News Diablo 3 will have always-online DRM, player-to-player microtransactions

Bit-tech you might want to get your facts straight.
The no mod support line comes from the Q&A about the Auction house:
Will I be able to use third-party mods to track auction prices?
For a variety of gameplay and security reasons, we will not be supporting bots or mods in Diablo III, and they’ll be expressly prohibited by our terms of use for the game.

That does not address game mods, simply mods to alter the usage of the Auction house.
Next time read the info, not just copy past from someone else.

 

oh dear, off to the pirate bay...

 

So why are you going to pirate it? Because it has DRM?

 

Personally I take this as good news. Diablo II online sucked because everyone used cheats/hacks/had hacked items etc, or even if they used genuine ones they got them from a trainer program, not from playing the game or trading. It meant the online community was dreadful. Co-op was the only way to go.

Now we'll have a cheater/hacker free online community where people actually have a need to trade for items. If you just want to play co-op, you can still do that. A constant connection to the internet is a small price to pay considering most people are always connected anyway these days. The issue with the Ubisoft DRM was that if you got disconnected you lost your unsaved progress. Unless that oversight is repeated here I don't see any real issues.

 

Maybe I'm just grumpy because it's Monday morning pre-midday, but I don't see what the problem(s) is/are.

There is nothing wrong with DRM, if it isn't some monstrously debilitating software, which in this case it's not. Simply requiring an active internet connection is really not too much to ask.

Mods aren't needed/necessary if a game is of a good standard. Anything that you might want to be included in a mod, in most sensible case, should have been included as the de facto - given the amount of time it is taking to get this out the door, I would sincerely hope this is the case.
Additionally, tieing in with the fact that the game is always online, implementation for any voiced requests for features/additional gameplay elements or modes should be easily added by Blizzard with first party support.

Finally, real-world to game currency transactions are awesome, and it's great it's finally been legitimised. It provides a completely different element to gameplay, and raises the stakes making for a more fun and involved gaming experience.

TSB

 

Of the announcements the only one that bothers me is the real money auction house.

I understand that many people requested such a feature in D2 (pretty sure there were even a few mods for it), but IMO it spoils some of the 'loot lust' which is a major part of genre.

If I'm levelling up a witchdoctor and a weapon I need drops - some of that excitement will be gone if I know that the hours spent getting that weapon could of easily been achieved by spending 50p on the auction house because gold farmers have driven down the price of everything...

In a way it's similar to Borderlands. Myself and a few friends were really enjoying the game until someone found a save game editor which allowed you to spawn any gun. Within an hour, one of the major driving forces of the game was destroyed.

 

Well I loved Diablo 2 and was gutted i couldn't take characters back and forth, but was most gutted by people playing hacked characters that would just show up and layeth the smackdown on my level 97 Amazon's cute little tushy... so if they can stop hacked characters then its a plus in my books

 

Until they do a press-release that expressely allows the use of game mods that are not related to auctioneering then I will see their statement as banning game mods too.

 

I'll just kiss this game goodbye... This is going to be another big hit in torrent sites, just because of that bull** DRM...

I said this before... But only the PAYING CUSTOMERS suffer from these measures, you are just obligating paying customers to become "pirates"...

 

It's obvious they won't allow mods on the battle.net realms, so the real question to ask is, will there be open battle.net like last time.

 

RE: Mods

 

Agreed. Its not like its going to stop people cracking the game, just take longer for it to come out.

Mods can be used to cheat. Cheaters will kill the game out right. I mean would anyone here enjoy being run through by a player with 10mil HP, a blade that hits for 100mil Damage, and is invisible?! (yes, I saw this personally in D2)

Instead of having to sit through all the mods that ever come out and check and recheck that it's not for cheating, blizzard has decided to just block all mods

I think they going with the "can't beat them, so join them" strategy as this approach now approves (and provides a platform for) farmers of all types.

Think this whole thing is going to get rather sticky rather quickly...

 

What a bunch of whiners here. Diablo 3 is an online game. Your SP character can be brought online. Online seeps through the entire game, which is why they've gone this route.

Sure, in some ways it sucks, but they have actual REASONS for doing this, and I think the end goal of a fantastic, balanced, and fun pvp/co-op game without cheats and mods is worth it.

The more 'open' games DO have bots and hacks made for them. It's a fact of life. We'll see how this goes - if Blizzard can actually defeat the hackers and modders with these measures, I hope you all will retract your statements.

I see someone saying 'lol piratez thanx' but thank the botters and hackers instead. They're the ones ruining the game for everyone else playing, and that's what Blizzard is attempting to defeat here.

 

*shrugs shoulders* Still gonna buy this, nothing here to put me off.

 

The always online as has been mentioned is not too much of an issue in my eyes as I'm always online anyway, I'm personally not going to be too disadvantaged.

However it does put paid to any ideas of playing this on the move when I'm commuting.

No mods and the auction house are very poor decisions and I really hope that the ban on mods doesn't cover things like UI addons.

 

Greetings!

Activision...
Dont really like Diablo so can skip it entirely.

 

Seriously guys? Have they even mentioned what the DRM is? christ, why all the naysaying on DRM? Personally I've had no problem with it, even the bad ones on games like Spore, but come on, you're going to cancel pre-orders because of this? Most DRM issues can be resolved with a quick 5 minute phone call. Yes the online only part may suck, but its not like its the first.

So anyway, personally I never once played diablo 2 on single player, and those who do, its a shame, you're missing out on a massive part of the game.

no mods? same as diablo 1, same as diablo 2, why is this suddenly an issue? I understand that they're stabbing themselves in the foot, as mod's do take games further and make them better, but Diablo was very much centered around the ladder, so probably can understand this point.


But yeah, blame pirates or publishers or whatever. People who want a cracked game will always find a way to play it, and DRM will always be there to protect copyrighted material.

I'm pretty sure if any of you developed an indie game that was as succesful as Diablo, you'd be trying to find ways to stop people pirating your creation for free.

 

This style of game is so dated you shouldn't really give a ****. I stopped playing this kind of game back in the 80's when 8-bit computers ruled the earth.

 

Well this is off my list as well now.

I travel a lot with work, and often do not have access to the internet so would be unable to play this game when stuck in a Premier Inn

Kimbie

 

This is a shame but is unlikely to affect me much. A bigger deal will be the price. I buy very few full price games and activision/blizzard games are rarely discounted.

For example has anyone seen Starcraft 2 on sale?