sauron wrote on May 31, 2023, 21:19:
I thought about this, then bought Tears of the Kingdom instead. Absolutely no regrets.

Let us know when they release it to PC.

sauron wrote on May 31, 2023, 21:19:

I'm still not set on my Diablo IV plans

I thought about this, then bought Tears of the Kingdom instead. Absolutely no regrets.

TOTK is amazing, but three weeks of almost constantly playing it has been juust enough time for me to feel ready to bring another game into rotation.

I'm still not set on my Diablo IV plans

I thought about this, then bought Tears of the Kingdom instead. Absolutely no regrets.

jdreyer wrote on May 31, 2023, 14:22:
I'm really of two minds on this game. I enjoyed the server smash. The character design, mobs, story, and atmosphere were excellent. Once I got to the big town, things changed. The game felt a lot more grindy than it had early on. Suddenly i could see other player characters, which struck me as bizarre given the story. The event and challenge pop-ups were jarring and took me out of the mood. The "online-ness" of it was a real letdown. I just wanted to have a Diablo SP story experience, but the game is much more interested in being a WoW-Diablo hybrid.

Be interested to hear if y'all think I'm off base in my impressions.

I love MMO's, and I love what I've played of Diablo IV, but I admit that I have the same reservations after playing the betas despite not being concerned about the online nature of the game prior to that point. The server slam world boss fight was everything I hate about multiplayer online gaming rolled into one event, to the point that I didn't even log onto the game again for the rest of that server event.

I'm excited about the game for sure, and I'm really looking forward to playing the crap out of it. But I can't really argue with the people who were skeptical about its online MMO-ish nature; unless something changes with the retail release, I'd have to concede that the single player-centric enthusiasts were right about that aspect and I was wrong. I'll even be playing with my wife a fair amount most likely, and I think the MMO design is awkward at best.

Actor Danny Masterson convicted of two counts of rape on charges he sexually assaulted several women he met through the Church of Scientology.
Good thing Tom Cruise is behind a bulletproof $hield.

I'm not sure about D4 either, i played the Beta and it was enjoyable, but not sure if it's AAA price enjoyable. Sadly none of the classes really grabbed me and i wasn't a big fan of the new skill trees, but I realise i only saw a very small section of the game/classes.

I did enjoy D3, but luckily i grabbed it years after release and where things had improved a LOT. Especially the endgame, which is where i spent most of the time... finding legendary gear which completely changed how your class played. So i guess i'll wait till more reviews and feedback come in after people spend some time at endgame.

As for Lost Ark, it just felt like a chore. Running around like a good little peasant doing mindless tasks, like continually talking to NPC's within an each shot of each other, before being sent off an another hike through different zones you'd hardly spend any time in. Then there was the typical eastern RNG gear upgrade grind /yawnnnnnn. Not to mention all that terrible sailing, house keeping with mobile game like timers/upgrades etc. Totally not my cup of tea, but to each there own!

jacobvandy wrote on May 31, 2023, 16:02:
Lost Ark is free, but also featuring many of the pay to win aspects people hate about Diablo Immortal and fear will be a part of Diablo 4... I enjoyed it for a couple dozen hours until they really started rolling out the bullshit that exists only to encourage you to spend money to skip the worst of the grind. Myriad upgrade mechanisms with layers of RNG and time-gated progress... No thanks.

That's interesting, because I played if for a couple hundred hours and never felt any extreme grind or any need to buy anything. But I suppose if you're doing the whole "guild" thing and endgame content, then yeah, there will likely be a time when you'll feel the need to spend money. But again, I didn't play it that way. I played single-player mode and it never felt more grindy than any other hack 'n slash

jdreyer wrote on May 31, 2023, 14:22:
I'm really of two minds on this game. I enjoyed the server smash. The character design, mobs, story, and atmosphere were excellent. Once I got to the big town, things changed. The game felt a lot more grindy than it had early on. Suddenly i could see other player characters, which struck me as bizarre given the story. The event and challenge pop-ups were jarring and took me out of the mood. The "online-ness" of it was a real letdown. I just wanted to have a Diablo SP story experience, but the game is much more interested in being a WoW-Diablo hybrid.

Be interested to hear if y'all think I'm off base in my impressions.

Yeah, there's a public hub city and you may run into scant other players while free-roaming (or several congregating where the world boss happens), but all dungeons and main story quests are private instances that only you and/or your group members will enter. So the vast majority of your gameplay will be solitary if that's how you want to do things.

Try to understand that most people want social interaction in their online games, and they've been asking for this for 20 years. Diablo 3 was meant to go this way, to justify the online requirement beyond simply DRM/anti-cheat, but the various other development issues stopped them from getting around to implementing things like shared hubs and PVP.

Steele Johnson wrote on May 31, 2023, 15:54:
I played Lost Ark for many hours with its endless free content, so I find it a bit tough to cough up $70 for a similar experience. I know diehard Diablo fans will disagree because of the story/theme/graphics, but when you play Lost Ark in single-player mode, or even co-op, there's no need for cash shop. You can get through all battles, raids, etc with just the drops you get from completing quests. I played so much of it but eventually got burnt out and quit 😂. I probably logged a couple hundred hours, and all for free. But again, it won't feel like Diablo because the atmosphere and some other aspects of the game are a bit different. So if you're looking for nostalgia, it's understandable. But if you just want to get your grind on...

The cool thing is that there are lot of vids popping up on youtube comparing Lost Ark to Diablo 4, and there are some surprising results. You see a mix of "this is better than that" between both games, with not one being better than the other. On the other hand, you're talking $70 vs free (not to mention that Lost Ark is older tech)

Lost Ark is free, but also featuring many of the pay to win aspects people hate about Diablo Immortal and fear will be a part of Diablo 4... I enjoyed it for a couple dozen hours until they really started rolling out the bullshit that exists only to encourage you to spend money to skip the worst of the grind. Myriad upgrade mechanisms with layers of RNG and time-gated progress... No thanks.

I played Lost Ark for many hours with its endless free content, so I find it a bit tough to cough up $70 for a similar experience. I know diehard Diablo fans will disagree because of the story/theme/graphics, but when you play Lost Ark in single-player mode, or even co-op, there's no need for cash shop. You can get through all battles, raids, etc with just the drops you get from completing quests. I played so much of it but eventually got burnt out and quit 😂. I probably logged a couple hundred hours, and all for free. But again, it won't feel like Diablo because the atmosphere and some other aspects of the game are a bit different. So if you're looking for nostalgia, it's understandable. But if you just want to get your grind on...

The cool thing is that there are lot of vids popping up on youtube comparing Lost Ark to Diablo 4, and there are some surprising results. You see a mix of "this is better than that" between both games, with not one being better than the other. On the other hand, you're talking $70 vs free (not to mention that Lost Ark is older tech)

RARBG, one of the largest torrent sites in the worlds shuts down. RIP. They had a Hell of a run and they often had things, very rare things, that you could find nowhere else. Not even to purchase first or second hand.

Lowered the colors to half-mast in their honor this morning.

jdreyer wrote on May 31, 2023, 14:22:
I'm really of two minds on this game. I enjoyed the server smash. The character design, mobs, story, and atmosphere were excellent. Once I got to the big town, things changed. The game felt a lot more grindy than it had early on. Suddenly i could see other player characters, which struck me as bizarre given the story. The event and challenge pop-ups were jarring and took me out of the mood. The "online-ness" of it was a real letdown. I just wanted to have a Diablo SP story experience, but the game is much more interested in being a WoW-Diablo hybrid.

Be interested to hear if y'all think I'm off base in my impressions.

You're not and it is exactly what I thought it would based on the initial reveal information. I figure they want to go that route. It's more meaningful if they can get the player base into an MMO type environment. Then it wouldn't shock you in the future if they decide to start charging for content.

Air New Zealand to weigh passengers before they board the airplane. Can charging by the kilo be far behind?

It takes twice as much fuel to move 200 pounds across the Atlantic as it does to move 100 pounds, everything else being equal. Surprised this hasn't come up before. I guess the logistics of weighing people are probably a challenge. Humans weigh a lot more on average than they did 50 years ago so I guess this was bound to happen eventually?

I’m definitely gonna watch BlackMirror, it looks as odd as ever.

Al Pacino- The Godfather star expecting fourth child, aged 83

Is this some kind of competition between DeNiro and Pacino? DeNiro announced his latest kid a month ago, at age 79. Those two must be popping Viagra like Tictacs.

Speaking of DeNiro and Pacino, Heat is streaming on Netflix currently. Rewatched it last week. Still holds up. Worth your time. Gorgeous with great performances and action. And nearly every part is played by a name actor.

I'm really of two minds on this game. I enjoyed the server smash. The character design, mobs, story, and atmosphere were excellent. Once I got to the big town, things changed. The game felt a lot more grindy than it had early on. Suddenly i could see other player characters, which struck me as bizarre given the story. The event and challenge pop-ups were jarring and took me out of the mood. The "online-ness" of it was a real letdown. I just wanted to have a Diablo SP story experience, but the game is much more interested in being a WoW-Diablo hybrid.

Be interested to hear if y'all think I'm off base in my impressions.

Agent.X7 wrote on May 31, 2023, 12:57:
A this point, a day away from early access, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to play on PS5 first or PC first. I mean, I played DIII on both PC and then PS4 and preferred PS4 with the controller. But now PC can use a controller too. What to do, what to do...

Whichever I don't get will be bought on a sale later. Maybe PC first, since Blizz rarely discounts on PC but PS5 will be $20 by Christmas...

I'm going PC with an 8bitdo controller, I played the betas and the controller support was fantastic. I might get a console copy down the road to play downstairs in the man cave when it's discounted.

Mr. Tact wrote on May 31, 2023, 12:49:

Xero wrote on May 31, 2023, 12:44:
That's all the Diablo games are in the end. A grindfest for loot.

That description fits a lot of games, and not just ARPGs. At least you get loot -- look at all time I've spent in Factorio, Satisfactory and Dyson Sphere Program and I didn't even get any loot!

Not really. It really depends on what games you fancy. A lot of the F2P games are grindfests. I steer clear away from them. I personally am into story driven single players. Currently The Last of Us has my full attention and has been phenomenal. No grindfest there, just standard progression to upgrade weapons as you move through the storyline.

I know there are many out there, but I truly try to avoid them. The most I go for are hitting Steam achievements, but even some of them, I just truly don't care enough to obtain. If the game is done well enough and can easily allow me to backtrack to access areas to score an achievement, I'll go back for it after I beat the game. If it requires me to start all over, "F" that, lol.

Agent.X7 wrote on May 31, 2023, 12:57:
A this point, a day away from early access, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to play on PS5 first or PC first. I mean, I played DIII on both PC and then PS4 and preferred PS4 with the controller. But now PC can use a controller too. What to do, what to do...

Whichever I don't get will be bought on a sale later. Maybe PC first, since Blizz rarely discounts on PC but PS5 will be $20 by Christmas...

I hadn't played D3 since season 7. But I put almost 400 hours into the current season. Partly because I knew they had added new stuff, partly I wanted to get reacquainted in preparation for D4. Enjoyed the heck out of it. But I haven't seen much about D4 which makes me excited to play it, and the potential for Blizzard to go "Immortal" on D4 and turn it into a P2W is enough of a risk that I'm going to wait a bit before trying it out. I figure I'll wait at least a month... see which way the wind is blowing...

A this point, a day away from early access, I'm still trying to decide whether I want to play on PS5 first or PC first. I mean, I played DIII on both PC and then PS4 and preferred PS4 with the controller. But now PC can use a controller too. What to do, what to do...

Whichever I don't get will be bought on a sale later. Maybe PC first, since Blizz rarely discounts on PC but PS5 will be $20 by Christmas...

Xero wrote on May 31, 2023, 12:44:
That's all the Diablo games are in the end. A grindfest for loot.

That description fits a lot of games, and not just ARPGs. At least you get loot -- look at all time I've spent in Factorio, Satisfactory and Dyson Sphere Program and I didn't even get any loot!