-
Recently Browsing 0 members
No registered users viewing this page.
-
Similar Content
-
By Staff
Blizzard has learned a lot from the ongoing Alpha and new updates are coming to Diablo II: Resurrected that include VFX updates, UI improvements, and accessibility changes.
(Source)
Evil has survived. . . More than twenty years after the release of Diablo® II, fans and new players alike returned to the timeless classic in the DIABLO® II: RESURRECTED™ Technical Alpha. From the beginning, we’ve set out to make a game that would honor the legacy of the original. Whether you participated directly in the playtest, sent us valuable feedback, or watched the game during a livestream, your input has been greatly appreciated.
Following the April test, the Diablo II: Resurrected team continues to make significant progress towards getting the game into everyone’s hands. Today we’re thrilled to share what we learned from the Technical Alpha, leading to key visual improvements, quality of life and accessibility changes, and more. For now, let’s explore how your feedback is helping us return you to hell, like you’ve never seen it before.
Table of Contents
ART & VISUALS
QUALITY OF LIFE
MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES
WHAT’S NEXT?
ART & VISUALS
Our team of artists has remastered this old-school ARPG with the graphical fidelity of the current generation. They’ve taken great care to advance the visuals of monsters, heroes, items, and spells while preserving the familiar aesthetic of the original. We hope Diablo II: Resurrected reignites treasured memories of gaming’s past for veteran players. For new players, we hope it captures the same wonder and awe felt by fans two decades ago.
VFX UPDATES
Lightning
The Sorceress may use Lightning, a powerful skill which shoots a bolt of electricity from the Sorceress’ fingertips. Based on community feedback, the Lightning VFX has been enhanced with a whiter and thicker visualization that is more reminiscent to the original VFX.
Blizzard
The Sorceress may summon an ice storm to rain cold death onto her enemies. Like Lightning, the VFX for this spell has also been adjusted to better capture the destructive force of the original.
Holy Freeze
Using this aura, the Paladin can constantly slow and freeze enemies in near proximity. The VFX for this AoE aura has been updated to better represent the distinct wispiness and colors from the original game.
Monster Targets
The VFX for when monsters are damaged or immobilized by spells (i.e., cold spells), poisons, or other status effects underwent a color revision based on community feedback.
ANIMATION UPDATES
Mana & Health
The speed of the animation when mana and health return to your character now better aligns with the filling of the health and mana globes.
ICON UPDATES
Item Colors
The color of scroll, gem, and potion icons has been amplified to bring out the more brilliant colors, bring more attention to the focus point(s), and add clarity to the image.
Weapons, armor, quest items, and charm icons have also been given the same touch-ups and treatments. Shown below are examples of that evolution.
Return to Top
QUALITY OF LIFE
Quality of life (QoL) elements reflect a broad range of features designed to make games easier to play without impacting core gameplay. If appropriately implemented, QoL changes can enrich the game’s playability and make it more fun. For Diablo II: Resurrected, we wanted to streamline this experience without compromising what made the original game memorable. There are so many unique quirks and systems in this game that, if modernized, would ultimately sabotage the original experience we adore. So, we’ve exercised restraint to protect the authentic experience, while also considering player feedback throughout our development process.
ACCESSIBILITY
From auto-gold pick up, large font modes, UI scaling (for PC players), and gamma/contrast settings to enhance readability, we’ve taken strides to equip players with customization options to suit their needs. With these options, players may tweak the visibility of their HUD and graphics, finding the ideal balance between beautiful and gritty, or whatever their preference may be. We’ll be touching on our efforts to make Diablo II: Resurrected more accessible in a later, more detailed blog post.
USER INTERFACE SETTINGS
Item Names: Toggle Update
We heard you loud and clear. Now you can choose to have item names be toggled on or off with a press of a button—or keep the original "press and hold" method. We leave it at your discretion; go to your User Interface settings to toggle item names on or off.
Shared Stash: Tab & Storage Updates
After careful deliberation, the Shared Stash will now have three tabs, rather than just one. Many players felt one tab wasn’t enough. When it comes to a player’s personal storage chest, we understand it’s serious business. This change will enable players to better organize their loot across three tabs (100 slots each) of storage space and store many more items.
Compare Tooltip: Toggle Update
The Compare tooltip that propagated on every item (Hold “button” to Compare) can now be toggled on or off in the User Interface settings under Show Item Tooltip Hotkeys. Many players thought this prompt added unnecessary clutter to their HUD.
Automap Improvement
The Automap has always enabled players to better navigate the game by providing a faint overlay of their level by clicking the “tab” key. We’ve implemented new assets to improve the readability of the Automap. For example, the faint overlay(s) color has been tweaked, so they don’t blend too much into the game world the player is exploring.
Map Settings: Option Update
The initial Map settings caused some confusion in Technical Alpha. Now there will be a single Map option with three settings. Those settings will be left-minimap, right-minimap, and center-fullscreen. Simply enable your preference for how you want your map displayed on your HUD.
Return to Top
MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES
Clock Added
Hell, it’s about time. Based on many requests, a clock has been added to Diablo II: Resurrected. To enable the clock, go to your User Interface settings and click the checkbox next to Clock.
Loading Screen: Character Vulnerability & Time
Characters will no longer spawn in a hostile place until the game is fully loaded, preventing characters from getting attacked or harmed during a loading screen. Additionally, the overall load times will be faster.
Audio Change
Based on community feedback, we’ve removed extra grunts and yelps that were initially added.
AND MORE
The improvements detailed above are just some examples of the changes we’ve made to improve Diablo II: Resurrected based on player feedback following the Technical Alpha test. To all who participated, thank you. The bug reports, constructive criticism, and data you provided by playtesting were vital to making these changes. As we progress with more tests, we’ll continue to be vigilant observers as we learn more from your experiences playing Diablo II: Resurrected.
Return to Top
WHAT’S NEXT?
This August, players will be able to experience these latest changes firsthand! For a limited time, the gates of Hell will reopen, allowing players who preordered Diablo II: Resurrected to step into Sanctuary in the early access beta. Soon after, all players (both PC and console) will also have the chance to confront the demons of the Burning Hells in the open beta. Rally your friends; together, you’ll be able to play between five different classes (Amazon, Barbarian, Paladin, Sorceress, and Druid), with access to many unique skills, and cooperatively form a party with up to 8 players.
When we started working on Diablo II: Resurrected, we were humbled by such an incredible opportunity to plunge into the past and rebuild our nostalgia . . . but we also recognized that the original game is a classic for a reason, so we’d have to be prudent. So many people, us included, love this game and want to see it reimagined authentically. We want to do right by this game and its players. Since our announcement at BlizzConline, it's been an incredible journey of development. Our collaboration with the community has given us the confidence and motivation to craft a title worthy of your expectations.
As we move forward, we implore you to continue sharing your feedback and accounts of your experience. These learnings will help us mold the Diablo II remaster we've dreamed of. We can't wait to share more about this labor of love. So, stay dialed in on the Diablo channels for more updates to come on this front, especially as the open beta approaches! And please share your impressions on the official Diablo II forums or r/Diablo subreddit.
If you want to learn more about Diablo II: Resurrected, check out our website here, or for real-time updates, follow our official Twitter @Diablo!
Thank you, Players!
Return to Top
-
By Staff
There have been many requests for quality of life and other improvements over the original Diablo 2 with D2R, but one of the biggest ones is, understandably, more stash space. We now have an official response on the matter for the base game (aka without LoD), but it's not quite what we might have wanted, as PezRadar explains, but leaves the door open to future QoL upgrades. In the full game, with the expansion, however, the stash has already been expanded (from 6x8 to 10x10) and made shared.
Stash (Source)
As of now, the D2R Classic (Base game) will still have the classic stash. I’ve passed off the feedback to the team regarding this but as noted, they are wanting to make sure the game still feels true to what it was in it’s previous life. Future QoL items may be considered but as of now the plan is to ship with the limited stash in the Classic (Base Game) version. -
By Staff
The release date is here! We'll get to play/re-play the classic Diablo 2 experience this September, and you can get open beta access via pre-oder as well. The multiplayer open beta will arrive sometime in August.
-
By Starym
While we're not set to get our hands on D2:R for a while (so far all we have is a "later this year" release window) we can take a look at all the newly remade body armor looks for all the classes!
Vsully360 has gathered them all up in one big image, from quilted to plate, with each class getting their own row. If you're still on the fence about which class to play, perhaps these armor looks might sway you to a certain class (I'm currently stuck between Druid and Assassin, but armor looks don't really mean much for Druids so...)
You can also check out the old/original looks over on the Diablo wiki. So, which classes are you planning to play when the game arrives/comes back and do the aesthetics mean much to you?
-
By Starym
Well, this is one of those weird and yet inevitable stories, as a new cartoon TV show has caused Blizzard to register a "Notice of Opposition" to a trademark filing from Fox Media related to a dog.
As reported by PCGamesN, the upcoming HouseBroken animated show coming to Fox on May 31st has a dog character named "Diablo", and Fox Media has tried to trademark the name, for merchandising and similar purposes (dog bowls, cups, saucers etc). Blizzard has filed a Notice of Opposition to this filing, in which they explain (at length) their claim to the Diablo name, going through all the games, expansions, the upcoming release of Immortal, the fact the franchise has won awards and "been the subject of substantial, unsolicited media attention", and even mentioning a pending trademark application for "downloadable films and movies featuring narratives based on a video game" from back in 2019.
With all that set up, the main claim is that "it is likely that members of the public will erroneously believe that Applicant’s [Fox] Goods offered under the DIABLO mark originate with, or are in some manner connected or associated with, or sponsored by, Opposer [Blizzard], all to the harm of Opposer’s goodwill and reputation." and that it would "be likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive".
(You can check out the preview video for the show and Diablo in particular over on PCGamesN, as it has been blocked in my country.)
Now while it's somewhat unlikely that a cartoon dog might be mistaken for the Lord of Terror and the games that are his namesakes, since Blizzard is (eventually) planning on creating some animated (or dare we dream live action) Diablo-related shows, the complaint makes sense, as well as from a more simple "defending the trademark" standpoint.
You can read the full Notice of Opposition here.
-