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So do we know when these gget given out or am I missing something?

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Is it just me or did he talk a long time and really not tell us a whole lot? Seriously, read that list of highlights that starts this article. How much of that is actually something you didn't already expect? Did anybody seriously think that there was going to be an "ultra" mode? Did anybody really expect that they aren't in a testing phase in-house on the rune/skill system that they like right now? Anytime he answers any question with the words "soon" or "working on it", it's basically his way of not answering the question. We know they're working on the game. We know we're supposed to get it "soon" whatever that means since they refuse to actually define the word specifically. They said "Early 2012", we've been in "Early 2012" for over 5 weeks now, and not only do we not have it but we don't even know when we're getting it. Did you really expect not to get another Jay Wilson "System Changes"-esque article when they finally came clean on the rune/skills? The first one was basically just detailed reasoning behind changes to be listed in the patch notes a few days after the article was posted. They tried to spin the article as this benevolent communication with their loyal fan base when really to not do something like that given the scope of the changes being made would have been irresponsible and negligent.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not impressed - not even a little bit. I've been very patient. It's time for actions to go with some of these empty words.

Why can't Jay Wilson just call a spade a spade for once?? Something like:

"I, Jay Wilson, have failed to do my job to date. I am charged with designing a game from the ground up and some of the core concepts I committed to early on have turned out to be poor design choices in hindsight in my opinion. Therefore, massive reworking needed to be done to correct my mistakes. Also, other core game mechanics such as runes are still up in the air as a result and can't even be discussed publicly yet. After all, if I discussed them publicly and they are also mistakes, I'll look just as foolish about those choices as the ones I'm apologizing for today. All of this has obviously had a detrimental effect on release of the game. I'm not going to give you any further insight into a release date time frame because I like to have the option of constantly revising my most core beliefs about what the game should be and do so all in the name of delivering the best game to you because that argument's such a convenient one for me to make. I will do my best to finally get it right this time and release to you (someday) the game you should have had months ago."

This announcement is very interesting and all, but to not address in any way what I believed were the announcement's most anticipated topics, Jay makes the whole announcement fall flat. They're changing a lot of different things about the game mechanics and doing so very late in the game (after failing to meet an already proposed deadline last year in fact). But we all were looking for two things: tell us about runes (since that was, at one time, the last big system change to hash out) and tell us (at the very least) whether you are still on track for the release date window of "early 2012". Jay did neither. Now, we are all left to wonder and speculate about both. At a time when Jay should be putting an end to the speculation by being more specific, he chooses not to address these issues and fuels further speculation. I'd like to think that since Jay didn't change the release date window, the current window is still on the table. But when he makes a point of stressing all the reasons they aren't announcing the release or releasing the game now, he makes it seem as though the current window shouldn't be on the table. So which is it?? I guess I should have expected this kind of vagueness, but it has to end sometime - doesn't it??

This is good news and probably the best we can expect from Korea at present, but the hurdle also certainly isn't completely cleared. They can't release the same game in Korea as they do everywhere else (hence a true global launch that's planned) if they can't implement the RMAH in Korea. I certainly don't see how Blizzard can release the game without the RMAH in Korea and claim that the issue didn't affect release at all. After all, it would certainly take time to figure out how to do this properly and be able implement the RMAH in Korea at a future date if that opportunity presents itself. Considering the plan is for the game to be region free, I think this presents more problems than can be solved by simply leaving the RMAH out of the copies sold in Korea and patching it back in if/when the GRB approves it. I don't mean to throw a wet blanket over this news, but I'd like to hear someone answer the tough questions about this topic from Blizzard with some straightforward answers before I start celebrating and call this a dead issue. Can/will Blizzard release the game globally as planned without the RMAH in Korea? Is more development time required in order to accomplish this if the game is to be released without the RMAH in Korea? If so, how much? If you plan to release the game in Korea without the RMAH, how exactly do you plan to do it software-wise? Will Korean users be able to access the RMAH if they play in other regions? Will players from other regions be able to access the RMAH if they play in Korea? I could go on but you get the idea. None of this was part of Blizzard's plan all along.

Here's the part of Zarhym's blue posts today that I find the most amusing:

"We told you at the end of last year we wouldn't be shipping the game until 2012. That didn't mean we'd have the final details ready to announce by January of this year."

1) Another Blizzard employee conveniently omitting the adjective "early" from the "early 2012" release timetable. Are we all supposed to believe that this was an accident?
2) If the game is releasing "early 2012" and Blizzard games typically allows 8 weeks from the release date announcement to the release date, then shouldn't Blizzard have the final details ready to announce by January (or at least by the end of January)?

The entirety of Zarhym's posts seems to sugest that we shouldn't take almost anything Blizzard says seriously unless they are officially announcing something. The bottom line is when your community doesn't get the communication from Blizzard that it finds reasonable to expect, it starts trying to read between the lines. If they don't like it, communicate more often as to where things are and have that communication be consistent, specific, and honest. Every time I read a Blizzard employee say "2012" instead of "early 2012" when they KNOW exactly how much their comments are being dissected, it makes me want to pull my hair out. Zarhym whines on and on about the way people seem to be hanging on every word and then loses the "early" from "early 2012". You've just lost your credibility, Zarhym.

All I know is next week is mid-January which puts the release date probably early to mid March if it were to be announced then with the letter from Jay Wilson and it sure seems like it won't be announce in tandem with it. Sooner or later, all of this talk about making sure the game is ready starts to read more like they can't make up their minds on important decisions. You said "early 2012". Well, Blizzard - it's early 2012. Let's see if Jay's got the sack to either be more specific with the time frame for release than "early 2012" or announce a delay. It certainly seems like it is time for one or the other.

SPOILER!!



Isn't that Imperius' weapon (Solarion) in Tyreal's hand in the edited out portion of the video?? That's a "little something fun"...

Bashiok @ January 3rd, 2012 at 9:13am: "we'll have our anniversary celebration kicking off early this week."

This just in, Bashiok - Monday and Tuesday are the early days of the week. Wednesday is the middle day. Thursday and Friday are the late days. Saturday and Sunday are the weekend. Tuesday’s almost over. Now, when do you plan on starting this massive letdown of a celebration you've been hyping again???

I'm begging these people to stop using this ridiculously cryptic language to describe everything particularly things don't appear to be of any major importance to the new game. It serves no purpose. Just be honest and specific. Apparently too much to ask...

For Blizzard reps to act agitated that the community keeps up with talking about conspiracy theories and tries to predict the release date or even the announcement of a release date is really comical to me. I mean, really - WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?? You announce that the release target is 2011 at one point and here it is the end of 2011 and you don't even have a release date much less the actual release of the game. You've since given us this "early 2012" time frame and now this guy doesn't even really seem to want to attach the "early" tag to the 2012 release date time frame. All this and NEVER do they EVER give us a specific reason(s) for the delays. In addition, the beta pool seems so small that many of those who would at least like to participate in the beta and help in getting the game released have little to no chance of having that opportunity to do so. It is really just this simple no matter what anyone at Blizzard wants to believe - JUST COMMUNICATE!!! If you want the conspiracy theories to stop, just get off your high horse and be straightforward with your audience. I know that would show that you don't take those of us who are anxious for the game and will buy it whenever it is released for granted, but last time I checked that wouldn't be such a bad thing, would it?? If the game's as close to release quality as you say that it is and Korea really isn't the reason for the delays, being upfront and describing the situation in much more detail has little downside. The bottom line is that at this point the longer the community is all the dark, it's a lose-lose for both the community and Blizzard. Too bad Blizzard doesn't seem to see it that way.

Don't get snippy. Don't come across with an aggrevated tone no matter what question is asked or how it's asked. We're the ones who have every right to be perturbed about all this to say the least. We've waited YEARS for this. Not you, Blizzard.

Remember yesterday where I said (above) that I would start reading my Book of Cain??

http://twitter.com/#!/insightedit

Now that's delayed, too!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess like the game, it will just be out when it's ready. Wish I could tell my customers they get stuff whenever I'm ready to give it to them. Some way to do business...

Good thing that Morhaime clarified that they're really not trying to "rush out" Diablo 3. Yeah, we were definitely all confused about that at this point. I, for one, was really sitting here the night of the VGAs thinking: "Ghee whiz Blizzard really seems like they're in a rush to get Diablo 3 on the shelves!" What? Was it just me thinking that??

Really? That's what he's got on the night that the Diablo Universe was hoping beyond hope that Blizzard might bless us with something (anything) that might at least hint at a release date or at least a more narrow time frame for release?

These and all other Diablo forums (even those picky official ones that mostly only Warcraft and Starcraft players can post on because, you know, that makes sense) will be flooded with release date angst until they remove this 5000 lb gorilla from the room. I just wish they'd get on with it so everybody can focus more on talking about what we really should be taking about - the game itself.

No worries though - I'll just start reading my Book of Cain that chronicles the lore of the game with the mystery release date. Ooooh, it's all so mysterious!!!! Can't wait.... <sigh>

The cinematic is superb. Never doubted it would be. Hell, with all the spoilers out there already about THE ENTIRE STORYLINE OF THE GAME before the game itself even has a release date, they weren't exactly going to surprise us content-wise, but the production value is nonetheless top notch. Only problem was the cinematic wasn't the not only reason we were watching or the only reason why Diablo hit so late in the show after numerous other world premieres. We want (and dare I say deserved) a release date. Guess Blizzard's goal was to get people really interested for something that they can't really look forward to all that much because they don't know WHEN they can get it. Waiting for the release date and following the development of this game makes me feel like I'm watching grass grow particularly given the tiny beta pool. It's just amazing that a game that was due out by the end of the year up until about 3 months ago can't even be stamped with a release date yet and we're almost at the end of the year. Everybody wants a finished game, but people don't want to be strung along and made to fell unappreciated in the process. If I owned stock in the company, I'd want ANSWERS. WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!!!!!!! After this many YEARS of waiting, I'm impatient. Sue me.

No open beta?? Not unexpected, but then again Blizzard could probably invite thousands of people into a closed beta if they really wanted to just through the opt-in process. I don't see how they will be able to truly stress test their hardware if they don't have a much larger beta pool than they seem to currently. The beta doesn't necessarily have to be "open" for a lot of people to be able to participate in it. Maybe this is just me holding out hope that I'll get in one day, but I really hope I'm right and the beta pool will be expanded in a pretty dramatic way sometime in the near future (say late December even) especially if the game's release is pushed out past February or (gasp) March. A January release is looking bleaker and bleaker with each passing day...

A caveat to everything I'm about to say is that (sadly) I'm not in the beta and therefore might not understand Diablo III as well as others particularly those who are in.

I think the elephant in the room is that just about everyone will put having on MF gear as a very high priority in comparison to most other affixes because doing so could very well be the best way to make money on the RMAH and let's face it, RM motivates people in the real world more than anything else.

That being said, Blizzard seems to have gone out of its way to make finding the best items a part of actually playing the game for more than finding the best items. In Diablo II, you did specific runs to specific monsters to try to get the gear you wanted. If Blizzard is successful to a certain degree in taking the motivation for doing these runs away from players through the game design for Diablo III, then how does a MF motivated player know how to find the best party in a public game with which to tag along to get the most/best drops?? I think the bigger question being raised is: How easy will it be to get in a game with people who have the same objectives that you do and not in games with those that don't? If it is easy for players to find other players with common goals and to keep out those that don't, the MF "problem" along with many other problems created by not being able to build such a party really aren't problems at all. Facilitating solid party creation ability is the best solution to this problem.

Averaging the MF/GF for all party members sounds like a fair solution on the surface. However, if the problem you have with the current setup is that someone wearing MF/GF gear can't (in theory) kill as fast then averaging it for all party members still doesn't solve that problem. It just allows you to derive a benefit from a party member's decision to wear certain gear. As far as I know, there would be no other affixes that allow party member to derive a benefit from someone simply by being in a party with them even if they aren't actively trying to help you kill anything. Is that really better than MF/GF being the only affixes that don't directly aid in a group's ability to kill? Maybe, but neither situation is perfect. As the blue post response in the official thread indicates, you're just solving one problem to create others.

Also, gear is only one factor in a player's ability to kill. The player's skill level in playing the game as well as the build chosen for the player's character also have a HUGE impact. To say that just because a person has a lot of MF gear on that they will be a drag on the team's ability to kill isn't necessarily true.