Diablo III Announced

• http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/007183.html
  
• http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/007183.html
  
• http://forums.d2jsp.org/index.php?showforum=68
  

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What is Diablo III?

We’re developing Diablo III to
be the definitive action role-playing game, and a true continuation of
the Diablo series. Players will create a hero from one of five distinct
classes, such as barbarian or witch doctor, each equipped with an array
of spells and abilities. As these heroes adventure through rich and
varied settings, unraveling an epic storyline and engaging in combat
with hordes of monsters and challenging bosses, they’ll grow in
experience and ability and acquire items of incredible power.

The
game takes place on Sanctuary, a world of dark fantasy. Unbeknownst to
most of its inhabitants, Sanctuary was saved some twenty years ago from
the demonic forces of the underworld by a few brave and powerful
heroes. Most of those warriors who directly faced the armies of the
Burning Hells -- and were fortunate enough to survive -- went mad from
their experiences. And most of the others have buried their haunted
memories and pushed the horrors from their thoughts. In Diablo III,
players will return to Sanctuary to confront evil in its many forms
once again.

Diablo III will be a fitting sequel to Diablo II,
with the easy interface, fast-paced action, and visceral gameplay that
Diablo players have come to expect and enjoy. It will also include many
new features that will take the Diablo action-RPG experience to the
next level. We look forward to going into much more detail on our plans
for Diablo III as development on the game progresses.


What’s new about Diablo III compared to the previous Diablo games?

Exciting
new classes like the witch doctor bring new gameplay options to the
table. Returning classes, like the barbarian, have been completely
redone with new skills to give them a feel unique to Diablo III. New
customization options will provide for an even greater level of
character specialization than the previous Diablo games, allowing the
player to create unique characters brimming with power.

Diablo
III is powered by a new graphics engine that can display characters and
hordes of monsters in lush, fully 3D environments. Powerful
special-effects systems and Havok-powered physics allow the player to
lay waste to the Hells' minions in spectacular ways.

Also,
Diablo III builds on the random environments of the previous Diablo
games by introducing a host of new ways to create random scripted
events throughout the game. This creates a dense and exciting world
alive with quests, NPCs, dynamic encounters, and viciously challenging
new monsters and bosses. Diablo III's environments add a great deal of
interactivity to the game, including destructible elements and
environmental obstacles that can be turned against your enemies.

In
addition, Diablo III will benefit from Battle.net upgrades that will
provide some exciting new features for players. Cooperative online play
remains a primary focus, with multiple enhancements being planned to
make connecting with your friends easier and cooperative gameplay even
more fun. We'll have more details on all these aspects as well as other
exciting new features at a later date.


Can you give an overview of Diablo III's storyline?

It
has been twenty years since the events of Diablo II. Of those who faced
the Lords of Hatred, Terror, and Destruction in the battle over the
fate of Sanctuary, there are few still living who can bear to remember
the horrors that the Prime Evils wrought upon the world. And of those
who did not witness the terrible events firsthand, most believe the
stories to be little more than myth. But something evil is stirring
once again in Tristram, and it may already have claimed its first
victim: Deckard Cain.


Will there be any other familiar faces in Diablo III (other than Deckard Cain)?

Yes. Players will encounter several new characters as well as a number of characters from the previous games.


Will players be visiting any familiar locations in Diablo III, such as Tristram?

Yes,
definitely. Players will return to Tristram and certain other locations
from the previous games, and they'll be exploring new areas of
Sanctuary as well.


How many character classes are included in Diablo III? What are they?

Five
character classes will be included in the game, two of which, the
barbarian and witch doctor, were revealed when the game was announced
at the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational. The other
classes will be announced at a later date.


Will players be able to choose the gender of their character, regardless of class?

Yes. Players will be able to create male and female characters for all five classes.


Will Diablo III be playable over Battle.net? What new features can we expect?

Yes,
Diablo III will be playable over Battle.net, and Battle.net will offer
some exciting new features to enhance players' Diablo III experience.
We'll announce specifics and go into much more detail at a later date.


Will there be a single-player component in addition to multiplayer?

Yes.
In addition to battling the hordes of the Burning Hells cooperatively
with friends over Battle.net, players will be able to adventure through
the world of Diablo III solo. More details on both the single-player
and multiplayer experience will be revealed at a later date.


What will questing be like in Diablo III? Will it be similar to Diablo II?

Our
plans for the story and quest mechanics are still under wraps. We'll go
into detail on those elements of the game at a later date. We can say,
however, that we expect to have class-based quests in addition to the
main story-line quests.


What engine is Diablo III running on? What graphical enhancements are included?

Diablo
III runs on a custom 3D game engine for rendering full-3D characters
and environments. The 3D game engine not only simulates advanced
animation sequences and sound effects, but also uses a custom physics
engine that allows for realistic object dynamics and cloth simulation.


What are the system requirements for Diablo III?

We'll announce specific system requirements at a later date.


When will Diablo III be released?

It's
too early to estimate Diablo III's release date. As with all Blizzard
Entertainment games, our goal is to create a game that is as fun,
balanced, and polished as possible. We intend to take as much time
developing Diablo III as is necessary to ensure the game meets our own
high expectations and those of our players.


Will the
game be released in multiple countries? Will the release be
simultaneous? Which countries and what languages will Diablo III be
localized in?

As with all of our games, our goal with
Diablo III is to release the game simultaneously in as many regions as
possible, and to localize the game in several languages. We'll have
more details to share about countries, languages, and specific dates as
we get closer to release.


Will Diablo III be available on Windows and Mac simultaneously?

Yes. As with all of Blizzard Entertainment's recent releases, Diablo III will ship for both Windows and Mac simultaneously.


How much will Diablo III cost? Where can I buy this game?

Pricing and availability for Diablo III will be determined and announced closer to the release of the game.

Just because I don't see it listed up there....Here's the link to blizzards official Diablo 3 website.

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

Yes, because the very next thing Zelda needs is for Diablo 3 to be announced... GRRRRRRRRRRRR heh, whatever, i'll kill whoever leaves Guild Wars 2 for Diablo 3 ^ ^, no threats of course... only promises

xlegaaragodor wrote:Yes, because the very next thing Zelda needs is for Diablo 3 to be announced... GRRRRRRRRRRRR heh, whatever, i'll kill whoever leaves Guild Wars 2 for Diablo 3 ^ ^, no threats of course... only promises

Ill remember that. GW2 FTW!

I expect to see you noobs in game when it is released!

meh, not if i have guildwars 2 i'd never get jeremy and epidemic to come back to it if I "allowed" them to start playing diablo III xD

Id play GW2 more than DIII because of the GvG. GvG and PvP period in Gw rocks!

and if they made it better in diablo III hmm? hmm? hmm? think carefully when you answer this one aaron

We shall see, just not soon enough. It looks like good fun though .

xlegaaragodor wrote:and if they made it better in diablo III hmm? hmm? hmm? think carefully when you answer this one aaron

I earn titles for GW2, that way once im in GW2 Ill be geared and ready to learn the skills and the game from front and back.

*Epidemic wrote:

xlegaaragodor wrote:and if they made it better in diablo III hmm? hmm? hmm? think carefully when you answer this one aaron

I earn titles for GW2, that way once im in GW2 Ill be geared and ready to learn the skills and the game from front and back.

that didn't answer the question.

Blizzard wont make the pvp system I want, compared to gw now. So no, even if D3 has a great pvp system I still wont play it more than gw2.

I really want to try it, but I think itd be a while before I actually do. Even GW2, seeing as I am currently playing mainly AoC....