early 2000s.
A lot of that has to do with gameplay, but what still stands out inDiablo II is the mood. The soundtrack in particular, its cascades of reverberating guitar, pounding drums and heavy, sawing strings lends Diablo II its unsettling atmosphere to a greater degree than any other aspect of the game. It's a tone of piercing loneliness, of mounting terror as you proceed step by step, map by map through increasingly bizarre, twisted and violent realms, fighting bigger, nastier enemies armed with devastating ways to kill you.
A lot of that has to do with gameplay, but what still stands out inDiablo II is the mood. The soundtrack in particular, its cascades of reverberating guitar, pounding drums and heavy, sawing strings lends Diablo II its unsettling atmosphere to a greater degree than any other aspect of the game. It's a tone of piercing loneliness, of mounting terror as you proceed step by step, map by map through increasingly bizarre, twisted and violent realms, fighting bigger, nastier enemies armed with devastating ways to kill you.
Check Out the New Blizzard Facebook Timelines
We’ve recently converted our Facebook pages for Blizzard, Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo to the new timeline format, and we hope that you’ll join us in making the most of our community connections there.
Since we launched our Facebook pages, we've had the pleasure of sharing a plethora of stories, BlizzCasts, artwork, and videos with a thriving Facebook community, but we're not done yet. We encourage you to browse through our company and franchise histories, “like” our pages so that you’ll see updates from us in your own feeds, and share your favorite milestones from Blizzard’s past on our Facebook walls.
Since we launched our Facebook pages, we've had the pleasure of sharing a plethora of stories, BlizzCasts, artwork, and videos with a thriving Facebook community, but we're not done yet. We encourage you to browse through our company and franchise histories, “like” our pages so that you’ll see updates from us in your own feeds, and share your favorite milestones from Blizzard’s past on our Facebook walls.
Source: Diablo III
More: Team Kynce
Ridge Racer Unbounded Review
Let's get it out of the way at the top of the show. Ridge Racer Unbounded is Ridge Racer in name only. This game has about as much in common with Ridge Racer as Forza 4, or Hot Pursuit, or any other racer you'd care to name. As such, you can forget about ludicrously over-the-top powerslide mechanics. You can also forget about gleaming cities, winding mountain paths and beachside runs under an azure sky. About the only thing you can depend on is a suitably ravey soundtrack, with a number of old Ridge Racer tracks, as well as the now obligatory dubstep.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Dota 2 Heroes: Earthshaker
Valve's Dota 2 has been in beta testing for a quite a while now, steadily adding more players and gaining popularity on Steam. There's still no release date or pricing structure, so while we wait, here's a look at Earthshaker, a strength hero.
While Earthshaker is big, he's not exactly a hero that can absorb a lot of damage. Instead, he relies on spells to impact a fight. The first ability you'll want to learn is Fissure, which blasts out a wall of rock that stuns and damages enemies. Not only that, but the rock wall sticks around for a while, serving as a physical barrier. You can use it to block off parts of the map, cutting off an opponent's escape so you and a teammate can score a kill, or saving a teammate by stopping their pursuers. Just be careful that you don't accidentally trap a friendly hero in a bad spot, because then you're probably going to get yelled and / or laughed at.
While Earthshaker is big, he's not exactly a hero that can absorb a lot of damage. Instead, he relies on spells to impact a fight. The first ability you'll want to learn is Fissure, which blasts out a wall of rock that stuns and damages enemies. Not only that, but the rock wall sticks around for a while, serving as a physical barrier. You can use it to block off parts of the map, cutting off an opponent's escape so you and a teammate can score a kill, or saving a teammate by stopping their pursuers. Just be careful that you don't accidentally trap a friendly hero in a bad spot, because then you're probably going to get yelled and / or laughed at.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Has Dragon's Crown Been Cancelled?
You've heard of Vanillaware, haven't you? The Japanese development studio, founded back in 2002, has been responsible for a few cult favorites in our industry, including GrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere, Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Grand Knights History. And its upcoming title, Dragon's Crown, has garnered a lot of positive attention since it was announced last year.
However, possibly distressing news about Dragon's Crown has surfaced. An enterprising reader of Podcast Beyond, Matt Donnelley, reached out to IGN today to let us know that Amazon.com has cancelled his pre-order of the game. "We're writing to let you know the items listed below will not be released by the supplier on the expected date," Amazon notes in the e-mail Mr. Donnelley forwarded to IGN. "As a result, we cancelled them from your order and your credit card wasn't charged."
However, possibly distressing news about Dragon's Crown has surfaced. An enterprising reader of Podcast Beyond, Matt Donnelley, reached out to IGN today to let us know that Amazon.com has cancelled his pre-order of the game. "We're writing to let you know the items listed below will not be released by the supplier on the expected date," Amazon notes in the e-mail Mr. Donnelley forwarded to IGN. "As a result, we cancelled them from your order and your credit card wasn't charged."
In-Development – Class Skill Videos, Continued
Our series of blogs covering Diablo III’s class skills continues this week. Much like the last two updates, we’ll show off videos of core class skills, unmodified by runes, and then add them to the skills page on the Diablo III website.
Doing battle with the Burning Hells means fighting fire with fire, and this week’s videos are all about destruction. We’ve got skills to tear through demonic invaders with summoned zombies and locusts, pepper them with knives and arrows, warp their minds, blow their bodies apart, and more.
Watch, enjoy, and remember: heroes use every tool at their disposal in the pursuit of victory.
We’ll return with more videos soon.
Barbarian
Whirlwind
Demon Hunter
Fan of Knives
Sentry
Monk
Way of the Hundred Fists
Tempest Rush
Witch Doctor
Fetish Army
Locust Swarm
Mass Confusion
Wall of Zombies
Wizard
Explosive Blast
Doing battle with the Burning Hells means fighting fire with fire, and this week’s videos are all about destruction. We’ve got skills to tear through demonic invaders with summoned zombies and locusts, pepper them with knives and arrows, warp their minds, blow their bodies apart, and more.
Watch, enjoy, and remember: heroes use every tool at their disposal in the pursuit of victory.
We’ll return with more videos soon.
Barbarian
Whirlwind
Demon Hunter
Fan of Knives
Sentry
Monk
Way of the Hundred Fists
Tempest Rush
Witch Doctor
Fetish Army
Locust Swarm
Mass Confusion
Wall of Zombies
Wizard
Explosive Blast
Source: Diablo III
Monday, March 26, 2012
Call of Duty Creative Strategist Resigns
Robert Bowling leaves Activision.
Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling has left Activision. In a post on his Twitter account, Bowling wrote "Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision."
Bowling has been a long-time member of Infinity Ward and previously served as the company's community manager. As creative strategist for the Call of Duty series, Bowling has been the spokesperson for the series, playing an integral role in the franchise's media campaigns and announcements.
Call of Duty creative strategist Robert Bowling has left Activision. In a post on his Twitter account, Bowling wrote "Today, I resign from my position as Creative Strategist of Call of Duty, as a lead of Infinity Ward, and as an employee of Activision."
Bowling has been a long-time member of Infinity Ward and previously served as the company's community manager. As creative strategist for the Call of Duty series, Bowling has been the spokesperson for the series, playing an integral role in the franchise's media campaigns and announcements.
Assassin's Creed III: The Unstoppable Force
Scattered amidst the rocks, shrubs and trees of Bunker Hill, the American colonists attempt to mount an attack against superior numbers. Their ranks lack discipline, as each soldier fires his wildly inaccurate musket at will, with no order or coordination amongst the troops. Cannon fire rains down from the heavens, forcing the rag tag rebels to dash for cover. It is here that an assassin seeks his prey - a British commander atop an opposing peak. The only thing in his way - thousands of patient, professional soldiers. The British keep their formation, enduring the inaccurate, infrequent shots from their foes as they load their muskets. They wait for the order to fire. A tense few seconds tick by as the trained army ready their weapons. Almost as a battle cry, the infantry is given order to fire from across the valley. The hillside lights up as hundreds if not thousands of firearms erupt, tearing into the American militia.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Big List of Game Release Dates
Check IGN's List of Game Releases!
As of March 5, 2012
2012
March 2012
03/06 – Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
03/06 – MLB 12: The Show (PS3, Vita)
03/06 – MLB 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii)
03/06 – Street Fighter x Tekken (360, PS3)
03/06 – Top Gun: Hard Lock (360, PS3, PC)
03/06 – Unit 13 (Vita)
03/11 – Mario Party 9 (Wii)
03/13 – Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (360, PS3)
03/13 – Ridge Racer (Vita)
03/13 – Silent Hill: Downpour (360, PS3)
03/13 – Tales of Graces F (PS3)
03/20 – Armored Core V (360, PS3)
03/20 – Ninja Gaiden III (360, PS3)*
03/20 – Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (360, PS3, PC)
03/20 – Silent Hill HD Collection (360, PS3)
03/23 – Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
03/27 – Silent Hill: Book of Memories (Vita)
2012
March 2012
03/06 – Mass Effect 3 (360, PS3, PC)
03/06 – MLB 12: The Show (PS3, Vita)
03/06 – MLB 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii)
03/06 – Street Fighter x Tekken (360, PS3)
03/06 – Top Gun: Hard Lock (360, PS3, PC)
03/06 – Unit 13 (Vita)
03/11 – Mario Party 9 (Wii)
03/13 – Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (360, PS3)
03/13 – Ridge Racer (Vita)
03/13 – Silent Hill: Downpour (360, PS3)
03/13 – Tales of Graces F (PS3)
03/20 – Armored Core V (360, PS3)
03/20 – Ninja Gaiden III (360, PS3)*
03/20 – Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (360, PS3, PC)
03/20 – Silent Hill HD Collection (360, PS3)
03/23 – Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS)
03/27 – Silent Hill: Book of Memories (Vita)
What Do You Think of the Diablo III Beta?
Have you been playing Blizzard's beta for Diablo III? We want your thoughts.
You can tell us whatever you like, but any or all of the following would be good to touch on:
- Does it live up to expectations?
- What do you like most about it?
- What you like least about it?
- What do you think of the new skill system?
- How about the skill runes?
- The enemies?
- The visuals?
- The sound?
How is Blizzard Going to Prevent Oversupply?
There is a lot of discussion about the real money AH, but one of the largest problems from my perspective
seems to be the lack of any way to take items out of the "economy". What method is there to prevent the market from becoming terminally over saturated with superpowered items?
Things never soulbind to your character, so every powerful item you buy is going to eventually be able to be resold, which means that it is never removed from circulation. This is a game that is going to be played around the clock by millions of people around the globe. They will find items at a truly staggering rate, and those items will never need to go away.
How are they going to maintain value? I know the crafting system destroys items, but this really is only a factor for the lower tier gear because you'd never destroy some of the best gear in the game.
seems to be the lack of any way to take items out of the "economy". What method is there to prevent the market from becoming terminally over saturated with superpowered items?
Things never soulbind to your character, so every powerful item you buy is going to eventually be able to be resold, which means that it is never removed from circulation. This is a game that is going to be played around the clock by millions of people around the globe. They will find items at a truly staggering rate, and those items will never need to go away.
How are they going to maintain value? I know the crafting system destroys items, but this really is only a factor for the lower tier gear because you'd never destroy some of the best gear in the game.
Making Real Money From Diablo 3
Lets face it. People will be buying items for real money. Having said that, there is a potential to make significant real money from Diablo3. Lets roll with the punches and figure out ways to make real money here.
Does anyone have any ideas, comments, opportunities, restrictions on how to make money in D3. Will a jeweller or mystic be able to sell their gems and enchants on the AH for real cash?
Feel free to add any other comments related to how to make money in D3
I feel the real money aspect is going to get out of control, however I do not want this to be a flame thread.
Keep in mind there will be no mods in D3.
Does anyone have any ideas, comments, opportunities, restrictions on how to make money in D3. Will a jeweller or mystic be able to sell their gems and enchants on the AH for real cash?
Feel free to add any other comments related to how to make money in D3
I feel the real money aspect is going to get out of control, however I do not want this to be a flame thread.
Keep in mind there will be no mods in D3.
Skill and Rune Changes
Last August we held a Diablo III press tour, and it was with a small group of fansites that I first revealed significant changes were still in store for the rune system. Since then, we’ve been hard at work on the rune and skill systems, and today we’d like to share details on the changes you’ll see in Beta patch 13. We’re confident that these changes will make Diablo III a better game, and to help illustrate why, I'll start with a high-level explanation of our goals for these systems as well as the feedback we were responding to in making these changes.
I'll start with the skill system. Our high-level goal with this system has always been to give players a great degree of power to customize their characters. We believe we accomplished that early on by abolishing skill trees and moving toward an open-ended system where skills, rune variants, and passives are chosen at-will by the player in a flexible customization system.
That goal and the system have been great successes, but the amount of customization we have available doesn’t mean anything if it’s not useful in combat situations. Combat depth is another one of our goals; Diablo III is designed to be a modern action game, built on the mantra of “easy to learn, difficult to master.” What that means for the player is picking a set of skills and abilities that work together, and then executing them in ways that lead to success: the wholesale slaughter of the demonic invasion. With that combat-depth goal in mind, we’ve been internally categorizing the skills since the inception of the system. Many of you could probably identify what these categories were if we asked, and some players have even mapped out what they are fairly accurately.
For every class we essentially created three common types of abilities, and then a handful of class-specific ability types. All classes have skills that fit into categories we call Primary Attack, Secondary Attack, and Defensive. Primary Attack skills are frequently used abilities that typically generate resources. Secondary Attacks are more powerful attacks that are limited in use through resource cost or cooldown. Defensive abilities are used to escape or control the flow of combat. Beyond that, classes have unique categories, like armor spells for the wizard or mantras for the monk. We used this methodology to help us design the classes and their skills, but we weren’t exposing this to the player despite the fact that these categories would give the player, like they did our own team, a better understanding of how the classes work.
One of our other goals is to ensure our game controls and interfaces are easy to use so that players spend their time trying to master game mechanics rather than fighting an interface. Giving players complete freedom to choose “anything” with no direction as to how our systems are intended to work was a failure in our design. There was also a detached relationship between the bottom-bar UI and the skill system. We have six skill slots, and six spots to put skills, but the two interfaces didn't really interact, and stocking abilities in your interface felt awkward.
To fix these issues, we focused on two core changes: (1) exposing the skill design intent by categorizing the skills and (2) linking skill selection directly to the bottom-bar UI to make assigning skills a clearer process. When viewing the skill screen, you’ll be presented with your six skill selection slots; each of these correspond directly to your bottom bar, and each will provide a specific list of skills from which to choose. By providing a clear-cut guide on how to best maximize your build potential, we hope to cover that “easy to learn” half of the mantra.
You may already be fuming because you’re a “difficult to master” type of person, but before you run to the forums, we have you covered. In the Gameplay options, we’ve added an ‘Elective Mode’ for the skill system. With this checkbox ticked you’ll be able to place any skill in any skill slot, as freely as you could before. The Elective Mode option is available at any time with no requirements or need to unlock it. We hope the new, more guided interface will give you an in-game heads up as to the intent of each skill -- and maybe even be the way you play through the game in Normal -- but if you eventually have a build that simply can’t be accomplished the way we’ve laid things out, you’re free to pop on Elective Mode and take the skills you want.
(This screenshot depicts an 'Elective Mode' build made entirely of Primary and Secondary skills. Note that the skill slot names do not accurately reflect from which category a skill is selected in Elective Mode.)
While the skill system is largely unchanged save for some UI improvements and the helpful new (but optional) skill categories, we’ve been working to make some rather intense changes to the runestone system. Before we get too far, it’s probably best to clarify our terms: First, they’re now called skill runes, and they’re called skill runes because they’re no longer a physical item, but built directly into the skill system. Let’s back up, though, and go through some of the problems we were encountering and how this final design is intended to resolve those issues.
Our goal with the rune system has always been to provide additional character customization by allowing players to augment or completely alter their skills in new and significant ways. Originally, we tied this in to the itemization system because it felt like a good fit, as Diablo is all about the item drops. But with around 120 base skills, that meant there were around 600 rune variants; on top of that, each variant had five quality levels each, meaning ultimately there would be something like 3,000 different runes in the game… and we knew we were heading toward a problem.
Diablo is certainly about the items, but later in the game, having to juggle all of those various runes was not only un-fun, it was a serious and tedious inventory problem. We went through a number of different iterations, some of which we fully implemented and tested, to try to solve these fundamental issues while still keeping the customization intact. Ultimately we developed, implemented, and have been playing and testing a new system which we’re confident hits all of the desired mechanics and solves all of the related issues – and that’s what I’m going to talk about today and what you’ll see in Beta patch 13.
With the new skill rune system, you’ll be unlocking new skills as you level up just like you always have… but in addition you’ll also be unlocking skill runes. Now, when you open the skill window, you’ll choose which skills you want in which slots, the skill rune variants you’d like, and your passives. All of this is done directly through the UI, and all of the options from the skill, skill rune, and passive systems are unlocked through character leveling progression, leading to a cleaner overall integration of these systems. Just as we set different skills to unlock at specific levels, skill rune choices unlock at different levels as well.
Another thing we strive for in our games is “concentrated coolness,” and while rune quality levels made sense when we were attempting to itemize them throughout the game, they make far less sense as runes are unlocked through the UI. We didn’t want to get back into a situation where you’re clicking a button to pump points into skills. It’s far more concentrated (and cool) when your rune choices have a single and powerful benefit to your skill choice. The new skill rune system does not have ranks, and we’ve instead made each around the equivalent to what the rank 4 or 5 rune was previously. One click, you make your rune choice, and you get an explosive benefit to that skill. That feels a lot cooler.
Runes have been by far the biggest design hurdle we’ve had in the game, and as you know we’ve been continually iterating on them. We fully expect that some of you will be disappointed that runes won’t be part of the itemization system. Internally, it took us a long time to let go of that notion too and stop trying to force them into being items, and instead embrace the intent of the system. Integrating runes with the skill system directly gave us a bunch of great benefits, and even without runes we’re launching with more item types than Diablo II had. We knew we were making the right choice by letting go of runes as items and focusing on the core objective of the system: to customize your skills in awesome ways.
Before I wrap up, I did want to cover that one of the added benefits of the new system is that you’ll be unlocking something every level all the way up to the level cap (60). Now, with each level you’ll unlock at least one new skill or rune, and in most cases you’ll be unlocking three or four. The most immediately exciting part of that system is that skill runes begin unlocking at level 6, which means that players in the beta test will finally be able to play around with some rune variants.
Phew. Well, there you have it -- the new skill and rune systems! We strongly believe that these changes are going to make for a better Diablo III, and we’re looking forward to you trying it out in patch 13, which should be live any minute now (if it isn’t already). As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on your experiences with these changes. To help center the conversation on these changes to a single location, we’re going to lock comments on this blog and encourage you to post in a thread we’re specifically making to discuss this: Skill and Rune Changes Discussion.
I'll start with the skill system. Our high-level goal with this system has always been to give players a great degree of power to customize their characters. We believe we accomplished that early on by abolishing skill trees and moving toward an open-ended system where skills, rune variants, and passives are chosen at-will by the player in a flexible customization system.
That goal and the system have been great successes, but the amount of customization we have available doesn’t mean anything if it’s not useful in combat situations. Combat depth is another one of our goals; Diablo III is designed to be a modern action game, built on the mantra of “easy to learn, difficult to master.” What that means for the player is picking a set of skills and abilities that work together, and then executing them in ways that lead to success: the wholesale slaughter of the demonic invasion. With that combat-depth goal in mind, we’ve been internally categorizing the skills since the inception of the system. Many of you could probably identify what these categories were if we asked, and some players have even mapped out what they are fairly accurately.
For every class we essentially created three common types of abilities, and then a handful of class-specific ability types. All classes have skills that fit into categories we call Primary Attack, Secondary Attack, and Defensive. Primary Attack skills are frequently used abilities that typically generate resources. Secondary Attacks are more powerful attacks that are limited in use through resource cost or cooldown. Defensive abilities are used to escape or control the flow of combat. Beyond that, classes have unique categories, like armor spells for the wizard or mantras for the monk. We used this methodology to help us design the classes and their skills, but we weren’t exposing this to the player despite the fact that these categories would give the player, like they did our own team, a better understanding of how the classes work.
One of our other goals is to ensure our game controls and interfaces are easy to use so that players spend their time trying to master game mechanics rather than fighting an interface. Giving players complete freedom to choose “anything” with no direction as to how our systems are intended to work was a failure in our design. There was also a detached relationship between the bottom-bar UI and the skill system. We have six skill slots, and six spots to put skills, but the two interfaces didn't really interact, and stocking abilities in your interface felt awkward.
To fix these issues, we focused on two core changes: (1) exposing the skill design intent by categorizing the skills and (2) linking skill selection directly to the bottom-bar UI to make assigning skills a clearer process. When viewing the skill screen, you’ll be presented with your six skill selection slots; each of these correspond directly to your bottom bar, and each will provide a specific list of skills from which to choose. By providing a clear-cut guide on how to best maximize your build potential, we hope to cover that “easy to learn” half of the mantra.
(A Nightmare-level monk choosing skills and runes from the specified categories)
You may already be fuming because you’re a “difficult to master” type of person, but before you run to the forums, we have you covered. In the Gameplay options, we’ve added an ‘Elective Mode’ for the skill system. With this checkbox ticked you’ll be able to place any skill in any skill slot, as freely as you could before. The Elective Mode option is available at any time with no requirements or need to unlock it. We hope the new, more guided interface will give you an in-game heads up as to the intent of each skill -- and maybe even be the way you play through the game in Normal -- but if you eventually have a build that simply can’t be accomplished the way we’ve laid things out, you’re free to pop on Elective Mode and take the skills you want.
(This screenshot depicts an 'Elective Mode' build made entirely of Primary and Secondary skills. Note that the skill slot names do not accurately reflect from which category a skill is selected in Elective Mode.)
While the skill system is largely unchanged save for some UI improvements and the helpful new (but optional) skill categories, we’ve been working to make some rather intense changes to the runestone system. Before we get too far, it’s probably best to clarify our terms: First, they’re now called skill runes, and they’re called skill runes because they’re no longer a physical item, but built directly into the skill system. Let’s back up, though, and go through some of the problems we were encountering and how this final design is intended to resolve those issues.
Our goal with the rune system has always been to provide additional character customization by allowing players to augment or completely alter their skills in new and significant ways. Originally, we tied this in to the itemization system because it felt like a good fit, as Diablo is all about the item drops. But with around 120 base skills, that meant there were around 600 rune variants; on top of that, each variant had five quality levels each, meaning ultimately there would be something like 3,000 different runes in the game… and we knew we were heading toward a problem.
Diablo is certainly about the items, but later in the game, having to juggle all of those various runes was not only un-fun, it was a serious and tedious inventory problem. We went through a number of different iterations, some of which we fully implemented and tested, to try to solve these fundamental issues while still keeping the customization intact. Ultimately we developed, implemented, and have been playing and testing a new system which we’re confident hits all of the desired mechanics and solves all of the related issues – and that’s what I’m going to talk about today and what you’ll see in Beta patch 13.
(A mid-20's demon hunter choosing a skill and its rune variant)
With the new skill rune system, you’ll be unlocking new skills as you level up just like you always have… but in addition you’ll also be unlocking skill runes. Now, when you open the skill window, you’ll choose which skills you want in which slots, the skill rune variants you’d like, and your passives. All of this is done directly through the UI, and all of the options from the skill, skill rune, and passive systems are unlocked through character leveling progression, leading to a cleaner overall integration of these systems. Just as we set different skills to unlock at specific levels, skill rune choices unlock at different levels as well.
Another thing we strive for in our games is “concentrated coolness,” and while rune quality levels made sense when we were attempting to itemize them throughout the game, they make far less sense as runes are unlocked through the UI. We didn’t want to get back into a situation where you’re clicking a button to pump points into skills. It’s far more concentrated (and cool) when your rune choices have a single and powerful benefit to your skill choice. The new skill rune system does not have ranks, and we’ve instead made each around the equivalent to what the rank 4 or 5 rune was previously. One click, you make your rune choice, and you get an explosive benefit to that skill. That feels a lot cooler.
Runes have been by far the biggest design hurdle we’ve had in the game, and as you know we’ve been continually iterating on them. We fully expect that some of you will be disappointed that runes won’t be part of the itemization system. Internally, it took us a long time to let go of that notion too and stop trying to force them into being items, and instead embrace the intent of the system. Integrating runes with the skill system directly gave us a bunch of great benefits, and even without runes we’re launching with more item types than Diablo II had. We knew we were making the right choice by letting go of runes as items and focusing on the core objective of the system: to customize your skills in awesome ways.
Before I wrap up, I did want to cover that one of the added benefits of the new system is that you’ll be unlocking something every level all the way up to the level cap (60). Now, with each level you’ll unlock at least one new skill or rune, and in most cases you’ll be unlocking three or four. The most immediately exciting part of that system is that skill runes begin unlocking at level 6, which means that players in the beta test will finally be able to play around with some rune variants.
(The above image depicts a potential level 13 witch doctor build in beta with skill rune choices)
Phew. Well, there you have it -- the new skill and rune systems! We strongly believe that these changes are going to make for a better Diablo III, and we’re looking forward to you trying it out in patch 13, which should be live any minute now (if it isn’t already). As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on your experiences with these changes. To help center the conversation on these changes to a single location, we’re going to lock comments on this blog and encourage you to post in a thread we’re specifically making to discuss this: Skill and Rune Changes Discussion.
You Will Die. We Promise.
At BlizzCon 2011, the Diablo III Gameplay panel included this video from 3D Artist Kevin K. Griffith, Environment Artist Nate Bowden, Senior Artist Nick Eberle, and 3D Artist Richie Marella. In the video, they try to answer the question: “How hard is this game going to be in Nightmare difficulty (and above)?”
Check out their answers, accompanied by exclusive gameplay footage, right here: VIDEO LINK
Check out their answers, accompanied by exclusive gameplay footage, right here: VIDEO LINK
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Diablo III Launching May 15 - Digital Pre-Sales Now Open
The End of Days approaches…. Diablo III is set to launch on May 15, 2012, and you can be ready to play the minute the servers go live by pre-purchasing the game digitally on Battle.net today. Simply complete the digital pre-sale process, and your account will be flagged for automatic access to Diablo III when it launches at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 15.
If you would rather play Diablo III for FREE, the World of Warcraft Annual Pass is still available for a limited time... but don’t delay, because the Annual Pass offer ends at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 1, 2012.
Check out the official press release for further details on the upcoming launch of Diablo III, or head to the Diablo III pre-sales page on Battle.net to pre-purchase your digital copy now.
If you would rather play Diablo III for FREE, the World of Warcraft Annual Pass is still available for a limited time... but don’t delay, because the Annual Pass offer ends at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 1, 2012.
Check out the official press release for further details on the upcoming launch of Diablo III, or head to the Diablo III pre-sales page on Battle.net to pre-purchase your digital copy now.
Friday, March 23, 2012
DIABLO 3 TARGETING VS DIABLO 2
in d2, if you held down a skill with nothing selected, nothing continued to be selected even if you moused over ANYTHING. this allowed for more accurate shooting when it was needed.
now in d3 its the opposite, (holding down a skill does not effect selecting, you always select w.e ur mouse is hovering over) and whats worse is that the hit boxes are too large making it not only less accurate, but there being no way to turn it off.
fighting a group of monsters and want to firebomb all of them? ok aim in the middle of the pack. but there is a space in there, and attempting to get in that space targets one of the guys, so instead of shooting where you want to, it shoots at the center of that guy. the problem happens, when shooting at the center of that guy only hits him and maybe a cpl others, when shooting at that space would hit them all (with a skill like firebomb)
please give us a force no target system again
edit: please help me make the d3 community more aware of this issue so blizz knows how much this matters to us!
if you agree, also please help this get highly rated so there is higher potential this gets fixed!
now in d3 its the opposite, (holding down a skill does not effect selecting, you always select w.e ur mouse is hovering over) and whats worse is that the hit boxes are too large making it not only less accurate, but there being no way to turn it off.
fighting a group of monsters and want to firebomb all of them? ok aim in the middle of the pack. but there is a space in there, and attempting to get in that space targets one of the guys, so instead of shooting where you want to, it shoots at the center of that guy. the problem happens, when shooting at the center of that guy only hits him and maybe a cpl others, when shooting at that space would hit them all (with a skill like firebomb)
please give us a force no target system again
edit: please help me make the d3 community more aware of this issue so blizz knows how much this matters to us!
if you agree, also please help this get highly rated so there is higher potential this gets fixed!
BETA TEST SERVER UPDATE - 3/20/12
Update 6:50 p.m. PDT: We currently anticipate that maintenance will conclude between approximately 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. PDT. We apologize for the inconvenience and (as always) thank you for your patience.
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Update 5:30 p.m. PDT: We've extended maintenance in order to perform additional testing. We're currently working to bring the Diablo III test servers live at this time, but do not have a precise ETA for when they'll be available.
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We are currently in the process of performing a small server update and will be bringing the Diablo III beta offline for maintenance shortly. We anticipate that downtime as a result of this update will be minimal, lasting for approximately 1 hour.
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Update 5:30 p.m. PDT: We've extended maintenance in order to perform additional testing. We're currently working to bring the Diablo III test servers live at this time, but do not have a precise ETA for when they'll be available.
----
We are currently in the process of performing a small server update and will be bringing the Diablo III beta offline for maintenance shortly. We anticipate that downtime as a result of this update will be minimal, lasting for approximately 1 hour.
Popular Post Concerning - NEPHALEM VALOR BUFF
We’re working hard on balancing and testing Diablo III, and one of the major components is making sure that the end game experience is fun and exciting. We’d like to share a few of our goals for end game:
Nephalem Valor is one of the major new systems in Diablo III and it kicks in at level 60. Keep in mind that this is still in testing and we’re still working out the details. Here’s how it currently works internally: Rare and Champion packs already have great loot on them. By killing a Rare or Champion pack, not only do you get their loot, but you’ll also receive a buff granting you increased magic find and gold find. However, if you change a skill, skill rune, passive, or leave the game, the buff disappears. As an extra reward, if you kill a boss while this buff is active, you’ll receive extra loot drops from that boss.
The exact amount of magic find and gold find provided by the buff is still being reviewed, as is the amount of extra loot you get from a boss while the buff is active. We’re also playing around with whether or not the buff stacks, what the duration should be, and whether or not it should persist through death. We want to make sure the buff is strong enough to make staying in your current game more rewarding than creating a new game. At the same time, if the buff is too strong, it risks making shorter play sessions feel not worthwhile.
We expect this system will encourage players to stick with a skill build of their choice, select an area of the game they enjoy, and sweep it for rare and champion packs on their way to a boss, finishing off a run with a boss that’ll be worth killing. If you wanted a shorter play session you could be done at that point, but if you have more time, the path of least resistance would ideally be to stay in the same game and make your way towards the next boss.
- We have an enormous number of skill build combinations, and we want a lot of those skill builds to be viable and interesting
- While there are millions of skill builds available to players, we don’t want players swapping skills regularly to beat specific encounters as they come up
- We don’t want repeatedly running specific three-minute chunks of the game to be the most efficient way to acquire gear for your character
- While a three-minute run shouldn’t be the most efficient, we also don’t want you to feel like it’s a two-hour commitment every time you sit down to play
- Bosses should still feel worth killing
Nephalem Valor is one of the major new systems in Diablo III and it kicks in at level 60. Keep in mind that this is still in testing and we’re still working out the details. Here’s how it currently works internally: Rare and Champion packs already have great loot on them. By killing a Rare or Champion pack, not only do you get their loot, but you’ll also receive a buff granting you increased magic find and gold find. However, if you change a skill, skill rune, passive, or leave the game, the buff disappears. As an extra reward, if you kill a boss while this buff is active, you’ll receive extra loot drops from that boss.
The exact amount of magic find and gold find provided by the buff is still being reviewed, as is the amount of extra loot you get from a boss while the buff is active. We’re also playing around with whether or not the buff stacks, what the duration should be, and whether or not it should persist through death. We want to make sure the buff is strong enough to make staying in your current game more rewarding than creating a new game. At the same time, if the buff is too strong, it risks making shorter play sessions feel not worthwhile.
We expect this system will encourage players to stick with a skill build of their choice, select an area of the game they enjoy, and sweep it for rare and champion packs on their way to a boss, finishing off a run with a boss that’ll be worth killing. If you wanted a shorter play session you could be done at that point, but if you have more time, the path of least resistance would ideally be to stay in the same game and make your way towards the next boss.
In-Development – Class Skill Videos, Continued
The darkness is rising, but you have many, many tools to fight it. As promised in the previous skills blog, we are revealing more videos highlighting Diablo III’s powerful class skills.
Some of these skills are previously unseen; others are familiar abilities that we’ve presented before; still others have been slightly tweaked from their original function. The videos listed below show skills that are unmodified by skill runes; they’re all depicted in their ‘basic’ form.
These videos will also find their way to the skills page. Expect more updates in the weeks to come.
Barbarian
Call of the Ancients
Seismic Slam
Demon Hunter
Companion
Evasive Fire
Rapid Fire
Monk
Crippling Wave
Inner Sanctuary
Wave of Light
Witch Doctor
Sacrifice
Spirit Barrage
Wizard
Archon
Blizzard
Some of these skills are previously unseen; others are familiar abilities that we’ve presented before; still others have been slightly tweaked from their original function. The videos listed below show skills that are unmodified by skill runes; they’re all depicted in their ‘basic’ form.
These videos will also find their way to the skills page. Expect more updates in the weeks to come.
Barbarian
Call of the Ancients
Seismic Slam
Demon Hunter
Companion
Evasive Fire
Rapid Fire
Monk
Crippling Wave
Inner Sanctuary
Wave of Light
Witch Doctor
Sacrifice
Spirit Barrage
Wizard
Archon
Blizzard
Difficulty Levels & Builds - Diablo III Gameplay & Auction House
Check this out guys! :) Really awesome preview of the harder difficulties!
Diablo 3 Skill-Video - Barbarian - Call Of The Ancients
I could still remember where the idea of the skill taken :)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Diablo III PvP Update
As we’re counting down the days until we’re ready to announce a release date for Diablo III, we’ve come to realize that the PvP game and systems aren’t yet living up to our standards. Today, we wanted to let you know that we’ve made the difficult decision to hold back the PvP Arena system and release it in a patch following the game’s launch. After a lot of consideration and discussion, we ultimately felt that delaying the whole game purely for PvP would just be punishing to everyone who’s waiting to enjoy the campaign and core solo/co-op content, all of which is just about complete.
While we work on making sure PvP lives up to its full potential, we hope you’ll find some consolation in the fact that soon, you’ll be having a blast leveling characters, finding items, learning the classes, and perfecting builds…and that when the Arenas do arrive, you’ll be all the better prepared for battle.
When the PvP patch is ultimately ready, it will add multiple Arena maps with themed locations and layouts, PvP-centric achievements, and a matchmaking system that will help you and your team get into fairly matched games quickly and easily. We’ll also be adding a personal progression system that will reward you for successfully bashing in the other team’s skulls.
We know a lot of you are looking forward to PvP, and we’ll be focusing our post-launch efforts on making sure the Arenas are as brutal, bloody, fast-paced, and awesome as we know they can be. In the meantime, we’re in the process of putting the finishing touches on what we think is a truly epic campaign and co-op experience for launch.
We’ll have a lot more info to share on the PvP system in the future, and we look forward to the moment we can get the game into your hands.
While we work on making sure PvP lives up to its full potential, we hope you’ll find some consolation in the fact that soon, you’ll be having a blast leveling characters, finding items, learning the classes, and perfecting builds…and that when the Arenas do arrive, you’ll be all the better prepared for battle.
When the PvP patch is ultimately ready, it will add multiple Arena maps with themed locations and layouts, PvP-centric achievements, and a matchmaking system that will help you and your team get into fairly matched games quickly and easily. We’ll also be adding a personal progression system that will reward you for successfully bashing in the other team’s skulls.
We know a lot of you are looking forward to PvP, and we’ll be focusing our post-launch efforts on making sure the Arenas are as brutal, bloody, fast-paced, and awesome as we know they can be. In the meantime, we’re in the process of putting the finishing touches on what we think is a truly epic campaign and co-op experience for launch.
We’ll have a lot more info to share on the PvP system in the future, and we look forward to the moment we can get the game into your hands.
Diablo III Launching May 15 – Digital Pre-Sales NOW OPEN
The End of Days approaches…. Diablo III will be unleashed from the Burning Hells on May 15, 2012, and you can be ready to play the minute the servers go live by pre-purchasing the game digitally on Battle.net today.
Beginning May 15, players around the world will be able to return to Tristram to discover the dark secrets of a fallen star and begin their quest to save Sanctuary from the impending demonic invasion. To secure your place as a barbarian, monk, demon hunter, witch doctor, or wizard right now, simply log in to your Battle.net account, and then purchase and download* Diablo III, and you’ll be ready to play when the game launches.
World of Warcraft players interested in getting Diablo III for free can still get in on the World of Warcraft Annual Pass, but the promotion will be ending at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 1, 2012. When you sign up for the Annual Pass and make a 1-year commitment to World of Warcraft, you’ll receive a free digital copy of Diablo III, an exclusive World of Warcraft in-game mount (Tyrael’s Charger), as well as access to the upcoming World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta test. Learn more at the Annual Pass signup page.
For more details on the May 15 release of Diablo III, be sure to hit the official press release, or head to our new Diablo III game page to learn more about the game and pre-purchase your digital copy.
*When you pre-purchase Diablo III, you will be able to download an encrypted version of the game that will be unlocked upon release on May 15.
Beginning May 15, players around the world will be able to return to Tristram to discover the dark secrets of a fallen star and begin their quest to save Sanctuary from the impending demonic invasion. To secure your place as a barbarian, monk, demon hunter, witch doctor, or wizard right now, simply log in to your Battle.net account, and then purchase and download* Diablo III, and you’ll be ready to play when the game launches.
World of Warcraft players interested in getting Diablo III for free can still get in on the World of Warcraft Annual Pass, but the promotion will be ending at 12:01 a.m. PDT on May 1, 2012. When you sign up for the Annual Pass and make a 1-year commitment to World of Warcraft, you’ll receive a free digital copy of Diablo III, an exclusive World of Warcraft in-game mount (Tyrael’s Charger), as well as access to the upcoming World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria beta test. Learn more at the Annual Pass signup page.
For more details on the May 15 release of Diablo III, be sure to hit the official press release, or head to our new Diablo III game page to learn more about the game and pre-purchase your digital copy.
*When you pre-purchase Diablo III, you will be able to download an encrypted version of the game that will be unlocked upon release on May 15.
Blizzard Insider #43 -- May 15: Evil is Back
The End of Days approaches as Diablo III is set to launch on May 15. To better prepare you for the defense of the mortal realms, the Blizzard Film Department recently unveiled the game’s intro cinematic at the Spike Video Games Award Show. The opening cinematic depicts the Eternal Conflict -- the ongoing struggle between the angels of the High Heavens and the demons of the Burning Hells -- and sets the stage for your arrival in Act I of Diablo III.
To get an inside look at the development process behind this newest cinematic footage, Blizzard Insider recently sat down with Vice President of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter and 2D Art Director Chris Thunig. If you haven’t seen the Diablo III intro cinematic yet, watch it now, and then read on to get the behind-the-scenes details and exclusive developer’s commentary on the Blizzard Film Department’s latest creation.
Insider: When you begin creating a new cinematic, where do the storyline and script come from?
Nick Carpenter: We have a fairly standard process in place. It starts when the game teams and the story leads meet to discuss everyone’s basic expectations, as well as the main themes and motifs of the game. We often go into this meeting knowing the major ‘tent poles’ of the storyline, and can start building out the other story details from there. In the case of Diablo III, we knew how the game would begin -- with the falling star crashing into the cathedral at New Tristram -- and we also knew how the game would eventually end [but we won’t talk about that just yet]. So we began by setting up the story with the intro and outro in mind, and those early meetings were really about creating the middle of the story which would connect the two end points.
Chris Thunig: Even after the initial story has taken shape, creating the cinematics remains a very fluid process. Good ideas can come from anywhere at any time, even very late in production, so we’re always on the lookout for ways to tweak things for the better. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that we revisited the Act IV cinematic when the animators had some ideas about the way in which one of the characters performed a certain action, and how it needed a greater sense of defiance and heroism. We all agreed and decided to make changes to the action, even though we had progressed far into production at that point.
Once you have a rough idea of the story, how do you set about turning that idea into a cinematic?
Nick Carpenter: In addition to storyboarding all our ideas, we also focus a lot of time on the ‘animatics’ -- moving 2D storyboards that give a sense of timing and pacing. We also like to score our animatics with music from other movies to enhance the sense of the mood at atmosphere that we’re ultimately aiming for. As Blizzard gets bigger, it becomes more and more important to avoid what we call the ‘grand reveal,’ which is keeping your work to yourself until it’s almost 100% done. By that point, it’s far too late to incorporate feedback, and there’s always plenty of valuable feedback. A much better approach comes from building rough versions of the footage early and sharing with as many teams as possible as soon as possible. Animatics are very effective in that regard. We can build them quickly and still convey a lot of the elements and emotions we hope to capture in the final footage.
Insider: How does the 2D animatic evolve into 3D footage?
Chris Thunig: Once we have the animatic in a place where we like it, we start blocking things out in 3D and layering in sound. Animators and artists start with simple skeletons and rough backgrounds to flesh out the space. The first 3D animatic is often called the ‘slap comp’ and from it we get a sense for how the cinematic is evolving into 3D space. The slap comp goes out to many teams for feedback, and another round of iteration begins in which we start layering in more features, piece by piece. Details begin to emerge through rendering and painting, and eventually we start doing very subtle things, like supporting facial animations with muscle movement. These later stages can be very time consuming, which is why the earlier rounds of feedback are so vital. It’s important to start building all the meticulous details on top of a foundation that works.
How do you go about bringing specific characters to life? Where do all the details come from?
Chris Thunig: We use lots of real world reference. Early in the process various members of the team will act out the cinematic scenes on camera. This process works a lot like shooting live action, where actors take cues from directors and we get tons of takes. We even use props, as things like football shoulder pads can give actors a sense for the weight and bulk of angelic armor. People tend to move differently with costumes on, and you see this in their gestures and body language. All this footage goes to the artists and animators to use as reference.
When it comes time to create and animate the characters for the cinematic it’s a matter of getting the software to live up to the artistry. To aid the process we will sometimes look for reference to realize even seemingly trivial things. I remember we found a Blizzard employee with a haircut similar to Leah’s and we put her in front of a fan so the artists could study how her hair moves in the wind. Long render hours and many iterations later we head into the final polishing stage where a lot of tweaking and detailing takes place, and we try and give it that extra push that makes it a Blizzard-quality piece.
Were there any ideas for the intro cinematic that didn’t make the cut?
Nick Carpenter: Earlier versions of the cinematic were much more focused on the characters talking back and forth, mostly about the Eternal Conflict. We ultimately decided it was better to ‘show not tell,’ so we moved away from this direction and instead came up with the idea of establishing the Eternal Conflict by flashing back to it. We loved the concept of angels pouring down from the sky like a waterfall of diamonds into an ocean of demons, but there was no way we could create such sequences and still ship the game on time; it was essentially like adding another entire cinematic relatively late in the schedule.
That’s where the idea of the 2D animations originated. Here, we could show the same backstory in the context of a macabre, living storybook where the images come to life on the page. Through the constraint of time, we came up with the unique ‘storybook’ look for which I think the Diablo III cinematics will be remembered. This storybook grounds the sequence as a flashback -- without explicitly explaining that it’s a flashback -- and it even gives the viewer the sense that they are witnessing events with the weight of an epic, almost mythological past.
What technologies were used to create the intro cinematic?
Nick Carpenter: We use Pixar’s RenderMan as our primary rendering tool. It’s very good at displacing surfaces and adding both realistic motion blur and depth of field. During the development of StarCraft II’s cinematics it felt at times as though RenderMan was leading us, but for Diablo III we were able to apply what we learned during StarCraft II and get back in the driver’s seat. We also used VRay for matte painting passes, which is the modern equivalent of how 2D painters used to draw environment layers on sheets of glass to create a sense of depth.
Also, if you look closely at the 2D storybook sections of the Diablo III intro cinematic, you’ll notice that we took the fibers in the parchment and separated them at different z-depths in AfterEffects to create a 3D effect, almost like a star field.
Insider: How does creating cinematics for games differ from creating other forms of animation?
Chris Thunig: Much like animation studios, we are also focused on telling a story through moving artwork, but we differ in that we’re also building the story alongside a game development team. Most animation studios don’t have that dynamic, and staying in synch with the game team can be a creative process that works in both directions. For example, the Cinematics team first built Azmodan for the Black Soulstone cinematic. We then sent his model over to the game team to be designed for gameplay. On another occasion, the Dev team sent us the environment that will serve as the setting of Act IV, and we used those assets to build the set pieces for the Act IV cinematic. Some ideas come from us and some ideas come from them, but ultimately we’re both building the same story arc, and it’s important everything fits together just right.
Insider: Do you think we’ll ever see a full-length theatrical movie from Blizzard Cinematics?
Nick Carpenter: If you look at the way Blizzard’s cinematics have evolved over the years, it’s a good guess that we’re likely headed in that direction. We get this question a lot, and it’s too early to tip our hands on anything specific, but, for now, I can say that we definitely hear you.
Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to share before you go?
Nick Carpenter/Chris Thunig: I just want to thank everyone involved! Diablo III was one of our biggest challenges yet. It was a labor of love and we can’t wait for everyone to see the story unfold in the final game.
To get an inside look at the development process behind this newest cinematic footage, Blizzard Insider recently sat down with Vice President of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter and 2D Art Director Chris Thunig. If you haven’t seen the Diablo III intro cinematic yet, watch it now, and then read on to get the behind-the-scenes details and exclusive developer’s commentary on the Blizzard Film Department’s latest creation.
Insider: When you begin creating a new cinematic, where do the storyline and script come from?
Nick Carpenter: We have a fairly standard process in place. It starts when the game teams and the story leads meet to discuss everyone’s basic expectations, as well as the main themes and motifs of the game. We often go into this meeting knowing the major ‘tent poles’ of the storyline, and can start building out the other story details from there. In the case of Diablo III, we knew how the game would begin -- with the falling star crashing into the cathedral at New Tristram -- and we also knew how the game would eventually end [but we won’t talk about that just yet]. So we began by setting up the story with the intro and outro in mind, and those early meetings were really about creating the middle of the story which would connect the two end points.
Chris Thunig: Even after the initial story has taken shape, creating the cinematics remains a very fluid process. Good ideas can come from anywhere at any time, even very late in production, so we’re always on the lookout for ways to tweak things for the better. I don’t want to spoil the story, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I will say that we revisited the Act IV cinematic when the animators had some ideas about the way in which one of the characters performed a certain action, and how it needed a greater sense of defiance and heroism. We all agreed and decided to make changes to the action, even though we had progressed far into production at that point.
Once you have a rough idea of the story, how do you set about turning that idea into a cinematic?
Nick Carpenter: In addition to storyboarding all our ideas, we also focus a lot of time on the ‘animatics’ -- moving 2D storyboards that give a sense of timing and pacing. We also like to score our animatics with music from other movies to enhance the sense of the mood at atmosphere that we’re ultimately aiming for. As Blizzard gets bigger, it becomes more and more important to avoid what we call the ‘grand reveal,’ which is keeping your work to yourself until it’s almost 100% done. By that point, it’s far too late to incorporate feedback, and there’s always plenty of valuable feedback. A much better approach comes from building rough versions of the footage early and sharing with as many teams as possible as soon as possible. Animatics are very effective in that regard. We can build them quickly and still convey a lot of the elements and emotions we hope to capture in the final footage.
Insider: How does the 2D animatic evolve into 3D footage?
Chris Thunig: Once we have the animatic in a place where we like it, we start blocking things out in 3D and layering in sound. Animators and artists start with simple skeletons and rough backgrounds to flesh out the space. The first 3D animatic is often called the ‘slap comp’ and from it we get a sense for how the cinematic is evolving into 3D space. The slap comp goes out to many teams for feedback, and another round of iteration begins in which we start layering in more features, piece by piece. Details begin to emerge through rendering and painting, and eventually we start doing very subtle things, like supporting facial animations with muscle movement. These later stages can be very time consuming, which is why the earlier rounds of feedback are so vital. It’s important to start building all the meticulous details on top of a foundation that works.
How do you go about bringing specific characters to life? Where do all the details come from?
Chris Thunig: We use lots of real world reference. Early in the process various members of the team will act out the cinematic scenes on camera. This process works a lot like shooting live action, where actors take cues from directors and we get tons of takes. We even use props, as things like football shoulder pads can give actors a sense for the weight and bulk of angelic armor. People tend to move differently with costumes on, and you see this in their gestures and body language. All this footage goes to the artists and animators to use as reference.
When it comes time to create and animate the characters for the cinematic it’s a matter of getting the software to live up to the artistry. To aid the process we will sometimes look for reference to realize even seemingly trivial things. I remember we found a Blizzard employee with a haircut similar to Leah’s and we put her in front of a fan so the artists could study how her hair moves in the wind. Long render hours and many iterations later we head into the final polishing stage where a lot of tweaking and detailing takes place, and we try and give it that extra push that makes it a Blizzard-quality piece.
Were there any ideas for the intro cinematic that didn’t make the cut?
Nick Carpenter: Earlier versions of the cinematic were much more focused on the characters talking back and forth, mostly about the Eternal Conflict. We ultimately decided it was better to ‘show not tell,’ so we moved away from this direction and instead came up with the idea of establishing the Eternal Conflict by flashing back to it. We loved the concept of angels pouring down from the sky like a waterfall of diamonds into an ocean of demons, but there was no way we could create such sequences and still ship the game on time; it was essentially like adding another entire cinematic relatively late in the schedule.
That’s where the idea of the 2D animations originated. Here, we could show the same backstory in the context of a macabre, living storybook where the images come to life on the page. Through the constraint of time, we came up with the unique ‘storybook’ look for which I think the Diablo III cinematics will be remembered. This storybook grounds the sequence as a flashback -- without explicitly explaining that it’s a flashback -- and it even gives the viewer the sense that they are witnessing events with the weight of an epic, almost mythological past.
What technologies were used to create the intro cinematic?
Nick Carpenter: We use Pixar’s RenderMan as our primary rendering tool. It’s very good at displacing surfaces and adding both realistic motion blur and depth of field. During the development of StarCraft II’s cinematics it felt at times as though RenderMan was leading us, but for Diablo III we were able to apply what we learned during StarCraft II and get back in the driver’s seat. We also used VRay for matte painting passes, which is the modern equivalent of how 2D painters used to draw environment layers on sheets of glass to create a sense of depth.
Also, if you look closely at the 2D storybook sections of the Diablo III intro cinematic, you’ll notice that we took the fibers in the parchment and separated them at different z-depths in AfterEffects to create a 3D effect, almost like a star field.
Insider: How does creating cinematics for games differ from creating other forms of animation?
Chris Thunig: Much like animation studios, we are also focused on telling a story through moving artwork, but we differ in that we’re also building the story alongside a game development team. Most animation studios don’t have that dynamic, and staying in synch with the game team can be a creative process that works in both directions. For example, the Cinematics team first built Azmodan for the Black Soulstone cinematic. We then sent his model over to the game team to be designed for gameplay. On another occasion, the Dev team sent us the environment that will serve as the setting of Act IV, and we used those assets to build the set pieces for the Act IV cinematic. Some ideas come from us and some ideas come from them, but ultimately we’re both building the same story arc, and it’s important everything fits together just right.
Insider: Do you think we’ll ever see a full-length theatrical movie from Blizzard Cinematics?
Nick Carpenter: If you look at the way Blizzard’s cinematics have evolved over the years, it’s a good guess that we’re likely headed in that direction. We get this question a lot, and it’s too early to tip our hands on anything specific, but, for now, I can say that we definitely hear you.
Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you’d like to share before you go?
Nick Carpenter/Chris Thunig: I just want to thank everyone involved! Diablo III was one of our biggest challenges yet. It was a labor of love and we can’t wait for everyone to see the story unfold in the final game.
Sword of Justice Issue #3 Now Available
From the explosive team of Aaron Williams (North 40) and Joseph Lacroix (L'Encyclopédie du mal) comes Diablo: Sword of Justice.
A horrific plague of madness is spreading throughout the Dreadlands, transforming its victims into bloodthirsty savages. The only hope of stopping the affliction before it consumes mankind may lie with Jacob, a wanted fugitive whose destiny is bound to the Archangel Tyrael's legendary Sword of Justice.
Jacob’s struggle to elude a group of deranged kinsmen hunting him for the crime of murder continues in issue #3 of the Sword of Justice comic series. As his enemies close in, Jacob taps into the true potential of Tyrael's enchanted blade. Yet with his newfound power comes a difficult choice: to pursue freedom, or to return to his plague-ridden home of Staalbreak and face his troubling past.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
How to Find Hot Markets that Make Money
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That is just about it, the process isn't hard to follow at all!
The Proof, How to make money from kindling
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Kindling Can Really Make A Difference! For every month, the check amount doubled!
How to earn money from kindling
I guess this is common to writers out there wishing to earn money by selling ebooks using kindle apps. So, what is Kindle anyway? Kindle is a device used to read ebooks or for multimedia purposes. Kindle had been very helpful and shares a wide market these days in particular. Amazon launch kindle back in the days where most people are ebook readers using simple software like PDF readers, just to open ebook formats. Like no other, Kindle is now a primary commodity for most people who reads newspapers, reads articles, how to ebooks and etc.
I want to show all of you how to make by kindling. The very first thing that you need to do is to do a research about what kind of ebook you are going to sell. In order to find the perfect fit and to attract readers, you need to use Google's keyword tool which is free. Once you get the niche or market that you want, you must consider the global monthly searches. The keyword must not be too competitive or very low on searches. The keywords will then be used as key phrases for your ebook title and then you must add something catchy title enhancer.
Title enhancer includes, "how to", "tips to", "easy way to" and other catchy call to action titles. When you're done selecting the right keyword, you will then proceed making the content of the ebook you are going to make. In order to have the best content is to do research, do not just depend on your own knowledge but to consult from your friends or relatives who are expert in that particular topic. The last thing you need to do is to make sure that you're content is flawless, no obvious mistakes, must be in order to avoid bad reviews by readers.
I'll post the next few steps soon! Stay tuned for more details :)
I want to show all of you how to make by kindling. The very first thing that you need to do is to do a research about what kind of ebook you are going to sell. In order to find the perfect fit and to attract readers, you need to use Google's keyword tool which is free. Once you get the niche or market that you want, you must consider the global monthly searches. The keyword must not be too competitive or very low on searches. The keywords will then be used as key phrases for your ebook title and then you must add something catchy title enhancer.
Title enhancer includes, "how to", "tips to", "easy way to" and other catchy call to action titles. When you're done selecting the right keyword, you will then proceed making the content of the ebook you are going to make. In order to have the best content is to do research, do not just depend on your own knowledge but to consult from your friends or relatives who are expert in that particular topic. The last thing you need to do is to make sure that you're content is flawless, no obvious mistakes, must be in order to avoid bad reviews by readers.
I'll post the next few steps soon! Stay tuned for more details :)
Diablo 3 Skill Calculator Preview
We are here to talk about the Diablo 3 Skill Calculator, which everyone can go out with some blizzard website. The interface is basically, Active Skills, Passive Skills which can be calculated strategically based on your style. There are runes or socket Runestone in the game, that can also be calculated.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/barbarian
Monday, March 12, 2012
Is Page Rank Important?
The term Page Rank is very common for most internet marketers who are developing affiliate websites. Page Rank is a term used to determine website's importance to google's search engine results. Website's Page Rank is important during the early days, but now Google changed it's algorithm which causing a lot of search engine results and traffic to break down continually. Most affiliate marketers are backlinking dependent, which is very essential when you are building a business without making a ton of pages or posts on your website. Creating backlinks can be automated which causes spams, making the Google's search engine results spammy in ways.
Last Feb 2010, Google changed algorithm. Page Rank importance is not like it used to be back in the days, one of my client's website got reset (traffic deteriorates). Few high authority sites like Enzine Article, Squidoo, and Hubpages got struck by Google's algorithm change.
Server Merge? Rohan PH
What is the new server name would be? http://forums.levelupgames.ph/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F55707-server-merge-name-armenes-rakhon%2F
White Hat or Black Hat?
A lot of internet marketers are now debating about this topic. Others might say that SEO has been truly sculpted with a lot of negative insights to online marketers who are very desperate in establishing their websites into a wide variety of tags and keyword phrases that are not very essential to their website's content.
So, white hat? or black hat? White hat means something like making links throughout the web by following guidelines and rules, non-aggressive search engine optimization. This way, you can make traffic by building relationship to other web masters out there willing to place your links on their websites without you, spamming their website.
As for black hat, some might never knew that what they are doing is actually black hat itself. Black hat involves aggressive actions that could ruin search engine results, copying content, spamming, and such strategy that involves automation.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Dota v6.74 Changelog (NO NEW HEREOS)
Probably most DOTA gamers are expecting new heroes every version is released. Just check out http://www.playdota.com/changelogs/6.74 for more details about the change log.
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