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Diablo II 1.10 Patch Finally Released
DudemanX writes "Blizzard have announced: 'Yes, you're reading correctly, the day has finally come for the Diablo II 1.10 patch! This patch is the largest to date in terms of game changes and offers many new things for Diablo II players, including seasonal ladder characters, more-challenging gameplay, enhanced skills, new items, new anti-cheat measures, a new game-world event, and much much more! Simply connect to Battle.net [while playing Diablo II] to download the patch.' The stand-alone patch is also now available on Blizzard's FTP site." This follows Blizzard's 1.10 Beta release all the way back in July.
Will I even download the new patch? No. I've long since removed that 2GB piece of garbage from my machine and refuse to go throught the CD shuffle of re-installing it, only to bore myself with it again. Diablo and Diablo II are great games that broke a lot of new ground, but Blizzard's support and lack of modding have ruined them for me at least.
Not trying to troll, just being honest.
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Previous versions were very playable...comments?
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
A large portion of games.slashdot.org is some form of "advertising." Posting about the latest multiplayer mod for Grand Theft Auto is advertising. Talking about There, Inc. launching is advertising. The Lord of the Rings pinball machine? Adverstising.
The reason it's not truly "advertising" is because we now get to talk about it here. I'm really looking forward to what people have to say about the mod, if anyone discovers the new world-event, etc, etc. If you don't like the patch, you're more than welcome to voice your opinion here. And I'd be more than happy to read it.
But Diablo 2 is a phenominon. For a developer to acknowledge that their TWO YEAR OLD game is still one of the best multiplayer games around, to continue to support it through a FREE online system (ignoring their treatment of attempts to port battle.net to Linux*, which I would agree Blizzard handled poorly), and STILL patching the damn game? How many games don't get a single patch? For Blizzard delevopers to still be updating and fine-tuning a game this long after its release, and for people to STILL enjoy playing it is fucking incredible.
And I call Bullshit. "There are thousands of better and newer games than Diablo II." Part of the reason this IS a news story is that Diablo 2 is so old, but still updated and played. And while there are undoubtedly thousands of newer games, I'd challenge you to list thousands of better ones that are in the same genre. Battlefield 1942, Super Smash Bros, Grand Theft Auto...sure, you can build a long list of amazing games. I wouldn't nescesarily say Diablo 2 is "better" than any or all of them. And a lot of them will be have multiplayer aspects, either online or by playing with multiple people on the same TV. But there hasn't been a game since Diablo 2 that satisfies the unique hunger D2 players develope. Dungeon Siege didn't do it. It was pretty, but there was something lacking. Neverwinter Nights was aimed at creating a slightly different experience, and while I'm told the multiplayer games can be amazingly fun, still isn't the same thing. In the same way that a desire to play Super Smash Bros can only be quenched by playing Super Smash Bros, Diablo 2 is a sweet, sweet, addictive crack to those who partake in it.
The tagline of Slashdot, as I'm sure you know, is "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters." Well, I'd say the release of what is supposed to be the largest and most significant patch to a game that, like it or not, is one of the largest gaming landmarks ever, qualifies (for me) for both of those things.
(A quick note before I'm flamed: I don't mean Diablo 2's gameplay is revolutionary. It's not. But Blizzard somehow got it "just right" in a way that, I would say, no other game has done since. Just like I STILL think StarCraft is THE comparison when judging RTS games, although others have come close, I would say DIablo 2 is STILL the comparison when judging dungeon hackers.)
As I was saying: Posting about D2 is News for Nerds, and I think it Matters. There are posts on the main page all the time that I don't particularly think matter, but I don't bitch and complain because I understand they might be relevant to other people.
So quit yer bitching. There were long and heated discussions about Blizzard after they shut down the unauthorized Battle.net accessing software. (The name escapes me at the moment.) Many people vowed never to support Blizzard again, and they're more than welcome not to. But for the rest of us, I don't think it's unfair to be allowed some posts concerning WE stil believe to be a damn fine game.
-Trillian
*I know this is an oversimplification of what happened.
BrynM said, "Since the game follows a direct story line, there isn't a whole lot of re-playability as well."
I agree with some of the other things you said. I know a lot of people had problems with the 1.09 patch, and I think it would have been awesome if Blizzard allowed an open server or whatnot for people to mod however the hell they wanted.
And there are valid complaints about Diabo 2. If you didn't like Diablo, D2 didn't bring anything new to the table. It's graphics are getting outdated. The player economy is shit. People abuse experience runs and whatnot. Half the items out there are dupes. (In theory, some of these issues are addressed in the v1.1 patch.) But to say Diablo 2 doesn't have a whole lot of re-playabliity is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard said about Diablo 2.
The stoy was always weak and, beyond the first time through, never the reason to play the game. Having a blast with friends on multiplayer, leveling for that next skill level, killing monsters to get that next killer item; these are the reasons people play Diablo 2. Saying that it has a bad storyline so it's not fun to play is like saying Mortal Kombat or (insert fighting game here) is stupid because the story sucks. It's like saying no one wants to replay Mario because the story is predictable. It's like saying Tetris isn't fun because it doesn't end. Diablo 2 was never about the story. It was about everything else, and a lot of people think Blizzard did an amazing job with that "everything else." So there are valid reasons not to like Diablo 2. Even just, "I don't enjoy that type of game," is perfectly valid. But complaining about the STORYLINE? That's just avoiding the issue, and making yourself sound like an idiot.
BrynM said, "Diablo and Diablo II are great games that broke a lot of new ground, but Blizzard's support and lack of modding have ruined them for me at least."
How have they had lack of support? The fact that their servers are still even UP shows support for the damn game. Up and FREE. And, obviously, they're still releasing patches (albiet slower than slow). So I would say that, yes, they're still supporting the game.
Lack of modding is a different issue, and the only valid one I think you bring up. They could have opened a server, or allowed others to run private servers, where people could mod the game however the hell they wanted. They could have made cool (and probably relatively simple) tools for new monster creation, or even item creation. Don't let people on the main "closed" network, but let them play however the hell they want anywhere else. So yeah, I think that would have been great. And if without modding, the game isn't enough to still keep you, then so be it. That's your call, and only you can decide if you still have fun playing a game.
(And, without installing the movie files, the game is well under 1 GB. It still has a large system footprint, around 700 MB, if I remember correctly, but don't exagerate. Makes you look like an inflamatory whiner.)
But don't just make up arguments to complain about nothing.
-Trillian
I really enjoyed the Diablo universe - especially the first time through - but these things and the bnetd open server debacle severly tarnished my opinion of Blizzard. I honestly don't know if I would plop down the cash for any new product of theirs.
I ran an install without the video and got sick of having a second CD handy just to play the videos. Further, I managed to wear out my original play disk (my friends still wanted to play it enough at LAN parties quite a while back). Though it pains me to do so, I ended up doing the full install and no CD crack thing to save both my drive and my backup play disk (which requires another crack just to use). I know that piracy is a problem, but here I am - a paying customer - and I have to resort to cracker methods just to run something I paid for. I sent my original play disk in to be replaced back in April in accordance to the procedures that don't seem to be on Blizzard's site anymore and I still haven't received a replacement. I'm not trying to whine, I'm just a very disappointed former fan.US Democracy:The best person for the job (among These pre-selected choices...)
Unfortunately, with a multiplayer game it's difficult to have a varying, multilayered plot. Diablo 2 has, indeed, always been about the combat, the items, and the experience. Some people don't like that kind of game; I think I'm going to start moving away from that sort of game myself.
I have had similar problems with Blizzard tech support, dating back all the way to *Warcraft II*. They're slow to respond, and when they do it's with an FAQ that has nothing to do with your problem. I, too, had a problematic play disc (actually, it got scratched badly after I got the game), and wasn't able to play for a year and a half because Blizzard wouldn't get me a replacement disc. I had a *hell* of a blast once I managed to get around that, but it was a PITA in the meantime.
I wrote an article on diabloii.net about my personal issues with Blizzard, specifically their lack of support, the bnetd issue, and Blizzard's relationship with Vivendi. Unfortunately, the diabloii.net site owners kept my article in the queue for months, and it was outdated. I, too, am unsure about whether I will purchase another Blizzard game- I certainly haven't bought Warcraft III.
I do applaud Mac support. If I hadn't played through the game on PC before, I would get it for my new PowerBook.
I don't know how the 1.10 patch has changed things on the realm- I can't play right now due to my CD situation. However, the closed realms are rife with Maphack users (they see the whole map and the positions and equipment of everyone on it), triggerhack (I don't even want to know what that does), Pindlebot (a program that creates random games and kills Pindleskin, looking for specific unique or set items), password hacks, and item duplication program users. Most unique and set items that one would find traded on the Realms have been duplicated; all ITH items and most Zephyr items have been hacked into the game and duplicated. Most Stones of Jordan have been duplicated.
I can't develop my point about what Blizzard could have done (and still can do) to stop almost all item duplication- I gave my word I wouldn't reveal that information. As for the core team leaving, however, Bill Roper and most of the original Blizzard developers have left and have formed a new company. Details are available when scanning the front page at diabloii.net ; there are interviews with Roper, links, and various other good stuff. In the meantime, Blizzard's creative team has been gutted- the intellectual and creative powerhouses behind the Warcrafts, Starcraft, and the two Diablo games are now part of a separate company. According to Roper, they left because of disagreements with management about creative control and various other administrative things. The problems with Blizzard have been overwhelmingly a problem with management and administration.
I have really good memories of Realm play- rushing my girlfriend to Nightmare, beating Hell Diablo into the ground (Eat THIS, you red lizardly slug!), getting my first Windforce, etc. However, I found that the Realms simply ceased to be acceptable, and while I know about the various clans, guilds, etc., I found their rules too restrictive and the attitudes cliquish.
My opposition to buying Blizzard games is mostly based on morality and disgust. Morally, I don't think I can buy a product from a company that has sued its own fans for the crime of trying to overcome the company's own failings (bnetd was written to create independent, low-lag servers for people who couldn't or wouldn't use Battle.net). I also can't justify (personally) buying from a company that could eliminate most of the problems on the Realms in roughly thirty minutes, but chooses not to.