Just wanted to clear the air about one thing here, in one of the Diablo III release speculation threads Gheed2010 implied that Blizzard has never said that Diablo III will make and appearance before the first SCII expansion. Don't know why this was cause for me to stop lurking and actually post, I'm just weird like that I guess. Anyhow, at the WorldWide Invitational 2008 Rob Pardo was definitive about DIII arriving before Heart of the Swarm. The whole conference is online and available for anyone to read and yeah this is really old information at this point but still valid. With Blizzard recently going into detail about the SCII expansions having a 16-18 month cycle, 2011 seems likely to me but 2012 is possible given Bliz's interesting perception of time.
Feel free to lock this or whatever, I said my piece.
Anyhow, at the WorldWide Invitational 2008 Rob Pardo was definitive about DIII arriving before Heart of the Swarm. The whole conference is online and available for anyone to read and yeah this is really old information at this point but still valid. With Blizzard recently going into detail about the SCII expansions having a 16-18 month cycle, 2011 seems likely to me but 2012 is possible given Bliz's interesting perception of time.
Feel free to lock this or whatever, I said my piece.
I won't lock the topic, yet. I want to see that link you refer to. If there is validity in what you say, then this could be a good topic to discus.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Recruiting for East Realm Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
The article goes on to say this suggests a 2011 release is unlikely because they'll be pushing the Diablo III release. I beg to differ on this point. I think we will see a 2011 release. Blizzard has a development gap after the Diablo III release. They're going to have Cataclysm later this year, then Diablo III probably spring next year and then I'd predict a Heart of the Swarm release in fall of next year. Honestly, they've made SC2 expansions incredibly easy on themselves after the years of development on Wings. The Galaxy editor is extremely powerful and with the exception of art, the bulk of development time is done--they don't need to go back to code for most of it. They'll just have to make some new models (and use some that are already in game--expect the return of the Lurker!), record voices, and work through their own editor to implement abilities and balance changes.
He's speculating a 2011 release. It doesn't say that there will be. With how easy they made the development of the Sc expansions, they may have the first couple of Sc2 expansions done well before D3 is released.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Recruiting for East Realm Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
Wow, the cognitive dissonance has taken on a whole new level - nowhere in that link does he even come close to even implying that D3 is coming out before HoS. Remember, the really hard work on HoS has already been done - multiplayer shipped with the Terran campaign (and was very polished in Beta months before, in terms of unit art etc.) None of that kind of hard work in terms of balance and polish has been done on D3, AFAIK.
Even crazier than the wishful thinking on this is the "theory" that there's some time lag on announcement. Blizzard shipped something like ten titles in five years with 3 new IPS between 1995 and 2000, and spent even longer than that time shipping nothing but WoW XPs between 2005 and 2010. And, oh yeah, two thirds of the management from the 1990s era was gone by 2004... So, please, insist that announcement times from 1997 mean something and that the two eras are really the same company.
D3 may be the main attraction, but thatmay only mean that the are show casing new game play or hopefully a fifth class. Which they need to announce before they announce a release date.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Recruiting for East Realm Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
D3 may be the main attraction, but thatmay only mean that the are show casing new game play or hopefully a fifth class. Which they need to announce before they announce a release date.
It would make more sense for Diablo III to see mass release shortly after a Blizzcon that places emphasis on it...
I agree, it WOULD make sense. But in my opinion, Blizzard has never made too much sense to ME, in how and why they do things. I'm sure it makes plenty of sense on the business side. But I'm not a part of the company, drr. I see them releasing the 5th class and that really being the highlight of the event. Of course other things like maybe a another system like the crafting, and more game play like you fellas said. But I still don't see them being obligated in giving a release date.
Ffffffuck, I remember waiting in 2009, REALLY thinking it was going to be released in 2010. But nothing. Heres the end of 2010 coming up and hey, all we can do is hope and stay optimistic! I can see maybe... Spring 2011. Hopefully ~.~;
But in my opinion, Blizzard has never made too much sense to ME, in how and why they do things.
If you had a subscription game that made a BILLION bucks a year in profit, would you be in a hurry to release a competing game yourself that didn't have a subscription component? Dollars and sense.
But in my opinion, Blizzard has never made too much sense to ME, in how and why they do things.
If you had a subscription game that made a BILLION bucks a year in profit, would you be in a hurry to release a competing game yourself that didn't have a subscription component? Dollars and sense.
D3 may be the main attraction, but thatmay only mean that the are show casing new game play or hopefully a fifth class. Which they need to announce before they announce a release date.
It would make more sense for Diablo III to see mass release shortly after a Blizzcon that places emphasis on it...
Really? Even if they just announced a fifth class and haven't completed all of the in game mechanics for it? Highly unlikely. But I wouldn't put it past them to MAYBE announce a speculative year of release. But not pin it down to an actual specific day. Hell, they may even announce something after Blizzcon, but even that is speculative.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Recruiting for East Realm Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
I won't lock the topic, yet. I want to see that link you refer to. If there is validity in what you say, then this could be a good topic to discus.
Been extremely busy recently with the birth of my daughter, when I get some time I'll dig around and find the video link...honestly wasn't trying to stir the s**t pot with this. Lets face facts, what Rob says and what ACUTALLY happens are rarely in agreement. At the WWI 2008 Rob also said that they plan to release Starcraft II and Diablo III roughly 1 and a half years after announcement....and we all know how well that plan went. My point was not to say that what Rob said is accurate, though I believe he had the best intentions when he said it, but just more the fact that the words spewed from his maw.
I'll get to looking for the vid here hopefully by the end of the week if nothing else comes up
i think what Jay says about Diablo 3 is bit more accurate since he's the one that (is supposed to at least) knows exactly how well and fast the development is going. And Jay in one of his most recent interviews said they know the direction, they got all the game systems and mechanics up and running and now they're just creating things. and they're doing it fast (his words not mine).
that way a 2011 release seems very possible (even a second quarter 2011 release).
that way a 2011 release seems very possible (even a second quarter 2011 release).
No disrespect and nothing personal, but the wishful thinking is just funny - Jay admits that they're still creating assets and that only Act I is really done, more or less. Even if they were done with asset creation - which they aren't, according to him, and may not be for at least another year or more - exactly how long do you think they would spend getting the entire balance/polish/beta/battle.net/marketing/localization process done? If you answered "less than nine months", I'm sorry, you're really unfamiliar with Bliz.
exactly how long do you think they would spend getting the entire balance/polish/beta/battle.net/marketing/localization process done? If you answered "less than nine months", I'm sorry, you're really unfamiliar with Bliz.
Or you can just roll a game out before key functionality is complete. (See: SC2 and chat groups/clans, plus the trainwreck on custom map games)
I don't think we are dealing with quite the same Blizzard anymore - maybe we can thank Activision for that.
that way a 2011 release seems very possible (even a second quarter 2011 release).
No disrespect and nothing personal, but the wishful thinking is just funny - Jay admits that they're still creating assets and that only Act I is really done, more or less. Even if they were done with asset creation - which they aren't, according to him, and may not be for at least another year or more - exactly how long do you think they would spend getting the entire balance/polish/beta/battle.net/marketing/localization process done? If you answered "less than nine months", I'm sorry, you're really unfamiliar with Bliz.
If you think there is going to be a bigger gap than three years between the announcement and the release you're "unfamiliar with Bliz".
that way a 2011 release seems very possible (even a second quarter 2011 release).
No disrespect and nothing personal, but the wishful thinking is just funny - Jay admits that they're still creating assets and that only Act I is really done, more or less. Even if they were done with asset creation - which they aren't, according to him, and may not be for at least another year or more - exactly how long do you think they would spend getting the entire balance/polish/beta/battle.net/marketing/localization process done? If you answered "less than nine months", I'm sorry, you're really unfamiliar with Bliz.
didnt see any disrespect and didnt take anything personal. you make sense as you say it but i see a big difference in the development of Diablo 3 that isnt the same as in Starcraft II and WoW.
balancing in Diablo 3 is just adjusting the difficulties and checking the skills.
you dont have to balance it for 9 months like say Starcraft II cause Diablo 3 is (for all we know) mostly coop and not competitive. And its not like we're gonna have 2000 players on the screen, or 25 people large groups like in WoW to balance the PvE difficulty that much.
considering what i just said, it wont take more than 3-4 months to balance, polish and test for bugs before its released. 3-4 months after all the content is created - that i know isnt the case yet. but the fact that they know how the story will be, what to make of each act, that the first act is almost fully done and they're working simultaneously on the other 3 is very encouraging, dont you think?
with that way of thinking i'm guessing Summer 2011 or if they want to test it more, perhaps till November. but i dont think its going to be delayed again.
I guess, though I still see nothing that convinces me that it is a game in development actually intended for release, and not an r&d project. The best thing that could happen for fans that want to see the game soon would be if Cat is a massive bomb and WoW sub #s fall off a cliff in the coming year, meaning that Blizz actually wants the extra few hundred million bucks in 2012 to make ATVI earnings #s. But as far as D3 goes, 2011 isn't even remotely in the realm of possibility. Even though the PVP contingent may be a small niche, they're an intense one, and character balancing might take a little longer than one would guess.
FoxBat has a great point - I try to remind people that there's zero connection between Blizz '95-'01 and Blizz '04-'09, but maybe he's right in that there's not even a connection between Blizz in the early WoW era and the current company, now that Bobby K runs the show, or at least runs it a little more every day.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Feel free to lock this or whatever, I said my piece.
Recruiting for East Realm
Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
Bod home Page
it really supports the "2011 theory" with something more official.
He's speculating a 2011 release. It doesn't say that there will be. With how easy they made the development of the Sc expansions, they may have the first couple of Sc2 expansions done well before D3 is released.
Recruiting for East Realm
Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
Bod home Page
Even crazier than the wishful thinking on this is the "theory" that there's some time lag on announcement. Blizzard shipped something like ten titles in five years with 3 new IPS between 1995 and 2000, and spent even longer than that time shipping nothing but WoW XPs between 2005 and 2010. And, oh yeah, two thirds of the management from the 1990s era was gone by 2004... So, please, insist that announcement times from 1997 mean something and that the two eras are really the same company.
Recruiting for East Realm
Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
Bod home Page
Ffffffuck, I remember waiting in 2009, REALLY thinking it was going to be released in 2010. But nothing. Heres the end of 2010 coming up and hey, all we can do is hope and stay optimistic! I can see maybe... Spring 2011. Hopefully ~.~;
If you had a subscription game that made a BILLION bucks a year in profit, would you be in a hurry to release a competing game yourself that didn't have a subscription component? Dollars and sense.
Indeed.
Recruiting for East Realm
Also recruiting for Sc2 on both EU and NA servers
Bod home Page
Been extremely busy recently with the birth of my daughter, when I get some time I'll dig around and find the video link...honestly wasn't trying to stir the s**t pot with this. Lets face facts, what Rob says and what ACUTALLY happens are rarely in agreement. At the WWI 2008 Rob also said that they plan to release Starcraft II and Diablo III roughly 1 and a half years after announcement....and we all know how well that plan went. My point was not to say that what Rob said is accurate, though I believe he had the best intentions when he said it, but just more the fact that the words spewed from his maw.
I'll get to looking for the vid here hopefully by the end of the week if nothing else comes up
that way a 2011 release seems very possible (even a second quarter 2011 release).
No disrespect and nothing personal, but the wishful thinking is just funny - Jay admits that they're still creating assets and that only Act I is really done, more or less. Even if they were done with asset creation - which they aren't, according to him, and may not be for at least another year or more - exactly how long do you think they would spend getting the entire balance/polish/beta/battle.net/marketing/localization process done? If you answered "less than nine months", I'm sorry, you're really unfamiliar with Bliz.
Or you can just roll a game out before key functionality is complete. (See: SC2 and chat groups/clans, plus the trainwreck on custom map games)
I don't think we are dealing with quite the same Blizzard anymore - maybe we can thank Activision for that.
If you think there is going to be a bigger gap than three years between the announcement and the release you're "unfamiliar with Bliz".
didnt see any disrespect and didnt take anything personal. you make sense as you say it but i see a big difference in the development of Diablo 3 that isnt the same as in Starcraft II and WoW.
balancing in Diablo 3 is just adjusting the difficulties and checking the skills.
you dont have to balance it for 9 months like say Starcraft II cause Diablo 3 is (for all we know) mostly coop and not competitive. And its not like we're gonna have 2000 players on the screen, or 25 people large groups like in WoW to balance the PvE difficulty that much.
considering what i just said, it wont take more than 3-4 months to balance, polish and test for bugs before its released. 3-4 months after all the content is created - that i know isnt the case yet. but the fact that they know how the story will be, what to make of each act, that the first act is almost fully done and they're working simultaneously on the other 3 is very encouraging, dont you think?
with that way of thinking i'm guessing Summer 2011 or if they want to test it more, perhaps till November. but i dont think its going to be delayed again.
I guess, though I still see nothing that convinces me that it is a game in development actually intended for release, and not an r&d project. The best thing that could happen for fans that want to see the game soon would be if Cat is a massive bomb and WoW sub #s fall off a cliff in the coming year, meaning that Blizz actually wants the extra few hundred million bucks in 2012 to make ATVI earnings #s. But as far as D3 goes, 2011 isn't even remotely in the realm of possibility. Even though the PVP contingent may be a small niche, they're an intense one, and character balancing might take a little longer than one would guess.
FoxBat has a great point - I try to remind people that there's zero connection between Blizz '95-'01 and Blizz '04-'09, but maybe he's right in that there's not even a connection between Blizz in the early WoW era and the current company, now that Bobby K runs the show, or at least runs it a little more every day.