Mysteries of the Mighty Barbarians.

[aurik]

I still expect december. There's really not much to beta test, as opposed to SC2 where the extended length and breadth of the beta generated tons of balancing data for Blizzard. The D3 beta is going to generate server stability data and perhaps expose a few glitches here and there, but given that the amount of content is just a fraction of the normal difficulty campaign, a long beta won't generate useful balancing information.

If you are old enough to recall the D2 beta, it was only the first 2 zones up to Blood Raven. I think the highest level people actually hit was level 18ish, so they didn't even have the chance to test the deeper talents, let alone any scaling issues in nightmare and hell.

Pretty sure with the press demo being 2 weeks ago now they're going to be starting the beta Any Day Now, guessing it'll be about 8 weeks long and shut down as we approach Blizzcon.

Also keep in mind that the WoW 4.3 PTR will also be launching soon because 4.3 is supposed to be this year, and they like to have 2 months of ptr time (4.2 ptr which was only 1 raid / 7 bosses started at the beginning of May and the patch landed at the very end of June). And as much as they say they have separate teams working on different games, they aren't completely separate and won't want to be doing everything all at once.

Guessing mid-aug for D3 beta, early Sept for 4.3 PTR, end beta around blizzcon (oct 22), 4.3 lands in early november, d3 in early december.

[Uzor]

Blizzard tends to release games roughly 6 months after the beta begins. Seeing as how just recently versions of the beta have been played by press and whatnot, I guess the live beta will be coming soon, and we'll see it late Q1-EarlyQ2 2012.

Naw; beta started way back in May, so November would be the 6 month mark.

Like I said earlier, guessing beta will start in middle of September and progress to middle of October, which will only really be a stress test to check server stability. Then Blizzcon will reveal the exact release date, which will be between late November/middle of December.

[avelle]

Aurik put it a lot better than I could.

[Arkanna]

I still expect december. There's really not much to beta test, as opposed to SC2 where the extended length and breadth of the beta generated tons of balancing data for Blizzard. The D3 beta is going to generate server stability data and perhaps expose a few glitches here and there, but given that the amount of content is just a fraction of the normal difficulty campaign, a long beta won't generate useful balancing information.

If you are old enough to recall the D2 beta, it was only the first 2 zones up to Blood Raven. I think the highest level people actually hit was level 18ish, so they didn't even have the chance to test the deeper talents, let alone any scaling issues in nightmare and hell.

Pretty sure with the press demo being 2 weeks ago now they're going to be starting the beta Any Day Now, guessing it'll be about 8 weeks long and shut down as we approach Blizzcon.

Also keep in mind that the WoW 4.3 PTR will also be launching soon because 4.3 is supposed to be this year, and they like to have 2 months of ptr time (4.2 ptr which was only 1 raid / 7 bosses started at the beginning of May and the patch landed at the very end of June). And as much as they say they have separate teams working on different games, they aren't completely separate and won't want to be doing everything all at once.

Guessing mid-aug for D3 beta, early Sept for 4.3 PTR, end beta around blizzcon (oct 22), 4.3 lands in early november, d3 in early december.

The bolded is actually false. The D2 beta had two stages: first was the typical closed beta, which contained the entirety of act 1, including Andariel. I do not recall how long this beta ran, but it was at least 3 months if memory serves. After that, Blizzard North released a stress test build, which only contained the Rogue Encampment, the Blood Moor, the Den of Evil, the Cold Plains, and the Graveyard (and Blood Raven). Also I'm pretty sure you could only be the Barb, but I was played out on the closed beta at that point and didn't take part in the stress test.

Regardless, this is Blizzard. I find it quite unlikely they'll ship D3 in 2011, even though I'm really fiending for this damn game, lol.

[Sonomaa]

unlike other companies, blizzard will not release it until they feel its at least acceptable for the publics consumption. while they are a bit more money hungry than they were in previous releases, they do release high quality games with fewer problems than most companies. If it is released in december I know itll be ready, but yeah Im getting more of a february vibe, I think the biggest announcement at blizzcon will be the release date and early open beta access for the blizzcon attendees

and while I understand the always on connection people might be upset about, I believe that blizzard will provide a better quality of game than other companies, especially ubisoft and their similar DRM system

[Militant]

Don't get me wrong, I hope you guys are right, I would love to see a 2011 release, I just don't see it based upon the way things have gone with other games.

[Rulke]

early open beta access for the blizzcon attendees

You will hear me rage regardless of where you live if they do this. Last 2 years of Blizzcon we get stupid ass mini-busts as loot. The year I decide not to attend they better not give away some kick ass stuff like that.

On the note, D3 played great at both Blizzcons. The sound and feel is amazing, this game will rock.

[geno]

I fully expect beta to be out, or even near over by the time Blizzcon rolls around. They claimed it would be out during the third quarter, Blizzcon is nearly a month into the fourth.

I seem to recall a nice chart that was out back when there was a ton of speculation about the SC2 beta, detailing the time between beta announce -> beta release -> beta end -> game release, and when it comes to the home stretch, they've been surprisingly consistent in the past if memory serves (can't find the chart for the life of me though).

I really wouldn't be surprised to see the beta open up any day now (within the next 2 weeks), though I doubt it will be open to too many people off the bat. This does seem like it will be a very different beta than SC2, where they flooded a lot of people in early, and then ramped up over time and had a pretty lengthy beta to work on balance. In D3, I imagine they'll start small, but add people even faster. The reason being, as this isn't a balance test as a server test, it will be a relatively small amount of content that people will probably finish fairly quickly. This means people will probably not play as much, and they'll need to keep adding people to just maintain levels, much less add to them.

[Militant]

I fully expect beta to be out, or even near over by the time Blizzcon rolls around. They claimed it would be out during the third quarter, Blizzcon is nearly a month into the fourth.

I seem to recall a nice chart that was out back when there was a ton of speculation about the SC2 beta, detailing the time between beta announce -> beta release -> beta end -> game release, and when it comes to the home stretch, they've been surprisingly consistent in the past if memory serves (can't find the chart for the life of me though).

I really wouldn't be surprised to see the beta open up any day now (within the next 2 weeks), though I doubt it will be open to too many people off the bat. This does seem like it will be a very different beta than SC2, where they flooded a lot of people in early, and then ramped up over time and had a pretty lengthy beta to work on balance. In D3, I imagine they'll start small, but add people even faster. The reason being, as this isn't a balance test as a server test, it will be a relatively small amount of content that people will probably finish fairly quickly. This means people will probably not play as much, and they'll need to keep adding people to just maintain levels, much less add to them.

I agree with this, everything I've read recently supports that. The question is do we start the usual 6 month countdown from may, or from the time beta "really" opens?

[6souls]

Tim Willits has been talking to Eurogamer about Diablo 3′s controversial always-online DRM.

The id software creative director thinks Blizzard’s contentious dungeon crawler could be the game to legitimise the increasingly common anti-piracy measures, saying “Diablo 3 will make everyone else accept the fact you have to be connected. If you have a juggernaut, you can make change.”

“In the end, it’s better for everybody”, continued Willits.

Diablo 3 will require players to always be connected to the internet in order to play. Blizzard announced the plan, along with the controversial real money auction house at a recent event.

Willits is approaching the DRM from a developer’s perspective. ‘Always online’ DRM makes things a lot easier for game creators but ultimately, more frustrating for gamers.

Willits feels that it’s a fair compromise: “Imagine picking up a game and it’s automatically updated. Or there’s something new you didn’t know about and you didn’t have to click away. It’s all automatically there”.

The man from id also reckons the majority of their fans have a rock solid internet connection.

“I’m a big proponent of always connected. I’m always connected. Our fans are always connected”, he continued, before acknowledging the gamers who might experience issues with their connections: “There will be a few people who resent the face that you have to be online to play a single player game. But it’ll change.”

Fan feedback to Blizzard’s first announcement was not pretty. Ubisoft incurred the same wrath when they announced Driver: San Francisco’s DRM, as did Capcom with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, though they later tweaked the measures.

A reliable internet connection is quickly becoming a vital part of your PC gaming setup. This morning OnLive announced a September release date in the UK. The ambitious service will require an internet connection and a subscription to work, but at least you’ll get access to a substantial games bundle for the hassle.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/08/11/id...for-everybody/

[Not Kuno]

Shit like that pisses me off. I like to play games (d2 included) on my laptop that doesn't always have internet access. I don't know if it'll run d3 but blizzard has never been too harsh on needing the best graphics.

[Tajin]

It doesn't particularly piss me off I'd like the option to keep playing IF the net goes down at least, now that will truly suck.

[Lucavi]

If its something like TF2 where I can still play with bots when offline, then its fine, but if the game just simply DOES NOT WORK AT ALL (you can't even get past the login screen or something), then I don't like it.

[izembo]

people seriously have net going down often for it to be a problem? you have comcast or something?


game doesnt work at all without online

[vrumpt]

you have comcast or something?

as a matter of fact, yes. And some of us don't have a choice unfortunately.

[Militant]

The chart, which may or may not be fake, seems to be accurate thus far, though obviously it would be easier to predict things closer to the time (back when this surfaced in april 2010). Obviously even if blizzard "thought" these were realistic dates, we all know they don't rush their products so perhaps even if it was once accurate, they've now changed things.

http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/...ule-rumor1.jpg

[Maaglin]

Don't really understand the "outcry" over constant connection. You can still play singleplayer and really, for the times that you can't have a connection, bfd. Use 3/4G and your phone as a router if it's so important. And if you can't get through a 3-4 plane ride w/o D3, you got bigger problems.

More pissed that they won't support modding. That is a huge cock suck imo.

Also, beta is going to have less than 1 hour of playtime to finish and won't have any skill runes. It's bascially just going to be a server load test. Can't really say I'd be excited to play that and cetaintly wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

[Galkaeater]

Constant internet connection, no modding and no lan
The reason for all this is hack prevention since the new auction house is at the centre of of diablo 3 and they dont want it so that you can play off line hack/mod for items or gold and then reconnect online and use it all on the AH while blizzard will be none the wiser

[miokomioko]

I'm mostly pissed about the fact that I won't be able to play this on my laptop at all when I go fucking visit all of my girlfriend's relatives that still live in the stone age.

99% of my Diablo II playing was done in such situations. Such a good game to just grind away at when you're bored out of your mind in a strange house in the middle of the night.

[Takiwaki]

Next up Blizzard partnering with AT&T . . .