Yeah, the D3 models looking at them now look like paper dolls with low res paint and use the same like 5 animations for everything xD The difference is night and day. The cutscene graphics are the in-game graphics. My friends and I just kind of looked at each other when it started after the cinematic and almost shat ourselves. I think much of that detail is lost, though, when zooming out. You can zoom in with a keybind like in D3. Some effects like the dynamic weather/lighting/etc. are still obvious at that angle/distance, though.
This is just based on my play experience/my friends. Not sure what other people are seeing in videos online. I haven't really watched any.
1
D3 was designed from the ground up with no focus on PvP. They were going to have an arena that you could brawl in but it was to be unbalanced and there was no emphasis on esports. I think they eventually added the mode but I don't know anyone that took part in it.
I personally think PKing is stupid, but at least in D2 you can make private games and thus avoid it. I am doubtful they'd introduce a system of that nature without a toggle in an open world system.
2
It's optional in the sense that there is very little in the game that is built around group play; at the time of the demo, the only thing that needed more than 1 player was the world boss. And as stated in the other thread, it is not a pervasive element.
1
The way it was described (and was my experience on the demo), is that the gameplay should feel bleak-you're alone with no help, no reinforcements, most of the time. You will always solo dungeons, unless you choose to be in a party. In the towns, there will be more people, and there you can chat, trade, form groups, etc. In the open world, you\ll generally only see other players near a town or a world event, this is all done via phasing.
The grain of salt to take away from this is...it is still really early in the development, a lot can change and who knows in what direction. All we can do is keep providing feedback, and hope they listen.
And I will echo my 1st post in this thread; the gameplay videos do not do the graphics of the demo any justice. It looked as different from D3 as D3 did to D2, in my eyes anyway.
1
I'll share my thoughts here, I was lucky enough to go to Blizzcon and play the demo.
The game is not in any way a D3 reskin; the resolution is insanely better and more detailed, and there was a tremendous cut-scene as well. Stylistically, it is similar to D3, so I can see how a low res trailer may not look that great, and feel more like D3; it was awesome playing it live though.
As for all the negativity...well, you're entitled to how you feel, but I think it is OK for people to feel happy about how they are going about game design without telling them "it's not cool, we should have had it already!" It was fun to experience the announcement, and it is fun to watch as the game develops. This is just advice from an old person: life is better when you enjoy it for what it is, and not when you are miserable over what it isn't.
The open world aspect is not going to work like WoW, where you see hundreds of people all the time. For the most part, you will be alone unless you choose not to be; Sanctuary is dismal and bleak, and playing in small groups reinforces that. You will start to see players when you get near certain world bosses or events and towns (at least that was happened in my game), but you don't share loot or anything like that.
I'm concerned as well about the trading issue, but I think if we as a community keep the feedback going, it will at least force a reasonable explanation as to why certain items will only be BoP, and I think at the least, we should get them to be BoA, like they are now in D3. That said, we need to realize that duping ruined realm play on D2; if you played single player you avoided all that, but we won't have that lux in D4, and I'd rather not have the game be decided by cheaters.
As others said, we are so early in development, and so much can change. Remember that early D3 trailer back in 2008? A lot changed between that and release, so no reason to assume that a lot of things won't change by the time the game is ready for launch. As long as we keep providing constructive feedback, we have a shot at the game being what we want.
2
While I must admit that last weeks pump the brakes article has basically eliminated D4 being an announcement next week, I still think something big is in the works. I can't see a "What's Next' for Diablo devoted to how it plays on the Switch. I kind of think we'll get a renewed D2 and/or a D3 Expansion, with a tease about a new game. We find out in 6 days!
1
I'm really curious to see what the new game will look like in terms of style. I am not of the mindset that a new game will go backwards to the D2 style of game play and character structure, but one hopes that the team looks really hard at the good aspects of the previous games, the good aspects of similar games, some new fresh ideas, and mixes them together. Personally, what I'd really like to see:
Longer character development, in the sense that I can have stuff that needs to be done on the same character and maintain it, as opposed to the more transitory style of D3 characters, who can essentially be replaced every few months. This means a longer leveling process, rarer legendary items but more reason to hunt them down, a more static skill/trait/talent set, but still having some flavor options....for example, a Whirlwind barb would find it difficult to switch to being any other barb, but can be flexible in how he/she whirlwinds.
D3's QoL: The UI, inventory handling and in game features are excellent in D3, and that is definitely something to build on.
Seasons: While the concept of seasons does not really mesh well with D2 style character structure, I think the competitive spirit seasons engender is really good for the game, and since that has really been the main activity for Diablo the last few years, I'd be shocked if they veered far from that style.
Crafting & Gear; As above, less is more I think. More static items that push you to look for them, a reason to craft gear at all, and the opportunity to reroll items; we've had these as staples and I see no reason not to keep those types of options around.
Story:...no real thoughts on this, other than please, for the love of Tyrael, please no more bosses shouting how puny we are and how invincible they are through an entire act only to drop in 35 seconds. Diablo deserves better than Power Ranger villains, is what I'm saying.