DiabloFans

I'm kind of scattered right now, so I'm reading about 6 books before I have to get back to school and read those books :/

Anywho, I got one on the A+ certification test, just to make sure I know what's gonna be happening on the exams. (CompTIA A+ Certification 6th Edition Author Mike Meyers)

My liesure book: Visual Guide to Lock Picking 2nd edition

The Art of Deception by Kevin D. Mitnick. This book isn't about deceiving people, but more how to tell when people try to deceive you. It's non-fiction but not like a text book(no pictures :(). Gives real examples, pretty interesting.

Steal This Computer Book 4.0 by Wallace Wang. I'm going in to computer programming/security so this is jut kind of a way to see more sides to hacking. This book also has real-world examples and stories which are slightly amusing and humorous. Kind of dry to read at times though :/

Mind Hacks by Tom Stafford & Matt Webb. More of a book on how the brain works than "hacking" as computers usually associated hacking to bad people. Kind of boring, but I've focused a lot of reading in the last year on computers and some fictional tales so I thought I'd delve in to anatomy a bit.

Hacking: The Art of Exploitation by Jon Erickson 2nd edition. Blatantly computer hacking type book. It's humorous in its own way(I enjoy personifying computers, which is what most people do when they write about them). It came with a live CD with a Linux on it so I can actually use a trashed computer to "hack"(or rather, attempt to hack) my main computer, or vis-versa.

and (finally)
Puzzles for Hackers by Ivan Skylarov. Good book so far, you really need to understand what actually happens when someone hacks a computer before opening this one up though. It's kind of funny as well, because it creates hypotheticals that are amusing and whatnot.

I got a lot to do before school starts on the 25th, but these books range from 100-1100 pages(most 200-300) so it's not too bad. I just have a hard time focusing on one for too long. Whereas 300 pages in a fictional book aren't too bad because the pages are relatively small, 300 pages in these books is terrifying simply because theyre printed on paper more akin to the 8x11.5" paper in notebooks O.O

For any out there interested in knowing more about computers but don't really know programming or hacking in depth, I would recommend Steal This Computer, and The Art of Deception. They both talk about computers, but not in a highly technical form with snippets of scripts or .dlls or .h files that would boggle people who don't know what those are, let alone what is said in them.

I'm a book worm so I like having all the different books to read. It's a lot of technical non-fiction at the moment because, like I said earlier, I've had a little too much fantasy/fiction in my diet over the last year. After this splurge I'm probably taking a break just to focus on school books though, which are SO much more dry than all of this combined :/

Blizzard will definitely support widescreen. Even if its 1024 x 768, if Blizzard DIDN'T support widescreen they'll fall short on everything. Not only would a 4:3 LCD on my desk look ridiculous, I have a reputation to maintain around friends where my screen doesn't look chodular. If D3 was that regular 4:3 configuration only I would at least demand windowed mode, which is highly unlikely.

Storing the information on the keychain isn't necessarily the problem. RFID chips are really small(about the size of the the end of a sharpened pencil) and they can hold your entire medical history, dental history, and personal information(SSN, CC#s, felonies, etc). There is actually an 8GB jump drive available for around $50-$60(USD) and its not larger than a fingertip.

Anywho, size isn't a problem. The problem is this. There is one of two possiblities for what the keychain does to update passwords.

1. The keychain somehow links up to a network and receives a code from Battle.net to tell it what the password is. This method means whoever wants to hack the code will get a chance to view its transmission every 10 minutes. During the 10 minute waits, hackers will probably decipher what information they can.
End result: Hackers may be able to easily crack this type of password method.
Cons: people who can't see the satellies Blizzard uses can't play Battle.net games.

2. An algorithm is stored on the keychain. When the keychain is synced up with the online blizzard account, this algorithm is set in motion. At the same time, Blizzard's servers run the same algorithm for the same account. Regardless of connectivity, the keychain will always have the same password Blizzard has set up for the account. Couple bad things here. One, is the keychain needs to run indefinitely to work right, even a minute offline ruins the system. Meaning a battery warning needs to be given well in advance(I wouldn't be surprised if this could be usb-rechargeable). Another problem though. Running the algorithm securely would require a hefty encryption process. Running this process for millions of users? That would require Blizzard to have server farms just for password maintenance.
End Result: Hackers have access to an algorithm that will always run. Even if the encryption is 1 GB or larger, it CAN and most likely WOULD be cracked eventually.
Cons: Battery life, and server requirements

Naturally those are just two options that come to mind for me.

This idea isn't new, but Blizzard would definately be pushing the envelope in terms of scaleability. And whereas the other areas this technology is used may not necessarily have hackers working to crack the system, Blizzard will be constantly fighting not only hackers, but the farms of servers some hackers have in order to keep the code safe from being understood.

As far as Diablo III goes it's a little too fantastical to believe this system will be used to log people in.

***Reading sucks if you want the punchline read the last line in this post***

All Wilson really says though is that the photoshopped images wouldn't be what would happen in-game anyways because they're just photoshopped. Duh? I didn't know anyone had the D3 engine to play around with graphics and precisely mimic the gameplay trailer to give exactly the same screenshots.

Anywho, it's a bunch of excuses for not wanting to make the game darker. If they wanted a darker D3, they could have one(another recent article said they tried it, but it was too hard to see stuff or w/e).

I don't mind bright colors. I don't mind rainbows. What I DO mind is that there is an ominous unexplained glow emanating on all things at all times like someone went light-happy when making the maps. Just because they want more color doesn't mean there should be weird lights everywhere. Demons are pretty strong and powerful and all that, but I doubt they'll light up the dungeon so you can see better.

I won't comment on the unexplained green tint for the Tristram cathedral set they used for the gameplay demo, it could very well turn out wierd, green, glow every will fit in somehow.

In the end they're just waffling the issue. They're not going to change the art, I'm not entirely upset but I do wish they'd fix lighting. I've done quite a bit of mapping for UT 2k4 and UT 3 and one of the critiques I always get on maps in the alpha stage is to get lighting to be explained, or remove it in certain areas or make it weaker, etc so I guess it gets on my nerves when its unexplained elsewhere.

Summary though: Lighting != great, but I'll live with it if Blizzard wants to make stuff up to tell me it "can't" be fixed

I would personally like to see more about people who secretly have followed Bartuc's way of summoning demons, simply because a character class that summons demons to kill Diablo would not only be ironic but empowering to the abilities humans still have, despite the worldstone being destroyed.

Overall though, I know the older versions of Diablo will definitely be used to flesh out previously known areas(kurast, tristram, etc) so that not only will Blizzard have less stuff to make up, but they will also help get old players immersed into the world more completely.

Quote from "Father_kai" »

they still need to have a little muscle i mean thay have to be able to were some light armor witch relly anit that light so i mean i understan what ur sayin but i would like em not to be bones with skin give em a little muscle.

Actually most of the powerful vizjerei mentioned in the books are typically older, and have little to no muscle mass to speak off. They rely on their magic to do even basic tasks(kind of like how Linux users will put Linux on to a microwave...it's not necessary...but they do it because they can)

I would rather see a crippling older gentleman or woman casting spells that utterly shatter bone than see some toned younger person...who would, in the Diablo universe, be much less skilled. From the books I would gather the most potent casters would be somewhere between 40-50 years of age, a person who has been around long enough to learn a lot of tricks(and make some up) but young enough not to go insane.

With loot systems as they are though, casual gamers are pushed in to buying their stuff online. Some people can't spend a lifetime and a half waiting for a Zod to drop. Or, more meaningful, a rune like a Ber. For people who play a lot, finding good items to trade up isn't so hard. For the casual gamer, getting good equipment becomes impossible with a loot system like D2(which is probably close to the system that will be used in D3).

I'm not supporting buying items online, but sometimes its the only way people will ever see certain items on their characters simply because they play for very limited amounts of time. It's a situation created by the nature of the loot system where some items will rarely dropped, or at the very least need a lot of coercion from MF to drop.

The only real fix would be to give everyone every item in the game. Problem solved, because the price of selling something everyone has is effectively 0. That also opens a whole new can of worms that would not only go against the Diablo series but also against the general idea of loot.

I'd like to go. it's still a ways off and I need to look around, but I'm getting 600-700 for round trip including hotel(really not bad at all). Price wise I don't think I'll have a problem but if life kicks me in the nuts over the summer I might not go. Another fatal possibility will be exams, because I'll be at a University at the time :/

For now though, I'm in.

I like the lvl limit of 99 the most, because its a throw back to old gaming limitations but its also a better place to stop than say...20...or 60. It's like doing the whole "cup half-full or half-empty" but there's a perforation in the middle that doesn't allow the cup to becoming full, forcing you to be pessimistic about your entire existence in-game.

The classes I would like to see would definitely have to be relevant to their place in the entire Diablo universe storyline. If it's post-D2, an interesting class would be a lut-gholein guard.

Or, if it goes back in time to the era of the Sin War, they could definitely play off the entire good v evil, black v white, sort of theme, and allow players to pick between classes that are more oriented towards angels(paladins would be a good example that already exists), and classes that are more oriented towards demons(vizjerei with the whole bartuc twist in em).

Another time period they could go to would be the era when the Three are placed in their respective soulstones. Pre-D1 and D2, but not so much so that they have to make up entire cultures and events out side of the Diablo series. This could lead to having characters akin to Akara, from the sisterhood of the sightless eye. And also(obviously) from this era would be the horadrim. Unfortunately, though, the horadrim were the people who actually imprisoned the Three, and it could be possible that if this is the time period in which D3 plays out that all characters are defined as horadrim, instead of making it in to a class :/

Just a couple ideas

If it's one thing blizz pulls from this site I hope it's this poll. While I doubt people would disagree with good graphics, this poll shows(at this point in time) that the Diablo community doesn't care about pushing the limits of DX10

D2 graphics would be the best platform to move from.

If blizz does something like D2 where you make 8 man servers every time you play, higher graphics could be used easily(on par or higher than UT3), but as an MMO there's always the restraint against heavy duty lighting and high poly models for the sake of bandwidth...

Either way, D3 would get nailed in reviews if it didn't live up to graphics used in D1 or D2, and lose a lot of loyal fans much faster over time.

thats right, not everyone is pissed off...

if my roommate would go away i would be highly aroused even now, hours after the fact

This is good news imo, blizzard had 7 years to get domain names like "Diablo3.com" but didn't until now. Considering the closest thing to D3 that blizzard posted before this was new ladder seasons, I'll take this has a small victory.

The prophecy states the gambit is a series of events to occur after the Three are defeated, and the sacrifice is not limited to the defeat of Baal. Though I wouldn't doubt Baal's, Mephisto's, and Diablo's death and soulstone destruction becoming integral to this sequence of events, the prophecy at that point is after Baal's death, as well as Diablo's and Mephisto's, which could also be a part of the sacrifice

As Norgan said, Tyreal's voice in the Worldstone Chamber is different than at other instances in the game. If this is a planned device, then it would not be shocking if Belial or some other powerful Demon used the Prime Evils to gain access to this chamber, pose as a false angel and destroy one of the main barriers preventing Demons from entering the mortal realm. This could be "the final gambit," the sacrifice being the Three, and the victor being a mystery demon(most likely Belial, who hates the Three). And with some fictitional creations, the resurrection of the Three in the mortal realm may not be too far fetched. However, just because Diablo's name is in the game title, doesn't mean it has to be focused around him, it could end up being in the hands of Belial, or any powerful demon for that matter.

I think the Diablo classes are already set(somewhat). I would expect the 7 from D2 to transfer to D3, but then with an x-pac adding a few more in. I just say this because the books around Diablo already have a lot of lore built up about the mage clans, the barbarian tribes, etc. The only way a class would be destroyed, like the Paladin, is if the story occurs before the creation of the Zakarum church, or if the church is completely destroyed. Both would lead to interesting storylines, but I don't think they'll happen.

However, if we follow the path of the release of the books, then it is very possible that D3 will occur near the Sin War. I draw this conclusion from the first three books, The Legacy of Blood, The Black Road, and The Kingdom of Shadow can more or less be seen as paralleled to the time period of D1 and D2. While it isn't spelled out, there are some similarities between these books and the first games. The next books released, and still being released, are the Sin War books. Even though it'll be going back in time compared to the first games, it's a gold mine for storyline, action, and adventure, while remaining in the world of D2.

Given this, the classes would be very similar to D2, but could still add a lot of variance given the difference in time. Also going back in time would allow the creation of several classes previously unkown, because they get whiped after that Sin War(or during it?)

I know it's a lot, probably none of it's true, but its my guess.

As for real class guesses, I would expect additions to the dark side. Demon Summoners(not unlike Bartuc and Horazon), Witches dealing with dark forces/demons(not summoning them) and not dealing with elements, and perhaps(if the Sin War concept is true) a corrupted sect of man on the side of the demons, most likely similar to the Barbarians with strengths given to them by demons.