It's Official: Diablo III Is Coming!

[BulletproofLandshark]

http://kotaku.com/5020478/diablo-iii-webpage-filled-with-trailers-screens-evil

[Clintonista2]

1. I've been waiting for this for 5 years

[YOY]

2. I only got 1/2way through 2...dunno if 3 will keep my interest

Meh...I'll give it a try.

[Occulus]

3. off topic, but- YOY, have you heard of the Apricot Project?

The Blender open game spinoff from "Big Buck Bunny" (the latest short film from the Blender Foundation). I've been following it some, and I must say actually seeing the development in progress and being able to play with things as they change has been very enlightening to me. If anyone reading this wants to go into game development and design, this project is one to definitely watch closely.

I like how they're releasing Blender builds (via graphicall.org) as they work on Apricot. The newest Blender "Apricot" build incorporates GLSL lighting while modeling in object mode, and I can say from experience (I used Blender to create DUzy award pic, and would have LOVED this feature, had it been available at the time) that modeling with your lighting in situ makes things a lot easier as the model takes shape, rather than placing the lights, rendering, moving the lights, rerendering, etc.

Oh, the Apricot project has also added some cool shader effects to the lighting in the Blender game engine, aside from GLSL. These two projects- the film and the game- are really advancing Blender development very rapidly; it's already being used for TV commercials offshore, for example.

Since there are quite a few Python export scripts for Blender that can be used in modding- output to .obj with xyz game feature, for example- it's becoming a serious tool. For one thing, it's free, and for another, it's small- the Windows installer is only 9Mb (talk about efficient coding!), and has versions available for five OSes: all Windows iterations back to 98, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD.

I'm just waiting for when yafray (or yafaray, as it's called now, I believe) are developed to the point that they're a broadcast-quality global illumination rendering engine. At that point, Blender could be used in film and television, and Autodesk would lose a hell of a lot of customers.

I'm fine with that, since Autodesk owns both the Max and Maya titles now. It's time for someone to seriously compete, and the free price point does that quite nicely :)

Finally, your Blender/Yafaray eye candy:

[YOY]

4. Sweetness...but I'm more on the Project Manager side of Software Development

Business end. Tasks and deadlines and the like. Couldn't do a graphics design if it killed me and my coding skills are enough to read and write a few lines.

That being said how does is compare to similar products in amount of time needed to create similar images/environments? What about amount of work?

Damn that's pretty...

[Occulus]

5. Blender's modeling tools need some work

They're working on that for Blender 2.50. The interface is very unusual, and took some time getting used to. Hotkeys are an absolute must, and there are a lot of them. That said, I've seen some pretty amazing timelapse modeling sessions done in Blender, and if you know the software well, it seems capable of pretty much everything other 3D apps are capable of. It just sometimes does things... differently.

One good thing about Blender is that it can import and export multiple file formats, so project portability is possible. Really, it's as much a combination of individual technique and know-how as it is having a good toolset in any 3D app.

[Bjorn Against]

6. The first time I played the original Diablo I did not understand why people loved it so much...

It took me many hours to realize how great the game really was, but once you realize it you are blown away. At first glance the game doesn't seem so great, but once you start to realize just how deep it is it gets really addictive. Diablo II is one of my favorite games of all time, but it was the same deal it was not the pick it up and love it in five minutes type of game. It took time to build your character up. If you say you only made it half way through the game then you really probably only made it 10% of the way through the game, because once you beat it new difficulty levels open up. These new difficulty levels are not just harder, but they add tons of new stuff which makes the replay value extremely high.

Seriously if you don't like Diablo III when you first start playing don't give up until you have put at least ten hours in. It takes a while to see the genius of the game, but once you get it you are hooked.

[hendo]

8. Yeah

I wish there was a way to pre-order already.

[hendo]

7. Sweet

but all of the original developers started thier own company. I wonder how this will look without thier input. Odd..

[BulletproofLandshark]

9. Of course, those original developers went on to "grace" us with Hellgate:London

I hope Blizzard knows how much they have riding on this one.

[hendo]

10. Yeah, I bought he collectors edition, and then found out that I can't run it

I really need an upgrade, bad..

[YOY]

11. Hellgate? Just return it.

It's mucho mieda. Seriously suffers from a laundry list of failure items that they could have fixed well before release but chose not to.

To quote myself:

-Not enough slots for inventory.

-The mini-game is stupid...no really it's stupid...that's the best adjective I can come up with.

-The NPCs seem to spout interesting dialog in the audio but just give you quests that are completely unrelated to the dialog. Your replies contain no real RPG elements what-so-freaking-ever. Anyone who calls it an RPG needs to be kicked in the ghoulies twice.

-Change the color but it's the same monster BS.

-Equipment hording like it's going out of style...Diablo all over again...and not the fun part of Diablo.

[Systematic Chaos]

12. I watched the gameplay trailer on the official site and I've been reduced to a puddle of drool.

ZOMG!!1!!111!!

:bounce:

[hendo]

13. I know

isn't it gorgeous.

I wish I could pre-order it already.