Am I the only one feeling a little underwhelmed?

TSamee

First of all, I'd like to keep discussion here as civil as possible--I'm sure some of us take issue with a great many aspects of the game, while others adore it. Regardless of where you stand, I'd appreciate it if we didn't turn this thread into shouting and/or rampant stupidity.

I bought Diablo 3 expecting something special. Perhaps those expectations were too high; I avoided playing the beta so the finished product would be completely fresh, and in retrospect that was a mistake. I had no issues with Battle.net connecting, but am continually struck by the lack of polish plaguing this game.

After twelve years, I was expecting graphics at least on par with Starcraft 2, if not better. Instead, a very-slightly-better-looking version of WoW greeted me with the opening of character selection. I'm seriously bummed at the lack of detail in environments and textures; my memories of Runic's Titan Quest are foggy, but I could've sworn even that looked better. And it was released in 2006. Torchlight also fared better in the graphics department despite also adopting a more stylised look--I know the two art styles are very different, but that's more to illustrate that 'artistic' graphics with 'longevity' as opposed to lots of realism don't have to look bad. I'm not obsessed with how a game looks. But in a game like Diablo, where there's very little to enjoy besides killing and the scenery, it helps when the game stuns you every now and then. As it stands, D3 is less-than-enjoyable to look at.

I'm also rather annoyed at the 'always online' system. I know it's no big deal, especially if you live in the US and Europe and thus are closer to the servers--but I live in the UAE, where a decent connection was damn tough to come by until recently. My connection now works at 52-58mbps, but I'm still seeing some latency at times--to the point where my character hops about between places when transitioning from one area to the next, and sometimes mid-battle.

They aren't big issues, at all. I'm sure Blizzard will work the kinks out of the online system for users like me in the coming weeks... but this wasn't what I was expecting from twelve years of development. Hell, it's less than I hope for when a game's gone through the standard 2-3 year dev cycle.

Opinions, lovely people?

EDIT: Attemped to log on; the servers are apparently busy at the moment. Hopefully something's getting sorted out. Hopefully.

Magnetia

I took a simpler appraoch. I never expect anything revolutionary. I expected polish. It takes the environment from titan quest and combines it with DS3 combat with a far more interesting skill system.

I am here to hack'n'slash. It has a good story (imo) and I am dying to read the next chapter. The steps it took away from d2 are good. The skill system makes me feel like i'm choosing what kind of badass i want to dish out instead of what has the highest dps. The corpse physics are nice. I really like the little touches they've made. Mostly the environment stuff. 

Also I punched all the flesh off a demon leaving only its skeleton. That's gotta count for something.

TSamee

Oh, no revolutionary expectations here either, I assure you

I too expected some polish, and am currently seeing much less than an indie release like Torchlight. I'm certainly enjoying myself, and the hack 'n' slash gameplay remains addictive as ever. I'm just surprised at the highly dated graphics and how Blizzard's handling their servers. It's a little sad, when you're part of a mega-corporation raking in Flying-Spaghetti-Monster-knows-how-much money, and yet you remain woefully unprepared for a massive launch.

Perhaps I'm expecting too much, but it would be nice if one of the industry's biggest names started acting like it.

EDIT: Wait a minute. Maybe they just look bad because I'm playing in 1080p? No clue. If it lets me log in I'll try turning the resolution down.

jdnewell

For me it was pretty much exactly what I expected.

People complained alot about SC2 not being different or innovative, ground breaking, ect. But you know what? I loved playing it, tons of fun for many hours. I have played through the single player campaign at least twice. That alone was worth the money spent.

I pretty much wanted D3 to be a fun game to play with friends and family. And thats what I got.

I understand some people not liking it, but for alot of old school D1 / D2 players they got what they expected. A good fun game to play with friends.

UnleadedRev

Its just D2 with better graphics...for those of us that played D1 and D2, its nothing new or exciting.

But, I am sure for the younger folks who never played D1 or D2 its certainly exciting and a big deal.

Plus, love them or hate them, Blizzard always releaases a quality, solid product.

I was not going to buy D3, but when I found out Blizzard was going to give all those people that paid for it, but then got shafted by "Game" a free copy, I bought D3 in support of Blizzard because most if not all game companys would not have cared.

Plus, D3 is something for me to do when I get bored.

Still, $59 is too much to pay for such a simple game, but hey.....I could spend the money on worst things.

kishe

Players wanted Diablo sequel, Blizzard provided...why fix something that isn't broken?

TSamee

Mhm, true. Maybe it's just me, then. I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking, but what I'm seeing here isn't a quality, solid product. Meh.

jdnewell

Originally posted by TSamee

Mhm, true. Maybe it's just me, then. I'm not expecting anything groundbreaking, but what I'm seeing here isn't a quality, solid product. Meh.

Whats fun for some is not for others. Thats with everything in life.

My advice is if you dont enjoy it then find something you do. Games are meant to be enjoyed not endured. Maybe try out TL2 when it releases later this year ( hopefully this summer). Might be a game you like more, and it will only cost $20.

expresso

Originally posted by TSamee

First of all, I'd like to keep discussion here as civil as possible--I'm sure some of us take issue with a great many aspects of the game, while others adore it. Regardless of where you stand, I'd appreciate it if we didn't turn this thread into shouting and/or rampant stupidity.

I bought Diablo 3 expecting something special. Perhaps those expectations were too high; I avoided playing the beta so the finished product would be completely fresh, and in retrospect that was a mistake. I had no issues with Battle.net connecting, but am continually struck by the lack of polish plaguing this game.

After twelve years, I was expecting graphics at least on par with Starcraft 2, if not better. Instead, a very-slightly-better-looking version of WoW greeted me with the opening of character selection. I'm seriously bummed at the lack of detail in environments and textures; my memories of Runic's Titan Quest are foggy, but I could've sworn even that looked better. And it was released in 2006. Torchlight also fared better in the graphics department despite also adopting a more stylised look--I know the two art styles are very different, but that's more to illustrate that 'artistic' graphics with 'longevity' as opposed to lots of realism don't have to look bad. I'm not obsessed with how a game looks. But in a game like Diablo, where there's very little to enjoy besides killing and the scenery, it helps when the game stuns you every now and then. As it stands, D3 is less-than-enjoyable to look at.

I'm also rather annoyed at the 'always online' system. I know it's no big deal, especially if you live in the US and Europe and thus are closer to the servers--but I live in the UAE, where a decent connection was damn tough to come by until recently. My connection now works at 52-58mbps, but I'm still seeing some latency at times--to the point where my character hops about between places when transitioning from one area to the next, and sometimes mid-battle.

They aren't big issues, at all. I'm sure Blizzard will work the kinks out of the online system for users like me in the coming weeks... but this wasn't what I was expecting from twelve years of development. Hell, it's less than I hope for when a game's gone through the standard 2-3 year dev cycle.

Opinions, lovely people?

EDIT: Attemped to log on; the servers are apparently busy at the moment. Hopefully something's getting sorted out. Hopefully.

How far have you played? the 2nd half of act one adds lots more mobs, dungeon sets etc and at the end of act 1 you'll see why it has got a mature rating.  But remember this is the look Blizzard have gone for a paintery look and they nailed it as far as I am concerned.

Magnetia

I enjoy stopping once in a while to take in the scenery. Just stop and appreciate the little details in the environment. The noninteractive stuff is nifty. I punch things just to see if they break.  When you're done just go back to demon limb shower festival deluxe.

For anyone complaining about difficulty I'll have to get back to them when I hit nightmare. Blizzard claims that's where things start getting nasty.