Published September 30th, 2006
in Blizzard, Diablo 3 News and Diablo 3 rumors.
Get into the Diablo 3 beta!
You get an email the second Blizzard announce the Diablo 3 beta.
Blizzard adopted Havok 4 recently. So will we be seeing Diablo 3 running on Havok 4.0? Some of the advantages that I see are that:
- Using an engine means they’ll complete Diablo 3 sooner (2007?)
- Havok supports Mac OSX, so making Diablo 3 run on a Mac will be seamless
- Havok supports PS3 so MAYBE we can see Diablo 3 on PS3.
The Diablo on Playstation stuff is perhaps premature BUT listen to this: Havok gets three times better performance from PS3 compared to a high-end PC. And why would Blizzard want an engine that does well on a console unless they plan to use it.
So we could be seeing Diablo 3 on Playstation as well. If we do, there’s a good chance Diablo 3 won’t be a MMO.
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Published September 28th, 2006
in Diablo 3 News.
I just found out that the Diablo 2 patch 1.11 introduced a “world” event as Blizzard calls it. In order to participate in this Pandemonium Event you need to be one of the realms (no single player). It’s only also available in Hell difficulty. Here’s a short description:
To trigger the event, you must collect items called keys. There are three types. The Countess drops the Key of Terror, the false Summoner drops the Key of Hate, and Nihlathak drops the Key of Destruction.
When you have collected three keys, go anywhere in the town of Harrogath in Act 5 and transmute these three keys together in the Horadric Cube. One of three portals will open, to the Furnace of Pain, the Matron’s Den, or the Forgotten Sands, in which you will fight Über-Izual, an Andariel-like creature called Lilith and Über Duriel respectively.
Each of these bosses drops one of the Prime Evil’s relics, Lilith drops “Diablo’s Horn”, Über Duriel drops Baal’s Eye, and Über Izual drops Mephisto’s Brain.
When you have collected all three relics (a.k.a. body parts) you must go back to Harrogath, and transmute the three relics. This will open a portal to Über Tristram, where you will fight improved versions of the Prime Evils all at once – the Übers. Prepare for the hardest fight of your D2 career.
The last of the Prime Evils you kill will drop a large charm called the Hellfire Torch. It gives 3+ to the skill levels of a random character class, 10-20 to all resistances and attributes, a chance to cast Diablo’s Firestorm on striking, 8+ to light radius and Hydra charges. This is your reward for all the trouble of collecting keys, relics, and killing the Übers. (posted at this Diablo 2 site)
My point is that if Blizzard are doing this kind of event for Diablo 2, maybe they are testing the waters for Diablo 3 events. I mean they’re trying to get the best of both worlds: the storyline of Diablo with the events from World of Warcraft.
OK, maybe Diablo 3 won’t be a MMO but could have some of the community features of WoW: like instances, special events, etc. All in all, I can’t wait to fight the three prime Evils with my ice sorceress!
Published September 27th, 2006
in Diablo 3 News.
Obviously, Blizzard has been shopping around for a new graphics engine for some time (Diablo 3?). Released in July 2006, Havok 4.0 is a series of tools and technology that empowers Havok’s physics and animation products, along with introducing two new products with Havok Behaviour and Havok FX.
And here’s what Blizzard has to say:
Havok 4.0 will add power and flexibility to our development process,” said Mike Morhaime, president and co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re looking forward to utilizing this technology with our upcoming games.
Now, what kind of upcoming games are we talking about? Some of the Diablo 3 rumors have been that Blizzard North actually completed Diablo 3 but it was NO fun to play. Hence, Blizzard North was sacked. Enter Havok 4 (are we seeing Diablo 3 on Playstation?).
Published September 22nd, 2006
in Diablo 3 News.
Tens of domains have been purchased by Blizzard in an obvious attempt to secure some internaltional domain space for the upcoming Diablo 3. Here’s a few of the domains, already linking to Blizzard’s existing site (Diablo II expansion to be exact):
Now, I wouldn’t register domains unless I was going to use them. Simply sending traffic to an OLD site makes little sense. My bet is Diablo 3 is coming soon! Either this, or World of Diablo!
Published September 16th, 2006
in Diablo 3 News.
As we continuously monitor for Diablo 3 related job openings at Blizzard, here’s our latest find:
The team behind Diablo I and II is looking for an artist specializing in the creation of user interface art. This artist will create such things as in-game background screens, UI containers/borders, item icons, character portraits, etc. The ideal candidate has strong painting skills, the ability to adapt their style, and feels comfortable working in a team environment.
That comes directly off Blizzard’s site. A while back there was the ad for an Diablo 3 Art Director, now this one.
Published September 8th, 2006
in Diablo 3 News.
I was going through some of the main game sites (gamespot, IGN, etc.), looking for new info on Diablo 3. I stumble upon GameSpy’s Diablo 3 page. No info but when you look closer there’s a table where it says:
Publisher: Blizzard
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release: Date TBA 2006
I hope they know something we don’t! My gut feel is Blizz will announce it at E3 in 2007. 2006 seems too close for a sequel to Diablo 2 to be released. Blizz can definitely release a Diablo 3 trailer and a few screenshots … otherwise it’s like Rambo 4 which has been coming out for years!
