Diablo III to Require Constant Internet Connection

iviv · 1 Aug 2011 at 12:28

People seem to be getting sidetracked by what I see as the main issue here. Mods.

Look at something like Median XL, a mod that's almost completely changed the game around. Tons more skills, items, monsters, its almost like a completely new game! People have put tons of work into mods to make Diablo 2 even better than it originally was.
But now mods are against the ToS?

Forget it

mikester · 1 Aug 2011 at 12:30

All speculation aside, I am looking forward to the release. The clips and changes seem interesting, and I like some of the new characters. While no game is perfect I will be saving up to build a worthy system to place this game and others like them.

At the very least we should all be excited for the demo (or the beta release, as I'm sure some of you will get your grubby little hands on one before I do). There's really no need to complain about changes - they will either be updated out of the game, changed after the beta release, or simply ignored by 99% of the players as usual. Blizzard are famous for messing with a good thing, but in the end D3 is sure to be a fun online RPG.

titreano · 1 Aug 2011 at 12:41

how stable is battlenet these days I don't play sc2 regularly enough to have an idea but I know it used to yoyo up and down a fair bit? Can certainly see some issues at release trying to play

lewism · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:02

In the 11 years I have had broadband (from the first roll out of 512kb) I think I have had a total of 8/9 days outage outwith routine maintenance. In this day and age a constant connection is not a big ask unless you live out in the sticks with ADSL. So no, This does not worry nor bother me.

To the folks that go on about offline mode or being on holiday with no net access. How many hours would you realisticly clock up without being near a stable connection. Is it really that big a deal?

titreano · 1 Aug 2011 at 13:08

lewism said:
In the 11 years I have had broadband (from the first roll out of 512kb) I think I have had a total of 8/9 days outage outwith routine maintenance. In this day and age a constant connection is not a big ask unless you live out in the sticks with ADSL. So no, This does not worry nor bother me.

To the folks that go on about offline mode or being on holiday with no net access. How many hours would you realisticly clock up without being near a stable connection. Is it really that big a deal?

it's not just your connection its theirs too. Last years blizzcon sc2 tournament was plagued by battlenet issues and there were a few others major tournaments with issues too let alone at the normal consumer level. Wow can still get issues when too many people are online. And thats besides wanting to play when not having net access yourself.

Evilsod · 1 Aug 2011 at 16:51

Oh good a total lockdown on the game. I remember playing D2 online, it was ****. Between the hackers and the bad connection (at the time) I really didn't care for it at all. Offline was awesome because you could use ATMA to mule items and transfer between characters and I guess there is no possibility of that here at all.

No I can get the experience I want with D2 and while D3 is tempting, its not a guaranteed purchase if I'm not prepared to put up with its bs.

BobbyBBB · 1 Aug 2011 at 19:32

HeX said:
Sounds to me they are just handling the game like an MMO RPG. Where you have to login to access your characters.

With this kind of game I can understand, it does make sense, especially if they are going to have drop in-out co-op etc.

It's by no means ideal, but as they say, it will stop people spawning stuff and editing their characters.

What they need to make sure they have is the ability to reconnect and continue if the line drops, I don't want to get booted back to the start of a dungeon and lose all my progress if my net drops out for a few seconds.

This, its not a big deal. I prefer this to it being messed up with cheaters..

Strife212 · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:00

Evilsod said:
Oh good a total lockdown on the game. I remember playing D2 online, it was ****. Between the hackers and the bad connection (at the time) I really didn't care for it at all. Offline was awesome because you could use ATMA to mule items and transfer between characters and I guess there is no possibility of that here at all.

No I can get the experience I want with D2 and while D3 is tempting, its not a guaranteed purchase if I'm not prepared to put up with its bs.

Now there's just a shared stash if you want to transfer items between characters in singleplayer.

Evilsod · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:05

Strife212 said:
Now there's just a shared stash if you want to transfer items between characters in singleplayer.

A minute shared stash compared to the infinite storage of ATMA? With the power to duplicate items for multiple characters to mimic swapping the item between characters without actually having to waste my time doing so?

Its a different league...

madindehead · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:28

titreano said:
how stable is battlenet these days I don't play sc2 regularly enough to have an idea but I know it used to yoyo up and down a fair bit? Can certainly see some issues at release trying to play

Battle.net is VERY stable. It gets weekly maintenance at the same time as the European WoW realms. Never had a problem with it playing SC2. Trust me, Blizzard KNOW how to handle lots of people on servers now.

Diablo 3 is very a much game where you will be able to drop in and out of co-op. And having to log in, and then go co-op doesn't make sense.

Sure, it's not IDEAL. But still, how many PC don't have a permanent connection now? The only disappointment, like SC2, is no LAN play.

The OP should paste the orignal article in the OP.

orderoftheflame · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:33

madindehead said:
Diablo 3 is very a much game where you will be able to drop in and out of co-op. And having to log in, and then go co-op doesn't make sense.

My thoughts as well. It's a shame there's no offline mode, quite frankly I'd never use it anyway though. It's all about the drop-in/out for me.

Scenario 1.

Me: Fancy some?
Mate: /Invites.
Me: Gogogo!

Scenario 2.

Me: Fancy some?
Mate: After this section.
*10-20 minutes pass*
Mate: /Quits /Starts lobby /Invites
Me: cba now...

titreano · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:34

madindehead said:
Battle.net is VERY stable. It gets weekly maintenance at the same time as the European WoW realms. Never had a problem with it playing SC2.

Diablo 3 is very a much game where you will be able to drop in and out of co-op. And having to log in, and then go co-op doesn't make sense.

Sure, it's not IDEAL. But still, how many PC don't have a permanent connection now? The only disappointment, like SC2, is no LAN play.

The OP should paste the orignal article in the OP.

maybe it was just the amount I played early on in sc2 whilst battlenet2.0 was still bedding down, but if you haven't had any issues with it then you've been lucky in avoiding the down time that was incredibly frustrating early on in sc2's life

Edit: That said not noticed any issues recently but as i say don't play as much as i used to

Converge · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:42

I don't mind it save this one point here...

This system functions essentially like an MMO, where if your connection is interrupted during a game you'll be dropped back out to the login screen.

That part stinks, unless when you relog you're where you left yourself and the mobs haven't respawned?

If it works the way I suggested, how do 'runs' work?

RickST · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:42

my net connection isn't an issue but i won't be getting the game because i disagree with the requirement for SP to be online. Sometimes I am traveling on business and would like to play a game on the plane or cheap hotel with no wifi, I paid for it why shouldn't I be able too.

also what happens when bliz end of life D3?

madindehead · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:42

titreano said:
maybe it was just the amount I played early on in sc2 whilst battlenet2.0 was still bedding down, but if you haven't had any issues with it then you've been lucky in avoiding the down time that was incredibly frustrating early on in sc2's life

Edit: That said not noticed any issues recently but as i say don't play as much as i used to

Early in SC2's life as in beta, or early release?

The system was still in it's infancy, and sometimes they were pushing it to it's limits. But playing it since release, I've not had any issues (since beta at least for me).

At the end of the day, Blizzard know how to handle big servers

I won't be worrying too much!

RickST said:
my net connection isn't an issue but i won't be getting the game because i disagree with the requirement for SP to be online. Sometimes I am traveling on business and would like to play a game on the plane or cheap hotel with no wifi, I paid for it why shouldn't I be able too.

also what happens when bliz end of life D3?

When they end of life it, they will most probably patch it. Or, the world will be advanced enough that you get internet on planes and everywhere you would ever want to play it. Probably the latter. End of life Diablo 3 won't be for a while, as I think 2 expansions are planned (don't quote me on that though).

titreano · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:45

madindehead said:
Early in SC2's life as in beta, or early release?

The system was still in it's infancy, and sometimes they were pushing it to it's limits. But playing it since release, I've not had any issues (since beta at least for me).

At the end of the day, Blizzard know how to handle big servers I won't be worrying too much!

early release, never got involved in the beta

orderoftheflame · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:47

RickST said:
also what happens when bliz end of life D3?

You know that Battle.net is still up and running for StarCraft 1, Diablo 1 + 2, etc...?

"End of life" is not a term in Blizzards dictionary.

madindehead · 1 Aug 2011 at 20:55

orderoftheflame said:
You know that Battle.net is still up and running for StarCraft 1, Diablo 1 + 2, etc...?

"End of life" is not a term in Blizzards dictionary.

Well that too

But yeah, if Blizzard do two expansions, it will be around 2013-2014 maybe that it's finished with expansions. Maybe longer! And by then, no one will care about constant internet connection anymore. You will probably need it to do everything else by then, and no one will care about games needing it.

Dan.m · 1 Aug 2011 at 21:33

All those years playing D2 i dont think i ever got a single player character to higher then level 20.

It was essentially an always online game as has been stated. D3 will be the same for me.

I dont think its the same as a purely single player game having to be online all the time. As those are the type of games i would play on the laptop when im away from home. D3 wont be.

anuraj · 1 Aug 2011 at 21:39

iviv said:
People seem to be getting sidetracked by what I see as the main issue here. Mods.

Look at something like Median XL, a mod that's almost completely changed the game around. Tons more skills, items, monsters, its almost like a completely new game! People have put tons of work into mods to make Diablo 2 even better than it originally was.
But now mods are against the ToS?

Forget it

Maybe be possible for people to submit mods to battle.net and if approved they can be downloaded from there?